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AssigneeSociete Vetrotex Saint-Gobain
InventorsJacques Lecron, Maxime Manera, Jean-Paul Faure, Jean-Pierre Renaudin
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A process and apparatus for forming fibers from attenuable materials, such as molten glass, by attenuating streams of glass from the bottom of a bushing wherein the bottom has downwardly presented wall portions at upper and lower levels. According to the disclosure the upper or lower wall portions are formed into a series of elongated bosses each containing at least one row of cells termed alveoles, each alveole having a multiplicity of orifices extending through the lower wall portion of its boss. Filamentary material is manufactured by drawing at least one filament from each alveole independently of each other alveole regardless of whether or not the material has flooded the bottom surface of any boss. In one embodiment shallow transverse grooves in the lower wall portions of the bosses separate the orifices of one alveole from the orifices of adjacent alveoles so that flooding is confined to a single alveole. Controlled cooling permits the selective drawing of one or a plurality of filaments from the alveoles.
Apparatus for use in the drawing of filaments from attenuable material in attenuable condition, such as molten glass, comprising a bushing having a chamber for the attenuable material in attenuable condition and having a bottom wall with downwardly presented portions at higher and lower levels, characterized in that the lower wall portions comprise the bottom walls of bosses each of which contains plural upwardly open alveoles, the said bosses being spaced in rows, the alveoles each being provided with a plurality of orifices extending through the bottom walls of the bosses for delivery of attenuable material through the alveoles, and mechanism spaced below the bushing for drawing filaments from attenuable material delivered through the alveoles from said chamber, and downwardly open channels between rows of bosses.
Apparatus for use in the alternative drawing of attenuable material in attenuable condition, such as molten glass, into filaments of different sizes by change of fiberizing parameters, comprising a bushing having a chamber for attenuable material in attenuable condition and having a bottom wall with downwardly presented wall portions at higher and lower levels, the lower wall portions comprising bottom walls of elongated bosses each containing a plurality of upwardly open alveoles in communication with said chamber, the bosses being arranged in a plurality of rows, there being parallel downwardly open channels between the bosses, the lower walls of the bosses having groups of orifices, each group being in communication with an alveole for delivery of said material, and mechanism spaced below the bushing for drawing filaments from the material, the groups of orifices in the bottom of each boss each comprising a clustered group of at least three orifices positioned with substantially uniform spacing between adjacent orifices, the downwardly presented surface of each boss beig substantially continuous throughout the region immediately surrounding the orifices in communication with each alveole and the spacing between the orifices being sufficiently close to maintain a condition of flooding of said material on the substantially continuous surface between the orifices in communication with one alveole under one specific drawing temperature condition, but the orifices being sufficiently spaced to maintain a non-flooded condition under another drawing temperature condition and thereby provide for drawing of individual filaments from each orifice of an alveole.
Apparatus for forming strands from attenuable material in attenuable condition, such as molten glass, comprising a bushing having a chamber for the attenuable material in attenuable condition and having a bottom wall with downwardly presented wall portions at higher and lower levels, the lower wall portions comprising bottom walls of bosses containing alveoles upwardly open to communicate with said chamber, the bosses being arranged in parallel rows separated by channels with a plurality of alveoles in each boss, and the lower walls of the bosses having orifices for delivery of said material from the alveoles, mechanism spaced below the bushing for drawing filaments from said material, and means for cooling the material delivered through the orifices by effecting radiant heat absorption and comprising thermally conductive solid state cooling fins mounted lengthwise of a parallel series of said channels, means for cooling the fins by thermal conduction through the material of the fins lengthwise thereof to at least one end of each fin, said cooling means further including thermally conductive manifold means for a cooling medium, one end of each fin being connected to the manifold means to provide for thermal conduction of heat from the fins to the manifold means, the channels with which the cooling fins are associated being open ended to provide for intake of air and the channels and the cooling fins being proportioned and relatively positioned to provide free flow of air from said channels laterally to the regions immediately below the bosses, and the downwardly presented surface of each boss being substantially continuous throughout the regions immediately surrounding the orifices, the orifices in the bottom of each boss comprising a clustered group of at least three orifices in communication with each alveole, said orifices being positioned with substantially uniform spacing between adjacent orifices in each group and being sufficiently close to maintain a condition of flooding of said material on the continuous surface between the orifices in communication with each alveole and thereby provide for drawing a single filament from each alveole.
A method for drawing attenuable material in attenuable condition, such as molten glass, into filaments, characterized by delivering the attenuable material in attenuable condition downwardly through a bushing the bottom of which has a plurality of bosses each containing a plurality of spaced apart alveoles, each boss having a bottom wall having clustered groups of orifices therethrough, each group being in communication with an alveole, and concurrently drawing at least one filament from each alveole, independently of each other alveole, regardless of whether or not said material has flooded the bottom surface of any individual boss.
A method for drawing attenuable material in attenuable condition, such as molten glass, into filaments, characterized by delivering the attenuable material in attenuable condition downwardly through a bushing the bottom of which has a plurality of elongated bosses, each boss containing a series of alveoles in communication with the attenuable material in the bushing, each boss having a substantially continuous bottom wall defining the lower boundaries of the alveoles, said bottom walls having a plurality of groups of orifices therethrough, each group being in communication with an alveole, controlling the cooling of the attenuable material delivered through the orifices through the bottom walls of the bosses to provide for flooding of the bottom surface of the bottom wall defining the lower boundary of an alveole, and drawing one filament from the flooded material from each group of orifices, on the bottom wall of each boss.
A method for drawing attenuable material in attenuable condition, such as molten glass, into filaments, characterized by delivering the attenuable material in attenuable condition downwardly through a bushing having a plurality of downwardly projecting elongated bosses, each boss containing a series of spaced apart alveoles, each boss having a substantially continuous bottom wall having a plurality of orifices therethrough in communication with the alveoles, controlling the cooling of the attenuable material delivered through the orifices of the bottom walls of the bosses to provide for flooding of the region of the bottom surface of each boss surrounding the orifices in communication with an alveole, drawing one filament from the flooded material on a said region of the bottom surface, after an interval of said drawing of one filament from said regions, controlling the cooling to establish a temperature of the delivered material at a lower level than that established during said drawing of one filament from all orifices of a region, thereby inhibiting said flooding, and drawing an individual filament from the attenuable material delivered from each orifice of the said region.
A method for drawing filaments from attenuable material in attenuable condition, such as molten glass, characterized by delivering the attenuable material in attenuable condition downwardly through a bushing having a plurality of downwardly projecting spaced apart bosses, the bosses containing series of alveoles upwardly open to communicate with the attenuable material in the bushing and having downwardly presented substantially continuous bottom walls defining the lower boundary of each alveole, a plurality of orifices in the planar bottom walls in communication with the alveoles, controlling the cooling of the attenuable material delivered through the orifices in said bottom wall to provide for flooding of the bottom surface surrounding the orifices communicating with an alveole, and drawing one filament from the flooded material on the bottom surface surrounding the orifices communicating with said alveole.
A method for drawing attenuable material in attenuable condition, such as molten glass, into filaments, characterized by delivering the attenuable material in attenuable condition downwardly through a bushing having a plurality of downwardly presented bosses, each boss containing a series of alveoles upwardly open to communicate with the attenuable material in the bushing and a downwardly presented substantially continuous bottom wall defining the lower boundary of the alveoles, a plurality of orifices in the continuous bottom wall in communication with each alveole, controlling the cooling of the attenuable material delivered through the orifices in said bottom wall to provide for flooding of the bottom surface surrounding the orifices communicating with an alveole, and drawing filaments from the material flowing through the orifices communicating with said alveoles.
Apparatus for use in drawing filaments from attenuable material in attenuable condition, such as molten glass, comprising a bushing having a chamber for the attenuable material in attenuable condition and said bushing having a bottom comprising a plurality of downwardly presented elongated bosses, said bosses enclosing rows of alveoles which are upwardly open to communicate with said chamber, the bosses having downwardly presented substantailly continuous bottom wall portions defining the lower boundaries of alveoles, there being a single cluster of orifices in each bottom wall portion in communication with each alveole.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.