EP1699743A2

EP1699743A2 - Heatable, three-dimensional pane with sun filtration characteristics, method and device for producing, and/or colouring three-dimensionally curved glass and/or plastic panes

Info

Publication number: EP1699743A2
Application number: EP04802841A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Rolf Wenning; Eckehard Schirmer; Hans-Günter BEYER
Original assignee: Get Industriegebiet GmbH; Glamaco Maschinenbau GmbH
Current assignee: Get Industriegebiet GmbH; Glamaco Maschinenbau GmbH
Priority date: 2003-11-27
Filing date: 2004-11-27
Publication date: 2006-09-13
Also published as: DE112004002693D2; WO2005051856A3; WO2005051856A2

Abstract

The aim of the invention is to provide a method for printing decorative and functional elements on curved, i.e. convex glass panes, e.g. on heating surfaces, in different shades with a permeability to visible radiation that can be adjusted and to provide corresponding devices for carrying out said method, which do not have the disadvantages of known methods, in particular screen printing. The method for printing and/or colouring three-dimensionally curved glass and/or plastic panes is characterised in that the printed elements or application of colour that form the functional or decorative elements are applied to the three-dimensionally formed glass pane using an ink-jet method and a laser method and/or a photolithographic method and a laser method, or using sputter technology. The inventive device comprises: a loading and retrieval robot (1); a revolving mechanism (2) comprising different stations, such as a centring station (2.2), a colour application station (2.3), a decorative element baking station (2.4) etc. and coupled to a horizontal transport section (3), which likewise comprises several stations, such as a heating-field application station (3.2), a sintering station (3.3), a terminal application station comprising a measuring and evaluation station (3.4) of the total resistance etc.; and a sputtering system (5) running parallel to the horizontal transport section (3). The heatable pane (6) comprising a series of layers that exhibit excellent heating and sun filtration properties consists of a layer (7) that functions as a heating layer (7), composed of a semiconductor material and/or a metal oxide and an organic or inorganic protective layer (8) applied to the aforementioned layer. The main application area for the invention is the production of panes used in automobiles.

Description

Heatable, three-dimensional pane with light protection effect and method and devices for the production, printing and / or color treatment of three-dimensionally curved glass and / or plastic panes

Heatable, three-dimensional pane with a sequence of layers to achieve good heating and light protection effects and methods and devices for the production, printing and / or color treatment of three-dimensionally curved glass and / or plastic panes, in particular of automobile panes.

Currently, in the manufacture of automotive windows such. B. the back panels and side panels for the decor prints and for the functional prints mainly used the screen printing technology. To use this technique, the disc must be flat, i. H. printing takes place before forming (bending and tempering). This is a very big disadvantage of screen printing technology. In addition, the screen printing technology is very complex and therefore expensive. Further disadvantages are the high expenditure in the production of the screen slides and the screens, the storage of screen stocks in the production, the cleaning of the used screens, the disposal of the old, worn screens, the fluctuating quality of the screen printing inks and the fluctuating quality of the print image added. Given the large number of these disadvantages, it is logical that a wide variety of attempts have been made to introduce other methods.

The permanent marking of glass panes by means of an inkjet printer, as described in DE 39 40 749, was one possibility. Furthermore, the application of ink to the glass surface with a predetermined pattern by non-contact, electrostatic ink jet printing and the subsequent heating of the glass pane to enable the ink to diffuse into the glass is described in EP 0 462 720. However, these described methods still have the disadvantage that the glass pane is also only deformed after the printing process.

DE 299 23 659 U1 proposes a printing or coating device with which surfaces which are curved in three dimensions in particular can also be printed or coated. For this purpose, a stretchable transfer material, e.g. B. an endless rubber band by means of rollers with a toner and then with a stamp on the Transfer glass pane. The field of application of this device was particularly intended for curved oven front panes and other 3D-deformed glass panes.

DE 40 19 703 AI describes a heatable pane for a motor vehicle, which has a transparent, electrical coating for different pane areas. The individual pane areas have different sheet resistances and different optical properties. The layers are applied using sputtering technology.

A plate element with a layer heater, consisting of a toughened glass pane is described in De 102 08 552 AI. The entire surface of the glass pane is provided with a metallic layer, which layer can also be optically transparent. The plate element consists of an inner surface area and a surrounding outer surface area, which are created by a circumferential dividing line. The electrodes are visibly arranged in the inner area.

Furthermore, DE 1 421 872 presents a vehicle window which has a high reflectivity for thermal radiation, a high permeability for visible radiation and a low electrical resistance due to a thin metal layer between two layers of metal compounds. The metal layer consists of gold and is covered below and above with a layer of tin sulfide, tin selenide or lead fluoride. A silicon dioxide layer is applied as the outer cover and protective layer.

The invention has for its object to provide a method for printing already bent, i.e. of curved glass panes with regard to decorative and functional printing, e.g. B. of heating surfaces, with any color tone and in the manufacturing process adjustable permeability for visible radiation and appropriate devices for performing the method, which avoid the disadvantages of the known methods, especially screen printing technology.

With the invention it is achieved that a substantial quality improvement is achieved compared to the current state of the art. Lower bending deviations compared to the target data are achieved. The homogeneous heat absorption of unprinted panes improves the bending result by avoiding unwanted tensile and Compressive stress areas. Alternating bends in the glass due to adhesive effects after pressing cannot occur. The process control in the furnace is based exclusively on the needs of the disc forming (bending and tempering) and not on the quality of the color sintering. When producing heating fields on glass panes, there are minor fluctuations in the final resistance and in the defrosting behavior of the heating field. The paint application, the color sintering and the resistance measurement take place online in succession. Via feedback, the results can be used directly for subsequent slices. This reduces the fluctuation range in the terminal resistance. The variation in layer thickness can compensate for fluctuations in the conductance of the silver color. The defrosting behavior of a heating pattern can also be controlled by changing the geometry of the filaments or heating surfaces within the tolerance range. In addition, a better optical quality of the glass pane is achieved due to less bending deviations compared to the target data. The avoidance of alternate bends considerably improves both the transmission optics and the reflection optics. In addition to the increased quality results, cost saving effects are achieved. Much shorter development times for new disc types are possible. A

The print image can be changed at the click of a mouse. There is no correlation between the choice of color and the bending result. The disadvantages of the screen printing process described above are all eliminated. Considerable cost savings are achieved with the same loss of yield in the bending and tempering process, since the panes are still unprinted. The losses in yield after the bending and tempering process are reduced because errors that are directly related to the color sintering no longer occur. Possible heating field resistance tolerances are reduced.

Further advantages result from an expansion of the manufacturing possibilities. Printing up to the edge of the pane is possible. A color change between different colors is feasible. Local differences in the layer thickness can be realized. When printing functions, extensions are also possible, such as. B. layer thickness fluctuations to z. B. to influence the defrost behavior by appropriate resistance values. Individual disc tracking can be carried out by changing the stamp lettering, such as consecutive numbering or the date and time. The conductivity of the silver paste can be controlled by mixing several silver pastes and thus the defrosting behavior can also be controlled. Advantageous embodiments of the invention with regard to the heatable glass pane are listed in claims 2 to 9. Advantageous process steps for the production of a disk produced by sputtering technology are set out in claims 11 to 14. Advantageous embodiments of the invention with regard to the method for printing and / or color treatment of panes are listed in claims 16 to 19. Advantageous refinements of the invention for the device for producing corresponding panes are set out in claims 21 to 24.

According to claim 2, the heating layer is applied to a film. The heating layer lies on the pane. The film also serves as a protective layer. In this embodiment, the film can be produced in a separate sputtering system. In the development according to claim 3, the additionally applied coloring or light protection layer serves to reflect heat radiation penetrating from the outside and to reduce glare from external light sources. According to claim 4, the heating layer can be applied to a film which is connected to the disc. In contrast to claim 2, the heating layer is not on the pane, but on the other side of the film. After the film has been applied to the pane, the other layers are sputtered on. The length of the sputtering system and thus the vacuum range can thus be shortened. In the development according to claim 5, the thickness of the sputtered semiconductor and / or metal oxide layer varies. Although a thicker sputtered layer requires more energy and more wear on the target, the thickness of this layer influences the color of the pane. The

Developments according to claims 6 to 8 serve to protect the sputtered heating layer. These can be organic plastics or inorganic substances. These are also sputtered on if possible. According to claim 8, the protective layer consists of a particularly weather and aging resistant paint. According to claim 9, indium-stanad or cadmium-stanad has proven particularly advantageous as the material for the heating layer. According to claim 11, a film is applied to the pane, the heating layer of which has already been sputtered on. The heating layer of the film lies directly on the window. In the process claim 12, the sputtering system is shortened with the advantages already mentioned in claim 2. In the development of the method according to claim 13, an SiO ₂ layer is used as

Protective layer also applied in the sputter process. This results in a homogeneous, uniform and resistant protective layer. In the development of the method according to claim 14 is on the heating layer in a subsequent operation, but before Applying the protective layer or the film with the heating layer, a color design or light protection layer sputtered on. For this purpose, a sputtering system with several chambers is used for the individual work steps.

In the training according to claim 16 z. B. treated by the use of laser technology, the layers or structures to be generated. According to claim 17

Procedure described with the use of the device according to claim 22. To improve and maintain the environmental conditions, paint residues are filtered out in a reprocessing plant. In the development according to claim 19, a constant evaluation of the paint orders carried out takes place via a control loop and thus a constant approximation to the desired values, which enables the advantages of quality improvement already described above or the avoidance of rejects over entire lot sizes.

The difference between claim 20 and 21 lies in the type of movement. The object to be printed is moved once. In the other case, the print head performs a spatial movement. In the further development of the device according to claim 22

Loading and unloading robots coupled with a roundel or with a horizontal conveyor line. The process steps take place in individual stations. In the development according to claim 23, feedback is provided. The actual values achieved are compared with the target values and the printing process of the next glass pane can be influenced immediately. Rejects are almost completely avoided. According to claim 24, a sputtering system is arranged parallel to the horizontal conveyor line.

An embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail with reference to the drawing. 1 shows the schematic structure of the devices for printing and / or color treatment of three-dimensionally curved glass panes, including a sputtering system, and FIG. 2 shows the schematic representation of the production stages, FIG. 3 shows the basic structure of a pane with all possible layers, FIG. 4 shows the basic structure of a pane in section with a heating and protective layer, and FIG. 5 shows the basic structure of a pane with a heating layer sputtered onto a film, the heating layer resting on the pane and the film serving as a protective layer.

For the process for the production of printed and / or color-treated glass panes, the printing or the color treatment only after the bending and tempering of the Glass panes, the following egg seal is used. A loading and unloading robot 1 is coupled to a rondelle 2 with fixing suction devices for the glass panes and a horizontal conveyor path 3 standing next to the rondelle 2. The loading and unloading station 2.1, centering station 2.2 with a rotating and swiveling facial expression and an optical measurement, the ink application station 2.3, the station for the decorative printing burn 2.4 by means of photochemical processes, the washing station 2.5 and the drying station 2.6 are arranged on the roundel 2. The horizontal conveyor line 3 has the stations loading and centering 3.1, heating field application station 3.2, sintering station 3.3 for the silver paste, application station of the connecting terminals with measuring and evaluation station 3.4 of the total resistance, measuring and evaluation station 3.5 for measuring the layer thickness of all

Filaments and the removal station 3.6. This station is coupled to a removal robot 4. All measuring and evaluation stations 3.4, 3.5 have feedback to the work stations in front by means of a control loop. A sputtering system 5 for coating the glass panes with very thin layers can be arranged parallel to the horizontal conveyor path 3. The glass panes pass either through the horizontal conveyor section 3 or via the sputtering system.

In the exemplary embodiment, the complete method is characterized by the following steps. The already bent and tempered glass pane is removed from a magazine by means of a loading and unloading robot 1 and placed in a loading and unloading station 2.1 on a roundel 2 or in the sputtering system 5. When moving over the rondel 2, the glass pane is optically measured, aligned and fixed in a subsequent centering station 2.2. A full-surface color application is then carried out on the glass pane in a color application station 2.3 by means of a photolithographic process. In the next station, the decor printing station 2.4, the decor printing is carried out by means of a photochemical process. In a further two stations on the rondelle 2, the ink that is not required is removed in a washing station 2.5 using demineralized water. The glass pane cleaned in this way is dried in the subsequent drying station 2.6. UV lasers and / or LCDs are used for drying and baking, and high-performance beamers are used for the exposure. By means of the loading and unloading robot 1, the glass pane on the horizontal conveyor line 3 is now transferred to the loading and centering station 3.1. While maintaining the alignment that has been carried out, the heating field with the inkjet method is used in the following station, the heating field application station 3.2 or the inkjet station 3.2 applied. For this special colors or pastes, such as. B. silver paste used. After the Inlc Jet Station 3.2, a sintering station 3.3 is provided for sintering in the silver paste. In the following station, the application station for the connection terminals with measuring and evaluation station 3.4, the connection terminals for the heating field are applied and at the same time the total resistance of the heating field is measured and evaluated with predefined setpoints. The evaluation unit is marked with A in the drawing. This unit feeds back to the Inlc Jet Station 3.2. There is therefore a control loop with which it is possible to react immediately to deviations, ie the necessary changes are incorporated in the manufacture of the secondary glass pane. A further measuring and evaluation station 3.5 for measuring the layer thickness of all heating filaments can be arranged in front of the unloading station 3.6. This also serves to further ensure the highest quality production. A control loop from the station 3.5 to the inkjet station 3.2 is also provided. A handling robot 4 removes the finished glass sheet from the horizontal conveyor section 3 and places it in a magazine.

In the process route via the sputtering system 5, the process steps according to claim

10 to 14 realized. A semiconductor material layer and / or metal oxide layer as heating layer 7 is sputtered uniformly and homogeneously onto the arbitrarily shaped pane 6 on one side. The thickness of this heating layer 7 is between 45 nm and 500 nm. An organic or an inorganic protective layer 8 is then applied. This can also be done using sputtering technology. When choosing an organic protective layer 8, this can be a lacquer or a plastic, such as. B. PP, PTFE, PE or PVC.

In another method, a film 11 with a sputtered heating layer 7 is applied to the pane 6. The heating layer 7 can lie on the side facing away from the pane 6 or the heating layer 7 lies directly on the pane 6. In this case, the film is used

11 immediately as a protective layer 8. In the first case, an additional protective layer 8 is still necessary.

The disc 6, z. B. a strongly curved rear window 6 of a car, in extreme cases has the layers of window 6, as a carrier of all subsequent layers, film 11, heating layer 7, color design or light protection layer 9, phototropic layer 10 and protective layer 8. Individual layers, such as film 11, color design - or light protection layer 9 or phototropic layer 10 can be omitted and are not absolutely necessary to meet the problem of the invention or can be changed in their order. The heating layer 7 consists of a semiconductor material and / or metal oxide, preferably indium stanad or cadmium stanad. The layer thickness influences the coloring of the pane 6 and fluctuates between 45 nm and 500 nm. The protective layer 8 can be a particularly weather- and aging-resistant lacquer, an organic plastic, such as. B. propylene (PP), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyethylene (PE) or a thermoformable PVC or a sputtered SiO ₂ layer. The color design and light protection layer 9 consists of different strips which have different absorption values for the sunlight and thus prevent or minimize a direct glare. At the same time, a color effect can also be achieved with this. In contrast, the phototropic layer 10, as is already known for glasses for human optics, consists of a darkening layer when exposed to strong light. This phototropic layer 10 is evenly distributed over the entire disc 6.

Compilation of the reference symbols

1 - loading and unloading robots

2 - Rondell 3 - Horizontal conveyor line

2.1 - loading and unloading station

2.2 - centering station

2.3 - Paint application station

2.4 - decor pressure firing station 2.5 - washing station

2.6 - drying station

3.1 - loading and centering station

3.2 - Heating field application station

3.3 - Sintering station 3.4 - Application station of the connection terminals with measuring and evaluation station

3.5 - Measuring and evaluation station for the layer thickness measurement

3.6 - Dispatch station

4 - Picking robot

5 - sputtering system 6 - disc

7 - heating layer

8 - protective layer

9 - Color design and light protection layer

10 - phototropic layer 11 - film

A - evaluation station

Claims

claims:

1. Heatable, three-dimensional glass pane with a sequence of layers to achieve good Heiz- and Lichterschutzwirlcungen, characterized in that the pane (1) is a layer (2) made of a semiconductor material and / or a metal oxide as a heating layer (2) and above has organic or inorganic protective layer (3).

2. Heatable, three-dimensional glass pane with a sequence of layers to achieve good ones

Heating and light protection effects, characterized in that the pane (1) is provided on one side with a layer (2) of a semiconductor material and / or metal oxide as a heating layer (2) sputtered onto a film (6), the heating layer (2) rests on the disc (1).

3. Heatable, three-dimensional glass pane according to claim 1, characterized in that between the heating layer (2) and the protective layer (3) there is also a color design or light protection layer (4) and / or phototropic layer (5).

4. Heatable, three-dimensional glass pane according to claim 1 and 3, characterized in that the heating layer (2) is sputtered onto a film (6) and the complete pane thus has the following layer sequence: pane (1), film (6), heating layer ( 2), phototropic layer (5), color design or light protection layer (4) and protective layer (3).

5. Heatable, three-dimensional glass pane according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the semiconductor and / or metal oxide layer as the heating layer (2) has a thickness between 45 nm to 500 nm.

6. Heated, three-dimensional glass pane according to claim 1 and 3 to 5, characterized in that the outer protective layer (3) made of an inorganic layer, such as. B. non-metal oxides, nitrates, carbides and sulfates.

7. Heated, three-dimensional glass pane according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer protective layer (3) made of an organic plastic, such as. B. propylene (PP), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyethylene (PE) or thermoformed PVC.

8. Heatable, three-dimensional glass pane according to claim 1 and 3 to 7, characterized in that the outer protective layer (3) consists of a weather and aging resistant paint.

9. Heatable, three-dimensional glass pane according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the heating layer (2) consists of indium stanad or cadmium stanad.

10. Verfalπen for the production of a heatable, three-dimensional glass pane with a sequence of layers to achieve good heating and light protection effects, characterized in that an arbitrarily shaped pane (1) is provided by means of sputter technology with a semiconductor material layer and / or metal oxide layer as the heating layer (2) , wherein the heating layer (2) varies in thickness between 45 nm and 500 nm and is applied uniformly and homogeneously on one side of the pane (1) and then an organic or inorganic protective layer (3) is applied over the heating layer (2).

11. A method for producing a heatable, three-dimensional glass pane with a sequence of layers to achieve good heating and light protection effects, characterized in that that a film (6) with a sputtered heating layer (2) made of a semiconductor material and / or a metal oxide is applied to an arbitrarily shaped pane (1) on one side, the heating layer (2) resting on the pane (1).

12. A method for producing a heatable, three-dimensional glass pane with a sequence of layers to achieve good heating and light protection effects, characterized in that a film (6) with a sputtered heating layer (2) on one side of an arbitrarily shaped pane (1) is applied from a semiconductor material and / or from a metal oxide, the sputtered heating layer (2) not lying on the pane (1), and then an organic or inorganic protective layer (3) is applied.

13. The method according to claim 10 and 12, characterized in that an SiO ₂ layer is sputtered on as the protective layer (3).

14. The method according to claim 10 to 13, characterized in that after the application of the heating layer (2) on the heating layer (2) a color design or light protection layer (4) is sputtered on.

15. Process for printing and / or color treatment of three-dimensionally curved glass and / or plastic panes, characterized in that in the case of the three-dimensionally deformed glass pane, the printing or color application for functional or decorative prints by means of inkjet processes and laser processes and / or photolithographic process and laser process.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that the layers or structures to be produced are dried or stoved by means of UV laser and / or LCD and exposure to a high-performance projector.

17. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 15 and 16, characterized in that the bent and tempered glass pane is optically measured in a special centering station (2.2) and aligned and fixed to a target space, then the entire surface in a color application station by means of a photolithographic method (2.3) applied to the glass pane and dried and sintered in accordance with the desired geometry data by means of a laser and then the unneeded paint is removed in a washing station (2.5) with demineralized water, the glass pane cleaned in this way is then dried and, while maintaining the Alignment via a horizontal conveyor line (3) of the InlcJet station (3.2) is fed to special colors or pastes, such as. B. print a silver paste for a heating field and then sinter.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that the color residues are filtered out in a reprocessing plant.

19. The method according to any one of claims 17 or 18, characterized in that, via a control loop, a plotter station next to the InlcJet station (3.2), information and evaluations about previous paint jobs are carried out continuously, so that continuous adaptation is possible.

20. Device for carrying out the Inlc jet method according to one of the preceding claims 15 to 19, characterized in that the inkjet print head is arranged on a rotary or Schwenlcacb.se above a receiving table for the glass pane to be printed, the receiving table is movable in the x, y and z axes.

21. Device for carrying out the inkjet method according to one of the preceding claims 15 to 20, characterized in that the inkjet print head is arranged on a 5-axis robot and the glass pane to be printed is centered and fixed in a corresponding holding device.

22. Device for carrying out the method according to claim 10 to 19, characterized in that a loading and unloading robot (1) is coupled to a rondel (2) with fixing suction devices for the glass panes and a horizontal conveyor path (3) and the rondel (2) a loading and unloading station (2.1), a centering station (2.2) with rotating and swiveling facial expressions and an optical measurement, furthermore an ink application station (2.3) with a laser device, a decor printing station (2.4), a washing station (2.5), a drying station ( 2.6) and the horizontal conveyor line (3) a loading and centering station (3.1), a heating field application station (3.2), a sintering station (3.3) for the silver paste, an application station of the connection terminals with measuring and evaluation station (3.4) of the total resistance, a measuring and evaluation station (3.5) for measuring the layer thickness of all heating filaments and a de-staging station (3.6), coupled with a de-clogging robot (4).

23. Device according to claim 22, characterized in that after the heating field application station (3.2) as an inkjet station with a laser device or another suitable station one or more measuring and evaluation stations (3.4, 3.5) for recording and evaluation with predetermined setpoints, such as dimensional stability,

Resistance values etc. are arranged that have feedback via a control loop to the inkjet station.

24. The device according to claim 22, characterized in that a sputtering system (5) is arranged parallel to the horizontal conveyor path (3).