Device and method for independently transporting two glass sheets in glass sheet processing device

Abstract

A transport apparatus and method for transporting upright glass sheets in a glass sheet processing apparatus are described. A first horizontal conveyor is disposed in a lower region of the support wall and forms a first conveying surface. The second horizontal conveyor and the first horizontal conveyor are arranged in a straight line and form a second conveying surface. The suction conveyor includes a suction belt. A portion of the suction belt runs through the suction chamber to suck the glass sheet onto the suction belt. The portion of the suction belt extends in the support plane from an area above the first conveying surface to an area above the second conveying surface. The transport device is configured to move the second transport surface synchronously with or independently of the first transport surface, and a spacer movable relative to the support wall is arranged in an area above the second transport surface and can be moved into a working position in which the spacer is movable relative to the support wall. The guide surface of the spacer is located on an opposite side of the support plane from the suction chamber.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The invention is based on a transport device having the features of the preamble of claim 1. BACKGROUND

[0002] Such transport devices are widely known in various applications in practice and have essentially proven their worth when one after the other glass plates are transported into a glass plate processing device, processed and transported out again. Glass plate processing devices used in practice, for example devices for applying spacer strands to glass plates, are primarily adapted in size to the maximum size of the glass plates that can be processed on the device. If smaller size glass plates are also processed on such a device, this can result in the need for a considerable amount of time to transport the relatively small glass plates into and out of the device over a relatively long distance. SUMMARY

[0003] It is an object of the invention to improve a device of the type described above and to increase the number of glass plates that can be processed within a predetermined time. It is a further object of the invention to provide a corresponding method.

[0004] The object is achieved by a transport device having the features of claim 1 and a method having the features of claim 10. Advantageous further embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0005] The transport device according to the invention is configured for transporting an upright glass plate in a glass plate processing device. The glass plate processing device comprises a processing unit that can be moved up and down along a support plane formed by a support wall for the glass plate. The glass plate in the sense of the invention can mean a single glass plate, an assembly consisting of several glass plates or a hollow glass plate. The glass plate processing device in the sense of the invention can be a device for applying a flexible spacer strand to a glass plate. The processing unit can be designed as an application head that is guided along at least a portion of the edge of the glass plate to apply the spacer strand. The processing unit can be used to apply a flexible spacer strand to an upright glass plate along the edge of the upright glass plate in a manner known per se. The spacer strand applied along the entire edge of the glass plate forms a spacer frame to maintain the distance of two adjacent glass plates in the finished hollow glass plate. The flexible spacer strand can be a paste-like and subsequently solidified spacer strand made of a thermoplastic material and / or a reactive cross-linking material that is applied to the glass plate using a nozzle. The flexible spacer strand can also be unwound from a supply roll as a strip-like material and applied to the glass plate. The glass plate processing device can also be a device known per se for sealing an edge joint of a hollow glass plate.

[0006] The transport device comprises a first horizontal conveyor, a second horizontal conveyor and a suction conveyor. The first horizontal conveyor is arranged in a lower region of the support wall. The first horizontal conveyor forms a first conveying surface facing upwards. The first conveying surface can be linearly moved along a horizontal conveying direction to transport a glass sheet standing upright on the conveying surface. The second horizontal conveyor is arranged in line with the first horizontal conveyor. It is thus a single-track glass sheet processing device. The second horizontal conveyor forms a second conveying surface facing upwards. The second conveying surface can also be linearly moved along the conveying direction.

[0007] Each conveying surface can be formed by a conveyor belt and / or a roller conveyor. Each conveying surface thus forms an upwardly oriented contact surface for an upright glass sheet, which can be supported by the support wall. Each conveying surface can carry an upright glass sheet at its lower edge. The support wall forms a support plane extending parallel to the conveying direction. The support plane can be formed in a manner known per se, for example by an arrangement of a plurality of air nozzles and / or rollers. The support wall can have two spaced-apart portions, the distance between which provides a free space for the movement of the processing unit. The feature "upright" means that the support wall and the support plane formed thereby are not exactly perpendicular or aligned with the plumb line, but are inclined backwards by a few degrees, so that an upright glass sheet leaning against the support wall does not tilt forwards, i.e. away from the support wall. The support plane of the support wall can have an inclination of approximately 6° to 8° with respect to the vertical.

[0008] The suction conveyor comprises a perforated suction belt. The suction belt comprises several suction openings and is guided through a suction chamber, which is subjected to a pressure lower than the ambient pressure. The portion of the suction belt running through the suction chamber extends in a support plane and parallel to the conveying direction of the horizontal conveyor. The surface of the suction belt facing away from the suction chamber can be coplanar with the support plane. Thus, the suction chamber and the suction portion of the suction belt extend from a region above the first conveying surface to a region above the second conveying surface. The glass sheets to be transported from the first horizontal conveyor to the second horizontal conveyor (or vice versa) can be simultaneously sucked by the suction conveyor. The transport device is designed and configured such that both conveying surfaces can be moved synchronously with each other, i.e. at the same speed in the conveying direction. The suction conveyor can assist in transporting the glass sheets from one horizontal conveyor to the other. In this case, the first conveying surface, the second conveying surface and the suction conveyor are all moved at the same speed. In particular, the suction conveyor is able to prevent relatively small glass sheets from falling into the gap, which provides the space required to lower the processing unit below the region of the conveying surfaces between the two horizontal conveyors. In particular, the synchronous transport of the glass sheets can be performed by the two horizontal conveyors and the suction conveyor during the application of a spacer strip along the lower edge or the upper edge of the glass sheets by means of the processing unit in a manner known per se. The first horizontal conveyor, the second horizontal conveyor and the suction conveyor can each comprise a controllable drive. The transport device can comprise a central control device for controlling each drive at a predetermined speed.

[0009] The transport device according to the application is also configured to move the second conveying surface independently of the first conveying surface, in particular according to the method of the application.

[0010] In the method for transporting two glass sheets independently from each other in a glass sheet processing installation according to the invention, the first glass sheet is erected at a slight angle on a first horizontal conveyor. The first glass sheet is supported by a support wall and is sucked onto a suction conveyor. The first glass sheet is transported linearly by the suction conveyor and the first horizontal conveyor together in a horizontal conveying direction at a first speed. The second glass sheet is erected at a slight angle on a second horizontal conveyor. The second glass sheet is positioned at a distance from the suction conveyor by a spacer and is transported linearly by the second horizontal conveyor in a conveying direction at a second speed. The second speed is different from the first speed. One of the speeds can also be zero. Thus, one of the two glass sheets can remain stationary while the other glass sheet is moved horizontally. The spacer can position the second glass sheet at a distance from the suction section of the suction belt, in particular guide it to this position during its transport. The spacer is arranged in the transport installation such that it can be moved relative to the support wall. The spacer is assigned to the second conveying surface. The spacer is arranged in a region above the second conveying surface. The spacer can be moved into a working position in which a guide surface of the spacer is located on the side of the suction belt opposite the suction chamber. The guide surface is then located on the side of the support plane opposite the suction chamber.

[0011] The invention has significant advantages:

[0012] • With the invention, in particular due to the spacer assigned to the suction conveyor, two glass sheets can be transported independently from each other in a glass sheet processing installation.

[0013] • The spacer can prevent the second glass sheet from also being sucked onto the suction belt. Thus, the second glass sheet can be moved at a different speed than the suction belt and the first glass sheet.

[0014] • Once the first glass sheet has left the second conveying surface, the second glass sheet can be transported onto the second horizontal conveyor in the glass sheet processing installation. When the first glass sheet has left the second conveying surface, it is still in the region of the processing unit. The first glass sheet can be moved further by the suction conveyor and the first horizontal conveyor at the required speed in order to complete its processing. The first glass sheet can also be stopped, for example to apply a spacer strip to its rear edge from the bottom to the top.

[0015] • Overall time can be saved, because while the first glass sheet is still being processed, the second glass sheet following the first glass sheet has already been fed into the glass sheet processing installation and transported to the processing unit. This time saving is relatively large, in particular in the case of a relatively large glass sheet processing installation, in which the second horizontal conveyor has a relatively large length.

[0016] • The invention can reduce the cycle time for processing glass sheets. This means that more glass sheets can be processed in a given time.

[0017] • The glass sheet processing apparatus or the production line integrated with the glass sheet processing apparatus is designed for processing glass sheets of a maximum size therein. The present invention allows to save a particularly large amount of time when processing glass sheets smaller than the maximum size.

[0018] In another embodiment, the guiding surface of the spacer can be formed by at least one guiding roller and / or at least one air nozzle. The spacer can be arranged below or above the suction conveyor. The spacer can be moved back and forth transversely to the support plane, in particular between a rest position and its working position. In its rest position, the spacer can be located on the same side of the support plane as the suction chamber. The support length of the spacer, measured in the conveying direction, can be greater than or equal to the length of the portion of the suction belt extending in the support plane above the second conveying surface.

[0019] In another embodiment, a further spacer can be arranged in the area above the first conveying surface. Thus, the method according to the present invention can be carried out in a direction opposite to the conveying direction. Once the processing of the first glass sheet has been completed, the first glass sheet can be positioned at a distance from the suction conveyor by the spacer located above the first conveying surface, so that a subsequent second glass sheet can be sucked onto the suction conveyor. The processing of the second glass sheet by the processing unit can be started before the first glass sheet has been transported out of the glass sheet processing apparatus by the first horizontal conveyor. This saves even more time in total. The support length of the spacer can be greater than or equal to the length of the portion of the suction belt extending in the support plane above the conveying surface assigned to this spacer.

[0020] In another embodiment of the method, the second glass sheet can be moved back into the support plane by a rear positioner. The rear positioner can be a counter- thrust device by means of which the second glass sheet is pushed back towards the suction conveyor. This can ensure that the second glass sheet is actually safely sucked onto the suction belt when being sucked by the suction conveyor. The rear positioner is a component of the transport device and can be moved relative to the support wall. The rear positioner can be arranged in the area above the first conveying surface and in the area above the second conveying surface. The spacer and / or the rear positioner can each comprise a roller holder with several freely rotatable guiding rollers. The circumferential surfaces of the guiding rollers then form the guiding surface of the spacer or the rear positioner. All guiding rollers of one roller holder can have the same outer diameter. The roller holder enables an easy and reliable change of the position of the spacer and / or the rear positioner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] Further details and advantages of the present invention are explained with reference to embodiments of the invention and the accompanying drawings. Identical and corresponding parts are provided with the same and corresponding reference signs therein.

[0022] Figure 1 a perspective view of a schematic glass sheet processing apparatus comprising a first embodiment of a transport device according to the present application is shown;

[0023] Figure 2 a perspective view of a schematic glass sheet processing apparatus comprising a first embodiment of a transport device according to the present application is shown; Figure 1

[0024] Figure 3 Figure 1

[0025] Figure 4 Figure 1 a schematic side view of a glass sheet processing apparatus according to the present application is shown, wherein the spacer is in the working position and the rear locator is in the rest position;

[0026] Figure 5 a view similar to Figure 4 is shown, wherein the spacer is in the rest position and the rear locator is in the working position;

[0027] Figure 6 a view similar to Figure 4 is shown, wherein the spacer and the rear locator are in the rest position;

[0028] Figure 7 a view similar to Figure 2 is shown, wherein the spacer is in the working position and the rear locator is in the rest position;

[0029] Figure 8 a schematic side view of a glass sheet processing apparatus according to the present application is shown, wherein the spacer is in the working position and the rear locator is in the rest position; Figure 7

[0030] Figure 9 Figure 8 a view similar to

[0031] Figure 10 a view similar to Figure 8 is shown, wherein the spacer and the rear locator are in the rest position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] ​​​​​​The glass sheet processing device 1 comprises a transport device 2, a processing unit 3 and a support wall 4. The support wall 4 comprises two parts 4a and 4b which are spaced apart from each other by a distance 4c. The support wall 4 forms a support plane 5 in a manner known per se, which support plane 5 is arranged slightly oblique to the vertical. The processing unit 3 comprises a nozzle 6 for applying spacer bars (not shown) to glass sheets 7, 8 and for this purpose can be moved up and down along a guide rail 9 in the double arrow A. The guide rail 9 extends parallel to the support plane 5.

[0033] The transport device 2 comprises a first horizontal conveyor 11 with a first conveying surface 13 and a second horizontal conveyor 12 with a second conveying surface 14, and a suction conveyor 15 with a suction belt 16, see in particular Figure 3 . The conveying surface 13 is formed by a conveyor belt 17 and three conveyor rollers 18 and can be moved by a drive device not shown. The conveying surface 14 is formed by a conveyor belt 19 and three conveyor rollers 20 and can also be moved by a drive device not shown. The first glass sheet 7 is erected slightly oblique on the first conveying surface 13 and is supported by the support wall 4, see Figure 1 . By moving the conveying surfaces 13, 14 in the horizontal conveying direction B, the glass sheet 7 is transported into the glass sheet processing device 1, see Figure 1 . The suction belt 16 comprises a plurality of through-holes 21 and is cyclically guided through a suction chamber 22. Some of the through-holes 21 are shown in Figure 3 . The suction chamber 22 extends from an area above the first conveying surface 13 to an area above the second conveying surface 14. The suction belt 16 can be moved over the suction chamber 22 by a drive device not shown. The suction chamber 22 is supplied with vacuum through a suction port 23. The part 24 of the suction belt 16 which is sucked by the suction chamber 22 extends in the support plane 5 and parallel to the conveying direction B and is able to adsorb the glass sheet 7 in a manner known per se.

[0034] For applying spacer bars (not shown) to the glass sheet 7, the nozzle 6 is guided along the edge of the glass sheet 7. For applying along the front and rear edges, the processing unit 3 is moved in the direction A. For applying along the upper and lower edges, the glass sheet 7 is transported past the fixed processing unit 3 by the synchronously moved horizontal conveyors 11 and 12 and the suction conveyor 15 in the conveying direction B or against the conveying direction B. The manner of applying such spacer bars is known per se and therefore does not need to be described in more detail.

[0035] The transport device 2 comprises a first spacer 25, a second spacer 26, a first rear positioner 27 and a second rear positioner 28. The spacers 25, 26 and the rear positioners 27, 28 are each designed as a roller holder 29 and each comprise several freely rotatable guide rollers 30, see Figure 3The spacers 25, 26 and the rear locators 27, 28 can each be moved back and forth between a rest position and a work position in a direction C transverse to the direction of movement of the support plane 5, see Figures 4 to 6 In this first embodiment, the spacers 25 and 26 are arranged above the suction conveyor 15. The support length LI of the first spacer 25, measured in the direction of transport B, is greater than the length L2 of the portion of the suction belt 16 extending in the support plane 5 above the transport surface 13 to which this spacer 25 is allocated.

[0036] When the processing of the first glass pane 7 is almost complete and the glass pane 7 has left the transport surface 14 in the direction of transport B, the transport of the glass pane 7 by the transport surface 13 and the suction belt 16 alone is sufficient to complete the processing. The second horizontal conveyor 12 is no longer required to transport the finished glass pane 7 out of the glass pane processing device 1 in the direction of transport B. The second transport surface 14 is therefore no longer required to move synchronously with the transport surface 13 and the suction belt 16. Instead, after the first glass pane 7 has left the transport surface 14, the transport surface 14 moves independently. Before the processing of the first glass pane 7 is complete, a second glass pane 8 can be transported into the glass pane processing device 1, see Figure 4 To this end, the spacer 26 is moved to its work position, as shown in Figure 4 where the guide surface 31 of the spacer 26 formed by the circumferential surface of the guide roller 30 is located on the side opposite the vacuum chamber 22 relative to the suction belt 16 or the support plane 5. A portion of the support plane 5 is formed by the surface of the suction belt 16. The glass pane 8 standing on the transport surface 14 is therefore guided at a distance from the suction belt 16 during the transport by the horizontal conveyor 12. The glass pane 8 is therefore not sucked onto the suction belt 16 and can be transported at a different speed to the suction belt 16.

[0037] When the processing of the first glass pane 7 is complete, the glass pane 7 can be transported out of the glass pane processing device 1 by the first horizontal conveyor 11 alone. The vacuum in the suction chamber 22 is closed and the spacer 25 is moved to its work position so that the glass pane 7 is no longer sucked onto the suction belt 16. The vacuum in the suction chamber 22 is then reopened. Now, the spacer 26 is moved back to its rest position, see Figure 5 At the same time, the rear locator 28 is advanced to its work position, see Figure 5 to ensure that the second glass pane 8 is moved back into the support plane 5 and is safely sucked onto the suction belt 16. The second glass pane 8 can now be transported by the horizontal conveyor 12 and the suction conveyor 15 so that the processing of the glass pane 8 by the processing unit 3 can begin. The spacer 26 and the rear locator 28 can each be in their rest position, see Figure 6When the first glass pane 7 has been completely transported out of the glass pane processing device 1 and has left the transport surface 13, the transport surface 13 is again moved synchronously with the transport surface 14 and the suction belt 16 to receive the second glass pane 8 from the second horizontal conveyor 12.

[0038] In the second embodiment as shown in Figures 7 to 10 , the spacers 25 and 26 are arranged below the suction conveyor 15. Otherwise, the glass pane processing device 1 of the second embodiment is designed in the same way as the first embodiment, so reference is made to the above description to avoid repetition. As shown in Figure 8 , the spacer 26 in its working position guides the glass pane 8 at a distance from the suction belt 16 so that the glass pane 8 is not sucked to the suction conveyor 15 and can be transported by the conveyor surface 14 independently of the speed of the suction belt 16. When the processing of the first glass pane 7 is completed and the spacer 25 is in its working position, the spacer 26 is moved back to its rest position, see Figure 9 . At the same time, the rear positioner 28 is moved to its working position, see Figure 9 . After the rear positioner 28 has returned the glass pane 8 into the support plane 5 so that it rests on the suction belt 16, the rear positioner 28 is moved back to its rest position, see Figure 10 . Otherwise, the process is the same as in the first embodiment, so reference is made to the above description to avoid repetition.

[0039] List of reference signs

[0040] 1 glass pane processing device;

[0041] 2 transport device;

[0042] 3 processing unit;

[0043] 4 support wall;

[0044] 4a part of the support wall;

[0045] 4b part of the support wall;

[0046] 4c distance;

[0047] 5 support plane;

[0048] 6 nozzle;

[0049] 7 first glass pane;

[0050] 8 second glass pane;

[0051] 9 guide rail;

[0052] 11 first horizontal conveyor;

[0053] 12 second horizontal conveyor;

[0054] 13 first conveying surface;

[0055] 14 second conveying surface;

[0056] 15 suction conveyor;

[0057] 16 suction belt;

[0058] 17 conveyor belt;

[0059] 18 conveying roller;

[0060] 19 conveyor belt;

[0061] 20 conveying roller;

[0062] 21 through hole;

[0063] 22 suction chamber;

[0064] 23 suction port;

[0065] 24 suction portion;

[0066] 25 first spacer;

[0067] 26 second spacer;

[0068] 27 first rear locator;

[0069] 28 second rear locator;

[0070] 29 roller holder;

[0071] 30 guide roller;

[0072] 31 guide surface;

[0073] A movement direction;

[0074] B conveying direction;

[0075] C movement direction;

[0076] L1 support length of the spacer;

[0077] L2 length of the suction belt portion.

Claims

1. Transport device (2) for transporting upright glass sheets (7, 8) in a glass sheet processing installation (1) having a processing unit (3) which is movable up and down along a support plane (5) formed by a support wall (4), wherein the transport device (2) being designed as follows: • a first horizontal conveyor (11) is arranged in a lower region of the support wall (4) and forms a first upwardly facing conveying surface (13) which is linearly movable along a horizontal conveying direction (B), for transporting glass sheets (7) which are standing upright on the first conveying surface (13), • a second horizontal conveyor (12) is arranged in line with the first horizontal conveyor (11) and forms a second upwardly facing conveying surface (14) which is linearly movable along the conveying direction (B), • a suction conveyor (15) comprises a perforated suction belt (16), • a portion of the suction belt (16) runs past a suction chamber (22) in order to be able to suction a glass sheet (7) onto the suction belt (16), • the portion of the suction belt (16) extends in the support plane (5) from a region above the first conveying surface (13) to a region above the second conveying surface (14) parallel to the conveying direction (B), characterized in that: the transport device (2) is configured to move the second conveying surface (14) synchronously with the first conveying surface (13) or to move the second conveying surface (14) independently of the first conveying surface (13), and a spacer (26) which is movable relative to the support wall (4) is arranged in the region above the second conveying surface (14), the spacer being movable into a working position in which a guide surface (31) of the spacer (26) is located on the side of the suction belt (16) which is opposite the suction chamber (22).

2. The transport device of claim 1, wherein, A further spacer (25) is arranged in the region above the first conveying surface (13).

3. The transport apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The support length (LI) of the spacers (25, 26) measured along the conveying direction (B) is greater than or equal to the length (L2) of the portion of the suction belt (16) which is located in the support plane (5) above the conveying surface (13, 14) to which the spacer (25, 26) is assigned.

4. Transport device according to claim 1, comprising rear positioners (27, 28) which are movable relative to the support wall (4).

5. The transport apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The rear positioners (27, 28) are arranged in the region above the first conveying surface (13) and in the region above the second conveying surface (14).

6. The transport apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The spacers (25, 26) and / or the rear positioners (27, 28) each comprise a roller holder (29) having a plurality of freely rotatably arranged guide rollers (30).

7. The transport device of claim 6, wherein, The guide rollers (30) of the roller holder (29) are arranged along a straight line which extends parallel to the support plane (5).

8. The transport device of claim 6 or 7, wherein, The roller holder (29) is movable transversely to the support plane (5).

9. The transport device of any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein, The rear positioner (27, 28), in particular its guide roller (30), is arranged at a height between the suction conveyor (15) and the conveying surface (13, 14) of the respective horizontal conveyor (11, 12).

10. A method for independently transporting two glass sheets (7, 8) in a glass sheet processing installation (1), wherein, The first glass sheet (7) is erected with a slight inclination on the first horizontal conveyor (11), wherein the second glass sheet (8) is erected with a slight inclination on the second horizontal conveyor (12), wherein the first glass sheet (7) is supported by a support wall (4) and is drawn onto a suction conveyor (15) which extends in a region above the first horizontal conveyor (11) and in a region above the second horizontal conveyor (12), wherein the first glass sheet (7) is linearly transported together with the suction conveyor (15) and the first horizontal conveyor (11) in a horizontal conveying direction (B) at a first speed, and wherein the second glass sheet (8) is positioned at a distance from the suction conveyor (15) by a spacer (26) and is linearly transported by the second horizontal conveyor (12) in the conveying direction (B) at a second speed.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, The spacer (26) is moved away from the second glass sheet (8), and wherein the second glass sheet (8) is subsequently moved back into the support plane (5), in particular onto the suction conveyor (15), by a rear positioner (28). The spacer (26) is moved away from the second glass sheet (8), and wherein the second glass sheet (8) is subsequently moved back into the support plane (5), in particular onto the suction conveyor (15), by a rear positioner (28).

Images