Patent Application
20220072936
The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-150750 filed on Sep. 8, 2020 including specification, claims, drawings and summary is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a resin frame-attached glass plate for a vehicle window.
As a member for a vehicle window, there is known a structure which includes a glass plate, and a resin frame integrally attached to a peripheral edge area of the glass plate. Such a resin frame-attached glass plate is also known to further include a decorative member on a surface of the resin frame mainly for the purpose of decorating. For example, Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a structure which is manufactured by injection molding so as to include a resin frame integrally and firmly attached to a peripheral edge area of a window glass, and a decorative molding fixed to the resin frame.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-2007-15555
The structure disclosed in Patent Document 1 is obtained by placing a window glass and a decorative molding in a portion of a cavity space of a mold, and injecting a heat-melted resin in the remaining portion of the cavity space, followed by solidifying the resin to form a molded product with the window glass, the decorative molding (decorative member) and the resin frame being integrated. However, the product thus obtained is likely to have a resin burr formed at a parting position between the injected resin and the decorative member, i.e., a boundary between the decorative member and the resin on a surface of the product. Such a burr is an unnecessary portion that is unintentionally formed and can impair the appearance of the entire product. When a burr is formed, a knife or another tool is used to remove the burr in many cases. It takes much time and cost to remove such a burr because the burr is normally small and thin such that a detailed work is required for removal. Further, unnecessary damage could be inadvertently caused on the decorative member or the resin frame per se during removing work.
From this point of view, in one aspect of the present invention, it is an object of the invention to improve the appearance of a resin frame-attached glass plate with a decorative member being integrally disposed thereon for a vehicle window.
According to the one aspect, the present invention provides a frame-attached glass plate for a vehicle window, which includes a glass plate, a resin frame attached to a peripheral edge area of the glass plate, and a decorative member disposed on the resin frame such that the resin frame is integrally molded along with the glass plate and the decorative member, wherein the resin frame has a groove formed along a boundary between the resin frame and an exposed portion of the decorative member, the groove being recessed from a surface of the resin frame.
According to the one aspect of the invention, it is possible to improve the appearance of a resin frame-attached glass plate for a vehicle window, wherein a decorative member is integrally disposed on the glass plate.
Now, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail in reference to the accompanying drawings. In Drawings, identical or corresponding members or elements are denoted by like references, and explanation of such members or elements will be avoided on some occasions unless otherwise specified. Drawings are schematically prepared to assist in understanding the invention. The scale of Drawings is different from actual scale on some occasion.
In
The resin frame-attached glass plate 100 according to this embodiment has a decorative member (ornamental member or ornamental molding) 30 disposed on an exterior side of the resin frame 20. The glass plate according to this embodiment is a molded product wherein the glass plate 10, the resin frame 20 and the decorative member 30 are integrally molded. In Description, the term “integrated” or “integrally” means a state where the respective members cannot be disassembled during normal work for mounting the window glass to a vehicle body.
The resin frame-attached glass plate (or MAW) 100 according to this embodiment is a vehicle glass, which is applicable to a windshield, a backlite, a side lite, a roof glass, a front quarter glass, a rear quarter glass or the like. Among them, the resin frame-attached glass plate is particularly applicable to a front quarter glass or a rear quarter glass.
It is sufficient that the glass plate 10 used in the resin frame-attached glass plate 100 according to this embodiment is a glass plate for a vehicle window. The glass plate is not limited to a special one. The glass used in the glass plate 10 may be made of inorganic glass, specifically, soda-lime silicate glass, aluminosilicate glass, borate glass, lithium aluminosilicate glass, borosilicate glass or the like. Although there is no particular limitation to the method for forming the glass plate, a glass plate that is formed by a float process or the like is preferable for example. The glass plate 10 may be made of either non-tempered glass, glass tempered by air quenching, or chemically tempered glass. Non-tempered glass is prepared by forming molten glass in a plate shape and annealing the formed glass. The tempered glass is prepared by producing a compressive stress layer in the surface of non-tempered glass. The tempered glass may be either physically tempered glass (such as glass tempered by air quenching) or chemically tempered glass. When the glass plate is made of glass tempered by air quenching, the glass plate may have a glass surface tempered by uniformly heating the glass plate and quenching the heated glass plate from a temperature close to its softening point to produce compressive stress in the glass surface by its temperature difference between the glass surface and the inside of the glass plate. When the glass plate is made of chemically tempered glass, the glass plate may have a glass surface tempered by producing compressive stress in the glass surface by ion exchange or the like.
The glass plate 10 may be a glass plate that absorbs ultraviolet rays or infrared rays. The glass plate is preferably transparent, but may be made of glass that is colored so as not to impair transparency. The glass plate 10 may have one or both of principal surfaces coated with a coating layer, which achieves an ultraviolet ray shielding function, an infrared ray shielding function, a defogging function, or another function.
The glass plate 10 may have an optically shielding layer (also called dark ceramic layer) disposed on a peripheral edge area so as to extend along an interior side surface. The optically shielding layer achieves the function of protecting a sealant etc. for bonding the glass plate for a vehicle to a vehicle body and holding the glass plate to the vehicle body. The optically shielding layer may be disposed by being baked after application of colored ceramic paste (glass paste) to a surface of the glass plate.
The glass plate 10 may be formed in a square shape having different apex angles shown in
The glass plate 10 according to this embodiment may be made of laminated glass, wherein plural glass plates made of any one of the above-mentioned glass are laminated. The laminated glass may be configured to have plural glass plates made of any one of the above-mentioned glass bonded together through an interlayer containing a thermoplastic resin. When the glass plate 10 is made of laminated glass, the glass plate positioned on an exterior side has a thickness of preferably 1.1 mm to 3 mm in its thinnest portion. When the glass plate positioned on the exterior side has a thickness of at least 1.1 mm, the glass plate has a sufficient strength, such as a resistance to a hitting stone. When the glass plate positioned on the exterior side has a thickness of at most 3 mm, the laminated glass can avoid having an excessively large weight, which is preferable in terms of fuel consumption of the vehicle. The glass plate positioned on the exterior side has a thickness of more preferably 1.6 to 2.8 mm, much more preferably 1.6 to 2.6 mm, furthermore preferably 1.6 to 2.3 mm, most preferably 1.6 to 2.0 mm in its thinnest portion. The glass plate positioned on an interior side has a thickness of preferably 0.3 to 2.3 mm. When the glass plate positioned on the interior side has a thickness of at least 0.3 mm, it is easy to handle the glass plate. When the glass plate positioned on the interior side has a thickness of at most 2.3 mm, the laminated glass can avoid having an excessively large weight.
The glass plate 10 may be formed in a single curved shape to be bent in a single direction, or in a complex curved shape to be bent in two directions (for example, a certain direction and a direction perpendicular to the certain direction). Examples of the bending operation include gravity bending and press bending. When the glass plate 10 is curved, being bent with a certain curvature, the glass plate may have a radius of curvature of 1,000 to 100,000 mm.
As shown in
There is no particular limitation to the resin to be used in the resin frame 20 so long as it is possible to produce a product with the resin frame being internally molded along with the glass plate 10 and the decorative member 30. The resin is preferably a material usable in injection molding, i.e., a material that is heat-meltable and solidifiable by cooling performed after heating. The resin to be used in the resin frame 20 may be a thermoplastic resin. Examples of the thermoplastic resin include a polyvinylchloride resin, or a polyolefin-based, polyester-based, polystyrene-based, polyamide-based or polyurethane-based resin.
The decorative member 30 may be an elongated plate-shaped exterior member, which is disposed on the exterior side of the resin frame-attached glass plate 100 mainly for the purpose of decorating a vehicle window. The decorative member 30 may have a thickness of preferably 0.1 to 0.7 mm, more preferably 0.4 to 0.5 mm. The decorative member 30 may have an oxidized coating or a film disposed on a surface thereof (exterior side surface) to protect the surface.
The decorative member 30 may be disposed on the resin frame 20 in a range where the resin frame 20 is disposed as seen in plan view. Although the decorative member 30 is disposed along one side of the resin frame-attached glass plate 100 as an integrally molded product formed in a substantially square shape as seen in plan view in the mode shown in
The decorative member 30 includes an exposed portion 32 exposed from the resin frame 20, and first and second embedded portions 34 embedded in the resin frame 20. The exposed portion 32 of the decorative member 30 extends substantially in parallel with a planar direction of the glass plate 10 while the embedded portions are embedded inside the resin frame 20, being bent toward the opposite side of an exposed surface of the exposed portion 32. In the mode shown in
The decorative member 30 may be made of a rigid material, such as a metal or a rigid resin. The decorative member is made of preferably a metal, in particular stainless steel, in terms of high rigidity and ease in imparting gloss. The stainless steel may be austenitic stainless steel or ferritic stainless steel. Specific examples include NK-430MA, NK-436L-NB, SUS430, and SUS304. The use of the decorative member 30 made of a metal not only can provide the resin frame-attached glass plate 100 with a sophisticated impression having an excellent design but also reinforce the resin frame 20 along the peripheral edge.
The resin frame-attached glass plate 100 according to this embodiment may be formed by injection molding. More specially, the resin frame-attached glass plate may be formed by placing the glass plate 10 and the decorative member 30 at certain positions in the cavity of a mold, followed by press-injecting a heat-melted resin in the cavity, cooling the resin for solidification, and removing the mold. In such injection molding, it is likely that a burr is formed at a parting position between the injected resin and the decorative member (boundary between the decorative member and the resin on a surface of the resin frame-attached glass plate). Such a burr is a residual portion or unnecessary portion of a product produced by molding, and has an irregular shape (in terms of thickness or profile). When such a burr remains on the product and is visible, the appearance of the product is impaired. For example, a conventional resin frame-attached glass plate for a vehicle 100a has a burr BR formed between a resin frame 20a and a decorative member 30 (see
In contrast, in this embodiment, the resin frame 20 has a groove 25 formed therein at a parting position between the resin frame 20 and the decorative member 30, i.e., along a boundary between the resin frame 20 and the exposed portion 32 of the decorative member 30 as shown in
By this arrangement, even when a resin burr is formed, the burr BR is formed, for example, at a position close to the bottom of the groove as schematically shown in
When a burr is formed, the formed burr can be removed by a knife or the like. When an attempt is made to use a knife or the like in order to remove the formed burr in a burr removing step, unnecessary damage could be inadvertently caused on the decorative member 30 or the resin frame 20. The formation of such damage is preferably avoided, in particular when the decorative member 30 has an oxidized coating or a film disposed thereon. In accordance with this embodiment, a formed burr is difficult to be seen or is made invisible, which allows the omission of the burr removing step, and reduces or avoid the likelihood that a product is damaged. By this embodiment, even a resin frame-attached glass plate that is not subjected to a burr removing treatment is made acceptable as a final product. The resin frame-attached glass plate 100 according to this embodiment is excellent in appearance and can be provided at a lower price because of reducing the cost and time that have been conventionally required for removing a burr.
For example, when a comparatively large burr is formed, the burr must be removed in some cases. Such removing work could damage the product. Even in such a case, the position where the product is damaged is present in the groove 25, which makes the damage unnoticeable or difficult to be noticeable. Thus, this embodiment allows the resin frame-attached glass plate 100 to have an excellent appearance irrespectively whether the glass plate is subjected to a burr removing step or not.
The groove 25 may have a depth t (see
The groove 25 may have a width w (see
The depth t of the groove 25 may vary depending on positions. The width w of the groove may also vary depending on positions. The depth t and/or the width w of the groove may be designed, in consideration of the ease in the formation of a burr, depending on, for example, the structure of a mold used for molding the resin frame-attached glass plate 100 (the size, the shape, the sprue position etc. of the mold), the size and the shape of the decorative member 30, and the property of a used resin.
In the embodiment shown in
As described above, the decorative member 30 may be an elongated member extending along a peripheral edge of the glass plate 10 as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
When the principal surface direction section 34b overlaps with the glass plate 10 as seen in plan view as shown in
In the resin frame-attached glass plate 200 shown in
Although the thickness direction section 34a of the first embedded portion 34 extends along the thickness direction in each of the cases shown in
In the resin frame-attached glass plate 300, the resin frame 20 is not substantially disposed or not disposed on the exterior side 11 of the glass plate 10 as shown in
In this embodiment, the resin frame 20 is disposed so as to be brought into contact only with the end surface 13 and the interior side 12 of the glass plate 10 (only two surfaces) as described above. This arrangement provides a structure where the exterior side 11 of the glass plate 10 is fully exposed, more specifically, the glass plate 10 has a peripheral edge area exposed. Thus, the entire glass plate 10 looks large, having a design exhibiting an open feeling.
When the resin frame 20 is not disposed on the exterior side 11 of the glass plate 10 as in this embodiment, the glass plate can have an improved designability on appearance, but has strength slightly reduced in comparison with the structure where the resin frame 20 is disposed on three surfaces of the glass plate 10 (as shown in
The glass plate 10 may have an end edge chamfered or unchamfered. When the glass plate has an end edge chamfered, it is acceptable in this embodiment that the resin frame 20 is disposed or not disposed on the chamfered end edge.
The exterior side 11 of the glass plate 10 may be the same level as the top surface 21 of the resin frame 20 or different from the latter. The exterior side 11 of the glass plate 10 is preferably flush with the top surface 21 of the resin frame 20 as shown in
The insert 50 is made of a different material from the resin frame 20 and may be disposed at least between the interior side 12 of the glass plate 10 and the principal surface direction section 34b of the first embedded portion 34 of the decorative member 30 in the resin frame 20. The insert 50 may extend from the interior side 12 of the glass plate 10 toward the thickness direction and be exposed at the interior side of the resin frame 20 as in this case shown in
Although there is no particular limitation to the shape of the insert 50, the insert may be formed in a dumbbell shape as shown in
The insert 50 is preferably made of an elastic material, for example, rubber, such as ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM) or urethane. This arrangement can provide the resin frame 20 with elasticity since the insert 50 is disposed in the resin frame.
The insert 50 may be disposed before injection of the resin during the production of the resin frame-attached glass plate 400. Thus, the principal surface direction section 34b of the decorative member 30 can be held at a proper position during injection of the resin. In other words, the insert 50 can support the principal surface direction section 34b in the thickness direction, maintaining a proper distance between the glass plate 10 and the principal surface direction section 34b of the decorative member 30.
The insert 50 may be disposed at plural positions along a longitudinal direction of the decorative member 30 as seen in plan view (see
In all of the above-mentioned embodiments (the first to fourth embodiments), each of the resin frame-attached glass plates 100, 200, 300 and 400 may have a primer disposed between the glass plate 10 and the resin frame 20. For example, a primer may be applied to at least a portion of the glass plate 10 to dispose a resin thereon, followed by injection-molding the resin, during production. The presence of the primer can improve the adhesiveness between the glass plate 10 and the resin frame 20, consequently increasing the strength of each of the resin frame-attached glass plates 100, 200, 300 and 400. The primer may be properly selected according to the kind of glass used in the glass plate 10 and/or the kind of the resin used in the resin frame 20.
In order to improve the bonding strength between the resin frame 20 and the decorative member 30, a mechanical lock may be formed therebetween. The mechanical lock may be, for example, configured such that the decorative member 30 has a recess, a through hole or a projection formed on a surface thereof, and a projection formed on the resin frame 20 in touch with the surface of the decorative member is fit in the recess or the through hole formed in the decorative member 30, or the projection formed on the decorative member 30 is fit in a recess formed in the resin frame 20.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-150750 | Sep 2020 | JP | national |
