Abstract: A window closure for sealing a viewing and access port in a glass forming chamber includes a handle pivotally mounted to a glass pane supporting frame, the frame being hinged to the wall of the forming chamber below the viewing port. The handle and hinging facilities are secured to the frame outside the perimeter of the port to provide an unobstructed view into the chamber when sealed, and to provide unobstructed access through the port when opened. The handle is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed hooks for engaging correspondingly located pins secured to the chamber wall. The closure is opened by pivoting the handle to disengage the hooks from the pins, and the handle is then used to rotate the entire closure about the hinge to come to rest below the port, parallel to the chamber wall. The closure further includes facilities for detachably securing the glass pane to the frame for easy replacement of the glass.

Abstract: A mould opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing three moulds simultaneously. Moving means (18, 20) operable to move mould portions (12) is connected to the mould portions (12) via a system of links which serves to equalize the mould closing pressures of the three moulds. The system of links comprises a link (34) centrally connected to the moving means (18, 20) which equalizes the pressure between one mould and a further link (46) and the further link (46) equalizes the pressure between the other two moulds.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for curving and tempering or heat toughening thin glass sheets, with thickness less than 4 mm and with camber over 60 mm, regardless of the type of curve described by their profile (cylindrical, parabolic, etc.). A continuous feed system is provided for curving rings, such system including a horizontal carrousel which permits individual curving rings to pass under a forming station every 3 seconds. Rolls are provided in the curve forming station designed to pass across the curving ring or forming mould, regardless of the camber of the latter, even if it exceeds 60 mm, as the rolls are not secured to the rings. The carrousel includes the combination of two racks or horizontal chain conveyors with two pairs of roller conveyors.

Abstract: Apparatus for sensing the position of a mechanism while moving in a direction transverse thereto is disclosed. The apparatus for sensing the position of the mechanism comprises an electrical load, an oscillator having an input connectable in series with the load to a source of direct current, and an electromagnet electrically connected to the output of the oscillator and having a radiating surface opposingly positioned to face the mechanism so that a magnetic field generated thereby radiates in a direction toward a fixed target position through which the mechanism travels. The apparatus also comprises an electrically conductive target having a surface between a leading edge and a lagging edge. The target is mounted on the mechanism so that the leading edge of the target enters the magnetic field as the mechanism moves the target toward the target position.

Abstract: In tempering a glass sheet to a high temper by heating the sheet to approximately its softening point followed by rapid chilling using a quenching composition that comprises a tempering medium having high heat transfer characterisitcs, the heat-softened glass sheets are protected from breakage during fabrication and resulting optical distortion by applying the tempering medium through exit orifices of a delivery system toward the heated glass in a novel cycle. The initially applied tempering medium has a low heat transfer rate and is mixed with a second tempering medium having a higher heat transfer rate to gradually increase the heat transfer rate of the mixed tempering medium. In a specific embodiment, dry air is the first tempering medium and a sublimable material, such as carbon dioxide, is the second tempering medium. The delivery system has an uninsulated portion that assures that initially the sublimable material is applied as a gas.

Abstract: In a float glass forming chamber, concentrated heat is applied to edge portions of the glass ribbon being formed by means of portable heating elements carried by side seal members.

Abstract: Apparatus capable of tempering bent glass sheets of different sizes and shapes including sharp bends about axes oblique to the length and width of the glass sheets is made possible by supporting end nozzle boxes of tempering apparatus in such a manner that they can be moved relative to center nozzle boxes and also permitting limited pivotal adjustment of the end nozzle boxes about both essentially horizontal and essentially vertical axes to permit the end nozzle boxes to move into positions conforming to the shape of corresponding end portions bent to different orientations relative to the length and/or width of the central portion of the bent glass sheets having different glass sheet patterns, including flat patterns.

Abstract: A parison mold and baffle system for an automatic molding machine of I-S type includes a two piece split parison mold with an integral funnel. A combined blow-down and baffle member cooperates with the mold in a first position to perform the blow-down function and then in a second position acts as the bottle bottom end of the mold during the blow-back final shaping of the parison.

Abstract: A signal is produced which is representative of a position of a part of a mould (1b, 7b, 8b, 9b) at a time in a cyclic process of forming glassware when the mould (1, 7, 8, 9) should be closed. This signal is compared with a signal representative of the position of the mould part (1b, 7b, 8b, 9b) when the mould is correctly closed. This latter signal is produced by averaging a selected number of the immediately preceding signals representative of the position of the part of the mould at the time when the mould should be closed.

Abstract: An improved apparatus including a localized heater that moves along the direction of conveyance with conveyed glass sheets to provide localized heating of a portion of each glass sheet to be bent without heating the rest of the glass sheet prior to its subsequent treatment. This invention is especially suitable for locally heating designated portions of glass sheets as they are heated while being conveyed through a furnace on a horizontal roller conveyor where the designated portion of glass sheets are to be formed with bends having relatively short radii of curvature at a bending station. The apparatus includes a pair of elongated localized gas heaters, each of which is positioned above the portion of the glass sheet which requires significant bending. These heaters are mounted on a carriage driven by a drive mechanism.

Abstract: A method for preheating glass batch is disclosed. Media heated with furnace exhaust gases is used to preheat the glass batch. This invention includes a way to clean furnace exhaust gas condensate from the surface of the media.

Abstract: Apparatus for curving and tempering glass sheets, including a furnace for heating the glass sheets to softening temperature, shaping means for curving the heated glass sheets, and means for tempering the curved sheets arranged in tandum. The glass sheet shaping means includes upper and lower complemental pressing units, and a series of relatively narrow endless belts for receiving the glass sheets from the furnace, positioning them between the pressing units for curving and for subsequently delivering the curved sheets to the tempering means. The shaping means also includes means automatically operable to relieve the tension on the endless belts to bring the travel of the glass sheets to a stop between the pressing units during pressing and to reestablish the tension on said belts after pressing to deliver the curved sheets to the tempering means.

Abstract: Nip width of a glass ribbon advancing on a molten metal bath is determined by repeatedly, at selected intervals, advancing an edge detector from a first home position toward and into contact with the ribbon edge and then back to a second home position. The first and second home positions are compared at the end of each interval to determine nip width and/or change in nip width. The facilities for determining nip width include a detector responsive to fluid pressure changes. Facilities are also taught relating to measurement of substrate displacements by contacting the substrate edge with a pivotal member to activate an electrical system.

Abstract: A method of producing thin sheet glass by the float process, in which molten glass is formed into a thin layer on the surface of molten metal by making molten glass pass through a vertically narrow gap given by a sluice wall which extends above and transversely of the molten metal bath, and the molten glass layer is stretched to further reduce its thickness. By forming the sluice wall with a slant surface on the front side facing a pool of molten glass so as to smoothly introduce the molten glass into the gap beneath the wall and by using a practically isotropic graphite which is not greater than 23% in its porosity as the material of the sluice wall, defectless sheet glass thinner than 1 mm can be obtained. Preferably the porosity of the graphite is at least 9%.

Abstract: Sheet glass is heated during conveyance within a furnace housing having a fixed roof and vertically movable side doors that define side slots through which ends of conveyor rolls project outwardly to be supported and frictionally driven by continuous drive loops slidably driven over external support surfaces that extend alongside the side slots. A vacuum holder of the apparatus is positioned within the furnace housing above the conveyor and has a downwardly facing surface with spaced openings in which a vacuum is drawn to receive a glass sheet from the conveyor and support the sheet above the conveyor. The holder surface is disclosed as being both planar and curved and as having a porous cover of ceramic fibers so as to distribute the vacuum and prevent marring of the glass as it is supported. A greater vacuum is drawn to initially support the glass and a lesser vacuum is subsequently drawn to prevent glass deformation at the spaced openings.

Abstract: Sheet glass is heated during conveyance within a furance housing having a fixed roof and vertically movable side doors that define side slots through which ends of conveyor rolls project outwardly to be supported and frictionally driven by continuous drive loops slidably driven over external support surfaces that extend alongside the side slots. A vacuum holder of the apparatus is positioned within the furnace housing above the conveyor and has a downwardly facing surface with spaced openings in which a vacuum is drawn to receive a glass sheet from the conveyor and support the sheet above the conveyor. The holder surface is disclosed as being both planar and curved and as having a porous cover of ceramic fibers so as to distribute the vacuum and prevent marring of the glass as it is supported. A greater vacuum is drawn to initially support the glass and a lesser vacuum is subsequently drawn to prevent glass deformation at the spaced openings.

Abstract: The present invention relates to shaping and tempering glass sheets using a pair of cooling stations and an access area with a common tunnel-like furnace and a common shaping station. The cooling stations are located near the common glass sheet shaping station along angularly diverging paths of movement from said shaping station so that a first cooling station for chilling a glass sheet bent about an axis of curvature approximately parallel to its initial path of movement through the furnace is located along an extension of the path and a second cooling station for chilling a glass sheet bent about an axis substantially normal to the path of glass sheet movement through the furnace is located to one side of said shaping station and said access area is located to the other side of said shaping station. The access area permits ready change of shaping molds at the shaping station.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for collecting flat or semiflat materials while simultaneously retrieving bottles and cans includes a ground engageable rotating drum (52) with a plurality of fingers (60) extending radially from the drum. A plurality of toothed discs (210) is rotatably mounted on a shaft and driven in conjunction with the rotation of the drum in a direction opposite that of the drum. The toothed discs (210) are positioned adjacent to but above ground level during operation of the apparatus and assists in the engagement and movement of objects by the drum and fingers to a collection location (32). A plurality of belts (130) is engaged between pulleys (212) mounted intermediate of the toothed discs (210) and corresponding pulleys (126) on a shaft spaced from the toothed discs. The belts are positioned on the trailing side of the drum and above the toothed discs and assist in engagement and movement of objects by the drum and fingers to the collection station.

Abstract: In a fluidized bed gasification system an ash removal system to reduce the particulate ash to a maximum size or smaller, allow the ash to cool to a temperature lower than the gasifier and remove the ash from the gasifier system. The system consists of a crusher, a container containing level probes and a means for controlling the rotational speed of the crusher based on the level of ash within the container.

Abstract: A process for making an envelope for a projection televised tube, that includes a spherically curved electronic beam target surface spaced away from the neck of the tube, a larger reflective surface spherically curved concentrically with the target surface on an end plate located close to the tube neck, a target support that preferably constitutes a face plate for the envelope, and a hollow cylindrical spacer member for closing the side of the tube envelope and for holding the target support accurately spaced from the reflective surface, includes making the ends of the cylindrical member and the abutting peripheral surfaces of the end plate and target concentric with the target and reflective surfaces, so that slight relative lateral motion of the parts during assembly and bonding will not affect tube projection optics, while the relationship between the target and reflective surfaces is precisely maintained in spaced concentric relationship.