Double glazing

• US 7,045,181 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2002
• Issued: 05/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nippon Sheet Glass Company Limited (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nippon Sheet Glass Company Limited (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Kato, Hiroaki, Yoshizawa, Hideo
• Primary Examiner(s): Loney, Donald J.
• Application Number:
  US10/494,499
• Publication Number:
  US 20040265518A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,254 Days
• Field of Search: 428/34, 428/63, 527/861
• US Class Current: 428/34
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 27/06 Joining glass to glass by processes other than fusing fusing C03B23/20; units for use as elements for closing wall or like openings and comprising two or more parallel glass panes in spaced relationship, the panes being permanently secured together E06B3/66
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 3/6612 Evacuated glazing units
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 3/6775 Evacuating or filling the gap during assembly
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 30/249 Glazing, e.g. vacuum glazing
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 80/22 Glazing, e.g. vaccum glazing

Abstract

A glass panel comprising a pair of glass plates opposed to each other with a void defined therebetween, a joining seal member for joining and sealing the glass plates at peripheries thereof, a communicating bore formed in one of the glass plates for communicating with the void and a lid member adhered to the bored glass plate having the communicating bore by a thermally meltable seal member to seal the communicating bore. The lid member is made of a material having a thermal expansion coefficient smaller than a thermal expansion coefficient of the bored glass plate. The glass panel is capable of restraining cracks and breaks from generating in the bored glass plate when the lid member is adhered to the bored glass plate by the thermally meltable seal member.

Claims

1. A glass panel comprising a pair of glass plates opposed to each other with a void defined therebetween, a joining seal member for joining and sealing the glass plates at peripheries thereof, a communicating bore formed in one of the glass plates for communicating with the void, a lid member and a thermally meltable seal member for scaling the lid member to the communicating bore, wherein the lid member is made of a material having a thermal expansion coefficient smaller than a thermal expansion coefficient of the bored glass plate, and wherein the thermally meltable seal member is made of a material having a thermal expansion coefficient smaller than the thermal expansion coefficient of the bored glass plate and greater than the thermal expansion coefficient of the lid member.

2. A glass panel of claim 1, wherein the void is decompressed.

3. A glass panel of claim 1, wherein the lid member is made of glass, and the thermally meltable seal member is made of low temperature-melting glass.

4. A glass panel of claim 3, wherein the void is decompressed.