Patent Application
20130280487
A. Field of Invention
The present invention is directed generally to a method of preparing textured glass, namely decorative glass and/or dichroic glass. The present method may allow the bonding of an additional substrate to the textured glass, textured decorative glass, and/or textured dichroic glass. A glass, decorative glass, and/or dichroic glass that can be textured, laminated, and fully protective may also be provided from the present method described herein.
B. Description of the Related Art
Glass has been used decoratively in a multitude of ways. One decorative glass that may be used is dichroic glass, which literally means “two colored” and is derived from the Greek words “di” for two, and “chroma” for color. The decorative effect involves varying color patterns resulting from dichroic materials coated on an uneven surface of a glass body. The dichroic materials transmit or reflect different colors of light, and the unevenness of the coated surface imposes patterns on the colors of light that are transmitted or reflected. Depending on the incident of light and the viewing angle, it appears to have more than one color at the same time. This is due to the nature of dichroic glass, which allows some wavelengths of light and color to reflect while other wavelengths pass through, producing a shifting pattern effect in which the color of the glass changes with the amount of light being absorbed or reflected. Besides the multi-colored feature, it may or may not have reflective properties.
Dichroic glass does not use paints, dyes, or any other kind of coloring agent to create its color, but sometimes pieces of colored glass are coated. The coating itself doesn't have its own inherent color, but rather it bends light to reflect colors exactly as a prism makes rainbows. With so many combinations of glass colors and patterns available to make dichroic glass, endless possibilities are available for different colors and patterns. Making dichroic glass requires a complex processing technique and is only made by a handful of manufacturers that have equipment like high temperature vacuum chambers, vaporizing electro-guns, and high temperature kilns. Dichroic glass may provide completely new effects, as special films with changing colors are combined with glass. Through combinations with various glass types and special films used within the processing of dichroic glass, an unlimited number of different appearances can be created.
Earlier types of rudimentary dichroic glass date back to at least the 4th century AD. Besides its use for decorative purposes, this type of glass has been used in the aerospace industry. Modern versions off dichroic glass were developed in the late fifties by NASA to protect against the potentially harmful effects of direct sunlight and cosmic radiation. Dichroic glass, with its striking visual qualities, has been used in a variety of scientific and industrial applications. It has had applications for use in satellite mirrors and re-entry tiles on space shuttles. It has also been modified to provide dichroic safety glass, which may be used in architectural applications. This safety glass is typically a laminated, flat, non-textured dichroic glass which can provide decorative properties. This dichroic glass can be both marketed as a safety glass and simultaneously provide decorative properties.
Even though the dichroic glass can be made into safety glass, its appearance does not provide all of the possibilities available from dichroic glass. While current safety dichroic glass typically is flat and non-textured, its potential decorative use is reduced. One alternative in the marketplace is a dichroic glass in which the texture is applied to one side only by a single pane of glass or another substrate. However, the flat dichroic laminated safety glass more commonly found is not as aesthetically pleasing as a textured dichroic glass, and the flat dichroic laminated safety glass may also have the additional disadvantage of having a high minor reflectance, which can provide an objectionable blinding glare. Additionally, the flat dichroic laminated glass may unfortunately provide distorted optical image transmission clarity.
The present invention pertains to the field of decorative glass. The invention provides methods for preparing a textured, laminated, and fully protective dichroic glass and other decorative glass. More particularly, the invention may pertain to decorative glass blocks, glass tiles, and glass panels as well as other applications including but not limited to architectural applications, lighting fixtures, skylights, mosaics, sconces, sculpture, stained glass, optical filters, and/or jewelry that use dichroic glass.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a method of preparing textured dichroic glass or other textured glass. It may include the steps of providing a substantially flat substrate; applying a bonding film to the substantially flat substrate; applying a decorative film to the bonding film; applying a flat form plane to the decorative film; removing the flat form plane; applying a textured glass surface; setting a pattern within the bonding film and the decorative film; and removing the textured glass surface wherein a glass having an impressed pattern is formed.
According to another object of the present invention, the textured glass comprises at least one glass of clear glass, colored glass, and dichroic glass.
According to one object of the present invention, the substantially flat substrate comprises glass.
According to another object of the present invention, the bonding film comprises heat curable bonding film.
According to one object of the present invention, the bonding film comprises a thermoplastic bonding film.
Another to still another object of the present invention, the bonding film comprises at least one bonding film of ethylene vinyl acetate, acrylic, ethylene copolymer, ethylene/methacrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, polyvinyl butyrol, polyester, polyimide, nitrile phenolic, and epoxy.
According to yet another object of the present invention, the bonding film further comprises a crosslinking agent.
According to still another object of the present invention, the decorative film comprises at least one film of single colored films, multicolored films, acetate films, metal foils, polyethylene terephthalate films, and holographic films.
According to yet another object of the present invention, the process may further comprise the step of adding a plurality of decorative films wherein the decorative films are interposed by the bonding films.
According to still another object of the present invention, the process may further comprise the step of applying heat between the substantially flat substrate and the flat form plane after applying the flat form plane to the decorative film.
According to still yet another object of the present invention, the process may further comprise the step of removing air between the substantially flat substrate and the flat form plane during the step of applying heat.
According to another object of the present invention, the process may further comprise the step of applying heat during the step of setting a pattern within the bonding film and the decorative film.
According to one object of the present invention, the process may also include applying at least one bonding film and an additional substrate panel onto the surface of the glass having an impressed pattern and bonding at least one bonding film and additional substrate panel onto the surface of the glass having an impressed pattern. The process may further include applying heat and removing air during the step of bonding at least one bonding film and additional substrate panel onto the glass having an impressed pattern and applying pressure during the step of bonding at least one bonding film and additional substrate panel onto the glass having an impressed pattern.
According to another object of the present invention, the additional substrate panel comprises at least one substrate panel of glass, metal, stone, and plastic.
According to still another object of the present invention, the process may further comprise the step of adding at least one protective glass pane.
According to still another object of the present invention, the process further comprises the step of providing safety glass.
According to still yet another object of the present invention, the process further comprises the step of reducing reflectance.
According to yet another object of the present invention, the process further comprises the step of providing nondistorted optical image transmission clarity.
According to another object of the present invention, the process may comprise making textured glass, comprising the steps of: providing a substantially flat substrate comprising glass; applying a bonding film comprising ethyl vinyl acetate to the substantially flat substrate; applying a decorative film comprising metal foil or dichroic film to the bonding film; applying a flat form plane to the decorative film; applying heat to the bonding and decorative film layers between the substantially flat substrate and the flat form plane; removing air from the bonding and decorative film layers between the substantially flat substrate and the flat form plane; removing the platform plane; applying a textured glass surface; applying heat and setting a pattern within the bonding film and the decorative film; and removing the textured glass surface. The process may further comprise the step of adding a plurality of decorative films wherein the decorative films are interposed by the bonding films.
According to another object of the present invention, a textured glass may be prepared by a process comprising the steps of providing a substantially flat substrate; applying a bonding film to the substantially flat substrate; applying a decorative film to the bonding film; applying a flat form plane to the decorative film; removing the flat form plane; applying a textured glass surface; setting a pattern within the bonding film and the decorative film; and removing the textured glass surface.
According to still another object of the present invention, a textured glass may be further prepared by adding a plurality of the decorative films wherein the decorative films are interposed by the bonding films.
According to still yet another object of the present invention, a textured glass may be further prepared by applying at least one bonding film and an additional substrate panel onto the textured glass surface and bonding at least one bonding film and the additional substrate panel onto the textured glass surface.
According to still yet another object of the present invention, a textured glass may be further prepared by adding at least one protective glass pane.
Further, another object of the present invention can be to provide a method for preparing textured dichroic glass that is easy to implement and use.
Still other benefits and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains upon a reading and understanding of the following detailed specification.
The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangement of parts, a preferred embodiment of which will be described in detail in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and wherein:
Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the invention only and not for purposes of limiting the same, the figures shown provide steps for the process described herein.
If a textured substrate 10 to be used is glass, the types of glass may include flat glass, optical glass, fiberglass, laminated safety glass, bullet-resistant glass, tempered safety glass, colored structural glass, opal glass, foam glass, glass-building blocks, heat-resistant glass, glass ceramics, radiation-absorbing and radiation-transmitting glass, laser glass, invisible glass, photochromic glass, photosensitive glass, heavy metal fluoride glass, chalcogenide glass, and sol-gel glass. The patterned glass may contain a multitude of textures and patterns, with a large number of styles available both commercially and through custom glass makers. The textured and patterned glass product offerings may come from many patterned and cast glass suppliers. Additionally, flat glass with silicone, wood, and/or other substrate patterns bonded to the flat glass to create the textured impression panel may be used.
For the textured substrate 10, the peak(s) of the texture and/or pattern(s) may be about 0.003 inches to about 0.450 inches. The peak(s) of the texture and/or pattern(s) may be consistent in peak height across the entire surface. The textured substrate 10 may be provided in any thickness and any size. The textured substrate 10 may be any texture and/or any pattern for the process described herein.
A substantially flat substrate 20 may be comprised of glass, plastic, steel or other metal, and/or concrete. The substantially flat substrate 20 may be chosen such that a texture will be added to it. A substantially flat substrate 20 may be any thickness.
A bonding film 30 may be a film. A bonding film 30 may be used for bonding to a substrate, specifically a substantially flat substrate 20 like a glass substrate, and/or a decorative film 40. A bonding film 30 may be a clear film. A bonding film 30 may essentially be sheets of hot melt adhesive. A bonding film 30 may also be heat curable. A bonding film 30 may be a thermoplastic film. A bonding film 30 may be comprised of at least one bonding film 30 of ethylene vinyl acetate, acrylic, ethylene copolymer, ethylene/methacrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, polyvinyl butyrol, polyester, polyimide, nitrile phenolic, and epoxy. The ethylene/methacrylic acid copolymers may contain small amounts of metal salts, which can also be referred to as an Ionoplast layer. A bonding film 30 may also contain at least one crosslinking agent. These crosslinking agents may provide thermally triggered hardeners which can be built into the films. Using crosslinking agents within the bonding film 30 may create a nonreversible permanent polymer that cannot be melted, therefore keeping the textured shape.
A decorative film 40 may provide the desired effects for the end-product. A decorative film 40 may be thin or thick layers. A decorative film 40 may be comprised of a film or any other form that may provide a decorative effect. The decorative film 40 may be clear, colored (like theater lighting gels), holographic, or dichroic films. A decorative film 40 may comprise at least one film of single colored films, multicolored films, acetate films, metal foils, polyethylene terephthalate films, dichroic films, and holographic films.
The decorative film 40 may provide unlimited possibilities as to the desired effect of the end-product. The colored films may be acetate or vinyl films. The holographic films may be comprised of polyethylene terephthalate. If a dichroic film is used, it may provide an effect in which it may change color based on the viewing angle in both reflected light color and transmitted light color. The dichroic films may be multi-layer co-extruded polymer films that create light interference through a high number of internal layering, which create light filtering through “thin film physics.”
The number of bonding film(s) 30 and decorative film(s) 40 may be determined by a desired end-product appearance. The number of bonding film(s) 30 and decorative film(s) 40 may also be determined by the desired thickness of the end-product. The number of bonding film(s) 30 and decorative film(s) 40 may be only about one of each or as many as about eight of each. If more than one decorative film 40 is to be used, then the decorative film 40 layers may be interposed by at least one bonding film 30. The figures shown only depict one bonding film 30 and one decorative film 40.
In
The optional step of removing air between the substantially flat surface 20 and a flat form plane 50 may occur in a vacuum laminating oven. A vacuum laminating oven can be a furnace combined with a membrane vacuum to heat and melt-bond a bonding film 30 and a decorative film 40, or multiple layers of bonding films 30 and decorative films 40, between the substantially flat surface 20 and a flat form plane 50 while under a vacuum pressure. A vacuum pressure may be about 300 millimeters of mercury to about 800 millimeters of mercury. The use of a vacuum laminating oven may provide production efficiencies.
The substantially flat surface 20, the bonding film(s) 30, the decorative film(s) 40, and the flat form plane 50 can be subjected to a heat source 60 within the vacuum laminating oven. This step may also serve to de-air the bonding film(s) 30.
After the prepared substrate undergoes de-airing, it may create a finished, bonded, laminated glass. This finished, bonded, laminated glass may be certified safety glass.
When the bonding film(s) 30 and the decorative film(s) 40 are placed on the substantially flat substrate 20, the textured surface 70 of the textured substrate 10, as described in
This texturing process, wherein the substrate has been heated and may have been subjected to a de-airing process, as described in
If no flat form plane 50 is used, as described in
However, if a pre-heat is added to the flat form plane 50 and placed on the substantially flat surface 20, the bonding film(s) 30, the decorative film(s) 40, as described in
Using the processes described herein, some decorative films 40 like clear polyethylene terephthalate and acetate may provide visually identical glass to typical textured glass. The process described herein may allow for a multitude of thicknesses, types, colors, designs, and configurations for any architectural requirements. The process described herein may also provide a mirror finish.
Additionally, the finished panel may be certified safety glass. This certified safety glass may now be qualified as CPSC 16 CFR1201 Category II certified safety glass, which may pass ANSI Z 97 impact tests. Certified safety glass may be specified in architectural or other applications that may require this certification or where federal law mandates its use. Also, the process described may provide reduced reflectance and nondistorted optical image transmission clarity when compared to other forms of textured decorative glass.
Furthermore, the textured side face of the pane of glass may be edge-bonded to protect it from damage. This may be achieved by making the glass panel into an insulated glass unit where the edge can be bonded with insulating spacers. Further, at least one protective glass pane may also be added after this step.
The additional steps as described in
Besides the process described herein, a textured glass product may be prepared by a process comprising the steps of providing a substantially flat substrate; applying a bonding film to the substantially flat substrate; applying a decorative film to the bonding film; applying a flat form plane to the decorative film; removing the flat form plane; applying a textured glass surface; setting a pattern within the bonding film and the decorative film; and removing the textured glass surface. In addition to these steps, a textured glass product may be prepared further by adding a plurality of decorative films where the decorative films are interposed by the bonding films. Further, the textured glass described using the process above may also have at least one bonding film and an additional substrate bonded to the textured glass product. Besides the process described above, at least one protective glass panel may be added to the textured glass product.
The embodiments have been described, hereinabove. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above methods and apparatuses may incorporate changes and modifications without departing from the general scope of this invention. It is intended to include all such modifications and alterations in so far as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
