Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6718798?dq=7222078
Timestamp: 2015-05-07 01:37:44
Document Index: 632007093

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 324', 'art 324', 'art 326', 'art 326', 'art 326', 'art 326', 'arts 324', 'art 326', 'art 326', 'art 326', 'art 326']

Patent US6718798 - Method for forming heated glass sheets - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsApparatus (26) and a method for forming heated glass sheets in a heated chamber (22) of a housing (20) includes an upper mold support assembly (28) for supporting an upper mold (38) within the heated chamber for cyclical vertical movement between upper and lower positions. A lower mold shuttle (50) supports...http://www.google.com/patents/US6718798?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6718798 - Method for forming heated glass sheetsAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6718798 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 10/348,666Publication dateApr 13, 2004Filing dateJan 21, 2003Priority dateNov 20, 1997Fee statusPaidAlso published asUS6729160, US20030106340Publication number10348666, 348666, US 6718798 B2, US 6718798B2, US-B2-6718798, US6718798 B2, US6718798B2InventorsDavid B. Nitschke, Eustace Harold Mumford, Dean M. NitschkeOriginal AssigneeGlasstech, Inc.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (32), Referenced by (8), Classifications (21), Legal Events (2) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMethod for forming heated glass sheets
US 6718798 B2Abstract
Apparatus (26) and a method for forming heated glass sheets in a heated chamber (22) of a housing (20) includes an upper mold support assembly (28) for supporting an upper mold (38) within the heated chamber for cyclical vertical movement between upper and lower positions. A lower mold shuttle (50) supports a lower mold (36) for movement between an idle position horizontally spaced from the upper mold and a use position below the lower mold. The apparatus also includes a lower mold support assembly (60) to which the lower mold is transferred from the lower mold shuttle (50) to provide support thereof while permitting horizontal alignment with the upper mold upon each cycle of downward movement to form a heated glass sheet between the molds. The lower mold shuttle (50) is supported by vertically movable rollers (70) to provide the transfer between the lower mold shuttle and the lower mold support assembly (60). A quench station (40) includes a quench shuttle (62) that moves a quench ring (66) to receive the formed glass sheet from the upper mold (38) and to then move the formed glass sheet between lower and upper quench modules (46,48) of the quench station for quenching.
What is claimed is: 1. A method for forming a glass sheet comprising:
heating the glass sheet during conveyance thereof on a horizontally extending conveyor; cyclically moving an upper mold downwardly to receive the heated glass sheet from the conveyor and then moving the upper mold upwardly with the glass sheet supported thereby; cyclically moving a lower mold horizontally on a lower mold shuttle from an idle position horizontally spaced from the upper mold to a use position below the upper mold with the glass sheet supported thereby; cyclically transferring the lower mold in the use position from the lower mold shuttle to a lower mold support assembly; cyclically thereafter moving the upper mold downwardly toward the lower mold and moving the lower mold horizontally on the lower mold support assembly as necessary into alignment with the upper mold and then forming the glass sheet between the molds; and cyclically thereafter moving the upper mold upwardly and transferring the lower mold from the lower mold support assembly back to the lower mold shuttle for horizontal movement thereon from below the upper mold back to the idle position to permit delivery of the formed glass sheet from the upper mold for cooling. 2. A method for forming a glass sheet as in claim 1 wherein the lower mold shuttle is supported by rollers during the horizontal movement of the lower mold between the idle and use positions, and the rollers being moved vertically to transfer the lower mold between the lower mold shuttle and the lower mold support assembly.
3. A method for forming a glass sheet as in claim 1 wherein the lower mold is locked on the lower mold shuttle to prevent movement with respect thereto along the direction of travel during the movement thereof between the idle and use positions.
4. A method for forming a glass sheet as in claim 1 wherein the formed glass sheet is deposited from the upper mold onto a quench ring for delivery to a quench station for quenching.
5. A method for forming a glass sheet as in claim 4 wherein the quench ring is moved on a quench shuttle and is locked with respect thereto during movement between the upper mold and the quench station but is unlocked at the upper mold to permit movement with respect to the quench shuttle as necessary into alignment with the upper mold.
6. A method for forming a glass sheet comprising:
heating the glass sheet during conveyance thereof on a horizontally extending conveyor; moving an upper mold downwardly to receive the heated glass sheet from the conveyor and then moving the upper mold upwardly with the glass sheet supported thereby; moving a lower mold horizontally on a lower mold shuttle from an idle position horizontally spaced from the upper mold to a use position below the upper mold with the glass sheet supported thereby; locking the lower mold on the lower mold shuttle to prevent movement with respect thereto along the direction of travel during the movement thereof between the idle and use positions; transferring the lower mold in the use position from the lower mold shuttle to a lower mold support assembly; thereafter moving the upper mold downwardly toward the lower mold and moving the lower mold horizontally on the lower mold support assembly as necessary into alignment with the upper mold and then forming the glass sheet between the molds; thereafter moving the upper mold upwardly and transferring the lower mold from the lower mold support assembly back to the lower mold shuttle for horizontal movement thereon from below the upper mold back to the idle position; depositing the formed glass sheet from the upper mold onto a quench ring moved on a quench shuttle for delivery to a quench station for quenching; and locking the quench ring on the quench shuttle during movement between the upper mold and the quench station, and unlocking the quench ring from the quench shuttle at the upper mold to permit movement thereof with respect to the quench shuttle as necessary into alignment with the upper mold. 7. A method for forming a glass sheet comprising:
heating the glass sheet during conveyance thereof on a horizontally extending conveyor; moving an upper mold downwardly to receive the heated glass sheet from the conveyor and then moving the upper mold upwardly with the glass sheet supported thereby; moving a lower mold horizontally on a lower mold shuttle supported by rollers for movement from an idle position horizontally spaced from the upper mold to a use position below the upper mold with the glass sheet supported thereby; locking the lower mold on the lower mold shuttle to prevent movement with respect thereto along the direction of travel during the movement thereof between the idle and use positions; moving the rollers vertically to transfer the lower mold in the use position from the lower mold shuttle to a lower mold support assembly; thereafter moving the upper mold downwardly toward the lower mold and moving the lower mold horizontally on the lower mold support assembly as necessary into alignment with the upper mold and then forming the glass sheet between the molds; thereafter moving the upper mold upwardly and transferring the lower mold from the lower mold support assembly back to the lower mold shuttle for horizontal movement thereon from below the upper mold back to the idle position; depositing the formed glass sheet from the upper mold onto a quench ring moved on a quench shuttle for delivery to a quench station for quenching; and locking the quench ring on the quench shuttle during movement between the upper mold and the quench station, and unlocking the quench ring from the quench shuttle at the upper mold to permit movement thereof with respect to the quench shuttle as necessary into alignment with the upper mold.
This is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/975,267 filed on Nov. 20, 1997.
This invention relates to apparatus and a method for forming heated glass sheets while providing alignment between lower and upper molds used in the forming.
Glass sheets are conventionally formed by heating within a furnace and then forming within a heated chamber prior to delivery for cooling. Such cooling can be slow cooling to provide annealing or faster cooling that provides heat strengthening or tempering. In connection with heating of the glass sheets, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,806,312 McMaster et al.; 3,947,242 McMaster et al.; 3,994,711 McMaster; 4,404,011 McMaster; and 4,512,460 McMaster. In connection with glass sheet forming, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,282,026 McMaster et al.; 4,437,871 McMaster et al.; 4,575,390 McMaster; U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,141 Nitschke et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,491 McMaster et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,470 Kormanyos et al. In connection with the cooling, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,936,291 McMaster; 4,470,838 McMaster et al.; 4,525,193 McMaster et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,491 Barr; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,786 Shetterly et al.
During the forming process, the heated glass sheets can be supported by a vacuum generated at a downwardly facing mold whose initial support of the glass sheet upon being received from a heating conveyor can be assisted by an upwardly directed heated gas flow that can be provided by gas jet pumps, such as disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,204,854 McMaster et al. and 4,222,763 McMaster.
An object of the invention is to provide an improved method for forming a glass sheet.
In carrying out the above object, the method for forming a glass sheet is provided by heating the glass sheet during conveyance thereof on a horizontally extending conveyor. An upper mold is cyclically moved downwardly to receive the heated glass sheet from the conveyor and is then moved upwardly with the glass sheet supported thereby in preparation for the forming. A lower mold is then cyclically moved horizontally on a lower mold shuttle from an idle position horizontally spaced from the upper mold to a use position below the upper mold with the glass sheet supported thereby. The lower mold is then cyclically transferred in the use position from the lower mold shuttle to a lower mold support assembly, and thereafter the upper mold is cyclically moved downwardly toward the lower mold and the lower mold is moved horizontally on the lower mold support assembly as necessary into alignment with the upper mold whereupon the continued movement of the molds toward each other forms the glass sheet between the molds. Finally, the upper mold is cyclically moved upwardly and the lower mold is transferred from the lower mold support assembly back to the lower mold shuttle for horizontal movement thereon from below the upper mold back to the idle position to permit delivery of the formed glass sheet from the upper mold for cooling.
In the preferred practice of the method, the lower mold shuttle is supported by rollers during the horizontal movement on the lower mold between the idle and use positions, and the rollers are moved vertically to transfer the lower mold between the lower mold shuttle and the lower mold support assembly. The lower mold is locked on the lower mold shuttle to prevent movement with respect thereto along the direction of travel during the movement thereof between the idle and use positions.
In the preferred practice of the method, the formed glass sheet is deposited from the upper mold onto a quench ring for delivery to a quench station for quenching. The quench ring is moved on a quench shuttle and is locked with respect thereto during movement between the upper mold and the quench station but is unlocked at the upper mold to permit movement with respect to the quench shuttle into alignment with the upper mold.
FIG. 2 is a schematic elevational view taken along the direction of line 2�2 in FIG. 1 to illustrate the operation of a forming station and a quench station of the system.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view taken along the direction of line 3�3 in FIG. 1 to illustrate the commencement of a glass sheet forming cycle as an upper mold is moved downwardly to adjacent a heating conveyor to receive a heated glass sheet therefrom for the forming.
FIG. 8 is a top plan view taken along the direction of line 8�8 in FIG. 2 and from the left toward the right illustrates the lower forming mold, the upper forming mold which is shown by phantom line representation, and a quench shuttle that supports the quench ring.
FIG. 9 is an elevational view taken along the direction of line 9�9 in FIG. 8 to further illustrate the lower mold, the upper mold, and the quench shuttle that carries the quench ring.
FIG. 10 is an elevational view taken in section along the direction of line 10�10 in FIG. 9 to illustrate a roller and horizontal positioners that support one side of a lower mold shuttle that moves the lower mold horizontally during the forming cycle.
FIG. 12a is a sectional view taken along the direction of line 12 a�12 a in FIG. 12 to illustrate an insulated tubular construction of the lower mold shuttle.
FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along the direction of line 14�14 in FIG. 4 to illustrate the forming apparatus, the lower mold support assembly, an upper mold support assembly, and a support and actuating mechanism for the upper mold support assembly.
FIGS. 18 and 19 are respectively taken along the directions of lines 18�18 and 19�19 of FIG. 17 and illustrate rails of a primary railway of the mold changing apparatus.
FIGS. 20 and 21 are respectively taken along the directions of lines 20�20 and 21�21 of FIG. 17 and illustrate rails of an auxiliary railway of the mold changing apparatus.
FIG. 24 is a sectional view taken along the direction of line 24�24 in FIG. 22 and illustrates the manner in which the quench shuttle is supported by the associated rail to move the quench ring between the forming station and the quench station.
With continuing reference to FIG. 1, the glass sheets after heating to forming temperature are moved to the right to a forming station 24 that includes apparatus 26 for cyclically forming the glass sheets as is hereinafter more fully described. This apparatus 26 includes an upper mold support assembly 28 and also includes a support and actuating mechanism 30 that moves the upper mold support assembly vertically during the forming operation. In addition, the system includes apparatus 32 for changing a heated mold used in the glass sheet forming operation. A mold assembly 34 utilized in the forming operation can be changed by the mold changing apparatus 32 as more specifically shown in FIG. 17 and includes a lower mold 36 and an upper mold 38 that are both changed at the same time. More specifically, after removal of a heated mold assembly 34 including lower and upper molds 36 and 38, another preheated mold assembly 34′ having lower and upper molds 36 and 38 can be installed in the system as is hereinafter more fully described.
With reference to FIGS. 2-6, the forming station 24 and quench station 40 will be described in connection with their schematic illustration to facilitate an understanding of the method of operation of the system prior to a more complete integrated description of the apparatus and method of operation in connection with the other drawings. As shown in FIG. 2, the forming apparatus 26 of the forming station 24 is located within the heated chamber 22 of the system housing 20. More specifically, the upper mold support assembly 28 supports the upper mold 38 for vertical movement above the roll conveyor 14. The forming apparatus 26 also includes a lower mold shuttle 50 for supporting the lower mold 36 for movement at an elevation above the heating conveyor 14 between an idle position shown by solid line representation spaced horizontally from the upper mold 38 and a use position below the upper mold as shown by phantom line representation. In the idle position, the lower mold is located within a lateral extension 20′ of the system housing as shown in FIG. 14, which lateral extension is referred to as the �hot box�.
The glass forming cycle continues as shown in FIG. 4 as the support and actuating mechanism 30 moves the upper mold support assembly 28 upwardly to thus move the upper mold 38 and the glass sheet G supported thereby to an upper position spaced above the conveyor 14. The lower mold shuttle 50 then moves the lower mold 36 from its idle position shown by solid line representation in FIG. 2 to its use position shown by phantom line representation and illustrated schematically also in FIG. 4 below the upper mold 38. In this use position, the support of the lower mold 36 is transferred from the lower mold shuttle 50 to a lower mold support assembly 60 as is hereinafter more fully described-. While supported on the lower mold support assembly 60, the lower mold 36 can move horizontally as necessary for alignment with the upper mold 38 as the upper mold support assembly 28 moves the upper mold downwardly to the position of FIG. 5 where the glass sheet G is formed between the lower and upper molds 36 and 38. After such forming, the upper mold support assembly 28 moves the upper mold 38 upwardly and the lower mold 36 is transferred from the lower mold support assembly back to the lower mold shuttle 50 for movement from the use position under the upper mold 38 back to the idle position. At the same time, a quench shuttle 62 of the quench station 40 shown in FIG. 2 is moved by an actuator 64 to move a quench ring 66 on the quench shuttle to a transfer position below the upper mold 38 as shown in FIG. 6. The upper mold 38 is then moved downwardly to the quench ring 66 and the vacuum generator 54 then terminates the vacuum drawn at the downwardly facing surface 56 of the upper mold 38 and preferably also concomitantly provides a pressurized downward gas flow at that surface so as to release the formed glass sheet onto the quench ring 66. The actuator 64 of the quench shuttle 62 shown in FIG. 2 then moves the quench ring 66 from the forming station 26 back to the quench station 40 for quenching of the formed glass sheet between the lower and upper quench modules 46 and 48.
More specifically, the changing apparatus 32 is capable of removing a heated mold assembly 34 from the forming station 24 and replacing it with a preheated mold assembly 34′ in order to terminate one production run and begin another. In this connection, the mold changing apparatus 32 includes a switching station that is generally indicated by 318 and located adjacent the forming station 24 at which the cyclical glass sheet forming takes place as previously described. An unloading station 320 of the mold changing apparatus 32 is located adjacent the switching station 318 as is a mold preheating station 322. An unloading cart 324 of the mold changing apparatus 32 is movable from the unloading station 320 to the switching station 318 and then to the forming station 24 to receive the mold assembly 34 by supporting the upper mold 38 thereof, as is hereinafter more fully described. The unloading cart 324 is subsequently moved from the forming station 24 back through the switching station 318 to the unloading station 320 to permit unloading of the mold assembly 34. A loading cart 326 supports and positions a second mold assembly 34′ for heating within the mold preheating station 322 so that the molds thereof are heated to operating temperature prior to commencing the mold changing. After such heating, the loading cart 326 is movable to move the heated second mold assembly 34′ from the mold preheating station 322 to the switching station 318 and then to the forming station 24 for loading of the second heated mold within the forming station by an installation process that is hereinafter more fully described.
As illustrated in FIG. 17, the actuator 340 of the auxiliary railway 334 includes a pair of operators 346 for moving each of the rails 336 and 338 vertically between the idle and use positions shown by phantom and solid line representation in FIGS. 20 and 21. Each operator 346 includes a pivotal crank 348 and a cylinder 350. The pivotal crank 348 has a first arm 352 connected to the associated rail 336,338 and a second arm 354 connected to the cylinder 350. Extension and retraction of the cylinder 350 pivots the crank 348 to provide the movement of the associated rail 336,338 between the lower idle position and the upper use position. Thus, the rails 336 and 338 of the auxiliary railway 334 are positioned in their upper use positions shown by solid line representation in FIGS. 20 and 21 for the movement of the loading cart 326 between the mold preheating station 322 and the switching station 318. With loading cart 326 in the switching station 318, downward movement of the rails 336 and 338 to the idle positions transfers the loading cart to the primary railway 326 where its wheels 342 and 343 are supported by the rails 330 and 332 of the primary railway. The loading cart is then movable to the forming station 24 for loading installation of the mold assembly 34′ after which it is moved back to the switching station. Both the unloading and loading carts 324 and 326 have unshown mold assembly supports that are secured by connectors 355.
As illustrated in FIG. 17a, another embodiment of the mold assembly 34 a has the detachable connectors 362 embodied by retainers 370 that are positioned as shown by solid line representation in an engaged relationship with the lower and upper molds 36 a and 38 a to secure the molds to each other. These retainers 370 are removable from the molds 36 a and 38 a as shown by phantom line representation to release the molds from each other.
With reference to FIGS. 14, 16 and 17, removal of a heated mold assembly 34 from the forming station 24 and installation of a second mold assembly 34′ will now be described. It should be noted that before such mold changing commences, the second mold assembly 34′ will have previously been positioned within the mold preheating station 322 as illustrated in FIG. 1 for heating to operating temperature in preparation for the mold changing. In the mold preheating station 322, the loading cart 326 projects outwardly from opposite sides of the preheating station through vertically movable doors 391 at lower openings 391 a thereof as shown in FIG. 17. Thus, the loading cart wheels 342, 343, 344 and 345 are not continually heated as the mold assembly 34′ is heated.
After the mold removal from the forming station, the second mold assembly 34′ is then moved from the preheating station 322 by the loading cart 326 on the auxiliary railway 334 to the switching station 318, illustrated best in FIG. 17. At the switching station 318, the unloading cart 326 is then switched to the primary railway 328 as previously described and moved upstream along the system axis A to the forming station 24.
Installation of the mold assembly 34′ at the forming station 324 can best be understood by reference to FIG. 16 which illustrates the upper mold 38 to which the lower mold is then secured as previously described. The mold support assembly 28 is then positioned above the upper mold 38 so that the support plate 372 is free to move under the mold mounts 216 and the adjacent guide rollers 224 as well as under the mold mounting guides 218. This movement positions the mounting portions 374 and 376 as well as the mounting guide portions 382 just downstream from the associated mold mounts 212 and 216 and the mold mounting guides 218, respectively. Downward movement of the mold support assembly 28 a slight extent and a small movement of the loading cart upstream along the system axis A then moves the upper mold mounting portions 374 and 376 to above the mold mounts 212 and 216, respectively, while also positioning the mounting guide portions 378 and 380 above and between their associated guide rollers 224 of the mounting guides 220 as well as positioning the mounting guide portions 382 above the guide ramps 222 of the mounting guides 218. Upward movement of the mold support assembly 28 then causes the mold mounting guides 218 and 220 to respectively align the associated mounting guide portions of the upper mold support plate 372 so that the mold mounts 212 and 216 respectively engage the bottom sides of the mounting portions 374 and 376 to support the upper mold 38 at its proper location.
After mounting of the mold assembly 34′ illustrated in FIG. 17, the mold support assembly is moved farther upwardly so that the loading cart 326 can be moved downstream along the axis A from the forming station 24 to the switching station 318 in preparation for receiving another mold assembly for preheating by subsequent movement to the preheating station 322.
After the above initial installation steps, the entire mold assembly 34′ illustrated in FIG. 17 will then be suspended from the mold support assembly 28 illustrated in FIG. 16. The lower mold shuttle 50 illustrated in FIG. 8 at that time is located below the mold assembly and is moved upwardly from its lower position to its upper position by the vertically movable rollers 70 previously described in connection with FIGS. 8-10. The mold assembly is then moved downwardly such that the lower mold is supported on the lower mold shuttle prior to release of the detachable connectors 362 so that the upper mold 38 can move upwardly independently of the lower mold as illustrated in FIG. 14. After movement of the lower mold shuttle back to the position of FIGS. 8 and 9, the upper mold 38 is then free to commence the glass sheet forming operation as previously described.
With reference to FIG. 22, the quench station 40 of the system 10 is located adjacent the forming station 24 and includes lower and upper supply ducts 392 and 394 for providing pressurized air flow to the lower and upper quench modules 46 and 48 to perform the quenching as previously described in connection with FIGS. 2, 6, 8, 9, and 13. The quench station 40 as shown in FIG. 7 includes an upper catcher 395 that is a conveyor to which the quenched glass sheets are blown upwardly and then conveyed for delivery. As previously discussed, the quench station 40 includes a quench shuttle 62 that supports the quench ring 66 for movement to the forming station 24 to receive a formed glass sheet therefrom and then moves the quench ring 66 back to the quench station between the lower and upper quench modules 46 and 48 where the pressurized gas supply thereto provides quenching that heat strengthens or tempers the glass sheet. As shown in FIGS. 22, 23 and 24, a quench railway collectively indicated at 396 includes a pair of spaced rails 398 on which the pair of quench shuttle members 134 of the quench shuttle 62 are respectively moved between the forming and quench stations 24 and 40. More specifically, frame members 400 have upper ends to which the rails 398 are secured by detachable threaded connectors 402 to fixedly mount the rails for use. In this use position, the spaced rails 398 extend on opposite sides of the quench ducts 392 and 394 and the lower and upper quench modules 46, and 48 through which the pressurized quenching gas is supplied.
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