There is provided a thin glass elongated body that can be prevented from being broken when subjected to processing or treatment by a roll-to-roll process. A thin glass elongated body of the present invention includes: a main body that includes an elongated thin glass; and a handling section that includes tough films connected to both ends of the main body in a length direction of the main body.

An invention is provided for creating smoothed, heat-treated glass fragments. The invention includes placing a plurality of heat-treated glass fragments into a tumbling or vibrating apparatus. Each heat-treated glass fragment is formed from glass that has been heated to a temperature of at least 1000° Fahrenheit and rapidly cooled to a temperature below 800° Fahrenheit. The plurality of glass fragments is then tumbled or vibrated for a predetermined period of time such that surfaces of the heat-treated glass fragments are smoother than prior to tumbling. The glass fragments are thereafter removed from the tumbling apparatus, resulting in smoothed, heat-treated glass fragments that have a slightly rounded, bead like-shape and are suitable for direct handling without hand protection.

An invention is provided for creating smoothed, heat-treated glass fragments. The invention includes placing a plurality of heat-treated glass fragments into a tumbling or vibrating apparatus. Each heat-treated glass fragment is formed from glass that has been heated to a temperature of at least 1000° Fahrenheit and rapidly cooled to a temperature below 800° Fahrenheit. The plurality of glass fragments is then tumbled or vibrated for a predetermined period of time such that surfaces of the heat-treated glass fragments are smoother than prior to tumbling. The glass fragments are thereafter removed from the tumbling apparatus, resulting in smoothed, heat-treated glass fragments that have a slightly rounded, bead like-shape and are suitable for direct handling without hand protection.

A strengthened glass sheet product as well as process and an apparatus for producing the product. The process comprises cooling the glass sheet by non-contact thermal conduction for sufficiently long to fix a surface compression and central tension of the sheet. The process results in thermally strengthened glass sheets having improved breakage properties.

A strengthened glass sheet product as well as process and an apparatus for producing the product. The process comprises cooling the glass sheet by non-contact thermal conduction for sufficiently long to fix a surface compression and central tension of the sheet. The process results in thermally strengthened glass sheets having improved breakage properties.

A glass tempering furnace and a method for heating a glass sheet. The glass sheet is heated in the glass tempering furnace by blowing heating air on the top surface of the glass sheet, and the blowing distance of the heating air from the top surface of the glass sheet is adjusted.

Methods of shaping a glass sheet are described comprising heating the glass sheet to a temperature for shaping; positioning the glass sheet on a shaping support; shaping the glass sheet on the shaping support, wherein during the shaping of the glass sheet at least one portion of the glass sheet is deliberately cooled. In preferred embodiments, the shaping of the glass sheet involves press bending a heat softened glass sheet between a lower shaping support and an upper shaping member, and wherein during the shaping of the glass sheet on the shaping support only a portion of the major surface of the glass sheet facing the lower shaping support is cooled by directing one or more jet of air onto said portion.

The present disclosure relates to a method for tempering a glass sheet to a surface compressive stress of at least 150 MPa, without hair cracks, to optically good quality and energy-efficiently. Quenching is carried out when the glass sheet travels through a quenching section by blowing air jets on upper and lower surfaces of the glass sheet by a blower, through blowing apertures in the cover of a blowing box and by air compressor pressure through pipe nozzles. In the quenching section, both above and below the glass sheet, are at least three successive compressed air convection blowing zones with separately adjustable blowing pressures. Zone-specific differences in the heat transfer coefficient are implemented by changing the blowing pressures of the pipe nozzles.

A strengthened glass has a mirror constant A of 1.97 MPa.Math.m.sup.0.5 or less, a surface compressive stress (CS) of 10 MPa or more. A product (t×CS) of a sheet thickness t (unit: mm) and the CS (unit: MPa) is less than 230. The strengthened glass may have a fictive temperature at a central portion in a sheet thickness t direction of not lower than a glass transition temperature Tg and Tg+100° C. or lower.

A method for evaluating the sensitivity of a glazing to forming quench marks depending on its anisotropy, the sensitivity being evaluated by computing parameter σ.sub.v, the quench marks resulting from different optical phase shifts in different regions of the glazing for a vision in transmission or reflection and from either side of the glazing, the method including computing a transmission parameter T1, T2 through face 1 or 2 or a reflection parameter R1, R2 from face 1 or 2, this computation being done for a region of the glazing without optical phase shift and for a region of the glazing inducing an optical phase shift δ; computing a parameter ΔE(δ) corresponding to the color difference between said regions, based on at least one of T1, T2, R1, R2, and computing σ.sub.v by applying a function G dependent on computed ΔE(δ) and where appropriate on the one or more corresponding δ.