Patent ID: 8535548

Claim:
A method for conveying a glass sheet in a substantially vertical orientation and simultaneously increasing the surface roughness of at least one of the sheet's major surfaces comprising: (a) providing a moving conveyor configured to contact the bottom edge of the sheet and move the sheet at a conveyance speed; (b) providing a plurality of non-contact bearings, each bearing being configured to eject liquid from a plurality of orifices; and (c) contacting the bottom edge of the sheet with the moving conveyor and moving the sheet at the conveyance speed while ejecting liquid from the plurality of non-contact bearings; wherein the liquid is an etching solution and the method comprises applying etching solution to a top portion of the sheet from (i) one or more non-contact bearings located above the top edge of the sheet, (ii) a top shower, or (iii) one or more non-contact bearings located above the top edge of the sheet and a top shower.