Abstract
A spacer has an integrated electric feed line for insulating glazings at least including a main body including two pane contact surfaces, a glazing interior surface, an outer surface, a hollow chamber, and an electric feed line within the hollow chamber, wherein the electric feed line enters the hollow chamber, runs along the hollow chamber substantially parallel to the pane contact surfaces in at least one section, and exits via at least one exit opening in the wall of the main body.
Claims
1. A spacer having an integrated electric feed line for insulating glazings comprising: a main body comprising two pane contact surfaces, a glazing interior surface, an outer surface, a hollow chamber, and an electric feed line within the hollow chamber, wherein the electric feed line enters the hollow chamber, runs substantially parallel to the two pane contact surfaces in at least one section along the hollow chamber, and exits via at least one exit opening in a wall of the main body.
2. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein the electric feed line enters the hollow chamber through an entry opening in the outer surface of the spacer.
3. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein the electric feed line enters the hollow chamber through an open cross-section of the main body.
4. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein the main body is a polymeric main body, and the electric feed line is materially bonded to the inner wall of the polymeric main body.
5. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein the main body is a metallic main body and the electric feed line is surrounded by insulation.
6. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein the electric feed line runs through the hollow chamber in a section with a length of at least 10 cm.
7. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein the electric feed line exits through an exit opening in the glazing interior surface and/or through an exit opening in at least one of the two pane contact surfaces.
8. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein the spacer includes a groove for receiving a pane, which extends parallel to a first pane contact surface of the two pane contact surfaces and a second pane contact surface of the two pane contact surfaces, and a first hollow chamber is adjacent the groove and the first pane contact surface, and a second hollow chamber is adjacent the groove and the second pane contact surface, and wherein the electric feed line enters the groove through an exit opening.
9. An insulating glazing at least comprising a first pane and a second pane and a circumferential spacer according to claim 1 surrounding the first and second panes, wherein the first pane rests against a first pane contact surface of the two pane contact surfaces, the second pane rests against a second pane contact surface of the two pane contact surfaces, the electric feed line enters a glazing interior between the first pane, the second pane, and the spacer through the exit opening, and the electric feed line makes electrically conductive contact with an electrically switchable functional element in the glazing interior.
10. An insulating glazing at least comprising a first pane, a second pane, and a third pane and a circumferential spacer according to claim 8 surrounding the first, second and third panes, wherein the first pane rests against a first pane contact surface of the two pane contact surfaces, the second pane rests against a second pane contact surface of the two pane contact surfaces, the third pane is inserted into the groove of the spacer, the third pane includes an electrically switchable functional element, and the electric feed line makes electrically conductive contact with the electrically switchable functional element within the groove.
11. The insulating glazing according to claim 9, wherein the electric feed line makes electrically conductive contact with the electrically switchable functional element via a contact element.
12. The insulating glazing according to claim 9, wherein the spacer is bent at corners of the insulating glazing and the at least one hollow chamber of the spacer is continuous circumferentially along the spacer.
13. A method for producing an insulating glazing according to claim 9, comprising a) providing a spacer having an integrated electric feed line, b) attaching the spacer by means of a sealant via the first and second pane contact surfaces between the first pane and the second pane, and inserting the electrically switchable functional element into the glazing interior so as to form an assembly, c) pressing the assembly, and d) introducing an outer seal into an outer interpane space, wherein, in step b), the electric feed line makes electrically conductive contact with the electrically switchable functional element.
14. The method according to claim 13, wherein, before step b), a third pane is inserted into a groove of the spacer.
15. A method comprising utilizing a spacer according to claim 1 in an insulating glazing including an electrically switchable functional element.
16. The spacer according to claim 6, wherein the length is at least 20 cm.
17. The spacer according to claim 16, wherein the length is at least 30 cm.
18. The insulating glazing according to claim 11, wherein the electric feed line makes electrically conductive contact with the electrically switchable functional element via a spring contact.
19. The method according to claim 15, wherein the electrically switchable functional element is a SPD, a PDLC, an electrochromic, or an electroluminescent functional element.
Description
[0115] The invention is explained in detail in the following with reference to drawings. The drawings are purely schematic representations and not to scale. They in no way restrict the invention. They depict:
[0116] FIGS. 1a and 1b schematic representations of the spacer according to the invention in cross-section,
[0117] FIG. 2a a schematic representation of the insulating glazing according to the invention with a spacer according to FIG. 1 in cross-section,
[0118] FIG. 2b the insulating glazing according to the invention of FIG. 2a in an overall view,
[0119] FIG. 3 an embodiment of a triple insulating glazing according to the invention with a double spacer in cross-section,
[0120] FIG. 4 a flow chart of a possible embodiment of the method according to the invention.
[0121] FIG. 1a depicts a schematic representation of the spacer I according to the invention comprising a polymeric main body 5 and an electric feed line 14 within the main body 5. The polymeric main body 5 is a hollow body profile comprising two pane contact surfaces 7.1 and 7.2, a glazing interior surface 8, an outer surface 9, and a hollow chamber 10. The polymeric main body 5 contains styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) and approx. 35 wt.-% glass fiber. The outer surface 9 has an angled shape, wherein the sections of the outer surface adjacent the pane contact surfaces 7.1 and 7.2 are inclined at angle of 30 relative to the pane contact surfaces 7.1 and 7.2. This improves the stability of the glass-fiber-reinforced polymeric main body 5. The hollow body 10 is filled with a desiccant 11. Molecular sieve is used as the desiccant 11. The glazing interior surface 8 of the spacer I has openings 12, which are made at regular intervals circumferentially along the glazing interior surface 8 to enable gas exchange between the interior of the insulating glazing and the hollow chamber 10. Thus, any atmospheric moisture present in the interior is absorbed by the desiccant 11. The openings 12 are implemented as slits with a width of 0.2 mm and a length of 2 mm. A barrier film (not shown) that reduces the heat transfer through the polymeric main body 5 into the glazing interior is applied on the outer surface 9 of the spacer I. The barrier film comprises four polymeric layers made of polyethylene terephthalate with a thickness of 12 m and three metallic layers made of aluminum with a thickness of 50 nm. The metallic layers and the polymeric layers are placed alternatingly in each case, with the two outer layers formed by polymeric layers. The polymeric main body 5 is non-conductive for electric current such that the electric feed line 14 has no electrical insulation at all. The electric feed line 14 runs through the polymeric main body 5 over its entire length, which is, in the example of FIG. 1a, a length of 2.0 m. The electric feed line 14 protrudes from the main body 5 at both open cross-sections and has a total length of 2.2 m.
[0122] FIG. 1b depicts another embodiment of a spacer I according to the invention comprising a polymeric main body 5 and an electric feed line 14 within the main body 5. The spacer I of FIG. 1b corresponds to that described in FIG. 1a, wherein, in contrast thereto, the electric feed line 14 is materially connected to the inner wall of the polymeric main body 5 adjacent the outer surface 9. The electric feed line 14 is implemented as a metallic flat band conductor that was directly inserted into the polymeric main body 5 during extrusion thereof and is materially connected thereto. In this embodiment, it is possible to dispense with having the electric feed line 14 protrude beyond the length of the polymeric main body 5. The position of the electric feed line 14 is defined and fixed by the material connection such that electrical contact does not have to be made via a protruding end of the feed line, but, instead, the electric feed line 14 can, for example, be supplemented by a contact pin that is pressed through the outer surface 9 and the polymeric main body 5 into the conductor. The contact pin creates an entry opening and forms the extension of the feed line into the outer interpane space.
[0123] FIG. 2a depicts an insulating glazing II according to the invention with a spacer I in accordance with FIG. 1a. The spacer I according to the invention is mounted circumferentially between a first pane 19 and a second pane 20 via a sealant 4. The sealant 4 connects the pane contact surfaces 7.1 and 7.2 of the spacer Ito the panes 19 and 20. The glazing interior 3 adjacent the glazing interior surface 8 of the spacer I is defined as the space delimited by the panes 19, 20 and the spacer I. The outer interpane space 13 adjacent the outer surface 9 of the spacer I is a strip-shaped circumferential section of the glazing, which is delimited on one side each by the two panes 19, 20 and on another side by the spacer I, and its fourth edge is open. The glazing interior 3 is filled with argon. A sealant 4 that seals the gap between pane 19, 20 and spacer I is introduced in each case between a pane contact surface 7.1 or 7.2 and the adjacent pane 19 or 20. The sealant 4 is polyisobutylene. On the outer surface 9, an outer seal 6, which serves to bond the first pane 19 and the second pane 20, is applied in the outer interpane space 13. The outer seal 6 is made of silicone. The outer seal 6 ends flush with the pane edges of the first pane 19 and the second pane 20. On the pane facing the glazing interior 3, the second pane 20 has an electrically switchable functional element 1 that is equipped with a busbar 22 for the electrical contacting of the functional element 1. The electrically switchable functional element 1 is an electrochromic layer. During assembly in the insulating glazing II, an exit opening 16 was made in the spacer I of FIG. 1. This is in the vicinity of the busbar 22. The electric feed line 14 is pulled out through the exit opening 16 in the glazing interior surface 8 during assembly. The pulled-out conductor loop of the electric feed line 14 makes contact with the busbar 22 via a contact element 2. The contact element 2 is a so-called crimp connector, wherein the connection between the electric feed line 14 and the contact element 2 is made by squeezing the feed line into the crimp connector, and the opposite end of the crimp connector is soldered to the busbar 22. As a result of the routing according to the invention of the electric feed line 14 in the hollow chamber 10, the outer interpane space 13 is largely free of conductor lines such that unobstructed automated filling can be done with the outer seal 6. In another embodiment, the insulating glazing II of FIGS. 2a and 2b is particularly preferably realized with the spacer I of FIG. 1b (not shown in detail here). The connection between the electric feed line 14 and the contact element 2 is done via an electrical contact pin that is pressed into the glazing interior surface 8 and protrudes into the electric feed line 14 of FIG. 1b. The contact pin is connected via another section of the electric feed line (not shown) to the contact element 2 in the glazing interior 3.
[0124] FIG. 2b depicts an overall view of the insulating glazing II according to the invention in accordance with FIG. 2a. The contacting described in FIG. 2a of an electric feed line 14 running in the spacer I with the busbar 22 of the electrically switchable functional element 1 takes place at two opposite edges of the insulating glazing II. As described in FIG. 2a, at both edges, the electric feed line 14 enters into the glazing interior 3 through an exit opening 16 out of the hollow body 10 and makes electrically conductive contact with the busbar 22 via a contact element 2. The spacer I is bent at the corners of the insulating glazing II such that the hollow chamber 10 is continuous even at the corners of the glazing. Both electric feed lines 14 are routed within the main body 5 all the way to a common exit opening 15, where the feed lines 14 enter the outer interpane space 13 from the hollow chamber 10 and, from there out, are connected outside the glazing to a voltage source 23, in this case, a DC voltage source for operating an electrochromic functional element. The feed lines 14 are connected to different poles of the voltage source such that a difference in potential develops between the two opposite busbars 22. The voltage applied on the busbars 22 causes ion migration within the active layer of the electrochromic functional element, which influences its transmittance. The exit opening 15 is sealed with the sealant 4. Since the electric feed lines 14 of different polarity in the region of the exit opening 15 are located in the vicinity of one another, insulation 18 that prevents electrical contact between the two feed lines 14 is introduced in this area. The electric feed lines 14 run through the main body 5 along its entire circumference, since one spacer I, which was already extruded with an integrated electric feed line 14, was used for producing the spacer frame. For the sake of clarity, in FIG. 2a, only the sections of the electric feed line 14 used to connect the electrochromic functional element are shown. The insulating glazing II is preferably mounted in a window frame such that the exit opening 15 is positioned in the upper third of the insulating glazing in order to minimize the risk of water entering in the event of water accumulation.
[0125] FIG. 3 depicts an embodiment of a triple insulating glazing according to the invention with a double spacer, in cross-section. The basic structure of the insulating glazing II corresponds to that described in FIGS. 2a and 2b. In contrast thereto, the polymeric main body 5 has a groove 17 between the first pane contact surface 7.1 and the second pane contact surface 7.2, wherein there is a first hollow chamber 10.1 between the groove 17 and the first pane contact surface 7.1; and a second hollow chamber 10.2, between the groove 17 and the second pane contact surface 7.2. The side flanks of the groove 17 are formed by the walls of the two hollow chambers 10.1 and 10.2, whereas the bottom surface of the groove 17 is directly adjacent the outer surface 9. The groove 17 runs parallel to the pane contact surfaces 7. A third pane 21, which carries, on one pane surface, an electrically switchable functional element 1, here, also an electrochromic functional element with a busbar 22, is inserted into the groove 17 of the spacer I. The exit opening 16 is situated in one of the side flanks of the groove 17 and opens into the groove 17. In the groove 17, there is a contact element 2, which is implemented as a spring contact. The contact element 2 is already mounted in the groove 17 before insertion of the third pane 21. The third pane 21 is inserted into the groove 17 such that the busbar 22 points in the direction of the contact element 2. At the time of insertion of the third pane 21, the spring contact is pressed against the busbar 22, thus creating the desired electrical contact. The groove further contains an insert 24, which surrounds the edge of the third pane 21 and fits flush in the groove 17. The insert 24 is made of ethylene-propylene-diene rubber and is recessed in the region of the contact element 2. The insert 24 fixes the third pane 21 without tension and compensates for thermal expansion of the pane. In addition, the insert 24 prevents development of noise due to slippage of the third pane 21. The insulating glazing II according to the invention of FIG. 3 enables electrical contacting of the electrically switchable functional element that is invisible to the observer, with the busbar 22 also positioned completely within the groove 17 and concealed thereby.
[0126] FIG. 4 depicts a flow chart of a possible embodiment of the method according to the invention comprising the steps: [0127] I Coextruding a polymeric spacer I with an integrated electric feed line 14, [0128] II Prefabricating a circumferential spacer frame, [0129] III Creating at least one exit opening 16 in the wall of the main body 5 and routing the electric feed line 14 out of main body 5, [0130] IV Mounting a pane with an electrically switchable functional element 1 on the spacer I and making electrical contact of the electrical feed line 14 and the functional element 1, [0131] V Mounting at least one more pane on the spacer, [0132] VI Pressing the pane assembly, and [0133] VII Inserting an outer seal 6 into the outer interpane space 13.
[0134] In a preferred embodiment, the electric feed line 14 in step I is mounted materially connected to the inner wall of the polymeric main body 5. Using the extrusion tool, a metallic conductor is inserted continuously into the hollow chamber during extrusion as an electric feed line, with the metallic conductor touching the material of the polymeric main body 5 and, thus, being materially bonded thereto after solidification of the plastic.
[0135] In step IV, in the case of a double glazing, a first pane 19 or a second pane 20 with an electrochromic functional element is attached to a pane contact surface 7 of the spacer I via a sealant 4. The electrochromic functional element faces in the direction of the subsequent glazing interior 3. In step V, the second pane 20 is then mounted on the still available pane contact surface 7, likewise by a sealant 4.
[0136] In the case of a triple glazing with a double spacer, in step IV, a third pane 21 is inserted into the groove 17 of the spacer I; and in step V, the first and the second pane 19 and 20 are mounted on the pane contact surfaces 7 via a sealant 4.
LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS
[0137] I spacer [0138] II insulating glazing [0139] 1 electrically switchable functional element [0140] 2 contact element [0141] 3 glazing interior [0142] 4 sealant [0143] 5 polymeric main body [0144] 6 outer seal [0145] 7 pane contact surfaces [0146] 7.1 first pane contact surface [0147] 7.2 second pane contact surface [0148] 8 glazing interior surface [0149] 9 outer surface [0150] 10 hollow chambers [0151] 10.1 first hollow chamber [0152] 10.2 second hollow chamber [0153] 11 desiccant [0154] 12 openings [0155] 13 outer interpane space [0156] 14 electric feed line [0157] 15 entry opening [0158] 16 exit opening [0159] 17 groove [0160] 18 insulation [0161] 19 first pane [0162] 20 second pane [0163] 21 third pane [0164] 22 busbar [0165] 23 voltage source [0166] 24 insert
