Method and apparatus for finishing a glass sheet

• US 20070138228A1
• Filed: 12/16/2005
• Published: 06/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Corning Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Corning Incorporated
• Inventors: Ukrainczyk, Ljerka, Sun, Yawei, Brown, James, Darcangelo, Charles
• Application Number:
  US11/305,386
• Publication Number:
  US 20070138228A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 226/97.100
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 41/06 Work supports, e.g. adjustable steadies B24B37/27 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 9/10 of plate glass

Abstract

An apparatus for finishing a glass sheet comprising a pair of fluid bearings having bearing surfaces in opposing relation, the bearing surfaces spaced apart to define a channel for receiving the glass sheet, each bearing surface having a plurality of pores through which jets are introduced into the channel, the pores positioned on the bearing surface such that the jets produce a uniform fluid pressure across the bearing surface.

Claims

1. An apparatus for finishing a glass sheet, comprising:

a pair of fluid bearings having bearing surfaces in opposing relation, the bearing surfaces spaced apart to define a channel for receiving the glass sheet, each bearing surface having a plurality of pores through which jets are introduced into the channel, the pores positioned on the bearing surface such that the jets produce a uniform fluid pressure across the bearing surface.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pores are positioned such that the jets produced from the pores interact.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a diameter of the pores is greater than one-half the distance between adjacent pores.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each fluid bearing comprises a flow plate, and a surface of the flow plate provides the bearing surface.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the pores in the bearing surface are provided by perforations in the flow plate.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the flow plate is made of a porous material.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the porous material has an average pore size in a range from 5 μ

m to 150 μ

m.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the porous material has an average pore size in a range from 10 μ

m to 100 μ

m.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the porous material has an average pore size in a range from 50 μ

m to 80 μ

m.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein a thickness of the flow plate is in a range from 10 mm to 50 mm.

11. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein each fluid bearing further comprises an inlet through which fluid can be communicated to the flow plate.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a processing device adjacent the fluid bearings for processing an edge of the glass sheet.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processing device includes a finishing device for processing the edge of the glass sheet and a shroud for containing contaminants generated during the processing.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a mechanism coupled to the processing device for moving the processing device relative to the fluid bearings.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a mechanism configured to engage the glass sheet and move the glass sheet relative to the fluid bearings.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the mechanism comprises a set of edge grippers and a linear slide coupled to the set of edge grippers.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a conveyor for transporting the glass sheet into or out of the channel.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the conveyor is retractable to allow a processing device access to an edge of the glass sheet.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising edge grippers extending into the channel for gripping edges of the glass sheet.

20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each fluid bearing comprises a plurality of the bearing surfaces in a stack.

21. A method of finishing a glass sheet, comprising:

loading a glass sheet in a channel defined between a pair of fluid bearings having bearing surfaces, wherein each bearing surface has a plurality of pores through which jets are introduced into the channel and the pores are such that the jets produce a uniform fluid pressure across the bearing surface; and

finishing edges of the glass sheet.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein finishing edges of the glass sheet comprises grinding and/or polishing opposite edges of the glass sheet.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein finishing edges of the glass sheet comprises advancing a finishing device to the edges of the glass sheet and moving the finishing device relative to the edges of the glass sheet.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein finishing edges of the glass sheet comprises advancing a finishing device to the edges of the glass sheet and moving the edges of the glass sheet relative to the finishing device.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein finishing edges of the glass sheet comprises finishing opposite edges of the glass sheet simultaneously.

26. The method of claim 21, further comprising cutting the glass sheet from a continuous glass sheet prior to loading the glass sheet into the channel.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the continuous glass sheet is produced by a fusion process and cutting the glass sheet is by a travel anvil method.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein cutting the glass sheet is by a thermal shock process.

29. The method of claim 26, further comprising removing beads from edges of the glass sheet prior to loading the glass sheet into the channel.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein removing beads is by a thermal shock process.

31. The method of claim 21, wherein finishing edges of the glass sheet comprises finishing a first set of edges of the glass sheet followed by finishing a second set of edges of the glass sheet.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising rotating the glass sheet prior to finishing the second set of edges of the glass sheet.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the glass sheet is removed from the channel prior to rotating the glass sheet and loaded into another channel defined by a pair of fluid bearings prior to finishing the second set of edges of the glass sheet.

34. The method of claim 21, further comprising washing the glass sheet.

35. The method of claim 21, further comprising drying the glass sheet.

36. The method of claim 21, further comprising coating the glass sheet with a protective coating.