Patents by Inventor Werner Kiefer

Werner Kiefer has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8869561
    Abstract: A device for the refining of a glass melt at high temperatures according to the skull pot principle is provided. The device includes a skull crucible having walls that are constructed from a plurality of pipes, a high-frequency coil for coupling electrical energy into the contents of the skull crucible, and an inlet and an outlet of the skull crucible being arranged in a melt surface region of the glass melt, wherein the inlet and the outlet are essentially arranged lying opposite one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2014
    Assignee: Schott AG
    Inventors: Erich Rodek, Wolfgang Schmid-Bauer, Hilgegard Römer, Günter Weidmann, Werner Kiefer
  • Patent number: 8424342
    Abstract: A method for melting inorganic materials, preferably glasses and glass-ceramics, in a melting unit with cooled walls is provided. The method includes selecting the temperature of at least one region of the melt is selected in such a way as to be in a range from Teff?20% to Teff+20%, where the temperature Teff is given by the temperature at which the energy consumption per unit weight of the material to be melted is at a minimum, with the throughput having been selected in such a way as to be suitably adapted to the required residence time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2013
    Assignee: Schott AG
    Inventors: Werner Kiefer, Hildegard Römer, Frank-Thomas Lentes, Guido Räke, Volker Ohmstede, Karin Naumann, Michael Leister, Gerhard Nuessle, Erich Rodek, Wolfgang Schmidbauer
  • Publication number: 20100147031
    Abstract: A device for the refining of a glass melt at high temperatures according to the skull pot principle is provided. The device includes a skull crucible having walls that are constructed from a plurality of pipes, a high-frequency coil for coupling electrical energy into the contents of the skull crucible, and an inlet and an outlet of the skull crucible being arranged in a melt surface region of the glass melt, wherein the inlet and the outlet are essentially arranged lying opposite one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2010
    Publication date: June 17, 2010
    Inventors: Erich Rodek, Wolfgang Schmid-Bauer, Hilgegard Römer, Günter Weidmann, Werner Kiefer
  • Patent number: 7694533
    Abstract: A method for the refining of glass by means of high temperatures in a skull crucible is provided. The method includes introducing a glass melt in the skull crucible through an inlet disposed at an upper region of the skull crucible, heating the skull crucible by irradiation of high-frequency energy, and discharging the glass melt from the skull crucible through an outlet disposed at the upper region, the outlet being disposed at a place essentially lying opposite the inlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2010
    Assignee: Schott Glas
    Inventors: Erich Rodek, Wolfgang Schmid-Bauer, Hilgegard Römer, Günter Weidmann, Werner Kiefer
  • Publication number: 20070266737
    Abstract: A device for the refining of a glass melt at high temperatures according to the skull pot principle is provided. The device includes a skull crucible having walls that are constructed from a plurality of pipes, a high-frequency coil for coupling electrical energy into the contents of the skull crucible, and an inlet and an outlet of the skull crucible being arranged in a melt surface region of the glass melt, wherein the inlet and the outlet are essentially arranged lying opposite one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2007
    Publication date: November 22, 2007
    Inventors: Erich Rodek, Wolfgnag Bauer, Hilgegard Romer, Gunter Weidmann, Werner Kiefer
  • Publication number: 20060291528
    Abstract: A method for melting inorganic materials, preferably glasses and glass-ceramics, in a melting unit with cooled walls is provided. The method includes selecting the temperature of at least one region of the melt is selected in such a way as to be in a range from Teff?20% to Teff+20%, where the temperature Teff is given by the temperature at which the energy consumption per unit weight of the material to be melted is at a minimum, with the throughput having been selected in such a way as to be suitably adapted to the required residence time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 2, 2003
    Publication date: December 28, 2006
    Inventors: Werner Kiefer, Hildegard Romer, Frank-Thomas Lentes, Guido Rake, Volker Ohmstede, Karin Naumann, Michael Leister, Gerhard Nuessle, Rodek Erich, Wolfgang Schmidbauer
  • Patent number: 7137277
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a device for producing colored glasses. The aim of the invention is to obtain a paricularly intimate mixture and to enable a quick change of the melt at the same time. To this end, the following procedure steps are applied: a melt made of a compound or fragments of glass is produced, the glass melt is further processed in at least one additional vessel, the melt is supplied to a skull device (3) (skull pot or skull channel) during subsequent processing, a dye is supplied (6, 6.1) to the melt after the melt was in the melting station (1) but before the melt enters the skull device (3) or while said melt is in the skull device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2006
    Assignee: Schott AG
    Inventors: Hildegard Romer, Werner Kiefer, Wolfgang Schmidbauer
  • Publication number: 20060128550
    Abstract: A process for producing a borate-containing, low-alkali material is provided. The process includes induction-heating a boron-containing melting material directly in an appliance using an alternating electromagnetic field. The, melting material as a constituent includes at least one metal oxide, the metal ions of which have a valency of at least two, in a quantitative proportion of at least 25 mol %, and in which the ratio of the molar substance quantities of silicon dioxide to borate in the melting material is less than or equal to 0.5.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 2, 2003
    Publication date: June 15, 2006
    Inventors: Michael Leister, Uwe Kolberg, Werner Kiefer, Sybill Nuttgens, Alexander Penkert, Silke Wolff, NIcole Surges
  • Patent number: 7010941
    Abstract: A structural component for a device for the treatment of melts, especially of glass melts, having a base body of metal or of a metal alloy and a cooling system in which a cooling medium is led through the structural component for the leading-off of heat. The base body is provided with a coating of a material the decomposition temperature of which lies below the temperature of the melt, and the cooling system is designed and arranged in such manner that the temperature of the boundary layer of the melt that immediately surrounds the structural component lies below the decomposition temperature of the coating material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2006
    Assignee: Schott AG
    Inventors: Christian Kunert, Uwe Kolberg, Werner Kiefer, Hildegard Römer, Volker Ohmstede
  • Patent number: 6912874
    Abstract: This invention relates to a device and a process for introducing gases into a hot medium, whereby device (1) contains a pipe (2) for introducing gas and a cooling jacket (3) that encases pipe (2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2005
    Assignee: Schott Glas
    Inventors: Christian Kunert, Werner Kiefer, Hildegard Roemer, Uwe Kolberg
  • Patent number: 6817212
    Abstract: The invention relates to a skull pot for melting or refining glass or glass ceramics, comprising a pot wall (1), a pot base, and an induction coil (3) which surrounds said pot wall and through which high-frequency energy can be coupled into the contents of the pot. The pot wall is made up of a ring of metal pipes (1.1) which can be connected to a cooling medium, slot-type intermediate chambers being provided between adjacent metal pipes. The pot base has a run-off for the melt. The metal pipes (1.1) that form the pot wall (1) arm short-circuited with each other above the base in order to increase the degree of efficiency of the skull pot and especially, in order to even out the temperature profile of the melt throughout the depth of the melt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2004
    Assignee: Schott GLAS
    Inventors: Hildegard Römer, Uwe Kolberg, Guido Räke, Werner Kiefer, Michael Kohl, Wolfgang Schmidbauer
  • Patent number: 6810689
    Abstract: The invention relates to a process for the production of a glass melt. For the avoidance of the oxygen reboil the process is equipped with the following process stages or steps: a melting stage a refining stage a homogenizing and conditioning stage; in which before the homogenizing and conditioning stage the melt is heated to a temperature of over 1700° C.; in which polyvalent ions are present in the melt in a proportion of at least 0.5% by wt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2004
    Assignee: Schott Glass
    Inventors: Hildegard Römer, Werner Kiefer, Wolfgang Schmidbauer, Thomas Pfeiffer, Guido Räke
  • Patent number: 6698244
    Abstract: The invention describes a method for refining molten glass materials, in which refining gas is generated by refining agents in the molten glass, and in which the molten glass is heated to a temperature of between 1650° C. and 2800° C., and the maximum release of refining gas by the refining agents takes place at over 1500° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2004
    Assignee: Schott Glas
    Inventors: Hildegard Römer, Werner Kiefer, Detlef Köpsel, Peter Nass, Erich Rodek, Uwe Kolberg, Thomas Pfeiffer
  • Publication number: 20040011080
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a device for refining a glass melt according to the skull pot principle. According to the invention, the inlet and outlet are located in the upper area of the crucible and lie diametrically opposite each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 16, 2003
    Publication date: January 22, 2004
    Inventors: Erich Rodek, Wolfgang Schmid Bauer, Hilgegard Romer, Gunter Weidmann, Werner Kiefer
  • Patent number: 6630420
    Abstract: The silicate glass has a composition (in % by weight, based on oxide) of SiO2, 54-72; Al2O3, 0.5-7; ZrO2, 10-20; B2O3, 0-<5; Na2O, 3-<8; K2O, 0-5; with Na2O+K2O, 2-<8; CaO, 3-11; MgO, 0-10; SrO, 0-8; BaO, 0∝10; with CaO+MgO+SrO+BaO, >5-24; La2O3, 0-5; and TiO2, 0-4. The glass also contains at least 0.6 percent by weight of La2O3 or at least 0.1 percent by weight TiO2. The glass has a hydrolytic resistance in hydrolytic glass 1, an acid resistance in acid class 3 or better, preferably acid class 1, a caustic lye resistance in lye class 1, a glass transition temperature (Tg) of at least 650° C., a thermal expansion coefficient (&agr;20/300) of 4.1×10−6 to 7.4×10−6/K, a refractive index (nd) of 1.53 to 1.63, an Abbé number (&ngr;d) of 48 to 58 and a negative anomalous partial dispersion in a blue spectral region (&Dgr;Pg,F) of up to −0.0130.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2003
    Assignee: Schott Glas
    Inventors: Karin Naumann, Norbert Greulich-Hickmann, Uwe Kolberg, Werner Kiefer, Simone Ritter
  • Patent number: 6627569
    Abstract: The silicate glass has a composition (in % by weight, based on oxide) of SiO2, 54-72; Al2O3, 0.5-7; ZrO2, >10-<18; B2O3, 0-<5; Na2O, 2-<10; K2O1 0-5; with Na2O+K2O, 2-<10; caO, 3-11; MgO, 0-10; SrO, 0-8; BaO, 0-12; with CaO+MgO+SrO+BaO, >5-24; La2O3, 0-6; and TiO2, 0-4. The glass has at least 0.6% by weight of La2O3 or at least 0.1% by weight TiO2. The glass is in hydrolytic glass 1, acid class 3 or better, preferably acid class 1, and lye class 1. It has a glass transition temperature (Tg) of at least 640° C., a thermal expansion coefficient (&agr;20/30O) of 4.1×10−6 to 8.0×10−6/K, a refractive index (nd) of 1.53 to 1.63, an Abbé number (&ngr;d) of 47 to 66 and a negative anomalous partial dispersion in a blue spectral region (&Dgr;Pg,F) of up to −0.0130.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2003
    Inventors: Karin Naumann, Norbert Greulich-Hickmann, Uwe Kolberg, Werner Kiefer
  • Patent number: 6588234
    Abstract: A device and method for the plaining of glasses or glass-ceramics. The device is provided with a melting vat, at least two plaining containers serially connected after the outlet of the melting vat, and at least one of the plaining containers is built in accordance with the skull principle from a plurality of metal tubes comprising a cooling agent connection and a high-frequency device for inductively coupling high-frequency energy into the contents of the plaining container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2003
    Assignee: Schott Glass
    Inventors: Werner Kiefer, Uwe Kolberg, Hildegard Römer, Stefan Schmitt, Wolfgang Schmidbauer
  • Patent number: 6577667
    Abstract: According to the invention, the skull pot is provided with the following characteristics: a pot wall (1), a bottom (3) and an induction coil (9) which surrounds the pot wall (1) and by means of which high-frequency energy can be coupled into the contents of the pot. The pot wall (1) is made of a ring of metal pipes (1.1) which can be connected to a cooling medium. Slits are embodied between adjacent metal pipes (1.1). The metal pipes (1.1) are bent at a right angle at the upper ends thereof in such a way that said pipes extend towards the outside, when the pot wall (1) is viewed from above, and form a collar (2). The collar (2) is surrounded by an additional wall (upper wall 4). The upper edge of said wall is situated on a higher level than the collar (2) in such a way that the melt covers the collar (2) during operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2003
    Assignee: Schott Glas
    Inventors: Hildegard Römer, Wolfgang Schmidbauer, Werner Kiefer, Guido Räke, Frank-Thomas Lentes
  • Publication number: 20030051510
    Abstract: A device for the melting of highly pure optical glasses and/or for the treatment of melts is provided. The device is intended for a subsequent refining or homogenization process making use of the skull technique. The device uses a number of coated metal tubes whose surface is free of glass-coloring ions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 10, 2002
    Publication date: March 20, 2003
    Applicant: Schott Glas
    Inventors: Hildegard Romer, Uwe Kolberg, Werner Kiefer, Ernst-Walter Schafer, Guido Rake
  • Patent number: 6414982
    Abstract: A high-frequency device for melting and refining inorganic compounds having a high-frequency oscillation system and a crucible. The high-frequency system includes an induction coil looping around the crucible and at least two oscillator circuits connectable in parallel to the induction coil and providing redundant high frequency energy. Each self-exciting oscillator includes one of the capacitors and the induction coil. The device may further include a power supply, a control cabinet having operating units, and a process control system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2002
    Assignee: Schott Glas
    Inventors: Guido Räke, Michael Kohl, Hildegard Römer, Wolfgang Schmidtbauer, Werner Kiefer