An apparatus for automatic sealant application to insulating glazed panels and the like

Abstract

 @ The apparatus automatically applies a sealing compound along the contour of an assembled but unfinished glazed insulating window or door panels of the type constituted by at least a pair of equal glass panels mounted on the opposing sides of at least a section spacer frame to which said panels are joined by means of adhesive. The apparatus comprises two guns for injecting the sealing compound, capable of controlled rotary and linear movements and cooperating with conveyor means to apply the sealing compound on the four edges of the panel.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to an apparatus for automatically applying a sealing compound along the contour of insulating glazed window or door panels comprising at least a pair of identical glass sheets mounted on the opposite sides of at least a spacing frame to which the sheets are adhesively joined.

[0002] At present, the application of the sealing compound is carried out manually. An operator, with an extrusion or injection gun, manually travels along the periphery of the insulating glazed frame applying the sealing compound.

[0003] It is the object of the present invention to provide an apparatus, allowing to automate such.an operation, and which is simple, effective and reliable. Unlike manual operation, such an apparatus has also the advantage of allowing the application of a uniform sealing bead. The features of the apparatus are those disclosed in the appended claims.

[0004] The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings,' in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of the apparatus;

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are plan views showing the two extrusion guns at the three main working steps;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing an insulating glazed panel, and the nozzle position;

Figs. 6A-6C are front views showing a rotable nozzle gun at three different positions; and

Fig. 7 is a schematic sectional view of the nozzle holder end for the gun of Figs. 6A-6C.

[0005] The apparatus comprises two horizontal continuous conveyors A, B of the roller and chain type 1, on which plastic material sections 2 of trapezoidal cross-section are secured at mutual predetermined distances, which allow high speed transportation of the assembled but unfinished glazed panels, avoiding the rolling or sliding between conveyor and glass surface, in order to maintain the glass surface in perfectly cleaned conditions.

[0006] In the first continuous conveyor A, the chains 1 are positioned inclined for about 1° relative to the longitudinal vertical plane of the apparatus, and this in order to approach the glass 3 to a lateral reference 4 comprising a chain 4A, on which idle locator rollers 4B are mounted, said latter chain moving at the same speed as the conveyor A with which it cooperates.

[0007] The conveyor A is provided with a driving motor (not shown) enabling it to move at different speeds to space the panels coming from the preceding or upstream conveyors which pertains to the umstream portion of a per se known insulating glazed panels production line, accordingly not described.

[0008] In the second conveyor B, the chains 1B are positioned parallel to the main axis of the machine; also in this case, the conveyor is provided with proper driving means.

[0009] Above the conveyance plane, at right angles to the main axis of the apparatus, two blocking rollers 5 are arranged, which intervenes during the sealing application step, preventing by their action any unforeseen lateral or longitudinal movement of the insulating glazed panel.

[0010] These blocking rollers are carried, for example, between a pair of arms 5A, rockingly mounted at 5B, and controlled by a compressed air jack 5C.

[0011] The extrusion heads or guns are located at the central zone of the apparatus between the two conveyors A and B. The first head or gun 6 will be referred to as "fixed or stationary", because it doesn't effect any movement in a horizontal plane. However such a head or gun 6 is capable of rotating through approximately 30° about a vertical axis (see angles of Fig.2), thus being permitted to approach the glazed panel during the sealant application step. Said gun 6 is also allowed to move in a vertical direction, so to be always positioned centrally of the spacing frame C (which is located between the two glass sheets D, E of the panel V) whatever the tickness of the glass or frame is (Fig. 5). The vertical displacements are controll ed by a D.C. motor with a comparison circuit, while rotation is controlled by jacks (not shown).

[0012] The second head or gun 7, which will be referred to as "movable", in addition to the capability of moving vertically, to be positioned according to the thickness of the panel which is being processed, and of rotating (in this case through 180°) about a vertical axis, is capable of horizontally moving at right angles to the main axis of the machine. The movable gun 7 is secured to a carriage 8, the latter being movable on bars 8A and controlled via a rack 8B by a D.C. motor 8C.

[0013] The operation is as follows:

The panel V, comprising (see Fig. 5) two glass sheets D and E spaced apart by a peripheral intermediate metal section frame C adhering to the sheets by adhesive coatings F, is spaced from the next insulating glazed panel owing to the higher speed of conveyor A and arrives at the proximity sensor 9 which, by acting on the motor, causes the conveyor A to slow' down to allow a smooth positioning of the glazed panel against front abutment means 10, which are lifted by said sensor 9. An example of these liftable front abutments is shown in the published European Patent Application n. 0 012 462.

[0014] As soon as said glazed panel V engages both said sensor 9 and a photocell 11, the first roller 5 (that shown at the righthand of Fig. 1) descends on the glazed panel to prevent it from effecting undesired movements.

[0015] Then, the glazed panel V stops against the front abutments 10, the latter collapsing after expiration of a delay time. At the same time, said movable head or gun 7 starts its translational movement and applies the sealant on the first side of the insulating glazed panel (see Fig. 2, where the black length or line indicates where the gun has already applied the sealant). At the start of said gun 7, a small rod 12 moves down on the glazed panel, due to de-energisation of an electromagnet 12A in said carriage 8, this small rod having positioned thereon a photocell 12B, which obscured by said frame C, senses the glazed panel end (that is the end of the first side) and causes the stop of the carriage 8 and the rotation of the movable gun 7 through an angle of 90° in a clockwise direction. At the end of rotation, owing to "end of stroke" contacts (not shown), the dreving motors of the two conveyors A and B are turned on. During the resulting advancement of the glazed panel, said two guns 6 and 7 apply the sealing on the two longitudinal sides of the glazed panel while remaining stationary (see Fig. 3).

[0016] During this operation, the second blocking roller 5 (that at the lefthand of Fig. 1) moves down on the glazed panel and accompanies the latter up to the end of the sealant application.

[0017] The above mentioned photocell 11 senses the end of the glazed panel and accordingly controls the stop of the conveyors A and B and rotation of gun 7 through further 90° in a clockwise direction. (Fig. 3). At the end of the rotation, said gun 7 starts again a translational movement in opposite direction to that on the first side, so applying the sealant on the last (fourth) side.

[0018] At the end of operation, said conveyor B starts again and said gun 7 returns to the rest position by rotating about 180° in a counterclockwise direction. Thus having completed a cycle, which comprises the complete sealant application on a glazed panel, the apparatus is ready to repeat the above operations.

[0019] The apparatus could carry out the sealant application on glazed panels of different thickness and gaps of different height, where different amounts of product are used. To obtain this the vertical position of the guns and the amount of sealant to be applied should be adjusted.

[0020] To the purpose the whole assembly could be controlled by a microprocessor sensing through an optical apparatus (such as a television camera TC located on a side of conveyor A and aligned with a light source SL located on the other side) the size of the insulating glazed panel and vertically moving the guns for positioning thereof at the center of the metal spacing element.

[0021] By an optical apparatus as above mentioned, the microprocessor can also determine the frame thickness and, at output, the speed of a hydraulic pump as a function of such a thickness,.said pump causing a supply of an adequate flow sealant to the guns.

[0022] It is a feature of the apparatus the construction of the gun nozzle 69 (Fig. 5 and Fig. 6). Such a nozzle extrudes the product through two distinct holes 70 and 71. The two sealant flows occupy the cavities P-P of the metal spacing frame and then unite on the top thereof forming a single bead.

[0023] According to an advantageous aspect of the invention, the nozzle 69 is mounted for rotation about its own axis to take a plurality of positions, for example three positions as shown in Figs. 6A-6C. This enables a sealant extrusion by the same nozzle for three (or more) spacing panels C of different heights. The useful distances of the extrusion holes 70 and 71 will be I₁, 1₂ and I₃. In order to achieve this result (see Figs. 6 and 7), said nozzle 69 is secured by means of a threaded ring nut 72 to the end of a body 73 rotatably mounted in a supporting element 74 screwed on the remainder of the gun. Seals 75 are provided to assure sealing. An arm 76 is secured to the rear end of said body 73. This arm 76 is pivotally connected at 77 to the stem 78 of a pneumatic jack 79, the cylinder of which is secured to a plate 80. Said plate is integral with the stem 81 of a second pneumatic 82, the cylinder of which is pivoted at 83 to a support 84 integral with said gun 6, 7.

[0024] When both of said two jacks are extended, the nozzle 69 takes the position shown in Fig. 6A, with a corresponding maximal vertical distance 1₃ between the holes 70 and 71. On the other hand, when only the jack 82 is extended, the nozzle is at the position shown in Fig. 6B with a distance I₂ between said holes 70 and 71, and finally when neither of the two jacks are extended, the position for the nozzle is that shown in Fig. 6C, with a corresponding minimum vertical distance I1 between the two holes 70 and 71 in the nozzle.

Claims

1. - An apparatus for the application of sealant to insulat ing glazed window or door panels, comprising at least two glass sheets with a spacing frame interposed therebetween, which apparatus includes sealant injection means, characterized by comprising means for transferring and positioning the glazed panel in a predetermined position, first sealant injection means rotable about a vertical axis and movable in a substantially transverse direction to the glazed panel transfer direction for applying the sealant on at least the side of such glazed panel which is located in such a direction, and second sealant injection means for applying sealant on at least one of the sides thereof during a transfer movement of the glazed panel.

2. - An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said first injection means are mounted on a supporting means movable in a transverse direction to the feeding direction of the glazed panels.

3. - An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said second injection means do not move in horizontal direction.

4. - An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said two injection means are associated with drive means for vertical displacement thereof and about vertical axes.

5. - An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said supporting means carries sensor means for sensing the end of the glazed panel sides on which said first injection means apply the sealant and causing the rotation of said first means for passing from one to the other side of the glazed panel.

6. - An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said glazed panel transfer and positioning means comprise at least one conveyor and moving side and transverse abutment means.

7. - An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said first injection means apply the sealant on three consecutive sides of the glazed panel, one of which is longitudinal, while said second injection means apply the sealant on the remaining side, which is longitudinal.

8. - An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said injection means comprise two nozzles having two spaced apart injection holes.

9. - An apparatus as claimed in the preceding Claim, characterized in that said injection means comprise a rotable nozzle holder head.

10. - An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, characterized by comprising means for sensing the height of an insulating glazed panel, means for processing the sensed height and controlling drive means controlling the vertical positioning of the injection means.

Drawing