The invention relates to a tiltable unloading or loading table for a sheet glass laminating line, comprising a roll conveyor for carrying laminated or to-be- laminated glass sheets co-directionally with the laminating line, a pivot axle and a power unit for tilting the conveyor about the pivot axle from a horizontal plane to what is almost a vertical plane.

This type of table is known from the patent US-3,410,425. There, the tilting of a conveyor is effected about a single pivot axis, said pivot axis being located at the downstream end of the table crosswise to the conveying direction. Such a table is poorly suitable for handling pieces of glass with varying surface areas. Small pieces of glass should be unloadable rapidly on either side of a table while the table lies in a horizontal plane. With regard to large pieces of glass, it may also be necessary to perform unloading on either side of a table provided that the table has in its vicinity several stands for placing the pieces of glass.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved unloading or loading table, onto/from which small pieces of glass can be quickly placed/removed while the table lies in a horizontal plane and which is also suitable for loading/unloading large pieces of glass easily onto/from the tilted table, which is tiltable in both directions.

This object is accomplished by the invention on the basis of the characterizing features set forth in the appended claim 1. The dependent claims disclose preferred embodiments of the invention.

The invention will now be described in more detail by way of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Hg. 1 shows a table of the invention in an end view, i.e. seen in the conveying direction.

Hg. 2 shows a table of the invention in a partially tilted condition for unloading large pieces of glass, and

Hg. 3 shows a detail of a table frame in a perspective view, specifying a mechanism for selecting a tilting direction.

The table comprises a conveyor constituted by rolls 1, having its conveying direction extending normal to the plane of drawing in figs. 1 and 2. There are a desired number of rolls 1 in succession and typically the conveyor's length in the conveying direction is 1,5-2 times more than the conveyor's width, i.e. the length of a roll 1. If used as an unloading table, the table is located at the downstream end of a laminating line. The table can also be used as a loading table, in which case it is located at the upstream end of a laminating line. When the function is as an unloading table, the laminated glass sheet arrives upon the unloading table, from which it is removed in at least a partially manual operation onto a stand for intermediate storage or shipping.

The table comprises also a roller assembly 4, having its rollers located between the successive rolls 1. The rollers 4 are mounted on cross beams 6 by pivot arms 5 of such an arcuate design that the rollers 4 swing to rotate always in the same direction in which the overlying glass sheet is being pulled. Such roller assemblies 4 and designs of the pivot arms 5 therefor are known as such and, thus, not described more specifically at this time. The beams 6 have the opposite ends thereof connected by way of beams 7 extending in the conveying direction for providing a roller assembly 4 ascendable and descendable as a single unit. The table has its four corners fitted with pneumatic cylinders 8, whereby the roller assembly's 4 conveying level can be raised above the conveying level provided by the rolls or lowered therebelow.

The rolls 1 and the roller assembly 4 make up a combination conveyor 12, which is supportable by pivot axles 2a and 2b on the corners of a table frame 11. Thus, on either side of a vertical middle plane A, the table has its both ends provided with the pivot axles 2a and 2b, extending in a direction normal to that of the rolls 1. By means of these pivot axles 2a and 2b, as well as an optional clamping system (to be described hereinafter) therefor, the combination conveyor 12 is selectively tiltable about either pivot axle 2a, 2b from a horizontal plane to what is almost a vertical plane. Hg. 2 illustrates an intermediate stage of tilting, from which the tilting can be proceeded further by means of a power unit 3, which is e.g. a hydraulic or

pneumatic cylinder. Tilting in either direction can be performed with one and the same power unit 3, depending on which axle 2a or 2b is clamped in an accommodation recess or slot 20 included in the table frame 11.

The table frame 11 has its corners provided with accommodation recesses or slots 20 for the pivot axles 2a, 2b, upon which the pivot axles 2a, 2b rest and are capable of turning. The table frame 11 has at its either end a slide 13 transverse to the conveying direction, which is operable by a power unit 14 (e.g. a compressed-air cylinder) laterally relative to the conveying direction. The slide 13 has its opposite ends provided with clamping lugs 16, 17 which, depending on the slide's position, operate to clamp just one of the pivot axles 2a, 2b in the accommodation recess or slot 20. This slide and clamping arrangement always allows for an unobstructed lifting of one axle 2a, 2b as the combination conveyor 12 is tilted around the other axle 2a, 2b by means of the power unit 3.

On either side of the combination conveyor 12 are abutment rollers 9 rotating about axes normal to the conveying plane, which are ascendable by a power unit 10 (e.g. compressed-air cylinders) to extend above the conveyor plane and descendable below this plane. In a lowered position, the abutment rollers 9 are out of the way as the table is employed in a horizontal plane for small pieces of glass. When the table is used in a tilted position of the conveyor 12, the abutment rollers 9 are up and function as stoppers, as well as enable a smooth unloading of glass pieces by pulling large pieces of glass across the table end, e.g. directly onto an A-stand. In addition, beyond the edge of the combination conveyor's 12 frame are side rolls 21, whose axes of rotation are normal to those of the conveyor rolls 1 and which are slightly above the frame and facilitate the extraction of small pieces of glass over the frame's edge as the table is used in a horizontal position.

Reference numerals 18 and 19 are used to represent brackets at the corners of the frame 11, in which the accommodation recesses or slots 20 are made. The axles 2a and 2b are in turn included in the frame of the tilting combination conveyor 12.