3D curved glass vehicle panel continuous hot bending forming machine

Abstract

The application discloses a 3D curved surface glass vehicle-mounted panel continuous heat bending forming machine, and mainly relates to the field of curved surface glass heat bending forming. The machine is based on a rack group as a bearing foundation, realizes glass continuous feeding through a conveying frame assembly, and arranges heating chambers along a conveying direction. A plurality of hydraulic action cylinders are distributed along the length of the heating chamber at equal intervals and are correspondingly provided with unit action assemblies. When in operation, the hydraulic action cylinders drive the upper pressing sleeve and the lower supporting sleeve to close the mold, cooperate with the built-in heating structure to synchronously heat and soften the glass on both sides, uniformly disperse the center thrust to the movable ball rods in the annular array through the bidirectional arc sleeve pieces, adapt the movable ball rods to circumferential offset through the arc-shaped accommodation grooves, realize self-adaptive dispersion of local compressive stress, realize dynamic closed-loop adjustment through the double collection of pressure by the pressure sensor and the hydraulic detection assembly, adapt to the forming pressure requirement of complex curved surfaces, and improve the forming precision and product consistency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of hot bending forming of curved glass, and specifically to a continuous hot bending forming machine for 3D curved glass automotive panels. Background Technology

[0002] Glass itself is a hard material. Molten glass solidifies into a solid. Conventional manufacturing processes are mainly used to produce flat glass sheets. However, for 3D curved glass, the process mainly uses flat glass sheets as a base and employs a hot bending process. The essence of the technology is to customize a hot bending mold, lay the pre-treated flat glass sheet on the mold and send it into a heating furnace to soften the glass sheet. Then, under the action of gravity, the glass naturally deforms and matches the hot bending mold, finally obtaining curved glass that meets the specifications.

[0003] However, it is necessary to note that relying solely on gravity to maintain the softening and deformation process is insufficient to meet actual process requirements. Attention must also be paid to the relationship between temperature and softening degree. If the temperature is insufficient, the softening and deformation amount will be insufficient, or the temperature will gradually decrease during the continuous softening and deformation process, resulting in the final unsoftened deformation to the specified amount. Conversely, if the temperature is too high, the softening degree will be too high, which will also lead to the problem of over-deformation. Especially for products like 3D curved glass, if the actual product has a complex curved surface size, the stress generated by the natural flat deformation of multiple deformation areas will affect each other and inversely affect the deformation process of local areas. This invention proposes a technical solution to address this issue. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a 3D curved glass vehicle panel continuous hot bending forming machine to solve the above-mentioned technical problems.

[0005] The objective of this invention can be achieved through the following technical solution: a 3D curved glass vehicle panel continuous hot bending forming machine, comprising a frame assembly, a conveyor frame assembly, a heating chamber, and a hydraulic cylinder; The heating chamber is arranged in the same direction as the conveyor frame assembly, the hydraulic cylinders are equidistantly distributed along the length of the heating chamber, and unit actuation components are arranged at the positions of the hydraulic cylinders corresponding to the upper pressure sleeve. The unit action component includes an upper pressure sleeve and a lower support sleeve distributed from top to bottom, as well as a bidirectional arc sleeve plate, a movable ball stick, and a linkage block. The upper pressure sleeve and the lower support sleeve are kept in vertical linear movement by a hydraulic action cylinder. The bidirectional arc sleeve is located in the middle of the upper pressure sleeve and the linkage block. Both ends of the movable ball are ball head structures, and the lower end of the movable ball is movably connected to the upper surface of the upper pressure sleeve. A pressure sensor corresponding to the upper end of the movable ball is installed on the linkage block.

[0006] The configuration is further improved by embedding heating rods in both the upper pressure sleeve and the lower support sleeve, and providing a hydraulic detection component at the position of the transmission rod in the hydraulic cylinder corresponding to the upper pressure sleeve.

[0007] The linkage block is further configured such that it is composed of a linkage ring and a mounting plate fixedly connected together, the linkage ring is fixedly connected to the transmission rod in the hydraulic cylinder of the corresponding upper pressure sleeve, and the pressure sensor is installed on the horizontal plane of the mounting plate.

[0008] The bidirectional arc sleeve is further configured such that it consists of two gong-shaped pieces with opposite bending directions, and the two gong-shaped pieces are fixed together by bolts.

[0009] The design is further configured such that: the bidirectional arc sleeve has an arc-shaped clearance groove corresponding to the movable cue stick, one end of the arc-shaped clearance groove corresponding to the outer edge of the bidirectional arc sleeve is open, and the arc-shaped clearance groove has a bidirectional arc structure along the annular direction of the bidirectional arc sleeve.

[0010] The configuration is further defined as follows: the movable ball is arranged in a circular array along the center point of the bidirectional arc sleeve, and contact balls are provided on both the upper and lower surfaces of the movable ball corresponding to the bidirectional arc sleeve. The contact ball located on the lower side of the bidirectional arc sleeve is fixedly connected to the movable cue stick, while the contact ball located on the upper side of the bidirectional arc sleeve is slidably connected to the movable cue stick.

[0011] A further configuration is provided: a wide-area contact block corresponding to the upper end of the movable cue is installed at the output end of the pressure sensor.

[0012] A ball joint connecting rod is further configured such that: a ball joint connecting rod is provided between the middle position of the gong-shaped piece located on the upper side and the bottom end of the transmission rod of the hydraulic cylinder in the corresponding upper pressure sleeve; a fixed connecting rod is connected between the middle position of the gong-shaped piece located on the lower side and the upper pressure sleeve; and the ball joint connecting rod and the mounting plate are kept in a non-contact state.

[0013] The present invention has the following beneficial effects: Firstly, based on the fundamental operating principle of hot bending / pressing, a multi-point adaptive pressure equalization pressing structure is adopted. Through the cooperation of bidirectional arc sleeves and a ring array of movable ball rods, the concentrated hydraulic thrust is evenly distributed to multiple points on the pressing surface. At the same time, the arc-shaped relief groove enables adaptive transmission of local pressure, which can match the deformation resistance differences in different areas of complex curved glass, avoiding problems such as local stress overload breakage or insufficient pressure resulting in poor molding. This significantly improves the molding yield of complex curved automotive panels. Secondly, a dual pressure detection process is set up. By forming a verification closed loop through point pressure detection and system pressure detection, the pressing output force can be dynamically adjusted in real time. With the cooperation of multiple sets of unit action components evenly distributed along the heating chamber, continuous processing of preheating, bending, and shaping is achieved. While ensuring molding accuracy and stress uniformity, production efficiency is improved, and the dimensional consistency of products produced continuously is better. Attached Figure Description

[0014] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a continuous hot bending forming machine for 3D curved glass vehicle panels proposed in this invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the unit action component in this invention; Figure 3 For the present invention Figure 2 The front view; Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the connection structure of the upper pressure sleeve in a unit action component; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the bidirectional arc sleeve in this invention; Figure 6 This is a top-view schematic diagram of the bidirectional arc sleeve in this invention.

[0016] In the diagram: 1. Frame assembly; 2. Conveyor frame assembly; 3. Heating chamber; 4. Hydraulic actuating cylinder; 5. Upper pressure sleeve; 6. Lower support sleeve; 7. Hydraulic detection component; 8. Linkage block; 9. Bidirectional arc sleeve plate; 10. Movable ball rod; 11. Wide-area contact block; 12. Pressure sensor; 13. Contact ball; 14. Arc-shaped clearance groove. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0018] Example 1: The production process of conventional flat glass is relatively simple, while the production process of 3D curved glass uses flat glass as a substrate, which is fed into a heating furnace by a conveyor mechanism. Under high temperature, the glass gradually softens and undergoes plastic deformation along the curved surface of the mold due to its own gravity. After cooling and shaping, the finished curved glass product is obtained. However, it is important to note that the gravity-driven forming process is highly dependent on the precision of temperature control, and stress interference is significant in the forming of complex curved surfaces. For automotive glass panels with multiple curvatures and large arcs, the softening deformation rate varies in different areas of the glass. During the deformation process, internal stresses interfere with each other, easily causing problems such as local warping and residual stress, posing a risk of spontaneous breakage during subsequent use. The following technical solution is proposed to address this: Reference Figures 1-6 This embodiment provides a 3D curved glass vehicle panel continuous hot bending forming machine, with frame assembly 1 as the load-bearing base, and a matching conveyor frame assembly 2 to realize the continuous conveying of glass workpieces. The conveyor frame assembly 2 can be formed by combining high temperature resistant conveyor roller structures. The heating chamber 3 is arranged in the same direction relative to the conveyor frame assembly 2. Multiple sets of hydraulic cylinders 4 are equidistantly distributed along the length direction of the heating chamber 3, and each set of hydraulic cylinders 4 is equipped with a set of unit action components. The vertical mold closing action of the upper pressure sleeve 5 and the lower support sleeve 6, combined with the internally embedded heating structure, enables the glass to be heated and bent synchronously. The heating structure can be mainly a heating rod. At the same time, with the help of the multi-point adaptive force transmission structure composed of the bidirectional arc sleeve 9, the movable ball rod 10 and the pressure sensor 12, the multi-point pressure during the pressing process can be sensed and adaptively distributed in real time. It can match the deformation resistance of different areas of complex curved surfaces, and ensure that the forming pressure of each area is uniformly matched in continuous production scenarios, effectively improving the forming accuracy and product consistency of complex curved surfaces.

[0019] Example 2: This example provides a detailed explanation of the complete hot bending and pressing cycle for a single station within the framework of continuous production of the entire machine. The whole machine is equidistantly arranged with multiple sets of unit action components along the length of the heating chamber 3. It can be divided into preheating station, initial pressing and forming station, fine pressing and shaping station, and shaping and cooling station according to the conveying direction. Each station moves synchronously and the cycle is matched. With the stepping feed of the conveyor frame assembly 2, continuous hot bending processing of glass workpieces can be realized. In standby mode, all hydraulic cylinders 4 are in the rising and resetting state, the upper pressure sleeve 5 and the lower support sleeve 6 maintain a separation distance, and the conveyor assembly 2 moves axially along the heating chamber 3 at a set pace. The flat glass workpieces to be processed are sequentially fed into each station. The following describes the operation process in detail using only one complete working cycle of a single unit actuation component as an example: S1: Mold closing action and simultaneous heating on both sides When the glass workpiece moves to the pressing area of ​​the target station with the conveyor assembly 2, the conveyor assembly 2 briefly pauses its feeding. The hydraulic cylinder 4 receives the control system command from the whole machine and drives the transmission rod to move vertically downward. The linkage block 8 is rigidly connected to the transmission rod and moves vertically downward synchronously with the transmission rod. Its linkage ring structure ensures that the force transmission is without lag or sway, and always outputs thrust along the vertical axis. During the downward movement of the linkage block 8, the thrust is transmitted to the upper pressure sleeve 5 through the ring array of movable ball rods 10, driving the upper pressure sleeve 5 to move vertically downward. At the same time, the lower support sleeve 6, which is set below, is fed upward synchronously under the matching hydraulic drive, and gradually closes the mold with the upper pressure sleeve 5, and smoothly clamps the glass workpiece between the upper and lower mold surfaces. While the mold is clamped, the heating rods embedded inside the upper pressure sleeve 5 and the lower support sleeve 6 are activated simultaneously, radiating heat from both sides of the glass. Compared with a single-sided heating structure, simultaneous heating from both sides allows the upper and lower surfaces of the glass to reach the softening temperature at the same time, avoiding the temperature gradient and internal stress caused by heating from one side, shortening the overall heating time of the glass, and reducing molding defects caused by asynchronous softening of the surface and core. The heating power and target temperature are preset by the whole machine control system according to the station attributes: the preheating station mainly uses low-temperature slow baking to eliminate internal stress in the glass and gradually approach the softening point, while the molding station maintains the target softening temperature to ensure that the glass has the ability to plastically deform.

[0020] In this step, the hydraulic detection component 7 integrated at the transmission rod of the hydraulic actuation cylinder 4 collects the output oil pressure of the hydraulic system in real time. Based on the conversion relationship between oil pressure and thrust, the total pressure of this station is calculated from the working oil pressure of the cylinder and the effective pressure area of ​​the cylinder. This serves as the system-level pressure reference data, providing a basis for subsequent closed-loop control. The hydraulic detection component 7 is essentially a hydraulic circuit pressure detection device used to collect the real-time working oil pressure of the oil circuit. It sets one end of the transmission rod of the hydraulic actuation cylinder 4 to a conventional hydraulic cylinder form, and continuously acquires the hydraulic changes inside the transmission rod during its operation. S2: The lower support sleeve 6 is a fixed-shape bearing structure. The core precision and stress control of the compression molding are achieved through the adaptive force transmission structure on the upper pressure sleeve 5 side. The bidirectional arc sleeve 9 is located between the linkage block 8 and the upper pressure sleeve 5 and is a key component for concentrated thrust dispersion and adaptive buffering. The bidirectional arc sleeve 9 consists of two gong-shaped pieces with opposite bending directions, and the two gong-shaped pieces are fastened together by bolts. The center of the upper gong-shaped piece is connected to the bottom end of the transmission rod of the hydraulic cylinder 4 through a ball joint connecting rod, and the center area of ​​the lower gong-shaped piece is rigidly connected to the top surface of the upper pressure sleeve 5 through a fixed connecting rod. The bidirectional arc structure with opposite bending directions has elastic deformation margin, which can concentrate the central thrust input by the transmission rod and evenly diffuse the radial component of the arc structure to the entire annular surface, and then transmit it to the multiple movable ball rods 10 arranged in the annular array, realizing the stress dispersion process of "central sensing stress and then annular uniform distribution". Multiple movable clubs 10 are evenly distributed in a ring around the center of the bidirectional arc sleeve 9. Each movable club 10 has a ball head structure at both ends: the lower ball head is hinged to the top surface of the upper pressure sleeve 5, and the upper ball head corresponds to the pressure sensor 12 on the linkage block 8. A contact ball 13 is set on each of the upper and lower surfaces of the movable club 10 corresponding to the bidirectional arc sleeve 9. The lower contact ball 13 is fixedly connected to the club body and moves synchronously with the movable club 10. The upper contact ball 13 maintains an axial sliding fit with the club body and can slide slightly vertically along the club body. The specific process is explained in detail below: S2-1: Due to the complex structure of 3D curved automotive panels, such as multiple curvature R-angles, edge bends, and arc transitions, there are significant differences in the plastic deformation resistance of different areas of the glass: the greater the curvature and the more severe the bend, the greater the deformation reaction force, while the deformation resistance is smaller in the planar transition area; when the upper pressure sleeve 5 presses the glass, if a rigid overall force transmission is used, stress concentration will occur in areas with high deformation resistance, which may result in incomplete forming or, in severe cases, local stress overload and breakage of the glass; When the deformation resistance of a certain area of ​​the glass is too large, the upward reaction force on the movable ball 10 at the corresponding position increases synchronously. The movable ball 10 will make a small circumferential offset along the arc-shaped relief groove 14 on the bidirectional arc sleeve 9. The arc-shaped relief groove 14 has a bidirectional arc structure along the annular direction of the bidirectional arc sleeve 9, and the outer edge is designed to be open, providing the movable ball 10 with circumferential movement margin in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. During the offset, the contact balls 13 on the upper and lower sides roll along the surface of the bidirectional arc sleeve 9 in the form of point contact. The frictional resistance is small, and the contact angle can be adaptively adjusted to always maintain a stable fit with the arc surface. The axial sliding characteristics of the upper contact ball 13 can compensate for the vertical height difference caused by the circumferential offset of the movable ball 10, and avoid interruption or jamming of force transmission. The circumferential offset of a single movable ball rod 10 will cause the bidirectional arc sleeve 9 to produce local elastic deformation, which will transmit and disperse the concentrated compressive stress at this point to the adjacent movable ball rods 10, realize the self-balanced distribution of compressive stress, and make the overall pressing force of the upper pressure sleeve 5 adaptively adjust with the deformation resistance of each area of ​​the glass, thereby avoiding the problem of local stress overload or insufficient pressure from the root. S2-2: The force at the upper end of the movable cue stick 10 is transmitted to the detection end face of the pressure sensor 12 through the wide-area contact block 11. The pressure sensor 12 is fixedly installed on the horizontal surface of the mounting plate of the linkage block 8, corresponding one-to-one with the movable cue stick 10, and can collect the actual pressure at each point in real time. The function of the wide-area contact block 11 is to transform the point contact of the ball head at the upper end of the movable ball rod 10 into a surface contact. After the movable ball rod 10 undergoes circumferential deflection, the ball head at the upper end will tilt. If it directly contacts the sensor, it will cause uneven force loading, distorted detection data, or even damage to the sensing element. The large flat surface of the wide-area contact block 11 can adapt to any tilt angle of the ball head, transforming the tilting force into a positive pressure perpendicular to the sensor, ensuring that the pressure detection data only reflects the vertical pressing component, thereby improving both detection accuracy and sensor lifespan. Through the pressure sensor 12 corresponding to each movable cue stick 10, the multi-point pressure distribution of the entire pressing surface of the upper pressure sleeve 5 can be obtained in real time, and the local pressure abnormality area can be accurately identified. S2-3: The distributed pressure data collected by multiple pressure sensors 12, together with the system-level pressure reference data collected by the hydraulic detection component 7, form a dual verification closed loop, which complements and coordinates with each other. For example, the hydraulic detection component 7 reflects the total pressure of this station, and multiple pressure sensors 12 reflect the uniformity of pressure distribution on the pressing surface. The two sets of data collected in real time are compared with the preset process threshold. If the total pressure deviates from the set value, the output oil pressure of the corresponding hydraulic cylinder 4 is directly adjusted to correct the total pressure. If the total pressure is normal but the pressure deviation at local points exceeds the allowable range, it is determined that the glass deformation is uneven or there is a slight deviation in the mold alignment. On the one hand, the adaptive pressure equalization structure of this station buffers itself, and on the other hand, the pressure compensation at the corresponding points of the subsequent fine pressing station can be adjusted in conjunction to ensure the final molding accuracy. It should be noted that the ball joint connecting the upper gong-shaped plate and the transmission rod always remains in a non-contact state with the mounting plate of the linkage block 8, so as to avoid the elastic buffering and circumferential deflection action of the bidirectional arc sleeve plate 9 being interfered with by the linkage block 8, and to ensure that the pressure equalization buffer structure operates independently and is not constrained by rigid force transmission components. S3: After the glass workpiece is pressed into the target curved surface shape, the heating rod stops heating. The upper pressure sleeve 5 and the lower support sleeve 6 maintain the mold closing pressure and enter the shape-keeping cooling stage. The glass slowly cools down under the action of constant pressing force. When the temperature drops below the glass strain point, the curved surface shape is completely locked. At the same time, the internal stress generated during the forming process is fully released, which can effectively reduce the risk of spontaneous explosion in subsequent use. After the shaping time meets the process requirements, the hydraulic cylinder 4 drives the transmission rod to rise and reset, which in turn drives the upper pressure sleeve 5 to rise synchronously to open the mold, and the lower support sleeve 6 to fall synchronously to reset. The glass workpiece is released from the clamping state. At this time, the conveyor assembly 2 steps one station according to the set rhythm, and transports the glass workpiece that has completed this process to the next station for further processing. At the same time, the glass to be processed in the previous station is sent to this station to enter the next work cycle. Each station moves synchronously according to the same rhythm, so that multiple pieces of glass can go through the preheating, initial pressing, fine pressing, shaping and cooling processes in sequence to complete the continuous hot bending forming of 3D curved glass vehicle panels.

[0021] The preferred embodiments of the present invention disclosed above are merely illustrative of the invention. These preferred embodiments do not exhaustively describe all details, nor do they limit the invention to specific implementations. Clearly, many modifications and variations can be made based on the content of this specification. This specification selects and specifically describes these embodiments to better explain the principles and practical applications of the invention, thereby enabling those skilled in the art to better understand and utilize the invention. The invention is limited only by the claims and their full scope and equivalents.

Claims

1. A continuous hot bending forming machine for 3D curved glass vehicle panels, comprising a frame assembly (1), a conveyor frame assembly (2), a heating chamber (3), and a hydraulic cylinder (4), characterized in that: in, The heating chamber (3) is arranged in the same direction relative to the conveyor assembly (2), the hydraulic cylinders (4) are equidistantly distributed along the length of the heating chamber (3), and unit actuation components are provided along the position of the hydraulic cylinders (4) corresponding to the upper pressure sleeve (5); The unit action component includes an upper pressure sleeve (5) and a lower support sleeve (6) distributed from top to bottom, as well as a bidirectional arc sleeve (9), a movable ball stick (10) and a linkage block (8). The upper pressure sleeve (5) and the lower support sleeve (6) are kept in vertical linear movement by a hydraulic action cylinder (4). The bidirectional arc sleeve (9) is located in the middle of the upper pressure sleeve (5) and the linkage block (8). Both ends of the movable ball rod (10) are ball head structures, and the lower end of the movable ball rod (10) is connected to the upper surface of the upper pressure sleeve (5). The linkage block (8) is equipped with a pressure sensor (12) corresponding to the upper end of the movable ball rod (10).

2. The 3D curved glass vehicle panel continuous hot bending forming machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, Heating rods are embedded in both the upper pressure sleeve (5) and the lower support sleeve (6), and a hydraulic detection component (7) is provided at the position of the transmission rod in the hydraulic actuation cylinder (4) of the upper pressure sleeve (5).

3. The 3D curved glass vehicle panel continuous hot bending forming machine according to claim 2, characterized in that, The linkage block (8) is composed of a linkage ring and a mounting plate fixedly connected. The linkage ring is fixedly connected to the transmission rod in the hydraulic cylinder (4) of the corresponding upper pressure sleeve (5). The pressure sensor (12) is installed on the horizontal plane of the mounting plate.

4. The 3D curved glass vehicle panel continuous hot bending forming machine according to claim 3, characterized in that, The bidirectional arc sleeve (9) consists of two gong-shaped pieces with opposite bending directions, and the two gong-shaped pieces are fixed together by bolts.

5. A 3D curved glass automotive panel continuous hot bending forming machine according to claim 3, characterized in that, The bidirectional arc sleeve (9) has an arc-shaped relief groove (14) corresponding to the movable cue (10). The arc-shaped relief groove (14) is open at one end of the outer edge of the bidirectional arc sleeve (9), and the arc-shaped relief groove (14) has a bidirectional arc structure along the annular direction of the bidirectional arc sleeve (9).

6. A 3D curved glass automotive panel continuous hot bending forming machine according to claim 5, characterized in that, The movable ball stick (10) is arranged in a circular array along the center point of the bidirectional arc sleeve (9), and the movable ball stick (10) is provided with contact balls (13) on both the upper and lower surfaces of the bidirectional arc sleeve (9). Among them, the contact ball (13) located on the lower side of the bidirectional arc sleeve (9) is fixedly connected to the movable ball (10), and the contact ball (13) located on the upper side of the bidirectional arc sleeve (9) is slidably connected to the movable ball (10).

7. A 3D curved glass vehicle panel continuous hot bending forming machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pressure sensor (12) has a wide-area contact block (11) installed at the output end, corresponding to the upper end of the movable cue (10).

8. A 3D curved glass vehicle panel continuous hot bending forming machine according to claim 4, characterized in that, A ball joint connecting rod is provided between the middle position of the gong-shaped piece located on the upper side and the bottom end of the transmission rod of the hydraulic cylinder (4) in the corresponding upper pressure sleeve (5). A fixed connecting rod is connected between the middle position of the gong-shaped piece located on the lower side and the upper pressure sleeve (5). The ball joint connecting rod and the mounting plate are kept in a non-contact state.

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