EP0406325B1 - Process and device for filling insulating glass panes with a heavy gas - Google Patents

Abstract

One of the glass plates (40) constituting the insulating glass pane is only partially linked to the other glass plate (42) before final assembly, in particular because it can be curved in such a way that a split-shaped opening is temporarily left open between the glass plate (40) and the spreader (41), through which opening the inner space of the insulating glass pane can be filled with a heavy gas.

Description

The invention relates to a method for assembling insulating glass panes, the interior of which is filled with a gas which is different from air, between pairs of glass plates which are spaced apart and glued to one another along their edges by a frame-shaped, metallic or plastic spacer. From DE-GM 87 15 749 it is known for filling insulating glass panes glued to the edge with a heavy gas to first produce a spacer in the form of a metallic hollow profile frame before the assembly of such insulating glass pane, which is pierced in at least two places with bores whose diameter is around 4 mm. Even the manufacture of such a spacer with holes causes technical problems, because such a spacer usually consists of a hollow profile rod which is perforated on its side facing the inside of the pane and filled with a granular desiccant which serves to bind moisture present in the inside of the pane. So that the granular desiccant cannot escape from the holes intended for the heavy gas filling, either the pierced leg of the spacer must remain free of the desiccant, which has the disadvantage that this reduces the amount of moisture that can be adsorbed, or the hole must be sealed to the adjacent cavity of the spacer hollow profile, for example by inserting a sleeve into the spacer or by pressing the outer wall of the spacer against the wall facing the inside of the pane. The indentation must take place in such a way that the two flanks of the spacer remain exactly flat, since they have to be glued to the two flat glass plates. For this purpose, they are coated in the usual way with an adhesive, in particular with a polyisobutylene.

To assemble an insulating glass pane, it is known to place and press a spacer coated on its two flanks onto a first glass plate, then to place and press a second glass plate onto the spacer and to press the unit thus formed to a predetermined thickness, in particular between two plane-parallel plates .

It is also known to subsequently fill the pressed insulating glass pane with a heavy gas, for example with argon or with sulfur hexafluoride SFe. For this purpose, a filling probe is inserted into one of the bores of the spacer, through which the heavy gas is filled into the interior of the pane, and at the same time a suction probe is inserted into the second bore of the spacer (DE 31 17 255 C1, DE 3117256 C2), or it a suction head is placed on the spacer in the area of the second hole. The insulating glass pane is thus filled with the heavy gas at a first point and at the same time air and subsequently an air / heavy gas mixture is sucked out at a second point as far away as possible through another hole in the spacer until the insulating glass pane is sufficiently filled with heavy gas is what can be controlled by a sensor sensitive to oxygen, which can be introduced into the interior of the pane through a third bore of the spacer or into the gas stream sucked out of the second bore. The assembly of the insulating glass pane and the filling with heavy gas are preferably carried out when the pane is stationary, the hole for filling the pane preferably being as deep as possible and the hole for suctioning as high as possible. Since the heavy gas is specifically heavier than air, the heavy gas filled in below can gradually push the air in the insulating glass pane upwards, whereby larger heavy gas losses can be avoided if the filling process is carried out with a sufficiently low inflow speed of the heavy gas. Then, however, filling with heavy gas is by far the slowest process step within an insulating glass production line, so that its output, when working with heavy gas filling, is considerably reduced in comparison with an insulating glass production line working without heavy gas filling. To counter this, it has been proposed in DE-GM 87 15 749 to allow the heavy gas to flow into the insulating glass pane at high speed. Although the filling time can be shortened, this leads to strong turbulence within the disk, so that the heavy gas mixes intensively with the air, so that - until a sufficient degree of heavy gas filling is reached - a considerable proportion of heavy gas is extracted with the air and lost goes. Heavy gas losses of up to 100% are common in the known method. In addition, blowing the heavy gas at high speed creates an overpressure in the space between the two glass plates, which affects their large surfaces and tries to bulge them. At the same time, the gas pressure acts on the spacer and tends to push it outward and bulge. In order to counteract this, DE-GM 8715 749 proposes a super-heavy precision surface press which clamps the insulating glass panes flush with the filling with heavy gas so that the glass plates and the spacer cannot bulge. A very complex device for filling with heavy gas is therefore required.

It is also known to assemble the Insulating glass pane to perform in a chamber that is filled with a heavy gas instead of air. The assembly in such a chamber is so complex and associated with such high heavy gas losses that it is uneconomical (DE-A-34 02 323, GB-A-2 099 057, EP-A-0 056 762).

The present invention has for its object to show how you can fill insulating glass panes quickly and with less effort than before with heavy gas.

This object is achieved by a method with the features specified in claims 1, 2 or 3. A device which is particularly suitable for carrying out the method according to claim 1 is the subject of claim 19. Devices which are particularly suitable for carrying out the method according to claims 2 and 3 are the subject of claim 20. Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject of the respective dependent claims.

The invention represents a complete departure from the known method, because in order to provide access to the interior of the insulating glass pane, through which the insulating glass pane can be filled with a gas, the spacer is no longer pierced, but rather the process of assembling the insulating glass pane becomes so changed that between the spacer and one or both adjacent glass plate (s), preferably between the spacer and only one of the glass plates temporarily remain at least one, preferably two gap-shaped entrances through which the gas is introduced into the interior between the two glass plates can be. Except for these gap-shaped entrances, the interior between the glass plates is already closed off by the spacer during the introduction of the gas. A slit-shaped approach can be achieved by first gluing the glass plates together along one of their edges and, for this purpose, not arranging them exactly parallel to one another, but including a small acute angle, so that the space between the glass plates is shaped like a flat wedge Has. The angle does not have to be greater than that an approximately 2 mm wide access is obtained at the edge of the glass plates opposite the apex of the angle. A heavy gas can then flow into the wedge-shaped intermediate space, the access to the interior being expediently largely covered to reduce gas losses. A gap-shaped access is preferably achieved, however, by elastically bending a glass plate. A glass plate which is flat in the state without the action of external forces is elastically bent according to the invention in such a way that its edges lie only in sections in a common plane. In this way, when the glass plates are folded together with the spacer between them and as long as at least one glass plate is bent, there is narrow access to the interior between the glass plates, so that it can be filled with a gas. If one bends the glass plates, it can easily be achieved that the access for the various glass plate formats occurring in the practice of insulating glass production is approximately the same size, which is very advantageous for the practical implementation of the method. Advantages of bending the glass plate (s) compared to the initially acute-angled joining of two glass plates are furthermore that the interior of the insulating glass pane is already largely closed by the spacer without further measures, so that gas evaporation when introducing the gas can be avoided more easily.

• - Der Abstandhalter muss gegenüber einem Abstandhalter für Isolierglasscheiben, die nicht mit einem besonderen Gas gefüllt werden, nicht abgeändert werden, so dass demgegenüber keine weiteren Arbeitsgänge am Abstandhalter durchzuführen sind. Insbesondere ist es nicht erforderlich, den Abstandhalter an zwei oder drei Stellen zu durchbohren und wieder abzudichten. Alle beim bekannten Verfahren in diesem Zusammenhang anfallenden Arbeiten am Abstandhalter werden beim erfindungsgemäßen Verfahren vermieden. Ausserdem erfährt der Abstandhalter keinerlei Schwächung durch irgendwelche Bohrungen.
• - Während beim bekannten Verfahren die Füllung des Scheibenzwischenraums durch eine verhältnismässig enge Bohrung von ca. 4 mm Durchmesser im Abstandhalter erfolgt (der Öffnungsquerschnitt beträgt dabei ca. 12 mm²), kommt man erfindungsgemäß leicht zu sehr viel größeren und vorteilhafterweise langgestreckten, spaltförmigen Zugängen zwischen dem Abstandhalter und der Glasplatte; allein durch Biegen nur einer Glasplatte wurden in Versuchen Öffnungsquerschnitte gebildet, die mehr als 20 x so groß waren wie bei dem bekannten Verfahren. Damit ist es möglich, den Zwischenraum zwischen den beiden Glasplatten sehr rasch und doch mit so niedriger Strömungsgeschwindigkeit mit einem Gas zu füllen, dass so kräftige Turbulenzen, wie sie bei dem aus dem DE-GM 87 15 749 bekannten Verfahren auftreten, in Anwendung des erfindungsgemäßen Verfahrens nicht auftreten. Durch ein auf breiter Front langsam einströmendes Gas läßt sich vielmehr die Luft aus dem Zwischenraum zwischen den beiden Glasplatten gleichmässig fortschreitend verdrängen, insbesondere dann, wenn - wie bevorzugt - die Glasplatte so gebogen wird, dass zwei Zugangsspalte entstehen, die an einander gegenübediegenden Randabschnitten der Isolierglasscheibe liegen. Läßt man das Gas durch einen dieser Spalte auf breiter Front einströmen, so schiebt das Gas die Luft vor sich her, ohne sich in größerem Ausmaß mit ihr zu vermischen, und verdrängt sie durch den gegenüberliegenden Spalt nach aussen, wobei die Verdrängung durch eine Absaugung unterstützt werden kann. Die Gasverluste, die dadurch entstehen, dass mit Luft vermischtes Gas aus dem einen Spalt wieder ausströmt, können bei dem erfindungsgemäßen Verfahren erheblich geringer gehalten werden als bei dem bekannten Verfahren.
• - Dadurch, dass die Gasverluste geringer gehalten werden können, ist es eher möglich, für die Füllung solche Gase zu verwenden, bei denen es aufgrund des Preises oder wegen der Gefahr einer möglichen Arbeitsplatzbelastung auf besonders niedrige Gasveriuste ankommt.
• - Durch die niedrige Füllgeschwindigkeit baut sich im Zwischenraum zwischen den beiden Glasplatten allenfalls ein vernachlässigbarer Staudruck auf, dem anders als beim bekannten Verfahren in keiner Weise durch irgendwelche Maßnahmen begegnet werden muss, insbesondere nicht durch eine zur Durchführung des bekannten Verfahrens nötige "superschwere Präzisionsflächenpresse".
• - Dadurch, dass der Abstandhalter nicht durchbohrt werden muss, kann er rundum, d.h. in allen seinen Schenkeln, mit einem körnigen Trockenmittel gefüllt sein.
• - Während beim bekannten Verfahren die Bohrungen im Abstandhalter nach dem Füllvorgang auf umständliche Weise verschlossen werden müssen, kann erfindungsgemäß die Isolierglasscheibe sehr einfach geschlossen werden, nämlich dadurch, dass man die Glasplatte, die dem Abstandhalter noch nicht vollständig anliegt, nunmehr zur Anlage am Abstandhalter bringt. Standen die Glasplatten während des Füllvorgangs spitzwinklig zueinander, muss man lediglich eine Glasplatte gegen die andere schwenken. Besonders elegant kann die Isolierglasscheibe geschlossen werden, wenn eine Glasplatte elastisch verbogen ist, indem man die Kräfte,die die Glasplatte in ihrer gebogenen Gestalt halten, abbaut. Die gebogene Glasplatte nimmt infolge ihrer Elastizität dann selbsttätig ihre ursprüngliche Gestalt wieder an, d.h., sie federt gegen den Abstandhalter und verschließt dadurch den Zwischenraum zwischen den Glasplatten ausserordentlich rasch, so dass das eingefüllte Gas praktisch keine Gelegenheit hat, nach dem Ende des Füllvorganges wieder zu entweichen. Bei dem bekannten Verfahren ist das anders, da dort zwangsläufig eine geraume Zeit zwischen dem Ende des Füllvorganges und dem Verschließen der Bohrungen verstreicht.
• - Wie anhand eines Ausführungsbeispieles noch gezeigt werden wird, kann das erfindungsgmäße Verfahren in einer herkömmlichen lsolierglasfertigungslinie durchgeführt werden, welche lediglich im Bereich der Zusammenbaustation mit verhältnismässig wenig Aufwand modifiziert werden muss. Soll ein Spalt zum Einfüllen des Gases durch spitzwinklige Anordnung der Glasplatten gebildet werden, ist es lediglich nötig, in der Zusammenbaustation, welche mit zwei einander gegenüberliegenden, abstandsveränderlichen Preßplatten ausgestattet ist, eine der vorhandenen, zum Festhalten einer Glasplatte vorzugsweise als Saugplatte ausgebildeten Preßplatten um einen entsprechenden kleinen Winkel schwenkbar zu lagern. Das Abdecken des Scheibenzwischenraums an drei Rändern, um Gasverluste beim Füllvorgang zu vermeiden, ist nicht schwer, da zwei der drei abzudeckenden Ränder für alle Glasplattenformate in der Zusammenbaustation stets die gleiche Lage haben können, so dass Abdeckelemente leicht zur Anlage an den Rändern gebracht werden können.

The advantages of the invention compared to the known method are extremely convincing:

• - The spacer does not have to be modified compared to a spacer for insulating glass panes that are not filled with a special gas, so that no further work on the spacer is required. In particular, it is not necessary to drill through the spacer at two or three points and to seal it again. All work on the spacer that occurs in this connection in the known method is avoided in the method according to the invention. In addition, the spacer is not weakened by any holes.
• - While in the known method the space between the panes is filled through a relatively narrow bore of approx. 4 mm diameter in the spacer (the opening cross section is approx. 12 mm ² ), according to the invention it is easy to achieve much larger and advantageously elongated, gap-shaped accesses between the spacer and the glass plate; alone by bending only one glass plate, opening cross sections were formed which were more than 20 times as large as in the known method. This makes it possible to fill the space between the two glass plates very quickly and yet at such a low flow rate with a gas that such strong turbulence as occurs in the process known from DE-GM 87 15 749 when the inventive method is used Procedure does not occur. By means of a gas slowly flowing in on a wide front, the air from the space between the two glass plates can rather be displaced progressively, in particular especially when - as preferred - the glass plate is bent in such a way that two access gaps are formed which lie on mutually opposing edge sections of the insulating glass pane. If the gas is allowed to flow in broadly through one of these gaps, the gas pushes the air in front of it without mixing with it to any great extent and displaces it outwards through the opposite gap, the displacement being assisted by suction can be. The gas losses which result from gas mixed with air flowing out of one gap again can be kept considerably lower in the method according to the invention than in the known method.
• - Because the gas losses can be kept lower, it is more possible to use such gases for the filling, in which particularly low gas losses are important due to the price or because of the risk of possible workload pollution.
• - Due to the low filling speed, a negligible dynamic pressure builds up in the space between the two glass plates, which, unlike in the known method, does not have to be counteracted in any way by any measures, in particular not by a "super-heavy precision surface press" required to carry out the known method.
• - Because the spacer does not have to be drilled through, it can be filled with a granular desiccant all around, ie in all of its legs.
• - While in the known method the bores in the spacer have to be closed in a cumbersome manner after the filling process, according to the invention the insulating glass pane can be closed very simply, namely by bringing the glass plate, which is not yet fully in contact with the spacer, into contact with the spacer . If the glass plates were at an acute angle to each other during the filling process, all you have to do is swivel one glass plate against the other. The insulating glass pane can be closed particularly elegantly if a glass plate is elastically bent by reducing the forces that hold the glass plate in its curved shape. The curved glass plate then automatically returns to its original shape due to its elasticity, ie it springs against the spacer and thereby closes the space between the glass plates extremely quickly, so that the filled gas has practically no opportunity to close again after the end of the filling process escape. This is different in the known method, since there inevitably elapses a long time between the end of the filling process and the closing of the bores.
• As will be shown on the basis of an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the invention can be carried out in a conventional insulating glass production line, which only has to be modified with relatively little effort in the area of the assembly station. If a gap for filling the gas is to be formed by an acute-angled arrangement of the glass plates, it is only necessary in the assembly station, which is equipped with two mutually opposite, variable-distance press plates, one of the existing press plates, preferably designed as suction plates for holding a glass plate correspondingly pivotable small angle. It is not difficult to cover the space between the panes on three edges in order to avoid gas losses during the filling process, since two of the three edges to be covered can always have the same position for all glass plate formats in the assembly station, so that cover elements can easily be brought into contact with the edges .

If a gap for filling the gas is to be formed by bending a glass plate, a recess can be provided in the press plate of the assembly station, in which a suction device is arranged which sucks the glass plate, pulling it against the edge of the recess acting as an abutment, and thus causing the glass plate to bend. This modified assembly station can also be used to easily assemble insulating glass panes that are not to be filled with a gas other than air. The method according to the invention thus allows an extremely efficient way of working. In the same production line, insulating glass panes with heavy gas filling and air filling can be produced in any order. Although there are spacers that are flexible enough to be bent together with a glass plate, the glass plate is preferably bent before it is connected to the spacer, so that it is not important for creating access to the interior of the insulating glass pane whether and to what extent the respective spacer can be bent. This procedure is particularly recommended for the production of insulating glass glued to the edge, which is produced with the aid of spacers which consist of metallic hollow profile bars and are provided on their two flanks with an adhesive with the aid of which they glue the two glass plates together. In principle, it would also be possible Bend both glass sheets to create greater access to the interior of the insulating glass pane. However, it has been shown that the associated increased effort is not necessary. Rather, it is sufficient to bend only one of the glass plates. In this case, the best thing to do is to first place the spacer on the glass plate that is not to be bent. This has the advantage that the spacer is not subjected to bending and is held and supported over its entire circumference. Then you place the curved glass plate on the spacer, and because the bend of the glass plate also extends to its edge, at least one opening inevitably remains free between the curved glass plate and the spacer.

Alternatively, you can also proceed by first placing both glass plates completely against the spacer and then partially removing one of the two glass plates from the spacer by bending if the adhesive used allows this. With butyl rubber-based adhesives, it is possible if they have not been pressed too hard.

In principle, it does not matter in which way the glass plate is bent and where the access points formed are. So you could e.g. remember to bend a glass plate in the area of two diagonally opposite corners so that its outer surface is concave there, i.e. the corners are bent away from the spacer; In the area of one corner the gas could be filled in and the air at the opposite corner could be sucked out or displaced. It is also possible to bend one or the other glass plate along one of its edges and to flow in the gas near one corner and to extract or force it out at this edge near the other corner. However, it is preferred to bend the respective glass plate so that its outer surface is convex, in particular in such a way that it is bent at two opposite edge sections, while the other edge sections between them essentially maintain their original shape, in the case of flat glass plates lie in one plane. In this way, the glass plate receives a bulge, which is similar to a barrel vault, and on both sides of the bulge there are non-bent edge sections with which a corresponding section-wise contact is made with the spacer, so that the space between the two glass plates except for two opposite gaps is closed, the shape of which resembles the cross section of a plano-convex lens.

In principle, one could fill the insulating glass pane horizontally, with one of the glass plates lying on a table and the second one arranged above it, for example held by a suction device, but the insulating glass pane is preferably filled upright, with it being preferred that the two gaps between the curved glass plate and the spacer are on top of each other. When filling in a heavy gas, it is expediently filled in through the lower gap and allowed to rise in the space between the two glass plates, displacing the air from the space through the upper gap. In order to guide the heavy gas more easily and quickly into the area of the lower corners of the insulating glass pane, there is the possibility of fanning out the flow of the heavy gas in different directions by means of corresponding guide elements in a feed nozzle which is brought to the lower access of the insulating glass pane.

To bend a glass plate, one could think of pressing two of its opposite edges against each other, causing the glass plate to bulge. One could also think of working with lying glass plates and only partially supporting the bottom glass plate so that it sags under its own weight. In terms of their practical implementation, both options are less favorable than the preferred procedure, according to which the respective glass plate is bent by being sucked into one or more partial areas of its outer surface and at the same time exerting forces opposite to these partial areas of the suction force on its outer surface. In this way, the glass sheet can be bent easily and independently of the position simply by attacking its outer surface. In order to achieve the preferred shape of the glass plate, which resembles a barrel vault, a wall can be provided which, for working with flat glass plates, expediently for the most part has a flat surface and a strip-shaped recess or gap, which is preferably approximately 30 cm wide. In this recess one can arrange one or better still a number of suction cups which can be moved back and forth relative to the surface of the wall and which can be placed on the outer surface of the glass plate. Once they have sucked in the glass plate, the suction cups are pulled back behind the surface of the wall. The outer surface of the glass plate meets the edges of the recess, which act as an abutment and, in cooperation with the retracting suction cups, cause the glass plate to bend. A wall with a recess is also viewed as two walls arranged at a corresponding distance from one another. The aim is for the strip-shaped recess or gap in which the suction cups are arranged to be used in the central region of the glass sheet to be bent, if possible.

The suction cups are preferably arranged directly adjacent to one another and activated individually bar in order to be able to apply the suction power for bending optimally and adapted to the size of the respective glass plate.

The walls are preferably provided with a number of bores distributed over their surface, through which air can optionally be blown or sucked in. To transport the glass plates along the respective wall, air is blown through these holes and an air cushion is created between it and the glass plate. To hold the glass plate before and during the bending process, air is sucked in through these holes and thereby the glass plate is sucked against the wall, whereby it advantageously lies flatter when bent than without such a suction. The holder for the glass plate to be bent does not have to be an air cushion wall. For lying glass plates it could be a roller table that has suction cups that can be raised and lowered for bending. The bracket could also be a frame with clamps that grip the glass plate at the edge. The holder could also be an arrangement of suction cups, the front sides of which define a common surface in which the outside of the sucked-in glass plate lies and up to which further suction cups can be pushed.

In view of the fact that, according to the invention, an elongated opening is found between the spacer and a glass plate for filling in the gas and for suctioning off the gas-air mixture, a nozzle with a correspondingly elongated mouth is advantageously used for filling the gas on the edge of the glass plates or on the edge of a glass plate and on the spacer (claims 29 and 30), so that maximum efficiency is achieved. Such an elongated nozzle can also be used to extract the gas-air mixture. Another advantage of using a nozzle with an elongated mouth for supplying the gas is that it can be divided into several sections, in which guide elements are provided for fanning out the gas flow in different outflow directions. This also opens up the possibility of separately feeding these sections with the gas by means of separate supply lines and thereby optimally adapting the filling process to the respective glass plate format. A further possibility of adaptation results from the fact that the guide elements are interchangeably arranged in the nozzle.

Another advantageous possibility is to provide in the device for supplying the gas a plurality of nozzles with different outflow directions, which have separate feed lines for the gas and can be supplied independently of one another. Preferably, two such nozzles are provided in a V-shaped arrangement and, in addition, a third nozzle (hereinafter referred to as the main nozzle), the outflow direction of which lies between the outflow directions of the V-shaped nozzles and whose mouth is preferably longer than the mouth of the V-shaped arrangement Nozzles, ideally chosen as long as the access to the interior of the insulating glass pane. In order to shield the access to the interior between the glass plates as well as possible, it is advisable to design the device for supplying the gas in such a way that the various nozzles are located in a common, narrow chamber, which has an elongated mouth which surrounds the mouths of the nozzles. can be brought to rest on the edge of the insulating glass pane. Such a nozzle allows a very advantageous method for introducing the gas into insulating glass panes which are upright or arranged at an incline: it is best to let the gas slowly flow in through the main nozzle from the lower edge. The gas, which is heavier than air, flows upwards, but also in the direction of the two protruding legs of the spacer, thereby also reaching the lower corners of the interior of the pane and gradually rising across a broad front. The gas is preferably introduced at the beginning in a very small amount per unit of time, because it then flows particularly readily along the lower edge of the pane interior and reaches the two lower corners; The gas throughput is then gradually increased, preferably linearly. As soon as you find that not only air but also some of the gas is escaping from the gap at the top of the insulating glass pane, you close the main nozzle and allow the gas to flow in through the V-shaped nozzles, which forces a flow that also leads into the two upper corners of the interior of the pane and displaces the air there, giving it a swirl. So that the air is not led down too far by the swirl, but is displaced from the interior through the gap at the upper edge of the insulating glass pane, the V-shaped nozzles are closed again after a brief opening and the main nozzle is opened again Rotary flow displaced air upwards through the gap from the upper corners. The filling process is ended when a measuring probe indicates that the oxygen content in the escaping gas flow falls below a predetermined limit value. According to this method, insulating glass panes can be filled not only very quickly, but also very completely, with turbulence inside the pane being largely avoided during the filling process.

In order to achieve the lowest possible gas losses, the mouth of the device for introducing the gas, and possibly also the mouth of a suction nozzle, is preferably surrounded by seals which are used for System on the glass panels and / or on the spacer are determined.

If a nozzle is used to extract the gas-air mixture, then it is best to face the device for introducing the gas, above it, if you are working with upright glass plates. In order to adapt to different glass plate formats, the suction nozzle must then be adjustable in distance from the horizontal conveyor. For this purpose, it is expedient to provide them on a sled. The suction nozzle is preferably not fixedly arranged on the slide, but rather is connected to the slide by means of a four-bar linkage. This makes it possible to move the suction nozzle at a distance from the walls and suction devices of the assembly station by arranging a lever of the four-bar linkage so that it hits the glass plate rather than the suction nozzle. When the sled continues to move, the quadrilateral joint is distorted and the suction nozzle is pulled towards the wall. With a suitable formation of the four-bar linkage, the nozzle reaches the wall the moment it sits tightly on the glass plate lying against the wall.

However, it is by no means necessary to suck the air out of it during the introduction of the gas into the interior of the insulating glass pane. To avoid turbulence, it is even advantageous to dispense with such an extraction and to displace the air only by introducing the gas. There are even advantages to somewhat obstructing the escape of air from the interior of the insulating glass panes by partially covering the gap from which the air emerges. This favors the desired transverse distribution of the gas introduced into the interior of the insulating glass pane.

The invention is applicable to insulating glass panes made of two or more than two glass plates. For the production of insulating glass panes, which consist of three glass plates, a double pane consisting of two glass plates is first produced in the manner described, it is covered with a further spacer, preferably an elastically curved third glass plate is placed on it and a further gas filling process is carried out in the described way through.

The invention is not only applicable to flat glass plates, but also to curved glass plates, which e.g. for insulating glass for automobiles.

• Figur 1 zeigt die Vorrichtung in einer Seitenansicht,
• Figur 2 zeigt schematisch den längs der Linie 11-11 gelegten Schnitt durch einen Teil der Vorrichtung,
• Figur 3 zeigt als Detail den querschnitt 111-111 durch einen Abschnitt der Vorrichtung mit zwei noch nicht zusammengelegten Glasplatten,
• Figur 4 zeigt eine Darstellung entsprechend der Figur 3, jedoch mit zusammengelegten Glasplatten,
• Figur 5 zeigt als Detail eine Einrichtung zum Zuführen eines Gases, nämlich eine Düse im Längsschnitt,
• Figur 6 zeigt die Draufsicht auf die in Figur 5 dargestellte Düse,
• Figur 7 zeigt den Schnitt B-B durch die in Figur 5 dargestellte Düse,
• Figur 8 zeigt den Schnitt C-C durch die in Figur 5 dargestellte Düse, die Figuren 9a - 9d zeigen schematisch den Einsatz der Düse beim Füllen unterschiedlich großer Isolierglasscheiben mit einem Gas,
• Figur 10 zeigt als Detail eine Ansicht von unten auf eine Düse zum Absaugen eines LuftGas-Gemisches aus den Isolierglasscheiben,
• Figur 11 zeigt als Detail die in Figur 10 dargestellte Absaugdüse und ihre Anordnung in einer Ausnehmung zwischen zwei Preßplatten einer Zusammenbaustation in der Vorderansicht,
• Figur 12 zeigt den Schnitt D-D durch die in Figur 11 dargestellte Absaugdüse und durch einen Schlitten, an welchem sie mittels eines Gelenkvierecks angebracht ist,
• Figur 13 zeigt eine Darstellung entsprechend der Figur 12, wobei die Absaugdüse auf einer Glasplatte sitzt,
• Figur 14 zeigt ein anderes Ausführungsbeispiel einer Einrichtung zum Einleiten des Gases in einer Seitenansicht,
• Figur 15 zeigt den Schnitt E-E durch die Einrichtung gemäß Figur 14,
• Figur 16 zeigt die Draufsicht auf die Einrichtung gemäß Figur 14,
• Figur 17 zeigt ein Diagramm über den zeitlichen Verlauf des Gasfüllvorganges,
• Figur 18 erläutert die Strömungsverhältnisse im Innenraum einer Isolierglasscheibe beim Einleiten des Gases mit einer Einrichtung gemäß den Figuren 14 bis 16,
• Figur 19 zeigt in einer Ansicht wie in Fig. 11 ein anstelle einer Absaugdüse verwendbares Abdeckelement,
• Figur 20 zeigt den Schnitt F-F durch das in Figur 19 dargestellte Abdeckelement,
• Figur 21 zeigt eine Darstellung entsprechend der Figur 20, wobei das Abdeckelement auf dem Abstandhalter sitzt,
• Figur 22 zeigt eine andere Ausführungsform der Vorrichtung zum Zusammenbauen von Isolierglas, in welcher kein Biegen einer Glasplatte erfolgt, in einer Darstellung entsprechend Fig. 1 und
• Figur 23 zeigt den Schnitt H-H durch die in
• Figur 22 dargestellte Vorrichtung.

Embodiments of the device are shown schematically in the accompanying drawings.

• FIG. 1 shows the device in a side view,
• FIG. 2 schematically shows the section through part of the device taken along line 11-11,
• FIG. 3 shows in detail the cross section 111-111 through a section of the device with two glass plates that have not yet been folded,
• FIG. 4 shows a representation corresponding to FIG. 3, but with folded glass plates,
• FIG. 5 shows in detail a device for supplying a gas, namely a nozzle in longitudinal section,
• FIG. 6 shows the top view of the nozzle shown in FIG. 5,
• FIG. 7 shows the section BB through the nozzle shown in FIG. 5,
• FIG. 8 shows the section CC through the nozzle shown in FIG. 5, FIGS. 9a-9d schematically show the use of the nozzle when filling insulating glass panes of different sizes with a gas,
• FIG. 10 shows in detail a view from below of a nozzle for drawing off an air-gas mixture from the insulating glass panes,
• FIG. 11 shows in detail the suction nozzle shown in FIG. 10 and its arrangement in a recess between two press plates of an assembly station in the front view,
• FIG. 12 shows the section DD through the suction nozzle shown in FIG. 11 and through a slide to which it is attached by means of a four-bar linkage,
• FIG. 13 shows a representation corresponding to FIG. 12, the suction nozzle being seated on a glass plate,
• FIG. 14 shows another embodiment of a device for introducing the gas in a side view,
• FIG. 15 shows the section EE through the device according to FIG. 14,
• FIG. 16 shows the top view of the device according to FIG. 14,
• FIG. 17 shows a diagram of the time course of the gas filling process,
• FIG. 18 explains the flow conditions in the interior of an insulating glass pane when introducing the gas with a device according to FIGS. 14 to 16.
• FIG. 19 shows in a view as in FIG. 11 a cover element that can be used instead of a suction nozzle,
• FIG. 20 shows the section FF through the cover element shown in FIG. 19,
• FIG. 21 shows a representation corresponding to FIG. 20, the cover element being seated on the spacer,
• FIG. 22 shows another embodiment of the device for assembling insulating glass, in which there is no bending of a glass plate, in a representation corresponding to FIGS. 1 and
• Figure 23 shows the section HH through the in
• Figure 22 shown device.

1 and 2 show that the device has a base 1 and thereon a base 2, which carries a horizontally conveying conveyor, which is formed by a sequence of synchronously driven rollers 3. A support 4 is arranged between two adjacent rollers 3; the sequence of the supports 4 is arranged on a walking beam 5, which is adjustable up and down, so that the supports 4 between a position in which they protrude above the rollers 3 and a position in which they are below the top of the rollers 3 are sunk, can be moved back and forth.

Above the rollers 3 there is a support wall 6, which is supported on the one hand on the base 2 and on the other hand is supported by struts 7 and 8 which are based on the base frame 1 in a position inclined to the rear by approximately 6 ° with respect to the vertical. The support wall 6 is designed as an air cushion wall, i.e. it consists of a plate 9, in which it is distributed a number of bores, to which compressed air is supplied by a blower 10 via a line 11.

On the frame of the support wall 6, four bars 12 are arranged close to the four corners of the support wall and extend at right angles to the support wall 6 and can be pushed back and forth at right angles to the support wall 6 by a pressure-actuated cylinder 13. Instead of the cylinder 13, a spindle could also be used. The rods 12 carry at their front end a holder 14 to which a frame with two walls 15 and 16 is fastened, which run parallel to the support wall 6 and whose distance from the support wall 6 can be changed by actuating the pressure medium cylinders 13. The walls 15 and 16 are also designed as air cushion walls and are therefore supplied with compressed air by the fan 10 through a further line 17. Like the support wall 9, they have a number of bores 35 distributed over their surface, through which the blower air can escape or be sucked in. A further walking beam 18 with a number of supports 19 is arranged below the walls 15 and 16.

Between the two walls 15 and 16 there is an approximately 20 cm wide recess 20 which extends vertically from bottom to top over the full height of the walls. In this recess 20 there is a number of suction cups 21 arranged one above the other, which are fastened to a common support 22 designed as a pipe and are connected to a suction unit via a common suction line 23. The carrier 22 is connected to the frame of the walls 15 and 16 by pressure-actuated piston-cylinder units 24. As a result, the suction cups 21 can be advanced at least to the front of the walls 15 and 16 and can also be withdrawn again.

In the space between the support wall 6 and the front wall 16 with respect to the conveying direction 25, two retractable stops 26 and 27 are arranged, one of which is close to the recess 20 and the other at the outlet end of the wall 16. There are two position sensors 28 and 29 a little way in front of these stops. A further position sensor 30 is located at the beginning of the support wall 15.

In the area of the recess 20 there is a device 31 for supplying a gas at the level of the conveyor 3, which is interrupted at this point. It is a nozzle 31 which is adjustable in height so that it can be brought to the lower edge of an insulating glass pane. In the interior of the nozzle 31, which extends over the full length of the recess 20, there are guide elements 32 on an exchangeable strip (FIG. 7), which fan out the upward gas stream in different directions. Opposite the nozzle 31, a height-adjustable suction device 33 is arranged in front of the wall 6, the drive unit of which is not shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 for reasons of clarity.

The nozzle 31 is a flat hollow body 36 in which an elongated nozzle mouth 37 is formed. In the longitudinal direction, the nozzle is divided into three sections 38a, 38b and 38c, which are supplied with gas by separate lines 39a, 39b, 39c. The nozzle mouth 37 is framed by seals 44, 45 and 46, namely along the side of two strip-shaped seals 44 and 45, which can be made of foam rubber, for example. The seal 45 protrudes further beyond the nozzle opening 37 than the seal 44 and is used for placement on the spacer 41, while the seal 44 is used for placement on the lower edge of the glass plate 40, which lies against the walls 15 and 16 (FIG. 7 ). Since the opening gap between the glass plate 40 and the spacer 41 is lenticular in plan view (exaggerated in FIG. 4), the seal 44 does not run completely straight, but approaches the ends of the seal 45, which is shorter than the seal 44. At the ends of the seal 45 there are two wedge-shaped seals 46 (see FIG. 8) which, with a sealing surface 46a parallel to the walls 15 and 16, bear against the seal 44 and, moreover, against the inside of the glass plate 40 and which with one oblique sealing surface 46b abuts the spacer 41, which is usually formed on its outside with a corresponding inclined surface. Through the interaction of these three seals 44 to 46, the nozzle 31 can also be placed on the lower edge of insulating glass panes of different sizes and thicknesses such that the gap-shaped opening for supplying the gas is sealed sufficiently tightly. Here it benefits one that by bending the glass plate 40, the gap-shaped opening for glass plates of different thicknesses and different sizes has approximately the same size.

The suction device 33 opposite the nozzle 31 also has the shape of a nozzle with an elongated mouth 47, which is also framed by seals 48, 49 and 50, of which the longitudinal seal 49 closest to the walls 15, 16 for contacting the upper edge of the glass plate 40 is determined, while the parallel second longitudinal seal 48 protrudes slightly further than the seal 49 and is intended to rest against the spacer 41 (see FIG. 13). The sealing pieces 50 provided at the ends protrude as far as the seal 48. The suction device 33 is arranged in the recess 20 between the two walls 15 and 16, in such a way that the nozzle can be moved up and down in front of the suction cups 21. In the illustration in FIG. 11, the suction cups are combined, in deviation from the illustration in FIGS. 1 to 4, to form a strip which extends from the bottom upwards and whose front is divided into fields by vertically running seals 52 and by horizontally running seals 53 in the center of which is a suction opening 54. The nozzle 33 is fastened to arms 55 which extend to the rear on both sides of the bar 51 and are articulated on two levers 56 and 57 which in turn are articulated on a carriage 58. The arms 55, the levers 56 and 57 and the slide 58 together form a four-bar linkage. The carriage 58 is located behind the bar 51 and can be moved up and down by means of a chain 59. The lower lever 56 of the four-bar linkage is extended on both sides of the bar 51 beyond the joint located on the arms 55 to such an extent that it projects up to the front of the walls 15 and 16. It is also arranged so deep that its underside is below the nozzle mouth 47 as long as the nozzle of the glass plate 40 is not yet seated.

A channel 60 leads from the nozzle 33 to the suction side of a blower (not shown).

• Bei abgesenkten Hubbalken 5 und 18 wird eine Glasplatte 40 auf den Rollen 3 stehend und gegen die Stützwand 6 gelehnt in die Vorrichtung hereintransportiert. Die Lage und Länge der Glasplatte 40 wird aufeinanderfolgend durch die Sensoren 30, 28 und 29 erfaßt. Handelt es sich um eine lange Glasplatte, wird sie am Anschlag 27 gestoppt. Handelt es sich um eine Glasplatte, die so kurz ist, dass ihr hinterer Rand nicht mehr im Bereich der Wand 15 liegen würde, wenn sie durch den Anschlag 27 gestoppt würde, so wird sie vor dem Anschlag 26 angehalten. Dadurch ist sichergestellt, dass die Glasplatte, wenn sie zur Ruhe gekommen ist, die Ausnehmung 20 auf voller Länge überdeckt.

The device works as follows:

• With the walking beams 5 and 18 lowered, a glass plate 40 standing on the rollers 3 and leaning against the supporting wall 6 is transported into the device. The position and length of the glass plate 40 is successively detected by the sensors 30, 28 and 29. If it is a long glass plate, it is stopped at stop 27. If it is a glass plate that is so short that its rear edge would no longer lie in the area of the wall 15 if it were stopped by the stop 27, it is stopped in front of the stop 26. This ensures that the glass plate, when it has come to rest, covers the recess 20 over its full length.

Now the walking beam 3 is moved upwards, thereby lifting the glass plate 40 from the rollers 3. Now the walls 15 and 16 are approached together to the glass plate 40 and the glass plate is sucked in by sucking in air through the holes 35 in the walls 15 and 16. If the glass plate 40 is sucked in in this way, it is moved back together with the walls 15 and 16. It now hangs on the walls 15 and 16 and is supported at the bottom by the now raised supports 19. The suction cups 21 are now activated: they additionally suck the glass plate 40 in the area of the recess 20. If the suction cups 21 have sucked onto the outer surface of the glass plate 40, they move back a little, preferably by approximately 2 mm, and thereby cause a deflection of the glass plate 40, which primarily affects the area of the recess 20.

In the meantime, the supports 4 are lowered and a further glass plate 42 of the same size but covered with a spacer 41 is conveyed onto the rollers 3, positioned congruently with the glass plate 40 and lifted off the rollers 3 by the supports 4. The spacer 41 is coated on both sides with an adhesive.

The walls 15 and 16 are now approached together to the wall 6 until the glass plate 40 (in the language of the claims it is the "second" glass plate) comes to rest on the spacer 41. As a result, the space between the two glass plates 40 and 42 is closed except for two gap-shaped openings 43 at the top and bottom of the glass plate 40. Now the bottom opening 43 is covered by the nozzle 31 (FIGS. 7 and 8) and from above Suction device 33 lowered. In doing so, it first moves downwards at some distance in front of the suction cups 21. However, as soon as the two levers 56 hit the upper edge of the glass plate 40, the levers 56 and 57 are pivoted upward as the carriage 58 moves further downward and thereby pull the suction device 33 against the suction cups 21. The arrangement is such that the seal 49 in any case strikes the upper edge of the glass plate 40, which can be easily achieved, since this edge is always adjacent to the suction cups 21 regardless of the size and thickness of the glass plate 40 and is thus in a predetermined position.

A heavy gas is now introduced from below into the interior between the two glass plates 40 and 42, while at the same time suction takes place from above. Depending on the format of the insulating glass pane, the filling process can take place differently. Some examples are shown in FIGS. 9a to 9d. In Figure 9a, an insulating glass pane is filled, which is relatively small is. This disc is positioned against the inner stop 26 and filled over the middle and right sections 38b and 38c of the nozzle 31. This method of operation is preferred for insulating glass panes with a length of up to 2 m. 9b shows the filling of a narrower insulating glass pane, the length of which is not more than approximately 2 m and which is therefore also positioned against the inner stop 26 (FIG. 2). Such an insulating glass pane can be filled sufficiently quickly and uniformly by the right section 38c of the nozzle 31 alone. FIG. 9c shows the filling of a large insulating glass pane which is positioned against the outer stop 27 (FIG. 2). The nozzle 31 is used in the middle area and the gas is supplied through all three sections 38a, 38b and 38c. This method of working is suitable for insulating glass panes that are longer than 2 m and not too low. Correspondingly long, but lower insulating glass panes are expediently filled, as shown in FIG. 9d, through the right and left section of the nozzle 31, while the middle section 38b remains closed.

If the interior between the glass plates 40 and 42 is sufficiently filled with the heavy gas, the nozzle 31 and the suction device 33 are removed from the edge of the insulating glass pane and at the same time the suction cups 21 are depressurized, so that the glass plate 40 suddenly springs against the spacer 41 and the insulating glass pane closes very quickly. By actuating the pressure medium cylinders 13, the walls 15 and 16 are now pressed against the supporting wall 6 and the insulating glass pane is thereby pressed to its desired thickness in a manner known per se.

After opening the press, the supports 4 and 19 are lowered and the pressed insulating glass pane is removed on the rollers 3.

In the further exemplary embodiments, parts that correspond to or are identical to parts in the first exemplary embodiment are denoted by corresponding reference numerals. In the description of the exemplary embodiments below, reference can therefore be made to the first exemplary embodiment in order to avoid repetitions.

The device 31 shown in FIGS. 14, 15 and 16 for introducing the gas into the interior of the insulating glass pane differs from the device shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 in that, in addition to a nozzle 61 with a very elongated mouth 61 a, two more Has nozzles 62 and 63, which also have elongated orifices 62a and 63a, but are considerably shorter than nozzle 61, which is the main nozzle. While the main nozzle 61 has a substantially upward outflow direction, the two shorter nozzles 62 and 63 are approximately obliquely to the side in opposite directions, i.e. directed against the upwardly extending legs of the spacer when the device 31 rests on the lower edge of an insulating glass pane, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 18. The two nozzles 62 and 63 thus form a V-shaped arrangement, the opening angle of the V should be large, preferably greater than 120 °, in particular approximately 150 °, in order to be able to force a flow even in narrow insulating glass panes of great length and low height , which reaches the two upper corners of the window interior.

The three nozzles 61, 62 and 63 are arranged in a flat chamber 67 with an elongated mouth, the outline of which corresponds to the device shown in FIG. 6 and is framed in a corresponding manner by seals 44, 45 and 46 with which the device for contacting the bottom Edge of the insulating glass pane is brought (see Fig. 15).

With such a device, the gas is preferably introduced into the interior of the insulating glass pane as follows: through a gap provided at the lower edge of the insulating glass pane, gas, which is heavier than air, is first introduced into the interior of the insulating glass pane through the main nozzle 61, initially with a low throughput so that the gas can spread along the lower edge of the insulating glass pane into the two lower corners of the interior. The throughput of the gas is then steadily increased, an upwardly rising front of the heavy gas being formed, which displaces the air from the interior through a gap-shaped opening provided at the upper edge of the insulating glass pane. FIG. 18 shows by a family of lines 68 how the front of the gas progresses from the bottom to the top. If it reaches the gap at the upper edge of the insulating glass pane, then the main nozzle 61 is closed and instead the V-shaped nozzles 63 and 62 are opened, as a result of which - as indicated by the lines 69 - a flow reaching the two upper corners of the pane interior is forced , which is deflected in the area of the upper corners and receives a swirl, whereby the air is flushed out of the upper area of the corners. So that the air leaves the pane interior through the gap located at the top of the insulating glass pane, instead of being distributed in the interior of the pane by the rotating flow which is formed, the gas is only allowed to flow out of the V-shaped nozzles 62 and 63 for a short time and then the main nozzle is opened again 61, in order to displace the air which has been flushed out of the region of the two upper corners by the action of the V-shaped nozzles 62 and 63 by the upward flow emanating from it. In this way, insulating glass panes can be very quickly and with little Fill the residual content of air with a gas other than air.

Figure 17 shows how expediently the filling process can be carried out with the main nozzle 61: one begins with a low gas throughput, which should be maintained and the longer the longer the insulating glass pane to be filled, so that the heavy gas runs along the lower pane edge can flow to the two lower corners of the pane interior, before the throughput is then increased to a maximum value, which, however, is chosen so low that turbulence in the pane interior is largely avoided. Accordingly, the right curve in FIG. 17 applies to longer, the left curve for shorter insulating glass panes.

FIGS. 19 to 21 show a cover element for partially covering the gap formed at the upper edge of the insulating glass pane during the filling process. This cover element 70 can advantageously be used instead of the suction nozzle shown in FIGS. 10 to 13 and, like this, is fastened to a carriage 58 which can be moved up and down. The cover element 70 is a plate which is arranged essentially vertically in front of the suction bar 51 between the walls 15 and 16 and is mounted on the carriage 58 so as to be pivotable about a horizontal axis 71. The cover element 70 is provided in its upper region on the rear with a seal 72 and on its lower edge with a seal 73 which, when the carriage 58 is lowered, strikes the spacer 41 of the insulating glass pane and thereby raises the cover element 70 until it is in contact with it Upper seal 72 comes to rest on the squeegee 51. Air emerging from the gap 74 can therefore not flow upward unhindered, but is deflected to the side and must flow to the right and left edge of the cover element 70 before it is released. This obstruction of the air outlet favorably favors the formation of a transverse flow in the interior of the pane.

A narrow line 75 is integrated into the cover element 70, through which a small part of the air or air / gas mixture emerging from the gap 74 can be sucked off and fed to a sensor which measures the oxygen content and thus enables a statement as to how large the residual air content in the disc is still.

The device shown in FIGS. 22 and 23 corresponds in numerous elements to the device shown in FIGS. 3 to 4, so that in this respect reference can be made to the description there. The device shown in FIGS. 22 and 23 differs from the device shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 in that no glass plate is bent in it. Accordingly, the suction cups 21 are missing and instead of two walls 15 and 16 separated by a gap 20, the support wall 6 is only opposite a wall 15 which is designed as an air cushion wall and which is about an axis 76 which, in the plan view according to FIG. 23, at the right end of the wall 15 is arranged and extends parallel to the front of the wall 15 in a vertical plane, is pivotable by a small angle. In addition, the wall 15 can be moved parallel to the support wall 6 as described with reference to FIG. 1.

• Bei parallel zueinander ausgerichteten Wänden 6 und 15 wird auf den Rollen 3 eine Glasplatte 40 herangefördert, gegen den Anschlag 27 positioniert, von der Luftkissenwand 15 angesaugt und durch Parallelverschieben der Luftkissenwand 15 von der Stützwand 6 abgehoben. Anschließend wird auf den Rollen 3 eine weitere, mit einem Abstandhalter 41 belegte Glasplatte 42 herangefördert und gegen den Anschlag 27 positioniert. Die Luftkissenwand 15 wird um die Achse 76 um einen kleinen Winkel verschwenkt, so dass zwischen der Stützwand 6 und der Wand 15 ein spitzer Winkel besteht. Dann wird die Wand 15 durch Parallelverschiebung der Stützwand 6 angenähert, bis die Glasplatte 40 den in der Draufsicht gemäß Fig. 23 rechten Schenkel des Abstandhalters 41 erreicht. Es besteht dann zwischen der Glasplatte 40 und dem oberen und unteren Schenkel des Abstandhalters ein keilförmiger Spalt, welcher in Fig. 23 übertrieben dargestellt ist, und zwischen der Glasplatte 40 und dem in der Draufsicht linken Schenkel des Abstandhalters 41 besteht ein schmaler, rechteckiger Spalt, welcher nur etwa 2 mm breit ist. Zum Füllen des Innenraums der Isolierglasscheibe kann man den oberen und den unteren keilförmigen Spalt abdecken, beispielsweise durch eine mit Schaumgummi belegte Leiste oder durch einen hochfesten, flexiblen, aufblasbaren Schlauch 77 bzw. 78, welche verschiebbar sind. Den Spalt am linken Rand der Isolierglasscheibe deckt man im unteren Bereich durch eine Einrichtung 31 zum Zuführen des Gases ab, welches unten in den Innenraum der Isolierglasscheibe eingeleitet wird und die Luft aus einem oben liegenden, nicht abgedeckten Abschnitt des Öffnungsspaltes verdrängt. Nach dem Füllvorgang wird die Wand 15 gegen die Stützwand 6 verschwenkt, bis sie dieser parallel ist. Dadurch wird die Isolierglasscheibe geschlossen; sie kann nach einem Zurückbewegen der Wand 15 auf den Rollen 3 stehend abgefördert werden.

The device works as follows:

• With walls 6 and 15 aligned parallel to one another, a glass plate 40 is conveyed up on the rollers 3, positioned against the stop 27, sucked in by the air cushion wall 15 and lifted off the support wall 6 by parallel displacement of the air cushion wall 15. A further glass plate 42 covered with a spacer 41 is then conveyed up on the rollers 3 and positioned against the stop 27. The air cushion wall 15 is pivoted about the axis 76 by a small angle, so that there is an acute angle between the support wall 6 and the wall 15. Then the wall 15 is approximated by parallel displacement of the support wall 6 until the glass plate 40 reaches the right leg of the spacer 41 in the plan view according to FIG. 23. There is then a wedge-shaped gap between the glass plate 40 and the upper and lower legs of the spacer, which is exaggerated in FIG. 23, and there is a narrow, rectangular gap between the glass plate 40 and the left leg of the spacer 41 in plan view. which is only about 2 mm wide. To fill the interior of the insulating glass pane, the upper and lower wedge-shaped gaps can be covered, for example by a strip covered with foam rubber or by a high-strength, flexible, inflatable tube 77 or 78, which are displaceable. The gap on the left edge of the insulating glass pane is covered in the lower area by a device 31 for supplying the gas, which is introduced at the bottom into the interior of the insulating glass pane and displaces the air from an above, uncovered section of the opening gap. After the filling process, the wall 15 is pivoted against the support wall 6 until it is parallel. This closes the insulating glass pane; it can be removed standing on the rollers 3 after moving the wall 15 back.

Claims (38)

1. A process of assembling insulating glass panes having an interior space, which is filled with a gas other than air and is disposed between pairs of glass plates (40, 42), which along their edges are spaced apart by a framelike spacer and are adhesively joined, wherein

- the spacer (41 ) is joined on both sides to the two glass plates (40, 42) of a pair of glass plates only in part of the length of the spacer so that at least one access leading to the interior space between the glass plates (40, 42) exists between the spacer (41) and at least one of the glass plates (40, 42),

- the gas is fed into the interior space through such access, and

- each access is closed in that the remaining length of the spacer (41) is joined on both sides to the two glass plates (40, 42),
characterized in that the flow of the gas out of the interior space of the insulating glass panes is restrained whilst the gas is being fed into it.

2. A process of assembling insulating glass panes having an interior space, which is filled with a gas other than air and is disposed between pairs of glass plates (40, 42), which along their edges are spaced apart by a framelike spacer and are adhesively joined, wherein

- the spacer (41) is joined on both sides to the two glass plates (40, 42) of a pair of glass plates only in part of the length of the spacer so that at least one access leading to the interior space between the glass plates (40, 42) exists between the spacer (41) and at least one of the glass plates (40, 42),

- the gas is fed into the interior space through such access, and

- each access is closed in that the remaining length of the spacer (41) is joined on both sides to the two glass plates (40, 42),
characterized by the sequence of steps:

- the spacer (41) is attached to one glass plate (hereinafter described as the "first" glass plate 42),

- at least one of the glass plates is elastically bent in a portion which includes at least one edge portion of the glass plate (40),

- the spacer (41) is attached to the other glass plate (hereinafter described as the "second" glass plate (40) while the bending is maintained so that at least one access to the interior space between the glass plates (40, 42) remains open,

- the gas is fed into the interior space through an access which has thus been provided, and

- each access is closed in that the elastic bending is eliminated.

3. A process of assembling insulating glass panes having an interior space, which is filled with a gas other than air and is disposed between pairs of glass plates (40, 42), which along their edges are spaced apart by a framelike spacer and are adhesively joined, wherein

- the spacer (41) is joined on both sides to the two glass plates (40, 42) of a pair of glass plates only in part of the length of the spacer so that at least one access leading to the interior space between the glass plates (40, 42) exists between the spacer (41) and at least one of the glass plates (40, 42),

- the gas is fed into the interior space through such access, and

- each access is closed in that the remaining length of the spacer (41) is joined on both sides to the two glass plates (40, 42),
characterized by the sequence of steps:

- the spacer (41) is attached to one glass plate (hereinafter described as the "first" glass plate 42) and is subsequently attached to the other glass plate (hereinafter described as the "second" glass plate 40),

- at least one access to the interior space between the glass plates (40, 42) is provided in that at least one of the glass plates is bent in a portion which includes at least one edge portion of the glass plate (40),

- the gas is fed into the interior space through an access which has thus been provided and

- each access is closed in that the elastic bending is eliminated.

4. A process according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that only one of the two glass plates (40, 42) is bent.

5. A process according to claims 2 and 4, characterized in that only the second glass plate (40) is bent.

6. A process according to claim 5, characterized in that the second glass plate (40) is bent before it is joined to the spacer (41).

7. A process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the accesses leading to the interior space between the two glass plates (40, 42) are sealed at the edges of the glass plates (40,42) at least in part during the feeding of the gas.

8. A process according to claim 1 for assembling rectangular insulating glass panes, characterized in that the spacer (41) is joined to one glass plate (42) along all four edges and is initially joined to the other glass plate (40), which includes a very small angle with said one glass plate (42), only along one of the four edges and that the two glass plates (40, 42) are pivotally moved toward each other to close the interior space when the gas has been fed.

9. A process of assembling rectangular insulating glass panes according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the glass plate concerned is bent off at two corners.

10. A process of assembling rectangular insulating glass panes according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the glass plate (40) concerned is bent at two mutually opposite edge portions.

11. A process according to claim 10, characterized in that the glass plate (40) concerned is bent off parallel to one of its edges.

12. A process according to any of claims 1 to 7 or 10 or 11, characterized in thatthe glass plate (40) concerned is bent to have a convex outside surface.

13. A process according to claim 12, characterized in that the glass plate (40) concerned is bent in a striplike portion, which extends at a distance from the comers of said glass plate (40) from one edge portion to the opposite edge portion thereof.

14. A process according to any of claims 1 to 7 or 9 to 13, characterized in that the glass plate (40) concerned is bent in that it is sucked at one or more portions of its outside surface and forces which are directed opposite to the suction force are exerted on the outside surface of said glass plate at the same time at locations which are remote from said portions.

15. A process according to claim 14, characterized in that the glass plate (40) concerned is sucked on its outside surface at a striplike portion thereof, which extends - preferably along a straight line - from one edge portion of the glass plate (40) to the opposite edge portion thereof.

16. A process according to claim 11 and 15, characterized in that the forces which are directed opposite to the suction force are exerted outside of a strip having a width of about 30 cm to the outside surface of that glass plate (40) which is to be bent, and said strip is disposed at one of the edges of the glass plate.

17. A process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the gas is fed into the interior space between the two glass plates (40, 42) while they are upright or inclined.

18. A process according to claim 17, characterized in that the gas is fed in from below and displaces the air upwardly.

19. An apparatus for assembling insulating glass panes having an interior space, which is filled with a gas other than air and is disposed between pairs of glass plates (40, 42), which along their edges are spaced apart by a framelike spacer (41) and are adhesively joined, comprising

a horizontally conveying conveyor (3) for the glass plates (40, 42), backing means (6) for backing the glass plates (40,42) being conveyed on the conveyor (3),

holding means (15, 16, 35), which are parallel to the backing means (6) and disposed at a variable distance thereform and serve to hold one of the glass plates (40) in position at a distance from the other glass plate, which holding means (15,16,35) are provided with positioning means, which are intended to engage the outside surface of said one glass plate (40) and define for the glass plate (40) a positioning surface, which will hereinafter be described as the "forward surface" of the holding means (15, 16, 35),

and means (12, 13, 14) for changing the distance between the holding means (15,16,35) and the backing means (6),

the holding means (15) and the backing means (6) being pivotally movable relative to each other between a first end position, in which they are parallel to each other, and a second end position, in which they include an acute angle with each other,

and means (31) are provided forfeeding a gas into the region between the holding means (15) and the backing means (6),
characterized in that covering elements are provided for covering accesses to the interior space between the two glass plates (40, 42) at the edges thereof.

20. An apparatus for assembling insulating glass panes having an interior space, which is filled with a gas other than air and is disposed between pairs of glass plates (40, 42), which along their edges are spaced apart by a framelike spacer (41 ) and are adhe- sⁱvely joined, comprising

a horizontally conveying conveyor (3) for the glass plates (40, 42), backing means (6) for backing the glass plates (40, 42) being conveyed on the conveyor (3),

holding means (15, 16, 35), which are parallel to the backing means (6) and disposed at a variable distance therefrom and serve to hold one of the glass plates (40) in position at a distance from the other glass plate, which holding means (15,16,35) are provided with positioning means, which are intended to engage the outside surface of said one glass plate (40) and define for the glass plate (40) a positioning surface, which will hereinafter be described as the "forward surface" of the holding means (15, 16, 35),

and means (12, 13, 14) for changing the distance between the holding means (15,16,35) and the backing means (6), characterized in that

at least one suction member (21) is associated with the holding means (15,16,35) and is directed toward the backing means (6) and adapted to be extended as far as to the forward surface of the holding means and to be retracted behind said forward surface,
and means (31) for feeding the gas are provided.

21. An apparatus according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that the holding means (15, 16, 35) consist of a wall (15, 16) provided with retaining means (35) for retaining said one glass plate (40),
and that the wall (15, 16) has as aperture or is divided by an aperture (20) into two sections (15 and 16) and the one suction member or the plurality of suction members (21) is or are accommodated in the aperture (20).

22. An apparatus according to claim 19,20 or 21, characterized in that for the processing of glass plates (40, 42) standing on edge the backing means (6) extend above the conveyor (3) and are slightly inclined to the rear for backing the glass plates (40, 42) standing on the conveyor (3),
and the means (31) for feeding the gas are disposed on the level of the conveyor (3) or are arranged above the conveyor (3) at a variable distance from the conveyor (3).

23. An apparatus according to claim 19,20 or 21, characterized in that the retaining means of the wall (15,16) are suction means (10, 35).

24. An apparatus according to claim 19, 20 or 21, characterized in that suction means (33) are provided, which are opposite to the means (31) for feeding the gas and at a variable distance therefrom.

25. An apparatus according to claim 21, characterized in that a plurality of suction members (21) arranged in a row are accommodated in the aperture (20) of the wall (15, 16).

26. An apparatus according to claim 25, characterized in that the suction members (21) are adapted to be activated individually or in groups.

27. An apparatus according to any of claims 19 to 26, characterized in that the backing means (6) consist of an air cushion wall having openings (35), through which air can selectively be blown or sucked.

28. An apparatus according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that the means (31) for feeding the gas comprise guiding elements (32) for fanning the gas stream to different directions.

29. An apparatus according to claim 19, 20 or 28, characterized in that the means (31) for feeding the gas comprise an elongate mouth (37), which is intended to engage the edge of the glass plates (40, 42) or the edge of one glass plate (49) and the spacer (41).

30. An apparatus according to claim 24, characterized in that the suction means (33) comprise an elongate mouth (47), which is intended to engage the edge of the glass plates (40, 42) or the edge of one glass plate (40) and the spacer (41).

31. An apparatus according to claims 28 and 29, characterized in that the mouth (37) of the means (31) for feeding the gas is subdivided into a plurality of sections, preferably into three sections (38a, 38b, 38c), in which the guiding elements (32) have different orientations and which can selectively be fed with the gas separately through separate supply lines (39a, 39b, 39c).

32. An apparatus according to claim 29 or 30, characterized in that the mouth (37, 47) of the means (31, 33) forfeeding and sucking the gas is lined by one seal or a plurality of seals (44, 45, 46; 48, 49, 50).

33. An apparatus according to claim 20, characterized in that the suction members (21) are retractable to be disposed about 2 mm behind the forward surface of the holding means (15, 16).

34. An apparatus according to claim 19, 20 or 21, characterized in that a covering element (70) for restraining the flow of gas out of the interior space between the glass plates (40, 42) is provided and is opposite to the means (31) for feeding the gas and at a variable distance therefrom.

35. A process according to claim 18, characterized in that the gas is fed into the interior space at the bottom edge of the glass plates (40, 42) and is initially fed as a flow that is substantially directed toward the top leg of the spacer and after a subsequent instant of time is fed for a short period of time as a flow which is upwardly inclined toward the two rising legs of the spacer, and thereafter once more as a flow that is directed toward the top leg of the spacer (41), and that the air is displaced out of a gap (74) which is provided at the top edge and which preferably lies over the access provided at the bottom edge.

36. A process according to claim 35, characterized in that the selected subsequent instant of time is that time at which an escape of the gas which has been fed at the bottom is detected at the top edge of the glass plates (40, 42).

37. A process according to any of claims 1 to 18 or 35 and 36, characterized in that the amount of gas which is fed per unit of time is increased during the filling operation.

38. A process according to any of claims 2 to 18 or 35 to 37, characterized in that the flow of the gas out of the interior space is restrained.

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