US3874866A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Glass feeder tube operating mechanism
Assignee: GLASS MACHINERY Inc A Corp OF
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Filing: 1974-04-08
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Granted: 1975-04-01
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Expires: 1994-04-08
Abstract
Abstract The refractory tube, which controls the flow of glass from the feeder bowl, is rotatably supported on a horizontal cross arm, and a drive motor is mounted on the arm for rotating the tube. The cross arm is mounted to a tubular rod, preferably at the balancing point of the combination of the refractory tube, the drive motor, and the cross arm. Thus, the weight of these various elements can be conveniently counteracted by a tension spring, one end of which is connected to a fixed support structure, and the other of which is connected to the tubular support rod. The tubular support rod is in turn slidably supported in vertically spaced bearings provided for this purpose in a C-shaped frame. A threaded shaft extends upwardly into the lower end of the support rod and engages an internal nut for raising and lowering the rod to vary the height of the refractory tube above an annular curb defined in the feed bowl. A stepping motor is adapted to rotate the threaded shaft through incremental angular displacements, and a control circuit is provided to operate the stepping motor, said circuit including increase and decrease gob weight switches which must be operated in conjunction with an incremental advance switch in order to vary the height of the rotating tube above the curb.
Inventors
- 👤 Michael A Iacovazzi
- 👤 Aldo Basile
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 01:30
CPC Classifications
C; C03; C03B; C03B7/00; C03B7/08; C03B7/084
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
250 words
In a feeder apparatus for handling molten glass and including a feeder bowl with a lower outlet spout defined in part by an annular curb over which the molten glass is adapted to flow in response to vertical reciprocating motion of a plunger, and including a rotatable refractory tube arranged coaxially with the plunger and with its lower and spaced above the annular curb to a height H to define an annular passageway for the molten glass, the improvement comprising: a. support means for said rotatable tube, including a C-shaped frame member defining vertically spaced slide bearings, said Cshaped member having an upper end and a lower end, b. a tubular support rod slidably received in said spaced bearings, c. a cross arm carried by said rod and disposed between said upper end and said lower end of said C-shaped member, and including means adjacent one end for rotatably supporting the upper end of said tube, and a motor adjacent the opposite end and drivingly connected to said tube, said cross arm being supported by said rod so that the weight of said motor substantially balances that of the tube, d. a threaded shaft coaxially arranged in the lower end of said support rod and journalled in the C-shaped frame, e. nut means threadably received on said shaft and connected to said support rod for moving said rod vertically in response to rotation of said threaded shaft, and f. means for rotating said threaded shaft and varying the height, H.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
250 words
In a feeder apparatus for handling molten glass and including a feeder bowl with a lower outlet spout defined in part by an annular curb over which the molten glass is adapted to flow in response to vertical reciprocating motion of a plunger, and including a rotatable refractory tube arranged coaxially with the plunger and with its lower and spaced above the annular curb to a height H to define an annular passageway for the molten glass, the improvement comprising: a. support means for said rotatable tube, including a C-shaped frame member defining vertically spaced slide bearings, said Cshaped member having an upper end and a lower end, b. a tubular support rod slidably received in said spaced bearings, c. a cross arm carried by said rod and disposed between said upper end and said lower end of said C-shaped member, and including means adjacent one end for rotatably supporting the upper end of said tube, and a motor adjacent the opposite end and drivingly connected to said tube, said cross arm being supported by said rod so that the weight of said motor substantially balances that of the tube, d. a threaded shaft coaxially arranged in the lower end of said support rod and journalled in the C-shaped frame, e. nut means threadably received on said shaft and connected to said support rod for moving said rod vertically in response to rotation of said threaded shaft, and f. means for rotating said threaded shaft and varying the height, H.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
139 words
The combination of claim 1 further characterized by resilient means connecting said rod to said nut means, said resilient means comprising; a. a tubular sleeve slidably received in said rod and having said nut means attached to its lower end, b. a support plunger slidably received in the upper end of said sleeve, c. a pin carried by said plunger and having at least one end portion projecting through a longitudinally extending slot in the side wall of said sleeve, which end portion is carried by said rod to join said plunger to said rod and to allow said sleeve to move vertically in said rod within limits defined by the longitudinal dimension of said slot, d. and a compression spring acting between said support plunger and said nut means to resiliently connect said rod to said nut means.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
65 words
The combination of claim 2 further characterized by a tubular spring support housing extending upwardly above said C-shaped frame, and a tension spring in said housing, said tension spring acting between said pin and the upper end of said housing to counteract the weight of said refractory tube and said cross arm and thereby reduce the frictional force on said threaded shaft and nut means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
88 words
The combination of claim 1, wherein said means for rotating said threaded shaft comprises: a. an electric stepping motor operatively connected to said threaded shaft for rotating said threaded shaft, and b. a solid state control circuit for said stepping motor, including increase and decrease gob weight push button switches, said control circuit including an incremental advance circuit for stepping said motor to rotate it and said threaded shaFt through an incremental angular displacement and in a direction dictated by which of said gob weight switches are depressed.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
160 words
The combination of claim 4 further characterized in that said incremental advance circuit comprises; a. a push button incremental switch, b. a multivibrator coupled to said incremental switch, for producing a ''''one shot'''' pulse when said switch is closed, c. gate means for producing a gob weight change signal when one of said gob weight switches is closed and said one shot pulse both occur, d. a pulse generator energized in response to said gob weight change signal for producing a train of pulses until said gob weight change signal ceases, e. a counter energized by said gob weight change signal and adapted to count pulses from said pulse generator, said counter being preset to produce a reset pulse when a predetermined pulse count is reached, f. and means coupling said stepping motor to said pulse generator output and to said counter reset pulse whereby said motor starts in response to the former and stops in response to the latter.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
128 words
The combination of claim 5 further characterized in that said gate means for producing said gob weight change signal comprises; a. two gob weight flip flops each of which is coupled to one of said gob weight push button switches, b. OR gate means for producing a gob weight change pulse when either of said gob weight switch associated flip flops are set, c. first AND gate means for producing an output pulse when both said ''''one shot'''' pulse and said weight change pulse occur, d. and said coupling means including a second flip flop coupled to said first AND gate means to generate said gob weight change signal to said pulse generator and to said counter, said second flip flop being reset by said counter reset pulse.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
39 words
The combination of claim 6 further characterized by second AND gate means associated with said counter to require both said pulse generator pulse train and said gob weight change signal to energize said counter and thereby alter gob weight.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
65 words
The combination of claim 7 further characterized by a push button override switch, a first flip flop coupled to said override switch, and a first OR gate for feeding the output of said first flip flop to said pulse generator as an alternative to said second flip flop output to provide a means for manually jogging said stepping motor to increase or decrease gob weight.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
50 words
The combination of claim 8 further characterized by said second AND gate means associated with said counter further requiring said second flip flop output signal whereby one of said gob weight switches, and; either said increment switch, or said override switch must be closed to increase or decrease gob weight.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
49 words
The combination of claim 5 further characterized in that said counter includes preset means to include a plurality of divide-by elements coupled to one another so that each such divide-by element can be selectively included in said counter to vary the pulse count required to generate said reset pulse.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
101 words
The combination of claim 5 further characterized in that said means coupling said stepping motor to said pulse generator and to said counter includes a control flip flop which is set in response to said gob weight change signal and reset by said counter reset pulse, said coupling means further including a stepping motor control circuit which comprises a timing device for interrupting the power to said stepping motor whenever said motor is operated longer than the built-in time delay of said device to prevent overheating of the solid state control circuit elements in the environment of the molten glass feeder.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
26 words
The combination of claim 4 further characterized by a manual crank on said stepping motor shaft to permit manual adjustment of said refractory tube height H.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-03-31 | 1978-09-30 | 1979-04-01 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-03-31 | 1982-09-30 | 1983-04-01 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-03-31 | 1986-09-30 | 1987-04-01 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |