Glass Panel Unit Pillar Arrangement on Low-Emissivity Film
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing manufacturing processes for glass panel units with low-emissivity films are cumbersome and require specific adjustments for different types of glass panes, particularly when wired glass is used, as the pillars can overlap the mesh, obstructing image processing and making common manufacturing processes difficult.
Innovation Solution
A method involving an arrangement step, bonding step, evacuation step, and sealing step, where pillars are arranged on a low-emissivity film-covered first substrate, and the second substrate (which can be wired glass) is bonded with a seal member forming an internal space that is evacuated and sealed, allowing for common manufacturing steps regardless of the glass type.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pillars are arranged on wired glass to maintain distance between glass panes, then the structural function is achieved, but the pillars may overlap the wire mesh, obstructing image processing for quality inspection
Solution Approach 1:
A transparent spacer sheet is introduced as an intermediary carrier between the pillars and the wired glass. The pillars are arranged on this transparent sheet rather than directly on the wired glass, allowing optical inspection systems to clearly detect pillar positions without the wire mesh interfering with the imaging process.
2Reliability
If manufacturing processes are customized for different glass pane types (e.g., wired glass vs. ordinary glass), then specific quality requirements are met, but the complexity of manufacturing processes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transparent spacer sheet serves as a universal carrier that can be used with all types of glass panes (wired glass, ordinary glass, low-emissivity glass, etc.). This standardizes the pillar arrangement process across different glass types, allowing the same manufacturing equipment and procedures to be used universally, thereby reducing process complexity while maintaining quality.
3Loss of energy
If a low-emissivity film is provided on the inner surface of a glass pane, then thermal insulation performance is improved, but the manufacturing process requires specific adjustments when stacking with other glass types
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process is segmented into distinct sequential steps: first arranging pillars on the transparent sheet with low-emissivity glass, then bonding the second glass pane, followed by evacuation and sealing. This segmentation allows each step to be optimized independently, making the process manageable and adaptable to different glass types while preserving the thermal insulation benefits of the low-emissivity film.
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 enables the production of glass panel units with low-emissivity films and wired glass in a unified process, preventing pillar-mesh overlap and simplifying the manufacturing process, while ensuring high thermal insulation and fire safety.
Implementation Method 1
a bonding step of hermetically bonding the first substrate to a second substrate with a seal member sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate to form an internal space surrounded by the seal member
Implementation Method 2
an evacuation step of evacuating the internal space
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
An object is to manufacture a glass panel unit having a stacked structure including a glass pane of various types and a glass pane provided with a low-emissivity film in common steps. A method for manufacturing a glass panel unit includes an arrangement step, a bonding step, an evacuation step, and a sealing step. The arrangement step is a step of arranging a plurality of pillars (4) on a first substrate (1). The first substrate (1) includes a first glass pane (15) and a low-emissivity film (17) on the first glass pane (15). The plurality of pillars (4) are arranged on the low-emissivity film (17) in the arrangement step.