Presence indicator for removable transparent film

• US 20040258890A1
• Filed: 06/14/2004
• Published: 12/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cardinal CG Company (Cardinal Glass Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Cardinal CG Company (Cardinal Glass Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: OʼShaughnessy, Roger, Hartig, Klaus, Krisko, Annette, Pfaff, Gary, Miller, Leah
• Granted Patent: US 7,267,880 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/195.1
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/34 with at least two coatings having different compositions C03C17/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3417 all coatings being oxide coatings
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3423 at least one of the coatings comprising a suboxide
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2218/355 Temporary coating
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/0005 Separation of the coating from the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24802 Discontinuous or differential coating, impregnation or bond [e.g., artwork, printing, retouched photograph, etc.]

Abstract

A substrate having a surface carrying a removable transparent film that can be removed by the surface by a desired washing process, and removable presence indicator associated with the removable transparent film, the presence indicator being removable by the same desired washing process as the removable transparent film. A method of producing a substrate having a presence indicator in contact with a removable transparent film a method of washing a substrate having a presence indicator in contact with a removable transparent film are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A panel comprising a substrate having a surface carrying a removable transparent film that can be removed from said surface by a desired washing process, the panel including a removable presence indicator so associated with the removable transparent film as to be removable by the same desired washing process as the removable transparent film.

2. The panel of claim 1 wherein the removable film is sufficiently transparent so that it cannot be readily detected by visual inspection with the naked eye.

3. The panel of claim 2 wherein the presence indicator has visible characteristics enabling it to be readily detected by visual inspection with the naked eye.

4. The panel of claim 1 wherein the substrate surface is provided by a hydrophilic coating.

5. The panel of claim 1 wherein the substrate surface is provided by a photocatalytic coating.

6. The panel of claim 1 wherein the substrate surface is provided by a reflective coating.

7. The panel of claim 1 wherein the substrate surface is resistant to the presence of a weak acid or a weak base.

8. The panel of claim 1 wherein the removable transparent film is a sputtered film.

9. The panel of claim 1 wherein the removable transparent film has a thickness of less than 100 Å

.

10. The panel of claim 1 wherein the removable transparent film comprises an oxide of a metal selected from the group consisting of zinc, bismuth, cadmium, iron, and nickel.

11. The panel of claim 10 wherein the removable transparent film comprises zinc oxide.

12. The panel of claim 11 wherein the zinc oxide has a thickness of between about 25 Å

and about 60 Å

.

13. The panel of claim 1 wherein both the removable transparent film and the presence indicator are durable at glass tempering temperatures.

14. The panel of claim 1 wherein both the removable transparent film and the presence indicator are stable in the presence of water but break down in the presence of a weak acid or a weak base.

15. The panel of claim 1 wherein the presence indicator is provided in contact with the outer surface of the removable transparent film.

16. The panel of claim 1 wherein the presence indicator is provided in contact with the inner surface of the removable transparent film.

17. The panel of claim 1 wherein the presence indicator comprises a first presence indicator provided in contact with the outer surface of the removable transparent film and a second presence indicator provided in contact with the inner surface of the removable transparent film.

18. The panel of claim 1 wherein the presence indicator is incorporated in the removable transparent film.

19. The panel of claim 1 wherein the presence indicator comprises one or more colorants incorporated in the removable transparent film.

20. The panel of claim 1 wherein the presence indicator comprises a substoichiometric or superstoichiometric compound incorporated in the removable transparent film.

21. The panel of claim 1 wherein the presence indicator comprises a substoichiometric or superstoichiometric zinc oxide incorporated in the removable transparent film.

22. The panel of claim 1 wherein the presence indicator comprises a continuous thin film.

23. The panel of claim 22 wherein the continuous thin film comprises a colored film.

24. The panel of claim 22 wherein the continuous thin film comprises a film of substoichiometric or supersubstoichiometric metal oxide.

25. The panel of claim 22 wherein the continuous thin film comprises a film of substoichiometric or superstoichiometric zinc oxide.

26. The panel of claim 1 wherein the presence indicator comprises a plurality of visible material deposits.

27. The panel of claim 26 wherein the visible material deposits are provided at spaced-apart locations in contact with the removable transparent film.

28. The panel of claim 27 wherein the visible material deposits are provided at spaced-apart locations so that if the panel is cut into smaller panels, each smaller panel comprises at least one visible material deposit.

29. The panel of claim 26 wherein the plurality of visible material deposits includes one or more colorants.

30. The panel of claim 26 wherein the plurality of visible material deposits comprises deposits of a substoichiometric or superstoichiometric metal oxide.

31. The panel of claim 26 wherein the plurality of visible material deposits comprises deposits of a substoichiometric or superstoichiometric zinc oxide.

32. The panel of claim 26 wherein the plurality of visible material deposits comprises one or more decals.

33. The panel of claim 32 wherein the one or more decals are porous.

34. The panel of claim 32 wherein the one or more decals are made of an organic material.

35. The panel of claim 32 wherein the one or more decals contain machine readable information.

36. The panel of claim 26 wherein the plurality of visible material deposits comprises water-soluble ink.

37. The panel of claim 36 wherein the water soluble ink comprises ink that is stable in the presence of water but breaks down in the presence of a weak acid or a weak base.

38. A panel comprising a substrate having a surface carrying a removable transparent film that can be washed from the substrate, the removable film having a detectable characteristic, the presence or absence of which characteristic signals whether the removable film has been washed from the substrate.

39. The panel of claim 38 wherein the detectable characteristic is color.

40. The panel of claim 38 wherein the substrate surface is reflective and the detectable characteristic is non-reflectance.

41. The panel of claim 38 wherein the detectable characteristic is opacity.

42. The panel of claim 38 wherein the detectable characteristic comprises a visible metal component.

43. The panel of claim 42 wherein the visible metal component is a substoichiometric or superstoichiometric compound.

44. The panel of claim 42 wherein the visible metal component is substoichiometric or superstoichiometric zinc oxide.

45. A glass panel bearing a silicon dioxide hydrophilic coating, and a protective removable transparent zinc oxide film carried by the hydrophilic coating, said film including visually detectable substoichiometric or superstoichiometric zinc oxide.

46. The glass panel of claim 45 wherein the substoichiometric or superstoichiometric zinc oxide is positioned at the inner surface of the zinc oxide protective film.

47. The glass panel of claim 45 wherein the substoichiometric or superstoichiometric zinc oxide is positioned at the outer surface of the zinc oxide protective film.

48. The glass panel of claim 45 wherein the substoichiometric or superstoichiometric zinc oxide is contained in the zinc oxide protective film.

49. A method of producing a panel having a substrate surface, the method comprising:

(a) providing a substrate having a surface carrying a removable transparent film that can be removed from the surface by a desired washing process; and

(b) including at least one removable presence indicator in contact with the removable transparent film, the presence indicator being removable by the same washing process as the removable transparent film.

50. The method of claim 49 including the step of applying to the substrate surface the removable transparent film.

51. The method of claim 50 wherein the removable transparent film is applied to the surface of the substrate by sputtering.

52. The method of claim 49 wherein the removable presence indicator is applied by sputtering a continuous thin film in contact with the removable transparent film.

53. The method of claim 49 wherein the removable presence indicator is applied by depositing a plurality of visible material deposits in contact with the removable transparent film.

54. The method of claim 53 wherein the visible material deposits are deposited at spaced-apart locations in contact with the removable transparent film.

55. The method of claim 53 wherein the visible material deposits are deposited by sputtering.

56. The method of claim 53 wherein the visible material deposits are deposited by a sol-gel method.

57. The method of claim 53 wherein the visible material deposits are deposited using a mask.

58. The method of claim 49 wherein the removable presence indicator is applied by placing one or more decals in contact with the removable transparent film.

59. The method of claim 49 wherein the removable presence indicator is applied by printing a water soluble ink in contact with the removable transparent film.

60. The method of claim 49 wherein the removable presence indicator is applied by incorporating visible components in the removable transparent film.

61. The method of claim 60 including incorporating one or more colorants in the removable transparent film.

62. The method of claim 60 including incorporating substoichiometric or superstoichiometric compounds in the removable transparent film.

63. The method of claim 60 including incorporating substoichiometric or superstoichiometric zinc oxide compounds in the removable transparent film.

64. The method of claim 49 including providing the removable presence indicator in contact with the outer surface of the removable transparent film.

65. The method of claim 49 including providing the removable presence indicator in contact with the inner surface of the removable transparent film.

66. The method of claim 49 including providing one removable presence indicator in contact with the inner surface of the removable transparent film and providing a second removable presence indicator in contact with the outer surface of the removable transparent film.

67. A method for cleaning a substrate to assure exposure of a surface, comprising:

(a) providing a substrate having a surface, the surface bearing a removable transparent film associated with a visible presence indicator signaling the presence of the removable film; and

(b) washing the substrate sufficiently to remove the removable transparent film until the presence indicator is no longer visible, to thereby expose the surface.

68. The method of claim 67 wherein the presence indicator comprises a visible continuous thin film in contact with the removable transparent film, and wherein washing continues until no thin film is visually detectable on the substrate.

69. The method of claim 67 wherein the visible continuous thin film comprises a colored thin film, and wherein washing continues until color is no longer visually detectable on the substrate.

70. The method of claim 67 wherein the visible continuous thin film comprises a substoichiometric or superstoichiometric thin film, and wherein washing continues until no substoichiometric or superstoichiometric thin film is visually detectable on the substrate.

71. The method of claim 67 wherein the presence indicator comprises a plurality of visible material deposits in contact with the removable transparent film, and wherein washing continues until no visible material deposits are visually detectable on the substrate.

72. The method of claim 67 wherein the presence indicator comprises one or more decals in contact with the removable transparent film, and wherein washing continues until the decals are no longer present on the film.

73. The method of claim 67 wherein the presence indicator comprises a water soluble ink in contact with the removable transparent film, and wherein washing continues until no ink is visually detectable on the substrate.

74. The method of claim 67 wherein the presence indicator comprises a visibly detectable characteristic of the removable transparent film, and where washing continues until the detectable characteristic is no longer detectable.

75. The method of claim 67 wherein both the presence indicator and the removable transparent film are removable by the same washing process, and the washing comprises washing both the presence indicator and removable transparent film by the same washing process.

76. The method of claim 67 wherein both the presence indicator and the removable transparent film break down in the presence of a mild acid or a mild base, and the washing comprises washing both the presence indicator and removable transparent film with a mild acid or a mild base.

77. A panel comprising a substrate having a surface carrying a removable transparent film that is stable in the presence of water but that can be removed from said surface by washing with a mild acid or a mild base, the panel including a removable presence indicator associated with the removable transparent film wherein the presence indicator comprises a water-soluble ink applied over the removable transparent film.