GB923972A - Improvements relating to the production of glass fiber mats - Google Patents

Abstract

923,972. Producing glass fibres; maintaining level of molten glass. AMERICAN AIR FILTER CO. Inc. July 13, 1960 [July 13, 1959], No. 24396/60. Class 56. Apparatus, for the production of glass filamentous mats, of the type including a reciprocating furnace which is moved axially of a rotating drum and in which a plurality of filaments is drawn from orifices associated with the furnace and fed on to the surface of the rotating drum to build up a cylindrical filamentous mat thereon and including means for weighing said furnace and its contents, comprises a supply material hopper and electric switches responsive respectively to a predetermined departure of the weight of the furnace and its contents from a predetermined value and to the position of the reciprocating furnace relative to the hopper, and means responsive to coincident actuation of the switches to cause transfer of material from the hopper to the furnace. In the form shown, fibres are drawn from orifices at the bottom of a furnace 28 and wound on to a rotating drum below it while the furnace is reciprocated on a carriage 10, running on a track 14, as described in Specification 846,624. The furnace is carried on a frame 32 supported on the platform 22 of a weighing-machine 20. A contact 34 is closed by the arm 26 of the weighing-machine when the weight of the furnace falls by a predetermined small amount from a datum. At each traverse of the furnace an arm 38 thereon strikes the actuating arm 66 of a spring-loaded gate 60 of a hopper 40 from which the furnace is replenished with oullet through a hopper 30. No material is fed, however, until a vibrator assembly 56 is actuated by air fed through a solenoid-operated valve 70 which is opened only when the switch 72 is closed by the furnace and the end of its movement and also when the contact 54 is closed. The weight of the furnace is thereby maintained close to the datum value. The hopper 40 is itself carried on a platform 42 of a weighing- machine 44 the arm 48 of which co-operates with the contact 50. The latter can be set to close after a predetermined loss in weight of the hopper 40 and to operate an alarm signal to indicate that this weight of fibre has been wound on to the drum. U.S.A. Specification 2,798,531 also is referred to.