IE45114B1 - Plastics-glass composite panes - Google Patents

Abstract

1518626 Laminates SAINT-GOBAIN INDUSTRIES 11 Feb 1977 [12 Feb 1976] 5726/77 Heading B5N A pane comprises at least one sheet 3, 5 of glass having a protective layer 6 of plastics material on a face thereof, one or more areas of the protective layer being omitted or covered with a material 2 which is harder than the plastics to provide an area on the pane to receive a label. The material 2 may be a polyester, polyamide, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, polyacrylate, polycarbonate or cellulose ester and may be adhered to the layer 6 by a polyamide, polyester, epoxy or cyanacrylate resin, polyurethane, polyvinylacetate, polyacrylate, butadiene styrene copolymer, polyisobutylene, polychloroprene, nitrile rubber or natural rubber adhesive 8.

Description

Tito invention relates to panes formed of at least one best of silicate glass and a covering protective layer of plastics material· There are known several types of safety pane having 5 eueh a structure. They include panes using a Siaple tempered glass sheet or a composite sheet (laminated pane) in which there are put to advantage the well known safety properties ©f such assemblies{ especially for vehicle windows. The protective Inyor of plastics material generally has as its purpose ii the case of breakage of tho pane, avoidance of contact between vehicle passengers and the sharp edges of pieces of shoots of glass. Such safety panes are used especially us windscreens in vehicles. They are described for example in French Patent Specification Nos. 1,425/292 and 2/134,255 and West German Patent Specification No. 1/696/051.

Xn a known safety pane the protective layer is formed of a plastics material which is very soft and is ’’selfhealing”, i.e. it ia capable, because of its elasticity, of absorbing or causing to disappear spontaneously, superficial imprints which;aay result from scratching. Such a protective layer can cortainly absorb scratches and other superficial deformations which may for example be produced during cleaning of the pane, but they risk permanent alterations when it is attempted, for «sample by means of a blade of a knife or other cutting tool, to remove a label stuck onto the layer.

Xt ie very common to apply a label on the surface of s pane @f a vehicle especially on the surface of the windscreen dlrocted towards the vehicle interior outside the zone of visibility of the driver. Por example in certain countries it ±£3 necessary to stick on the interior surface of the windscreen a notice to confirm payment of a tax on the Vehicle, This label frequently has to be renewed each year. Such notices have to adhere to the v/indscreen particularly strongly in order to avoid fraudulent usage. This is why very strong adhesives are preferably used for adhering these notices, whereas the notice itself is made of a fragile paper support. Removal of such notices then becomes quite difficult and is often possible only with a blade of a cutting tool. During this operation the surface of the windscreen is unfortunately easily damaged. This risk is encountered for all windscreens comprising a protective layer of plastics material but especially for those in which the protective layer is made of relatively soft plastics material.

The invention is intended to provide a pane having on a surface thereof a protective layer of plastics material from which removal of an adhered label is possible without risk of deterioration of said protective layer.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a pane comprising at least one sheet of glass having a protective layer of plastics material on a surface thereof, one or some areas of the protective layer being omitted or covered with a material which is harder than said plastics material to provide an area on the pane to receive an adhered label. Said area or areas provide a hard surface portion to receive a label.

Advantageously the area or areas is adjacent the periphery of the pane.

The hard surface portion should be sufficiently hard not to risk being damaged by the usual means for removal of labels so that this hard portion may serve its purpose for a long duration. - 3 In a first embodiment of the invention there is used as a hard surface the surface of the glass sheet itself, the protective layer being intentionally omitted in the area(s) where a label is to be attached.

In another embodiment of the invention it is possible to provide a hard surface by applying on the protective layer of plastics material a layer made of greater hardness than the protective layer. This hard layer may have any geometrical shape, for example, circular, oval, square, octagonal. Conveniently this hard layer is transparent. Preferably the protective layer is made of a self-healing material.

Xt is especially advantageous to colour the hard surface area. This may be done by either using a coloured hard plastics material or using a coloured adhesive to fix the hard material. Such a coloured region is easily distinguished visually from the surrounding areas which facilitates correct positioning of a label.

The hard plastics material may be desposited at the same time as formation of the protective layer and they therefore serve to distinguish during manufacture the panes already provided with the protective layer. However the hard plastics may also be applied afterwards to the manufactured pane.

The panes according to the Invention may be used not only in vehicles but also in panes for building such as doors and partitions which are formed of safety glass provided with a protective layer of plastics material.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a windscreen for a vehiohle provided With an adhered protective layer; Figure 2 shows on a greater scale a detail of Figure 1 α 31 i'i In partial perspective section.

The windscreen 1 of the drawings has in its lower corner a hard layer 2 which ia of dimensions rather greater than those of the label which is to be adhered on the support. The windscreen is a laminated safety pane formed of a first sheet of glase 3, an intermediate layer of thermoplastic material 4, a second sheet of glass 5, and a protective layer 6 of soft material which ia capable owing to its elasticity of causing indents or superficial scratches to disappear spontaneously. On the protective layer 6 there ia provided a hard layer 2 in the form of a film made of plastics material, adhered on the layer 6 bv means of a layer of adhesive 8. The film may for example have a thickness of 20 to 200 pm and preferably 50 to 150 pm. The layer of adhesive 8 has a thickness from 5 to 100 pm and preferably 10 to 5θ pm. Adhesion of the film 2 by means of adhesion layer 8 should of course be strong and if possible stronger than adhesion of the label which is to be mounted on it. Ae the substance for forming the film 2 there may be mentioned the plastics materials which have a sufficient surface adhesion and which resist ageing, euch as for example, polyesters, polyamides, polyurethanes, polyvinylchlorides, copolymers of styrene and acrylonitrile, polyacrylates, polycarbonates and cellulose esters.

As the Substance for sticking the film 2 to the protective layer there may be mentioned thermoplastic materials such as polyesters and polyamides, preferably of the same chemical family as the film 2 or condensed resins such as epoxy resins, cyanacrylate resins or -5X certain prepolymers of polyurethane or self-adhesing substances sensitive to pressure such as polyvinyl acetate, polyethylacrylate polybutylacrylates, poly(ethyl-exyl) acrylates, copolymers of butadiene and styrene, polyisobutylenes, polychloroprenes, nitrile rubbers, phenol/nitrile resins and natural rubber.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention there is used as film 2 a film of 100 pm thickness of polyethylene terephthalate,,for example, the product sold commercially under the trade mark Hostaphan BHH by the Kalle company of Wiesbaden vzhich is adhered by means of a polyester polyurethane aliphatic thermo hardening reactive such as the product sold commercially under the trade mark IPDI-U-628 by the Veba firm of Wanne-Eickel. It is also possible to use with just as good results a film of 100 pm thickness of hard polyvinyl chloride such as Genotherm V.G. (Trade Mark) made by Kalle at Wiesbaden vzhich is adhered by means of a nitrile rubber such as products sold under thetrade mark Scotch Clad-EC->776 Κ. Κ. Ii.

Claims (11)

1. A pane comprising at least one sheet of glass having a ί protective layer of plastics material on a surface thereof, one or some. areas of the protects t

2. A pane according to Claim 1, in which said area or areas is defined by an area of exposed glas3 which is not covered by the plastics material.

3. A pane according to Claim 1, in which said area or areas is defined by a layer of plastics materiel superposed on the protective layer. ί ί 20 ι <

4. A pane according to Claim 3, in which the said superposed layer of hard plastics material is transparent.

5. A pane according to Claim 3 or 4, in which said superposed layer of plastics material is coloured.

6. A pane according to Claim 3,4.or 5 in which said superposed layer is adhered to the protective layer,

7. A pane according to any preceding claim, in which the protective layer is of self-healing material.

8. A pane according to any preceding claim, in which said area or areas is adjacent the periphery of the pane.

9. A pane according to any preceding claim, having a label adhered to said area or areas.

10. A pone, substantially as hereinbefore described v/ith reference to Figure 1 or ? of the accompanying drawings.

11. A vehicle, provided with a windscreen comprising a pane according to any preceding claim.