Manufacturing method for double-glazed glass

Abstract

To provide a method for manufacturing a multi-layered glass with a holder precisely embedded in a seal material, with which it is possible to directly use a production line in a conventional air conditioning room.SOLUTION: A method for manufacturing a multi-layered glass includes: a spacer arrangement step of arranging a spacer for holding a distance between two glass plates; a seal material curing step of forming a cured body by loading a seal material into a circumference edge located outside the spacer and between the glass plates, followed by curing the seal material; a groove formation step of forming a groove by cutting out the cured body along a longitudinal direction thereof from the outside of the circumference edge between the glass plates; and a holder insertion step of inserting a holder having a concave part into the groove.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing multilayer glass used for building windows and facades.

Background Art

[0002] Multilayer glass has two glass plates arranged with a gap therebetween, and a spacer for maintaining the distance between the glass plates is arranged around them. A silicone sealant is arranged outside the spacer, and sealing is maintained for the air layer between the glass plates. Usually, this multilayer glass is fitted into a sash all around and used for windows of buildings and the like. In this case, the sash protrudes from the glass surface, resulting in a design. Here, from the viewpoint of improving the appearance, a technique for attaching multilayer glass to a building structure without fitting it into a sash is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, a resin holder receiver having a substantially U-shaped groove portion is embedded in a sealant. And a mounting member extending from the building structure side is fitted into this groove portion, showing multilayer glass that is directly attached to the building structure without passing through a sash. In this case, the appearance becomes flat, and the sash does not protrude from the glass surface.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Conventional double-glazed glass production lines are efficiently operated in temperature- and humidity-controlled air-conditioned rooms to ensure quality, and structural seals are automatically applied within the line. However, Patent Document 1 describes a method in which a resin holder is inserted before the sealant hardens, and then fixed in place as the sealant hardens. As a result, these operations cannot be carried out within a conventional double-glazed glass production line and must be manufactured on a separate line. This drastically reduces the production efficiency of the double-glazed glass itself. The process of inserting and fixing the resin holder adds another step, making it impossible to use the conventional double-glazed glass production line as is, resulting in extra work, inconvenience, and a significant increase in costs.

[0005] Furthermore, in the air-conditioned rooms used in the production line for double-glazed glass, the two glass plates are placed on a conveyor table and transported upright along the line. On the other hand, in order to fit the holder supports around the entire circumference, the two glass plates must be made horizontal, which makes it impossible to manufacture them on the above-mentioned double-glazed glass production line. This would require expanding the conventional air-conditioned room to secure the necessary space, which is impractical. In addition, because the holder supports are inserted before the sealant hardens, if the glass plates flex when they are made horizontal, the correct dimensions of the air gap cannot be secured, resulting in poor overall product quality. Moreover, inserting the holder supports before the sealant hardens can lead to inaccurate positioning of the holder supports, sealant overflowing from between the glass plates requiring removal and cleaning, or gaps forming between the glass plates and the sealant. Inserting the holder supports into the soft, unhardened sealant can cause various problems.

[0006] This invention takes into account the above-mentioned prior art and aims to provide a method for manufacturing double-glazed glass that allows the use of conventional air conditioning room production lines and enables the precise embedding of holders into sealing materials. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing double-layered glass, comprising: a spacer placement step of arranging a spacer to maintain a gap between two glass plates; a sealant hardening step of filling the outside of the spacer and the periphery between the glass plates with a sealant and hardening the sealant to form a hardened body; a groove forming step of cutting along the longitudinal direction of the hardened body from the outside of the periphery between the glass plates to form a groove; and a holder insertion step of inserting a holder having a recess into the groove.

[0008] Preferably, the holder is formed of left and right side pieces and a bottom piece connecting one end of these side pieces, and the side pieces and the bottom piece have non-curved corners.

[0009] Preferably, the holder and the groove are not adhered to each other.

[0010] Preferably, the holder is divided in the longitudinal direction, and the holder and the groove are bonded together.

[0011] Preferably, the holder is made of aluminum. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, the sealant is first hardened in a sealant hardening process, and then grooves are formed in the hardened sealant body in a groove forming process. Therefore, a conventional air-conditioned room with a production line for forming the hardened body can be used as is. In this way, the production efficiency of ordinary double-glazed glass, which does not require processing of the hardened body, can be used as is. Since the holder is inserted into the groove formed in the hardened body in a holder insertion process, the holder can be precisely fitted into the hardened body. This insertion work can be performed in a separate workplace from the production of double-glazed glass, which greatly contributes to improving overall productivity.

[0013] Furthermore, since the holder has corners, these corners are slightly inserted into and embedded in the hardened body, thus holding it securely within the groove. Alternatively, by providing corners in the groove itself that match the shape of the holder's corners, the holder can be precisely fitted into the groove by aligning the corners of both. Moreover, forming such corners does not require any special processing techniques, so it can be easily done.

[0014] Furthermore, if the holder and groove are not bonded, the shear deformation caused by thermal expansion of the holder due to temperature changes will not affect the effect body. Therefore, the constraint that the holder must be made of a material such as resin that requires elastic deformation is eliminated.

[0015] Furthermore, by bonding the holder and the groove, the glass plate, hardened body, and holder are all integrated into one unit. This also prevents the holder from shifting position. Moreover, because the holder is divided in the longitudinal direction at this time, the shear deformation of the adhesive between the holder and the groove prevents the sealing material 4 from breaking.

[0016] Furthermore, if the holder is made of aluminum, it becomes possible to use common aluminum extruded material. Therefore, it can be procured at a lower cost compared to specially shaped resin holders. Moreover, so-called channel material with such aluminum corners is widely available and therefore easy to obtain. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0017] [Figure 1] This is a flowchart of the method for manufacturing double-glazed glass according to the present invention. [Figure 2] This is an explanatory diagram of the spacer placement process. [Figure 3] This is an explanatory diagram of the sealant curing process. [Figure 4] This is an explanatory diagram of the groove formation process. [Figure 5] This is an explanatory diagram of the holder insertion process. [Figure 6] This is a schematic diagram of another example of double-glazed glass.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, the method for manufacturing a multilayer glass according to the present invention first performs a spacer arrangement step (step S1). As shown in FIG. 2, this spacer arrangement step is a step of arranging a spacer 2 for maintaining a gap between two glass plates 1. This step can be carried out in an air-conditioned room used in a normal multilayer glass production line. That is, the spacer 2 is arranged at the peripheral portion of the glass plate 1 between two glass plates 1 erected in a substantially vertical direction, and a gap filling material 3 is interposed between the spacer 2 and the glass plate 1. Therefore, the spacer 2 is adhered to the glass plate 1 via the gap filling material 3. With such a structure, an air layer 10 is formed between the two glass plates 1. The gap filling material 3 is, for example, butyl and has a function of preventing moisture intrusion into the air layer 10. As the glass plate 1, float glass can be used, and depending on the required conditions, it is also possible to adopt glass with high heat insulation performance such as Low-E glass. The spacer 2 is made of extruded aluminum alloy and may contain a desiccant inside.

[0019] Next, a sealant curing step is performed (step S2). As shown in FIG. 3, this sealant curing step is a step of filling a sealant 4 on the outer peripheral side of the spacer 2 with respect to the glass plate 1 and at the periphery between the glass plates 1 and curing the sealant 4 to form a cured body 5. As the sealant 4, a high modulus two-component silicone sealant manufactured by Dow Corning Toray Co., Ltd. or the like is preferably used. This sealant curing step takes several days to completely cure. The cured body 5 which is the cured sealant 4 has a fairly high hardness.

[0020] Next, a groove forming step is performed (step S3). As shown in FIG. 4, this groove forming step is a step of forming a groove 6 by cutting along the longitudinal direction of the cured body 5 from the outer periphery of the periphery between the glass plates 1. For the formation of this groove 6, a normal cutting tool can be used. Further, this groove forming step is performed at a location different from the above-described air conditioning chamber. That is, after the sealing material 4 is completely cured to form the cured body 5 after several days have passed, the multilayer glass is transported to a factory line different from the air conditioning chamber, and a cutting tool for groove processing is used from the end face side (the small end side) of the multilayer glass, and the cross section is cut into a substantially square shape. Since the cured body 5 is cured and has a high hardness, cutting is easy.

[0021] Next, a holder insertion step is performed (step S4). As shown in FIG. 5, this holder insertion step is a step of inserting a holder 8 having a recess 7 into the groove 6. Through this step, a multilayer glass 9 is produced. At this time, since the cured body 5 has a high hardness, the holder 8 can be fixed and stored to some extent. The opening of the recess 7 is arranged to face the end face side of the multilayer glass 9. Further, since the cured body 5 has passed through several days in the seal curing step, it is firmly adhered to the glass plate 1. That is, since the cured body 5 and the glass plate 1 are in close contact, no bubbles are generated, and a multilayer glass 9 with a good appearance can be obtained.

[0022] As described above, according to the present invention, first, the sealing material 4 is cured by the seal material curing step, and then the groove 6 is formed in the cured body 5, which is the cured sealing material 4, by the groove forming step. Therefore, the conventional air conditioning chamber having a production line for forming the cured body 5 can be used as it is. Thus, the production efficiency as a normal multilayer glass without processing the cured body 5 can be utilized as it is. Since the holder 8 is inserted into the groove 6 formed in the cured body 5 in the holder insertion step, the holder 8 can be accurately housed in the cured body 5. This insertion operation can be carried out at a work place different from the production of the multilayer glass, and greatly contributes to the improvement of the overall productivity.

[0023] Here, the holder 8 is formed of left and right side pieces 8a and a bottom piece 8b connecting one end of these side pieces 8a, and both side pieces 8a and the bottom piece 8b have non-curved corners 8c. In this way, since the holder 8 has corners 8c, these corners 8c are slightly inserted into and embedded in the hardened body 5, so that it is firmly held in the groove 6. Alternatively, by providing corners 6a (see Figure 4) in the groove 6 itself that match the shape of the corners 8c of the holder 8, the holder 8 can be accurately fitted into the groove 6 by aligning the corners 8c and 6a. Furthermore, since forming such corners 8c does not require any special processing techniques, it can be easily formed.

[0024] In particular, if the holder 8 is made of aluminum, it becomes possible to use general aluminum (alloy) extruded material. Therefore, it can be procured at a lower cost compared to a specially shaped resin holder. Furthermore, so-called channel material having such an aluminum corner 8c is generally widely available and easy to obtain. In particular, it is preferable that the angle between both sides 8a and the base 8b is 90° (right angle).

[0025] Furthermore, if the holder 8 and groove 6 are not bonded, the shear deformation caused by thermal expansion of the holder 8 due to temperature changes will not affect the cured body 5. Therefore, the constraint that the holder 8 must be made of a material such as a resin that requires elastic deformation is eliminated. On the other hand, if the holder 8 and groove 6 are bonded, the glass plate 1, cured body 5, and holder 8 are all integrated. As mentioned above, since the gap filler material 3 is placed between the two glass plates 1 and the spacer 2, moisture intrusion into the air layer 10 is prevented, improving durability. However, the air layer 10 expands and contracts due to repeated temperature changes, which may cause deformation of the glass plate 1 and its surrounding areas. In such cases, the gap filler material 3 may deform and eventually break down, making it impossible to prevent moisture intrusion and reducing durability. Bonding the holder 8 and groove 6 can prevent this. In addition, the holder may shift position due to vibrations, mainly during transportation, but such shifting of the holder 8 can also be prevented. This bonding of the holder 8 and groove 6 is performed during the holder insertion process. The adhesive placed between the holder 8 and the groove 6 is made of, for example, silicone, and may be placed at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction of the holder 8 (groove 6), or it may be placed continuously.

[0026] In particular, when the holder 8 and the groove 6 are bonded together, it is preferable that the holder 8 is divided in the longitudinal direction. By dividing the holder 8 in the longitudinal direction in this way, fracture due to shear deformation of the adhesive between the holder 8 and the groove 6 is prevented.

[0027] Furthermore, as is clear from Figure 6, the holder 8 may have a U-shaped cross-section. Even with this shape, the advantageous effect of embedding the holder 8 while the sealant 4 is still soft can be achieved. In other words, double-glazed glass 9 with the holder 8 can be produced efficiently without changing the conventional air conditioning room production line. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0028] 1: Glass plate, 2: Spacer, 3: Gap filler, 4: Sealant, 5: Hardened body, 6: Groove, 6a: Corner, 7: Recess, 8: Holder, 8a: Side pieces, 8b: Bottom piece, 8c: Corner, 9: Double-glazed glass, 10: Air layer

Claims

1. A spacer placement step involves placing a spacer between two glass plates to maintain a gap, A sealing material curing step is performed by filling the outer surface of the spacer and the periphery between the glass plates with a sealing material and curing the sealing material to form a cured body. A groove forming step involves cutting along the longitudinal direction of the hardened body from the outer peripheral edge between the glass plates to form a groove, The process includes a holder insertion step of inserting a holder having a recess in the groove, The holder is formed of left and right side pieces and a bottom piece connecting one end of these side pieces, and the side pieces and the bottom piece have non-curved corners. A method for manufacturing double-glazed glass, characterized in that a corner portion is formed in the groove forming step to match the shape of the corner portion.

2. The method for manufacturing a double-glazed glass according to claim 1, characterized in that the holder and the groove are not adhered to each other.

3. The method for manufacturing a double-glazed glass according to claim 1, characterized in that the holder is divided in the longitudinal direction and the holder and the groove are bonded together.

4. The method for manufacturing double-glazed glass according to claim 1, characterized in that the holder is made of aluminum.

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