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 process is disclosed, whereby soldered connections to electrical conductors incorporated on thin glass are achieved. Sufficient resistance to cracking is obtained by virtue of surface stresses induced locally in a region where soldering is to be done. In a preferred embodiment, surface stresses imparted during a press bending operation are relied upon.

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.

A strengthened photochromic glass sheet or article as well as processes and systems for making the strengthened photochromic glass sheet or article is provided. The process comprises heating the photochromic glass sheet to a desired temperature in a short time period without distortion to the photochromic glass sheet. The process also comprises in cooling the photochromic 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 photochromic glass sheets.

A strengthened glass or glass ceramic sheet has a first major surface, a second major surface opposite the first major surface, an interior region between the first and second surfaces, an outer edge surface extending between the first and second major surfaces, and a thickness between the first major surface and the second major surfaces, wherein the sheet comprises a glass or glass ceramic and is thermally strengthened and wherein the first major surface has a roughness of more than 0.1 nm Ra and less than 500 nm Ra over an area of 10 m10 m and wherein PP<0.05.Math.(LL), where LL is the maximum differential optical retardation with a slow axis closer to perpendicular than to parallel to the outer edge of the sheet, measured through the sheet through the first and second major surfaces of the sheet at a measurement location on the first surface of the sheet, as the measurement location moves inward from a point at the outer edge of the sheet, to a point three times the thickness from the outer edge, and where PP is the maximum differential optical retardation with a slow axis closer to parallel than to perpendicular to the outer edge of the sheet, measured through the sheet through the first and second major surfaces of the sheet, at the measurement location as the measurement location moves inward from the point at the outer edge of the sheet, to a point three times the thickness from the outer edge.

A glass sheet thermally strengthened such that at the first major surface is under compressive stress; the sheet having an a characteristic 2D autocorrelation matrix c(x,y) given by c(x,y)=F.sup.1(F(g).Math.F(g)) where F is a 2D Fourier transform and represents a complex conjugate operation and g is a high pass filtered data array given by g(x,y)=F.sup.1(F(f(1F(h)) where h is a spatial 2D low pass filter array and f is a square data array of Shear 0 and Shear 45 data, taken over an area away from any birefringence edge effects on the sheet, wherein an autocorrelation peak maximum width of the matrix c(x,y) at 40% of peak height, for the c(x,y) matrices from both the Shear 0 and Shear 45 data, is between 1 and 5 mm.

A strengthened glass or glass ceramic sheet has a roughness of greater than 0.05 nm Ra and less than 0.08 nm Ra over an area of 10 m10 m and has the property that, excluding areas within three sheet thicknesses of the outer edge surface of the sheet, the slope of a measured value of a thermally affected property of glass over distance along the first major surface of the sheet is higher bordering one or more lower-cooling-rate-effect-exhibiting areas on the first surface of the sheet than elsewhere on the first surface of the sheet, and at least one of said one or more areas has a shortest linear dimension, in a direction parallel to the first major surface, of less than 100000 m.

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.

To provide a method for tempering glass to obtain tempered glass having high surface quality and a deep compression stress layer. The present invention relates to a method for tempering a glass plate comprising a preparation step of preparing a glass plate having a surface temperature of at most the strain point, an internal heating step of heating the internal temperature of the glass plate to be at least the annealing point, while maintaining the surface temperature of the glass plate within 10 minutes, or to be at most the strain point, and a cooling step of cooling the glass plate.

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.