Ppg Industries, Inc.

William P Cathers

Thomas J Reese

Charles W Dorn, Jr

Harold E Donley

David B Rayburn

John S Ferretti

Glass sheets are positioned on the shaping rail of an outline shaping mold for movement through a heating lehr and subsequent preliminary sag bending. The mold with the glass sheet supported thereon is then positioned between a pair of vertically aligned full surface pressing molds. The mold includes selected press surface areas that extend outside the perimeter of the outline mold. As the lower mold raises to lift the glass sheet off the outline mold, selected portions of the shaping rail move outwardly to allow the lower mold to pass through the outline mold. The glass sheet is then pressed between the upper and lower pressing molds.

In-lehr press bending

A method and apparatus for reducing tip curl caused by sag bending complicated shapes in glass sheets. A pivoting assembly with a glass edge roller contacts the edge of the glass sheet as it is conveyed through a heating lehr or a bending mold, and biases the glass against the bending rail.

Method and apparatus to reduce tip curl of a glass sheet on a bending

A method and apparatus are disclosed for automatically compensating for grinding wheel wear in a continuous grinding operation.

Grinding wheel wear compensation system

This invention involves a method of using deairing rings comprising flexible channel members of a novel construction around the periphery of an assembly of glass and flexible plastic sheets during its lamination and the construction of said novel deairing rings. The deairing rings are readily applied to and removed from the assemblies to be laminated and are so constructed as to facilitate the lamination of large windows, particularly those having sharp corners.

Vacuum channel method of laminating glass sheets

A vacuum lifting device having a plurality of chambers, each chamber having an isolating member within to control communication between a common vacuum plenum and a sheet engaging surface. Each isolating member is controllable independent of the presence of an article adjacent the sheet engaging surface to allow for lifting selected ones of a plurality of articles. Those chambers which overlie at least a portion of a selected article and which overlie no portion of an unselected article are activated, or, alternatively, those chambers which overlie a single selected article completely within the peripheral boundaries thereof are activated.

Selective vacuum lifting device

This invention relates to apparatus for handling a flexible sheet of interlayer material while forming a colored shade band on an elongated area thereof comprising applying a dye composition by electrostatic spraying against an elongated area of a surface of a flexible sheet of non-conductive interlayer material such as polyurethane or plasticized polyvinyl butyral. A flexible sheet to be coated is mounted on a support carriage at a loading and unloading chamber in a horizontal support plane. The carriage is transferred a finite distance to a coating chamber into alignment with carriage tilting means, which engages the carriage, preferably at its geometric center, to tilt the latter into an oblique plane at said coating chamber aligned with an obliquely disposed platen mask. Electrostatic spray means disposed to one side of said platen mask supplies an electrostatic spray of a dye composition through said platen mask to the elongated area of said flexible sheet. The tilting means pivots the carriage back to a horizontal plane and the carriage is returned to the loading and unloading station, where the coated flexible sheet is removed and another sheet mounted for treatment. The flexible sheet so coated is useful as an interlayer in shaded, bent laminated safety glass windshields.

Apparatus for handling flexible sheet while applying graded shade band

A frame has (1) a pair of arms parallel to one another and normal to a third arm, each arm having a movable dog for orienting a sheet and (2) a plurality of arms each having cups through which a vacuum is pulled to secure the oriented sheet to the frame and through which pressurized fluid is moved to bias the sheet away from the frame.

Sheet orienting and transporting frame

A frame has (1) a pair of parallel arms normal to a third arm with each arm having a rotating L-shaped member for orienting a sheet and (2) a plurality of cups through which a vacuum is drawn to secure the oriented sheet to the frame and through which fluid is moved under pressure to bias the sheet away from the frame.

Frame having rotating orienting members

A conveyor for separating and aligning glass sheets moving along a sheet movement path includes a plurality of cylindrical rolls skewed relative to the movement path to displace the advancing sheets toward a side of the conveyor. At the side of the conveyor the sheets are aligned by an endless belt rotating through a path parallel to the sheet movement path. Each successive roll in the direction of sheet advancement has increasing peripheral surface rotational speed to separate the advancing sheets.

Glass cutter with conveyor for separating and aligning glass sheets

A coating apparatus employing a continuous traveling chain to move coating composition dispensers across a conveyer for coating glass traveling on the conveyer is provided with at least two sets of coating dispensers, all positioned for dispensing coating composition generally normal to a plane in which the chain travels, with the sets of coating dispensers actuated during separate portions of their travel along the path of the traveling chain in order to continuously produce multiple film coatings as the dispensers remain oriented throughout their travel in facing relation to the conveyer.

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Allison Park, PA, United States of America

William P Cathers