The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 30, 1978
Filed:
Jan. 03, 1977
Robert G Frank, Murrysville, PA (US);
DeWitt W Lampman, Monroeville, PA (US);
PPG Industries, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Abstract
This invention relates to method and apparatus for handling glass sheets during shaping and cooling. Each glass sheet to be treated in turn is heated to its deformation temperature and conveyed through a furnace and into a glass shaping station by a roller conveyor. The glass is lifted into engagement with a vacuum shaping mold while hot and held against the vacuum shaping mold by vacuum as the glass lifting mechanism retracts downward. A tempering ring having an outline supporting surface conforming to and slightly inside the periphery of the bent glass sheet is brought into position below the upper vacuum mold. The vacuum on the upper mold is released to deposit the shaped glass sheet on the tempering ring. The latter supports and transfers the bent glass sheet during movement into a cooling station where the shaped glass sheet is quenched as rapidly as possible to harden the glass surface and enable a plurality of rotating rolls to lift the hardened glass sheet from the tempering ring and convey it onto additional conveyor rolls which transport the shaped glass between additional streams of cooling medium such as air blasts that impart at least a partial temper to the glass. When the glass is transferred to the additional conveyor rolls, the rotating transfer rolls are lowered to clear the path of movement for the tempering ring to return to the shaping station where the cycle is repeated.