PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING A METAL OR METAL COMPOUND COATING

摘要

In order to control the thickness of a metal or metal compound coating which is formed on a face of a freshly formed ribbon of hot glass during its travel from a flat glass forming installation by contacting such face at a coating station with a fluid medium or fluid media comprising a substance or substances from which the coating is formed, preparatory to being coated, the glass is thermally conditioned at a thermal conditioning station between the flat glass forming installation and the coating station, so as to eliminate or reduce temperature gradients across the ribbon width to be coated. An apparatus suitable for carrying out this process comprises means for delivering at least one fluid coating medium into contact with the glass at the coating station, and means permitting the temperature of one or more portions of the ribbon width to be conditioned selectively or differentially at a thermal conditioning station located between the flat glass forming installation and the coating station.