Abstract
An apparatus for immobilizing a pane having a circumferential side edge within a positional tolerance on a carrier mold, wherein the apparatus includes a stopper, which is movable between a first position and a second position, which has a free end and an end opposite the free end that is connected to a device for moving the stopper between the first position and the second position. In the second position, the free end of the stopper is directed toward the side edge of the pane to be immobilized and the distance between the free end of the stopper and the side edge corresponds at most to the positional tolerance. In the first position, the free end of the stopper is offset back and/or upward in the plane of the pane compared to the second position.
Claims
1. An apparatus for immobilizing a pane having a circumferential side edge within a positional tolerance on a carrier mold, comprising: a stopper which is movable between a first position and a second position, which has a free end and an end opposite the free end that is connected to a means for moving the stopper between the first position and the second position, wherein in the second position, the free end of the stopper is directed toward the side edge of the pane to be immobilized and a distance between the free end of the stopper and the side edge corresponds at most to the positional tolerance, and in the first position, the free end of the stopper is offset back and/or upward in the plane of the pane compared to the second position.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the free end of the stopper and the side edge of the pane to be immobilized is at least 0.1 mm in the second position.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the free end of the stopper and the side edge of the pane to be immobilized is at most 4 mm in the second position.
4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stopper is rectangular and the thickness of the stopper is less than the thickness of the pane to be immobilized and/or wherein the free end of the stopper is rounded.
5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stopper is made of ceramic or a metal or a metal-containing alloy, wherein at least the free end of the stopper is covered with a heat-resistant fiber material and the thickness of the stopper including the fiber material is less than the thickness of the pane to be immobilized.
6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least all sliding pieces of the means are made of a heat-resistant material or are coated with a heat-resistant coating.
7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for moving the stopper is a cylinder.
8. A carrier mold for a pane, comprising a support surface that is suitable for carrying a pane having a circumferential side edge, and at least one apparatus according to claim 1 for immobilizing the pane on the support surface.
9. The carrier mold according to claim 6, wherein the carrier mold is implemented as a frame.
10. A device for transporting a pane, comprising a carrier mold according to claim 8, and a means for moving the carrier mold in a horizontal direction.
11. The device according to claim 10, wherein the means for moving the carrier mold can transfer an acceleration of at least 500 mm/s.sup.2 to the carrier mold in a horizontal direction, wherein the at least one apparatus includes a first, a second and a third apparatus, wherein the first apparatus is arranged behind the pane in the transport direction, the second apparatus is arranged behind the pane in the transport direction and the third apparatus is arranged in front of the pane in the transport direction.
12. A method for transporting a pane, comprising transporting the pane by means of a device according to claim 10, wherein the transport includes at least acceleration in a horizontal direction and wherein, during transport, the free end of the stopper is positioned in the second position.
13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the acceleration is at least 500 mm/s.sup.2 in a horizontal direction.
14. A method for bending a pane, comprising: transporting a pane having a circumferential side edge and heated to bending temperature using a method according to claim 12 into and/or within a bending chamber heated to bending temperature, and bending the pane in the bending chamber.
15. The method according to claim 14, wherein transport occurs within a bending chamber, which includes a first upper bending mold and a second upper bending mold arranged laterally offset thereto, and the carrier mold serves as a lower press frame.
16. A method comprising utilizing a pane bent by means of a method according to claim 14 in a vehicle, as a front, rear, roof, or side window.
17. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the distance between the free end of the stopper and the side edge of the pane to be immobilized is from 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm.
18. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the cylinder is a pneumatic cylinder.
19. The carrier mold according to claim 9, wherein the carrier mold is implemented as a press frame for a thermal bending process.
20. The device according to claim 11, wherein the acceleration is less than 7500 mm/s.sup.2.
Description
[0100] The invention is now explained in detail using exemplary embodiments and referring to the accompanying figures. They depict, in simplified, not-to-scale representation:
[0101] FIG. 1 a schematic plan view of an embodiment of a carrier mold according to the invention with a pane immobilization means on the carrier mold;
[0102] FIG. 2 a schematic representation of a detail of the cross-section of an exemplary embodiment of a carrier mold according to the invention, wherein the means for moving the stopper of the pane immobilization means is a pneumatic cylinder;
[0103] FIG. 3 a schematic representation of a detail of the cross-section of an exemplary embodiment of a carrier mold according to the invention, wherein the means for moving the stopper of the pane immobilization means is a pneumatic cylinder that is depicted in cross-section;
[0104] FIG. 4 through 10 schematic representations of a bending method according to the invention in different phases of the method according to the invention; and
[0105] FIG. 11 a schematic representation for illustrating the restricted access space of an immobilization means during pressing between a second bending tool and a press frame.
[0106] FIG. 1 schematically depicts the plan view of an embodiment of a carrier mold 7 according to the invention. The carrier mold 7 includes an upper side 7a with a support surface 7b, which substantially faces upward and on which a pane 8 having a circumferential side edge 9 rests. The edge surface 7c is arranged around the carrier mold 7 connecting to the upper side 7a. The edge surface 7c points substantially outward and thus constitutes the outer edge of the carrier mold 7. The carrier mold 7 also includes a means 1 for immobilizing a pane 8. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, exactly one means 1 for immobilizing a pane 8 is attached to the edge surface 7c. However, according to the invention, more than one means 1 can also be attached, for example, two, three, four, five, or six or more means 1; and the attachment can, for example, be done at the upper side, the lower side, and/or the edge surface 7c. In FIG. 1, the means 1 is arranged behind the pane 8 in the transport direction (the transport direction is symbolically depicted in FIG. 1 with an arrow). When the carrier mold 7 includes more than one means 1, the means 1 is preferably arranged on opposite sides, preferably with at least one means 1 in front of the pane 8 in the transport direction. The means 1 includes a stopper 3, one end of which is connected to a means 46 for moving the stopper 3 between the first position A and the second position B and the other end of which is a free end 6. The means 46 is suitable for moving the free end 6 of the stopper 3 between a first position A and a second position B. In FIG. 1, the free end 6 of the stopper 3 is depicted in the second position B and thus in the activated form, i.e., in a position, in which it is directed toward the side edge 9 of the pane 8 and distanced from the side edge 9 of the pane 8 corresponding at most to a previously selected positional tolerance, for example, at most 4 mm, in particular at most 2 mm, preferably at most 1 mm, particularly preferably at most 0.5 mm, most particularly preferably between 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm, in particular 0.1 mm.
[0107] FIG. 2 schematically depicts the detail of a cross-section of an embodiment of a carrier mold 7 according to the invention, with at least one means 1 for immobilizing a pane 8 on the support surface 7b of the carrier mold 7. In this embodiment, a means 1 for immobilizing a pane 8 is attached on the edge surface 7c of the carrier mold 7; and the detail depicts the region of the carrier mold 7 in which the means 1 is attached at the edge surface 7c of the carrier mold 7. The means 1 has a holder 2 for attaching the means 1 to the edge surface 7c of the carrier mold 7, a stopper 3, and a cylinder 4 as means 46, with a pneumatic cylinder depicted in FIG. 2. The cylinder 4 includes, in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, a joint mechanism 5, with which one end of a stopper 3 is connected. The other end of the stopper 3 is a free end 6. The cylinder 4 is capable of moving the free end 6 of the stopper 3 between a first position A and a second position B via the joint mechanism 5. The first position A in FIG. 2 identifies in each case the position, when the means according to the invention 1 is deactivated, i.e., in which the free end 6 of the stopper is offset back and upward compared to the second position B in the plane of the pane; and the pane 8 is thus not immobilized on the carrier mold 7. The second position B identifies in each case the position, when the means according to the invention 1 is activated, i.e., in which the free end 6 of the stopper 3 is directed toward the side edge 9 of the pane 8 and is distanced from the side edge 9 of the pane 8, for example, at most 4 mm, in particular at most 2 mm, preferably at most 1 mm, particularly preferably at most 0.5 mm, most particularly preferably between 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm, in particular 0.1 mm; and the pane 8 is thus immobilized on the carrier mold 7. The compressed air supply lines 4d to the cylinder 4 are also discernible in FIG. 2. The cylinder 4 is operated via the compressed air supply lines 4d. The holder 2 for attaching the means 1 on the edge surface 7c of the carrier mold 7 includes a spacer 2a. By variation of the thickness and the angle of the spacer 2a, it is possible to adjust the angle at which the means 1 can be arranged on the edge surface 7c of the carrier mold 7.
[0108] FIG. 3 depicts the exemplary embodiment of the carrier mold 7 according to the invention of FIG. 2, wherein the cylinder 4 is a pneumatic cylinder, which is depicted in cross-section such that the positions of the cylinder piston 4a and the piston rod 4c connected thereto during deactivation (first position A) and during activation (second position B) as well as the cylinder tube 4b are discernible. The cylinder piston 4a is movable in the cylinder tube 4b between a first position A and a second position B. The piston rod 4c is connected to the cylinder piston 4a and the rod is, in turn, connected to the joint mechanism 5. The movement of the cylinder piston 4a and the piston rod 4c is transferred to the stopper 3 via the joint mechanism 5, with the two possible positions (first position A and second position B) of the joint mechanism discernible in FIG. 3 and with the positions A and B in FIG. 3 corresponding to the positions A and B in FIG. 2.
[0109] FIGS. 2 and 3 depict in each case an embodiment in which the stopper 3, when the means 1 is activated, is oriented parallel to a planar upper side 7a with a support surface 7b of the pane 8 on the carrier mold 7; and, when the means 1 is deactivated, is not oriented parallel to the planar upper side 7a and support surface 7a of the pane 8 on the carrier mold 7, but, instead, is pivoted upward, in other words, the free end 6 of the stopper 3 is offset back in the plane of the pane and is offset upward.
[0110] In the embodiment, in which the stopper 3 is oriented parallel to a planar upper side 7a with a support surface 7b of the pane 8 on the carrier mold 7 both when the means 1 is activated and when the means 1 is deactivated, the means for moving the stopper between a first position and a second position is designed such that the stopper 3 is oriented parallel to the upper side 7a and support surface 7b of the pane 8 even in the deactivated state. For example, when a cylinder 4 with a joint mechanism 5 is used for transmitting the movement, the uppermost joint of the joint mechanism 5 is designed such that the stopper 3 is oriented parallel to the upper side 7a and support surface 7b of the pane 8 even in the deactivated state. The free end 6 of the stopper 3 is then offset back in the first position A compared to the second position B in the plane of the pane.
[0111] FIG. 4 through 10 are schematic representations of a possible bending method in different phases of the method. In each case, for better clarity, only selected components of the bending device 10 are provided with reference characters. In FIG. 4 through 10, reference is made to a press frame 34. This press frame 34 constitutes an embodiment of the carrier mold 7 according to the invention with at least one means 1 according to the invention attached thereon for immobilizing a pane 8 having a circumferential side edge 9.
[0112] FIG. 4 depicts a situation during the bending process in which a pane 8 has been brought into the removal position 31 of the first bending station 18. The first bending mold 21 is situated in a raised position above the pane 8. The second bending mold 21′ is situated at roughly the same height as the first bending mold 21. Below the second bending mold 21′ is situated the press frame 34 in the second press frame position 33 of the second bending station 18′ with another pane 8 placed thereon. The tempering frame 38 is situated in the second tempering frame position 39 of the tempering zone 13 between the two tempering boxes 37.
[0113] FIG. 5 depicts the device 10 for bending panes 8 at a later time than FIG. 4. The first bending mold 21 has been moved downward in the direction of the pane 8 from the raised position into a first lowered position. The pane 8 has been lifted vertically from the removal position 31 in the direction toward the first bending mold 21 by blowing with the blowing device air flow 40 generated by the blowing device 30 (symbolically represented by arrows) on its lower side and is pressed by the blowing device air flow 40 against the contact surface 23 of the first bending tool 20. In the first lowered position of the first bending mold 21, the contact surface 23 is lowered enough that the pane 8 can be pressed by the blowing device air flow 40 against the contact surface 23. In addition, the pane 8 is fixed on the contact surface 23 by suction using the suction device 29. The suction device airflow 41 generating a negative pressure on the contact surface 23 is likewise symbolically represented by arrows. Due to the typically incomplete contact against the contact surface 23, a pre-bending of the pane 8 occurs only in the edge region 26. Usually, the pressing pressure resulting from the blowing device air flow 40 is insufficient to produce a final edge bending in the edge region 26 of the pane 8. On the other hand, the suction effect of the suction device 29 serves substantially only to hold the pane 8 on the contact surface 23 to which the press frame 34 has been moved below the pane 8, and has only a slight influence on the bending of the pane 8. Nevertheless, bubbles in the pane 8 can be removed by it. In the inner region 27 of the pane 8, only surface pre-bending is possible anyway due to the contact surface 23. FIG. 5 depicts a situation in which the pane 8 is already fixed on the contact surface 23.
[0114] The second bending mold 21′ has been brought from the raised position into a lowered position in which there is area-wise contact between the contact surface 23′ and the pane 8 placed on the press frame 34. The pane 8 is pressed in the edge region 26 between the outer surface section 24′ of the contact surface 23′ of the bending tool 20′ and the press surface of the press frame 34. The press surface of the press frame 34 has a shape complementary to the outer surface section 24′ of the contact surface 23. The edge region 26 of the pane 8 is preferably finally bent, i.e., obtains its final edge bending. However, it is also possible for the edge region 26 to be only pre-bent. Subsequently, the pane 8 is fixed to the contact surface 23′ by suction using the suction device 29′. It is conceivable for the contact surface 23′ to alternatively have a small distance from the pane 8 if suction of the pane 8 away by a certain distance is possible. The suction device airflow 41′ generating a negative pressure on the contact surface 23′ is symbolically represented by arrows. In contrast to the first bending mold 21, on which only holding of the pane 8 is intended and the negative pressure consequently does not cause any (at least noteworthy) bending of the pane 8, the suction of the pane 8 against the contact surface 23′ can also serve for bending the pane 8, i.e., the suction generates sufficient mechanical pressure to bend the pane 8 as desired. Thus, the pane 8 is pre-bent on the second contact surface 23′ in the inner region 27 of the pane 8. In addition, a previously generated final edge bending can be retained in the edge region 26. The tempering frame 38 is still situated in the tempering device 13 between the two tempering boxes 37.
[0115] FIG. 6 depicts the device 10 for bending panes 8 at a later time than FIG. 5. The first bending mold 21 has again been moved upward into its raised position, wherein the pane 8 is fixed against the contact surface 23 by the suction device air flow 41. The second bending mold 21′ has also been moved upward into its raised position, wherein the pane 8 is fixed against the contact surface 23′ by the suction device air flow 41′. The press frame 34 is pane free and is situated below the second bending mold 21′. The tempering frame 38 is still situated in the tempering device 13 between the two tempering boxes 37.
[0116] FIG. 7 depicts the device 10 for bending panes 8 at a later time than FIG. 6. The first bending mold 21 is depicted in the situation in which it is moved downward on the way into a second lowered position above the first lowered position. The pane 8 is still fixed against the contact surface 23 by the suction device air flow 41. The press frame 34 is moved translationally on the transport means 36 in a horizontal direction (negative x-direction) by means of the transport means movement mechanism 35 from the second press frame position 33 to the first press frame position 32 and is situated below the first bending mold 21. The second bending mold 21′ is still situated in its raised position, wherein the pane is fixed against the contact surface 23′ by the suction device air flow 41′. The tempering frame 38 has moved from the tempering position 39 into the second press frame position 33 of the second bending station 18′ and is situated below the second bending mold 21′.
[0117] FIG. 8 depicts the device 10 for bending panes 8 at a later time than FIG. 7. The first bending mold 21 has now been moved into the second lowered position, wherein the pane 8 comes into contact with the press frame 34. The pane 8 is pressed in the edge region 26 between the outer surface section 24 of the contact surface 23 of the bending tool 20 and the press surface of the press frame 34. The press surface of the press frame 34 has a shape complementary to the outer surface section 24 of the contact surface 23. The edge region 26 of the pane 8 is pre-bent or finally bent thereby. The second bending mold 21′ has been moved into its lowered position, wherein the pane 8 is placed on the tempering frame 38.
[0118] FIG. 9 depicts the device 10 for bending panes 8 at a later time than FIG. 8. The first bending mold 21 and the second bending mold 21′ have, in each case, been moved back into their raised position. The press frame 34 has been moved translationally in a horizontal direction (positive x-direction) from the first press frame position 32 to the second press frame position 33 and is situated below the second bending mold 21′. In particular, during transport, the pane 8 situated on the press frame 34 is pre-bent in the inner region 27 by gravity. As a result of the pressing in the edge region 26, the surface pre-bending by gravity in the inner region 27 is limited. The tempering frame 38 with the pane 8 placed thereon has been moved from the second press frame position 33 of the second bending station 18′ into the tempering position 39 and is situated between the two tempering boxes 37. To enable exit from the bending zone 11, the door 42 was opened for a short period of time. Thus, a significant temperature loss in the bending chamber 11 can be avoided. During transport on the tempering frame 38, final edge bending and final surface bending of the pane 8 can occur by gravity. The tempering frame 38 has, for this purpose, an upward directed frame surface 28 for contact with the pane 8, which is suitably implemented for final edge bending. In addition, the tempering frame 38 is suitably implemented for final surface bending by gravitation.
[0119] FIG. 10 depicts the device 10 for bending panes 8 at a later time than FIG. 9. The first bending mold 21 and the second bending mold 21′ are still situated in the raised position. A new pane 8 has been brought into the removal position 31 of the first bending station 18. The pane 8 situated on the press frame 34 can be pressed and suctioned by the second bending mold 21′. The pane 8 situated in the tempering zone 39 is cooled for tempering by an air flow, as illustrated by arrows. The situation of FIG. 10 is thus similar to the situation of FIG. 4. The bending process can thus be run continuously.
[0120] In the time between the time depicted in FIG. 8 and the time depicted in FIG. 9, the press frame 34 is transported from the first press frame position 32 into the second press frame position 33. During this transport, the press frame 34 is preferably subjected to acceleration of at least 500 mm/s.sup.2, or even at least 1500 mm/s.sup.2, or even at least 3000 mm/s.sup.2, or even at least 5000 mm/s.sup.2 in the lateral direction. To prevent slippage of the pane 8 outside a tolerance range, the pane 8 is immobilized on the press frame 34 during this transport by at least one means 1 according to the invention arranged on the press frame 34, with the means 1 activated during transport.
[0121] By means of this precise positional fixation of the pane 8 on the press frame 34, even when the press frame 34 is subjected to high accelerations, particularly high production accuracy, in particular in the second bending step, and particularly good optical quality of the bent pane can be achieved.
[0122] In the time between the time depicted in FIG. 5 and the time depicted in FIG. 6, the means 1 is deactivated such that the pane 8 is no longer immobilized on the press frame 34 and can thus be removed therefrom.
[0123] FIG. 11 schematically depicts the pressing of a pane 8 between a press frame 34 and a second bending mold 20′. It can be discerned that the space 45 between the press frame 34 and the bending mold 20′ via which a means has access to the pane 8 in order to immobilize it on the press frame 34 even during pressing is quite limited.
[0124] The means 1 described in the context of the invention enables immobilization of a pane 8 even in the case of such limited access space, in particular in the embodiment, in which, both in the activated state and the deactivated state, the stopper 3 of the means 1 is oriented parallel to the support surface 7a of the carrier mold (in this case, of the press frame 34) and the means is preferably attached on the edge surface 7c of the carrier mold (in this case, of the press frame 34).
LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS
[0125] A position A (first position, position in the deactivated state of the means according to the invention) [0126] B position B (second position, position in the activated state of the means according to the invention) [0127] 1 means (for immobilizing a pane) [0128] 2 holder [0129] 2a spacer [0130] 3 stopper [0131] 4 cylinder [0132] 4a cylinder piston [0133] 4b cylinder tube [0134] 4c cylinder rod [0135] 4d compressed air supply lines [0136] 5 joint mechanism [0137] 6 free end of the stopper [0138] 7 carrier mold [0139] 7a upper side [0140] 7b support surface [0141] 7c edge surface [0142] 7d lower side [0143] 8 pane [0144] 9 side edge [0145] 10 bending device [0146] 11 bending chamber [0147] 12 preheating zone [0148] 13 tempering zone [0149] 14 tempering frame movement mechanism [0150] 15 pane transport mechanism [0151] 16 roller bed [0152] 17 roller [0153] 18,18′ bending station [0154] 19,19′ holder for bending mold [0155] 20,20′ bending tool [0156] 21,21′ bending mold [0157] 22,22′ holder movement mechanism [0158] 23,23′ contact surface [0159] 24,24′ outer surface section [0160] 25,25′ inner surface section [0161] 26 edge region [0162] 27 inner region [0163] 28 frame surface [0164] 29,29′ suction device [0165] 30 blowing device [0166] 31 removal position [0167] 32 first press frame position [0168] 33 second press frame position, first tempering frame position [0169] 34 press frame [0170] 35 transport means movement mechanism [0171] 36 transport means [0172] 37 tempering box [0173] 38 tempering frame [0174] 39 second tempering frame position [0175] 40 blowing device air flow [0176] 41,41′ suction device air flow [0177] 42 second bending chamber door [0178] 43 bending chamber wall [0179] 44 press surface [0180] 45 access space [0181] 46 means (for moving the stopper)
