Abstract
A spacer for insulating glazing units is presented. The spacer has a polymeric main body with features that include a first pane contact surface, a second pane contact surface, a first glazing interior surface, a second glazing interior surface, an outer surface, a first hollow chamber, and a second hollow chamber. A groove to accommodate a pane is formed between the first glazing interior surface and the second glazing interior surface, with the first hollow chamber being adjacent the first glazing interior surface and the second hollow chamber being adjacent the second glazing interior surface. Lateral flanks of the groove are formed by walls of the first and second hollow chambers.
Claims
1.-14. (canceled)
15. A spacer for an insulating glazing unit, comprising: a polymeric main body comprising: a first pane contact surface; a second pane contact surface parallel to the first contact surface; a first glazing interior surface; a second glazing interior surface; an outer surface; a first hollow chamber; and a second hollow chamber, wherein: a groove between the first glazing interior surface and the second glazing interior surface configured to accommodate a pane runs parallel to the first pane contact surface and the second pane contact surface, the first hollow chamber is adjacent the first glazing interior surface, and the second hollow chamber is adjacent the second glazing interior surface, lateral flanks of the groove are formed by a wall of the first hollow chamber and a wall of the second hollow chamber, and a web is arranged directly below the groove on a side of the spacer opposite the groove.
16. The spacer according to claim 15, further comprising a gas- and vapor-tight barrier mounted on the outer surface of the polymeric main body and on at least a part of the first and second pane contact surfaces, wherein the web is mounted on the gas- and vapor-tight barrier.
17. The spacer according to claim 15, further comprising a gas- and vapor-tight barrier, wherein: the polymeric main body and the web are extruded or coextruded in one piece, and the gas- and vapor-tight barrier is mounted on: the outer surface of the polymeric main body, lateral surfaces of the web, an edge of the web, and at least a part of the pane contact surfaces.
18. The spacer according to claim 16, wherein the gas- and vapor-tight barrier is implemented as a film that comprises at least one polymeric layer and at least one of a metallic layer and a ceramic layer.
19. The spacer according to claim 17, wherein the gas- and vapor-tight barrier is implemented as a film that comprises at least one polymeric layer and at least one of a metallic layer and a ceramic layer.
20. The spacer according to claim 18, wherein the film comprises at least two metallic layers and/or ceramic layers, that are arranged alternatingly with at least one polymeric layer.
21. The spacer according to claim 17, wherein the gas- and vapor-tight barrier is implemented as a coating that contains one or more of: a) aluminum, b) aluminum oxides, and c) silicon oxides.
22. The spacer according to claim 21, wherein the coating is applied by a physical vapor deposition (PVD) method.
23. The spacer according to claim 15, wherein an insert is mounted in the groove.
24. The spacer according to claim 23, wherein the insert contains an elastomer.
25. The spacer according to claim 24, wherein the elastomer contains butyl rubber.
26. The spacer according to claim 15, wherein a wall thickness d′ in a region of the lateral flanks is less than a wall thickness d of the polymeric main body.
27. The spacer according to claim 26, wherein d′<0.7*d.
28. The spacer according to claim 26, wherein d′<0.5*d.
29. The spacer according to claim 15, wherein the polymeric main body contains a desiccant.
30. The spacer according to claim 29, wherein the dessicant contains one or more of: a) silica gels, b) molecular sieves, c) CaCl.sub.2, d) Na.sub.2SO.sub.4, e) activated carbon, f) silicates, g) bentonites, and h) zeolites.
31. The spacer according to claim 15, wherein the polymeric main body contains polyethylene (PE), polycarbonates (PC), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene, polybutadiene, polynitriles, polyesters, polyurethanes, polymethylmethacrylates, polyacrylates, polyamides, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), preferably acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), acrylonitrile styrene acrylester (ASA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene/polycarbonate (ABS/PC), styrene acrylonitrile (SAN), PET/PC, PBT/PC, and/or copolymers or mixtures thereof.
32. An insulating glazing unit, comprising: a first pane; a second pane; a third pane; and the spacer according to claim 15, wherein: the first pane contacts the first pane contact surface of the spacer, the second pane contacts the second pane contact surface of the spacer, the third pane is inserted into the groove of the spacer, an edge of the first pane, an edge of the second pane, and an edge of the web are arranged flushed so that a space between the first pane and the second pane is divided by the web into a first outer interpane space and a second outer interpane space, and the first and second outer interpane spaces are filled with an outer seal.
33. The insulating glazing unit according to claim 32, wherein a seal is mounted between one or both of the first pane and the first pane contact surface, and the second pane and the second pane contact surface.
34. The insulating glazing unit according to claim 33, wherein the seal contains a polyisobutylene.
35. A method for producing the insulating glazing unit according to claim 32, the method comprising: a) inserting the third pane into the groove of the spacer; b) mounting the first pane on the first pane contact surface of the spacer; c) mounting the second pane on the second pane contact surface of the spacer; and d) pressing together a pane arrangement comprising the first pane, the second pane, the third pane, and the spacer.
36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the step a) further comprises: first, preshaping the spacer to form a rectangle that is open on one side; sliding the third pane into the groove of the preshaped spacer; and closing a remaining edge of the third pane with a spacer.
37. A method, comprising using the spacer according to claim 15 in multiple glazing units.
38. The method according to claim 37, wherein the multiple glazing units comprise insulating glazing units.
39. The method according to claim 38, wherein the insulating glazing units comprise triple insulating glazing units.
Description
[0064] The invention is explained in detail in the following with reference to drawings. The drawings are purely schematic representations and are not true to scale. They in no way restrict the invention. They depict:
[0065] FIG. 1 a possible embodiment of the spacer according to the invention,
[0066] FIG. 2 another possible embodiment of the spacer according to the invention,
[0067] FIG. 3 a cross-section of a possible embodiment of the insulating glazing unit according to the invention,
[0068] FIG. 4 a cross-section of another possible embodiment of the insulating glazing unit according to the invention,
[0069] FIG. 5 a cross-section of another possible embodiment of the insulating glazing unit according to the invention, and
[0070] FIG. 6 a flowchart of a possible embodiment of the method according to the invention.
[0071] FIG. 1 depicts a cross-section of the spacer I according to the invention. The glass fiber reinforced polymeric main body 1 comprises a first pane contact surface 2.1, a second pane contact surface 2.2 running parallel thereto, a first glazing interior surface 3.1, a second glazing interior surface 3.2, and an outer surface 4. A first hollow chamber 5.1 is situated between the outer surface 4 and the first glazing interior surface 3.1, while a second hollow chamber 5.2 is arranged between the outer surface 4 and the second glazing interior surface 3.2. A groove 6, which runs parallel to the pane contact surfaces 2.1 and 2.2, is situated between the two hollow chambers 5.1 and 5.2. The lateral flanks 7 of the groove 6 are formed by the walls of the two hollow chambers 5.1 and 5.2, while the bottom surface of the groove 6 is adjacent the web. The lateral flanks 7 of the groove 6 are inclined inward in the direction of a pane to be accommodated in the groove 6. Thus, a tapering of the groove 6 is created at the level of the glazing interior surfaces 3.1 and 3.2, which tapering favors the fixing of a pane in the groove 6. The wall thickness d of the polymeric main body is 1 mm, while the reduced wall thickness d′ in the region of the lateral flanks is 0.8 mm. The outer surface 4 runs largely perpendicular to the pane contact surfaces 2.1 and 2.2 and parallel to the glazing interior surfaces 3.1 and 3.2. The sections of the outer surface 4 nearest the pane contact surfaces 2.1 and 2.2 are, however, inclined at an angle of preferably 30° to 60° relative to the outer surface 4 in the direction of the pane contact surfaces 2.1 and 2.2. This angled geometry improves the stability of the polymeric main body 1 and enables better bonding of the spacer I according to the invention to a barrier film. A web 20, which holds the spacer frame in the proper position during the production of the insulated glazing, is mounted below the groove 6. The web 20 is implemented in one piece together with the polymeric main body. The width a of the web 20 corresponds to the width of the groove 6 in the region of the bottom surface and is 3 mm. The height b of the web is 4.5 mm. In the finished insulating glazing unit, the lateral surfaces 25 are in contact with the outer seal 16. The polymeric main body 1 and the web 20 contain styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) with roughly 35 wt.-% glass fiber. The glazing interior surfaces 3.1 and 3.2 have, at regular intervals, openings 8, which connect the hollow chambers 5.1 and 5.2 to the air space above the glazing interior surfaces 3.1 and 3.2. The spacer I has a height of 6.5 mm and a total width of 34 mm. The groove 6 has a depth of 3 mm, while the first glazing interior surface 3.1 is 16 mm wide and the second glazing interior surface 3.2 is 16 mm wide. The total width of the spacer I is the sum of the widths of the glazing interior surfaces 3.1 and 3.2 and the thickness of the third pane 15 with insert 9 to be inserted into the groove 6.
[0072] FIG. 2 depicts a cross-section of the spacer I according to the invention. The spacer depicted essentially corresponds to the spacer depicted in FIG. 1. An insert 9 made of butyl is mounted in the groove 6. The insert 9 makes contact with the lateral flanks 7. The insert 9 fixes the pane to be inserted in the groove 6 and prevents development of noise during the opening and closing of the window and compensates thermal expansion of the pane to be inserted during warming. The insert 9 has interruptions, by means of which pressure equalization between adjacent inner interpane spaces 17.1 and 17.2 is enabled after installation of a third pane 15 to be inserted. In the spacer depicted, the width a of the web 20 is somewhat smaller than in FIG. 1 and is only 2 mm, by means of which adequate support is obtained with a savings of material at the same time.
[0073] FIG. 3 depicts a cross-section of an insulating glazing unit according to the invention with the spacer I depicted in FIG. 2. The first pane 13 of the triple insulating glazing unit is bonded via a seal 10 to the first pane contact surface 2.1 of the spacer I, while the second pane 14 is bonded via a seal 10 to the second pane contact surface 2.2. The seal 10 is made of a cross-linking polyisobutylene. The lateral flanks 7 of the groove 6 are inclined inward in the direction of the third pane 15. A third pane 15 is inserted into the groove 6 of the spacer via an insert 9. The insert 9 surrounds the edge of the third pane 15 and fits flush into the groove 6. The insert 9 is made of butyl rubber. The insert 9 fixes the third pane 15 without tension and compensates thermal expansion of the pane. Furthermore, the insert 9 prevents development of noise due to slippage of the third pane 15. The intermediate space between the first pane 13 and the third pane 15 delimited by the first glazing interior surface 3.1 is defined here as the first inner interpane space 17.1, and the space between the third pane 15, and the second pane 14 delimited by the second glazing interior surface 3.2 is defined as the second inner interpane space 17.2. Via the openings 8 in the glazing interior surfaces 3.1 and 3.2, the inner interpane spaces 17.1 and 17.2 are connected to the respective underlying hollow chamber 5.1 or 5.2. A desiccant 11 made of a molecular sieve is situated in the hollow chambers 5.1 and 5.2. Through the openings 8, a gas exchange occurs between the hollow chambers 5.1, 5.2 and the interpane spaces 17.1, 17.2, wherein the desiccant 11 extracts the atmospheric humidity from the interpane spaces 17.1 and 17.2. The polymeric main body 1 and the web 20 are implemented in one piece. Thus, a particularly stable connection between the web 20 and the polymeric main body 1 is created. In addition, compared to a two-piece implementation, a production step, namely the gluing-on of the web 20 is eliminated. A barrier 12, which reduces the heat transfer through the polymeric main body 1 into the interpane space 17, is applied on the outer surface 4, which, in this one-piece implementation of the main body 1 and the web 20, also comprises the lateral surfaces 25 and the edge 23 of the web 20. The barrier 12 is implemented as a barrier film 12 and can, for example, be fastened on the polymeric main body 1 with a polyurethane hot melt adhesive. The barrier film 12 comprises four polymeric layers of polyethylene terephthalate with a thickness of 12 μm and three metallic layers made of aluminum with a thickness of 50 nm. The metallic layers and the polymeric layers are alternatingly applied in each case, with the two outer layers being formed by polymeric layers. The first pane 13 and the second pane 14 protrude beyond the pane contact surfaces 2.1 and 2.2 such that an outer interpane space 24 is created, which is divided by the web 20 into a first outer interpane space 24.1 and a second outer interpane space 24.2. The edge 21 of the first pane 13, the edge 22 of the second pane 14, and the edge 23 of the web 20 are arranged at one height. The outer interpane spaces 24.1 und 24.2 are filled with an outer seal 16. This outer seal 16 is formed from an organic polysulfide. The web 20 divides the outer seal 16 into two parts. Since the thermal conductivity of the outer seal 16 is higher than that of the web 20, thermal decoupling occurs, which results in an improvement of the thermal insulation properties of the edge bond. The first pane 13 in the second pane 14 are made of soda lime glass with a thickness of 3 mm, while the third pane 15 is formed from soda lime glass with a thickness of 2 mm.
[0074] FIG. 4 depicts a cross-section of an insulating glazing unit according to the invention with a spacer I according to the invention. The insulating glazing unit corresponds essentially to the insulating glazing unit depicted in FIG. 3. The lateral flanks 7 of the groove 6 run, in this case, parallel to the pane contact surfaces 2.1 and 2.2. The insert 9 extends over the entire width of the bottom surface but only partially covers the lateral flanks 7 of the groove 6, by which means material is saved. The polymeric main body 1 and the web 20 are implemented in two pieces. The web 20 is mounted on the barrier film 12 below the groove 6. The web 20 is made of styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) with roughly 35% glass fiber. The web 20 is, for example, fastened with a polyurethane hot melt adhesive. In this two-piece implementation of a polymeric main body 1 and web 20, the web 20 does not additionally have to be provided with the barrier film 12 in order to obtain effective insulating action, by which means the material costs are reduced.
[0075] FIG. 5 depicts a cross-section of an insulating glazing unit according to the invention with a spacer I according to the invention. The insulating glazing unit corresponds essentially to the insulating glazing unit depicted in FIG. 4. The web 20 and the polymeric main body 1 are implemented in two pieces. The web 20 is configured as a T-shaped profile. The two side arms 26 of the web 20 increase the stability of the spacer I, since the bonding area with the gas- and vapor-tight barrier 12 is enlarged. The thickness of the side arms is roughly 1 mm. The side arms cover only a part of the outer surface.
[0076] FIG. 6 depicts a flowchart of a possible embodiment of the method according to the invention. First, the third pane 15 is prepared and washed. Optionally, an insert 9 is then mounted on the edges of the third pane 15. The third pane 15 is now slid into the groove 6 of the spacer I according to the invention. Here, three spacers I can, for example, be preshaped to form a rectangle open on one side, wherein the third pane 15 is slid into the groove 6 via the open side. Then, the fourth pane edge is closed with a spacer I. The corners of the spacer are either welded or linked to one another via corner connectors. These first three process steps serve to prepare a pane 15 with a spacer I according to the invention. Such a preassembled component can then be further processed in a conventional double glazing system. The assembly of the first pane 13 and the second pane 14 on the pane contact surfaces 2.1 and 2.2 via a seal 10 in each case is done in the double glazing system. Optionally, a protective gas can be introduced into the interpane spaces 17.1 and 17.2. Then, the insulating glazing unit is pressed. In the last step, an outer seal 16 is filled into the outer interpane spaces 24.1 and 24.2, and the finished insulating glazing unit is placed on a rack to dry.
LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS
[0077] I spacer [0078] 1 polymeric main body [0079] 2 pane contact surfaces [0080] 2.1 first pane contact surface [0081] 2.2 second pane contact surface [0082] 3 glazing interior surfaces [0083] 3.1 first glazing interior surface [0084] 3.2 second glazing interior surface [0085] 4 outer surface [0086] 5 hollow chambers [0087] 5.1 first hollow chamber [0088] 5.2 second hollow chamber [0089] 6 groove [0090] 7 lateral flanks [0091] 8 openings [0092] 9 insert [0093] 10 seal [0094] 11 desiccant [0095] 12 barrier/barrier film/barrier coating [0096] 13 first pane [0097] 14 second pane [0098] 15 third pane [0099] 16 outer seal [0100] 17 inner interpane spaces [0101] 17.1 first inner interpane space [0102] 17.2 second inner interpane space [0103] 20 web [0104] 21 edge of the first pane [0105] 22 edge of the second pane [0106] 23 edge of the web [0107] 24 outer interpane space [0108] 24.1 first outer interpane space [0109] 24.2 second outer interpane space [0110] 25 lateral surface of the web [0111] 26 side arm of the web [0112] a width of the web [0113] b height of the web
