Glass scratch removal apparatus and method
US4622780A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 11, 1985 |
| Grant date | Nov 18, 1986 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 11, 2005 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB24B57/02
- WIPO fieldMachine tools
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A glass scratch removal apparatus includes a driven rotating tool that is supported on a skirt that can be sealed against a surface to be treated for scratch removal. The skirt is conical and has some flexibility to permit the edge of the skirt in contact with the surface to deform in shape to follow curves or irregularities (such as on a curved windshield of an automobile) and at the same time, the skirt is held in place through the use of a vacuum. The rotating tool is pressed against the surface to lap and polish the surface. The tool is manually actuable toward and away from the surface, and a slurry is fed into the skirt to provide either for "fining" which is an initial step of rough removal of material adjacent the scratch and/or "polishing" which blends in or feathers the surface adjacent the scratch and provides for an optically satisfactory surface. The amount of pressure on the tool can easily be controlled at the same time that the tool is being moved across the scratch, so that the tools can be lowered gradually against the surface to be worked on to avoid gouges or burnished spots or the like.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.