A roller for conveying sheets of glass, includes at its surface a conveying zone for the sheets of glass, the roller including a straight axis of revolution, the conveying zone forming a curved surface of revolution about the axis of revolution, the roller being asymmetric on either side of its, minimum or maximum, extreme diameter. A plurality of the rollers can also serve to bend running sheets of glass.

A method of manufacturing a glass film includes a forming step of forming a band-shaped glass film by pulling down a glass ribbon flowing down from a forming trough while sandwiching the glass ribbon from both front and back sides through use of roller pairs and a conveyance direction changing step of changing a conveyance direction of the glass film from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction by conveying the glass film along a conveyance path having an arc shape while supporting the glass film from a back surface side with a roller conveyor so that a front surface of the glass film after having passed through the conveyance path faces upward. A first roller to be brought into abutment against the glass film from the front surface side is arranged between a roller pair arranged in a lowermost stage and the roller conveyor.

A method of manufacturing a glass film includes a forming step of forming a band-shaped glass film by pulling down a glass ribbon flowing down from a forming trough while sandwiching the glass ribbon from both front and back sides through use of roller pairs and a conveyance direction changing step of changing a conveyance direction of the glass film from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction by conveying the glass film along a conveyance path having an arc shape while supporting the glass film from a back surface side with a roller conveyor so that a front surface of the glass film after having passed through the conveyance path faces upward. A first roller to be brought into abutment against the glass film from the front surface side is arranged between a roller pair arranged in a lowermost stage and the roller conveyor.

A device for bending sheets of glass running between a bed of upper rolls and a bed of lower rolls forming a shaping bed that pinches the sheets as they run, the shaping bed being disposed in a path having a curved profile in the running direction of the sheets of glass, the shaping bed including at least one roll of what is known as the rod/sheath type including a fixed metal rod preformed in a curved profile lengthwise and a flexible sheath that is able to rotate about the rod, the sheath being rotated about the rod. The roll of the rod/sheath type may include a metal rod preformed in a curved profile lengthwise and a flexible sheath that is able to rotate about the rod, the sheath including a first envelope made of a polymer material and a second envelope made of a flexible metal material disposed around the first envelope, the first and the second envelope rotating together as one.