Motor Vehicle Windshield Camera Zone Optical Distortion Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing laminated vehicle windshields with integrated sensors face challenges in achieving high optical quality and precise decoration alignment due to the use of PVB printing technology, which results in significant optical distortions and imprecise boundaries between enamel and glass portions, failing to meet the stringent specifications for advanced camera systems.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves printing a dégradé edge zone with an unapertured strip on the glass perimeter and using a decoration on the intermediate adhesive layer to create a zone without decoration in the camera's field, ensuring the glass is not subjected to excessive heat, thereby maintaining optical quality and allowing precise alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the glass zone in the camera field is positioned close to the enameled zone to achieve compact design, then the aesthetic appearance and sensor integration are improved, but optical distortion increases significantly due to high temperatures during enamel baking
Solution Approach 1:
An unapertured strip acts as an intermediary thermal barrier between the enameled zone and the camera field zone. This strip prevents direct heat transfer to the glass in the camera field during enamel baking, thereby reducing optical distortion while maintaining the compact overall design with the enameled zone closely positioned around the rearview mirror base
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different thermal protection strategies to different zones: the unapertured strip provides thermal isolation to the camera field zone, while the degradé edge zone allows controlled visual transition. This localized quality approach ensures the camera field maintains low optical distortion (≤100 mdpt) while the enameled zone achieves compact positioning for aesthetics and sensor integration
2Ease of manufacture
If PVB printing technology is used to produce decoration on the intermediate adhesive layer, then decoration alignment is simplified, but optical quality deteriorates due to significant optical distortions and imprecise boundaries
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter of the intermediate adhesive layer from standard PVB to a PVB variant with modified optical properties (referred to as PVB' in the patent). This modified PVB exhibits reduced optical distortion and improved boundary definition, allowing decoration alignment to be achieved with better optical quality than conventional PVB printing technology
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 optical distortions and enhances positional precision, allowing the windshield to meet the demanding specifications for camera systems by maintaining the glass's optical quality and facilitating aesthetically perfect assembly.
Implementation Method 1
These optical distortions are a result of the fact that it is impossible to avoid subjecting this zone of the glass to high temperatures during the bake of the enamel
Data Source
AI summary
A laminated glazing includes two glass sheets adhesively bonded by an intermediate adhesive layer, which glazing is associated with a camera, the laminated glazing including an opaque decoration resulting from the superposition of a first decoration on the intermediate adhesive layer, containing a first zone without decoration placed in the field of the camera, and of a second decoration including an enamel formed into a dégradé edge zone and of an unapertured strip, bounding a free zone of dimension smaller than that of the first decoration, on which the latter is superposed during the assembly of the laminated glazing, the unapertured strip having a width comprised between 1 and 30 mm, and the smallest dimension of said free zone not being smaller than 50 mm; three processes for its manufacture and its use as a motor-vehicle windshield.