Corning Incorporated
ENCLOSURES FOR PROVIDING A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT DURING THE PRODUCTION OF GLASS ARTICLES

Abstract:

An enclosure for providing a controlled environment includes a central plane extending through a top end of the enclosure and a bottom end of the enclosure and bisecting the enclosure along a width of the enclosure, an inlet at the bottom end of the enclosure having an inlet width, W.sub.inlet, an enclosure wall extending from the inlet to the top end of the enclosure, an entry port at the top end of the enclosure, and an outlet between the entry port and the chamber region of the enclosure wall. The enclosure wall comprises a chamber region and a transition region between the inlet and the chamber region. The width of the chamber region, W.sub.chamber, is substantially constant through the chamber region. The width of the enclosure in the transition region decreases from W.sub.chamber to W.sub.inlet, and a ratio of W.sub.inlet to W.sub.chamber is from 1:2 to 1:5.