GLASS TEMPERING SYSTEM

• Main Authors: MC MASTERS H, NITSCHKE N
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 29.12.1976
• Subjects: BLASTING; CHEMISTRY; FURNACES; FURNACES, KILNS, OVENS, OR RETORTS IN GENERAL; GLASS; HEATING; KILNS; LIGHTING; MANUFACTURE, SHAPING, OR SUPPLEMENTARY PROCESSES; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; METALLURGY; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL; OPEN SINTERING OR LIKE APPARATUS; OVENS; RETORTS; WEAPONS

A glass tempering system including a roller hearth furnace that has a conveyor with elongated rollers extending through an elongated heating chamber of the furnace and outwardly through elongated slots in the sides of the furnace so as to be supported on drive belts which are slidably driven along support surfaces to thereby frictionally drive the rollers and convey glass sheets over the rollers through the heating chamber. The furnace is of a modular construction and includes upper and lower housing portions with inner layers of refractory material that define the heating chamber. Flanges of the refractory material cooperate to define the elongated slots at the sides of the furnace. Heat seal arrangements extend between the refractory flanges and the conveyor rollers to mitigate heat flow from the furnace during use. A first electric motor drive mechanism drives belt sheaves that receive the drive belt at the end of the furnace where glass enters the heating chamber. Vertical support members carry belt sheaves receiving the drive belts at the other end of the furnace and are hydraulically positioned to control the tension of the belts. A secondary conveyor of the system receives the heated glass sheets after leaving the furnace and carries them through quench and cooling units of the system. The secondary conveyor is driven by a second electric motor drive mechanism which is coupled to the first conveyor to tension portions of the furnace conveyor drive belts in a manner that increases the driving force the first drive mechanism can impart to its drive belts. The secondary conveyor includes a pair of continuous drive chains that frictionally drive rollers of this conveyor in a manner similar to the driving of the furnace conveyor rollers. The tension of the secondary conveyor chains is hydraulically controlled.