Patent ID: 8291730

Claim:
A rotatable spinner assembly for making insulating hollow glass fibers, comprising: a peripheral wall; gas-receiving compartments along the peripheral wall for receiving heated gas under pressure, wherein the gas-receiving compartments have respective gas orifices which exit through the peripheral wall to transmit the heated gas under pressure; glass-receiving first compartments along the peripheral wall to receive molten first glass material, and glass-receiving second compartments along the peripheral wall to receive molten second glass material, wherein each of the glass-receiving first compartments extends horizontally along the peripheral wall, and each of the glass-receiving first compartments is adjacent multiple said gas-receiving compartments, the multiple said gas-receiving compartments have corresponding multiple said respective gas orifices, and each of the glass-receiving first compartments has respective first slots adjacent the corresponding multiple said respective gas orifices; the glass-receiving first compartments having respective first slots through the peripheral wall to transmit the molten first glass material, and the glass-receiving second compartments having respective second slots through the peripheral wall to transmit the molten second glass material, wherein the respective first slots and the respective second slots are adjacent respective gas orifices to combine the molten first glass material and the molten second glass material with the heated gas under pressure and form insulating hollow glass fibers; the glass-receiving first compartments being connected to upwardly extending first passages; a bottom in the spinner assembly to receive the molten first glass material, wherein a centrifugal force by rotation of the spinner assembly urges the molten first glass material to flow radially outward along the bottom toward peripheral wall, and upward through the upwardly extending first passages, and into the first compartments, and out the first slots to combine with the heated gas under pressure; the glass-receiving second compartments being connected to downwardly extending second passages; an upper annular flange in the spinner assembly to receive the molten second glass material, wherein said centrifugal force by rotation of the spinner assembly urges the molten second glass material to flow radially outward along the upper annular flange toward the peripheral wall, and downward through the downwardly extending second passages, and into the second compartments, and out the second slots to combine with the heated gas under pressure.