A privacy glazing structure may include an electrically controllable optically active material that provides controlled transition between a privacy or scattering state and a visible or transmittance state. To make electrical connections with electrode layers that control the optically active material, the privacy glazing structure may include an offset pane arrangement. The structure may include first and second panes that contain an optically active material. The two panes may be sandwiched by two laminated outer panes. In some examples, the first and second panes are recessed relative to the laminated outer panes along their side edges to define recesses in which electrical connection features are positioned.

This disclosure describes insulated glass units (IGUs) that incorporate electrochromic devices. More specifically, this disclosure focuses on different configurations available for providing an electrical connection to the interior region of an IGU. In many cases, an IGU includes two panes separated by a spacer. The spacer defines an interior region of the IGU and an exterior region of the IGU. Often, the electrochromic device positioned on the pane does not extend past the spacer, and some electrical connection must be provided to supply power from the exterior of the IGU to the electrochromic device on the interior of the IGU. In some embodiments, the spacer includes one or more holes (e.g, channels, mouse holes, other holes, etc.) through which an electrical connection (e.g., wires, busbar leads, etc.) may pass to provide power to the electrochromic device.

Heated windshields, which utilize a transparent conductive coating, are increasing in popularity due to the rapid deice defog action and higher efficiency of such products. With the limited waste heat available in electric and hybrid electric vehicles, cabin heating and defrosting must be done with electric power. One of the problems in designing a heated windshield is hiding the busbars from view for the exterior of the vehicle. This is especially a problem when the coating is on the inner surface of the exterior glass layer which is the preferred embodiment for both solar control and defrosting. The normal black obscuration cannot be applied over the coating and it is very expensive to first paint and then coat the glass. The invention makes use of a thin conductive layer placed between the bus bars and the coating which serves to hide the bus bars from view providing a glazing with an improved aesthetic.

An object of the invention is to provide a glass panel unit manufacturing method and a glass window manufacturing method which enable a binder to be effectively removed from a glass adhesive, provide high adhesive strength between panels, and enable a vacuum space to be stably formed. A method for manufacturing a glass panel unit includes: disposing a glass adhesive to have one part as a low step part thinner than the other part of the glass adhesive; disposing a first substrate including at least a first glass substrate and a second substrate including at least a second glass substrate to face each other; and heating glass composite to form an inner space; reducing the pressure of the inner space; and forming a vacuum space from the inner space. The glass adhesive includes glass powder and a binder.

A system includes a window and a microwave amplifier positioned proximate the window. The window has a low-E coating. The microwave amplifier includes a substrate and multiple concentric rings of material that form a Fresnel zone plate lens. The concentric rings are attached to the substrate. The Fresnel zone plate lens is configured to focus an attenuated microwave signal, which is attenuated by the low-E coating of the window, on an antenna, which may (1) amplify the attenuated microwave signal by at least 20 dB and/or (2) provide an image at the antenna such that an area of the Fresnel zone plate lens divided by an area of the image is at least 100 and/or such that the area of the image is approximately equal to an area of the antenna. The attenuated microwave signal has a designated frequency in a range of frequencies from 6 GHz to 80 GHz.

Methods of manufacturing electrochromic windows are described. An electrochromic device is fabricated to substantially cover a glass sheet, for example float glass, and a cutting pattern is defined based on one or more low-defectivity areas in the device from which one or more electrochromic panes are cut. Laser scribes and/or bus bars may be added prior to cutting the panes or after. Edge deletion can also be performed prior to or after cutting the electrochromic panes from the glass sheet. Insulated glass units (IGUs) are fabricated from the electrochromic panes and optionally one or more of the panes of the IGU are strengthened.

The invention relates to glazing (1) comprising a first glazing sheet (10; 10A, 10B) forming a substrate on which at least one film of an electrochemical system (12) is formed, said system having optical and/or energy-related properties that are electrically controllable, a second glazing sheet (14) forming a counter-substrate, and a third glazing sheet (18). The substrate has characteristics that allow it to be obtained by being cut from a motherboard on which motherboard at least one film or the electro-chemical system (12) is formed. The substrate is located between the counter-substrate (14) and the third glazing sheet (18) and is set back relative to the counter-substrate (14) and relative to the third glazing sheet (18) over the entire circumference of the substrate (10; 10A, 10B).

A material includes a transparent substrate coated with a stack of thin layers successively including, starting from the substrate, an alternation of three silver-based functional metallic layers and of four dielectric coatings, so that each functional metallic layer is positioned between two dielectric coatings. The thicknesses of the three functional layers and the thicknesses of the dielectric coatings are selected in order to give the materials solar factor values of less than 20% for a light transmission of the order of 40%.

This invention relates to an insulating glass (IG) window unit designed to prevent or reduce bird collisions therewith. The IG window unit includes at least first, second and third substrates (e.g., glass substrates). At least one of the substrates supports an ultraviolet (UV) reflecting coating for reflecting UV radiation so that birds are capable of more easily seeing the window, and wherein at least two of the substrates are laminated to one another via a polymer-based laminating film (e.g., of or including PVB, EVA, or SGP) that may have a high UV absoprtion. The UV reflecting coating is preferably patterned so that it is not provided across the entirety of the IG window unit. By making the window more visible to birds, bird collisions and bird deaths can be reduced. The provision of the laminated substrates in the IG window unit is particularly advantageous for bird collision windows, because it can further reduce bird collisions by providing an increased contrast ratio, improve durability, and improve processing.

This disclosure provides spacers for smart windows. In one aspect, a window assembly includes a first substantially transparent substrate having an optically switchable device on a surface of the first substrate. The optically switchable device includes electrodes. A first electrode of the electrodes has a length about the length of a side of the optically switchable device. The window assembly further includes a second substantially transparent substrate a metal spacer between the first and the second substrates. The metal spacer has a substantially rectangular cross section, with one side of the metal spacer including a recess configured to accommodate the length of the first electrode such that there is no contact between the first electrode and the metal spacer. A primary seal material bonds the first substrate to the metal spacer and bonds the second substrate to the metal spacer.