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US 5,470,366 AGranted
Method and apparatus for processing a glass sheet
AssigneePPG Industries, Inc.
InventorsRobert G. Frank, James H. Schwartz
Life of this patent
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AssigneePPG Industries, Inc.
InventorsRobert G. Frank, James H. Schwartz
Estimating the term…
The present invention provides a glass sheet shaping arrangement whereby a glass sheet may be conveyed through a shaping station without being shaped and deposited into a glass collector beneath an upstream portion of the adjacent quench without impacting the lower quench or interfering with the operation of the quench. A furnace, shaping station and cooling station are all linearly aligned so that a glass sheet progresses through the glass sheet shaping arrangement without changing its advancing direction. A glass sheet is conveyed in a first direction along a first generally horizontal plane through the furnace to heat the sheet to its heat softening temperature. The sheet continues into the shaping station where it is lifted into engagement with an upper vacuum surface. A ring member moves along a second generally horizontal plane in a direction which is linearly aligned with the first direction, from a first position between an upper and lower quench in the cooling station to a second position within the shaping station beneath the upper vacuum surface. Vacuum is terminated along the upper surface, depositing the sheet on the ring. The shaped sheet is cooled by moving the ring from the second position within the shaping station along the second plane to the first position within the cooling station. The second plane is vertically offset relative to the first plane such that the first plane is beneath a portion of the lower quench which is immediately adjacent the shaping station. With this arrangement, the glass sheets may be conveyed through the shaping station and into the collector without interfering with any further production.
In a method of heating, shaping and cooling heat softenable sheet material including the steps of moving a sheet in a first direction along a first generally horizontal plane through a furnace to heat said sheet to its heat softening temperature and into a shaping station, shaping said sheet including the steps of engaging said sheet with an upper vacuum surface, drawing a vacuum along said upper vacuum surface to secure said sheet thereagainst, moving a ring member from a first position between upper and lower quench plenums in a cooling station to a second position within said shaping station beneath said upper vacuum surface, along a second generally horizontal plane in a direction which is linearly aligned with said first direction, and terminating said vacuum along said upper vacuum surface to deposit said sheet on said ring member, and cooling said sheet including the step of moving said ring member from said second position within said shaping station along said second plane to said first position within said cooling station, the improvement comprising the steps of:
In an apparatus for heating, shaping and cooling heat softenable sheet material including a conveying means to move a sheet in a first direction along a first generally horizontal plane through a furnace to heat said sheet to its heat softening temperature and into a shaping station, an upper vacuum mold positioned within said shaping station, a ring member moveable between a first position within said shaping station beneath said upper vacuum mold to a second position between upper and lower quench plenums within a cooling station, along a second generally horizontal plane in a direction which is linearly aligned with said first direction, the improvement comprising:
In a method of heating, shaping and cooling heat softenable sheet material including the steps of moving a sheet in a first direction through a furnace to heat said sheet to its heat softening temperature and into a shaping station, shaping said sheet including the steps of engaging said sheet with an upper vacuum surface, drawing a vacuum along said upper vacuum surface to secure said sheet thereagainst, moving a ring member from a first position between upper and lower quench plenums in a cooling station to a second position within said shaping station beneath said upper vacuum surface, in a direction which is generally linearly aligned with said first direction and terminating said vacuum along said upper vacuum surface to deposit said sheet on said ring member, and cooling said sheet including the step of moving said ring member from said second position within said shaping station to said first position within said cooling station, the improvement comprising the steps of:
In an apparatus for heating, shaping and cooling heat softenable sheet material including a conveying means to move a sheet in a first direction through a furnace to heat said sheet to its heat softening temperature and into a shaping station, an upper vacuum mold positioned within said shaping station, a ring member moveable between a first position within said shaping station beneath said upper vacuum mold to a second position between upper and lower quench plenums within a cooling station, in a direction which is generally linearly aligned with said first direction, the improvement comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.