APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING GLASS RIBBON BY FLOAT PROCESS

• US 3,661,548 A
• Filed: 06/26/1970
• Issued: 05/09/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1969
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kunihiko Ito, Naotomo Akashi, Nobuyoshi Ohsato, Yokiya Fujimoto
• Original Assignee: Kunihiko Ito, Naotomo Akashi, Nobuyoshi Ohsato, Yokiya Fujimoto
• Inventors: Ohsato, Nobuyoshi, Akashi, Naotomo, Ito, Kunihiko, Fujimoto, Yokiya
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, S. Leon
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lindsay, Jr., Robert L.
• Application Number:
  US05/050,143
• Time in Patent Office: 683 Days
• Field of Search: 65/25,25A,91,99A,182R,199
• US Class Current: 65/182.4
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 18/06 using mechanical means, e.g. restrictor bars, edge rollers

Abstract

An apparatus for manufacturing glass ribbon by float process. The apparatus comprises a molten metal bath, at least two widthcontrolling mechanisms provided on both sides of the bath, and a delivery roll provided on exit side of the bath. Each widthcontrolling mechanism has a rotary member having a plurality of projections capable of freely rotating with the advance of the glass ribbon. And an angle of less than 45* is formed by the plain containing the rotary member with respect to the direction of advance of the glass ribbon.

Claims

1. In an apparatus for manufacturing glass ribbon by the float process which has a bath of a molten metal for supporting molten glass ribbon fed from a molten glass inlet and forwarding it while cooling it, and a delivery roll provided on the exit end of the molten metal bath to convey the glass ribbon out of the bath, the improvement comprising at least two width-controlling mechanisms on both side edges of the molten metal bath and spaced along the direction of travel of the glass ribbon and positioned only above the upper surface of the glass ribbon, each width controlling mechanism having a shaft member and a rotary member provided on said shaft member, said rotary member having on the periphery thereof a plurality of projections engaging the side edges of the glass ribbon, the rotary member of each widthcontrolling mechanism being freely rotatably supported so that the rotary member rotates with the advance of the glass ribbon, and the line formed by the intersection of a plane perpendicular to the axis of the rotary member and the surface of the glass ribbon has an angle of less than 45* with respect to the direction of the advance of the glass ribbon.

2. The improvement as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said width-controlling mechanisms comprises a shaft member, a cylindrical cam fixed to the shaft member and having a notched portion on a part of the periphery thereof and a rotary member, said rotary member being a rotary plate rotatably mounted on the shaft member, and a plurality of projections pivotally mounted on said rotary plate, said projections having the bases thereof slidable on the circular periphery of said cam and sticking into the surface portion of the glass ribbon when the glass is in the plasticized state, said notched portion being positioned on a part of the periphery of said cam such that when said projections are sticking into the surface portion of the glass ribbon, said projections slide on the circular periphery of said cam and rotate around said shaft member together with said rotary plate, and when said projections are going to separate from the surface portion of the glass ribbon, the bases reach said notched portion said projections are allowed to rotate freely around the pivotal mounting points.

3. The improvement as claimed in claim 1 each of said width-controlling mechanisms further comprises a cooling box over the upper portions of the rotary member and at least partially over the sides thereof, said cooling box having hollow walls and an inlet and an outlet to the hollow within the walls for introducing and dischaRging a cooling fluid and having means in the hollow within the walls for circulating the cooling fluid throughout the walls of said cooling box.

4. The improvement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the rotary member is fixed to the shaft member and a supporting member is provided supporting the shaft member so that the shaft member can rotate freely.

5. The improvement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the shaft member is fixed and the rotary member is freely rotatably mounted on the shaft member.

6. The improvement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the rotary member is composed of a refractory material non-wettable to molten glass and is provided with saw-tooth-like projections around the periphery thereof.

7. The improvement as claimed in claim 6 wherein the tip angle of each of the saw-tooth-like projections is in the range of from 5* to 90* and the pitch and height of each projection are such that one to 10 of said projections may always stick into the surface portion of the molten glass ribbon.

8. The improvement as claimed in claim 5 wherein the said width-controlling mechanism comprises means for forming a thin film of a non-oxidizing gas between the shaft member and the rotary member over at least a part of the area where they face each other.

9. The improvement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said width-controlling mechanism comprises means for projecting a non-oxidizing fluid onto the rotary member in the same direction as the rotation direction of the rotary member and thereby promoting the free rotation of the rotary member.

10. The improvement as described in claim 1 wherein the line formed by the intersection of a plane perpendicular to the axis of the rotary member and the surface of the glass ribbon has an angle of 5* - 45* with respect to the direction of the advance of the glass ribbon.

11. The improvement as claimed in claim 10 further comprising rotating means connected to the rotary member for rotating said rotary member in the direction for expanding the width of the glass ribbon.