ACTIVE EDGE ROLL CONTROL IN A GLASS DRAWING PROCESS
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for drawing a glass ribbon comprising:
- an edge roll assembly comprising;
a rotatable shaft;
an edge roll coupled to the shaft that contacts an edge of the glass ribbon;
a sensor that detects a tension force or a pinch force and develops an electrical signal proportional to the tension force or pinch force;
a controller that receives the sensor signal and develops a corrective signal; and
an actuator coupled to the edge roll shaft that receives the corrective signal from the controller and varies the tension force or the pinch force in response to the corrective signal.
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Abstract
An apparatus for drawing a glass ribbon including an edge roll assembly that contacts the glass ribbon with a force that is dynamically altered by an actuator electrically coupled to a sensor that measures the force applied against the ribbon. Dynamic, or real-time, variation of the edge roll force minimizes stress variability in the glass ribbon and improves ribbon shape control.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for drawing a glass ribbon comprising:
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an edge roll assembly comprising; a rotatable shaft; an edge roll coupled to the shaft that contacts an edge of the glass ribbon; a sensor that detects a tension force or a pinch force and develops an electrical signal proportional to the tension force or pinch force; a controller that receives the sensor signal and develops a corrective signal; and an actuator coupled to the edge roll shaft that receives the corrective signal from the controller and varies the tension force or the pinch force in response to the corrective signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of making a glass ribbon comprising:
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producing a glass ribbon in a down draw glass making process, the glass ribbon comprising a visco-elastic region; contacting the visco-elastic region of the glass ribbon with opposing rollers, the opposing rollers applying a pinch force and a tension force on the glass ribbon; measuring a magnitude of the pinch force or a magnitude of the tension force and producing a force signal representative of the measured magnitude of the pinch force or the tension force; comparing the force signal with a set point, and producing a corrective signal representative of a difference between the force signal and the set point; and using the corrective signal to drive an actuator that varies the pinch force or the tension force applied to the glass ribbon by the opposing rollers so that the applied pinch force or tension force is substantially equal to the set point. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of making a glass ribbon comprising:
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producing a glass ribbon in a down draw glass making process; contacting an edge of the glass ribbon with opposing rollers that applying a pinch force or a tension force on the glass ribbon; sensing a magnitude of the pinch force or a magnitude of the tension force and producing a signal representative of the sensed pinch force or the tension force; comparing the produced signal with a set point, and producing a corrective signal; and using the corrective signal to drive an actuator that varies the pinch force or the tension force applied to the glass ribbon to maintain a constant tension across the glass ribbon. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification