Method and device for manufacturing and applying a rigid spacer frame to an insulating glass

Abstract

The present invention deals with integrating methods for manufacturing and applying a spacer frame to a glass plate, particularly in the circumstance of increased sizes thereof, of the rigid type, i.e. which profiles essentially are formed by a hollow body having cross section close to the rectangular, micro-perforated in the wall facing the chamber of the insulating glass, where at least the wall facing the outer cavity intended for the secondary sealant is made of solid metal material or with a metal liner, the remaining walls or all the walls being capable of being made of plastic or metal, e.g. aluminum or stainless steel. Certain innovative elements of the devices implementing such methods are also claimed.

Claims

1. Method for manufacturing an insulating glass provided with at least one glass plate and a rigid spacer frame, comprising the manufacture of the rigid spacer frame and the application of said rigid spacer frame to at least one glass plate, wherein the manufacture of the rigid spacer frame comprises the steps of: providing a template according to the size and shape of the rigid spacer frame, laying on the template of components making up the rigid spacer frame, joining these components so as to obtain the finished spacer frame and locking on the template (300) of the spacer frame thus assembled, and wherein the application of said rigid spacer frame to at least one glass plate comprises: the transfer of the finished spacer template-frame assembly at the station of the insulating glass production line; the application of said spacer template-frame assembly to at least one glass plate, release and removal of the template from the spacer template-frame assembly.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein during the laying phase on the template, on appropriate housings of the template, said frame components are pre-loaded with hygroscopic material and/or pre-coated with primary sealant.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the application of said rigid spacer frame to at least one glass plate (2) comprises the steps of: alignment and constraint of the spacer template-frame assembly with a station dedicated to laying it; rotation of the spacer template-frame assembly until reaching parallelism with a conveyor of an insulating glass production line; displacement of the spacer template-frame assembly towards the glass plate so as to assemble the spacer frame the glass plate.

4. Method according to claim 3, wherein said displacement phase of the spacer template-frame assembly provides for the implementation of a thrust force proportional to the total length of the spacer frame.

5. Method according to claim 1 wherein, following the assembly of the spacer frame on the glass plate, the following steps are performed: the spacer frame is released from the template; the withdrawal of the template; rotation of the template up to a horizontal position; the removal of the assembly from the insulating glass production line to a rest position suitable for repeating the manufacturing cycle and application of a subsequent spacer frame.

6. Method according to claim 1, wherein the assembly of the rigid spacer frame on the template comprises the steps of: adjustment of the template and relative locking, in horizontal position, according to the size and shape of the spacer frame; laying the components of the spacer frame, pre-loaded with hygroscopic material and/or pre-coated with primary sealant, on housings of the template; joining the components and locking on the template of the finished spacer frame.

7. Method according to claim 1, wherein the steps concerning the manufacture of the spacer frame are carried out manually, while the steps concerning the application of the spacer frame to the glass plate are performed automatically.

8. Method according to claim 1, wherein for the spacer frame shapes different from the rectangular one, the template is made up of all independent supports, which are individually placed according to a track projected on a frame reference plane.

9. Method according to claim 1, wherein the steps of manufacturing the rigid spacer frame and applying said rigid spacer frame to at least one glass plate are all carried out through the same device and/or in correspondence with the same assembly station.

10. Device for manufacturing a rigid spacer frame and applying it to a glass plate to form an insulating glass, comprising: a translating base structure on which an intermediate rotating structure carries a template system translating orthogonally to its planar development, so as to pass from a horizontal configuration to an almost vertical configuration substantially parallel to a glass plate on which the rigid spacer frame is applied, and vice versa.

11. Device according to claim 10, wherein said template comprises: a lower bar adjustable and lockable parallel to itself for the selection of a depth p of a secondary sealant to be applied to the rigid spacer frame, an upper bar translating orthogonally to its longitudinal development and lockable for reaching the height dimension of the spacer frame, a head bar adjustable and lockable parallel to itself for selecting the depth p of the secondary sealant; a tail bar translating orthogonally with respect to its longitudinal development and lockable parallel to itself in order to reach the base dimension of the spacer frame.

12. Device according to claim 11, wherein the lower bar and/or the head bar are adjustable and lockable orthogonally to their longitudinal side so as to allow positioning of the spacer frame offset from the margins of the glass plate also on at least one of said margins, as well as for the depth p.

13. Device according to claim 11, wherein the lower and upper bars are located on a plane offset from that of the head and tail bars to allow the crossing of the relative movements.

14. Device according to claim 11, wherein at least one of said lower, upper, head and tail bars bears elements suitable for constitute a reference for the composition of the spacer frame and a constraint for holding the spacer frame.

15. Device according to claim 14, wherein said elements bear supports comprising a housing and a guide.

16. Device according to claim 15, wherein the housing is shaped so as to constitute, in correspondence with a flat face thereof, the zero reference for a intrados of the spacer frame, and in correspondence with a face opposite to the flat face, a contrast wedge for an extrados of the spacer frame.

17. Device according to claim 15, wherein said supports are implemented for moving or disappearing through automatic kinematic mechanisms.

18. Device according to claim 11, wherein the lower, upper, head and tail bars are moved and positioned each with its own feedback actuator.

19. Device according to claim 10, wherein each one of the translation of the base structure to and from the insulating glass production line, the rotation of the intermediate rotating structure, the translation of the template system orthogonally to its planar development towards and from a glass plate conveyor, is actuated by its own feedback actuator.

20. Device according to claim 19, wherein each feedback actuator is governed by a programmable logic controller for which the inputs are constituted by the feedback of the positions of the elements and the outputs are constituted by the signals towards the power and control drives of the actuators.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0046] The following is the detailed description of an embodiment of the invention, mainly claiming a method and secondly claiming a device.

[0047] Both the method and the device disclose the solution of manufacturing, including filling with hygroscopic material 4 and coating the sides with primary sealant 6, and of applying the large spacer frame 3 while avoiding the movement thereof unless under constraint conditions, aligned and withheld, with a rigid structure, which for reasons of brevity is called template, moved either manually or through servomechanisms and automatisms or semi-automatisms so as to compensate for the deformability thereof, and also of obtaining a functional positioning on the glass plate 2 for the purposes of the validity of the peripheral joint (homogeneity of distance p between the extrados of the spacer frame 3 and the margin of the glass plate 2) and the resulting appearance (alignment of the intrados of the spacer frame 3 with the frame; alignment of the intradoses of the frames 3, 3′, etc. in the case of multi-chamber insulating glass), or of a compromise between such needs.

[0048] Summarizing, the method is implemented, in the device mainly shown in FIGS. 4 to 8 and using the known art, which can be schematized in the following steps, herein described for the prevailing case of rectangular spacer frame 3: [0049] cutting modular profile elements from spacer profile bar, according to a layout correlated with shape and sizes of the finished spacer frame which is required for the insulating glass 1; [0050] bending the profile elements forming the four corners, as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C; the corners may alternatively be obtained by means of known angular inserts, as shown in FIG. 7; [0051] filling the hollow parts of the profile elements with hygroscopic material 4 (moreover, in connection with the innovative process herein detailed, granules with sizes 0.8-1.3 mm may be used, with great advantages in terms of less cost and elimination of the dust, rather than 0.5-0.8 mm, which is the circumstance of the current technique of filling the already formed, and therefore closed, spacer frame 3 through openings having small diameter); [0052] plugging the ends of the profile elements with soft inserts; [0053] coating with the primary sealant 6;

[0054] such steps also possibly being carried out with different sequence, according to the following specific steps of the innovative method being claimed, herein described again for the simpler case of rectangular spacer frame 3; [0055] adjusting the lower horizontal 302 and vertical 304 head sliding bars parallel to themselves; [0056] positioning the upper horizontal 303 and tail vertical 305 sliding bars parallel to themselves according to the end sizes of the spacer frame 1; [0057] offsetting the references 308 of template 300, which might interfere with the corners of the spacer frame 3, by manually maneuvering the pawls 312; [0058] rotating the references 314 of template 300, which might interfere with the corners of the spacer frame 3, by manually maneuvering the prepared mechanism; [0059] housing the profile elements in the recesses of the support/alignment housings 309 upon the insertion of known longitudinal union inserts of the profile, such recesses forming, step-by-step and along the flat face thereof, the complete peripheral reference for the intrados of the spacer frame 3; [0060] locking, with implemented push, step-by-step, against the extrados of the profile elements towards the flat face of the recesses of the end supports 309 (FIG. 7), by means of the pushers actuated by the pneumatic cylinders 313; [0061] moving the system formed by: 100 series base structure, 200 series intermediate rotating structure, 300 series upper structure (template) translating towards the insulating glass production line 1 under condition of horizontal position of the spacer frame 3; [0062] constraining the base structure 100 with the alignment references with the spacer frame 3 laying station of the insulating glass 1 production line; [0063] rotating the intermediate structure 200 and subsequent upper structure 300 (template containing the spacer frame) by means of the actuators 104, from the horizontal position to the condition of parallelism with the plane of conveyor 900 of the spacer frame 3 laying station; [0064] translating the upper station 300 (template containing the spacer frame) towards the face of the glass plate 2 laying in the spacer frame 3 laying station by means of the pneumatic cylinders 202 up to achieving the thrust force of the support assembly 308 which is proportional to the development of the spacer frame 3, adapted to compress the primary sealant 6 in a workmanlike manner against the face of the glass plate 2; [0065] releasing the pneumatic pushers 313; [0066] repositioning translation into the resting condition of the upper structure 300 by means of the pneumatic cylinders 202; [0067] rotating the intermediate structure 200 and subsequent upper structure 300 up to the horizontal position by means of the actuators 104; [0068] repositioning the systems comprising: 100 series base structure, 200 series intermediate rotating structure, series 300 translating upper structure, in the manufacturing area of the spacer frame 3.

[0069] While the steps concerning manufacturing the spacer frame 3 are the optimal solution in the manual method both due to the natural flexibility of the profiles and to the composition of the additional materials such as the hygroscopic material 4 formed by granules having sizes of 0.8-1.3 mm and such as the thermoplastic and stick primary sealant 6 and accessories, served by aids such as the nozzles for introducing the hygroscopic material 4, the machine for the controlled extrusion of the primary sealant 6 on the sides of the profile sections, and the machine for bending the angle sections, from the moment the spacer frame 3 was completely formed and placed on the supports 308, 314, the steps concerning the above-described innovative process may be implemented by means of an automated method, naturally as can be the positioning of the bars 302, 303, 304, 305 and the supports 308, 314 of template 300.

[0070] Returning to the device, it also contains elements to be detailed with reference to the drawings and also some to be protected in terms of industrial property.

[0071] Such elements are the following.

[0072] Positioning on different planes of the lower 302 and upper 303 bars with respect to the head 304 and tail 305 bar to allow the crossing thereof.

[0073] Disappearance of the supports 314.

[0074] Adjustment, greater than depth p, of bar 304 for making insulating glass which is offset on the vertical (FIGS. 1C, 1D).

[0075] Adjustment, greater than depth p, of bar 302 for making insulating glass which is offset on the horizontal (FIGS. 1C, 1D).

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION

[0076] It is to be noted that over the last decade, there has been a progressive extension of the sizes of insulating glass in the structural and architectural applications, from the so-called long windows (in the direction of the production line) of 4 or 5 m already at the top in 2000, to the Jumbo lengths of 6 m, to the Superjumbo lengths of 9 or 12 or 15 or even 18 m. One only needs to think of the megastores started by Apple which have led the trend in shopping malls or in slender structures of skyscrapers, or in architectural challenges. However, the problem of manufacturing, moving and applying the spacer frame 3 of the rigid type (“conventional” solution conventionally preferred and employed in the structural works rather than the “evolved” types) has not gone hand in hand when the sizes thereof exceed those manageable by the arms of one or two operators. Certainly, the increased cost in the prior art of the Jumbo or Superjumbo insulating glass 1, because it is formed by glass plates which are special and have increased thickness such as the laminated or shielded or tempered ones or those provided with nano-coating of the low emissivity or selective type and in the execution also of dual or triple chamber, has also resulted in the absorption of the costs resulting from the consistent manual skill, manufacturing operations, movement and application of the rigid frames; it goes without saying that any relative innovative solution which results in the reduction of costs and other advantages already detailed in the description is an added value to the insulating glass 1 product.

[0077] The insertion of the present invention in the insulating glass 1 production line is shown in FIG. 11 (plan view of a solution in which the working direction is from left to right) as an apparent guarantee of the certain success in the industrial application, despite the now consolidated but ever-evolving diffusion of such lines.

[0078] In addition, the device the object of the present invention may be easily implemented in existing lines because by performing an initial and collateral step of the manufacturing process of the insulating glass 1, i.e. manufacturing the spacer frame 3, such a device is to be frontally interfaced without the need to modify either the sequence or the volumes of the machines forming the line.