Libbey-Owens-Ford Co.

Lowell J Conner

John W Borer

William J Skilliter

The invention comprises press bending apparatus including a continuous uninterrupted peripheral shaping rail mounted for vertical reciprocating movement for lifting a heated glass sheet from a roll conveyor and pressing it against a complementary shaping surface. Conveyor rolls are provided exteriorly of the shaping rail for advancing a sheet into position over the shaping rail, and additional separate rolls are mounted so as to be disposed within the confines of the shaping rail for supporting the sheet interiorly of the shaping rail. An arrangement is provided beneath the shaping rail for supporting and driving the interior rolls so as to permit vertical movement of the shaping rail between the interior and exterior rolls.

Glass sheet conveying and bending apparatus

A press bending mold having an improved shaping element comprising a flexible, continuous shaping surface that is readily adjustable and easy to fabricate. The shaping element is mounted on a support plate by a plurality of adjustable connectors, and includes a resilient body having an expanded metal grid encapsulated therein. The resilient body may be covered by one or a plurality of sheets of a fibrous, heat-resistant material which, in turn, is covered by a layer of fiberglass cloth, or the such. One or more of the fibrous sheets may be treated with a rigidizer.

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Lathrop, CA, United States of America

Lowell J Conner