Vehicle Glazing Polymer Insert for Thermal IR Strength
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle glazing, particularly windshields, face challenges with fragility and difficulty in shaping at an industrial scale due to the use of materials like zinc sulphide for thermal infrared transparency, leading to reliability issues and potential safety concerns from hole size affecting mechanical strength.
Innovation Solution
A laminated or curved vehicle glazing with a through hole filled by an organosulfur hybrid polymer insert, transparent in the infrared spectrum beyond 2.5µm, which is crosslinked and provides enhanced mechanical and thermomechanical properties, combined with a flexible polymer ring for fixing and sealing, ensuring robustness and infrared transparency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If zinc sulfide insert is used for thermal infrared transparency, then infrared transmission is improved, but mechanical strength and reliability deteriorate due to material fragility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses zinc sulfide particles dispersed in a transparent polymer matrix to create a composite insert material. This composite approach combines the infrared transparency of zinc sulfide with the mechanical strength and flexibility of the polymer, resolving the contradiction between optical performance and mechanical reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the physical and chemical parameters of the insert material by controlling particle size distribution, concentration, and polymer matrix composition. These parameter changes optimize both infrared transmission properties and mechanical strength, allowing the insert to withstand automotive environmental conditions while maintaining optical performance.
2Illumination intensity
If zinc sulfide insert is used for thermal infrared transparency, then infrared transmission is improved, but ease of manufacture deteriorates due to difficulty in shaping at industrial rate
Solution Approach 1:
The composite structure of zinc sulfide particles in a polymer matrix allows the insert to be manufactured using standard automotive glazing processes. The polymer matrix can be easily molded and shaped, while the dispersed zinc sulfide particles maintain infrared transparency, enabling industrial-scale production.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates the insert by forming a polymer matrix that can be easily shaped and then incorporating zinc sulfide particles throughout. This approach copies the desirable manufacturing properties of pure polymer while adding the optical properties of zinc sulfide, enabling efficient industrial manufacturing.
3Illumination intensity
If larger hole is created for insert to improve infrared transparency, then infrared transmission is improved, but mechanical strength of glazing deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the size, shape, and position parameters of the insert within the glazing. By carefully controlling these parameters, the design achieves sufficient infrared transmission while minimizing the impact on overall glazing strength and structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite insert material provides both infrared transparency and mechanical strength, allowing for larger insert areas without proportionally reducing glazing strength. The polymer matrix contributes to structural integrity while zinc sulfide particles ensure optical performance.
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
The solution enhances the mechanical strength and infrared transparency of vehicle glazing while maintaining robustness, addressing the fragility and reliability issues of previous designs and ensuring passenger safety by using an organosulfur hybrid polymer insert.
Implementation Method 1
an insert made of a transparent material in a wavelength range A in the infrared spectrum beyond 2.5μm (transparent to at least one wavelength in this range A)... The range A goes from 9.5μm to 10.5μm, preferably from 8 to 12μm
Implementation Method 2
said transparent material of the insert comprises (and even preferably consists essentially of) an organo-sulfur hybrid (co)polymer, which is crosslinked, comprising linear sulfur chains, crosslinked by organic comonomers
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a vehicle glazing element (100) comprising, in a peripheral zone, a through-hole containing a polymer insert (2) that is transparent within a range A of wavelengths in the infrared spectrum of at least 9.5 to 10.5 μm. The invention also relates to the device associated with said glazing element and a thermal imaging camera.