US1838305A - Manufacture of sheet glass - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 29, 1931.

R. GENENGER MANUFACTURE OF SHEET GLASS Filed March 27, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 29, 1931.

R. GENENGER MANUFACTURE OF SHEET GLASS Filed March 2'7, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 29, 1931.

'R. GENENGER MANUFACTURE OF SHEET GLASS Filed March 27, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 each 5 millimeters thick.

Patented Dec. 29, 193i RICHARD GENENGER 0F AACHEN-FORST, GERMAiNY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO THE AMERICAN BICHEROUX COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE MANUFACTURE or snnnr, eLAss Application filed March 27, 1980, Serial No. 439,482, and in Germany November 28, 1929.

This invention relates to the manufacture of sheet glass on rolling machines with a pair ofcooperating forming rolls, and it has for its mam object to so improve the known rolling process that it is possible to make glass sheets of different thickness from one and the same charge of liquid glass mass, this being attained by changing during the rolling operation and without interrupting'the samethe distance between the forming rolls so that the ribbon formed has successive sections of varying thickness, which by a subsequent division at the joints between them yield sheets of correspondingly different thicknesses.

This improved process possesses the following advantages. Glass-works using this process can accommodate their production much better to the orders placed with them than hitherto. .When the glass ribbons or sheets are produced intermittently from the contents of one or more melting pots, the process allows of a better utilization of the pots. The charge of a-melting pot of ordinary size generally yields two sheets with a thickness of 9,1nillimeters, a length of about 6,5 meters and a width of about 3,5 meters, while the remainder of the charge is .not sullieient to make a third sheet of the same dimensions. Therefore, the third sheet if formed will have a considerably smaller length or the remainder of glass is left unused in the machine. A much better utilization is, however, obtained when rolling from the charge contained in a pot sheets of the said length and width but of different thicknesses, for instance one sheet 8 millimeters thick, at second sheet (3,5 millimeters thick and a third sheet 4,5 millimeters thick, or one sheet 9 millimeters thick and two sheets The use of the present process is of particular advantage in works where the glass sheets made from each charge, for instance from the contents of each pot, are delivered by means of travelling transporting tables to a plurality of lccrs which correspond in number to the number of sheets formed from each charge and which are arranged side by side laterally of the track of the transporting tables.

When in such a plant three sheets are formed from the contents of a pot by cutting the glass ribbon at the gaps between successive tables, the first sheet is carried to the leer which is most remote from the rolling machine, the second sheet is carried to the leer next but one to the machine and the third sheet is carried to the leer located nearest the rolling machine. However, in proceeding with the delivering of the several sheets in this manner, it may become diflicult to get the sheet cut off first and eventually the second sheet too stowed in a sufficiently hot condition because of the great distances between the machine and the respective leers, especially if the sheets are of a small thickness, say 4 to'6,5 millimeters. This difliculty may result in the formation of cracks and a bad evenness. The third sheet is not subjcctedto this danger, because it does not take much time to transport this sheet through the small distance from the rolling machine to the nearest leer. The diiliculty mentioned becomes the greater, the more sheets are made from eachcharge and the more leers must accordingly be provided, that isto say the longer the distance becomes over which the first sheets have to travel to reach their lcers. The difficulty can be overcome according to the invention by making the first sheet of great thickness, say 9 millimeters. the second sheet of a smaller" thickness and the third sheet of a still smaller thickness, or by making thev two first sheets comparatively thick, for example 9 millimeters, and the third sheet very thin, for example 4 millimeters. In this case, only sheets of great thickness-aboutfl millimcters-have to be carried over a comparatively great distance, and such sheets can stand the rolonged influence of the outer being injured.

The process can he carried out at low costs with any existing multi-ioll glass rolling machine.

When applied to a glass rolling plant in which the glass ribbon is taken oil the machine by travelling transporting-tables and severed into sheets by cutting the ribbon at the gaps between successive tables, the times atmosp ere without,

at which the distance between the forming rolls is altered, is chosen so that the wedgeshaped portions formedbetween the sheets or ribbon sections of diflerentthickness in passing onto the tables will overlie the gaps between the tables. As the ribbon is cut at these gaps the loss of glass is only inconsiderable.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a glass rolling machine with one form of a device for adjusting the distance between the forming rolls Fig. 2 is a side View, partly in section, of one'of the roll stands with the adjusting device Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a machine with another form of adjusting device,

Fig. 4 is a side view of one of the roll stands of this machine, and

Figs. 5 and 6 are diagrammatic side elevations of a sheet glass rolling plant illustrating the formation of sheets of different thickness.

It is assumed that the machines illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, first form a thick sheet P and in succession thereto a thin sheet P. 1 designates the roll stands, 2 are the upper and 3 the lower forming rolls, 4 the travelling transporting tables and 5 the chutes over which the glass ribbon glides from the machine to the transporting tables. The bearings 6 of the upper forming roll 2 are vertically adjustable in the stands 1.

According to Figs. 1 and 2, the bearings 6 are suspended by means of bolts 7 on supporting members mounted in the stands 1. Interposed between the bearings 6 and the members 8 are compression springs 9 which tend to force the bearings 6 downwardly. The supporting members 8 are fastened to the lower ends of screw spindles 10, which are in engagement with and guided in central threaded bores of worm wheels 12 mounted on or in the top pieces of the stands 1. The wheels 12 mesh with worms 13 which are fastened on a common shaft 14. It will be understood that by rotating the shaft 14 in one direction or the other the bearings 6 of the upper forming roll 2 are raised or lowered, whereby the distance between the form ing rolls 2 and 3 and the thickness of the glass ribbon formed between them are altered. The shaft 14 is preferably operated from a motor 15 which is kept running constantly. Interposed between the motor 15 and the shaft 14 is an electromagnetic clutch 16 which is controlled by an electric circuit 17. The closing of this circuit is effected through the intermediary of a switch 18, which is located on one side of the track of the tables 4 and adapted to be automatically actuated by a lug 19 carried by each of the tables. Fastened on one of the worm wheels 12 so as to rotate in unison therewith is a disc 20 which carries an adjustable tripping member 21, which is adapted to act at the proper times on a cut-out 22 for interrupting the circuit 17 and rendering the clutch 16 inoperative.

At the beginning of the rolling operation the distance between the rolls 2 and 3 is set in accordance with the desired thickness of the first sheet P, i. e. the first section of the glass ribbon. The motor 15 is running and the clutch 16 is kept inoperative. As soon as the lug 19 of the first table 4 with the glass ribbon thereon reaches the switch 18, it actuates the latter so that it closes the circuit 17, throwing in the clutch 16. Thereby motion is imparted to the shaft 14, worms 13 and worm wheels 12 until the tripping member 21 of the disc 20 actuates the cut-out 22. Through the said motion the screw spindles 10 and the bearings 6 are lowered so that the distance between the forming rolls 2 and 3 is reduced. The position of the tripping member 21 and the pitch of the screw spindles 10 are so chosen that the lowering of the upper forming roll 2 corresponds to the difference of thickness between the sheets or sections P and P. As the motor 15 is running constantly, the lowering of the roll 2 will take place instantaneously, thus avoiding any delay which would otherwise be caused by the starting of the motor. The switch 18 and the lugs 19 are located. in such positions that by their co-oepration the wedge-shaped connecting portion 2 between the sections P and P in passing onto the tables 4 will overlie the cutting gap 4 between the tables 4. As the downward displacement of the upper roll 2 takes place very quickly the portion 2 becomes very short, and as this portion is deposited over the cutting gap and a transverse strip of glass is, per se, generally cut out of the ribbon at these gaps for dividing the ribbon into the desired units or sheets, the loss entailed through the wedge-shaped portions 1) is only extremely small.

In the form according to Figs. 3 and 4, the journals of the upper roll 2 are eccentrically mounted in bushes 23 which at the same time form worm wheels 23. These wheels are engaged by worms 24 fastened on shafts 25 which are adapted to be rotated by bevel gears 26 from the common shaft 14. The operation of this device is similar to that of the device illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The only difi erence consists in that the raising and lowering of the upper roll 2 is brought about by the turning of the bushes 23 and that the tripping member 21 for the cut-out 22 is adjustably fixed to one of the bushes 23. The bearings 6 of the upper roll 2 are forced downwardly by compression springs 9 interposed between the bearings and the top pieces 11 of the stands 1.

The disc 20 and the bush 23 which carry the tripping member 21, are preferably provided with a scale for the various thicknesses of the glass sheets to be formed. They are further provided with suitably distributed holes or cavities,'in one or the other of which the tripping member is fastened according to the thickness to be given to the sheets. But there may also be used any other suitable means for clamping the tripping members in, the desired positions.

While I have described two forms of devices for changing the distance between the two forming rolls, it will be understood that there exists a variety of other possibilities for effecting this adjustment.

Figs. 5 and 6 show the rollin of sheets of various thicknesses. at two di erent stages. The rolling process illustrated in these two figuresdiflers from that described with relation to Figs. 1-4 ins that there arefirst formed the thinner sheets or ribbon sections and then the thicker ones. Therefore, in the course of the operation the upper forming roll is not lowered but raised. a

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is 1 1. The process of making sheet glass which consists in delivering a charge of molten glass to a pair of cooperating forming rolls, passing the glass through the pass between the rolls to form a ribbon, feeding this ribbon onto a series of travelling trans orting tables coupled end by endto each 0t er and having transverse gaps between their ends,

'changing the distance between the forming rolls during the rolling operation to give 7 various thicknesses to successive sections of the ribbons, eifecting the change of the roll distance at such intervals as to cause the joints between the several ribbon sections to take their position on the transporting tables above the, said gaps, and dividing the ribbon In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this s ecification.

ICHARD GENENGER.

into individual sheets by cuttin it trans versely at the gaps between the ta les.

2. In an apparatus for making sheet glass, in combination a pair of cooperating forming rolls, stands for these rolls, bearings the stands for the journals of the rolls, means for adjusting the bearings of one roll relatively to the other for between the rolls, travelling. transporting tables for receiving the glass ribbon emerging from between the forming rolls, a motor for operating the roll adjusting means, a clutch interposed between the motor and the roll adjusting means, an electric circuit for controlling this clutch, ,a switch arranged to changing the distance a be actuated by the transporting'tables for q closing the circuit and rendering the said clutch operative, and another switch adapted to be operated by the roll adjusting means for opening the circuit-and rendering the clutch inoperative.

3. In an apparatus for making sheet glass, the combination with a pair of cooperating

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