The bending of glass panes utilizing at least one bending press can have conveyer shuttles which transfer outer glass panes to an outer glass pane discharge station and inner glass panes to an inner glass pane discharge station, the stations having locating surfaces corresponding to the curvature geometry of the outer and inner glass panes, respectively in the finished laminated safety glass. The laminated safety glass which results is particularly suitable for use as windshields or rear windows of motor vehicles and it will be understood that the glass panes and hence the laminated safety glass formed therefrom will usually have double curvature, i.e. curvature about two mutually perpendicular axes.
Processes for bending inner and outer glass panes to impart a predetermined curvature geometry therefrom and to allow assembly of the bent glass panes into laminated safety glasses are known in a variety of configurations.
Included among them are press bending systems.
In EP 0 668 249 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,217, for example, the bent outer glass panes and bent inner glass panes leave the bending station with predetermined curvatures, although the desired optical quality and other considerations may require more precise conformity to predetermined configurations than could be achieved with earlier systems.
In particular, the edge areas of laminated safety glass panes have not generally been satisfactory heretofore.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds