Patent Application
20240316904
The present invention relates to a windshield.
A windshield in which a head-up display (HUD) device is used is formed in a wedge shape in order to prevent a double image. Patent Document 1 proposes a windshield in which a plurality of lattice points are defined in a display region by an HUD device projected onto the windshield, and a difference between a maximum value and a minimum value of a wedge angle is 0.32 mrad or less when the wedge angle at each lattice point is measured. As a result, it is possible to suppress the generation of the double image even when the display region is enlarged.
In recent years, the HUD device capable of switching the display region in a vertical direction in accordance with a position of an eye line of a driver has been proposed. As a result of examination by the present inventor, it has been found that when the display region moves in the vertical direction, an optimum wedge angle capable of suppressing the double image changes with the movement. Therefore, in order to suppress the double image in each display region, although it is necessary to set the wedge angle of the windshield so as to correspond to the change in optimum wedge angle, such a windshield is considered to be difficult to manufacture and has not yet been proposed. The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a windshield that can be easily manufactured while suppressing a double image in all display regions when an HUD device capable of switching the display region in a vertical direction is used.
Item 1. A windshield provided with an HUD device switching a plurality of display regions in a vertical direction, the windshield including a glass plate which has a first main surface and a second main surface opposite from the first main surface and in which the display region is formed, wherein the glass plate is configured such that an upper end portion is formed so as to have a greater thickness than a lower end portion, and the first main surface and the second main surface form a wedge angle α; and S_Center<S_Upper and S_Center<S_Lower are satisfied, where Y is a vertical height in the entire display region including all the plurality of display regions, S_Center is a range of the wedge angle α in a first region between a line 0.15 Y upward away and a line 0.15 Y downward away from a line passing through a vertical center of both sides of the entire display region, S_Upper is a range of the wedge angle α in a second region between an upper side of the entire display region and a line 0.3 Y downward away from the upper side, and S_Lower is a range of the wedge angle α in a third region between a lower side of the entire display region and a line 0.3 Y upward away from the lower side.
Item 2. The windshield according to item 1, wherein the plurality of display regions overlap in a vertical direction.
Item 3. The windshield according to item 1 or 2, which is curved so as to be convex outward from a vehicle in a horizontal direction.
Item 4. The windshield according to item 3, further including a plurality of regions having different radii of curvature in the horizontal direction, wherein the display region is provided in a region having a large radius of curvature in the horizontal direction.
Item 5. The windshield according to any one of items 1 to 4, which is curved so as to be convex outward from the vehicle in the vertical direction.
Item 6. The windshield according to item 5, further including a plurality of regions having different radii of curvature in the vertical direction, wherein the display region is provided in a region having a large radius of curvature in the vertical direction.
According to the present invention, even when the HUD device capable of switching the display region in the vertical direction is used, a double image can be suppressed in all display regions.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a windshield of an automobile according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The windshield according to the present embodiment is used by an HUD (head-up display) device to project emitted light and display information.
First, the outer glass plate 1 and the inner glass plate 2 will be described. As the outer glass plate 1 and the inner glass plate 2, known glass plates can be used, and the outer glass plate 1 and the inner glass plate 2 can also be formed of heat ray absorbing glass, general clear glass or green glass, or UV green glass. However, it is necessary for these glass plates 1 and 2 to realize a visible light transmittance conforming to safety standards of countries in which automobiles are used. An adjustment can be made so that the outer glass plate 1 ensures a required solar absorptance and the inner glass plate 2 provides the visible light transmittance that meets the safety standards, for example. An example of clear glass, an example of heat ray absorbing glass, and an example of soda-lime based glass are shown below.
With regard to the composition of heat ray absorbing glass, a composition obtained based on the composition of clear glass by setting the ratio of the total iron oxide (T-Fe2O3) in terms of Fe2O3 to 0.4 to 1.3 mass %, the ratio of CeO2 to 0 to 2 mass %, and the ratio of TiO2 to 0 to 0.5 mass %, and reducing the components (mainly SiO2 and Al2O3) forming the framework of glass by an amount corresponding to the increases in T-Fe2O3, CeO2, and TiO2 can be used, for example.
The outer glass plate 1 is formed in a trapezoidal shape and has an upper side (short side) 11, a lower side (long side) 12 longer than the upper side 11, a right side 13, and a left side 14, and when the outer glass plate 1 is attached to an automobile, the upper side 11 is disposed on the upper side, and the right side 13 and the left side 14 are respectively disposed on the right side and the left side when viewed from a vehicle interior side.
The inner glass plate 2 is similarly formed in a trapezoidal shape, and has an upper side 21, a lower side 22, a right side 23, and a left side 24. The inner glass plate 2 also has a first surface 201 facing the outside of the vehicle and a second surface 202 facing the inside of the vehicle, and has an end surface connecting the first surface 201 and the second surface 202. That is, in the present embodiment, both the outer glass plate 1 and the inner glass plate 2 are formed in a flat plate shape.
The interlayer film 3 is disposed between a second surface 102 of the outer glass plate 1 and the first surface 201 of the inner glass plate 2.
The thickness of the windshield according to the present embodiment is not particularly limited, and from the viewpoint of weight reduction, a total thickness of the outer glass plate 1 and the inner glass plate 2 is preferably 2.4 to 5.0 mm, more preferably 2.6 to 4.6 mm, and particularly preferably 2.7 to 3.2 mm. As described above, since it is necessary to reduce the total thickness of the outer glass plate 1 and the inner glass plate 2 in order to reduce the weight, the thickness of each of the glass plates 1 and 2 is not particularly limited, and for example, the thicknesses of the outer glass plate 1 and the inner glass plate 2 can be determined as follows.
The outer glass plate 1 is mainly required to have durability and impact resistance against external interference, and impact resistance performance against flying objects such as small stones is required. On the other hand, a larger thickness is not preferable because the weight increases. From this viewpoint, the thickness of the outer glass plate 1 is preferably 1.8 to 2.3 mm, and more preferably 1.9 to 2.1 mm. The thickness to be used can be determined in accordance with the application of glass.
Although the thickness of the inner glass plate 2 can be made equal to that of the outer glass plate 1, the thickness of the inner glass plate 2 can be made smaller than that of the outer glass plate 1 in order to reduce the weight of the windshield, for example. Specifically, when the strength of glass is taken into consideration, the thickness is preferably 0.1 to 2.3 mm, more preferably 0.8 to 2.0 mm, and particularly preferably 1.0 to 1.4 mm. Furthermore, the thickness is preferably 0.8 to 1.3 mm. With regard to the inner glass plate 2 as well, the thickness to be used can be determined in accordance with the application of glass.
The outer glass plate 1 and the inner glass plate 2 according to the present embodiment have curved shapes. That is, the glass plate is curved so as to protrude to the outside of the vehicle in a horizontal direction. In this curvature, the radius of curvature in the horizontal direction is not constant, and a plurality of regions having different radii of curvature are provided. For example, the radius of curvature at both ends of the windshield can be reduced, and the radius of curvature at the central portion can be increased.
Similarly, the windshield is curved so as to protrude to the outside of the vehicle also in a vertical direction. In this curvature, the radius of curvature in the vertical direction is not constant, and a plurality of regions having different radii of curvature are provided. For example, the radius of curvature of an upper portion of the windshield can be reduced, and the radius of curvature of a lower portion can be increased.
Here, an example of a method of measuring the thickness of the windshield will be described. First, the measurement positions are two upper and lower positions on a central line extending in the vertical direction at the center in the horizontal direction of the windshield. Although there is no particular limitation on the measuring apparatus, a thickness gauge such as SM-112 manufactured by TECLOCK Corporation can be used, for example. During measurement, the windshield is disposed such that the curved surface of the windshield is placed on a flat surface, and an end portion of the windshield is sandwiched by and measured with the thickness gauge.
The interlayer film 3 is formed in a trapezoidal shape similarly to the glass plates 1 and 2. As shown in
The interlayer film 3 is formed of at least one layer. As an example, as shown in the enlarged view of
There is no particular limitation on the hardness of the core layer 31 as long as the core layer 31 is softer than the outer layer 32. A material forming each of the layers 31 and 32 is not particularly limited, and for example, the outer layer 32 can be formed of a polyvinyl butyral resin (PVB). Polyvinyl butyral resin has excellent adhesiveness to the glass plates and penetration resistance and is thus preferable. On the other hand, the core layer 31 can be formed of, for example, an ethylene vinyl acetate resin (EVA) or a polyvinyl acetal resin, which is softer than the polyvinyl butyral resin constituting the outer layer. When the soft core layer is interposed between the outer layers, the sound insulation performance can be significantly improved while keeping adhesiveness and penetration resistance that are equivalent to those of a single-layered resin interlayer film.
In general, the hardness of a polyvinyl acetal resin can be controlled by adjusting (a) a degree of polymerization of polyvinyl alcohol, which is a starting material, (b) a degree of acetalization, (c) the type of plasticizer, (d) a ratio of the plasticizer to be added, and the like. Accordingly, a hard polyvinyl butyral resin that is used for the outer layer 32 and a soft polyvinyl butyral resin that is used for the core layer 31 can be produced even with the same polyvinyl butyral resin by suitably adjusting at least one condition selected from the aforementioned conditions. Furthermore, the hardness of a polyvinyl acetal resin can be controlled based on the type of aldehyde that is used for acetalization and whether co-acetalization using a plurality of kinds of aldehydes or pure acetalization using a single kind of aldehyde is performed. Although not necessarily applicable to every case, the larger the number of carbon atoms of the aldehyde that is used to obtain a polyvinyl acetal resin, the softer the resulting polyvinyl acetal resin tends to be. Accordingly, for example, if the outer layer 32 is formed of a polyvinyl butyral resin, a polyvinyl acetal resin that is obtained by acetalizing an aldehyde having 5 or more carbon atoms (e.g., n-hexyl aldehyde, 2-ethylbutyl aldehyde, n-heptyl aldehyde, or n-octyl aldehyde) with polyvinyl alcohol can be used for the core layer 31. There is no limitation to the above-mentioned resins and the like as long as predetermined Young's moduli can be obtained.
The total thickness of the interlayer film 3 is not particularly specified, and is preferably 0.3 to 6.0 mm, more preferably 0.5 to 4.0 mm, and particularly preferably 0.6 to 2.0 mm. The thickness of the core layer 31 is preferably 0.1 to 2.0 mm and more preferably 0.1 to 0.6 mm. Meanwhile, the thickness of each of the outer layers 32 is preferably 0.1 to 2.0 mm and more preferably 0.1 to 1.0 mm. Alternatively, it is also possible to fix the total thickness of the interlayer film 3 and adjust the thickness of the core layer 31 without exceeding the fixed total thickness. The above thickness is the thickness of the thickest portion of the interlayer film 3 formed in a wedge shape.
The thicknesses of the core layer 31 and the outer layer 32 can be measured, for example, as follows. First, the cross section of the windshield is enlarged by a factor of 175 and displayed using a microscope (e.g., VH-5500 manufactured by Keyence Corporation). Then, the thicknesses of the core layer 31 and the outer layer 32 are visually identified and measured. At this time, in order to eliminate variations seen in visual identification, the measurement is performed five times, and average values are taken as the thicknesses of the core layer 31 and the outer layer 32.
The total thickness of the interlayer film 3 is not particularly specified, and is preferably 0.3 to 6.0 mm, more preferably 0.5 to 4.0 mm, and particularly preferably 0.6 to 2.0 mm. The thickness of the core layer 31 is preferably 0.1 to 2.0 mm and more preferably 0.1 to 0.6 mm. Meanwhile, the thickness of each of the outer layers 32 is preferably larger than the thickness of the core layer 31, and specifically, is preferably 0.1 to 2.0 mm and more preferably 0.1 to 1.0 mm. Alternatively, it is also possible to fix the total thickness of the interlayer film 3 and adjust the thickness of the core layer 31 without exceeding the fixed total thickness.
The thicknesses of the core layer 31 and the outer layer 32 can be measured, for example, as follows. First, the cross section of the windshield is enlarged by a factor of 175 and displayed using a microscope (e.g., VH-5500 manufactured by Keyence Corporation). Then, the thicknesses of the core layer 31 and the outer layer 32 are visually identified and measured. At this time, in order to eliminate variations seen in visual identification, the measurement is performed five times, and average values are taken as the thicknesses of the core layer 31 and the outer layer 32. For example, an enlarged photograph of the windshield is taken, in which the core layer and the outer layer 32 have been identified, and the thicknesses are measured.
Although there is no particular limitation on the method of producing the interlayer film 3, examples thereof include a method in which a resin component, such as the above-described polyvinyl acetal resin, a plasticizer, and other additives, if necessary, are mixed and uniformly kneaded, and then the layers are collectively extruded, and a method in which two or more resin films that are produced using this method are laminated with a pressing process, a lamination process, or the like. In the method of laminating with the pressing process, the lamination process, or the like, the resin film before laminating may have a single-layer structure or a multilayer structure. The interlayer film 3 may include a single layer instead of the plurality of layers as described above.
The interlayer film 3 according to the present embodiment is formed such that the lower side is elongated by stretching the interlayer film 3 having a rectangular shape in plan view after molding with a roller. Hereinafter, this treatment is referred to as a stretching treatment, and will be described in detail. The interlayer film before the stretching treatment is referred to as a pre-stretching interlayer film, and the interlayer film after the stretching treatment is referred to as a post-stretching interlayer film.
As shown in
Therefore, when the pre-stretching interlayer film is caused to pass between the rollers 91 and 92, as shown in
As shown in
The shielding layer 4 can take various forms such as only an inner surface of the outer glass plate 1, only an inner surface of the inner glass plate 2, or the inner surface of the outer glass plate 1 and the inner surface of the inner glass plate 2. Although the shielding layer 4 can be formed of ceramics or various materials, for example, the following composition can be used.
Although the ceramic can be formed by a screen printing method, in addition to this method, the ceramic can also be produced by transferring a transfer film for firing to a glass plate and firing the transfer film. When screen printing is employed, for example, a polyester screen: 355 mesh, a coating thickness: 20 μm, a tension: 20 Nm, a squeegee hardness: 80 degrees, an attachment angle: 75°, and a printing speed: 300 mm/s can be set, and a ceramic can be formed by drying at 150° C. for 10 minutes in a drying furnace.
Next, a method of manufacturing the windshield will be described. First, a production line of a glass plate will be described.
Here, a molding die will be described in more detail with reference to
Next, a molding method will be described with reference to
When the outer glass plate 1 and the inner glass plate 2 are formed in this way, the interlayer film 3 is interposed between the outer glass plate 1 and the inner glass plate 2 subsequently. The interlayer film 3 has a shape slightly larger than the outer glass plate 1 and the inner glass plate 2. As a result, an outer edge of the intermediate layer 3 protrudes from the outer glass plate 1 and the inner glass plate 2. An end portion of the interlayer film 3 on the side where the thickness is large is disposed on the upper side of both the glass plates 1 and 2.
Next, the laminate in which both the glass plates 1 and 2 and the interlayer film 3 are stacked is placed into a rubber bag, and preliminarily bonding is carried out at about 70° C. to 110° C. under vacuum suction. Preliminary bonding can be carried out using a method other than this method, and the following method can also be adopted. The laminate is heated in an oven at 45° C. to 65° C., for example. Next, the laminate is pressed by a roll at 0.45 to 0.55 MPa. Subsequently, the laminate is heated in an oven again at 80° C. to 105° C., and is then pressed again by a roll at 0.45 to 0.55 MPa. Preliminary bonding is completed in this manner.
Then, permanent bonding is performed. The preliminarily bonded laminate is permanently bonded using an autoclave at a pressure of 8 to 15 atm and at 100° C. to 150° C., for example. Specifically, permanent bonding can be performed under the conditions of 14 atm of pressure and a temperature of 135° C., for example. The interlayer film 3 is bonded to the glass plates 1 and 2 through preliminary bonding and permanent bonding described above. Finally, the interlayer film 3 protruding from the outer glass plate 1 and the inner glass plate 2 is cut off to manufacture a windshield having a cross section as shown in
Next, an HUD device will be described. The HUD device projects information such as a vehicle speed on the windshield. However, it is known that when the HUD device is used, a double image is formed by light projected on the windshield. That is, since an image visually recognized by being reflected by an inner surface (second main surface) of the windshield and an image visually recognized by being reflected by an outer surface (first main surface) of the windshield are separately visually recognized, the images are doubled.
In order to prevent this, the windshield having the wedge angle α as in the present embodiment is used. That is, as shown in
As shown in
The display regions 501 to 503 are arranged on the right side of the windshield when viewed from the front. That is, the display regions 501 to 503 are arranged in front of the driver for a right-hand drive car (see
The present inventor has studied a relationship between the above-described three display regions 501 to 503 and the wedge angle capable of suppressing the double image as follows.
First, a lattice as shown in
The graph in
However, since the range of the limited allowable wedge angle is narrow, it is not easy to manufacture a windshield having such a wedge angle. As shown in
First, as shown in
Assuming that the ranges of the allowable wedge angles in the first region 701, the second region 702, and the third region 703 are S_Center, S_Upper, and S_Lower, respectively, it has been found that these ranges may satisfy the following Formulas (1) and (2).
In the above simulation, for example, the height of each of the display regions 501 to 503 is about 120 mm, the width is about 100 mm, a vertical height of a portion where the upper region 501 and the lower region 503 overlap is about 64 mm, and Y is about 177 mm. In this case, S_Center can be, for example, 0.05 mrad or more and 0.10 mrad or less as a specific allowable wedge angle range in which the shift amount due to the double image is within 2 mm. S_Upper can be, for example, 0.15 mrad or more and 0.45 mrad or less. S_Lower can be, for example, 0.20 mrad or more and 0.55 mrad or less. However, these are merely examples, and at least the above Formulas (1) and (2) may be satisfied.
In the above example, the upper limit value of the shift amount due to the double image is 2 mm, but is not particularly limited, and can be appropriately set according to a request. Thus, if a windshield satisfying the above Formulas (1) and (2) can be produced according to the set upper limit value regardless of the upper limit value of the shift amount of the double image, the double image can be suppressed.
When the wedge angle is actually measured, a plurality of lattice points having a pitch of 20 mm or less are defined in each of the regions 701 to 703. Although the number of lattice points depends on the size of each of the regions 701 to 703, a maximum number of lattice points entering each of the regions 701 to 703 is set. The wedge angle of each lattice point is measured by an interferometer, and differences between a maximum value and a minimum value of the allowable wedge angle in each of the regions 701 to 703 are defined as S_Center, S_Upper, and S_Lower, respectively. Alternatively, the horizontal direction of each of the regions 701 to 703 is cut in the height direction so as to be divided into approximately five equal parts, for each cross section obtained by the cutting, three points may be selected so as to have uniform intervals in each of the regions 701 to 703, and the height may be measured with a microscope to obtain the wedge angle.
As described above, with the windshield according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the double image in all the three display regions 501 to 503. At this time, in the interlayer film 3, it is not necessary to strictly control the wedge angles of portions arranged in all the display regions 501 to 503, the wedge angle of the interlayer film 3 can be strictly controlled only in a portion where the first region 701 having a narrowest allowable wedge angle range is disposed, and the control of the wedge angle of the interlayer film 3 can be loosened in the other regions 702 and 703 as compared with the first region 701; therefore, the production is easy.
While one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the invention is by no means limited to the foregoing embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the invention. A plurality of modifications described below can be appropriately combined.
<9-1>
In the above embodiment, the HUD device 500 capable of switching the display region in three stages has been described as an example; however, even when the HUD device 500 capable of switching the display region in two stages or four or more stages other than three stages is used, if the above Formulas (1) and (2) are satisfied, the double image can be suppressed in all the display regions.
<9-2>
In the above embodiment, although the interlayer film 3 is formed in a wedge shape, since the windshield may be formed in a wedge shape as a whole, at least one of the outer glass plate 1, the inner glass plate 2, and the interlayer film 3 may be formed in a wedge shape.
<9-3>
The shape of the shielding layer 4 is not particularly limited, and various shapes are possible. For example, it is also possible to form a shielding layer provided with a window (opening) so that irradiation with light by a sensor and taking of an image of the outside by a camera can be performed.
<9-4>
In the above embodiment, laminated glass having the outer glass plate 1, the inner glass plate 2, and the interlayer film 3 is used as the glass plate of the present invention; however, the glass plate is not limited to this laminated glass, and a single plate may be used.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-109773 | Jun 2021 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2022/025397 | 6/24/2022 | WO |
