Force monitoring methods and apparatus
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring a component of the force applied to a shaft as a result of contact of a portion of the shaft with a moving glass ribbon, the force component being in an across-the-ribbon direction, the method comprising:
- (a) contacting a portion of a shaft with a moving glass ribbon;
(b) supporting the shaft with a support member that undergoes linear displacement in the across-the-ribbon direction in response to the application to the shaft of a force which includes the across-the-ribbon force component; and
(c) monitoring the linear displacement of the support member.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus (7) for monitoring the tension (17) and pinch force (19) associated with the contact of angled stub rollers (91) with a glass ribbon (23) are provided. The apparatus (7) includes a support member (39) which supports the shaft (13) of the stub roller (91). The support member (39) undergoes linear displacement (45) in response to tension (17) in the glass ribbon (23) and rotation (59) in response to a pinch force (19). The linear displacement (45) and rotation (59) are detected and converted to force values by a calibration procedure. By monitoring these forces, glass attributes such as residual stress can be improved which is of importance in glass sheets used in such applications as the manufacture of liquid crystal displays.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring a component of the force applied to a shaft as a result of contact of a portion of the shaft with a moving glass ribbon, the force component being in an across-the-ribbon direction, the method comprising:
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(a) contacting a portion of a shaft with a moving glass ribbon; (b) supporting the shaft with a support member that undergoes linear displacement in the across-the-ribbon direction in response to the application to the shaft of a force which includes the across-the-ribbon force component; and (c) monitoring the linear displacement of the support member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11)
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6. A method for monitoring a component of the force applied to a shaft as a result of contact of a portion of the shaft with a moving glass ribbon, the force component being in a direction normal to the ribbon, the method comprising:
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(a) contacting a portion of a shaft with a moving glass ribbon; (b) supporting the shaft with a support member that undergoes rotation about an axis in response to the application to the shaft of a force which includes the normal-to-the-ribbon force component, said axis being parallel to the surface of the ribbon; and (c) monitoring the rotation of the support member. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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12. Apparatus for monitoring a component of an axial force which acts along a centerline of a shaft comprising:
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(a) a shaft having a centerline; (b) a support assembly for the shaft, said support assembly comprising a support member that is linearly displaceable in response to a component of an axial force which acts along the centerline of the shaft, the displacement being along a line and the line and the shaft'"'"'s centerline lying in a common plane or in planes that are parallel to one another; and (c) a sensor for monitoring linear displacement of the support member along the line; wherein; (i) a portion of the shaft is adapted to contact a newly-formed, moving glass ribbon during use of the apparatus; (ii) the support assembly comprises a plurality of webs which support the support member; and (iii) the webs are sufficiently stiff so that contact of said portion of the shaft with a newly-formed, moving glass ribbon during use of the apparatus does not destabilize formation of the ribbon. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification