FACADE ELEMENT AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A FACADE

Abstract

Disclosed is a facade element having a first glass unit, in particular insulating glass unit, and at least one second glass unit, in particular insulating glass unit, arranged adjacently thereto, wherein the two glass units are connected to one another via their edges adjoining one another in an abutment region, preferably exclusively with the aid of an, in particular transparent, adhesive connection, wherein the adhesive connection is preferably formed by a two-component silicone material. The invention further relates to a corresponding production method.

Claims

1. A facade element having a first insulating glass unit and at least one adjacently arranged second insulating glass unit, whereby the two insulating glass units are connected together by their edges which adjoin each other in an abutment region by means of a transparent adhesive connection, wherein the adhesive connection is formed by a two-component silicone material introduced in liquid form into a joint area defined in the abutment region of the adjoining edges and is of crystal-clear transparency after curing, and wherein the adhesive connection is formed without any gas bubbles, wherein the facade element comprises a plurality of insulating glass units which are connected together by means of the transparent adhesive connection so as to form a large-scale and transparent facade element.

2. The facade element according to claim 1, wherein the first and second insulating glass unit each comprise at least one first transparent surface element, preferably in the form of a glass pane, and at least one second transparent surface element, likewise preferably in the form of a glass pane, wherein the two surface elements of preferably both insulating glass units, including the space between the panes, are connected together by a preferably circumferential spacer.

3. The facade element according to claim 2, wherein the spacer of the first and/or second insulating glass unit is formed from a transparent material, in particular a glass material or a plastic material.

4. The facade element according to claim 2, wherein the spacer of the first and/or second insulating glass unit is of multi-part design.

5. The facade element according to claim 2, wherein a preferably transparent sealant is provided between the spacer of the first and/or second insulating glass unit and the first and second surface element of the respective insulating glass unit.

6. The facade element according to claim 1, wherein the individual insulating glass units are of replaceable design.

7. A method for producing a facade element according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises the following method steps: providing a first and at least one further second insulating glass unit; arranging the two insulating glass units relative to one another such that the edges of the two insulating glass units adjoin each other in an abutment region; delimiting the abutment region and defining a corresponding joint area; and introducing a silicone material into the defined joint area in liquid form, wherein the silicone material is poured into the defined joint area or injected or respectively introduced into the defined joint area by means of an injection process, and wherein the silicone material is a two-component material which is free of any gas bubbles and of crystal-clear transparency after curing.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein during the method step of introducing the silicone material, the silicone material has a viscosity of between 0.1 Pa-s and 10 Pa-s, and preferably of between 1.0 Pa-s and 3.5 Pa-s, measured in each case at room temperature.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein a prefabricated mold is fit and temporarily fixed on at least one of the two insulating glass units in order to delimit the abutment region.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein an adhesive tape is glued to at least one of the two insulating glass units in order to delimit the abutment region.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein a molding which defines a joint area closed to the outside is used to delimit the abutment region.

12-14. (canceled)

Description

[0028] The following will reference the accompanying drawings in describing the invention in greater detail.

[0029] Shown are:

[0030] FIG. 1 a schematic partially sectioned view of the joint area between two glass units during the introduction of a silicone material; and

[0031] FIG. 2 a schematic isometric view of the abutment region between two adjacent glass units during the introduction of a silicone material into the defined abutment region.

[0032] At present, silicone jointings and silicone sealings are only applied to facade glass once it has been fully installed. Since this process requires the silicone material to be in a paste-like state, no pourable type of silicone has yet to date been provided for such an application in construction.

[0033] Standard construction site processing makes it impossible to reliably introduce paste-like material into glass joints having joint depths greater than 10 to 15 mm without bubbles. This circumstance therefore additionally requires a corresponding procedure to conceal these bubbles or small voids respectively. Meaning that, the subsequently visible glass edges are for this reason usually printed beforehand or already need to be pre-coated (primed) in bubble-free manner with a thin layer of silicone in the factory.

[0034] Yet it follows from such a procedure that a transparent pasty material would still leave unsightly visible bubbles. To date, the only way to conceal these bubbles has been through the use of solid-colored material.

[0035] Using solid-colored silicone as jointing or sealing material has also been entirely adequate to date since the use of the standard edge seal alone rendered solid object visibility through the edges of the insulating glass impossible.

[0036] However, in order to specify a facade element 100 having the largest possible transparent and optically clear area, one no longer needs to rely on the conventional approach and the use of solid-colored silicone material. According to the embodiments depicted by way of example in the drawings, a respective facade element 100 is in particular provided which, despite the provision of multiple adjacently arranged insulating glass units 1, 2, provides a maximum possible transparent area.

[0037] To that end, the insulating glass units 1, 2, which are connected to one another in an abutment region to form the inventive facade element 100, are specially constructed. In detail, the insulating glass units 1, 2 each have at least one first transparent surface element 11, preferably in the form of a glass pane, and at least one second transparent surface element 12, likewise preferably in the form of a glass pane. The two surface elements 11, 12, including a space 14 between the panes, are connected together by a preferably circumferential spacer 13.

[0038] In the exemplary embodiments depicted in the drawings, it is thereby in particular provided for each spacer 13 of the first and second insulating glass units 1, 2 to be formed from a transparent material, in particular a glass material or a suitable plastic material.

[0039] Furthermore, it is advantageously provided for a preferably transparent sealant 15 to be provided between the spacer 13 and the first and second surface elements 11, 12 of the respective insulating glass unit 1, 2.

[0040] In other words, insulating glass units 1, 2 are used which have edge regions formed from a crystal-clear material or crystal-clear materials such that neither does the edge region effect any visual impairment in terms of transparency.

[0041] In order to be able to connect the thusly entirely transparent insulating glass units 1, 2 together, the glass units 1, 2 are arranged relative to one another such that the edges of the two glass units 1, 2 adjoin each other in an abutment region. The glass units 1, 2 are preferably temporarily fixed in this position and the abutment region then delimited in order to define a joint area 5.

[0042] A silicone material 4, in particular a crystal-clear silicone material 4, is thereafter introduced, in particular poured, into the defined joint area 5 in liquid form, or—as indicated in FIG. 1—injected into the defined joint area 5 via injection.

[0043] Because the silicone material 4 is introduced into the defined joint area 5 in liquid form, a reliable, lasting, transparent and bubble-free connection is possible between the two adjacently adjoining glass units 1, 2, even in the case of a complex glass structure such as e.g. insulating glass units 1, 2 with glass spacers 13 which are to be connected together over a corner (see FIG. 2).

[0044] Introducing the silicone material 4 in liquid form enables a clean flow to the joint surfaces and any potentially introduced bubbles to rise to the surface. Since this pourable material is to then fully cure without shrinkage, using a two-component material is necessary to that end.

[0045] An example of a silicone material 4 suitable for transparent sealing is the two-component crystal-clear pourable silicone offered by the Dow Corning company under the name of “Sylgard 184.” A comparable product would for example also be the Elastosil Solar 2202 AB product from the Wacker company.

[0046] Advantageously, the silicone materials 4 should have a viscosity of approximately 1 Pa-s to approximately 3.5 Pa-s in order to enable the silicone material 4 to completely fill the defined joint area 5.

[0047] Various approaches can be used to delimit the abutment region and define the joint area 5 to be filled with the liquid silicone material 4. One possible variant would be positioning a prefabricated e.g. milled or drawn mold, whereby same is sealed and secured to the glass from the outside, for example by gluing. A pre-defined joint profile, such as for example a defined radius or a precise surface area, can thereby also be created for visual enhancement. This joint profile can consist of Teflon. A different material which has been provided with a separating agent in order to prevent silicone material 4 adherence is also alternatively conceivable.

[0048] A simpler method of producing containment for the joint to be poured would be, for example, only enclosing the mold using a self-adhesive tape glued to the glass edges. Said adhesive tape can have a local adhesion-preventing strip along the joint.

[0049] In order to protect the glass edges of the filling side from unwanted wetting, the edge area of the filling point is advantageously covered with an adhesive tape. The material ready to be poured is thereafter introduced slowly and evenly into the area to be filled.

[0050] The aim is thereby a flow rate of approximately 10 ml/s to approximately 40 ml/s, depending on the joint thickness and the viscosity of the silicone material 4. The removal of excess material and the leveling of the jointing area needs to be completed prior to the start of the curing process so as to enable flow into a perfectly flat surface.

[0051] This “open” filling procedure for e.g. the pre-assemblage of a glass corner formation should be undertaken in a clean room under controlled conditions in order to prevent the inclusion of dust or other contaminant particles (see FIG. 2). An improved filling method thereto would be to close in the entire joint on both sides using a molding or a limiting tape. This joint space could then be filled with the pre-mixed silicone sealing material via injection. This method enables optimizing the horizontal filling of the jointing, as is otherwise only mandatory in the open procedure, up to a potentially vertically aligned filling of the joint in the fully glazed building. The cited injection process additionally requires a somewhat more complex preparation including the secure sealing and the use of mixing or dosing devices.

[0052] The present invention enables producing a crystal-clear connection of fully transparent multi-layer and insulating glass along the entire facade, the entirety of which no longer exhibits any disruptive visible joints.

[0053] In addition, a use-suited transparent connection of corner glazing can be produced for the first time. Because the decisive advantage of this corner connection is thereby the lasting elasticity of the connection point. In the end, the fully cured connecting material has a Shore A degree of hardness of approximately 35 to 65 as determined according to DIN ISO 7619-1, which corresponds to a converted pressure modulus of elasticity of 3.5 to 8 MPa.

[0054] This corner glass connection elasticity enables accommodation of substructure installation tolerances when mounting the prefabricated all-glass corner to the building. An additional advantage of this lasting flexible corner connection is the feasibility of being able to sustainably absorb substructure deformations caused by wind loads or building settlement.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0055] 1 first glass unit [0056] 2 second glass unit [0057] 3 adhesive connection [0058] 4 silicone material [0059] 5 joint area [0060] 1 first surface element [0061] 12 second surface element [0062] 13 spacer [0063] 14 space between panes [0064] 15 sealant [0065] 100 facade element