Method of making an article having a gradient composition
AssigneeCorning Incorporated
InventorsClaude F. M. Gille, Alain Kerdoncuff, Michel Prassas
Life of this patent
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Abstract
According to the invention, a) at least the first and second compositions of this material in the fluid phase are prepared, b) a sheet (61) of the first composition is poured continuously onto a flat support (4), c) a sheet (62) of the second composition is poured continuously onto sheet (61) of the first composition, and d) the thermal interdiffusion of the materials of the two sheets is ensured so as to obtain the desired gradient of composition in the cooled bar.
Claims9
An apparatus for producing glass elements having an axial property gradient from a bar of glass having a rectangular cross-section, having two opposed, longitudinal sides, and having a compositional gradient perpendicular to those sides, the apparatus comprising,
- a. a support that moves in a looped, travel path and presents a flat portion,
- b. at least two reservoirs, each reservoir being a source of a glass of different composition,
- c. the reservoirs being arranged in spaced relationship above the flat portion of the support,
- d. each reservoir having an opening to successively deliver a continuous sheet of molten glass by gravity flow onto the movable support,
- e. thereby producing a stack of at least two glass sheets atop one another on the support,
- f. a cutter to transversely cut the glass bar into bar elements,
- g. a heater to ensure the development of the process of interdiffusion of the portions of sheets of each element until the desired gradient of composition is established in a said element and wherein the heater has capability to establish a gradient of indices which varies progressively over the entire cross section of the bar, and
- h. a loader to load the elements into the heater.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.