Method and apparatus for reducing sheet width attenuation of sheet glass
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for drawing sheet glass comprising:
- a forming wedge having a pair of forming surfaces, the forming wedge being configured to provide for a flow of molten glass down the pair of forming surfaces to join at a root to form a viscous ribbon of glass;
a first pair of edge rolls configured to contact the viscous ribbon of glass along the front and back sides, wherein the first pair of edge rolls are positioned at about a first location of 7 centimeters below the root; and
a second pair of edge rolls configured to contact the viscous ribbon of glass along the front and back sides, wherein the second pair of edge rolls are positioned at about a second location of 15 centimeters below the root.
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Abstract
Disclosed herein are apparatuses and methods for drawing sheet glass. More particularly, one or more sets of edge rolls can be configured to have a rotation axis angled away from a line orthogonal to the direction of flow of a ribbon of glass and positioned so as to contact the glass in the viscous region of the draw. Through control over the orientation and position of the one or more sets of edge rolls, sheet width attenuation may be eliminated, thickness of the beads that form along the edges of the glass sheet may be reduced, and instabilities associated with sheet width variation may be eliminated.
29 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An apparatus for drawing sheet glass comprising:
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a forming wedge having a pair of forming surfaces, the forming wedge being configured to provide for a flow of molten glass down the pair of forming surfaces to join at a root to form a viscous ribbon of glass; a first pair of edge rolls configured to contact the viscous ribbon of glass along the front and back sides, wherein the first pair of edge rolls are positioned at about a first location of 7 centimeters below the root; and a second pair of edge rolls configured to contact the viscous ribbon of glass along the front and back sides, wherein the second pair of edge rolls are positioned at about a second location of 15 centimeters below the root. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus for longitudinally drawing a viscous ribbon of glass having a first side and an opposing second side, a first edge and a second edge that opposes the first edge, and a width defined by a distance between the first and second edges, comprising:
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a forming wedge having a pair of forming surfaces, the forming wedge being configured to provide for a flow of molten glass down the pair of forming surfaces to join at a root to form the viscous ribbon of glass; a first pair of edge rolls configured to contact the viscous ribbon of glass with a first substantially smooth contact surface along the first and second sides near the first edge; and a second pair of edge rolls configured to contact the viscous ribbon of glass with a first knurled contact surface along the first and second sides near the second edge, wherein the first pair of edge rolls and the second pair of edge rolls are aligned with each other along a first line orthogonal to movement of the viscous ribbon of glass. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for reducing glass sheet width attenuation comprising passing a viscous ribbon of glass from a root of a forming wedge through:
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a first pair of edge rolls configured to contact a first edge of the viscous ribbon of glass along the front and back sides; and a second pair of edge rolls configured to contact a second edge of the viscous ribbon of glass along the front and back sides, wherein the first pair of edge rolls and the second pair of edge rolls are aligned along a first line orthogonal to movement of the viscous ribbon of glass, wherein at least one of the first pair of edge rolls and the second pair of edge rolls are oriented to provide a rotation axis that forms an angle between about 3 degrees and about 55 degrees from the first line, and wherein the angle of the first and second pairs of edge rolls and a location of the first line are selected to cause the first and second pairs of edge rolls to produce a glass sheet with a width that is greater than the width of the viscous ribbon of glass at the root. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A method for reducing glass sheet width attenuation comprising passing a viscous ribbon of glass from a root of a forming wedge through:
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a first pair of edge rolls configured to contact the viscous ribbon of glass along a front side and a back side, wherein the first pair of edge rolls are positioned at about a first location of 7 centimeters below the root; and a second pair of edge rolls configured to contact the viscous ribbon of glass along the front and back sides, wherein the second pair of edge rolls are positioned at about a second location of 15 centimeters below the root. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification