Electrically conductive heated glass panel assembly, control system, and method for producing panels

• US 20030127452A1
• Filed: 09/27/2002
• Published: 07/10/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Engineered Glass Products LLC
• Original Assignee: Engineered Glass Products LLC
• Inventors: Gerhardinger, Peter F., Ashton, Dillon R., Bauman, Randall L.
• Granted Patent: US 7,265,323 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 219/497
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 3/0434 Glass or transparent panels
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 17/10036 comprising two outer glass sheets
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 17/10376 Laminated safety glass or glazing containing metal wires
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 17/10761 containing vinyl acetal
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/02 to electric heating circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 8/003 Converting light into electric energy, e.g. by using photo-voltaic systems
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 2203/016 Heaters using particular connecting means
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/84 Heating arrangements specially adapted for transparent or reflecting areas, e.g. for demisting or de-icing windows, mirrors or vehicle windshields
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/435 Solid dielectric type
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49083 Heater type
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49099 Coating resistive material on a base

Abstract

An electrically conductive heated glass panel assembly, control system, and method for producing panels are provided to warm objects and to insure unobstructed viewing through glass by removing moisture. An integrated connection circuit interconnects glass sheets, which have a low emissivity conductive coating deposited thereon. The circuit includes copper bus bars that are disposed onto the conductive coating through the use of a circularly rotating or an inline heating head and mask apparatus. A metallic tab, which extends from the glass sheet'"'"'s peripheral edge, is disposed onto each conductive metal bus bar for external electrical connectivity. Two types of glazing channels are offered to interconnect multiple panels to external circuits and controls. A solid-state controller may be provided to obtain sensor control signals so as to drive a triac circuit that provides current flow through the panel for the desired heating.

Claims

1. An electrically conductive heated glass panel, comprising:

a sheet of a dielectric substrate material;

a conductive coating disposed on at least one major surface of said sheet; and

at least two conductive metal bus bars deposited, by way of a circularly rotating heating head and mask apparatus, onto and in electrical contact with said coating.

2. The panel of claim 1, wherein said sheet comprises glass.

3. The panel of claim 1, wherein said sheet comprises a ceramic material.

4. The panel of claim 1, wherein said sheet comprises a glass-ceramic material.

5. The panel of claim 1, further comprising a metallic tab disposed onto and in electrical contact with each of said at least two bus bars.

6. The panel of claim 5, wherein a portion of each of said tabs extends beyond a peripheral edge of said sheet.

7. The panel of claim 1, wherein said coating comprises a doped metal oxide.

8. The panel of claim 1, wherein said bus bars comprise copper.

9. The panel of claim 1, wherein each of said bus bars taper toward edges of said sheet.

10. The panel of claim 1, wherein each of said bus bars taper on ends.

11. The panel of claim 1, further comprising a thermostatic switch, said switch being electrically conductive upon reaching a first setpoint temperature and being electrically non-conductive upon reaching a second setpoint temperature.

12. The panel of claim 1, wherein said panel comprises a heating element.

13. An electrically conductive heated glass panel, comprising:

a sheet of a dielectric substrate material;

a conductive coating disposed on at least one major surface of said sheet; and

at least two conductive metal bus bars deposited, by way of an inline heating head and mask apparatus, onto and in electrical contact with said coating.

14. The panel of claim 13, wherein said sheet comprises glass.

15. The panel of claim 13, wherein said sheet comprises a ceramic material.

16. The panel of claim 13, wherein said sheet comprises a glass-ceramic material.

17. The panel of claim 13, further comprising a metallic tab disposed onto and in electrical contact with each of said at least two bus bars.

18. The panel of claim 17, wherein a portion of each of said tabs extends beyond a peripheral edge of said sheet.

19. The panel of claim 13, wherein said coating comprises a doped metal oxide.

20. The panel of claim 13, wherein said bus bars comprise copper.

21. The panel of claim 13, wherein each of said bus bars taper toward edges of said sheet.

22. The panel of claim 13, wherein each of said bus bars taper on ends.

23. The panel of claim 13, further comprising a thermostatic switch, wherein said switch being electrically conductive upon reaching a first setpoint temperature and being electrically non-conductive upon reaching a second setpoint temperature.

24. The panel of claim 13, wherein said panel comprises a heating element.

25. An electrically conductive heated glass panel assembly, comprising:

a first glass sheet;

a conductive coating disposed on a major surface of said first sheet;

at least two conductive metal bus bars deposited, by way of a circularly rotating heating head and mask apparatus, onto and in electrical contact with said coating;

a metallic tab disposed onto and in electrical contact with each of said at least two bus bars; and

a second glass sheet laminated to said major surface of said first sheet with a polymeric interlayer therebetween.

26. An electrically conductive heated glass panel assembly, comprising:

a first glass sheet;

a conductive coating disposed on a major surface of said first sheet;

at least two conductive metal bus bars deposited, by way of an inline heating head and mask apparatus, onto and in electrical contact with said coating;

a metallic tab disposed onto and in electrical contact with each of said at least two bus bars; and

a second glass sheet laminated to said major surface of said first sheet with a polymeric interlayer therebetween.

27. An electrically conductive heated glass panel assembly, comprising:

a first glass sheet;

a conductive coating disposed on a major surface of said first sheet;

at least two conductive metal bus bars deposited, by way of a heating head and mask apparatus, onto and in electrical contact with said coating;

a metallic tab disposed onto and in electrical contact with each of said at least two bus bars; and

a second glass sheet in parallel spaced apart relationship with said first sheet, and separated from said major surface of said first sheet by an insulating spacer seal being disposed around a periphery therebetween.

28. The panel assembly of claim 27, wherein said spacer seal comprises a T-shape seal unit.

29. The panel assembly of claim 28, wherein said spacer seal comprises foamed silicone.

30. The panel assembly of claim 27, wherein said spacer seal comprises an E-shape seal unit.

31. The panel assembly of claim 30, wherein said spacer seal comprises foamed silicone.

32. The panel assembly of claim 30, wherein said spacer seal includes a seal cavity.

33. The panel assembly of claim 27, wherein said heating head and mask apparatus comprises a circularly rotating heating head and mask apparatus.

34. The panel assembly of claim 27, wherein said heating head and mask apparatus comprises an inline heating head and mask apparatus.

35. The panel assembly of claim 34, wherein said inline heating head and mask apparatus includes a belt-based inline heating head and mask apparatus.

36. The panel assembly of claim 27, wherein said panel comprises a warming shelf.

37. The panel assembly of claim 36, further comprising oven controls.

38. An electrically conductive heated glass panel assembly and control system, comprising:

a first glass sheet;

a conductive coating disposed on a major surface of said first sheet;

at least two conductive metal bus bars disposed onto and in electrical contact with said coating;

a metallic tab disposed onto and in electrical contact with each of said at least two bus bars;

an electrical glass panel, said panel comprising a second glass sheet being in parallel arrangement with said major surface of said first sheet;

a glazing channel, said channel capable of making mechanical and electrical contact with said panel;

a current switch; and

a solid-state controller, said controller capable of reading a signal for controlling said current switch, said current switch controlling current flow through said assembly thus controlling heat dissipated by said panel.

39. The panel assembly and control system of claim 38, further comprising a polymeric interlayer therebetween said sheets.

40. The panel assembly and control system of claim 38, further comprising an insulating spacer seal, wherein said second sheet being separated from said major surface of said first sheet by an insulating spacer seal that is disposed around a periphery therebetween.

41. The panel assembly and control system of claim 38, wherein said glazing channel comprises:

at least one connection clip having clasping surfaces, a pivot, and a spring, said spring capable of rotatably connecting and separating said clasping surfaces about said pivot;

a channel conductor, said conductor mechanically disposed on and in electrical contact with said pivot;

a base setting block having a block cavity defined therein, said block cavity having a narrow portion and a wide portion;

said spring capable of compressing when said clip is positioned in said narrow portion, wherein said clasping surfaces become separated;

said spring capable of expanding when said clip is positioned in said wider portion, wherein said clasping surfaces become connected;

at least one base setting indentation defined within said base block;

at least one panel setting block disposed on a peripheral edge of said panel;

metal foil disposed on and in electrical contact with said metallic tabs and said coating, from said peripheral edge of and within said panel, up to a sight line;

said foil being clasped by and in electrical contact with said clip and said panel setting block being mechanically mated with said base setting indentation when said panel and said base setting block are brought into an abutment at said panel peripheral edge; and

a glazing channel base;

wherein said abutment further abuts a glazing channel surface within a glazing channel cavity defined within said glazing channel base.

42. The panel assembly and control system of claim 38, wherein said glazing channel comprises:

a channel frame having at least one channel cavity defined therein;

at least one conductor block disposed on said channel frame and having interconnecting channel conductors disposed within; and

a channel conduit having channel conductors disposed therein and mechanically attached at a first end to each said channel cavity and mechanically attached at a second end to each said conductor block;

wherein said panel being disposed within said channel cavity, said metallic tabs extending into said first end of said channel conduit, first ends of said channel conductors being mechanically and electrically attached to said metallic tabs, and second ends of said channel conductors being mechanically and electrically attached to said interconnect conductors.

43. The panel assembly and control system of claim 38, wherein said bus bars are disposed by way of a circularly rotating heating head and mask apparatus.

44. The panel assembly and control system of claim 38, wherein said bus bars are disposed by way of an inline heating head and mask apparatus.

45. The panel assembly and control system of claim 38, wherein said controller comprises a programmable chip.

46. The panel assembly and control system of claim 45, wherein said programmable chip comprises an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip.

47. The panel assembly and control system of claim 38, wherein said signal beinggenerated by external sensors for controlling equipment.

48. The panel assembly and control system of claim 47, wherein said external sensors and said equipment comprise wireless and wired devices.

49. The panel assembly and control system of claim 38, wherein said controller determines panel temperature from bus bar voltage signals.

50. The panel assembly and control system of claim 38, wherein said current-switch comprises a triac circuit.

51. The panel assembly and control system of claim 38, wherein said controller operates said triac circuit in a zero-axis crossing manner.

52. The panel assembly and control system of claim 38, wherein said controller provides a plurality of current levels to said current-switch.

53. The panel assembly and control system of claim 38, further comprising at least one condition sensor mounted to a major surface of said panel, said at least one sensor generating said signal.

54. The panel assembly and control system of claim 53, wherein said at least one condition sensor comprises a temperature sensor.

55. The panel assembly and control system of claim 54, wherein said temperature sensor comprises a thin film thermocouple.

56. The panel assembly and control system of claim 53, wherein said at least one condition sensor comprises a moisture sensor.

57. The panel assembly and control system of claim 53, wherein said at least one condition sensor comprises a voltage sensor.

58. The panel assembly and control system of claim 53, wherein said at least one condition sensor comprises a current sensor.

59. The panel assembly and control system of claim 38, further comprising a direct current to alternating current inverter circuit.

60. The panel assembly and control system of claim 38, further comprising a conductive strip switch mounted to a major surface of said second sheet, wherein said conductive strip switch has electrical continuity until said second sheet breaks.

61. An oven door panel, comprising:

an oven door frame;

a glass sheet, said glass sheet disposed within said oven door frame;

a conductive coating disposed on at least one major surface of said sheet;

at least two conductive metal bus bars disposed, by way of a heating head and mask apparatus, onto and in electrical contact with said coating;

light scattering material disposed onto and in thermal contact with said coating.

62. The oven door panel of claim 61, further comprising a temperature sensing means disposed on a major surface of said glass sheet.

63. The oven door panel of claim 61, wherein said bus bars comprise copper.

64. Said oven door panel of claim 61, wherein said light scattering material comprises ThermoSEE™

.

65. The oven door panel of claim 61, wherein said heating head and mask apparatus comprises circularly rotating masks.

66. The oven door panel of claim 61, wherein said heating head and mask apparatus comprises inline masks.

67. The oven door panel of claim 61, further comprising a metallic tab disposed onto and in electrical contact with each of said bus bars.

68. A heating head and mask apparatus for disposing a conductive bus bar on an electrically conductive coating that is disposed on a sheet of dielectric substrate material, said apparatus comprising:

a reducing flame;

a metal feeding and heating device;

an outer mask; and

an inner mask;

said reducing flame capable of heating said coating in an area defined between said outer mask and said inner mask, and said metal feeding and heating device capable of feeding, melting, and propelling molten particles of a metal onto said area, thus forming a portion of said bus bar.

69. The heating head and mask apparatus of claim 68, further comprising:

an edge mask;

a coating heater, said coating heater capable of heating another area of said coating that is defined by said edge mask along an edge of said substrate sheet; and

a coating remover, said coating remover capable of removing said heated coating.

70. The heating head and mask apparatus of claim 69, wherein said sheet comprises glass.

71. The heating head and mask apparatus of claim 69, wherein said sheet comprises ceramic.

72. The heating head and mask apparatus of claim 69, wherein said sheet comprises glass-ceramic.

73. The heating head and mask apparatus of claim 69, wherein said edge mask comprises a circularly rotating mask.

74. The heating head and mask apparatus of claim 69, wherein said edge mask comprises an inline mask.

75. The heating head and mask apparatus of claim 69, wherein said inner and outer masks comprise circularly rotating masks.

76. The heating head and mask apparatus of claim 69, wherein said inner and outer masks comprise inline masks.

77. The heating head and mask apparatus of claim 69, wherein said metal feeding and heating device comprises a plasma gun.

78. An inline heating head and mask apparatus, comprising:

at least two conveyor belts operating in a parallel spaced apart manner, wherein the width of at least one of said belts being less than the width of a sheet of dielectric substrate material so as to expose opposite edges of said substrate sheet;

an indexer capable of urging said substrate sheet therebetween said belts, wherein said belts being capable of applying forcible clamping and conveying motion to said substrate sheet;

at least one metal feeding and heating device, wherein said heating device heats and propels molten particles of conductive metal onto said exposed edges thus forming a portion of a bus bar, as said substrate sheet is conveyed past said heating device; and

an overspray removing device, wherein an overspray of said molten particles is removed from said belts following bus bar deposition.

79. The apparatus of claim 78, further comprising at least one reducing flame, wherein said reducing flame preheats said exposed edges prior to bus bar formation.

80. A method of depositing a conductive metal bus bar on a sheet of dielectric substrate material, comprising:

applying a conductive metal to said substrate sheet using a plasma gun.

81. The method of claim 80, wherein said conductive metal comprises copper.

82. The method of claim 80, wherein said substrate sheet comprises doped metal oxide.

83. A method of depositing a conductive metal bus bar on a sheet of dielectric substrate material, comprising:

applying a conductive metal to said substrate sheet using an oxyacetylene device.

84. The method of claim 83, wherein said conductive metal comprises copper.

85. The method of claim 83, wherein said substrate sheet comprises doped metal oxide.

86. A method of depositing a conductive metal bus bar on a sheet of dielectric substrate material, comprising:

masking an area on said substrate sheet;

heating said area with a reducing flame;

feeding a conductive metal into a metal feeding and heating device;

melting said metal; and

propelling particles of said molten metal onto said area.

87. The method of claim 86, wherein said substrate sheet comprises an electrically conductive coating disposed on a glass sheet.

88. The method of claim 86, wherein said masking comprises circularly rotating masks.

89. The method of claim 86, wherein said masking comprises inline masks.

90. The method of claim 86, wherein said reducing flame comprises hydrogen.

91. The method of claim 86, wherein said reducing flame comprises oxyacetylene.

92. The method of claim 86, wherein said heating comprises imparting a temperature of about 500 degrees F. to said area in a stoichiometric atmosphere where a combination of oxygen with said molten metal is controlled.

93. The method of claim 86, wherein said conductive metal metal comprises copper.

94. A method of deleting a conductive coating, wherein said coating being disposed on a major surface of a sheet of dielectric substrate material, comprising:

heating an area on an edge of said substrate sheet using a coating heater;

evaporating said coating in said area with said coating heater;

forming a residue of said coating; and

deleting said residue with a coating remover.

95. The method of claim 94, further comprising preheating of said area prior to heating.

96. The method of claim 94, further comprising, prior to heating, masking of said area with an edge mask.

97. The method of claim 94, wherein said coating heater comprises oxyacetylene.

98. The method of claim 94, wherein said coating heater comprises a plasma device.

99. The method of claim 94, wherein said heating comprises imparting a temperature of about 1300 degrees F. to said area.

100. The method of claim 94, wherein said coating remover comprises a burnishing tool.

101. The method of claim 96, wherein said coating remover comprises a buffer.

102. The method of claim 96, wherein said edge mask comprises a circularly rotating mask.

103. The method of claim 96, wherein said edge mask comprises an inline mask.

104. A method of depositing conductive metal bus bars on a sheet of dielectric substrate material, comprising:

urging said substrate sheet between two conveyor belts;

conveying said substrate sheet toward a heating head and mask device;

melting conductive metal in said heating device; and

propelling said metal onto exposed edges of said substrate sheet.