Improvements in or Additions to Machinery Employed in the Manufacture of Sheets of Rolled Glass.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Nov., 1886.
Complete Left, 27th July, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 30th Aug., 1887.
Improvements in or Additions to Machinery Employed in the
Manufacture of Sheets of Rolled Glass.
I GEORGE FERGUSON CHANCE of West Smethwick in the County of Stafford
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My improvements have reference principally to an invention described represented
and claimed in the specification of Letters Patent granted to Frederick Mason of
No. 5 Grange Terrace Ryhope Road near Sunderland Smith and John Conqueror of
No. 3 Albany Terrace Hendon Sunderland Glassmaker for New or improved machinery
for rolling glass dated 3rd October 1884 No. 13119 of which Letters Patent I am in
part proprietor.
In order that my improvements may be the better understood I remark that the
patented invention referred to consists essentially of a pair of smooth cylindrical rolls
either plain or ornamented with an inclined plate in front of the said rolls the said
plate being furnished with movable and adjustable metal guides. The said inclined
plate receives the molten glass which on running down the said plate between the
guides is limited laterally by the said guides which determine the width of the sheet
of glass produced by the passing of the stream of molten glass between the rolls.
I will describe my improvements in connection with machinery of the kind I have
referred to.
Sheets of glass made by the said machinery are imperfect at the end which first
passes from between the rolls and it is usual in sheets of glass rolled on a table to
make a
straight cut or depression across the sheet while it is still hot and soft'in the
line in which it is desired to separate the waste front of the sheet. This is done
by means of an instrument called a "slice." After the glass has been pushed
into the kiln the end is readily broken off at the line of the cut.
"
When the sheet of glass operated upon is at rest as where the sheet is formed
by a roller travelling over a table the detaching of the waste end by means of a
"slice
answers well but where as in the patented machinery referred to the
sheet of glass is formed by the molten glass travelling between a pair of rolls
having no motion of translation the cutting off of the waste end of the sheet of glass
cannot be conveniently effected by means of the "slice."

page_text: My invention has for its object to remedy the difficulty referred to and consists of
the arrangement or combination of parts hereinafter described whereby the required
cut for facilitating the detaching of the waste end of the sheet is readily made while
the sheet of glass is in motion.
At a short distance down the inclined plate on which the sheet of glass travels as it
leaves the rolls by which it was formed and at a distance above the said plate of
preferably from one to two inches I place a shaft or axis the said shaft or axis
being parallel to the said plate and to the axes of the rolls. The said shaft works in
uprights attached to the sides of the said plate. In a groove extending throughout
that portion of the shaft situated between the uprights I fix a long narrow metallic
strip preferably of steel the outer or exposed edge of the said strip being ground to a
knife edge. The said strip (which I will call the "cutter") is perpendicular to that
part of the shaft in which it is inserted in other words the plane in which the said
strip is situated is radial to the axis of the shaft.
When the shaft is in such a position that the cutter is perpendicular to the
inclined table the sharp edge of the said cutter is nearly in contact with the said
table. I prefer to provide the shaft carrying the cutter with adjusting appliances
so that the cutter when in use as hereinafter explained shall make a cut about
equal in depth to one half the thickness of the sheet of glass made I do not
however limit myself to any particular depth of cut.
At the ends of the shaft projecting outside the bearings in which it works are
cross handles by which the workman can turn the shaft.
The mechanism described is used as follows:-The sheet of glass made by the rolls
is allowed to travel down the inclined plate until that portion of it at which the cut
is to be made is nearly under the shaft. The attendant workman then turns the
shaft by its handle so as to bring down the edge of the cutter upon the part of the
front end of the sheet in which the cut is to be made he turns the shaft so as to make
the edge of the cutter travel in the same direction and at the same rate as the sheet of
glass and thereby makes in it a clean cut without disturbance to the glass on either
side of the cut. After the shaft has been turned through a small angle the cutter
rises from and ceases to act upon the sheet. After the sheet is passed into the kiln
the end is broken off along the line of the cut in the usual way.
Instead of giving the required rotary motion to the cutter by hand the cutter shaft
may be provided with gearing by operating on which the workman couples the said
shaft with the driving mechanism at the required times and thereby gives the
required motion to the cutter.
Dated this Fifth day of November 1886
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in or Additions to Machinery Employed in the
Manufacture of Sheets of Rolled Glass.
I GEORGE FERGUSON CHANCE of West Smethwick in the County of Stafford
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :—
My improvements have reference principally to an invention described, represented
and claimed in the specification of Letters Patent granted to Frederick Mason of
No. 5 Grange Terrace, Ryhope Road near Sunderland, Smith, and John Conqueror
of No. 3 Albany Terrace, Hendon, Sunderland Glassmaker for "New or improved
machinery for rolling glass" dated 3rd October 1884; No. 13119 of which Letters
Patent I am in part proprietor.
In order that my improvements may be the better understood I remark that the
patented invention referred to consists essentially of a pair of smooth cylindrical rolls,
either plain or ornamented, with an inclined plate in front of the said rolls, the said
plate being furnished with movable and adjustable metal guides. The said inclined
plate receives the molten glass which on running down the said plate between the
guides is limited laterally by the said guides which determine the width of the sheet
of glass produced by the passing of the stream of molten glass between the rolls.
will describe my improvements in connection with machinery of the kind I have
referred to.
Sheets of glass made by the said machinery are imperfect at the end which first
passes from between the rolls and it is usual in sheets of glass rolled on a table to
make a straight cut or depression across the sheet while it is still hot and soft in the
line in which it is desired to separate the waste front of the sheet. This is done by
means of an instrument called a "slice." After the glass has been pushed into the
kiin the end is readily broken off at the line of cut.
When the sheet of glass operated upon is at rest as where the sheet is formed by a
roller travelling over a table the detaching of the waste end by means of a "slice "
answers well but where as in the patented machinery referred to the sheet of glass is
formed by the molten glass travelling between a pair of rolls having no motion of
translation the cutting off of the waste end of the sheet of glass cannot be conveniently
effected by means of the "slice."
My invention has for its object to remedy the difficulty referred to and consists of
the arrangement or combination of parts herein-after described whereby the required

page_text: cut for facilitating the detaching of the waste end of the sheet is readily made while
the sheet of glass is in motion.
At a short distance down the inclined plate on which the sheet of glass travels as it
leaves the rolls by which it was formed and at a distance above the said plate of
preferably from one or two inches, I place a shaft or axis the said shaft working in
the manner hereinafter explained. In a groove extending the greater part of the
length of the said shaft I fix a long narrow metallic strip preferably of steel the outer
or exposed edge of the said strip being ground to a knife edge.
The said strip (which I will call the "cutter") is perpendicular to that part of the
shaft in which it is inserted; in other words, the plane in which the said strip is
situated is radial to the axis of the shaft. When the shaft is in such a position that
the cutter is perpendicular to the inclined plate the sharp edge of the said cutter is
nearly in contact with the said plate. I prefer to provide the shaft carrying the
cutter with adjusting appliances so that the cutter when in use, as hereinafter explained
shall make a cut about equal in depth to one half the thickness of the sheet of glass
made. I do not however limit myself to any particular depth of cut.
At one end of the shaft projecting outside the bearing in which it works is a
cross handle by which the workman can turn the shaft. The mechanism described is
used as follows. The sheet of glass made by the rolls is allowed to travel down the
inclined plate until that portion of it at which the cut is to be made is nearly
under the shaft. The attendant workman then turns the shaft by its handle so as
to bring down the edge of the cutter upon the part of the front end of the sheet
in which the cut is to be made; he turns the shaft so as to make the edge of the
cutter travel in the same direction and at the same rate as the sheet of glass and
thereby makes in it a clean cut without disturbance to the glass on either side
of the cut. After the shaft has been turned through a small angle the cutter
rises from and ceases to act upon the sheet. After the sheet is passed into the kiln
the end is broken off along the line of the cut in the usual way.
Instead of giving the required rotary motion to the cutter by hand, the cutter shaft
may be provided with gearing by operating on which the workman couples the said
shaft with the driving mechanism at the required times and thereby gives the required
motion to the cutter.
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 end elevation and Figure 2 in side elevation a portion of a
machine for the manufacture of sheets of rolled glass, the said portion of the
machine exhibiting my improvements or additions; Figure 3 represents a plan of
the adjusting shaft and lever of the cutter and the fixing screw.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1. 2 and 3.
a,
bare portions of the pair of rolls by which the molten glass is rolled into a sheet
and c is an inclined plate on which the sheet of glass made by the rolls a, b is received
as described in the specification of the patent hereinbefore referred to; d is the cutter
consisting of a long narrow strip of steel the outer end of which is ground to a knife
edge. The said cutter d is fixed to the shaft e parallel to the axes of the rolls, the
said cutter shaft e being capable of rotation in its bearings for the purpose hereinafter
described. The cutter shaft e and the cutter d carried by it can be rotated by means
of the handle on the prolonged end of the said shaft as seen in Figure 1. The cutter
shaft e works in bushes in the ends of two arms carried by the upper and parallel
shaft h. One only of these arms is seen in Figures 1 and 2 and is marked y. The
bush on the bottom of the said arm g in which the end of the shaft e works is
marked. The other and similar arm and bush are situated at the other end of the
machine. The ends of the shaft h carrying the arms g work in uprights or cheeks
at the opposite ends of the machine. The cheek at one end only of the machine
is represented. The shaft h is for the purpose of adjusting the distance of the shaft e
from the inclined plate c for fitting the cutter d to operate upon sheets of glass of
different thicknesses made by the machine.
On the said adjusting shaft ha lever i is fixed by which the position of the said

page_text: shaft h can be adjusted, that is, turned in one or other direction so far as may be
necessary to produce the desired variation in the position of the shaft e with respect
to the inclined plate c. The adjusting shaft h is fixed in any desired position by
means of the screw I turning in the screwed lugs m, m at the end of the said lever.
In the edge of the fixed cheek or plate k a series of holes n is made in any one of
which the pointed end of the screw / can be introduced by turning the hand wheel p
of the said screw. By means of the adjusting and locking mechanism described and
illustrated the position of the cutter shaft can be readily determined and locked in its
adjusted position. When the cutter shaft is in its lowest position as represented in
continuous lines in Figure 2 the cutter shaft is situated at its least distance from
the inclined plate c and the machine is fitted for the cutting of sheets of thin glass.
When the lever i of the adjusting shaft is turned into the position indicated in dotted
lines in Figure 2 the cutter shaft is situated at its highest position from the inclined
plate c and the machine is fitted to cut thick sheets of glass. By adjusting the lever i
at any point between its highest and lowest positions the position of the cutter shaft is
correspondingly varied to suit the thickness of the sheets of glass being manufactured.
In using the machinery, the cutter shaft e is adjusted at the required distance from
the inclined plate e by the lever i and fixed by the locking screw 7 the cutter d being
turned into the position indicated at d² in Figure 2. The sheet of glass made by the
rolls a, b is allowed to travel down the inclined plate c until that portion of it at which
the cut is to be made is nearly under the shaft e when the workman turns the cutter
shaft e by its handle f so as to make the edge of the cutter d travel in the same
direction. By the curvilinear motion of the cutter it descends upon and forms a
depression or cut across the glass and rises from the depression or cut after it has
described an angle of about ninety degrees. The end of the sheet of glass is thus
provided with a depression or cut so as partly to divide the sheet crosswise and the
said sheet is broken at the line of cut after it has been passed into the kiln.
Instead of adjusting the cutter a higher or lower to suit the cutting of sheets of
glass of different thicknesses by means of the shaft h and lever as described and
represented the said cutter may be adjusted in various other ways. For example, the
cutter shaft e may work in bearings capable of rising and falling vertically or the said
shaft may be capable of only a rotary motion in which case the cutter d may be
adjusted in a higher or lower position in the slot in the said shaft, the position of the
cutter being fixed by set screws.
clutch r.
The mechanism which may be used for automatically working the cutter shaft is
represented in elevation in Figure 4; y is a toothed wheel running loosely on the
shaft of the roll b. The said toothed wheel 7 carries part of a clutch : s is the other
part of the clutch geared to the shaft of the roll 6 by a sliding key the said sliding
parts of the clutch rotating with the roll but capable of being engaged with and
disengaged from the part of the clutch by its sliding motion; is the cutter shaft
carrying the toothed wheel u gearing with the loose toothed wheel q carrying the
The sliding parts of the clutch is provided with a collar t² in which a fork
of the ordinary kind engages and by operating upon the handle end of the said fork
the sliding parts of the clutch can be engaged with or disengaged from the part of
the clutch. In this arrangement the cutter shaft works in bearings fixed to cheeks
attached to the sides of the inclined plate and the bolts which fix these bearings to
the cheeks allow of adjustment sufficient to raise or lower the shaft so as to vary the
depth of cut without throwing the toothed wheels 1, u out of gear. The bearings,
cheeks and plate referred to are not shown in the drawing. When the part of the
sheet at which it is desired to make the cut is nearly below the cutter shaft, the work-
inan throws the clutch s into gear with the part r of the clutch thereby communicating
rotary motion to the cutter shaft through the toothed wheels q and u and thus producing
the desired cut in the sheet of glass.
The size of the rolls a, b and the distance of the edge of the cutter from the cutter
shaft being fixed, the relative sizes of the wheels and u must be such that when the
cutter is geared with the rolling machinery the circumferential motion of the rolls
and that of the edge of the cutter must be as nearly as possible equal.

page_text: 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 "Improvements in or additions to machinery employed in the manufacture
of sheets of rolled glass' :-
"
The combination with the said machinery of a cutter for making a straight cut or
depression across the sheet for facilitating the separation of the waste front of the
sheet, the said cutter being capable of performing a motion of rotation about an axis
parallel to the axes of the rolls by which the sheet of glass is made and also capable of
adjustment for the purpose of bringing its cutting edge to a greater or less distance
from the surface of the inclined plate on which the sheet of glass to be operated upon
travels and giving to the said cutter, either by hand or automatically by gearing it
with the rolling machinery, motion in the same direction as that in which the sheet
of glass is travelling and at the same velocity as the said sheet of glass substantially
as herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.