Laminated Glazing Offset Alignment for Optical Distortion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current laminated glazing technologies for vehicles face challenges in producing lightweight glazings with reduced optical distortion, especially when inner and outer glass plies are prepared using different shaping processes or tooling, leading to imperfections that are magnified when installed at an angle, affecting the optical quality and transmission.
Innovation Solution
A process involving the use of a mould shaped like the first glass sheet, applied to the second glass sheet, with alignment and offsetting to compensate for distortions, ensuring the second glass sheet follows the curvature of the first sheet during lamination, using polyvinylbutyral as the interlayer and specific temperature and pressure conditions to adhere the sheets while maintaining low optical power.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If inner and outer glass plies are prepared using different shaping processes or tooling to achieve lightweight glazing, then weight is reduced, but optical distortion is magnified when installed at an angle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-shaping the inner and outer glass plies individually using different processes (e.g., gravity sag bending for one ply, press bending for the other) before lamination. This allows each ply to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall optical quality through controlled preparation stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by allowing different glass plies to have different thicknesses and curvature radii tailored to their specific positions and functions. The inner ply may have different optical properties than the outer ply, with each being optimized for its local role in the laminated structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If glass sheets are heated and bent individually to form inner and outer plies, then shaping flexibility is improved, but alignment precision during lamination deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by implementing alignment procedures during lamination that use reference marks, alignment jigs, or optical alignment systems to ensure precise positioning of the individually shaped glass plies. This feedback mechanism corrects for any misalignment that may have occurred during separate shaping operations.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional lamination methods are used without offsetting, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but optical distortion remains high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by deliberately introducing an offset parameter during the lamination process, where the inner and outer glass plies are positioned with a controlled offset relative to each other. This parameter adjustment optimizes the optical properties by compensating for distortions that would otherwise be present in conventional aligned laminations.
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 significantly reduces optical distortion by up to 10% compared to traditional laminations, achieving improved optical quality and transmission values, making it suitable for vehicle windscreens and backlights.
Implementation Method 1
two sheets of glass are joined by at least one adhesive layer, such as polyvinyl butyral (PVB)
Implementation Method 2
the inner ply and outer glass ply sheets are heated until malleable, bent and hence shaped
Implementation Method 3
The glass sheets may then be cooled, brought together and laminated
Data Source
AI summary
A process for preparing a laminated glazing involves providing a first glass sheet having a desired shape with a first thickness, providing a second glass sheet having a desired shape with a second thickness; providing an interlayer between the first and second glass sheet; applying a mould shaped substantially the same as the first glass sheet against the second glass sheet; aligning the two glass sheets and misaligning the mould with respect to the two glass sheets so the mould is offset relative to the two glass sheets; and laminating together the first and second glass sheets and the interlayer at a temperature and pressure sufficient to adhere the interlayer to the glass sheets, such that after lamination, the second glass sheet is offset relative to the first glass sheet whilst the shape of the second glass sheet is substantially the same as the shape of the first glass sheet.