Patent ID: 7980096

Claim:
A method of making a small glass container, said method comprising the steps of: a) clamping a hollow glass tube with an open upper end and an inner surface in a vertical orientation, said hollow glass tube having an alkali release during thermal processing of the hollow glass tube; b) thermally cutting said hollow glass tube clamped in said vertical orientation in step a) to length, thereby forming a tube piece for discard and a bottom of said hollow glass tube clamped in said vertical orientation in step a); c) thermally opening said bottom of said hollow glass tube formed in step b) by heating said bottom; and d) partially closing said open upper end of said hollow glass tube with a stopper provided with a through-going opening, wherein said through-going opening is dimensioned so that an overpressure is produced by constricting a gas flow path through said open upper end during said thermal processing, but so that said open upper end is kept sufficiently open so that an excessive overpressure that would otherwise damage the glass tube is not produced, said thermal processing including said thermally cutting to length and said thermally opening said bottom; whereby contamination of said inner surface by said alkali release during said thermal processing is at least reduced.