VEHICLE LAMINATED GLAZING AND DEVICE WITH ASSOCIATED NEAR INFRARED VIEWING SYSTEM

Abstract

A laminated vehicle glazing with includes a first extraclear glass sheet forming an exterior glazing, a lamination interlayer and a second glass sheet forming an interior glazing with a traversing hole in these last two.

Claims

1. A glazing for a vehicle, comprising: a first glass sheet configured to form an exterior glazing of the vehicle with a first external main face and a second internal main face configured to be oriented toward a passenger compartment of the vehicle; a lamination interlayer made of polymer material with a first main face oriented toward the second internal main face and with a second main face opposite to the first main face; a second glass sheet configured to form an interior glazing of the vehicle with a third external main face oriented toward the second internal main face and a fourth internal main face oriented toward the passenger compartment, wherein: the first glass sheet comprises, on the second internal main face, an antireflective coating that is antireflective at at least one working wavelength in the infrared in a range extending from 800 nm to 1800 nm, with a surface which is free by means of a traversing hole in a thickness of the lamination interlayer and in a thickness of the second glass sheet, the first glass sheet exhibits a content by weight of total iron oxide of at most 0.05%, the second glass sheet exhibits a content by weight of total iron oxide of at least 0.4%.

2. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, wherein an assembly of the first glass sheet with said antireflective coating exhibits a total transmission of at least 90.0% at the working wavelength.

3. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the traversing hole is in a peripheral region and the antireflective coating is local in said peripheral region.

4. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the traversing hole exhibits a section with a smaller dimension of at least 5 cm.

5. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the traversing hole is closed.

6. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, wherein an insert is mounted on the traversing hole at least on a wall of the second glass sheet delimiting a part of the traversing hole and optionally also on a wall of the lamination interlayer delimiting another part of the traversing hole.

7. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the antireflective coating is local, overstepping beyond the traversing hole between the second internal main face and the first main face.

8. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the antireflective coating comprises a porous silica layer.

9. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the antireflective coating comprises a chemical protection underlayer surmounted by a porous silica functional layer.

10. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, further comprising, between the second internal main face and first main face, an opaque masking layer on the second internal main face and/or on the first main face, which masking layer is present along the edge of the traversing hole between the second internal main face and the first main face.

11. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 10, wherein the masking layer is on second internal main face and the antireflective coating is on the masking layer or under the masking layer and/or wherein the masking layer is on the first main face and the antireflective coating is in contact with the masking layer.

12. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, further comprising, between the second internal main face and the first main face, an opaque masking on the first internal main face and/or on the first main face, which masking layer is present along an edge of the traversing hole between the first internal main face and the first main face, the antireflective coating is spaced from the masking layer or at least does not cover it.

13. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, further comprising metal wires on the second main face.

14. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, further comprising on the second internal main face an athermal, optionally heating, functional layer, which is absent from said traversing hole at least in the central zone and present along an edge of the traversing hole between the second internal main face and a first main face the antireflective coating optionally being in contact with the functional layer.

15. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lamination interlayer comprises a PVB, optionally comprising PVB/functional film such as polymer film with athermal coating/PVB.

16. A device, comprising: said vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, and a system for infrared viewing at said working wavelength positioned in the passenger compartment behind said vehicle glazing so as to send and/or receive radiation after passing through the first glass sheet at the level of said traversing hole.

17. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle glazing is a glazing of a road or rail vehicle that forms a windshield or a window and that is optionally bent.

18. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 2, wherein an assembly of the first glass sheet with said antireflective coating exhibits a total transmission of at least 91.0% at the working wavelength.

19. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 3, wherein the traversing hole is in at an upper longitudinal edge region of the vehicle glazing.

20. The vehicle glazing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the section is trapezoidal or rectangular or a disk or oval.

Description

[0142] Certain advantageous but nonlimiting embodiments of the present invention are described below, which can, of course, be combined with one another, if appropriate.

[0143] FIG. 1 diagrammatically represents, in sectional view, a windshield 100 in a first embodiment of the invention with an infrared viewing system, such as a LIDAR.

[0144] FIG. 2 diagrammatically represents, in front view (passenger compartment side), the windshield 100 of FIG. 1.

[0145] FIG. 3 diagrammatically represents, in sectional view, a windshield 200 according to the invention, in section with an infrared viewing system, such as a LIDAR, in a second embodiment of the invention.

[0146] FIG. 4 diagrammatically represents, in front view (passenger compartment side), the windshield 200 of FIG. 3.

[0147] FIG. 1 diagrammatically represents a windshield 100 according to the invention, in section with a system for infrared viewing, such as a LIDAR, at 905 nm or 1550 nm. It can also be a multispectral system which can work in the visible region and up to 1800 nm.

[0148] This viewing system 7 is placed behind the windshield facing a zone which is preferably located in the central and upper part of the windshield. In this zone, the infrared viewing system 7 is oriented with a certain angle with respect to the surface of the windshield (face F2). In particular, the LIDAR can be oriented directly toward the image capture zone, along a direction close to the parallel with the ground, that is to say slightly inclined toward the road. In other words, the LIDAR 7 can be oriented toward the road along a low angle with a field of view suitable for fulfilling its functions.

[0149] The windshield is a conventional laminated glazing comprising: [0150] an external glass sheet 1, with exterior face F1 and interior face F2 [0151] and an internal glass sheet 1′, for example with a thickness or even of 1.6 mm or even less, with exterior face F3 and interior face F4 on the passenger compartment side [0152] the two glass sheets being connected to each other by an interlayer made of thermoplastic material 3, generally made of polyvinyl butyral (PVB), which is preferably clear, with a submillimetric thickness, optionally exhibiting a cross section which decreases in wedge shape from the top toward the bottom of the laminated glazing, for example a PVB (RC41 from Solutia or from Eastman) with a thickness of approximately 0.76 mm, or, in an alternative form, if necessary, an acoustic (three-layer or four-layer) PVB, for example with a thickness of approximately 0.81 mm, for example an interlayer made of three PVB sheets.

[0153] In a conventional and well-known way, the windshield is obtained by hot lamination of the elements 1, 2 and 3. A clear PVB of 0.76 mm is chosen.

[0154] The first glass sheet comprises, on the face F2, an antireflective coating 2, antireflective at at least one “working” wavelength in the infrared of between 800 nm and 1800 nm, in particular between 850 nm and 1600 nm, with a surface which is free (not covered by the lamination interlayer and the second glass sheet) by means of a traversing hole 4 in the thickness of the interlayer and in the thickness of the second glass sheet, thus a hole delimited by the walls 40 and 40′.

[0155] The first glass sheet 1, in particular based on silica, soda-lime, soda-lime-silica (preferably), aluminosilicate or borosilicate, exhibits a content by weight of total iron oxide (expressed in the form of Fe.sub.2O.sub.3) of at most 0.05% (500 ppm), preferably of at most 0.03% (300 ppm) and of at most 0.015% (150 ppm) and in particular of greater than or equal to 0.005%. The first glass sheet can exhibit a redox of greater than or equal to 0.15, and in particular of between 0.2 and 0.30, in particular between 0.25 and 0.30.

[0156] In particular, an Optiwhite glass of 1.95 mm is chosen.

[0157] The second glass sheet 1′, in particular based on silica, soda-lime, preferably soda-lime-silica (and like the first glass sheet), indeed even aluminosilicate, or borosilicate, exhibits a content by weight of total iron oxide of at least 0.4% and preferably of at most 1.5%. The second glass sheet can exhibit a redox between 0.22 and 0.35 or 0.30.

[0158] Mention may in particular be made of the glasses of the applicant company named TSAnx (0.5 to 0.6% of iron), TSA2+, TSA3+ (0.8 to 0.9% of iron), TSA4+ (1% of iron) or TSA5+, which are for example green. For example, a TSA3+ glass of 1.6 mm is chosen. With an Optiwhite glass of 1.95 mm and an antireflective coating of 110 nm, the following total transmissions on the face F2 side are obtained: [0159] at 90°, of 92.5% at 905 nm and 92.0% at 1550 nm [0160] at 60°, of 91.7% at 905 nm and 91.5% at 1550 nm.

[0161] According to the invention, in a peripheral central region along the upper longitudinal edge, the windshield thus comprises a traversing hole 4 in the thickness of the lamination interlayer 3 and of the second glass sheet 1′, a hole thus delimited by their respective side walls 40′ and 40.

[0162] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hole is in this instance a closed hole (framed by the wall of the glass sheet), thus within the glazing in particular—of trapezoidal section—comprising: [0163] a first “upper” large side or longitudinal edge closest to the edge face of the upper longitudinal edge of the glazing 10—parallel to this edge face with a length of at most 20 cm, for example 10.6 cm, and spaced by at least 5 cm or 6 cm from the edge face (on the large side) [0164] a second “lower” large side or longitudinal edge (furthest from the edge face of the upper longitudinal edge 10, close to the central zone) parallel to the first large side with a length of at most 25 cm or 20 cm and preferably greater than that of the first large side, for example 17.5 cm—with a height (between the large sides) of at least 5 cm, in this instance of 10 cm.

[0165] The infrared viewing system 7 is opposite the traversing hole 4.

[0166] The traversing hole 4 can alternatively be a notch, thus an emerging traversing hole preferably on the roof side.

[0167] The traversing hole 4 can be in another region of the windshield 100 or even in another glazing of the vehicle, especially the back window.

[0168] The antireflective coating 2 is also local. In this instance it is of rectangular shape in this peripheral region and its edges 20 overstep by a maximum of 10 mm the walls delimiting the hole 4 between the face 12 and the face Fa.

[0169] The windshield 100 comprises, on the face F2 12, an opaque masking layer, which is for example black, 5, such as an enamel layer or a lacquer, forming a peripheral frame of the windshield (or of the back window) and in the peripheral zone with the traversing hole it comprises a gap 51′ large enough not to hamper the performance qualities of the LIDAR 7 but capable of masking the housing 8 (plastic, metal, and the like) of the LIDAR 7. The housing 8 can be adhesively bonded to the face F4 by an adhesive 6 and to the roof 9.

[0170] In this instance, the antireflective coating is on the F2 side and covers the masking layer a little.

[0171] The windshield 100 can comprise a set of virtually invisible metal wires 5, for example of 50 μm, which are installed on a face Fb on the face F3 side of the lamination interlayer 3 (over the entire surface), in the form of lines which are or are not straight. These wires are absent from the traversing hole 4.

[0172] FIG. 3 diagrammatically represents, in sectional view, a windshield 200 in section with an infrared viewing system, such as a LIDAR, in a second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4 diagrammatically represents, in front view (passenger compartment side), the windshield 200 of FIG. 3.

[0173] Only the differences from the first embodiment are explained below.

[0174] The antireflective coating 2 on the face F2 is this time under the masking layer. The antireflective coating 2 exhibits a shape which is homothetic to that of the section of the hole, thus in this instance of trapezoidal shape (in dotted lines in FIG. 4 because it is not visible), in this peripheral region and its edges 20 overstep by 10 mm the walls delimiting the hole 4 between the face 12 and the face Fa.

[0175] An insert 90 of ring type with a width of at most 1.5 cm, for example made of flexible polymer (polycarbonate, and the like) material, is housed in the traversing hole, which insert is mounted on (in particular adhesively bonded or by force) the wall 40 of the second glass sheet delimiting (in the top part) the hole and also in contact with the wall 40′ of the lamination interlayer and touches the antireflective coating.

[0176] This insert 90 can serve as mechanical reinforcement, and/or for fixing the LIDAR. It can also be used in the first embodiment.

[0177] This insert can extend beyond the hole, in particular over the face F4.

[0178] In connection with the embodiments presented, possible alternative forms are as follows (without being exhaustive), which can optionally be combined: [0179] the antireflective coating does not overstep the traversing hole and even is spaced from the edge of the traversing hole, preferably by at most 1 cm [0180] the antireflective coating is spaced from the masking layer (for example which is on face F2, in particular enamel) or at least does not cover it [0181] the antireflective coating comprises a chemical protection underlayer, in particular a dense silica layer, in particular by the sol-gel process, surmounted by the sol-gel porous silica functional layer [0182] the face F2 comprises an athermal functional layer under or on the enamel, the antireflective coating optionally being in contact with the functional layer, in particular on or under the athermal functional layer.