Improved Process of and Apparatus for Embedding Wire Netting in Glass.
Year: 1894

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Process of and Apparatus for Embedding Wire Netting
in Glass.
We, FRANK OVERN, of 2138 Van Pelt Street, Mechanical Engineer, HORACE
PETTIT, of Chestnut and Fifth Streets, Attorney-at-Law, and JOHN OVERN,
Junior, of 2108 Diamond Street, Pattern Maker, all of the City and County of
Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, one of the United States of America, 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 :-
This invention relates to a certain improved process of, and apparatus for,
manufacturing sheets or plates of glass having centrally embedded therein wire or
wire netting or gauze, and ordinarily known as "wire glass." Sheets of glass of
this character are especially valuable for use in skylights, vaults, or in other places
where strength is required.
The process of manufacturing wire glass forming the subject of the present
invention consists, in general, in pouring upon a table a sufficient quantity of
molten glass to form a sheet of the required size; then laying, or otherwise
applying, a sheet of wire netting of the proper size upon the molten glass, imme-
diately after pouring, the wire being in close contact with the glass becoming
highly heated and tending by reason of its weight to sink and partly embed itself
within the glass, and to a certain extent assisting to partially level off the glass.
If desired, the wire netting may be heated previous to its application to the glass
so that the surface of the glass will not be chilled when the netting is laid thereon,
although such preliminary heating is not absolutely necessary.
The sheet of wire netting is then embedded in the glass before starting the
rolling operation by any suitable mechanism and the glass is finally rolled as usual,
to form a plate or sheet; the passage of the roller acting not only to smooth out
the molten glass into the required form, but acting also to close the openings made
by the passage of the wire.
The apparatus which we preferably employ in carrying out the invention is fully
shown in the accompanying drawing, in which :-
Fig. 1 is longitudinal sectional elevation of the preferred construction of
apparatus.
Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the same.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a detail.
Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional elevation illustrating a modified construction of
apparatus, and
Fig. 5 is a broken sectional view illustrating a modified construction of pressing
roller.
Referring to the drawing Fig. 1, A represents a suitable table or plate upon which
the molten glass is poured from the melting pot, or furnace. At each side of the table
are rails on which the pressing rolls D, D', may be travelled. The construction of
these parts may be similar to that ordinarily employed in machines for manufac-
turing plate glass, or the structure may be suitably modified to meet the peculiar
requirements of the process which this machine is adapted to carry out.
The
table of a plate glass rolling machine of ordinary construction is usually provided
on each edge with removable strips or ribs on which the pressing roller rests and
travels, the height of the strips or ribs determining the thickness of the subsequent
sheet of glass, and such a structure may be employed in the present instance,

page_text: although if necessary these strips may be omitted and the roller be provided at
each end with a removable collar, d, as illustrated in Fig. 5, these collars are of
suitable diameter and are placed on opposite ends of the roller before the machine
is started into operation, the collars forming the supporting bearings for the roller,
and their height or thickness regulates the thickness of the sheet of glass to be
rolled. In the construction shown in Fig. 4 the axis of the pressing roller, as
shown, is provided with carrying wheels, C, which rest upon independent rails, c,
running parallel to the table, and at each side of the same. These rails rest upon
adjusting screws, a, which may be readily turned in either direction, so as to adjust
the relative positions of the roller and table, and to alter the thickness of the sheet
of glass to be manufactured.
In order to restrain any tendency of the roller to rise during the rolling
operation, and thus allow the formation of ribs or corrugations in the glass, I may
provide at each side of the table, arms, E, devending from the frame in which the
rollers are journalled, and carrying at their lower ends anti-friction rollers, e,
adapted to travel on the under side of the edges of the table, and the rollers, e,
may be made adjustable on the arms, E, so as to permit vertical adjustment of the
pressing rollers.
The frame, G, in which the glass pressing roller or rollers are journalled carries
at its forward end a frame or plate, H, comprising a series of blades, h, the lower
edges of which are in a plane about midway between the upper surface of the
table, A, and the lower surface of the roller, and these blades are preferably so
shaped as to allow of a close adjustment to the forward surface of the pressing
roller. The forward edges of said blades, h, are curved so as to operate to
gradually depress within the molten glass a sheet of wire netting or gauze which
has previously been laid upon the molten glass after preferably being heated to a
proper temperature. These blades, h, may, if desired, have their forward edges
straight, but inclined at an angle to the surface of the table so as to gradually
press the wire within the glass, and may each be separately secured to the frame
or plate, H, so that they may be removed to be reground or reshaped, it being
thus possible to have the operating edges comparatively sharp and make but
small grooves in the glass to be subsequently closed by the passage of the pressing
roller.
The blades, h, must be rigidly secured to the roller-carrying frame and adjusted
immediately in advance of the pressing roller, or in advance of the first roller, where
two are employed, and the lower edges or ends of the series of blades depend or
hang slightly below the roller surface, and preferably beneath the same, as shown
more clearly in Fig. 2.
In operation, a quantity of molten glass is first poured upon the table, preferably
comparatively evenly, so as to present an approximately level upper face, and the
wire netting is laid or applied upon the surface of the molten glass, and by reason
of its weight sinks partially in the same, and tends to conform to the lines of the
surface of the glass, the temperature of the wire netting is, by contact with the
surrounding body of molten glass, raised to a high degree; the frame G is then
traversed over this molten glass, removing in the direction of the arrow Fig. 1, and
forces down into the glass the sheet of wire netting or gauze, as more clearly
illustrated in Fig. 2, the blades, h, embedding the netting to a point about midway
between the opposite faces of the sheet to be formed, and leaving, as they travel,
narrow grooves or passages. The pressing roller then follows and closes the
openings made by the passage of the wire netting and the pressing blades and
effectually smooths the upper surface of the glass, producing a sheet of the
required thickness having embedded within it, at or near its centre, a sheet of wire
netting or gauze.
In machines of this class, with which we are familiar, it has been usual, after the
pouring of the molten glass upon the table to first pass over the glass a pressing
roller so as to form a sheet, and then to press into the sheet so formed the wire
netting or gauze by means of a ribbed and grooved pressing roller, the wire netting
:

page_text: being fed to the molten glass as it is about to be depressed, and finally closing the
openings made by the entrance of the wire netting or gauze, and the ribbed roller,
by the subsequent passage of a plain roller. This method of first rolling the glass
into the form of a sheet has been found in practice to partially chill the glass before
the entrance of the wire netting or gauze, and the subsequent introduction of the
wire after a plate or sheet has been formed will, to some extent, weaken the glass
and prevent its thoroughly fusing by the passage of the subsequent pressing roller,
whereas in the process and apparatus such as form the subject of the invention
herein described the wire netting is embedded into the molten glass immediately
after the latter is poured upon the table, and before the passage of the roller, and
the weight and the forcing in of the netting will operate, in a measure, to partially
flatten the glass so that the work of the pressing roller will be somewhat lessened,
and it will be enabled to more effectively close the openings made by the passage
of the wire and the pressing blades. We also find that the processes and means
beretofore employed cannot produce glass of the same fine finish as the surface of
the glass through which the gauze has been forced is apt to be uneven, or to present
irregularities and apparent air bubbles.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim, is:-
1. The process herein described of manufacturing glass consisting in first pouring
out the molten glass upon a table in sufficient quantity to form a sheet, second,
laying a sheet of wire netting upon the surface of the molten glass and thereby
heating the sheet to a high degree of temperature by contact with the molten glass
and allowing the wire to partially embed itself and to partially conform to the
surface of the poured glass by its own weight, and finally forcing the wire beneath
the surface of the glass and rolling the glass, substantially as described.
2. The herein described process of embedding wire netting into glass, said
process consisting in laying the wire upon. the glass in lengths preliminarily to
embedding, then drawing a series of embedding plates across the surface of the
wire and thus forcing it beneath the surface of the molten glass toward the centre
of the sheet and then rolling the glass, substantially as described.
3. In a machine for manufacturing wire glass, a table, roller provided upon said
table, a frame carried by said roller, a series of embedding blades carried by said
frane and depending therefrom to a point slightly below the circumferential line of
the roller.
4. A machine for manufacturing wire glass, comprising in combination, a table,
a series of rigid embedding blades, a frame carrying the same, a pressing roller
situated to the rear of the blades and means for traversing such blades and rollers
across the table, substantially as specified.
5. A machine for manufacturing wire glass comprising in combination, a table
for the reception of the molten glass, a carrying frame adapted to be traversed over
said table, a series of embedding blades adapted to force within the glass a sheet of
wire netting or gauze, and a pressing roller located in the rear of said blades, said
blades and pressing roller being carried by the frame and moving therewith,
substantially as specified.
6. In a machine for manufacturing wire glass, a table, a frame, rollers journalled
therein, a series of embedding blades, h, secured to the forward end of said frame
and depending therefrom in advance of the roller to a point below the roller and
means for traversing such blades and rollers, substantially as described.
7. The combination of the table, the traversing frame, a pressing roller
journalled in said frame, a series of embedding blades rigidly secured to said frame
and carried thereby, the rear faces of said blades having a contour corresponding
to the periphery of the pressing roller and the forward edges of said blades being
curved and adapted to force within the glass a sheet of wire netting, substantially
as specified.

page_text: 8. The combination of the table, a carrying frame, rollers journalled therein,
wheels mounted on the axes of said rollers, adjustable rails on which said wheels
.are mounted and depending embedding blades secured to and carried by said frame,
substantially as specified.
9. A machine for manufacturing wire glass, comprising in combination, a table
for the reception of the glass, a pressing roller, a series of depending embedding
blades mounted in front of said roller and having their forward faces inclined or
curved and their rear ends partly under the lower face of said pressing roller,
substantially as specified.
10. A machine for manufacturing glass, comprising a table, a pressing roller,
carrying wheels therefor mounted on the axes of said roller, and vertically
adjustable rails on which said wheels may travel, substantially as specified.
Dated this 13th day of March 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.