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:
Apr. 07, 1998
Filed:
Feb. 28, 1997
Alan Charles Woodward, Winstanley, GB;
Hans-Dieter Funk, Witten, DE;
Richard A Herrington, Walbridge, OH (US);
Kazunori Yuki, Doshomachi, JP;
Pilkington Glass Limited, Merseyside, GB;
Flachglas Aktiengesellschaft, Furth, DE;
Libbey-Owens-Ford Company, Toledo, OH (US);
Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Limited, Osaka, JP;
Abstract
Glass sheets are press bent and tempered, especially for use as glazings in vehicles. Such glazings are required to be accurately bent to a complex shape while meeting high standards of optical quality and fracture safety at an acceptable cost. A method of bending and tempering a glass sheet is provided comprising heating the sheet in a furnace, including heating at least one portion of the sheet to a higher temperature than another portion, conveying the sheet out of the furnace and into a press bending station, shaping the sheet by pressing it between opposed complementary upper and lower press members, at least one of the members being internally heated, transferring the bent glass sheet onto a shuttle carrier ring conforming to the periphery of the sheet, and tempering the sheet while supported on the carrier ring. A corresponding apparatus is also described.