Apparatus for charging an electric glass furnace and method of completely distributing glass batch over the surface of molten glass in an electric glass furnace

An apparatus for charging an electric glass furnace having a bottom, first and second opposing sidewalls, and first and second opposing end walls, said apparatus comprising:

• a pair of stationary hoppers adapted to receive glass batch and to discharge the same in the form of a moving bed onto the surface of molten glass in the furnace, each of said hoppers having an upper inlet end and a lower outlet and extending end to and along the upper edge of one of the end walls of the furnace, one of said hoppers extending inwardly from the first sidewall along said edge and the other one of said hoppers extending inwardly from the second sidewall along said edge, said hoppers being spaced from each other along said edge, means between said hoppers for discharging glass batch in the form of a moving bed onto the surface of molten glass in the furnace in the space between said hoppers,
• a pusher, rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis, located adjacent but laterally spaced from the outlet end of each of said hoppers, each of said pushers being parallel to said edge but spaced therefrom with the outlet end of the associated hopper therebetween, said pushers being substantially axially aligned and axially spaced from each other and from the respective sidewall from which the associated pusher extends, each of said pushes being substantially coextensive with the width of the outlet end of the respective hopper except for the spacing from the respecting sidewall whereby the glass batch is completely distributed by the pushers over the surface of molten glass in the furnace.