JP4771270B2 - Method and apparatus for replacing glass plate mold - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for replacing a glass plate forming die for replacing a forming die provided in an in-furnace forming apparatus for bending a glass plate in a furnace, and an apparatus therefor.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A curved glass plate used for window glass for automobiles, etc. is heated to the bending temperature in a heating furnace and then press-molded with a mold provided in the molding furnace to obtain a desired curved glass plate. Manufactured.
[0003]
Thus, in the in-furnace forming apparatus for forming the glass plate in the furnace, when changing the mold at the time of job change, first, the door of the mold carry-in / out window formed on the wall of the molding furnace is opened. Open and insert the fork of the forklift from here. Next, operate the fork to remove the old mold attached to the mounting part of the molding furnace from the mounting part and place it on the fork, and then pull out the fork from the loading / unloading window to mold the old mold Remove from the furnace.
[0004]
Next, the new molding die is placed on the fork and carried into the molding furnace through the loading / unloading window, and then the fork is operated to attach the new molding die to the mounting portion of the molding furnace. This completes the mold replacement operation.
[0005]
The mounting portion includes a hook portion that is provided so as to be movable up and down in the molding furnace and that is locked to the upper flange portion of the molding die. The mounting portion is moved up and down during the replacement of the mold, and the hook portion is operated in the locking direction and the locking release direction. That is, when replacing the mold, the mounting portion is moved together with the fork.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the conventional mold replacement method is a replacement method using a forklift, the work of carrying out the old mold and the work of carrying in the new mold must be carried out separately. There was a drawback that it took time.
[0007]
This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, and it aims at providing the replacement | exchange method and apparatus of the glass plate shaping | molding die which can shorten the exchange time of a shaping | molding die.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for exchanging a mold installed in a glass sheet bending furnace, wherein a mold carrying means is disposed on one side of the molding furnace and the mold is molded on the other side. A mold unloading means is arranged, and the forming mold unloading means is inserted into the forming furnace through an unloading window formed in the forming furnace, and an old forming mold in the forming furnace is formed by the forming mold unloading means. The new mold is transferred from the mold transfer means to the mold transfer means in the molding furnace through the loading window formed in the molding furnace, and is transferred to the outside of the furnace. Is transferred to a predetermined position in the molding furnace by an unloading operation of the mold unloading means, whereby the old mold is replaced with a new mold.
[0009]
Further, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a mold changing apparatus installed in a glass plate bending furnace, and a mold carrying means disposed on one side of the molding furnace, A molding die carrying means disposed on the other side across the molding furnace, and a control means for controlling the molding die carrying means and the molding die carrying means, the control means being formed in the molding furnace The molding die unloading means is inserted into the molding furnace through the unloading window, and the molding furnace is controlled so that the old molding die in the molding furnace is carried out of the molding furnace by the molding die unloading means. The new mold is delivered from the mold delivery means to the mold delivery means in the molding furnace through the delivery window formed on the mold, and the delivered new mold is delivered to the mold delivery means. So that it can be brought into place in the molding furnace. And controlling.
[0010]
According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the mold loading means is disposed on one side of the molding furnace, and the mold unloading means is disposed on the other side. Then, the molding die unloading means is inserted into the molding furnace through the unloading window formed in the molding furnace, and the old molding die in the molding furnace is unloaded from the molding furnace by the molding die unloading means. Then, the new mold is carried in in conjunction with the old mold carry-out work. That is, the new mold is transferred from the mold feeding means to the molding mold unloading means in the molding furnace through the loading window formed in the molding furnace, and the new mold is molded by the unloading operation of the mold unloading means. Carry it into a predetermined position in the furnace and replace the old mold with the new mold. Thus, in the present invention, since the new mold is carried in in conjunction with the carry-out work of the old mold, it is possible to shorten the mold replacement time.
[0011]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the molding die carry-in means and the molding die carry-out means are provided so as to be movable back and forth with respect to the molding furnace, and moved forward and moved relative to the molding furnace when the molding die is replaced. In other words, since the molding die carry-in means and the molding die carry-out means are in a position retracted from the molding furnace during standby other than during replacement, the old molding die carried out by the molding die carrying-out means is pulled down from the molding die carrying-out means. In this case, and when a new mold is mounted on the mold carrying-in means, the operation can be performed at a position away from the molding furnace.
[0012]
According to invention of Claim 4, a shaping | molding die carrying-in means has a chain conveyor which carries in a new shaping | molding die, and a shaping | molding die carrying-out means has a chain conveyor which carries out an old shaping | molding die. If a heat-resistant chain conveyor is employed in this way, the mold can be replaced without any problem without being affected by the high temperature of the molding furnace when the mold is replaced.
[0013]
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the chain conveyor of the molding die carry-out means is configured to be longer than the chain conveyor of the molding die carry-in means so that a part thereof is inserted into the molding furnace. That is, the overall length of the chain conveyor is shortened by lengthening the chain conveyor of the mold delivery means that needs to be inserted into the molding furnace and shortening the chain conveyor of the mold delivery means that does not need to be inserted into the molding furnace. This can reduce the size of the exchange device.
[0014]
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the mold carry-in means or the mold carry-out means is provided with lifting means for adjusting the relative height position of the mold carry-in means and the mold carry-out means. ing. Thereby, since a shaping | molding die carrying-in means and a shaping | molding die carrying-out means become flat, delivery of the new shaping | molding die from a shaping | molding die carrying-in means to a shaping | molding die carrying-out means becomes smooth.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a glass plate mold changing method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0016]
1 and 2 are structural views of a glass plate bending apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The glass plate bending apparatus 10 shown in these drawings includes a heating unit 12, a forming unit 14, and a cooling unit 16.
[0017]
The heating unit 12 includes five electric heating furnaces 18A, 18B, 18C, 18D, and 18E configured by 1ZONE to 5ZONE. In these electric heating furnaces 18 </ b> A to 18 </ b> E, the temperature given to the glass plate 20 is set for each electric heating furnace. The glass plate 20 is conveyed by the roller conveyor 22 in the electric heating furnaces 18A to 18E, and is heated to a predetermined bending temperature (about 720 ° C.) in the process of being conveyed in the electric heating furnaces 18A to 18E.
[0018]
The molding unit 14 includes a molding furnace 24. The molding furnace 24 is in communication with a heating furnace 18E, and the inside thereof is maintained at a high temperature as in the heating furnace 18E. The glass plate 20 heated to the bending temperature in the heating furnace 18E is carried into the forming furnace 24 by the roller conveyor 22.
[0019]
A male die 26 having a convex bottom surface is attached in the molding furnace 24. This male mold 26 is attached by locking its upper flange 27 to L-shaped hooks 29 (see FIG. 3) 29, 29 provided at the lower ends of the four suspension rods 28, 28. It has been. The hooks 29, 29 are provided so as to be swingable in a closing direction indicated by an arrow A and an opening direction indicated by an arrow B in FIG. 3, and the male die 26 is interposed via a flange portion 27 by swinging in the closing direction. The male mold 26 is removed from the hooks 29 and 29 by being attached to the hooks 29 and 29 and swinging in the opening direction.
[0020]
The upper ends of the four suspension rods 28, 28... Shown in FIG. 1 are connected to a lifting device (not shown), and the male mold 26 is lifted and lowered via the rods 28, 28. A molding surface 26A having a shape corresponding to the bent shape of the glass plate 20 to be molded is formed on the lower surface of the male mold 26 as shown in FIG.
[0021]
An air floating device 30 is provided below the male mold 26 shown in FIG. The air floating device 30 is provided with a large number of nozzles 32, and hot air is ejected from the large number of nozzles 32, 32... Toward the glass plate 20 conveyed to the upper position of the air floating device 30 by the roller conveyor 22. Is done. The glass plate 20 is lifted by a predetermined amount from the roller conveyor 22 toward the male mold 26 by receiving the hot air.
[0022]
On the other hand, a suction pipe 33 is connected to the upper center of the male mold 26. The suction pipe 33 is connected to a suction device (not shown), and the air in the male mold 26 is sucked by driving the suction device. The male mold 26 has a number of suction holes (not shown) formed on the molding surface 26A, and air is sucked from the suction holes, whereby the glass plate 20 floated by the air floating device 30 is formed on the molding surface 26A. Adsorbed and held. The glass plate 20 adsorbed and held on the molding surface 26A is pressed between the press ring 34 inserted below the glass plate 20 and bent into a predetermined curved shape by the downward movement of the molding die 25. In the present embodiment, the male mold 26 and the press ring 34 constitute the mold 25.
[0023]
The press ring 34 is formed in a peripheral shape of the glass plate 20 that approximately matches the bent shape of the curved glass plate to be formed. The press ring 34 is attached to a press ring shuttle 36, and the press ring shuttle 36 is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown) to reciprocate between a molding position in the molding furnace 24 and a standby position outside the molding furnace 24. Moved.
[0024]
The cooling unit 16 includes a quench shuttle 38 and an air cooling strengthening device 40.
[0025]
The quench shuttle 38 is provided with a quench ring 42. The quench ring 42 receives the glass plate 20 bent by the forming portion 14 and is formed in a peripheral shape of the glass plate 20 that substantially matches the bent shape of the curved glass plate 20 to be formed. The quench ring 42 reciprocates between the receiving position in the molding furnace 24 and the air-cooling strengthening position outside the molding furnace 24 as the quench shuttle 38 travels.
[0026]
The air-cooling strengthening device 40 includes an upper air outlet 44 and a lower air outlet 46, and injects cooling air supplied from a blower (not shown) onto both the upper and lower surfaces of the glass plate. The glass plate 20 is positioned between the upper air outlet 44 and the lower air outlet 46 while being supported by the quench ring 42, and is then air-cooled and strengthened by the cooling air injected from the upper air outlet 44 and the lower air outlet 46. . The air-tempered glass plate 20 is transported to the next process by the quench shuttle 38.
[0027]
Next, the operation of the glass plate bending apparatus 10 will be described. First, a flat glass plate 20 cut into a predetermined size and shape is placed on the roller conveyor 22. The glass plate 20 is conveyed to the heating furnaces 18 </ b> A to 18 </ b> E by the roller conveyor 22. And the glass plate 20 is heated to predetermined bending forming temperature in the process conveyed along heating furnace 18A-18E.
[0028]
The glass plate 20 heated to the bending temperature in the heating furnace 18E is carried into the forming furnace 24 by the roller conveyor 22.
[0029]
The glass plate 20 carried into the molding furnace 24 is stopped at a position below the male mold 26 by the temporary stop of the roller conveyor 22. And hot air is sprayed toward the lower surface of the glass plate 20 from the nozzles 32, 32 ... of the air floating device 30, and, thereby, the glass plate 20 floats from the roller conveyor 22.
[0030]
Then, along with the injection of hot air from the nozzles 32, 32..., A suction device (not shown) connected to the male mold 26 is driven, and air in the male mold 26 is sucked through the suction pipe 33. Thereby, air is sucked from a large number of suction holes (not shown) formed on the molding surface 26A of the male mold 26, and the glass plate 20 floating from the roller conveyor 22 is sucked and held on the molding surface 26A of the male mold 26. .
[0031]
Next, when the male mold 26 holds the glass plate 20 by suction, the suspension rod 28 is raised, and the male mold 26 is raised to a predetermined height. When the ascent of the male mold 26 stops, the press ring shuttle 36 is driven and the press ring 34 is positioned at a position below the male mold 26. Next, the suspension rod 28 is lowered again, and the male die 26 is lowered toward the press ring 34. As a result, the glass plate 20 sucked and held on the molding surface 26A of the male mold 26 is pressed between the male mold 26 and the press ring 34, so that the glass plate 20 is bent into a predetermined curved shape.
[0032]
When the pressing is completed, the suspension rod 28 rises again, and the male die 26 rises to a predetermined height in a state where the bent glass plate 20 is sucked and held. On the other hand, the press ring 34 is retreated to a standby position outside the molding furnace 24 by the press ring shuttle 36.
[0033]
When the press ring 34 is positioned at the standby position, the quench shuttle 38 is subsequently driven, and the quench ring 42 is positioned at a position below the male mold 26. Next, the suspension rod 28 is lowered again, and the male die 26 is lowered toward the quench ring 42. As a result, the glass plate 20 attracted and held by the male mold 26 is placed on the quench ring 42. In this state, the suction holding of the glass plate 20 by the male mold 26 is released, and the glass plate 20 is delivered to the quench ring 42.
[0034]
The quench ring 42 that has received the glass plate 20 is conveyed from the molding furnace 24 to the air-cooling strengthening device 40 by the quench shuttle 38. The air-cooling strengthening device 40 enhances the air-cooling. When this air cooling strengthening process is completed, the glass plate 20 is conveyed to the next process by the quench shuttle 38. The above is the operation of the glass plate bending apparatus 10.
[0035]
By the way, the glass plate bending apparatus 10 is provided with a mold changing apparatus 11. As shown in FIG. 1, the mold exchanging device 11 is composed of a mold feeding device 60 and a molding die unloading device 62. The molding die loading device 60 is installed on the right side of FIG. The carry-out device 62 is installed on the left side in FIG.
[0036]
The mold carry-in device 60 has a self-propelled cart (corresponding to a mold carry-in means) 66 provided with a short chain conveyor 64 at the top. The carriage 66 is provided movably along a rail 68 laid in a direction orthogonal to the laying direction of the roller conveyor 22. Accordingly, the carriage 66 is reciprocated between a new mold receiving position retracted from the molding furnace 24 shown in FIG. 3 and a new mold carrying position close to the molding furnace 24 shown in FIG. Control of the traveling direction of the carriage 66 and the operation of the chain conveyor 64 are controlled by a control device (corresponding to control means) 70. Further, the molding die carry-in device 60 is provided with cylinder devices (corresponding to lifting means) 72, 72... For raising the cart 66 located at the new molding die carrying position in FIG. These cylinder devices 72, 72... Are also controlled by the control device 70.
[0037]
The carriage 66 is provided with a positioning member (not shown) for positioning the new mold 74 with respect to the carriage 66 when the new mold 74 is placed on the chain conveyor 64. The new mold 74 is carried into the molding furnace 24 through a loading window 75A formed on the wall surface of the molding furnace 24. The carry-in window 75A is closed by a door (not shown), and is opened when the mold is replaced. The chain conveyor 64 is made of a heat-resistant metal that can withstand the temperature of the molding furnace 24.
[0038]
On the other hand, the mold carry-out device 62 has a self-propelled cart (corresponding to a mold carry-out means) 78 provided with a long chain conveyor 76 on the upper part. The chain conveyor 76 is set to be approximately twice as long as the chain conveyor 64 of the mold carry-in device 60.
[0039]
The carriage 78 is provided so as to be movable along the rails 80 and 80 arranged so as to be in line with the rails 68 and 68 of the mold carry-in device 60. Therefore, the carriage 78 has the old mold delivery position retracted from the molding furnace 24 shown in FIG. 3 and the old mold delivery position (= new mold receiving position where the chain conveyor 76 is inserted into the molding furnace 24 shown in FIG. 4). ). The control of the traveling direction of the carriage 78 and the operation of the chain conveyor 76 are controlled by the control device 70 in the same manner as on the mold carry-in device 60 side. The old mold 25 is carried out of the molding furnace 24 through a carry-out window 75B formed on the wall surface of the molding furnace 24. The carry-out window 75B is closed by a door (not shown) and is opened when the mold is replaced.
[0040]
In the molding die carry-out device 62, cylinder devices (corresponding to elevating means) 82, 82... For raising the carriage 78 located at the old molding die carrying-out position in FIG. These cylinder devices 82, 82... Are also controlled by the control device 70. Thus, by controlling both the cylinder devices 72 and 82 by the control device 70, the height positions of both the chain conveyors 64 and 76 can be adjusted.
[0041]
The carriage 78 is provided with a jack (not shown) for lifting the old molding die 25 placed on the chain conveyor 76 from the chain conveyor 76. By lifting up the old mold 25 from the chain conveyor 76 with this jack, a gap for inserting the fork of the forklift is formed between the chain conveyor 76 and the old mold 25. Therefore, a fork is inserted into this gap, and the old mold is taken out from the mold carry-out device 62 by a forklift. Similarly to the chain conveyor 64, the chain conveyor 76 is also made of a heat-resistant metal that can withstand the temperature of the molding furnace 24.
[0042]
Next, the operation of the mold changing apparatus 11 configured as described above will be described.
[0043]
First, as shown in FIG. 3, the molding die carry-in device 60 is positioned at the new molding die receiving position, and the molding die carry-out device 62 is located at the old molding die delivery position. A new mold 74 to be replaced is placed on the chain conveyor 64 by a forklift. At this time, the new mold 74 placed on the chain conveyor 64 is positioned at a predetermined position by a positioning member (not shown).
[0044]
Next, the doors attached to both wall surfaces of the molding furnace 24 are opened, and the loading window 75A and the unloading window 75B are opened.
[0045]
Next, both carts 66 and 78 are moved toward the molding furnace 24. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, approximately half of the chain conveyor 76 on the cart 78 side is inserted into the molding furnace 24 through the carry-out window 75 </ b> B, and the chain conveyor 76 is positioned below the mold 25. At this time, the carriage 66 is positioned at the position where the leading portion 64A of the chain conveyor 64 is inserted into the molding furnace 24, that is, at the new mold loading position.
[0046]
Next, after the hooks 29 and 29 are moved downward to place the old mold 25 on the chain conveyor 76, the hooks 29 and 29 are operated in the opening direction to transfer the mold 25 to the chain conveyor 76. Then, the chain conveyor 76 is moved in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4, and the old mold 25 in the molding furnace 24 is carried out of the molding furnace 24.
[0047]
Then, in conjunction with the carry-out operation of the old mold 25, the carry-in work of the new mold 74 is performed. That is, the chain conveyor 64 is moved in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4 and the new molding die 74 placed on the chain conveyor 64 is inserted into the molding furnace 24 through the loading window 75A. The inserted new mold 74 is transferred from the chain conveyor 64 to the chain conveyor 76. The transferred new molding die 74 is further inserted into the molding furnace 24 by the circular movement of the chain conveyor 76, and is located at a lower position of the hook 29 shown in FIG. At this time, the chain conveyor 76 stops, and the old mold 25 is completely carried out of the molding furnace 24. The carriage 66 moves toward the new mold receiving position in FIG. 3 as soon as the new mold 74 is transferred to the chain conveyor 76.
[0048]
Next, the hook 29 is moved in the closing direction to attach the new mold 74 to the hook 29. Thereafter, the carriage 78 is moved to the old mold delivery position shown in FIG. Then, the old mold 25 placed on the chain conveyor 76 is pulled down from the chain conveyor 76 by a forklift. This completes the mold replacement operation.
[0049]
Thus, in the mold changing apparatus 11, since the new mold 74 is carried in in conjunction with the carry-out work of the old mold 25, the mold exchange time can be shortened.
[0050]
In addition, since the trolleys 66 and 78 are in a position retracted from the molding furnace 24 at the time of standby other than at the time of replacement, when the old molding die 24 carried out by the trolley 78 is pulled down from the chain conveyor 76, and the chain conveyor 64 In the case where the new mold 74 is mounted, the operation can be performed at a position away from the molding furnace 24.
[0051]
Furthermore, since the mold exchanging apparatus 11 uses the heat-resistant chain conveyors 64 and 76, when exchanging the mold, the mold exchanging operation can be performed without being affected by the high temperature of the molding furnace 24. Can be implemented.
[0052]
Further, the chain conveyor 76 is configured to be longer than the chain conveyor 64 so that a part thereof is inserted into the molding furnace 24. That is, the entire length of the chain conveyors 64 and 76 can be shortened by lengthening the chain conveyor 76 that needs to be inserted into the molding furnace 24 and shortening the chain conveyor 64 that does not need to be inserted into the molding furnace 24. This can reduce the size of the mold changing device 11.
[0053]
Further, since the mold exchanging device 11 is provided with the cylinder devices 72 and 82 for adjusting the height positions of the carriages 66 and 78, the height positions of the chain conveyor 64 and the chain conveyor 76 can be matched. Therefore, the delivery of the new mold 74 from the chain conveyor 64 to the chain conveyor 76 becomes smooth.
[0054]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the method and apparatus for exchanging a glass plate mold according to the present invention, the mold carry-in means is arranged on one side and the mold carry-out means is arranged on the other side across the molding furnace, Since the new mold is carried in by the mold carry-in means in conjunction with the work of carrying out the old mold by the mold carry-out means, it is possible to shorten the replacement time of the mold.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of a main part of a glass plate bending apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the overall configuration of the glass plate bending apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the glass plate molding die replacement device according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the glass plate molding die replacement device according to the embodiment. Explanatory drawing [FIG. 6] Explanatory drawing of operation | movement of the glass plate shaping die exchange apparatus of embodiment
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Glass plate bending molding apparatus, 11 ... Mold changing apparatus, 12 ... Heating part, 14 ... Molding part, 16 ... Cooling part, 18A-18E ... Electric heating furnace, 20 ... Glass plate, 22 ... Roller conveyor, 24 ... Molding furnace, 26 ... male mold, 30 ... air floating device, 32 ... nozzle, 34 ... press ring, 60 ... molding die carry-in device, 62 ... molding die carry-out device, 64, 76 ... chain conveyor, 66, 78 ... cart, 72, 82 ... Cylinder device

Claims (6)

In the replacement method of the mold installed in the glass plate bending furnace,
The mold feeding means is arranged on one side across the molding furnace, and the mold unloading means is arranged on the other side,
Through the unloading window formed in the molding furnace, the molding die unloading means is inserted into the molding furnace, and the old molding die in the molding furnace is unloaded from the molding furnace by the molding die unloading means.
The new mold is delivered from the mold feeding means to the mold unloading means in the molding furnace through the loading window formed in the molding furnace,
Glass plate molding characterized in that the transferred new molding die is transferred to a predetermined position in a molding furnace by carrying out the molding die unloading means to replace the old molding die with a new molding die. Mold exchange method. In the mold changer installed in the glass plate bending furnace,
A mold carrying means disposed on one side across the molding furnace;
Molding die unloading means arranged on the other side across the molding furnace;
It comprises control means for controlling the molding die carry-in means and the molding die carry-out means,
The control means inserts the molding die carry-out means into the molding furnace via a carrying-out window formed in the molding furnace, and the molding die carrying-out means removes the old molding die in the molding furnace from the molding furnace. And the new mold is delivered from the mold delivery means to the mold delivery means in the molding furnace through a delivery window formed in the molding furnace. An apparatus for replacing a glass plate mold, wherein the mold is controlled to be carried into a predetermined position in a molding furnace by a carry-out operation of the mold carry-out means. The molding die carry-in means and the molding die carry-out means are provided so as to be movable back and forth with respect to the molding furnace, and are controlled by the control means so as to move forward with respect to the molding furnace when the molding die is replaced. 3. A glass plate forming die exchange apparatus according to claim 2, wherein 4. The molding die carrying means has a chain conveyor for carrying in a new molding die, and the molding die carrying out means has a chain conveyor for carrying out an old molding die. An apparatus for exchanging the glass plate forming die described. The said chain conveyor of the said mold delivery means is comprised longer than the said chain conveyor of the said mold delivery means so that a part may be inserted in the said molding furnace. 5. A glass plate forming die changing apparatus according to 4. 2. The raising / lowering means for adjusting the relative height position of a shaping | molding die carrying-in means and a shaping | molding die carrying-out means is provided in the said shaping | molding die carrying-in means or the said shaping | molding die carrying-out means. The apparatus for replacing a glass plate forming die according to any one of 2, 3, 4 or 5.

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