CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OR PROCESSES OF MANUFACTURING AND FINISHING PLATES, SHEETS, OR PANES OF GLASS
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, OBED
BLAKE, of the Thames Plate Glass Company, Blackwall, in the County of
Middlesex, Manager, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-
eighth day of February, in the twelfth year of Her reign, did, for Herself,
Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto the said Obed Blake, my
exors, adiñors, and assigns, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Obed Blake, my exors, adññiors, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said Obed Blake, my exors, adiñiors, and assigns;
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in
all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of " CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OR PROCESSES OF MANUFACTURING AND FINISHING
PLATES, SHEETS, OR PANES OF GLASS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained
a proviso requiring that I, the said Obed Blake, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to
be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, as in

page_text: and by the same, reference being had thereto; will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Obed Blake, do hereby declare that in the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed and carried into practical effect
are fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
reference being had to the illustrative Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and forming part of this' my said Specification, and to the numeral figures
and letters of reference marked, thereon, that is to say:
My Invention consists of certain new and mechanical combinations of
parts constituting a method or methods of smoothing and otherwise treating
or finishing panes, sheets, or plates of glass; and in order to explain my said
Invention as completely as possible I proceed to describe the combinations
and arrangements of parts which I consider well calculated for carrying my
said Invention into practical effect. But before describing such combinations,
it is not unnecessary to explain some portion of the process already in use for
the purpose of finishing plates, sheets, or panes of glass, which are as
follows: In grinding and smoothing plate glass by the present method one
or more plates are connected with plaster of Paris upon a fixed horizontal bed,
other plates of glass are cemented upon the lower face or runner, which is
traversed by an eccentric motion; over the plates of glass upon the lower bed,
sand and water, or emery and water,- are thrown, and the eccentric motion is
continued, until the plates of glass are ground flat and as nearly smooth as
can be conveniently attained by this process, finer emeries being used as the
work progresses; but these grinding' machines do not admit of being employed
with very fine emery, and the plates of glass are therefore smoothed by hand;
as follows: A horizontal bed or table of stone, made quite flat, is covered
with wet canvass, and a plate of glass is laid upon it; fine emery moistened
with water is then sprinkled over the surface of the glass, and another
plate of glass called a runner is laid upon the lower plate and traversed by
hand over it with a swinging stroke backwards and forwards, so as to 'describe
about the third of a circle around the centre of the runner, which is at the
same time shifted a few inches both transversely and longitudinally during the
stroke; every stroke thus follows a slightly different path from the preceding
one, and the runner is also occasionally twisted round as the smoothing
proceeds; the adhesion of the hand placed flat upon the runner is found to be
sufficient to traverse the runner over the lower plate. The present Inven-
tion is intended to perform the smoothing process by machinery in the
same general manner as it is now effected by hand. Instead of employing

page_text: cement on the adhesion of the human hand for holding the glass, it is
proposed to employ the adhesion produced by a vacuum; for this purpose a
hollow. vessel, which may be called a vacuum block, shewn in Drawing 1,
Figure 4, and hereafter described. Several plates may be connected together
to constitute one runner employed in machinery for smoothing glass. My
Invention for smoothing glass is capable of giving to the, runner three hori-
zontal motions independant of each other, as simple motions or connected
together to produce a compound similar to hand work.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Sheet 1, Fig. 1, exhibits a side elevation of an apparatus for smoothing.
glass. Figure 2, a top plan view thereof. Figure 3, a front elevation of the
driving end or wheel work of the said apparatus as it would appear if divided.
through the line A, B, at Figures 1 and 2. Figure 4 exhibits an elevation of.
a piece which I call a vacuum block. Figure 5, a transverse and vertical
section thereof, taken through the line C, D., Figure 6, a plan view of the
under side thereof. Similar letters of reference are employed to denote corre-
sponding parts in so far as such parts appear or can be seen at each of the
Figures respectively. At Figures 1, 2, 3, A, A, marks the foundation plate of
the apparatus. B, B, a standard securely affixed thereto. C, C, brackets.
fixed against or formed upon the standard B; these brackets are furnished with
brass, bearings and caps, which embrace the upper ends of the upright spindles
D, E, F; the lower ends of said spindles work in steps or bearings ** affixed
to or formed upon the foundation plate A. G, G, mark bracket securely fixed
to the standard B; these brackets are furnished with brass bearings and caps,
in which the horizontal spindle H is placed, and revolves freely therein. I, K,
mark bevil wheels keyed or otherwise fixed upon each end of the spindle H, said
bevil wheels being employed for imparting motion to the spindles D, E, F, through
the agency of the pulley L (keyed upon the spindle H),.,and parts in connection
therewith hereafter mentioned.. It will be seen upon referring to Figures 2 and 3.
of the Drawing, that the bevil wheel I takes or gears into a bevil wheel M,
which is securely keyed or otherwise fixed upon the spindle D, and there is a
bevil wheel N, of the same size as the last mentioned one keyed or fixed upon.
the spindle E, upon which spindle there is also keyed or otherwise fixed a
pinion O, which takes into a spur, wheel P, keyed or fixed upon the spindle F,
and upon the upper ends of the spindles, D, E, F, cranks Q, R, S, are
securely fixed for transmitting motion to the following parts of the apparatus:-
T, a vibrating lever, having its fulcrum upon, a pin I, fixed in the standard
V., said standard being secured fixed to the foundation plate A; one end of

page_text: the vibrating lever T is connected by a rod 2, to the crank S, by a pin 3, and
to the other and opposite end of the lever T, one end of a rod V is attached,
and the opposite end of this rod is furnished with a pin 4 (shewn at Figure 1),
which takes into one or other of the holes a, a, formed in the casting or
runner W, as shewn at Figure 2, where it will also be seen that there are
other similar holes b, b, formed in said casting or runner, for connecting it to
the cranks Q and R, by the rods X, Y, in a similar manner to the rod V. Z
marks a bed or table upon which the glass to be operated upon is placed, said
bed or table being firmly and securely fixed to the foundation plate A by the
supports c, c. d marks the main driving shaft mounted in suitable bearings in
the brackets e, e, which are securely fixed to or formed upon the standard
B, B. ff, the main driving pulley keyed or fixed upon the shaft d. g, an
endless strap passing over the pulleys L and f, for imparting motion to the
apparatus, the operations of which are as follows:-Upon motion being imparted
to the main driving shaft d, by any suitable prime mover, such motion will be
communicated by the strap g to the pulley Land bevil wheels I and K, and said
bevil wheels taking or gearing into the bevil wheels M and N will impart motion
to the spindles D and E, and the pinion O, taking or gearing into the spur
wheel P will impart motion to the spindle F; the effect of this movement upon
the runner W is as follows:-As the cranks Q and R rotate they will produce
reciprocatory movement of the rods X and Y, and by reason of the rod V
being connected to the runner W, at or near its centre, by the pin 4, such pin
will form the axis upon which the runner turns, and thereby causes it to
receive alternate circular movement. Now, as it is indispensible to the proper
conducting of the process of smoothing that the position of the runner should
be continually changing, the same is effected by the vibrating lever T, which
receives a continuous slow movement, by reason of the wheel P being con-
siderably larger than the pinion O, which drives or imparts motion to it, and
such vibratory movement of the lever T will produce a traversing movement
of the runner W, through the medium of the rod V, which is connected
thereto. I would observe, that the amount of movement of the runner W
and vibrating lever T may be altered by connecting the rods X, Y, 2, to one
or other of the holes in the cranks Q, R, S, at Figures 4, 5, 6. A, marks a
inetal casting, the lower part whereof is formed hollow, and the upper part is
furnished with a stopcock B, ground air-tight therein, said cock being employed
for the purpose of establishing a communication between the interior and lower
part of the casting and the external atmosphere. C, a ring of vulcanized india
rubber, which is securely attached to the casting A by a ring of metal D, and
screws E, E, as shewn at Figure 6; and I employ one or more of such vacuum

page_text: blocks, either separately or in combination with the runner W, in the follow-
ing manner-I form holes x, x, through the runner W, and having placed a
sheet of glass beneath it, and in contact therewith, I place the vacuum block
above mentioned over the aperture, having first moistened the ring or washer
C to make it adhere; the air is then exhausted from the inside of the casting A
by the human lungs or an air-pump, by which a partial vacuum is formed;
the stopcok B, which before was open, is now closed; and having repeated
this operation with as many blocks as the size of the glass or glasses require,
I effect perfect and inseperable contact between the sheet or sheets of glass
and the runner W, so long as the vacuum is preserved in the said blocks.
Drawing Sheet No. 2.-The principal motion to be employed in smoothing
is an alternate circular motion of the runners (shewn in both Drawings)
around their own centres, obtained (as shewn in Drawing No. 2) from the
cranks e and the reciprocating beam c, and communicating to the runner by
the arms b, as shewn. The second motion is a traverse of the runner across
the face of the lower bed, obtained by mounting the reciprocating beam c
upon a carriage h, which is traversed to and fro by the rod j and crank k;
and in order that c may vibrate in equal arcs in all positions the centre of
the carriage is constrained to move round the centre of e by the radius bar
i, i, which also serves to keep the carriage steady. The wheels of the carriage
travel in a straight line upon a railway, and to permit of the small lateral
traverse of the carriage during the stroke of the bearings the carriage are
allowed two or three inches of end play upon the axis to which the wheels are
affixed. The third motion is the traverse of the runner along the face of
the lower bed, by attaching the one extremity of the of the rod t to the centre
of the runner, and the other extremity to the reciprocating beam r, moved by
the cranks and rod p, q. The relative velocity of the three motions are to be
adjusted as found most efficaceous, but it is intended that the beam c shall
make three or four vibrations for one traverse of the carriage, and that h
shall make five or six trips for one stroke of r. The arms b, b, are attached
to their respective beams by universal joints, and to the runner d by the
pins, that enter suitable sockets fixed on the runner. The arms thus
admit of being readily detached from the runner for the removal of the
glass, and the runner may also be twisted round at intervals, to reverse
the relation position of the runner and bed. This may be readily done
when the machine is stopped for the removal of the worn-out emery, or,
instead of occasionally twisting the runner round by hand, the lower table may
be made slowly to revolve in friction rollers by a worm wheel. The plates
of glass to be attached to the runner a are to be arranged side by side upon

page_text: the lower plate of glass. One or more vacuum blocks are then to be placed
upon every piece of glass, and the runner a is put over the vacuum blocks,
which are made to enter into any of the holes in a; the blocks, are then to be
exhausted, as before set forth and described in reference to Sheet 1 of the
Drawing. The whole will be then sufficiently connected for the purpose of
smoothing, but, to obtain additional security the blocks may be attached to
the runner by screws or other mechanical means, and this arrangement will
admit of the runner and several plates of glass being removed as one mass.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner the
same is to be performed, I desire it to be distinctly understood that I do not
claim the exclusive use of any of the separate parts above mentioned and
referred to, except in so far as the same may be employed for the purpose
of my said Invention; neither do I confine myself to the precise details
of the means, or apparatus set forth and described (as such details will
necessarily vary), so long as the peculiar character of my Invention is retained.
But what I do claim as of my Invention is, the mode or modes of smoothing
plates, sheets, or panes of glass, by means of suction or vacuum blocks, arranged
in combination with runners and other machinery, as herein-before set forth
and described, and illustrated by the annexed Drawings.
.
In witness whereof, I, the said Obed Blake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine