Ppg Industries, Inc.

Edward A Thimons

Robert G Frank

George R Claassen

Michael T Fecik

Samuel L Seymour

John J Ewing

Joseph C Pavlik

A heat softened glass sheet is lifted within a heating furnace by a vacuum pickup and moved to a shaping station adjacent the furnace where it is deposited on an aligning frame. The location of the sheet is identified and the frame is moved to position the supported glass sheet at a predetermined location between a pair of vertically aligned upper and lower full surface press faces. A shuttle frame which moves the vacuum pickup has integral vacuum passageways so that vacuum for the pickup can be drawn through the shuttle frame.

Method and apparatus for shaping glass sheets

A horizontal press bending arrangement wherein heat softened glass sheets are engaged by a shuttling vacuum pickup. The pickup and sheet are transferred out of the furnace and into a shaping station wherein the glass sheet is deposited and repositioned between a pair of vertically aligned full surface press faces.

Horizontal press bending of heat softened glass sheets

Growing community of inventors

Tarentum, PA, United States of America

Edward A Thimons