JPH09124348A - Composite pipe and window using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain excellent heat insulating properties by laminating glass tubes having a hollow layer through a thermotropic aqueous solution in the form of a plane between a pair of transparent light transmitting substrates and providing the hollow layer. SOLUTION: Glass tubes having about 0.5-50mm outside diameter and about 0.05-5mm wall thickness are produced by a hot-drawing method, etc., and hollow parts are then filled with a gas such as air or Ar or regulated to about 50-10<-8> Torr vacuum degree. Both ends are then melt sealed. The many glass tubes 3 having the vacuum layer 2 are then laminated in the form of a plane between a pair of transparent substrates 1 having about >=5mm thickness such as a soda-lime glass plate or an acrylic plate. A thermotropic aqueous solution 6 of hydroxypropyl cellulose is filled in the space among the glass tubes and ends are sealed by an outer peripheral seal 5 such as a polysulfide-based sealant to afford a composite pipe having excellent heat insulating properties and light screening properties.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a panel that can be mainly used for windows, roofs, walls and the like. A composite structure in which a glass tube having a transparent and hollow layer is laminated on a transparent substrate through an aqueous solution of a thermotropic solution which is an aqueous solution composition showing a cloud point phenomenon in which a transparent state and a cloudy state are reversibly changed by a heat action and a hollow layer is provided. It concerns a tube panel. When this panel is used as a window, it is possible to provide a window that has both a high heat insulation function and a function of blocking the direct rays of the sun with the energy of the direct rays.

[0002]

The present inventor has noticed that openings or windows have inferior heat insulation and light shielding functions as compared to conventional roofs and walls. However, since the window can transmit sunlight, it can be exchanged with lighting and external information, and it has features that ordinary roofs and walls do not have. Naturally, research and development for improving the heat insulating property of windows have been widely performed. As a result, multi-layer glass in which a gas layer is provided between a pair of plate glasses has been developed and widely used. Recently, in order to further improve the effect, research on making a gas layer into a vacuum is also under way. For example, R. E. FIG. Collins et al. SPIE / V
ol2255, Proceedings, 648 (19
94). The structure of this vacuum panel is shown in FIG. Reference numeral 1 is a plate glass, 5 is an outer peripheral sealing, and a low melting point glass is used to maintain a vacuum, 7 is a pressure resistant spacer that withstands atmospheric pressure, and 8 is a pressure resistant valve for venting air and maintaining vacuum. Since the conventional method has such an extremely complicated structure, it has the following serious problems and has not been put into practical use yet. 1) When it is used as a window glass, the continuous vacuum portion has a large area, and the risk of scattering at the time of breakage increases. 2) In the method of sealing the outer periphery of a large area with a low melting glass, it is very difficult to ensure the adhesion due to the difference in the expansion coefficient with the substrate, and uniform heating and long heating by an expensive ultra-large furnace are required. It requires a heat treatment process and the like over time. 3) It is necessary to arrange the pressure resistant spacer 7 in order to maintain the gap from the atmospheric pressure. 4) A pressure resistant valve 8 for evacuation / maintaining a vacuum is required. As described above, there are still problems, and it is easily understood that a vacuum layer is preferable to a gas layer without any particular explanation, but it has not been put to practical use yet.

For heat insulation, a double glazing having a gas layer of 12 mm has been put into practical use, but gas convection and gas conduction are still large, and a heat insulation effect such as that of a normal roof or wall is obtained. Not not. Regarding light shielding, there is also double glazing that incorporates sheet glass coated with a heat ray reflective film such as a metal thin film, but in the winter, on a cloudy day, the amount of incident light decreases, reflected pollution, giving a feeling of oppression to people inside the room. There was a problem.

Therefore, the present inventor reconsidered the basic idea that there are three elements of energy transmission: convection, conduction, and radiation. If these three elements can be satisfied at the same time, the partition that transmits sunlight is usually called a window, but it is possible to obtain a new energy-saving window that also has roof and wall functional characteristics in addition to soundproofing. Enables space design that goes beyond conventional architectural concepts. The soundproofing has hitherto been practically performed by a mass action method using lead or the like or a resonance damping control method, but the present inventor used a vacuum. As a result, rain protection,
We thought that it would be an ideal energy-saving window if it could simultaneously satisfy the control of heat insulation, light shielding, and sound insulation.

The rainproof is a continuous body, and it is possible to use various kinds of plate glass that transmits the sun's rays without needing to be particularly described. In the present invention, the heat insulation is a hollow layer divided by a glass tube, so that convection is prevented. The present inventor uses the 3
This can be reasonably solved by bringing in an aqueous solution composition (hereinafter referred to as a thermotropic aqueous solution) which exhibits a cloud point phenomenon in which a transparent state and a cloudy state are reversibly changed by a thermal action which is being developed every year. As for soundproofing, the use of a vacuum enabled soundproofing of a transparent body. As for safety, since the vacuum part is divided by the glass tube, the entire vacuum part will not collapse and burst even if it is broken. In addition, since it is laminated between the pair of plate glasses via the gas layer, scattering can be almost suppressed, and safety similar to that of a normal double-layer glass can be secured.

[0006]

The problem to be solved is to make it possible to economically manufacture a transparent panel having both a heat insulating property and a light shielding property with a simple structure, and especially to provide a safe structure in the case of having a vacuum. Is. Furthermore, using this panel, it is possible to obtain a highly functional energy-saving window that has never existed before.

[0007]

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a glass tube having a hollow layer is planarly formed between a pair of transparent substrates via a thermotropic aqueous solution. A composite pipe panel formed by laminating and providing a hollow layer, and a composite pipe panel formed by planarly laminating a glass pipe having a hollow layer through a thermotropic aqueous solution between a pair of transparent substrates to form a hollow layer. It is intended to provide a window using.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be described mainly based on the sectional structure. 1 and 3 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a transparent substrate, 2 is a hollow layer, 3 is a glass tube, 4 is a spacer, and 5 is a peripheral sealing. 6 is a thermotropic aqueous solution.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention, in which a large number of glass tubes 3 each having a hollow layer 2 are laminated in a planar manner between transparent substrates 1 with a thermotropic aqueous solution 6 therebetween to seal an outer periphery 5. It is a panel that consists of. The glass tube 3 is a hollow glass tube 3.
The hollow layer 2 is made to be a gas or a vacuum and both ends thereof are sealed.

Particularly when the hollow portion 2 is evacuated, the sealing is not particularly limited as long as the vacuum state can be maintained by fusion sealing of the glass tube itself or hermetic sealing by the method of producing a vacuum tube. Can be used. Next, with respect to the vacuum, the higher the degree of vacuum, the higher the heat insulating effect.
Its value is from about 50 Torr to about 10 minus 8 T
It may be about orr, more preferably about 1 Torr to about 10 to the power of −5 in consideration of the manufacturing process.
Further, as the outer diameter of the glass tube 3 is larger, the thinner the wall thickness is, the higher the vacuum rate (value obtained by dividing the inner diameter by the outer diameter) is, but the increase in the thickness and weight of the panel, the easy breakage of the glass tube 3, etc. The problem comes out. Therefore, usually, if the vacuum rate is the same, the thinner the outer shape, the lighter the weight and the lighter the sash of the window frame, which is economical. In addition, the lighter weight makes it easier to fit the work. The glass tube 3 is, for example, CODE manufactured by Iwaki Glass Co., Ltd.
7740, there are many kinds, and by adding a conventional technique such as a heat drawing method or a heat expansion method, it is possible to easily make a thin wall, that is, to use without damage. For example, outer shape 0.5 mm, wall thickness 0.1 m
It is possible to process ultra-fine tubes up to about m relatively easily. Further, the glass tube having the irregular cross section shown in FIG. 3 can also be manufactured by the secondary forming process of the circular tube. Further, the method of producing the glass tube 3 having a vacuum, that is, the vacuum tube, may be a conventional method without particular description. Therefore, taking the circular glass tube 3 as an example, its outer diameter is not particularly limited, but is 0.5 m.
m to 50 mm, preferably 1 mm to 25
mm. Further, the wall thickness is not particularly limited, but it is necessary to increase the strength in strength as the outer shape increases, but it may be about 0.05 mm to 5 mm, preferably about 0.1 mm to 3 mm. For example, the transparent substrate 1
The circular glass tube 3 laminated with the thermotropic aqueous solution 6 between them has a vacuum rate of about 50% at an outer diameter of 10 mm and a wall thickness of 1 mm, and a vacuum rate of about 68 mm at an outer diameter of 6 mm and a wall thickness of 0.2 mm is about 68. %. Further, the length of the glass tube 3 is usually one side width of the panel, but this is not particularly limited, and the short glass tubes 3 may be continuously arranged in consideration of the visual effect. . The extreme of this short glass tube 3 is a glass sphere, and the glass tube including this sphere is referred to as the glass tube 3 in the present application. Further, the glass tube 3 may be not limited to a straight line, but may be curved, right-angled, circular with both ends joined, or the like, and can be used without particular limitation in shape.

Next, when the hollow layer 2 is a gas, air, argon, krypton or the like may be used as in the conventional double-layer glass. Since this gas is divided by the glass tube 3,
Convection is less likely to occur than conventional double glazing and is preferable for heat insulation.
The larger the diameter of the hollow layer 2 is, the more advantageous it is from the thermal resistance of gas, but it may be about 4 mm to 50 mm, preferably 6 mm.
To about 25 mm. Further, the wall thickness is not particularly limited, but it is necessary to increase the strength in strength as the outer shape becomes larger, but it may be about 0.05 mm to 5 mm,
Preferably, it is about 0.1 mm to 3 mm.

The outer peripheral seal 5 may be sealed with, for example, a polyisobutylene sealant, a polysulfide sealant, an epoxy resin, a photosensitive resin or the like. Also, solder that adheres to glass (for example, Cerasolzer manufactured by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.) is also useful. The transparent substrate 1 may be various types of commercially available flat glass. In particular, the use of Low-E glass (for example, K glass manufactured by Pilkington Co., Ltd.) that selectively reflects heat rays on the transparent substrate 1 on the indoor side further saves energy. Further, when the glass tube 3 is installed on the window, it is effective to make the glass tube 3 horizontal with respect to the ground because the convection of the gas layer can be further reduced. When the thermotropic aqueous solution 6 was heated by direct rays on a day when the ambient temperature was high such as summer, the thermotropic aqueous solution 6 caused a phase transition from a transparent state to a cloudy scattering state and was shielded from light at a rate of about 80%. Naturally, in cloudy days and in the winter when the outside temperature is low, the temperature does not rise so that the transparent state is maintained, and the daylight can be sufficiently introduced into the room as in the case of conventional glass. As a result, we were able to construct an unprecedented window system with high heat insulation and variable shading. In addition, the transparent substrate 1 is made of tempered glass, thick glass, meshed glass, etc. to prevent damage, so that while maintaining the heat insulation performance and mechanical strength of conventional walls and roofs, the sun's rays can be changed depending on the season and weather. This is a space partition panel (which is called a window in the present invention because it transmits light in the present invention) which has not been available in the past and can be adjusted autonomously. In order to operate the thermotropic aqueous solution 6 stably for a long period of time, it is preferable that the transparent substrate 1 absorbs and cuts ultraviolet rays. This absorption / cutting of ultraviolet rays is important because it also prevents discoloration and fading of indoor items.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment in which the glass tube 3 shown in FIG. 1 has a rectangular cross-sectional shape to provide transparency and visibility. Note that spacers 4 (for example, glass beads, resin beads, etc.) may be provided to secure the layer of the thermotropic aqueous solution 6. The layer thickness may be selected according to the degree of light shielding, and may be 0.01 mm or more to about 2 mm.
Sufficient light shielding was shown when it exceeded about 1 mm. In addition, the vacuum rate has increased and the energy saving effect has also improved. Basically glass tube 3
The cross-sectional shape of the is not limited to circular, triangular, square,
Hexagonal, elliptical, flat, and other irregular shapes may be used. Especially squares, ellipses,
The flat cross-sectional shape is very useful for a panel that allows the outside scenery to be seen through. It can be said that it is almost the same as a regular transparent glass plate with a periodic line pattern, and the outside scenery can be seen sufficiently. Comfortable panels were easily obtained. Moreover, if the triangle is set according to the purpose of the shape of the triangle and the arrangement angle of the triangle, the prism function can be effectively used and the sunlight can be guided to the interior of the room for illumination.

Next, the water-soluble polymer that reversibly exhibits the cloud point phenomenon, which is a material of the thermotropic aqueous solution 6, is, for example,
Polyvinyl alcohol-based partial polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl methyl ether, etc., poly N-substituted acrylamide derivative, poly N-isopropyl acrylamide, poly N-ethoxyethyl acrylamide, etc., poly N
-Substituted methacrylamide derivatives such as poly N-isopropyl methacrylamide and poly N-3-ethoxypropyl methacrylamide, poly N, N-disubstituted acrylamide derivatives such as poly N-methyl N-ethyl acrylamide, and cellulose derivatives such as hydroxypropyl cellulose , Methyl cellulose, etc. Among them, Japanese Patent Application No. 6-5442
As described in 7 by the present inventor, the cellulose derivative having a cellulose skeleton satisfies the conditions of uniform reversible stability, phase transition temperature close to room temperature, weather resistance, safety, and economical efficiency, and is very useful for this purpose as well. Of these, hydroxypropyl cellulose, which is a typical example, is very useful in the present invention because of its extremely strong durability and high light-shielding property.

The cellulose derivative will be described a little more.
Cellulose becomes soluble in many solvents when functional groups are added. Among them, in order that the aqueous solution of a water-soluble cellulose derivative aggregates into a white turbid state due to an increase in temperature, a hydrophobic bond to a functional group (bonding force due to an increase in affinity between hydrophobic groups due to destruction of bound water) ) Need to work. For that purpose, if the functional group is an ionic group, ionic repulsive force is exerted, which is unsuitable for this purpose, and a hydrophilic group (for example, a hydroxyl group, an ether bond, an ester bond, an amide bond, etc.) and a hydrophobic group are used. It is preferable that the nonionic group is combined with (for example, a methyl group, an ethyl group, etc.). For example, comparing a hydroxyethyl group and a hydroxypropyl group, hydroxyethyl cellulose has a hydrophilic group and is water-soluble, but since it does not have a hydrophobic group, it cannot be aggregated and a cloudy state does not occur. In contrast, hydroxypropyl cellulose is water-soluble and can give rise to an agglomerated cloudy state. Thus, as represented by a hydroxypropyl group, a functional group having both a nonionic hydrophilic group and a hydrophobic group is added, and about 25% by weight to about 5% by weight at room temperature.
A water-soluble polysaccharide derivative that can be uniformly dissolved in water even at a high concentration of 0% by weight is useful. The addition of the functional group may be a single type or a plurality of types and is not particularly limited. For example, there is a derivative in which an additional functional group is added to the hydroxyl group of the added hydroxypropyl group, a derivative in which a hydroxypropyl group is added as an additional functional group (eg, addition to hydroxyethyl cellulose, etc.), and a single functional group is added. It is not limited to the derivative. These functional groups and the method for adding them are described in Dai Organic Chemistry No. 19 published by Asakura Shoten.
It is disclosed in detail in the Volume, and the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance can be prepared by adding a hydroxyl group, a lower alkyl group, a halogen group or the like by combining these methods with a general addition reaction.

Further, a reversible stabilizer is preferably added in order to stably maintain a reversible change in the aggregation / molecular dispersion of the water-soluble polymer of the cellulose derivative of the thermotropic aqueous solution 6. The reversible stabilizer has been systematically researched and developed by the present inventor. For example, addition of an amphipathic molecule is preferable in order to repeatedly and reversibly cause a phase change between a cloudy aggregated state and a colorless and transparent state by heating a 33% aqueous solution of hydroxypropyl cellulose. The details are Japanese Patent Application No. 6
-54427. The thermotropic aqueous solution 6 exhibiting the cloud point phenomenon is not particularly the subject of the present invention, so a detailed description thereof is omitted, but as a typical example, polypropylene glycol or the like is used for hydroxypropyl cellulose. If necessary, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 6-5442.
Water-soluble additives described in 7 (for example, cloudiness initiation temperature shift agent, ultraviolet absorber, colorant, heat ray absorber, etc.)
May be added. Hydroxypropyl cellulose is a lyotropic polymer cholesteric liquid crystal that exhibits a cloud point phenomenon when water is used as a solvent and selectively scatters visible light to give a color, which is useful in the present invention, but 50% or more. Since it is a high concentration, water separation does not occur and it is not necessary to add a reversible stabilizer. As described above, the cellulose derivative is very important as the water-soluble polymer of the thermotropic aqueous solution 6. By the way, the shading rate is 6
The layer thickness of 0.5 mm is about 80% or more.

The transparent substrate 1 is made of soda lime glass, borosilicate glass, heat ray absorbing / ultraviolet absorbing glass, or the like as glass, and can be widely used without particular limitation. Also,
Plate glass such as tempered glass, heat-resistant glass, laminated glass, and meshed glass can also be used without particular limitation. Particularly, ultraviolet absorbing glass (eg, Greenral SP manufactured by Central Glass Co., Firelight manufactured by Nippon Electric Glass Co., Ltd., ITS manufactured by Isuzu Seiko Glass Co., Ltd., which cuts ultraviolet light by scattering fine particles of copper halide) is useful. However, if the thickness of ordinary soda lime glass is about 5 mm or more, the UV transmission of 350 nm or less will be drastically reduced, which is preferable in terms of weather resistance. Naturally, the thicker it is, the stronger the heat ray absorption becomes, and the thicker plate is advantageous for selective light shielding. Is. Ordinary soda lime glass absorbs ultraviolet rays, but when it becomes thin, it easily transmits ultraviolet rays. Therefore, when using a thin plate of about 4 mm or less, an ultraviolet absorbing / cutting layer (for example, Super Freon from Nippon Paint Co., Ltd.) is used. R240, UV blocking glass manufactured by Iwaki Glass Co., Ltd., polysilazane-based inorganic type UV cutting coating material manufactured by Tonen Co., Ltd., multilayer vapor deposition film, etc.) are preferably provided. However, when it is 5 mm or more, ultraviolet absorption of 350 nm or less is also strengthened, which is advantageous. For plastic,
Polycarbonate resin, acrylic resin and the like are available, and ultraviolet rays of 370 nm or less can be absorbed and cut by adding an ultraviolet absorber, lamination, etc., which are useful. However, as a result of the soda lime glass thickness test and the above-mentioned Central Glass's Greenral SP (which almost absorbs UV rays of 330 nm or less at a thickness of 3 mm), light resistance stability is obtained when UV rays of at least 330 nm or less are absorbed / cut. Was very effective at. As described above, the method of absorbing / cutting ultraviolet rays reaching the encapsulated thermotropic aqueous solution 6 can be performed by bulk absorption of the transparent substrate 1, surface treatment, or the like. The panel provided at least on the side irradiated with light is useful for designing a window having higher light resistance. The material of the glass tube 3 includes soda lime glass, borosilicate glass, glass capable of absorbing heat rays and ultraviolet rays, and is not particularly limited and can be widely used.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, the hollow layer 2
By dividing the glass tube 3 with the glass tube 3, it is possible to prevent the danger from increasing due to scattering at the time of breakage, and it is not necessary to perform uniform heating and a heat treatment process for a long time with a particularly expensive super-large furnace, and to maintain the gap from atmospheric pressure. It is not necessary to dispose a pressure-resistant spacer 7 for performing the operation, and a pressure-resistant valve 8 for exhausting / maintaining a vacuum is not required. Therefore, it was possible to easily and economically manufacture a transparent panel having both heat insulating properties and light shielding properties, and to provide a safe structure especially when it has a vacuum.
Furthermore, using this panel, we were able to construct an unprecedented window system with epoch-making high heat insulation and variable shading.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a panel that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a conventional panel shown for comparison.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a panel that is an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Transparent Substrate 2 Hollow Layer 3 Glass Tube 4 Spesser 5 Peripheral Sealing 6 Thermotropic Aqueous Solution 7 Pressure Resistant Spesser 8 Pressure Resistant Valve

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Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A composite tube panel comprising a glass tube having a hollow layer laminated in a plane between a pair of transparent substrates via a thermotropic aqueous solution so as to have the hollow layer. 2. A composite tube panel according to claim 1, characterized in that the hollow layer is a vacuum. 3. The composite tube panel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the glass tube having a hollow layer has a cross-sectional shape of a square, an ellipse, or a flat shape to provide transparency. 4. A window using a composite tube panel in which a glass tube having a hollow layer is planarly laminated between a pair of transparent substrates via a thermotropic aqueous solution to have a hollow layer. 5. A window according to claim 4, characterized in that the hollow layer is vacuum.