Articles including ITO inclusive coatings for vehicle windshields and/or methods of making the same

• US 10,226,986 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2018
• Issued: 03/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guardian Glass LLC (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Guardian Glass LLC (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Lemmer, Jean-Marc, Murphy, Nestor P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Colgan, Lauren R
• Application Number:
  US15/904,519
• Publication Number:
  US 20180186217A1
• Time in Patent Office: 379 Days
• Field of Search: 428426
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 1/002 with means for clear vision, e.g. anti-frost or defog panes, rain shields window heating in H05B3/84, H05B3/86
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3417 all coatings being oxide coatings
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3435 comprising a nitride, oxynitride, boronitride or carbonitride
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/214 Al2O3
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/22 ZrO2
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/231 In2O3/SnO2
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/281 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2218/154 by sputtering
• CPC Class Codes: C09D 5/00 Coating compositions, e.g. paints, varnishes or lacquers, characterised by their physical nature or the effects produced electrically insulating plastics, resins or waxes H01B3/30; Filling pastes
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/0652 Silicon nitride
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/081 of aluminium, magnesium or beryllium
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/083 of refractory metals or yttrium
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/086 of zinc, germanium, cadmium, indium, tin, thallium or bismuth
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/34 Sputtering
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 28/04 only coatings of inorganic non-metallic material
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 3/6715 specially adapted for increased thermal insulation or for controlled passage of light E06B3/66323 takes precedence; coating of glass pains C03C17/00; devices or arrangements for controlling the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light G02F1/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2495 Thickness [relative or absolute]

Abstract

Certain example embodiments of this invention relate to articles including anti condensation coatings that are exposed to an external environment, and/or methods of making the same. In certain example embodiments, the anticondensation coatings may be survivable in an outside environment. The coatings also may have a sufficiently low sheet resistance and hemispherical emissivity such that the glass surface is more likely to retain heat from the interior area, thereby reducing (and sometimes completely eliminating) the presence condensation thereon. The articles of certain example embodiments may be, for example, skylights, vehicle windows or windshields, IG units, VIG units, refrigerator/freezer doors, and/or the like.

Claims

1. A vehicle windshield comprising:

first and second glass substrates of the vehicle windshield;

wherein the first and second glass substrates of the vehicle windshield are coupled together;

a coating comprising a plurality of layers provided on the first glass substrate, the plurality of layers including, moving away from the first glass substrate;

(a) a first dielectric layer comprising silicon nitride;

(b) a dielectric layer comprising an oxide of titanium;

(c) a dielectric layer comprising silicon oxynitride;

(d) a layer comprising indium-tin-oxide (ITO);

(e) a dielectric layer comprising silicon nitride; and

(f) a dielectric layer comprising an oxide of zirconium;

wherein the layer (f) comprising the oxide of zirconium is an uppermost layer of the coating and is the layer of the coating farthest from the first glass substrate;

wherein the coating is not located between the first and second glass substrates.

2. A vehicle windshield comprising:

first and second glass substrates of the vehicle windshield;

wherein the first and second glass substrates of the vehicle windshield are coupled together;

a coating comprising a plurality of layers provided on the first glass substrate, the plurality of layers including, moving away from the first glass substrate;

a first dielectric layer comprising silicon oxynitride;

a transparent conductive layer comprising indium tin oxide (ITO), located over and directly contacting the first dielectric layer comprising oxynitride;

a second dielectric layer comprising silicon oxynitride located over and directly contacting the transparent conductive layer comprising indium tin oxide (ITO),

a protective layer comprising oxygen and aluminum, the protective layer comprising oxygen and aluminum being located over the second dielectric layer comprising silicon oxynitride;

wherein the protective layer comprising oxygen and aluminum is the outermost layer of the coating and is to be exposed to an environment adjacent the windshield;

wherein the coating is disposed on a surface of the first glass substrate so that the first glass substrate is located between the coating and the second glass substrate, and wherein the coating is not located between the first and second glass substrates, and

wherein the coating has a hemispherical emissivity of less than 0.23 and a sheet resistance of less than 30 ohms/square.

3. The vehicle windshield of claim 2, wherein the windshield has a visible transmission of at least 70%.