An Improvement in Wired Glass, and Methods of Making the same.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Aplication, 5th Feb., 1895-Accepted, 30th Mar., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Wired Glass, and Methods of Making the same.
I, EDWARD WALSH, Jr., of No. 304 North Eighth Street in the City of
St. Louis, State of Missouri, United States of America, Gentleman, 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 :-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of an improved machine, which I have adopted to
carry out my invention ;
Figure 2 is a plan view of said machine ;
Figure 3 is a plan view of an ordinary glass-rolling table, illustrating a slightly
different method of practising my invention;
Figure 4 is a detail view of the prepared wire-mesh; and
Figure 5 is a detail view of the piece of plate-glass made in accordance with my
invention.
This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in wired plate glass, and
the method for producing the same, the essential characteristics of which may be
said to reside in imbedding wire-mesh in one side of the plate of glass during the
process of rolling, which wire-mesh has been previously treated, so that the finished
article, after being annealed, is a plate of glass in which is imbedded a wire-mesh,
said wire-mesh being covered by a material which has been fused with glass, the
coefficiency of expansion of which material is about equal to that of the wire-mesh.
A plate of glass so prepared and having the qualities described will permit the
glass to expand and contract under varying temperatures without danger of
cracking, the wire-mesh imbedded in said plate of glass being permitted a slight
play due to the elasticity of the material with which the wire-mesh was covered
before being imbedded in the sheet, which material has become, in the process of
manufacture, homogeneous with the plate of glass.
In the drawings, A indicates the carriage in which is mounted a finishing
roller B. On the axle of the roller B are arranged driving-wheels C, which are
driven by suitable gearing therebetween and a propelling motor D mounted on the
carriage. This special construction forms no part of my present invention, and,
therefore, I will not specifically describe the details of this glass-rolling carriage
and its propelling mechanism. Mounted on the frame A of the carriage, is a
bracket E, in the end of which bracket is journaled an initial roller F, which,
preferably, has a smooth surface. An open-ended guide-box G for the wire-mesh
is mounted upon this bracket, and terminates just in advance of the roller F.
The wire-mesh which is to be imbedded in the plate of glass, as manufactured by
this process, is before being introduced into the plate of glass, treated with a
coating of what is known as fusible glass, or glass which may be fused at a low
temperature. This coating, as shown in Figure 4, entirely covers the wire-mesh,
but, in general, conforms to the general design of the mesh.
The coating referred to consists preferably of 100 parts sand, 27 parts limestone
and 20 parts borax, which is melted into glass form. The product of this is ground
finely, or pulverized, and mixed with a suitable adhesive volatile vehicle, preferably
turpentine. The wire-mesh is dipped into or painted with this compound, and is
ready to be imbedded. I do not wish to be understood as confining myself to the
ingredients composing this mixture, the proportions thereof, nor the manner of
applying the same, as there are many other ingredients which can as readily be used

page_text: for the purpose, without in the least departing from the nature and principle of my
invention.
Practising my invention with the machine shown in Figures 1 and 2, the prepared
wire-mesh is introduced into the box G, and, after the plate has been rolled by the
advanced roller F, the wire-mesh is fed down on top of the rolled plate of glass and
beneath the finishing roller B. The glass being in a semi-molten state, permits the
finishing roller B to imbed the wire-mesh into the top face thereof, and where
the preparation on the wire-mesh comes in contact with the hot plate of glass, it
fuses and becomes homogeneous therewith, the finishing roller B making a smooth
finish on the plate. Any unevenness in the surface which might be due to the
covering of the wire-mesh not fusing with the plate of glass is remedied when the
plate with its attached mesh is subjected to the high annealing heat.
In Figure 3, I have shown a slightly different way of practising my invention,
which consists in laying the prepared wire-mesh on the table and straddling a frame
over said mesh, and then rolling the semi-molten glass within the limits of the
vertical walls of this frame, which slides on the table in advance of the roller
preventing the glass from spreading too much laterally. In this construction, the
semi-molten glass will be pressed into the openings of the mesh, and the fusible
glass on the wire-mesh will make a plain surface by being melted and running upon
the smooth face of the table. After the plate of glass has been formed, it is then
annealed, and any irregularities or unevenness in the surface in which the wire-mesh
is imbedded is remedied by the heat of the annealing kiln.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
1. The herein-described process of wiring plate glass, which consists in preparing
the wire-mesh previous to imbedding it in the plate of glass, with a coating
of fusible glass, and in imbedding the wire-mesh so treated into the plate of glass,
then subjecting the plate with its imbedded wire-mesh to an annealing heat,
substantially as described.
2. The herein-described process of wiring plate glass, which consists in first
preparing the wire-mesh by coating it with a coat of fusible glass, imbedding the
inesh so treated into one face of the plate of glass during the process of rolling, then
subjecting the plate with its imbedded mesh to heat, substantially as described.
3. The process herein described of wiring plate glass, which consists in imbedding
into the plate during the process of rolling a wire-mesh which is coated with
a fusible material, in smoothing the surface in which the mesh is introduced by
mechanical means, and finally introducing the plate so prepared into an annealing
kiln whereby the heat will act upon the coating of the mesh to make a smooth
surface, and render said coating homogeneous with the plate of glass, substantially
as described.
4. A plate of glass in which is imbedded a wire-mesh, said wire-mesh being
surrounded or coated with a material whose coefficiency of expansion is about equal
to that of the wire-mesh, said coating of the wire-mesh being fused into the plate of
glass, substantially as described.
Dated the 5th of
1005