Process and device for manufacturing a glazing unit comprising a decorative film, and glazing unit comprising a decorative film

Abstract

The invention relates to a process for manufacturing a glazing unit (1) comprising a glazed element (2) optionally equipped with a portion of a profiled strip (3), said glazing unit (1) having at least one flexible part and/or one hard part, said flexible part belonging to said profiled strip (3) and said hard part belonging to said glazed element (2) or to said profiled strip (3), characterized in that at least one film (4) comprising a substrate (40) having a rear face (41) and a front face (42), on which a decorative coating (45) is positioned, is applied to said glazing unit (1), the film (4) being pressed against the glazing unit by applying at least one punch (54) against the rear face (41) of the substrate (40).

Claims

1. A process for manufacturing a glazing unit, the process comprising, in order: (a) obtaining a glazing unit comprising a glazing element having at least one edge and at least one face and being equipped with a profiled strip, wherein the glazing element is glass and the profiled strip is plastic and wherein at least a portion of the profiled strip is on the face of the glazing element; (b) positioning the glazing unit on a support comprising a counter-form; and (c) pressing a film against at least a portion of a flexible part of the profiled strip of the glazing unit which protrudes outwards from the edge of the glazing element by applying a punch against the film, thereby adhering a decorative coating to at least a portion of the flexible part of the profiled strip, wherein the flexible part of the profiled strip has a hardness of from 55 to 95 Shore A; (d) raising the punch; and (e) withdrawing the film.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein, during (b), the flexible part is positioned on the counter-form.

3. The process of claim 2, wherein during (c), the punch presses the film at least partially against an outer face of the flexible part of the profiled strip, with an inner face of the flexible part of the profiled strip which is supported by the counter-form.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein, during (c), at least or during all the stages, the punch is heated.

5. The process of claim 1, wherein the film is wound on a roll which is unwound before pressing the film against the glazing unit.

6. The process of claim 1, wherein, during (c), the pressing is carried out for a duration between 1 and 20 seconds.

7. The process of claim 1, wherein, during (c), the pressing is carried out at a pressure between 0.1 and 10 MPa.

8. The process of claim 1, wherein, during (c), the pressing is carried out at a temperature between 80 and 150 C.

9. The process of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the flexible part is curved and the punch presses the film against at least a portion of the curved portion of the flexible part.

10. The process of claim 1, wherein the punch presses the film against several lateral edges of the glazing unit.

11. The process of claim 1, the process comprising implementing a device, wherein the device comprises: a movable punch, which presses against the glazing unit on which a decorative coating is positioned, such that the decorative coating adheres to the glazing unit.

12. The process of claim 11, wherein the punch comprises a rotatably mounted roller or a translatably mounted pad.

13. The process of claim 1, wherein the decorative coating is adhered to a hard part of the profiled strip.

14. The process of claim 1, wherein the decorative coating is adhered to the face of the glazing element.

15. The process of claim 1, wherein the decorative coating is adhered to a hard part of the profiled strip and the face of the glazing element.

Description

(1) The present invention will be better understood on reading the following detailed description of nonlimiting exemplary embodiments and on examining the appended figures:

(2) FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of the first essential step of the process for manufacturing a glazing unit according to the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of the second essential step of the process for manufacturing a glazing unit according to the invention;

(4) FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of the third essential step of the process for manufacturing a glazing unit according to the invention;

(5) FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of a fourth step of the process for manufacturing a glazing unit according to the invention which could optionally be carried out at the same time as the third step;

(6) FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of a first embodiment variant of the glazing unit according to the invention after the manufacturing cycle from FIGS. 1 to 4;

(7) FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment variant of the glazing unit according to the invention consisting of a combination of the first and second variants; and

(8) FIGS. 7 and 8 each illustrate a schematic perspective view of a glazing unit respectively before application of a decorative coating and after application of a decorative coating to two adjacent lateral edges of the glazing unit.

(9) In these figures, the proportions between the various elements are not to scale and the backgrounds elements are not generally represented, in order to facilitate the examination thereof.

(10) The present invention relates to the manufacture of a glazing unit and especially a vehicle glazing unit and in particular to the manufacture of a motor vehicle glazing unit.

(11) The glazing unit 1 according to the invention comprises a glazed element 2 which is rigid and hard and which is provided with a portion of a profiled strip 3, said glazing unit 1 having at least one flexible part and/or one hard part, said flexible part belonging to said profiled strip 3 and said hard part belonging to said glazed element 2 or to said profiled strip 3.

(12) The glazing unit, which at least consists of the glazed element and of the profiled strip, and also optionally of accessories and in particular of accessories for fastening the glazing unit, is intended to seal an opening that creates a separation between an internal space and an external space. The glazed element thus has an inner face, intended to be turned toward the internal space, an outer face intended to be turned towards the external space, and also a peripheral edge.

(13) The glazed element may be monolithic, that is to say constituted of a single sheet of material, or be composite, that is to say constituted of several sheets of material between which at least one layer of adherent material is inserted in the case of laminated glazing units, or between which at least one intermediate space is present in the case of multiple glazing units (double glazing units, triple glazing units, etc.). The sheet(s) of material may be mineral, in particular made of glass, or organic, in particular made of plastic.

(14) In the case of a vehicle glazing unit, the glazing unit generally has, at least partially at its periphery, an ornamental strip, not illustrated here. This ornamental strip is generally formed by depositing an enamel on the inner face of the glazing unit or on an intermediate face of the glazing unit for composite glazing units, but it may also result from partial and/or peripheral coloration of a sheet of material used, especially a sheet of organic material.

(15) When the glazed element is made of organic material, it has been manufactured previously by molding the constituent material of the glazed element in a molding device comprising a mold that comprises at least one fixed mold section and one movable mold section which can be moved relative to the fixed mold section, said mold sections cooperating in the closed state of the mold, during the molding step, in order to form a molding cavity that has, in cross section, the shape in cross section of the glazed element. Often, the glazed element made of organic material is not flat but curved.

(16) When the glazed element is made of mineral material, it has been manufactured by melting mineral material into a flat sheet, then by cutting this sheet and optionally curving this sheet.

(17) For information, the manufacture of a glazed element made of organic material is more expensive than the manufacture of a glazed element made of mineral material and the first method of manufacture is generally chosen when the shape of the glazed element is so complex that it cannot be produced by bending a glazed element made of mineral material or else when it is desired for the glazed element to be light.

(18) When the glazed element is a composite glazed element, it has been manufactured according to the well-known technique of manufacturing multiple glazing units or laminated glazing units, which are optionally curved.

(19) In FIGS. 1 to 6, it is not a complete glazed element that is denoted, but only a lateral edge of a glazed element that is monolithic: this could be a left or right edge, a front or rear edge, or a top or bottom edge (the orientation here being relative to a motor vehicle and in accordance with its direction of forward motion, as known).

(20) The glazing unit comprises a profiled strip which has been previously manufactured from a plastic material by molding to the periphery of the glazed element in order to form a glazing unit and in particular a vehicle glazing unit.

(21) The constituent plastic of the profiled strip may be a thermoplastic (PVC, TPE, etc.), a polyurethane or else a synthetic rubber of EPDM type, or any other suitable material.

(22) The profiled strip is generally placed over the entire periphery of the lateral edges of the glazed element but this profiled strip could just as well be positioned only over a portion of the periphery of the glazing unit or over any portion of the glazing unit.

(23) The profiled strip was manufactured beforehand by employing what is called an encapsulation manufacturing process as it includes a step of molding the profiled strip in a molding device, comprising a mold that comprises at least one fixed mold section and one movable mold section which can move relative to the fixed mold section, said mold sections cooperating in the closed state of the mold, during the molding step, with said glazed element in order to form a molding cavity that has, in cross section, the shape of the profile of the profiled strip.

(24) According to the invention, in order to manufacture the glazing unit 1, after manufacture of the glazed element and after manufacture of the profiled strip, a decorative coating is attached to a flexible part, or even to a flexible part and a hard part of the glazing unit, using a film 4 comprising a substrate 40 having a rear face 41 and a front face 42, on which a decorative coating 45 is positioned.

(25) In order to do this, four essential steps are successively carried out:

(26) afirst essential step (positioning): the glazing unit is firstly positioned on a support 50 of a manufacturing device 5 which comprises a counter-form 52 which receives the glazing unit, as can be seen in FIG. 1;

(27) bsecond essential step (pressing): at least one punch 54 is positioned against a rear face 41 of the substrate 40 and the film 4 is pressed against the glazing unit by the punch 54 in order to detach the decorative coating from the substrate and apply the decorative coating to the glazing unit, as can be seen in FIG. 2;

(28) cthird essential step (withdrawal): this punch 54 is raised in order to break off the film/glazing unit contact, as can be seen in FIG. 3; and

(29) dfourth essential step (removal): said substrate 40 is withdrawn in order to remove the part of the film 4 which comprises no more than the substrate 40 and which no longer comprises the portion of the decorative coating which was applied to the glazing unit, as can be seen in FIG. 4.

(30) To complete the production cycle, before starting it again at step a, it is of course necessary to remove the glazing unit thus manufactured.

(31) Furthermore, it is possible to carry out steps c and d simultaneously or virtually simultaneously (that is to say to start step d when step c is not finished) and it is possible to clean the glazed element and/or to apply a primer before the pressing step b.

(32) It is in the pressing step that a portion of the decorative coating 45 leaves the substrate 40 in order to be placed on a part of the glazing unit in order to decorate this part.

(33) Thus, the decorative coating 45 then adheres to the glazing unit 1.

(34) More specifically, during the second essential step, step b: the punch 54 presses the film 4 at least partially against a flexible part 34 of the profiled strip 3 and/or the punch 54 presses the film 4 at least partially against a hard part 36 of the profiled strip 3 and/or the punch 54 presses the film 4 at least partially against a portion of a face 20, 21 of said glazed element 2 (said face portion being a hard part of a glazed element made of mineral glass or made of organic material).

(35) Thus, said coating 45 is located over one (or optionally several) lateral edge(s) of the glazing unit 1 and especially over the entire lateral perimeter of the glazing unit 1, and in particular the coating 45 adheres, over one or more lateral edges of the glazing unit 1: to a flexible part 34 of the profiled strip 3, as can be seen in FIG. 5, or both to a flexible part 34 of the profiled strip 3 and to a hard part 36 of the profiled strip 3, as can be seen in FIG. 6.

(36) Although it is not illustrated, it is also possible for the coating 45 to adhere, over one or more lateral edges of the glazing unit 1: both to a flexible part 34 of the profiled strip 3, and to a face 20, 21 of the glazed element 2, or simultaneously to a flexible part 34 of the profiled strip 3, to a hard part 36 of the profiled strip 3 and to one or more faces 20, 21 of the glazed element 2.

(37) The glazing units from FIGS. 5 and 6 are each provided with a flexible part 34 which finishes in a flexible lip (referenced 38 in FIG. 5). This flexible lip, intended to come into contact with the bodywork, may also comprise, on one part of its surface, a decorative coating according to the invention.

(38) Generally, it is considered here that the flexible plastics are those which have, after processing, a hardness of less than or equal to 95 Shore A (in general from 55 to 95 Shore A), such as for example TPE, PVC, PU, EPDM, etc.; the hard plastics are those which have, after processing, a hardness of greater than 95 Shore A, such as for example PC, ABS, ABS-PC, etc.

(39) In FIG. 7 a glazing unit 1 is illustrated that comprises a glazed element 2 and a peripheral profiled strip 3. This profile is made of flexible plastic, but it could be with a flexible part and a hard part.

(40) In FIG. 8 the same glazing unit 1 is illustrated, after carrying out the process according to the invention: a single decorative coating 45 was applied to the profiled strip 3, over two adjacent lateral edges of the glazing unit: the bottom edge, and also a part of the left edge. This coating was applied by only carrying out the pressing step b a single time.

(41) The manufacturing device 5 according to the invention, seen in FIGS. 1 to 4, thus comprises a support 50 resting on the ground and comprises on the one hand a counter-form 52 attached to the support that receives said glazing unit 1 during the manufacture and on the other hand at least one movable punch 54 in order to press the film 4 against the glazing unit 1.

(42) As seen in these figures, the punch 54, for example made of silicone, comprises a pad mounted so that it can move in vertical translation, but it could also comprise a roller mounted so that it can rotate about a horizontal axis.

(43) Furthermore, as seen in FIG. 3, it is possible that decorative coating 45 remains between the cavities 46 (locations of the film 4/substrate 40 downstream of the punch when considering the direction of forward motion of the film and where there is no longer decorative coating).

(44) However, to save decorative coating material, it is preferable to provide the film 4 such that it has a width identical to the desired width of the decorative coating of the glazing unit when this width is constant over the entire length of the coating; thus, if the transverse edges of the coating are straight or are complementary with one another, the entire decorative coating of the film is deposited on the glazing unit.

(45) As can be seen in FIG. 4, the film 4 is wound onto a roll 56 which is unwound before pressing the film 4 against the glazing unit 1, and the substrate is then wound onto a roll 58 after the punch withdrawal step. These two rolls are here rotatably mounted on horizontal axes, the substrate roll 58 here being precisely rotated using a stepper motor (this rotation is illustrated by the arrow on this roll 58) and the roll 56 of film 4 being mounted in free rotation.

(46) After the punch withdrawal step (FIG. 3) and the substrate withdrawal step (FIG. 4), the glazing unit 1 can be removed from the device 5 and a new glazing unit 1 can be positioned in the device as in the first step and the manufacturing cycle can restart.

(47) If the film 4 is not changed, then the following glazing unit will comprise the same decorative coating 45; changing the film 4 makes it possible to apply a different decorative coating to a glazed element of the same series.

(48) It should be noted that when the punch 54 presses the film 4 at least partially against a flexible part 34 of the profiled strip 3, as illustrated in FIG. 2, it is preferable for said flexible part 34 to be positioned on the counter-form 52 in order to create an effective counter-brace during the pressing step b. This counter-form 52 thus has a recess which is designed and produced to be the negative of the glazing unit at the location of said flexible part so as not to deform this flexible part during the pressing operation.

(49) Should the decorative coating be provided with a heat-activated layer on its non-decorative face, that is to say on its face in contact with the substrate before the pressing step b, then during this pressing step b at least, or even also during step a or even during the entire manufacturing cycle, the punch 54 is heated.

(50) In this case, the pressing operation may then be carried out at a temperature between 80 and 150 C., or even between 100 and 130 C., for example for a period between 1 and 20 seconds, or even between 2 and 5 seconds and, for example, at a pressure between 0.1 and 10 MPa, or even between 0.2 and 2 MPa.

(51) In order to adhesively bond the decorative coating to the glazing unit, it is also possible to use UV radiation or ultrasound radiation; the duration and the pressure of the pressing operation may then consequently be adapted.

(52) The decorative film is, preferably, constituted of a plastic matrix, present in which are pigmented particles of the desired color and/or appearance for the decoration of the glazing unit. The decorative film is, preferably, precut on the substrate which, itself, is continuous.

(53) An important advantage of the process according to the invention is that the punch 54 may press the film 4 against the glazing unit 1 in a region of the glazing unit that is curved (that is to say not flat) and in particular the punch 54 may press the film 4 at least partially against a flexible part 34 of the profiled strip which is curved (that is to say not flat), as can be seen in FIG. 5.

(54) In this case, the punch then has a contact surface that is designed and produced to be the negative of the glazing unit at the location of the pressing.

(55) This is particularly advantageous when the glazed element is made of an organic material since, as explained previously, this material is in general chosen when the glazed element has a curvature such that it cannot be manufactured industrially by bending a glazed element made of mineral material.

(56) It is furthermore possible for the decorative coating 45 to comprise a double curvature, that is to say a longitudinal curvature and a transverse curvature, the length and the transversal considered on the glazing unit being perpendicular.

(57) The decorative coating is preferably applied to a part of the profiled strip which protrudes relative to the glazed element, and even more preferably applied to a part of the profiled strip which protrudes relative to the rest of the face of the profiled strip which is not decorated with the coating.

(58) Thus, the coating is easier to apply.

(59) For one and the same glazing unit series, the decorative coating may have various colors and/or various appearances (matt/shiny) or may not be present for a portion of the glazing units of the series.

(60) The present invention is described in the foregoing by way of example. It is understood that a person skilled in the art is in a position to produce various variants of the invention without however departing from the scope of the patent as defined by the claims.