Ppg Industries, Inc.

Dean L Thomas

Thomas J Reese

Robert G Frank

George R Claassen

Stephen J Jursa

A lightweight outline mold for shaping glass sheets comprising a shaping rail having low thermal inertia, tabs attaching said rail to a reinforcing frame through rods by welding said rods at points spaced from said shaping rail and using fastening means that do not require localized heat, such as rivets, to attach the shaping rail to the tabs in a manner that avoids localized heating of the shaping rail during mold fabrication that would distort the shaping rail if the latter were welded directly to the reinforcing frame.

Lightweight outline mold with low thermal inertia for shaping glass

In shaping a pair of glass sheets simultaneously to a complicated shape including a longitudinal component of bend and a complicated transverse component of bend such as one that is S-shaped in elevation or other complicated shapes, the pair is sag bent in unison on an outline mold to sag bend the sheets to a shape approximating their longitudinal component of bend, then the pair of sag bent sheets is lifted on a solid mold having a complicated shape including said complicated transverse component of bend to impress said transverse component of bend (into engagement with an upper pressing mold of complementary curvature, if needed) and supported on said solid mold for the minimum time sufficient to develop said complicated shape. The pair of glass sheets bent to said complicated shape is returned as rapidly as possible to said outline mold and cooled at a controlled rate while supported on said outline mold to a temperature below the strain point to insure that the pair of glass sheets retain their complicated conformed shapes so that they can be laminated subsequently with minimum difficulty. The viewing area of the bent glass is engaged with a solid mold while at an elevated temperature at which the glass surface is likely to be marred for a minimum time needed to impart the transverse component of bend thereon.

Method of bending glass sheets in unison to complicated shapes

Producing glass sheets having improved break patterns over those produced either by typical heat strengthening procedures or by heating to a tempering temperature followed by natural cooling.

Producing glass sheets having improved break patterns

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for shaping glass sheets to V-bends along a curved line of bending.

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Glenshaw, PA, United States of America

Dean L Thomas