IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Reynolds of Mount Greenwich South Shore in
the Parish of Gateshead in the County of Durham-for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Reynolds at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th June 1883.
JOHN REYNOLDS of Mount Greenwich, South Shore, in the Parish of Gateshead,
in the County of Durham. IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE
OF GLASS.
"
I construct what in glass manufacturing is called a tank, but with the lower
part in the form of an arch concave externally and convex internally in relation
to the charge of glass. The under surface of the arch is kept from overheating by
exposure to air.-The tank is fired by reverberated heat and I keep the fender or
bridge of the tank from overheating by raising the furnace bars to near the top of
it. I prefer that the arch of the tank should spring from the fire so as that a deep
portion of the charge shall be exposed to the greatest heat, and as the glass is
worked off that it should pass in the process of working off over the more shallow
part of the tank formed by the crown of the tank arch.-The reverberating arch
over the tank I prefer to spring the other way so as to pass the heat over the deep
and shallow parts of the tank in an efficient manner. I provide a charging door
or charging doors near the furnace for introducing the charges into the tank and
I provide a pot or pots with proper openings for working and with openings also
at the lower part so as that when partially immersed in the body of melted glass,
the glass shall flow into the body of the pot, by gravity to the same level as on
the outside. The pot or pots I form with projecting mouth pieces, leading to the
working plate so as that the upper part of the pot is shut off from communication
with the actual furnace gases.-Although the pot has no actual bottom I prolong
part of the sides and back of the pot, so as that they form a support for the pot
when it is in position in the furnace. By this arrangement I continuously work
off a high quality of glass and I keep my tank supplied proportionally by small
charges at intervals as may be required.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Reynolds in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th December 1883.
JOHN REYNOLDS of Mount Greenwich South Shore in the parish of Gateshead,
in the County of Durham. IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE
OF GLASS.
I construct what in glass manufacturing is called a tank but with the lower
part in the form of an arch, concave externally and convex internally in relation
to the charge of glass. The under surface of the arch is kept from overheating by
exposure to air. The tank is fired by reverberated heat and I keep the fender or
bridge of the tank from overheating by raising the furnace bars to near the top of
it. I prefer that the arch of the tank should spring from the fire so as that a deep
portion of the charge shall be exposed to the greatest heat, and as the glass is
worked off that it should pass in the process of working off over the more shallow
part of the tank formed by the crown of the tank arch. The reverberating arch
over the tank I prefer to spring the other way so as to pass the heat over the deep
and shallow parts of the tank in an efficient manner I provide a charging door
or charging doors near the furnace for introducing the charges into the tank and
I provide a pot or pots with proper openings for working and with openings also
at the lower part so as that when partially immersed in the body of melted glass
the glass shall flow into the body of the pot by gravity to the same level as on
the outside. The pot or pots I form with projecting mouthpieces leading to the
working plate so as that the upper part of the pot is shut off from communication
with the actual furnace gases, altho the pot has no actual bottom I prolong part of
the sides and back of the pot so as that they form a support for the pot
when it is in position in the furnace. By this arrangement I continuously work
off a high quality of glass and I keep my tank supplied proportionally by small
charges at intervals as may be required.
Having thus described the nature of my invention I will proceed more
particularly to describe the manner in which the same is to be operated reference
being bad to the drawings hereto attached. Fig. 1 is a ground plan of the tank
with its charge of glass, furnace bridge and pots already referred to but with the
reverberating arch removed, A. is the furnace, B the bridge, C the tank and D. D.
are pots. Fig. 2 is a section of the entire arrangement, on the lines E. E. shewing
the shape of the arch forming the bottom of the tank G. G. G. but the straight
line of the crown only of the furnace arch H. H. H. and Fig, 3 is a section on the
line F. F. shewing the shape of the furnace arch H. H. H. but a straight section
only near the crown of the tank arch G. G. G. The bridge B is narrower than
usual owing to the higher than usual position of the furnace bars. In the ordinary
practice with the furnace placed at a lower level, and with the bridge exposed to
intense heat on both sides and required as it is to sustain part of the weight of
melted glass lying against it, it is usual to form an air passage in the bridge so as
to some extent to cool it and enable it better to retain its shape and solidity but
by my invention of so raising the bars as to bring them nearly to the top of the
bridge I can obtain the requisite cooling effect by the access of air under the bars
and I can thus make the bridge narrower than would be otherwise necessary
without increasing the risk of washing it away, I am aware that tanks for glass
have been constructed with flat bottoms formed upon a series of small arches
parallel to one another but in that construction there is liability to a part of the
bottom being floated up by the melted glass and all parts of the bottom are not

page_text: equally cooled that is to say the parts of the bottom immediately above the walls
from which the arches spring are not exposed to the cooling effect produced in the
arches themselves, in my invention however both these inconveniences are obviated
and owing to the arched form of the tank bottom each brick is tied securely in the
arch and the weight of the charge tends to hold them more firmly in their position
so as that without actual fracture no part of the arch can be floated up by the
melted glass and next owing to the absence of any sleeper walls or supports to the
arch of the tank bottom the whole may be equally cooled by access of air below
and there is a further advantage already touched upon namely that by the intro-
duction of the materials to be melted at the furnace end of the tank when it is
deep and by causing them when melted to flow over a more shallow part of the
tank and thence again into a deep part and in fact to the bottom of this deep part,
I cause a more uniform mixture and more uniform and intense heat than would
be produced in a tank of uniform depth. Fig. 4 represents different views of the
pots the object of which is to work off glass from the bottom of the tank and to
shield the glass being worked off from the action of furnace gases and also from
adınixture with any imperfectly mixed material which without such protection
might disperse along the top of the melted material. There is however a further
use of the pot inasmuch as being built up close into the external wall of the
furnace it shields the glass within it from the action of the external air which
would without such protection be caused by the chimney draught to infringe upon
the melted charge and cool it just at the point when it is required to be well
heated. The pot as has been already mentioned is open at the bottom but part
of the side I. is prolonged so as to give a point of support for the weight of the
pot itself on the bottom of the tank and the mouth piece of the pot J. is built into
the external wall as shewn in Fig 3.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner in which the
same is to be performed I claim
1st The single arch forming the bottom of the tank substantially as described,
and
2nd The combination of the single arched tank before described with the open
bottomed pot substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
3rd in combination with the single arch bottom tank I claim raising the furnace
bars to sufficiently near to the top of the bridge to dispense with the necessity for
using a hollow bridge.
In Witness whereof I the said John Reynolds have hereunto set my hand and
seal this sixth day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and eighty three.
Witness
JOHN BOWMER
Clerk
Forest Hall
JOHN REYNOLDS (L.S.)