Apparatus for locally heating conveyed glass sheets

摘要

There is disclosed an improved apparatus for locally heating selected portions of glass sheets conveyed through a tunnel type furnace on a roller conveyor. The apparatus comprises two localized heaters positioned within the furnace, supporting members for supporting the localized heaters, at least one portion of each of the supporting members extending into the furnace, and a drive mechanism positioned externally of the furnace and adapted to reciprocatingly moving the localized heaters in a direction transversely to the direction of conveyance of the glass sheets in a substantially synchronized relation to movement of the conveyed glass sheets so that the selected portions of the glass sheets are locally heated by the localized heaters and can thereafter be bent, at a bending station, to a much smaller radius of curvature than the rest of the glass sheet.