JPS6410453B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the manufacture of insulating glass units for use in such things as windows or doors.

Insulating glass units for use in windows, doors, etc. usually consist of two or more parallel glass panes separated from each other by spacers along the edges. Various multilayer glass pane constructions are known in the art, and such constructions may include two, three or more glass panes. Some of these constructions use spaced apart sheets of plastic parallel to the glass pane. If we were to assemble a multilayer glass unit with a sheet of plastic held in spaced relationship between two glass panes,
Install a peripheral spacer along the edge of one of the glass panes of the unit, extend the spacer from the plane of the glass pane, adhere a heat shrink film to the spacer, and then pull the film taut to flatten it. It can be manufactured by heat shrinking. A second glass plate, also with a peripheral spacer, is attached thereto, and the film is sandwiched between the opposing peripheral spacers of the two glass plates. Another example is to secure the film by means of a small spring held by or forming part of a spacer which holds the two panes of glass apart from each other. Generally, unbreakable mirrors are made by gluing a peripheral spacer around a sheet of plywood or similar material, gluing a heat-shrinkable silver-plated plastic film to the spacer, and then heat-shrinking the film to create a taut, flat surface that creates a mirror surface. It can be manufactured by making.

In both of the above examples, a heat-shrinkable plastic film is used, the film is spread over a spacer held at the edge of something like a hard glass plate or board, and the plastic film is exposed directly to, for example, hot air. Warm it up. For multilayer glass units that use plastic film as the inner sheet spaced between parallel glass plates, the above manufacturing method is difficult, time consuming, and requires piecemeal construction. It is known that

In the present invention, a multilayer insulating glazing unit comprises a sheet of flexible heat-shrinkable plastic film held between two parallel, spaced-apart glass sheets, and a spacer installed at the edge of the glass sheets. It is manufactured by supporting two glass plates and plastic films with a space between them.
The glass sheets are substantially sealed together by spacers along their edges and adhered to the edges of the plastic sheet by a sealant to create a substantially sealed integral unit with the heat-shrinkable plastic sheet. There is. The unit itself is then heated at a temperature sufficient for a sufficient time to cause the plastic sheet to shrink and become taut without wrinkles. The resulting one-piece unit requires no further manufacturing steps upon cooling, but can be inserted directly into a suitable frame for use as an insulating glass unit.

The best way to carry out the invention is as follows.

As shown in FIG. 1, a complete glazing unit made in accordance with the present invention comprises at least a pair of parallel, spaced apart glass panes 12 and 12.1, parallel to the glass panes; Intermediate plastic sheet 14 spaced inwardly from each glass pane
It consists of. The glass sheet is provided with opposing spacers 16 along its circumferential edge which support the glass sheet in spaced parallel relationship to the sheet 14.
Sheet 14 may be painted or colored as desired to provide the desired window effect known in the industry. The part shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1 and removed is the frame 10, into which the window unit is mounted in a known manner for use.
Frames used for insulating glazing units are known to those skilled in the art and need not be described in detail here.

In the manufacturing method of the present invention, glass plates 12 and 12.1 are prepared and cut to the same length and width. Spacer 1 on one surface of each glass plate
6, and the spacer is stretched around the perimeter of the glass plate and spaced slightly inward from the edge of the glass plate, as best shown in FIG. Each spacer consists of an elongated, rolled, tubular shape 16.1 (FIG. 5), generally made of aluminum or plastic or other hard material, which shape is substantially hollow inside. It is desirable to have a made wall (see cross section) and a flat and parallel outer wall section 16.2. Tubular shape 1
6.1 Hollow part is filled with desiccant 1 such as silica gel.
6.3 may be included. Spacer is 121℃
It includes an adhesive ribbon 16.4 of a sealant material, such as polyisobutylene, capable of withstanding temperatures of the order of (250°) without substantial deterioration.
An adhesive ribbon 16.4 adheres the side wall 16.2 of the tubular shape 16.1 to the surface of the glass plate. The spacer 16 is extended around the entire circumference of both glass panes 12 and 12.1 and at the corner of the glass panes, a hollow internal wall of tubular shape is formed in a known manner to receive a corner key (not shown). use.

Tubular objects of the above type, corner keys,
Desiccants, sealant ribbons, etc. are all known to those skilled in the art and need not be described in further detail here.

A heat-shrinkable plastic sheet 14 is stretched over a spacer 16 installed on one of the glass plates,
As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet is pulled as taut as possible into contact with the sealant ribbon 16.4 supported by the tubing 16.1. Spacer 1 around the remaining glass plate
6. Place the adhesive ribbon 1 on the first glass plate and the side opposite to the one that is glued to the glass plate.
6.4 are in direct facing relationship, and the plastic sheet 14 is placed between the opposing adhesive ribbons 16.4.
to be fixed. The flexible plastic sheet is typically wavy and wrinkled at this stage, as shown schematically and in slightly exaggerated form in FIG. A sealant 13 is now added between the edges of the glass plate extending outside the spacer 16;
This end piece, together with the spacer, creates an indentation or trough at the end of the assembled unit. Stretch the edge of the plastic sheet into this recess as shown. Then, for example, General Electric Co.
A sealant 13, typically a silicone resin such as GE3204, a two-component room-temperature curing resin, is cured in place to seal the glass plate, the externally exposed portion of the spacer, and the edges of the plastic sheet. are firmly bonded together with resin to form an integral unit.

Preferably, the plastic sheet is centrally located between the opposing surfaces of the glass plate. It will be appreciated that when the plastic sheet contracts, it exerts an inward force on the spacer, so that the spacer causes a compressive force to act on and in the plane of both glass plates. By placing the plastic sheet in the center of the opposing surfaces of the glass plates, the compressive force exerted by each glass plate will be slightly but approximately equal.

This one-piece unit is then heated, such as by placing it in a forced draft oven, to a temperature sufficient to shrink the heat-shrinkable plastic sheet to the extent necessary to eliminate substantially all wrinkles and waves on the sheet. Heat for an hour. The sheet is tightened and spacer 1
6 and a sealant 13 at its ends. The sheet is protected from hot air etc. by the glass plate, thus avoiding sudden or excessive temperature rises (hot spots). The unit is then cooled until the temperature of the plastic sheet is below its softening or glass point temperature. The shrunken sheet is placed in a virtually sealed unit between the glass plates so that it cools slowly, and the glass plates and spacers reduce the cooling rate of the sheet so that if the sheet suddenly Prevents sagging that would occur if cooled.

During the heating operation, the temperature of the air or other gas introduced into spaces 18 and 18.1 is increased to almost oven temperature, but the strength of the seal created by spacer 16 and sealant 13 The pressure in the spaces 18 and 18.1 created by the pressure immediately resists. In some cases, it may be preferable to include a small passageway, such as a vent tube (not shown), in one of the spacers to keep the unit substantially sealed. This vent pipe serves to communicate the interior spaces 18 and 18.1 with the atmosphere and can be closed later if necessary. The sealant 13 is selected to be one that does not soften or deteriorate during the heat shrinking operation, as previously illustrated. That is, the sealant grips the edges of the sheet so that there is little movement of the sheet relative to the glass pane.

Importantly, means must be created so that one space 18 between the glass plate and the plastic sheet can communicate with the other space 18.1. Such means can be carried out by drilling one or more small holes in the plastic sheet adjacent its end portions. An example of such a hole is shown as 14.1 in FIG. However, it is preferred to use a single hole, and such hole should have smooth edges to reduce the tendency of the plastic sheet to begin tearing at this hole during the heating process. is desirable. (Small holes are made by combing the sheet through a hot needle).

Various variations on the preferred example described above will become apparent. For example, the assembly may include two or more sheets of glass and one or more sheets of heat-shrinkable plastic. Furthermore, although the heating step is preferably carried out in a forced draft oven, it may be carried out by other known methods.

Heat shrinkable plastic sheets or films are known to those skilled in the art and are commercially available. Such sheets are commonly made by stretching their width and length dimensions at temperatures below their melting point, which appears to create molecular orientation within the sheet. Heating the sheet during subsequent shrinking operations is believed to further reduce molecular orientation and cause shrinkage of the length and width dimensions of the sheet. A preferred plastic is polyethylene terephthalate, manufactured by Imperial Chemical Industries, Inc., commercially available under the trade name "Melinex OW type".
Chemical Industries) polyester.
It is preferred to use a heat shrink temperature in the range of about 90°C (195°) to 121°C (25°) for this type of film. Such sheets may be coated with a variety of materials and may be of any practical thickness, preferably from about 0.013 to about 0.15 mm (about 0.0005 to about 0.006 inch). Preferably, the sheet contains a UV absorber to increase its resistance to embrittlement when exposed to sunlight. The sheets may also be colored with dyes to provide desired or comfort effects. One or both sides of the sheet may be coated with a coating that is highly transparent to visible light but highly reflective to long wavelength infrared radiation.

Modern methods of manufacturing multilayer insulating glass units typically involve attaching a spacer to the edge of one glass plate, then oriented the second glass plate toward the spacer, parallel to and spaced apart from the first glass plate. We are using a method of arranging them. The glass plate is usually extended outward by a length shorter than the spacer.
The cavity or trough thus created is usually filled with a sealant to seal the entire unit.

The present invention supports a heat-shrinkable plastic sheet between two glass plates by using spacers attached to each glass plate,
This is then heated to pull the sheet taut, facilitating existing manufacturing techniques.

Having described the best known method for carrying out the invention, various changes, adaptations, and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims. It will be understood that you may go inside.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a window unit made by the manufacturing method of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an exploded sectional view showing the elements of the window unit as an assembly, and Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2, but showing the window elements assembled; FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3, showing the window unit after the heating process. FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the V section in FIG. 2. In the figure, 10... frame, 12, 12.1...
Glass plate, 13... Sealant, 14... Plastic sheet, 16... Spacer, 16.4...
...adhesive ribbon.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 (a) A flexible heat-shrinkable plastic sheet is supported between two parallel spaced glass plates, the sheet being substantially parallel to the surface of the opposing glass plates. (b) heating the unit to cause the plastic sheets to shrink and to form a unit between the glass plates, parallel and spaced apart from the surface thereof and having their ends fixed about the edges of the glass plates; A method of manufacturing a multilayer insulating glass assembly comprising the steps of: rendering it wrinkle-free and taut. 2. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that prior to the heating step, a sealant is added between adjacent edges of both glass sheets to create a substantially sealed integral unit. 3. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the plastic sheet is placed centrally on the facing surfaces of both glass plates. 4. In step (a) of claim 1, a pair of glass plates is provided, and a spacer extending along the periphery of each glass plate is attached to one surface of the glass plate, and each spacer having a flat, continuous surface in a plane parallel to and spaced from the surface of the glass pane to be attached, and the spacer attached to one pane of glass conforming to the spacer attached to the other pane of glass; and
A method according to claim 1, characterized in that a heat-shrinkable plastic sheet is supported between the flat surfaces of both spacers to create an integral unit. 5 In the method described in claim 4,
The spacer should be spaced slightly inwardly from the edge of the glass plate to which it is to be attached, and the spacer and the outwardly extending edge of the glass plate should form a trough into which the edge of the plastic sheet should be stretched, furthermore, this integral unit should be Claims characterized in that the trough is filled with a curable polymer sealant to seal the edges and adhere to the edges of the plastic sheet, and the step of curing the sealant prior to the heating step is included. The method described in Section 4. 6 (a) A pair of spaced parallel glass plates;
a heat-shrinkable plastic sheet substantially parallel to the glass sheet and equidistantly spaced from the opposite surfaces of the glass sheet, the edges of the sheet being secured about the edges of the glass sheet to form an integral unit; (b) The unit is heated to cause the plastic sheet to shrink and become taut without wrinkles between the glass plates, and the unit is then cooled so that during the heating and cooling process, the glass plates hold the plastic film tightly. Claim 1, characterized in that it consists of a step of protecting from heat.
A method of manufacturing a multilayer insulating glass assembly as described in .