Insulating Glazing Sealing Conveyor Adaptation for Staggered Glass
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing machines for sealing the perimetric rim of insulating panes face challenges in supporting and transporting panes with non-aligned glass sheets, requiring complex and expensive adjustment mechanisms, and struggle to unload panes due to the thixotropic nature of sealant, which is difficult to handle, especially for large and heavy insulating panes.
Innovation Solution
A machine with two simple adjustment motions allows for independent support and transport of insulating panes, using conveyors with inclined planes and suction cups to grip the lower horizontal side for unloading, enabling efficient handling of panes with aligned or staggered glass sheets and accommodating varying thicknesses and sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If complex adjustment mechanisms are used to support and transport panes with non-aligned glass sheets, then the machine can handle various configurations, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support system is divided into two independent conveyor parts (first and second conveyors), each capable of independent adjustment. This segmentation allows each conveyor to be simplified while collectively providing the necessary adaptability for non-aligned glass sheets through coordinated movement rather than a single complex mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyors are designed with dynamic adjustment capabilities, allowing real-time modification of support positions and angles during the sealing process. This enables the system to adapt to varying glass sheet configurations through active adjustment rather than fixed complex structures.
2Adaptability or versatility
If complex adjustment mechanisms are used to support and transport panes with non-aligned glass sheets, then the machine can handle various configurations, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the support system into two independent conveyor parts, each can be manufactured using simpler, more cost-effective components. The independent nature of each conveyor allows for standardized production and easier assembly, reducing overall manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining the ability to handle non-aligned configurations.
3Ease of operation
If suction cups are used to grip the lower horizontal side for unloading, then unloading is facilitated, but the sealant's thixotropic nature makes handling difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing process is completed and the sealant is allowed to set sufficiently before the unloading operation begins. This preliminary action ensures that the sealant has lost its thixotropic properties and hardened enough to not interfere with the suction cup gripping operation, thereby facilitating smooth unloading without handling difficulties.
Solution Approach 2:
The unloading operation is separated from the sealing process timing, allowing the sealant to undergo its chemical transformation independently before handling occurs. By extracting the unloading step from the immediate sealing context, the system avoids the handling difficulties caused by the sealant's thixotropic state during the sealing operation itself.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables economical and safe support and transport of heavy, large insulating panes with aligned or staggered glass sheets, facilitating efficient unloading by gripping under the lower horizontal side, overcoming the limitations of complex and costly mechanisms in existing technologies.
Implementation Method 1
suction cups to grip the lower horizontal side for unloading
Data Source
Figure 1A~1F
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An automatic machine and automatic method for the sealing of the perimetric rim of the insulating pane wherein the innovative peculiarity is constituted by the method of adaptation of the system for conveying and supporting panels of insulating pane, the adaptation being actuated both as a function of the total thickness of the panels and as a function of the staggering between the outermost glass sheets that make up the panel of insulating pane, with the objective of supporting and conveying the insulating pane during and after the sealing of its perimetric rim, without the sealant coming into contact with parts other than the glass sheets and the spacer frame.