BENDING OF GLASS SHEETS COMPRISING LOCALIZED COOLING

Abstract

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.

Claims

1. A process for manufacturing a bent individual glass sheet comprising a peripheral compression belt, the process comprising: 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 said 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.

2. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the local cooling is applied before the bending.

3. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the local cooling is applied during the bending.

4. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the local cooling is applied after the bending.

5. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the glass sheet is heated individually in the furnace.

6. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the glass sheet undergoes the local cooling individually.

7. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bending is carried out after the removal of the glass sheet from the furnace.

8. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the local cooling is applied when the glass sheet is in an environment which has a temperature within the range extending from 5? C. to 50? C.

9. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the local cooling is applied when the glass sheet is in a chamber, the environment of which is at a temperature within the range extending from 400? C. to 650? C. and is at a temperature is lower than that of the glass sheet.

10. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the local cooling is administered on the glass sheet when the latter is at a temperature within the range extending from 530? C. to 660? C.

11. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the local cooling is administered on the glass sheet by convection and/or conduction and/or radiation.

12. The process as claimed in claim 11, wherein the local cooling is carried out by air blowing.

13. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the glass sheet has a thickness within the range extending from 0.7 to 3 mm.

14. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the glass sheet undergoes a semi-tempering or tempering treatment after bending, giving it a surface stress within the range extending from 20 to 200 MPa.

15. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locally cooled zone covers an area of between 0.5 cm.sup.2 and 70 cm.sup.2.

16. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locally cooled zone is at a distance from the edge of the glass of greater than one times the diameter of the locally cooled zone.

17. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locally cooled zone is at a distance from the edge of the glass of greater than 2 cm.

18. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locally cooled zone covers an area of less than 10% of the area of a main face of the glass sheet.

19. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the local cooling is sufficient in duration and intensity so that the edge compressive stresses after cutting in said locally cooled zone are greater than 4 MPa.

20. A process for manufacturing a bent glazing comprising a glass sheet comprising a peripheral compression belt comprising the preparation of the glass sheet by the process of claim 1, followed by cutting in the locally cooled zone.

21. The process as claimed in claim 20, further comprising cutting an orifice in the locally cooled zone at least partially inside the peripheral compression belt, said orifice having an edge compressive stress of at least 4 MPa.

22. The process as claimed in claim 20, wherein the glass sheet is conveyed individually during the heating thereof and up to the bending tool on a roller bed.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] FIG. 1 represents a device for bending individual glass sheets according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0024] FIG. 2 represents a device for bending individual glass sheets according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0025] FIG. 3 represents a device for bending individual glass sheets according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0026] FIG. 4 represents a device for bending individual glass sheets according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0027] FIG. 5 represents a device for bending individual glass sheets according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0028] FIG. 6 represents a device combining the local cooling systems of FIGS. 4 and 5 according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0029] FIG. 7 represents a device according to an embodiment of the invention in which the localized cooling is carried out just after the bending, and

[0030] FIG. 8 represents a bent motor vehicle roof made of laminated glass comprising an orifice for an antenna according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Within the context of the present application, the compressive stress values are determined by the method described in the standard ASTM F218200501. Generally, the edge compressive stress values are determined between 0.1 and 2 mm from an edge and preferably between 0.5 and 1 mm from an edge. For the case where a local compressive stress zone does not surround an orifice insofar as it is a zone that allows the possibility of creating an orifice subsequently, then the stress value can be determined after cutting followed by the measurement of the stress at the distance from the edge as has just been indicated.

[0032] For the case where the local cooling is administered with a view to creating an orifice, the locally cooled zone may affect only the cutting line or the whole of the zone removed by cutting. For example, if the future orifice is circular, and when the local cooling is administered by an air blowing nozzle, the orifice of the nozzle may have the shape of a disk or that of a ring. In the case of a disk, the diameter of the disk is slightly greater than that of the circle to be cut and it is the entire surface inside the circle which undergoes the local controlled cooling. In case of a ring-shaped nozzle, the latter blows over a ring-shaped zone on the circle and not inside this ring. For an identical cooled zone diameter, it is preferred to locally cool a ring-shaped zone compared to a disk-shaped zone since this is less expensive from an energy point of view. Furthermore, as a compression inevitably leads to a tension in a neighboring region, the more the area of the cooling zone and therefore the area of the compression zone is reduced, the more the area of the neighboring tension zone is reduced. The reduction of the area of the tension zone is favorable for the robustness of the glass. This is a significant reason why ring cooling rather than disk cooling is preferred, since a ring has a smaller surface area than a disk of the same outer diameter, and the tension created will be smaller. Furthermore, for the case where the cooling is administered by conduction (i.e. by contact), it is easier to ensure contact as a ring rather than as a disk on bent glass.

[0033] A ring-shaped nozzle is used more for the largest orifices. A circular or non-circular orifice may have an area of between 0.5 cm.sup.2 and 70 cm.sup.2. In this case, the locally cooled zone covers an area of between 0.5 cm.sup.2 and 70 cm.sup.2, whether the cooling has been applied as a ring (the area also covers the zone inside the ring) or as a disk, and so as to enable the cutting of an orifice having an area of between 0.5 cm.sup.2 and 70 cm.sup.2, said orifice having an edge that has a compressive stress of at least 4 MPa and preferably of at least 8 MPa. Preferably, the cutting is carried out on the locally cooled zone, i.e. the zoning compression, so as to leave an edge in compression after the cutting. The area of the locally cooled zone (including where appropriate the inside of the ring) is therefore preferably larger than the area of the cut zone. Relative to the outer contour of the locally cooled zone, a contour of the cut zone is preferably at at least 0.5 mm and preferably at at least 1 mm from the edge of the locally cooled zone, which zone is under compression, and inside this zone.

[0034] A sheet obtained according to the invention may be cut at ambient temperature on the locally cooled zone. It may be cut before fitting to a vehicle or after fitting to a vehicle. For example, it may be a zone that can be drilled to allow a roof bar support to pass through and the choice of cutting the sheet or not may be left up to the owner of the vehicle.

[0035] Several sheets obtained by the process according to the invention may be assembled as a laminated glazing. This assembling is carried out in a manner well known to person skilled in the art by inserting a sheet of polymer material between the two glass sheets. Generally, the locally cooled zones having are opposite in the laminated glazing. In this case, an orifice passing through the entire laminated glazing may be made by cutting after the assembly thereof. It is possible to cut the laminated assembly starting from just one of its main faces or from both of its main faces at the same time by one of the following means: [0036] hole saw or router: preferably both main faces are cut at the same time, [0037] waterjet: a single side suffices.

[0038] It is also possible to assemble, as a laminated glazing, a sheet that has undergone a localized cooling according to the invention with a sheet that has not undergone localized cooling according to the invention. In this case, if a cut is made it generally only affects the sheet that has undergone the cooling, the other sheet not being cut. This cutting may for example be used to house an element such as vehicle interior lighting, the laminate serving for example as the roof of said vehicle.

[0039] It is advantageous to be able to cut the glass after the bending since the shape given by the bending is not influenced by the orifice at the subsequently cut location. Specifically, if an orifice is cut before bending, the shape of the glass may have defects at the orifice. The existence of an orifice during the forming has an influence on the optical appearance in reflection and an optical distortion is observed in the area around the orifice. Furthermore, in the case of the assembly, as a laminar, of several sheets cut before assembly (prior art), comprising for example an orifice, an offset between the glasses may exist at the orifice due to an imperfect alignment of the glasses at the time of the assembly. Furthermore, the presence of the orifice at the time of the forming increases the technical complexity for the feasibility of the product, which has an impact on the efficiency of the furnace and on the feasibility of the glazing. These difficulties are greater in the following cases: [0040] creation of several holes, [0041] large size of the hole, [0042] if the hole has a linear side (square or rectangular shape for example), [0043] if the hole is in a highly bent zone.

[0044] According to the invention, cutting the glass after assembly as a laminate solves this problem of poor alignment since the various sheets of the laminar can be drilled at the same time. Thus, according to prior art, it operations necessary for each sheet and for the interlayer made of polymer material (generally made of PVB). According to prior art, cutting the polymer material specifically requires an additional operation and, furthermore, in order to guarantee the degassing during the assembly of the laminate, an additional operation is necessary with the installation of an element (suction cup, bag, green snake, etc.) that makes possible to seal the hole during the degassing operation. On the contrary, according to the present invention, a conventional assembly is carried out then a single drilling operation is needed for the entire laminate. The orifice thus made is perfectly continuous through the laminate whereas according to the prior art (one drilling per sheet before assembly), the tolerances are increased by the addition of the tolerances of the various drillings.

[0045] The local cooling that generates stresses in the glass may also be carried out without it necessarily being envisaged to cut it in this zone. Indeed, it may be desired to produce a laminated glazing with an additional element inserted into the glazing, at the interlayer made of polymer material (such as PVB) between two assembled glass sheets. This may be an element that has a lighting function and that comprises for example and LED or OLED, or else a sensible receiver or detector or a simple esthetic element. This integration into the glazing may specifically lead to the breaking thereof. A local reinforcement according to the invention improves the robustness of the glass at the location chosen to position this additional element and enables this integration. Furthermore, if the glazing must be highly mechanically stressed at a given location, for example because it must receive an opening or closure system, or a handle, then the local reinforcement according to the invention secures the solidity of the glass that the chosen location.

[0046] For the case where several individually bent sheets are assembled in a laminate, preferably sheets that immediately follow one another in the bending process are assembled so that any possible drift in the process has the least possible influence on the shape of the various sheets to be assembled. If a sheet without localized cooling and a sheet with localized cooling must be assembled, these two sheets are made to immediately follow one another, the only difference being that the cooling is carried out for one sheet and not for the other.

[0047] The sheets pass one after the other through a bending step then a cooling step. The bending process may be of any type, in particular by sag bending or by press bending. In all cases, in an industrial process, the individual sheets are conveyed one behind the other and preferably on a roller bed up to the bending tool for the individual bending of the sheets. For the case where the bending tool comprises an upper bending form, the roller bed carries the sheet until it is under said form. Thus, during the process according to the invention, the sheet is conveyed and heated individually in the furnace, then bent individually. The sheet undergoes the local cooling while it is in the individual state. In particular, this local cooling may be applied before the bending. In particular, this local cooling may be applied during the bending. In particular, this local cooling may be applied after the bending.

[0048] The local cooling may be applied to the glass during the transportation thereof before bending or after bending. The application of the local cooling may be fixed and applied to the sheet while it is traveling. This local cooling may be temporary so as to only affect one zone of the sheet. The application of the local cooling may be mobile. Specifically, the local cooling may follow the sheet during the transportation thereof, which makes it possible to carry out a longer cooling on one and the same zone without having to slow down the sheet. The local cooling may also be carried out during the bending, it being understood that it may begin before the bending and that it may continue after the bending. For the case of a local cooling during a bending against a bending form, in particular an upper bending form, the cooling system may be built into the form so that the cooling is administered by the forming face. If the bending form is heated, the local cooling may be administered by a different control of the heating at the zone to be locally cooled, or even in the absence of local heating.

[0049] After the sheet is heated in the furnace, it undergoes a general cooling. This cooling may be faster or slower. It may be a slow cooling that does not particularly generate stresses in the glass. This general cooling may include a fast cooling of the semi-tempering (also referred to as hardening) type or of the tempering type. The local cooling according to the invention is generally administered before the application of this fast cooling. A semi-tempering or tempering treatment after bending gives the sheet a surface stress within the range extending from 20 to 200 MPa. Within the context of the invention, a general cooling of the semi-tempering type may generate a surface stress of the glass within the range extending from 20 to 90 MPa. The surface stress is influenced by the thickness of the glass. For a sheet thickness of at least 2 mm, the surface stress may be within the range extending from 30 to 90 MPa (semi-tempering). For a sheet thickness of less than 2 mm, the surface stress may be within the range extending from 20 to 50 MPa (semi-tempering). A tempering results in a surface stress of the glass of greater than 90 MPa. Generally, the surface stress of the sheet is at most 200 MPa. The surface stress may be determined by a device operating on the polariscopic principle such as the Scalp-04 polariscope, the value determined being an average of 5 measurements on one main surface of the glass substrate and at least 20 cm from the edge. The abovementioned surface stress values are absolute values, since a person skilled in the art can also express them with a negative sign.

[0050] The invention is particularly suitable for bending individual sheets having a thickness within the range extending from 0.7 to 3 mm and more particularly extending from 0.8 to 1.2 mm.

[0051] The invention also relates to a device for bending a glass sheet comprising a furnace comprising heating elements for heating the sheet to its bending temperature, a tool for individual bending of the sheet, a means for moving the sheet through the furnace and up to the bending tool, and a means for local cooling of the sheet after the heating thereof by the heating elements. In particular, the means for local cooling may be placed in order to intervene over a zone of the sheet before the bending tool or while the sheet is on or under the bending tool. For example, the bending tool may comprise an upper bending form and when the glass is under it before the bending thereof, the cooling may already be taking place. In particular, the bending tool may comprise an upper bending form and a pressing frame, these two tools being capable of being moved in order to come closer or move apart in order to bend the sheet between them. In particular, the means for local cooling may be built onto the pressing frame. The means for local cooling may also be incorporated into the upper bending form. The locally cooled zone may cover an area of between 0.5 cm.sup.2 and 70 cm.sup.2. In particular, the invention relates to a device for bending an individual glass sheet comprising a furnace comprising heating elements for heating the sheet individually to its bending temperature, a tool for bending the individual sheet, a means for moving the sheet individually through the furnace and up to the bending tool, and a means for local cooling of the sheet after the heating thereof by the heating elements, the locally cooled zone covering an area of between 0.5 cm.sup.2 and 70 cm.sup.2. Several locally cooled zones each covering an area of between 0.5 cm.sup.2 and 70 cm.sup.2 may be affected.

[0052] After bending, a cooling frame may be responsible for recovering the bent glass in order to take it to a cooling zone within the context of the general cooling. The means for local cooling may be built onto the cooling frame. The cooling frame may in particular pass under the upper bending form which then releases the bent glass onto it, which frame then moves away from the bending form to convey the glass to the cooling zone.

[0053] The means for local cooling is administered to the sheet by convection and/or conduction and/or radiation. In particular, it may be carried out by air blowing and the means for local cooling may comprise an air blowing nozzle.

[0054] According to the invention, the individual sheets travel one behind the other individually through the furnace and up to the bending tool owing to the moving means. The means for moving the sheet may comprise a roller bed. After bending, the individual sheets are conveyed one behind the other into a cooling zone. This cooling generally comprises a rapid cooling of the semi-tempering or tempering type, followed by a slower general cooling. Thus, the device according to the invention may comprise, after the bending tool along the path of the sheet, a unit for blowing air that can administer a semi-tempering or a tempering to the sheet.

[0055] The invention also relates to a process for manufacturing a bent glazing comprising a glass sheet comprising a peripheral compression belt comprising the preparation of the glass sheet by the bending and cooling process according to the invention, followed by cutting in the locally cooled zone. The invention relates in particular to a process for manufacturing a bent glazing comprising a glass sheet comprising a peripheral compression belt, said process comprising the manufacture of a bent individual glass sheet comprising a peripheral compression belt, said manufacture comprising the heating of the glass sheet 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 said peripheral compression belt, referred to as locally cooled zone, undergoing, 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., followed by the cutting of the sheet in the locally cooled zone. In this process, the sheet is individual (not juxtaposed with another sheet) from the heating in the furnace until at least the end of the local cooling.

[0056] The invention also relates to a line for manufacturing a bent glazing comprising a glass sheet, said line comprising the device according to the invention and a means for cutting the bent glass sheet, i.e. individually or after assembly in a laminated glazing.

[0057] The invention can be applied to the production of: [0058] an antenna hole, [0059] a roof bar hole, [0060] a wiper arm hole, [0061] a hole for integration of an electronic (lighting, GPS, etc.) element, [0062] a retaining (hinge, support) hole, [0063] reinforcement for local lamination of an element (LED, OLED, electronic component, structural elements, etc.), [0064] reinforcement for local mechanical stress of a system (attachment point, bearing point).

[0065] The invention can be applied to all vehicle (motor vehicle, bus, truck, train, agricultural vehicle) glazings and any type of glazing of these vehicles such as windshield, rear window, side windows, quarter windows, roofs, bayflush and others.

[0066] The invention can also be applied to glazings in the building, solar, specialty applications and aeronautic fields.

[0067] FIG. 1 represents a device for bending individual glass sheets 1 traveling one behind the other on a roller bed 2. The roller bed passes through a furnace 3 that heats each flat sheet to its plastic deformation temperature. The sheet leaves the furnace and then arrives under a convex upper bending form 4. The sheet is stopped at an appropriate position under the upper bending form by means of a system of end stops 5. Once the sheet has been taken charge of by the upper bending form, the end stop may optionally be retracted. A lower bending counterform 6 of the pressing frame type is in a bottom position below the surface for receiving the sheet as indicated by the virtual line 7. A local cooling air jet is provided by the nozzle buse 8 onto the upper face of the sheet and over a limited zone, referred to as the locally cooled zone, in order to bring this zone to a temperature lower than the rest of the sheet. The nozzle 8, acting as local cooling means, may blow for a short time in order to impact a small zone, or a longer time so that the size of the zone impacted by the local cooling is enlarged owing to the movement of the sheet during the blowing. A temperature difference will continue to be present during the bending and after the bending during the general cooling of the sheet, producing particular stresses in the zone locally cooled by the nozzle 8.

[0068] FIG. 2 represents the same device as the one from FIG. 1 except that the nozzle 8 moves while the sheet 1 is moving (the arrows depict the movements). The initial position of the nozzle is represented by dotted lines. The nozzle 8 may move at the same speed as the sheet or at a different speed, generally slower than the speed of the sheet. This embodiment makes it possible to cool the same zone of the sheet for longer without having to slow down the sheet.

[0069] FIG. 3 represents the same device as the one from FIG. 1 except that the nozzle 8, acting as local cooling means, blows onto the lower face of the sheet when the latter is stopped in the bending position under the upper bending form 4. The nozzle here is built onto (i.e. attached to) the lower counterform 6 of the pressing frame. It can therefore blow as soon as the sheet is present above it (FIG. 3a) and while the sheet rises toward the upper bending form 4 (FIG. 3b), said sheet then being supported by the lower counterform 6 of the pressing frame.

[0070] FIG. 4 represents the same device as the one from FIG. 3 but that intervenes at a later stage, during the bending of the sheet 1. While the sheet 1 is pressed between the lower counterform 6 (pressing frame) and the upper bending form 4 and is therefore in the process of bending, the nozzle 8 blows cooling air onto a local zone of the lower face of the sheet. The nozzle 8 acts as local cooling means.

[0071] FIG. 5 represents the same device as the one from FIG. 4 except that the blowing nozzle 8 is incorporated into the upper bending form 4. The cooling air is blown while the sheet is pressed against the form 4. The form may comprise an orifice so that the cooling air can come directly in contact with the local zone of the upper face of the sheet. Of course, the blown air is channeled to the sheet then discharged from the bending form by a pipe (not represented) in the bending form.

[0072] FIG. 6 represents a device combining the local cooling systems of FIGS. 4 and 5. Here, two nozzles 8 and 8 blow at the same time against the sheet, on either side thereof and generally at the same location, i.e. opposite on the same zone on either side of the sheet. In this way the local cooling is more intense. The nozzles 8 and 8 act as local cooling means.

[0073] FIG. 7 represents a device according to the invention in which the localized cooling is carried out just after the bending. After bending against the upper form 4, the lower counterform 6 of the pressing frame is dropped back down below the surface 7 for receiving the glass. The glass is then held against the upper form 4 owing to a suction system through its face in contact with the glass. A cooling frame 9 has passed under the form 4 then the form 4 has released the glass onto the cooling frame 9 by shutdown of the suction. A blowing nozzle 8, acting as local cooling means, is attached to the cooling frame and may blow cooling air locally onto the glass as soon as the cooling frame 9 is under the glass. The nozzle 8 may blow when the glass is separated from the form 4 and when the glass is moved away from the form 4 by the cooling frame 9 to go to a cooling zone. A sheet 10 approaches it on leaving the furnace 3 in order to undergo the same treatment as the glass 1 after the latter.

[0074] FIG. 8 represents a bent motor vehicle roof made of laminated glass 80 comprising an orifice 81 for an antenna. The laminate combines two glass sheets bent according to the invention, the zone for the antenna having been locally cooled according to the invention for each of the two sheets. The orifice 82 was made after assembly of the laminate in a single drilling operation. The grey zones represent the zones comprising edge compressive stresses. The periphery of the glazing comprises a belt of compressive stresses 83 which is produced naturally after bending during the cooling, without it being necessary to blow on it. The edge of the orifice 82 also comprises edge compressive stresses 84 which were produced owing to the local blowing according to the invention. The orifice 82 is in the region of the sheet inside the compression belt.