Air knife and conveyor system

• US 20030172547A1
• Filed: 01/27/2003
• Published: 09/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GED Integrated Solutions Incorporated (GED Holdings, Inc. (Delaware))
• Original Assignee: Glass Equipment Development, Inc.
• Inventors: Shephard, Robert R. II
• Granted Patent: US 6,742,285 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 34/611
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 15/12 the lines being all horizontal or slightly inclined
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 21/004 Nozzle assemblies; Air knives; Air distributors; Blow boxes F26B3/082, F26B13/104, F26B13/108, F26B21/006 take precedence

Abstract

An air knife constructed in accordance with the present invention directs a curtain of air across a region and most typically is used to direct the stream of air against a surface. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention the air knife includes an elongated housing having an inlet for receiving air into the housing. The housing includes an elongated gap that extends along the housing that allows air entering the housing through the inlet to exit the housing and form a curtain of air. The elongated housing is made from a piece of sheet metal bent to define a hollow region into which air is forced. The sheet metal defines a gap along a length of the housing from which the air exits. The elongated air knife forms an angle with respect to a direction of travel of glass sheets passing the air knife so that a leading edge of those glass sheets passes progressively different parts of the air knife.

Claims

1. An air knife for directing a stream of air through a region comprising:

a) an elongated housing having an inlet for receiving air into the housing, said housing defines an elongated gap that allows air entering the housing through the inlet to exit the housing and form a curtain of air;

b) said elongated housing constructed from one or more pieces of sheet metal bent to define a hollow region into which air is forced and said gap extending along a length of the housing from which the air exits.

2. The air knife of claim 1 wherein the housing comprises two elongated bent pieces of sheet metal that are bent to form two wall defining members that mate to form said housing.

3. The air knife of claim 2 wherein one member defines spaced fingers that extend away from an edge of one wall defining member to space said edge away from a corresponding surface of a second wall defining member and thereby define said gap through which air under pressure exits said housing.

4. The air knife of claim 2 additionally comprising a third member made from an elongated sheet of metal which combines with one of said first and second wall defining members to form an elongated nozzle that defines the gap which extends along a length of said housing.

5. The air knife of claim 4 wherein the first and second members form a first chamber into which air is delivered and the third member combines with one of said first and second members to define a second chamber that is in fluid communication with the gap.

6. The air knife of claim 3 additionally comprising a compressible material that seals an interface between said first and second members.

7. The air knife of claim 3 additionally comprising connectors that attach the first and second members to each other along a length of said housing.

8. The air knife of claim 7 wherein said connectors extend through the spaced fingers that extend away from an edge of said one member to attach said one member to the second member along an extent of said gap.

9. The air knife of claim 8 wherein the connectors that extend through the spaced fingers can be loosened or tightened to adjust the flow of air through the gap.

10. The air knife of claim 1 additionally comprising a blower for delivering air into an interior of said housing to force air from said gap.

11. The air knife of claim 3 wherein the third member is movably connected to one of said first and second members and can be moved to adjust the gap through which air exits the housing.

12. The air knife of claim 3 wherein the third member is connected to one of said first and second members and can be pivoted in its engagement with said one member to adjust the gap through which air exits the housing.

13. A method of fabricating an air knife comprising:

a) providing a sheet of metal having a length substantially equal to a length of the air knife;

b) forming a housing by bending the sheet metal and bringing opposing edges of the sheet metal into spaced relation with each other to form a gap through which air can escape from an interior of said housing during operation of said air knife; and

c) coupling said interior region of said air knife to a source of pressured air.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the step of forming a housing is performed by bending two elongated sheet metal members and attaching the two sheet metal members together to form said housing.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein a compressible material is inserted between conforming surfaces of said two elongated sheet metal members and further wherein the members are attached by connectors.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein a elongated nozzle defining member is attached to the housing to define a chamber next to the gap through which air exits from the housing.

17. A method of generating an elongated stream of air comprising:

a) blowing air into an elongated chamber having a plurality of gaps along its length through which the air exits said elongated chamber;

b) positioning a second chamber in fluid communication with the elongated chamber to allow air to pass through the plurality of gaps to the second chamber, said second chamber having an elongated narrow gap along a portion of said elongated chamber through which air flows to allow air to exit from the second chamber to form an air curtain.

18. Apparatus positioned with respect to a glass washer for blowing liquid from a surface of a glass sheet that has been cleaned by the glass washer comprising:

a first set of driven rollers for moving a glass sheet in a travel path direction away from a glass washer;

an air knife mounted to direct a stream of air through a region to contact the glass sheet as it moves away from the glass washer comprising an elongated housing having an inlet for receiving air into the housing, said housing defining an elongated air gap that allows air entering the elongated housing through the inlet to exit the housing and form an air curtain that contacts the glass sheet;

said elongated air gap extending in a direction that forms an angle with respect to the travel path direction so that the air curtain contacts progressively different parts of said leading edge as the rollers move said glass sheet away from the washer; and

a second set of one or more rollers having a rotation axis that is aligned generally with the air gap in said housing but is offset from an angle of rotation of the first set of rollers.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the elongated housing is constructed from one or more pieces of sheet metal bent to define a hollow region into which air is forced and said gap extending along a length of the housing from which the air exits.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the air gap is defined by a distance between first and second surfaces of said housing.

21. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein an angle between first and second surfaces of the housing define an air gap for creating the air curtain.

22. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the elongated housing of the air knife forms an angle of approximately 45 degrees with a path of travel provided by the first set of rollers.