Electrochromic Rearview Mirror Edge Finishing With Back Plate Fixturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing manufacturing processes for electro-optic mirror reflective elements in vehicle rearview mirrors face challenges in achieving accurate and secure fixturing during cutting and edge finishing, leading to potential damage and misalignment, especially in frameless mirror designs where the rear glass substrates do not extend beyond the front glass substrates.
Innovation Solution
The process involves adhering rear glass substrates to a glass sheet before cutting and forming the front glass substrates, allowing the back plates to serve as fixtures for precise cutting and edge finishing, reducing handling damage and complexity while enabling standardization of various mirror shapes from a single plate design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If rear glass substrates are adhered to the glass sheet before cutting and forming front glass substrates, then the accuracy and security of cutting and finishing processes is enhanced, but the device complexity increases due to additional fixture requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The back plates are attached to the rear glass substrates before the front glass substrates are cut and formed from the glass sheet. This preliminary attachment creates a stable fixture system that enables precise cutting and edge finishing operations, as the back plates serve as reference surfaces for positioning and clamping during subsequent manufacturing steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The back plates act as intermediary fixtures between the rear glass substrates and the cutting/finishing tools. By attaching back plates to the rear substrates first, the system creates a stable intermediate structure that facilitates accurate positioning and secure fixturing during the cutting and edge finishing processes, thereby improving manufacturing precision without requiring complex direct fixturing of the front substrates.
2Reliability
If the glass sheet is not cut to form front glass substrates until after rear glass substrates are adhered, then handling damage is reduced, but the manufacturing time increases due to sequential processing
Solution Approach 1:
Rear glass substrates are adhered to the glass sheet in advance, creating a stable assembly before the front glass substrates are cut and formed. This preliminary attachment protects the rear substrates from handling damage during subsequent cutting and finishing operations, as they are securely positioned on the glass sheet rather than being handled separately.
Solution Approach 2:
The process merges the attachment of rear glass substrates with the preparation of the glass sheet, creating a combined assembly that is then processed together. By adhering rear substrates to the sheet before cutting front substrates, the method combines multiple operations into a unified workflow that reduces handling steps and minimizes damage risk while maintaining efficient manufacturing timing.
3Reliability
If back plates are used to fixture substrates and sheet at the cutting tool, then the security of fixturing is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The back plates serve multiple functions: they are attached to the rear glass substrates, provide fixture surfaces for the cutting tool, and enable secure positioning during both cutting and edge finishing operations. This multi-functionality improves fixturing security without requiring entirely separate fixture systems for each operation, thereby reducing the overall increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The back plates attached to the rear glass substrates serve as self-contained fixtures that eliminate the need for additional external fixturing devices. By using the back plates themselves as the fixture interface with the cutting tool, the system achieves secure fixturing through the components already present in the assembly, reducing the need for separate complex fixturing mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicular variable reflectance mirror reflective element includes a rear glass substrate joined with a front glass sheet via a perimeter seal. An electrochromic medium disposed in an interpane cavity established between the rear glass substrate and the front glass sheet and bounded by the perimeter seal. With the rear glass substrate joined with the front glass sheet, the front glass sheet is cut at a front glass substrate portion to form a front glass substrate. A back plate is attached at the rear of the rear glass substrate. With the front glass sheet cut at the front glass substrate portions to form the front glass substrate having the rear glass substrate joined therewith via the perimeter seal, and with the back plate fixtured at a finishing tool, the cut edges of the front glass substrate are processed to provide a finished perimeter edge of the front glass substrate.