Patent GB-334453-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in glass working apparatus
IPC: C03B9/12
Filed: 1929-11-21
Abstract: 334,453. Corning Glass Works, (Assignees of Ness, W. lu van). Dec. 18, 1928, - [Convention date]. Blowing.-Relates to a glassworking machine, of the kind described in Specification 276,606, which embodies an endless glassconveying apron and glassforking units that move in unison with the apron during their operative run. According to the. invention, the machine comprises an endless glass conveyer which travels in a closed path and consists of articulated sections adapted to receive molten glass, preferablv in the form of a continuous ribbon, the sections being provided with orifices through which the glass can sag. Glassworking mechanisms are mounted on the conveyer adjacent to each orifice, and. moulds may be carried by the conveyer or by a second belt which moves, in registration with, or below, the orifices. The air for blowing the glass is supplied by reservoirs which are carried by the glassworking units and are charged during their travel with a predetermined volume of air at a predetermined pressure. The machine comprises a frame 1, Fig. 1, carrying at its ends shafts 4, 5 on which are mounted pairs of sprocket wheels 2, 3, respectively, the two halves of the conveyer belt 20, Fig. 5, passing around the sprocket wheels. Each half belt consists of a number of sections pivoted together to form the belt and a glass-conveying apron 21. The apron 21 is made up of sections 24 carried by rods 26 which slide through the links of the belt 20, and these rods carry at their ends rollers 26b that engage in cam tracks 27 fixed to the frame, of the machine. The meeting- faces of the sections 24 are formed with cavities 24a which receive the molten glass, and the lower portions of the cavities form the, orifices through which the glass is allowed to sag. The cams 27 cause the sections 24 to open and close as required. A blowhead is mounted above each of the cavities 24a and comprises a sleeve 33a having. on its lower end a collar 33 that fits into the cavity. The sleeve 33a slides through a bearing 30 carried; by an arm 30b which is pivoted to a link of the conveyer belt 20. A rack 30<e>, which is moved horizontally by a fixed cam 31, swings the bearing 30 to or from the apron plate 24, and a roller 30<y> on the free end of the arm 30<b> engages a fixed cam 32 and holds the collar 34 rigidly in engagement with the cavity 24<a>. The function of the collar is to squeeze the glass in the cavity towards the orifice, hence it acts as a feeding-plunger. A neck-forming plunger 34 is mounted in the sleeve 33<a>, and its upper end is pivoted at 35a to a hollow air head 35 which is normally upheld by a spiral spring 36. The head 35 has an upward extension 35<c> carrying a roller which engages a fixed cam 37 that depresses the neck plunger at the proper times. The interior of the head forms a reservoir for the storage of air under pressure, and the contained air is admitted to an axial passage 34a in the plunger 34 by a valve which is actuated by a fixed cam track 39. The reservoir is filled with air when the blowhead is swung away from the apron plate. The head of the extension 35<a> engages an air port, and as it passes the port, the chamber in the head receives a charge, of compressed air through a check valve 45, and the air so received is stored until required for blowing the ware. If desired, the air head may be made with two compartments, one of which serves as a vacuum chamber to provide for exhausting air from the mould. Moulding devices of various forms may be used with the machine. The construction shown in Fig. 5 comprises a series of finishing-moulds 50 each comprising two parts pivoted to a link of a mould belt 51 which travels in a closed path beneath the apron 24. The mould is opened and closed by a stem 57 that engages a cam track 58. The belt is supported by rollers which run in tracks 54 and is driven by sprockets 52. The mould is kept closed by bosses on the apron plate 24 which engage the neck of the mould. In use, the two halves of each apron plate 24 are brought together as the conveyer rises around the sprockets 3 into the horizontal position. The plates now form a continuous apron on which molten glass is deposited as a ribbon, as shown in Fig. 15. The ribbon is carried forwards by the apron and the glass sags through the cavities 24a. The blowheads are then swung down on to the apron, and the collars 33 force the glass in the cavities into and through the orifices, a neck plunger 34 descends into each cavity and air is admitted above the glass to blow it to the finished shape, the mould 50 having been closed about the depending glass. After the ware has been blown, the mould and the apron plates open leaving the finished articles suspended from the chilled strip of glass from which they are then broken away. In order to control the elongation of the glass that sags through the orifices, a number of air nozzles 65b, Figs, 1 and 15, may be arranged on a separate conveyer belt 65 beneath the apron plate at the loading-end of the machine. Regulated air blasts from these nozzles, directed against the lower end of the sagging glass, shape and cool it while partly supporting it. A marvering plate 67 may also be placed beneath the initial run of the apron to support, and marver the glass sagging through the orifices. Parison moulds may also be used to shape the sagging glass before it is enclosed in the finishing moulds. The machine may also be used for making pressed ware such as tumblers, as shown in Fig. 17. A solid mould 70 is used which is mounted on a stem 70<a> and is raised and lowered by a cam 70<e>. The blowhead is replaced by a head in which a plunger 90 is mounted, the plunger being depressed by a fixed cam 91. A modified construction is also described for making pressed and blown ware.