Single-curved glass sheet manufacturing system

• US 20110020611A1
• Filed: 07/22/2010
• Published: 01/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nippon Sheet Glass Company Limited (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nippon Sheet Glass Company Limited (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Fujihara, Kyoichi, Ando, Kenshu, Funahashi, Toshiya
• Application Number:
  US12/804,504
• Publication Number:
  US 20110020611A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/174
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 27/0404 Nozzles, blow heads, blowing units or their arrangements, specially adapted for flat or bent glass sheets
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 27/0417 Controlling or regulating for flat or bent glass sheets
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 27/044 for flat or bent glass sheets being in a horizontal position
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24628 Nonplanar uniform thickness material

Abstract

An apparatus for manufacturing a single-curved glass sheet with little difference between the radius of curvature of a front end portion and the radius of curvature of a rear end portion of the glass sheet. The apparatus includes a heating furnace and a cooling device. The cooling device is provided with a plurality of upper nozzles for spraying cooling air onto an upper surface of heated/molded curved glass sheet. The upper nozzles are moved by movement means parallel to a path of travel of the glass sheet.

Claims

1. A single-curved glass sheet manufacturing apparatus comprising:

a heating furnace for heating a glass sheet on a heating bed therein to transform the glass sheet into an arbitrary shape; and

a cooling device, provided adjacent to the heating furnace, for cooling the glass sheet by bringing cooling air into contact with the glass sheet transformed in the heating furnace,

wherein the cooling device comprises;

a plurality of lower nozzles for spraying cooling air onto a lower surface of the glass sheet;

glass sheet position detection means, disposed above the lower nozzles, for detecting a position of the glass sheet;

a plurality of upper nozzles, disposed above the glass sheet position detection means, for spraying the cooling air onto an upper surface of the glass sheet; and

movement means, connected to the upper nozzles, for moving the upper nozzles parallel to a direction of movement of the glass sheet.

2. A single-curved glass sheet manufacturing apparatus comprising:

a heating furnace for heating a glass sheet on a heating bed thereof to transform the glass sheet into an arbitrary shape; and

a cooling device, provided adjacent to the heating furnace, for cooling the glass sheet by bringing cooling air into contact with the glass sheet transformed in the heating furnace,

wherein the cooling device comprises;

a plurality of lower nozzles for blowing cooling air onto a lower surface of the glass sheet;

glass sheet position detection means, disposed above the lower nozzles, for detecting a position of the glass sheet;

an upper wind box, provided above the glass sheet position detection means, for reserving the cooling air;

a plurality of swing nozzles provided to the upper wind box in such a manner as to be swingable in a direction of movement of the glass sheet; and

a controller for switching directions of delivery of the cooling air by causing the swing nozzles to swing in the direction of movement of the glass sheet.

3. A single-curved glass sheet manufacturing method comprising the steps of:

heat-shaping a glass sheet into a predetermined single-curved shape; and

cooling the heat-shaped glass sheet by applying cooling air thereto,

wherein the cooling step comprises;

causing the glass sheet to continuously move forward along a path of movement within a cooling device;

cooling a front end upper surface and a front end lower surface of the glass sheet simultaneously;

then, cooling a rear end lower surface of the glass sheet; and

a predetermined time thereafter, cooling a rear end upper surface of the glass sheet.

4. A single-curved glass sheet manufactured by a single-curved glass sheet manufacturing method which comprises the steps of heat-shaping a glass sheet into a predetermined single-curved shape;

and cooling the heat-shaped glass sheet by applying cooling air thereto, the cooling step comprising;

causing the glass sheet to continuously move forward along a path of movement within a cooling device;

cooling a front end upper surface and a front end lower surface of the glass sheet simultaneously;

then, cooling a rear end lower surface of the glass sheet; and

a predetermined time thereafter, cooling a rear end upper surface of the glass sheet,

wherein the single-curved glass sheet has a front end part of a first radius of curvature and a rear end part of a second radius of curvature, a difference between the first radius of curvature and the second radius of curvature being set to be 50 mm or less, and the glass sheet also has a length along the path of movement, which is set to be 800 mm or more.