Loading patent…
AssigneeCorning Incorporated
InventorsGilbert De Angelis, Raymond Eugene Fraley, John Jerry Kersting
Estimating the term…
An oblong conduit (13) for conditioning molten glass is disclosed. The wall (23) of the conduit is composed of a precious metal, e.g., a platinum-rhodium alloy, and can be equipped with precious metal tabs (29) for supporting the upper surface (25) of the wall so as to reduce sag of that surface at such times as the conduit is at an elevated temperature and is not filled with glass. The precious metal tabs (29) can be received in channels (31) formed in a refractory support structure (27). The refractory support structure (27) can be a laminate of two layers (33,35), where one of the layers (33) has a smaller grain structure than the other layer (35), the layers being held together by an adhesive (37).
A method of operating a precious metal glass conditioning conduit which comprises a wall having an upper surface disposed above a center axis of the conduit, the method comprising heating the precious metal glass conditioning conduit when the conduit is not filled with glass, providing the upper surface with a plurality of precious metal tabs and connecting the precious metal tabs to a refractory support structure so as to reduce sag of the upper surface toward the center axis of the conduit at such times as the conduit is at an elevated temperature and is not filled with glass, and then filling the heated precious metal glass conditioning conduit with glass.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.