New process developed by Kimble cuts picture tube weight

New Process

Cuts Picture

Tube Weight

A new manufacturing process permitting the production of shorter, lighter and cheaper tele­vision picture tubes has been de­veloped by the Kimble Glass Co.

Called KIMCODE for “Kimble Method for Controlled Devacuation,” the process is described by Kimble as the most important de­velopment in TV picture tube manufacture since they intro­duced the first mass-produced rectangular bulb in 1949.

Ed Spence, manager of the Muncie Kimble Glass Co. plant, says approximately half the plant’s facilities are devoted to the manufacture of the glass parts for the new tube.

John P. Kearney, Toledo, Kim­ble vice president, said the new-style tube makes possible sub­stantial savings in cost, weight, and compactness of TV sets and holds promise for lighter portable sets and new styling for console and table models.

He said the KIMCODE process eliminates the necessity for the safety shield now being used on picture tubes. The present shield, he said, is either a separate piece of glass placed in front of the tube or a laminated shield.

Through the KIMCODE process he said, "Instead of using heavy safety shield we build the necessary safety factors into the tube itself."

This reduces the weight of com­ponents necessary for shielding a 23-inch tube from 11 3/4 pounds to two pounds, Kearney said. It al­lows for a saving of 3/8-inch in the depth of the tube and permits "excellent" optical clarity, he added.