The present invention discloses a heating structure for an energy-saving hot bender, which comprises a heating chamber, a connecting rod, a drive mechanism and a hot bending mould moving passage, wherein the connecting rod is arranged on one side of the hot bending mould moving passage, the hot bending mould moving passage and the connecting rod pass through the heating chamber, the drive mechanism is connected with one side of the connecting rod and is capable of driving the connecting rod to rotate, the connecting rod is provided with a plurality of fastener groups, each of the fasteners group comprises two fasteners fixed at opposite positions, and the fasteners are sleeved on the connecting rod.

A method of making articles from preformed materials includes placing a preformed material on a mold such that a non-quality region of the preformed material contacts the mold and a quality region of the preformed material is free of contact with the mold. A non-contact support is provided to the quality region to control sagging of the quality region. A reformable area of the preformed material is formed into a select shape by contacting the reformable area with a forming tool while restricting contact between the forming tool and the reformable area to the non-quality region. After the forming of the reformable area, an article is extracted from the quality region.

The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a curved glass for a screen protector. The method comprises the steps of: receiving, by a curved screen protector manufacturing device, a mould comprising a flat glass; transporting the mould into a first heating tank to heat all sides of the mould for a first predetermined duration; transporting, by the curved screen protector manufacturing device, the mould heated for the first predetermined duration into a second heating tank to heat all of the sides of the mould for a second predetermined duration; transporting, by the curved screen protector manufacturing device, the mould heated for the second predetermined duration to a pressure stabilizing device to stabilize pressure of the mould for a third predetermined duration; and cooling, by the curved screen protector manufacturing device, the mould with the stabilized pressure for the third predetermined duration to obtain a curved glass.

A method for repairing surface smoothness of heat-bent glass includes: providing a fluid which is transparent and solid at room temperature on an inner side of a heat-bent clear glass used for manufacturing a screen protector of an electronic device; by utilizing a mold having a pattern corresponding to the surface smoothness of a screen of the electronic device, pressing the inner side of the heat-bent clear glass and at the same time processing the fluid on the inner side of the heat-bent clear glass through a reverse mold replication process so that the fluid fill a curved and uneven surface of the inner side of the heat-bent clear glass; and curing the fluid so that the inner surface of the heat-bent clear glass has a curvature and smoothness that match the curvature and smoothness of the screen of the electronic device.

A method for manufacturing a bent substrate, which forms a bent part in at least a part of a substrate, in which the substrate includes a second region and a first region, the method for manufacturing including: supporting the first region of the substrate on a substrate support surface of a support member including a mold surface having a same curved surface shape as that of the bent part and the substrate support surface that supports the first region, in a state of facing the second region of the substrate to the mold surface; heating the second region of the substrate to soften the second region of the substrate by the heating; placing the second region along the mold surface of the support member by an own weight of the second region; and transferring the curved surface shape of the mold surface to the second region by an external force.

Apparatus and methods for bending thin glass sheets are described. The methods and apparatus described include positioning an auxiliary heater between a furnace and an entrance to glass bending station and/or positioning a downstream auxiliary heater between a glass bending station and a quench station. Also described are apparatus and methods for bending thin glass sheets by compensating for heat loss and maintaining the glass viscosity within a workable range for the bending or forming operation. Auxiliary heating elements can be placed in locations that would otherwise provide for excessive heat loss.

Methods of fabricating a glass laminate is provided. According to one embodiment, a glass laminate comprised of a microwave absorbing layer and a microwave transparent layer is formed. The microwave absorbing layer is characterized by a microwave loss tangent .sub.H that is at least a half order of magnitude larger than a loss tangent .sub.L of the microwave transparent layer. An area of the glass laminate is exposed to microwave radiation. The exposed area comprises a cross-laminate hot zone having a cross-laminate hot zone temperature profile. Substantially all microwave absorbing layer portions of the hot zone temperature profile and substantially all microwave transparent layer portions of the hot zone temperature profile reside above the glass transition temperature T.sub.G of the various layers of the glass laminate prior to impingement by the microwave radiation. In accordance with another embodiment, a method of fabricating a glass laminate is provided where the exposed area of the glass laminate is characterized by a viscosity below approximately 110.sup.4 poise.

A glass article includes a first portion having a flat surface, a second portion spaced apart from the first portion, the second portion having a flat surface and a foldable portion disposed between the first portion and the second portion, elastically deformed by an external force, and having a curved surface in a neutral state in which the glass article is not elastically deformed.

A window glass forming apparatus according to one or more embodiments of the present invention includes a first mold configured to move along a first direction, a pressing member including a first end coupled to the first mold and configured to move along a second direction crossing the first direction, a second mold having a supporting surface configured to support a glass, and a curved surface extending from the supporting surface, and a third mold between the first mold and the second mold, the third mold being coupled to a second end of the pressing member and defining a guide groove configured to guide the pressing member along the curved surface.

Embodiments of this disclosure pertain to a vehicle interior system comprising a base having a base surface; and a glass article coupled to the surface, wherein the glass article comprises a first portion comprising a first elastically deformed surface forming a first concave shape with a first radius of curvature from about 20 mm to about 2000 mm, and a second elastically deformed surface directly opposite the first elastically deformed surface that forms a second convex shape, wherein the second elastically deformed surface has a surface compressive stress that is less than a compressive stress at the first elastically deformed surface, and a second portion adjacent the first portion, wherein the second portion is substantially planar portion or curved.