Patent Application
20220347973
The present disclosure relates generally to a glass product having a three-dimensional pictograph.
Certain vehicles, including taxis and buses, provide information to observers outside of the vehicle. This is further true of emergency vehicles, including police cars and ambulances. The need to provide information may further extend with the use of autonomous vehicles. In such cases, there may not be a driver to communicate with pedestrians and other drivers. Thus, exterior vehicle communication is increasingly important.
There is a need in the art to provide such information where it will be best seen by observers. Some information, including aesthetic logos or labels, may be preferably provided as a dimensional image.
Certain embodiments disclosed herein include an automotive glass product comprising a glazing comprising at least one glass substrate, a first obscuration providing a first image, and a second obscuration providing a second image separated in space from the first image. The first and second images may be at least partially aligned at an angle through the glass product and the first and second images may provide a three-dimensional pictograph from at least one viewing angle.
In some embodiments, the glass product may further include a light source. The light source may be adjacent to the glazing or separated from the glazing. A light cover may be provided, and the light cover may be colored. In certain embodiments, the light source may be a light emitting diode or an electroluminescence light which may be provided as a film or a sheet.
In some embodiments, the glass product may include a colored portion with may be a colored interlayer or a colored coating.
Further embodiments may include a second image that is the same shape as the first image. Particularly, the second image may be darker in color and may provide a shadow effect.
The first image and the second image may further be at least partially opaque. In some embodiments, the first image may be at least partially a negative image.
The glass product may include a laminated glazing having first and second glass substrates bonded together by at least one interlayer. The first obscuration may be positioned on the first glass substrate in some embodiments, and the second obscuration may be positioned adjacent to or separated from the second glass substrate.
In some particular embodiments, the glass product may be an automotive glass product.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more example aspects of the present disclosure and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain their principles and implementations.
Pedestrians may look to a vehicle for information, such as whether they may cross a street or whether the vehicle is making a turn, which may come from a visual communication with the driver. Thus, pedestrians may often look to the driver, and therefore the windshield, when looking for such communication. Further, other drivers may best see information shared at the windshield or other vehicle windows around them, which are in the driver's line of vision. Thus, information sharing may be preferably provided from a car window, such as a windshield. Further, advertisement information such as a brand logo may be displayed through a car window. Such information may be usefully provided in the form of images or pictographs. Pictographs shared on a glass product may further be decorative where the aesthetic appearance and identifying marks of a vehicle may impact purchasing decisions and overall satisfaction with a vehicle. For example, information identifying a vehicle maker is typically found on a vehicle exterior such that observers may identify the manufacturer. Additional information may further be provided in various other automotive glass products through pictographs.
As defined herein, “SI” may refer to the exterior glass substrate surface in a glass product. “S4” may refer to the interior glass substrate surface of a laminated automotive glass product. “S2” may be a glass substrate surface opposite S1 and “S3” may be a glass substrate surface opposite S4. In a laminated glass glazing, S2 and S3 may face each other within the laminate interior. S2 may be an interior glass substrate surface in non-laminate constructions having a single glass sheet, including tempered glass.
The present disclosure relates generally to a glass product for automotive applications. Particularly, in certain embodiments, a glass product includes at least one dimensional pictograph and, optionally, a light source separated from at least one part of the pictograph. The pictograph may be formed of multiple images and may provide a three-dimensional appearance. A pictograph and images forming a pictograph, as used herein, may include shapes, including letters or words, symbols, or logos, outlines, or combinations thereof. Further, the pictograph and images forming a pictograph may include positive and/or negative images.
In automotive glass products, embodiments, as disclosed herein, may provide a pictograph visible from a vehicle exterior. For example, the pictograph may be visible on a windshield from a vehicle exterior. Such a pictograph may have a desirable aesthetic appearance, such as an identifying logo, or a message that may be specific to an automotive brand or vehicle or may provide information to an observer. The pictograph may include more than one part, or multiple images, which may coordinate or combine to provide a complete pictograph. Where multiple images are utilized, the images 120, 122 may be separated in space from each other, as shown in
The appearance of a pictograph formed by multiple images may be affected by the parallax effect. Changes in perspective may affect the way a pictograph is observed as the angle of vision in relation to the layers of the pictographic changes for each image 120, 122 differently. Although the layers of the pictograph are not changed, the relative spacing and location of the layers may change based on a viewing position in relation to the pictograph. The pictograph images described herein may be designed to address the parallax effect, as the size and shape of the images may be selected to provide an intended view at particular angles. For example, where a background image 122 is provided to appear as a shadow of a foreground image 120, the background image 122 may be positioned such that there is not space between the images 120, 122 visible to an observer. Space between the images 120, 122 may affect a three-dimensional effect of a background shadow image and may be undesirable in some embodiments. The foreground image 120 may be a limiting factor of what is seen of background images 122 and may be designed to prevent undesired visuals, including unwanted spaces between images 120, 122 in the pictograph. The foreground image 120 design may, for example, include a border to control a visible opening in the pictograph. Particular embodiments may include a pictograph in a printed area of a glazing such that the printed area may surround the pictograph.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In certain embodiments, a glass product having a pictograph may include a laminated glazing. A laminated glazing may be formed having a first glass substrate 110, with opposing surfaces S1 and S2, and a second glass substrate 112, with opposing surfaces S3 and S4. In the laminated glazing, surfaces S2 and S3 may face each other with at least one adhesive interlayer 130 therebetween. The adhesive interlayer 130 may be any suitable material, including polymer materials, such as polyvinyl butyral (PVB), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), and ionomer materials. The glass substrates 110, 112 may be any suitable glass, including clear or tinted glass substrates, which may be soda-lime silica or aluminosilicate glass compositions. The pictograph may be formed with images separately located in relation to one another. For example, as shown in
An image 120, 122, constituting part of a pictograph, may be created using any suitable materials, including, but not limited to, decals, ink, paint, including enamel paint, and combinations thereof. An obscuration may form a positive image and/or provide a border for a negative image. Preferably, at least one of the first and second images 120, 122 provides at least a partially positive image. Obscurations may be printed, dyed, painted, or colored in any suitable way. Images 120, 122 may be in any suitable form, including, for example, a positive image, a negative image having a printed or painted border or edge, and combinations thereof. The images 120, 122 may be the same or different shapes. In certain embodiments, one image may be a printed image and another image making the pictograph may be a non-printed area surrounded by a printed outline or edge. An image may further include a positive image having negative space within or around the positive image. An image may be provided in any suitable color or combination of colors. In various embodiments, as shown in
The images 120, 122 may be formed from the same or different materials. Some embodiments may include images formed by a print or paint and others may include images formed by decals. In certain exemplary embodiments, an ink or paint, such as an enamel paint may form the first image 120 and a decal may be used behind the enamel to provide a second image 122, or vice versa, to create a layered final appearance. The enamel image may include openings or non-printed areas that are filled or partially filled with a decal, or vice versa. The paint and decal may be provided at different planes in the glass product, which may include any combination of positioning on one or more glass surfaces, within a laminated glazing, or separated from surface S4. In a particular example, the foreground image 120 may be a decal laminated in a glazing, particularly on surface S2 and the background image 122 may be a decal laminated to surface S4 of the glazing. In a further embodiment, a laminated glazing may include a foreground image 120 painted or printed on surface S2. Particularly, the foreground image 120 may replace a portion of an obscuration that extends around the periphery of the glazing. A background image 122 may then be provided as a print or paint on surface S4. In some further examples, the background image 122 may be a decal on surface S4.
In further embodiments, material defining an image may not be fully opaque, such that a light source 152 provided behind the image may partially transmit through the pictograph. Each image of the pictograph may have the same or different opacity. The pictograph may be formed by multiple layers providing different portions of an overall pictograph and each individual layer may provide variation in light transmission through the pictograph. In some embodiments, the first image 120 may include voids or spaces having no or only partial opacity. The second image 122 may fill in all or some of the voids and/or provide a backdrop to a reduced opacity area of the first image 120, such that the combination of the first image 120 and the second image 122 may provide an opacity different from either of the first or second images 120, 122 alone. The first image 120 and the second image 122 may provide a completed pictograph to an observer outside of the S1 surface of the first glass substrate 110.
In some embodiments, optionally, the pictograph may preferably be provided with a light source 152. In certain embodiments, the light source 152 may illuminate the pictograph when powered by a user or in response to an action. For example, in a vehicle, the pictograph may be illuminated when the vehicle is unlocked or when a door is opened, and the light source 152 may be turned off when, for example, the vehicle is started. The light 152 may further respond to various signals from the vehicle to provide messages to an outside observer. This may include turn or brake signals and sharing other information about the vehicle or its passengers. The light source 152 may be within or outside a glass product. For example, in
In some embodiments, the light source 152 may be provided on surface S4 or removed from a glass product. In certain embodiments, as shown in
In some further embodiments, as shown in
Referring to
In the case of an automotive glazing, the glass substrate 110, 112 may be initially flat and heat treated (e.g., thermally tempered, heat bent, and/or heat strengthened) typically at temperatures of at least 500° C., and more preferably at least about 580° C. During heat treatment, the glass substrates 110, 112 may be bent to a desired curvature for specific applications. The glass bending preferably occurs from 560° C. to 700° C., more preferably from 580° C. to 650° C.
An adhesive interlayer 130 may be any suitable laminating material, including polyvinyl butyral (“PVB”), ethylene vinyl acetate (“EVA”), or an ionomer, for laminating the glass substrates 110, 112 together. An adhesive interlayer may preferably have a thickness in a range of 1 μm to 850 μm. In some embodiments, more than one adhesive interlayer may be used between the glass substrates 110, 112, with or without an additional film laminated between the interlayers. The multiple adhesive interlayers may each have a thickness in the range of 1 μm to 850 μm. The lamination process may include autoclaving the product at a particular temperature and pressure (such as 110° C. to 160° C. and 10 to 16 bar) to bond the glass substrates 110, 112 to each other. This method may be used to prepare various laminated glazings, including automotive glazings, such as windshields, sunroofs, side windows, and back windows.
In particular embodiments, as shown in
The above description of the disclosure is provided to enable a person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the common principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Further, the above description in connection with the drawings describes examples and does not represent the only examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims.
Furthermore, although elements of the described aspects and/or embodiments may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. Additionally, all or a portion of any aspect and/or embodiment may be utilized with all or a portion of any other aspect and/or embodiment, unless stated otherwise. Thus, the disclosure is not to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/749,204 filed on Oct. 23, 2018, entitled “THREE-DIMENSIONAL PICTOGRAPH,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/828,641 filed on Apr. 3, 2019, entitled “THREE-DIMENSIONAL PICTOGRAPH,” the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2019/057560 | 10/23/2019 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62749204 | Oct 2018 | US | |
| 62828641 | Apr 2019 | US |
