Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Haruhiko Ishikawa

Eiichi Uriu

Hiroyuki Abe

Takeshi Shimizu

Tasuku Ishibashi

Masataka Nonaka

Kazuya Hasegawa

Kenji Hasegawa

Hiroshi Takahashi

Shinobu Watanabe

A method for manufacturing a glass panel unit includes a glue arrangement step, a pillar placement step, an assembly forming step, a bonding step, an evacuation step, and a sealing step. The evacuation step reduces pressure in an internal space by exhausting, with predetermined suction power, a gas from the internal space via a valve and an exhaust port. The valve includes a first valve allowing the gas to flow through a first channel area and a second valve allowing the gas to flow through a second channel area larger than the first channel area. The evacuation step includes a first evacuation step to be performed first and a second evacuation step to be performed next. In the first evacuation step, the first valve is opened and the second valve is closed. In the second evacuation step, the first valve is closed and the second valve is opened.

Method for manufacturing glass panel unit

A glass panel unit includes: a first substrate including a first glass panel; a second substrate including a second glass panel; and a frame-shaped sealing portion that is hermetically bonded to the first substrate and the second substrate. The sealing portion creates an evacuated space between the first substrate and the second substrate. When viewed from a region where the second substrate is positioned with respect to the first substrate, the first substrate includes a part arranged to stick out of an edge of the second substrate. The part includes a mounting portion used to mount the glass panel unit onto a vehicle.

Glass panel unit and method for manufacturing the glass panel unit

A work in progress includes: a pair of glass substrates arranged to face each other; a peripheral wall having a frame shape and disposed between the pair of glass substrates; a boundary wall; and an evacuation port. The boundary wall hermetically separates an internal space, surrounded with the pair of glass substrates and the peripheral wall, into an evacuation space, a buffer space, and a ventilation space. The evacuation port connects the ventilation space to an external environment. The evacuation space and the buffer space have a lower internal pressure than the ventilation space. A predetermined part, including the evacuation space but excluding parts covering the buffer space and the ventilation space, of the work in progress, forms the glass panel unit.

Work in progress of glass panel unit and method for manufacturing glass panel unit

A method for manufacturing a glass panel unit, which reduces the amount of a getter material to enable a gettering ability to be realized at a relatively low temperature less likely to cause damage. The method includes a step of producing a getter material by heating an unprocessed getter material at a temperature higher than a prescribed temperature Te; a step of producing a preassembled component including a first and second glass pane, a heat-fusible sealing material, an internal space, and a gas adsorbent containing the getter material, and an evacuation port; a step of forming a frame body hermetically bonding the first glass pane and the second glass pane together by melting the heat-fusible sealing material with heat; and a step of heating the gas adsorbent at the prescribed temperature Te while the internal space is evacuated by exhausting air in the internal space through the evacuation port.

Getter material, method for manufacturing getter material, method for manufacturing getter-material-containing composition, and method for manufacturing glass panel unit

A glass panel unit includes: a first panel including a glass pane; a second panel including another glass pane; a sealing portion; an exhaust port; and a printed portion. The second panel is arranged to face the first panel. The sealing portion is formed in a frame shape and hermetically bonds respective peripheral edge portions of the first and second panels to create an evacuated, hermetically sealed space between the first panel and the second panel. The exhaust port is provided for one panel selected from the first and second panels. A port sealing member hermetically seals the exhaust port. The printed portion is provided for the other panel selected from the first and second panels. The printed portion is located in an area, facing the exhaust port, of one surface of the other panel. The one surface either faces toward, or faces away from, the hermetically sealed space.

Glass panel unit and glass window

A sealing head includes a frame, an intake unit, a pressing pin, and a non-contact heater. The frame is configured to be detachably attached to a work in progress of a glass panel unit. The intake unit, the pressing pin, and the non-contact heater are supported by the frame. The work in progress includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a bonding part, and an internal space. The first substrate has an evacuation port. The bonding part bonds the first substrate and the second substrate together. The internal space is formed by being surrounded by the first substrate, the second substrate, and the bonding part. The internal space is communicated with the evacuation port. The pressing pin is configured to press, toward the second substrate, a sealing material which is heat fusible and which is inserted into the evacuation port. The non-contact heater is configured to locally heat the sealing material in a non-contact manner via the second substrate.

Sealing head for manufacturing glass panel unit and method for sealing work in progress of glass panel unit

A glass panel unit includes: a pair of glass panels arranged to face each other; and a frame member disposed between the pair of glass panels to hermetically bond the pair of glass panels together. The frame member includes: a body; and a reinforcing portion. The body has a frame shape and includes: a first part containing a first sealing material having a first softening point; and a second part containing a second sealing material having a second softening point that is higher than the first softening point. The reinforcing portion contains a third sealing material having a third softening point that is higher than the first softening point. The reinforcing portion is adjacent to the first part in a space surrounded with the pair of glass panels and the body.

Glass panel unit, work in progress of glass panel unit, glass panel unit assembly, and method for manufacturing glass panel unit

A glass panel unit manufacturing method includes a bonding step, an insertion step, an evacuation step, and a sealing step. The bonding step includes bonding a first substrate having an evacuation port and a second substrate with a bonding material having a frame shape to form an internal space. The insertion step includes inserting a sealing material into the evacuation port. The evacuation step includes evacuating the internal space by connecting an exhaust device to the evacuation port and driving the exhaust device. The sealing step includes sealing the evacuation port with the sealing material while an evacuated state in the internal space is maintained. In the sealing step, a measured value by a pressure gauge is monitored while the sealing material is heated, softening of the sealing material is detected based on the transition of the measured value, and heating of the sealing material is stopped.

Glass panel unit manufacturing method

A method for manufacturing a glass panel unit includes an assembling step, a bonding step, a gas exhausting step, a sealing step, and an activating step. The bonding step includes melting a peripheral wall in a baking furnace at a first predetermined temperature to hermetically bond a first glass pane and a second glass pane together with the peripheral wall thus melted. The gas exhausting step includes exhausting a gas from an internal space through an exhaust port in the baking furnace to turn the internal space into a vacuum space. The sealing step includes locally heating to a temperature higher than a second predetermined temperature, and thereby melting, either a port sealing material or an exhaust pipe to seal the exhaust port and thereby obtain a work in progress. The activating step includes activating a gas adsorbent after the sealing step to obtain a glass panel unit.

A pillar delivery method is a method for delivering a plurality of pillars onto a substrate, including a glass panel, to manufacture a glass panel unit. The pillar delivery method includes an irradiation step, a holding step, and a mounting step. The irradiation step includes setting, over a holder, a sheet for use to form pillars and irradiating the sheet with a laser beam to punch out the plurality of pillars. The holding step includes having the plurality of pillars, which have been punched out of the sheet, held by the holder. The mounting step includes picking up some or all of the plurality of pillars from the holder and mounting the pillars onto the substrate.

Pillar delivery method, method for manufacturing glass panel unit, and pillar delivery apparatus

A method for manufacturing a glass panel unit includes a glue arrangement step, an assembly forming step, a first melting step, an evacuation step, and a second melting step. The first melting step includes melting a hot glue, bonding a first and second panel with the glue, and forming an internal space. The first melting step includes a first temperature raising step, a first temperature maintaining step including maintaining the temperature of the assembly at a temperature equal to or higher than a softening point of the hot glue, and a first temperature lowering step, which are performed in this order. The first temperature lowering step includes: an anterior temperature lowering step including lowering the temperature of the assembly; a middle temperature maintaining step including maintaining the temperature of the assembly; and a posterior temperature lowering step including lowering the temperature of the assembly, which are performed in this order.

The assembling step is a step of preparing an assembly. The setting step is a step of setting a plurality of holder installation areas along an outer peripheral edge of the peripheral wall. The determining step is a step of determining a first area in which the slit and the peripheral wall are not adjacent to each other in the first area and a second area in which the slit and the peripheral wall are adjacent to each other. The installation step is a step of providing a holder in the first area without providing the holder in the second area.

Production method of glass panel unit

A glass panel unit manufacturing method includes a bonding step, an insertion step, an evacuation step, and a sealing step. The bonding step includes bonding a first substrate having an evacuation port and a second substrate together with a bonding material provided between the first substrate and the second substrate and having a frame shape to form an internal space. The insertion step includes inserting a sealing material into the evacuation port. The evacuation step includes evacuating the internal space through the exhaust passage. The sealing step includes deforming the sealing material by heating while an evacuated state in the internal space is maintained. In a state where the sealing material blocks ventilation between the evacuation port and the internal space, gas is supplied through the exhaust passage toward the evacuation port.

A method for manufacturing a glass panel unit includes an adhesive disposing step, a glass composite generation step, an internal space forming step, an evacuation step, and an evacuated space forming step. The adhesive disposing step includes disposing a thermal adhesive on a second panel. The glass composite generation step includes generating a glass composite including a first panel, the second panel, and the thermal adhesive. The internal space forming step includes heating the glass composite to melt the thermal adhesive to form internal spaces (a first space and a second space). The evacuation step includes exhausting gas from the internal space to evacuate the internal space. The evacuated space forming step includes heating and applying force to part of a first portion or a second portion to deform the part to close an evacuation path to form an evacuated space hermetically closed.

Method for manufacturing glass panel unit, and method for manufacturing glass window

An assembly includes a plurality of partitions to partition an internal space, surrounded with a pair of glass substrates arranged to face each other and a the peripheral wall having a frame shape and provided between the pair of glass substrates, into an evacuation space and a ventilation space. The plurality of partitions includes a first partition and a second partition, of which lengths are defined in two different directions. An end of the second partition faces a side portion of the first partition with a predetermined gap left between them. A space between the end of the second partition and the side portion of the first partition constitutes an air passage to evacuate the evacuation space through an evacuation port. The second partition includes, at the end thereof, a swollen portion protruding toward the evacuation space at least along the width of the second partition.

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Osaka, Japan

Haruhiko Ishikawa