Method for cutting off glass panes from a continuously produced glass sheet

A method of cutting glass panes from a continuously produced glass sheet, said method comprising the steps of:

• a) continuously detecting the glass sheet to determine locations of glass faults in a predetermined section of the glass sheet;
• b) measuring a thickness profile across said glass sheet to determine a glass region of the predetermined section from which glass panes with an acceptable thickness are to be cut;
• c) determining an optimized cutting pattern for the glass region of the predetermined section from the locations of the glass faults and the thickness profile obtained from step a) and step b) by using a cutting optimization device, said optimized cutting pattern comprising a plan for cutting crosscut pieces from the glass region of the predetermined section with the acceptable thickness and for cutting away said glass panes of respective predetermined sizes arranged next to each other in corresponding ones of said crosscut pieces, so that cutting lines for said glass panes in each of said crosscut pieces are placed sufficiently close to said glass faults, so that widths of glass sheet strips containing said glass faults to be discarded are minimized while producing a greatest possible number of usable glass panes without breakage of said crosscut pieces;
• d) cutting said crosscut pieces from said predetermined section of the glass sheet according to the optimized cutting pattern;
• e) trimming borders away from the crosscut pieces according to the optimized cutting pattern so that said glass panes are only cut from the glass region of the predetermined section with the acceptable thickness;
• f) detecting edge faults in said crosscut pieces after trimming said borders in step e);
• g) determining a further optimized cutting pattern according to the edge faults detected in step f);
• and
• h) cutting said glass panes from said crosscut pieces according to said further optimized cutting pattern.