Glass sheet conveying apparatus

Claim 1

Apparatus for conveying generally horizontally disposed glass sheets along a generally horizontally oriented conveying path, said glass sheets being of a first type wherein an edge portion thereof is oriented in a direction parallel to the conveying path and being of a second type wherein an edge portion thereof is disposed in non-parallel relation to the conveying path; said apparatus comprising: glass support means for supporting the lower faces of said glass sheets and defining said generally horizontal conveying path; a plurality of rotary drive discs disposed in longitudinally spaced relationship along one side of said glass support means, each of said drive discs being mounted for rotation about a substantially vertical axis of rotation and including: a substantially vertical peripheral edge portion for directly conveying said first type of glass sheets having straight edges disposed along said one side of said glass support means and parallel to the conveying path; said vertical peripheral edge portion being operable to make direct frictional driving engagement with said straight edges of said glass sheets; and an upwardly facing conical surface for conveying said second type of glass sheets having edges disposed along said one side of said glass support means and in non-parallel relation to the conveying path; means for rotating said drive discs about said vertical axes to rotate said vertical edge portions and said conical surfaces; means for transmitting drive forces from said conical surfaces of said drive discs to said second type of glass sheets comprising: a plurality of carriage members being seated on said conical surfaces of a plurality of said drive discs and being oriented substantially parallel to said conveying path; said carriage members being arranged to be driven by frictional engagement between said drive discs and the undersides of said carriages so as to be displaced in a direction generally parallel to the conveying path; at least two longitudinally spaced arms pivotally attached to each carriage member and extending outwardly therefrom toward a respective one of said second type of glass sheets, each of said arms including: an inner arm portion freely pivotally attached to said carriage member for rotation about an axis extending generally parallel to said conveying path, and an outer arm portion having glass-contacting edges for drivingly engaging its associated glass sheet and conveying said glass sheet along said conveying path; said carriage members being removably seated on said conical surfaces such that removal of said carriage members and their drive-transmitting elements from said drive discs exposes said vertical peripheral edges for direct driving engagement with said first type of glass sheets.