Method and apparatus for handling glass sheets during shaping and cooling

摘要

This invention relates to improvements in handling glass sheets during shaping and cooling. Each glass sheet in turn is heated to its deformation temperature and conveyed into a glass shaping station. The glass is lifted into engagement with an upper vacuum shaping mold while hot and held against the vacuum shaping mold by vacuum as the glass lifting mechanism retracts downward. A transfer and tempering ring-like member having stop means upstream of an outline supporting surface conforming to and slightly inside the periphery of the bent glass sheet is brought into a position where its stop means are slightly misaligned upstream of the trailing edge of the glass sheet. The vacuum on the upper mold is released to deposit the shaped glass sheet on the ring-like member. The latter starts suddenly to displace the bent glass sheet into proper alignment with the ring-like member for movement into a cooling station where the shaped glass sheet is quenched as rapidly as possible to harden the glass surface and then transferred to an unloading conveyor at a transfer station. The ring-like member starts its rapid return from the transfer station to the shaping station before the shaped glass sheet is transferred to a position completely downstream of the ring-like member.