Manufacture of simulated heritage windows

Details Manufacture of simulated heritage windows Manufacture of simulated heritage windows

1998-11-17

2001-01-30

Loney, Donald (Department: 1772)

Stock material or miscellaneous articles

Light transmissive sheets, with gas space therebetween and...

C428S207000, C052S786100

Reexamination Certificate

active

06180196

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to methods for the manufacture of multiple-pane sealed glazing units and more particularly of units that incorporate decorative features that simulate the appearance of leaded or stained glass panels, and also to units products by such methods.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,715 issued to Glover, there is a description of the various efforts that have been made in recent years to improve the energy efficiency and condensation resistance of multiple-glazed sealed units. These improvements include: low-e coatings, argon or krypton gas fill, narrow width cavities and insulating spacing-and-desiccant systems for perimeter edge seals.
As noted in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,715, there is also a growing consumer interest in heritage window features with one popular feature being leaded or stained glass panels. Traditionally, these panels have been made by hand using grooved lead strips or cames. In the past because these handcrafted panels were very labor intensive to produce, various efforts have been made to simplify traditional production techniques and these efforts have been documented in the patent literature.
U.S. Pat. No. b
3
,
226
,
903
issued to Lillethun describes a triple-glazed sealed unit with a traditional stained-glass panel being incorporated as the center glass lite.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,335,170 and 4,438,165 issued to Butler describe a stained glass panel fabricated from a single glass pane where lead profiles are adhered in coincidental alignment to either side of a flat glass sheet. The extruded lead profiles are manually applied and are approximately 0.022 inches in thickness. Because of the stiffness and thickness of the lead profiles, the top lead profile has to be stretched and bent around the bottom lead profile and as a result, the process has to be carried out manually with each lead profile being individually applied.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,715 issued to Glover describes a triple pane unit with the center glass pane located only ⅛″ away from the front glass lite. To create the visual illusion of a solid lead came, three thin stripes are applied. One stripe is applied to the cavity face of the front glass sheet and the other two stripes are applied to either side of the center glass sheet. Traditional lead cames are grey in color, and if all three decorative stripes are colored grey, experience has shown that because of various optical and shadow effects, the visual illusion of a traditional leaded pane window is not always convincingly created.
For the triple stripe method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,715, one key potential advantage is that the production process can be automated with the objective of producing over a 1000 decorative glass units per eight hour shift. However, the horizontal production equipment described involves glass sheets moving below a multi-head bridge assembly and no automated method or technique is given for applying the stripes to the opposite side of the glass.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a method of applying decorative thin strips to a flat glazing sheet, said method comprising: applying a set of decorative thin strips on one side of a flat glazing surface; rotating said glazing sheet through a given angle and applying a second set of decorative thin strips at said given angle to first set of strips, said strips of the second set crossing and overlying said strips of the first set at points of intersection; wherein at least one of said sets of thin strips is applied in stages and each stage involves simultaneously applying two more thin strips.
The method may also include the further steps of flipping over the glass sheet and applying on the other side third and fourth sets of decorative thin strips in coincidental alignment with the thin strips of the first and second sets.
The given angle of intersection of the strips of different sets is chosen to suit the particular circumstances, e.g. at 90° where a rectilinear muntin bar appearance is to be achieved, or 60° where a diamond pattern is sought.
The strips can be applied with the glass sheet in a generally horizontal position, but preferably will be applied with the glass sheet in a generally upright position as providing a more convenient attitude in which the glass sheet can be flipped over or reversed, e.g. by the use of a turntable swivelling on a vertical axis, when the second side of the sheet is to be operated on.
The method described lends itself to automation through the use of air float/suction table surfaces to support the glass, and automatically guided and operated tape heads for applying tape to the glass to form the desired strip patterns.
From another aspect the invention provides a system of apparatus for carrying out the above discussed methods.
From another aspect the invention provides a sealed glazing unit that simulates the appearance of traditional metal came panels, said sealed glazing unit comprising: two or more parallel coextensive glazing sheets; peripheral seals extending continuously between the edges of said glazing sheets to define one or more glazing cavities between said sheets; decorative thin strips located on both flat surfaces of one of said glass sheets, said thin strips on respective surfaces being in mutually aligned registration with each other; wherein said decorative thin strips have one side that is of a relatively light shade and an opposite side that is of a relatively dark shade, said strips being attached to said glazing sheet in an orientation such that the side of relatively light shade is presented toward the adjacent exterior side of the glazing unit, whereas the side of relatively dark shade to is presented towards the interior side; wherein said strips are less than 0.005″ in thickness and arranged on each side of said one glass sheet in sets of parallel strips, said sets being arranged at a predetermined angle to each other to create a decorative grid pattern.
Where the strips are applied in the form of thin plastic strips with pressure sensitive adhesive securing them to the glass, then on each side of the glass the strips of one set overlap and overlie the strips of the other set at the points of intersection, the thickness of the strips being sufficiently small (less than 0.005″, and preferably about 0.002″) to enable this overlap to be accomplished without difficulty.
The plastic sheet material could conveniently be polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or the plastic tape could be made from a double lamination of plastic sheet material one side of which has a light shade and the other a dark shade. The light shade for example may simulate the appearance of lead or brass.
Alternatively the thin strips applied to the glass may be made of ceramic frit material which may be applied using heat release decals.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3226903 (1966-01-01), Lillethun
patent: 3420730 (1969-01-01), Ellefson
patent: 4154880 (1979-05-01), Drennan
patent: 4335170 (1982-06-01), Butler
patent: 4438165 (1984-03-01), Butler
patent: 4488919 (1984-12-01), Butler
patent: 4495739 (1985-01-01), Drennan
patent: 5494715 (1996-02-01), Glover
patent: 1000698 (1961-01-01), None
patent: 2140348 (1984-05-01), None

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