Obscuring Bus Bars in Electrochromic Glass
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Electrochromic windows suffer from aesthetic issues due to the visibility of bus bars and scribe lines, which detract from their appearance and hinder their commercial adoption despite advances in technology.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of techniques to obscure bus bars, including camouflaging them to match the background color, using opaque or transparent obscuring layers, and embedding bus bars under the spacer to prevent visibility, while maintaining electrical conductivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If bus bars are made visible to ensure electrical connectivity, then electrical function is maintained, but aesthetic appearance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
An obscuring layer is introduced as an intermediary element between the bus bar and the external environment. This layer blocks the visual appearance of the bus bar while allowing electrical current to pass through, thus maintaining electrical connectivity while improving aesthetic appearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The obscuring layer is applied selectively only in regions where bus bars are located, rather than covering the entire window surface. This localized approach maintains the aesthetic quality of the window while ensuring electrical functionality of the electrochromic device.
2Shape
If obscuring layers are added to hide bus bars, then aesthetic appearance improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The obscuring layer serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as an aesthetic cover to hide bus bars, maintains electrical conductivity for the electrochromic device operation, and can provide additional protective functions. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The obscuring layer is constructed using composite materials that combine optical opacity with electrical conductivity. This allows a single integrated layer to fulfill both aesthetic and functional requirements, rather than requiring separate opaque and conductive components.
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
These techniques effectively hide bus bars from view, enhancing the aesthetic appeal of electrochromic windows and improving their commercial potential by reducing visual distractions.
Implementation Method 1
Electrochromism is a phenomenon in which a material exhibits a reversible electrochemically-mediated change in an optical property when placed in a different electronic state, typically by being subjected to a voltage change.
Implementation Method 2
The strip of obscuration material has at least a width configured to block view of the bus bar from an observer viewing through the substantially transparent substrate.
Implementation Method 3
The bus bar is made of an electrically conductive material comprising a tinting agent configured to approximate the color of the background to the primary seal and/or space of the IGU.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments described include bus bars for electrochromic or other optical state changing devices. The bus bars are configured to color match and/or provide minimal optical contrast with their surrounding environment in the optical device. Such bus bars may be transparent bus bars.