Glazing unit

Abstract

Disclosed is a glazing unit including an insulating glazing unit that is assembled with at least three panes for use in a window or as a part of a wall in a property, including a first pane that is located closer to the exterior of the property, a second pane located closer to the interior of the property, and a third pane located between the first and the second panes, whereby the first pane is provided on its surface that is facing inwards with a coating that reduces the radiation of heat in the form of an oxide layer burned into the surface of the pane, whereby also the second pane and the third pane are provided with a coating that reduces the radiation of heat in the form of an oxide layer that is burned into the surface of the pane.

Claims

1. A glazing unit comprising: an insulating glazing unit that is assembled with at least three panes for use in a window or as a part of a wall in a property, the insulating glazing unit comprising a first pane that is located closer to the exterior of the property, a second pane located closer to the interior of the property, and a third pane located between the first and the second panes, wherein the first pane is provided on its surface that is facing inwards with a coating that reduces the radiation of heat in the form of a first oxide layer burned into the surface of the pane by sputtering, and the second pane and the third pane are provided with a coating that reduces the radiation of heat in the form of a second oxide layer that is burned into the surface of the pane by sputtering.

2. The glazing unit according to claim 1, wherein the coating that reduces the radiation of heat of the second pane is arranged on the outwardly facing side of the second pane.

3. The glazing unit according to claim 1, wherein the coating of the third pane faces inwards toward the interior of the property.

4. The glazing unit according to claim 1, wherein the oxide layer is a metal oxide layer.

5. The glazing unit according to claim 1, wherein the oxide layer is of the same material on all panes in the glazing unit.

6. The glazing unit according to claim 1, wherein the outermost pane has an oxide layer of a material other than the material on the panes that are located inside of the outermost pane.

7. The glazing unit according to claim 1, wherein a fourth pane is arranged between the first and the second pane, the fourth pane being formed without an oxide layer.

8. The glazing unit according to claim 2, wherein the coating of the third pane faces inwards toward the interior of the property.

9. The glazing unit according to claim 2, wherein the oxide layer is a metal oxide layer.

10. The glazing unit according to claim 3, wherein the oxide layer is a metal oxide layer.

11. The glazing unit according to claim 2, wherein the oxide layer is of the same material on all of the panes in the glazing unit.

12. The glazing unit according to claim 3, wherein the oxide layer is of the same material on all of the panes in the glazing unit.

13. The glazing unit according to claim 4, wherein the oxide layer is of the same material on all of the panes in the glazing unit.

14. The glazing unit according to claim 2, wherein the outermost pane has an oxide layer of a material other than the material on the panes that are located inside of the outermost pane.

15. The glazing unit according to claim 3, wherein the outermost pane has an oxide layer of a material other than the material on the panes that are located inside of the outermost pane.

16. The glazing unit according to claim 4, wherein the outermost pane has an oxide layer of a material other than the material on the panes that are located inside of the outermost pane.

17. The glazing unit according to claim 2, wherein a fourth pane is arranged between the first and the second pane, which the fourth pane being formed without an oxide layer.

18. The glazing unit according to claim 3, wherein a fourth pane is arranged between the first and the second pane, the fourth pane being formed without an oxide layer.

19. The glazing unit according to claim 4, wherein a fourth pane is arranged between the first and the second pane, the fourth pane being formed without an oxide layer.

20. The glazing unit according to claim 6, wherein a fourth pane is arranged between the first and the second pane, the fourth pane being formed without an oxide layer.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will now be described in more detail in the form of a non-limiting embodiment given as an example, illustrated in the attached drawing where FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a glazing unit according to the invention with an oxide layer on the inner surface of the outwardly facing pane and on the outwardly facing surface of the inwardly facing pane, as also on the inwardly facing surface of the intermediate pane in an insulating glazing unit with three panes.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a glazing unit 1 according to the invention inserted into a window frame 2. In this example the glazing unit 1 is an insulating glazing unit comprising a first pane 3 facing towards the exterior of the property in which it is mounted, a second pane 4 that faces towards the interior of the property in which it is mounted, and a third pane 5 located between the first pane 3 and the second pane 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(3) The three panes 3, 4, 5 are joined in a known manner, by, for example a glue and a gastight metal frame 6, 7 between the panes, and where the three panes are separated by a compartment filled with gas. It is preferable that the gas be a noble gas, such as, for example, argon, which is commonly used in such a context.

(4) The first or outermost pane 3 is provided on its inner surface in known manner with a coating 8, to be more precise a coating in the form of an oxide layer that reduces the radiation of heat. This coating 8 has been burned into the surface of the pane and has preferably been created on the inner surface of the pane in association with its manufacture, by, for example, sputtering. It is preferable that the oxide coating be a metal oxide coating.

(5) In the embodiment that is shown, also the second or innermost pane 4 is provided with a coating 9, of the same type as the coating 8 on the first pane 3. The coating 9 on the inner pane 4 is, in contrast, facing outwards, i.e. away from the interior of the property and towards the coating 8 on the first pane 3. In the same way, also the third or intermediate pane 5 is provided with a coating 10, preferably of the same type as the coatings 8 and 9 on the outermost and innermost panes 3 and 4. It is preferable that the oxide layer 10 on the intermediate pane 5 be arranged on its inner surface, i.e. towards the internal pane 4 and its coating 9, but it is conceivable also that it may be arranged on the opposite side of the pane 5. It is appropriate that also the coating 10 is of the same material as the coatings 8 and 9, and in the same way manufactured in association with the manufacture of the pane itself.

(6) It is possible to produce also glazing units according to the invention with more than three panes in the glazing units, in order to, among other effects, further increase the heat insulation ability, i.e. to further reduce what is known as the U value. In such a case, a further pane should be arranged as a further intermediate pane, such that the outermost pane with its coating on the inner surface is in this way retained, as is also the innermost pane with its coating on the outwardly facing side. It is, however, appropriate that the further intermediate pane should be without a coating in order not to reduce the admission of light.

(7) It has been possible to achieve with glazing units according to the invention very good results with respect to the admission of radiative heat without a negative influence on the damping of the emission of heat by radiation or the transmission of light, and it has in this way been possible to reduce the absorption of heat by radiation such that the requirements for the cooling of indoor air with the aid of air conditioning units can be reduced.

(8) In order to be used as panes in offices or domestic buildings, it has been determined that the transmission of light should be, in order to be acceptable, at least approximately 40%, in order to prevent the space indoors being experienced as too dark. For prior art glazing units, therefore, it has been decided to allow the minimum value of this parameter to be approximately 45% transmission of light. With respect to the blocking of the absorption of radiative solar energy, it has been possible up until now to achieve a best value of approximately 80%, which may, despite everything, give far too high a heating of the interior air, and which must then be removed by cooling. With glazing units according to the present invention, it has been possible to achieve a remarkable blocking of the absorption of radiative solar energy of approximately 90%, with the retention of a fully acceptable level of the transmission of light of approximately 46%. The absorption of radiative solar energy is thus halved with a glazing unit according to the invention compared with the best prior art glazing units, and this is achieved without impairing the admission of light.

(9) With a glazing unit according to the invention, therefore, the heating of the interior air is significantly reduced, which means that the requirement for cooling is significantly reduced. Since the cost of cooling air is approximately fives times greater than the cost of warming air, the savings can be large. It has been calculated also that the cost of exchanging existing windows or glazing units is lower than the cost would be to increase the capacity of existing air conditioning units in order to achieve corresponding indoor temperatures.

(10) It has been noted also that it seems to be easier to see through glazing units according to the invention from the exterior, which means that the panes do not give such a sterile impression from the outside as many other glazing units, since it is possible to see that someone is moving around inside the building. The glazing units have a clearly lower mirror effect than prior art glazing units. The glazing units according to the invention have been experienced also as having better sound damping properties than other insulating glazing units with three panes.

(11) It has been stated in the description above that the oxide coatings that are mounted on the panes are of the same type, but it is obvious that they may be also of different types, in particular in the case in which one of them provides a hue either naturally or by design.

(12) It is obvious that the invention can be applied also for insulating glazing units with more than three panes, where it is appropriate that the intermediate panes, apart from the innermost of them, be panes without an oxide layer, in order not to further reduce the transparency to light.