Production of silicone-coated glass beads

Claim 1

IN A METHOD FOR PRODUCING GLASS BEADS WHICH COMPRISES INTRODUCING IRREGULAR SHAPES OF POWDERED GLASS INTO A STREAM OF GASES CONTAINING OXYGEN AND A COMBUSTIBLE COMPOUND, AND MOVING AT A VELOCITY SUFFICIENT THAT THE GLASS IS CARRIED BY THE GASES INTO A COMBUSTION ZONE WHERE THE COMBUSTIBLE COMPOUND IS BURNED, THE GLASS IS FUSED AND ASSUMES A GENERALLY SPHERICAL SHAPE, AND PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION CARRY THE SPHEROIDIZED GLASS INTO A SETTLING ZONE OF GREATER DIAMETER THAN THE COMBUSTION ZONE, DISCHARGING PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION FROM THE SETTLING ZONE, AND REMOVING GLASS BEADS FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE SETTLING ZONE, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING SPRAYING FROM ABOUT 0.5 TO ABOUT 10 PARTS BY WEIGHT, BASED UPON SILOXANE SOLIDS, OF AN AQUEOUS EMULSION CONTAINING FROM ABOUT 0.3 TO ABOUT 1 PER CENT BY WEIGHT OF SILOXANE SOLIDS, WHICH DISPERSION IS CURABLE IN NO MORE THAN TWO HOURS AT A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 100* F., INTO AN ENCLOSED ZONE WHILE INTRODUCING INTO THE ENCLOSED ZONE, DIRECTLY FROM THE SETTLING ZONE, 10,000 PARTS BY WEIGHT OF GLASS BEADS AT A TEMPERATURE FROM ABOUT 425* F. TO ABOUT 475* F., AND REMOVING FROM THE ENCLOSED ZONE BEADS COATED WITH A SENSIBLY DRY SILICONE.