Patent Application
20050199010
The present invention relates to a method for heating a glass sheet and a heating furnace therefor, more particularly, a method for heating a glass sheet and a heating furnace therefor, which heat a glass sheet to a softening temperature or higher in order to bend the glass sheet into a certain curved shape for preparation of a windowpane for an automobile.
When a windowpane for an automobile (in particular a glass sheet for preparation of laminated glass) is bent, two glass sheets, which have been cut in a shape having certain dimensions, have been put on a ring-shaped mold, being put one after the other through a mold-releasing agent, such as alumina powder, and have been heated to a glass-softening temperature or higher (normally about 600° C. to about 700° C.), being conveyed through a tunnel-shaped heating furnace. By this treatment, the glass sheets are softened and sagged under their own weight, being bent in a shape conforming to the shape of the mold.
The inventor has proposed a technique wherein a plurality of electric heater elements is provided on the ceiling of a heating furnace, and the temperatures of the respective heater elements are controlled to provide a temperature distribution with a surface of a glass sheet so as to bend the glass sheet (for example, see JP-A-10-279323).
Additionally, the inventor has proposed a technique wherein heaters are suspended from and supported by the ceiling of a heating furnace with an air layer between each of the heaters and the ceiling in order to transfer heat from the heaters to a glass sheet with good response (for example, see JP-A-10-287436).
The heating furnace disclosed in the second Patent Document is more advantageous than heating furnaces with heaters embedded in the walls thereof in that it is possible to effectively transfer heat from the heaters to a glass sheet. However, it has been recently demanded to develop a heating furnace capable of further effectively transferring heat to a glass sheet in accordance with the dimensions or the thickness of the glass sheet. In particular, when a glass sheet is bent under its own weight, it is important to precisely control the heat distribution in a glass surface. Even a minor deviation in the heat distribution has a great influence on the precision in the bending operation of a product.
In the recent automobile industry, the demand has started arising for a front windshield, which is curved so as to extend beyond the traditional position of a front pillar (a metal member for supporting the lateral sides of the front windshield), the front pillar being shifted to a rearward position in order that a driver can have a wider field of view. It has been difficult to employ the conventional techniques to manufacture a laminated glass sheet having a great curvature on the respective lateral sides stated earlier.
The present invention is proposed in consideration of these circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for heating a glass sheet and a heating furnace therefor, which are capable of effectively transferring heat to a glass sheet and precisely controlling the heat distribution in a glass surface.
The present invention provides a method for heating a glass sheet in a heating furnace, comprising a step for putting a glass sheet in a heating furnace, and a step for bringing an electric heater assembly close to the glass sheet, the electric heater assembly including plural heater elements, wherein the respective heater elements can be independently controlled in terms of calorific power.
In one mode of the present invention, it is preferred that the heating furnace be divided into a plurality of zones, that the electric heater assembly be disposed in each of the zones, and that lifting movements of the electric heater assemblies disposed in the respective zones be independently controlled.
In another mode of the present invention, it is preferred that the plural heater elements forming an electric hearer assembly be divided into two or more groups, and that lifting movements of the heater elements in a group be controlled independently from the lifting movements of the heater elements in a different group.
In another mode of the present invention, it is preferred that the plural heater elements forming an electric heater assembly be respectively connected to a power source through elongated and electrically conductive members having plural bending joints.
The present invention also provides a heating furnace for a glass sheet, comprising a furnace main body; a mold disposed in the furnace main body to support a glass sheet; an electric heater assembly disposed on a ceiling portion in the furnace main body and including plural heater elements; suspending members for supporting the electric heater assembly in a suspended state in the furnace main body; lifting units coupled to the suspending members to lift up and down the electric heater assembly; and a controller for controlling drive of the lifting units according to a conveyance position of the glass sheet and for controlling heating of the heater elements.
In one mode of the present invention, it is preferred that the plural heater elements of the electric heater assembly be respectively connected to a power source through elongated and electrically conductive members having plural bending joints.
In another mode of the present invention, it is preferred that each of the bendable joints comprise a power supply joint unit, which comprises a hinge structure including first and second electrically conductive leads, and an electrically conductive spring structure for giving an urging force to the hinge structure, and that the spring structure urge the first and second leads so that an included angle between the first and second leads keeps an angle.
In another mode of the present invention, it is preferred that the electric heater assembly be disposed in each of zones of the heating furnace, which are plural zones divided in the heating furnace, and that lifting movements of the electric heater assemblies disposed in the respective zones are controlled by the controller independently from each other.
In another mode of the present invention, it is preferred that the mold comprise a supporting frame, a fixed frame fixed to the supporting frame, and inclinable frames coupled to the fixed frame so as to be inclinable.
In another mode of the present invention, it is preferred that the glass sheet be used for producing an automobile windowpane.
The present invention also provides a power supply joint unit comprising a hinge structure including first and second electrically conductive leads, and an electrically conductive spring structure for giving an urging force to the hinge structure, wherein the spring structure urges the first and second leads so that an included angle between the first and second leads keeps an angle.
The present invention also provides a vertically movable heater comprising an electric heater including plural heater elements, a lifting unit for lifting up and down the respective heater element, and power supply joint units recited in claim 11, the power supply joint units being respectively connected to the plural heater elements.
FIGS. 9(a) to (d) are schematic views showing the lifting action of an electric heater assembly;
10: heating furnace, 12: computer, 14: keyboard, 16: main unit of computer, 18: display, 20: mold, 40: ceiling heater, 50, 50A and 50B: lifting device for ceiling heater, 52: casing, 54: rod (suspending member), 56: heat-insulated housing, 58: lifting plate, 60: screw bar, 62: screw jack (lifting unit), 64 and 68: supporting frame, 66: cable, 73, 75 and 77: bendable joint, 74, 76, 78 and 80: lead, 86: pin, 88: electrically conductive plate, Nos. 1 and 2: preliminarily heating zone, Nos. 3 and 4: bending zone, No. 5: annealing zone, No. 6: cooling zone
Now, the method and the apparatus for heating a glass sheet, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail, referring to the accompanying drawings.
The computer 12 (corresponding the controller recited in claims) includes a keyboard 14, which is used to set the heating temperatures of the respective heater elements of the electric heater assemblies provided in the respective heating zones of the heating furnace 10 and to input operating conditions with respect to a glass sheet to be bent, such as the dimensions, the thickness and a portion to be deeply bent; a main unit 16 of the computer, which stores a calculation program for calculating heights of the respective heater elements of the electric heaters with respect to the glass sheet according to the conditions set and input as stated above; and a display 18, which displays the calculation results as well as the functions and the operating statuses of the heating furnace 10.
The heating furnace 10 and the computer 12 are connected together so as to be able to exchange various kinds of data therebetween. The heating operation of each of the heater elements of the electric heater in each of the heating zones is controlled based on desired heater temperatures input through the keyboard 14. Information on temperatures in the heating furnace (the temperature being detected by unshown radiation thermometers) is transmitted to be displayed on the display 18.
The heating furnace 10 has two stories as shown in
The first story and the second story of the heating furnace 10 are connected together through elevators 22 and 24 at the most upstream and downstream positions of the heating furnace. An unbent glass sheet is put on a mold 20 on the elevator 22 positioned on the first story, and the glass sheet is conveyed into a standby chamber 28 located just before preliminary heating zone No. 1 by upward movement of the elevator 22. Then, the glass sheet along with the mold 20 is conveyed into preliminary heating zone No. 1 by a conveyor 30, and the glass sheet is heated, being intermittently conveyed through respective heating zones No. 1 to No. 4.
Specifically, in preliminary heating zones Nos. 1 and 2, the glass sheet is heated to a temperature required for bending operation, by electric heaters 40A, 40B, which are not vertically movable. The electric heaters 40A and the like are coil heaters, which are disposed on respective positions of the furnace walls (the furnace floor, the ceiling and the sidewalls).
On the other hand, in each of bending zones Nos. 3 and 4, when the glass sheet conveyed thereinto is halted (Steps S1 and S2 in
In annealing zone No. 5, the glass sheet is gradually cooled by being subjected to radiation heating at a lower temperature than the heating temperatures in the bending zones by an electric heater, which is not vertically movable. In cooling zone No. 6, the glass sheet is further cooled without being heated by an electric heater.
As stated, the glass sheet is softened by having radiation heat transferred from the electric heaters and ambient temperatures raised by the radiation heat. As a result, the glass sheet is bent in a shape conforming to the shape of the mold 20 under its own weight.
The glass sheet, which has been conveyed into the cooling zone 34, is lowered by the elevator 24 and is put on an arm 36 for removal. Then, the glass sheet is conveyed to an unshown subsequent process by movement of the arm 36. The mold 20, from which the glass sheet is removed, is conveyed up to the position of the elevator 22 as the terminal in the direction opposite to the conveyance on the second story by a conveyor 38. The mold 20 stands by for receiving an untreated glass sheet, being located on the elevator 22. When an untreated glass sheet has been conveyed into heating zone No. 1, the elevator 22 is lowered to the first story and stands by at the lowest position until a mold 20 is returned to that position.
Each of heating zones Nos. 1 and 2 has a ceiling heater 40A or 40B provided therein so as to include three heater elements A to C sequentially provided in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the glass sheet. Heating zone No. 3 has a ceiling heater 40C provided therein so as to include five heater elements A to E sequentially provided in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the glass sheet.
Heating zone No. 4 has a ceiling heater 40D provided therein so as to include heater elements A and E provided in parallel with each other in the conveying direction of the glass sheet, and heater elements B, C and D sequentially provided between the heater elements A and E in the conveying direction of the glass sheet. Heating zone No. 5 has a ceiling heater 40E provided therein so as to include a single heater element A, being set at a lower heating temperature than the heater elements in the bending zones for the purpose of annealing.
Heating zones Nos. 1 to 5 have respective side heaters 42A to 42E provided therein so that each of the side heaters includes a single heater element A. Heating zones Nos. 1 to 5 have respective floor heaters 44A to 42E provided therein so that the respective floor heaters include three heater elements A to C arranged in the same fashion.
An untreated glass sheet is intermittently conveyed through heating zones Nos. 1 to 5 in this order and is heated by radiation heating from the heater elements of the respective zones and by convection heating from the ambient temperatures in the respective zones.
The arrangement, the number and the dimensions of the heater elements are not limited to those shown in
As shown in
The lifting plate 58 has a screw bar 60 fixed to an upper surface thereof in the vertical direction. The screw bar 60 is engaged with a screw jack (the lifting unit recited in claims) 62 fixed to the heating furnace 10. When the screw jack 62 is rotated, the screw bar 60 works as a feed screw to lift up and down the casing 52 with the electric heater assembly A housed therein, through the lifting plate 58 and the rods 54 and 54. Thus, the distance between a glass sheet in heating zone No. 3 and the heater element A can be adjusted.
The electric heater assembly A is divided into six eater elements (not shown), and the respective heater elements are respectively coupled through cables 66 to six electrodes (not shown) of a supporting frame 64, which is fixed to an upper portion of the casing 52. On the other hand, the heat-insulated housing 56 has a supporting frame 68 with six electrodes (not shown) provided thereon fixed to a lower portion thereof. The electrodes of the supporting frame 68 are arrayed on the supporting frame 68 and connected to an unshown power supply through electrode plates 72, which are arrayed on an insulator 70 of the supporting frame 68.
The respective electrodes of the supporting frame 64 are connected to the respective electrodes of the supporting frame 68 through groups of six elongated plate-shaped leads (electrically conductive members) 74, 76, 78 and 80, adjacent groups of which are coupled with bendable joints 73, 75, 77. The power from the power supply is supplied to the six unshown heater element sections constituting the electric heater assembly A through the leads 74 to 80. It is sufficient that the leads are formed in an elongated shape so as to have a certain rigidity. The leads may be formed in any shape, such as a rectangular shape, a circular shape and an elliptic shape, in section.
Each of the leads 74 is formed in a reverse L-shaped configuration and has an upper end connected to an electrode of the supporting frame 68 and a lower end connected to a left end of one of the lead 76 through the bendable joint 73. Each of the leads 76 is formed in a straight shape and has a right end connected to an upper end of one of the leads 78 through the bendable joint 78. Each of the leads 78 is also formed in a straight shape and has a lower end connected to a right end of one of the leads 80 through the bendable joint 77. Each of the leads 80 is also formed in a straight shape and has a left end connected to an electrode of the supporting frame 64. The leads 74 to 80, which are provided so that six leads are included in each of the groups, are arrayed through an insulator 81 or 82 provided between adjacent groups so as to prevent adjacent leads from contacting each other. The three bendable joints 73, 75 and 77 have the same structure as one another. Only explanation of the bendable joint 75 will be made, and explanation of the bendable joints 73, 77 will be omitted.
The bendable joint 75 shown in
Additionally, electrically conductive plates 88, each of which is formed by bending a plate in a circular shape, are provided so as to surround the bending joint 75. Each of the electrically conductive plates 88 is configured so that it has one end 88A in surface contact with (or welded to) a lead 76 and the other end 88B in surface contact with (or welded to) the corresponding lead 78 so as to conduct an electric current from the lead 76 to the corresponding lead 78 through the corresponding electrically conductive plate 88. This is because each of the pins 86 of the bendable joint 75 has too small an area to flow a large electric current. Each of the electrically conductive plates 88 uses its own spring force to urge its related lead 76 and the corresponding lead 78 so as to reduce the opening angle θ as the included angle between both leads.
The operation of the ceiling heater lifting device thus configured will be explained, referring to
The heating zone shown in
The heater elements 90, 90 and 90 (first group), and the heater elements 94 and 94 (second group) form an electric heater assembly. The plural heater elements are classified into two or more of groups, and the respective groups are coupled to different lifting devices. By this arrangement, the lifting movement of the heater elements in one of the groups can be performed independently from the other group so that the heights of the heater elements can be adjusted according to the shape of a glass sheet. Thus, it is possible to keep the optimum distance between the heater elements and the glass sheets.
The casings 96 and 96 are coupled through a coupler 98 and are moved up and down in synchronism with each other by the single second lifting device 50B. In
When the central three heaters 90, 90 and 90 are brought close to a glass sheet (not shown) put on a mold 20, the screw jack of the first lifting device 50A is driven to lower the casing 92 through the relevant lifting plate 58 and the relevant rods 54 and 54, locating the casing 92 at a lower position shown in solid lines in
The position of the heater elements 90 can be easily modified by controlling the relevant screw jack. The mold 20 comprises plural frames including a supporting frame 20c mounted on the conveyor 30 and having a rectangular shape, a fixed frame 20a fixed to the supporting frame 20c for supporting a central region of a glass sheet, and inclinable frames 20b pivoted to the fixed frame 20a for supporting a peripheral edge region of the glass sheet. Each of the inclinable frames 20b has an inclination angle made steeper by the weight of the glass sheet according to the progress in the bending operation of the glass sheet. The inclinable frames 20b may be coupled to a driving unit (such as a servomotor and crank arms) to forcibly bend a peripheral edge of the glass sheet.
When the outer two heater elements 94 and 94 are brought close to the glass sheet (not shown) on the mold 20, the screw jack of the second lifting device 50B is driven to lower the casings 96 and 96 through the relevant lifting plate 58 and the relevant rods 54 and 54, locating the casings 96 and 96 at an intermediate position shown in solid lines in
When the heater elements 90 and 94 are lowered, the leads 74, 76, 78 and 80 supporting the casings 96 and 98 make smooth bending movement like a pantograph, being pivoted at the bendable joints 73, 75 and 77. Thus, the heater elements 90 and 94 can be lifted up and down without trouble.
As stated earlier, in the heating furnace 10 according to this embodiment, the respective electric heaters are supported by the relevant screw jacks 62 through the relevant rods 54 and 54 so as to control the heights of the heaters with respect to a glass sheet by the relevant screw jacks 62 in order to be able to modify the distance of the heaters with respect to the glass sheet at desired timing. By this arrangement, it is possible to effectively transfer heat to the glass sheet since the distance of the heater elements with respect to the glass sheet can be arbitrarily set according to portions of the glass sheet. In other words, the electric heaters, which correspond to different portions of the glass sheet that need more calorific power than the other portions, such as a thick portion and a portion to be deeply bent, can be independently brought close to the different portions of the glass sheet accordingly.
In the heating furnace 10 according to this embodiment, the plural heater elements are connected to the power supply through the elongated plate-shaped leads 74, 76, 78 and 80 having the bendable joints 73, 75 and 77. By this arrangement, even when the electric heaters are moved up and down, adjacent leads are prevented from twining around each other since the leads 74, 76, 78 and 80 make only bending movement, being pivoted at the bendable joints 73, 75 and 77. Thus, it is possible to prevent adjacent leads from interfering each other.
Explanation of this embodiment has been made about the heating furnace 10 wherein a glass sheet is put on a mold 20 and is heated and sagged under its own weight, being bent. However, the heating furnace according to the present invention is applicable to other methods for bending a glass sheet. For example, the heating furnace according to the present invention is also applicable to a heating furnace wherein a heated glass sheet is bent by a press, and a heating furnace wherein a heated glass sheet is bent by, e.g., being conveyed on rollers forming certain curvature as a whole.
A through hole may be formed in a sidewall of the heating furnace in order to partially heat a glass sheet by inserting a local heater through the through hole. A local press mold may be inserted into the furnace to locally press a glass sheet. Now, other embodiments of the present invention will be described.
FIGS. 9(a) to (d) are schematic views explaining the movement of a liftable heater 103. When, as shown in
At that time, the respective electric heater assemblies 103a can be independently controlled in terms of the lifting movement of the liftable heater 103. The respective electric heater assemblies are set at desired heights according to the shape of the glass sheet G or the like, heating the glass sheet G. When the heating treatment has been completed after lapse of a predetermined period of time, the liftable heater 103 returns to the predetermined height again, and the glass sheet conveying jig 104 is conveyed into the next zone as shown in
Each of the electric heater assemblies 103a has plural heater elements disposed in, e.g., a two dimensional way as shown in
As the heater structure, it is possible to employ, e.g., a heater structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,492,628, wherein a resistant metal plate 103a-2 having slits alternately formed therein is curved by means of the elastic force thereof as shown in
As explained, in the heating furnace for a glass sheet, according to the present invention, the respective electric heater elements may be supported by lifting devices through rods so as to be able to modify the heights of the heater elements with respect to a glass sheet by the lifting device. By this arrangement, it is possible to effectively transfer heat to the glass sheet since the distance of the electric heaters with respect to the glass sheet can be arbitrarily set according to portions of the glass sheet. In particular, it is possible to finely control the temperature distribution in a surface of the glass sheet by employing plural two-dimensionally disposed heater elements so that the electric heater elements can be lifted up and down.
In accordance with the present invention, the plural heaters may be connected to the power supply through the elongated electrically conductive members having the bendable joints. By this arrangement, when the heaters are moved up and down, electrically conductive members can be prevented from twining around each other.
The ceiling heater in each of the heating zones may be brought close to a glass sheet conveyed thereinto to improve heating efficiency. The ceiling heater may be moved up upon completion of heating to prevent the ceiling heater from colliding with, e.g., the glass sheet (or a jig supporting the glass sheet) when conveying the glass sheet.
The present invention stated earlier is appropriate to manufacture an automobile front windshield, which has a shape having a great curvature at both lateral sides (such as, a shape wherein a front windshield is curved so as to extend beyond the traditional position of a front pillar), which has been difficult to produce.
The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-131430 filed on May 9, 2003 including specification, claims, drawings and summary is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-131430 | May 2003 | JP | national |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP04/06271 | Apr 2004 | US |
| Child | 11126308 | May 2005 | US |
