Methods and apppartus for forming a glass ribbon

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2026035278-A1
Application number	US-202319102109-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 22, 2023
Priority date	Aug 26, 2022
Publication date	Feb 5, 2026
Grant date	—

Abstract

A glass forming apparatus includes a cooling tube positioned adjacent to a travel path of a glass ribbon. The cooling tube includes a central portion including a first sidewall surrounding a central chamber and extending along a tube axis. The cooling tube includes an end portion including a second sidewall surrounding an end chamber. The end portion extends along the tube axis and is attached to the central portion. The cooling tube receives a cooling fluid within the central chamber and the end chamber. A sleeve extends along the tube axis and circumferentially surrounds the end portion. The sleeve includes a sleeve wall spaced radially apart from the second sidewall, and a thermally insulating material positioned between the sleeve wall and the second sidewall. Methods of forming a glass ribbon with a glass forming apparatus are provided.

First claim

1 . A glass forming apparatus comprising:
a cooling tube positioned adjacent to a travel path of a glass ribbon, the cooling tube comprising:
a central portion comprising a first sidewall surrounding a central chamber and extending along a tube axis;
an end portion comprising a second sidewall surrounding an end chamber, the end portion extending along the tube axis and attached to the central portion, the cooling tube configured to receive a cooling fluid within the central chamber and the end chamber; and
a sleeve extending along the tube axis and circumferentially surrounding the end portion, the sleeve comprising a sleeve wall spaced radially apart from the second sidewall, and a thermally insulating material positioned between the sleeve wall and the second sidewall.

2 . The glass forming apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the central portion comprises a first outer diameter greater than a second outer diameter of the end portion.

3 . The glass forming apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the first outer diameter is in a range from about 40 mm to about 65 mm.

4 . The glass forming apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the second outer diameter is in a range from about 10 mm to about 40 mm.

5 . The glass forming apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the central chamber comprises a first chamber outer diameter and the end chamber comprises a second chamber outer diameter less than the first chamber outer diameter.

6 . The glass forming apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the first sidewall is equal to a thickness of the second sidewall.

7 . The glass forming apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sleeve wall comprises stainless steel.

8 . The glass forming apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the thermally insulating material comprises at least one of ceramic fiber or zirconia.

9 . The glass forming apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the thermally insulating material comprises air.

10 . The glass forming apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first sidewall comprises a first coating, the second sidewall comprises a second coating, and an emissivity of the second coating is different than an emissivity of the first coating.

11 . A glass forming apparatus comprising:
a cooling tube positioned adjacent to a travel path of a glass ribbon, the cooling tube comprising:
a central portion comprising a first sidewall surrounding a central chamber and extending along a tube axis;
an end portion comprising a second sidewall surrounding an end chamber, the end portion extending along the tube axis and attached to the central portion, the cooling tube configured to receive a cooling fluid within the central chamber and the end chamber; and
a sleeve extending along the tube axis and circumferentially surrounding the end portion, the sleeve comprising:
a sleeve wall spaced radially apart from the second sidewall;
a first support projection attached to the second sidewall and extending radially between the sleeve wall and the second sidewall, the first support projection extending along the tube axis; and
a thermally insulating material positioned between the first sleeve wall and the second sidewall, the thermally insulating material surrounding the first support projection.

12 . The glass forming apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the sleeve comprises a second support projection extending radially between the sleeve wall and the second sidewall, the second support projection extending along the tube axis, the first support projection and the second support projection spaced circumferentially apart within a range from about 60 degrees to about 90 degrees about the tube axis.

13 . The glass forming apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the thermally insulating material is positioned between the first support projection and the second support projection, the thermally insulating material comprising at least one of ceramic fiber or zirconia.

14 . The glass forming apparatus of claim 12 , wherein a first outer diameter of the central portion is equal to an outer sleeve diameter of the sleeve.

15 . The glass forming apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the first outer diameter of the central portion is greater than a second outer diameter of the end portion.

16 . A method of forming a glass ribbon with a glass forming apparatus comprising:
moving the glass ribbon along a travel path in a travel direction past a cooling tube; flowing a cooling fluid through the cooling tube, the cooling tube comprising a central portion positioned adjacent to a central region of the glass ribbon and an end portion positioned adjacent to an edge portion of the glass ribbon, the end portion surrounded by a sleeve comprising a thermally insulating material; and extracting heat from the glass ribbon passing the cooling tube such that heat extraction from the central region is greater than heat extraction from the edge portion.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the sleeve comprises a first support projection extending radially between a sleeve wall and the end portion, the first support projection extending along a length of the sleeve.

18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the central portion comprises a first outer diameter greater than a second outer diameter of the end portion.

Assignees

• Corning Inc

Inventors

• Agrawal Anmol
• Ellis-Gibbs Hannah Simone
• Huang Cheng Lung
• Liu Yi-Ming
• Peng Gaozhu
• Robinson Alexander Lamar

Classifications

• C03B17/067 Primary

  combined with thermal conditioning of the sheets · CPC title

• C03B17/064 Primary

  by the overflow downdraw fusion process; Isopipes therefor · CPC title