Laser-Ablated Opaque Coating Grid for Glass Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing glass or glass ceramic articles with opaque coatings for luminous display elements are costly and struggle with achieving fine structures and reproducibility, particularly in small series, due to limitations in screen printing and multi-layer coatings, which result in high setup costs and unsightly light skipping or unilluminated areas.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a flat glass or glass ceramic substrate with an opaque coating, where a pulsed laser beam is used to create a grid of openings with distances and sizes less than 200 μm, allowing partial transparency and enabling finer structures, and dithering techniques are applied to improve the deadfront effect and reduce color discrepancies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If screen printing is used to print symbols and designs on cooktops, then production setup costs are high due to the need for new screens for every design change, but this method is simple to implement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical screen printing process with a laser-based marking system. The laser marking device uses software-controlled laser beams to directly write designs, symbols, and patterns onto the cooktop surface, eliminating the need for physical screens and their associated setup costs while enabling rapid design changes through digital programming
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental processing parameter from mechanical screen contact to laser energy parameters (power, pulse duration, scanning speed). By adjusting these laser parameters, different design elements can be created without changing physical tooling, allowing cost-effective customization and rapid design iteration
2Ease of manufacture
If screen printing is used to create very fine structures, then the manufacturing precision is insufficient due to the nature of the screen printing mesh, but this method is widely applicable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mesh-based mechanical screen printing system with a laser beam system that has no physical mesh limitations. The laser can focus energy to create extremely fine lines and structures limited only by the optical system's resolution, achieving precision far beyond what screen meshes can provide while maintaining broad applicability across different design requirements
3Adaptability or versatility
If multi-layered coatings are used with screen printing, then alignment precision is difficult to achieve perfectly, but this approach provides design flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces multi-layer screen printing with a single laser marking process that can create multiple design elements in one operation. The laser system maintains precise positioning through digital control and can write multiple symbols, text, or patterns with exact alignment requirements without the cumulative alignment errors that occur with multiple screen printing layers
Solution Approach 2:
The laser marking device serves multiple functions that previously required separate screen printing operations: it can create symbols, text, patterns, and design elements all in one system. This universal capability eliminates the need for multiple specialized screens and their associated alignment challenges while providing equal or greater design flexibility
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 reduces production costs, enhances the resolution and aesthetic appeal by allowing greater positioning tolerances for light elements, and provides a satisfactory deadfront effect while maintaining the desired shape and color consistency, even under varying luminosity.
Implementation Method 1
a pulsed laser beam is directed onto the opaque coating and the coating is repeatedly removed locally at various locations down to the surface of the glass or glass-ceramic article by ablation
Data Source
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AI summary
Method for producing a glass or glass-ceramic article (1), comprising the steps of: - providing a planar glass or glass-ceramic substrate (2) with two opposing side surfaces (20, 21), which has a light transmission Tvis of at least 1%, preferably at least 30%, in the visible spectral range from 380 nm to 780 nm for visible light passing through the glass or glass-ceramic substrate (2) from one side surface to the opposite side surface, wherein - one side surface of the glass or glass-ceramic substrate (2) is provided with an opaque coating (5) which has a light transmission Tvis of at most 5% in the visible spectral range from 380 nm to 788 nm,wherein - a pulsed laser beam is directed at the opaque coating (5) and by ablation the coating (5) is repeatedly removed locally at different locations down to the surface of the glass or glass-ceramic article, thereby producing a grid of a multitude of openings in the opaque coating (5) forming a perforated area, such that the opaque coating becomes partially transparent in the area (10) of the grid.