Method and apparatus for monitoring safety glass production or controlling a treatment process

An apparatus for monitoring safety glass production and controlling a heat treatment by means of information representing a load of glass panels, said apparatus comprising:

• a furnace,
• heating devices present in the furnace for heating glass panels for tempering or heat strengthening,
• a loading table,
• a roll conveyor for conveying glass panels from the loading table into the furnace, and
• at least one camera for reading information representing a load of glass panels, the camera being directed to see by way of a mirror the light reflected from the glass,
• means for monitoring production of the apparatus on the basis of said information, and
• a high intensity light source which illuminates the glass load present within the camera's visual field,
• wherein the high intensity light source and the at least one camera are both below the loading table, and the propagation direction of light reflected from the bottom surface is deflected with the mirror towards the camera, and
• wherein the camera is connected to a control device for controlling the heating devices for glass panels, and the heating devices comprise radiation heating equipment and convection heating equipment.