JP2001270726A - Apparatus for bending and forming glass plate and method for bending and forming glass plate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for bending and forming glass plate capable of readily carrying out the aligning with a bending ring and preventing the shaking of a forming mold when the glass plate is sucked, and a method for bending and forming glass plate. SOLUTION: A protruding insertion pin 52 is fitted into a recessed insertion roller 50 provided in the upper part of a forming mold 26 to thereby stop the deflection of the forming mold 26 and locate the forming mold 26 in position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a glass sheet bending apparatus and a glass sheet bending method, and more particularly to a glass sheet formed by bending a glass sheet into a predetermined curved shape by pressing the glass sheet with a mold suspended from a furnace ceiling. The present invention relates to a bending apparatus and a glass sheet bending method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A curved glass sheet used for a window glass for an automobile is a glass sheet heated to a bending temperature in a heating furnace, conveyed into the forming furnace, and suspended from a ceiling in the forming furnace. After being once adsorbed to the formed mold, it is bent into a desired curved shape by pressing between the mold and the bending ring.

[0003] The molding die for pressing the glass sheet is provided with four corners suspended from a suspension rod suspended from the ceiling of the molding furnace. The connection with the suspension rod is not completely fixed, but has a certain degree of freedom in the horizontal direction. This is to remove the effects of thermal deformation,
The mold can be easily aligned with the bending ring during pressing by the bending ring.

[0004]

However, when the mold is supported as described above, the mold is shaken when the mold is moved up and down, and the mold is displaced, so that the suction of the glass plate cannot be performed accurately. There is. As a result, there is a drawback that the glass sheet cannot be bent accurately.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is easy to align with a bending ring.
Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a glass sheet bending apparatus and a glass sheet bending method which can prevent the shaping of a forming die at the time of sucking a glass sheet.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a glass plate is pressed with a forming die suspended from a ceiling portion of a forming furnace with a hanging rod and bent into a predetermined curved shape. In the glass sheet bending apparatus, a fitting member installed on the upper part of the forming die and a member disposed at a position above the fitting member and vertically movable in the vertical direction are provided. A fitting member fitted to the fitting member, and a driving unit for moving the fitting member up and down,
By lowering the fitting member by the driving means,
A glass sheet bending apparatus, wherein the fitting member is fitted to the member to be fitted to position the mold at a predetermined position.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the fitting member and the fitting member include a concave member having a cross-shaped groove and a convex member formed in a cross. And a convex member having the following.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the concave member has a roller arranged along a groove formed in a cross shape. Provided is a bending apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the fitting member is provided at a lower end of a vertically arranged shaft, and the shaft is configured to suspend and support the forming furnace. 4. A glass sheet bending apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is supported on a body so as to be vertically movable.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a glass sheet is sucked from a ceiling of a forming furnace to a forming die suspended by a hanging rod, and then the glass plate is moved between the forming die and a bending ring. In a glass sheet bending method for pressing and bending a glass sheet into a predetermined curved shape, a step of fixing the mold so that the mold does not swing in the horizontal direction, and then a step of adsorbing the glass sheet to the mold, and then forming Releasing the horizontal fixing of the mold to allow a degree of freedom in the horizontal movement, and then pressing the glass plate between the forming die and the bending ring. A glass sheet bending method is provided.

According to the present invention, the fitting member is fitted to the fitting member provided on the molding die, so that the shaping of the molding die can be stopped and the molding die can be positioned at a predetermined position.

Further, by forming the fitted member and the fitting member with a concave member having a groove formed in a cross shape and a convex member having a convex portion formed in a cross shape, a molding die is formed. Rotational runout can be effectively suppressed.

Further, by disposing the rollers along the grooves of the concave member, the convex member can be smoothly fitted.

Further, by providing the fitting member at the lower end of the shaft and supporting the shaft with the structure, the fitting member can always be held at a fixed position without being affected by heat.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a glass sheet bending apparatus and a glass sheet bending method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of a glass sheet bending apparatus to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the glass sheet bending apparatus 10 of the present embodiment includes a heating unit 12, a forming unit 14, and a cooling unit 16.

First, the configuration of the heating unit 12 will be described. The heating unit 12 includes a heating furnace 18. The glass plate 20 is conveyed in the heating furnace 18 by a roller conveyor 22. Then, it is heated to a predetermined bending temperature in the course of being transported in the heating furnace 18.

Next, the forming section 14 will be described. The forming section 14 includes a forming furnace 24. The molding furnace 24 is communicated with the heating furnace 18, and the inside thereof is kept at a high temperature. The glass sheet 20 heated to the bending temperature by the heating furnace 18 is carried into the forming furnace 24 by the roller conveyor 22.

A molding die 26 is provided in the molding furnace 24. As shown in FIG. 2, the molding die 26
Are suspended in four shaping rods 28 from the ceiling side and are provided in the forming furnace 24. On the lower surface of the forming die 26, a forming surface 26A having a shape substantially matching the bent shape of the glass sheet to be formed is formed.

Here, "outline" has the following meaning. That is, since the glass sheet immediately after the bending is still in a high temperature state, the center may hang down by its own weight. Further, in the cooling step after the bending, the bending shape of the glass sheet may slightly change due to shrinkage from the time of the bending. By the expected amount of these slight changes, the molding surface 2
The shape of 6A may be the bent shape of the glass sheet to be formed. Considering this difference, it is called "Overview".

At both edges of the upper surface of the mold 26, brackets 34, 34 to which the suspension rods 28 are connected are provided. The bracket 34 has one side surface (the heating furnace 18).
Is formed in a box shape having an open side, and a notch 34 corresponding to the position of each suspension rod 28 is formed on the upper surface thereof.
A and 34A are formed. As shown in FIG. 3, the molding die 26 is connected to the suspension rod 28 by fitting the enlarged lower end portion 28A of the suspension rod 28 into the notch 34A of the bracket 34.

As shown in FIG. 2, a suspension chain 38 is connected to an upper end of each of the suspension rods 28 for suspending the molding die 26. Each hanging chain 38
Is wound around a pulley 42 provided on the structure 40, and its end is connected to a winding device (not shown). Then, by driving the winding device to feed or wind each suspension chain 38, each suspension rod 28 moves up and down, and the forming die 26 moves up and down in the vertical direction.

A suction pipe 44 is connected to the upper center of the mold 26. The suction pipe 44 is connected to a suction device 46. By driving the suction device 46, air in the mold 26 is sucked. Here, in the molding die 26, a large number of suction holes (not shown) are formed in the molding surface 26A, and the glass plate 20 is sucked and held on the molding surface 26A by sucking air from the suction holes. Is done.

A lift jet (not shown) is provided below the mold 26 with the roller conveyor 22 interposed therebetween. This lift jet is a roller conveyor 2
2, the glass plate 20 conveyed to the position above it
Hot air is blown toward. The glass plate 20 floats from above the roller conveyor 22 by receiving the hot air. Then, the floating glass plate 20 is picked up by the molding die 26.

By the way, as described above, the molding die 26
It is suspended and supported by the suspension rod 28, and the connection with the suspension rod 28 is not completely fixed. For this reason, the shaping | molding mold 26 shakes at the time of going up and down.

Therefore, the glass sheet bending apparatus 10 of the present embodiment is provided with a forming die 26 in order to prevent the deflection.
The following positioning mechanism 48 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, the positioning mechanism 48
Is a concave insertion roller 50 provided in the molding die 26,
The convex insertion pin 5 fitted to the concave insertion roller 50
And 2.

The concave insertion roller 50 is composed of a base 54 formed in a cross shape, and eight guide rollers 56, 56,... Arranged on the base 54 so as to form a cross. The base 54 is fixed to the upper center of the mold 26 and is accommodated in the suction pipe 44.
Each guide roller 56 is rotatably supported with its both ends pivotally supported by brackets 58, 58.

On the other hand, the convex insertion pin 52 has a central axis 60 formed in a columnar shape and four insertion pieces 6 arranged at 90 ° intervals on a peripheral surface of the central axis 60 so as to form a cross.
, 62,... Each insert piece 62
Is fitted between the guide rollers 56 of the concave insertion roller 50, whereby the convex insertion pin 52 is fitted to the concave insertion roller 50.

Here, the convex insertion pin 52 is connected to a lower end of a shaft 64, and the shaft 64 is supported by a guide mechanism provided in a part of the structure 40 so as to be vertically movable up and down. I have.

The guide mechanism for supporting the shaft 64 to be able to move up and down is composed of a vertical guide 66 and a detent 68.

The vertical guide 66 is provided between the upper and lower
Three cam followers 70, 7
0, 70. As shown in FIG. 5, the three cam followers 70, 70, 70 are arranged at three positions on the peripheral surface of the shaft 64 and are in contact with the peripheral surface of the shaft 64. Each cam follower 7
Numerals 0 are rotatably supported by being pivotally supported by a base 72, and the base 72 is fixed to a part of the structure 40 by bolts 74, 74.

Here, the base 72 has elongated holes 76, 7
The bolts 74, 74 are inserted through 6 and are supported by a part of the structure 40. For this reason, the installation position of the base 72 can be adjusted along the long hole 76, whereby the position of the cam follower 70 and the contact pressure can be adjusted.

As described above, the vertical guide 66 guides the shaft 64 in the vertical direction by bringing the three cam followers 70 into contact with the peripheral surface of the shaft 64.

On the other hand, the detent 68 is arranged near the upper end of the shaft 64 and comprises a rail 77 and a V-shaped roller 78. The rail 77 is welded to the outer peripheral surface of the shaft 64, and is provided along the axis of the shaft 64. As shown in FIG. 6, the V-shaped roller 78 has a rail 77 fitted in the V-shaped groove. The V-shaped roller 78 is pivotally supported by a base 80 and is rotatably supported. The base 80 is fixed to a part of the structure 40 by bolts 82.

Here, the base 80 is supported by a part of the structural body 40 by inserting bolts 82 into the elongated holes 84, 84, similarly to the base 72 supporting the cam follower 70. For this reason, the installation position of the base 80 can be adjusted along the long hole 84, whereby the position of the V-shaped roller 78 can be adjusted.

As described above, the rotation stopper 68 prevents the rotation of the shaft 64 by the fitting of the rail 77 provided on the shaft 64 to the V-shaped roller 78.

The guide mechanism is configured as described above.
The vertical guide 66 and the detent 68 constituting this guide mechanism are all provided in the structure 40. The structure 40 is a support for suspending and supporting the molding furnace 24, and is always held at a fixed position with respect to the installation surface without being affected by heat or the like. By supporting the shaft 64 with a guide mechanism provided in such a structure 40,
The shaft 64 is always vertically supported at a certain point without being affected by heat.

The cylinder 86 provided in a part of the structure 40 is connected to the top of the shaft 64 supported vertically movably as described above. Shaft 64
Is driven up and down in the vertical direction by being driven by the cylinder 86. When the shaft 64 moves up and down, the convex insertion pin 52 provided at the lower end thereof moves up and down vertically.

The positioning mechanism 48 is configured as described above. Then, the convex insertion pin 52 is connected to the concave insertion roller 5.
By fitting it into zero, the runout of the mold 26 is regulated and positioned at a predetermined position.

As described above, the glass plate 20 conveyed into the forming furnace 24 is lifted by the lift jet and then picked up by the forming die 26. The glass plate 20 picked up by the molding die 26 is pressed between a bending ring 88 and bent into a predetermined curved shape.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bending ring 88 has a peripheral shape of a glass plate substantially matching the bent shape of the curved glass plate to be formed, and is provided on a bending ring support frame 90. ing. The bending ring support frame 90 is provided on a bending shuttle 92, and the bending shuttle 9.
2 is driven by a driving mechanism (not shown) to reciprocate on the rail 93. When the bending shuttle 92 reciprocates, the bending ring 88 is moved.
It reciprocates between a molding position inside the molding furnace and a standby position outside the molding furnace.

Next, the configuration of the cooling unit 16 will be described. The cooling unit 16 includes a quench shuttle 94 and an air cooling enhancement device 96.

The quench shuttle 94 is provided at a position opposite to the bending shuttle 92 with the molding furnace 24 interposed therebetween, and is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown) to drive the rail 98.
Travel back and forth above. On this quench shuttle 94,
A quench ring 102 is provided via a quench ring support frame 100.

The quench ring 102 receives the glass plate 20 formed by bending in the forming unit 14, and has a peripheral shape of the glass plate which substantially matches the bent shape of the curved glass plate to be formed. This quench ring 10
No. 2 reciprocates between the receiving position inside the molding furnace and the wind-cooling enhancement position outside the molding furnace as the quench shuttle 94 travels.

On the other hand, the air cooling enhancement device 96 is
And a lower outlet 106, and the cooling air supplied from a blower (not shown) is jetted to both upper and lower surfaces of the glass plate. In this case, the glass plate is set between the upper outlet 104 and the lower outlet 106 while being supported on the quench ring 102.

The cooling unit 16 configured as described above receives the glass plate 20 bent and formed by the forming unit 14 by the quench ring 102 and conveys the glass plate 20 to the air cooling strengthening device 96. Then, the cooling air is blown out to both upper and lower surfaces by the air cooling enhancing device 96 to strengthen the air cooling. The glass plate 20 reinforced by air cooling is transported to the next step by the quench shuttle 94.

The operation of the glass sheet bending apparatus 10 of the present embodiment configured as described above is as follows.

First, a glass plate 20 cut into a predetermined size and shape is set on a roller conveyor 22. The glass plate 20 set on the roller conveyor 22 is transported in the heating furnace 18 by the roller conveyor 22. The glass sheet 20 is heated to a predetermined bending temperature in the course of being conveyed in the heating furnace 18.

The glass sheet 20 heated to the bending temperature by the heating furnace 18 is carried into the forming furnace 24 by the roller conveyor 22 as it is.

On the other hand, in the forming furnace 24, the suspension rods 28
Is lowered, and the molding die 26 is lowered from the roller conveyor 22 to a position at a predetermined height (pickup position). Then, when the mold 26 descends to the pickup position, the cylinder 86 is driven, and the shaft 64 descends vertically. As a result, the convex insertion pin 52 provided at the lower end of the shaft 64 fits into the concave insertion roller 50 provided on the molding die 26, and the molding die 26 is positioned at a predetermined position. This also absorbs the run-out of the mold 26 that occurs during the downward movement.

The glass plate 20 carried into the forming furnace 24
Stops at a position below the positioning fixed die 26. Then, when the glass plate 20 stops at a position below the positioning fixed die 26, hot air is blown from the lift jet (not shown) toward the glass plate 20, whereby the glass plate 20 is moved to the roller conveyor 22. Ascend from above.

On the other hand, with the injection of the hot air from the lift jet, a suction device (not shown) connected to the mold 26 is driven, and the air in the mold 26 is sucked through the suction pipe 44. As a result, air is sucked from a large number of suction holes (not shown) formed in the molding surface 26A of the molding die 26, and the glass plate 20 floating from above the roller conveyor 22 is suction-held on the molding surface 26A of the molding die 26. You. As a result, the glass plate 20 is picked up by the mold 26.

When the mold 26 picks up the glass plate 20, the suspension rod 28 is raised, and the mold 26 is raised to a position at a predetermined height. At this time, the convex insertion pin 52 fitted to the concave insertion roller 50 also rises together with the molding die 26, separates from the concave insertion roller 50, and stands by at a position above the molding die 26.

When the upward movement of the molding die 26 is stopped, the bending shuttle 92 is driven, and the bending ring 88 is set at a position below the molding die 26. next,
The suspension rod 28 is lowered again, and the mold 26 is lowered toward the bending ring 88. As a result, the mold 2
6 is pressed between the bending plate 88 and the glass plate 20 sucked and held on the molding surface 26A of the glass plate 20.
Is bent into a predetermined curved shape.

At the time of this pressing, the convex insertion pin 52
Is waiting above the forming die 26, and only the forming die 26 descends to press the glass plate 20.

When the pressing is completed, the suspension rod 28 rises again, and the mold 26 rises to a position at a predetermined height while holding the glass plate 20 formed by bending. On the other hand, the bending ring 88 is retracted by the bending shuttle 92 to a standby position outside the molding furnace.

When the bending ring 88 retracts to the standby position, the quench shuttle 94 is subsequently driven,
The quench ring 102 is set at a position below the mold 26. Next, the suspension rod 28 descends again, and the mold 26 descends toward the quench ring 102. As a result, the glass plate 20 sucked and held on the molding surface 26A of the molding die 26 is placed on the quench ring 102. Then, in this state, the suction of the glass plate 20 by the molding die 26 is released, and the glass plate 20 is transferred to the quench ring 102.

When the glass plate 20 is transferred to the quench ring 102, the suspension rod 28 rises, and the mold 26 retreats to a position at a predetermined height. On the other hand, the quench ring 102 receiving the glass plate 20 is
4 and is carried out of the molding furnace 24 by the
Transported to Then, it is set between the upper outlet 104 and the lower outlet 106 of the air-cooling enhancing device 96.

When the glass plate 20 is set between the upper blow port 104 and the lower blow port 106, the cooling device 96 applies cooling air to the upper and lower surfaces of the glass plate 20 from the upper blow port 104 and the lower blow port 106. Spouts to enhance wind cooling.

When the air cooling is completed, the glass plate 20 is transported to the next step by the quench shuttle 94.

As described above, according to the glass sheet bending apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the molding die 26 is fitted with the convex insertion pin 52 to the concave insertion roller 50,
It can be positioned at a predetermined position by removing the shaking that occurs when moving up and down. Thereby, the glass plate 20 can be accurately picked up.

The convex insertion pin 52 is connected to the shaft 6
The shaft 64 is provided at the lower end of the shaft 4.
Since it is supported by the structure 40 which is not affected by thermal deformation so that it can move up and down, the position does not shift under the influence of heat. Thereby, the mold 26 can always be positioned at a fixed position.

Further, the fitting state of the concave insertion roller 50 and the convex insertion pin 52 can be released at the time of pressing, so that the molding die 26 can press the glass plate 20 along the bending ring 88.

In this embodiment, the concave insertion roller 50 is provided on the molding die 26 and the convex insertion pin 52 is mounted on the shaft 64. However, the reverse configuration may be adopted. That is, the convex insertion pin 52 is
And the concave insertion roller 50 may be attached to the shaft 64.

In the present embodiment, the shape of the fitting portion is a cross shape, but the shape is not limited to this, and various shapes such as a square shape and a triangular shape can be adopted. That is, any combination of shapes may be used as long as the shapes fit into each other and can absorb the shaking of the mold 26.

Further, in the present embodiment, the guide roller 56 is arranged on the concave insertion roller 50, but it may be simply a cross-shaped groove.

[0068]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By fitting the fitting member to the fitted member provided on the molding die, it is possible to stop the deflection of the molding die and position the molding die at a predetermined position. Thereby, the glass plate can be bent with high accuracy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a glass sheet bending apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a main part of a molding unit.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a connection portion between a bracket and a suspension rod.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a positioning mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a configuration of a vertical guide.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a configuration of a rotation stop;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Glass-sheet bending apparatus, 12 ... Heating part, 14 ... Molding part, 16 ... Cooling part, 18 ... Heating furnace, 20 ... Glass sheet,
22: roller conveyor, 24: molding furnace, 26: molding die,
26A: forming surface, 28: hanging rod, 28A: lower end enlarged portion, 34: bracket, 34A: notch, 38: hanging chain, 40: structure, 42: pulley, 44: suction pipe, 46: suction device, 48 ... Positioning mechanism, 50 ... Concave insertion roller, 52 ... Convex insertion pin, 54 ... Base,
56 ... guide roller, 58 ... bracket, 60 ... central shaft, 62 ... insertion piece, 64 ... shaft, 66 ... vertical guide, 68 ... detent, 70 ... cam follower, 72 ... base, 74 ... bolt, 76 ... long hole, 78 ... V-shaped roller,
80 ... base, 82 ... bolt, 84 ... long hole, 86 ... cylinder, 88 ... bending ring, 90 ... bending ring support frame, 92 ... bending shuttle, 9
3 rail, 94 quench shuttle, 96 air cooling enhancement device, 98 rail, 100 quench ring support frame, 102 quench ring, 104 upper outlet, 10
6 ... lower outlet

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A glass sheet bending apparatus which presses a glass sheet with a forming die suspended from a ceiling portion of a forming furnace by a hanging rod and bends the glass sheet into a predetermined curved shape. A fitting member that is provided at a position above the fitting member and that is vertically movably provided in the vertical direction, and that is fitted to the fitting member; Driving means for moving the member up and down, and lowering the fitting member by the driving means, thereby fitting the fitting member to the fitted member and positioning the molding die at a predetermined position. A glass sheet bending apparatus. 2. The fitting member and the fitting member are a concave member having a groove formed in a cross shape and a convex member having a convex portion formed in a cross shape. The glass sheet bending apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The glass sheet bending apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the concave member has rollers arranged along grooves formed in a cross shape. 4. The fitting member is provided at a lower end portion of a vertically disposed shaft, and the shaft is supported by a structure that suspends and supports the forming furnace so as to be vertically movable. The glass sheet bending apparatus according to claim 1, 2, or 3. 5. A glass plate is sucked from a ceiling of a forming furnace to a forming die suspended by a hanging rod, and then the glass plate is pressed between the forming die and a bending ring to bend into a predetermined curved shape. In the glass sheet bending method, a step of fixing the mold so that it does not swing in the horizontal direction, a step of adsorbing the glass sheet to the mold, and then releasing the horizontal fixing of the mold, A method for bending a glass sheet, comprising: providing a degree of freedom in horizontal movement; and then pressing a glass sheet between a forming die and a bending ring.