Patent ID: 8097107

Claim:
A method of laminating glass sheets, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a glass sheet assembly comprising a first glass sheet arranged in an opposing parallel configuration with respect to a second glass sheet, with a heat sensitive layer of adhesive laminating film disposed between the first glass sheet and the second glass sheet, the glass sheet assembly having a leading edge and a trailing edge and being of a fixed length and width, the laminating film having a bonding temperature at which melting of the laminating film is initiated; (b) heating the glass sheet assembly using an array of heating elements so as to cause differential heating along the length of the glass sheet assembly such that the temperature at the leading edge of the glass sheet assembly is higher than the temperature at the trailing edge of the glass sheet assembly with uniform heating across the width of the glass sheet assembly, wherein each of the heating elements in the array has a fixed pre-determined heating output and is capable of being switched between a dormant cycle during which the heating element is switched off, and a heating duty cycle during which the heating element is switched on, and differential heating along the length of the glass sheet assembly is achieved by varying the frequency and duration of the heating duty cycles of the heating elements along a length of a heating chamber in which the glass sheet assembly is heated such that a heating element which is closer to the leading edge of the glass sheet assembly is switched on for a longer period of time than a heating element closer to the trailing edge of the glass sheet assembly; and, (c) pressing the first and second glass sheets toward each other to purge air or moisture from the glass sheet assembly until the first and second glass sheets adhere together via the adhesive laminating film, the step of pressing being initiated at the leading edge of the glass sheet assembly when the temperature of the laminating film at the leading edge of the glass sheet assembly reaches the bonding temperature of the laminating film.