CA-3115409-C - MULTIPLE-PANE INSULATING GLAZING UNIT ASSEMBLY, GAS FILLING, AND PRESSING MACHINE

Abstract

A system for producing multiple-pane insulating glazing units can include a conveyor and a plurality of laterally spaced-apart processing stations that are movable transversely relative to the longitudinally extending conveyor line. Each processing station may assemble glazing panes and a glazing spacer into a partially fabricated glazing unit, deliver insulative gas to a between-pane space between the glazing panes, and press the partially fabricated glazing unit together to seal the insulative gas in the between-pane space and form the multiple-pane insulating glazing unit. In some examples, each processing station moves to an alignment position with the conveyor to load glazing panes and a glazing spacer and then performs individual fabrication steps while offset from the conveyor. During this time, a different processing station can be aligned with the conveyor to unload a fabricated multiple-pane insulating glazing units and/or load unassembled glazing panes and a glazing spacer.

Inventors

• Robert Casper Buchanan
• Michael John Milewski
• Curtis Lee Queck

Assignees

• CARDINAL IG COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20140225

Priority Date

20131231

Claims (9)

1. 39 CLAIMS: 1. A machine comprising: a processing station configured to assemble two or more glazing panes and one or more glazing spacers into a multiple-pane insulating glazing unit, the processing station including two platens, a processing zone between the two platens, a longitudinally extending conveyance line disposed adjacent a lower region of at least one of the two platens, and a pair of movable seals, each seal being movable relative to and between the two platens, such that the two seals, when moved to desired working positions, delineate two side boundaries of a gas fill chamber in which a partially fabricated insulating glazing unit can be disposed, both seals being movable such that each side boundary can be established at different locations depending on a length or a shape of the multiplepane insulating glazing unit to be assembled at a given time; and a gas fill device having a longitudinally elongated manifold with at least one outlet configured to deliver insulative gas into the gas fill chamber, the processing station being configured such that, when the two seals are moved to the desired working positions, at least one of the two platens is movable toward the other platen, such that the gas fill chamber is bounded collectively by the two platens, the two seals, and the longitudinally elongated manifold.
2. 2. The machine of claim 1, wherein the at least one outlet is either a single upwardly-open longitudinally elongated opening or a series of upwardly-open longitudinally spaced-apart openings.
3. 3. The machine of claim 2, wherein the at least one outlet comprises at least one opening that increases in cross-sectional area as the opening travels vertically upward.
4. 4. The machine of claim 1, wherein each seal comprises a vertically elongated body that is movable longitudinally along a path parallel to a face of at least one of the two platens.
5. 5. The machine of claim 1, wherein at least one of the two platens comprises a pair of movable sections that each include at least one suction port, each movable section being configured to suction attach to a glazing pane and pull the glazing pane away from a remainder of the partially fabricated insulating glazing unit and thereby allow the partially fabricated insulating glazing unit to vent during pressing, wherein one of the movable sections is adjacent an inlet end of the processing zone and another one of the movable sections is adjacent an outlet end of the processing zone, such that the machine can vent a partially fabricated insulating glazing unit either adjacent the inlet end or adjacent the outlet end depending on the length or the shape of the multiple-pane insulating glazing unit to be assembled.
6. 6. The machine of claim 5, further comprising a gas fill device having a longitudinally elongated manifold configured to deliver insulative gas into the partially fabricated insulating glazing unit, wherein an operational length of the longitudinally elongated manifold through which gas is delivered during operation is adjustable so that gas is only delivered through that portion of the longitudinally elongated manifold corresponding to the gas fill chamber delineated by the pair of movable seals.
7. 7. The machine of claim 5, wherein each of the pair of movable sections comprises a region of the platen configured to move into and/or out of a plane defined by a remainder of the platen.
8. 8. The machine of claim 7, wherein the region of the platen is hingedly connected to the remainder of the platen.
9. 9. The machine of claim 5, wherein each of the pair of movable sections defines a triangle-shape corresponding to a corner of the glazing pane.

Description

MULTIPLE-PANE INSULATING GLAZING UNIT ASSEMBLY, GAS FILLING,AND PRESSING MACIDNE CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 14/145,707 filed December 31, 2013. TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] This disclosure relates to insulating glazing units and, more particularly, to the fabrication of insulating glazing units. BACKGROUND [0002] Insulating glazing units, such as double pane and triple pane insulating glass units, are commonly used in windows and doors. The insulating glazing units generally have a series of transparent panes separated by gas spaces. For example, a double pane insulating glass unit may have two glass panes separated by a gas space. In order to hold the glass panes apart to provide the gas space, a spacer is inserted between the two glass panes. The spacer can both hold the glass panes apart from one another and also hermetically seal the gas space created between the panes. The hermetically sealed gas space can be filled with an insulative gas or evacuated to create a vacuum environment, reducing thermal transfer across the gas space and, ultimately, the entire insulating glazing unit. [0003] For commercial manufacturers of insulating glazing units, the ability to efficiently and accurately fabricate multiple-pane insulating glazing units can dictate the economics of operation and the reliability of the fabricated multiple-pane insulating glazing units over their intended service life. For example, ensuring that a spacer is accurately positioned and sealed between two opposing glazing panes and that the between-pane space is appropriately filled with insulative gas can help ensure the multiple-pane insulating glazing unit maintains its thermal efficiency and visible appearance over the service life of the unit. [0004] As consumers have increasingly demanded more custom sized and shaped insulating glazing units to fit their desired architectural plans, manufacturers have been challenged to efficiently produce a wide variety of different multiple-pane insulating glazing units while maintaining tolerance standards. Oftentimes, this has required 1 Date Re9ue/Date Received 2023-03-13 adding additional insulating glazing unit production lines to accommodate the reduced throughput attendant to producing custom units. SUMMARY {0005] In general, this disclosure relates to techniques and equipment for fabricating multiple-pane insulating glazing units. In some examples, a system includes a conveyor and multiple processing stations that move back and forth relative to the conveyor. The conveyor may have an ingress or load section that loads the process stations with components for fabricating a multiple-pane insulating glazing unit and an egress or unload section on which a fabricated multiple-pane insulating glazing unit is discharged. During operation, a specific processing station can move into alignment with the conveyor for loading two or more glazing panes and one or more glazing spacers into the processing station. The loaded processing station can then move to an offset location while a separate processing station is moved into alignment with the conveyor for loading. While the loaded processing station is moved to an offset location or once moved there, the loaded processing station can process the glazing panes and spacer within the processing station to fabricate the multiple-pane insulating glazing unit. For example, the loaded processing station may deliver insulative gas to a between-pane space of a partially fabricated insulating glazing unit and press the glazing panes together, sealing the insulative gas with the spacer and thereby forming the multiple-pane insulating glazing unit. By configuring the system with multiple processing stations, comparatively slow processing tasks, such as filling a partially fabricated insulating glazing unit with insulative gas, can occur offline while the conveyor is loading and/or unloading a different processing station. This can increase overall production capacity of the system as compared to if the system only had a single processing station. {0006] Independent of the specific number of processing stations included in a fabrication system, a processing station may be configured to efficiently produce a variety of differently dimensioned and/or shaped multiple-pane insulating glazing units. This can be useful for processing orders containing non-standard or custom sized and/or shaped insulating glazing units. In one example, the processing station has a pair of movable seals that are configured to move parallel to platens providing a processing zone in which the constituent components of a glazing assembly are assembled, gas filled, and pressed together to fabricate a multiple-pane insulating glazing unit. Either one or both of the movable seals can move to adjust the locations at which side boundaries of a gas 2 Date Re!fue/Date Received 2021-04-16 chamber are sealed, thereby specifically configuring t