LOW FRICTION EDGE ROLLER TO MINIMIZE FORCE CYCLING

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an edge roller to reduce cyclic force resulting from friction in a drawing apparatus that can appear as shape or stress within glass sheets cut from a glass ribbon in a glass drawing process. SOLUTION: A shroud 22 disposed around a glass ribbon 20 and defining a draw chamber includes a first seal plate 56, wherein an atmosphere in the draw chamber has first pressure Ps. An edge roller assembly includes a rotatable shaft 44 extending through the shroud 22 into the draw chamber and a contact surface 40 that comes into contact with an edge of the glass ribbon 20 in the draw chamber, wherein the shaft 44 is coupled to a second seal plate 66. A gas is injected into a gap 74 between the first and second seal plates to maintain an atmosphere in the gap at second pressure Pgequal to or less than the first pressure Ps. The first seal plate 56 includes a slot 58 that allows movement of the shaft 44 in a direction transverse to a longitudinal axis of the shaft 44. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT