Illuminated laminate with superior aesthetics and brightness

Abstract

The trend towards increasing the glazed area in automobiles has reduced the potential locations for mounting cabin lighting. This is especially true for vehicles having large panoramic glazing. Attempts to utilize integrated light sources within the glazing have had mixed results. Embedded LEDs in the laminate tend to be too bright for night driving. Edge feed illumination with light dispersing elements on the glass to date have only been able to provide low intensity levels. Both approaches tend to reduce visibility and aesthetics in the off state. The current invention provides a means and a method to produce a laminate which provides bright cabin lighting without compromising the function of the glazing to serve as a window, by creating a light dispersing layer that is substantially invisible when in the off state and very bright in the on state.

Claims

1. A method for producing an illuminated curved automotive laminate with superior aesthetics and brightness comprising: providing an emulsion comprised of an organic material with dispersed sub-micron inorganic particles having an average particle size that is no greater than 1 μm; providing a light conducting layer, wherein said light conducting layer is a glass layer; printing the emulsion onto a main surface of the light conducting layer; curing the emulsion by heating the glass layer with the emulsion to evaporate and burn off the organic material forming a light dispersing layer; providing at least one additional glass layer; bending at least said one additional glass layer; providing at least one plastic interlayer; disposing the light conducting layer with the light dispersing layer in contact with said at least one plastic interlayer; laminating the light conducting layer with the light dispersing layer and said at least one plastic interlayer; placing at least two lighting means and aligning them with opposite edges of said light conducting layer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one plastic interlayer comprises a tinted plastic interlayer having a visible light transmission of 40% or less.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the glass layer is a light conducting layer having a total visible light transmission of at least 90%.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the additional glass layer is selected such that the total visible light transmission of the laminate is no greater than 5%.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the light dispersing layer comprises a graphic.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the sub-micron inorganic particles are optical diffuser particles having an average size that is preferably no greater than 350 nm, more preferably no greater than 100 nm.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the percent weight of the sub-micron inorganic particles in the emulsion is less than 10%.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the emulsion is cured by heating the glass substrate of the light conducting layer to a temperature at which the viscosity of the glass is in the range of 10.sup.12.5 to 10.sup.9.5 Poise.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the emulsion is cured by heating the glass substrate of the light conducting layer to a temperature at which the viscosity of the glass is in the range of 10.sup.12.5 to 10.sup.10.5 Poise.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said light conducting layer is cold bent.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step of placing at least two lighting means, these lighting means have two operation mode states: on and off; and after the lamination step the light dispersing layer generates an increase in haze of no more than 6% making this layer substantially invisible when said automotive laminate is in off state.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of bending the light conducting layer.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the light conducting layer bending and curing steps occur at the same time.

14. An illuminated curved automotive laminate with superior aesthetics and brightness comprising: a light conducting layer made of glass; at least one additional glass layer; at least two lighting means placed and aligned with opposite edges of said light conducting layer; at least one plastic interlayer placed between the light conducting layer and said at least one additional glass layer; and a light dispersing layer made of sub-micron inorganic particles, having an average particle size that is no greater than 1 μm, which is printed onto a main surface of the light conducting layer; wherein the light dispersing layer is in contact with said at least one plastic interlayer.

15. The laminate of claim 14 wherein said at least two lighting means comprises at least two light bars, each light bar is comprised of LED dies disposed at a distance of at least 0.5 mm from the edge of the glass.

16. The laminate of claim 14 further comprising a light reflecting coating applied to at least a portion of the edges of the light conducting layer that are free of the lighting means.

17. The laminate of claim 14 wherein said at least two lighting means have two operation mode states: on and off, and wherein the plastic interlayer in contact with the light dispersing layer is a tinted polyvinyl butyral interlayer which interacts with the light dispersing layer, making them substantially invisible with the lighting means in the off state and under normal viewing and lighting conditions.

18. The laminate of claim 14 wherein one of the interior surface of the laminate is treated with a low-E coating.

19. The laminate of claim 14 wherein at least one of the interior surfaces of the laminate is treated with an anti-reflective coating.

20. The laminate of claim 19 wherein the anti-reflective coating is composed of silicon oxynitride.

21. The laminate of claim 19 wherein the anti-reflective coating has an index of refraction matching the glass layer in contact with the coating.

22. The laminate of claim 19 wherein the anti-reflective coating has an index of refraction matching the glass layer and plastic interlayer in contact with the coating.

23. The laminate of claim 14 wherein the interior surface of the laminate interior to the vehicle is treated with a low-E coating.

24. The laminate of claim 14 wherein the surface of the laminate facing the interior of the vehicle is treated with an anti-reflective coating.

25. The laminate of claim 14 wherein an IR reflecting film or coating is included in the laminate stack between said at least one additional glass layer and the light dispersing layer.

26. The laminate of claim 14 wherein the lighting means is provided with a lens.

27. The laminate of claim 14 wherein the edges of the light conducting layer are ground to form a lens.

28. The laminate of claim 14 further comprising a dielectric mirror coating disposed on an additional layer of said at least one additional glass layer.

29. The laminate of claim 28 wherein the dielectric mirror coating comprises at least one layer of silver.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) These features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the following embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1A shows a cross section of a typical laminated automotive glazing.

(3) FIG. 1B shows a cross section of a typical laminated glazing with performance film and coating.

(4) FIG. 1C shows a cross section of a typical tempered monolithic automotive glazing.

(5) FIG. 2 shows a two-layer illuminated laminate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(6) FIG. 3 shows a three-layer illuminated laminate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(7) FIG. 4A shows an illuminated laminate in the OFF state.

(8) FIG. 4B shows an illuminated laminate in the ON state.

REFERENCE NUMERALS OF DRAWINGS

(9) 2 Glass Layer 4 Bonding/Adhesive Layer (interlayer) 6 Obscuration/Black Frit 8 Glass Thermally Tempered 12 Film 18 Coating 20 Light dispersing layer 22 Light conducting layer 30 Light bar 101 Surface one 102 Surface two 103 Surface three 104 Surface four 201 Outer layer 202 Inner layer 203 Middle layer

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(10) The following terminology is used to describe the laminated glazing of the invention.

(11) Typical automotive laminated glazing cross sections are illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. A laminate is comprised of two layers of glass, the exterior or outer 201 and interior or inner 202 that are permanently bonded together by a plastic layer 4 (interlayer). In a laminate, the glass surface that is on the exterior of the vehicle is referred to as surface one 101 or the number one surface. The opposite face of the exterior glass layer 201 is surface two 102 or the number two surface. The glass 2 surface that is on the interior of the vehicle is referred to as surface four 104 or the number four surface. The opposite face of the interior layer of glass 202 is surface three 103 or the number three surface. Surfaces two 102 and three 103 are bonded together by the plastic layer 4. An obscuration 6 may be also applied to the glass. Obscurations are commonly comprised of black enamel frit printed on either the number two 102 or number four surface 104 or on both. The laminate may have a coating 18 on one or more of the surfaces. The laminate may also comprise a film 12 laminated between at least two plastic layers 4.

(12) FIG. 1C shows a typical tempered automotive glazing cross section. Tempered glazing is typically comprised of a single layer of glass 201 which has been heat strengthened. The glass surface that is on the exterior of the vehicle is referred to as surface one 101 or the number one surface. The opposite face of the exterior glass layer 201 is surface two 102 or the number two surface. The number two surface 102 of a tempered glazing is on the interior of the vehicle. An obscuration 6 may be also applied to the glass. Obscurations are commonly comprised of black enamel frit printed on the number two surface 102. The glazing may have a coating 18 on any one of the surfaces such as the number one 101, number two surface 102, number three surface 103 or number four surface 104 according to their functionality.

(13) The term “glass” can be applied to many organic and inorganic materials, include many that are not transparent. For this document we will only be referring to nonorganic transparent glass. From a scientific standpoint, glass is defined as a state of matter comprising a non-crystalline amorphous solid that lacks the ordered molecular structure of true solids. Glasses have the mechanical rigidity of crystals with the random structure of liquids.

(14) The types of glass that may be used include but are not limited to: the common soda-lime variety typical of automotive glazing as well as aluminosilicate, lithium aluminosilicate, borosilicate, glass ceramics, and the various other inorganic solid amorphous compositions which undergo a glass transition and are classified as glass included those that are not transparent. The glass layers may be comprised of heat absorbing glass compositions as well as infrared reflecting and other types of coatings.

(15) The cross section or stack of a glazing is a list of the layers of a glazing including the position, the material composition and thickness of each. The cross section may also include coatings and any other relevant information.

Example 1

(16) Outer: 2.3 mm annealed solar green

(17) Interlayer: 0.76 mm clear PVB

(18) Inner: 2.3 mm annealed clear

Example 2

(19) Outer: 2.3 mm, press bent coated, clear, annealed, soda-lime glass with ground edge

(20) Interlayer: 0.76 mm 20% blue PVB

(21) Inner: 0.7 mm, flat, clear, chemically tempered, aluminosilicate glass with LASER cut edge

(22) Laminates, in general, are articles comprised of multiple sheets of thin, relative to their length and width, material, with each thin sheet having two oppositely disposed major faces and typically of relatively uniform thickness, which are permanently bonded to one and other across at least one major face of each sheet.

(23) Laminated safety glass is made by bonding two sheets (201 & 202) of annealed glass 2 together using a plastic bonding layer comprised of a thin sheet of transparent thermoplastic 4 (interlayer) as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

(24) Annealed glass is glass that has been slowly cooled from the bending temperature down through the glass transition range. This process relieves any stress left in the glass from the bending process. Annealed glass breaks into large shards with sharp edges. When laminated glass breaks, the shards of broken glass are held together, much like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, by the plastic layer helping to maintain the structural integrity of the glass. A vehicle with a broken windshield can still be operated. The plastic layer 4 also helps to prevent penetration by objects striking the laminate from the exterior and in the event of a crash occupant retention is improved.

(25) The glass layers may be annealed or strengthened. There are two processes that can be used to increase the strength of glass. They are thermal strengthening, in which the hot glass is rapidly cooled (quenched) and chemical tempering which achieves the same effect through an ion exchange chemical treatment.

(26) Heat strengthened, full temper soda-lime float glass, with a compressive strength in the range of at least 70 MPa, can be used in all vehicle positions other than the windshield. Heat strengthened (tempered) glass has a layer of high compression on the outside surfaces of the glass, balanced by tension on the inside of the glass which is produced by the rapid cooling of the hot softened glass. When tempered glass breaks, the tension and compression are no longer in balance and the glass breaks into small beads with dull edges. Tempered glass is much stronger than annealed laminated glass. The thickness limits of the typical automotive heat strengthening process are in the 3.2 mm to 3.6 mm range. This is due to the rapid heat transfer that is required. It is not possible to achieve the high surface compression needed with thinner glass using the typical blower type low pressure air quenching systems.

(27) A wide range of coatings, used to enhance the performance and properties of glass, are available and in common use. These include but are not limited to anti-reflective, hydrophobic, hydrophilic, self-healing, self-cleaning, anti-bacterial, anti-scratch, anti-graffiti, anti-fingerprint and anti-glare.

(28) Methods of application of these coatings include Magnetron Sputtered Vacuum Deposition (MSVD) as well as others known in the art that are applied via pyrolytic, spray, controlled vapor deposition (CVD), dip, sol-gel and other methods.

(29) Most coatings fall into one of two groups: hard coats and soft coats. Hard coats are durable and can be exposed to weather and touch. Soft coats are easily damaged by touch and exposure. Soft coats are generally protected by applying to one of the enclosed surfaces of an insulated glass unit or, in a laminate, to one of the major faces adjacent to the plastic bonding layer.

(30) The glass layers are formed using gravity bending, press bending, cold bending or any other conventional means known in the art. In the gravity bending process, the glass flat is supported near the edge of glass and then heated. The hot glass sags to the desired shape under the force of gravity. With press bending, the flat glass is heated and then bent on a full of partial surface mold. Air pressure and vacuum are often used to assist the bending process. Gravity and press bending methods for forming glass are well known in the art and will not be discussed in detail in the present disclosure.

(31) The plastic bonding layer 4 (interlayer) has the primary function of bonding the major faces of adjacent layers to each other. The material selected is typically a clear thermoset plastic.

(32) For automotive use, the most commonly used bonding layer 4 (interlayer) is polyvinyl butyral (PVB). PVB has excellent adhesion to glass and is optically clear once laminated. It is produced by the reaction between polyvinyl alcohol and n-butyraldehyde. PVB is clear and has high adhesion to glass. However, PVB by itself, it is too brittle. Plasticizers must be added to make the material flexible and to give it the ability to dissipate energy over a wide range over the temperature range required for an automobile. Only a small number of plasticizers are used. They are typically linear dicarboxylic esters. Two in common use are di-n-hexyl adipate and tetra-ethylene glycol di-n-heptanoate. A typical automotive PVB interlayer is comprised of 30-40% plasticizer by weight.

(33) In addition to polyvinyl butyl, ionoplast polymers, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), cast in place (CIP) liquid resin and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) can also be used. Automotive interlayers are made by an extrusion process with has a thickness tolerance and process variation. As a smooth surface tends to stick to the glass, making it difficult to position on the glass and to trap air, to facilitate the handling of the plastic sheet and the removal or air (deairing) from the laminate, the surface of the plastic is normally embossed contributing additional variation to the sheet. Standard thicknesses for automotive PVB interlayer at 0.38 mm and 0.76 mm (15 and 30 mil).

(34) Interlayers are available with enhanced capabilities beyond bonding the glass layers together. The invention may include interlayers designed to dampen sound. Such interlayers are comprised whole or in part of a layer of plastic that is softer and more flexible than that normally used. The interlayer may also be of a type which has solar attenuating properties.

(35) A wide variety of films are available that can be incorporated into a laminate. The uses for these films include but are not limited to: solar control, variable light transmission, increased stiffness, increased structural integrity, improved penetration resistance, improved occupant retention, providing a barrier, tint, providing a sunshade, color correction, and as a substrate for functional and aesthetic graphics. The term “film” shall include these as well as other products that may be developed or which are currently available which enhance the performance, function, aesthetics or cost of a laminated glazing. Most films do not have adhesive properties. To incorporate into a laminate, sheets of plastic interlayer are needed on each side of the film to bond the film to the other layers of the laminate.

(36) Automotive glazing often makes use of heat absorbing glass compositions to reduce the solar load on the vehicle. While a heat absorbing window can be very effective the glass will heat up and transfer energy to the passenger compartment through convective transfer and radiation. A more efficient method is to reflect the heat back to the atmosphere allowing the glass to stay cooler. This is done using various infrared reflecting films and coatings. Infrared coatings and films are generally too soft to be mounted or applied to a glass surface exposed to the elements. Instead, they must be fabricated as one of the internal layers of a laminated product to prevent damage and degradation of the film or coating.

(37) One of the big advantages of a laminated window over a tempered monolithic glazing is that a laminate can make use of infrared reflecting coatings and films in addition to heat absorbing compositions and interlayers.

(38) Infrared reflecting coatings include but are not limited to the various metal/dielectric layered coatings applied though Magnetron Sputtered Vacuum Deposition (MSVD) as well as others known in the art that are applied via pyrolytic, spray, controlled vapor deposition (CVD), dip and other methods.

(39) Infrared reflecting films include both metallic coated plastic substrates as well as organic based non-metallic optical films which reflect in the infrared. Most of the infrared reflecting films are comprised of a plastic film substrate having an infrared reflecting layered metallic coating applied.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS PRODUCED BY THE METHOD

(40) 1. Embodiment 1, illustrated in FIG. 2, is comprised of a 3.6 mm outer layer 201 of full temper solar green soda-lime glass with a black enamel frit 6 printed on the number two surface. A gray tint PVB 4 with a visible light transmission of 40% is used to bond the outer glass layer 201 to the 2.1 mm low iron, soda-lime light conducting layer 22 having a visible light transmission of 92%. A hexagon light dispersing layer 20 is printed on the number three surface of the laminate using an emulsion comprised of 10% by weight of inorganic sub-micron particles having a size substantially in the range of less than 350 nm, on the light conducting layer 22 surface. The emulsion is printed on the flat glass prior to bending. The flat printed glass is then heated to a temperature where the viscosity of the glass sheet is in the range of 10.sup.12.5 Poise to 10.sup.9.5 Poise, driving off the solvent and burning off the carrier, leaving behind a thin layer of inorganic particles. The light conducting layer 22 also has a black enamel frit band 6 printed on the number four surface. Light bar 30, comprising several LED dies wherein each are optically bonded to the left and right edges of the laminate. The edges of the light conducting layer 22 are ground to a convex profile and polished to facilitate the entry of light from the light bar 30. The light bar 30 has an intensity no more than 500 cd/m.sup.2 and are also provided with a micro lens array (not shown) to direct and focus the light. RGB LEDs are used allowing the laminate to be illuminated in a wide range of colors. The total visible light transmission of the laminate is 20%. An extended autoclave cycle is used to allow the PVB 4 to flow into the micro-defects. The treated area is substantially invisible with the light bar 30 in the off state. 2. Embodiment 2, illustrated in FIG. 3, is comprised of a 2.1 mm outer layer 201 of annealed, solar green, soda-lime glass with a black enamel frit 6 printed on the number two surface. A clear PVB interlayer 4 is used to bond the outer glass layer 201 to a 2.1 mm middle layer 203 of annealed, solar green, soda-lime glass. A gray tint PVB 4 with a visible light transmission of 40% is used to bond the middle glass layer 203 to the 2.1 mm low iron, soda-lime light conducting layer 22 having a visible light transmission of 92%. A hexagon light dispersing layer 20 is printed on the major surface of the light conducting layer 22 that faces inwardly of the laminate using an emulsion comprised of sub-micron particles and cured as demonstrated in embodiment 1. The light conducting layer 22 also has a black enamel frit band 6 printed on the number four surface. Light bars 30, comprises several LED dies wherein each are optically bonded to the left and right edges of the laminate. The edges of the light conducting layer 22 are ground to a convex profile and polished to facilitate the entry of light from the light bars. The light bars have an intensity greater than 500 cd/m.sup.2 and are also provided with a micro lens array (not shown) to direct and focus the light. RGB LEDs are used allowing the laminate to be illuminated in a wide range of colors. The total visible light transmission of the laminate is 20%. An extended autoclave cycle is used to allow the PVB 4 to flow into the micro-defects. The treated area is substantially invisible with the light bars 30 in the off state. 3. Embodiment three is similar to embodiment 1 with the addition of an anti-reflective coating composed of silicon oxynitride having an index of refraction that matches the glass and the plastic interlayer and applied to the light conducting layer. 4. Embodiment three is similar to embodiment 3 with the exception of the plastic interlayer. Instead of a grey PVB, a clear PVB with visible light transmittance above 90% is used to laminate the glazing. An additional anti-reflective coating layer composed of silicon oxynitride and having an index of refraction that matches the glass is applied to the internal surface of the outer glass layer which is in contact with the PVB.

(41) In addition, in some embodiments, a dielectric mirror coating (not shown in figures) is disposed on the outer glass layer in order to enhance the light output and the UV protection. Likewise, in additional embodiments, the dielectric mirror coating comprises at least one layer of silver in order to reflect infrared radiation.