Appeal No. 2001-2187
Application No. 09/333,356
1. An apparatus for forming high-temperature fusing batch
material into fibers comprising:
a walled melting receptacle including: an open region in
which the high-temperature fusing batch material is received; a
melting region in which the batch material is melted to form
molten material in flow communication with said open region; a
chute in which flow of the molten material is regulated in flow
communication with said melting region, the chute having a first
wall, a second wall opposing the first wall, a third wall between
said first wall and said second wall, and a fourth wall opposing
said third wall, said walls together defining an upper chute
portion and a lower chute portion with the lower chute portion
having a cross-sectional area smaller than the cross sectional
area of the upper chute portion; and a discharge region from which
the molten material is discharged in flow communication with the
lower chute portion of said chute;
a heating element in the melting region for melting the batch
material; and
a baffle unit within the chute, said baffle unit defining a
four-sided baffle area perpendicular to flow of molten material
and covering a substantial portion of the cross-sectional shape of
the chute, said baffle area having openings defined therein, said
baffle unit having one abutting side contacting said first wall of
the chute, another abutting side contacting said second wall of
the chute, one end facing said third wall of the chute with a gap
therebetween, and another end facing said fourth wall of the chute
with a gap therebetween, whereby said molten material can travel
through the melting receptacle from the melting region to the
discharge region while being partially impeded by the baffle unit.
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Last modified: November 3, 2007