Laminated Glazing with Opaque Interlayer for Acoustic and Thermal Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high cost and limited availability of heavily tinted glass for automotive glazings, which are needed for sound insulation, thermal, and solar control, make it impractical for mass market applications, especially when combined with the challenges of producing and shipping thin, heavily tinted glass.
Innovation Solution
A laminated glazing design using a 0.76 mm opaque interlayer between two 2.1 mm thick glass plies, each with a high light transmission, achieves reduced light transmission and thermal energy transmission while providing acoustic insulation, allowing for the use of widely available clear or lightly tinted glass, thereby reducing manufacturing and shipping costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If heavily tinted glass is used to provide thermal control and glare reduction in thin glazings, then light transmission is reduced and thermal control is improved, but manufacturing cost increases and availability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the glazing system into multiple functional layers: clear glass plies for structural integrity and light transmission, and a separately positioned absorptive coating layer for thermal control. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, avoiding the need to manufacture expensive heavily tinted glass while achieving the same thermal performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines clear glass plies with an absorptive coating layer to create a composite glazing system that achieves both high light transmission and effective thermal control. The coating layer contains pigments or dyes that absorb infrared radiation, merging the optical clarity of glass with the thermal properties previously requiring heavy tinting.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If heavily tinted glass is used for acoustic insulation, then sound transmission loss is improved, but the complexity of producing and shipping thin glass plies increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the acoustic insulation function from the glass plies themselves, placing it in a separate absorptive coating layer. This allows the use of standard clear glass plies that are easier to produce and ship, while the coating layer provides the acoustic damping through its viscoelastic properties and infrared absorption capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite structure combining clear glass plies with an absorptive coating layer containing pigments, dyes, or viscoelastic materials. This composite approach achieves acoustic insulation without requiring the glass itself to be heavily tinted or specially processed, simplifying production and distribution.
3Weight of moving object
If thin glass plies are used to reduce weight, then weight is reduced and mechanical strength is maintained, but the need for heavily tinted glass increases cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the thermal control function from the glass plies, placing it in a separate absorptive coating layer. This allows the use of thin, clear glass plies for weight reduction while the coating layer provides the thermal control that would otherwise require expensive heavily tinted glass.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies absorptive properties locally in the coating layer rather than throughout the entire glass thickness. This localized approach allows thin clear glass plies to be used for weight reduction, with the coating layer providing targeted infrared absorption and thermal control only where needed.
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 approach enables the production of multifunctional glazings with improved acoustic, thermal, and solar control properties at a lower cost, using readily available glass, and reduces the need for costly, heavily tinted glass, making it suitable for mass market applications.
Implementation Method 1
an interlayer offering sound damping or insulation may be used to reduce road or engine noise within a vehicle
Implementation Method 2
To provide thermal, optical and/or solar control, coatings may be present on at least one surface of a ply of glass
Implementation Method 3
A tinted film or tinted interlayer may also be used to reduce glare coming into the vehicle
Data Source
AI summary
A laminated glazing comprising an inner ply of glass and an outer ply of glass having a generally opaque interlayer laminated therebetween is disclosed. When the interlayer, in a thickness of 0.76 mm, is laminated between two plies of glass, each 2.1 mm thick and having an LT greater than 88% (CIE Illuminant A), the resultant glazing has an LT (CIE Illuminant A) of less than 40%, a TE (ISO9050:E(2003), air mass 1.5) of less than 45%; and an acoustic transmission loss of greater than 40 dB in the range 3000 to 4000 Hz at 21° C.