Apparatus for bending glass sheets
US4517001A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 19, 1984 |
| Grant date | May 14, 1985 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 19, 2004 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC C)Chemistry; Metallurgy
- CPC primaryC03B35/145
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Sheet glass is heated during conveyance on a conveyor within a furnace. A vacuum holder is horizontally movable within the furnace immediately above the conveyor in close proximity to the heated glass sheet. The holder has a downwardly facing surface with spaced openings in which a vacuum is drawn to receive the heated glass sheet from the conveyor, support the sheet above the conveyor, move the heated glass sheet horizontally along the longitudinal axis of the furnace and drop the heated glass sheet onto a carrier mold ring positioned within the furnace by removing the vacuum so that the glass sheet bends under the force of gravity in a manner that allows the heated glass sheet to be accurately bent. In a preferred embodiment the mold ring subsequently is removed from the furnace to a quench unit that tempers the bent glass.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.