An Improved Process of Manufacturing Decorated Glass, Glass Lenses, Hollow-ware, Tubes and other Articles, and Machinery therefor.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Sept., 1899-Accepted, 9th Dec., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Process of Manufacturing Decorated Glass, Glass Lenses,
Hollow-ware, Tubes and other Articles, and Machinery therefor.
I, EMIL OFFENBACHER, of Markt-Redwitz, in the Empire of Germany, Manu-
facturer, 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:
-
My present invention relates to certain improvements in the manufacture of
glass articles, the object being. to provide means or a method whereby the
revoluble pattern rollers serving to produce any desired pattern on the glass mass
may be easily and readily engraved and receive the desired pattern, and it consists
in the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts fully
described and claimed hereinafter.
In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, I have
illustrated the manner of carrying the invention into practical effect by several
figures, hereinafter referred to and explained.
In my British Patent No. 17071/98 I have shown and described the manner of
producing the metal pattern plates for rolling glass by means of a supplemental
roller, and I have indicated at the same time that it is possible, by employing very
strong machines, to engrave the pattern directly in the metal plate by means of a
supplemental roller. Now I have found further means for engraving steel
plates or rollers by means of ordinary planing machines or turning lathes and the
said supplemental roller of my invention.
The new method is as follows:-
The desired pattern is engraved in the small supplemental steel roller a (Fig. 1)
described in my prior application, said roller being then tempered or hardened
and secured on the support of an ordinary lathe or planing machine, so that the
same is in close contact with the surface of the steel plate or roller to be
engraved. The latter is coated with an acid-proof paste-like mass c, and as the
steel roller bis revolved (or as the steel plate is reciprocated); the supplemental
roller a is also revolved and presses the pattern into the coating c so that the
steel of the roller or plate is discovered at certain points d, whilst the remaining
surface is still coated with the said paste-like mass. The roller or plate to be
engraved is then treated with nitric acid or other suitable etching liquid which
thus acts on the discovered points of the steel to remove the excess of material and
produce chemical alterations, whereby the steel is converted at these points in a
soft spongy mass.
Then after removing the acid, the pressing of the pattern into the etched parts
is repeated by means of the supplemental roller a (Fig. 2) whereby the pro-
jecting parts on the latter penetrate still deeper into the parts softened by the
etching liquid. Then by repeating this as many times as required, the desired
depth or recesses and projections may be obtained on the steel roller or plate
as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. The pattern roller or plate thus obtained is
termed "positive." When it desired to have a "negative" pattern, I make a
second negative roller by means of the positive roller a by causing the same
to revolve against each other, and pressing and etching as already described.
Then: the negative roller thus obtained is tempered or hardened and employed for
producing the large roller or table for rolling glass.
The above described method enables me to engrave most complicated designs
roller or plates

page_text: Now I proceed with the description of some applications of the devices obtained
by means of the above described method.
Fig. 5, illustrates a new rolling apparatus for manufacturing ornamental
glass. e represents a positive roller for pressing the design in the glass sheet.
f is a negative plate. By means of these rollers and plates I obtain ornamental
glass undulated in cross-section and patterned on both sides said patterns register-
ing with each other.
Instead of employing the negative plate f, I may likewise employ the negative
roller (Fig. 6) for the same purpose.
The undulated ornamental glass has the advantage that the recesses on the back
thereof may be coated with any desired colour in a most simple manner by means
of a brush, said colour flowing by gravity into the recesses whilst the same can
be easily removed from the projecting parts, whereby coloured ornamental glass
may be obtained at a low cost.
The colour may also be applied on the projections or recesses of the engraved
rollers or plates, by hand or mechanically, so that said colour is smelted during
the rolling of the glass and thereby burned in the latter at the same time.
Instead of employing liquid colour I may also use powder or the like, whereby
various colourings may be obtained.
In practice I have found that the glass must be very hot and liquid for rolling
the same and that ornaments pressed in hot and liquid glass do not appear
sufficiently sharp-edged, as they partly pass away again after rolling. In order
to avoid this objectionable feature, I have provided the following construction:-
Referring to Fig. 7 of the accompanying drawings, g represents a smooth or
blank roller for spreading the glass. represents a positive roller for pressing
the design in the rolled and somewhat cooled mass of glass; is the negative
plate for which rollers may be substituted as shown in Fig. 8. In this instance
h represents the positive roller and is the negative roller.
As the peripheries of the engravings made in accordance with my invention on
rollers of equal size register exactly with each other, I am also enabled to sub-
stitute any desired number of engraved rollers for the smooth rollers g and gl
in Figs. 7 and 8 for the purpose of obtaining sharp-edged ornaments, and said
rollers may be combined with engraved counter-rollers or plates for manufactur-
ing glass ornamented on both sides, or combined with smooth counter-rollers or
plates for manufacturing glass ornamented on one side only.
My present invention is further applicable to the manufacture of many other
articles which are usually manufactured by blowing pressing etc., and it enables
me to produce polished glass articles in a very short time, as the glass is in
contact with the rollers a short moment only, which is not the case in pressing
operations.
Figs. 9, 10 & 11,-show a machine for manufacturing glass lenses, which leave
the machine in a completely perfect state and being adapted to be employed
without grinding or polishing.
The rollers a and rolling against each other and journalled in bearings c
and d, are provided at equal intervals with recesses e and f which are arranged
so that the recesses of the roller a are caused to successively register with the
recesses of the roller b', when said rollers are rotated in the directions of the
arrows Fig. 9. The rollers are constructed so that two corresponding recesses
enclose exactly one glass-lens, and when the hot mass of glass is brought
between the rollers the lenses are produced within the recesses e and f. As the
lenses do not remain in contact with the walls of the recesses their surfaces cannot
become cool.
In the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, the rollers a¹ and b¹
are provided with series of four recesses arranged side by side, so that four lenses
are produced at once. The several recesses on each roller are interconnected by
means of narrow grooves and respectively, which are also caused to register
with each other when the rollers are rotated, so that in operation small ribs I are

page_text: produced, said ribs connecting the lenses h, whereby the continuous band shown
in Figs. 9 and 10 is produced. The grooves i and k are made of such a form as
to produce ribs I the height of which is larger than the thickness of the lenses,
so that said ribs I only come in contact with the plate m whilst the lenses are
held above and out of contact with the latter, whereby the surface of said lenses is
prevented from becoming rough. The rollers 6 mày be omitted and tables pro-
vided with suitable corresponding recesses substituted therefor, when the articles
to be produced are not to be polished on both sides. After cooling, the continuous
band referred to, the small ribs I may be easily broken off.
The shafts and o of the rollers bi and a respectively, carry spur-wheels ?
and made of equal diameters and serving to prevent friction of the rollers and
hold the same in proper relative position.
Above the rollers and b¹ I may arrange two supplemental rollers a and b
serving to roll the liquid glass before the same reaches the forming rollers a¹, bl.
In the same way I may manufacture many other articles, such as plates, cups,
and even pipes or tubes (Figs. 12 & 13), when a core or equivalent ¹ is fed between
the forming rollers with the mass of glass as shown. With these cores or
separately, wires or similar devices can be rolled into the glass plates or glass
articles.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. A process of manufacturing pattern rollers or plates, which consists in
coating the surfaces thereof with a layer of acid-proof flexible material e, pressing
the pattern in the layer, etching the surface, washing the same and repeating the
operation until the desired pattern is produced, substantially as set forth.
2. In a rolling machine, rollers produced in accordance with the process
claimed and having positive and negative designs for the purpose of rolling
ornamental sheet glass or other undulated articles, substantially as set forth.
3.--Ornamental glass articles manufactured by means of the machine claimed,
and the recesses of which receive coloured matters, burned in during or after the
rolling of the glass, substantially as set forth.
4. In a rolling machine for manufacturing ornamental sheet-glass or other
articles, the combination of smooth surfaced rollers for spreading the mass of
glass with positively or negatively engraved rollers or plates for patterning the
spread glass in the same operation, substantially as set forth.
5. In a rolling machine the combination of engraved rollers or plates for
spreading the mass of glass with other engraved or pattern rollers or plates, for
patterning the spread glass in the same operation, substantially as set forth.
6. In a rolling machine the combination of positive or negative engraved
rollers or plates, adapted to revolve against each other for producing glass articles
having polished surfaces, in which operation cores or equivalents with or without
wire or with the latter only may be employed between the rollers or plates for
producing hollow articles or wire glass substantially as set forth.
7. In a rolling machine of the class described, the combination with the
several engravings recesses and projections, of connecting ribs of suitable height
so arranged as to connect the rolled glass articles to a continuous band, so that
said articles are held above and out of contact with the supporting plates, sub-
stantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this´ 14th day of September 1899.
S. S. BROMHEAD,
Patent Agent, 33, Cannon Street, London.