Patents by Inventor Jorma K. J. Vitkala

Jorma K. J. Vitkala has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5368624
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and apparatus for equalizing the temperature profile of glass sheets in a roller-equipped furnace included in a horizontal tempering plant. At least in the early stage of a heating cycle, the upper surface of a glass sheet is exposed to an intensified convection heat effect by blasting air into the furnace from blasting pipes (3) located close to the upper surface of a glass sheet. This blasting compensates for the vigorous heat transfer to the lower surface of a glass sheet in the early stage of a heating cycle, which is caused by hot rollers. The blasting range and spot is manoeuvred in the longitudinal direction of a furnace in a manner that, at any given time, the blasting is only applied to that longitudinal section of a furnace in which a movable glass sheet is located at a given time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 29, 1994
    Assignee: Tamglass Engineering Oy
    Inventors: Esko O. Lehto, Jukka H. Vehmas, Jorma K. J. Vitkala