Process for determining the percentage of glass surface to be processed and related mobile applications

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for determining, using a database (14), a proportion of glass surface (Ds) to be treated in a de-coating process within a defined enclosed space to reach a predetermined electromagnetic reception and / or transmission level (La) at a predetermined frequency (Fo), the process comprising the steps of measuring (101) an inner and / or outer electromagnetic signal amplitude (So), calculating (104) a predicted attenuation level (Ta), identifying (105) a reference proportion of the treated surface (Ds_ref) within the database (14) whose corresponding reference attenuation level is less than or equal to the predicted attenuation level (Ta), and determining (106) a proportion of the glass surface (Ds) to be treated within the defined enclosed space that corresponds to the identified reference proportion of the treated surface (Ds_ref) whose corresponding reference attenuation level is minimum.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of improving electromagnetic wave reception and / or transmission in enclosed spaces such as buildings, trains, automobiles, boats, etc.

[0002] More particularly, the present invention is directed to a process for determining the percentage of glass surface to be treated within a defined enclosed space so as to reach a given electromagnetic reception and / or transmission level. Such treatment of the glass surface can be the application of a film, alignment layer or the like on the glass surface, the application of a glass panel, the adaptation of the structure of the glass such as thickness, composition, etc. and / or a decorating process. Such treatment can be carried out either in advance or subsequently on site or in the factory.

[0003] Advantageously, the present invention enables the user to anticipate possible improvement in network reception and / or reception that he / she may wish to obtain before carrying out any construction, renovation or refurbishment work.

Background Art

[0004] Depending on the position of the building relative to the position of the antennas of other buildings and Internet service providers, the electromagnetic reception and / or transmission level can vary significantly from building to building, room to room or even from location to location within a room. Similarly, the position of a Wi-Fi router can also result in poor reception and / or transmission within some areas of the building.

[0005] Poor levels of reception and / or transmission are often due to the presence of glass surfaces within the building in combination with a highly attenuating facade. For example, glass is generally used either for windows or to separate rooms inside the building. However, some types of glass contain a metal layer that functions as a Faraday cage, preventing electromagnetic waves from entering or leaving the room, thereby resulting in poor reception and / or transmission.

[0006] There are different solutions proposed by the applicant that can improve the electromagnetic levels of reception and / or transmission.

[0007] Such solutions for achieving a predetermined electromagnetic reception and / or transmission level may include the application of a film, matching layer or similar on the glass surface, the application of a glass panel, adaptation of the glass structure such as thickness and composition, and / or a decoating process. The treatment may be carried out on-site or in the factory before or after the process.

[0008] A first solution having a decoating process includes the step of installing or replacing a portion of a glass surface with "wave-through glass" which is nearly transparent to radio signals (350 MHz to 70 GHz) and can significantly improve communication from inside to outside and / or from outside to inside a building while maintaining good thermal insulation properties such as the WaveThru® solution sold by the applicant.

[0009] A second solution having a decoating process includes the step of decoating a small portion of the metal layer covering the glass surface. The metal layer may be either a very thin metal layer applied to the surface of a glass panel constituting a multilayer glass surface or a metal mesh placed in front of the glass surface to reduce exposure to sunlight.

[0010] To decoat a thin metal layer, a decoating apparatus from International Publication No. 2015 / 050762 can be used. The decoating apparatus includes a laser light source and a lens array configured to focus the laser light source on the metal layer of the window for decoating. Such an apparatus is mounted on a suction cup to secure the suction cup to the top of the window. This type of apparatus also includes two motors configured to move the laser along rails along the X and Y axes. As a result, the laser can engrave a grid pattern on the metal layer to improve the electromagnetic reception and / or transmission of the window.

[0011] However, installing, modifying, or decoating glass surfaces is expensive and requires a significant amount of time, during which the enclosed space cannot be properly utilized. Furthermore, predicting the effects of installing, modifying, or decoating glass surfaces on electromagnetic reception and / or transmission levels is difficult because it depends on many different parameters. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0012] Therefore, the technical challenge to be solved is a method for identifying the optimal proportion of glass surfaces to be processed within a defined sealed space in order to reach a predetermined electromagnetic reception and / or transmission level. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] To solve this technical problem, the present invention proposes a process for accurately predicting the effect of glass surface treatment on electromagnetic reception and / or transmission levels. More precisely, the process proposes calculating the attenuation level that an external partition should generate in order to obtain the required reception and / or transmission levels. In other words, the process determines the percentage of the external partition surface to be treated in order to obtain the required reception and / or transmission levels. For this purpose, a database is used that includes at least one table or curve of the percentage of treated glass surface as a function of the attenuation level.

[0014] Please understand that the specified electromagnetic reception and / or transmission levels are signal qualities such as RSSi for 3G, 4G, and / or 5G, and / or RSCP for 3G signals, RSRP for 4G, ss-RSRP for 5G signals, and / or Ec / No for 3G signals, RSRQ for 4G, and ss-RSRQ for 5G signals.

[0015] The subsequent processes may be as follows:

[0016] Changing the ratio of glass surface to wave-through glass panel within a sealed space, i.e., replacing installed glass surfaces with decoated glass surfaces in a factory.

[0017] The installation of a certain proportion of specific types of glass surfaces in a sealed space that does not yet have any installed glass surfaces, i.e., the use of factory-decoated glass surfaces.

[0018] and / or in-situ decoating of a proportion of the glass surface within a sealed space.

[0019] In other words, according to a first aspect, the present invention relates to a process for determining the proportion of glass surfaces to be treated by a decoating process, which can be performed on-site or in a factory within a defined space using a database to reach predetermined electromagnetic reception and / or transmission levels at predetermined frequencies.

[0020] The aforementioned sealed space includes external partitions on all surfaces.

[0021] The database includes reference attenuation levels measured at predetermined frequencies for different reference proportions of the treated surface.

[0022] The process described above includes the following steps:

[0023] A step of measuring the amplitude of the internal and / or external electromagnetic signal at the predetermined frequency at at least one location inside and / or outside the defined sealed space.

[0024] A step of calculating the predicted attenuation level inside the sealed space at a predetermined frequency as a function of the internal and / or external electromagnetic signal amplitudes and the predetermined electromagnetic reception and / or transmission levels.

[0025] Identifying a reference ratio of the processed surface within the database, provided that the corresponding reference attenuation level is below the predicted attenuation level.

[0026] And determining a ratio of the glass surface to be processed within the defined enclosed space corresponding to the identified reference ratio of the processed surface, provided that the corresponding reference attenuation level is minimum. This means that this step determines the minimum ratio of the glass surface that results in the minimum allowable attenuation level.

[0027] According to the present invention, an "external partition" corresponds to the boundary of the enclosed space that separates the outside from the inside of the enclosed space. The external partition can be either a physical or a virtual one and includes at least a wall. For example, especially in the case of IoT communication, when the enclosed space is a room within a building, the "external partition" of this room corresponds to the walls of the room, including one or more openings to the outside of the building and one or more openings to other enclosed spaces such as voids in the room and stairwells. The external partition can be composed of several materials such as wood or metal and can include glass.

[0028] The attenuation level can be understood as follows.

[0029] For example, the attenuation of electromagnetic waves arriving from the outside to the inside of the enclosed space corresponding to the attenuation of radio frequencies arriving from an Internet service provider antenna.

[0030] Or, for example, the attenuation of electromagnetic waves arriving from the inside to the outside of the enclosed space corresponding to the attenuation of a wireless signal outside a room, such as a Wi-Fi signal outside a room housing a Wi-Fi router.

[0031] Independently of how the attenuation level is measured, the absolute value of the attenuation level is used for comparison with other attenuation levels stored in the database.

[0032] Accordingly, the present invention makes it possible to find the optimal proportion of glass surfaces to be processed within a defined sealed space in order to reach a predetermined electromagnetic reception and / or transmission level.

[0033] Advantageously, the proportion of glass surface to be treated and the baseline proportion of treated surface are calculated by normalizing the surface by the total surface of the external partition.

[0034] Normalized values ​​are better for comparison. In fact, the database may include many different types of reference enclosed spaces with very different dimensions and shapes of external partitions. A proper comparison is possible as long as the ratio between the glass surface and the entire surface of the external partition is similar.

[0035] In one embodiment of the present invention, the defined sealed space includes an external partition of the entire glass surface which is less than or equal to the total surface, and after the determination step, the process checks whether the determined percentage of the glass surface to be processed is less than the maximum percentage value, the maximum percentage value which corresponds to the total glass surface divided by the total surface.

[0036] In other words, this function indicates to the user whether the existing glass surfaces within the external partition under consideration are sufficient to obtain the required reception and / or transmission levels. If the determined percentage of glass surfaces to be processed is less than the maximum percentage value, this means that the existing glass surfaces are sufficient to obtain the required reception and / or transmission levels. Therefore, renovation or construction work can be carried out.

[0037] However, if the determined percentage of the glass surface to be processed exceeds the maximum percentage value, the existing glass surface is not sufficient to obtain the required reception and / or transmission levels. Therefore, the blueprint of the sealed space must be modified to open up new free space for the new glass panel. This function is an excellent way to estimate the cost of the work.

[0038] Another embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

[0039] The aforementioned sealed space includes an external partition having a certain type of glass.

[0040] The database includes a reference sealed space having an external partition of a certain type of glass, and the reference attenuation level is measured at the predetermined frequency for different reference proportions of the treated surface.

[0041] The identification step further includes selecting a standard sealed space having the same type of glass as the standard sealed space type within the database.

[0042] In this embodiment, the database includes several tables or curves of the percentage of treated glass surfaces as a function of the measured attenuation level. Each table or curve corresponds to a different shape of a sealed space having a particular type of glass. This embodiment enables the selection of the closest reference sealed space and the minimization of the error rate.

[0043] In another embodiment of the present invention, the process further includes the following steps:

[0044] A step of measuring the amplitude of the external electromagnetic signal at the predetermined frequency at at least one location outside the defined sealed space.

[0045] A step of measuring the amplitude of the internal electromagnetic signal at the predetermined frequency at at least one location inside the defined sealed space.

[0046] A step of determining the initial attenuation level at a predetermined frequency using the difference between the inner electromagnetic signal amplitude and the outer electromagnetic signal amplitude.

[0047] The step of calculating a predicted gain equal to the difference between the reference decay level of the identified reference percentage of the treated surface and the initial decay level.

[0048] Specifically, this embodiment measures the initial attenuation level as a base reference before any work is performed. Preferably, if the external electromagnetic signal is less than -100 dBm for a 4G signal, the client should know that it is not possible to perform work to significantly improve the internal levels of reception and / or transmission because the signal received by the building is already too low.

[0049] To further improve process quality and reduce error rates, multiple measurements of internal and external electromagnetic signals can be performed. In this embodiment, the defined enclosed space includes multiple external measurement locations, and the initial attenuation level is determined between the internal measurement location and the nearest external measurement location.

[0050] Similarly, the defined enclosed space may include multiple indoor measurement locations, and the initial attenuation level is determined by averaging the attenuation levels calculated for the multiple indoor measurement locations.

[0051] Furthermore, the measurement of the external electromagnetic signal amplitude can be performed inside the sealed space at a distance of less than 1 meter from the opening of the external partition.

[0052] According to the present invention, the opening may be a window opening, a door opening, or any opening that allows access between the inside and outside of a sealed space.

[0053] In another embodiment, the process further includes the following steps:

[0054] A step of treating the glass surface to be treated in the aforementioned proportion within the aforementioned sealed space.

[0055] The step of performing a second measurement of the internal and / or external electromagnetic signal amplitude at the predetermined frequency at at least one location inside and / or outside the defined sealed space after processing.

[0056] A step of determining the final attenuation level at a predetermined frequency using the ratio between the indoor electromagnetic signal amplitude and the outdoor electromagnetic signal amplitude.

[0057] The step of calculating an actual gain equal to the difference between the final damping level and the initial damping level.

[0058] Optionally, the process further includes the step of calculating the difference between the predicted gain and the actual gain.

[0059] This initial and final attenuation level is compared to estimate the improvement in reception and / or transmission. This is a good indicator for numerically showing the degree of improvement in reception and / or transmission. This indicator is completed by comparing the predicted gain with the actual gain to estimate the reliability of the process in predicting the improvement in reception and / or transmission.

[0060] After the process is executed, the database can be completed with the determined initial decay level and the final decay level calculated after processing. This feature allows for more criteria to be obtained and the error rate to be reduced as the database is completed.

[0061] The process can be adapted depending on the type of treatment. Therefore, if the process involves determining the percentage of glass surface to be decoated, the process includes the following steps:

[0062] Step to obtain the decoating equipment configuration.

[0063] A step of identifying an area of ​​the glass surface within the defined sealed space that can be decoated by the apparatus.

[0064] The step of determining the surface to be decoated by considering the identified area and proportion of the glass surface to be decoated.

[0065] If the process involves determining the proportion of glass surface to be replaced, the process includes the following steps:

[0066] A step of identifying the window shape within the sealed space defined above.

[0067] The step of determining a window or combination of windows to be replaced among possible combinations of windows to be replaced, wherein the corresponding proportion of the glass surface exceeds and is closest to the determined proportion of the glass surface to be replaced.

[0068] If the process involves determining the proportion of glass surface to be installed, the process includes the following steps:

[0069] A step of identifying window shapes on a blueprint of a sealed space.

[0070] The step of determining a window or combination of windows to be installed among possible combinations of windows to be installed, wherein the corresponding proportion of the glass surface exceeds and is closest to the determined proportion of the glass surface to be installed.

[0071] According to a second aspect, the present invention also relates to an application configured to perform the process according to the first aspect.

[0072] Using a mobile application, a measurement step can be implemented to test a predetermined frequency range corresponding to a telecommunications carrier using the carrier's network, in accordance with a third embodiment.

[0073] Furthermore, the mobile application may be shared among multiple smartphones or tablets using different carrier networks. Alternatively, the mobile application may be used by a device capable of testing multiple carrier networks.

[0074] It should be noted that the present invention relates to all possible combinations of the features described in the claims or embodiments described.

[0075] The following description relates to building applications, but please understand that the present invention may also be applicable to other fields such as automobiles or transportation applications. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0076] The following describes in more detail these and other aspects of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating various exemplary embodiments of the invention, which are provided as examples, not as limitations. The drawings are schematic representations and are not to scale. The drawings are not intended to limit the invention in any way. Further advantages will be described by example.

[0077] Different aspects of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate various exemplary embodiments of the invention, provided as examples rather than limitations. The drawings are schematic representations and are not to scale. The drawings are not intended to limit the invention in any way. Further advantages will be described by example.

[0078] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram of a process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0079] [Figure 2] This table shows the information contained in the database of the embodiment shown in Figure 1.

[0080] [Figure 3] Another representation of the information contained in the database of the embodiment shown in Figure 1 is the decay curve as a function of the reference surface ratio of the treated glass surface.

[0081] [Figure 4] This is a block diagram of a process according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0082] [Figure 5] This is a table showing the information contained in the database of the embodiment shown in Figure 4.

[0083] [Figure 6] This is a schematic representation of the measurement of electromagnetic signal amplitude on the outside of a building floor.

[0084] [Figure 7] This is a schematic representation of the measurement of electromagnetic signal amplitudes inside and outside the building floor.

[0085] [Figure 8] This is a schematic representation of the calculation of damping levels for building floors. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0086] For better understanding, the scale of each component in the drawings may differ from the actual scale. Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating the main steps of the process according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The process is hosted by an application that the user can install on their own phone or tablet. However, a dedicated device can also be used.

[0087] Before using the process, the user must define several parameters.

[0088] The first parameter to define is the enclosed space Oi in which the process is carried out. The enclosed space Oi can be a room in a building, a train car, a patio, or a terrace. Generally, this enclosed space Oi is identified because the internal reception and / or transmission level La is neither good nor bad, or, in the case of a building project, because this particular enclosed space requires a good reception and / or transmission level La. For example, a cafeteria or lounge in a building requires a good reception and / or transmission level La because many people will be using their phones simultaneously to make phone calls or browse the internet using a wireless network. The enclosed space Oi is also intended to supply adjacent rooms, but may be identified to house a Wi-Fi router where the reception and transmission level La in those adjacent rooms is low.

[0089] A defined enclosed space Oi is bounded by an external partition with a total surface area (Stot). This external partition can be either real or virtual. In both cases, the external partition allows for the distinction between the inside and outside of the enclosed space Oi. Generally, the external partition is made of glass, either partially or entirely, and includes at least a wall containing some metal. The metal acts as a Faraday cage and blocks any electromagnetic reception and / or transmission. The total surface area (Stot) of the external partition can be measured manually by the user, or it can be estimated on a blueprint of the external partition.

[0090] Before using the process, the user must also define the frequency range Fo in which improvements to reception and / or transmission are required. For example, if the problem originates from a Wi-Fi network, the frequency range Fo to be considered is the 2.45 GHz and 5 GHz range. If the problem originates from 4G reception and / or transmission of a specific network provider, the frequency range Fo to be considered is that assigned to that specific network provider. While testing of several frequency range Fo is obviously possible, the entire process must be run sequentially or simultaneously for each defined frequency range Fo.

[0091] Ultimately, the user must also define a predetermined electromagnetic reception and / or transmission level La that corresponds to the reception and / or transmission level that the user expects to reach after processing inside at least the enclosed space Oi.

[0092] The first step 101 of the process is to measure the inner and / or outer electromagnetic signals So, Si in a given frequency range Fo.

[0093] The measurement of the internal electromagnetic signal Si is performed inside the sealed space Oi in front of the opening (e.g., a door or window) when the opening is closed.

[0094] The external signal So can be measured either outside or inside the sealed space Oi in front of the opening when the opening is open. The measurement is preferably performed at several locations and averaged.

[0095] Measurements are performed by equipment equipped with at least an antenna to receive the frequency range Fo identified by the user. In the case of a phone or tablet, the phone's SIM card or e-card is tuned to the frequency range Fo of a specific network operator. Therefore, the user requires as many phones / tablets and associated SIM cards / e-cards as there are carrier frequency ranges Fo to be tested. Dedicated equipment, including several antennas, can also be used to test several frequency ranges sequentially or simultaneously.

[0096] The second step 104 of the process is to calculate a predicted attenuation level Ta, which corresponds to the attenuation that the external partition should have in order to reach a given electromagnetic reception and / or transmission level La.

[0097] The predicted attenuation level Ta is calculated as a function of a predetermined electromagnetic reception and / or transmission level La and the measurement of the internal and / or external electromagnetic signals Si and So.

[0098] For example, suppose we use only the external electromagnetic signal So, and the external electromagnetic signal So is equal to -95 dBm, and the predicted electromagnetic reception and / or transmission level La is equal to -110 dBm. As a result, the predicted attenuation level Ta is calculated by obtaining the difference between a predetermined electromagnetic reception and / or transmission level La value and the external electromagnetic signal So value, which is -95 - (-110) = 15 dB.

[0099] By knowing the initial attenuation level of the Sgtot across the entire glass surface, it is also possible to use only the internal electromagnetic signal Si. If the internal electromagnetic signal Si is equal to -130 dBm and a given electromagnetic reception and / or transmission level La is equal to -110 dBm, a 20 dB improvement in the internal electromagnetic signal Si is predicted by changing the glass surface.

[0100] Referring again to Figure 1, the third step 105 of the process is to identify in the database 14 a reference percentage Ds_ref of the treated surface where the corresponding reference damping level T_ref is less than or equal to the predicted damping level Ta.

[0101] Figures 2 and 3 show an example of what may be included in database 14. In practice, database 14 includes either a reference table or a curve of the percentage of a reference treated glass surface Ds_ref as a function of a reference attenuation level T_ref in a given frequency range Fo. In this embodiment, the table or curve is general and can be applied to any new sealed space Oi for which an estimation of its attenuation level Ta is required.

[0102] More specifically, Figure 2 shows a table containing a first column with Ds_ref of the reference treated glass surface, expressed as a percentage of the total surface Stot_ref of the reference sealed space. Thus, Ds_ref of the reference treated glass surface is equal to Sref of the reference treated surface divided by the total surface Stot_ref of the reference sealed space. The second column of the table contains the reference attenuation level T_ref, also expressed as a percentage.

[0103] Figure 2 shows a curve with a hyperbolic shape. The y-axis represents the reference attenuation level T_ref expressed in dB, and the x-axis represents the reference treated glass surface Ds_ref, expressed as a percentage and calculated as described above.

[0104] When the table in Figure 2 is used to determine the percentage Ds_ref of the reference treated glass surface, the predicted attenuation level Ta can be calculated as described above and be equal to 7dB. The rows highlighted in light gray are those selected by the process in the third step 105. These correspond to rows where the attenuation level T_ref is 7dB or less.

[0105] When the table in Figure 3 is used to determine the percentage of the glass surface treated Ds_ref, the predicted attenuation level Ta may be equal to 20 dB, calculated as described above. In the third step 105, the process selects the portion of the curve highlighted in light gray. The selected values ​​correspond to values ​​where the attenuation level T_ref is 20 dB or less.

[0106] Referring again to Figure 1, the fourth step 106 includes determining the reference percentage Ds_ref of the glass surface to be processed from the selected rows / values ​​corresponding to the maximum reference attenuation level T_ref. This reference percentage Ds_ref of the glass surface to be processed is the percentage Ds of the glass surface to be processed within the sealed space Oi.

[0107] In the table in Figure 2, the row with the highest identified reference attenuation level T_ref is highlighted in dark gray. This row indicates that to obtain a reference attenuation level T_ref of 23 dB, at least 40% of the glass surface to be treated, a reference percentage Ds_ref, must be treated. Therefore, to obtain a predicted attenuation level Ta of 23 dB or less in the enclosed space Oi under consideration, at least 40% of the glass surface, a percentage Ds, must be treated.

[0108] In the curve in Figure 3, the value Ds at which the identified reference attenuation level T_ref is maximum is highlighted by a dotted line. To obtain a reference attenuation level T_ref of 20 dBm, a reference percentage Ds_ref of 26.4% of the glass surface to be treated needs to be treated. Therefore, to obtain a predicted attenuation level Ta of 20 dB or less in the enclosed space Oi under consideration, a percentage Ds of 26.4% of the glass surface needs to be treated. This representation presents the advantage of having an infinite number of solutions because the curve is continuous.

[0109] Figure 4 shows a more complete process. As described above, the user must predetermine the sealed space Oi, the receiving and / or transmitting levels La required inside this sealed space Oi, and the total surface Stot of the external partition of this sealed space. In this embodiment, the user also needs to determine the total glass surface Sgtot of the external partition and the type Tg of glass to be used. These two pieces of information can be measured or determined by the user themselves, or they can be found on a blueprint of the sealed space Oi.

[0110] The first steps 101, 102, and 103 of the process include obtaining an initial decay level T_init. This value is a good indicator of the state of the sealed space Oi before any processing.

[0111] For an already constructed sealed space Oi, the simplest way to obtain the initial decay level T_init is to measure the external electromagnetic signal So 101 and the internal electromagnetic signal Si 102, and subtract these two values ​​to obtain the initial decay level T_init 103.

[0112] Both measurements can also be performed inside the sealed space Oi in front of the opening (e.g., a door or window). In this case, the external signal So may be measured when the door / window is open, and the internal signal Si may be measured when the door / window is closed. The measurements are preferably performed at several positions E1-E6, I1-I8. Figures 6-8 show an example of the implementation of steps 101-103.

[0113] In this example, the process is applied to the entire floor of a building housing three main rooms O1–O3. All rooms O1–O3 need to be tested to estimate the attenuation of the building facade in a given frequency range Fo. In Figure 6, the external electromagnetic signal So is measured at six different locations E1–E6 surrounding the building. The first estimation of the external electromagnetic signal So is performed by distinguishing locations E2 and E6, where the external electromagnetic signal So level is less than -100 dBm, from locations E1, E3, E4, and E5, where the external electromagnetic signal So level is greater than -100 dBm.

[0114] If the majority of the measured values ​​of the external electromagnetic signal So are below -100 dBm, the applicant does not recommend carrying out any construction, modification, or renovation work, because the external electromagnetic signal So is already too low to obtain good reception and / or transmission levels.

[0115] In Figure 7, the internal electromagnetic signal Si is measured at eight different locations I1 to I8 surrounding rooms O1 to O3.

[0116] Several attenuation levels t1 to t7 can be calculated by subtracting the inner electromagnetic signal Si and the outer electromagnetic signal So from the two closest outer and inner positions E1 to E6 and I1 to I8. For example, as shown in Figure 8, attenuation level t3 is equal to the outer electromagnetic signal So measured at position E3 minus the inner electromagnetic signal Si measured at position I4.

[0117] After this step, several damping levels t1 to t7 may correspond to the same rooms O1 to O3. For example, both t2 and t3 may correspond to room O2. In this case, the initial damping level T_init for room O2 is obtained by averaging these two values.

[0118] However, in many cases, measuring the external signal So is impossible because, for example, a window cannot be opened. In this case, the initial decay level T_init must be estimated using data from database 14. Similarly, in the case of a sealed space that has not yet been constructed, it is impossible to measure the internal electromagnetic signal Si. Therefore, the initial decay level T_init also needs to be estimated using data from database 14.

[0119] To find the initial damping level T_init, the user can interpret the tables or curves in Figures 2, 3, and 5 and find the reference percentage Ds_ref of the treated glass surface equal to 0%. The corresponding damping level T_ref can be interpreted on the table / curve. This damping level T_ref is the initial damping level T_init. These steps can obviously be automated in the process.

[0120] Step 104 is performed in the same manner as described for Figure 3. However, step 105 differs in that it relies on a more complete database 14, i.e., shown in Figure 5. This database is filled with subtables containing data on the percentage of glass surfaces treated as a function of the attenuation level in a given frequency range Fo in different reference sealed spaces O_id1, O_id2. These reference sealed spaces O_id1, O_id2 differ depending on the type of glass Tg_ref used for the glass surface. For example, the glass surface may be a simple multilayer glass surface, a double dV multilayer glass surface, or a triple tV multilayer glass surface.

[0121] Therefore, step 105 first needs to identify reference sealed spaces O_id1 and O_id2 having the glass type closest to the sealed space Oi to be processed. Once these reference sealed spaces O_id1 and O_id2 are identified, it is possible to select the reference glass surface Ds_ref to be processed as described above 105, and further similarly find the glass surface Ds to be processed 106.

[0122] The process shown in Figure 4 is completed by step 107, which determines the predicted gain Ga corresponding to the difference between the reference damping level T_ref identified in step 105 and the initial damping level T_init. Then, the surface treatment Ds to be treated is performed in step 110.

[0123] Subsequently, to control the quality of the process, steps 111, 112, and 113 include the steps of again measuring or estimating the internal and / or external signals So and Si, and calculating the final attenuation level T_end. The process is completed by step 114, which determines the actual gain Gr corresponding to the difference between the final attenuation level T_end identified in step 113 and the initial attenuation level T_init identified in step 103. By comparing both gains Ga and Gr, the user can understand how well the process predicted the reception and / or transmission within the enclosed space Oi.

[0124] Furthermore, both attenuation levels can be stored in database 14.

[0125] In conclusion, the present invention discloses a process that can identify the optimal proportion of glass surfaces to be processed within a defined sealed space in order to reach a predetermined electromagnetic reception and / or transmission level.

Claims

1. A process for determining the percentage (Ds) of glass surface to be processed, wherein the processing can be performed on-site or in a factory within a defined enclosed space (O1 to O3) using a database (14) to reach a predetermined electromagnetic reception and / or transmission level (La) at a predetermined frequency (Fo). The aforementioned sealed spaces (O1 to O3) include the outer partitions of the entire surface (Stot), The database (14) includes a reference attenuation level (T_ref) measured at a predetermined frequency (Fo) for different reference proportions (Ds_ref) of the treated surface, The aforementioned process, - Steps (101, 102) in which a device equipped with at least an antenna measures the inner electromagnetic signal amplitude (Si) and / or outer electromagnetic signal amplitude (So) at the predetermined frequency (Fo) at at least one location (I1 to I8, E1 to E6) inside and / or outside the defined sealed space (O1 to O3), - Step (104) in which the telephone or tablet calculates a predicted attenuation level (Ta) as a function of the inner electromagnetic signal amplitude (Si) and / or outer electromagnetic signal amplitude (So), and the predetermined electromagnetic reception and / or transmission level (La) inside the sealed space (O1 to O3) at the predetermined frequency (Fo), - Step (105) in which the telephone or tablet identifies a reference percentage (Ds_ref) of the processed surface in the database (14), provided that the corresponding reference attenuation level (T_ref) is less than or equal to the predicted attenuation level (Ta), and - Step (106) in which the telephone or tablet determines the proportion (Ds) of glass surface to be processed within the defined sealed space (O1 to O3), corresponding to the identified reference proportion (Ds_ref) of the processed surface, provided that the corresponding reference attenuation level (T_ref) is the minimum. A determination process that includes this.

2. The determination process according to claim 1, wherein the proportion of glass surface to be treated (Ds) and the reference proportion of the treated surface (Ds_ref) are calculated by normalizing the surface (S, Sref) by the total surface (Stot, Stop_ref) of the external partition.

3. The determination process according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the defined sealed space (O1 to O3) includes an external partition of the total glass surface (Sgtot) which is less than or equal to the total surface (Stot), and after the determination step (106), the process allows the user to confirm whether the determined percentage (Ds) of the glass surface to be processed is less than a maximum percentage value (Ds_max), the maximum percentage value (Ds_max) corresponds to the total glass surface (Sgtot) divided by the total surface (Stot).

4. - The sealed spaces (O1 to O3) defined above include an external partition having a certain type of glass (Tg), and - The database (14) includes data for a reference sealed space (O_id) having an external partition of a certain type of glass (Tg_ref), the reference attenuation level (T_ref) is measured at the predetermined frequency (Fo) for different reference proportions (Ds_ref) of the treated surface, and - The determination process according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising the telephone or tablet selecting data in the database (14) for a reference sealed space (O_id) having the same type of glass (Tg_ref) as the reference sealed space (O_id) type glass (Tg_ref).

5. - Step (101) in which the device equipped with at least an antenna measures the amplitude (So) of the external electromagnetic signal at the predetermined frequency (Fo) at at least one location (E1 to E6) outside the defined sealed space (O1 to O3), - Step (102) in which the device equipped with at least an antenna measures the amplitude (Si) of the internal electromagnetic signal (Si) at the predetermined frequency (Fo) at at least one location (I1 to I8) inside the defined sealed space (O1 to O3), - Step (103) in which the telephone or tablet determines the initial attenuation level (T_init) at the predetermined frequency (Fo) using the difference between the inner electromagnetic signal amplitude (Si) and the outer electromagnetic signal amplitude (So), - Step (107) in which the telephone or tablet calculates a predicted gain (Ga) equal to the difference between the reference attenuation level (Tref) and the initial attenuation level (T_init) of the identified reference ratio (Ds_ref) of the treated surface. A determination process according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising:

6. The determination process according to claim 5, wherein the defined sealed space (O1 to O3) includes a plurality of external measurement positions (E1 to E6), and the initial attenuation level (T_init) is determined between an internal measurement position (I1 to I8) and the closest external measurement position (E1 to E6) (103).

7. The determination process according to claim 5, wherein the defined sealed space (O1 to O3) includes a plurality of indoor measurement locations (I1 to I8), and the initial attenuation level (T_init) is determined by averaging the attenuation levels calculated for the plurality of indoor measurement locations (I1 to I8) (103).

8. - Step (110) in which the user processes the glass surface to be treated in the proportion within the defined sealed space (O1 to O3), - After the processing step (110), the device equipped with at least an antenna performs a second measurement of the inner electromagnetic signal amplitude (Si) and / or outer electromagnetic signal amplitude (So) at the predetermined frequency (Fo) at at least one location (I1 to I8, E1 to E6) inside and / or outside the defined sealed space (O1 to O3), in the steps (111, 112) - Step (113) in which the telephone or tablet determines the final attenuation level (T_end) at the predetermined frequency (Fo) using the inner electromagnetic signal amplitude (Si) and / or outer electromagnetic signal amplitude (So), - Step (114) in which the telephone or tablet calculates an actual gain (Gr) equal to the difference between the final attenuation level (T_end) and the initial attenuation level (T_init). The determination process according to claim 5, further comprising:

9. The determination process according to claim 8, further comprising the step (115) of the telephone or tablet calculating the difference between the predicted gain (Ga) and the actual gain (Gr).

10. The determination process according to claim 8, wherein the database (14) is completed with the determined initial decay level (T_init) and the final decay level (T_end) determined after processing.

11. The determination process according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the measurement (101) of the external electromagnetic signal amplitude (So) is performed inside the sealed space (O1 to O3) at a distance of less than 1 m from the opening of the external partition.

12. A mobile application configured to cause the device equipped with at least an antenna, and the telephone or tablet to execute the determination process described in any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. A mobile application configured to cause the device equipped with at least an antenna and the telephone or tablet to perform the determination process described in any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the measuring step (101, 102) and the second measuring step (111, 112) are implemented using the network of the telecommunications carrier to test a range of predetermined frequencies (Fo) corresponding to the telecommunications carrier.

14. The mobile application according to claim 12 or 13, which is shared among multiple smartphones or tablets, each using a different telecommunications carrier's network.

15. A mobile application according to claim 13 or 14, used by a device capable of testing multiple telecommunications carrier networks.

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