Base for vehicle glazing unit, glazing unit, method for manufacturing the glazing unit, and use of the base

Abstract

A vehicle glazing unit including a glazed element and at least one base for reversible attachment of an accessory to the glazed element, the base including an aperture for passage of the accessory, the base including a non-flat outer face which is fastened opposite a non-flat inner face of the glazed element. The outer face includes two adhesive strips each having an elongate shape and both positioned lengthwise along the transverse horizontal axis of the glazing unit.

Claims

1. A vehicle glazing unit comprising: a glazed element; and at least one base for reversible attachment of an accessory to the glazed element; the base including an aperture for passage of the accessory, the base including a non-flat outer face which is fastened opposite a non-flat inner face of the glazed element; wherein the outer face includes two adhesive strips each having an elongate shape and both positioned such that a longitudinal axis of each of the adhesive strips is positioned lengthwise along a transverse horizontal axis of the glazing unit, and wherein the two adhesive strips are positioned respectively adjacent an upper and lower edge of the aperture such that a plane that extends through a center of the aperture and perpendicular to the transverse horizontal axis of the glazing unit also extends through each of the two adhesive strips.

2. The glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer face of the base follows the same curvature as the inner face of the glazed element at a location where the base is fastened to the glazed element.

3. The glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein each adhesive strip is based on a mixture of epoxy resin and acrylic resin.

4. The glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer face has no peripheral ridge around the aperture.

5. The glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adhesive strips have the same dimensions in terms of length, height, and thickness.

6. The glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adhesive strips are positioned substantially parallel to each other.

7. The glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one adhesive strip includes an angled part at each of its two longitudinal ends along the transverse horizontal axis.

8. The glazing unit as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of the two adhesive strips includes an angled part at each of its two longitudinal ends along the transverse horizontal axis, and the two adhesive strips are positioned head to tail.

9. The glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the total surface area of the two adhesive strips represents approximately one half of the surface area of the outer face.

10. The glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the glazed element is a laminated glazed element.

11. A method for manufacturing the glazing unit as claimed in claim 1 including the glazed element and the at least one base for fastening the accessory, the method comprising: bonding the base to the inner face of the glazed element by the two adhesive strips located on the outer face of the base, each of the adhesive strips having an elongate shape and both strips being positioned lengthwise along the transverse horizontal axis of the glazing unit.

12. The method for manufacturing a glazing unit as claimed in claim 11, wherein the glazed element is a laminated glazed element and the bonding of the base is carried out during a laminating operation.

13. Use of a base for reversibly fastening the accessory to a glazed element as claimed in claim 1, the base being bonded to the inner face of the glazed element by the two adhesive strips located on the outer face of the base, each of adhesive strips having an elongate shape and both strips being positioned lengthwise along the transverse horizontal axis of the glazing unit.

14. A base for fastening an accessory to a vehicle glazing unit, the base comprising: two adhesive strips, each having an elongate shape, wherein the vehicle glazing unit includes a glazed element and the base for reversible attachment of the accessory to the glazed element, wherein the base includes an aperture for passage of the accessory, the base including a non-flat outer face which is fastened opposite a non-flat inner face of the glazed element, wherein the outer face includes the two adhesive strips, and both of the adhesive strips are positioned such that a longitudinal axis of each of the adhesive strips is positioned lengthwise along a transverse horizontal axis of the glazing unit, wherein the two adhesive strips are positioned respectively adjacent an upper and lower edge of the aperture such that a plane that extends through a center of the aperture and perpendicular to the transverse horizontal axis of the glazing unit also extends through each of the two adhesive strips.

Description

(1) An embodiment of the present invention is described below by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a face-on view of a base according to the prior art for attaching an accessory to a glazed element, showing the inner face (which is hatched, although it is not in cross section);

(3) FIG. 2 is a view in partial section taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, which also partially shows, in cross section, the glazed element and the layer of polyurethane (only the outline of the base is shown);

(4) FIG. 3 is a face-on view of a base according to the invention having two adhesive strips;

(5) FIG. 4 is a view in partial section taken along the line BB of FIG. 3, which also partially shows, in cross section, the glazed element and the two adhesive strips;

(6) FIG. 5 is a face-on view of a variant embodiment of the base according to the invention having two adhesive strips, each having an angled part at each of its two longitudinal ends along the transverse horizontal axis Y-Y;

(7) FIG. 6 is a view in partial section of a tray for carrying bases according to the invention; and

(8) FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a tray with double housings, in each of which two different bases can be placed.

(9) In these drawings, the proportions between the various elements are retained in each drawing, but the elements in the background are not generally shown, in order to facilitate the consultation of the drawings.

(10) FIGS. 1 and 2 show a vehicle glazing unit 1 according to the prior art, comprising a glazed element 2 and a base 3 according to the prior art.

(11) The glazing unit 1 is intended to fill a window opening, thereby creating a separation between an inner space of the vehicle and a space outside the vehicle. Thus the glazed element 2 has an inner face 21, intended to be directed toward the inner space, an outer face 23, intended to be directed toward the outer space, and a peripheral edge 22.

(12) Thus, when reference is made to the concepts of inner and outer in the present document, it is always with reference to this assumption.

(13) The glazed element may be monolithic, in other words consisting of a single sheet of material, or composite, in other words consisting of a plurality of sheets of material between which at least one layer of adhering material is inserted in the case of laminated glazing units or glazed elements. The sheet or sheets of material may be mineral, notably glass, or organic, notably made of plastic material.

(14) In the case of a glazing unit for a vehicle, the glazing unit generally has a decorative strip (not shown) on at least part of its edge, around the whole of the inner face 21. This decorative strip is generally formed by a deposit of enamel formed on the inner face of the glazed element if the latter is monolithic, or on an intermediate face of the glazing unit in the case of a composite glazing unit, but it may also be produced by partial and/or peripheral coloring of a sheet of material used, notably a sheet of organic material.

(15) If the glazed element is made of organic material, it is manufactured before the application of the invention, by molding the constituent material of the glazed element in a molding device including a mold having at least a fixed mold part and a movable mold part which is movable relative to the fixed mold part, said mold parts interacting in the closed state of the mold, during the molding stage, to form a mold cavity which in cross section has the cross-sectional shape of the glazed element. Frequently, the glazed element of organic material is not flat, but curved.

(16) If the glazed element is made of mineral material, it is manufactured before the application of the invention by melting mineral material into a flat sheet, and then cutting out this sheet and curving and/or dip-coating the sheet if required.

(17) If the glazed element is a composite glazed element, it is manufactured by the well-known method for manufacturing multiple glazing units or curved laminated glazing units.

(18) In FIG. 2, the glazed element 2 is a curved laminated glazing unit. In this case it is a windshield of a motor vehicle.

(19) The present invention relates to a glazing unit 1, notably a vehicle glazing unit such as that shown in FIG. 4.

(20) The glazing unit 1 according to the invention is identical to the glazing unit 1 shown in FIG. 3, except that it has a base 3 according to the invention. The technical elements of the prior art glazing unit 1 which may be used in an identical way for the glazing unit 1 according to the invention are given the same references throughout the present document. In particular, the glazed element 2 may be identical.

(21) As for the glazing units 1, each vehicle glazing unit 1 according to the invention has, as shown in FIG. 4, a glazed element 2 and at least one base 3 for the reversible attachment of an accessory (not shown) to said glazed element 2, said base 3 having an aperture 30 for the passage of said accessory or part of said accessory, said base 3 having a non-flat outer face 31, which is fastened opposite a non-flat inner face 22 of said glazed element 2.

(22) The material of the base is the same; for example, it is a metal alloy which has been anodized.

(23) On the other hand, by contrast with the glazing units 1, the outer face 31 of the base 3 according to the invention does not have a peripheral ridge around the aperture 30.

(24) Additionally, the outer face 31 is not flared in a centrifugal manner, but has the same curvature as said inner face 22 of the glazed element 2 at the location where the base is fastened to the glazed element.

(25) The outer face 31 and the inner face 22 are thus parallel. In cross section, the angle between the outer face 31 of the base and the inner face 22 of the glazed element is therefore always infinite.

(26) Advantageously, if the inner face 22 of the glazed element is slightly curved at the location where the accessory is to be positioned, with a very large radius of curvature (at least two meters) in the vertical and/or horizontal direction, then the outer face 31 of the base is also slightly curved; it is therefore possible for a single base to serve for a plurality of models of glazed element if the location chosen for the positioning of the base is slightly curved for all of these models.

(27) According to the invention, said outer face 31 has two, and only two, adhesive strips 33, 34, each having an elongate shape and both arranged lengthwise along the transverse horizontal axis Y-Y of said glazing unit.

(28) A comparison of FIG. 4 with FIG. 2 shows that the base 3 according to the invention is not fastened by bonding to the inner face of the glazed element by means of a layer of polyurethane positioned against the whole outer face 31; instead, the base 3 according to the invention is fastened by bonding by means of two adhesive strips 33, 34 only.

(29) However, these two adhesive strips are not placed in a random manner; they are placed lengthwise in the direction of the glazing unit in which there is the smallest variation of dimensions from one glazed element to another in the same series, both of them being placed lengthwise along the transverse horizontal axis Y-Y.

(30) Thus the invention reduces the risk that an adhesive strip may not be fully in contact with the inner surface of the adjacent glazed element.

(31) In fact, for the application of the invention, it is preferable not to provide an adhesive strip or strips lengthwise along the vertical axis Z-Z of said glazing unit.

(32) The two adhesive strips are also, preferably, placed in the horizontal direction Y-Y between the means of attachment which enable said accessory to be attached mechanically in a reversible manner to said base when these means of attachment are placed one on each side of said base, along the transverse horizontal axis Y-Y of said glazing unit.

(33) Each adhesive strip 33, 34 is, for example, based on a mixture of epoxy resin and acrylic resin. A resin mixture of this type polymerizes at a temperature of about 150 C. within approximately 20 minutes.

(34) Since these two conditions are present during the manufacture of a laminated glazing unit (and more precisely during the stage of laminating or assembling the sheets together), it is possible to position a base according to the invention, provided with two as yet unpolymerized adhesive strips against the inner face of a glazed element before this glazed element is subjected to the stage of lamination (by treatment in a kiln): the two adhesive strips can thus be polymerized during the lamination stage, in parallel with the rest of the process.

(35) Both of the adhesive strips 33, 34 have the same dimensions, namely: a length l of approximately 6 cm a height h of approximately 1 cm, and a thickness e of approximately 0.5 mm.

(36) Each of the two strips is in the form of a rectangle: the height is identical according to the length; the thickness is also constant.

(37) They are positioned parallel to each other and parallel to the upper and lower edges of the base. They are positioned one on each side of the aperture 30, above and below the aperture when viewed in the vertical orientation Z-Z.

(38) The aperture 30 is in the center of the outer face of the base, with an outer surface having practically the same width around the whole of the aperture.

(39) Thus each adhesive strip has a surface area of about 6 cm.sup.2, where the surface area of the outer face 31 of the base is about 24 cm.sup.2.

(40) The total surface area of the two adhesive strips 33, 34 represents approximately one half (/10.sup.e) of the surface area of the outer face 31 of the base.

(41) The outer face 31 of the base is in the general shape of a parallelogram, a rectangle, a square or a lozenge, which is open in its center, but is not round; the aperture 30 is preferably formed in its center, in such a way that some of the material of the outer face of the base completely surrounds the aperture; however, it is possible for the outer face 31 not to be completely peripheral around the whole of the aperture.

(42) For example, with the invention, it is no longer strictly necessary to provide any of the outer face 31 under the means of attachment 4. In this case, clearly, the ratio between the total surface areas of the two adhesive strips and the surface area of the outer face 31 of the base is reduced as a result.

(43) Fatigue tests have shown that the fastening provided by the adhesive strips 33, 34 is extremely reliable in use, and is more reliable than the prior art solution shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

(44) In order to make the fastening of the base to the glazed element more reliable, it is possible for at least one adhesive strip to have an angled part at each of its two longitudinal ends along the transverse horizontal axis Y-Y.

(45) FIG. 5 shows a variant embodiment with an even more reliable fastening.

(46) In this illustrated variant, each of the two adhesive strips 33, 34 has an angled part 35 at its two longitudinal ends according to the transverse horizontal axis Y-Y, the two angled parts of the upper adhesive strip 33 being oriented downwards in the direction of the vertical axis Z-Z, and the two angled parts of the lower adhesive strip 34 being oriented upwards in the direction of the vertical axis Z-Z.

(47) Thus, the adhesive strips 33, 34 are positioned head to tail with the respective angled parts extending in directions and paths converging along the vertical axis Z-Z.

(48) To simplify the system of references used for the adhesive strips, it is possible for the shape of the upper adhesive strip 33 to be symmetrical with the shape of the lower adhesive strip 34 with respect to the transverse horizontal axis Y-Y.

(49) This is the case in FIG. 5: the shape of the upper adhesive strip 33 is symmetrical with the shape of the lower adhesive strip 34 with respect to the transverse horizontal axis Y-Y, because the upper adhesive strip 33 has a length along the transverse horizontal axis Y-Y identical to the length of the lower adhesive strip 34, and a width along the central axis Z-Z identical to the width of the lower adhesive strip 34.

(50) As shown in FIG. 6, the present invention proposes the use of a shaped tray, of heat-formed plastic material for example, for carrying the bases before they are fastened to the glazed elements.

(51) The bases 3 are thus each positioned in a housing 50 delimited by a bottom 51 and vertical walls 52. The distance between the vertical walls is approximately equal to the overall width and length of the base, to ensure that the bases are retained laterally by the walls while being carried.

(52) The adhesive strips 33, 34 are not in contact with the bottom 51, because a shoulder 53 is provided at the periphery of the base to raise the bases by approximately 1 to 2 mm from the bottom.

(53) In these housings, the lower faces of the adhesive strips 33, 34, that is to say the faces oriented toward the bottom 51, are protected if necessary by a protective film (also called a liner) which has been positioned before the bases on the bottom of the housings.

(54) In this variant, it is possible to arrange for the bases to be directly in contact with the protective film and for shoulders to be provided to retain the bases vertically on the protective film, particularly during their carriage to the workshop where they are positioned on the glazed elements.

(55) The trays 5 may have, for example, about fifty housings each, and therefore may have the same number of bases; they can be re-used for bases within the same series.

(56) Each tray has a positioning notch used for spatial reference purposes, in order to allow an automated system to pick up each base and then position it on a glazing unit. If the bases are not in contact with a protective film, it is easier to manage the grasping of each base by a robot, since in this case it is unnecessary to specify any particular movement for unsticking the base from the protective film: even if the adhesion of the base to the protective film is not very strong, it still has to be overcome and a special movement has to be made to pick up a base without including any part of the protective film.

(57) FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a tray having 24 housings 50, with two different bases in each housing, namely a base 3 for a sensor of the type shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and, in the aperture of this base, a second, circular, base 3 for an interior rear-view mirror.

(58) This solution saves space in the workshop and facilities procurement.