Patent ID: 6895782

Claim:
An improved apparatus for forming sheet glass, wherein the apparatus includes an inflow pipe for delivering molten glass, a trough for receiving molten glass that has sides attached to a wedged shaped sheet forming structure that has downwardly sloping sides converging at the bottom of the wedge such that a glass sheet is formed when molten glass flows over the sides of the trough, down the downwardly sloping sides of the wedged shaped sheet forming structure and meets at the bottom of wedge, and wherein the improvement comprises: a downcomer pipe inserted vertically downward into an end of the inflow pipe opposite the trough, wherein a bottom of the downcomer pipe comprises at least one downward extension including one or more V-shaped or curved extensions, which produces a controlled vortex flow of at least a portion of a glass stream exiting the downcomer pipe, directing at least a portion of the glass stream into a specific location.