Glass plate strengthening device and glass plate strengthening method using the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12415751-B2
Application number	US-202217861089-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 8, 2022
Priority date	Jul 14, 2021
Publication date	Sep 16, 2025
Grant date	Sep 16, 2025

Abstract

A glass plate strengthening device includes: a work furnace including a preheating furnace, and a strengthening furnace below the preheating furnace; a transport module configured to transport a glass plate between the preheating furnace and the strengthening furnace in the work furnace; a separator between the preheating furnace and the strengthening furnace, configured to enter and exit the work furnace, and configured to separate or integrate the preheating furnace and the strengthening furnace during entering and exiting; a door module including a door part on a side wall of the work furnace, and configured to provide an entrance space through the door part during the entering and exiting of the separator; and a shield coupled to an outer wall of the work furnace to be adjacent to the door module, and configured to block the entrance space from an external space.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A glass plate strengthening device, comprising:
a work furnace including a preheating furnace, and a strengthening furnace below the preheating furnace;
a transport module configured to transport a glass plate between the preheating furnace and the strengthening furnace in the work furnace;
a separator between the preheating furnace and the strengthening furnace, configured to enter and exit the work furnace, and configured to separate or integrate the preheating furnace and the strengthening furnace during entering and exiting;
a door module including a door part on a side wall of the work furnace having a height less than a height of the transport module, and configured to provide an entrance space through the door part during the entering and exiting of the separator laterally through the side wall; and
a shield coupled to an outer surface of the side wall of the work furnace to be adjacent to the door module, and configured to block the entrance space from an external space,
wherein the door module moves along the outer surface of the side wall of the work furnace.

2. The glass plate strengthening device of claim 1 , wherein the shield comprises a thermal insulation material.

3. The glass plate strengthening device of claim 1 , wherein the door part is configured to be opened and closed during the entering and exiting of the separator, respectively.

4. The glass plate strengthening device of claim 1 , wherein the strengthening furnace is configured to store a strengthening solution therein, and comprises a heating module having a plurality of heat sources configured to heat the strengthening solution.

5. The glass plate strengthening device of claim 1 , wherein the separator is configured to exit the work furnace as the transport module moves down, and to enter the work furnace as the transport module moves up.

6. The glass plate strengthening device of claim 1 , wherein the door module further comprises a controller configured to control movement of the door part.

7. The glass plate strengthening device of claim 6 , wherein the controller is configured to open the door part in response to the separator moving, and to close the door part in response to the separator stopping.

8. The glass plate strengthening device of claim 1 , wherein the shield defines a sealed space which the separator enters and exits,
the sealed space being blocked from the external space.

9. The glass plate strengthening device of claim 1 , wherein the shield is attachable to or detachable from the outer wall of the work furnace.

10. The glass plate strengthening device of claim 9 , wherein the shield is attached to the outer wall of the work furnace to be detachable in response to the door part being closed, and to be undetachable in response to the door part being opened.

11. The glass plate strengthening device of claim 1 , wherein the glass plate comprises a thin film glass having a thickness of 10 μm to 100 μm.

12. A glass plate strengthening method, the method comprising:
separating a work furnace into an upper preheating furnace and a lower strengthening furnace by introducing a separator into the work furnace;
preheating, in the upper preheating furnace, a glass plate loaded on a transport module;
removing the separator from the work furnace laterally through an opening in a side wall of the work furnace having a height smaller than a height of the transport module to move the separator into a sealed space defined by a shield attached to an outer surface of the side wall of the work furnace;
strengthening the glass plate in the lower strengthening furnace by moving the transport module downward; and
moving a door module along the outer surface of the side wall of the work furnace.

13. The glass plate strengthening method of claim 12 , wherein the work furnace and the sealed space are blocked from an external space to be maintained at a constant internal temperature.

14. The glass plate strengthening method of claim 12 , wherein the shield comprises a thermal insulation material.

15. The glass plate strengthening method of claim 12 , wherein the separating of the work furnace comprises moving the separator from the sealed space into the work furnace.

16. The glass plate strengthening method of claim 12 , wherein a door part is defined between the sealed space and the work furnace, the door part is opened and closed by the door module, and the separator moves through the door part.

17. The glass plate strengthening method of claim 16 , wherein the door part is on the side wall of the work furnace, and the separating of the work furnace and the removing of the separator comprise opening and closing, by the door module, the door part during the moving of the separator.

18. The glass plate strengthening method of claim 12 , wherein the strengthening of the glass plate comprises re-introducing the separator into the work furnace after the transport module moves down.

19. The glass plate strengthening method of claim 12 , further comprising removing and cleaning the separator,
wherein the cleaning of the separator includes detaching the shield from the work furnace during the removing of the separator.

20. The glass plate strengthening method of claim 19 , further comprising, after the cleaning of the separator, re-introducing the separator into the work furnace and re-coupling the shield to the work furnace.

Assignees

• Samsung Display Co Ltd
• Dowooinsys Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Hyo-Seop
• Kim Tae-Sik
• Park Chanwook
• Park Hanggyun
• Boo Sungeun
• Song Youngnam
• Lee Jang Doo
• Lee Hyungsup
• Cha Kyoungyong

Classifications

• C03B35/14

  Transporting hot glass sheets {or ribbons, e.g. by heat-resistant conveyor belts or bands} · CPC title

• C03C21/001 Primary

  in liquid phase, e.g. molten salts, solutions · CPC title

• C03B27/012 Primary

  by heat treatment, e.g. for crystallisation; Heat treatment of glass products before tempering by cooling (C03B27/008, C03B27/016 take precedence) · CPC title