Patent ID: 7523776

Claim:
An apparatus for the mechanical application of an elastoplastic spacer strip onto a glass pane, the apparatus comprising: a supporting wall for the glass pane inclined relative to the perpendicular, the supporting wall including a lower edge and an upper edge; at least one horizontal conveyor proximate the lower edge of the supporting wall; a pillar oriented within a plane parallel to the supporting wall; an application head disposed on the pillar and movable between the lower edge and the upper edge of the supporting wall, wherein the application head turns stepwise about an axis orthogonal to the plane of the supporting wall; a machine control unit operable to monitor and control the movements of the apparatus and the transport of the strip; an application head operable to apply the strip at a momentary application speed; a first strip conveyor including a first pair of rollers driven at a first rotational speed regulated by the machine control unit; a second strip conveyor including a second pair of rollers driven at a second rotational speed regulated by the machine control unit; a compensating section located between the first strip conveyor and the second strip conveyor, the compensating section defining a guide slot permitting the lateral movement of the strip therein, wherein the compensating section is configured to prevent the exertion of tensile and compressive stress on the strip in the compensating section; and a sensor operable to detect the lateral movement of the strip within the guide slot.