Improvements in Glass Blowing Machines.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Nov., 1897-Accepted, 24th Dec., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Glass Blowing Machines.
We, HENRY JOSEPH COLBURN, of 531 Laskey Avenue, and MICHAEL Joseph
OWENS of 1847 Michigan Street, both in the City of Toledo, County of Lucas and
State of Ohio, United States of America, Glass Workers, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:
This invention relates to glass-blowing machines and to that class thereof
which is operated both manually and mechanically for effecting the structural
purposes of the machine, the object being to provide a glass-blowing machine of
this class of improved construction adapted to be advantageously manipulated by
one person:
And the invention consists in the peculiar construction and arrange-
ment of the several operative elements of the machine, all as hereinafter fully set
forth and more particularly pointed out in the claims.
In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a front elevation
of a glass-blowing machine embodying our invention.
Figure 2 is a side elevation.
Figure 3 is a sectional view of parts of the frame of the machine and other
contiguous parts, having relation to the air-supply, and the regulation of the same
for the blow-iron, and is fully described below.
Figures 4, 5, and 6 illustrate detail parts below described.
Referring to the drawings, 2 indicates the frame-parts of the machine. A
fixed mold-table 3, is secured across the lower end of the frame. The mold paste
or otherwise comprises two sections 4, 4, having suitable bases 5, whereby said
sections are adapted to slide in a right line from and toward each other on said
table, whereby the mold is opened and closed. The said sections are operated for
opening and closing as aforesaid by means of a lever G, pivoted on said table, and
having two short arms thereon at right angles to the angle thereof, to which arms
are pivoted two connecting-bars 7 and 8, and the latter are pivotally connected to
said mold-sections so that by swinging said lever 6, the sections of the mold are
operated, as and for the purpose above stated.
A blow-iron rest 54, extends across the machine above the mold-table 3.
Provision is made for wetting the mold, as usually required in paste molds,
after blowing an article, by providing water-distributing receivers 13, connected
to one side of the frame of the machine, as in Figures 1 and 2, to which water is
supplied through a pipe 12, from any suitable source.
From said recseiver the water is conveyed to each section of the mold by two
pipes 9, 9. The open positions of the mold-sections are indicated in Figure 1 by
dotted lines, and said two pipes 9, 9, terminate in two spraying bulbs 10, 10, in such
positions that water escaping therethrough when the mold parts are open will be
suitably applied to each part or section thereof.
The admission of water to said two pipes 9, 9, is governed by a piston valve 14,
which enters said receiver 13, from the bottom (see Figures 1, 2, and 5), and is
1eld normally in a position shown in Figures 1 and 2, that is, an upward one, and

page_text: when so held its upper end closes the water inlets of said pipes 9, 9, but by pressing
down a foot-lever 16, connected by a chain or cord to said piston, the latter is
drawn downward to the position shown in Figure 5, thereby permitting water to
enter said pipes 9, 9, and to be delivered therethrough to spray the mold as stated,
the spring 15, carrying the piston upward again when said lever is freed.
A hollow-shaft 17, is hung to rotate in suitable bearings at the upper end of the
frame, and has a gear 18, fixed thereon, on the outer face of which is a circular
cam 19. A ratchet-wheel 20, is secured on said shaft 17, (Figures 1 and 4), and
by the side of said wheel 20, is a sprocket-wheel 21, free on said shaft 17, but having
a ratchet-latch 22, thereon for engagement with the teeth of said wheel 20, said
latch being actuated by a spring 23.
A sprocket-chain. 24, passes over and engages said wheel 21, a strap 25, preferably
being attached to one end of said chain, and a cord 26, to the opposite end.
The movement of said chain 24, on the said sprocket-wheel is, as below described,
limited, and hence need not extend far from the wheel on either side, therefore
said strap and said cord are connected to the ends thereof.
A weight 27, is suspended on one end of said sprocket-chain, indirectly, by said
strap, and the latter runs against a guide roller 28, hung on said frame, whereby
said weight is prevented from engaging the frame in its upward and downward
movements as below described.
A shaft 29, is supported across the lower end of the machine upon which a foot-
lever 30, is supported, on the rear end of which is a counter-balance 31, and near
the outer end of said lever 30, is attached said cord or chain 26.
By working said foot-lever 30, the said sprocket-chain is drawn over said wheel 21,
thereby rotating the latter freely, but upon releasing said foot-lever said weight
moves downward, thereby causing said sprocket-wheel and the ratchet-wheel 20,
engaged thereby through said latch 22, thereon, and the shaft. 17, and cam-bearing
gear 18, to be rotated momentarily.
The said counter-balance 31, on the lever 30, serves to cause the entire effect of
the weight 27, to be exerted in rotating said wheel 21, and its said connected parts.
By means of the above described inexpensive mechanism, means are provided,
operated by gravity, for adequately governing the supply of air to the blow-iron
of a glass-blowing machine, both in respect to the volume, and to the duration of
the air-supply to said blow-iron.
A shaft 32, is supported in hearings at the upper end of the machine having a
pinion 33, thereon engaging with said gear 18. Said shaft 82, carries thereon a
fan-governor 34, having the radial arms, as shown, bearing graduated marks, and
fans 35, on said arms adjustable toward and from the axis of said shaft 32, whereby
the resistance induced by said regulator to the free rotation of said last-named
shaft, and to other operative elements connected therewith, is varied, for the
purpose hereinafter described.
It is obvious that a fan-governor construction containing flat sheet metal arms,
as sometimes made, which are arranged to be so turned in the hub of the governor
as to present a face of variable area for air-resistance, may be substituted for that
herein shown, but the type of regulator herein shown is preferable in respect to
said adjustable features."
A piston 36, adapted to slide within said shaft 17, and a part of said frame, has
its free end entering the latter, as shown in Figure 3.
On said frame-part is secured a short air-conducting pipe 56, communicating
with the cylindrical chamber therein in which said piston, 36, moves, and to said
pipe 56, is connected one end of an air-conduit 40, whose opposite end may be
connected to any suitable fan or other device for supplying air under pressure.
Said piston 36, has on its outer end a flattened head having a slot therein, as
shown, with which a pin on a vibratory lever 37, engages, said lever being pivotally
connected by one end to a part of said frame of the machine, as clearly shown,
and bearing on its opposite free end a freely turning roller 38, whose periphery
bears against the border of said cam 19, on said gear 18. By means of said

page_text: otating-cam on the gear 18, said lever 37, is given a vibratory motion of a variable
degree of speed during a revolution of said gear 18, and the said motions of the
lever 37, are communicated to sad piston 36, whereby its free end under the end
of said air-supply pipe 56, is moved with gradually increasing rapility from the
position shown in Figure 3, in which the air-current is shut off, to one fully un-
covering the end of said supply pipe, and then back again to the position shown.
The purpose of said movement of the piston 36, is to provide, in a machine of
this class, means for providing an air-supply for blowing a glass article in the
mold, through the blow-iron and connections below described between the latter
and the said chamber, to which said air-conducting pipe 56, is connected, which,
when the glass in the mold is hottest, is of little volume, but which volume is
gradually increased owing to the action of said cam 19, upon the piston 36, as
above described The said duration of the air-supply is dependent upon the time
in which the weight 27, can complete its falling movement after it shall have been
raised, as above described, and the speed of said weight-falling movement is
adjustable through said fan-governor, and the connection of the same with the
said pulley 21, which is primarily connected with said weight.
If the machine be adjusted for an air-supply of maximum duration, the fans 35,
on the arms of the said governor are moved near the extremities of said arms there-
by interposing increased resistance to the rotary motion of the governor, and
through the latter and said connections there between and the said pulley 21, on
which said weight hangs, retarding the falling motion of the latter, thus increasing
the duration of the air-blast through the blow-iron into an article while being
formed in the mold. The volume of air conveyed to the article within the mold
is regulated by the cam 19, which, for said purpose, may be of any suitable outline,
best adapted to produce a gradual or sudden increase of expanding effect upon an
article being blown in the mold, or an entire stoppage of air-supply at a given
time.
The volume of air is adapted, ordinarily, to be increased while the heat in said
article being blown decreases. The said duration of the air-supply is made
adjustable as aforesaid for the purpose of adapting the action of the machine in
this respect, to the proper treatment of glass articles containing a greater or less
quantity of glass in view of the fact that heavy, thick articles require more time,
or a longer duration of the blowing action, for expanding them in the mold, than
do thinner, lighter ones.
The blow-iron has a rotary motion imparted thereto, as below described, by
means which provide for rotating it a longer or shorter time, whereby the duration
of its rotary movements shall.correspond to that of the supply of air to said blow-
iron.
A hollow, vertical shaft 41 is suitably connected with said chamber in which
the end of the piston 36 operates, as described, by connections 42 and 43, (Figure 3),
said hollow shaft being supported in and by certain frame-parts, as shown.
A tubular blow-iron sleeve 44, whose lower end is adapted to receive the upper
end of the blow-iron 53, is supported to be rotated in a part of the frame 2, by a
gear 47, having a spline connection therewith, whereby said sleeve may slide in
said gear, and the latter is given a rotary motion by a hand-crank on a sprocket-
wheel 51, the latter being connected by a chain 52, to a second sprocket-wheel 50,
on a shaft 48, on which is a gear 49, engaging said gear 47.
The said connection between said hand-crank sprocket-wheel and said sleeve 44,
provides for rotating said blow-iron, and the glass thereon in the mold, by the
operator, while the article is being blown.
A lever 45, pivoted on the frame of the machine, has one end engaging in a
concentric groove in said sleeve 44, and to the free end of said lever is attached a
cord 46, which is grasped by the operator for raising said blow-iron sleeve 44, off
from the end of the blow-iron 53, when the latter, with the blown article, is to be
removed.
Said blow-iron 5, has a suitable engagement with said blow-iron sleeve 44,

page_text: whereby the latter rotates the iron. An enlargement 55, on the blow-iron 53,
provides for suporting the latter on said blow-iron rest 54, and holding the same
while the glass-blowing operation proceeds.
The operation of the above described devices is as follows:
The operator wets the mold, as described, and then operates the lever 6, to open
the mold, and then gathering the glass on the blow-iron 53, places the latter in the
machine in the position shown in Figure 1, and closes the mold, and at the same
time pressing the foot-lever 30, to raise the weight 27, and set the mechanism at
the top of the machine in motion, as described, whereby the proper air-supply to
the blow-iron is given, and grasping said hand-lever on the sprocket-wheel 51, and
turning the latter, he, through the same, imparts rotary motion to the blow-iron,
until the article in the mold is formed and partly cooled. The operator then opens
the mold and removes the blow-iron and the blown article thereon from the
machine. Then operating the foot-lever 16, water is permitted to flow through
the pipes 9, 9, thereby wetting the mold-parts, as described, after which the
operations are repeated for blowing each succeeding article.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. In a glass-blowing machine of the class described, a mold, a blow-iron,
means for supporting the blow-iron in operative relation to the mold, and separ-
ately organized mechanisms, each subject to the manipulation of the operator of
the machine, for independent temporary action for admitting air under pressure
to said blow-iron, for rotating the blow-iron, and for wetting the mold, substan-
tially as set forth.
2. In a glass-blowing machine of the class described, a mold, a blow-iron, means
for supporting the blow-iron in operative relation to the mold, separately organized
mechanisms, each subject to the manipulation of the operator of the machine for
independent, temporary action for admitting air under pressure to said blow-iron,
for rotating the blow-iron, for wetting the mold, and mechanism cooperating with
that which admits said air to the blow-iron whereby the volume of air so admitted
is gradually increased during the formation of an article in the mold, substantially
is set forth.
3. In a glass-blowing machine of the class described, a mold, a blow-iron, means
for supporting the blow-iron in operative relation to the mold, separately organized
mechanisms, each subject to the manipulation of the operator of the machine for
independent, temporary action for admitting air under pressure to said blow-iron,
for rotating the blow-iron, for wetting the mold, and mechanism whereby the
duration of the air-flow through the blow-iron is increased or diminished, as
required by the quantity of glass in the article bring operated upon, substantially
as set forth.
4. In a glass-blowing machine, a mold, a blow-iron, means for supporting the
blow-iron in operative relation to the mold, for admitting and controlling the flow of
air to, and through the blow-iron to the mold, and for increasing and diminishing
the duration of said air-flow, substantially as set forth.
5. In a glass-blowing machine of the class described, means cooperating with the
glass-blowing air-supply of the machine, whereby the duration of said air-supply
for action upon an article being blown is made variable, substantially as described.
6. In a glass-blowing machine of the class described, a sectional "mold, a mold-
table on which the mold sections are supported for movements in a right line from,
and toward each other, a blow-iron, means for supporting the blow-iron in operative
relation to the mold, means for moving said mold-sections to open and close the
mold, separately organized mechanisms, each subject to the manipulation of the
operator of the machine for independent temporary action for admitting air under
pressure to said blow-iron and mold, for rotating the blow-iron, and for wetting
the mold, substantially as set forth,

page_text: 7. In a glass-blowing machine of the class described, a mold, a blow-iron, means
for supporting the blow-iron in operative relation to the mold, and gravity-actuated
mechanism for admitting air under pressure to said blow-iron, substantially as
set forth.
8. In a glass-blowing machine of the class described, a mold, a blow-iron, means
for supporting the blow-iron in operative relation to the mold, and manually
operated mechanism for rotating said blow-iron, substantially as set forth.
9. In a glass-blowing machine of the class described, a mold, consisting of two
disconnectel sections, a table on which said mold-sections are supported for move-
ments in a right line from and toward each other, means for manually sliding
said sections to open and close the mold, conducting pipes conveying and applying
water to said old-sections, a valve in said pipes, and a foot-lever connected with
said valve for operating the same, whereby the flow of water through said pipes to
the mold-sections is controlled, substantially as set forth.
10. In a glass-blowing machine of the class described, a mold, a blow-iron,
means for supporting the blow-iron in operative relation to the mold, and gravity-
actuated mechanism for admitting air under pressure to said blow-iron, and for
varying the volume of air so admitted, whereby said volume is increased or
diminished during the blowing of an article in the mold, substantially as set forth.
Dated this Thirtieth day of September, 1897.
HENRY JOSEPH COLBURN
MICHAEL JOSEPH OWENS
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.