Apparatus and method for producing sheets of glass presenting at least one face of very high surface quality
First Claim
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1. A method of producing sheets of glass having two faces (F1, F2) with at least one of said faces (F1) presenting a high surface quality, the method comprising:
- a) delivering a stream of glass (1a), said stream of glass (1a) having a first and second face (s1, S2), each face is free from making contact with any surface and thus possibly being destabilized mechanically;
b) treating said delivered stream of glass (1a) prior to destabilization by putting a first face (S2) into contact with a treatment device or mechanism (4a) suitable, temporarily, to support the weight of said glass and for accompanying the falling movement of said glass while increasing glass viscosity and maintaining at least a central strip of said second face (s1) free from any contact with any surface;
c) using a device or mechanism for controlling glass travel speed (7, 8) to act on the treated stream (1a′
) at a suitable distance downstream; and
d) cooling said sheet of glass.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a method of producing sheets of glass having two faces (F1, F2), at least one of the faces (F1) presents high surface quality. Preferably both of the faces (F1, F2) present high surface quality. The invention also describes an apparatus suitable for implementing the method for producing the sheets of glass.
36 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method of producing sheets of glass having two faces (F1, F2) with at least one of said faces (F1) presenting a high surface quality, the method comprising:
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a) delivering a stream of glass (1a), said stream of glass (1a) having a first and second face (s1, S2), each face is free from making contact with any surface and thus possibly being destabilized mechanically;
b) treating said delivered stream of glass (1a) prior to destabilization by putting a first face (S2) into contact with a treatment device or mechanism (4a) suitable, temporarily, to support the weight of said glass and for accompanying the falling movement of said glass while increasing glass viscosity and maintaining at least a central strip of said second face (s1) free from any contact with any surface;
c) using a device or mechanism for controlling glass travel speed (7, 8) to act on the treated stream (1a′
) at a suitable distance downstream; and
d) cooling said sheet of glass. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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21. An apparatus for producing sheets of glass having two faces (F1, F2), at least one of said faces (F1) presents a high-surface quality, the apparatus, from upstream to downstream, comprises:
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a deliverer (2;
20;
200) for delivering a stream of glass (1a) under conditions in which said stream of glass (1a) has both of its two faces (s1, s2) free from any contact with any surface whatsoever;
a treatment device (4a) for treating said delivered stream of glass (1a), said device or mechanism (4a) being suitable for being put into contact with one (S2) of its two faces (s1, S2) and for supporting the weight of said stream (1a) temporarily while accompanying its falling movement and increasing its viscosity and while maintaining at least the central strip of the other one (s1) of its two faces (s1, S2) free from any contact with any surface whatsoever;
the relative disposition of said delivery device or mechanism (2;
20;
200) and said treatment device or mechanism (4a) being compatible with the mechanical stability of said delivered stream (1a);
a controller (7, 8) located at a suitable position downstream for controlling the travel speed, width, and thickness of the resultant sheet of glass; and
a cooler for cooling said sheet of glass that is produced. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification