EP0380832A1 - Fabricating machine for the surface of glass plates - Google Patents
Fabricating machine for the surface of glass plates Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0380832A1 EP0380832A1 EP89300885A EP89300885A EP0380832A1 EP 0380832 A1 EP0380832 A1 EP 0380832A1 EP 89300885 A EP89300885 A EP 89300885A EP 89300885 A EP89300885 A EP 89300885A EP 0380832 A1 EP0380832 A1 EP 0380832A1
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- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- glass plates
- fabricating
- machine
- machine according
- conveying
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- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B24—GRINDING; POLISHING
- B24B—MACHINES, DEVICES, OR PROCESSES FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING; DRESSING OR CONDITIONING OF ABRADING SURFACES; FEEDING OF GRINDING, POLISHING, OR LAPPING AGENTS
- B24B7/00—Machines or devices designed for grinding plane surfaces on work, including polishing plane glass surfaces; Accessories therefor
- B24B7/20—Machines or devices designed for grinding plane surfaces on work, including polishing plane glass surfaces; Accessories therefor characterised by a special design with respect to properties of the material of non-metallic articles to be ground
- B24B7/22—Machines or devices designed for grinding plane surfaces on work, including polishing plane glass surfaces; Accessories therefor characterised by a special design with respect to properties of the material of non-metallic articles to be ground for grinding inorganic material, e.g. stone, ceramics, porcelain
- B24B7/24—Machines or devices designed for grinding plane surfaces on work, including polishing plane glass surfaces; Accessories therefor characterised by a special design with respect to properties of the material of non-metallic articles to be ground for grinding inorganic material, e.g. stone, ceramics, porcelain for grinding or polishing glass
- B24B7/242—Machines or devices designed for grinding plane surfaces on work, including polishing plane glass surfaces; Accessories therefor characterised by a special design with respect to properties of the material of non-metallic articles to be ground for grinding inorganic material, e.g. stone, ceramics, porcelain for grinding or polishing glass for plate glass
- B24B7/244—Machines or devices designed for grinding plane surfaces on work, including polishing plane glass surfaces; Accessories therefor characterised by a special design with respect to properties of the material of non-metallic articles to be ground for grinding inorganic material, e.g. stone, ceramics, porcelain for grinding or polishing glass for plate glass continuous
Definitions
- the present invention concerns a machine for preparing the surface of glass plates, for example a machine for preparing the surface of glass plates for producing rear view mirrors of automobiles by surface grinding and surface polishing.
- the surface of a glass plate after cutting into a predetermined shape (hereinafter simply referred to as a material mirror plate) has been put to grinding, smoothing and polishing machining and the material mirror plate has been finished to a shape of a rear view mirror, for example, a prismatic shape, by usually combining at least two kinds of fabricating machines as described below.
- a material mirror plate is roughly ground, for example, into a prismatic shape by means of a grinding machine.
- the roughly ground material mirror plate is further ground by lapping into a prismatic shape by means of a lapping machine capable of applying finer grinding than the grinding machine as described above.
- finishing polishing is conducted by using a polishing machine which can apply a further finer finishing grinding than the lapping finishing as described above by using abrasives also as required.
- Each of the grinding machine, lapping machine and polishing machine as described above has a rotary plate capable of rotating and whereon the material mirror plate is secured horizontally.
- a fabricating head is positioned such that the material mirror plate secured to the rotary plate can be ground.
- the fabricating head is provided with a fabricating tool, such as a cup-shaped diamond wheel, a grindstone, etc. of roughness which is different depending on the degree of fabricating in each of the machining steps in the case of the grinding machine and the lapping machine, or attached with a felt wheel, etc. in the case of the polishing machine.
- the material mirror plate has to be put into and out of the fabricating machine on every machining steps for conducting the machining step, which is extremely inefficient and, as a result, brings about a drawback that it is difficult to increase the production speed for rear view mirrors.
- a machine for preparing the surface of glass plates to be prepared having an inlet section at which said glass plates are supplied and an outlet section from which said glass plates are taken out, said machine comprising: means for linearly conveying the glass plates from the inlet section to the outlet section; means connected to said conveying means for holding said glass plates; and a plurality of fabricating head devices disposed in a row along the linear conveying direction of said conveying means, said fabricating head devices being adapted to execute different kinds of surface preparation on glass plates held to said holding means.
- the machine is preferably so adapted that each of the machining steps, which preferably include grinding, smoothing and polishing machining steps, can be applied successively and continuously without manual intervention at corresponding stages in the machine of the invention.
- glass plates which have already been cut into a predetermined shape (hereinafter simply referred to as material mirror plate) can be supplied successively in the course of producing for example rear view mirrors, means for grinding, smoothing and polishing and then the material mirror plates are finished into the shape of a rear view mirror, for example, to a prismatic shape while continuously applying grinding, smoothing and polishing to the surface of the material mirror plates.
- the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates of this embodiment comprises a machine frame 7, a conveyor device 1 as conveying means for linearly conveying a plurality of material mirror plates 6 in the state of applying machining, while arranging and securing them in a row in a predetermined direction, for example, in the right-to-left direction shown by the arrow 65, that is, in the advancing direction.
- a support frame 4 is mounted to the machine frame 7 and connected to the conveying device 1 for guiding the conveyor device 1 along the conveying direction.
- Suction devices 5 as securing means are connected to the conveyor device 1 for securing a plurality of material mirror plates 6 to the conveyor device 1 respectively, a plurality of fabricating heads 2 as fabricating head devices arranged in a row corresponding respectively to a plurality of material mirror plates 6 conveyed by the conveyor device 1 and fabricating wheels 3 are each mounted to the fabricating head 2 for applying a predetermined machining to each of a plurality of material mirror plates 6.
- the conveyor device 1 comprises a sprocket 8D and a sprocket 8T each disposed to the right and left ends of the machine frame 7 in Figure 1 and adapted to be rotatable around the axis in the direction crossing the conveying direction, an endless chain 9 laid over each of the sprocket 8D and the sprocket 8T and movable along the conveying direction and retaining members 12 each arranged along the conveying direction and attached through a mounting plate 11 to the endless chain 9.
- Shafts 8A and 8B disposed in the direction crossing to the conveying direction are fixedly connected to the sprocket 8D and the sprocket 8T respectively.
- the shafts 8A and 8B are supported in a canti-lever manner by means of bearings 36 and 36 mounted to the machine frame 7. Accordingly, the sprockets 8D and 8D can rotate by rotating of the respective shafts 8A and 8B.
- the sprocket 8D is adapted for driving to convey the endless chain 9 and, as shown in Figure 2, a rotational driving force is transmitted from a motor 38 through a speed reducer 37.
- the endless chain 9 can be moved circulately by the rotation of the sprocket 8D in the direction shown by arrows 64 and 65.
- each of the retaining members 12 is detachably mounted to a mounting plate 11 secured to each of the double-attachments 10A of a pair of ring plates 10 that constitute the endless chain 9 as shown in Figure 3 through Figure 5 respectively.
- Each of the mounting plates 11 is connected to the ring plate 10 at the double-attachment 10A of the ring plate 10 (refer to Figure 3).
- guide plates 13 and 13 disposed so as to put a pair of double attachments 10A respectively therebetween are mounted on both sides of the mounting plate 11.
- the guide plates 13 and 13 are arranged in a row along the conveying direction.
- the guide plates 13 and 13 are supported by a pair of guide-way members 14 and 14 disposed on the support frame 4 at each of the lower faces 13A of the guide plates 13.
- the guide plates 13 are guided by a pair of side guide members 15 and 15 disposed on the support frame 4 on each of the side faces 13B.
- These guide-way members 14 and 14, and the side guide-members 15 and 15 are respectively disposed along the conveying direction, that is, along the endless chain 9.
- the mounting plate 11 mounted with the guide plates 13 and 13 can be moved while being controlled and guided along the conveying direction. Accordingly, the retaining member 12 attached to the mounting plate 11 can also be guided and moved along the conveying direction, that is, in a linear way.
- each of the retaining members 12 is so formed that a mirror suction face 16, onto which the material mirror plate 6 is secured by vacuum suction, is gradually inclined from above to below in Figure 2 and along the direction in perpendicular to the plane of the drawing sheet in Figure 1. Accordingly, the mirror suction face 16 is so formed as to have saw teeth shape as viewed from the front each in Figure 1 and Figure 4.
- the angle of inclination for the mirror suction face 16 is preferably determined depending on the prismatic angle in the prismatic shape of a rear view mirror to be fabricated (in the case of fabricating a prism).
- the mirror suction face 16 is so formed as to have a not-inclined face, that is, a horizontal face in the case of preparing a rear view mirror not having such a prismatic shape.
- a rubber sheet 17 is appended on the surface of the mirror suction face 16.
- a perforation 18 is formed to the central portion of the rubber sheet 17.
- the rubber sheet 17 is so arranged and appended onto the mirror suction face 16 that a suction valve device 19 of a suction device 5 described later is situated to the portion of the perforation 18.
- a space 18A having a height corresponding to the thickness 17A of the rubber sheet 17 is defined with the perforation 18 and a partial surface 16A of the mirror suction face 16 exposed externally by the perforation 18, between the plate face 6A of the material mirror plate 6 and the retaining member 12 when the material mirror 6 is placed on the retaining member 12 (refer to Figure 8).
- the suction device 5 connected to the conveyor device 1 as described above is connected at the retaining member 12 so as to secure each of a plurality of material mirror plates 6 to the corresponding retaining member 12 under vacuum suction.
- the suction device 5 has a suction valve device 19 as shown in Figures 7 and 8 respectively.
- the suction valve device 19 comprises a suction aperture 22 formed to the mirror suction face 16, and rod 23 contained vertically movably, in Figures 7 and 8, in the inside of the suction aperture 22, a valve body 24 connected to the rod 23 such that it can seal the suction aperture 22, a spring 25 for resiliently urging the valve body 24 upwardly in Figures 7 and 8, and a cover member 26 for supporting the spring 25.
- the valve body 24 and the spring 25 are contained to the inside of a valve chamber 27 in communication with the suction aperture 22. Further, the diameter of the valve chamber 27 is made greater than that of the suction aperture 22 and the valve chamber 27 is in communication with an ventilation aperture 20.
- the suction valve device 19 if the material mirror substrate 6 is placed on the mirror suction face 16 of the retaining member 12, the rod 23 is pressed downwardly against the resilient urging force of the spring 25 by the weight of the material mirror plate 6 and, as a result, the valve body 24 is aparted from the ceiling at the inside of the valve chamber 27 to communicate the suction aperture 22 with the valve chamber 27. Accordingly, the suction aperture 22 is also in communication with the ventilation aperture 20 which is in communication with the valve chamber 27. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, a vacuum pump device 29 is connected through a vacuum hose 34 of the suction pipe device 21 to the ventilation aperture 20.
- each of the material mirror plates 6 can be conveyed integrally with the retaining member 12 in a state being sucked and secured on the retaining member 12.
- the suction device 5 comprises a suction valve device 19, a ventilation aperture 20, a suction pipe device 21 and a vacuum pump device 29.
- the suction pipe device 21 comprises a plurality of T-shaped pipes 30 each connected to the opening 20A of the ventilation aperture 20 disposed on the side 12A for each of the retaining members 12 and a plurality of vacuum hoses 34 that constitute a flexible suction pipe loop 32 over the entire area of the conveyor device 1 while connecting the T-shaped pipes 30 with each other.
- a T-shaped pipe 30A disposed, for example, as shown in Figure 9 ( Figure 2) is attached with a rotary joint 33 ( Figure 2) that can freely rotate around the axis in the direction crossing the conveying direction.
- the vacuum pump device 29 is connected to the rotary joint 33 through a flexible vacuum hose 34.
- the vacuum hose 34 has such a sufficient length as capable of always controlling the operation of the suction valve device 19 through the rotary joint 33, that is, always capable of operation for fixing each of the material mirror plates 6 under vacuum suction and operation for releasing the vacuum fixing by means of each of the retaining members 12 even if the rotary joint 33 is moved over the entire circumference of the conveyor device 1.
- an excess portion of the vacuum hose 34 is taken-up to a take-up drum 35 so that the change of the relative distance, if resulted, between the rotary joint 33 and the take-up drum 35 due to the conveying operation of the conveyor device 1 can be resiliently absorbed by the taking-up or delivering operation of the take-up drum 35 to the vacuum hose 34.
- a plurality of fabricating heads 2 are arranged in a row above each of the retaining members 12 of the conveyor device 1 in Figure 1 corresponding to the position for each of the retaining members 12 in a row along the conveying direction of the conveyor device 1 in order to conduct different kinds of fabricatings, and they are connected respectively to a common bed device 40 laid above the machine frame 7 in Figure 1.
- each of the fabricating heads 2 comprises a motor spindle 41 serving as a motor and also as a spindle, and a shaft 43 for the motor spindle 41.
- a fabricating wheel 3 as a fabricating tool is mounted by way of an adaptor 42 to the shaft 43.
- Each of the fabricating heads 2 has a vertical slide device 39 so that the fabricating wheel 3 mounted to the fabricating head 2 can be brought closer or aparted from the upper surface for each of the retaining members 12 supported on the support frame 4, that is, the mirror suction face 16.
- Each of the vertical slide devices 39 is mounted to the common bed device 40.
- the vertical slide device 39 can conduct fine adjustment for the cutting degree by each of the fabricating wheels 3 mounted to each of the fabricating heads 2.
- the fabricating head 2 attached with a felt wheel 3C is so adapted that the shaft 43 of the motor spindle 41 is freely movable relative to the axial direction of the shaft 43.
- the shaft 43 is connected to an air cylinder device 45 attached to a bracket 44 mounted on the motor spindle 41.
- the air cylinder device 45 By the operation of the air cylinder device 45, the shaft 43 can be moved in the axial direction as described above and, for instance, in a case where polishing is applied by the felt wheel 3C of the fabricating head 2, the operation of the air cylinder device 45 is preferably controlled such that the felt wheel 3C is pressed against the material mirror plate 6 while being kept at an optimum state for conducting the polishing operation. It will be apparent that such an air cylinder device 45 can also be used to other machining steps as required.
- a numerical value control device such as a microcomputer (not illustrated).
- each of the fabricating heads 2 is set vertical from just above each of the corresponding retaining members 12 toward the retaining member 12.
- the fabricating wheel 3 is attached to each of the fabricating heads 2.
- Different kinds of fabricating wheels 3 are selected for mounting to the respective fabricating heads 2 corresponding to each of the machining steps, that is, grinding, smoothing, polishing, etc. as has been described above.
- four diamond wheels 3A for grinding are at first disposed in a row from the right to the left in each of the drawings, that is, in the conveying direction of the conveyor device 1, then, four resin-diamond wheels 3B for smoothing which is finer grinding machining than the grinding described above and, further, four felt wheels 3C for applying finishing lustering, that is, for polishing are successively disposed to the portions machined by grinding and smoothing.
- the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates according to the present invention is not necessarily limited only thereto and the number of the fabricating heads for each of the machining steps is preferably selected depending on the requirement.
- the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates can also be constituted by properly combining the machining steps as required, for example, two machining steps e.g., a grinding step and a polishing step, or a smoothing step and a polishing step.
- two coolant tanks 47 are disposed behind the machine frame 7.
- the coolant tanks 47 are disposed for recovering cooling water supplied during a series of machining operations as described above by a coolant supply device 60 comprising a spray nozzle 61, a spray pipe 62 and a spray pump 63 between the fabricating wheel 3 mounted to the fabricating head 2 and a portion to be machined of the material mirror plate 6 which is machined with the fabricating wheel 3 (refer to Figure 3), in the route shown by the arrow 47A and circulately delivering the recovered water again to the coolant supply device 60.
- each of the fabricating heads 2 connected with the common bed device 40 is adjusted by way of each of the vertical slide devices 39 connected to each of the fabricating heads 2 so that the relative distance for each of the fabricating wheels 3 mounted on each of the fabricating heads 2 to the portion of the material mirror plate 6 to be machined is aligned with each other.
- the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates is put under the operated state.
- the motor spindle 41 for each of the fabricating heads 2 is also put into operation, that is, the shaft 48 is started to rotate and, accordingly, the fabricating wheel 3 mounted to the shaft 43 is also started to rotate.
- material mirror plates 6 are successively supplied so that the material mirror plates 5 are placed on the mirror suction faces 16 of the successive retaining members 12 of the conveyor device 1.
- the material mirror plates 6 are conveyed linearly in a state being secured and placed on the mirror suction faces 16 of the retaining members 12 by the suction device 5 and successively undergo various kinds of surface machinings by various kinds of fabricating wheels 3 of fabricating heads disposed along the linear conveying direction in each of the machining steps.
- Figure 10 shows a material mirror plate 6 after undregoing machining.
- the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates according to the present invention since the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates according to the present invention has the foregoing constitution, glass plates to be machined, when merely supplied successively to the inlet section of the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates, can be discharged continuously from the take-out section each in a state finished into a predetermined product. That is, since no operator's labour is required, production speed of the products can effectively be improved.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
- Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Grinding And Polishing Of Tertiary Curved Surfaces And Surfaces With Complex Shapes (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- The present invention concerns a machine for preparing the surface of glass plates, for example a machine for preparing the surface of glass plates for producing rear view mirrors of automobiles by surface grinding and surface polishing.
- In previous machines for preparing the surface of glass plates for producing rear view mirrors, the surface of a glass plate after cutting into a predetermined shape (hereinafter simply referred to as a material mirror plate) has been put to grinding, smoothing and polishing machining and the material mirror plate has been finished to a shape of a rear view mirror, for example, a prismatic shape, by usually combining at least two kinds of fabricating machines as described below.
- In addition, for machining the material mirror plate, machining steps as described below have generally been required.
- At first, as the first machining step, a material mirror plate is roughly ground, for example, into a prismatic shape by means of a grinding machine. Then, as the second machining step, the roughly ground material mirror plate is further ground by lapping into a prismatic shape by means of a lapping machine capable of applying finer grinding than the grinding machine as described above. Then, if required, as the third machining step, finishing polishing is conducted by using a polishing machine which can apply a further finer finishing grinding than the lapping finishing as described above by using abrasives also as required.
- Each of the grinding machine, lapping machine and polishing machine as described above has a rotary plate capable of rotating and whereon the material mirror plate is secured horizontally. A fabricating head is positioned such that the material mirror plate secured to the rotary plate can be ground. The fabricating head is provided with a fabricating tool, such as a cup-shaped diamond wheel, a grindstone, etc. of roughness which is different depending on the degree of fabricating in each of the machining steps in the case of the grinding machine and the lapping machine, or attached with a felt wheel, etc. in the case of the polishing machine.
- Accordingly, in a known machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates for producing rear view mirrors as described above, the material mirror plate has to be put into and out of the fabricating machine on every machining steps for conducting the machining step, which is extremely inefficient and, as a result, brings about a drawback that it is difficult to increase the production speed for rear view mirrors.
- According to the present invention, there is provided a machine for preparing the surface of glass plates to be prepared, having an inlet section at which said glass plates are supplied and an outlet section from which said glass plates are taken out, said machine comprising:
means for linearly conveying the glass plates from the inlet section to the outlet section;
means connected to said conveying means for holding said glass plates; and
a plurality of fabricating head devices disposed in a row along the linear conveying direction of said conveying means, said fabricating head devices being adapted to execute different kinds of surface preparation on glass plates held to said holding means. - The machine is preferably so adapted that each of the machining steps, which preferably include grinding, smoothing and polishing machining steps, can be applied successively and continuously without manual intervention at corresponding stages in the machine of the invention.
- With the machine according to the present invention glass plates which have already been cut into a predetermined shape (hereinafter simply referred to as material mirror plate) can be supplied successively in the course of producing for example rear view mirrors, means for grinding, smoothing and polishing and then the material mirror plates are finished into the shape of a rear view mirror, for example, to a prismatic shape while continuously applying grinding, smoothing and polishing to the surface of the material mirror plates.
- In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, the following description is given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
- Figure 1 is a front elevational view for one embodiment of a machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates according to the present invention,
- Figure 2 is a plan view for the embodiment of the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates according to the present invention shown in Figure 1,
- Figure 3 is a side elevational view, in cross section, taken along line III - III for the embodiment of the fabricating machine according to the present invention shown in Figure 1,
- Figure 4 is an enlarged front elevational view for a portion of a machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates according to the present invention,
- Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view for a portion of conveying means in the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates according to the present invention,
- Figure 6 is an enlarged plan view for a portion of the conveying means in the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates according to the present invention,
- Figures 7 and 8 are, respectively, partially cut away enlarged elevational views for a portion of suction means in the securing means for glass plates in the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates according to the present invention,
- Figure 9 is an explanatory view for the suction means in the securing means for the glass plates in the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates according to the present invention, and
- Figure 10 is a plan view for a material mirror plate applied with machining.
- Description is to be made for a preferred embodiment of the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates according to the present invention referring to the drawings.
- As shown in Figure 1, the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates of this embodiment comprises a
machine frame 7, a conveyor device 1 as conveying means for linearly conveying a plurality ofmaterial mirror plates 6 in the state of applying machining, while arranging and securing them in a row in a predetermined direction, for example, in the right-to-left direction shown by thearrow 65, that is, in the advancing direction. Asupport frame 4 is mounted to themachine frame 7 and connected to the conveying device 1 for guiding the conveyor device 1 along the conveying direction.Suction devices 5 as securing means are connected to the conveyor device 1 for securing a plurality ofmaterial mirror plates 6 to the conveyor device 1 respectively, a plurality of fabricatingheads 2 as fabricating head devices arranged in a row corresponding respectively to a plurality ofmaterial mirror plates 6 conveyed by the conveyor device 1 and fabricatingwheels 3 are each mounted to the fabricatinghead 2 for applying a predetermined machining to each of a plurality ofmaterial mirror plates 6. - The conveyor device 1 comprises a sprocket 8D and a sprocket 8T each disposed to the right and left ends of the
machine frame 7 in Figure 1 and adapted to be rotatable around the axis in the direction crossing the conveying direction, anendless chain 9 laid over each of the sprocket 8D and the sprocket 8T and movable along the conveying direction and retainingmembers 12 each arranged along the conveying direction and attached through amounting plate 11 to theendless chain 9. - Shafts 8A and 8B disposed in the direction crossing to the conveying direction are fixedly connected to the sprocket 8D and the
sprocket 8T respectively. Theshafts bearings machine frame 7. Accordingly, thesprockets respective shafts sprocket 8D is adapted for driving to convey theendless chain 9 and, as shown in Figure 2, a rotational driving force is transmitted from amotor 38 through aspeed reducer 37. Theendless chain 9 can be moved circulately by the rotation of thesprocket 8D in the direction shown byarrows - Further, each of the retaining
members 12 is detachably mounted to amounting plate 11 secured to each of the double-attachments 10A of a pair ofring plates 10 that constitute theendless chain 9 as shown in Figure 3 through Figure 5 respectively. Each of themounting plates 11 is connected to thering plate 10 at the double-attachment 10A of the ring plate 10 (refer to Figure 3). - Further, as shown, particularly, in Figures 3 and 5,
guide plates double attachments 10A respectively therebetween are mounted on both sides of themounting plate 11. Theguide plates guide plates way members support frame 4 at each of thelower faces 13A of theguide plates 13. Theguide plates 13 are guided by a pair ofside guide members support frame 4 on each of theside faces 13B. These guide-way members members endless chain 9. - With such a constitution, the
mounting plate 11 mounted with theguide plates retaining member 12 attached to themounting plate 11 can also be guided and moved along the conveying direction, that is, in a linear way. - Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in Figure 5, each of the
retaining members 12 is so formed that amirror suction face 16, onto which thematerial mirror plate 6 is secured by vacuum suction, is gradually inclined from above to below in Figure 2 and along the direction in perpendicular to the plane of the drawing sheet in Figure 1. Accordingly, themirror suction face 16 is so formed as to have saw teeth shape as viewed from the front each in Figure 1 and Figure 4. The angle of inclination for themirror suction face 16 is preferably determined depending on the prismatic angle in the prismatic shape of a rear view mirror to be fabricated (in the case of fabricating a prism). - It is apparent that the
mirror suction face 16 is so formed as to have a not-inclined face, that is, a horizontal face in the case of preparing a rear view mirror not having such a prismatic shape. - A
rubber sheet 17 is appended on the surface of themirror suction face 16. As shown in Figures 5 and 6 respectively, aperforation 18 is formed to the central portion of therubber sheet 17. Therubber sheet 17 is so arranged and appended onto themirror suction face 16 that asuction valve device 19 of asuction device 5 described later is situated to the portion of theperforation 18. As shown in Figure 5, aspace 18A having a height corresponding to thethickness 17A of therubber sheet 17 is defined with theperforation 18 and apartial surface 16A of themirror suction face 16 exposed externally by theperforation 18, between the plate face 6A of thematerial mirror plate 6 and the retainingmember 12 when thematerial mirror 6 is placed on the retaining member 12 (refer to Figure 8). - The
suction device 5 connected to the conveyor device 1 as described above is connected at theretaining member 12 so as to secure each of a plurality ofmaterial mirror plates 6 to thecorresponding retaining member 12 under vacuum suction. - The
suction device 5 has asuction valve device 19 as shown in Figures 7 and 8 respectively. - Further, the
suction valve device 19 comprises asuction aperture 22 formed to themirror suction face 16, androd 23 contained vertically movably, in Figures 7 and 8, in the inside of thesuction aperture 22, avalve body 24 connected to therod 23 such that it can seal thesuction aperture 22, aspring 25 for resiliently urging thevalve body 24 upwardly in Figures 7 and 8, and acover member 26 for supporting thespring 25. Thevalve body 24 and thespring 25 are contained to the inside of avalve chamber 27 in communication with thesuction aperture 22. Further, the diameter of thevalve chamber 27 is made greater than that of thesuction aperture 22 and thevalve chamber 27 is in communication with anventilation aperture 20. - As shown in Figure 7, in the
suction valve device 19 having thus been constituted, if thematerial mirror plate 6 is not placed on the upper surface of theretaining member 12, that is, on themirror suction face 16, therod 23 is resiliently urged upwardly by thespring 25 and thetop 28 of therod 23 protrudes from themirror suction face 16 and, as a result, thevalve body 24 is in contact under pressure with the ceiling at the inside of the valve chamber to interrupt the communication between thesuction aperture 22 and thevalve chamber 27. - As shown in Figure 8, in the
suction valve device 19, if thematerial mirror substrate 6 is placed on themirror suction face 16 of theretaining member 12, therod 23 is pressed downwardly against the resilient urging force of thespring 25 by the weight of thematerial mirror plate 6 and, as a result, thevalve body 24 is aparted from the ceiling at the inside of thevalve chamber 27 to communicate thesuction aperture 22 with thevalve chamber 27. Accordingly, thesuction aperture 22 is also in communication with theventilation aperture 20 which is in communication with thevalve chamber 27. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, avacuum pump device 29 is connected through avacuum hose 34 of thesuction pipe device 21 to theventilation aperture 20. Accordingly, when thematerial mirror plate 6 is placed on themirror suction face 16 of theretaining member 12 and therod 23 is depressed downwardly against the resilient urging of thespring 25 by the weight of thematerial plate 6, aspace 18A is formed with each of theperforation 18 in therubber sheet 17, thepartial face 16A of themirror suction face 16 exposed by theperforation 18 and the plate face 6A of thematerial mirror plate 6 in a case where thematerial mirror plate 6 is placed on theretaining member 12. Since each of thespace 18A,suction aperture 22, thevalve chamber 27 and theventilation aperture 20 are in communication with each other and thespace 18A is evacuated as shown by an arrow 66, thematerial mirror plate 6 can be sucked and secured on the retainingmember 12. - In this way, each of the
material mirror plates 6 can be conveyed integrally with the retainingmember 12 in a state being sucked and secured on the retainingmember 12. - As has been described above, the
suction device 5 comprises asuction valve device 19, aventilation aperture 20, asuction pipe device 21 and avacuum pump device 29. Furthermore, as shown in Figures 5, 6 and Figure 9, thesuction pipe device 21 comprises a plurality of T-shapedpipes 30 each connected to theopening 20A of theventilation aperture 20 disposed on the side 12A for each of the retainingmembers 12 and a plurality ofvacuum hoses 34 that constitute a flexiblesuction pipe loop 32 over the entire area of the conveyor device 1 while connecting the T-shapedpipes 30 with each other. Among such plurality of the T-shapedpipes 30, a T-shapedpipe 30A disposed, for example, as shown in Figure 9 (Figure 2) is attached with a rotary joint 33 (Figure 2) that can freely rotate around the axis in the direction crossing the conveying direction. Thevacuum pump device 29 is connected to the rotary joint 33 through aflexible vacuum hose 34. Further, thevacuum hose 34 has such a sufficient length as capable of always controlling the operation of thesuction valve device 19 through the rotary joint 33, that is, always capable of operation for fixing each of thematerial mirror plates 6 under vacuum suction and operation for releasing the vacuum fixing by means of each of the retainingmembers 12 even if the rotary joint 33 is moved over the entire circumference of the conveyor device 1. As shown in Figure 9, an excess portion of thevacuum hose 34 is taken-up to a take-up drum 35 so that the change of the relative distance, if resulted, between the rotary joint 33 and the take-up drum 35 due to the conveying operation of the conveyor device 1 can be resiliently absorbed by the taking-up or delivering operation of the take-up drum 35 to thevacuum hose 34. - As shown in Figures 1 and 2 respectively, a plurality of fabricating
heads 2 are arranged in a row above each of the retainingmembers 12 of the conveyor device 1 in Figure 1 corresponding to the position for each of the retainingmembers 12 in a row along the conveying direction of the conveyor device 1 in order to conduct different kinds of fabricatings, and they are connected respectively to acommon bed device 40 laid above themachine frame 7 in Figure 1. - As shown in Figures 1 and 3 respectively, each of the fabricating
heads 2 comprises amotor spindle 41 serving as a motor and also as a spindle, and ashaft 43 for themotor spindle 41. A fabricatingwheel 3 as a fabricating tool is mounted by way of anadaptor 42 to theshaft 43. - Each of the fabricating
heads 2 has avertical slide device 39 so that the fabricatingwheel 3 mounted to the fabricatinghead 2 can be brought closer or aparted from the upper surface for each of the retainingmembers 12 supported on thesupport frame 4, that is, themirror suction face 16. Each of thevertical slide devices 39 is mounted to thecommon bed device 40. Thevertical slide device 39 can conduct fine adjustment for the cutting degree by each of the fabricatingwheels 3 mounted to each of the fabricatingheads 2. - Further, as shown in Figures 1 and 9, the fabricating
head 2 attached with a feltwheel 3C, e.g., for polishing to be described later is so adapted that theshaft 43 of themotor spindle 41 is freely movable relative to the axial direction of theshaft 43. Theshaft 43 is connected to anair cylinder device 45 attached to abracket 44 mounted on themotor spindle 41. By the operation of theair cylinder device 45, theshaft 43 can be moved in the axial direction as described above and, for instance, in a case where polishing is applied by the feltwheel 3C of the fabricatinghead 2, the operation of theair cylinder device 45 is preferably controlled such that the feltwheel 3C is pressed against thematerial mirror plate 6 while being kept at an optimum state for conducting the polishing operation. It will be apparent that such anair cylinder device 45 can also be used to other machining steps as required. - In addition, it is desirable to control operation of the
air cylinder device 45 such that when thematerial mirror plate 6 has passed the machining region by the feltwheel 3C of the corresponding fabricatinghead 2, the feltwheel 3C returns in the direction opposite to that described above. - In addition, it is desirable to conduct these control operations by a numerical value control device such as a microcomputer (not illustrated).
- Further, it is desirable that each of the fabricating
heads 2 is set vertical from just above each of the corresponding retainingmembers 12 toward the retainingmember 12. - As has been described above, the fabricating
wheel 3 is attached to each of the fabricatingheads 2. Different kinds of fabricatingwheels 3 are selected for mounting to the respective fabricatingheads 2 corresponding to each of the machining steps, that is, grinding, smoothing, polishing, etc. as has been described above. For example, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 respectively, fourdiamond wheels 3A for grinding are at first disposed in a row from the right to the left in each of the drawings, that is, in the conveying direction of the conveyor device 1, then, four resin-diamond wheels 3B for smoothing which is finer grinding machining than the grinding described above and, further, four feltwheels 3C for applying finishing lustering, that is, for polishing are successively disposed to the portions machined by grinding and smoothing. - Although the fabricating
heads 2 are disposed each by four on every machining steps in this embodiment, the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates according to the present invention is not necessarily limited only thereto and the number of the fabricating heads for each of the machining steps is preferably selected depending on the requirement. - Further, although three machining steps are disposed in this embodiment, the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates can also be constituted by properly combining the machining steps as required, for example, two machining steps e.g., a grinding step and a polishing step, or a smoothing step and a polishing step.
- Further, as shown in Figures 2 and 3 respectively, two
coolant tanks 47 are disposed behind themachine frame 7. Thecoolant tanks 47 are disposed for recovering cooling water supplied during a series of machining operations as described above by acoolant supply device 60 comprising aspray nozzle 61, aspray pipe 62 and aspray pump 63 between the fabricatingwheel 3 mounted to the fabricatinghead 2 and a portion to be machined of thematerial mirror plate 6 which is machined with the fabricating wheel 3 (refer to Figure 3), in the route shown by thearrow 47A and circulately delivering the recovered water again to thecoolant supply device 60. - The operation of the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates in this embodiment is to be explained next.
- At first, each of the fabricating
heads 2 connected with thecommon bed device 40 is adjusted by way of each of thevertical slide devices 39 connected to each of the fabricatingheads 2 so that the relative distance for each of the fabricatingwheels 3 mounted on each of the fabricatingheads 2 to the portion of thematerial mirror plate 6 to be machined is aligned with each other. - Then, the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates is put under the operated state. When the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates is put under the operation state, as the conveyor device 1 starts its conveying operation, the
motor spindle 41 for each of the fabricatingheads 2 is also put into operation, that is, the shaft 48 is started to rotate and, accordingly, the fabricatingwheel 3 mounted to theshaft 43 is also started to rotate. - In this state,
material mirror plates 6 are successively supplied so that thematerial mirror plates 5 are placed on the mirror suction faces 16 of thesuccessive retaining members 12 of the conveyor device 1. Thematerial mirror plates 6 are conveyed linearly in a state being secured and placed on the mirror suction faces 16 of the retainingmembers 12 by thesuction device 5 and successively undergo various kinds of surface machinings by various kinds of fabricatingwheels 3 of fabricating heads disposed along the linear conveying direction in each of the machining steps. - Figure 10 shows a
material mirror plate 6 after undregoing machining. - As has been described above, since the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates according to the present invention has the foregoing constitution, glass plates to be machined, when merely supplied successively to the inlet section of the machine for fabricating the surface of glass plates, can be discharged continuously from the take-out section each in a state finished into a predetermined product. That is, since no operator's labour is required, production speed of the products can effectively be improved.
Claims (10)
means for linearly conveying the glass plates from the inlet section to the outlet section;
means connected to said conveying means for holding said glass plates; and
a plurality of fabricating head devices disposed in a row along the linear conveying direction of said conveying means, said fabricating head devices execute different kinds of surface fabricating with respect to said glass plates held to said holding means, respectively.
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
DE1989611504 DE68911504T2 (en) | 1989-01-30 | 1989-01-30 | Surface processing machine for glass plates. |
EP89300885A EP0380832B1 (en) | 1989-01-30 | 1989-01-30 | Fabricating machine for the surface of glass plates |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP89300885A EP0380832B1 (en) | 1989-01-30 | 1989-01-30 | Fabricating machine for the surface of glass plates |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0380832A1 true EP0380832A1 (en) | 1990-08-08 |
EP0380832B1 EP0380832B1 (en) | 1993-12-15 |
Family
ID=8202580
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP89300885A Expired - Lifetime EP0380832B1 (en) | 1989-01-30 | 1989-01-30 | Fabricating machine for the surface of glass plates |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0380832B1 (en) |
DE (1) | DE68911504T2 (en) |
Cited By (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5811173A (en) * | 1992-09-01 | 1998-09-22 | Glass Unlimited Of High Point, Inc. | Sheet of glass with groove pattern to provide decorative visual effect |
US5843546A (en) * | 1996-04-09 | 1998-12-01 | Glass Unlimited Of High Point, Inc. | Sheet of glass with roughed band and groove pattern to provide decorative visual effect |
US6152809A (en) * | 1998-09-03 | 2000-11-28 | Yenawine; Peter W. | Method and apparatus for cold-end processing full-lead crystal |
CN102528644A (en) * | 2010-12-27 | 2012-07-04 | 旭硝子株式会社 | Continuous grinding device for glass plate and continuous grinding method for glass plate |
CN106733841A (en) * | 2016-12-21 | 2017-05-31 | 重庆天和玻璃有限公司 | Glass bar automatically grinding production line |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US1598766A (en) * | 1925-06-10 | 1926-09-07 | Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co | Apparatus for holding plates or sheets upon surfacing tables |
US1731663A (en) * | 1927-05-07 | 1929-10-15 | Hartford Empire Co | Method and apparatus for grinding and polishing plate glass |
US2198765A (en) * | 1938-08-05 | 1940-04-30 | Merritt Engineering & Sales Co | Vacuum cup and vacuum cup system |
-
1989
- 1989-01-30 DE DE1989611504 patent/DE68911504T2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1989-01-30 EP EP89300885A patent/EP0380832B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US1598766A (en) * | 1925-06-10 | 1926-09-07 | Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co | Apparatus for holding plates or sheets upon surfacing tables |
US1731663A (en) * | 1927-05-07 | 1929-10-15 | Hartford Empire Co | Method and apparatus for grinding and polishing plate glass |
US2198765A (en) * | 1938-08-05 | 1940-04-30 | Merritt Engineering & Sales Co | Vacuum cup and vacuum cup system |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
---|
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN * |
Cited By (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5811173A (en) * | 1992-09-01 | 1998-09-22 | Glass Unlimited Of High Point, Inc. | Sheet of glass with groove pattern to provide decorative visual effect |
US5843546A (en) * | 1996-04-09 | 1998-12-01 | Glass Unlimited Of High Point, Inc. | Sheet of glass with roughed band and groove pattern to provide decorative visual effect |
US6194055B1 (en) | 1996-04-09 | 2001-02-27 | Keith L. Eichhorn | Sheet of glass with colored band and groove pattern to simulate a multipane structure |
US6152809A (en) * | 1998-09-03 | 2000-11-28 | Yenawine; Peter W. | Method and apparatus for cold-end processing full-lead crystal |
CN102528644A (en) * | 2010-12-27 | 2012-07-04 | 旭硝子株式会社 | Continuous grinding device for glass plate and continuous grinding method for glass plate |
JP2012135841A (en) * | 2010-12-27 | 2012-07-19 | Asahi Glass Co Ltd | Continuous grinding device and method of glass plate |
CN102528644B (en) * | 2010-12-27 | 2016-07-06 | 旭硝子株式会社 | The continuously grinding device of glass plate and the continuously grinding method of glass plate |
CN106733841A (en) * | 2016-12-21 | 2017-05-31 | 重庆天和玻璃有限公司 | Glass bar automatically grinding production line |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
DE68911504D1 (en) | 1994-01-27 |
EP0380832B1 (en) | 1993-12-15 |
DE68911504T2 (en) | 1994-03-31 |
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