Laminated pane

Abstract

A laminated pane has at least two panes running, for example, parallel to one another, in which case the panes are joined together in an edge area of the laminated pane, at least in sections, with the help of a transparent mass and/or one that becomes transparent after hardening, preferably in form of glue.

Claims

1. A laminated pane, comprising: two panes disposed in a parallel or non-parallel orientation and having a circumferential edge; a plurality of spacer sections disposed between the two panes in a peripheral edge area of the laminated pane, at least one spacer section being formed by a mass of hardened glue composition that is transparent and adhered to the two panes, the mass of hardened glue composition extending inwardly a limited distance between the two panes and defining an inner exposed edge that together with the two panes and the other ones of the plurality of spacer elements delimits a closed hollow interior space.

2. The laminated pane according to claim 1, further comprising a reinforcement arranged between the panes in at least two corner areas of the circumferential edge, the reinforcements having a hole or recess defined therein that is accessible between the panes for securing the laminated pane to an exterior support structure.

3. The laminated pane according to claim 2, wherein the reinforcements are disposed at opposite sides of the laminated pane and are comprises metal blocks that are embedded at least partially in the mass.

4. The laminated pane according to claim 3, wherein the mass extends exteriorly outward beyond the two panes, and wherein no other elements are arranged between the panes apart from the mass and the reinforcements.

5. The laminated pane according to claim 1, wherein the closed interior space is filled with one of a gas, gas mixture, or transparent liquid.

6. The laminated pane according to claim 1, further comprising a handle attached to an external side of one of the panes.

7. The laminated pane according to claim 1, wherein the transparent mass extends completely around the circumferential edge of the laminated pane.

8. The laminated pane according to claim 1, wherein one of the two panes extends circumferentially beyond the other pane along at least one edge section such that the laminated pane has a stepped profile in cross section along the at least one edge section.

9. The laminated pane according to claim 1, wherein the laminated pane is a panel of a refrigeration appliance that serves for placing and presenting refrigerated foodstuffs, the laminated pane serving to limit a space in the refrigeration appliance for placing the food stuffs and providing a transparent view into the space from external to the refrigeration appliance.

10. The laminated pane according to claim 1, wherein the inner exposed edge of the mass is perpendicular to the two panes.

11. A process for manufacturing the laminated pane in accordance with claim 1, comprising: a) placing at least two panes at a given distance from one another and introducing a viscous mass that is transparent or becomes transparent after hardening between selected sections of the panes; and b) Hardening the mass, in which case the mass adheres onto the sections of the corresponding panes making contact with it, so that a laminated pane is created with the two panes joined together with the hardened mass.

12. The process according to claim 11, wherein the viscous mass is introduced by holding the mass in a receptacle and subsequently partially immersing the two panes separated from one another in the mass so that the mass after immersion lies at least partially between the separated panes.

13. The process according to claim 12, wherein edge areas of the two panes are brought into a form in which the mass is poured for the immersion step, wherein the form is removed after the mass has hardened.

14. The process according to claim 13, wherein the form is made from an elastic material.

15. The process according to claim 11, wherein the panes are arranged relative to the mass prior to hardening of the mass such that the mass when hardened extends circumferentially beyond the panes and forms an edge protection of the laminated pane.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Embodiments of the inventions described so far are shown below in the figures:

(2) FIG. 1 is a front view of a laminated pane according to the invention,

(3) FIG. 2 is a top view of a laminated pane shown in FIG. 1,

(4) FIG. 3 is a front view of a product presentation appliance,

(5) FIG. 4 is a door of a product presentation appliance,

(6) FIG. 5 is a cut view of the door of a product presentation appliance seen from above, e.g. cut along line B-B′ in FIG. 4,

(7) FIG. 6 is a section of a sectional view of the upper part of a door of a product presentation appliance seen from the side, e.g. cut along line A-A′ in FIG. 4,

(8) FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a section of a laminated pane according to the invention,

(9) FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a section of the laminated pane shown partially in FIG. 7,

(10) FIG. 9 is a form carrier with an inserted form for the manufacturing of a laminated pane according to the invention,

(11) FIG. 10 is Sectional views of the device shown in FIG. 9 during the manufacturing process, and

(12) FIG. 11 is a cross section of the device shown in FIG. 10 and a cross section of the laminated pane manufactured with it.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(13) Reference will now be made to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are shown in the drawings. Each embodiment is provided by way of explanation of the invention, and not as a limitation of the invention. For example features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be combined with another embodiment to yield still another embodiment. It is intended that the present invention include these and other modifications and variations to the embodiments described herein.

(14) FIG. 1 shows a laminated pane 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The laminated pane 1 comprises at least two panes 2 that, for example, run parallel and are joined together in their circumferential-sided edge area 3 with the help of a transparent mass 4 or one that becomes transparent after hardening, in which case the surfaces 9 of the mass 4 pointing inward run preferably perpendicular to the panes 2. As a comparison of FIGS. 1 (front view) and 2 (top view of the laminated pane 1 shown in FIG. 1) shows, a reinforcement 5 embedded in the mass 4 that can have a depression 7 (or alternately a bolt) can be attached between the panes 2, in each case in a corner area of the laminated pane 1, through which the laminated pane 1 can be connected to a support 6, for example, a frame of a product presentation appliance 11 shown in FIG. 3.

(15) In principle, the laminated pane 1 can be used wherever transparent elements are used. For example, the laminated pane 1 can be used as door or window element, or as another limiting element.

(16) In particular, the laminated pane 1 can be used as sliding or swinging door, preferably for a product presentation appliance 11, as shown exemplarily in FIG. 3. Generally, the doors mentioned above are made of two or more panes 2 running preferably parallel to one another to improve their insulating effect, as is the case especially when used in refrigeration appliances. Since the panes 2 must be joined (e.g. glued) together, the resulting doors always have in the state of the art a non-transparent edge area 3 which is perceived as bothersome when showing products.

(17) It is therefore suggested to provide at least one of the edge areas 3, preferably the entire circumferential edge area 3, with a corresponding door that includes a handle 10, exclusively with the help of a transparent mass 4 or one that becomes transparent after hardening so the panes 2 can thus be joined in this area. For example, the mass 4 can be preferably a PU- or acryl-based glue added to the contiguous panes of the door when the latter is mounted to effect the joining together of the corresponding panes 2 after hardening.

(18) As shown in FIG. 4 (which shows essentially the door of a product presentation appliance 11), the glue can be arranged exclusively in the two lateral edge areas 3 of the door (see also FIG. 5, which shows a cut along line B-B′ in the figure). Finally, so-called spacers 12 could be arranged in the area of the front sides 8 (see also the cut along line A-A′ in FIG. 4, which is shown in FIG. 6). The spacers 12 could comprise an elongated channel in which hygroscopic material (or generally speaking, a water-binding drying material 14) can be found and that can be sealed towards the outside with the help of a sealant or the above-mentioned transparent mass 4 so water cannot penetrate. The drying material 14 binds the water that diffuses from the interior 13 between the individual panes 2 through the spacer material, thus preventing the inside of the panes 2—and therefore the doors—from steaming up.

(19) By using the glue that becomes transparent after drying up, a door is finally obtained that—when seen from the front (FIG. 3)—gives the impression that there is no material whatsoever in the areas between the individual panes 2 where there is glue. As a result of this, the presentation area of the product presentation appliance 11 is maximized.

(20) Needless to say, apart from vertically aligned doors, it is possible to equip other doors of a product presentation appliance 11, for example the sliding doors or chest coverings of a refrigeration counter, with a laminated pane 1 whose panes 2 are at least partially joined together with the help of the above-mentioned mass 4 in order to maximize the light passage surface area of the corresponding laminated pane 1. Incidentally, the mass 4 need not be impervious to gas. It is generally enough if it is impermeable to liquids to prevent their penetration.

(21) Likewise, the described laminated pane 1 can be used in all other walls of a product presentation appliance 11 that consists of several panes 2. Included here are, for example, side walls that can be mounted in a movable or immovable way.

(22) It is furthermore conceivable for the mass 4 to protrude from one or several panes 2 of the laminated pane 1 in its outer edge area 3 (this is shown in FIG. 7 or in the perspective shown in FIG. 8). In this case, the mass 4 acts as edge protector of the panes 2 to reduce the risk of damaging them (incidentally, FIG. 8 only shows the lines/edges that are directly visible; naturally, because the panes 2 and the mass 4 are transparent, more lines or edges are actually visible but they are not shown for reasons of clarity).

(23) The following description refers to FIGS. 9 to 11.

(24) So the laminated pane 1 can be manufactured, a form carrier 16 shown in FIG. 9 can be used. Regardless of the precise shape that the form carrier 16 provides, it is advantageous if it provides a receptacle 17 for a preferably elastic form 15. It could, for example, be conceivable that the receptacle 17 is executed as slot-shaped depression, into which the above-mentioned form 15 is detachably inserted.

(25) FIG. 10 a) shows a cross section of a possible form carrier 16, while FIG. 10 b) shows the form carrier with introduced form 15.

(26) So at least two panes 2 can be joined together to a laminated pane 1, a possible variant allows the form to be filled at first with the described mass (FIG. 10 c)).

(27) Afterwards, the panes 2 of the subsequent laminated pane 1 (shown in FIG. 11 a)), are immersed in the mass 4 and held accordingly. The mass 4 hardens in the next step, and in the case of two-component glue, this takes place as a rule after a certain time once the components have been mixed.

(28) Finally, the laminated pane 1 is taken out of the form carrier 16 or form 15 (if the form is removed with the laminated pane 1, then the form 15 must be removed from the laminated pane 1 in a subsequent step).

(29) Ultimately, a laminated pane 1 is obtained whose panes 2 are joined together in at least one edge area with the help of the hardened mass 4. If more edge areas need to be joined together, the laminated pane 1 must be merely rotated and the process steps described above repeated in another place of the laminated pane 1.

(30) These inventions are not restricted to the embodiments shown and described above. Rather, any numbers of combinations of the characteristics described in the claims and in the description, and shown in the figures, are part of the present disclosure as long as technically feasible.