Abstract: A multiple orifice glass feed system for use with a glass forehearth including a plurality of closely spaced plungers, each of which is individually supported independently of each other. Each plunger includes a servo controlled linear actuator and an arm extending between each plunger and its respective servo-motor. Each servo-motor has an axis parallel to the axis of the plungers. An air spring is associated with each plunger for balancing the weight of each plunger and its respective arm. The center lines of the plungers lie generally in a plane. The arms have the major portions thereof generally parallel and closely spaced. A feedback system is provided to monitor the position of each individual needle independently of the other at all times and make corrections to the actual position of the needle if desired.

Abstract: A multiple orifice glass feed system for use with a glass forehearth including a plurality of closely spaced plungers, each of which is individually supported independently of each other. Each plunger includes a servo controlled linear actuator and an arm extending between each plunger and its respective servo-motor. Each servo-motor has an axis parallel to the axis of the plungers. An air spring is associated with each plunger for balancing the weight of each plunger and its respective arm. The center lines of the plungers lie generally in a plane. The arms have the major portions thereof generally parallel and closely spaced. A feedback system is provided to monitor the position of each individual needle independently of the other at all times and make corrections to the actual position of the needle if desired.

Abstract: A multiple orifice glass feed system for use with a glass forehearth including a plurality of closely spaced plungers, each of which is individually supported independently of each other. Each plunger includes a servo controlled linear actuator and an arm extending between each plunger and its respective servo-motor. Each servo-motor has an axis parallel to the axis of the plungers. An air spring is associated with each plunger for balancing the weight of each plunger and its respective arm. The center lines of the plungers lie generally in a plane. The arms have the major portions thereof generally parallel and closely spaced. A feedback system is provided to monitor the position of each individual needle independently of the other at all times and make corrections to the actual position of the needle if desired.

Abstract: A multiple orifice glass feed system for use with a glass forehearth including a plurality of closely spaced plungers, each of which is individually supported independently of the other. Each plunger includes a servo controlled linear actuator and an arm extending between each plunger and its respective servo-motor. Each servo-motor has an axis parallel to the axis of the plungers. An air spring is associated with each plunger for balancing the weight of each plunger and its respective arm. The center lines of the plungers lie generally in a plane. The arms have the major portions thereof generally parallel and closely spaced. A feedback system is provided to monitor the position of each individual needle independently of the other at all times and make corrections to the actual position of the needle if desired.

Abstract: A multiple orifice glass feed system for use with a glass forehearth including a plurality of closely spaced plungers, each of which is individually supported independently of the other. Each plunger includes a servo controlled linear actuator and an arm extending between each plunger and its respective servo-motor. Each servo-motor has an axis parallel to the axis of the plungers. An air spring is associated with each plunger for balancing the weight of each plunger and its respective arm. The center lines of the plungers lie generally in a plane. The arms have the major portions thereof generally parallel and closely spaced. A feedback system is provided to monitor the position of each individual needle independently of the other at all times and make corrections to the actual position of the needle if desired.

Abstract: Apparatus for forming a cased glass stream having an inner core glass surrounded by an outer casing glass includes a first orifice for receiving core glass from a first source. A second orifice is vertically spaced beneath and aligned with the first orifice, and is surrounded by an annular chamber that communicates with the second orifice through the gap between the first and second orifices. A spout delivers casing glass from a second source through a tube to the annular chamber in such a way that glass flows by gravity from the first and second sources through the orifices to form the cased glass stream. A plurality of gas burners are disposed in the spout above the glass pool. The casing glass delivery spout is configured for improved heat transfer to, and improved heat retention within, the casing glass pool within the spout. Specifically, the glass pool surface area is enlarged, and the glass pool depth is reduced.

Abstract: Apparatus for forming a cased glass stream that includes at least one pair of aligned orifices coupled to sources of core and casing glass such that glass flows by gravity from the first and second sources through the aligned orifices to form a cased glass stream. The orifices are carried by an orifice housing mounted on a frame for movement into abutment seating engagement of the orifice housing against the core and casing glass delivery mechanisms. The frame in accordance with the present invention includes a gimbal mounting arrangement mounting the orifice housing to the frame so as to be pivotable about a pair of pivot axes that are orthogonal to each other and to the axis of alignment of the orifices. This gimbal mounting arrangement helps accommodate misalignment between the seating surfaces on the orifice housing and the glass delivery mechanisms, and to reduce glass leakage during operation.

Abstract: The apparatus comprises at least one plunger (2) and a plunger holder (3) which can be raised and lowered. An arm (18) of a tilt lever (17) is coupled to the plunger holder (3). A link member (22) of a drive system (23) cooperates with the other arm (20) of the tilt lever. The link member (22) is adjustable along said other arm (20) in order to change the stroke of the plunger. The drive system (23) comprises an electric servodrive with a take-off shaft (13), the drive being connected to the link member (22) and being controllable by electronic control means. The link member (22) is arranged on a tie rod (26) which at one free end is coupled (28) to a pivot lever (27) which is mounted fixedly in relation to the apparatus. At a central coupling point (30) of the pivot lever (27) is coupled a push rod (32) whose other end is coupled to a crank (14) of the take-off shaft (13).

Abstract: A multiple glass feed system for use with a glass forehearth including a plurality of closely spaced plungers, each of which is individually adjusted independently of the other. The upper end of each plunger is oval in cross section and the lower end is round. The oval portions of the plungers are each supported in an individual clamping mechanism having a chuck housing, a curved liner plate within the housing, and a cap screw which extends between the housing and liner plate to engage the upper end of the plunges and clamp the plunger in the housing to arrange the plungers in side by side relation to each other with the long axis of each oval portion parallel to the long axis of the adjacent plungers.

Abstract: A spout bowl assembly for a glass forming machine which forms containers from discrete gobs formed from individual streams of molten glass discharged from the spout bowl assembly comprising a spout bowl for receiving molten glass including a horizontal tube seating surface having a discharge hole defined therein, a tube for controlling the flow of received molten glass into the discharge opening. The tube has a cylindrical outer wall and a flat, horizontal bottom surface located vertically above the tube seating surface and vertically locatable between a first position in engagement with the tube seating surface and an elevated position a selected vertical distance above the tube seating surface. The spout bowl additionally includes an annular flow passage extending upwardly from the tube seating surface a selected vertical distance.

Abstract: A needle assembly (30) for controlling the flow of molten glass from a feeder bowl (76) through one or more orifices (84) in an orifice plate (86) beneath the feeder bowl. The needle assembly includes a vertical needle (32) for each orifice and each needle is precisely adjustable along its vertical axis by a stepper motor (34). The stepper motor for each needle is positioned remotely from the needle and drives the needle through a potentiometer (72) and a linkage mechanism (36). Each linkage mechanism includes a generally horizontally extending member (38), a vertically extending member (40), and a bevel gear drive (88) to permit the generally horizontally extending ember to drive the vertically extending member.

Abstract: A set-up fixture (50) for positioning the needle holders (18, 20, 22) of a molten glass feeder bowl with respect to one another, the fixture having a frame member (52) and a plurality of prongs (54, 56, 58) depending from the fixture, one prong for each of the needle holders of the feeder bowl installation. The prongs are inserted into apertures (24b, 26b, 28b) of base members (24, 26, 28) from which the needle holders are carried to accurately position support arms (30, 32, 34) to which the base members are affixed, and thus the needle holders and the plunger needles (12, 14, 16) carried thereby, with respect to one another. The prongs depend different distances from the frame member to permit sequential insertion of the prongs into the base member apertures.

Abstract: A basin for a forehearth of a glass-making furnace having an internal volume divided into upper and lower portions by an annular shoulder is described wherein the horizontal cross-sectional area of the upper portion is significantly greater than that of the lower portion. The base of the basin has a glass discharge outlet therein. In use, the discharge outlet is aligned with a relatively movable cylinder which acts as a flow metering valve. The cylinder can be rotated about its axis at a constant or adjustable speed, or the cylinder can be non-rotating and have a separately driven stirrer movable about it to prevent or reduce the formation of stagnant areas.

Abstract: A tube assembly for use in a spout bowl assembly including a bowl for receiving molten glass having a central orifice closed by an orifice plate having one or more openings and a corresponding plurality of vertically reciprocating plungers associated with the orifice openings, the tube assembly comprising a tube mounted for rotation about a vertical axis. The tube includes a plurality of vent holes arranged horizontally around the tube, and a heat baffle including a cylindrical side wall and a bottom wall for closing the cylindrical side wall, an opening in the bottom wall for accommodating one or more reciprocating plungers. The bottom wall includes a downwardly projecting conical surface extending substantially around the bottom wall, and the heat baffle mounted so that the conical surface is horizontally adjacent the tube vent holes.

Abstract: A multiple glass feed system for use with a glass forehearth including a plurality of closely spaced plungers, each of which is individually adjusted independently of the other. The upper end of each plunger is oval in cross section and the lower end is round. The oval portions of the plungers are provided in side by side relation with the long axis of each oval portion parallel to the long axis of the adjacent plungers.

Abstract: A spout bowl assembly having a non-rotating spout tube and a spout bowl defining a spiral volume about the tube for establishing uniform radial velocity of molten glass through the throat between the horizontal bottom surface of the tube and the horizontal portion of the bottom wall of the spout bowl.

Abstract: A glassware forming machine contains molten glass and distributes runners of molten glass through a refractory orifice ring having a plurality of discharge holes. The refractory orifice ring includes an annular side wall of uniform cross-section, a bottom wall of uniform thickness, and a discrete number of strengthened areas on the interior of the annular side wall at selected locations equidistant from each pair of the holes. The periphery of each of the holes also has an increased thickness.

Abstract: A molten glass feeder includes a feeder bowl and a rotating refractory tube. Molten glass is discharged through openings in an orifice plate which are controlled by vertically displaceable needles. To reduce heat loss through the refractory tube, a heat shield is provided which is made up of two mirror imaged parts. Each part has a semicylindrical pan having a lip at the bottom for supporting a semi-circular support plate. Located on this plate is an insulation retainer which has a semi-circular base and a vertical wall at its diameter. This wall forms an insulation receiving bin with the pan.

Abstract: An orifice ring and its holder are disclosed in detail, particularly as to the manner in which the ring is positioned within the holder or pan. The pan is formed with locating slots within which locating keys on the holder are to be positioned. Furthermore, the orifice holder or pan is provided with a precisely formed, horizontally extending slot along the center line of the diameter thereof which defines the four orifice openings. Vertical, side-locating pads, of which there are four in number on the bottom of the orifice ring, define parallel vertical planes at opposed sides of the orifices. These vertical planes coincide with the vertical planes defined by the horizontal slot formed in the pan. Four seating pads formed on the ring define a horizontal plane that is parallel to the top of the orifice ring. These seating pads support the ring in the bottom of the pan. These pads are juxtaposed the side-locating pads. In this manner, precise location of the orifice relative to the pan is provided.

Abstract: A heat shield for the refractory tube in a molten glass feeder has an annular metal shell with semi-circular insulating segments stacked therein. The shell is made in half sections to permit easy removal and the segments are provided in sets with relieved areas to accommodate the reciprocating refractory plungers.

Abstract: A multiple gob glass feeder system has a conventional feeder bowl with an outlet spout in which a triple or quadruple orifice plate is provided to deliver a plurality of uniform, molten glass gobs. The feeder has two plungers mounted pivotally in the support base, which are angularly and symmetrically adjusted, by a mechanism of angular adjustment, coupled between said plungers, in order to graduate the position of said plungers, according to three or four discharge orifices in the orifice plate.

Abstract: A swing out support frame is provided on X-Y slide support structure such that one of several different diameter refractory tubes can be supported in a fixed spout bowl for rotation inside the bowl, and also for electrically controlled and non-electrically dependent vertical movement of the tube inside the bowl.

Abstract: A glass feeder plunger operating mechanism driven by an electric motor controlled by a programmable computer programmed to drive the motor in a predetermined manner in order to generate a predetermined motion profile of one or more glass feeder plungers. The plungers are secured to the end of a cantilevered lateral support bracket which is cyclically and vertically reciprocated by cyclical oscillations of the electric motor. The output shaft of the motor is connected to a ball screw in threaded engagement with a ball nut which is secured to a member connected to the plunger support bracket. The plunger support bracket is attached to a moveable vertical support shaft which maintains plunger alignment during the range of motion. The operating mechanism is attached to a frame which is adjustable in two dimensions to facilitate alignment of the plungers with their respective orifices. Air cylinders are provided to counter-balance the weight of the members being vertically reciprocated.

Abstract: The feeder tube in a molten glass gob feeder is mounted in a holder which is supported in the feeder structure by a pair of opposed hollow shafts. The shafts are vertically adjustable by the fact that they have their lower ends threaded onto vertical screws. The vertical screws are mounted for rotation about their vertical axes, in unison, to effectively raise or lower the shafts as desired. A scale and pointer arrangement indicates the tube height relative to the feeder bottom. The feeder tube is mounted in the holder such that reciprocation of a plunger in the tube will not raise the tube relative to the feeder.

Abstract: When multiple gob feeders are used in which an enlarged tube is necessary to accommodate a row of plungers, a substantial surface area of glass is exposed to radiation or convection cooling and, to avoid excessive heat loss, a pair of heat baffles are used which extend downward into the tube at either side of the row of plungers. The baffles have lower portions which occupy a significant part of the space between the plungers and tube, and act as barriers against the movement of heat up through the space therebetween. The pair of baffles are so configured that they may be raised from the tube without requiring the removal of the plungers. Further, the baffles are supported in the tube by the tube support and therefore will be raised or lowered with the tube when it is adjusted.

Abstract: In glass gob forming apparatus which includes one or more reciprocatable plungers each mounted above a respective orifice in the floor of a refractory trough such that on axial reciprocation of the plungers in use molten glass is forced in the form of gobs through the orifice, the plungers being surrounded by a refractory cylinder, there is provided a refractory heat insulating body within the cylinder around the plungers.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for use in a triple gob feeder of a glass forming apparatus for forming molten glass gobs of uniform size, weight, volume and shape by equalizing the temperatures of the molten glass flowing through orifices in a triple gob orifice ring. Molten glass is retained in a middle reservoir of the triple gob orifice ring for a relatively longer average period of time than in end reservoirs of the ring preferably by providing a middle reservoir having a relatively larger volumetric size than the end reservoirs. In addition, the middle reservoir is cooled by directing a coolant through channels in a bottom surface portion of the orifice ring and onto external surfaces surrounding the middle reservoir.

Abstract: The invention consists a device for feeding automatic continuous process (kinematic) machines for the manufacture of glass objects characterized in that it comprises a turning feeder integral with the drum of the machine.

Abstract: Apparatus is disclosed for advancing particulate material, such as glass batch, to a receiver having an opening to receive the material, in which a distributing arm is mounted with respect to the opening to extend radially from an inner end to an outer end in a generally horizontal plane. The arm is rotatable about a vertically disposed axis adjacent its inner end and has a trough extending along its length to receive the particulate material. A roller mounted on the arm adjacent its outer end supports the arm and rides about the periphery of the opening during rotation of the arm about is inner end. This action of the roller also actuates conveyor means within the trough of the arm to advance the material along the arm from which it is discharged.