Patent ID: 7958750
Filing Date: 2011-06-14
Classification: C03B

Abstract:
1. A glass sheet forming system comprising: a furnace having a heating chamber; a horizontal conveyor located within the heating chamber of the furnace to convey glass sheets through the furnace along a direction of conveyance for heating to a forming temperature; a forming station for cyclically forming heated glass sheets and including a lower mold of the ring type and an upper mold located above the lower mold and having a downwardly facing full surface forming face at which a vacuum can be drawn; a vacuum transfer platen mounted for horizontal movement and having a downwardly facing surface at which a vacuum is drawn to receive and support a heated glass sheet in contact with the downwardly facing surface; a first actuator that moves the vacuum transfer platen horizontally between (a) a receiving position within the furnace above the conveyor from which the downwardly facing surface of the vacuum transfer platen receives and supports a heated glass sheet in contact therewith, and (b) a delivery position within the forming station below the upper mold and above the lower mold to deliver the heated glass sheet onto the lower mold; a second actuator that moves the upper mold upwardly and downwardly, the second actuator moving the upper mold upwardly so the vacuum transfer platen can be moved to the delivery position to deliver the heated glass sheet onto the lower mold, the vacuum transfer platen then being moved by the first actuator back to the receiving position within the furnace and the second actuator moving the upper mold downwardly to cooperate with the lower mold in press forming the heated glass sheet, and the second actuator subsequently moving the upper mold upwardly while the upper mold supports the formed glass sheet by vacuum drawn at its downwardly facing full surface forming face; a delivery mold movable horizontally at an elevation above the elevation of the vacuum transfer platen and below the elevation of the upwardly moved upper mold; a third actuator for initially moving the delivery mold to the forming station to receive the formed glass sheet from the upwardly moved upper mold and for subsequently moving the delivery mold and the formed glass sheet from the forming station for delivery; and a controller for controlling the actuators so the movement of the vacuum transfer platen into the forming station begins before the delivery mold is fully moved out of the forming station such that both the vacuum transfer platen and the delivery mold as well as the glass sheets thereon are at least partially in the forming station at the same time and respectively in underlapping and overlapping relationships with respect to each other whereby one cycle commences within the forming station before the prior cycle is completed to decrease glass sheet forming cycle time.