Owens-brockway Glass Container Inc.

William B Rugh

D Wayne Leidy

Frank J DiFrank

A feeder tube assembly for a feeder bowl of a glass melting furnace forehearth. The feeder tube assembly has an horizontally extending elongate support arm, and a feeder tube that is carried by the support arm at a location near an end of the support arm. The feeder tube is rotatable about its longitudinal central axis with respect to the support arm, and the support arm carries drive elements for rotating the feeder tube about its longitudinal central axis. The support arm is supported on a vertically extending servo motor actuated linear actuator, and the elevation of the support arm is adjustable by actuation of the linear actuator, a releasable brake being provided to prevent rotation of the servo motor when it is desired to prevent a change in elevation of the support arm. The position of the support arm relative to the linear actuator is independently adjustable both longitudinally of the support arm and transversely of the support arm, and the support arm is rotatable with respect to the linear actuator when it is desired to replace a feeder tube carried thereby or the feeder bowl directly below it.

Forehearth feeder tube lift system

A right angle drive gearbox (10) having a housing (12) defined by a pair of housing members (14, 16). The housing has a first opposed pair of cylindrical openings that are formed by opposed semi-cylindrical recesses (42, 46) in opposed side walls of one of the housing members and a second opposed pair of cylindrical openings that are formed by opposed semi-cylindrical recesses (44, 48) in opposed side walls of the other of the housing members. A first shaft (24) is rotatingly supported in the first opposed pair of cylindrical openings, and a second shaft (20) is rotatingly supported in the second opposed pair of cylindrical openings, the longitudinal central axes of the first and second shafts being spaced apart from one another and otherwise extending perpendicularly with respect to one another. A first gear (22) is affixed to the first shaft, at a location between the first pair of cylindrical openings, and a second gear (18) is affixed to the second shaft at a location between the second pair of cylindrical openings, the first and second gears drivingly engaging one another. A pair of threaded fasteners (50, 52) extend through one of the housing members to be threadably received in the other of the housing members to releasably join the housing members to one another.

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Waterville, OH, United States of America

William B Rugh