CN116176231A - Glass assembly and window assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a glass component and a window assembly. The glass assembly includes: a first glass body having oppositely disposed first and second surfaces; a second glass body having a third surface facing the second surface and an oppositely disposed fourth surface; a light extraction structure disposed within the second glass body and having a light extraction face; wherein incident light directed into the second glass body is extracted at the light extraction structure and directed out of the fourth surface. The glass component can obviously improve illumination brightness without affecting the performance and the aesthetic property of the glass, creates a richer and more comfortable atmosphere and improves the use experience of users. The glass component is easy to implement, has obvious performance improvement, can be applied to various occasions through combination of various modes, and meets the diversified demands of users.

Description

Glass assembly and window assembly

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of glass, in particular to a glass component and a window assembly using the same.

Background

With the rapid development of the automobile industry and the increasing demands of consumers for vehicle functions, luminescent glasses with lighting effects have been widely paid attention to vehicle manufacturers and favored by consumers. Light-emitting glasses are generally based on enamel or ink to form patterned areas on the surface of the glass, or by laminating a microstructured film into the glass, where incident light from a light source disposed on the side, bottom or integrated into the glass is projected onto the patterned areas, and light is scattered or diffused by the change in surface structure to be transmitted through the patterned areas, thereby achieving different light-emitting effects.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a glass component with enhanced light-emitting function, which optimizes light extraction performance, thereby improving illumination performance and enhancing user experience.

To this end, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a glass assembly comprising: a first glass body having oppositely disposed first and second surfaces; a second glass body having a third surface facing the second surface and an oppositely disposed fourth surface; a light extraction structure disposed within the second glass body and having a light extraction face; wherein incident light directed into the second glass body is extracted at the light extraction structure and directed out of the fourth surface.

Embodiments of the present invention may further include any one or more of the following alternative forms according to the technical idea described above.

In some alternative forms, the light extraction structures are formed within the second glass body by laser engraving.

In some alternative forms, the light extraction face of the light extraction structure is arranged towards the first or second glass body.

In some alternative forms, the light extraction structures are formed within the second glass body either before or after the thermal bending process.

In some alternative forms, the first glass body and the second glass body are attached by an interlayer having a gray scale.

In certain alternative forms, the glass assembly includes a light source disposed adjacent an edge of the first glass body and/or the second glass body, or the light source is disposed at a bottom of the second glass body or embedded in the second glass body.

In some alternative forms, the glass assembly includes a light guide configured to conduct incident light at least toward the light extraction structures within the second glass body.

In some alternatives, the glass assembly includes a light source embedded in an aperture provided in the second glass body, the aperture having a seal disposed between the second surface and the third surface.

In some alternatives, the seal is configured as a reflector such that light impinging on the seal is reflected back into the second glass body.

In some alternatives, a black ink is provided at the aperture to mask the aperture and the light source within the aperture.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a window assembly comprising a glazing assembly as described above, wherein the window assembly comprises a door, window, curtain wall, glazing, aircraft glazing or boat glazing.

In some alternative forms, the window assembly is a glazing, including a front windscreen, a rear windscreen, a sunroof, a door glass or an angle glazing, wherein the first surface of the first glazing is facing the exterior of the vehicle and the fourth surface of the second glazing is facing the interior of the vehicle.

The glass component can obviously improve illumination brightness without affecting the performance and the aesthetic property of the glass, creates a richer and more comfortable atmosphere and improves the use experience of users. The glass component is easy to implement, has obvious performance improvement, can be applied to various occasions through combination of various modes, and meets the diversified demands of users.

Drawings

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of alternative embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters identify the same or similar parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a glass assembly in which incident light contacts a bottom light extraction face of a light extraction structure that faces a fourth surface and is reflected, scattered, or diffused, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1, in which incident light contacts a top structure of the light extraction structure toward the third surface and is reflected, scattered, or diffused;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an arrangement of light sources in a glass assembly according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an arrangement of light sources in a glass assembly according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of an arrangement of light sources in a glass assembly according to yet another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a glass assembly incorporating the light source shown in FIG. 5, according to one embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

The making and using of the embodiments are discussed in detail below. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating specific ways of making and using the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The structural position of the various components as described, such as the directions of up, down, top, bottom, etc., is not absolute, but rather relative. When the individual components are arranged as shown in the figures, these directional expressions are appropriate, but when the position of the individual components in the figures changes, these directional expressions also change accordingly.

The terms "comprising," "including," and "having," and the like, herein, are open ended and do not exclude additional unrecited elements, steps, or components. The expression "consisting of …" excludes any element, step or ingredient not specified. The expression "consisting essentially of …" means that the scope is limited to the specified elements, steps, or components, plus any elements, steps, or components that are optionally present that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed subject matter. It should be understood that the expression "comprising" encompasses the expressions "consisting essentially of …" and "consisting of …".

The terms "first," "second," and the like herein do not denote a limitation of order or quantity of components, unless otherwise indicated.

Herein, "plurality", "multilayer" means two or more, unless specifically defined otherwise.

Herein, unless specifically limited otherwise, terms such as "mounted," "connected," "attached," and the like are to be construed broadly and may be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally formed, for example; can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and can be communicated with the inside of two elements or the interaction relationship of the two elements. The specific meaning of the terms herein above will be understood by those skilled in the art as the case may be.

The glass is an amorphous inorganic nonmetallic material, and is generally prepared by taking various inorganic minerals (such as quartz sand, borax, boric acid, barite, barium carbonate, limestone, feldspar, sodium carbonate and the like) as main raw materials, adding a small amount of auxiliary raw materials, and taking silicon dioxide and other oxides as main components. In the various embodiments described, the thickness of the glass is that commonly used in the art, and the thickness of each laminate structure on the glass is applicable to conventional ranges and is not limited by the illustration. Although shown as a flat glass, the glass of the present invention may be a curved glass. In various embodiments, described as a separate glass body or sheet, however, in some cases, the surface of the glass may also use a single or multiple layers of special coatings to enhance privacy and/or thermal insulation and/or comfort.

Hereinafter, the application of the glass assembly to a vehicle glazing is described, but it is not excluded that the glass assembly may be applied in the environment of a door, a window, a curtain wall, an aircraft glass or a ship glass. When the glass assembly is described as a window glass for a vehicle, "outer" and "inner" are directions relative to the vehicle body, "outer" refers to a direction away from the vehicle body, and "inner" refers to a direction facing the vehicle body. It should be appreciated that vehicle glazings according to embodiments of the invention, including but not limited to front windshields, rear windshields, sunroof glasses, door glasses or quarter glasses, may provide different lighting effects based on different requirements.

In the automotive industry, which is new and new, glass components with lighting and decorative effects are widely applied to middle-high-grade vehicle types, such as vehicle skylights, not only can the effects of light brightness and/or color change be realized, but also the lighting effects with different patterns can be formed by combining coating layers and/or sandwich structures. The prior art, which is not satisfactory to manufacturers and users, has mostly employed light extraction techniques based on enamel or ink coating on the surface of glass, or light extraction films or photoconductive films laminated to patterned areas in glass, or Light Emitting Diode (LED) techniques integrated in glass, however, has required brightness of the pattern after the light source is turned on, and market demands that the pattern is not obvious or visible in the state of the light source is turned off.

The inventors have realized that engraved luminescent glass has been widely used in the fields of construction and daily life, such as luminescent stair railing, luminescent building exterior wall glass, luminescent billboards (transparent materials such as glass, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)), etc., but has rarely been used in automotive glass. In addition, engraving patterns on the luminescent glass are mainly engraving on the glass surface to achieve luminescence. The inventor finds that the microstructure formed in the glass not only can provide a relatively high-brightness lighting effect, but also has the beneficial effects of environmental protection, energy conservation and the like, and is beneficial to meeting the market demands.

The present invention is based on the idea of providing an improvement to a glass assembly. In various embodiments described, a glass assembly includes a first glass body, a second glass body, and a light extraction structure having a light extraction face disposed within the second glass body. Here, the light extraction surface refers to a light extraction structure surface that significantly changes an emission angle or direction of light rays on the light extraction structure, wherein a surface of the light extraction structure surface may be formed in a plane or a non-plane, such as a semicircle sphere, a cone, a triangle, a trapezoid, and the like. When light contacts a light extraction surface, either local or global, on the light extraction structure, the light is reflected, scattered or diffused to exhibit a lighting effect. The light extraction structures may be arranged continuously or discontinuously, or by different distributions, to produce different display patterns or display effects. Also, the light extraction face may be arranged continuously or discontinuously over the light extraction structure. In addition, depending on the micro-texture or pattern formed by the light extraction structures, the invention also provides a lighting effect, that is, when the light source is turned on, the glass component presents a required pattern or display effect, and when the light source is turned off, the glass component has different transparent effects, that is, transparent or semitransparent, according to the texture line diameter of the light extraction structures. This is particularly advantageous for lighting requirements of vehicle glazing, such as vehicle sunroofs.

According to the present invention, the light extraction structure is formed in the second glass body by laser engraving. So-called laser engraving, i.e. 3D laser engraving glass technology, the laser produces pulses in a very short time, the energy of which is capable of instantaneously breaking the glass body by heating, thus creating very small white spots, engraving a predetermined shape inside the glass, while the rest of the glass body remains intact. The laser engraving is adopted, the laser beam is used for engraving inside the glass, no dust, no volatile matters, no emission and no consumable are generated, no pollution is generated to the external environment, and compared with the traditional technology of forming a light extraction structure on the surface of the glass by sand blasting engraving, screen printing, etching and the like, the working environment of workers can be greatly improved. In addition, the laser has low energy consumption and energy saving advantage.

Fig. 1 and 2 illustrate a glass assembly 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the glass assembly 100 comprising a first glass body 110 having a first surface 111 and a second surface 112, and a second glass body 120 having a third surface 121 and a fourth surface 122. For a vehicle glazing, the first glass body 110 may be referred to as an outer glass and the second glass body 120 may be referred to as an inner glass. Wherein, the intermediate layer 130 is sandwiched between the first glass body 110 and the second glass body 120 to bond the two together. The interlayer 130 is, for example, polyvinyl butyral (PVB) or ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA). In the second glass body 120, a light extraction structure 140 having a light extraction face 141 is formed in a desired pattern by laser engraving. It will be appreciated that the light extraction structures are microstructures or micro-textures, with dimensions on the order of micrometers or even nanometers. Depending on the different design requirements, the light extraction surface 141 of the light extraction structure 140 may be arranged towards the first glass body 110 or the second glass body 120 with the aim that the incident light directed into the second glass body 120 is extracted at the light extraction structure and tends to be directed out of the fourth surface 122, in fig. 1 and 2 the light extraction surface 141 is exemplarily shown in the form of a triangle pointed corner and arranged towards the fourth surface 122 of the second glass body 120, thereby achieving an improved pattern display effect while achieving a lighting effect inside the vehicle. As indicated by the arrows in fig. 1, incident light directed into the second glass body 120 is totally reflected within the second glass body 120, and when the incident light contacts the locally generated microstructure or light extraction surface 141 on the bottom surface of the light extraction structure 140 facing the fourth surface of the pattern to be illuminated, the light is reflected, scattered or diffused and a portion of the light is directed out from the fourth surface 122 to achieve a lighting effect. In the manner shown in fig. 2, the light rays contact the locally generated microstructures on the top surface of the light extraction structure 140 facing the third surface, which can also cause the light rays to be reflected, scattered or diffused and part of the light rays to be directed out of the fourth surface 122 to achieve a lighting effect.

With the above design, the light extraction structure is provided in the second glass body in the glass assembly, and after the incident light entering the second glass body reaches the light extraction structure, the incident light is reflected, scattered or diffused by the light extraction structure and guided out from the fourth surface of the second glass body. The light extraction structure is formed by laser engraving, so that the glass component provided by the invention enhances the lighting effect on the inner glass in an environment-friendly, energy-saving and low-cost mode, and not only can realize high automation. The method can also realize standardized, digitized and networked production, or realize remote monitoring and operation, effectively reduce the labor intensity of workers, improve the working environment and greatly improve the production efficiency and the product grade. Depending on the application requirements, the light extraction structures formed by laser engraving may produce different display patterns or display effects, such as stars, moon, etc., with different distributions.

It will be appreciated that reflection, scattering or diffusion of light rays after contacting the light extraction structure does not preclude transmission of light rays towards the first glass body. In some embodiments, an interlayer 130 having a grey scale, such as a grey scale PVB, may be used to provide a shading effect, such as to prevent incident light for illumination from exiting towards the first glass body after contacting the light extraction structure to affect the illumination effect, or to prevent glare from outside the first glass body from exiting into the vehicle to affect comfort when the glass assembly is applied to a vehicle glazing. In addition, the intermediate layer with gray scale also makes privacy functions possible.

When the glass assembly of the present invention is applied to a vehicle glazing, the formation of the light extraction structure in the second glazing can be achieved in two ways. The first way is to perform laser engraving, i.e. engraving microstructures in the interior of a planar (2D) glass, prior to the hot bending process, then placing the glass with the light extraction structure into a mold for hot bending into a curved (3D) glass, and finally performing the lamination process of the glass assembly. The second way is to perform laser engraving after the hot bending process, i.e. directly engraving inside the 3D glass, and then laminating the glass assembly. The two modes can be adjusted according to different application occasions and the material selection of the glass as required, so long as the laser engraving of the light extraction structure is realized under the condition that the strength and the performance of the glass are not damaged, or the strength or the performance of the glass after engraving meets the national mandatory test standard.

In particular, for the first mode, since the process of laser engraving is to break the physical structure of the glass, the glass is broken to generate white spots to form microstructures or patterns, and the thermal bending process is required to a certain extent after engraving. In other words, to avoid chipping of the glass during the hot bending process, the pattern is advantageously designed as a pattern that is not a continuous line, or a continuous large area pattern, so that laser damage points to the interior of the glass are not concentrated in a certain area, thereby avoiding affecting the overall strength of the glass. From another perspective, the pattern is designed to be thinner in wire diameter, and the broken thickness of the glass is thinner, so that the pattern is not easily observed by a user after the light source is turned off, and a substantially transparent effect is achieved.

Fig. 3 to 5 each show a different arrangement of the light sources in the glass component. Alternatively, the light source is, for example, a point-like or line-like light source integrated inside the glass body, or a light source attached to the edge of the glass body in a neighboring, fitting, etc. manner, such as an LED light-emitting strip, or a point-like LED with a light guide. Depending on the shape of the glass body, the light sources may be arranged at one or more side edges of the glass body, e.g. when the glass body is substantially triangular, the light sources may be arranged at one side edge of the glass body, and when the glass body is substantially quadrangular, the light sources may be arranged at opposite side edges of the glass body. Here, a light source integrated inside the glass body is understood to be integrated in the second glass body, the point of incidence of the light source being substantially at the same level as the light extraction structure. In embodiments where the side edges of the glass assembly emit incident light, the light source may be formed as a package (e.g., in a selvedge), or otherwise affixed to the edges of the glass body. In the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the light source 150a may be disposed at edges of the first and second glass bodies 110 and 120. In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, the size of the first glass body 110 is larger than that of the second glass body 120, and at this time, the light source 150b may be disposed only at the edge of the second glass body 120. In the embodiment shown in fig. 5, the light source 150c is integrated into the second glass body 120 by being embedded in an aperture 123 provided in the second glass body 120. The cross-section of the aperture 123 may be circular, rectangular or other suitable shape. It should be understood that in each of the above embodiments, the light sources 150a, 150b, 150c may be one or more light sources, such as a strip-shaped light band arranged in a ring shape or a plurality of point-shaped light sources distributed at intervals, which are shown without limitation. In each of the above embodiments, the light source may be a direct light source, or may further comprise a light guide configured to conduct incident light emitted by the light source at least towards the light extraction structures within the second glass body, for example for total reflection of light at non-light extraction structures and reflection, scattering or diffusion at light extraction structures. It should be appreciated that the light guide may be selected to be any suitable optical device or microstructured optical device, such as a light guide bar, that achieves the above-described adjustment of the light direction.

Fig. 6 shows a glass assembly according to an embodiment of the invention in combination with the light source of fig. 5. Wherein the second glass body 120 is provided with a light extraction structure 140 therein and the light source 150c is integrated in the second glass body 120 by being embedded in an aperture 123 provided in the second glass body 120. Optionally, a seal 160 is provided between the aperture 123 of the second glass body 120 and the intermediate layer 130, and, for example, black ink 170 may be provided at the corresponding aperture 123 to conceal the aperture 123 such that the aperture 123 and the light source 150c within the aperture 123 are not visible to the exterior of the glass assembly. The sealing member 160 is, for example, aluminum foil, and, while providing a sealing effect, the sealing member 160 may be used as a reflector to reflect light impinging thereon back into the second glass body 120 to reduce light loss due to the specular effect of the aluminum foil surface.

In one embodiment, the first glass body 110 is VG10 glass with a thickness of 2.1mm, the middle layer 130 is gray PVB with a thickness of 0.76mm, the second glass body 120 is common white glass or super white glass with no influence on the color of light, the thickness can be selected from 0.7-4.0 mm, the light extraction structure 140 is formed in the second glass body 120 by laser engraving, and the light source 150c is embedded in the opening 123 of the second glass body 120 and isolated from the middle layer 130 by a sealing member 160, such as aluminum foil. The test is carried out on the glass component and the comparison glass component with the same size and material, the pattern design adopts a pentagram shape, the pattern size is 40mm multiplied by 40mm, the pattern outline is composed of a plurality of lines, and the line diameter is 0.5mm. Under the same test environment, the carving patterns arranged in the glass component of the invention obviously improve illumination brightness, and the average brightness at the test pattern is 30.66cd/m ² . The brightness is improved by about 5.25 times compared with the pattern formed by coating enamel on the fourth surface of the second glass body, wherein the enamel is luminous ink, and the main materials are silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, titanium dioxide and the like; the brightness is improved by a factor of about 3.38 compared to the laser engraved pattern on the fourth surface of the second glass body; the brightness was increased by a factor of about 26.34 compared to the laser engraved pattern on the third surface of the second glass body, and the measuring instrument used a commercially available image brightness meter, such as LumiCam 1300. In addition, the patterns in the glass assembly of the present invention are clearly visible when the light source is on, either in a sufficiently light test environment or a dimly light test environment, the light sourceWhen closed, the glass becomes transparent or translucent.

As can be seen from the above description, the light extraction structure of the glass assembly of the present invention is formed in the second glass body by laser engraving, which increases reflection, scattering or diffusion of incident light at the light extraction structure, significantly enhances the light extraction effect, effectively improves the illumination brightness while guaranteeing the illumination effect, and has the advantages of simple process, obvious performance improvement, etc.

It is to be understood herein that the embodiments shown in the drawings show only the optional construction, shape, size and arrangement of the various optional components of the glass assembly according to the invention, which are however illustrative only and not limiting, and that other shapes, sizes and arrangements may be adopted without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

While the foregoing has described the technical content and features of the present invention, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining the teachings of the present invention, may make variations and improvements to the concepts disclosed herein, which fall within the scope of the present invention. The above description of embodiments is illustrative and not restrictive, and the scope of the invention is defined by the claims.

Claims (12)

1. A glass assembly, the glass assembly comprising:

a first glass body having oppositely disposed first and second surfaces;

a second glass body having a third surface facing the second surface and an oppositely disposed fourth surface;

a light extraction structure disposed within the second glass body and having a light extraction face;

wherein incident light directed into the second glass body is extracted at the light extraction structure and directed out of the fourth surface.

2. The glass assembly of claim 1, wherein the light extraction structure is formed within the second glass body by laser engraving.

3. The glass assembly of claim 2, wherein the light extraction face of the light extraction structure is disposed toward the first glass body or the second glass body.

4. The glass assembly of claim 2, wherein the light extraction structure is formed within the second glass body before or after performing a hot bending process.

5. The glass assembly of claim 2, wherein the first glass body and the second glass body are attached by an interlayer having a gray scale.

6. The glass assembly according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the glass assembly comprises a light source disposed adjacent an edge of the first glass body and/or the second glass body, or the light source is disposed at a bottom of the second glass body or embedded in the second glass body.

7. The glass assembly of claim 6, wherein the glass assembly comprises a light guide configured to conduct incident light at least toward the light extraction structure within the second glass body.

8. The glass assembly of claim 6, wherein the glass assembly includes a light source embedded in an aperture provided on the second glass body, the aperture having a seal disposed between the second surface and the third surface.

9. The glass assembly of claim 8, wherein the seal is configured as a reflector such that light impinging on the seal is reflected back into the second glass body.

10. The glass assembly of claim 8, wherein a black ink is provided at the aperture to mask the aperture and the light source within the aperture.

11. A window assembly comprising a glass component according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the window assembly comprises a door, window, curtain wall, glazing, aircraft glazing or ship glazing.

12. The window assembly of claim 11, wherein the window assembly is a vehicle glazing comprising a front windshield, a rear windshield, a sunroof glass, a door glass, or a corner window glass, wherein the first surface of the first glass body is facing the exterior of the vehicle and the fourth surface of the second glass body is facing the interior of the vehicle.

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