Press roll apparatus for manufacturing laminated glass

A press roll apparatus for manufacturing a laminated glass from two glass sheets with an adhesive intermediate film sandwiched therebetween, comprising:

• a pressing station for finally or temporarily bonding the two glass sheets with the adhesive intermediate film sandwiched therebetween under pressure;
• a loading station, disposed upstream of said pressing station with respect to a direction in which the glass sheets are fed, for loading the two glass sheets with the adhesive intermediate film saidwiched therebetween into said pressing station, said loading station comprising conveyor means extending in said direction for feeding the two glass sheets with the adhesive intermediate film sandwiched therebetween, and transfer means for transferring the two glass sheets with the adhesive intermediate film sandwiched therebetween from said conveyor means to said pressing station, said transfer means comprising a pair of rails extending substantially parallel to said conveyor means, a movable member movable along said rails to a position closer to said pressing station than a distal end of said conveyor means, a plurality of bearing rollers supported on said movable member for lifting the two glass sheets with the adhesive intermediate film sandwiched therebetween off said conveyor means, and a plurality of presser rollers for holding the two glass sheets with the adhesive intermediate film sandwiched therebetween against said bearing rollers;
• and
• an unloading station, disposed downstream of said pressing station with respect to said direction, for unloading the bonded two glass sheets with the adhesive intermediate film sandwiched therebetween from said pressing station;
• said pressing station comprising a plurality of drive roll units for drawing the two glass sheets with the adhesive intermediate film sandwiched therebetween from said loading station, pressing the two glass sheets with the adhesive intermediate film sandwiched therebetween, and delivering the two glass sheets with the adhesive intermediate film sandwiched therebetween to said unloading station, and a plurality of free roll units for pressing the two glass sheets with the adhesive intermediate film sandwiched therebetween according to a shape of the two glass sheets, said drive roll units and said free roll units being movable as a whole perpendicularly to said direction.