Glass Panel Unit Manufacturing via Exhaust Port Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manufacturing glass panel units with thermal insulation properties often require a cutting-off step, leading to reduced material efficiency and difficulties when using strengthened glass, as they involve complex processes and protrusions on the external surface.
Innovation Solution
A method that includes hermetically bonding glass substrates with a frame-shaped seal, reducing pressure within the enclosed space through an exhaust port, and sealing it with a deformed sealant, eliminating the need for a cutting-off step and enhancing material efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a cutting-off step is performed to remove the subspace with the exhaust port, then the glass panel unit can be obtained with a clean external surface, but material usage efficiency is reduced and the process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The exhaust port is extracted and relocated to the peripheral region of the glass panel unit, specifically positioned within the seal structure. This allows the exhaust function to be separated from the main glass pane area, eliminating the need for cutting-off operations while maintaining external surface quality. The exhaust port is effectively removed from the problematic central location and placed where it can function without compromising material efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal structure serves as an intermediary element that houses the exhaust port. By placing the exhaust port within the seal (which is already present for hermetic bonding), the exhaust function is integrated into an existing structural component. This intermediary placement allows the exhaust port to be hidden within the seal profile, eliminating the need for cutting-off while maintaining both external surface quality and material efficiency.
2Reliability
If strengthened glass is used for the substrates, then thermal insulation performance is improved, but cutting-off becomes difficult and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The exhaust port function is extracted from the strengthened glass substrate area and relocated to the peripheral seal region. This extraction eliminates the need to perform cutting-off operations on the strengthened glass, which is notoriously difficult to cut due to its high strength and low fracture toughness. The exhaust port is positioned where it can function effectively without requiring complex cutting processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The exhaust port is pre-positioned within the seal structure during the hermetic bonding process, before any potential cutting or finishing operations. This preliminary placement ensures that the exhaust port is already in its final position within the strengthened glass panel unit, eliminating the need for subsequent cutting-off operations that would be difficult with strengthened glass.
3Device complexity
If the exhaust port is sealed by deforming sealant, then the process is simplified and material efficiency is improved, but the sealant must be precisely positioned
Solution Approach 1:
The seal structure serves as an intermediary that provides a predetermined position for the exhaust port. The sealant is applied along the hermetic bonding interface, and the exhaust port is positioned within the seal profile where it will be naturally covered by the sealant deformation. This intermediary placement ensures that the sealant only needs to be positioned along the bonding interface, not precisely at the exhaust port location, reducing the precision requirement while simplifying the sealing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealant deformation process automatically seals the exhaust port without requiring additional sealing operations. When the sealant is heated and deformed during or after the hermetic bonding process, it naturally flows to cover and seal the exhaust port opening. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for separate sealing steps and reduces the precision requirements, as the sealant deformation itself performs the sealing function.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method efficiently manufactures glass panel units with thermal insulation properties without cutting-off, even with strengthened glass, and improves material usage efficiency by sealing the exhaust port effectively, resulting in a glass window with high thermal insulation.
Implementation Method 1
a sealing step of sealing the exhaust port with a reduced pressure in the inside space being maintained. In the sealing step, sealant disposed between the first surface and the second surface is deformed, and the sealant thus deformed seals an opening of the exhaust port.
Data Source
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AI summary
A glass panel unit having thermal insulation properties is efficiently manufactured without performing a cutting-off step. A manufacturing method of a glass panel unit of the present invention includes a bonding step, a pressure reduction step, and a sealing step. In the bonding step, a first substrate (1) and a second substrate (2) are hermetically bonded together with a seal (4) having a frame shape. In the pressure reduction step, a pressure in an inside space formed between the first substrate (1) and the second substrate (2) is reduced through an exhaust port (8). In the sealing step, sealant (5) disposed between the first substrate (1) and the second substrate (2) is deformed, and the sealant (5) thus deformed seals an opening of the exhaust port (8).