This invention relates to a three stage forming station and method for forming a hot glass sheet with transverse curvature having improved optics.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,141 Nitschke et al. discloses a glass sheet press bending system for bending hot glass sheets by conveying a hot glass sheet to below an upper mold that is moved downwardly to receive a hot glass sheet and provide support thereof by upwardly directed gas jets supplied from below a plane of conveyance of a roll conveyor and by a vacuum drawn at the upper mold, and the upper mold is then moved upwardly with the glass sheet supported thereon by contact with two thirds or more of the downwardly facing surface along the length of the glass sheet. When glass sheets are formed with transverse curvature, i.e., curvature in directions that cross each other without any straight line elements, the periphery of the glass sheet has excess glass that can cause excess pressure between the mold and the glass sheet at the center of the glass sheet and thereby result in undesirable optics both as to reflection and to transmission in the central viewing area of the glass.
In connection with the type of system disclosed by the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,141, see also U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,034 Mumford et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,668 Mumford et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,917,107 Ducat et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,925,162 Nitschke et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,491 Nitschke et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,094 Ducat et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,173,587 Mumford et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,418,754 Nitschke et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,718,798 Nitschke et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,160 Nitschke et al.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved forming station for three stage forming a hot glass sheet with transverse curvature.
In carrying out the above object, a forming station constructed according to the invention includes a downwardly facing first upper mold, that has curvature in a first direction and straight line elements in a second direction transverse to the first direction, for initially forming the glass sheet with curvature in the first direction while maintaining straight line elements in the second direction. An upwardly facing lower mold of the forming station has curvature in the first direction and permits glass sheet curvature in the second direction, and the lower mold receives the glass sheet from the first upper mold so the glass sheet sags under gravity along the second direction to have some curvature in the second direction as well as curvature in the first direction. A downwardly facing second upper mold of the forming station is complementary to the upwardly facing lower mold and cooperates with the lower mold to press form the glass sheet with transverse curvature corresponding to the shapes of the lower mold and the second upper mold.
In one disclosed embodiment, the three stage forming station includes a conveyor from which the first upper mold receives the glass sheet prior to being received by the lower mold which subsequently moves the glass sheet horizontally to below the second upper mold for the press forming. That embodiment also includes a housing having a heated chamber and has the conveyor embodied by a roll conveyor for conveying the hot glass sheet into the heated chamber of the housing along a horizontal plane of conveyance. The first upper mold is movable vertically within the heated chamber between an upper position above the roll conveyor and a lower position adjacent the roll conveyor, and the first upper mold has a downwardly facing surface of a downwardly convex curved shape including its straight line elements. A gas lift jet array located below the plane of conveyance supplies upwardly directed lift jets for lifting the glass sheet upwardly from the roll conveyor to the first upper mold when located in its lower position to initially form and support the glass sheet against the downwardly facing surface of the first upper mold, whereupon the first upper mold is moved upwardly to its upper position with the glass sheet supported against its downwardly facing surface. The second upper mold is spaced horizontally within the heated chamber from the first upper mold and is movable vertically between an upper position located above the elevation of the plane of conveyance and a lower position closer to the elevation of the plane of conveyance, and the second upper mold has a downwardly facing surface of a downwardly convex shape with transverse curvature. A vacuum source selectively draws a vacuum at the downwardly facing surface of the second upper mold. The lower mold faces upwardly with an upwardly concave shape complementary to the downwardly convex shape of the downwardly facing surface of the second upper mold. The lower mold is movable horizontally within the heated chamber at a location above the plane of conveyance to below the first upper mold in its upper position with the glass sheet supported against its downwardly facing surface, and the first upper mold is then moved downwardly to adjacent the lower mold to release the glass sheet onto the lower mold whereupon the first upper mold is moved upwardly to its upper position and the lower mold and the glass sheet supported thereon are moved to below the second upper mold while in its upper position. The second upper mold is then moved downwardly from its upper position to its lower position to cooperate with the lower mold to press form the glass sheet with curvature in transverse directions, and the second upper mold is then moved upwardly to its upper position with the press formed glass sheet supported on the second upper mold by vacuum drawn at its downwardly facing surface by the vacuum source. A delivery mold is moved to below the press formed glass sheet on the second upper mold in its upper position whereupon the vacuum is terminated and the glass sheet is released from the second upper mold onto the delivery mold which is then moved out of the forming station for delivery of the press formed glass sheet. A controller operates the roll conveyor, the first upper mold, the gas lift jet array, the second upper mold, the vacuum source, the lower mold, and the delivery mold to perform the press forming of the glass sheet and its delivery.
As disclosed by the one embodiment, the vacuum source is operated by the controller to provide a vacuum to the downwardly facing surface of the first upper mold to cooperate with the gas lift jet array in lifting the glass sheet from the roll conveyor into contact with the downwardly facing surface of the first upper mold for initial forming and support of the glass sheet, and after the glass sheet is moved upwardly and contacts the downwardly facing surface of the first upper mold, the controller terminates the operation of the gas lift jet array while continuing to operate the vacuum source to provide the vacuum that is then the sole support of the glass sheet on the first upper mold. Also, the lower mold has a ring shape that supports the glass sheet as it sags by gravity, and the lower mold is also disclosed as having a support pad within its ring shape to control sagging of the glass sheet during movement from below the first upper mold to below the second upper mold. As disclosed, the forming station includes at least one press member that assists the lift jet array in initially forming the glass sheet against the downwardly facing surface of the first upper mold. There is also disclosed a quench station to which the delivery mold moves the press formed glass sheet for quenching.
In another disclosed embodiment, the three stage forming station includes a conveyor from which the first upper mold receives the glass sheet prior to the first upper mold moving horizontally to move the glass sheet above the lower mold that then receives the glass sheet for subsequently performing the press forming with the second upper mold. That embodiment also includes a housing having a heated chamber and has the conveyor embodied by a roll conveyor for conveying the hot glass sheet into the heated chamber of the housing along a horizontal plane of conveyance. The first upper mold is movable horizontally within the heated chamber between a pickup position above the roll conveyor and a delivery position spaced horizontally from the pickup position, and the first upper mold has a downwardly facing surface of a downwardly convex curved shape including its straight line elements. A gas lift jet array located below the plane of conveyance supplies upwardly directed lift jets for lifting the glass sheet upwardly from the roll conveyor to the first upper mold when located in its pickup position to initially form and support the glass sheet against the downwardly facing surface of the first upper mold. The second upper mold is spaced horizontally within the heated chamber from the pickup position of the first upper mold and is movable vertically between an upper position located above the elevation of the plane of conveyance and a lower position closer to the elevation of the plane of conveyance, and the second upper mold has a downwardly facing surface of a downwardly convex shape that defines its transverse curvature. A vacuum source selectively draws a vacuum at the downwardly facing surfaces of each of the first and second upper molds. The lower mold is located within the heated chamber below the second upper mold and is also below the first upper mold after movement thereof to its delivery position with the glass sheet supported thereon by vacuum drawn by the vacuum source whereupon the vacuum is terminated to release the glass sheet onto the lower mold and the first upper mold is moved back to its pickup position. The second upper mold is then moved downwardly from its upper position to its lower position to cooperate with the lower mold to press form the glass sheet with curvature in transverse directions, and the second upper mold is subsequently moved upwardly to its upper position with the press formed glass sheet supported on the second upper mold by vacuum drawn at its downwardly facing surface by the vacuum source. A delivery mold is moved to below the press formed glass sheet on the second upper mold in its upper position whereupon the vacuum is terminated and the glass sheet is released from the second upper mold onto the delivery mold which is then moved out of the forming station for delivery of the press formed glass sheet. A controller operates the roll conveyor, the first upper mold, the gas lift jet array, the second upper mold, the vacuum source, the lower mold, and the delivery mold to perform the press forming of the glass sheet and its delivery.
In the other embodiment, the vacuum source is operated by the controller to provide a vacuum to the downwardly facing surface of the first upper mold to cooperate with the gas lift jet array in lifting the glass sheet from the roll conveyor into contact with the downwardly facing surface of the first upper mold for initial forming and support of the glass sheet, and after the glass sheet is moved upwardly and contacts the downwardly facing surface of the first upper mold, the controller terminates the operation of the gas lift jet array while continuing to operate the vacuum source to provide the vacuum that is then the sole support of the glass sheet on the first upper mold. Also, the lower mold has a ring shape that supports the glass sheet as it sags by gravity, and the lower mold is also disclosed as having a support pad within its ring shape to control sagging of the glass sheet. As disclosed, the forming station includes at least one press member that assists the lift jet array in initially forming the glass sheet against the downwardly facing surface of the first upper mold. There is also disclosed a quench station to which the delivery mold moves the press formed glass sheet for quenching.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for three stage forming a hot glass sheet with transverse curvature.
In carrying out the immediately preceding object, the three stage method for forming a hot glass sheet with transverse curvature is performed by initially forming the glass sheet against a downwardly facing first upper mold so as to have curvature in a first direction and straight line elements in a second direction transverse to the first direction. The glass sheet is then transferred from the first upper mold onto an upwardly facing lower mold having curvature in the first direction and permitting the glass sheet to sag under gravity to have some curvature in the second direction as well as curvature in the first direction. Thereafter the glass sheet is press formed between the lower mold and a downwardly facing second upper mold that has transverse curvature and is complementary to the lower mold so the glass sheet has transverse curvature corresponding to the shapes of the lower mold and the second upper mold.
In one disclosed practice, the three stage forming method is performed on a hot glass sheet by conveying the hot glass sheet on a conveyor into a heated chamber of a forming station to below the first upper mold which is located within the heated chamber above the conveyor and has a downwardly facing surface of a convex shape with the curvature in the first direction and straight line elements in the second direction transverse to the first direction, and which is spaced horizontally from the second upper mold which is located within the heated chamber above the elevation of the conveyor and has a downwardly facing surface of a convex shape with its transverse curvature. The first upper mold is moved downwardly from an upper position to a lower position adjacent the glass sheet on the conveyor and upwardly directed gas lift jets are supplied to lift the glass sheet from the conveyor and provide the initial forming of the glass sheet against the downwardly facing surface of the first upper mold, and the first upper mold is then moved upwardly to its upper position with the glass sheet supported by the first upper mold. The lower mold, which faces upwardly with a concave shape complementary to the downwardly convex shape of the downwardly facing surface of the second upper mold, is then moved horizontally within the heated chamber to a location above the conveyor and below the first upper mold in its upper position with the glass sheet supported on the first upper mold and the first upper mold is subsequently moved downwardly and releases the glass sheet onto the lower mold and is then moved upwardly. Subsequently the lower mold with the glass sheet thereon is moved from below the first upper mold to below the second upper mold in an upper position thereof and the second upper mold is then moved downwardly to a lower position thereof and a vacuum is drawn at its downwardly facing surface during the press forming of the glass sheet between the second upper mold and the lower mold to provide the curvature of the glass sheet in transverse directions, whereupon the second upper mold is moved upwardly to its upper position with the press formed glass sheet supported on the second upper mold by the vacuum drawn at its downwardly facing surface. A delivery mold is then moved to below the press formed glass sheet on the second upper mold in its upper position whereupon the vacuum is terminated to release the glass sheet from the second upper mold onto the delivery mold which is then moved out of the forming station for delivery of the press formed glass sheet.
In the one practice, a vacuum is drawn at the first upper mold to assist the gas lift jets in forming and supporting the glass sheet on the first upper mold, and after the glass sheet is moved upwardly from the conveyor and contacts the downwardly facing surface of the first upper mold, the supply of the upwardly directed gas lift jets is terminated and the vacuum then provides the sole support of the glass sheet on the first upper mold. Also, the lower mold that receives the glass sheet from the first upper mold has a ring shape that supports the glass sheet as it sags under gravity during its movement to the second upper mold for the press forming, and a support pad controls sagging of the supported hot glass sheet within the ring shape of the lower mold. As disclosed, at least one press member assists the lift jet array in initially forming the glass sheet against the downwardly facing surface of the first upper mold. Also, the delivery mold moves the press formed glass sheet from the forming station to a quench station for quenching.
In another disclosed practice, the three stage forming method is performed by conveying the hot glass sheet on a conveyor into a heated chamber of a forming station to below the first upper mold at a pickup position thereof within the heated chamber above the conveyor, with the first upper mold having a downwardly facing surface of a convex shape with curvature in the first direction and straight line elements in the second direction transverse to the first direction, with the first upper mold in the pickup position being spaced horizontally from the lower mold and the second upper mold which is located above the lower mold, and with the second upper mold located within the heated chamber above the elevation of the conveyor and having a downwardly facing surface of a convex shape with its transverse curvature. The first upper mold is moved downwardly from an upper position to a lower position adjacent the glass sheet on the conveyor and upwardly directed gas lift jets are supplied to lift the glass sheet from the conveyor and provide the initially forming of the glass sheet against the downwardly facing surface of the first upper mold, the first upper mold is then moved upwardly to its upper position with the glass sheet supported by the first upper mold, and a vacuum is drawn at the first upper mold to support the glass sheet thereon. The first upper mold and the glass sheet supported thereon are moved horizontally within the heated chamber from the pickup position to a delivery position below the second upper mold and above the lower mold which has an upwardly facing surface of a concave shape complementary to the convex shape of the downwardly facing surface of the second upper mold. Subsequently the vacuum drawn at the first upper mold is terminated in the delivery position to release the glass sheet onto the lower mold, the first upper mold is moved back to the pickup position, the second upper mold is moved downwardly to cooperate with the lower mold in the press forming of the glass sheet, and then the second upper mold is moved upwardly to its upper position with the press formed glass sheet supported on the second upper mold by vacuum drawn at its downwardly facing surface. A delivery mold is then moved to below the press formed glass sheet on the second upper mold in its upper position whereupon the vacuum is terminated to release the glass sheet from the second upper mold onto the delivery mold which is then moved out of the forming station for delivery of the press formed glass sheet.
In the other disclosed practice, the lower mold has a ring shape that supports the glass sheet as it sags by gravity, and a support pad controls sagging of the supported hot glass sheet within the ring shape of the lower mold. As disclosed, at least one press member assists the lift jet array in initially forming the glass sheet against the downwardly facing surface of the first upper mold. Also, the delivery mold moves the press formed glass sheet from the forming station to a quench station for quenching.
The objects, features and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment when taken in connection with the referenced drawings.
As required, a detailed embodiment of the present invention is disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to practice the present invention.
With reference to
As illustrated in
With continuing reference to
A gas lift jet array 58 in the forming station as illustrated in
As shown in
It should also be mentioned that the first and second upper molds 38 and 40 can also be moved upwardly and downwardly at the same time by a single actuator instead of separate actuators.
As shown in
The lower mold 42 as best illustrated in
The glass forming operation continues by the lower mold 42 being moved out from under the second upper mold 40 and back under the first upper mold 38 as shown by phantom line representation in
A controller 88 shown in
During development of the forming station 30, the inventors have determined that glass sheet forming with transverse curvature upon initial forming on an upper mold can cause buckling at the central viewing area of the glass sheet due to excess glass at the glass sheet periphery when the flat glass sheet assumes the curvature in crossing directions with no straight line elements, and such buckling results in distorted optics as to transmission and/or reflection in the central viewing area of the glass. It has also been determined that use of a first upper mold with straight line elements during the initial stage of forming, then allowing the gravity sag forming on the lower mold to begin the transverse curvature, and subsequently performing the final press forming of the glass sheet reduces optical distortions both as to transmission and reflection in the central view area of the formed glass sheet.
Also, for purposes of this application, the term “straight line elements” means straight lines between two opposite extremities of the first upper mold surface 52 and of the glass sheet after the first stage of forming, which straight lines have midpoints from which the mold surface and initially formed glass sheet are spaced no more than about 0.5%, and preferably no more than about 0.3%, of the distance between the extremities.
In the three stage forming station disclosed, the vacuum source 78 shown in
As illustrated in
The manner in which the forming apparatus is constructed and operates to initially form the glass sheets with straight line elements at the first stage of forming, begin the transverse curvature by the gravity sagging on the lower mold and subsequently completing the transverse curvature by the press forming reduces central deformation of the formed glass both as to transmission and reflection at its central viewing area. More specifically, during the first stage of forming on the first upper mold, the formed glass sheet with straight line elements only has curvature between the end portions 96 of the first upper mold 38 so that initially there is no excess peripheral glass for causing deformation. Subsequent gravity sagging of the initially formed glass sheet on the lower mold initiates the transverse forming without forcing deformation of the glass due to the excess peripheral glass as the glass forms transversely. During the final press forming on the second upper mold 40 shown in
When the glass sheet has a generally rectangular shape, the initial forming will be in a cylindrical shape, and when the glass sheet is of a generally trapezoidal shape the initial forming will be of a partial conical shape, both of which have straight line elements so there is no excess glass sheet at the periphery of the glass sheet during the first stage of forming. As described above, the subsequent gravity sag forming on the lower mold to start forming the transverse curvature and the final press forming complete the glass sheet forming with transverse curvature with reduced central viewing area distortion.
With reference to
With reference to the flow chart of
With reference to
In the forming station 30′ illustrated in
As shown in
The forming station 30′ illustrated in
The lower mold 42 as illustrated is supported by a framework 154 that is supported by actuators 156, such as screw jacks, for vertical movement. This vertical movement can be downward to allow the first upper mold 38 to move over the lower mold 42 and then upward so that the release of the glass sheet is at a more closely spaced relationship to control positioning. In addition, the vertical movement of the lower mold 42 can also be used in cooperation with the vertical movement of the second upper mold 40 to perform the press bending.
With reference to the flow chart of
Both embodiments can have reduced cycle time by the vertical positioning of the constructions disclosed. In the embodiment of
In both embodiments, it is also possible to assist the lift jets with mechanical pressing of the glass sheet against the first upper mold 38 at its downwardly facing surface 52 so as to ensure completed glass contact therewith even with abrupt curvature at one or more locations. This type of pressing can be performed by having a press member, or a pair of press members, mounted on the first upper mold 38 and operated by the controller 88 through an actuator(s) that extends between the upper mold and the press member which may pivot or otherwise move relative to the upper mold. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,208 Nitschke, which discloses mechanical pressing against an upper mold.
All of the previously mentioned patents are assigned to the applicant of the present application and are hereby incorporated by reference.
While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.