Ford Motor Company Limited

Patricia B Reid

Edward Nashed Boulos

Kevin J Ramus

Mark F Best

Robert F Tweadey, Ii

Robert F Tweadey

A blue glass composition is disclosed. This blue glass composition is based on a standard formulation for soda/lime silica glass, except that neither the basic glass composition nor the coloring components therefor contains nickel. The blue glass color is developed by using coloring components consisting essentially of 0.3-0.6% Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3, 0.004-0.008% Co.sub.3 O.sub.4, and 0.0001-001% Se. The particular blue color of the glass is a neutral blue having a dominant wavelength of 482 nm.+-.1 nm, color purity of 13%.+-.1% and transmission (T) equal to at least 54%.+-.1% using Illuminant C (corrected to 0.25 inch glass thickness).

Nickel ion-free blue glass composition

Methods of making electrically heated windows (10, 100) and products produced thereby. In an embodiment of the method of our invention for producing a product of laminated construction (10), a pair of glass sheets (12, 20) are laminated together by an interposed laminated interlayer (18). This lamination is carried out in a manner that a first (12) of the pair of glass sheets defines both a first glass surface forming the outer surface of the window and a second glass surfaces in juxtaposition with the laminating interlayer, and a second (20) of the pair of glass sheets defines both a third glass surface in juxtaposition with the laminating interlayer and a fourth glass surface forming the inside surface of the window. An electrically conductive coating (16) is formed in association with one of the glass surfaces in juxtaposition with the laminating interlayer. The product is improved by carrying out in the method of manufacturing the same the step of forming at least one sol-gel antireflective coating (14) on at least one of the glass surfaces other than the first glass surface. The sol-gel antireflective coating improves the overall transmittance of light in the visible wavelength through the electrically heated window. The specification describes several different embodiments for both the method of the invention and the product produced thereby.

Method of increasing the visible transmittance of an electrically heated

An improved electrically heated vision unit in which heat can be concentrated in a selected zone or zones thereof includes at least one sheet of a relatively rigid transparent material (12) having a ceramic enamel (14) extending along at least two opposite edges on one surface thereof. A bus bar is associated with each ceramic enamel on each edge of the sheet and has at least one narrow portion (18) overlying and bonded to an associated one of the ceramic enamel, and at least one wide portion (20) in part overlying and bonded to an associated one of said ceramic enamel and in part overlying and bonded to said one surface of the transparent material. The narrow portions and the wide portions of the pair of bus bars are in register with like portions on an opposed one of the bus bars. An electrically conductive transparent coating (22) of generally uniform thickness and composition extends between the pair of bus bars with sections thereof between juxtaposed wide portions of the pair of bus bars being bonded only to the wide portions of the bus bars and the one surface of the transparent material, and with other sections thereof between juxtaposed narrow portions of the pair of bus bars being bonded to the narrow portions of the bus bars, the ceramic enamel and the one surface of the transparent material. Structure is provided for supplying electrical energy to the bus bars and through the conductive coating.

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Detroit, MI, United States of America

Patricia B Reid