JP2002326829A - Method and apparatus for forming curved glass plate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus for forming a curved glass plate with high productivity. SOLUTION: The glass plate 18 heated in a heating furnace 12 is traveled on a roller conveyor 20 without stopping or reducing velocity and curved by moving a mold 70 synchronized to the traveling velocity of the glass plate 18.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for bending a glass sheet for use in transportation equipment such as automobiles, ships, railways, aircrafts, etc., or for construction and other various uses.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A method of bending a curved glass sheet used for a window glass for automobiles is as follows. First, a flat glass sheet cut into a predetermined shape is bent by a heater while being conveyed by a roller in a heating furnace. Heat until Next, after bending the glass sheet with a forming die, the glass sheet is conveyed to an air-cooling strengthening stage, and is air-cooled by air jetted from the lower blow head and the upper blow head. Thereby, a glass plate having a desired curved shape is manufactured.

[0003] In such a glass sheet bending apparatus, high-speed forming of the glass sheet is required to improve productivity.

[0004] The forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-127962 is intended to realize high-speed forming of a glass sheet.
A moving device is provided for moving the mold, which is a forming die, in the direction of transport of the glass sheet. According to this forming apparatus, first, the glass plate heated to the bending forming temperature in the heating furnace,
After being conveyed by a roller conveyor, it is received by a lower ring, and thereafter, the ring is raised, and a glass plate is pressed against a mold disposed above the ring to bend and form. Thereafter, the glass plate is sucked and held by the mold, and the mold is moved in the glass plate transport direction, and the glass plate is transferred to the roller conveyor. The glass plate is conveyed to the air-cooling strengthening stage by this roller conveyor.

[0005]

However, in the bending apparatus disclosed in JP-A-6-127962, it is necessary to temporarily stop the glass sheet conveyed by the roller conveyor on the lower ring before forming by the mold. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that productivity cannot be sufficiently increased.

Further, the bending apparatus has a drawback in that a slip occurs between the glass sheet and the roller conveyor due to a speed difference between the mold and the roller conveyor, and the glass sheet is damaged due to the slip.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for bending a glass sheet capable of sufficiently improving the productivity by eliminating the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.

[0008]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a glass sheet is heated to a bending temperature by a heating furnace, and the heated glass sheet is conveyed by conveying means. The glass sheet is bent by moving the glass sheet and the bending mold in a direction that makes them relatively close to each other and pressing both while moving the mold in the glass sheet conveyance direction in synchronization with the conveyance speed of the glass sheet. And

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a glass sheet is heated to a bending temperature in a heating furnace, and the heated glass sheet is transferred along a conveying surface formed by a plurality of rollers of a roller conveyor. The roller is moved up and down in accordance with the position of the glass sheet while being conveyed, thereby preforming the glass sheet into a predetermined bent shape by the weight of the glass sheet. While transporting along the transport surface formed by the plurality of rollers, the rollers are moved up and down according to the transport position of the glass plate, and the mold is transported in synchronization with the transport speed of the glass plate. The glass sheet is bent by moving the glass sheet and the mold in a direction in which the glass sheet and the forming die are relatively close to each other and pressing both of them.

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a heating furnace for heating a glass sheet to a bending forming temperature, and a method for moving the heated glass sheet along a conveying surface formed by a plurality of rollers of a roller conveyor. The glass plate and the forming die are moved while moving the roller up and down according to the transfer position of the glass plate while moving the forming die in the glass plate conveying direction in synchronization with the transfer speed of the glass plate. And a forming means for bending and forming the glass plate by moving both in a direction to relatively approach each other and pressing both.

[0011] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a heating furnace for heating a glass sheet to a bending forming temperature, and a method for moving the heated glass sheet along a conveying surface formed by a plurality of rollers of a roller conveyor. Pre-forming means for pre-forming the glass sheet into a predetermined bent shape by the weight of the glass sheet by moving the roller up and down according to the conveying position of the glass sheet while conveying the glass sheet; While moving along the transfer surface formed by a plurality of rollers of the roller conveyor, the rollers are moved up and down according to the transfer position of the glass plate, and the forming die is synchronized with the transfer speed of the glass plate. Forming means for bending and forming the glass sheet by moving the glass sheet and the forming mold in a direction in which the glass sheet and the forming die are relatively pressed while pressing the both in a direction in which the glass sheet is conveyed. Characterized by comprising a.

According to the first and seventh aspects of the present invention, the glass sheet conveyed by the conveying means is conveyed at the same speed without stopping or decelerating, and the glass sheet is conveyed to the forming die disposed above the conveying means. And press-molding.

Since the mold moves in synchronization with the conveying speed of the glass sheet, the relative speed of the two during molding becomes zero. For this reason, since a glass plate can be formed without reducing production tact, productivity is increased. Also, the optical quality of the glass plate is improved. Further, since the final shape of the glass sheet is formed by a molding die, it can be adapted to various curved surface shapes and is excellent in shape stability.

Further, as a method and an apparatus for pressing a mold and a glass plate, the present invention provides the following aspects.

According to the second and eighth aspects of the present invention, the rollers of the roller conveyor are moved up and down in accordance with the glass sheet transport position, so that the transport surface composed of a plurality of rollers is curved to a desired curvature. Then, the mold is pressed against the glass plate being conveyed on the curved surface.

As described in the third and ninth aspects, the mold is moved up and down to press the glass sheet against rollers or the like of the conveying means. In this case, the roll has a cushioning property, or the roll is supported by a roller supporting means such as an air cylinder or a spring, so that a reaction force suitable for forming the glass sheet is given to the forming die.

As described in claim 4 and claim 10,
Compressed air (hot air) is jetted from the air floating means to the lower surface of the glass sheet being conveyed by the conveying means, and the glass sheet is air-floated supported by the compressed air and pressed against the forming die.

As described in claim 5 and claim 11,
By moving the rollers up and down in accordance with the transfer position of the glass plate, a transfer surface formed of a plurality of rollers is formed into a curved shape having a desired curvature, and the glass plate is preformed by transferring the glass plate on the curved surface. . As described above, the preliminary molding facilitates molding with a molding die.

As described in claim 6 and claim 12,
A method and apparatus combining the foregoing.

On the other hand, in order to carry out the bending (nose bending) of the edge of the glass sheet, the roller located at the edge of the glass sheet is moved together with the forming die in the glass sheet conveying direction for a predetermined time, and the edge of the glass sheet is moved for a predetermined time. It can also be pressed against a mold. This stabilizes the bent shape with a large curvature at the end of the glass plate.

By the way, the applicant of the present application has disclosed Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-2000.
In JP-A-72460, by moving a roller up and down in accordance with a transfer position of a glass plate, a transfer surface including a plurality of rollers is formed to have a desired curvature, and the glass plate is transferred on the curved surface. A method of bending a glass plate is proposed. The difference between this method and the present invention is that, in the present invention, since the final bent shape of the glass sheet is formed by a forming die, there is an advantage that the glass sheet is more resistant to disturbance and the shape stability is increased. In the method of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-72460, there is a specific disclosure about bending (single bend) along the transport direction. However, the present invention is directed to a direction perpendicular to the transport direction in addition to the above direction. Is also assumed to be formed by bending (double bending). Further, it is possible to cope with a complex R curved surface and a complex curved surface to some extent.

[0022]

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

The glass sheet bending apparatus 10 shown in FIG.
Is mainly composed of a heating furnace 12, a molding zone 14, and an air-cooling enhancement device (corresponding to an air-cooling enhancement stage) 16.

First, the bending process of the glass plate 18 by the forming apparatus 10 will be described. The glass sheet 18 before bending is placed in the heating furnace 1 by a roller conveyor (not shown) after the transfer position is determined at the entrance of the heating furnace 12.
2 is transported. Then, the glass plate 18 is placed in the heating furnace 1.
During the transfer in the heating furnace 2, it is heated by the heater of the heating furnace 12, and at the exit of the heating furnace 12, the bending temperature (680)
(About ° C). The heated glass plate 18
In a forming zone 14 installed on the downstream side of the heating furnace 12, the sheet is conveyed by a roller conveyor 20 (corresponding to conveying means) for bending. The glass plate 18 is pressed by a mold (corresponding to a molding die) 70 that moves in the glass plate transfer direction in synchronization with the transfer speed of the roller conveyor 20 during transfer by the roller conveyor 20, and is bent by the roller conveyor 20. By the forming operation, the sheet is bent into a predetermined curvature.

The bent glass sheet 18 is conveyed from the exit of the forming zone 14 to the air cooling apparatus 16 by the roller conveyor 22 for the air cooling apparatus 16 without stopping, where the glass sheet 18 is air-cooled. You. The air-cooling / strengthening device 16 includes an upper outlet head 24 and a lower outlet head 26 which are arranged with a roller conveyor 22 interposed therebetween.
Air cooling is strengthened by the air blown toward 8.
At this time, the cooling capacity of the air cooling strengthening device 16 is
Is appropriately set according to the thickness of the sheet. The glass plate 18 that has been tempered by air cooling is conveyed from an outlet of the tempering apparatus 16 by a roller conveyor 28 to an inspection device (not shown) in the next step. The above is the flow of the forming process of one glass sheet 18 by the glass sheet bending apparatus 10.

Next, the roller conveyor 2 in the molding zone 14
0 will be described with reference to FIGS. The roller conveyor 20 is composed of a number of rollers arranged in a horizontal state in parallel with each other in the conveying direction of the glass plate 18, and the glass plate 18 is conveyed along a conveying surface formed by these rollers. .

Each roller is independently driven to rotate by rotation driving means. In addition, for example, eighteen molding rollers 2 arranged at the middle stage and later among these rollers
0A to 20R are independently moved up and down by a vertical driving means. The rotation driving means and the vertical driving means are controlled by a motion controller.

FIG. 2 is a structural view showing the rotary driving means and the vertical driving means for each of the rollers 20A to 20R. In addition, since the rotation drive means and the vertical drive means of each of the rollers 20A to 20R have the same structure, the structure on the roller 20A side will be described for convenience in FIG.
The description of the structure on the 〜20R side is omitted.

The roller 20A is rotatably supported at both ends thereof by bearings 32, 32 on a moving frame 30 formed in a concave shape. A spindle 40 of a servo motor 38 is connected to the left end of the roller 20A in FIG. 2 via gears 34 and 36. By driving the servo motor 38, the roller 20A is rotated at a predetermined angular velocity. The above is the structure of the rotation driving means.

On the other hand, the movable frame 30 is supported at both sides thereof by a fixed frame 42 via a linear guide so as to be vertically movable. The linear motion guide includes a moving frame 30.
A guide rail 44 is disposed in the vertical direction on the side, and the guide block 44 on the fixed frame 42 side is disposed on the guide rail 44.
6 are engaged.

At both lower ends of the moving frame 30, racks 48, 48 project downward, and pinions 50, 50 are engaged with the racks 48, 48. The pinions 50, 50 are fixed to a rotating shaft 52 disposed in a horizontal direction, and the rotating shaft 52 has bearings 54, 5 at both ends.
4 is connected to the spindle 58 of the servomotor 56 at the upper left end in FIG. As a result, when the rotary shaft 52 is rotated by the servo motor 56, the rotational motion is converted into a linear motion by the feed action between the pinion 50 and the rack 48, and thus the moving frame 30 is rotated.
That is, the roller 20A is moved up and down. The above is the structure of the vertical driving means. It should be noted that reference numeral 6 in FIG.
Reference numerals 0 and 62 denote heaters provided in the molding zone 14.

The above-mentioned rotary driving means and vertical driving means are provided on all of the other rollers 20B to 20R, and the servo motors 38 and 56 of these means are controlled by the motion controller.

The motion controller will be described. When the type of the glass plate 18 is inputted from the external input means, the motion controller controls the angular velocity control data of the rollers 20A to 20R corresponding to the curvature of the glass plate 18 and the vertical Create movement control data. Then, the motion controller controls the servo motor 38 based on the created angular velocity control data, and controls the servo motor 56 based on the vertical movement control data.
Control. That is, the motion controller controls the rollers 20A to 20R so that the glass plate 18 is bent to a desired curvature while being conveyed by the rollers 20A to 20R.
Is multi-axis controlled.

The moving mechanism of the mold 70 shown in FIG. 5 comprises a horizontal moving mechanism and a vertical moving mechanism. The horizontal moving mechanism includes a ball screw device 72 and a pair of guide rails 7.
4 and 74 (FIG. 1 shows a pair of guide rails, FIG. 5 shows only one guide rail) and the like, and the screw rod 75 of the ball screw device 72 and the guide rails 74 and 7.
Reference numeral 4 is arranged in parallel to the glass sheet transport direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, a nut portion 76 is screwed into the screw rod 75, and a moving portion main body 77 to which the nut portion 76 is fixed is slidably engaged with the guide rails 74, 74. Further, a motor 79 of a feed screw device 78 constituting the vertical movement mechanism is fixed to the nut portion 76 with an output shaft (not shown) facing downward, and a mold 70 is attached to a screw rod 80 connected to the output shaft. Support portion 71 is screwed. The supporting portion 71 is supported by the moving portion main body 79 via linear motion guides 81 so as to be vertically movable.

According to the moving mechanism of the mold 70 configured as described above, the servo motor 73 of the ball screw device 72 is used.
When the mold is rotated forward / reverse, the mold 70 reciprocates in the glass plate conveyance direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 5 and in the opposite direction.
When the ball screw device 78 is driven, the mold 70
Moves up and down as shown by the upper arrow B in FIG. Mold 7
The downward moving end of 0 is set at a position below the roller conveyor 20, as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. The ball screw device 72 moves the mold 7 in synchronization with the glass sheet transport speed.
0 is moved by a controller (not shown) so as to move in the horizontal direction, and the ball screw device 78 moves up and down the mold 70 in conjunction with the up and down movement of the forming rollers 20A to 20R described later. Controlled by the controller.

Next, the multi-axis control operation of the rollers 20A to 20R by the motion controller and the movement operation of the mold 70 controlled in conjunction therewith will be described. The up and down movement of the basic rollers 20A to 20R sequentially descends in the order of the rollers 20A → 20R with the conveyance of the glass plate 18,
It is a climbing exercise.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 4A, for example, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 4A, the heated glass plate 18 reaches the inlet side of the roller conveyor 20 in the rollers 20A to 20R controlled by the motion controller. Sometimes, all rollers 20A-20R are in the uppermost position and rollers 20A-2R
The transport surface formed by 0R is horizontal.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 3B and 4B, when the glass plate 18 is conveyed by a predetermined amount in the direction of the arrow, the rear end 18A of the glass plate 18 in the conveying direction is moved to the roller 20A. Immediately before the contact, the convex forming surface 70 </ b> A of the mold 70, which has also been moved in synchronization with the transport direction and has been moved down, comes into contact with the glass plate 18. At this time, the transport surface is still horizontal.

Next, the glass plate 18 is continuously conveyed without stopping or decelerating. And the glass plate 18
When the rear end 18A in the transport direction contacts the roller 20A as shown in FIGS. 3 (C) and 4 (C), the rollers 20A to 20I
Move downward by a predetermined amount, and the rollers 20A to 20I
Is deformed into a curved shape corresponding to the curvature of the glass plate 18 to be formed. As a result, when the glass plate 18 passes over the rollers 20A to 20I, the glass plate 18 bends downward along the curved surfaces of the rollers 20A to 20I due to its own weight. And rollers 20A-2
In conjunction with the downward movement of 0I, the mold, which is also moving in synchronization with the glass sheet transport speed, descends while moving in the transport direction, and the glass sheet 18 being transported by the rollers 20A to 20I forms the mold. 70 is pressed against the molding surface 70A. Thereby, the glass plate 18 is bent into a glass plate having a curvature to be formed.

In this state, the vertical movement amount of each of the rollers 20A to 20R is controlled such that the curved conveyance surface in FIG. 3C moves downstream in parallel with the conveyance position of the glass plate 18. . Then, at the positions shown in FIGS. 3D and 4D which are transported a predetermined amount downstream from the position shown in FIG. 3C,
The mold 70 moves up and retreats from the glass plate 18. The mold 70 is shown in FIGS. 3D and 4D.
Move in the direction opposite to the transport direction, and return to the original position shown in FIGS. 3 (A) and 4 (A).
Waiting to mold. The above is the method of forming the glass sheet 18 by the forming zone 14.

As described above, according to the molding method, the mold 70 disposed above the roller conveyor 20 is conveyed at the same speed without stopping or decelerating the glass plate 18 being conveyed by the roller conveyor 20. Since the molding is performed by pressing against the glass plate 18, the relative speed of the two during the molding becomes zero. Therefore, in the above-mentioned forming method, the glass plate 18 can be formed without reducing the production tact, so that the productivity is improved and the optical quality of the glass plate 18 is also improved. Further, since the final shape of the glass plate 18 is formed by the mold 70, various curved surface shapes can be accommodated, and the shape is stabilized.

Further, in the above-described forming method, the roller 20 of the roller conveyor 20 is
By moving A-20R up and down, rollers 20A-2
Since the transfer surface made of OR is formed in a curved shape with a desired curvature, and the mold 70 is pressed against the glass plate 18 being transferred on the curved surface, the shape stability is greatly improved.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the roller conveyor 90 arranged in the forming zone. The roller conveyor 90 is configured such that rollers 90A to 90M for forming are alternately supported on both sides and supported on one side.

FIG. 7 shows a roller 90A supported at both ends.
A supporting structure (corresponding to a roller supporting means) 92 at one end side of 90C, 90E, 90G, 90I, 90K, 90M is shown. Here, by describing the support structure 92 at one end of the roller 90A, description of the support structure at the other end of the same structure as the support structure 92 is omitted, and the other rollers 90C, 90E, and 90G are omitted. , 90I, 90J, 9
The support structure of the both ends of 0L is the same as the support structure of the roller 90A, and the description thereof is omitted.

According to the support structure 92, one end of the roller 90A is supported by the bracket 96 via the bearing 94. The bracket 96 is attached to a vertical moving guide 100 formed on the upper end side of the moving frame 30 by a block 1.
It is supported so as to be able to move up and down via 02 and 102.
The rod 106 of the air cylinder device 104 that applies a reaction force F to the roller 90A is connected to the bracket 96. The vertical moving mechanism of the moving frame 30 is shown in FIG.
Since the mechanism is the same as that described above, the description is omitted here.

Thus, when the motor 56 constituting the vertical moving mechanism of the moving frame 30 is driven, the roller 20A moves up and down by the feeding action of the rack 48 and the pinion 50, so that the height of the roller 20A can be adjusted.
The roller 90A is provided with an air cylinder device 10 which is formed when the mold 70 shown in FIG.
It is urged upward by the restoring force of 4. This urging force becomes the reaction force F, and the reaction force F is set to a value suitable for forming the glass plate 18.

FIG. 8 shows a supporting structure (corresponding to roller supporting means) 110 on one side of each of a pair of rollers 90B, 90D, 90F, 90H, 90J, 90L supported in a cantilever manner. Here, the support structure 110 for the roller 90B on one side will be described.
The description of the support structure on the other side of the same structure as that described above is omitted, and the other 90D, 90F, 90H, 90J, 90L
Since both support structures are the same as the support structure of the roller 90A, the description is omitted.

According to the support structure 110, one end of the roller 90B is supported by the casing 114 via the bearings 112,112. As shown in FIG. 9, pins 116 and 116 are provided on both ends of the casing 114 in the glass sheet transport direction in parallel with the glass sheet transport direction.
116 is rotatably supported by a holder 118 via bearings 120, 120. Also, the holder 118
Is supported by a pedestal 98, and further, an arm 122 is projected from the casing 114 in a horizontal direction, and a rod 125 of an air cylinder device 124 is connected to the arm 122.

Thus, the roller 90B is urged upward by the restoring force of the air cylinder device 124 generated when the mold 70 shown in FIG. 6 is pressed against the glass plate 18. This urging force becomes a reaction force F, and the reaction force F is set to a value suitable for forming the glass plate 18.

Therefore, according to the roller conveyor 90, a reaction force F suitable for forming the glass plate 18 is applied to the mold 70, so that the bent shape of the glass plate 18 is stabilized. Further, according to the roller conveyor 90, for example, as shown in FIG.
Acts as a reaction force for pressing the central portion of the glass plate 18 against the mold 70, and the cantilevered rollers 20B, 20B
The reaction force F caused by the
Acts as a reaction force that presses against Therefore, since the entire surface of the glass plate can be pressed against the mold 70 with an optimal force, the glass plate 18 can be bent and formed well. Further, since the glass plate 18 can be bent in a direction orthogonal to the glass plate transport direction, it is possible to cope with bending of the double curved glass plate 18.

In the embodiment, the reaction force F is generated by the air cylinder devices 104, 124. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
Instead, a reaction force generating means using a spring may be used. Alternatively, a felt-like elastic sheet made of a ceramic fiber may be wound around the roller without supporting the roller in a vertically movable manner, and the reaction force F may be generated by the elastic restoring force of the sheet.

FIG. 11 shows a third embodiment of the roller conveyor 130 arranged in the forming zone. The roller conveyor 130 uses a plurality of rollers located upstream (in the upper left portion of FIG. 11) in the glass sheet transport direction as preforming rollers, and forms a plurality of rollers subsequent to the preforming rollers. It is used as an application roller.

When the glass plate 18 is conveyed by the preforming roller, the glass plate 18 is curved along the curved conveying surface formed by the preforming roller by the action of only its own weight as shown in FIG. When the glass plate 18 is transferred by the forming roller, the curved transfer surface formed by the forming roller as shown in FIGS. 11B to 11E and the mold 70 moved in synchronization with the glass plate transfer speed. It is bent and formed. The operations of the molding roller and the mold 70 are the same as those of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and the description thereof is omitted here.

The roller conveyor 130 shown in FIG.
Are provided below the rollers of the forming rollers by a number of air jet nozzles 132 (corresponding to air floating means) 132,
132 ... are arranged. These air injection nozzles 132, 132 are installed with the injection ports facing upward. Further, the air pressure of the hot air jetted from the air jet nozzles 132, 132 depends on the glass plate 1 being conveyed on the curved conveying surface.
8 is set to a pressure at which air 8 can be air-floated and pressed against the molding surface 70A of the mold 70. As described above, even when the glass plate 18 is configured to be pressed against the mold 70 by air pressure, the glass plate 18 is not stopped or decelerated at the time of molding, and the mold 70 is moved in the glass sheet transport direction.
Because it moves with, production capacity increases. In addition, since it is supported by air floating and formed by bending, there is an advantage that the lower surface of the glass plate 18 is not damaged by the roller during bending.

On the other hand, the air injection nozzles 132, 132.
Is controlled so as to move up and down by the same amount in conjunction with the up and down movement of the molding roller by a lifting device (not shown). As a result, the glass plate 18 does not hit the air jet nozzle 132 even when the forming roller moves downward. Also,
Since the distance between the air injection nozzle 132 and the glass plate 18 is always kept constant, the air floating capability becomes constant, and the glass plate 18 can be stably supported by air floating.

FIG. 12 shows a fourth embodiment of the roller conveyor 140 disposed in the forming zone. The roller conveyor 140 includes a so-called nose-bending roller 140A disposed upstream of the forming roller in the glass sheet transport direction, and a nose-bending roller 140B disposed downstream of the glass sheet transport direction with a plurality of rollers interposed therebetween. Has been arranged. The rollers 140A and 140B are connected to a moving device (not shown) so as to move at the same speed as the glass plate conveying speed.

Incidentally, the glass plate 18 for an automobile is generally formed so that the curvature of the end portion of the glass plate 18 is larger than that of other portions. In such a portion having a large curvature, it is not possible to obtain a favorable bent shape unless the molding time is made longer than in the other portions.

Therefore, in the roller conveyor 140, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2 (C), when the ends of the glass plate 18 abut against the rollers 140A and 140B,
A and 140B show the state in which this state is maintained.
As shown in (C), it moves in the glass sheet conveyance direction at the same speed as the glass sheet conveyance speed. Thereby, the glass plate 1 having a large curvature
Since the end of No. 8 can be formed longer than other portions, the shape of the end having a large curvature can be obtained favorably. The operation of the mold 70 is the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIG.
Here, the description is omitted.

The mold 70 may have a vacuum suction function for sucking and holding the glass plate, and an air blowing function for peeling the glass plate from the mold 70.

FIG. 13 shows another embodiment of the roller support structure shown in FIG. This roller support structure is a rack 4 shown in FIG.
In this embodiment, a worm jack device 150 is employed as shown in FIG. 13 without using a mechanism including the pin 8 and the pinion 50. The worm jack device 150 includes the gear box 15.
2 that drives the worm wheel built in 2
4, the worm wheel is rotated by driving the motor 154, and the worm 156 moves in the vertical direction. The air cylinder device 1 is provided at the upper end of the worm 156.
04 is connected, and the rod 106 of the air cylinder device 104 is connected to the bracket 96.

FIG. 14 shows rollers 160, 1 having a double-sided structure.
60 are alternately tilted to the left and right to correspond to bending of a double curved glass. FIG. 15 shows an example of the two-sided support structure.

The support structure shown in FIG. 15 is an improvement of the roller support structure shown in FIG.
Is divided into a rotating shaft 52A and a rotating shaft 52B, and these rotating shafts 52A and 52B are connected to a motor 164 via an operating gear device (for example, a differential unit of Harmonic Drive Systems) 162. According to this structure, when the motor 164 is driven, the rotating shaft 52
A and the rotating shaft 52B rotate in opposite directions by the action of the operation gear device 162, so that the left and right moving frames 30
There is a difference between the heights of L and 30R. Thereby, the roller 160 supported by the moving frames 30L and 30R is inclined.

FIGS. 16 to 18 show two rollers 20
An apparatus is provided in which three cylindrical bumps 170, 170 are provided, a glass plate is conveyed by the rotation of the bumps 170, 170 by the roller 20, and the glass plate is bent and formed by the bump 170 and the mold 70. The distance between the bumps 170 is changed for each roller as shown in FIG. The control of the height (up and down position) of the roller 20 will be described. If the bump 170 is on the outside as shown in FIG. Also, the one with the bump 170 inside is controlled lower. That is, the value of the roll elevating / lowering is changed and controlled in accordance with the position of each bump 170 according to the compound tune R. By arranging a plurality of roller groups each including three bumped rollers 20, 20,... Shown in FIG. 16 and a normal flat roller 20, bending of the double-curved glass can be smoothly performed.

The roller 180 shown in FIG.
0 and a cylindrical roller (hereinafter referred to as a free roller) 182
The flat roller 20 and the free roller 182 are relatively rotatably connected via bearings 184, 184.

When the flat roller 20 is rotated by the motor 186, when no load is applied to the free roller 182,
The free roller 182 rotates due to friction and viscous resistance of the bearing 184. Thus, the torque of the motor 186 is applied to the glass plate 16 via the free rollers 182.

On the other hand, the mold 7
When a load such as a pressing force of 0 is applied, the torque of the motor 186 is not transmitted to the free roller 182 and is not transmitted to the glass plate 18 because the bearing 184 idles.

According to the above operation, when the speed of the mold 70 and the speed of the roller 180 do not match, the speed of the glass plate 18 matches the speed of the mold 70, and the transmission of torque to the roller 180 is stopped. Thereby, no slip occurs between the roller 180 and the glass plate 18, so that the glass plate 18 can be prevented from being damaged by the slip.

Here, the condition for the free roller that produces the above-mentioned action is as follows: the outer diameter of the free roller 182: Dr (mm) the average diameter of the bearing 184: Db (mm) The pressing force of the glass plate by the mold 70: Fp (Kg) Weight of glass plate applied to one roll: Wg (kg) Weight of free roller 182: Wr (kg) Friction force between glass plate and free roller 182: Rolling friction coefficient of bearing 184: μb μ · (Fp + Wg) · Dr / 2> μb · (Fp + Wg +
The roll dimensions are designed so that the relational expression of Wr) · Db / 2 holds.

[0069]

As described above, according to the method and apparatus for bending a glass sheet according to the present invention, the glass sheet being conveyed by the conveying means is stopped or decelerated while being conveyed at the same speed. Since the forming die arranged above the transfer means is pressed against the glass plate and bent, the productivity is greatly increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a glass sheet bending apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the structure of a roller lifting device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an operation of bending a glass plate by a mold and a roller conveyor.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a bending operation by a roller conveyor.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the mold moving device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the roller conveyor.

FIG. 7 is a structural diagram showing a support structure of a two-sided roller of the roller conveyor shown in FIG. 6;

8 is a structural diagram showing a support structure of a cantilever roller of the roller conveyor shown in FIG.

9 is a side view of a main part of the cantilever roller support structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a glass sheet is formed into a double curve by the roller conveyor shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a bending operation using an air floating device.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing a bending operation using a nose bending roller at the edge of a glass plate.

FIG. 13 is a structural diagram showing another embodiment of a support structure of a double-supported roller of a roller conveyor.

FIG. 14 is a front view showing another embodiment of the roller conveyor.

FIG. 15 is a structural diagram showing a support structure of a two-sided roller of the roller conveyor shown in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a partial side view showing another embodiment of the roller conveyor.

17 is a front view of the roller conveyor shown in FIG.

18 is an enlarged front view of a main part of the roller conveyor shown in FIG.

FIG. 19 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the roller of the roller conveyor.

20 is a side view of the roller as viewed from line 20-20 in FIG. 19;

[Explanation of symbols]

10: glass sheet bending apparatus, 12: heating furnace, 14:
Forming zone, 16: Air-cooling strengthening device, 18: Glass plate, 2
0, 90, 130, 140: roller conveyor, 70: mold, 132: air injection nozzle

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A glass sheet is heated to a bending temperature by a heating furnace, and the heated glass sheet is conveyed by conveying means.
Bending the glass sheet by moving the glass sheet and the bending mold in a direction that makes them relatively close to each other and pressing both while moving the mold in the glass sheet conveyance direction in synchronization with the conveyance speed of the glass sheet. A method for bending a glass sheet. 2. The conveying means is a roller conveyor including a plurality of rollers, and conveys the glass plate along a conveying surface formed by a plurality of rollers of the roller conveyor, forming the conveying surface. The roller is moved up and down in accordance with the transport position of the glass sheet to bend at least a part of the transport surface to form a curved surface, and the molding die is pressed against the glass plate being transported on the curved surface. The method for bending a glass sheet according to claim 1, wherein the glass sheet is bent by bending. 3. The conveying means is a roller conveyor composed of a plurality of rollers, and conveys the glass plate along a conveying surface formed by the plurality of rollers of the roller conveyor. The glass sheet is bent and formed while being movably provided in the direction and urged upward, and the urging force applies a reaction force suitable for forming the glass sheet to the mold. 2. The method for bending a glass sheet according to 1. 4. An air-floating means for supporting the glass plate in an air-floating manner is disposed in the transfer means, and the glass plate is air-floated by compressed air jetted from the air-floating means and pressed against the mold. Claim 1 characterized by the following:
4. The method for bending a glass sheet according to the item 1. 5. After preliminarily forming the glass sheet into a predetermined bent shape by its own weight while conveying the glass sheet heated by the heating furnace along a conveying surface formed by a plurality of rollers, The method of bending a glass sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the method is performed by bending with a forming die. 6. A glass sheet is heated to a bending temperature by a heating furnace, and the heated glass sheet is conveyed along a conveying surface formed by a plurality of rollers of a roller conveyor, and the rollers are moved to the glass sheet. The glass sheet is preformed into a predetermined bent shape by its own weight by moving up and down according to the transfer position of the glass sheet, and the preformed glass sheet is transferred by a plurality of rollers of a roller conveyor. The roller is moved up and down according to the transport position of the glass plate while being transported along the glass plate, and the forming die is moved in the glass plate transport direction in synchronization with the transport speed of the glass plate to form the glass plate. A method for bending a glass sheet, wherein the glass sheet is bent by moving the mold in a direction of relatively approaching and pressing both sides. 7. A heating furnace for heating a glass sheet to a bending temperature, wherein the heated glass sheet is conveyed along a conveying surface formed by a plurality of rollers of a roller conveyor, and the roller is moved to a glass sheet. Up and down according to the transfer position of
While moving the forming die in the glass plate conveying direction in synchronization with the conveying speed of the glass plate, the glass plate and the forming die are moved in a direction in which they are relatively close to each other and pressed together, thereby bending the glass plate. A bending device for a glass sheet, comprising: forming means. 8. A roller conveyor comprising a plurality of rollers forming a transport surface for transporting the glass plate, a vertical drive unit for vertically moving the plurality of rollers, and the drive unit. Control means for controlling means to move the roller up and down, thereby bending at least a part of the transport surface to a curvature corresponding to the curvature of the glass sheet to be obtained. The glass sheet bending apparatus according to claim 7. 9. A roller conveyor comprising a plurality of rollers forming a transport surface for transporting the glass plate, wherein the transport means supports the rollers in a vertically movable manner and is attached upward. 8. The glass sheet bending apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: roller supporting means for applying a reaction force suitable for forming the glass sheet to the forming die by the urging force. 10. An air floating means for supporting the glass plate in an air floating manner, wherein the glass plate is air-floated by compressed air injected from the air floating means and pressed against the mold. The glass sheet bending apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that: 11. A glass provided by a self-weight of a glass plate while being conveyed along a conveyance surface formed by a plurality of rollers and provided between a heating stage by the heating furnace and a bending process by the forming die. The glass sheet bending apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 10, further comprising a preforming means for preforming the sheet into a predetermined bent shape. 12. A heating furnace for heating a glass sheet to a bending forming temperature, and while the heated glass sheet is conveyed along a conveying surface formed by a plurality of rollers of a roller conveyer, the roller is moved to a glass sheet. A preforming means for preforming the glass sheet into a predetermined bent shape by its own weight by moving the glass sheet up and down according to the transport position of the glass sheet; and forming the preformed glass sheet with a plurality of rollers on a roller conveyor. While transporting along the transport surface being moved, the rollers are moved up and down according to the transport position of the glass plate, and, while moving the mold in the glass plate transport direction in synchronization with the transport speed of the glass plate, Forming means for bending and forming the glass sheet by moving the glass sheet and the forming die in a direction of relatively pressing and pressing both sides; Plate bending machine.