JP2003011661A - Panel and method for providing automobile fixed glazing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automobile fixed glazing panel and a simplified method for forming a masked joint thereon. SOLUTION: The automobile fixed glazing panel 10B is cast from polycarbonate. A hard coating 26 is accumulated on the panel 10B for blocking a ultraviolet ray. A colored under coat 28 is applied in a band form extending along the outer side. The hard coating 26 protects the colored under coat 28. No need exists for two independent coatings.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to glazing for automobiles, and more particularly to a glazing panel made of cast synthetic resin (for example, polycarbonate).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, glass panels have been applied for many years as automobile glazing.

In one type of automatic window structure now in common use, a fixed glazing panel is adhesively bonded to the perimeter of the panel and the body structure defining the window opening. Installed by.

In this structure, it is necessary to mask the outer periphery in order to hide the joint seam for aesthetic purposes and to prevent the adhesive material from being deteriorated by being exposed to ultraviolet rays existing in sunlight. A widely used effective masking is a blackout band applied along the perimeter of the inside surface of the glazing panel. This blackout band must be accurately applied to align and properly cover the seams of the joined glazing. In the case of glass glazing, it is generally baked to produce a black edge.
on finish) is used. This is because glass panels are usually formed after being heated in an oven, and the heating required for this formation is advantageous for treating the blackout ink.

The use of adhesive bonding requires that the surface of the glazing be primed to allow the adhesive to adhere well to the surface of the glazing panel.

Therefore, in order to implement this type of automotive window structure, it is necessary to apply multiple coatings along the perimeter of the glazing panel.

[0007]

The body shape is flexible (flexible) in order to reduce the weight of the vehicle, to improve the protection of the occupant and to facilitate the production of curved panels. In order to improve), a casting automatic glazing panel made of a synthetic resin such as polycarbonate has been considered.

Such cast panels are believed to be particularly suitable for use in mounting fixed glazing where blackout edges are required.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a simplified method and panel for making a masked joint seam in a fixed automatic glazing panel of the type made of cast synthetic resin as described above. To do.

[0010]

The above and other problems will be understood by reading the specification and claims. The above and other objects are also achieved by applying a tacky undercoat coating to the inner perimeter surface of the polycarbonate panel. This primer (primer) contains a blackout pigment. The colored undercoat paint is applied in a strip-like pattern extending along the outer periphery of the panel in a clear pattern. This creates a good-looking, suitable masking edge on the inner surface of the panel.

The cast panel is hard coated prior to applying the colored base coat to the interior surface of the panel to improve wear resistance. This hard coating (hard coating) also has a UV blocking function for preventing deterioration of the colored undercoat coating due to exposure to the UV existing in sunlight.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the following detailed description, certain terminology is used for the sake of clarity and certain embodiments are described according to the requirements of 35 USC 112. However, this does not mean that the invention is limited thereto, and the present invention is capable of various shapes and modifications without departing from the scope of the claims and should not be construed as limited. is there.

Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention relates to a fixed glazing panel 10, here an automobile 1.
The rear right side of 2 is shown. The fixed glazing panel 10 is arranged behind the middle pillar 14 of the side door and the body structure.

The panel 10 is rigidly attached to the window opening of the body structure in a conventional manner.

A blackout edge 18 extending along the entire perimeter of the inner surface of panel 10 is provided in a well known manner.

The blackout edge includes an opaque band which hides the seam between the body structure and the glazing panel 10 and provides a relatively low cost and attractive appearance.

The conventional glass panel mounting is shown in FIG.
In a simplified form omitting the molding and details of the body structure. The edge portion 18A is baked on when the panel 10A is heated and molded.
has been inish). Edge 18A serves an additional function in this environment. That is, ultraviolet rays are blocked to protect the undercoat coating 22 and the adhesive beads (or the elastomeric seal) 24A from deterioration due to exposure to the ultraviolet rays of sunlight.

FIG. 3 shows a glazing panel 10B according to the present invention. The glazing panel 10B is cast from a synthetic resin, and an injection-molded polycarbonate is considered here.

Panel 10B has been treated to deposit a hard coating 26 over its entire surface. This hard coating is of a well known type,
It may consist of multiple coating layers, including one or more dip coatings.

The dip coating improves the wear resistance of the cast polycarbonate to some extent. However,
Still dip coated panel 10B
Has insufficient scratch resistance for use in automobiles. Polycarbonate itself does not have adequate weatherability suitable for automotive glazing. This is because the materials used in automobiles undergo yellowing (baking) when exposed to sunlight, even for a relatively short period of time. This property requires that the dip coating also serve to block UV radiation in order to improve the weatherability of the polycarbonate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,84
Suitable (suitable) dip coatings are described in 2,941.

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PEC) has heretofore been provided to provide sufficient wear resistance for automotive applications.
Additional processes have been developed that include VD, often referred to simply as plasma coating. In the PECVD process, a reactant such as organic silicon is activated by plasma, and the activated reactant is introduced and coated on a panel placed in a vacuum chamber.

This plasma coating is applied over the dip coating described above.

Further details of plasma coating methods and apparatus can be found in US Pat. Nos. 5,298,587, 5,3.
20,875, 5,433,786, 5,494,
712, 5,718,967 and 5,900,2
No. 84. The contents described in these US patents are incorporated herein by reference.

An improved method and apparatus for the production of plasma coated panels is described in US patent application Ser. No. 09 / 621,203, filed Jul. 21, 2000.
Sun, reference number EXA-108).

The hard coating 26 also serves to block UV light to protect the panel 10B. Also, the hard coating 26 and the dip coating mutually protect the adhesive bead or seal 24B from the effects of sunlight.

The present invention has the advantage that the UV blocking coating can be provided by only one coating 28 on the inner surface extending in a strip along the periphery of panel 10B. The coating 28 serves both as a base coat for adhesion and as a blackout edge. The coating 28 itself is protected from ultraviolet light by the hard coating 26.

A suitable blackout basecoat for this use is BETASEAL®. This is sold as a glass base coat, but hard coating 26
And will act as a fixed bond between the synthetic fiber adhesive, the seal, etc.

BETASEAL® is serial number 15 from Essex Specialty Products.
Available at 969. Essex Specialty ·
Products, Inc. is located at 1250 Harmon Street, Oval Hills, Michigan, USA.

The material of BETASEAL is toluene (5
~ 15%), methyl ethyl ketone (40-50)
%) And n-butyl ester (10% or less), and has a floating pigment composed of carbon black (5 to 15% by weight). In addition, as described above, it has a sufficiently low viscosity that it can be sprayed onto the panel 10B in order to coat the outer periphery of the panel.

The material of the colored undercoat coating 28 may also contain hydrocarbon ketone.

The pigmented basecoat coating 28 should be applied in a precisely positioned strip with respect to the edge of the panel to allow the coating 28 to properly cover the joint seam. Also, neat (nea
t) The edges should be maintained so that the blackout edges have a good appearance and constitute a good looking mechanism. The opposite panel may be matted to reduce the need for straight edges.

A suitable technique for bonding the basecoat and blackout material is to first mask the area proximate to the perimeter of the panel using the well-known hinged masking screen. It includes that. The unmasked edge is then spray coated with material to form a black band that extends around the inside surface of the panel.

Other suitable techniques can be utilized to suit the unique flow characteristics of the basecoat blackout material. For example, inkjet printing, screen printing, flow coating and the like.

The band border thus formed is
It was confirmed that the function as described above was fulfilled.

Handling of panel 10B during these steps is facilitated by casting one or more tabs, as disclosed in detail in US Pat. No. 6,183,678. One or more tabs are cut off after the panel manufacturing process is completed as described in the above-referenced application.

The blackout band can have various shapes in addition to the simple band shape. For example, additional treatments such as the fade-out shape and the above-described matte treatment may be added if the joint seam is effectively masked to provide a good-looking appearance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial side view of an automobile including a fixed glazing panel masked with a blackout edge treatment.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view along the joint seam of a conventional fixed glazing panel with the coating portion exaggerated and defined.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view along the fixed glazing panel of the present invention with exaggerated and defined coating thickness.

[Explanation of symbols]

10B glazing panel 24 Adhesive beads 26 Hard coating 28 coating (colored undercoat)

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Mark M. Matsuko             South La, Michigan, United States             Ian Ridge Road 11432 (72) Inventor Eric FJM Funde             Lemoillen             Wickso, Michigan, United States             Mu Pond View Court 1381 (72) Inventor Ralph Dujardin             Novi, Michigan, United States             Halston Court 45423 F-term (reference) 4D075 AA01 AD11 AE19 CA02 CA12                       CA32 DA06 DA33 DA34 DB48                       DC13 EA35 EC11

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a fixed automobile glazing panel that is attached to an opening of a body structure of an automobile using an adhesive bond, the method comprising: casting a glazing panel from a synthetic resin; A step of depositing a hard coating that blocks ultraviolet light on the panel, enabling bonding of an adhesive and a hard coating for attaching the glazing panel to the body structure,
Applying a pigmented primer coating material to the outer perimeter of the inner surface of the hard-coated cast panel to provide masking of the joint seam between the body structure and the glazing panel. A method of manufacturing a glazing panel for a fixed vehicle, which is characterized by the above. 2. The method of manufacturing a fixed glazing panel for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the glazing panel is cast from polycarbonate. 3. The method of manufacturing a fixed glazing panel for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the applying step includes the step of manufacturing a well-defined contour pattern extending along the perimeter of the hard-coated panel. . 4. The automobile according to claim 3, wherein the applying step includes a step of masking an area close to the peripheral portion of the panel, and a step of spraying the colored undercoat coating material on the peripheral portion of the panel. For manufacturing fixed glazing panels for automobiles. 5. The method of manufacturing a fixed glazing panel for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the colored undercoat coating material comprises a hydrocarbon ketone liquid having a carbon black dye suspension. 6. A panel used as a fixed glazing for a motor vehicle, the perimeter of which is adhesively bonded to a body structure defining a window opening, said panel comprising transparent cast polycarbonate and deposited on the panel. And an ultraviolet blocking hard coating, and a colored adhesive bond primer coating applied on the hard coating and extending in strips along the perimeter of the panel, wherein the colored dye produces an opaque blackout band. Wherein the primer coat provides an adhesive masking band extending along the perimeter and a bond primer coat for strengthening the adhesive bond. 7. A panel used as a fixed glazing for an automobile, the outer periphery of which is adhesively bonded to a body structure defining a window opening of the automobile, the said consisting of transparent cast polycarbonate deposited on the panel. And a colored adhesive bond undercoat paint which is applied on the hard film and extends in a strip shape along the outer periphery of the panel, wherein the colored undercoat paint is a carbon black dye suspension. A panel comprising a hydrocarbon ketone liquid with an object.