The present invention relates to a device having the features defined in the preamble of Claim 1. A device of that kind is also known as gas-filling press and has been known from WO 2005/080739 A1. The known device comprises two plates, which are variable with respect to their spacing, that can be transferred from an initial position, in which they are arranged in V form one relative to the other, to a position parallel one to the other and can be moved closer one to the other. A horizontal conveyor, using a belt as a conveyor element, is arranged near the lower edge of the plates. In the initial position in V form of the plates pairs of glass panels, one of which is already provided with a spacer bonded to it, can be simultaneously transported, in V arrangement and one positioned opposite the other, into the space between two plates and can be placed in registration and opposite one to the other. Thereafter, one of the plates is brought into a position parallel to the other plate and is approached to the latter until a small gap of 2 mm, for example, is left between the one glass panel and the opposite spacer. The means intended to retain the glass panels in contact with the movable plate consist in small openings in the plate through which air can be drawn in by a blower arranged behind the plate whereby the glass panels will be attached to the plate. The pivoting movement, which the movable plate performs to get into parallel alignment, causes the glass panels attached to the plate to be lifted off the belt of the horizontal conveyor. The gap thereby formed permits a gas different from air, especially a heavy gas, to be introduced into the space between the two glass panels.
In order to prevent the heavy gas from filing the entire space between the plates, and to restrict the gas, if possible, to the space occupied by the pairs of glass panels, there are provided a plurality of seals that extend from the upper run of the belt to the upper edge of the plates. One of such seals is arranged on the end of the plates and takes especially the form of a shutter pivotally mounted on the edge of the one plate to pivot against the edge of the other plate. The other seals are designed as partition walls that can be moved out of one of the plates and against the opposite plate so as to close off a compartment of the space between the plates. The partition wall operated at any time is the one that delimits the smallest possible space with regard to the pairs of glass panels located between the plates. The partition walls being arranged in fixed positions, the delimitation of the space to be filled with heavy gas is not the best possible. As a result, quite considerable losses of heavy gas are encountered. Although such gas losses might be reduced by the installation of additional partition walls, such a solution would be expensive under constructional aspects.
Now, it is the object of the present invention to show how the consumption of gas can be reduced in a device of the described kind.
This object is achieved by a device for assembling insulating glass panes filled with a gas which is different from air, having two plates which can be varied with respect to their spacing one from the other and which can be approached one to the other from a position in which they are oriented in V form one to the other to a parallel position in which they are inclined toward the horizontal, having a horizontal conveyor arranged near the lower edge of the plates, with a belt serving as a conveying member, having at least two seals that extend from the upper run of the belt to a point above the belt and that are spaced one from the other in the conveying direction of the belt, at least one of the seals being active between the two plates, and having means for retaining a glass panel against at least one of the plates, and having means for introducing a gas different from air into the space between the two plates from below. In said device the seal that is active between the plates is designed as a suspended blade which comprises a suspension that can be displaced along the upper edge of a first one of the two plates and is variable with respect to its spacing from the plane that includes the front of the first plate, and the blade is provided with a reversibly yielding sealing material at least on one side. Advantageous further developments of the invention are the subject-matter of the sub-claims.
According to the invention, the gas-filling press is no longer partitioned by different partition walls arranged in predefined positions. Instead, a seal is provided between the plates of the gas-filling press, which is designed as a suspended blade provided, at least on one side, with a reversibly yielding sealing material that extends down to the belt of the horizontal conveyor, and which comprises a suspension which can be displaced along the upper edge of the first one of the two plates, is variable with respect to its spacing from the plane that includes the front of the first plate, and which faces the second plate. This provides considerable advantages:
Useful sealing can be achieved by the blade already when the latter is provided with a sealing material on one side only. The other side of the blade may be smooth and flat, to attach itself flat against the one plate, and is subjected to a pressure sufficient to produce a useful sealing effect through the pressure exerted on the sealing material by the other plate. Preferably, however, both sides of the blade are provided with a sealing material which preferably consists of a reversibly compressible expanded plastic material.
The sealing material conveniently extends over the full length of the blade, preferably even a certain length beyond the lower end of the blade, to permit effective sealing relative to the surface of the belt of the horizontal conveyor to be achieved due to the compressibility of the sealing material.
Especially well suited as material for the blade is a sheet steel, especially one having poor spring characteristics, to keep undesirable bending of the blade within small limits. The blade may be coated with equally thick layers of the sealing material on both sides. Preferably, it is coated with a thicker layer on one side than on the other side, preferably so that the side of the blade by which it attaches itself to the plate of the gas-filling press by displacement of its suspension—that plate preferably being the stationary plate of the gas-filling press—is provided with a thinner layer, compared with the other side. The blade thereby assumes an especially well defined position relative to the nearest plate, whereas the other plate, which is approached to the first-mentioned plate for closing of the gas-filling press, is compressed to the measure defined by the thickness of the insulating glass pane to be produced.
Now, with respect to the structure of the device, it is the most favorable solution to mount the blade, together with its suspension, on a stationary plate. This embodiment is therefore preferred.
The blade may have a uniform width from the top to the bottom. Preferably, however, the width of the blade increases from the bottom to the top, especially in wedge shape, the wedge angle conforming to the angle defined by the two plates of the gas-filling press in their initial position in V form. This provides the advantage that the blade gets stiffer from the bottom to the top. Any deflection of the blade caused by movements occurring when the blade is positioned in the conveying direction can be kept small in this way. When the blade is moved in the conveying direction, it preferably is at first given an orientation transverse to the conveying direction for this purpose. In that orientation, swinging in a plane transverse to the conveying direction can be almost excluded, whereas swinging in the conveying direction can be restricted to within very close limits due to the fact that the blade gets wider from the bottom to the top. Given the fact that the two plates of the gas-filling press are likewise arranged in V form in their initial position, the wedge-like increase in width of the blade does not result in its spacing from the two plates of the gas-filling press getting smaller; rather, the spacing may remain unchanged from the top to the bottom so that both small and large glass panels can be conveyed through the gap between the edges of the blade and the two plates of the gas-filling press without any impediment.
Conveniently, the suspension of the blade is adjustable in height. This permits the blade to be moved in the conveying direction at a spacing from the belt so that it will not slide on the belt. Once the blade has arrived in its position in which sealing is intended to occur, the blade can be lowered unto the belt of the horizontal conveyor so that sealing can be achieved also in relation to the belt. Displacing the belt to the top and to the bottom may be effected using a pneumatic cylinder or using a driven spindle. An especially simple solution is obtained when that movement is combined with the movement used for varying the spacing of the suspension from the plate on which the blade is mounted. This can be achieved with advantage when the suspension is made displaceable in a plane that intersects the conveying direction at a right angle, in a direction that is inclined relative to the upside of the belt of the horizontal conveyor, and this exactly to a degree that will cause lowering of the belt as it approaches its plate—the first plate.
It has already been pointed out that it is an advantage if the blade can be pivoted about an axis that extends from the top to the bottom so that it will occupy a position transverse to the conveying direction when being displaced in the conveying direction, and a position parallel to the plates during the sealing action. Preferably, the blade can be pivoted about its center axis, especially by a swinging movement about an angle of 90°. Preferably, the axis can be blocked in a given position. Blocking is convenient when the blade is positioned in the conveying direction; it is, however, unnecessary when the blade is brought into contact with the one plate of the gas-filling press because in that case the plate already prevents undesirable turning of the blade.
In addition, the blade preferably is suspended to swing about a horizontal axis that extends in parallel to the conveying direction. Such a swinging suspension is convenient in order to ensure that the blade, being approached to its plate, can easily adapt itself to the plate progressively from the bottom to the top, without having to bend. However, swinging is undesirable when the blade is being displaced in the conveying direction. This is the reason why the horizontal axis, about which the blade is permitted to swing, preferably can be blocked.
At least one of the two plates in the gas-filling press is adjustable relative to the belt of the horizontal conveyor so as to permit the spacing of the lower edge of the plate to be increased. This can be achieved with advantage when the plate is pivoted from its position, in which an acute angle is enclosed between the plate and the other plate, into a parallel position, as the lower edge of the plate then performs an arcuate movement. In order to ensure that the glass panel, which rests against the plate to be pivoted, will be retained on the plate the latter requires suitable means for holding the glass panel. Preferably, the glass panel will be attached to the plate by suction. For this purpose, the plate is provided with holes, for example, through which air can be drawn in to attach the glass panel. The arcuate movement of the lower edge of the plate creates a gap through which a gas different from air can be introduced into the space between the two plates and, thus, into the space between the glass panels attached to the plates. Means for introducing a gas different from air are therefore preferably associated to the lower edge of the movable plate of the gas-filling press. Such means may for example consist of a nozzle extending over the length of the lower edge of the plate.
Preferably, the means for introducing the gas different from air comprise a channel associated to the lower edge of the movable plate on which a glass panel is held at a distance from the belt. That channel should extend in parallel to the conveying direction and may comprise branch ducts that open into a gap between the belt and the lower edge of the glass panel that is retained on the plate.
The gas different from air, especially a heavy gas, is required only in those areas where pairs of glass panels are positioned between the two plates of the gas-filling press. That space is delimited by the two seals that extend from the bottom to the top, namely by the blade and the seal on the one vertical edge of the plates of the gas-filling press. Preferably, a sealing body that can be displaced in lengthwise direction is therefore provided in the channel for varying the effective length of the channel. Preferably, that sealing body is arranged for being displaced in synchronism with the blade so that it will always occupy the same position as the blade, relative to the conveying direction.
In order to achieve effective sealing of the channel in lengthwise direction, the sealing body conveniently is given a length greater than the spacing between two branch ducts so that at least one branch duct will be covered and blocked by the sealing body in any position of the sealing body. In order to ensure that the gas will be introduced uniformly over the length of the insulating glass panes to be filled and will be permitted to rise in the space between the two seals that extend from the bottom to the top, the gas different from air can be introduced into the channel through a plurality of supply lines that can be shut off individually.
Certain embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the attached drawings. Identical or corresponding parts are identified by identical reference numerals in the different examples.
The device for assembling, filling with gas and pressing insulating glass panes illustrated in
The first supporting device 1 stands on a base 7 which is firmly connected with the frame 3; the rear of its upper end is supported on the frame 3 via struts 8. The arrangement is such that the plate 1a is inclined to the rear, relative to the vertical line, by an angle of 6°, for example. The horizontal floor on which the frame 3 is located is indicated by reference numeral 9.
The second supporting device 2 is mounted on a carriage 11 for pivotal movement about an axis 10 that extends perpendicularly to the drawing plane in
The upper ends of the supporting devices 1 and 2 are connected one with the other by a further spindle gearing 14a whose spindle 15a is pivotally seated in a holder 17a mounted on the first supporting device 1 and is driven by a motor 13a. The associated spindle nut is accommodated in a housing 16a and is seated for pivotal movement in a holder 18 mounted on the movable supporting device 2. The spindle gearings 14 and 14a are provided in duplicate, preferably in the neighborhood of the four corners of the rectangular contour of the plates 1 and 2a.
By driving the spindles 14a, the second supporting device 12 can be pivoted from its initial position illustrated in
A horizontal conveyor 20 mounted on the lower edge of the stationary supporting device 1 can be driven by a motor 21. The horizontal conveyor 20 is a track of a horizontal conveyor, composed from a plurality of tracks, that extends through the entire insulating glass pane production line in which the invention is to be implemented. The horizontal conveyor 20 comprises a belt 19, especially a toothed belt, that can be driven by the motor 21 via a driving wheel, especially a gear. In order to prevent sagging, the belt 19 is supported on a series of free-wheeling rollers or on a horizontal rail 6 on which the upper run of the belt 19 is permitted to slide.
Pairs of glass panels 24 and 25, placed in V form, are simultaneously conveyed into the gas-filling press using a feeder. The feeder may consist of a horizontal conveyor aligned with the horizontal conveyor 20 and of two supporting devices the fronts of which are aligned with the plates 1a and 2a. The supporting devices may consist of air-cushion walls, similar to the plates 1a and 2a in the gas-filling press. However, the supporting devices may comprise free-wheeling rollers that are seated in a frame and whose bearing surfaces have a common tangential plane. Suitable feeders have been described in DE 10 2004 009 860 A1.
The pressure plates 1a and 2a in the gas-filling press are provided with holes through which air selectively can be blown to produce an air cushion on which the glass panels can slide while being transported, or can be drawn in for attaching the glass panels to the plates. These openings are not shown in the Figures for reasons of clarity.
The sides of the pressure plates 1a and 2a that face each other are provided with a layer 43 of rubber or another elastomeric material. That layer may have a thickness of 3 mm to 4 mm, for example.
A hose 41, which can be selectively evacuated or blown up, is arranged in a longitudinal groove in the pressure plate 2a, that groove being provided at the lower edge of the pressure plate 2a and being open toward the bottom. The hose is evacuated in the illustration of
The gap between the glass panel 25 and the oppositely arranged pressure plate 2a, or between the two pressure plates 1a and 2a, is closed off by the belt 19 of the horizontal conveyor 20. A sealing wedge 26, being shown in its inactive position in
The channel 44 and the gap 23 between the two pressure plates 1a and 2a can be sealed in the conveying direction 4 by a sealing strip 54—see FIGS. 17 and 19—which extends from the belt 19 to the upper edge of the pressure plates 1a and 2a and which can be applied to the approximately vertical edges of the pressure plates 1a and 2a. The sealing strip 54 may be linked to the stationary pressure plate 1a by a four-bar linkage, for example, and may be pivoted into contact with the two approximately vertical edges of the pressure plates 1a and 1b and pivoted back from that position into an inactive position in which assembled insulating glass panes can be transported out of the gas-filling press without any obstruction and new pairs of glass panels can be fed in simultaneously.
The following means are intended to prevent gas from escaping from the gas-filling press in a direction opposite to the conveying direction 4:
A slide 51 can be displaced along a guide rail 50 which extends in parallel to the conveying direction 4 and which is mounted on the upper edge of the stationary pressure plate 1a. The slide 51 is drawn by an endless belt 49 that runs about two guide rollers 73 one of which is driven. Mounted on the slide 51 is a suspension 52 that is located above the gap between the two pressure plates 1a and 2a. A blade 55, suspended on the suspension 52, can be pivoted about an axis 56, that extends from the top to the bottom, and about an axis 56a parallel to the conveying direction 4. Pivoting about the axis 56 is effected by a rotary drive 57, preferably a pneumatic rotary drive, for example a rotary cylinder, by which the blade 55 can be pivoted by 90° from its position shown in
For fixing the axis 56 of the blade 55 in the positions illustrated in
The spacing between the suspension 52 and the stationary pressure plate 1a is variable. For this purpose, either the guide rail 50 or the suspension 52 can be mechanically displaced relative to the guide rail 50 at a right angle to the pressure plate 1a, using servo motors that actuate a spindle.
The manner in which the blade 55 is suspended in the suspension 52 allows the blade to swing about its horizontal axis 56a as long as it is not blocked. In the position illustrated in
The expanded plastic layers 58 and 59 project a certain length, for example by 10 mm, beyond the lower end of the sheet steel material of the blade 55. The blade 55 can be mechanically adjusted in upward and downward direction by a small length, for example by up to 30 cm. This permits the blade 55 to be lowered onto the belt 19 in sealing relationship. Lowering of the blade is supported by the inclination of the guide rail 50 which is shown in
An oblong sealing body 62, provided on its bottom with a strip 64 that has its bottom surface tightly packed with bristles, can be displaced in the channel 44 by means of a driven endless rope or belt 61, especially a toothed belt.
As can be seen in
The gas-filling press illustrated in
Pairs of glass panels that are to be assembled to an insulating glass pane are conveyed, preferably in synchronism, into and are positioned in the gas-filling press so that the forward edge of a first pair of glass panels 30 rests against the forward end of the pressure plates 1a and 2a and that further pairs of glass panels 31, 32 and 33 are positioned a small distance behind the first pair—see
In order to reduce the consumption of heavy gas as far as possible, the space between the pressure plates 1a, 2a into which heavy gas is to be introduced should be kept as small as possible. One therefore positions the blade 55 closely behind the last pair of glass panels, in the example illustrated in
Once the last pair of glass panels 31 (in
Once the movable pressure plate 2a has reached the desired position in which it keeps open only a small gap between the glass panel 24 and the spacer 27, as shown in
The embodiment illustrated in
To conform with the beveled bottom of the movable pressure plate 2a, the sealing body 62 has been given a different profile with a correspondingly beveled bottom. The channel 44 in which the sealing body 62 can be displaced is open toward the bottom and ends in comb-like indents 71 in the sealing wedge. The indents 71 have the function of the branch ducts 47 in the first embodiment. The length of the sealing body 62 is selected so that it will block at least two indents of the sealing body 65 in any position.
The hose 41 has been omitted. Instead, as a possible alternative, there may be provided, for example between the sealing wedge 65 and the bottom of the movable pressure plate 2a, a longitudinally extending packing cord 72 of the kind provided similarly between the bottom of the stationary pressure plate 1a and the sealing wedge 26 arranged in that position.
In the example illustrated in
The embodiment illustrated in
Given the fact that instead of being placed on the belt 40a in vertical arrangement, the glass panels are inclined in the assembly and pressing device so that they act on the belt 40a only by one of their lower edges, they will not slip during the feeding motion so that their exact alignment one to the other will not get lost. Further, it is a favorable aspect that has not been known in the art before, that they can be filled with heavy gas from below over their full length without any need to provide a pervious belt which is drawn over the gas-filling channel, or to provide two belts in the horizontal conveyor running in parallel and at a spacing one to the other, through which heavy gas could be introduced into the space between the glass panels. Instead, it is possible according to the invention to use a conveying element consisting of a uniform, absolutely tight belt 40a because the heavy gas can be introduced without any problem from the side of the movable pressure plate 2a through a gap between the belt 40a and one of the glass panels 24. This permits a much simpler structure of the assembly and pressing device with gas-filling system than has been possible before, and the possibility to simultaneously fill two or more than two insulating glass panes with heavy gas further allows short cycle times and a less expensive insulating glass production to be achieved, compared with the prior art, and this especially when producing insulating glass panes of common standard dimensions. On the other hand, the invention can be employed with great versatility allowing the production not only of rectangular insulating glass panels, but also of what is known as model panes, with a contour different from a rectangular shape. Examples of such applications are shown in
Further, large format insulating glass panes of a size that permits only a single one of such panels to be placed in the assembly and pressing device, can produced in the same way as in a conventional production line for insulating glass panes. In this case, the process may include the steps of transporting the two glass panels leaning against the immovable supporting devices, one after the other through the pairing station and through the buffer station and into the assembly and pressing device, and of arranging them in opposite pairs only at that point by causing the movable pressure plate 2a to attract by suction the glass panel arriving the first and to thereby take over the panel and make room for delivery of the second glass panel that carries the spacer.
In all these cases, the heavy gas is permitted to rise between parallel glass panels in a constant upward flow, without greater turbulences, and to displace the lighter air to the top without getting mixed with it.
Finally, it is also possible to assemble insulating glass panes without filling them with a heavy gas.
List of Reference Numerals
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
10 2006 018 333 | Apr 2006 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/EP2007/003279 | 4/13/2007 | WO | 00 | 9/10/2009 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2007/121872 | 11/1/2007 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4780164 | Rueckheim et al. | Oct 1988 | A |
5332080 | Lenhardt | Jul 1994 | A |
5350469 | Lenhardt et al. | Sep 1994 | A |
5366574 | Lenhardt | Nov 1994 | A |
5676782 | Lisec | Oct 1997 | A |
6216751 | Trpkovski | Apr 2001 | B1 |
7785432 | Lenhardt | Aug 2010 | B2 |
7922842 | Vianello | Apr 2011 | B2 |
20070175564 | Lenhardt | Aug 2007 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
02557119 | Sep 2005 | CA |
WO 2005080739 | Sep 2005 | WO |
WO 2007009642 | Jan 2007 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20100032103 A1 | Feb 2010 | US |