Thin film coating and temporary protection technology, insulating glazing units, and associated methods
First Claim
1. A method of processing substrates, the method comprising:
- a) providing a first sheet of glass, said first glass sheet having opposed first and second major surfaces;
b) conveying the first glass sheet through a single sputter coater, and sputter depositing coatings onto both the first and second major surfaces in a single pass of the first glass sheet through the sputter coater, said sputter depositing involving;
i) applying a photocatalytic coating to the first major surface of the first glass sheet by sputtering upwardly from a first sequence of targets, said first sequence of targets including one or more targets comprising a sputterable target material selected from the group consisting of a pure or substantially pure titanium material, a titanium alloy material, a titanium oxide material, and a compound including titanium and silicon;
ii) applying a low-emissivity coating to the second major surface of the first glass sheet by sputtering downwardly from a second sequence of targets, said second sequence of targets including one or more targets comprising a sputterable target material selected from the group consisting of a pure or substantially pure silver material and a silver alloy material;
c) delivering the thus coated first glass sheet to a multiple-pane insulating glazing unit assembly line;
d) conveying the thus coated first glass sheet along the assembly line and assembling such first glass sheet with a second glass sheet, such that the resulting insulating glass assembly bounds a gap between said first and second glass sheets and the coated first major surface of said first glass sheet is an exterior surface oriented away from said gap; and
e) applying a peelable first masking over the photocatalytic coating, said first masking comprising a masking substrate and a masking adhesive, wherein said application of the first masking over the photocatalytic coating involves adhering the masking adhesive directly to the photocatalytic coating.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention in some embodiments provides sputter deposition techniques for applying thin film and thereafter applying over the sputtered film a temporary protective film. The thin film can optionally be applied by sputtering a target in a gaseous sputtering atmosphere containing an oxidizing gas and/or an inert gas. The invention in some embodiments relates to an insulating glazing unit or a monolithic pane having a thin film coating, deposited for example by sputtering, on at least one major surface, the thin film coating carrying a temporary protective film. The invention also provides embodiments involving high efficiency methods for producing such products.
110 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method of processing substrates, the method comprising:
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a) providing a first sheet of glass, said first glass sheet having opposed first and second major surfaces;
b) conveying the first glass sheet through a single sputter coater, and sputter depositing coatings onto both the first and second major surfaces in a single pass of the first glass sheet through the sputter coater, said sputter depositing involving;
i) applying a photocatalytic coating to the first major surface of the first glass sheet by sputtering upwardly from a first sequence of targets, said first sequence of targets including one or more targets comprising a sputterable target material selected from the group consisting of a pure or substantially pure titanium material, a titanium alloy material, a titanium oxide material, and a compound including titanium and silicon;
ii) applying a low-emissivity coating to the second major surface of the first glass sheet by sputtering downwardly from a second sequence of targets, said second sequence of targets including one or more targets comprising a sputterable target material selected from the group consisting of a pure or substantially pure silver material and a silver alloy material;
c) delivering the thus coated first glass sheet to a multiple-pane insulating glazing unit assembly line;
d) conveying the thus coated first glass sheet along the assembly line and assembling such first glass sheet with a second glass sheet, such that the resulting insulating glass assembly bounds a gap between said first and second glass sheets and the coated first major surface of said first glass sheet is an exterior surface oriented away from said gap; and
e) applying a peelable first masking over the photocatalytic coating, said first masking comprising a masking substrate and a masking adhesive, wherein said application of the first masking over the photocatalytic coating involves adhering the masking adhesive directly to the photocatalytic coating. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus comprising:
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an insulating glazing unit comprising two spaced-apart panes having a gap between them;
a photocatalytic thin film coating on a desired major surface of one of the panes, said desired major surface being an exterior surface facing away from said gap; and
a removable protective masking overlaying the photocatalytic thin film coating, said masking comprising a masking substrate and a masking adhesive, wherein the masking adhesive is in direct adhesive contact with the photocatalytic thin film coating. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An apparatus comprising:
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an insulating glazing unit comprising two spaced-apart panes having a gap between them;
a photocatalytic thin film coating on a desired major surface of one of the panes, said desired major surface being an exterior surface facing away from said gap; and
a removable protective masking overlaying the photocatalytic thin film coating, said masking comprising a masking substrate and a masking adhesive, wherein the masking adhesive is in direct adhesive contact with the photocatalytic thin film coating, and wherein the removable protective masking is a peelable masking, the masking adhesive having a higher level of adhesion to the masking substrate than to said coated major surface, such that the adhesive is adapted to adhere preferentially to the masking substrate when the masking is peeled off said coated major surface. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification