New or Improved Machinery for the Manufacture of Sheets of Rippled Glass.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Mar., 1886.
Complete Left, 15th Dec., 1886.
Complete Accepted, 18th Jan., 1887.
New or Improved Machinery for the Manufacture of Sheets of
Rippled Glass.
I WILLIAM EDWARD CHANCE of Halesowen Street Oldbury in the County of
Worcester Glass Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to
be as follows:-
My invention consists of improvements in or modifications of the machinery
ordinarily employed in the manufacture of sheets of plate glass the object of my
invention being to give to one side of the sheet of glass produced a brilliant rippled
or irregularly corrugated surface.
The machinery ordinarily employed to manufacture sheets of rolled plate glass
consists essentially of a horizontal iron table and a cylindrical roller supported at its
ends by and travelling on metallic supports parallel to the surface of the table. The
said table and roller are provided with minor appliances which I do not consider it
necessary to describe.
Molten glass poured on the table is rolled by the action of the roller into a sheet
smooth on both sides and of uniform thickness.
In this the ordinary machinery the axis of the rotating and advancing roller travels
in a plane parallel to the surface of the table.
In constructing according to my invention machinery for the manufacture of rippled
glass I employ the ordinary table and roller and appliances but instead of causing the
axis of the rotating and advancing roller to travel in a plane parallel to the surface of
the table I make the said axis travel in an undulating plane that is while the said axis
is maintained parallel to the surface of the table it alternately rises and falls as it
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page_text: advances. This I effect by supporting the roller or flanges on the ends of the roller
on supports having an undulating figure or I give the ends of the roller or flanges on
the ends of the roller an undulating figure and cause them to travel on plain horizontal
supports or both the ends of the roller or flanges on the ends and the supports may
have an undulating figure. Glass rolled by my new or improved machinery has a
brilliant irregular corrugated or rippled figure on that surface operated upon by the
roller.
I do not limit myself to the number size or shape of the undulations on the parts I
have described as undulated as these may be varied without departing from the nature
of my invention for example teeth or other projections may be employed and the
depth and breadth of the undulations or projections may be varied according to the
depth and breadth of the rippling it is desired to produce.

page_text: Rippled Glass.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD CHANCE of Halesowen Street, Oldbury in the County of
Worcester, Glass Manufacturer, 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 Invention consists of improvements in or modifications of the machinery
ordinarily employed in the manufacture of sheets of rolled plate glass; the object of
my invention being to give to one side of the sheet of glass produced a brilliant rippled
or irregularly corrugated surface.
The machinery ordinarily employed to manufacture sheets of rolled plate glass
consists essentially of a horizontal iron table with its upper surface plain, lined or
figured, and a plain cylindrical roller supported at or near its ends by and travelling
on metallic supports of uniform thickness parallel to the surface of the table. The said
supports determine the thickness of the sheets of glass made. The said table and roller
are provided with minor appliances which I do not consider it necessary to describe.
Molten glass poured on the table is rolled by the action of the roller into a sheet
smooth and plain on its upper side and of uniform thickness. In this the ordinary
machinery the axis of the rotating and advancing roller travels in a plane parallel to
the surface of the table.
In constructing according to my invention machinery for the manufacture of rippled
glass, I employ the ordinary table and roller but instead of causing the axis of the
rotating and advancing roller to travel in a plane parallel to the surface of the table I
make the said axis travel in an undulating path; that is, while the said axis is main-
tained parallel to the surface of the table it alternately rises and falls as it advances.
This I effect by supporting the plain roller at or near its ends, or the flanges if
flanges be used, on supports having an undulating or toothed figure or figures and
causing the plain roller, or its flanges, to travel on the said undulating supports. Or
I give the roller at or near its ends, or the flanges, an undulating figure and cause them
to travel on plain horizontal supports.
Glass rolled by my new or improved machinery has a brilliant irregular corrugated
or rippled figure on that surface operated upon by the roller. I do not limit myself to
the number, size, shape or distances apart of the teeth or undulations on the parts by
which the undulating motion of the roller is produced as these may be varied without
departing from the nature of my invention. For example, teeth or other projections
may be employed and the depth and breadth and distances apart of the undulations
or projections may be varied according to the depth and breadth and distances apart
of the ripples it is desired to produce. By varying the relative sizes and weight of
the roller and the teeth, projections or undulations, ripples of various sizes and figures
may be produced.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying drawings the
manner in which my invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation; Figure 2 in plan and Figure 3 in end
elevation, machinery constructed according to my invention for the manufacture of
sheets of rippled glass. In the machine Figures 1, 2 and 3 the roller is supported at
its ends on supports having an undulating or toothed figure; Figure 4 represents in

page_text: longitudinal section a portion of a sheet of rippled glass made by the said machinery.
In Figures 1 and 2 the sheet of glass is marked s.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2 and 3: a is
the horizontal iron table supported on the bed a² the said bed being supported upon
the wheels b, b. and c, by which wheels the machine may be readily transported from
place to place; d is the hand worked cylindrical roller provided with flanges e, e,
working against the sides of the table a, and handwheels f.ƒ; g. g. are toothed racks
let into the table at or near its edges. The ends of the roller d rest and travel upon
the said racks g, g.
The racks g, g on which the roller travels and which communicate to it an undu-
lating or jumping motion serve also to determine the thickness of the sheet of rippled
glass produced. The flanges e, e serve to guide the roller d in its course over the
table a and to prevent any motion of the roller d in the line of its axis.
I prefer to make the teeth of the racks g, g, at such a distance apart that the rising
and falling motion of the roller as it travels upon them is limited, in small sized sheets
of the usual thickness, to a range equal to about one half the maximum thickness of
the sheet of glass to be rolled. I do not however limit myself to any particular range
in the up and down motion of the roller either in this machine or in any of the
machines made according to my invention.
The said racks g, g, may be raised for the purpose of producing thicker sheets of
rippled glass by the introduction of strips of iron or packing pieces under them. Each
of the said racks g, g, may be made in one piece or in several short lengths, I prefer
the latter method of construction.
The racks 9, 9, may be fixed in their places by screwing or otherwise. The racks
of the machines hereinafter described may be made and packed or adjusted in the ways
just described. In front of the roller d' and supported on the table a are adjustable
and removable metal guides i, i, between which guides the mass of molten glass s² to
be rolled is confined and by which the width of the sheet of rolled glass s is determined.
The outer edges or selvages of the sheet of glass which in process of rolling are in
contact with the inner side surfaces of the said metal guides i, i are but very slightly
rippled and are of nearly uniform thickness.
The machine is used in the following manner :-The roller d being at the right hand
end of the table a and being supported by the toothed supports g, g, at the proper
distance above the surface of the table a to make a sheet of rippled glass of the required
thickness, the molten glass s² is poured on the table a between the metal guides i, i,
and the roller d is rotated by its hand wheels f, f, in the direction proper to make the
said roller d advance over the table a in the direction of the arrows figures 1 and 2.
By the action of the roller d the molten glass is rolled into a sheet of the width of the
metal guides i, i, and of a thickness determined by the adjustment of the toothed
racks g, g, that side of the sheet in contact with the table being smooth and plain,
where the table has no pattern on it, but the upper face of the sheet or that face
operated upon by the roller d has an irregular, corrugated or rippled figure as repre-
sented in plan in Figure 2 and in longitudinal section in the separate view Figure 4.
Figure 5 represents in side elevation; Figure 6 in plan and Figure 7 in end eleva-
tion, machinery made according to my invention in which plain flanges at the ends of
the roller travel on undulating or toothed supports and produce the required undu-
lating or jumping motion. The same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 5, 6
and 7; a is the table; a² the bed on which the table a is supported; d², d², are plain
flanges on the ends of the roller d. The said flanges d², d² overhang and work against
the edges of the table a (see Figure 7). Besides guiding the roller d in its travelling
motion over the said table a, the said flanges d³, d, also prevent lateral motion in the
roller d and impart to the said roller the motion necessary to produce the required
rippled surface on the sheet of rolled glass; f,fare longitudinal parallel corrugated or
toothed supports removable and adjustable on the bed a2 of the table a. On the
supports ff, the flanges d³, d², of the roller d bear and travel (see Figure 7). As
the roller d is made to travel by means of its flanges d², d², over the table a the said
roller by the travelling motion of the flanges d², d, upon the supports f, f, is made to

page_text: rise and fall and to produce the requisite rippling. The thickness of the sheet of glass
is determined by the height of the supports f,, which may be raised or lowered as
required.
I believe the action of the said machine Figures 5, 6 and 7 will be readily under-
stood by the description hereinbefore given of the action of the machine Figures 1, 2
and 3.
Figure 8 represents in end elevation a modification of my invention in which
toothed, undulated or studded flanges d², d² travel on plain supports e. e.
In this modification both the guiding and the undulating or jumping motions of the
roller d are produced by the toothed flanges d² d³ and the plain supports e. e.
The
thickness of the sheet of rippled glass produced is determined by adjusting the height
of the plain supports e, e. The lateral motion of the roller is prevented by the toothed
flanges d², d² bearing against the edges of the table a.
In the arrangements I have already described and represented the ends of the roller
are either of the same or of greater diameter than the working part of the roller.
In Figure 9 I have represented the end elevation of a machine in which the plain
ends d' d' of the roller d. working on toothed or undulating supports d³ d³ are of less
diameter than the acting part of the roller-The lateral motion of the roller is prevented
by the flanges d' d' of the roller bearing against the sides of the bed a². In this
arrangement the ends d², d² of the roller d may be toothed and the supports d³, d³, plain.
Although I have represented the toothed ends of the roller as separate from the
rollers and connected thereto by the shaft of the roller yet I wish it to be understood
that I have adopted that construction only in consequence of the greater convenience
of manufacturing the said toothed ends separate from the other part of the roller and
that the said toothed ends of the roller may be cast in one piece with the cylindrical
part of the roller.
I have described and represented all those forms of my invention which I believe to
be of the greatest practical value. I wish it however to be understood that I do not
limit myself to these forms as they may in some cases be modified. For example,
where small masses of molten glass are operated upon the flanges for guiding the roller
may be dispensed with, the action of the workmen on the hand wheels combined with
the weight of the roller sufficing to preserve the parallelism of the motion of the roller.
I prefer however to use the flanges referred to.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention and
the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that I claim as my
invention of "New or improved machinery for the manufacture of sheets of rippled glass."
First. The combination with the table, table bed, and plain roller (with or without
flanges) of machinery used for rolling sheets of glass, of the undulating or toothed
supports for the roller or flanges of the roller to bear and travel upon substantially as
herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereby the
said roller is made to undulate or rise and fall as it travels over the table on which the
molten glass is being rolled and thereby to give an irregular or rippled figure to that
surface of the sheet of glass operated upon by the roller.
Secondly. Making the flanges of the roller or parts of the roller bearing on the
supports of the said machinery of an undulated or toothed figure and making, the
supports on which the roller or flanges of the roller travel plain, substantially as
hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereby the
said roller is made to undulate or rise and fall as it travels over the table on which
the molten glass is being rolled and thereby to give an irregular or rippled figure to
that surface of the glass operated upon by the roller.
WILLIAM EDWARD CHANCE.