SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR POSITIONING A HOT GLASS SHEET
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for positioning a hot glass sheet comprising:
- a roll conveyor for conveying the hot glass sheet and including horizontal rolls that have associated rotational axes extending parallel to each other and that are spaced from each other along a direction of conveyance;
sensors for sensing edge locations of the glass sheet during the conveyance of the glass sheet to generate signals corresponding to the rotational position, the location along the direction of conveyance, and the lateral location of the conveyed glass sheet with respect to the direction of conveyance;
a rotatable turntable for supporting a plurality of rolls of the conveyor for rotation about a vertical axis while maintaining the spaced and parallel relationship of the plurality of rolls with each other, and the turntable including an actuator for moving the plurality of rolls axially along their associated rotational axes; and
control apparatus that receives the signals from the sensors and operates the roll conveyor and the turntable in response to the signals from the sensors to provide;
conveyance of the glass sheet on the plurality of rolls;
rotation as necessary of the turntable and the plurality of rolls supported thereon about the vertical axis; and
axial movement of the plurality of rolls on the turntable as necessary to convey the glass sheet, without any sliding between the glass sheet and the plurality of rolls, to a predetermined position rotationally and laterally with respect to the direction of conveyance in preparation for further processing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system (10) and method for positioning a hot glass sheet G on a roll conveyor 24 for further processing utilizes sensors (60, 62, 64) for sensing a conveyed glass sheet position and a turntable (72) having an actuator (74) for providing axial shifting of rolls (26) supported on the turntable to properly locate the glass sheet G, without any sliding between the glass sheet and the conveyor rolls, both rotationally and laterally for further processing which is specifically disclosed as forming.
9 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A system for positioning a hot glass sheet comprising:
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a roll conveyor for conveying the hot glass sheet and including horizontal rolls that have associated rotational axes extending parallel to each other and that are spaced from each other along a direction of conveyance; sensors for sensing edge locations of the glass sheet during the conveyance of the glass sheet to generate signals corresponding to the rotational position, the location along the direction of conveyance, and the lateral location of the conveyed glass sheet with respect to the direction of conveyance; a rotatable turntable for supporting a plurality of rolls of the conveyor for rotation about a vertical axis while maintaining the spaced and parallel relationship of the plurality of rolls with each other, and the turntable including an actuator for moving the plurality of rolls axially along their associated rotational axes; and control apparatus that receives the signals from the sensors and operates the roll conveyor and the turntable in response to the signals from the sensors to provide;
conveyance of the glass sheet on the plurality of rolls;
rotation as necessary of the turntable and the plurality of rolls supported thereon about the vertical axis; and
axial movement of the plurality of rolls on the turntable as necessary to convey the glass sheet, without any sliding between the glass sheet and the plurality of rolls, to a predetermined position rotationally and laterally with respect to the direction of conveyance in preparation for further processing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for positioning a hot glass sheet comprising:
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a roll conveyor for conveying the hot glass sheet and including horizontal rolls that have associated rotational axes extending parallel to each other and that are spaced from each other along a direction of conveyance, and the roll conveyor including a detection section and a positioning section located downstream from the detection section; sensors at the detection section of the roll conveyor for sensing edge locations of the glass sheet during the conveyance of the glass sheet to generate signals corresponding to the rotational position, the location along the direction of conveyance, and the lateral location of the conveyed glass sheet with respect to the direction of conveyance; a rotatable turntable at the positioning section of the roll conveyor for supporting a plurality of rolls of the conveyor for rotation about a vertical axis while maintaining the spaced and parallel relationship of the plurality of rolls with each other, and the turntable including an actuator for moving the plurality of rolls axially along their associated rotational axes; control apparatus including a computer that receives the signals from the sensors and determines the glass sheet conveyance, the turntable rotation and the axial roll movement needed to convey the glass sheet to a predetermined position, and control apparatus also including a controller operated by the computer to control the glass sheet conveyance, the turntable rotation, and the axial roll movement to convey the glass sheet, without any sliding between the glass sheet and the plurality of rolls, to a predetermined position rotationally and laterally with respect to the direction of conveyance; and a vacuum platen that receives the glass sheet in the predetermined position from the positioning section of the roll conveyor for movement to a forming station.
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10. A method for positioning a hot glass sheet:
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conveying the glass sheet on a roll conveyor including horizontal rolls that have associated rotational axes extending parallel to each other and that are spaced from each other along a direction of conveyance; sensing at least three spaced edge locations of the conveyed glass sheet to generate signals corresponding to the rotational position, the location along the direction of conveyance, and the lateral location with respect to the direction of conveyance of the glass sheet; and using the signals to rotate rolls of the roll conveyor as necessary about a vertical axis while maintaining the spaced and parallel relationship thereof with each other and to also move rolls of the conveyor axially along their rotational axes as necessary during continued conveyance of the glass sheet, without any sliding between the glass sheet and the rolls, to a predetermined position rotationally and laterally with respect to the direction of conveyance in preparation for further processing. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for positioning a hot glass sheet:
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conveying the glass sheet on a roll conveyor including horizontal rolls that have associated rotational axes extending parallel to each other and that are spaced from each other along a direction of conveyance; sensing at a detection section of the conveyor at least three spaced edge locations of the conveyed glass sheet to generate signals corresponding to the rotational position, the location along the direction of conveyance, and the lateral location with respect to the direction of conveyance of the glass sheet; using the signals to operate a positioning section of the conveyor downstream from the detection section to rotate rolls of the positioning section as necessary about a vertical axis while maintaining the spaced and parallel relationship thereof with each other and to also move the rolls of the positioning section axially along their rotational axes as necessary during continued conveyance of the glass sheet, without any sliding between the glass sheet and the rolls, to a predetermined position rotationally and laterally with respect to the direction of conveyance in preparation for further processing; and transferring the glass sheet in the predetermined position from the positioning section of the conveyor to a vacuum platen in connection with forming.
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Specification