WO1988009424A1

WO1988009424A1 - A clamping apparatus for manufacture of insulating glass

Info

Publication number: WO1988009424A1
Application number: PCT/SE1988/000290
Authority: WO
Inventors: Holger Larsson
Original assignee: Holger Larsson I Mora Ab
Priority date: 1987-05-29
Filing date: 1988-05-27
Publication date: 1988-12-01
Also published as: SE8702261L; SE8702261D0; SE457739B

Abstract

In the manufacture of insulating glass or multiple glazing units two glass plates (25, 26) and an intermediate sealing element (27) are placed on a number of clamping apparatus (1) arranged in a pattern corresponding to the contours of the insulating glass unit, such that the edge region of the lower glass plate (26) rests on respective lower apparatus parts (3). The upper parts (6) of respective apparatus may be detachably secured at desired distances from respective lower apparatus parts (3). The lower apparatus parts have a respective engagement part (4) which is moved in an upward direction by placing an inflatable hose (7) under pressure, whereupon a uniformly divided pressure is exerted on the glass plates, such as to cause the plates to adhere to the sealing element (27). The clamping apparatus may be arranged in suitable numbers and in suitable configurations for the manufacture of insulating glass units of desired configuration.

Description

A clamping apparatus for manufacture of insulating glass

Technical Field

The present invention relates to clamping apparatus for use in the manufacture of insulating glass, or sealed multiple glazing units, of the kind set forth in the preamble of Claim 1.

A suitable sealing element for use in this context com¬ prises a corrugated aluminiur. body provided with a sticky plastic or rubber covering. Other kinds of seal¬ ing elements, however, can be used in conjunction with the invention.

Backσround Prior Art

It is known in the manufacture of sealed glazing units to press the glass plates, or window panes, towards one another with the aid of a ar.gle-like device or roll press which simultaneously feeds the glass panes into the roll nip.

A roll press constructed for thi= purpose is extremely costly, in the order of SEK 40.000:- today, and is there¬ fore a much too expensive invεst-ent for, e.g., a glazier whose main business lies in the repair cf broken or de¬ fective glazing.

Other kinds of clamping apparatus and like devices are also known in other contexts in vrhich pressure is to be applied along an elongated ε.rface.

US-Λ-2 379 220 (Englehart) describes a multiple of mutually coacting pressing clamps accordi g to the preamble of Claim 1 , each"of which comprises a U-shaped rigid frame which forms a support for two inflatable elements which engage on mutually opposite sides of the insulating glass. These pressing clamps cannot be used, however, in the manufacture of sealed glazing units of varying thicknesses and there is a risk that different parts of the glass or unit will be subjected to different pressures when such clamps are used.

SE-B-438 524 (BFG Glass Group) teaches an arrangement of the manufacture of glazing panels comprising a frame structure, each of which is constructed from beams and includes a moveable coupling such as to enable adjust¬ ments to be made to the size of the frames. The arrange- ment also includes a relatively complicated supporting structure which comprises a multiple of mutually parallel bars, of which at least one can be moved linearly relative to the supporting structure. The beams are joined to the supporting structure by means of pressure pistons ccn- structed to lower and raise the frame.

This arrangement is comparatively cumbersome and inflexible and is only functionable in the manufacture of standard rectangular glazing.

CH-B-659 506 (Peter Lisec) describes an arrangement for applying spacing frames to glass plates in a manufacture of sealed glazing elements. The arrangement is intended primarily for large elements which are handled in ver- tical positions, and includes a feed means for feeding the glass plates into said arrangement. This arrangement has no real bearing on the concept of the present in¬ vention.

UK-A-2 099 057 (Peter Lisec) describes a similar arrange¬ ment for the manufacture of sealed glazing units, or insulating glass, which is filled with gas other than air, this arrangement being characterized particularly by the method in which the gas concerned is introduced into the space between the glass plates of said unit.

US-A-2 560 902 (Smith) describes a clamping device for pressing together different materials, using herefor an expandable element which expands when a pressure fluid is supplied thereto.

SE-A-8500306-8 (Fresto-Maschinenfabrik Gottlieb Stoll) describes a short-stroke clamping element which exerts a clamping or holding force on a workpiece and in which there is used an expandable clamping strip having an inner pressure chamber which is pressurized with the aid of a pressure fluid. The clamping strip can be used to clamp different kinds of workpiece to a machine table or platen and in conjunction with handling equipment in which the clamping strip can be used as a gripping means.

Object of the invention

According to one aspect, an object of the present inven¬ tion is to provide a simplified clamping apparatus of the aforesaid kind which will enable insulating glass, or sealed glazing units, of mutually different thicknesses to be manufactured and which will enable a uniform edge pressure to be applied to the glass plates or panes.

Another object of the invention is to provide clamping apparatus of the aforesaid kind which can be used by glaziers in the absence of high investment costs, prima¬ rily for repairing defective glazing, i.e. for the manu¬ facture of a single sealed glazing unit or for the manufacture of such units in small numbers, where the investment of large sums of money on such apparatus is not justifiable. Still another object is to provide a clamping apparatus for use in the manufacture of sealed glazing units which is of simple construction, reliable in operation, and capable of exerting an accurately predetermined force, said force being distributed uniformly over the whole of said apparatus.

Yet another object is to provide a multiple of clamping apparatus which can be assembled to form a module system and which may be arranged positionally in mutually diffe¬ rent desired configurations, so that sealed glazing units, or insulating glass, and like elements of variable, more or less selective form can be produced.

Summary of the invention

^"A clamping apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention and fulfilling these and other objects is of the aforesaid kind and exhibits the characteric features set forth in the characterizing clause of Claim 1.

This enables the ready manufacture of sealed glazing units of mutually different thicknesses and of practic¬ ally any desired form with the aid of a suitable number of clamping apparatus. These apparatus may, for instance, be of two main kinds of mutually different lengths, e.g. lengths of 120 and 60 cm respectively, wherein the clamps of greater lengths will have, e.g., three support feet or stand units, and the clamps of shorter length will have, e.g., two such feet or stand units.

Four clamping apparatus of each of said kinds are normally sufficient to enable the majority of sealed glazing units having a standard size of up to 180x180 cm to be produced. Smaller sizes can. be produced by arranging the clamping apparatus in a configuration which corresponds to the contours of the sealed glazing unit to be manufactured. A uniformly distributed force is obtained over the whole of the clamping apparatus. The-length of travel of the clamping apparatus can be set at 5 mm for instance, and the pressure of the pressure fluid applied, preferably

2 air, may be quite low, e.g. 1.5 kg/cm . The force which can be applied with such a clamp is fully sufficient to meet all requirements likely to arise in the manufacture of sealed glazing units.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to a number of illustrative, exemplifying embodiments arid with reference to the accompanying draw¬ ings.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an inventive clamping apparatus for use when manufacturing sealed glazing units, or insulating glass.

Figure 2 is a plan view of four clamping apparatus, of which two are similar to the apparatus illustrated in Figure 1 and two have a greater length and are provided with three feet or stand units, the clamping apparatus being arranged in a rectangular configuration for the manufacture of a sealed glazing unit.

Figure 3 is a partly cut-away side view of a clamping apparatus according to Figure 1.

Figure 4 illustrates in larger scale the clamping apparatus of Figure 3 subsequent to fixating the upper part of said apparatus and placing the expansible element under pressure,

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of one part of the apparatus. Figures 6 and 7 are schematic plan views which illustrate examples of sealed glazing unit configurations capable of being produced with the aid of the invention.

Description of Preferred Embodiments

Figure 1 illustrates a clamping apparatus 1 for use in the manufacture of sealed glazing units, or insulating glass, and comprising a foot or stand section 2 which in its illustrated form comprises two stand units and can be placed on a floor or like support surface. The stand units 2 are joined together by an elongated lower part 3 of the apparatus. The apparatus 1 also includes an elongated upper part 6 which is provided with holder means 6b intended for co-action with a respective lock¬ ing device 10 in. each of said stand units. The locking device 10 enables the elongated upper part 6 of the apparatus to be fixed releasably at a desired distance from the lower part 3 of said apparatus. The top surface of the lower part 3 and the bottom surface of the upper part 6 are covered with a soft material, such as a res¬ pective rubber strip 4a and 6a to form a soft engagement or contact surface.

As will be seen from Figures 3-5, the lower apparatus part 3 comprises two major parts, namely an engagement part 4 which presents an engagement surface 4a and which has the shape of an inverted U in cross-section and partly surrounds a fixed major part 5 in the form of a hollow tube of rectangular cross-section. The major part 5 is joined to the respective stand unit 2 by means of screws 11.

The upper apparatus part 6 provided with holding devices 6b also comprises a hollow tube σf rectangular cross- -section. Arranged between the major part 5 and the engagement part 4 is an expandable and contractable element in the form of a flexible hose 7, which extends along the whole of the engagement part 4 and rests on the upper edge of the major part 6. The hose is folded double at one end and sealed with clips, whereas the other end of the hose is connected to a hose-connector in the form of a nipple 16 inserted through a hole in the engagement part . The nipple 16 ensures that the hose is held in the direction of its longitudinal axis.

The width dimension of the hose is slightly smaller than the internal width dimention of the engagement part 4 and consequently the engagement part will form a guide for the hose in the lateral direction.

The engagement part 4 is pressed downwards by two springs 17, i.e. in a direction away from the engagement surface 6a of the elongated upper part 6, while compressing the hose 7. To this end, the bottoms of the springs 17 each engage a U-shaped element 18 which is joined to the lower end part of the engagement part by screws 19.

When the hose 7 is placed under pressure, the engagement part 4 is moved upwards against the action of the springs 17, wherewith an evenly distributed pressure is applied to the two glass plates 25, 26 and the intermediate seal¬ ing element 27 inserted between the elongated lower part 3 and the elongated upper part 6 of the clamping apparatus. The lenght of travel of the lower part 3 is determined by the screws 19, which are arranged to strike against the lower edge of the fixed tube 5 at some point of the up¬ ward travel of the engagement part 4.

Each locking device 10 comprises a partially circular-

-cylindrical part 12 which has a flat 12a provided thereon and which is journalled excentrically in a respective stand unit 2. A part 12 is connected to a handle 13 and co-acts with a pivotally mounted arm 15 provided with a serrated engagement surface 15a. A leaf spring 14 urges the arm 15 towards the part 12, so as to enable the holding device 6b to be readily inserted.

Figure 1 illustrates the manner in which the earlier removed elongated upper part 6 is replaced in the apparatus. Figure 3 illustrates the upper part 6 in a position in which it is contact with the upper edge of an upper glass plate 25 which has been introduced into the apparatus together with a lower glass plate 26 and an intermediate sealing element 27. In this stage of manufacture, the handle 13 is gripped and swung to the right to the position shown in Figure 4, wherewith the engagement surface 15a on the arm 15 engages the holding device 6b and secures the elongated upper part 6 in the position adopted.

The hose 7 is then placed under pressure via the nipple 16, whereupon the engagement part 4 moves upwards in the aforesaid manner and applies pressure uniformly to the edge regions of the two glass plates 25, 26, so that the plates will adhere to the sticky sealing element 27.

Figure 2 illustrates a set of four clamping apparatus, namely two apparatus which have a length of, e.g., 120 cm and are provided with three stand units, and two. apparatus which have a length of, e.g., 60 cm and are provided with two stand units.

The illustrated set of apparatus can be used to produce a rectangular sealed glazing unit which measures

120x60 cm. By using further apparatus, e.g. four appa- ratus having a length of 60 cm and four apparatus having a length of 120 cm, it is possible to produce sealed glazing units of up to 180x180 cm in size, which corre¬ sponds to normal requirements in practice. As illustrated, the clamping apparatus can be positioned so as to strike against one another and to exert a uni¬ form pressure over the whole edge region of the glass plates.

Figures 6 and 7 exemplify the use of the clamping apparatus for producing insulating glass units, or sealed glazing units, of desired configuration. In the case of the Figure" 6 illustration five clamping apparatus are positioned for the manufacture of a circular insulating glass unit, while the Figure 7 illustration illustrates the arrangement of three clamping apparatus for the manufacture of a triang¬ ular insulating glass unit.

It will be understood that the clamping apparatus can be arranged in various other patterns to produce different types of sealed glazing insulating-glass units of varying shapes.

The pressure in the hose 7 will normally be maintained

2 at a level between 0.8 and 2.2 kg/cm , and is preferably

2 1.5 kg/cm . A higher pressure may be required in certain instances, however. The length of travel of the lower apparatus part 3 may vary from between 1 and 2 mm and up to 10 mm, and may suitably be about 5 mm.

For the purpose of facilitating positioning of the various clamping apparatus into desired configurations, the elongated lower part 3 of respective apparatus will preferably project beyond the stand unit 2 on at least one side thereof, thereby enabling the clamping apparatus to be placed readily in desired configurations.

In the case of one modified embodiment of the inventive clamping apparatus (not shown) the movable engagement part also comprises a hollow tube which embraces the fixed part with the exception of a cut-away area in the region where the fixed part is connected to a respective stand unit 2.

In this case, the engagement part preferably has a rectangular shape and slightly larger dimensions than the fixed part. In the case of this embodiment, the spring element may be simplified. For example, said spring element may comprise a folded or pleated leaf spring inserted between the inside of the bottom part of the engagement part and the outside of the bottom part of the fixed part 5. The spring may be secured by means of a pop rivet.

The elements 18, the screws 19 and the springs 17 can be omitted in this embodiment.

No separate means corresponding to the screws 19 for restricting the length of travel of the engagement part are required. Neither need the screws 19 have this func- tion in the case of the embodiment described above.

In the case of this embodiment, the attachment means joininσ the fixed major part 5 to the stand unit 2 and passing through the cut-out in the region of the bottom part of the engagement part serves to guide the engagement part during its reciprocating movement in the vertical direction.

As an alternative to the aforedescribed embodiments, or as a complement thereto, the elongated upper part 6 of the apparatus may be provided with an expandable hose and a hose-activating movable engagement surface.

In the absence of springs, the engagement part will compress the hose 7 under the action of its own weight in the rest position.

Claims

1. A clamping apparatus for the manufacture of insulating glass or sealed glazing units, comprising a) a foot or stand part (2) capable of being placed on a support surface; b) an elongated lower apparatus (3) provided with an engagement surface (4a) and connected to said stand part or unit (2) ; c) an elongated upper apparatus (6) provided with an engagement surface (6a) and extending parallel with the lower apparatus part; d) an expandable and contractable element, e.g. a flexible hose (7) ; e) a member, e.g. a nipple (16), for connecting the element to a pressure fluid source, characterized f) in that the upper part (6) is provided with holder devices (6b) for co-action with a locking arrangement (10) provided in respective stand parts in a manner to fixate detachably the upper part at a desired distance from the lower part; g) in that an engagement part (4) provided with said engagement surface (4a) and associated with the upper and/or lower apparatus part is movable in relation to a fixed major part (5) towards and away from the engage¬ ment surface (6a) of the opposing part (6) ; and h) in that the expandable and contractable element (7) is inserted between the movable engagement part (4) and the associated fixed major part (5) .

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that a spring device (17) is provided for displacing the engagement part (5) in a direction away from the engagement surface of the opposing part while compress¬ ing the element (7) .

3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, in which the expandable and contractable element (7) is located in the lower apparatus part (3) connected to the stand part (2) , characterized in that the fixed major part comprises a tubular profile (5) , e.g. of rectangular cross-section, in that the flexible element has the form of a hose (7) which is mounted loosely on the upper side of the tubular profile (5) and which has a smaller width dimension than the inner width dimension of the engagement part (4a), and in that the connecting member, e.g. the nipple (16), is passed through a hole in the engagement part.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 3, characterized in that the movable engagement part (4) has an inverted U-shaped cross-section and partly embraces the fixed part (5) . -

5. Apparatus according to Claim 4, characterized in that the spring device (17) is inserted between the under side of the tubular profile (5) and an element (18) connected to the U-profile (4) , and in. that a fastener means (19) serves as an abutment for contact with the tubular profile (5) in a manner to determine the length of travel of the engagement part (4) .

6. Apparatus according to Claim 3, characterized in that the^'movable engagement (4) comprises a tubular profile, e.g. of rectangular cross-section, which surrounds the fixed part (5) with the exception of a cut-away area in the region of tε connection with the stand part (2) .

7. Apparatus according to Claim 6, characterized in that the spring device, e.g. in the form of a ^"folded or pleated leaf spring, is inserted between the inside of the bottom part of said engagement part and the outside of the bottom part of said fixed part.

8. Apparatus according to any of Claims 1-7, characterized in that the elongated lower apparatus part (3) extends slightly beyond a stand part (2) on at least one side of said lower apparatus part, such that a plurality of apparatus can be positioned, one adjacent the other, to define a closed area of desired configuration corresponding to the contours of an insulating glass unit or sealed glazing unit to be manufactured and so that the clamping apparatus engage along substantially the whole of the edge regions of said unit.