Abstract: A glass sheet gas support (20) is disclosed as having a set of elongated gas supply openings (26) for supplying pressurized gas to support a glass sheet and as also including a set of elongated gas exhaust openings (28) for exhausting the gas and constructed to including progressively increasing gas flow areas in opposite directions from ends (36) of each exhaust opening to a central portion (38) thereof in order to prevent gas pressure buildup between an upwardly facing surface (24) of the manifold and the supported glass sheet at a central location. In one embodiment, the manifold (22) defines each gas exhaust opening (28) with progressively increasing widths from its ends (36) toward the central portion (38) thereof and is preferably constructed as a cast refractory platen (42) which cooperates with a manifold member (58) that mounts gas jet pumps (60) fed products of combustion from a gas burner (62) to provide recirculating flow of gas to and from the supply exhaust openings.

Abstract: A lower blow box of a device for heat tempering glass sheets in horizontal position exhibits a series of nozzle plates which are placed at a distance (A) from one another. Between nozzle plates there are obliquely placed sheet-metal chutes, U-shaped in cross section, which laterally convey out the broken glass pieces arising in the breaking of the glass sheet during tempering. The sheet-metal chutes are vibrated with a vibrator.

Abstract: An apparatus for bending a glass sheet has a heating zone for heating the glass sheet, a shaping zone for shaping the glass sheet, and a cooling zone for cooling the glass sheet. A transfer zone for transferring the glass sheet is disposed immediately before the shaping zone with respect to the direction in which the glass sheet is fed. The glass sheet is fed through the transfer zone, the shaping zone, and the cooling zone by a ring mold mechanism which supports the glass sheet from below.

Abstract: A device for tempering of a glazing by contact has two cooled compression plates and a device for cooling the peripheral surface of the glazing by air jets. The device intended to cool peripheral surfaces of the glazing consists of parallelepipedic blowing ramps placed between cooling and compression plates and in which are provided slots for the cooling air jets directed toward the peripheral surface of the glazing, and exhaust openings placed between the slots. The slots have a diameter at least equal to 1 mm and at most equal to the thickness of the glazings, and the exhaust openings having a cross section which is at least three times that of slots. The dimensions of the cooling and compression plates, as well as arrangement and/or width (B) of the ramps are such that a distance (A) between the orifices of outlet slots and peripheral surface of glazing which is opposite to it is at least two times and at most six times the diameter of the slots.

Abstract: A quench station (14) including apparatus for quenching a heated glass sheet G conveyed by rolls (22) of a roller conveyor (20) is disclosed as including upper and lower sets of vertically aligned blastheads (32) having outlets (34) that are positioned closer to the conveyed glass sheet than the conveyor roll radius R and which are oriented and sized to provide highly efficient symmetrical quenching by aligned locations (36) of impingement with the oppositely facing surfaces of the glass sheet for heat strengthening or tempering. The blasthead outlets (34) are preferably round. A set of upper roll mimics (38) located above the conveyor rolls (22) in a vertically aligned relationship cooperate with the blastheads (32) in providing symmetry that results in uniform quenching of both glass sheet surfaces.

Abstract: Apparatus for bending glass plates provides a conveyor of serverable sections, each of which feeds glass plates to separate stations for bending the glass plates, the glass plates having first passed through a reheating furnace. The stations for bending or transfer employ a common upper unit, which is provided with a plurality of means for retaining the glass by aspiration under a vacuum. Each means for retaining the glass plate, and vacuum means associated therewith, is operable independently, such that the glass plates can be aspirated and released at each station independently of the actions of the remaining stations. After having been bent or shaped either on the upper retaining means, or lower bending units provided thereunder, the glass plates may be subjected to temper. Mass production of bent or shaped, and tempered, glass plates, with high, reproducible quality, and varying requirements, is made possible through such a system.

Abstract: The invention is directed to the press bending of individual heated glass sheets to be subsequently laminated in pairs to a plastic interlayer. The sheets are individually press bent between a female ring-type shaping rail and a continuous male mold surface having complemental shaping surfaces. In order to provide different pressure patterns for bending the two sheets of each pair, the male mold member comprises outer shaping rails supported in spaced relation upon a base plate. A separate flexible shaping member or pad is disposed in the space between the outer shaping rails to define the continuous shaping surface and is mounted in spaced relation upon a support plate. The support plate is affixed to the base plate by means of eccentrically mounted rotatable shafts.

Abstract: The invention concerns the use of a convexing/tempering installation for the manufacture of flat sheet glass or, in general, of glass not bent into convex shape on said installation. It proposes passing glass plates are passed through a conventional convexing/tempering installation, omitting the convexing operation, providing additional heating in the space initially set aside for convexing and/or modifying the tempering conditions initially provided for glass bent into convex shape in said installation. It makes it possible to take advantage of a given convexing/tempering installation for manufacturing tempered flat sheet glass or for heating glass plates with a view to having them bent into convex shape in another installation.

Abstract: An oscillating device for oscillating an object includes a single motor mounted on a base, a support base mounted on the base for supporting an object and movable in first and second orthogonal horizontal directions, a first converter mechanism mounted on the base and coupled to the support base for converting rotation from the motor into a first linear motion in the first horizontal direction and applying the first linear motion in the support base, a second converter mechanism mounted on the base and coupled to the support base for converting rotation from the motor into a second linear motion in the second horizontal direction and applying the second linear motion to the support base, and a clutch mechanism mounted on the base and having two clutch plates with respective engaging surfaces thereof angularly displaced from each other for selectively transmitting the rotation from the motor to the second converter mechanism.

Abstract: The invention relates to an adjusting device for the blast pressure in cooling nozzles of a glass tempering apparatus, said device comprising at least two blowers each with its own vane adjuster, blast ducts between the blowers and an air-distribution chamber, and a bypass duct linking the blast ducts. Between blast duct and air-distribution chamber downstream of by-pass duct there is fitted a throttle valve, which is in a throttle position when one blower is running with its vane adjuster partly or completely open. Thus, merely by adjusting said vane adjusters it is possible to cover a pressure range of 5-7000 Pa which is sufficient for glass thicknesses of 4-19 mm.

Abstract: A manufacturing line for tempering glass sheets includes a furnace, an oven, a bending station, and a chilling section positioned in order along a generally horizontally extending conveyor for the glass sheets. The oven extends between the furnace and the bending station to maintain the glass sheets at a predetermined temperature. The oven has sidewalls formed of a plurality of brushes and is selectively extensible along the path of travel of the glass sheets. The oven includes controlled heating devices. The chilling section includes a plurality of tubes positioned above and below the path of travel of the glass sheets and connected to a source of air under pressure. The tubes are arranged in rows generally perpendicular to the path of travel and columns generally parallel to the path of travel in order to cause the glass sheets to meet predetermined fragmentation specifications.

Abstract: A blow back control device (10) for use in a glass tempering system (12) is disclosed as including an air supply member (28) mounted between a glass heating furnace (14) and a quenching station (24). The air supply member (28) supplies a planar jet of high pressure blow back control air generally in a direction of glass sheet conveyance (A) away from an exit opening (20) of the furnace (14) and toward the quenching station (24) at an angle in the range of between 0.degree. and 25.degree. formed between the planar jet of high pressure air and a plane of conveyance of a glass sheet (16) along a conveyor (22) to deflect cooling air, supplied by blastheads (26,26') from entering the furnace (14).

Abstract: A glass bending and tempering apparatus (10) is disclosed as including a first platen (14) for receiving a heated glass sheet (12) to be bent. The first platen (14) is deformable and includes an actuator (16) for deforming platen (14) from a planar shape to a bent shape. A second platen (22) is mounted above lower platen (14) for bending and quenching glass sheet (12) therebetween the platens. A template (24) is located on the other side of the second platen (22) away from glass sheet (12). Second platen (22) is pressed against template (24) as first platen (14) is deformed from the planar shape to the bent shape to bend the heated glass sheet thereagainst second platen (22), the second platen (22) conforming to template (24). Quenching gas is supplied by both platens (14,22) through quench openings (18) that move with the platens (14,22) to temper the bent glass sheet between the platens.

Abstract: A blow box for the thermal tempering of panes of glass. To temper different sizes of glass, the air supply to selected blow tubes or blow tube groups in a blow box having a blow nozzle field disposed to handle relatively large panes of glass is blocked in the edge areas of the blow box, and in this manner the blow nozzle field supplied with forced air is adapted to the shape and size of the glass pane to be tempered. The adaptation of the blow nozzle field to the shape and size of the glass panes takes place, for example, with the aid of a template-like slide block having an opening corresponding to the glass pane, which slide block is arranged inside the air distributing box immediately in front of the front plate provided with the nozzle pipelets and which can be exchanged for a different slide block.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for moving a glass mass, such as a glass sheet in horizontal attitude through a bending section of a heating oven. The glass sheet at a deformation temperature is imparted movement along the conveyor system including a plurality of rollers, and a gaseous flow at high temperature, having a flow speed which varies continuously across the width of the glass sheet, impinges on its lower surface to at least partially balance the weight of the glass sheet in regions requiring good optical quality.

Abstract: The invention relates to the tempering of sheets of glass and optionally their bending by the so-called contact process. It proposes a process in which the edge stresses of the glass sheets are reinforced by cooling the edges of the glass sheets in relation to their central zone, particularly by blowing on these edges with a cooling gas. It also proposes a device to perform this preferred cooling of the edges, as well as glass sheets thus tempered. The invention applies to the production of glazings having nonfragile edges, particularly for the automobile.

Abstract: A heated glass plate is bent by moving over a bed or rollers defining a path curved along the direction of movement of the glass plate so as to define an upwardly facing concavity. The glass plate moves with a speed of at least 10 cm/second and is curved by the bed without contact from above. The glass plate is subsequently tempered.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of carrying glass sheets during heating and tempering as well as to a tempering apparatus for glass sheets, in which the method is applied. During heating, glass sheets are oscillated in a furnace (2) back and forth in a manner that the traveling distance forward on at least some of the reciprocating strokes is longer than the traveling distance backwards, whereby the transportation of each load of glass sheets from the upstream end of a furnace to the downstream end of a furnace occurs by means of the combined effect of several forward-directed long strokes. Shifting of a load of glass sheets from furnace into tempering section is effected by extending the forward-directed stroke of a load of glass sheets at the downstream end of said furnace while at the same time other loads of glass sheets in the furnace reverse for a backwards-directed stroke.

Abstract: The invention relates to air tempering of glass in flat tempering installations. It proposes blowing air, particularly at sonic speed, with nozzles, preferably tubular, slightly distant from the glass, exhibiting the maximum loss of pressure at their free end close to the glass. It makes possible the tempering, under economically advantageous conditions, of glass sheets having thicknesses less than 2 mm and all the more so, glass sheets having greater thicknesses, which can be used as glasses, particularly windshields, for motor vehicles.

Abstract: The invention relates to a flow barrier in the annealing section of a glass tempering apparatus, said annealing section being provided with glass sheet supporting rollers (7) and cooling air blow boxes (1, 3) are disposed above and below a glass sheet, in addition to which there are, above the glass sheets, "false rolls" (8) in the form of a downward open trough, extending crosswise to the traveling direction of said glass sheets. The purpose of "false rolls" (8) is to increase a pressure applied to the top surface of a glass sheet in order to reduce the risk of a glass sheet becoming afloat. A flow along the trough, which increases towards the ends of the trough, results in a non-uniform tempering. The flow is cut off by fitting the trough with partitions (9) spaced from each other.

Abstract: In glass tempering using a cooling gas, the impact of gas jets on glass is modified through the use of perturbations to which said jets are subject. The perturbations may be introduced laterally with respect to the tempering jets, and spaced from the opening providing said tempering jets. The characteristics of the perturbations vary cyclically. The invention makes it possible to obtain homogeneous tempering, even for highly bulged glass sheets.

Abstract: Ducts are provided to direct cooling gas onto the outer and interior surfaces of a rotating article of glassware that is heated to a uniform temperature above the strain point of the particular glass composition from which the glassware is formed in order to temper the glassware by producing beneficial residual compressive stresses on the surfaces. The ducts have gas emitting nozzles that shape the cooling gas streams to conform to the shape of the glassware surfaces. The ducts and nozzles are so positioned that the cooling gas impinges upon the glassware surfaces tangentially and in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the surfaces to increase the effective velocity of the gas and to promote laminar flow of the cooling gas over the surfaces and thereby enhance cooling.

Abstract: An adjustable quench for tempering hot glass sheets of varying transverse configurations, having overlapping members that seal a flexible nozzle assembly as it changes configurations. Nozzles extend from the flexible nozzle assembly towards the shaped glass sheet to be cooled such that the quenching surface formed by the head portions of the nozzles generally parallel the major surfaces of the shaped glass sheet. Each individual flexible nozzle assembly is connected to a common drive that can simultaneously flex all the nozzle assemblies.

Abstract: A glass sheet tempering method and system (10) disclosed utilizes a heating chamber (22) and a quenching chamber (26) which contain ambients at superatmospheric pressure during both the heating and quenching. Forced convection heating is preferably performed in an improved furnace (14"). In one embodiment, heated gas flow is provided by centrifugal blowers which blow air across a plurality of spaced heat tubes. The heated gas flow is directed toward a glass sheet positioned within the heating chamber to provide rapid heating of the glass sheet. In a second embodiment, the heated gas flow is provided by upper and lower sets of opposed gas jet pumps connected to a gas supply. A pressure gas supply including a compressor maintains the superatmospheric pressure of the heating and quenching chambers (22,26). A recirculating gas supply (32) feeds compressed quenching gas to opposed blastheads (28,30) to perform the tempering.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for the bending and toughening of glass panes in a horizontal position during movement from a bending station through a toughening station to a transfer station. A monitoring device in the form of a detector, located in the transfer station, provides a signal of whether or not a glass pane is located on a carriage for moving the glass pane between stations. The apparatus includes a blowing device responsive to a signal from the detector to blow jets of compressed air on the carriage during return movement to the bending station under the circumstance that a glass pane is not located on the carriage to free the carriage of any adhering glass splinters.

Abstract: In toughening a glass sheet, e.g. for use as an automobile window, by heating it to a temperature above the strain point and quenching the heated glass sheet by blowing a cooling medium such as compressed air against both sides of the glass sheet from two opposite sets of nozzles, the cooling medium is caused to impinge on each side of the glass sheet in such a pattern that the glass sheet is more efficiently quenched and consequently more highly toughened in a generally circular central region and a plurality of generally annular regions, which are substantially concentrical about the center of the glass sheet and radially spaced from one another, than in the remaining regions. This is effective in preventing the presence of impermissibly elongated particles when the glass sheet is fractured and also in lessening the difference between the maximum and minimum numbers of particles in unit areas of the fractured glass sheet.

Abstract: The invention relates to a frame for supporting a glass sheet in horizontal position during tempering. The frame is formed by a body and includes bearing members with bearing surfaces which support the glass sheet and which between them delimit channels for evacuation of blowing gases. The bearing members are located in at least a selected region of the body.

Abstract: The invention is concerned with the thermal tempering of glass sheets. In the practice of the invention, the glass blowing assemblies (3, 4) of a glass blowing device for the thermal tempering of glass sheets are formed of a plurality of tubular bodies (15) which are disposed side by side and provided with blowing outlets (20) which are directed towards the glass sheet. The tubular bodies (15) are interconnected by joints (34) and maintained in position by deformable guide rails (24). The shape of rails (24) is obtained by means of adjustable fixing means (40) whose position can be changed by programmable servo-motors (47). The adjustment of fixing means (40) causes with it that of guide rails (24) and accordingly the shape of the glass blowing assembly (3, 4) constituted by the tubular bodies (15) is adjusted to the shape of the glass sheet.The invention finds utility in the thermal tempering of glass sheets which are curved cylindrically and spherically.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of driving a glass tempering system and to a glass tempering system for carrying out the method. The main components of the system are a loading section, a heating furnace, a quench and cooling section and an unloading section. The sections are provided with conveyors, which are made of horizontal rollers and can be driven in unison or separately. The furnace and quench and cooling section conveyors are provided with a common drive mechanism for driving the conveyors either at the same rate of speed or for permitting stoppage of the quench and cooling section conveyor. Instead of stopping the quench and cooling section conveyor, it can be coupled to the common drive mechanism through a reduction gear to effect a very slow movement after the quenching is finished and a glass sheet load is being cooled to a handling temperature.

Abstract: Apparatus is disclosed for tempering curved glass sheets suspended in a vertical orientation. The apparatus comprises a pair of opposed manifolds each having a plurality of nozzles and positional adjustment means to optimize the heat exchange effect between the tempering station and the sheet of glass. A first adjustment means adjusts the orientation of the manifold with respect to the surface of the glass by means of four independently adjustable screw jacks that mount the manifold on a frame. A second adjustment means adjusts the horizontal spacing between the manifold and the surface of the glass by means of four screw jacks that operate in unison. In addition, another displacement means permits the manifold to be displaced from its tempering position to facilitate the insertion and removal of the glass sheets between the two manifolds. Advantageously, the displacement means is mounted on the second adjustment means.

Abstract: A newly-moulded article of glassware is positioned on a dead plate with a central opening of the dead plate beneath a central region of the bottom of the article and a plurality of grooves or openings extending from beyond the article to beneath the bottom thereof. Air is sucked through the central opening so that it flows through the grooves or openings past the bottom of the article. Air is also blown on the sidewalls of the article through a plurality of nozzles uniformly spaced around the article.

Abstract: A tunnel furnace composed of modular sections, each modular section comprising horizontal and mutually parallel openings occupying the width of a heat treatment enclosure, the openings being beneath the top of a conveyor and adjacent each other in a direction parallel to the direction of travel of the conveyor with each opening extending perpendicular to the direction of travel, such that each opening gives out a sheet of ascending gas, a collecting slot formed in an upper wall of the heat treatment enclosure extending horizontally, mutually parallel, perpendicular to the direction of travel of the conveyor and extending the width of the enclosure, such that the slot collects the sheet of ascending gas, temperature adjusting devices for maintaining the temperature of the collected gas for the module, a circulating fan for accepting the collected gas and circulating the gas via a gas circulation path to the openings after passing through the temperature adjusting devices and a regulating device for controlling

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for operating an air supply system for a glass sheet quench including a D.C. drive system of a variable speed blower operated on a duty cycle. A quench cycle and a cooling cycle are carried out in the quench. In the preferred embodiment shown for thin glass (i.e. glass which is 5 mm or less in thickness) the drive system is sized to the RMS requirements of the complete cycle to minimize the initial and operating costs, size and power requirements of the D.C. drive system.

Abstract: A method of quench-tempering a hot shaped glass sheet comprises supporting the sheet in a quenching station underneath a downwardly directed upper nozzle array and above an upwardly directed lower nozzle array by engagement of only a portion of the lower surface of the sheet. The portion engaged for support is interrupted by a generally uniformly distributed array of unsupported regions. An air stream is directed from the lower nozzle array up toward the lower surface of the glass sheet while an opposite air stream is directed down from the upper nozzle array toward the upper surface of the sheet. Generally all of the lower surface of the sheet is shielded except at the unsupported regions from the air stream of the lower nozzle array. A prestress field is thus formed in the sheet which corresponds to the distribution of the unsupported regions. The sheet is supported on and shielded by a plate having the same shape as the sheet but formed with holes at the unsupported regions.

Abstract: An improved glass sheet quench (14) is disclosed as including opposed blastheads (26,28) each of which includes elongated plenum housings (34) including openings (42) positioned therealong in a spaced relationship and oriented to supply jets (44) of quenching gas angularly in opposite directions from the plenum housing toward a heated glass sheet therebetween for impingement therewith to cool the glass sheet. This angular supply of the quenching jets permits the use of half as many plenum housings as is ordinarily needed such that the plenum housings can be spaced farther from each other to provide a greater flow area for spent quenching gas to escape from between the blastheads. Flat glass embodiments of the quench (14,14a) and bent glass embodiments of the quench (14' 14a) are disclosed and may incorporate sheet metal and tube plenum housings (34) or drilled metal bar plenum housings (34').

Abstract: Hot glass is thermally toughened by generating a stream of closely-packed, aerated particles, and projecting that stream towards the glass. A plurality of such streams are projected from an array of nozzles, and the velocity of projection of each stream is sufficient to ensure that the integrity of the stream is preserved in its trajectory towards the glass.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of differentiated rate of hardening of a glass sheet by blowing a cooling gas in the direction of this sheet having two zones from nozzles. According to the invention, a simultaneous solidification of the glass sheet is produced at both zones of the sheet in spite of the differentiated treatments applied to establish a difference of hardening between the different zones of the sheet. Application is to the production of flat glass sheets.

Abstract: The arrangement comprises a perforated dead plate above which a newly-moulded glassware article can be supported for cooling. Cooling means sucks air downwards through the dead plate so that the air flows past the article cooling it. The cooling means may comprise an air mover whose input end abuts the underside of the dead plate. A shroud may be provided which surrounds the article to force the air to flow downwards past the article.

Abstract: The invention provides apparatus and a method for thermally toughening glass by quenching the glass with a particulate material. A body of mobile aerated particulate material is created and gas extraction means and gas supply means are located in a region of the body through which a flow of the particulate material towards the glass is to be engendered. Regulation of the gas supply and extraction means regulates the mobility of the particulate material and permits the flow to be switched on and off.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for thermally toughening glass in which a hot glass article is quenched in a gas-fluidized bed of particulate material. A plurality of streams of particles are generated and are projected into the fluidized bed towards the glass immersed in the bed in order to enhance the heat transfer away from the surfaces of the article in the toughening process.

Abstract: A composite blasthead (18,20,70,72,118,120) for a quench station (16) of a glass sheet tempering system (10) is disclosed as including outer layers (28,71,73,128,128') and an inner layer comprising inserts (30,32,34,74,76,130,130') therebetween for defining passages (36,80,82,136) through which cooling gas is supplied to a glass sheet in order to provide tempering. All of the inserts have inner end portions (38,40,42,81,138,138') that cooperate to define inlets (44,86,144,144') to the passages and also have outer end portions (46,48,50,88,146,146') that cooperate to define passage outlets (52,90,152,152') through which the quenching gas exits. All of the passages have a circular cross section along substantially the entire length of the passages.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a ring-like member for use in a glass sheet bending and tempering process most adapted to a process wherein a glass sheet is released from engagement against a vacuum mold of a shape having sharply bent regions about longitudinally spaced, transversely extending lines of relatively sharp bending onto said ring-like member. The vacuum mold has a distance between the sharply bent regions at operating conditions that either equals or is slightly less than the distance desired in the bent glass. In a preferred embodiment, the ring-like member is split into two shaping rails, which are separable to adjusted positions wherein the sharply bent regions are spaced to conform to the distance desired therebetween in the bent glass sheet.

Abstract: In tempering a glass sheet to a high temper by heating the sheet to approximately its softening point followed by rapid chilling using a quenching composition that comprises a tempering medium having high heat transfer characterisitcs, the heat-softened glass sheets are protected from breakage during fabrication and resulting optical distortion by applying the tempering medium through exit orifices of a delivery system toward the heated glass in a novel cycle. The initially applied tempering medium has a low heat transfer rate and is mixed with a second tempering medium having a higher heat transfer rate to gradually increase the heat transfer rate of the mixed tempering medium. In a specific embodiment, dry air is the first tempering medium and a sublimable material, such as carbon dioxide, is the second tempering medium. The delivery system has an uninsulated portion that assures that initially the sublimable material is applied as a gas.

Abstract: Apparatus capable of tempering bent glass sheets of different sizes and shapes including sharp bends about axes oblique to the length and width of the glass sheets is made possible by supporting end nozzle boxes of tempering apparatus in such a manner that they can be moved relative to center nozzle boxes and also permitting limited pivotal adjustment of the end nozzle boxes about both essentially horizontal and essentially vertical axes to permit the end nozzle boxes to move into positions conforming to the shape of corresponding end portions bent to different orientations relative to the length and/or width of the central portion of the bent glass sheets having different glass sheet patterns, including flat patterns.

Abstract: Sheet glass is heated during conveyance within a furnace housing having a fixed roof and vertically movable side doors that define side slots through which ends of conveyor rolls project outwardly to be supported and frictionally driven by continuous drive loops slidably driven over external support surfaces that extend alongside the side slots. A vacuum holder of the apparatus is positioned within the furnace housing above the conveyor and has a downwardly facing surface with spaced openings in which a vacuum is drawn to receive a glass sheet from the conveyor and support the sheet above the conveyor. The holder surface is disclosed as being both planar and curved and as having a porous cover of ceramic fibers so as to distribute the vacuum and prevent marring of the glass as it is supported. A greater vacuum is drawn to initially support the glass and a lesser vacuum is subsequently drawn to prevent glass deformation at the spaced openings.

Abstract: The present invention relates to shaping and tempering glass sheets using a pair of cooling stations and an access area with a common tunnel-like furnace and a common shaping station. The cooling stations are located near the common glass sheet shaping station along angularly diverging paths of movement from said shaping station so that a first cooling station for chilling a glass sheet bent about an axis of curvature approximately parallel to its initial path of movement through the furnace is located along an extension of the path and a second cooling station for chilling a glass sheet bent about an axis substantially normal to the path of glass sheet movement through the furnace is located to one side of said shaping station and said access area is located to the other side of said shaping station. The access area permits ready change of shaping molds at the shaping station.

Abstract: In the bending and tempering of sharply bent glass sheets supported on a ring-like member for conveyance of the bent glass sheet through a cooling station, a transfer device for unloading the sharply bent, tempered glass sheet is provided. The transfer device is so constructed and arranged that it does not cause a bottleneck in high speed, mass production of sharply bent, tempered glass sheets, avoids uncontrolled departures from the desired shape of the bent, tempered glass sheets, particularly those that develop in the marginal edge portion of the glass sheets that must fit exactly into glass sheet receiving frames of installation structures or vehicles, provides clearance for the sharply bent glass sheets and enables the glass sheet to transfer so gently as to inhibit the likelihood of breakage resulting from uncontrolled dropping of bent, tempered glass sheets during their handling.

Abstract: Hot glass panes are displaced without sagging through a treatment station, such as an oven, on a roller grate which is linearly reciprocated while the rollers of the grate receive a translatory angular velocity component and an angular oscillation so that the velocity at a glass pane relative to the traveling grate is R.multidot..omega..sub.osc +R.multidot..omega..sub.trans, where R is the radius of the rollers at a point of contact with the pane, .omega..sub.osc is the angular oscillation velocity component of the roller displacement and .omega..sub.trans is the angular translatory component.

Abstract: Nozzles are arranged in different densities transverse to a path of travel for glass sheets moving through a pass-through quench to facilitate removal of spent tempering medium to both lateral sides of said path of travel.

Abstract: Heat strengthened glass is treated to have a break pattern that permits the fractured glass sheet to be retained within an installation frame by moving a glass sheet through a heating area, force cooling the side portions of the moving sheet while cooling the intermediate portions of the sheet at a lesser rate to establish a temperature gradient between the side portions and the intermediate portion, and subsequently applying quenching medium to the entire moving sheet. The temperature gradient in the sheet is achieved by a plurality of baffles, e.g. plates having an imperforate center portion and apertured or slotted end portions and facilities movable relative to quenching nozzles to control passage of quenching medium through the slotted end portions of the baffles to control the temperature gradient imparted to the glass sheet. The movable facilities also permit tempering of glass sheets of varying transverse dimensions.