Process and apparatus for refining molten glass
AssigneeOwens-Brockway Glass Container Inc.
InventorsTilak Gullinkala, Desikan Sundararajan, Terence J. Clark, Witold Mastek
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Abstract
An apparatus for refining molten glass that includes a housing having a vertically oriented longitudinal axis and a transverse axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. Molten glass is received at an upper end of the housing and is discharged from a lower end of the housing. A guide extends at least partway across the housing and directs molten glass in a generally downward direction through the housing and in a parallel or oblique direction relative to the transverse axis of the housing.
Claims22
An apparatus for refining molten glass that includes:
- a housing having a vertically oriented longitudinal axis, a transverse axis perpendicular to said longitudinal axis, a circular transverse cross section, a length measured along the longitudinal axis, and a width measured along the transverse axis;
- an unrefined molten glass inlet at an upper end of said housing to receive unrefined molten glass;
- a refined molten glass outlet at a lower end of said housing to discharge refined molten glass from said housing;
- and
- a guide positioned within said housing and having a flow surface upon which molten glass can flow between said inlet and said outlet of said housing so as to distribute a volume of molten glass over the flow surface of the guide.
An apparatus comprising:
- a molten glass refining apparatus that includes:
- a housing having a vertically oriented longitudinal axis, a transverse axis perpendicular to said longitudinal axis, a circular transverse cross section, a length measured along the longitudinal axis, and a width measured along the transverse axis;
- an unrefined molten glass inlet at an upper end of said housing to receive unrefined molten glass;
- a refined molten glass outlet at a lower end of said housing to discharge refined molten glass from said housing;
- and
- a guide positioned within said housing having a flow surface upon which molten glass can flow between said inlet and said outlet of said housing so as to distribute a volume of molten glass over the flow surface of the guide;
- and
- a glass melting furnace having a body of molten glass with a free surface above the unrefined molten glass inlet of the refining apparatus such that molten glass can flow by gravity from the furnace into the unrefined molten glass inlet of the refining apparatus.
An apparatus comprising:
- a molten glass refining apparatus that includes:
- a housing having a vertically oriented longitudinal axis, a transverse axis perpendicular to said longitudinal axis, a circular transverse cross section, a length measured along the longitudinal axis, and a width measured along the transverse axis;
- an unrefined molten glass inlet at an upper end of said housing to receive unrefined molten glass;
- a refined molten glass outlet at a lower end of said housing to discharge refined molten glass from said housing;
- and
- a guide positioned within said housing having a flow surface upon which molten glass can flow between said inlet and said outlet of said housing so as to distribute a volume of molten glass over the flow surface of the guide;
- and
- a submerged combustion melter having a body of molten glass with a free surface above the unrefined molten glass inlet of the refining apparatus such that molten glass can flow by gravity from the furnace into the unrefined molten glass inlet of the refining apparatus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.