JPH11322377A - Space holding member for glass panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a space holding member for glass panel capable of improving the operation efficiency in laying it on a sheet glass. SOLUTION: This space holding member K is placed between a first plate glass and second one to form an air space between two mutually confronting sheets of sheet glass and to retain the vacuum state inside the air space by hermetically sealing the air space near the outside edge parts of two sheets of plate glass. Plural spacers 5 are two-dimensionally united with couplers 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for forming a gap between a first sheet glass and a second sheet glass having sheet surfaces opposed to each other, and forming the gap between the first sheet glass and the second sheet glass. The first glass sheet and the second glass sheet are sealed along the outer peripheral edge to maintain the inside of the cavity in a reduced pressure state.
The present invention relates to a spacing member interposed between a sheet glass.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the above-mentioned glass panel, the inside of a void portion is kept in a reduced pressure state so that a heat insulating effect and a soundproofing effect can be enhanced. For this reason, a large number of spacing members are interposed between the first glass sheet and the second glass sheet, and the atmospheric pressure acting on the surface of the first glass sheet or the second glass sheet is almost equally borne by each of the glass sheets. so,
The first sheet glass and the second sheet glass are prevented from being damaged or broken. In manufacturing a glass panel, usually, a spacing member is disposed on the surface of the first glass sheet, and then the second glass sheet is further placed thereon. However, in a conventional glass panel, the spacing member is provided at a predetermined position on the first glass sheet. As a method of arranging at a position, for example, an operator manually arranges the spacing members one by one on the first glass sheet, or a plurality of spacing members to be arranged in a certain area by suction at a time. First
In some cases, this is performed using a suction conveyance device placed on a sheet glass.

[0003]

However, in the former case of the above-mentioned prior art, since the operator must arrange all the spacing members on the first sheet glass, the operation is very troublesome. And the production efficiency of the glass panel is low. On the other hand, in the case of the latter using a suction conveyance device or the like, the suction conveyance device needs to be specially prepared, and a plurality of suction conveyance devices are prepared in order to cope with sheet glass of all sizes. In addition to diversifying the required equipment,
The maintenance and inspection work of the apparatus is also required, resulting in an increase in required cost. Also, in the latter case, some of the spacing members arranged on the first glass sheet are not properly arranged, and may be arranged in an inclined or horizontal state. There is also a certain limit in improving the work efficiency for arranging the members. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a glass panel spacing member that can improve work efficiency when arranging on a glass sheet.

[0004]

The features of the present invention for achieving this object will be described with reference to the examples shown in FIGS. (Configuration 1) The glass panel spacing member according to the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of spacing members 5 are connected in a two-dimensional direction by a connector 6 as described in claim 1. (Operation / Effect) By connecting a plurality of spacing members as in this configuration, a plurality of spacing members can be arranged at a predetermined position at a time, and the work of arranging the spacing members can be performed. The efficiency can be improved, and the production efficiency of the glass panel can be improved.

(Structure 2) According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the glass panel spacing member according to the present invention.
Can be contracted or extinguished by heating. (Operation / Effect) If the connected body is contracted by heating, the connected body becomes less noticeable in a state where the glass panel is completed, and the transparency of the glass panel can be improved.

(Structure 3) According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the glass panel spacing member according to the present invention.
Can be dissolved by a solvent. (Function / Effect) If the connected body is soluble in a solvent, the connected body can be completely removed in a state where the glass panel is completed, so that a glass panel having the most excellent transparency can be obtained. Can be.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (Overview) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a glass panel spacing member K according to the present invention (hereinafter, simply referred to as "spacing member K") has opposite plate surfaces. The first sheet glass 1A and the second sheet glass 1B are interposed between the first sheet glass 1A and the second sheet glass 1B, and a gap V is formed between the first sheet glass 1A and the second sheet glass 1B. A high heat insulating effect or a soundproofing effect is obtained by sealing the outer peripheral edge with the plate glass 1B and maintaining the inside of the gap V in a reduced pressure state.

Each of the first glass sheet 1A and the second glass sheet 1B is made of, for example, a transparent float glass sheet having a thickness of about 3 mm. The outer peripheral edges of the first glass sheet 1A and the second glass sheet 1B are sealed with, for example, a low-melting glass 2 for sealing such as solder glass. The outer peripheral edges of the first glass sheet 1A and the second glass sheet 1B are such that the outer peripheral edge of the first glass sheet 1A projects more in the direction along the plate surface than the outer peripheral edge of the second glass sheet 1B. It is mounted on the projection 3 formed on the first glass sheet 1A. After the gap V is formed between the first sheet glass 1A and the second sheet glass 1B in this manner, the air in the gap V is discharged to set and maintain the gap V in a reduced pressure state. The interval between the first glass sheet 1A and the second glass sheet 1B for forming the gap V is approximately several μm to several tens μm, for example, about 50 μm.
Set to about.

In this embodiment, the pressure in the gap V is set to 1.0 × 10 ⁻² Torr or less, and more preferably, to 1.0 × 10 ⁻⁴ Torr or less. In order to obtain such a decompressed state, for example, the glass panel P is manufactured under a vacuum environment, or after the gap V is formed between the first glass sheet 1A and the second glass sheet 1B, the inside of the gap V is formed. This is performed by a method such as discharging air. In particular, when the air inside the gap V is discharged to reduce the pressure, one of the first sheet glass 1A and the second sheet glass 1B is
Alternatively, the air discharge unit 4 is provided in the portion of the low melting point glass 2 for sealing.

(Spacing member) In this embodiment,
For example, a spacing member K as shown in FIG. 3 is used. The spacing member K is configured by connecting a plurality of spacing members 5 in a two-dimensional direction by a connector 6. The spacing member 5 is a member for forming the gap V by contacting the first glass sheet 1A and the second glass sheet 1B. The spacing member 5 is made of the first sheet glass 1A.
Any material that does not easily deform or is not crushed when sandwiched between the first glass sheet 1A and the second glass sheet 1B may be used as long as the distance between the first glass sheet 1A and the second glass sheet 1B can be maintained constant. The shape is not particularly limited. For example, it may be a sphere, a cube, a rectangular parallelepiped, a cylinder, a cylinder, or any other complex shape. The size of the spacing member 5 is the first sheet glass 1 to be secured.
It is set appropriately according to the distance between A and the second plate glass 1B.
It is desirable that the material of the spacing member 5 has a predetermined strength, and has high temperature resistance, low thermal conductivity, good workability, and the like. For example, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum, titanium, aluminum, iron, steel, stainless steel, various metals such as inconel or alloys thereof, and further, ceramics, minerals, carbon fibers and the like can be used. .

On the other hand, the connecting body 6 is a member for connecting a plurality of the spacing members 5 in a two-dimensional direction, and has a number of spacings to be placed in a region of the sheet glass 1 having a predetermined area. The holding members 5 are integrally connected. By connecting the plurality of spacing members 5 in this way, the plurality of spacing members K can be arranged at a predetermined position at one time, and the work of arranging the spacing members K can be made more efficient. Can be.

The connecting body 6 can be freely configured into various shapes, and for example, a linear one as shown in FIG. 3 can be used. Using the connecting body 6, the plurality of spacing members 5 are connected in a state of being dispersed in regions having a certain planar shape and area. For example, Fig. 3 (a) (b) (c)
As shown in FIG. 3, the connection is made in a sectional shape, a triangular shape, a hexagonal shape, or the like. The connection between the spacer 5 and the connector 6 is performed, for example, by providing a hole 5a for connection in the spacer 5 and inserting or bonding one end of the connector 6 into the hole 5a. This is performed by using a method in which nothing is provided on the spacing member 5 or a method in which the end of the connecting body 6 is simply butted against the spacing member 5 and bonded. By further disposing some of such spacing members K, an arbitrary area and
The spacing member 5 can be arranged over the entire surface of the sheet glass 1 having the shape.

The diameter of the linear body 6 is smaller than the distance between the first glass sheet 1A and the second glass sheet 1B, and when the space V is depressurized, the inside of the space V is reduced. The air is easily discharged. Linked body 6
Is linear, it is possible to reduce the amount of material constituting the connecting body 6 and to reduce the weight of the spacing member K. Therefore, in terms of economy or easy handling. This is advantageous.

The connecting member 6 may be either a member which is left as it is after disposing the spacing member K or a member which is removed. When the connecting body 6 is left, for example, it can be configured using various metals such as stainless steel and aluminum, or carbon fiber. In this case, it is convenient to provide the connecting body 6 with a certain degree of rigidity, since the relative positions of the connected spacing members 5 are not disturbed. Further, the connecting body 6 to be left may be formed using a material that contracts by heating or the like. In any case, it is considered preferable that the connecting body 6 to be left is formed in a linear shape. This is because if it is formed in a linear shape, the remaining connected body 6 becomes inconspicuous. On the other hand, when removing the connecting body 6, a material that can be burned out by heating the first sheet glass 1A or the like, or can be vaporized and disappeared,
Before heating the sheet glass 1A or the like, it is preferable that the connecting body 6 is formed of a material capable of injecting and dissolving various solvents into the gap V. For example, as the material that disappears by burning and disappearing, natural fibers and high molecular organic fibers can be used.As the material that disappears by vaporizing, a material that is easily vaporized such as naphthalene, camphor, or dry ice, and furthermore, Ice or the like can be used, and as a material that disappears by melting, a water-soluble material such as soap or oblate may be used in addition to various synthetic resin fibers and the like.

In addition to the above embodiment, the connecting member 6 may be formed in a strip shape as shown in FIG.
It can also be configured as a sheet as shown in FIG. Also in this case, whether to leave or remove the connected body 6 is arbitrary. When it is left, it can be used as a decoration of the glass panel P, and when it is removed, it can be used as a glass panel P having ordinary transparency. The connection between the connection body 6 and the spacing member 5 is performed, for example, by providing a hole 6a at a predetermined position of a sheet-shaped connection body 6 formed in advance, and
a method in which the spacers 5 are adhered to each other while being fitted into a, or the film-like connecting portions 6 are formed later so that the spacers 5 are arranged at predetermined positions and the respective spacers 5 are connected. This is performed using a method or the like. Such a planar connecting body 6 can be formed using the same material as that of the linear connecting body 6 in both cases where it is left and removed. The thickness of the connecting body 6 is set to be smaller than the distance between the first glass sheet 1A and the second glass sheet 1B in order to easily reduce the pressure inside the gap V. The connecting body 6 is formed in a linear shape, as the thickness of the connecting body 6 can be reduced as the thickness is reduced, the weight can be reduced, and the economical efficiency and ease of handling are advantageous. Same as case.

(Procedure for Manufacturing Glass Panel) FIG. 5 shows an example of a procedure for manufacturing a glass panel P under the atmospheric pressure environment using the spacing member K of the present invention. [1] As shown in FIG.
The spacing member K is appropriately placed on the upper surface of the sheet glass 1A.
The placement can be easily performed manually by an operator. In that case, it is preferable to arrange the individual spacing members K using an appropriate ruler or the like so that the adjacent spacing members K can be arranged neatly. The gap holding member K and the first glass sheet 1A are not particularly bonded. Even if the both are not adhered, the first plate glass 1A and the second plate glass 1B strongly clamp the individual spacing members 5 by discharging the air in the gap V later, and the holding of these spacing members 5 Is performed reliably. In the case where the spacing member K is automatically placed, although not shown, the spacing member K can be more efficiently arranged by using an automatic transfer device or the like. As the automatic transporting apparatus, for example, a conventional type that discharges each of the spacing members 5 as in the related art, a type that hooks a plurality of the linked bodies 6, and the like can be used.

[2] As shown in FIG. 5B, the arrangement state of the arranged spacing members K is confirmed, and the first plate glass 1
The second glass sheet 1B is superposed on A. And
The low melting point glass 2 is applied to the protruding portion 3 of the first plate glass 1A. The application of the low-melting glass 2 is performed by the first plate glass 1
It may be performed before the second sheet glass 1B is overlaid on A. The air discharge unit 4 is formed in advance on the second plate glass 1B. The air discharge portion 4 is constituted by, for example, a through hole 4a formed so as to communicate with the inside and the outside of the gap V.

[3] Next, as shown in FIG.
The first glass sheet 1A and the second glass sheet 1B are placed in a heating furnace
Then, the low melting glass 2 is heated to a temperature higher than the melting point of the low melting glass 2 for sealing. The heating temperature is about 300-500 ° C. Thereafter, the temperature is returned to room temperature again, so that the low melting point glass 2 seals the outer periphery of the gap V. When the connecting body 6 is configured to be contractible by heating or to be extinguished by heating, the contracting / extinguishing is performed in this step. When the connecting body 6 is configured to be soluble by a solvent, a predetermined solvent is injected into the gap V to dissolve the connecting body 6 before the heat treatment by the heating furnace 7. Shall be. Thereafter, by performing the heat treatment, the solvent remaining in the gap V can be reliably removed.

[4] Further, the glass panel P is put into the decompression container 8 or the like, and the air inside the gap V is discharged from the air discharge part 4. Here, it is assumed that the heating furnace 7 also has a function as a decompression vessel 8. After the air in the gap V is discharged, the air discharging portion 4 is sealed using a sealing glass material or the like. After this, the vacuum container 8
The glass panel P can be taken out from the apparatus and a finished product of the glass panel P can be obtained.

(Effects) As described above, by using the glass panel spacing member K in which the plurality of spacing members 5 are connected two-dimensionally by the connecting members 6, the spacing members 5 can be arranged very efficiently. As a result, the manufacturing efficiency of the glass panel P can be improved. Also,
By configuring the glass panel spacing member K of the present invention so as to be able to shrink and disappear by heating, or to be capable of being dissolved by a solvent, a glass panel P with good transparency can be obtained.

(Another Embodiment) <1> In the above embodiment, an example of a procedure for manufacturing the glass panel P mainly under an atmospheric pressure environment has been described. However, all manufacturing steps are performed inside the depressurized container 8. Is also possible. Also in this case, the glass panel P is manufactured in substantially the same procedure as described above, but since the second glass sheet 1B does not need to be provided with the air discharge section 4, the processing time of the second glass sheet 1B is reduced. It is reduced, and the beauty of the completed glass panel P can be further improved.

<2> The glass panel P manufactured using the spacing member K of the present invention can be used for a wide variety of applications, for example, for construction and vehicles (window glass of automobiles, railway vehicles, etc.). It can be used for window glass, window glass of ships, and for equipment elements (surface glass of plasma displays, doors and walls of refrigerators, doors and walls of heat insulation devices), and the like.

<3> In the above embodiment, the first glass sheet 1A and the second glass sheet 1B have a thickness of 3 mm.
Although an example of using the above is shown, the thickness is not limited. In addition, the type of the sheet glass 1 can be arbitrarily selected, for example, a template sheet glass, a ground glass (a glass having a function of diffusing light by surface treatment), a netted glass or a tempered glass, a heat ray absorption, an ultraviolet ray absorption, It may be a sheet glass provided with a function such as heat ray reflection or a combination thereof. The composition of the glass may be soda silicate glass (soda lime silica glass), borosilicate glass, aluminosilicate glass, or various crystallized glasses.

<4> The first glass sheet 1A and the second glass sheet 1A
The glass sheet 1B is not limited to those having different lengths and widths, but may be ones formed to have the same dimensions. The first glass sheet 1A and the second glass sheet 1B may be overlapped such that the edges are aligned. Also, the first
The glass panel P may be configured by combining the sheet glass 1A and the second sheet glass 1B having different thickness dimensions.

<5> The installation interval dimensions and arrangement of the interval maintaining member K are determined by the strength, thickness, bending characteristics, and
It can be set appropriately depending on the degree of pressure reduction of the gap V and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a glass panel.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a glass panel.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the appearance of a spacing member.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the appearance of a spacing member.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a manufacturing process of a glass panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1A First sheet glass 1B Second sheet glass 5 Spacer 6 Linked body K Spacer for glass panel V Void

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tomoken Miura 3-1-1, Doshumachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Inside Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A gap is formed between a first sheet glass and a second sheet glass whose sheet surfaces face each other, and the gap is sealed along an outer peripheral edge of the first sheet glass and the second sheet glass. And a spacing member interposed between the first glass sheet and the second glass sheet to maintain the inside of the gap in a reduced pressure state, wherein a plurality of spacing members are connected by a connecting body. A glass panel spacing member connected in the dimension direction. 2. The glass panel spacing member according to claim 1, wherein the connector is configured to be able to contract or disappear by heating. 3. The spacing member for a glass panel according to claim 1, wherein the connecting body is configured to be soluble by a solvent.