Molten glass delivery and conditioning system
AssigneeCorning Glass Works
InventorsRonald D. Fogle, Ashok L. Nayak
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A glass delivery system is disclosed which includes a molybdenum delivery pipe surrounded by molten glass and inductively heated by a water cooled induction heating coil surrounding the molybdenum pipe and spaced apart therefrom by means of refractory material.
Claims10
A delivery and conditioning system for thermally conditioning thermoplastic material as it is delivered from a source of such material to a delivery station, which comprises:
- a delivery pipe for flowing thermoplastic material therethrough having an inlet end communicating with a source of thermoplastic material and an outlet end communicating with a desired delivery station;
- refractory materials surrounding said delivery pipe and extending longitudinally therealong;
- inductive heating means operatively engaging said refractory material and surrounding said delivery pipe in spaced-apart relation thereto for inductively heating said pipe, and through conduction, for heating the thermoplastic material therein;
- means for supplying power to said inductive heating means for controlling the thermal conditioning of the thermoplastic material within said delivery pipe;
- means for cooling said inductive heating means,
- said refractory material surrounding said delivery pipe being spaced-apart from an outer peripheral surface of said pipe so as to form a cavity between said outer surface and the refractory material;
- means for permitting a limiting ingress of thermoplastic material within said cavity from the flow thereof within said pipe;
- and
- means for sealing said cavity adjacent the inlet and outlet ends of said delivery pipe.
Apparatus for conducting molten thermoplastic material from an inlet station to a delivery station while thermally conditioning the flow of such material passing therethrough, which comprises:
- refractory metal conduit means, having an inlet end communicating with a source of thermoplastic material and an outlet end communicating with a desired delivery station, for conducting the flow of thermoplastic material from the inlet end to the outlet end;
- refractory material surrounding a longitudinally extending portion of said refractory metal conduit means;
- means for spacing said refractory metal conduit means from said surrounding refractory material and for forming a cavity between said refractory material and an outer peripheral surface of said refractory metal conduit means;
- means for permitting the thermoplastic material within said refractory metal conduit to flow a limited amount into said cavity formed between said refractory material and the outer peripheral surface of said refractory metal conduit means;
- and means engaging portions of said refractory material for inductively heating said refractory metal conduit means and for thermally conditioning the thermoplastic material within said conduit means.
A method of delivering thermoplastic material from a source thereof to a desired delivery station while thermally conditioning the thermoplastic material which comprises:
- flowing molten thermoplastic material along a delivery path communicating at an inlet end with a source of such material and at an outlet end with a desired delivery station,
- surrounding the longitudinal extent of the delivery path with an inductively heatable material,
- inductively heating said inductively heatable material along the delivery path to heat the thermoplastic material flowing therealong while simultaneously applying cooling to the source of the inductive heating,
- surrounding the inductively heatable material with thermoplastic material exteriorly of said delivery path to protect the same,
- and regulating the heating and cooling so applied to thermally condition the thermoplastic material within said delivery path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.