NZ730418B2 - Spacer for insulating glazing units - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a spacer (1) for multi-pane insulating glazing units, at least comprising: a polymeric main body (2), which comprises two pane contact surfaces (3.1, 3.2) extending parallel to each other, a glazing interior surface (4), and an adhesive bonding surface (5), wherein the pane contact surfaces (3.1, 3.2) and the adhesive bonding surface (5) are connected to each other directly or by means of connection surfaces (6.1, 6.2); and an insulation film (10), which is applied at least to the adhesive bonding surface (5), wherein the insulation film (10) has a metal-containing barrier layer (12) facing the adhesive bonding surface (5) and having a thickness of 1 µm to 20 µm, and the insulation film (10) comprises a polymeric layer (13) having a thickness of 5 µm to 80 µm and a metal-containing thin layer (14) adjoining the polymeric layer (13) and having a thickness of 5 nm to 30 nm. contact surfaces (3.1, 3.2) and the adhesive bonding surface (5) are connected to each other directly or by means of connection surfaces (6.1, 6.2); and an insulation film (10), which is applied at least to the adhesive bonding surface (5), wherein the insulation film (10) has a metal-containing barrier layer (12) facing the adhesive bonding surface (5) and having a thickness of 1 µm to 20 µm, and the insulation film (10) comprises a polymeric layer (13) having a thickness of 5 µm to 80 µm and a metal-containing thin layer (14) adjoining the polymeric layer (13) and having a thickness of 5 nm to 30 nm.

Description

Saint-Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT Spacer for Insulating Glazing Units The invention relates to a spacer for insulating glazing units, a method for production f, an insulating glazing unit, and use thereof.

The thermal conductivity of glass is lower by roughly a factor of 2 to 3 than that of te or similar building materials. However, since panes are designed significantly thinner than comparable elements made of brick or concrete, buildings frequently lose the greatest share of heat via external glazing. The increased costs necessary for heating and nditioning systems make up a part of the maintenance costs of the building that must not be underestimated. er, as a consequence of more stringent construction regulations, lower carbon dioxide ons are required. Insulating glazing units are an important approach to a solution for this. ily as a result of increasingly rapidly rising prices of raw materials and more stringent environmental protection constraints, it is no longer possible to imagine the building construction sector without insulating glazings. uently, insulating glazing units constitute an increasingly greater share of outward-directed gs. Insulating glazing units e, as a rule, at least two panes of glass or polymeric materials. The panes are ted from one another by a gas or vacuum space defined by a spacer. The thermal insulating capacity of insulating glass is significantly higher than for single plane glass and can be further increased and improved in triple glazings or with special gs. Thus, for example, silver-containing coatings enable reduced transmittance of infrared radiation and thus reduce the heating of a building in the summer. In addition to the important property of thermal insulation, optical and aesthetic characteristics increasingly play an important role in the area of architectural glazing.

In addition to the nature and the structure of the glass, the other components of an insulating glazing unit are also of great significance. The seal and especially the spacer have a major influence on the quality of the insulating g unit.

The thermal insulating properties of insulating glazing units are quite ntially influenced by the thermal conductivity in the region of the edge seal, in particular of the spacer. With conventional spacers made of aluminum, the formation of a thermal bridge at the edge of the glass occurs due to the high thermal conductivity of the metal. This thermal bridge results, on the one hand, in heat losses in the edge region of the ting glazing unit and, on the other, with high atmospheric humidity and low e temperatures, in the formation of Saint-Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT condensation on the inner pane in the region of the spacer. In order to solve these problems, thermally optimized, so-called "warm edge" s, in which the spacers are made of materials with lower thermal conductivity, for instance, plastics, are increasingly used.

A challenge with the use of plastics is the proper sealing of the spacer. Leaks within the spacer can ise easily result in a loss of an inert gas between the insulated gs. In addition to a poorer insulating effect, leaks can also easily result the ation of moisture into the insulating glazing unit. sation formed by moisture between the panes of the ting glazing unit quite significantly degrades the optical quality and, in many cases, makes replacement of the entire insulating glazing unit necessary. A possible approach for the ement of the seal and an associated reduction of the thermal conductivity is the application of a barrier foil on the . This foil is usually affixed on the spacer in the region of the outer seal. Customary foil materials include aluminum or high-grade steel, which have good gas tightness. At the same time, the metal surface ensures good adhesion of the spacer to the sealing nd. /104507 A1 discloses a spacer with a ric main body and an insulation film.

The insulation film contains a polymeric film and at least two metallic or ceramic layers, which are arranged alternatingly with at least one polymeric layer, with the outer layers preferably being polymeric layers. The metallic layers have a thickness of less than 1 µm and must be protected by polymeric layers. Otherwise, in the automated processing of spacers, damage of the metallic layers easily occurs during assembly of the insulating glazing units.

EP 0 852 280 A1 ses a spacer for multipane insulating glazing units. The spacer comprises a metal foil with a thickness less than 0.1 mm on the adhesive bonding surface and glass fiber t in the plastic of the main body. The outer metal foil is exposed to high mechanical stresses during the further processing in the insulating glazing unit. In particular, when spacers are r processed on automated production lines, damage to the metal foil and thus degradation of the barrier effect easily occur.

The object of the invention consists in providing a spacer for an insulating glazing unit, which can be produced particularly economically and enables good sealing with, at the same time, simpler assembly and thus contributes to improved long-term stable insulation action.

The object of the present invention is accomplished according to the invention by a spacer in accordance with the independent claim 1. Preferred embodiments are apparent from the Saint-Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT subclaims. A method for producing a spacer according to the invention, an ting glazing unit according to the ion, and use thereof according to the invention are apparent from further independent claims.

The spacer for multipane insulating glazing according to a first aspect of the ion comprises a polymeric main body comprising two pane contact surfaces running parallel to one another, a glazing interior surface, an adhesive bonding surface, wherein the pane contact surfaces and the adhesive bonding surface are connected to one another directly or via connection es, and an insulation film, which is applied at least on the adhesive bonding surface, wherein the insulation film has a metal-containing barrier layer with a thickness of 1 µm to 20 µm facing the adhesive bonding surface, and the insulation film comprises a polymeric layer with a thickness of 5 µm to 80 µm and a metal-containing thin layer with a thickness of 5 nm to 30 nm adjacent the polymeric layer.

The preferably two connection surfaces preferably have an angle from 30° to 60° relative to the pane contact surfaces. The insulation film is situated on the adhesive bonding e or on the adhesive bonding surface and the connection surfaces. The insulation film comprises at least one metal-containing barrier layer, one polymeric layer, and one metal-containing thin layer. In the context of the invention, "a thin layer" refers to a layer with a thickness of less than 100 nm. The metal-containing barrier layer has a thickness of 1 µm to 20 µm and seals the spacer against gas and moisture loss. The containing barrier layer faces the ve bonding surface and is bonded to the adhesive bonding surface directly or via an adhesion promoter. In the context of the invention, the layer facing the adhesive bonding surface is the layer of the insulation film that is the least distant of all layers of the insulation film from the adhesive bonding e of the ric main body. The ric layer has a thickness of 5 µm to 80 µm and serves for additional sealing. At the same time, the polymeric layer protects the metal-containing barrier layer against mechanical damage during storage and automated assembly of the ting glazing unit. The containing thin layer has a thickness of 5 nm to 30 nm. It was sing that by means of such a thin metal-containing layer, an additional barrier effect can be obtained. The metal-containing thin layer is adjacent the polymeric layer, which is particularly advantageous from the standpoint of tion technology, since such foils can be produced separately and are economically available.

Thus, the invention provides a spacer that has low thermal conductivity due to low metal content, that is outstandingly sealed by a multilayer barrier, and that is, additionally, Saint-Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT economical to produce in large ties due to the simple structure of the insulation film. In addition, the metal-containing barrier layer is very well ted by the polymeric layer such that no damage to the ise sensitive metal-containing barrier layer can occur.

The insulation film preferably comprises the metal-containing barrier layer, the polymeric layer, and the metal-containing thin layer. Already with these three layers, a very good seal is obtained. The dual layers can be bonded by adhesives.

In a preferred embodiment of the spacer according to the invention, the metal-containing thin layer is on the outside and thus faces away from the polymeric main body. According to the invention, the outer layer is, of all the layers of the insulation film, the farthest from the adhesive bonding surface of the polymeric main body. Thus, the metal-containing thin layer faces the g layer in the finished insulating glazing unit. The layer sequence in the insulation film, starting from the adhesive bonding surface, is thus: Metal-containing barrier — polymeric layer — metal-containing thin layer. In this ement, the thin layer serves not only as an additional r against gas loss and moisture penetration but also assumes, at the same time, the role of an adhesion promoter. The on of this thin layer to the customary materials of the outer seal is so outstanding that an additional adhesion promoter can be dispensed with.

In an alternative embodiment, the polymeric layer is on the e such that the layer sequence in the insulation film ng from the adhesive bonding surface is metal-containing barrier layer — metal-containing thin layer — polymeric layer. In this ement, the metalcontaining barrier layer is also protected against damage.

In another red embodiment, the insulation film includes at least a second metalcontaining thin layer. Another metal-containing thin layer improves the barrier effect.

Preferably, the metal-containing thin layer is on the outside such that it acts as an adhesion promoter. Particularly preferred is a layer sequence in the insulation film starting from the adhesive bonding surface: metal-containing barrier layer — containing thin layer — polymeric layer — metal-containing thin layer. In this arrangement, the barrier effect is further improved by the second metal-containing thin layer and, at the same time, the outside metalcontaining thin layer acts as an adhesion promoter.

The metal-containing thin layer is preferably deposited by a PVD process (physical vapor deposition). Coating methods for films with containing thin layers in the nanometer Saint-Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT range are known and are, for example, used in the packaging industry. The metal-containing thin layer can be d on a polymeric film, for e, by sputtering in the required thickness between 5 nm and 30 nm. Then, this coated film can be laminated with a metalcontaining barrier layer in a thickness in the µm-range and, thus, the insulation film for the spacer according to the invention can be obtained. Such coating can be done on one or both sides. Thus, surprisingly, starting from a readily available product, an insulation film, which, in combination with the polymeric main body, delivers a spacer with outstanding sealing, can be obtained in one production step.

Preferably, the insulation film is applied on the adhesive bonding surface, the connection surfaces, and a part of the pane contact surfaces. In this arrangement, the adhesive bonding surfaces and the connection surfaces are completely covered by the insulation film and, in addition, the pane contact surfaces are partially covered. ularly preferably, the tion film extends over two-thirds or one-half of the height h of the pane contact surfaces. In this arrangement, a particularly good seal is obtained, since in the finished insulating glazing unit, the insulation film overlaps with the sealant, that is ed between the panes and the pane contact es. Thus, possible diffusion of moisture into the pane Interior and diffusion of gases into or out of the pane Interior can be prevented.

The metal-containing barrier layer preferably contains aluminum, , copper, and/or alloys or mixtures thereof. Particularly preferably, the metal-containing layer contains aluminum.

Aluminum foils are characterized by particularly good gas ess. The metallic layer has a thickness of 5 µm to 10 µm, ularly preferably of 6 µm to 9 µm. It was possible to observe particularly good tightness of the insulation film within the layer thicknesses mentioned. Since the metal-containing barrier layer in the structure according to the ion is protected by a polymeric layer, compared to spacers customary in the trade (ca. 30 µm to 100 µm thickness of the containing layers), thinner metal-containing layers can be used, by which means the thermal insulating properties of the spacer are improved.

The metal-containing thin layer ably ns metals and/or metal oxides. In particular, metal oxides produce good adhesion to the materials of the outer seal when the thin layer is on the outside. Particularly ably, the metal-containing thin layer is made of aluminum and / or um oxide. These materials produce good adhesion and have, at the same time, a particularly good barrier effect.

Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT The metal-containing thin layer preferably has a ess of 10 nm to 30 nm, ularly preferably of 15 nm. In such a thickness, a good additional barrier effect is obtained t a degradation of the thermal properties due to formation of a thermal bridge.

In a preferred variant, the insulation film is bonded to the adhesive bonding surface via a non-gassing adhesive, such as, for example, a polyurethane lt adhesive that cures under ty. This adhesive produces particularly good adhesion between the fiberreinforced polymeric main body and the metal-containing barrier layer and avoids the formation of gases that diffuse through the spacer into the pane Interior.

The insulation film preferably has gas permeation of less than 0.001 g/(m² h).

The insulation film can be applied on the main body, for example, glued. Alternatively, the insulation film can be coextruded together with the main body.

The polymeric layer preferably includes polyethylene terephthalate, ethylene vinyl alcohol, polyvinylidene chloride, polyamides, polyethylene, polypropylene, silicones, acrylonitriles, polyacrylates, polymethylmethacrylates, and/or copolymers or mixtures thereof.

The polymeric layer preferably has a thickness of 5 µm to 24 µm, particularly preferably 12 µm. With these thicknesses, the metallic barrier layer lying thereunder is particularly well protected.

The main body preferably has, along the glazing or e, a width b of 5 mm to 45 mm, particularly preferably 8 mm to 20 mm. The precise er is governed by the dimensions of the insulating glazing unit and the desired size of the intermediate space.

The main body preferably has, along the pane contact surfaces, an overall height g of .5 mm to 8 mm, particularly preferably 6.5 mm.

The main body preferably contains a desiccant, preferably silica gels, molecular sieves, CaCl2, Na2SO4, ted carbon, silicates, ites, zeolites, and/or mixtures thereof. The desiccant can be incorporated both inside a central hollow space or into the glass-fiberreinforced polymeric main body itself. The ant is preferably contained inside the central hollow space. The desiccant can then be filled immediately before the assembly of the insulating glazing unit. Thus, a particularly high absorption capacity is ensured in the finished Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT insulating g unit. The glazing interior surface preferably has openings that enable absorption of the atmospheric humidity by the desiccant contained in the main body.

The main body preferably contains polyethylene (PE), polycarbonates (PC), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene, polyester, polyurethanes, polymethylmethacrylates, rylates, polyamides, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), preferably acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylester (ASA), acrylonitrilebutadiene-styrene — polycarbonate (ABS/PC), styrene-acrylonitrile(SAN), PET/PC, PBT/PC, and/or copolymers or mixtures thereof.

The main body is preferably glass fiber rced. The coefficient of thermal ion of the main body can be varied and adjusted through the selection of the glass fiber content. By adjustment of the coefficient of thermal expansion of the main body and of the insulation film, temperature related stresses between the different materials and g of the insulation film can be avoided. The main body preferably has a glass fiber content of 20% to 50%, particularly ably of 30% to 40%. The glass fiber content in the main body simultaneously improves the th and stability.

In a second aspect of the invention there is provided an insulating glazing unit comprising at least two panes, a spacer ing to the first aspect of the invention ed peripherally between the panes in the edge region of the panes, a sealant, and an outer sealing layer, wherein the first pane lies flat against the first pane contact surface of the spacer, the second pane lies flat against the second pane contact surface, the sealant is applied n the first pane and the first pane contact surface and between the second pane and the second pane contact surface, and the outer g layer is placed between the first pane and the second pane in the outer edge space adjacent the insulation film.

The two panes protrude beyond the spacer such that a peripheral edge region, which is filled with an outer sealing layer, preferably a plastic sealing compound, is created. The edge space is positioned opposite the inner pane interspace and is bounded by the two panes and the spacer. The outer sealing layer is in contact with the insulation film of the spacer according to the invention. The outer sealing layer preferably contains polymers or silanemodified polymers, particularly preferably polysulfides, silicones, RTV (room temperature vulcanizing) silicone rubber, HTV (high temperature vulcanizing) silicone rubber, peroxide izing silicone , and/or addition vulcanizing ne rubber, polyurethanes, butyl rubber, and/or polyacrylates. The panes contain materials such as glass and/or transparent Saint-Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT polymers. The panes preferably have optical transparency of > 85%. In principle, different geometries of the panes are possible, for example, rectangular, trapezoidal, and d geometries. The panes preferably have a thermal protection coating. The thermal protection coating preferably contains silver. In order to be able to ze energy saving possibilities, the insulating glazing unit can be filled with a noble gas, preferably argon or n, which reduce the heat transfer value in the insulating glass unit interspace.

In a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for producing a spacer according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein at least - the polymeric main body is extruded, - the insulation film is produced, by at least a) providing a polymeric layer using a PVD process (physical vapor deposition) with a metal-containing thin layer and b) laminating the layer structure obtained with the metal-containing barrier layer, and - the insulation film is applied on the polymeric main body.

The polymeric main body is produced by extrusion. The tion film is produced in another step. First, for this, a polymeric film is metallized in a PVD process. By this means, the ure comprising a polymeric layer and a metal-containing thin layer necessary for the tion film is obtained. This s is already used extensively for the production of films in the ing industry such that the layer ure sing a polymeric layer and a metal-containing thin layer can be produced economically. In a further step, the metallized polymeric layer is laminated with the metal-containing barrier layer. For this, a thin metal film (corresponding to the metal-containing barrier layer) is bonded to the prepared metallized polymeric layer by lamination.

The metal-containing barrier layer can be applied both on the polymeric layer and on the metal-containing thin layer. In the first case, the metal-containing thin layer is on the outside in the finished insulation film and can thus serve, after application on the spacer, as an adhesion promoter for the material of the outer seal. In the second case, the metalcontaining thin layer is on the inside and is thus protected against damage.

Die insulation film is preferably d on the adhesive bonding surface of the polymeric main body via an adhesive.

Saint-Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT In a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a use of the spacer according to the first aspect of the invention in multipane glazing units.

The multipane glazing units are preferably ting glazing units.

In this specification where nce has been made to patent specifications, other external documents, or other sources of information, this is generally for the purpose of providing a context for discussing the features of the invention. Unless specifically stated otherwise, reference to such al documents or such sources of information is not to be construed as an admission that such documents or such s of ation, in any jurisdiction, are prior art or form part of the common general knowledge in the art.

In the following, the invention is explained in detail with reference to drawings. The gs are purely schematic representations and not true to scale. They in no way restrict the invention. The figures depict: Fig. 1 a cross-section of the spacer according to the invention, Fig. 2 a cross-section of the insulating glazing unit according to the invention, Fig. 3 a cross-section of the insulation film according to the invention, and Fig. 4 a cross-section of an alternative embodiment of the tion film according to the invention, Fig. 5 a cross-section of an alternative embodiment of the insulation film according to the invention, Fig. 6 a cross-section of a spacer according to the invention.

Fig. 1 depicts a cross-section of the spacer 1 according to the invention. The glass-fiberreinforced polymeric main body 2 comprises two pane contact surfaces 3.1 and 3.2 running parallel to one another, which produce the contact to the panes of an insulating g unit.

The pane contact surfaces 3.1 and 3.2 are bonded via an outer adhesive bonding surface 5 and a glazing or surface 4. Preferably, two angled connection surfaces 6.1 and 6.2 are ed between the adhesive bonding surface 5 and the pane t surfaces 3.1 and 3.2. The connection surfaces 6.1, 6.2 preferably run at an angle α (alpha) of 30° to 60° relative to the adhesive bonding surface 5. The glass-fiber-reinforced polymeric main body 2 preferably contains e acrylonitrile (SAN) and roughly 35 wt.-% of glass fibers. The angled shape of the first connection e 6.1 and of the second connection surface 6.2 improves the stability of the glass-fiber-reinforced polymeric main body 2 and enables, as Saint-Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT ed in Fig. 2, better adhesive bonding and tion of the spacer according to the invention. The main body has a hollow space 8 and the wall thickness of the polymeric main body 2 is, for example, 1 mm. The width b (see Fig. 5) of the polymeric main body 2 along the glazing interior surface 4 is, for example, 12 mm. The overall height of the polymeric main body is 6.5 mm. An insulation film 10, which comprises at least a metal-containing barrier layer 12 depicted in Fig. 3, a polymeric layer 13 as well as a metal-containing thin layer 14, is d on the adhesive bonding e 5. The entire spacer according to the ion has thermal conductivity of less than 10 W/(m K) and gas permeation of less than 0.001 g/(m² h). The spacer according to the invention improves the insulating effect.

Fig. 2 depicts a cross-section of the insulating glazing unit according to the invention with the spacer 1 described in Fig. 1. The glass-fiber-reinforced polymeric main body 2 with the insulation film 10 affixed thereon is arranged between a first insulating glass pane 15 and a second insulating glass pane 16. The insulation film 10 is arranged on the ve bonding surface 5, the first connection surface 6.1 and the second connection surface 6.2 and on a part of the pane contact surfaces. The first pane 15, the second pane 16, and the insulation film 10 delimit the outer edge space 20 of the insulating glazing unit. The outer sealing layer 17, which contains, for example, polysulfide, is arranged in the outer edge space 20. The insulation film 10, together with the outer g layer 17, insulates the pane Interior 19 and reduces the heat transfer from the fiber-reinforced polymeric main body 2 into the pane interspace 19. The insulation film can, for example, be affixed with PUR hot-melt adhesive on the polymeric main body 2. A sealant 18 is preferably arranged between the pane t surfaces 3.1, 3.2 and the insulating glass panes 15, 16. This sealant includes, for example, butyl. The sealant 18 ps with the insulation film, to t possible interface diffusion.

The first insulating glass pane 15 and the second insulating glass pane 16 preferably have the same dimensions and thicknesses. The panes preferably have optical transparency of > 85%. The insulating glass panes 15, 16 preferably contain glass and/or polymers, ably flat glass, float glass, quartz glass, borosilicate glass, soda lime glass, polymethylmethacrylat, and/or mixtures thereof. In an alternative embodiment, the first insulating glass pane 15 and/or the second insulating glass pane 16 can be implemented as composite glass panes. The insulating glazing unit according to the invention forms, in this case, a triple or quadruple glazing unit. Inside the glass-fiber-reinforced polymeric main body 2 is arranged a desiccant 9, for example, a molecular sieve, inside the central hollow space 8. This desiccant 9 can be filled into the hollow space 8 of the spacer 1 before the assembly of the insulating g unit. The g interior surface 4 includes small openings 7 or pores, which enable a gas exchange with the pane interior 19.

Saint-Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT Fig. 3 depicts a cross-section of the insulation film 10 according to the invention. The insulation film 10 comprises a containing barrier layer 12 made of 7-µm-thick aluminum, a polymeric layer made of 12-µm-thick polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and a metal-containing thin layer made of 10-nm-thick aluminum. Polyethylene terephthalate is particularly suited to protect the 7-µm-thick aluminum layer against mechanical damage, since PET films are distinguished by particularly high tear strength. The film layers are arranged such that the aluminum layers, i.e., the metal-containing barrier layer 12 and the metal-containing thin layer 14, are on the outside. The foil is arranged on a polymeric main body according to the invention such that the metal-containing barrier layer 12 faces the adhesive bonding e 5. Then, the metal-containing thin layer 14 faces outward and acts at the same time as an adhesive layer for the material of the outer sealing layer 17. Thus, the containing thin layer 14 performs not only a barrier effect but also the role of an adhesion promoter. Thus, an effective spacer can be ed through strategic arrangement of a simple to produce film structure.

The structure of the insulation film 10 according to the invention reduces the thermal conductivity of the insulation film compared to insulation films that are made exclusively of an aluminum foil since the esses of the metal-containing layers of the insulation film 10 according to the ion are thinner. tion films that are made of only an aluminum foil have to be thicker since um foils with thicknesses under 0.1 mm are highly sensitive to mechanical damage, which can occur, for e, during automated installation in an insulating g unit. A spacer 1 provided with said insulation film 10 ing to the invention and the glass-fiber-reinforced polymeric main body 2 has thermal heat conductivity of 0.29 W/(m K). A prior art spacer, in which the insulation film 10 according to the invention is replaced by a thick aluminum layer, has a thermal heat conductivity of 0.63 W/(m K). This comparison shows that, despite lower overall metal t, with the structure according to the invention of the spacer made of a polymeric main body and insulation film, higher mechanical ance and equivalent impermeability (against gas and moisture diffusion) with, at the same time, lower heat conductivity can be obtained, which significantly increases the efficiency of an insulating glazing unit.

Fig. 4 depicts a cross-section of an alternative ment of the insulation film according to the invention. The materials and thicknesses are as described in Fig. 3; however, the sequence of the individual layers is different. The metal-containing thin layer 14 is between the metal-containing barrier layer 12 and the polymeric layer 13. In this arrangement, the Saint-Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT metal-containing barrier layer 12 is protected by the polymeric layer 13 t damage, by which means an unrestricted barrier effect is ensured.

Fig. 5 depicts a cross-section of r embodiment of the insulation film according to the ion. The structure of the insulation film 10 is substantially as described in Fig. 4.

Additionally, a further metal-containing thin layer 14 is arranged adjacent the polymeric layer 13. This thin layer 14 es, in particular, the adhesion to the al of the outer sealing layer 17 in the finished insulating glazing unit.

Fig. 6 depicts a cross-section of a spacer according to the invention comprising a glass-fiberreinforced polymeric main body 2 and an insulation film 10, which is placed on the adhesive bonding surface 5, the connection es 6.1. and 6.2 as well as on roughly two thirds of the pane contact es 3.1 and 3.2. The width b of the polymeric main body along the glazing interior surface 4 is 12 mm and the l height g of the polymeric main body 2 is 6.5 mm. The structure of the insulation film 10 is as shown in Fig. 3. The insulation film 10 is affixed via an adhesive 11, in this case, a polyurethane hot-melt adhesive. The polyurethane hot-melt adhesive bonds the metal-containing barrier layer 12 facing the adhesive g surface 5 particularly well to the polymeric main body 2. The polyurethane hot-melt adhesive is a non-gassing adhesive, to prevent gases from diffusing into the pane Interior 19 and visible condensation from forming there.

The term “comprising” as used in this specification and claims means “consisting at least in part of”. When interpreting statements in this specification and claims which include the term “comprising”, other features s the features prefaced by this term in each statement can also be present. Related terms such as “comprise” and “comprised” are to be interpreted in a similar manner.

Saint-Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT List of Reference Characters (1) spacer (2) polymeric main body (3.1) first pane contact surface (3.2) second pane contact surface (4) glazing interior surface (5) adhesive bonding e (6.1) first connection surface (6.2) second connection surface (7) openings (8) hollow space (9) desiccant (10) insulation film (11) adhesive (12) metal-containing barrier layer (13) ric layer (14) metal-containing thin layer (15) first pane (16) second pane (17) outer g layer (18) sealant (19) pane interior (20) outer edge space of the insulating glazing unit h height of the pane contact es b width of the polymeric main body along the glazing interior surface g overall height of the main body along the pane contact surfaces Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT

Claims (23)

Claims

1. Spacer for multipane insulating glazing units comprising at least: a polymeric main body comprising two pane contact surfaces running parallel to one another, a glazing interior surface, an adhesive bonding e, wherein the pane contact surfaces and the adhesive bonding surface are connected to one another directly or via connection surfaces, and an tion film, which is applied at least on the adhesive bonding surface, wherein the insulation film has a metal-containing barrier layer with a thickness of 1 µm to 20 µm facing the adhesive bonding surface, and the insulation film comprises a polymeric layer with a thickness of 5 µm to 80 µm and a metal-containing thin layer with a thickness of 5 nm to 30 nm adjacent the polymeric layer.

2. Spacer according to claim 1, wherein the insulation film consists of the metalcontaining barrier layer, the polymeric layer, and the metal-containing thin layer.

3. Spacer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the metal-containing thin layer is on the outside, such that the layer sequence in the insulation film, ng from the adhesive g surface, is metal-containing barrier layer — polymeric layer — metalcontaining thin layer.

4. Spacer according to claim 1 or 2, n the polymeric layer is on the outside, such that the layer sequence in the insulation film, starting from the adhesive bonding surface, is metal-containing barrier layer — metal-containing thin layer — polymeric layer.

5. Spacer according to one of claims 1 through 4, wherein the tion film completely covers the adhesive bonding surface and the connection surfaces and partially covers the pane contact surfaces.

6. Spacer ing to one of claims 1 through 5, wherein the metal-containing barrier layer ns aluminum, silver, copper, and/or alloys f.

7. Spacer according to one of claims 1 through 6, wherein the metal-containing barrier layer has a thickness of 5 µm to 10 µm. Saint-Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT

8. Spacer ing to claim 7, wherein the metal-containing barrier layer has a thickness of 6 µm to 9 µm.

9. Spacer ing to one of claims 1 through 8, wherein the metal-containing thin layer has a thickness of 10 nm to 20 nm.

10. Spacer according to claim 9, wherein the containing thin layer has a thickness of 14 nm to 16 nm.

11. Spacer according to one of claims 1 through 10, wherein the insulation film is bonded to the ve bonding surface via a polyurethane hot-melt adhesive.

12. Spacer according to one of claims 1 through 11, wherein the polymeric layer has a thickness of 5 µm to 24 µm.

13. Spacer according to claim 12, wherein the polymeric layer has a thickness of 12 µm.

14. Spacer according to one of claims 1 through 13, wherein the polymeric main body contains polyethylene (PE), polycarbonates (PC), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene, polyester, polyurethanes, polymethylmethacrylates, polyacrylates, polyamides, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), preferably acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylester (ASA), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene — polycarbonate (ABS/PC), styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN), PET/PC, PBT/PC, and/or copolymers or mixtures f.

15. Spacer ing to one of claims 1 through 14, wherein the polymeric main body is glass fiber reinforced.

16. ting glazing unit comprising at least two panes, a spacer according to one of claims 1 through 15 arranged peripherally between the panes in the edge region of the panes, a sealant, and an outer g layer, wherein - the first pane lies flat against the first pane contact surface, - the second pane lies flat against the second pane contact surface, - the sealant is placed between the first pane and the first pane contact surface and between the second pane and the second pane contact surface, and Saint-Gobain Glass France VE1516 PCT - the outer sealing layer is placed between the first pane and the second pane in the outer edge space adjacent the insulation film.

17. Method for ing a spacer according to one of claims 1 through 15, wherein at least - the polymeric main body is extruded, - the insulation film is ed, by at least a) providing a polymeric layer using a PVD process (physical vapor deposition) with a containing thin layer and b) laminating the layer ure obtained with the metal-containing barrier layer, and - the insulation film is applied on the polymeric main body.

18. Use of a spacer according to one of claims 1 through 15 in multipane glazing units.

19. Use of a spacer according to claim 18, wherein the multipane glazing units are insulating glazing units.

20. Spacer according to claim 1, substantially as herein described with reference to any embodiment disclosed.

21. ting glazing unit according to claim 16, substantially as herein described with reference to any embodiment disclosed.

22. Method according to claim 17, substantially as herein described with reference to any embodiment disclosed.

23. Use of a spacer according to claim 18, substantially as herein described with reference to any embodiment disclosed. \\3.2 ‘\\\\\\\ ‘3‘,I