1648results about "Glass transportation apparatus" patented technology

Pulling rolls (13) for glass ribbons (11) are provided. The rolls include a shaft (17), a plurality of heat-resistant discs (15) mounted on the shaft in face-to-face contact, and a pair of fittings (25 or 25,31) affixed to the shaft which apply an axial compressive force to the discs. The axial compressive force gives the portions (27) of the roll surface (33) which contact the glass ribbon during use a Shore D hardness at room temperature of between 30 and 55. The rolls achieve a long service life without applying excessive force to the glass ribbon or generating high levels of particulate contamination.

A gas floating-transporting apparatus transports a material to be treated along a predetermined direction in a thermal space so as to thermally treat the material to be treated. The apparatus includes a gas floating mechanism and a transporting mechanism. The gas floating mechanism includes a gas ejection device which expels the gas toward a portion of the material to be treated on which a floating force is acted so as to float the material to be treated, and a gas supply device which supplies the gas to the gas ejection means. The transporting mechanism includes an abutting member which abuts a trailing end of the floated material to be treated and moves along the predetermined direction, and which pushes the material to be treated by the movement thereof, whereby the floated material to be treated is moved along the predetermined direction.

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 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.

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.

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.

Apparatus, systems and methods for forming complex edges on a glass member through the use of a glass slumping process are disclosed. According to one aspect of the invention, a method of forming a complex edge in a glass forming process includes grinding an edge of a glass member and polishing the edge of the glass member. Grinding the edge of the glass member causes the edge of the glass member to have a first level of complexity. The method also includes performing a slumping process on the glass member. Performing the slumping process causes the edge of the glass member to have a second level of complexity that is more complex than the first level of complexity.

Provided is a cutting method for a glass sheet, comprising radiating a laser beam to a cutting portion (C) of a glass sheet (G) having a thickness of 500 μm or less to fuse the glass sheet (G), wherein a narrowest gap between fused end surfaces (Ga1 and Gb1) of the glass sheet (G), which face each other in the cutting portion (C), is managed to satisfy a relationship of 0.1≦b/a≦2, where “a” is a thickness of the glass sheet (G) and “b” is the narrowest gap.

A method of manufacturing monolithic glass reflectors for concentrating sunlight in a solar energy system is disclosed. The method of manufacturing allows large monolithic glass reflectors to be made from float glass in order to realize significant cost savings on the total system cost for a solar energy system. The method of manufacture includes steps of heating a sheet of float glass positioned over a concave mold until the sheet of glass sags and stretches to conform to the shape of the mold. The edges of the dish-shaped glass are rolled for structural stiffening around the periphery. The dish-shaped glass is then silvered to create a dish-shaped mirror that reflects solar radiation to a focus. The surface of the mold that contacts the float glass preferably has a grooved surface profile comprising a plurality of cusps and concave valleys. This grooved profile minimizes the contact area and marring of the specular glass surface, reduces parasitic heat transfer into the mold and increases mold lifetime. The disclosed method of manufacture is capable of high production rates sufficiently fast to accommodate the output of a conventional float glass production line so that monolithic glass reflectors can be produced as quickly as a float glass production can make sheets of float glass to be used in the process.

Submerged combustion systems and methods of use to produce foamed glass. One system includes a submerged combustion melter having an outlet, the melter configured to produce an initial foamy molten glass having a density and comprising bubbles filled primarily with combustion product gases. The initial foamy molten glass is deposited directly onto or into a transport apparatus that transports the initial foamy molten glass to a downstream processing apparatus. An intermediate stage may be included between the melter and the transport apparatus. One intermediate stage is a channel that includes gas injectors. Another intermediate stage is a channel that produces an upper flow of a less dense glass and a relatively more dense glass lower flow. The upper flow may be processed into foamed glass products, while the more dense flow may be processed into dense glass products.

A method for forming a continuous glass sheet from a tube of glass includes expanding and thinning the tube of glass by drawing the tube of glass over susceptor bearing comprising a porous sidewall defining an internal chamber. The diameter of the susceptor bearing may increase between a top portion and a bottom portion. The tube of glass may be maintained at a temperature above a softening point of the glass as the tube of glass is drawn over the susceptor bearing. The tube of glass is suspended over the susceptor bearing by blowing the tube of glass away from the susceptor bearing in a radial direction with a pressurized fluid supplied to the internal chamber and emitted from the porous sidewall as the tube of glass is drawn over the susceptor bearing. Thereafter, the tube of glass is cooled and sectioned to form a continuous glass sheet.

A burner for melting glass forming batch material includes a burner assembly constructed and arranged with a first passage for providing a fuel stream and a second passage for providing an oxidant stream, the first and second streams coacting to produce a supersonic combustion jet flame penetrable into glass melt. A method for melting glass forming batch material is also provided and includes providing a fuel stream; providing an oxidant stream; mixing the fuel and oxidant streams with sufficient force for providing a supersonic combustion jet flame; directing the supersonic combustion jet flame to contact the glass forming batch material; and penetrating the glass forming batch material to a select depth with the supersonic combustion jet flame.

Systems and methods are described for forming continuous curved laser filaments in transparent materials. The filaments are preferably curved and C-shaped. Filaments may employ other curved profiles (shapes). A burst of ultrafast laser pulses is focused such that a beam waist is formed external to the material being processed without forming an external plasma channel, while a sufficient energy density is formed within an extended region within the material to support the formation of a continuous filament, without causing optical breakdown within the material. Filaments formed according to this method may exhibit lengths in the range of 100 μm-10 mm. An aberrated optical focusing element is employed to produce an external beam waist while producing distributed focusing of the incident beam within the material. Optical monitoring of the filaments may be employed to provide feedback to facilitate active control of the process.

Glass-forming die, such as a parsain-forming or bottle-forming die, includes a die body having a molding surface with a curved contour to form at least a portion of a glass bottle or other article to be made. The die body has one or more cooling passages inside the body wherein the cooling passages is/are non-linear (non-straight) along at least a portion of their length to improve temperature control of the die during the glass forming operation. To this end, the cooling passages are curved in a manner to generally follow the curved contour along at least a portion of the length of the curved contour, and may include heat radiating or turbulating elements in the cooling passage. The glass-forming die alternately, or in addition, can include integral cooling fins, ribs or other heat radiating element on one or more exterior regions of the die.

A system and method for heating, forming, and tempering a glass sheet includes pre-heating the glass sheet to at least a first predetermined temperature. The system and method includes also applying radio-frequency energy to the glass sheet to heat it to at least a second predetermined temperature and cooling at least one outer surface of the glass sheet to at least a third predetermined temperature to temper the glass sheet.

Apparatus and methods are provided for reducing the variability of stress levels in glass sheets (11) cut from a moving glass ribbon (13). The reductions in variability are achieved by constraining the edge regions (53,55) of the ribbon (13) from movement in a horizontal plane at at least one location below the location where a separating assembly (20) forms a separation line (47) in the ribbon (13). Sets of vertically arranged wheels (35) which engage the edge regions (53,55) of the ribbon (13) can be used to provide the horizontal constraint without compromising the central, quality area (51) of the glass ribbon (13).