1916results about "Glass forming apparatus" patented technology

An alkali aluminosilicate glass that is chemically strengthened and has a down-drawable composition. The glass has a melting temperature less than about 1650° C. and a liquidus viscosity of at least 130 kpoise and, in one embodiment, greater than 250 kpoise. The glass undergoes ion exchange at relatively low temperatures to a depth of at least 30 μm.

Provided is a tempered glass, which has a compressive stress layer on a surface thereof, comprising, in terms of mol %, 40 to 80% of SiO2, 5 to 15% of Al2O3, 0 to 8% of B2O3, 0 to 10% of Li2O, 5 to 20% of Na2O, 0.5 to 20% of K2O, 0 to 10% of MgO, and 8 to 16.5% of Al2O3+MgO, wherein the glass has, in terms of a molar ratio, a (Li2O+Na2O+K2O) / Al2O3 ratio of 1.4 to 3, an Na2O / Al2O3 ratio of 1 to 3, and an MgO / Al2O3 ratio of 0 to 1, and is substantially free of As2O3, PbO, and F.

A high transmission and low iron glass is provided for use in a solar cell. The glass substrate may be patterned on at least one surface thereof. Antimony (Sb) is used in the glass to improve stability of the solar performance of the glass upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation and / or sunlight. The combination of low iron content, antimony, and / or the patterning of the glass substrate results in a substrate with high visible transmission and excellent light refracting characteristics.

A glass laminate substrate for electronic substrates, such as flat panel displays, includes a transparent glass core bounded by transparent glass skin layers, wherein the coefficient of thermal expansion of the core is greater than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the skin layers thereby forming a residual compressive stress in the skin layers and a residual tensile stress in the core. The relative thickness of the skin layers can be selected to enhance the strength of the glass laminate substrate while maintaining a sufficiently low residual tensile stress in the core to allow scribing and separating of the substrate to size. Interlayers can be located between the core and the skin layers, wherein the interlayers include a residual compressive stress, and produce a reduced residual tensile stress in the core.

Glasses are disclosed which can be used to produce substrates for flat panel display devices, e.g., active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCDs). The glasses have MgO concentrations in the range from 1.0 mole percent to 3.0 mole percent and Σ[RO] / [Al2O3] ratios greater than or equal to 1.00, where [Al2O3] is the mole percent of Al2O3 and Σ[RO] equals the sum of the mole percents of MgO, CaO, SrO, and BaO. These compositional characteristics have been found to improve the melting properties of batch materials used to produce the glass, which, in turn, allows the glasses to be fined (refined) with more environmentally friendly fining agents, e.g., tin as opposed to arsenic and / or antimony.

Apparatus, systems and methods for improving strength of a thin glass member for an electronic device are disclosed. In one embodiment, the glass member can have improved strength by using multi-bath chemical processing. The multi-bath chemical processing allows greater levels of strengthening to be achieved for glass member. In one embodiment, the glass member can pertain to a glass cover for a housing of an electronic device.

A high transmission low iron glass includes antimony, has reduced total alkali content, and increased silica content, and is suitable for use in photovoltaic devices (e.g., solar cells) or the like. A method of making the glass is also provided. In certain example embodiments, the glass composition may be made on a pattern line with a highly positive batch redox.

This invention relates to processes and systems of rapid prototyping and production. Its features includes flexible material deposition along tangential directions of surfaces of a part to be made, thereby eliminating stair-shape surface due to uniform horizontal layer deposition, increasing width of material deposition to increase build up rate, applying the principles of traditional forming / joining processes, such as casting, fusion welding, plastic extrusion and injection molding in the fabrication process so that various industrial materials can be processed, applying comparatively low cost heating sources, such as induction heating and arc-heating. Additional features include varying width and size of material deposition in accordance with geometry to be formed and applying a differential molding means for improved shape formation and surface finishing.

Isopipes for use in making sheet glass by a fusion process are provided which exhibit reduced sag. The isopipes are composed of a zircon refractory which has a mean creep rate (MCR) at 1180° C. and 250 psi and a 95 percent confidence band (CB) for said mean creep rate such that the CB to MCR ratio is less than 0.5, the MCR and the CB both being determined using a power law model. The zircon refractory can contain titania (TiO2) at a concentration greater than 0.2 wt. % and less than 0.4 wt. %. A concentration of titania in this range causes the zircon refractory to exhibit a lower mean creep rate than zircon refractories previously used to make isopipes. In addition, the variation in mean creep rate is also reduced which reduces the chances that the zircon refractory of a particular isopipe will have an abnormally high creep rate and thus exhibit unacceptable sag prematurely.

A laminated sheet includes a surface layer having an optical surface that is of fire-polished quality and a core layer having a higher modulus than the surface layer to increase an overall stiffness or fracture toughness of the laminated sheet.

A melter apparatus includes a floor, a ceiling, and a substantially vertical wall connecting the floor and ceiling at a perimeter of the floor and ceiling, a melting zone being defined by the floor, ceiling and wall, the melting zone having a feed inlet and a molten glass outlet positioned at opposing ends of the melting zone. The melting zone includes an expanding zone beginning at the inlet and extending to an intermediate location relative to the opposing ends, and a narrowing zone extending from the intermediate location to the outlet. One or more burners, at least some of which are positioned to direct combustion products into the melting zone under a level of molten glass in the zone, are also provided.

Al2O3—Y2O3—ZrO2 / HfO2 ceramics (including glasses, crystalline ceramics, and glass-ceramics) and methods of making the same. Ceramics according to the present invention can be made, formed as, or converted into glass beads, articles (e.g., plates), fibers, particles, and thin coatings. The particles and fibers are useful, for example, as thermal insulation, filler, or reinforcing material in composites (e.g., ceramic, metal, or polymeric matrix composites). The thin coatings can be useful, for example, as protective coatings in applications involving wear, as well as for thermal management. Certain ceramic particles according to the present invention can be are particularly useful as abrasive particles.

The present invention significantly modifies “The Overflow Process”. It includes a method and apparatus for measuring glass flow rate and maintaining a constant glass flow rate. It also embodies design features and methods that support and stress the forming apparatus in a manner such that the deformation that results from thermal creep is corrected, thus minimizing the effect of the thermal creep on the thickness variation of the glass sheet. The present invention also embodies design features that change the process from a single step (combined flow distribution and cooling) to a two step process; step one being flow distribution and step two being cooling.

In a cleaving apparatus (1) for a glass film, an initial crack (10), which is formed at a leading end portion of a preset cleaving line (7) of a glass film (G), is propagated along the preset cleaving line (7) by a thermal stress generated in the glass film (G) through localized heating performed along the preset cleaving line (7) and cooling of a heated region resulting from the localized heating. At this time, a resin sheet (R) having higher flexibility than the glass film (G) is arranged in a cleaving region, and the resin sheet (R) is floated by blowing a gas on a lower surface of the resin sheet (R) by a floating unit (3). Then, a preset cleaving portion of the glass film (G) including the preset cleaving line (7) is lifted and supported while being covered with the floated resin sheet (R) from below, and in this state, the glass film (G) is cleaved.

A method of a drawing a glass ribbon from molten glass sheet via a downdraw process by creating a temperature drop across a thickness of the molten glass flowing over forming surfaces of a forming wedge. The forming wedge includes an electrically conductive material for heating the glass above the root.

A front end for a glass forming operation comprises an open channel and at least one burner. The channel has at least one surface. The surface has at least one hole therein. The burner is oriented in the hole at an acute angle relative to the surface. In another embodiment of the invention, the channel has a top and a pair of sidewalls each having a surface. At least one hole is in at least one of the surfaces. The hole is at an acute angle relative to at least one surface. The burner is an oxygen-fired burner. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the top and sidewalls each have a super structure surface constructed of refractory material. The channel has an upstream end and a downstream end. At least one of the surfaces has a plurality of holes therein. The burners extend at an acute angle relative to at least one surface and in a plane extending between the upstream end and the downstream end and perpendicular to at least one surface. Oxygen-fired burners extend axially through corresponding holes.

Alkali-free glasses are disclosed which can be used to produce substrates for flat panel display devices, e.g., active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCDs). The glasses contain iron and tin as fining agents, and preferably are substantially free of arsenic and antimony. In certain embodiments, the glasses are also substantially free of barium. Methods for producing alkali-free glass sheets using a downdraw process (e.g., a fusion process) are also disclosed.

Provided is a cover glass having a down-drawable composition including, in mass percent: 50%-70% SiO2, 5%-20% Al2O3, 6%-20% Na2O, 0%-10% K2O, 0%-10% MgO, above 2%-20% CaO, and 0%-4.8% ZrO2 wherein, (i) 46.5%≦(SiO2−½Al2O3)≦59%, (ii) 0.3<CaO / RO, where RO represents a total mass percent of one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of MgO, CaO, SrO and BaO included in the glass substrate, (iii) SrO+BaO<10%, (iv) 0≦(ZrO2+TiO2) / SiO2)<0.07, and (v) 0≦B2O3 / R12O<0.1, where R12O represents a total mass percent of one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of Li2O, Na2O and K2O included in the glass substrate.

A chemically toughened ultrathin glass is provided. The glass has a thickness less than 500 μm and a surface compressive layer having a depth of at most 30 μm. The toughened ultrathin glass sheet is more flexible and has extraordinary thermal shock resistance with the glass being easier to handle for processing.

A method of forming a glass melt including heating a glass feed material in a first melting furnace to form a glass melt, flowing the glass melt into a second melting furnace through a refractory metal connecting tube, and further heating the glass melt in the second melting furnace. The refractory metal connecting tube is heated to prevent the molten glass from excessive cooling, and to ensure that the glass melt entering the second melting furnace is equal to or greater than the temperature of the glass melt in the second melting furnace. An apparatus for performing the method is also disclosed.

A silicon casting apparatus for producing polycrystal silicon ingot by heating a silicon melt (8) held in a mold (4) from above by a heater (3) and cooling it from below while changing the heat exchange area of a heat exchange region (HE), defined between a pedestal (5) having the mold (4) placed thereon and a bottom cooling member (6), in such a manner as to keep pace with the rise of the solid-liquid interface of the silicon melt (8), thereby causing unidirectional solidification upward along the mold (4); and a method of producing polycrystal silicon ingot using such apparatus. According to this production method, the temperature gradient given to the silicon melt (8) can be maintained at constant by adjusting the heat exchange area, so that polycrystal silicon ingot having good characteristics can be produced with good reproducibility.

A high transmission and low iron glass is provided for use in a solar cell. The glass substrate may be patterned on at least one surface thereof. Antimony (Sb) is used in the glass to improve stability of the solar performance of the glass upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation and / or sunlight. The combination of low iron content, antimony, and / or the patterning of the glass substrate results in a substrate with high visible transmission and excellent light refracting characteristics.

Methods and apparatus for refining and delivering a supply of molten glass include melting a supply of glass in a melter and discharging a stream of molten glass. A refining section is provided to refine the molten glass discharged by the melter and to deliver the molten glass downstream to a glass forming apparatus. The refining section is mounted for movement into and out of contact with the stream of molten glass to connect and disconnect the glass forming apparatus with the stream of molten glass.

This invention relates to a continuous process for producing a web of thin, chemically hardened glass that can be wound on a roll. The process comprises the steps of (i) drawing glass, containing original alkali ions, to form a web of glass having a thickness equal to or lower than 1.2 mm and having a first and second major surface; (ii) directly after or during said drawing, treating both said surfaces of said web with chemical hardening means during less than two hours, replacing said original alkali ions by alkali ions having a larger radius; and (iii) after treating both said surfaces, winding said web on a core.

Al2O3-Y2O3-ZrO2 / HfO2 ceramics (including glasses, crystalline ceramics, and glass-ceramics) and methods of making the same. Ceramics according to the present invention can be made, formed as, or converted into glass beads, articles (e.g., plates), fibers, particles, and thin coatings. The particles and fibers are useful, for example, as thermal insulation, filler, or reinforcing material in composites (e.g., ceramic, metal, or polymeric matrix composites). The thin coatings can be useful, for example, as protective coatings in applications involving wear, as well as for thermal management. Certain ceramic particles according to the present invention can be are particularly useful as abrasive particles.

In the formation of sheet glass by the overflow downdraw process, the width of usable sheet glass is maximized by downwardly flowing edge portions of the sheet over web-like members and thereafter over extensions which intersect with and are downwardly inclined relative to the web-like members to thin edge portions of the glass flow and maintain sheet width. The extension members are preferably removably attached to the web-like members, greatly facilitating replacement of the more easily damaged extension members.

A front end for a glass forming operation including an open channel and at least one burner. The channel surface has at least one burner port and a burner oriented in the burner port at an acute angle relative to the channel surface. The surface may be a top, side or end wall and the burner port is at an acute angle relative to the surface of the wall.