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US 11,427,492 B2Granted
Multi-chamber submerged combustion melter and system
AssigneeOwens-Brockway Glass Container Inc.
InventorsShane T. Rashley, Zhongming Wang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A submerged combustion melter and system are disclosed. The submerged combustion melter includes a bottom wall, at least one side wall extending upwardly from the bottom wall, a crown extending inwardly with respect to the at least one side wall and over the bottom wall to establish a melting chamber, an exhaust port configured to exhaust gas from the melting chamber, at least one baffle extending from the at least one side wall to divide the melting chamber into melting sub-chambers that share the exhaust port, at least one inlet configured for introducing a glass batch into the submerged combustion melter, and at least one outlet configured to remove molten glass from the at least one melting chamber.
Claims56
A submerged combustion melter, comprising:
- a bottom wall;
- a plurality of side walls including a first side wall, a second side wall, a third side wall, and a fourth side wall extending upwardly from the bottom wall;
- a longitudinal axis extending from the first side wall to the second side wall;
- a laterally transverse axis extending from the third side wall to the fourth side wall, the laterally transverse axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis;
- a crown extending inwardly with respect to the plurality of side walls and over the bottom wall to establish a melting chamber;
- an exhaust port configured to exhaust gas from the melting chamber;
- a plurality of baffles including a first baffle and a second baffle, the first baffle coupled to at least one side wall of the plurality of side walls and the second baffle coupled to at least one side wall of the plurality of side walls, both the first and second baffles disconnected from the crown, wherein the first baffle and the second baffle are in a staggered configuration, the first baffle extending inwardly from at least one side wall of the plurality of side walls to which it is coupled and the second baffle extending inwardly from at least one side wall of the plurality of side walls to which it is coupled to divide the melting chamber into at least three melting sub-chambers that share the exhaust port, wherein at least one baffle of the plurality of baffles is a fluid-cooled baffle configured to receive a cooling fluid from the at least one side wall of the plurality of side walls to which it is coupled;
- an inlet configured for introducing a glass batch to the submerged combustion melter;
- at least one outlet configured to remove molten glass from the at least three melting sub-chambers;
- and
- wherein the at least three melting sub-chambers are configured to direct product flow in an undulating flow path between the inlet and the at least one outlet.
8 more elements
A submerged combustion melter system, comprising:
- a bottom wall;
- a plurality of side walls including a first side wall, a second side wall, a third side wall, and a fourth side wall extending upwardly from the bottom wall;
- a longitudinal axis extending from the first side wall to the second side wall;
- a laterally transverse axis extending from the third side wall to the fourth side wall, the laterally transverse axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis;
- a crown extending inwardly with respect to the plurality of side walls and over the bottom wall to establish a melting chamber;
- an exhaust port configured to exhaust gas from the melting chamber;
- a plurality of baffles including a first baffle and a second baffle, the first baffle coupled to at least one of the side walls of the plurality of side walls and the second baffle coupled to at least one of the side walls of the plurality of side walls, both the first and second baffles disconnected from the crown, wherein the first baffle and the second baffle are in a staggered configuration, the first baffle extending inwardly from at least one of the side walls of the plurality of side walls to which it is coupled and the second baffle extending inwardly from at least one of the side walls of the plurality of side walls to which it is coupled to divide the melting chamber into at least three melting sub-chambers that share the exhaust port;
- an inlet configured for introducing a glass batch to the submerged combustion melter;
- at least one outlet configured to remove molten glass from the at least three melting sub-chambers;
- and
- at least one submerged combustion melting burner configured to provide combustible fuel to the melting chamber,
- wherein the at least three melting sub-chambers are configured to direct product flow in an undulating flow path between the inlet and the at least one outlet, and wherein the undulating flow path is generally along the longitudinal axis that extends from the first side wall proximate to the inlet to the second side wall proximate to the outlet and is along the laterally transverse axis that extends from the third side wall to the fourth side wall.
9 more elements
A submerged combustion melter, comprising:
- a bottom wall;
- a plurality of side walls including a first side wall, a second side wall, a third side wall, and a fourth side wall extending upwardly from the bottom wall;
- a longitudinal axis extending from the first side wall to the second side wall;
- a laterally transverse axis extending from the third side wall to the fourth side wall, the laterally transverse axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis;
- a crown extending inwardly with respect to the plurality of side walls and over the bottom wall to establish a melting chamber;
- an exhaust port configured to exhaust gas from the melting chamber;
- a plurality of baffles including a first baffle and a second baffle, the first baffle coupled to at least one side wall of the plurality of side walls and the second baffle coupled to at least one side wall of the plurality of side walls, both the first and second baffles disconnected from the crown, wherein the first baffle and the second baffle are in a staggered configuration, the first baffle extending inwardly from at least one side wall of the plurality of side walls to which it is coupled and the second baffle extending inwardly from at least one side wall of the plurality of side walls to which it is coupled to divide the melting chamber into at least three melting sub-chambers that share the exhaust port;
- an inlet configured for introducing a glass batch to the submerged combustion melter;
- and
- at least one outlet configured to remove molten glass from the at least three melting sub-chambers;
- wherein at least one baffle of the plurality of baffles extends partially above a molten glass surface and molten glass flows in a laterally undulated pattern between the inlet and the at least one outlet.
8 more elements
A submerged combustion melter, comprising:
- a bottom wall;
- a plurality of side walls including a first side wall, a second side wall, a third side wall, and a fourth side wall extending upwardly from the bottom wall;
- a longitudinal axis extending from the first side wall to the second side wall;
- a laterally transverse axis extending from the third side wall to the fourth side wall, the laterally transverse axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis;
- a crown extending inwardly with respect to the plurality of side walls and over the bottom wall to establish a melting chamber;
- an exhaust port configured to exhaust gas from the melting chamber;
- a plurality of baffles including a first baffle and a second baffle, the first baffle coupled to at least one side wall of the plurality of side walls and the second baffle coupled to at least one side wall of the plurality of side walls, both the first and second baffles disconnected from the crown, wherein the first baffle and the second baffle are in a staggered configuration, the first baffle extending inwardly from at least one side wall of the plurality of side walls to which it is coupled and the second baffle extending inwardly from at least one side wall of the plurality of side walls to which it is coupled to divide the melting chamber into at least three melting sub-chambers that share the exhaust port, and wherein an angle of at least one baffle of the plurality of baffles is adjustable;
- an inlet configured for introducing a glass batch to the submerged combustion melter;
- and
- at least one outlet configured to remove molten glass from the at least three melting sub-chambers;
- wherein the at least three melting sub-chambers are configured to direct product flow in an undulating flow path between the inlet and the at least one outlet.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.