[Newspaper]
Publication: The Muncie Evening Press
Muncie, IN, United States
vol. 58, no. 119, p. 7, col. 1
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.