A device for picking up, shaping, and placing a thin glass pane, includes a frame with an upper side and a lower side, which is suitable to be directed at a glass pane with a thickness of less than 1 mm, and which is provided with a plurality of picking up pins that are arranged substantially parallel to one another and whose end directed at the glass pane is equipped with a suction cup, wherein the picking up pins are movable along their direction of extension independent of one another in order to adapt the arrangement of the suction cups to an intended shape of the glass pane.

The present invention relates to a device and method for bending at least one glass pane. The device includes: a gravity bending mould with a supporting surface, which is suitable for arranging at least one glass pane thereon; an upper shaping tool arranged opposite the supporting surface, the upper shaping tool being suitable for producing an overpressure on a surface of the at least one glass pane arranged on the supporting surface, and the surface of the at least one glass pane faces away from the supporting surface. The shaping tool has a cover that forms a hollow space open in the direction of the gravity bending mould and is equipped with a sealing lip arranged on an edge section of the cover for making contact with the surface of the at least one glass pane, and the shaping tool is equipped with means for introducing a gas into the hollow space in order to produce the overpressure.

In some embodiments, a process comprises fixing a first portion of a flexible glass substrate into a first fixed shape with a first rigid support structure and attaching a first display to the first portion of the flexible glass substrate or to the first rigid support structure. After fixing the first portion and attaching the first display, and while maintaining the first fixed shape of the first portion of the flexible glass substrate and the attached first display, cold-forming a second portion of the flexible glass substrate to a second fixed shape and fixing the second portion of the flexible glass substrate into the second fixed shape with a second rigid support structure.

Provided is a method of thermoforming a molding material to have a bent portion and a flat portion extending from the bent portion. The method includes: placing the molding material on a bending mold, the bending mold having a curved surface; and forming the bent portion of the molding material by heating a portion of the molding material at least to a fluidization temperature such that the portion of the molding material bends due to the weight of the flat portion of the molding material to form the bent portion according to a shape of the bending mold.

The invention relates to a method for shaping a glass pane (1), wherein the glass pane (1) is first heated and then bent until it has reached a shape that corresponds to a predefined target contour (ks), wherein exterior forces act on the glass pane (1) for the purpose of bending the glass pane (1). A change in a local curvature of the glass pane (1) over time is controlled such that the surface of the glass pane (1) simultaneously achieves the target contour at all points of the surface that do not remain static, by setting a temperature, and thus a viscosity, of the glass pane (1) so as not to be constant as a function of the location during the bending operation, and/or by suitably setting forces transferred by mounts (6) and/or pressure forces transferred by one or more pressure strips (3). The application furthermore relates to multiple glazed units produced by the method.

Embodiments of an article comprising a cold-formed glass substrate in a curved shape, a plurality of separate mechanical retainers, and a frame are disclosed. The cold-formed glass substrate has a first major surface, and a second major surface opposing the first major surface. In one more embodiments, the plurality of separate mechanical retainers are attached to the second major surface of the cold-formed glass substrate. The mechanical retainers may be attached to the frame to define a position for each of the plurality of mechanical retainers, such that the mechanical retainers define the curved shape. Embodiments of processes to form such articles are also provided. Such processes can include attaching a plurality of separate mechanical retainers to a flexible glass substrate such that the glass substrate maintains its flexibility, and attaching the mechanical retainers to a frame, such that the mechanical retainers attached to the frame define a cold-formed curved shape for the flexible glass substrate.

A sag-assist articulated tooling apparatus is described for complex, non-developable thin glass bending. The tooling apparatus employs a double-axis articulation design which introduces controllable external force in addition to glass gravity itself. The tooling apparatus described an articulated section along the primary bending direction and an articulated section along the cross bending direction. Each articulated section may include a hinge tower, counterweight, swing stopper, and counterweight stopper.

Provided is a method of thermoforming a molding material to have a bent portion and a flat portion extending from the bent portion. The method includes: placing the molding material on a bending mold, the bending mold having a curved surface; and forming the bent portion of the molding material by heating a portion of the molding material at least to a fluidization temperature such that the portion of the molding material bends due to the weight of the flat portion of the molding material to form the bent portion according to a shape of the bending mold.

The present disclosure relates to non-metallic articles that can be burner shields having grease flow control and/or chemical resistance. The present disclosure also relates to glass-ceramic burner shields that can have grease flow control and/or chemical resistance, and preferably both.

Disclosed are apparatuses for shaping a glass structure, the apparatuses having a plurality of rib members, each rib member comprising at least one void and at least one shaping edge; and at least one support member. The apparatuses can further comprise a shaping member and/or a guide member and/or a shaping groove. Also disclosed herein are methods for shaping a glass structure, the methods comprising positioning the glass structure on a shaping apparatus and heating the glass structure to shape the glass structure.