A device and a process for manufacturing a bent individual glass sheet including a peripheral compression belt, wherein the process includes the heating thereof to its bending temperature in a furnace, the individual bending thereof, and the general cooling thereof. One zone of the sheet at least partially inside the peripheral compression belt, referred to as locally cooled zone, undergoes, after the heating of the sheet, a local cooling faster than the general cooling, when the sheet is at a temperature of at least 530? C. The cutting of the sheet on the locally cooled zone creates edges having edge compressive stresses.

A strengthened cover glass or glass-ceramic sheet or article as well as processes and systems for making the strengthened glass or glass-ceramic sheet or article is provided for use in consumer electronic devices. The process comprises cooling the cover 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 cover glass sheets for use in or on consumer electronic products.

A quench arrangement for quenching glass sheets includes a main quench station having upper and lower main quench heads for performing a primary quench operation on a glass sheet, a first lower secondary quench head located downstream of the main quench station, and a second lower secondary quench head located downstream of the first lower secondary quench head. The arrangement further includes an upper secondary quench system positioned above the first and second lower secondary quench heads, and the upper secondary quench system is cooperable with the lower secondary quench heads to perform further cooling of the glass sheet. The arrangement further includes a conveyor located above the second lower secondary quench head for moving the glass sheet away from the second lower secondary quench head.

A method and an apparatus for tempering glass sheets. A glass sheet is heated to a tempering temperature and quenching is conducted by blasting cooling air to both surfaces of the glass sheet. The quenching of a top surface and a bottom surface of the glass sheet's both side portions is commenced earlier or is performed at the early stage of quenching more effectively than the quenching of a top surface and a bottom surface of the glass sheet's intermediate portion. As a result, the compression stress required for a desired tempering degree is established on both surfaces of the side portions earlier than on both surfaces of the intermediate portion. In order to achieve this, the cooling air enclosures above and below a glass sheet are provided with a subarea of weakened cooling effect.

A process for manufacturing a bent individual glass sheet including a peripheral compression belt, the process including heating a glass sheet to its bending temperature in a furnace, performing an individual bending of the glass sheet, and performing a general cooling of the heated glass sheet, applying to one zone of the glass sheet at least partially inside the peripheral compression belt, which forms a locally cooled zone, after the heating of the glass sheet, a local cooling faster than the general cooling, when the glass sheet is at a temperature of at least 530? C.

A method of shaping a glass sheet includes heating the glass sheet to a temperature for shaping, positioning the glass sheet on a shaping support, and 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. The shaping of the glass sheet involves press bending a heat softened glass sheet between a lower shaping support and an upper shaping member, 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 jets of air onto said portion.

A strengthened glass sheet product as well as process and an apparatus for making 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.

Disclosed in the present invention is an apparatus for eliminating stress spots on a surface of glass, comprising a conveying assembly, provided with a conveying surface for reciprocally conveying the glass along a conveying direction; an upper air-blowing assembly, provided above the conveying surface, used for guiding air to reciprocally flow above the conveying surface along a swinging direction extending along a width direction of the glass; and a lower air-blowing assembly, provided under the conveying surface, used for guiding air to reciprocally flow under the conveying surface along the swinging direction. A method for eliminating stress spots on a surface of glass comprises a conveying step, a glass swinging step, and an air-cooling step.

A strengthened glass or glass-ceramic sheet or article as well as processes and systems for making the strengthened glass or glass-ceramic sheet or article is provided. 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.

A strengthened cover glass or glass-ceramic sheet or article as well as processes and systems for making the strengthened glass or glass-ceramic sheet or article is provided for use in consumer electronic devices. The process comprises cooling the cover 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 cover glass sheets for use in or on consumer electronic products.