Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Tumblers, Glasses, Vases and similar articles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Jan., 1898-Accepted, 7th May, 1898
Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Tumblers, Glasses,
Vases and similar articles.
A communication from JEAN BAPTISTE FONDU, of 86, Boulevard de la Senne,
Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Engineer.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 111, Hatton Garden, in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, 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:-
-
Hitherto very little progress has been made in providing tools for and manufac-
turing glasses, tumblers, vases, and similar vessels. In fact, in most of the glass-
works at the present time all the operations for manufacturing tumblors, glasses or
vases are done by hand. Thus, the transport of articles to the reheating furnaces
is generally done by boys who carry the articles in the air and thus expose them
to a sudden cooling; the articles when placed in the furnace are moved by hand
on carriages or trays which must, when coming out at the other end, be returned to
their starting point. The articles coming from the heating furnaces, where a
great expenditure of heat is required to restore them to the temperature they lost
by the above mentioned exposure to air, are distributed by hand to women who have
to do various finishing operations on these articles.
Several machines have been constructed for the purpose of replacing hand labour
by mechanical work, but none of them attained the desired result, as for each of
these operations a special machine was required which necessitated handling the
articles at each operation, and, besides, a certain skill was required on the part of
the attendants in moving the parts of the machine for removing and replacing the
articles. Moreover, these parts were very primitive and breakages were frequent as
no elastic material was used for protecting or cushioning the tumblers or glasses dur-
ing the operations and as they acted suddenly, with the same pressure, on the articles-
which alone rotated-and it required a long time in order to finish and round off
the edges &c. by means of plates or tubes made of glass or sandstone. It follows
from this that the amount of hand-work was not reduced, but the proportion of
breakages was increased. Consequently there was really no appreciable advantage
gained by using such machines, and for this reason the majority of them
have been abandoned, as it required longer to finish an article on the machine than
to do it by hand.
After long and extensive studies and researches the inventor has succeeded in
designing a series of mechanism which automatically and simultaneously effect all
the various operations required to produce a finished glass, tumbler or similar vessel.
These operations are
1) Automatic placing of the blown glass into the reheating furnaces at the same
temperature at which the blower placed them on the carriages or trays, provided
inside with asbestos and forming an endless chain passing in proximity to the
blowers and then through the reheating furnaces.

page_text: 2) Automatic supply of the reheated articles to an endless band formed by
wooden cups lined with felt to avoid breaking the articles which are supplied to the
machine which may perform all the operations up to and including decorating the
article, as will be hereinafter described.
Description of a machine performing all the operations required for turning out a
complete article, including decorating and cutting:
Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a plan and elevation of a machine provided with
continuously and intermittently rotating discs, used for the finishing process in the
manufacture of tumblers, glasses or the like, such as:-Tracing, cutting, planing,
rounding off, polishing or reheating (rebrulage); decorating and instantaneously
heating said decoration. These operations are effected as follows:-
At A* it
The disc 46 is divided into eight parts or sections and makes th of a revolution
at each revolution of the upper circular disc 45. The blown glass or tumbler is
placed at A' into the sheath 9. At the point As it is traced by means of a special
diamond-holder hereinafter more fully described. At A3 it is cut by means of one
of the blow-pipes of special construction also fully described hereinafter.
is planed off or cut by means of a lapidary apparatus, the construction of which is
hereinafter fully described. At As the edge is rounded off by means of a rounding
device hereinafter fully described. At A it is polished by means of a buffing or
polishing tool or pad hereinafter fully explained or is reheated (se rebrule) by
means of one of the blow-pipes hereinafter fully described. At A' it is decorated
as hereinafter explained. Finally at As the varnish etc., is burnt in by means of
one of the blow pipes hereinafter described.
The cleaning and polishing of the bottoms of glasses can be also effected on the
same machine which works then as a double acting machine. The glasses or
tumblers are placed at A¹ and A5 (Figure 8) on a buffer shown full-size in the
drawing. The portion 97 of this buffer is secured to the sheath 9. After the
first ½ of a revolution the glasses arrive under the cleaners A² and A°; at the
second of a revolution under finer grinding devices A and A And finally,
at the third of the revolution under the polishing devices A and As
(Figures 9 to 11), and then at the fourth at A' and A5 where they are removed
and replaced by others. This machine working as a double-acting one produces
therefore two glasses with flat and polished bottoms at each 1 of a revolution of
the intermittently rotating circular disc 46.
For glasses with hollow bottoms, convex or shaped grinding devices and buffers
will be used for cleaning and cutting or central rotating grinding devices actuated
by the rotation of the driving shaft shown in Figure 12 according to the dimen-
sions of the glasses to be acted upon. The machine can also be adapted for cutting
and polishing flat and oval sides in the following manner :-
It is sufficient to place the glass on a mandrel as described for dressing and polish-
ing of the bottoms of glasses, and to fix this mandrel to a plate or disc provided with
a stop, divided into as many parts as there are faces to be polished. The change
of division is effected by means of a central disc intermittently rotating in as many
parts of a revolution as there are faces, and causing the six mandrels supporting
the glasses or tumblers to move one division at each partial rotation, and moving
six cutting discs in the direction of the levers 53 (Figures 1 and 2); two discs for
cleaning, two for cutting and two for polishing. These polishing devices having
an up and down movement, could clean all the faces at A2 and A. The disc
rotating intermittently by ½ of a revolution would bring the glasses to
points A³ and A' to be cut, and afterwards to A and A8 to be polished and finally,
to A¹ and A³ to be removed and replaced by others.
As has been explained, all the operations required to finish completely a tumbler
or glass, including the decorating and cutting, can be done on this machine, and
one machine of this kind would be sufficient for small works using only one
furnace.
But for more important establishments using several furnaces, it is more advan-
tageous to divide the work into sections to be done by auxiliary machines, the

page_text: construction and the movement of which are taken from the main machine. For
this purpose I have designed series of machines, such as, machines for tracing and
cutting, machines for cutting and polishing the bottoms of tumblers and finally
machines for cutting and polishing the flat surfaces, hollow, oval or curved
surfaces, etc. Thus the main machine will have to do only three of the most
delicate operations, where great care is required to produce a fine finish and to avoid
breakage. This main machine is therefore arranged to do these three operations
and to work as a double-acting machine, that is to say to produce at each 1/8 of a
revolution two planed, rounded off and polished or reheated tumblers (Figs. 1 and 2.)
Description of the main machine arranged to do the three operations and to work
as a double acting one (Figures 1 and 2).
The tumblers 46 cut on the auxiliary machine (Figures 13 and 14), are placed in
sheaths or holders 9 at A¹ and A5. These holders-eight in number-are arranged
on the disc 46 which is intermittently rotated to the extent of an eighth of a revolu-
tion. At the first movement the tumblers or glasses are brought at A³ and A
under the planing apparatus (that is to say dressing devices). This apparatus
which rotates, consists of three small grinding discs shown full-size
in Figures 10 and 11 (which are hereinafter fully described). Owing to its
novel construction this apparatus is of great importance for planing articles of all
kinds. As soon as the objects to be planed are brought under these discs, the
rotating spindles 52 and 52º descend and press slightly on the top of the tumbler
and exercise a constant pressure on the glass as it becomes ground down.
effected by means of cams secured to the continuously rotating disc 45 enabling
The descent
levers 53 and 53' to descend slowly together with the driving shaft.
is regulated by means of fly-wheels 57 and 57¹ screwed on the spindle and secured
when adjusted, by means of lock-nuts 58 and 58¹.
This is
The pressure is regulated by means of balance-weights 59 on the lever 53. Helical
springs O can be arranged in the centre of the shaft to soften the pressure on the
tumblers when they come into such position as to touch it, as shown
in Figures 16 and 18.
Having finished this planing or grinding, the spindles are raised by means of
spiral shaped cams 56 (Figure 2) to enable the disc 46 carrying the tumblers, to
effect another of a revolution and to bring in this way the tumblers A3 and A
under the rounding devices A3 and A' shown full-size in Figures 15 to 18 in two
different constructions. These apparatus the construction of which is new and
which are based on the same principle as the cleaner in Figures 10 and 11, are
remarkably simple and round off the surfaces in a most perfect manner, the tumbler
being held in cylinders, circles or carriers of elastic or resilient material to avoid a
sudden contact of the grinding discs with the glass and thus prevent vibrating
and breakage.
These apparatus are hereinafter fully described.
The rounding off devices are made of emery, sandstone or any other matter
suitable for grinding glass. They are operated by the spiral cams 56 in the same
manner as for cleaning. Also a third construction B of the rounding off "device
shown in Figures 19 to 21 may be used. These devices are a great improvement on
the rounding off devices known hitherto and consisting of two rods made of glass
or other material, one working on the inner and the other on the outer edge of
the tumbler and having only a slight up and down motion, so that in this way only
a bevel edge could be formed, and not a perfect rounding off with only two points
of contact, so that an excessively long time was required for producing an imperfect
result.
The improved system according to the present invention consists, on the contrary,
of 6 or 8 rounding devices which rotate and which are arranged in articulated cross-
shaped arms, adapted to rest astride on the edge of the tumbler, so that the round-
5 ing off is effected in a very rapid and perfect manner owing to the rotation of the
tumbler and of the rounding off devices with a series of pincers or jaws, which are
opened and closed by the vertical reciprocating motion during their rotation. The

page_text: pressure of the shaft is regulated by the balance weight 59, and that of the rounding
parts is balanced by means of small helical springs 96. This operation having been
finished, the spindles A, A, B, B, C & D (Figures 1 and 2) rise, by means of spiral
cams, and the disc 46 again makes an eighth of a revolution to bring the tumblers
to A and A8.
If it is desired to reheat them, in the shaft 52" is placed a burner C, D
(Figures 22 and 23) if ordinary gas is used, or the burner shown in Figures 24 and 25
modified in the shape of an arc of circle as shown in Figure 26, if gas of mineral
essence or the like is used. It will be understood that the edges having been
previously rounded the reheating will give a much better appearance, and the edge
will not be thicker, than that produced in ordinary planing with a flat surface.
It will be understood that for this operation the shaft carrying the burners
does not turn, and it is sufficient for this purpose to remove the driving pinion 55.
This shaft is simply lowered to the desired position by means of a rack 61 and
levers 611 without balance-weights. This lever maintains the burner lowered as
long as necessary in order to make the edges of the glass red-hot and according to
the determined heat of the blow-pipe. If on the contrary it is desired to have
polished edges, it is sufficient to place instead of the burners, polishing buffer-
pads 84 (Figure 9) made of cork, felt or any other substance suitable for polishing.
This buffer rotates and descends on the edge of the tumbler. In the interior of
this buffer there is a reservoir for oil and tin-putty or other material suitable for
polishing glass, which material saturates the pad of the buffer by capillarity through
the felt or prepared cork. This operation can also be effected with the apparatus
shown in Figures 19 to 21 by means of rounding off devices having the shape of
tubes, the walls of which are provided on the circumference with small perforations
and surrounded by felt or other porous material capable of becoming impregnated
by capillarity, with the polishing material contained in the interior of said tubes,
as also by means of the apparatus shown in Figures 15 to 18, the grinding discs of
which are replaced by cylinders made of felt or any other porous material supplied
by the capillary tube placed in the centre of the shaft.
The dismounting or removal of tumblers is effected by means of pistons or
plungers 62 operated by cams 63 (Fig. 2). The tumblers 461 are caused to move
by means of a toothed wheel 64 (Figures 1 etc.) engaging with pinions 65 forming a
portion of the sheaths 9 supporting the tumblers. These sheaths or holders 9 are
shown full-size in Figure 8- the description of which will be given hereafter.
The toothed wheel 64 is driven by a toothed wheel 66 which receives its motion
from a toothed wheel 67 driven by a worm 48. The change of division is effected
by means of a dividing disc 69 driven by the disc 68 with a driving finger 68¹.
This mechanism is very simple, as the rotation through of a revolution having
been made, the disc 68 continues to revolve in the hollow portion of the disc 69
and maintains it perfectly fixed, so that it never can make more than one eighth of a
revolution.
4
The upper frame 70 engages with four columns 71 (Figure 2) the height of which
can be adjusted as desired by means of nuts 72. For the sake of facility, the nuts 72
and the ring 74 are first unscrewed, and the central nut 73 manipulated to raise the
frame carrying the shafts to a desired height, according to the height of tumblers
or other articles to be worked. The nuts of the four columns having been screwed
down, the central nut is screwed down to the bottom so as not to touch the frame
in its intermittent rotation. It will be understood that the chain 47 (Figure 2)
must vary in length according to the height of the upper frame. The whole
machine is driven by means of pulleys 75 keyed on the shaft 49 provided at its end
with a pinion 49¹ driving a bevel wheel 50 (Figures 1 and 2) secured to a toothed
wheel 54 driving the pinions 55 driving the shafts A, A, B, B, C and D. The
disc 45 carrying the different spiral cams is caused to rotate continuously by means
of a worm 47 driven by toothed wheels or chains 48 and 48¹. The pulley 75 is 5
driven from the transmission shafts overhead by means of a belt 76.
As has already been stated, the tumblers and other articles are automatically

page_text: brought from one machine to another by means of an endless band passing near the
attendants and constantly bringing to them the articles required to enable them to
feed the machine without interruption.
The speed of this endless band depends on the production of the machine as the
articles finished on one machine are placed on said band to be fed to another and
so on.
Description of auxiliary machines for the division of work:-
Figures 13 and 14 show the machine for automatically tracing and cutting by
means of a Bunsen blow-pipe using gas, mineral essence or electricity. As already
stated said machine is realy an adaptation of part of the principal machinė. It
has a similar continuously rotating disc, here marked 1, and rotating tumbler-
supports and is driven by a worm 2 engaging with the worm-wheel 3 secured to
a spindle 4 which passes through the toothed wheel 5 driven by a bevel-wheel 6 by.
means of a pinion 7. The latter rotates eight toothed wheels 8 forming portion
of friction-casings or sheaths 9 turning freely in the disc 1 and provided in the
interior with rubber-rings 9 and 13 for holding the articles and causing them to
participate in the rotation of said sheaths or casings 9 shown full size in Figure 8*.
The disc is thus caused to rotate in a continuous manner and the tumblers are
engaged in the casings at their passage at the points E F.
The machine is thus double-acting and produces two articles at each revolution
of the disc. The tumblers thus placed in the sheaths are traced or acted upon by
the diamond 15. The end of the disc 16 (Figure 13) strikes against the end of the
lever 17, the result being that the diamond-holders 18 accompany the articles to be
cut during the period required to enable them to act on the whole circumference of
the rotating tumblers. The lever 17 thus becomes disengaged from the end of the
disc 16, and the diamond is returned into its original position, by means of a
spring 19 acting against a rubber-stop, 20. This disengagement can be adjusted
to take place when desired by altering the position of the lever 17, the pivotal pin
of said lever being adjustable in an opening made in the bracket 25. The diamond-
holders are guided by a bar 21 pivotted about the hub 22 and guided at both ends
by rollers 23 engaging with grooves 24 made in the brackets 25 secured to the
frame of the machine. The height of the diamond can be adjusted as desired by
means of nuts 26 and 27 and the distance from the centre of the machine by means
of a nut 28.
The pressure of the diamond against the tumbler is determined by means of a
plunger 29 pressing against a spring 30.
The objects thus rapidly traced continue to rotate with the disc. They then meet
the flame of the blow-pipe 14 which cuts them off at the place traced by the
diamond. The burners 14 can have any suitable shape and their position as to
height relatively to the articles to be cut can be adjusted by means of set-screws 31
(Figure 13) which fix them on the rods 32. Air and gas are introduced into the
apparatus through tubes 31 and 321 after having passed through a cross-shaped
part i (shown in Figure 28) in which they meet and become mixed.
When working with gas the burners shown in Figures 27 and 28 may be used.
The burners in Figures 24 and 25 can be used either with gas or with mineral
essence. The tumblers being thus cut and their spherical caps removed, they are
lifted out of their holders by the dismounting pin 38 passing over cams 39. They
thus arrive to their starting points and are removed and placed again on the endless
band which has brought two others to the attendant. The machine is driven by
means of the pulley 42 and a worm by toothed wheels 43 and 44 (Figure 13).
Figures 4, 5, and 5* show a machine for cleaning, cutting and polishing the flat
bottoms of tumblers or similar articles. These three operations must be effected
on three similar machines. Only the discs 120 are made of different materials, viz.,
of cast iron for cleaning, of sandstone for cutting and of cork, wood or felt for
polishing. The machine consists of a cast-iron chamber 77 on which rests a
frame 78 carrying on its circumference 6 brackets 79 and in the centre a hub 80.
This frame is secured to the chamber 77 by means of bolts or otherwise. In the

page_text: frame are made six openings 82 (Figure 5) of such dimensions as to enable the
articles to be cleaned to be easily introduced and removed and not to interfere with
the reversing of the articles secured in the holders. The machine is driven by
means of a pulley 83 keyed on the shaft 84 pivotally supported in a step-bearing on
convex discs 85 and a fixed disc 86. This shaft rotates in the bearing 87 and in the
hub or boss 80 of the frame and is provided at the top with a shoulder 88 on which
rest leather washers 89 pressed together by means of a nut 91. These washers are
turned taper as indicated in the drawing. As they are in contact with friction
cones 92 they cause the pin 93 to rotate. Said pin carries a pinion 94 driving
the toothed wheels 95 secured to spring-casings 96 engaging with the openings of a
radial bar 97. The number of buffers or spring holders may be any desired and
depends on the dimensions of the objects to be cut. The spring-casings 96 shown
full-size in Figure 8, are constituted by a tube 97 freely movable in the casing 96.
In the centre is a steel-pin 98 the necessary space being left between said pin and
the tube 97 for receiving a helical spring 99. This pin is screwed into a lower
disc 100.
This lower disc is provided with a groove destined to receive a rubber-washer 101
of a diameter equal to that of the tumbler or article to be cleaned or polished. The
tube 97 is screw-threaded externally up to the top of the casing and carries a nut 102
surrounded by a rubber ring 103 and provided with a lock nut 102¹. All the
pins 98 have at their ends round heads 98¹ under which is a bar 107 having at each
division a cam or wedge destined to raise all the tumblers 104-when they are
secured by means of pinions 106, (Figures 4 and 5) on the boss of the crank 108
engaging with the rack 107.
The result is that all the articles being raised, they do not touch the grinding
discs. The part 97 is caused to turn through half a revolution by means of the
crank 109, care being taken to previously disengage the coupling 110 by causing
the spring 111 to release the step. The cross-bars carrying the spring holders rise
and become disengaged from the pulley 89 owing to the end of the cross-har 112
provided with a left-hand screw-thread, moving backwards when turning, thus
enabling the tumblers to be disengaged and replaced by others as after or}
revolution the crank 109 stops again and permits the attendant to remove the
tumblers and put others in place. The nut 113 turns freely in the bearing 79, it
is provided at its edge with notches for regulating the pressure of the cones 92
against the driving cone 89 and when it is adjusted a part 114 engages with
a notch in order to keep the nut securely in place. The crank returned into its
original position is held, as already said by the stop 110. Then the crank 108 is
turned in the opposite direction to disengage the pins 98 and to cause the tumblers
to press against the disc 120 for cleaning, cutting or polishing. It will be seen
that the pressure is produced by means of the springs 99, and all the tumblers being
caused to rotate at the same time as the platform, it follows that rapid and very
regular working is attained. The tubes 97 are held by means of a hook 97" on the
casing 96, said hook engaging with a groove in the tube to cause it to participate in
the rotation of the casing.
As will be seen from Figure 5 there are in this construction constantly 36 parts
moving and the machine need never stop, neither for removing nor replacing the
articles. The machine requires two attendants each attending to three sets, remov-
ing the finished articles and replacing them by new ones. The output of this
machine is therefore very considerable.
The upper horizontal wall 77¹ of the chamber 77 serves to receive water and sand
which are discharged from a branch. On the circumference of the frame are made
It is
openings 116 for the passage of the belt for lowering or raising the disc 120.
clear that the other end of the cross-bar 97 is held in the hub 80 in which it turns
freely.
To enable the simplicity of the essential part of the machine to be clearly seen,
said cross-bar is shown separately in Figure 5 without the other parts.
For cleaning, cutting and polishing objects with concave bottoms the machine

page_text: shown in Figures 6 and 7 is employed. The upper mechanism is the same as in
Figures 4 and 5 with the difference that the upper disc carries four cross-bars
instead of six and rotates intermittently on the same principle as the main machine.
The tumblers or articles are caused to rotate also by means of toothed wheels 95
(Figure 7) driven by pinions 95¹ and friction pulleys 89 and 92. The plungers
or holders carrying the objects to be cleaned, cut and polished are the same, with
the difference that the raising of the tumblers is effected automatically as the disc 78
intermittently rotates by revolutions so that all the three operations can be done
automatically and simultaneously on the same machine.
At the first revolution the articles arranged at A are brought at the point B on
the cast-iron discs 98 for cleaning by means of sand. At the second the cross-
bar B comes at C under the sandstone discs 99 for cutting, and finally at the third
revolution the cross bar comes at D under the cork or felt discs 100 for polishing.
All these discs being of the same diameter and the articles being pressed in the
centre by springs, the articles will be cleaned out and polished to the same shapes
and dimensions. Reservoirs supply these discs with water and sand for the first
operation, cross stays or division plates 101 and 102 in the interior preventing the
sand from penetrating into other compartments. The same applies to the sand-
stone discs to which only pure water is supplied, a division plate 103 preventing
the discs 100 from becoming wet, as these latter are supplied with greasy substance
for polishing. The sand and water are collected by tubes placed at the bottom of
each compartment of the chamber. The grinding discs are adapted to be raised
when worn out, by means of screws 105 and 106, as their bearings are arranged on
slide blocks in the brackets. The grinding discs are also driven by friction, a
disc 107 constituted by leather washers pressed together and against the shoulder
of the driving pulley 109 by means of a bolt 108. The pulley is driven by a belt
and turns on balls 111 on the central boss of the frame 100. The disc 112 also
lined or faced with leather is pressed against the disc. 107 by means of a screw 113.
The three shafts provided with their series of grinding discs 98, 99 and 100 are of
course rotated in the same way.
On
The latter
The upper discs 89 and 92 are driven by bevel wheels 114 and 115.
keyed on the shaft 116, rotates all the tumblers secured on the buffers or holders 116'.
The upper disc 87 receives its intermittent rotary motion by means of a toothed
disc 117 acting on the wheel 118 divided into 4 sections. The latter is keyed ou
the branch 119 forming a portion of the disc 117. The disc 117 is driven by
means of a worm 1181 and a worm wheel 1191. The disc 117 is keyed on the
shaft 120 rotating in the bearing 121 and in the socket of the frame 1211.
the shaft 120 is keyed a segment 122 provided at its ends with two teeth 123 and 124
(Figure 7) destined intermittently to rotate the ring 125 resting on bevel rollers 126
(Figure 6) and provided with teeth 124¹ the intervals between which correspond to
the intervals between the upper cams forming a portion of the circle and destined
to raise the pin 127 operating the raising of all the tumblers at the moment when
the disc has to leave the wheel and to make its revolution.
It will be now understood that the first tooth 124 of the segment 122 brings back
the tooth 132 from the point 131 which the segment left owing to its radius being
shorter, and during the passage of the disc, the ring 125 being caused to participate
in its movement, the teeth 1321 have arrived into the position lately occupied by the
teeth 132. During the movement the segment 122 makes its revolution and the
tooth 123 strikes the tooth 1832 which brings it back to 131 and thus releases
the raising pin 127 which enables the rotating tumblers to descend on to the discs for
cleaning, cutting and polishing. The same thing is repeated at each revolution.
The raising of the articles is effected, as already stated, by the pin 127, acting on a
finger 130 keyed on the shaft 128 as well as all the levers 127¹ arranged under the
heads of the pins 129 of the spring holders shown in Figure 8. The driving is
effected by means of pulleys 133 and toothed wheels 134 and 135 driving worms.
These shafts rotate in bearings 1, 2, 3 and 4 the disengagement of tumblers being
effected in the same way as in the machine shown in Figures 4 and 5, and the disc

page_text: rotates on four rollers 136 (Figure 6). The result is that this machine with the
intermittently rotating disc, simultaneously performing the three operations of clean-
ing, cutting and polishing on 15 articles produces an enormous quantity as at each
revolution it brings 5 articles completely finished and it is sufficient simply to
remove them and to put in others without stopping or interfering with the move-
ment of the machine.
Now will be described the cutting machine shown in plan in Figure 8" ("/, full
size) and in elevation in Fig. 3 (3 full size) fulfilling simultaneously and auto-
matically, the three operations, cleaning, cutting and polishing.
This machine consists of an intermittently rotating disc, always on the same
principle as the main machine. The driving is effected by means of the pulley 1
driving the shaft 2 and worm 3 engaging with a toothed disc 4 (Figure 8") to which
is secured a disc 5 provided with one tooth 6 engaging with the recess 7 of the
intermittently rotating disc 8 keyed on the shaft 9 forming a portion of the inter-
mittently rotating disc. On the latter are arranged eight casings 11 carrying
intermittently rotating buffers or holders 10, the movement of which is determined
by the number of faces to be cut on the tumbler. This movement is effected by
means of the continuously rotating disc which has projecting from it eight
tappets 12 (Figure 3) and eight cams 13. These latter serve to raise the connecting
flange 14 provided with a hook or catch 15 engaging with one of the openings or
recesses in the disc 16, the number of said openings corresponding to that of the
faces to be cut on the tumbler.
It will be understood that the disc 16 as well as the disc 17 are keyed on the shaft
of the holder 10 on which is fixed the tumbler. The tooth 12 acts therefore on each
of the pivots 18 as it changes its division. The fixing is effected after the roller
has left the cam 13 and the flange 14 falls back into its rear 16 being urged by the
spring 19. In this way the holder is securely held in place, and the division of the
faces on the tumbler is always exact. The tumbler is besides secured to the holder
by means of a flange 20 in which there is a spring buffer 21 which constantly presses
against the bottom of the tumbler to prevent it from moving.
plunger is rounded off to enable the tumbler to be turned without disturbing
the plunger. The number of faces can therefore be any desired according to the
number of tappets 18 and recesses in the disc 16. The number of tappets 12 secured
to the disc N may be any desired, according to the number of tappets 18.
The alternate movement of the disc N will be now described.
The end of the
As already mentioned it is in direct proportion to the disc 8 carrying a division
of of a revolution which is effected by means of teeth 6 on the disc 5.
The
latter is caused slowly and continuously to rotate by means of the worm 3. The
tumblers A and A' (Figure 8)-smooth or with cut surfaces are arranged on
holders 10 the teeth 6 causing the disc to intermittently make an eighth of a revolu-
tion. The tumblers at A and A' come into the positions B and B where they are
cleaned by means of the iron disc with the help of sand and water. This sand is
supplied from a reservoir arranged on a higher level than the machine as is done
now for hand-work. The faces are cut one after another according to the division
indicated, and when the disc N has made a complete revolution all the faces will
have been cleaned and the tumblers at B and B will arrive at C and C¹ in order to
be cut by means of a sandstone disc fed only with pure water. The same movement
is effected for each face and the tumbler thus cut arrives at D and D¹ under a
wooden or cork disc to be polished. The movement takes place in the same way as
for cleaning.
These tumblers are finally brought to the points A and A¹ where they are removed
by drawing back the plunger 23 and causing the flange 20 to oscillate, in order to
remove two tumblers from the holder, and place two fresh ones in place. It will
be easily understood that at each 1 of a revolution of the disc, two finished
tumblers arrive at A and A¹ and are removed and replaced by others. It follows
that the 6 grinding discs at B, C, D and B¹, C, D, work constantly and simul-
taneously, 6 articles thus producing a considerable quantity of automatically cut

page_text: and polished articles without any other manipulation of the apparatus than that of
removing the finished articles and replacing them by new ones.
The working of the grinding discs is as follows:-
Above the machine is arranged an octagonal transmission device driven by means
of bevel gearing or otherwise. All the shafts are driven by means
of a belt from the main transmission shaft, they are each provided with a pulley
which drives by means of a rubber or other belt, the pulleys 24, the diameters of
which depend on the speed required, the largest of them being for cleaning, the
medium ones for cutting, and the small ones for polishing. These pulleys are
secured on spindles 25 on which are also keyed iron discs 26, sandstone discs 27,
and discs 28 of wood, cork or felt.
These spindles turn in wooden plugs 29 and 291 (Figure 8) secured to the fork 30
pivotted about a pin 31. The plug 291 is adjustable in its recess and is held in
place, after the pressure has been regulated, by means of a screw 32.
The spindle
is held in two lugs 33 (Fig. 8) forming a portion of the slide 34 (Fig. 3) sliding
in guides 35 secured to columns 37 by means of bolts 38.
These columns are in
their turn attached to the frame 39 by means of bolts 40.
Six of these columns are
traversed by spindles 41 rotated by means of toothed wheels 42 driven by the toothed
wheel 42 and intermediate pinions 43 which thus rotate in the same direction all
the 6 spindles on which are keyed the discs 44 provided with cams.
"
These are divided into as many projecting portions 45 as there are faces to be
cut on the tumblers secured to the holders 10. All these cam discs turn, in the
direction indicated by the arrow. The smooth part without the cam-
between 46 and 45-is arranged so as to allow the disc M to make its 1/8 of a revolu-
tion after the withdrawal of the grinding discs, which is effected by means of the
tension of the rubber-belt driven by the upper transmission device forming an
octagon of a larger diameter than that formed by the spindles of the grinding discs.
A spring or a balance weight could also be used to effect this withdrawal. The cams
are therefore arranged so as to produce tumblers with 8 cut and polished sides, and
after the disc has made th of a revolution and is locked the first tooth 45 strikes
the pawl 46 and operates lever 48, the other end of which engages at 47 with a
pin 34 of the slide 34 and thus causes said slide to advance and carry with it the
rotating grinding disc 26. Near the spindle of the grinding disc there are secured
to the fork 30 two guides 49 engaging with straight or inclined grooves in order
that the wheel may follow the tumbler with straight faces, or with grooves made of
curves so called "singe curves whereby the grinding disc is caused by means of
said guide-pins 49 to follow all the sinuosities of curves made in the plate 50
secured by means of bolts 52 (Figure 3) to a plate 51 forming a portion of the
columns 37. When the first tooth 45 arrives at the end of its stroke, the grinding
discs have travelled the whole length of the tumblers, the pawl falls back into the
recess 33 and the grinding disc moves backwards, and during this slight course the
tumbler is caused to make of a revolution by means of the tappets 12 secured
to the continuously rotating disc N. These operations take place in an identical
manner for all the six tumblers until the eighth face, when the tumbler is finished.
The disc N makes therefore one revolution for each 1 revolution of the disc M
and is driven by the toothed wheel 42111 (Figure 3) keyed on the same shaft as
the di-c N. The toothed wheel 42 is driven by the gear 421 secured to the
disc 5. The disc M by making ½ of a revolution brings the tumblers from one
grinding disc to another (cleaning, cutting, polishing). This special construction
of a movable holder or support for the grinding discs is guided in its course by
pins engaging with the curved grooves made in the plates and which curved grooves
can be made of any desired shape, the grinding discs reproducing said shape on
the tumblers whether it be straight curved oval, sinuous so that infinitely varying
designs and shapes can be obtained.
It will be seen that six grinding discs simultaneously act on six tumblers and
the latter after the cleaning operation are automatically moved under the cutting
disc and after the cutting which is effected during the third %, of a revolution, the

page_text: articles arrive under the polishing disc. It follows that this intermittent rotary
motion brings at each revolution two tumblers at A and A¹ where they are removed.
and replaced at others. This arrangement with the intermittently rotating discs
carrying the objects to be cut is the principal feature of the machine according
to the present invention.
Figures 27 and 28 show a blow-pipe approximately full-size. Air and gas enter
the apparatus through tubes 21 and 22 and through a cross-shaped part i where they
are mixed together and enter tubes 18 and 20 whence they pass through a branch 23
These gases
into a reservoir 24 becoming again mixed at the orifices 25 and 26.
in the reservoir 24 are ignited through the orifice 27 (Figure 27). Owing to the
pressure of air introduced through the tube 21, the gas escapes through the nozzle 28
One suitable to cut
the shape of which may be varied according to its use.
tumblers during the rotation of the disc is shown in Figures 13 and 14, if the work
is done with gas.
But it may have any other shape, either that of an ordinary
burner or of a perforated plate, if it is desired to re-burn (rebruler) the articles or
of a circle with a cover in the centre so as to rapidly heat the edges of the tumblers
according to the shape shown in Figure 26.
The mechanism for regulating the approaching of the moving away of the
apparatus is very simple. A simple rack engaging with a pinion 30 is moved by a
crank 31 (Figures 27 and 28). To regulate the height, a screw-threaded rod 32
passes through a sleeve 33 and is raised or lowered by means of nuts 34 and 35
(Figure 27).
Figures 24 and 25 show a blow-pipe for gas of a mineral spirit. The working of
the device is as follows:-
-
To introduce it into
The liquid is introduced by means of a capillary tube 36.
the apparatus a screw 37 is unscrewed by means of a small hand-wheel 38, the point
This screw when slightly
of said screw normally completely closing the inlet.
Then the
unscrewed enables a little fluid to be introduced into the reservoir 40.
screw 41 is slightly unscrewed to enable a little fluid to escape through holes 42
into a cup 43. Then the spirit in the cup is ignited the screw 37 screwed down and
the reservoir 40 left to become heated. When it is sufficiently hot the screw 37 is
slightly unscrewed to enable the spirit to be introduced by capillarity, thence
through a small very thin metal plate 44 (preferably platinum) provided with very
fine holes. This plate is held by means of a screw-threaded socket 45 on the tube 44
forming part of the cover 47. The latter is screwed on the reservoir 40 heated to a
sufficiently high temperature to convert the spirit contained therein into vapour
which enters a large reservoir 48 through the tubes 49 and 50 in which the air is
compressed by means of a blower or the like. This gas thus mixed with air passes
through the openings 51 and 52 where it again meets air and becomes mixed with it.
The lighting is done through an openings 53 and the blue flame issues outwards
through the openings 54.
This blow-pipe could also burn with mineral gas or coal-gas combined with
compressed air. For instance the air arriving through the tube 49, the mineral
essence through the capillary tube 36 and gas through the tube 50 an intense heat
is obtained for the apparatus for instance for burning the edges of the tumblers
burning in of decorations or of glaze. The adjustment of the horizontal position
of the blow-pipe is effected by means of a pinion 30, the vertical adjustment by
means of a nut 55, and screw 56 the end of which engages with a groove 57 prevent-
ing it from turning.
These
Figures 22 and 23 show a different kind of burner in which coal gas or mineral
essence gas is used. This gas mixed with air, introduced into the reservoir 58.
The lower portion is closed by two circles, consisting of tubes 59 and 60 provided
with holes 61 to enable the gas to pass to the openings 65 in the two tubes.
gases meet or impinge together at this outlet and produce when lighted an intense
heat it is sufficient to bring the edges of the tumbler near these tubes to effect their
necessary heating or burning. Figure 23 is the fifth modification which will be
It consists like the last device of a disc with a bottom in
readily understood.

page_text: which is a recessed groove 66, 67 which may be of circular or angular shape, and
acts as in the last modification.
Figures 10 and 11 show the lapidary apparatus already mentioned in the descrip-
tion of the principal machine, destined to dress the tops and the bottoms of the
tumblers. The central spindle 68 carries at its lower end a flange or disc 69 with
which engage the spindles of three discs 70, 71, 72. These spindles are held at
their upper ends by means of pinions 74 secured by means of a screw-threaded key,
or bolt between the spindle and the toothed wheel 75. On these small discs are
arranged rings 76 with conical bottoms 77, with which engage small discs 78 of
These small discs 78
emery or other suitable material for polishing the articles.
thus held on each disc 70, 71, 72 are rotated by means of the shaft 68 on which is
arranged & sleeve 79. The latter is prevented from turning by a hook or screw i
(Figures 12, 16 and 18) secured to the frame H. A groove J is made in the sleeve
so as to cause the latter to have only a vertical reciprocating motion in consequence
of the rotation of the shaft 68. This sleeve 79 is provided in the interior with
teeth 80 with which engage the wheels 75.
The result is that the rotating central shaft 68 carries with it the discs carrying
the grinding discs to which in their turn is communicated a quick rotation, so that
they rotate four times as quickly as the central shaft. These three grinding discs
which have been previously dressed together on a disc are perfectly smooth and
remain in this state until they are completely worn out. No grooves can be
formed in them as the whole of their surface is employed. This apparatus is
extremely useful and is destined to render great services in glass-manufacturing
industry. As a modification are shown grinding discs in Figures 15 to 18, based
on the same principle.
Figure 9 is a polishing device made of cork, felt or any other supple and porous
material enabling lubrication to be effected by capillarity. It consists of a disc 81
secured to the central shaft 5211 on which is screwed a nut 82 the lower portion 83
of which is conical so as to hold the pad 84. The latter is provided with a recess 85
forming reservoir in which is previously placed tin-putty mixed with oil, for
lubricating said plug or pad which is to be used for polishing the edges of tumblers
after they have been rounded off for the purpose of imparting to it the brilliancy
destroyed by the grinding discs.
These apparatus are of the greatest importance for the rounding off of the edges
of tumblers and the like and owing to their simplicity and effectiveness, produco
work which is perfect and quickly performed. The apparatus will be readily
understood as it is based on the same principle as the apparatus described with
reference to Figures 10 and 11.
Figures 15 and 16 show in plan and in sectional elevation a rounding off device
with four grinding discs B provided with grooves, the number of which discs may
As may be seen
be any desired, and which are driven from the central shaft P.
from the drawing, the mechanism is very simple; four grinding discs B are secured
to their spindles C, one end of which C carries a pivot and the other end is cut to
form a pinion D engaging with a toothed ring E held by screws F the ends of which
engage with a groove made in the circle or cup L carrying the grinding discs with
their spindles. This cup has an extension rod K, held in the central shaft l' by
means of a key R. The recess in the rod K is longer so as to enable it to rise
against the helical springs 0, in case the grinding discs press too strongly on the
edges of the tumbler. The screws F then move in the recesses made in the part G
which is held in the frame H by means of a screw I with a flattened end. The part
G held in this way cannot therefore turn but can only move up and down.
follows that the toothed circle E being secured to the part G and the central shaft
rotating the grinding discs are caused to rotate rapidly by means of said pinions.
The shoulder P¹ and the ring N force the part G to follow the up and down move-
ment of the central shaft. To prevent the tumblers from vibrating in their move-
ment in the direction opposite to that of the grinding discs to the ring or flange L'
The latter engages
may be added a ring R¹ of rubber or other elastic material.
It

page_text: with a dove-tail and may also be further secured by screws S. The inner diameter
of these rings varies according to that of the tumblers.
Figs. 17 and 18 show a modification, the mechanism of which is based on the
saine principles as that of Figs. 15 and 16. The central shaft P carries at its
lower end a cup or disc 1" forming a circle, with which engage six spindles C and C
on which are secured the three grinding discs B driven, as described with reference to
Figures 15 and 16, by means of pinions I), and three others B¹ of some elastic
material, secured to spindles C¹ which freely rotate owing to the rotation of the
tumbler. These cylinders B' are of a slightly larger diameter than the grinding
discs, so that the pressure is exercised at first on the wheels of elastic material
(rubber or other) in order to avoid sudden contact with the wheels of hard material.
These cylinders also prevent the rotating tumblers from vibrating as they are held
in the direction of the diameter of the tumbler by means of sleeves a b. In the
centre of the driving shaft there is a rod K terminating at the bottom in a circle
formed by a piston with a groove K¹ carrying a ring R of rubber or other elastic
material, said rod turning freely in the shaft P, the rod being pressed downwards
into the tumbler by means of the part U pressed by the spring O.
The result is that the piston holds the tumbler exactly in the centre of the rotat-
ing shaft and prevents it from rotating and thus gives all the possible protection
against breakage and ensures a perfect rounding off of the edges of the article. At
the upper end of the rod K is a circumferential groove with which engage two
pins T of a smaller diameter than the depth of the groove in order to leave the
piston K¹ a certain amount of up and down movement. The pins T cause the
piston to follow the vertical reciprocating motion of the central shaft P. To this
apparatus may also be added the rubber-ring R¹ of Fig. 16 serving to guide the
outside of the tumbler. This apparatus can be also used for polishing in which
case the grinding discs are replaced by wheels or discs of cork, felt or other porous
miterial absorbing by capillarity the substance used for polishing glass, which
substance is distributed by means of a capillary tube in the centre of the piston K of
the shalt and shafts C and C, and finally this apparatus can be used to cut and
polish hollow bottoms of tumblers, as shown in Fig. 12, by placing a central grind-
ing disc B on a spindle C driven in the same way by means of a pinion D engaging
with the rack L. The diameter of the grind-disc is in proportion to the required
concavity of the bottom of the glass. Owing to this new combination it becomes
possible to cut and polish simultaneously the concave inner portion and the flat
edges by placing by the side of the central disc B two discs of suitable diameter for
acting on the flat edges at the same time as the central disc B cuts the hollow
portion. The tumbler V is placed on a mandrel which is caused to rotate (Fig. 8).
The same arrangement of grinding discs for the simultaneous cutting and polishing
of the hollow portion and of flat edges of the tumbler can be applied to the cutting
apparatus described in Figs. 6 and 7 by adding the intermediate grinding disc B¹,
the new application of which is also claimed as a part of the present invention.
Figs. 19 to 21 give another construction of a rounding off device with several jaws
or polishers consisting of rods connected in the shape of scissors. It consists of
a cross-shaped piece 87 supporting 4, 6 or 8 rounding devices 88, 89, 90 and 91. They
are held in sleeves 92, which are open to enable pressure to be exercised on the
rounding devices by means of screws 93. These rounding devices being carried on
spindles 94, 95, 96, 97 with different centres, intersect each other, and exercise
a pressure on the edges of the tumbler by means of springs 96.
It is sufficient to impart a vertical reciprocating motion to the rotating shaft 86,
and these rounding devices open and close and thus round off in a uniform manner
the edges of the tumblers. It goes without saying that the number of rounding off
devices for polishing can be increased as desired, as already mentioned, and the
centres can be also varied so that all the rounding devices do not all operate on the
same point, as indicated by the rounding devices X the spindles of which
are 96 and 97.
As has been mentioned in the description of the main machine, these rounding
devices can also be utilised for polishing.

page_text: It remains now to describe the casing Fig. 8* and the manner of decorating the
edges of tumblers with fillets of gold, &c.
The sheath 9 consists of a casing mounted in the disc 1 (Figs. 13 and 14). The
lower portion 8 is provided with teeth and is driven by means of a central toothed
wheel, which causes all the sheaths to rotate. At the upper and lower edges are
arranged covers 11 and 12 screw-threaded on the ends 9 and 10.
These covers
press on two rubber rings 10 and 13, in order to hold the tumblers and to cause
them to revolve concentrically. The inner diameter of these rubber-rings can vary
according to the dimensions of tumblers. The lower cover 12 carries a projec-
tion 41 in which is mounted a plug 40, the upper portion of which, in contact with
the glass, is of elastic material. It serves automatically to raise the glass out of
its holder after the operation has been finished.
In order to decorate glass, glazed or porcelain tumblers on the main machine,
fillets of gold, silver or the like are traced by means of a brush or tool, say of porous
material and connected to a small reservoir containing the decorating liquid in
which reservoir a constant pressure is maintained so as to keep the brush or tool
always charged in order to trace straight lines, circles or curves which are produced
by moving the brush by means of clock-work mechanism such as is used in tracing
rose engine patterns, so that any design can be thus produced. After this design
has been traced on the article, it is brought in front of the flame of the blow pipe
where it is burnt in without the necessity of replacing it in the furnace.
The shapes and sizes and materials used in the construction of all these apparatus
can be
any desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :---
1. Apparatus for automatically and simultaneously performing the various opera-
tions for finishing tumblers or other glass porcelain or like articles after they have
been blown or roughly formed, by means of continuously and intermittently rotat-
ing discs, said operations being the tracing cutting off dressing, rounding off of
edges polishing or reburning decorating and burning in of decorated articles
whether of glass or glazed ware or porcelain substantially as described.
2. Apparatus for the automatic and simultaneous performance by means of
intermittently and continuously rotating discs of the various operations for cutting
glass or crystal articles such as cleaning cutting and polishing of flat hollow or
oval faces effected by means of grinding discs carried in holders guided by pins
engaging in grooves whereby the desired curves or other movements are provided
substantially as described.
3. Apparatus for the automatic and simultaneous cleaning and polishing of flat
or concave bottoms of tumblers or concave bottoms with flat edges substantially as
described and illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 or in Figures 67 or in Figure 12 of
the accompanying drawings.
4. Apparatus for the automatic transport of the articles of manufacture compris-
ing endless chains, carrying asbestos holders for the purpose of maintaining the
temperature of the articles whilst passing them through the reheating furnaces and
carrying the reheated articles from one machine to another and from the machines
to the stores substantially as described.
5. Apparatus for cleaning and polishing the edges and bottoms of glasses and
other similar objects by means of grinding discs and a series of cylinders, to which
double rotary motion is imparted, substantially as described with reference to
Figures 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, of the accompanying drawings.
6. Rounding off and polishing device acting by means of a series of jaws and
friction-parts rotated in the opposite direction to that of the rotation of the
articles operated upon and forming a cross-shaped piece adapted to be placed astride
on the edge of the tumbler or similar articles substantially as described and
illustrated in Figures 19, 20 and 21 of the accompanying drawings.
7. The various constructions of blow-pipes substantially as hereinbefore described

page_text: and illustrated in Figures 24 and 25 or in Figures 27 and 28, or in Figure 23, or in
Figure 22, or in Figure 26, of the accompanying drawings.
8. The combination and arrangement of parts for holding and acting upon
unfinished tumblers substantially as described and illustrated in Figures 1 and 2,
or in Figure 3, or in Figure 8, or in Figures 13 and 14, or in Figure 8* of the
accompanying drawings.
T
1000