Process and Means for Manufacturing Glass Pipes.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Oct., 1892-Accepted, 26th Nov., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Process and Means for Manufacturing Glass Pipes.
I PAUL SIEVERT of Doehlen near Dresden in the Kingdom of Saxony, German
Empire, 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:-
This invention relates to a process for manufacturing glass pipes of any desired
diameter and length, and of the desired thickness of the wall of the pipes, and it
also relates to suitable means for carrying out this process.
In manufacturing glass pipes, I proceed as follows:-
On a suitable table, I pour the molten glass, and by a suitable roller I roll down
the glass to the thickness and size required. For this purpose I provide the table
with proper rims, fillets, or borders, either at two sides, or at the two sides and
ends, by which the thickness of the sheet of glass, as well as its size or form, is
determined in conformity with the thickness and the size of the glass pipe to
be produced.
The rims or fillets on the table's surface may be made removable for the purpose
hereafter specified.
On the hot sheet of glass, while still in a plastic condition, I place a core of
suitable material, and I prefer to use, for such core, a hollow roller. Such roller
must be of the diameter corresponding, or nearly corresponding, with the inner
diameter of the pipe to be produced, and preferably exceeding in length the length
of pipe required. This roller I place upon the plastic sheet of glass, generally at
right angles to the axis of the roller which has rolled down the molten glass, and
I then bend up the long sides of the plastic glass by means of suitable wooden or
metal shovel-formed tools on or around said core or roller, so that the edges or
sides of the plastic sheet of glass meet or overlap, in order to be welded together.
Such welding may be completed by pressure or rubbing on the edge, or over-
lapping, or in any suitable manner. For this purpose, the core or roller, with the
glass covering on the same, may be put in a form or mould of suitable material
(wood, iron, etc.), in which the core, with the surrounding glass covering, may be
pressed and turned, in order to complete the welding, and to extinguish any marks
in the glass created by the above named tools.
As soon as the welding is completed in a sufficient manner, the core or roller,
with the surrounding glass, is rolled out, either on the same table, on which the
first rolling down has been effected, from which table (for this purpose) the rims
or fillets have been removed, or on another suitable table or plate. By such
rolling out, the thickness of the pipe's wall will remain equal; the welding will be
completed, and the pipe will increase in diameter to a certain extent, though little,
but so that the core or roller may be easily removed out of the rolled-out
glass pipe.
After such rolling, the end of the pipe may be cut at right angles to its axis,
while still on the core or roller, in order to reduce the pipe to its required length,
or this may be done after the glass pipe has been cooled down, either by cutting or
grinding away the superfluous ends.
If such glass pipes are required to be joined together with socket and nozzle,
one end of such pipe, while still in plastic condition, may be widened by driving
an annular wedge between the glass pipe and the core or roller, and the pipe,
either with or without a core or roller in it, may then be brought into an annealing
oven, for properly cooling down, as is well known in the art of making articles
from glass.
Such glass pipes will be found very useful in all those cases in which metal or

page_text: wooden pipes, or pipes of other material, are not applicable. The glass pipes may
be supplied to trade and industry, if manufactured by the process according to
this invention, at a very reduced price.
In order to carry out the above process, I propose to use the device of which
Fig. 1 shews an end view, partly in section, and Fig. 2 a plan, which device is
shewn as an example for manufacturing glass pipes according to this invention.
The molten glass b (as indicated in dotted lines), having been rolled down on the
table a to the proper thickness by the roller c, the latter is removed from the sheet,
to allow the hollow core or roller d to be brought on to the sheet, preferably at
right angles to the position occupied by the removed roller c in rolling down the
glass. The core or roller d may be placed at the middle line, or near such line, of
the sheet of glass, said core or roller d exceeding preferably in length the length
of the glass sheet. The plastic sheet of glass is now bent over or laid around the
said core or roller by workmen using for this purpose hand tools of wood or metal
shaped to suit the work, and the plastic sheet of glass b is caused to envelope the
roller or core d.
In order to remove any marks or indents caused by handling the plastic glass
by the tools named, to press the overlapping parts of the glass sheet together, and
to maintain an equal thickness of the glass all round the core or roller d, the latter,
with the surrounding glass, is lifted up by suitable means, and placed in a mould
box e, as indicated in Fig. 4, Sheet II. This box is composed of two halves,
hinged together, and when shut, it will envelope the core and glass. The enclosed
core and glass cylinder may be rotated, or partially rotated, in opposite directions
in the mould box, until the impressed marks are removed; the mould box is then
opened, and the core, with the surrounding glass, is removed therefrom, and placed
on the table above mentioned, or on any suitable table, where the glass cylinder is
properly rolled out.
To facilitate such rolling, and to make it accurate, and also to enlarge the
diameter of the glass surrounding the core to such an extent (though small) as will
enable the core or roller to be readily removed from the solidified pipe, I arrange
two discs and g on the two projecting ends of the core or roller d, the disc f being
fastened to the core by screws, while the disc g is fixed on a square on the end of
the core by means of a key h. These two discs, with the core, may be adjusted in
their position over the level of the table a according of the thickness of the glass,
for which purpose the guide rails i for the two discs f and g, are mounted on
screws, which, in their height, may be adjusted by the worm gear k and l. This
gear is turned by a hand wheel m keyed to one end of the spindle n, so that this
spindle, and the spindles and r, connected together by the two pairs of bevel
wheels o o¹ and p p', may be turned, thereby adjusting all the screws carrying the
rails simultaneously and uniformly.
In order that the core or roller d, with the surrounding glass b, may be traversed
over the table without any undue pressure or strain upon said core or roller d, both
ends of the core are provided with a strap s s¹, each strap being made in two halves,
hinged together as indicated in Fig. 5. The rods ss joined to said straps, are
connected by a cross rod s² extending over the entire width of the work, which rod s
constitutes a handle for the workman to effect the rolling-out operation. To
provide for the automatic adjustment of these rods s s¹ to the adjusted rails i i,
their bearings or guides u u² are mounted in forked holders so that the position of
the rods may yield to the position of the core, and the rods may be shifted or moved
even into a somewhat inclined position.
The two halves s s¹ of each strap may be held together by keys v v¹ of dovetail
shape, which take into corresponding key-holes of the straps.
When the glass pipe has been duly rolled out and fitted for transference to the
annealing oven, or for any further treatment required, the keys vul are withdrawn
from the straps; the latter are opened into the position indicated by dotted
lines in Fig. 5, and the rods s s' are withdrawn with the straps from the core or
roller d.

page_text: The core or roller d, with the pipe b, is then lifted from the table; the key h is
withdrawn, and the disc g is removed, leaving the core and pipe free for transference
to wherever required.
During this transference, a fresh supply of molten glass is poured on the table a,
and rolled down to the required thickness, after which the same or another core or
hollow roller d is put upon the plastic sheet, to be lapped around said core or roller,
and the process is repeated in the above described manner.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A process of manufacturing glass pipes, consisting in pouring out molten glass
on a suitable table, rolling down the glass to proper thickness and size required for
the pipe to be made, placing a core on the still plastic sheet of glass, bending up the
glass around said core, rolling out the glass surrounding the core, to weld the joint
and increase the diameter of the pipe (to facilitate the removal of the core), and
finally cooling down the glass pipe in a proper oven, with or without a core in the
pipe.
2. In combination with the process specified in the foregoing claim, preparing
the glass sheet around the core or roller for the rolling out process, by inserting the
core or roller, with the surrounding glass, in a mould box (Fig. 4), in which the
core, with the surrounding glass, is subjected to one or more rotations, or partial
rotations, in to and fro directions, as and for the purpose specified.
3. For carrying out the process of manufacturing glass pipes specified in Claim 1,
a table for rolling out a plastic glass sheet while surrounding a core, said table
being provided with adjustable guide rails for the rolling core, and the core being
provided with a movable handle at the side, for performing the rolling operations.
Dated this 14th day of October 1892.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.