Agp America S.a.

Charles Stephen Voeltzel

Mario Arturo Mannheim Astete

Andres Fernando Sarmiento Santos

Juan Pablo Suarez

Laura Granados Caro

Elena K Mendoza Carranza

Philip Denton Gordon

Vincenzo Mannino

Jean-Marie Le Ny

Gonzalo Rafael Vizcarra Mendoza

Ivan Arturo Cornejo

Arturo Mannheim Astete

Edward Enrique Custodio Sheen

Diego Alonso Vargas Duharte

Merlyn Rojas Valle

Pierre Mezeix

Black enamel frit obscurations are commonly printed on laminated and tempered automotive safety glazing where they serve to hide the adhesive used to bind the glazing to the automotive body and to protect the adhesive from ultraviolet radiation. However, frit has a number of drawbacks. Frit weakens the surface of the glass. It can create distortion in the glass due to thermal gradients. Printed frit obscurations are incompatible and cannot be used with many types of coatings. Standard frit blocks ion exchange and cannot be used with the chemical tempering process. In addition, while many types of frits are available for printing on soda-lime glass, there are very few, if any, for non-soda lime glass. As the market moves towards thinner and lighter glazing, non-soda lime glass types are finding increasing application in automotive glazing. These limitations are overcome by replacing the printed black obscuration with an obscuration formed from a thin sheet of plastic, which is integrated into the laminate. This results in a laminate having superior optical quality, higher strength and a lower probability of breakage as compared to a laminate with a black enamel frit obscuration.

Glass laminate with thin insert obscuration having superior strength and optical quality

The use of camera based safety systems is growing at a rapid rate in modern automobiles. As the industry moves towards vehicles with full autonomous capability, the number of cameras required and the resolution of the cameras are both increasing. At the same time, windshields, where many of the cameras are mounted, are becoming larger and more complex in shape. This presents problems in the area of camera optics. Variations in the thickness of the glass and the plastic layer, surface mismatch, surface texture and the design curvature of the glass in conjunction with the often low installation angle, can reduce the optical clarity of the camera optics. These optical aberrations are further exacerbated during the lamination process when the layers are bonded together under pressure. The laminate of the invention utilizes a cutout in the plastic bonding layer in side of the laminate, preferable in the camera field of view. A laminating resin is used to fill the gap left by the cutout between the two glass layers.

Automotive laminate with improved optics

The use of camera-based safety systems is growing at a rapid rate in modern automobiles. At the same time, windshields, where many of the cameras are mounted, are becoming larger and more complex in shape. As the industry moves towards vehicles with full autonomous capability, the number of cameras required and the resolution of the cameras are both increasing. However, the optical quality of the windshield is less than optimal. One of the problems is caused by the typical black enamel frit that is printed on the glass, prior to heating and bending, to hide or obscure the camera hardware. The abrupt thermal gradients during bending, caused by the heat absorbing black frit, result in a high level of distortion in the camera field of view. The object of this invention is to provide laminated automotive glazing having an obscuration area produced by creating an obscuration after heating and bending the glass by removing a portion of the plastic interlayer glass in or near the camera field of view (camera obscuration) or/and in the edges of the windshield (black band) and replacing it with an inlay made of a substantially opaque plastic or other suitable material in or near the camera field of view (camera obscuration) or/and in the edges of the windshield (black band) rather than printing and firing an enamel frit on the glass. This results in a laminate having superior optical quality, higher strength and a lower probability of breakage as compared to a laminate with a black enamel frit obscuration.

Glass laminate with inlay obscuration having superior strength and optical quality

The laminated glass panoramic roof is a popular although expensive option offered on a growing number of automobiles. Much of its appeal comes from the sleek modern appearance that it gives to the vehicle. The opaque laminated vehicle roof, by removing vision and optical requirements can be produced at a lower cost. The opaque laminated roof, by retaining a glass outer surface, maintains the same exterior appearance, aesthetic and much of the appeal of a conventional laminated glass panoramic roof. The opaque laminated vehicle roof also allows for the use of alternate materials which can further reduce cost and weight while adding additional features such as installation hardware, fasteners, lighting, antennas and solar cells to the roof.

Opaque laminated vehicle roof with panoramic glazed appearance

The use of camera based safety systems is growing at a rapid rate in modern automobiles. As the industry moves for full autonomous capability, the number of cameras required is increasing. At the same time, windshields, where many of the cameras are mounted are becoming larger and more complex in shape. This presents problems in the area of camera optics. For one, the camera is looking out through at least two layers of bent glass bonded together by a third layer of plastic. Mismatches in the refractive index can result in a double image. The curvature of the glass turns the window into a lens and, in conjunction with the often low installation angle, can reduce the optical clarity of the camera field of view. The laminate of the invention has a cutout in the area of the camera(s) on the interior glass layer where the cameras are mounted.

Automotive laminate with superior camera window

Laminated glazings with embedded wire circuits, have many uses. But, due to the higher cost of manufacture, they are not widely used. This invention provides a process to reduce the cost of production for embedded wire laminated glazing. Rather than embedding the wire one interlayer at a time, several circuits are produced on the same sheet, cut out and then inserted into the interlayer of each separate laminate during assembly, reducing the direct labor and capital investment required.

Automotive laminate with embedded wire circuit

The price and performance of LED lighting have reached the point where LEDs are displacing more traditional lighting. Even though LED lifetimes are as high as 50,000 hours, they are still being designed as replaceable bulbs rather than being integrated as a permanent part of the lighting assembly. The invention provides for a means of economically producing laminated glass with integrated LED lighting designed to last the life of the vehicle. This is done by embedding the LED die into the plastic layer used to bond the glass layers of a laminate together, forming an embedded wire circuit from thin high tensile strength Tungsten wire to power the LEDs and by utilizing machine tool technology originally developed to produce integrated circuit assemblies such as RFID ID cards, tickets and passports.

Embedded wire LED laminate

Laminated glazing, once limited to just the windshield, is finding more and more application in other positions on the vehicle due to its ability to improve passenger safety, security and comfort. Problems are encountered when producing a laminated version of a tempered part with holes, because tempered glass is 4 to 5 times stronger than annealed glass. The laminate of the invention has a hole in the exterior glass layer. An insert is bonded to a cutout in the area of the hole on the interior glass layer so as to reinforce the hole and distribute the load over a wider area. The result is a laminated glazing with one or more holes that has the reliability of and is a direct replacement for a tempered part.

Automotive laminate with hole

Improved automotive security has led to an increase in carjacking and smash and grab crimes. Tempered glass offers little resistant to attacks. Laminated glass improves penetration resistance but only by several seconds. By including a stiff frame in the laminate and a plastic interiorlayer, the present invention significantly increases the amount of time that an occupant has to react and possibly escape an attack by driving off or for the attack to be detected. In the event of an accident, the invention also provides improved occupant retention, especially for movable glass that is not bonded to the vehicle.

Intrusion resistant laminated automotive glazing

The use of camera based safety systems is growing at a rapid rate in modern automobiles. As the industry moves for full autonomous capability, the number of cameras required is increasing. At the same time, windshields, where many of the cameras are mounted are 5 becoming larger and more complex in shape. This presents problems in the area of camera optics. For one, the camera is looking out through at least two layers of bent glass bonded together by a third layer of plastic. Mismatches in the refractive index can result in a double image. The curvature of the glass turns the window into a lens and, in conjunction with the often low installation angle, can reduce the optical clarity of the camera field of view. The 0 laminate of the invention has a cutout in the area of the camera(s) on the interior glass layer where the cameras are mounted. The cameras are mounted directly to the glass via a bracket or adhesive or to a thin transparent insert. The glass can also be fitted with a lens system optically bonded to the glass for even better performance. The result is a laminated glazing with superior optical quality.

The object of this invention is to provide a laminated automotive glazing having an obscuration area produced by printing the obscuration on a film laminated between at least two layers of plastic interlayers rather than printing and firing an enamel frit onto the glass. This results in a laminate having superior optical quality, higher strength and a lower probability of breakage as compared to a laminate with a black enamel frit obscuration.

Growing community of inventors

Lima, Peru

Charles Stephen Voeltzel