IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Armand Gilbee, of No. 4, South Street,
Finsbury, London, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
Sealed the 28th December 1855, and dated the 4th September 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Armand Gilbee
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th September 1855.
I, WILLIAM ARMAND GILBEE, of Number 4, South Street, Finsbury,
London, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS " to be as follows, that is to say :-
My Invention consists in the employment of improved coke ovens for the
manufacture of glass, porcelain, &c.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1, longitudinal elevation of the apparatus; c, h, chimneys of the
ovens; Figure 2, side elevation, F, p, doors of the ovens; F, 8, bottom of the
ovens. Figure 3, section, above the crucibles; c', four chambers to prepare
the coal; c, m, vent holes conducting the heat from the bottom into the melt-
ing oven; c, p, six small vent holes going from the melting oven to the
chimnies, & serving by draft to cause the flame to circulate round the
crucibles; c, c, ten communications between the chambers & the melting
oven; o, light openings for the service of the crucibles; o¹, openings for the
service of the chambers. Figure 4, vertical section according to 1, 2, of the
plan; v, melting oven for the glass, placed above the coke ovens & containing

page_text: eight crucibles c; c, f, vent holes conducting the heat from the coke ovens
under their bottoms. Figure 5, vertical section according to 3, 4, of the plan;
c, two chambers to heat the crucible c. Figure 6, representing an oven for
remelting the glass; c, c, two retorts; B, a barrel; T, pipe for communi-
cation from the barrel to the gasometer; G, gasometer; & its vats G, c;
T, s, pipe for letting off the gas. The flame or heat lost from the coke
ovens F passes by the vent holes c, f, goes under their bottoms, & ascends into
the melting oven by the vent holes c, m; after having circulated round the
crucibles, it escapes by the chimneys c, h, & the small vent holes c, p; at the
same time, by means of the vent holes of communication c, c, a great part of
the heat of the melting oven spreads itself in the chambers c & c', where the
crucibles & coals are placed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESSES.
Four coke ovens are placed two & two, the mouths of the ovens turned
opposite ways occupy the lower part of a glass-maker's oven, that is to say,
the arch with a grating & the grating itself. At the part corresponding to
the ordinary fire-place of the glass-maker's oven, replaced by the two coke
ovens placed side by side, are reversed on the side of the crucibles, & at the
beginning at the arch of the coke oven, 2 openings 8 inches high by 12 inches
wide. The crucibles to melt the vitrifying substances are placed on these
openings, & exposed to receive all the heat which comes from the oven
through the openings. The upper oven containing the crucibles remains the
same as in the old systems, only the coke ovens replace the ordinary fire-
place. The crucibles are covered as in the manufacture of white glass, or
uncovered at will as in that of the bottles, & the coke oven being continuous
there is no interruption in the heat.
The four coke ovens being placed two & two, side by side, & placed close
one to the other in such a manner that the back part of the ovens touch
each other, & that the doors for discharging them are completely opposed.
The prolongation permits each coke oven having two opening corresponding
on the same side to the two openings of its neighbour, to make at the upper
part an oven of 8 crucibles of 32 inches by 32 inches. The construction of
the upper oven called the melting oven as well as the arches remains the
same; the change exists in the part belonging to the fire-place replaced by the
coke ovens.
Between the two ovens & at the height of the bottom of the crucibles is
arranged a kind of trough 1 foot 4 inches wide. When it is wished to
accelerate the melting, there is thrown into this trough 3 or 4 shovels full of

page_text: coal; when it is lighted it is stirred up with a poker in order to hasten its
combustion. This coal immediately throws out a large quantity of caloric,
which brings the crucible oven to a white red heat, & immediately causes the
refining of the glass. It suffices to repeat this operation two or three times;
the burnt coal is then raked up & reduced to the state of incandescence
near the door of the trough, & it is allowed to consume.
I substitute, as I have indicated above, four coke ovens with bars; I place
them side by side in such a manner that the openings being opposite each
other, the flame plays on the bottom & the sides of the crucibles. The
melting oven fed by the coke ovens is, it will be understood, continuous; the
flame, instead of passing into the working holes, is drawn into the openings
which are above the cap of the crucible, & conducted into the small chimneys
indicated in the plan. The chimneys being covered with a moveable stopper,
the oven may be regulated in all its ensemble, that is to say, to slacken or
increase it at will.
The ovens for remelting the glass are also heated by a coke oven placed in
the middle of them, & which sends them the flame by a corresponding
opening. In order to utilise this oven with still more advantage, retorts in
earthenware or in cast iron are placed at its top in which coal is placed. The
distillation taking place without expense, the gas produced is conveyed into
a gasometer prepared to receive it; this gas is afterwards sent back to the
melting or remelting ovens in order to heat them.
In acting on a melting oven continuous with covered crucible, the roof of
this oven may be replaced by an arrangement of distillatory apparatus, which
allows of the production of a large quantity of gas, which may afterwards
serve either for lighting or for melting white glass or crystal, & replace the
use of wood.
Not only may the glass be melted by the coke ovens, but porcelain, fine
pottery, earthenware, &c., may be baked by this means. The fire-places of
ovens à gazettes may be replaced by a coke oven, the heat of which may be
graduated by means of a register in fire earth.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Armand Gilbee in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 3rd March 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ARMAND GILBEE, of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Gentleman, send
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Armand Gilbee, Her special license that I, the said William
Armand Gilbee, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Armand Gilbee; my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all:
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS," communicated to me by Monsieur
Salmon, of Paris, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Armand Gilbee, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Armand Gilbee, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and. in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawing hereto
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:―
The Invention communicated to me consists in the substitution of coke
ovens constructed as herein-after described, for the ordinary kilns employed in
the manufacture of glass, porcelain, and other like products.
Figure 1 is a front view, and Figure 2 a side view, of the improved ovens ;
Figure 3 represents a horizontal section, through A, B, Figure 1; Figure 4,
a vertical section, through.1, 2, Figure 3; Figure 5, a section through 3, 4,
of the same;
and Figure 6, a view, in partial section, of an oven for remelting
the glass, and a gasometer for collecting the gas from the combustion of the
coals during the process.
Four coke ovens F, F, F, F, are placed in such a manner that all the heat
arising from them is made to ascend into the melting oven V, by means of the
flues c, f, and c, m. Each oven is furnished with furnace doors F, p, through
which the furnace is fed with coal; F, s, grate.
number, and are placed in the oven over the
which is represented by red arrows, Figure 4.
sides to heat, which afterwards escapes by the
The crucibles c are eight in
flues c, m, the heat ascending
They are thus exposed on all
flues c, p, to the chimnies
h.

page_text: There are eight openings o, for the service of the crucibles; o¹, openings for
the service of the chambers c, c', which communicate with each other and the
melting oven by the openings c, c.
The chambers care for the purpose of
preparing the coal; C, chambers for heating the crucibles. The chimnies
are furnished with moveable covers by which the heat may be slackened at
will. Each crucible may be covered if necessary. Between the two ovens,
and at the height of the bottom of the crucibles, is arranged a kind of trough
one foot four inches wide. When it is wished to accelerate the melting, three
or four shovels full of coal are thrown in, the combustion of which causes a
large quantity of caloric to be formed, which brings the crucible oven to a
white heat, and thus causes the refining of the glass. It suffices to repeat
this operation two or three times. The coal is then brought near the door
and allowed to consume. The ovens for remelting the glass are also heated
by a coke oven placed in the middle of them. In order to utilise this oven,
retorts in earthenware or cast iron c, c, Figure 6, are placed on the top.
These communicate with a barrel or reservoir B, from the end of which is
fixed a pipe T, for conveying the gas to the gasometer G, placed in the vat Go.
The gas is afterwards employed for lighting, or used to heat the melting
or remelting ovens. These ovens may be employed for baking the glass,
porcelain, &c., as well as for melting purposes.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details herein laid down; but what I claim is, the sub-
stitution of coke ovens constructed as herein-before described, and shewn in
the annexed Drawings, for the ordinary kilns employed in the manufacture of
glass, porcelain, and other like products.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Armand Gilbee, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
W. A. GILDEL. (L.S.)