Glazing comprising a foam-containing strip and an adhesive cover member and method of making the same

Abstract

The invention relates to a glazing (1) comprising a glass element (2), further comprising a profile bar (4) having a base (44) with a thickness (e 44 ) of at least 5 mm, said base (44) of the profile bar (4) comprising a material (45) containing a blowing agent, characterized in that the glazing comprises a covering part (5) comprising a cover plate (55) extending substantially parallel to the base (44) and further out than the base (44), said covering part (5) being adhered to the profile bar (4) by means of an adhesive layer (6) sandwiched between a surface of the cover plate (55) and a surface of the base (44).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a glass window, particularly a vehicle glass window, comprising a glass element forming a partition between an exterior space and an interior space, and including a profile having a base positioned to contact one side of the glass element when viewed in cross-section. Background Technology

[0002] It is known that the base of the profile has a relatively large thickness of at least 5 mm when viewed from the side of the glass element to which the profile is fixed.

[0003] However, such thickness is difficult to achieve using molding techniques. One solution involves providing an insert, typically made of plastic, inside the base to occupy part of the profile's volume; however, this is a complex and expensive technique because it can potentially produce a large number of defective windows. A second solution is to manufacture the base material to contain a foaming agent.

[0004] International patent applications WO 2014 / 086303 and WO 2015 / 074579 disclose the manufacture of molding strips containing foaming agents.

[0005] Furthermore, it is known that glass windows may include a cover member comprising a cover plate extending generally parallel to and further outward from the base. However, mechanically attaching or chemically fixing the cover member to a thick base with a thickness of at least 5 mm is difficult to achieve and control industrially. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art by proposing a simple and effective solution, so that a glass window with a thick base strip can include a covering component that is further outward than the thick base.

[0007] In fact, the inventors have unexpectedly discovered that although the density of the base containing the foaming agent in the material is low, the covering part can be effectively bonded to the thick base, even if the presence of the foaming agent may affect or does affect the normally smooth surface of the base.

[0008] Therefore, the mounting of the cover components is very simple, reliable, and compact.

[0009] This invention relates most broadly to a glass window. The glass window includes a glass element forming a separation between an external space and an internal space, and includes a profile having, when viewed in cross-section, a base positioned to contact one side of the glass element, and the base having a thickness of at least 5 mm when viewed from that side. The base of the profile includes a material containing a foaming agent. The glass window is characterized in that it includes a cover member comprising a cover plate extending substantially parallel to the base and further outward than the base. The cover member is adhered to the profile by an adhesive layer sandwiched between the surface of the cover plate and the surface of the base.

[0010] Preferably, the profile is based on or made of TPE.

[0011] Preferably, the cover component is adhered to the profile only by means of an adhesive layer; the cover component is not mechanically attached to the profile.

[0012] Preferably, the base of the profile is based on or made of TPE.

[0013] Preferably, the base of the profile does not include filling or reinforcing components; it only contains its constituent materials.

[0014] The thickness of the base can be 5.0 mm or more; it can be from 5.0 mm to 15.0 mm; it can be at least 5.5 mm, or even at least 6.0 mm.

[0015] Preferably, the density of the base is reduced by at least 5%, and more preferably by 5% to 45%, or even by 10% to 35%; this low density is preferably measured relative to the density of another portion of the profile made of the same material as the base; this other portion preferably does not contain foaming agent.

[0016] Preferably, the base of the profile is positioned to contact the outer surface of the glass element, and more preferably, to contact only the outer surface of the glass element.

[0017] Preferably, the base of the profile is made of a material containing a foaming agent; more preferably, the entire profile is made of a material containing a foaming agent. Therefore, the entire profile uses a single material, which is simpler, and the foaming function is achieved only in the base, whose thickness and volume are sufficient to meet this requirement; there are no air bubbles and the density is lower than in areas with a thickness of at least 5 mm.

[0018] Preferably, the glass element is a fixed glass element of the vehicle; it is immovable relative to the vehicle that carries it.

[0019] The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a glass window according to the invention, the glass window comprising a glass element forming a separation between an outer space and an inner space, and comprising a profile having, when viewed in cross-section, a base positioned to contact one side of the glass element, and the base having a thickness of at least 5 mm when viewed from that side, wherein a foaming agent is added to the base of the profile during molding, the method being characterized in that, after molding the profile, an adhesive layer is sandwiched between the surface of the base and the surface of a cover plate of a covering member, the cover plate extending substantially parallel to the base and further outward than the base, thereby allowing the covering member to adhere to the profile.

[0020] Therefore, the manufacture of the window glass according to the present invention comprises two consecutive operations.

[0021] Advantageously, the window glass according to the invention is particularly light because the base containing the foaming agent is lighter and the adhesive layer is also very light.

[0022] Advantageously, the cover is secured solely by an adhesive layer; preferably, there is no other attachment between the cover and the rest of the window. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0024] - Figure 1 A partial cross-sectional view of a glass window according to the present invention is shown;

[0025] - Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional photograph of the base of the foaming agent-containing strip used to implement the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0026] exist Figure 1 The proportions between the different parts are followed, but the parts that serve as the background are not shown for ease of reading.

[0027] This invention relates to a glass window 1, particularly as shown in the figure. Figure 1 The vehicle window shown. This window includes a fixed glass element 2 that forms a partition between an outer space E and an inner space I, and includes a molded joint 4 (or strip) made of a flexible polymer material positioned along the side edge of the fixed glass element, the joint extending laterally relative to the side edge.

[0028] The joint includes a groove with a U-shaped cross-section that accommodates the edge of the glass element 2.

[0029] The glass window 1 according to the invention, shown in cross-section, is a fixed rear-side glass window of a motor vehicle body (not shown). It includes a glass element 2 fixed relative to the vehicle body and is equipped with a molded joint 4 made of a flexible polymer material, which is located along the horizontal lower edge of the glass element 2; here, the molded joint 4 is peripheral: it surrounds the edge of the glass element 2.

[0030] The window glass 1 forms a partition between the vehicle's interior space I and the vehicle's exterior space E. The glass element 2 therefore has an outer surface 21 intended to face the exterior space E, an inner surface 22 intended to face the interior space I, and a peripheral edge 20, which is circular but may also be straight.

[0031] Glass element 2 can be a single piece, such as... Figure 1 As shown, it can be composed of a single sheet or a composite, i.e., composed of several sheets, with at least one layer of adhesive material inserted between these sheets in the case of laminated glass. The sheets can be inorganic, especially glass, or organic, especially plastic.

[0032] When the glass element is made of organic material, its manufacture is carried out prior to the implementation of this invention by molding the material constituting the glass element in a molding apparatus including a mold, said mold including at least one mold fixing part and a mold moving part movable relative to the mold fixing part. During the molding step, the mold part engages in a mold-closed state to form a molding cavity with a cross-sectional shape that is the same as the cross-sectional shape of the glass element. Typically, organic material glass elements are not flat but curved.

[0033] When the glass element is made of inorganic material, its manufacture is performed prior to the implementation of this invention by melting the inorganic material into a flat plate, then cutting the plate and bending and / or tempering it as needed.

[0034] Therefore, the strip 4 has an outer surface 41 intended to face the exterior of the vehicle E, and an inner surface 42 intended to face the interior of the vehicle I and to contact the outer surface 21 of the glass element 2.

[0035] The polymer material constituting strip 4 can be thermoplastic (PVC, TPE, etc.), polyurethane, or even EPDM-type synthetic rubber or any other suitable material.

[0036] The molding strip 4 is preferably manufactured by performing a manufacturing process called “encapsulation”, as it includes the step of molding the molding strip 4 between two molding parts in a molding apparatus, one molding part housing the inner surface of the glass window and the other molding part housing the outer surface of the glass window, the two molding parts closing each other during the molding step while forming a molding cavity between them, the molding cavity being filled with the material constituting the molding strip 4 during the molding step of the molding strip.

[0037] The molding strip 4 is preferably disposed on the entire periphery of the glass element 2, but the molding joint may be positioned only on a portion of the periphery of the glass element 2.

[0038] Only the template 4 is manufactured in situ on the glass element 2. All other components are prefabricated: they are manufactured before the template 4 is manufactured on the glass element 2.

[0039] The strip 4 has a base 44 positioned opposite the outer edge of the glass element 2, two outer wings 46, 46' extending outward from the base 44 and opposite the glass element 2, and a lip 47 extending from the opposite side 21 and opposite the glass element 2.

[0040] The molding strip 4 also includes an inner wing 48 positioned opposite the inner edge of the glass element 2.

[0041] The profile 4 surrounds the edge of the glass element.

[0042] The height h of the bottom 44 44 Between 5.0 and 12.0 mm, or even between 5.0 and 10.0 mm; in this case, it is 6.0 mm.

[0043] Width l of base 44 44 Between 5.0 and 150.0 mm, for example, 12.0 mm in this case.

[0044] In order to enable the molding strip to be manufactured by molding (“encapsulation”), the base 44 of the molding strip 4 includes a material 45 containing a foaming agent.

[0045] For simplicity, the entire molding strip 4 is made using material 45 containing a foaming agent.

[0046] Two foaming agents used in TPE strips were tested:

[0047] - Hydrocerol BIH 20 at a weight percentage of 0.8%; and

[0048] - Lubobatch PE BA 9537, accounting for 0.8% of the total weight.

[0049] These two formulations induce bubbles with a diameter of approximately 50 to 2000 micrometers in the material at the base 44, such as Figure 2 As shown.

[0050] In both cases, the addition of the foaming agent does not change the aspect colorimétrique of the strip surface.

[0051] However, in both cases, the outer surface 41 of the base 44 has roughness, while the rest of the profile has a smooth outer surface.

[0052] In addition, the glass window 1 includes a cover member 5, which includes a cover plate 55. When the cover member 5 is fixed to the glass window 1, the cover plate 55 extends generally parallel to the base 44 and is further outward than the base 44.

[0053] Therefore, the covering part is the exterior trim.

[0054] The cover plate 55 has an outer surface 51 facing the outer space E of the glass element 2 and an inner surface 52 facing the outer surface 21.

[0055] The cover component also has a wing 56 that extends from the cover plate 55 toward the outer surface 21 at an angle of approximately 40°.

[0056] The material constituting the cover component 5 is preferably plastic. For example, it can be ABS or PMMA. It can also be metal or a metal alloy.

[0057] In order to secure the cover plate 55 to the base 44, the adhesive layer 6 is positioned and in contact between and the inner surface 52 of the cover plate 55 and the outer surface 41 of the base 44.

[0058] The adhesive layer 6 is a tape, which is 10.0 mm wide and extends along the entire cover plate 55.

[0059] The test was conducted using 3M's acrylic foam-based black double-sided tape (part number GT6012).

[0060] The covering component 5 is preferably molded in one piece to better protect the strip 4. The tape is also preferably molded in one piece for easier application.

[0061] Preferably, the cover plate 55 is fixed to the base in the following manner:

[0062] - Apply adhesive primer to the outer surface 41 of the base, then

[0063] - Apply the tape to the inner surface 52 of the cover plate, then

[0064] - Attach the cover component to the base so that the tape adheres to the outer surface 41 of the base.

[0065] Therefore, it is only chemically fixed by adhesive; there is no mechanical attachment.

[0066] The cover component is securely fixed to the base.

[0067] Tests have shown that, when using either of these foaming agents, a tearing force exceeding 100 N is required to separate the cover from the base.

Claims

1. A glass window (1) comprising a glass element (2) forming a partition between an outer space (E) and an inner space (I), and comprising a profile (4) having, when viewed in cross-section, a base (44) positioned to contact one side of the glass element (2), and the thickness (e) of the base when viewed from this side... 44 The thickness is at least 5 mm, and the base (44) of the molding strip (4) comprises a material (45) containing a foaming agent, characterized in that, The glass window includes a cover member (5) comprising a cover plate (55) extending parallel to and further outward than the base (44), the cover member (5) being adhered to the profile (4) by an adhesive layer (6) sandwiched between the surface of the cover plate (55) and the surface of the base (44), the profile (4) being manufactured in situ by molding on the glass element (2), and the foaming agent causing bubbles with a diameter of 50 to 2000 micrometers in the material of the base (44), the base (44) of the profile (4) being based on or made of TPE.

2. The glass window (1) according to claim 1, wherein, The base (44) of the strip (4) does not include a filling component or a reinforcing component.

3. The glass window (1) according to claim 1, wherein, The density of the base (44) is reduced by at least 5%, and the low density is measured relative to the density of another portion of the strip made of the same material as the base, which does not contain foaming agent.

4. The glass window (1) according to claim 3, wherein, The density of the base (44) is reduced by 5% to 45%.

5. The glass window (1) according to claim 4, wherein, The density of the base (44) is reduced by 10% to 35%.

6. A method of manufacturing a glass window (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the glass window (1) comprising a glass element (2) forming a space between an outer space (E) and an inner space (I), and comprising a profile (4) having, when viewed in cross-section, a base (44) positioned to contact one side of the glass element (2), and the thickness (e) of the base when viewed from this side... 44 The thickness is at least 5 mm. When manufacturing the strip by molding, a foaming agent is added to the base (44) of the strip (4). The characteristic feature is that... After the profile is manufactured by molding, an adhesive layer (6) is sandwiched between the surface of the base (44) and the surface of the cover plate (55) of the cover member (5), the cover plate (55) extending parallel to the base (44) and further outward than the base (44), so that the cover member (5) adheres to the profile (4), the profile (4) being manufactured in situ by molding on the glass element (2), and the foaming agent causing bubbles with a diameter of 50 to 2000 micrometers in the material of the base (44), the base (44) of the profile (4) being based on or made of TPE.

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