FI59780C - FOER REFRIGERATION FOR EXPLORATION OF PLASTIC AV PLASTIC MATERIAL - Google Patents

Description

PuSr ^ l ΓβΊ f11, advertisement publication, -onfln 4BTa 1 j (11) UTLÄG0NIN05SKIIIFT 5 9780 ^ T ^ (51) K ».ik.3 / im.a.3 C 03 B 23/025 FINLAND — FINLAND (21) Pw * nttih «k« mi «-p» t «« «ekiwnf 761525 (22) H» k * ml * p * hrl — AiwOknlnpdtg 28.05 * 76 '' (23) Primary cloud · —GHti | h «tad« | 28.05-76 (41) Tullut JulklMksI - Victims offuntllf 01.12.76 ^. (44) Date of NihavUcdpanon | a kiiuLJullutou. -. _

Patent and ocean registration 7 AmtkM utktcd och utUkrMten puMkwrwl 30.o6.8l ^ (3 ^ (33) (31) Requested * SuelkeMS— * e * W prleritet 30.05-75 05-03-76 France-France (FR) 7516935 , 7606266 "(71) Saint-Gobain Industries, 62, Bd Victor-Hugo, 92209 Neuilly Sur Seine,

France-France (FR) (72) Claude Presta, Courbevoie, France-France (FR), Heinz Uebervolf, Herzogenrath, Hans-Pieter Siemonsen, Aachen, Federal Republic of Germany-For-bundsrepubliken lyskland (DE) (74) Berggren Oy Ab (54) Method and apparatus for convexing tiles in a crimped state - Förfarande och anordning för välvning av skivor av plastiskt material

The invention relates to the convexity of tiles in a formable state, such as glass sheets heated to their softening temperature, in a "horizontal" position.

French patent publication 1 476 785 discloses the use of curved bars which can each turn around a straight line passing through their own two ends and which are in the same horizontal plane as a convex base. Each rod is attached to the palm and the arms of a different palm are articulated to the same transmission rod; the rods thus form the more convex the platform, the more they are made to stand up by this transmission rod. On the other hand, each rod is surrounded by a sheath which is flexible in the longitudinal direction but resists rotation and which is made to rotate so as to cause the glass sheets to move forward.

Since the tangential speed of these sheaths is the same at all points, there is no slipping or sticking that interferes with the movement of the plates.

The convexity is performed as follows: the curved rods, which are initially in the horizontal plane determined by their axes of rotation, receive 2,59780 of the plate fed by the conveyor in this plane. At present, the upper rod is moved in the transfer movement so that it simultaneously pivots the curved rods in question by means of the cranks, bringing them to an inclined position relative to the transport plane corresponding to the desired convexity of the glass plate, and maintained in this position by the operating cylinder.

As the substrate is no longer flat, the heat-softened glass sheet bends either under its own weight or under the pressure of an adjustable counter-barrier and settles into the new shape prescribed by the rods; in this way more or less convex plates can be obtained, whereby the maximum convexity is obtained when all the bars turn by a right angle to their initial position. The glass sheet is then transported to a cooling chamber where it solidifies; if desired, the cooling can be so severe that the plates become thermally hardened at the same time.

After the glass sheet has left the conveying zone of the device, the curved rods are turned one after the other by means of their operating cylinders into the conveying plane of the feed conveyor so that the operating cycle can be repeated as soon as a new glass sheet enters the conveying zone.

In the case of using a counter-resistor, this moves in a transfer motion, and its motion is synchronized with the rotation of the sheaths. It follows that the conveying can still be carried out without interrupting the transport of the plates.

Thus, by using a counter-test, it is possible to operate at a lower temperature without slowing down the production rate, which facilitates the achievement of high quality; however, the device becomes quite complex and requires precise adjustment.

Whatever embodiment is used, one of the essential advantages of the method is that different convexities of the plates can be obtained with the same device simply by selecting the inclination of the bent bars with respect to the horizontal transport plane.

The object of the present invention is to simplify the above-described conveying method and the device used therein, while maintaining their advantages, and in this sense, according to the invention, the conveying is performed without excessive resistance by gradually changing the glass sheet profile 3,59780.

The method according to the invention is characterized in that said slabs in the convex zone are made to run on a convex base formed by a series of bent bars known per se fixed at certain adjustable inclination angles so as to give the base a curved profile has been achieved.

Thanks to this system, the slope of each bar is locked once for the same production and is no longer changed during operation; thus, no mechanical adjustment is required anymore to constantly turn the bent bars and then bring them back to the level of the feed conveyor. In parallel, it may be appreciated that it is appropriate to give the bent bars the same arc shape and use only their inclination to achieve the desired shape gradually, but that this is by no means necessary and that the curvature of the bars may also increase as they move away from the feed point.

As a general rule, the peaks of the rods are preferably turned upstream of the device and then tilted upwards so as to gradually obtain a convex base.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, all the axes of rotation of the bars are fixed and are located, for example, in the same horizontal plane; the apexes of the rods, being turned upstream of the device, then form an advancing ramp along which the inclination of each successive rod must be adjusted so that the corresponding extension difference between the apexes of two successive bent rods is much smaller than that of flexible shells supporting glass sheets. The device corresponding to this embodiment is characterized in that adjusting means are arranged in the convex zone of the device, at the ends of the bent bars, by means of which the bars can be brought into the desired different inclination positions and maintained therein. These members preferably have tightening nuts associated with threaded bolts, one of which is attached to the body and the other of which is connected to a jaw which is tightened at one end of the pivot axis of the corresponding bent rod.

4,59780

According to another embodiment, the peaks of the bent bars are kept in a certain straight, in particular horizontal line by means of a common guide support. This guide bracket can be stationary, in which case the device is characterized in that the positions of the pivot axes of the rods are adjustable in such a way that these axes can be arranged from one rod to another at gradually changing heights. Preferably, it is further characterized in that these pivot axes are mounted on a flat frame which can pivot on an axis perpendicular to the center line of the conveyor and that the rods support adjusting cranks, the ends of which rest against the guide bracket. The length of the adjustment cranks is preferably equal to the deflection of the hyphenated rods, and the reference support is either horizontal or its inclination is adjustable in the case where the convexation is performed on a slightly rising convex base.

According to a further feature of the invention, the glass sheets, after passing through said convex zone with a gradually changing profile, are guided on a base having a constant profile and consisting of a group of bent bars, all inclined at the same angle corresponding to their final convexity. This stabilizes the shape and completely avoids the risk of further deformation before complete solidification by cooling.

Other features and advantages of this new method and the device used to perform it will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing showing two application examples.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view taken schematically along the line I-I in Fig. 2, of a conveying device according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same device seen from line II-II in Fig. 1,

Figure 3 shows an elevation of the arrow III of Figure 4 seen in the direction of bent rods slope adjustment means,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view, taken along line IV-IV of Fig. 3, of the ends of the pivot axes of the bent bars;

Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of a single-adjustment device with the vertices of all bars in the same horizontal plane, and

Fig. 6 shows the rod adjustment levers of the device according to Fig. 5.

5,59780

The apparatus used to carry out the method according to the invention consists of a heating furnace 1 in which the glass sheets 4 are heated to their convex temperature, a convex zone 2 following this furnace, in which the glass sheets are brought to the desired convexity that the glass sheet is thermally tempered. The glass sheets are conveyed through the entire device in a horizontal position, whereby the still planar sheets are conveyed by cylindrical rollers 13 rotating in the heating furnace.

In the rest of the device, the conveyor rollers consist of bent rods 5 which are mounted at both ends on the body 6 of the convex zone so that their center lines are about 60-150 mm apart. These bent bars 5 are coated with flexible, tubular, non-twisted sheaths 7 with a diameter of 40-60 mm. These sheaths 7 are provided with sprockets 8 which are wedged at one end of each and are driven by the motor 9 via chains 10, 11 and 12 which interlock with these sprockets. The deflection of all bars 5 is the same, for example 120 mm. They are turned upstream of the plant and tilted upwards so that their slope in the convex zone is set to grow from one bar to another from left to right in the figure. For example, the first rod 5a is kept in the transport plane, i.e. so that its line of contact is located in the plane of the lower surface of the flat glass plate 4 leaving the furnace 1. The next rod 5b is arranged with an inclination such that the position of its apex on the center line of the furnace is 0-10 mm, preferably 4-7 mm above the corresponding point of the rod 5a. The rod 5c is set at a slightly larger inclination so that in its central region it exceeds the level of the previous bent rod by about 4-7 mm. The same is true for successive rods 5d ~ 5m, so that each of them is tilted slightly higher than mostly the previous one.

In this conveying zone, the mutual distance of the bent bars then varies between 6 and 16 cm. After passing the first bent over the rod 5a, the furnace 1 by the arrow P in the direction coming out of the glass plate becomes the second bar 5b on and forced to rise slightly, mainly in its central region, and much fewer side coasts. The leading edge of the glass sheet thus moves downstream, practically without impact, to a height corresponding to the inclination of the bent bars at the other end of the convex zone, which height depends on the final curvature to be given to the glass sheet. The number of bent bars whose inclination gradually increases from one bar to another can vary from 6 59780 to 5-15 and depends on this curvature. Good results are obtained, for example, when, with a radius of curvature of 1000-1500 mm, the actual convex zone comprises, as in the drawing, 12 successive bent bars 5b-5m with an increasing slope.

If the desired radius of curvature is 2000 mm, good results are obtained, specifically in terms of the optical properties of the convex plate, by already using only eight bent bars of different inclination instead of twelve. The conveying speed at which the glass sheets are conveyed by these convex rods can be increased as the thickness decreases.

Thus, the transport speed of the glass sheet can increase from 6 to 18 meters per minute as the thickness of the glass sheets decreases from 8 to 3 millimeters. With 4 mm thick plates, for example, good results are obtained at a speed of 12-14 meters per minute.

The temperature of the glass sheets in the convex zone can be of the order of 620 ° C.

After the actual convex zone A, where the inclination of the bent bars 5a-5m increases, a group of bent bars 5n are arranged, all of which have the same inclination and correspond to the inclination of the last bent bar 5m of the convex zone A.

The number of these rods 5m with a slope corresponding to the desired final radius of curvature can still be 5-15. The purpose of this zone B, in which the inclination of all the bent bars is the same, is to stabilize the convexity achieved by the glass sheets. In this area, the glass sheets during their passage adapt more perfectly to the radius of curvature of the substrate formed by the bent bars. In this zone, too, the distance between the bent bars is 60-160 mm and the glass sheets travel at a speed which is preferably the same as in the actual convex zone.

Figures 3 and 4 show the means by which the inclination of the bent bars is set. For the sake of clarity, the slope separation from one bar to another has been exaggerated. Each bent rod 5 is provided at one end with a jaw 15 which is firmly tightened on the shaft 14 of the bent rod by a screw 16. Each jaw 15, on the other hand, has a hole 17 with a hole in the hole of which the bent end of the threaded bolt 18 is articulated. This bolt 18 forms, together with the tightening nut 19 and the bolt 20 fixed to the frame, a tightening device by means of which the distance between the bolts 18 and 20 of opposite pitch can be changed in a known manner simply by turning the nut 19.

The bolt 20 is articulated to the beam 22 of the body 6 of the conveying device by means of a perforated lug 21.

To save space, since the pivot axes 14 of successive bent bars are close to each other, the clamping jaws 15 are alternately displaced along these axes, as clearly shown in Fig. 4.

In the device schematically shown in Fig. 5, the vertices of all the bars are at the same height, regardless of the slope of the bar level, and this height is where the upstream device, which in the case of a glass plate is an oven 1, releases a convex plate. All bars are supported by two parallel beams at their ends, for example, beams of 23 zone A bars and beams of 24 zone B bars. The beams 23 can pivot about a transverse center line 25 located at the inlet of the conveying machine in the discharge plane of the furnace, i.e. the upstream device. At the opposite end, the bearings of the last bent rod 5 supported by the beams 23 form a pivot center line 26 around which the beams 23 can pivot with certain longitudinal displacements relative to the beams 24. The beams 24, in turn, are supported by operating cylinders 27 and 28; they always remain horizontal and both at the same height. Instead, the beams 23 can be tilted more or less relative to the horizontal, but both remain in the same plane, by lowering or raising the operating cylinders 27 and 28 supporting the beams 24.

The extending ends 29 and 30 forming the pivot axis of each bent rod 5a-5n are pivotally mounted on rolling bearings 31a-31n supported by both beams 23 in zone A and both beams 24 in zone B. These different bearings 31 are spaced at evenly spaced ends 23 24 for the entire length. On the other side of the bearings 31, at least one of the ends 29 or 30 of the bent rod is fitted in a hole in the end of the adjustment crank 32, as shown in Fig. 6. To facilitate restraint, the end of the palm 32 may be wedged or locked to the shaft with bolts.

8 59780 At the other end of the palm 32 there is a shaft 33 parallel to the axis of rotation passing through the ends 29 and 30 of the bent rod, on which the roller 34 rotates.

All members associated with the same bent rod such as 5a or 5n, namely the bent rod itself, the crank 32 at its other end and the shaft 33, are located in the same plane, denoted by the letter P in Fig. 5, transverse to the direction of travel of the convex plate. with respect to the horizontal can be changed by turning it about an axis of rotation passing through the ends 29 and 30.

The useful length of the arm 32 of the palm, i.e. the distance between the center line of the ends 29 and 30 of the bent bar and the center line 33 of the shaft 33 supporting the roll 34 is equal to the deflection of the bent part of said bent bar. All the rollers 34 roll on a horizontal, lateral, stationary ramp 35 located at the level to which the oven, i.e. the upstream device of the conveying station, hands over the convex plate.

The adjustment of the device to achieve the desired convexity is performed by said four actuating cylinders 27 and 28. If both beams 24 are lowered simultaneously by means of said actuating cylinders, the two beams 23 fixed at their other ends tilt slightly more horizontally by turning on a fixed axis 25 passing through their other end. In this case, the bearings 31 attached to these beams also lower automatically.

Due to the fact that the center lines of the shafts 33 supporting the rollers 34 are in extension with the center at the apex of curvature of the bent rod, this peak always remains at a height determined by the ramp 35 corresponding to the height of the plane to which the oven hands the convex plate. At the same time, the bars between the bar 5a and the bar 5n settle on the slopes between the two bars. In fact, because the length of the arms 32 is fixed, they are forced to settle in a more upright position by rolling on their rollers 34 down to the horizontal guide ramp 35, thereby raising upright the bent rods to which they are rigidly connected.

The bearings of the bent rod 5a lower very little, and thus this rod rises only slightly. The bearings 5a-5m of the following 9,59780 rods belonging to zone A are lowering more and more, so that these rods become more and more vertical.

Thus, the adjustment of the curvature of the convexity is performed only by changing the height of the operating cylinders 27 and 28.

This makes it necessary for the cranks 32 to be shaped so that they can be tilted without interfering with each other.

When the curvature of the convexity is adjusted, the device remains fixed during the convexity of all the plates in the same series; the curvature of the forming base thus formed gradually increases from the upstream to the downstream, and the edges of the plates advancing along this base are increasingly bent, whereby the maximum deflection is obtained only when the plate leaves the bent bar 5m. The glass sheet then continues its journey without impact along the cylindrical base formed by the bars of zone B.

Since the bent rods are surrounded by a sheath, which is quite frequently replaced, it is advisable to reserve easy access to the saw rods. To this end, it is advantageous, although a more symmetrical solution is possible, to adjust all the bent bars with a single set of cranks, all located on the same side.

On the other hand, the path that the vertices of the plates are to follow does not have to be horizontal. It can be descending or ascending; likewise, the base may in certain cases be concave rather than convex.

In order for the devices downstream of the conveying station to be able to receive the convex plates, regardless of their curvature, it is necessary to make the bodies of these devices vertically movable by means of operating cylinders. For this purpose, actuator cylinders 27 and 28 can be used, whereby they cause the height variation of the downstream devices while varying the height of the beams 24.

Finally, it should be noted that the ramp 35, instead of being rectilinear and horizontal, may be adjustable, for example, to consist of successive, articulated sections.

Claims (16)

A method for conveying slabs of material in a deformable state (such as glass sheets heated to a softening temperature during transport), characterized in that said slabs in the convex zone (2) are passed through a convex substrate formed by a series of bent rods known per se. ), which are fixed at certain, adjustable angles of inclination so as to give the substrate a profile of increasing curvature and that the convexation is continued only until the desired curvature of the tiles (^) is reached. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that all the bent bars (5a-5m) have the same curvature and that their inclination increases from the horizontal plane of the feed conveyor (13) to the inclination corresponding to the final curvature. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the curvature of the bent bars (5a to 5m) increases from the starting point of the treatment to its end point. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the glass sheets (4), after passing through a zone (A) formed by a substrate whose profile gradually changes, are guided down to a substrate whose profile is constant and which is formed by a group of bent bars ( 5n), all of which have the same angle of inclination. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the convex substrate is convex. Apparatus for carrying out the method according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a series of bent rods (5) each capable of pivoting about its own axis (1 ^ 4) passing through both ends (29, 30) and surrounded by a flexible rotating sheath (7), characterized by adjusting members (32 and 15, 18, 19, 20) attached to the end of the bent bars and adapted to hold them in different inclined positions. Device according to Claim 6, characterized in that the position of the pivot axes (29, 30) of the bars is adjustable. Device according to Claim 7, characterized in that the pivot axes (29, 30) are mounted on a flat frame (23) which can pivot on an axis (25) perpendicular to the center line of the conveyor. Device according to one of Claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the peaks of the bent bars are kept in a straight line defined by a common guide bracket (35 and 22). Device according to claim 9, characterized in that adjustment rods (32) are attached to the rods, the ends of which rest on said guide bracket (35). Device according to Claim 10, characterized in that the inclination of the guide bracket (23) is adjustable. Device according to Claims 10 and 11, characterized in that the length of the adjusting cranks (32) is equal to the deflection of the bent bars. Device according to Claim 12, characterized in that the guide bracket (23) is formed by a single fixed guide ramp (35) located on the other side of the conveying station. Device according to Claim 6, characterized in that the pivot axes of the bent bars are located in the same horizontal plane. Device according to Claim 14, characterized in that the adjusting elements of the bent bars (5a-5n) are independent. Device according to Claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the bent bars of the convex zone (2) form a convex, rising base. \ 12 59780