US 3,945,814 AGranted

Apparatus for feeding particles of glass into crucibles for extrusion of glass filaments

AssigneeGlaswerk Schuller GmbH

InventorsHeinz Keib, Dieter Kahnke

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Abstract

Glass tablets which are to be introduced seriatim into an elongated melting chamber of a crucible having orifices for extrusion of glass filaments are stored in a magazine and are fed onto the first section of a first vibrating trough whose sections have different inclinations. The last section of the first trough discharges tablets into the receptacle of a weighing device which accumulates a predetermined number of tablets and thereupon discharges the accumulated batch of tablets onto the first section of a second vibrating trough the last section of which discharges tablets into an elongated hopper registering with the open top of the melting chamber. At least the last section of the second trough is inclined downwardly toward the hopper to such an extent that tablets leaving the preceding section of the second trough are accelerated during travel in the last section and enter the hopper at timely spaced intervals. The second trough is caused to swivel back and forth so that its last section discharges tablets into different portions of the hopper.

Claims6

Dependent claims

Apparatus for making glass filaments, comprising a crucible having an elongated open-top chamber for a charge of molten glass and orifices through which molten glass is extruded to form filaments;

a source of substantially identical discrete solid particles in the form of glass tablets or groups of interconnected glass tablets;
and means for transporting a stream of particles from said source to a position above said chamber so that the particles descend into the charge by gravity, comprising at least one elongated trough having a succession of sections which define an elongated path for the stream of particles and include a last section located immediately ahead of said chamber and a further section preceding said last section, all of said sections being inclined downwardly toward said chamber and said last section being inclined more steeply than said further section, the inclination of said last section being such that the particles sliding therein are accelerated one after the other and enter the charge in said chamber at timely spaced intervals, means for vibrating said trough to thereby advance the particles toward and beyond said last section, and means for moving said least section lengthwise of said chamber.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.