A spacer for an insulated glazing unit (IGU) is provided herein, along with an IGU and methods of making the spacer and IGU. The spacer imparts high thermal insulation to the IGU. Also provided are methods of preparing an insulating glazing unit, as well as methods of preparing a spacer for an IGU.

An insulating glass unit suitable for a refrigeration unit is presented. The insulating glass unit includes a first pane, a second pane spaced at a distance from the first pane, a peripheral spacer frame between the first pane and the second pane, and an inner interpane space. According to one aspect, the spacer frame includes four hollow-profile polymeric spacers, which are secured between the first pane and the second pane along one of the four sides of the insulating glass. According to another aspect, the two first hollow-profile polymeric spacers are arranged along two opposing first sides of the insulating glass unit and the two second hollow-profile polymeric spacers are arranged along two opposing second sides of the insulating glass unit. According to yet another aspect, the first polymeric hollow-profile spacers contain 5% to 50% and the second polymeric hollow-profile spacers contain 0% to 0.5% reinforcement fibers.

Insulating glass unit (IGU) comprising at least two glass plates and at least one reinforcing element that increases the bending stiffness of at least a part of the IGU, and glass doors or windows comprising said IGU.

A modular system for a multiple insulating glazing unit includes a double glazing component having a first and second pane elements with first and second pane sealing surfaces, a spacer arranged between the first and second pane sealing surfaces and composed of a spacer strut that encloses an insulating glass volume between the first and second pane elements and is fixed in a gas-tight manner by a fixing system to the first and second pane sealing surfaces. The spacer strut is arranged as a frame open in sections such that a receiving opening is implemented between two spacer struts, which receiving opening is dimensioned such that a third pane element is insertable through the opening into the insulating glass volume. The modular system also includes a closure component with the third pane element, and a closure sealing system for the gas-tight closure of the insulating glass volume.

A glass panel unit manufacturing method includes a punching step and a pillar mounting step. In the punching step, a punch punches at least one of a plurality of portions from a base material of a sheet to form at least one pillar. Each of the plurality of portions is surrounded by a corresponding one of a plurality of loop-shaped grooves in the base material. In the pillar mounting step, the at least one pillar is mounted on a surface of a first substrate including a glass pane.

A vacuum insulating panel includes first and second substrates (e.g., glass substrates), a hermetic edge seal, a pump-out port, and spacers sandwiched between at least the two substrates. The gap between the substrates may be at a pressure less than atmospheric pressure to provide insulating properties. The panel may include a getter. The getter may be laser activated in a manner which causes the getter to transform and realize a TiAlV phase (e.g., Al.sub.3V.sub.0.333Ti.sub.0.667) of crystallite material. The getter may be a thin film getter and/or may be elongated in shape.

A method of making a vacuum insulating panel including a first substrate, a second substrate, a plurality of spacers provided in a gap between at least the first and second substrates, and a seal provided between at least the first and second substrates, the seal comprising a first seal layer, and optionally second and/or third primer layer(s). The method may include at least one of: (i) laser heating, using a laser beam from a laser, the first seal material for firing and/or sintering the first seal material to form the first seal layer, in a manner that causes TeO.sub.4>TeO.sub.3 in the first seal material to transform into TeO.sub.3>TeO.sub.4 due to said laser heating, whereby an amount of TeO.sub.4 decreases and an amount of TeO.sub.3 increases due to said laser heating, and/or (ii) laser heating in a manner that causes V.sub.2O.sub.5>VO.sub.2 in the first seal material to transform into VO.sub.2>V.sub.2O.sub.5 due to said laser heating whereby an amount of VO.sub.2 increases and an amount of V.sub.2O.sub.5 decreases due to said laser heating, so that after said laser heating the first seal layer comprises more VO.sub.2 than V.sub.2O.sub.5 by wt. %.

A method of making a vacuum insulating panel, the vacuum insulating panel comprising a first glass substrate, a second glass substrate, a plurality of spacers provided in a gap between at least the first and second glass substrates, and a seal provided between at least the first and second glass substrates, the seal comprising a first seal layer and/or a second seal layer. The method may include laser heating, using a laser beam from a continuous wave near-IR laser, seal material in order to form the first seal layer; wherein the laser heating may include causing the laser beam to move at a lateral speed of from about 5-70 mm/second relative to the substrates and the first seal material so that the laser beam at least partially passes through at least one of the glass substrates and impinges upon at least the second seal layer in order to heat the second seal layer and fire and/or sinter the first seal material thereby forming the first seal layer.

A vacuum insulating panel may include: a first substrate; a second substrate; a plurality of spacers provided in a gap between at least the first and second substrates, wherein the gap is at a pressure less than atmospheric pressure; a seal provided between at least the first substrate and the second substrate, the seal comprising a first seal layer; wherein the first seal layer comprises tellurium oxide and vanadium oxide; wherein the first seal layer comprises, on a wt. %, more tellurium oxide than vanadium oxide, and has a density of from about 2.8-4.0 g/cm.sup.3.

A vacuum insulating panel may include: a first substrate; a second substrate; a plurality of spacers provided in a gap between at least the first and second substrates, wherein the gap is at pressure less than atmospheric pressure; a pump-out/evacuation tube extending at least partly into an aperture in one of the substrates; and a pump-out/evacuation tube seal. The pump-out/evacuation tube seal may include at least one of: (a) from about 20-80 wt. % tellurium oxide, the tellurium oxide comprising TeO.sub.4 and TeO.sub.3, wherein the pump-out tube seal comprises more TeO.sub.3 than TeO.sub.4 by wt. %; and/or (b) tellurium oxide and from about 10-50 wt. % vanadium oxide, wherein the pump-out tube seal by wt. % comprises more tellurium oxide than vanadium oxide, and wherein the vanadium oxide comprises VO.sub.2 and V.sub.2O.sub.5, and wherein more V in the pump-out tube seal is in a form of VO.sub.2 than V.sub.2O.sub.5. A substantially donut-shaped laser beam may be used to heat pump-out tube material in order to form a pump-out tube seal.