Glass-cutting apparatus and method

Claim 2

In an apparatus for cutting a sheet of glass into rectangular sections of predetermined size, support means for supporting a sheet of glass which is to be cut into the rectangular sections, conveyor means operatively connected with said support means for conveying the latter along a given path, so that a sheet of glass on said support means will move with the latter along said path, a pair of glass-cutting means situated along said path for cutting along substantially straight lines parallel to each other in the sheet of glass as the latter moves with said support means along said path, said conveyor means, support means, and pair of cutting means all coacting with each other to provide between said support means and one of said cutting means a relative orientation which is perpendicular with respect to the relative orientation between said support means and the other of said cutting means, so that the straight lines cut into the glass by one of said cutting means will be perpendicular to the straight lines cut into the glass by the other of said cutting means, said path having a pair of mutually perpendicular portions, and said pair of cutting means being respectively located along said pair of mutually perpendicular portions of said path, said conveyor means and support means coacting with each other for displacing said support means with respect to said pair of cutting means without changing the orientation of said support means so that it will have with respect to one of the cutting means an orientation which is perpendicular to the orientation which it has with respect to the other of the cutting means, said conveyor means coacting with said support means for conveying the latter continuously along said path, and said path being endless so that said support means moves repeatedly along said path, said conveyor means being in permanent driving engagement with said support means for continuously conveying the latter as long as conveyor means operates.

Claim 3

In an apparatus for cutting a sheet of glass into rectangular sections of predetermined size, support means for supporting a sheet of glass which is to be cut into the rectangular sections, conveyor means operatively connected with said support means for conveying the latter along a given path, so that a sheet of glass on said support means will move with the latter along said path, a pair of glass-cutting means situated along said path for cutting along substantially straight lines parallel to each other in the sheet of glass as the latter moves with said support means along said path, said conveyor means, support means, and pair of cutting means all coating with each other to provide between said support means and one of said cutting means a relative orientation which is perpendicular with respect to the relative orientation between said support means and the other of said cutting means, so that the straight lines cut into the glass by one of said cutting means will be perpendicular to the straight lines cut into the glass by the other of said cutting means, said path having a pair of mutually perpendicular portions, and said pair of cutting means being respectively located along said pair of mutually perpendicular portions of said path, said conveyor means and support means coacting with each other for displacing said support means with respect to said pair of cutting means without changing the orientation of said support means so that it will have with respect to one of the cutting means an orientation which is perpendicular to the orientation which it has with respect to the other of the cutting means, said support means having a pair of mutually perpendicular stop means one of which engages a trailing edge of the sheet of glass during movement thereof with said support means along one of said portions of said path and the other of which engages A trailing edge of the sheet of glass during movement thereof with said support means along the other of the portions of said path.

Claim 4

In an apparatus for cutting a sheet of glass into rectangular sections of predetermined size, support means for supporting a sheet of glass which is to be cut into the rectangular sections, conveyor means operatively connected with said support means for conveying the latter along a given path, so that a sheet of glass on said support means will move with the latter along said path, a pair of glass-cutting means situated along said path for cutting along substantially straight lines parallel to each other in the sheet of glass as the latter moves with said support means along said path, said conveyor means, support means, and pair of cutting means all coating with each other to provide between said support means and one of said cutting means a relative orientation which is perpendicular with respect to the relative orientation between said support means and the other of said cutting means, so that the straight lines cut into the glass by one of said cutting means will be perpendicular to the straight lines cut into the glass by the other of said cutting means, said path having a pair of mutually perpendicular portions, and said pair of cutting means being respectively located along said pair of mutually perpendicular portions of said path, said conveyor means and support means coacting with each other for displacing said support means with respect to said pair of cutting means without changing the orientation of said support means so that it will have with respect to one of the cutting means an orientation which is perpendicular to the orientation which it has with respect to the other of the cutting means, said support means having a pair of mutually perpendicular stop means one of which engages a trailing edge of the sheet of glass during movement thereof with said support means along one of said portions of said path and the other of which engages A trailing edge of the sheet of glass during movement thereof with said support means along the other of the portions of said path.

Claim 5

The combination of claim 2 and wherein a friction means is situated along the path taken by said support means as the latter moves between the pair of cutting means after the glass has been cut by one of said pair of cutting means but before the glass has been cut by the other of said pair of cutting means for frictionally engaging the sheet of glass to reliably situate the latter against that one of the stop means which engages the trailing edge of the sheet of glass when the latter is cut by the other of said pair of cutting means.

Claim 6

In an apparatus for cutting a sheet of glass into rectangular sections of predetermined size, support means for supporting a sheet of glass which is to be cut into the rectangular sections, conveyor means operatively connected with said support means for conveying the latter along a given path, so that a sheet of glass on said support means will move with the latter along said path, a pair of glass cutting means situated along said path for cutting along substantially straight lines parallel to each other in the sheet of glass as the latter moves with said support means along said path, said conveyor means, support means, and pair of cutting means all coacting with each other to provide between said support means and one of said cutting means a relative orientation which is perpendicular with respect to the relative orientation between said support means and the other of said cutting means, so that the straight lines cut into the glass by one of said cutting means will be perpendicular to the straight lines cut into the glass by the other of said cutting means, said path having a pair of mutually perpendicular portions, and said pair of cutting means being respectively located along said pair of mutually perpendicular portions of said path, said conveyor means and support means coacting with each other for displacing said support means with respect to said pair of cutting means without changing the orientation of said support means so that it will have with respect to one of the cutting means an orientation which is perpendicular to the orientation which is has with respect to the other of the cutting means, said conveyor means including a pair of mutually perpendicular tracks respectively situated along said mutually perpendicular portions of said path, and two sets of supporting rollers operatively connected with said support means for supporting the latter on said tracks, the rollers of one set coacting with one of said tracks and being perpendicular to the rollers of the other set, said rollers of said other set coacting with the other of said tracks.

Claim 7

In an apparatus for cutting a sheet of glass into rectangular sections of predetermined size, support means for supporting a sheet of glass which is to be cut into the rectangular sections, conveyor means operatively connected with said support means for conveying the latter along a given path, so that a sheet of glass on said support means will move with the latter along said path, a pair of glass cutting means situated along said path for cutting along substantially straight lines parallel to each other in the sheet of glass as the latter moves with said support means along said path, said conveyor means, support means, and pair of cutting means all coacting with each other to provide between said support means and one of said cutting means a relative orientation which is perpendicular with respect to the relative orientation between said support means and the other of said cutting means, so that the straight lines cut into the glass by one of said cutting means will be perpendicular to the straight lines cut into the glass by the other of said cutting means, said path having a pair of mutually perpendicular portions, and said pair of cutting means being respectively located along said pair of mutually perpendicular portions of said path, said conveyor means and support means coacting with each other for displacing said support means with respect to said pair of cutting means without changing the orientation of said support means so that it will have with respect to one of the cutting means an orientation which is perpendicular to the orientation which is has with respect to the other of the cutting means, said conveyor means including a pair of mutually perpendicular tracks respectively situated along said mutually perpendicular portions of said path, and two sets of supporting rollers operatively connected with said support means for supporting the latter on said tracks, the rollers of one set coacting with one of said tracks and being perpendicular to the rollers of the other set, said rollers of said other set coacting with the other of said tracks.

Claim 8

The combination of claim 4 and wherein said support means is in the form of a substantially rectangular plate, and a roller of each set being situated substantially beneath a corner of said plate, each of said tracks including a pair of outer rails aligned with side edges of said plate.

Claim 9

The combination of claim 5 and wherein said conveyor means includes a chain situated between said rails of said tracks and operatively connected with said plate which forms said support means.

Claim 10

The combination of claim 5 and wherein said plate carries a pair of mutually perpendicular stop means for respectively engaging edges of a sheet of glass which respectively trail during movement of the glass along the portions of said path, respectively, and friction means situated at the junction between said portions of said path for reliably maintaining the sheet of glass in engagement with both of said stop means after the sheet of glass has been cut by one of the cutting means but before it has been cut by the other of the cutting means.

Claim 11

The combination of claim 7 and wherein said friction means takes the form of a block of elastomeric material frictionally engaging a surface of said sheet of glass which is directed away from the plate of said suPport means which engages the sheet of glass.

Claim 12

In a glass cutting method, the steps of cutting into a surface of glass sheet a first set of parallel score lines and then a second set of parallel score lines perpendicular to the first set, and maintaining the glass sheet in continuous movement during cutting of the two sets of score lines into the sheet, the two sets of score lines being cut by cutting units which are mutually perpendicular one with respect to the other, and maintaining the glass sheet at a predetermined unchanging orientation during its continuous movement with respect to the pair of cutting units.

Claim 13

In a glass cutting method, the steps of cutting into a surface of glass sheet a first set of parallel score lines and then a second set of parallel score lines perpendicular to the first set, and maintaining the glass sheet in continuous movement during cutting of the two sets of score lines into the sheet, the two sets of score lines being cut by cutting units which are mutually perpendicular one with respect to the other, and maintaining the glass sheet at a predetermined unchanging orientation during its continuous movement with respect to the pair of cutting units.

Claim 14

The combination of claim 1 and wherein said path has mutually spaced supply and removal stations where an uncut sheet of glass and a cut sheet of glass are respectively supplied to and removed from said support means, said pair of cutting means both being located along said path between said supply and removal stations.