Method and apparatus for producing an elastically deformable glass plate
The invention relates to an apparatus and to a method for the industrial production of elastically deformable large-surface-area glass plates in high quantities, comprising the following characteristics: a) a device for feeding a glass plate ( 3 ), b) a device for providing the surface of the glass plate ( 3 ) with initial damage in the region of the desired breaking line, c) a device for the locally limited heating of the glass surface by way of a laser beam moving on a straight line in a fan-shaped pivoting manner, d) a device for cooling the glass surface, wherein a controllable cooling nozzle delivering a fluid is disposed on at least one side of the laser beam, e) a device for transporting a thermally locally pretreated glass plate ( 3 ) into the region of a device for breaking the glass plate ( 3 ), f) a device for detecting a straight-line crack formation on the surface of a glass plate ( 3 ), g) a straight-lined breaking blade on the underside of the glass plate ( 3 ), which blade can be lifted on one side and/or both sides.
1. An apparatus for the industrial production of elastically deformable large-area glass plates in high quantities, comprising:
a) a device for feeding a glass plate ( 3 ),
b) a device for making an initial score on the top side of the glass plate ( 3 ) in the region of the desired breaking line,
c) a device for the locally limited heating of the glass surface with a laser beam,
d) a device for cooling the glass surface, wherein on at least one side of the laser beam there is disposed at least one cooling nozzle ( 19 ), which can be operated intermittently and controlled in terms of its intensity and which conveys a fluid that is variable in temperature and feed rate, and wherein the coolant is applied with an air pressure of 5 to 10 bar,
e) a device for transporting the thermally locally pretreated glass plate into the region of a device for breaking the glass plate,
f) a device for detecting a rectilinear crack formation on the surface of a glass plate ( 3 ),
g) a rectilinear breaking blade on the underside of the glass plate, wherein the rectilinear breaking blade can be raised, wherein shorter plate pieces in which a weight of the shorter plate pieces is insufficient for the break-off are held down by at least one motorized hold-down device ( 27 ).
2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that, in a space in which the laser beam is guided, nitrogen or normal air are used as the atmosphere.
3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the coolant is a cationic surfactant or consists of a mixture of water and ethanol.
4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , characterized by the arrangement of a plurality of cooling nozzles ( 19 ) arranged in a row, for inducing a deep crack in the glass plate ( 3 ).
5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that, in the region of the machining table ( 2 ), a glass plate ( 3 ) is moved onward by means of a plurality of conveyor belts ( 15 ), wherein protective flaps ( 14 ) are provided for the protection of the conveyor belts ( 15 ), which protective flaps, prior to the raising of the machining table ( 2 ), slide under the glass plate ( 3 ), the protective flaps ( 14 ) being separated from the glass plate ( 3 ), via an air layer, by regularly arranged distancing means.
6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the devices for heating, for cooling and for making an initial score are rotatable through 90 degrees.
7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the cooling nozzle ( 19 ) consists of a Laval nozzle.
8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a pressure of a space in which the laser beam is guided is above an atmospheric pressure of the surrounding environment.
9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the laser beam is emitted in a fan-shaped pattern.