UNITS FOR SUSPENDING GLASS BETWEEN OPPOSED BENDING DIES

1379577 Suspending means for glass sheets during bending TRIPLEX SAFETY GLASS CO Ltd and P BURNS 26 July 1972 [11 Aug 1971] 37741/71 Heading C1M A suspension unit, which includes tongs 26 for gripping the upper edge of a hot glass sheet 10 during bending of the sheet between horizontally acting bending dies, the tongs 26 being suspended from suspension members, which are movable by closure of the bending dies to cause the tongs to follow the changing curvature of the glass sheet as it is bent, comprises an individual horizontal suspension arm 16, 17, for carrying each tong 26, which is pivoted about a vertical spindle 18 and drive means associated with the bending dies including drive members 42 arranged to engage the arms 16, 17 as by driving pins 45, at distances from their spindle 18 such that as the dies close, each arm 16, 17 rotates through an angle which maintains the tong 26 carried by that arm above the upper edge of the sheet 10 as it is bent. The arms 16, 17 may lie on the same or different sides of the spindle 18 and a stationary tong 26 may be provided at the bottom of the spindle 18 when this lies over the stationary points A of the sheet during bending. Each suspension unit is suspended from a tong bar 15 and the vertical spindle 18 is mounted on a bar 19 in a housing 20 rigidly attached to tong bar 15 by brackets 21, straps 22 and bolts 23. The bar 19 can be horizontally and vertically adjustable in the housing 20 to allow for adjustment between the carrying arms 16, 17 and the tong bar 15 for alignment with the glass sheet 10. Each tong 26 is mounted by a free link suspension from the lower end of a threaded rod 28 which is held between parallel bars of arm 16 or 17 by a pad 29 and nut 30, or a free link suspension from the lower end 31 of spindle 18. Mounted on the upper face of each arm 16, 17 is a U- shaped bracket 36 with a pivot pin 37 on which a latch arm 38 is mounted by a bracket 38a, the latch arm 38 extending between a pair of legs 33 of a sub-frame 32 on bar 19 and having a downwardly extending locating pin 39 resting on the top of a location block 34 between legs 33 formed with a recess 35 in its upper surface. On each side of sub-frame 32, and rigidly attached to bar 19, are a pair of vertical pillars 40 lying between the pairs of legs 33 and to each of which a sleeve 41 is pivoted which carries the drive arm 42 of inverted T-shape so as to be horizontally immediately above the arms 16, 17. At the free end of each drive arm 42