Non-iridescent glass structures
First Claim
1. In a structure formed of at least one transparent glass sheet and comprising thereon a first inorganic coating of an infra-red reflective material which material is of the type that is a transparent semiconductor and normally exhibits iridescent colors in daylight illumination, the improvement whereina second coating, is between said glass and said first coating, and said second coatingforms means to substantially diminish iridescent colors of said first coating by providing at least two interfaces which form means, together with the mass of said second coating, to reflect and refract light such that the observability, in daylight illumination, of said iridescent colors is substantially reduced;
- andwherein said second coating has a refractive index defined as about the square root of the multiple of the refractive indices of said glass and said first coating, andwherein said second coating has a thickness of about 1/4 wavelength of light having a vacuum wavelength of about 500 nanometers.
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Abstract
This disclosure describes transparent glass window structures of the type bearing a first coating of infra-red reflective material which is advantageously less than about 0.85 microns in thickness and wherein the observance of iridescence resulting from such a first coating is markedly reduced by provision of a second coating arranged in register with said first coating, the second coating providing at least two interfaces which, with the mass of the second coating, form means to reflect and refract light therefrom to interfere with the observation of iridescence. The invention also encompasses processes for providing such windows. A particular advantage of the invention is its efficacy with clear and lightly tinted glasses wherein the problem of iridescent color has had its greatest commercial impact.
112 Citations
104 Claims
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1. In a structure formed of at least one transparent glass sheet and comprising thereon a first inorganic coating of an infra-red reflective material which material is of the type that is a transparent semiconductor and normally exhibits iridescent colors in daylight illumination, the improvement wherein
a second coating, is between said glass and said first coating, and said second coating forms means to substantially diminish iridescent colors of said first coating by providing at least two interfaces which form means, together with the mass of said second coating, to reflect and refract light such that the observability, in daylight illumination, of said iridescent colors is substantially reduced; - and
wherein said second coating has a refractive index defined as about the square root of the multiple of the refractive indices of said glass and said first coating, and wherein said second coating has a thickness of about 1/4 wavelength of light having a vacuum wavelength of about 500 nanometers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 59)
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56. In a structure formed of at least one transparent glass sheet and comprising thereon a first inorganic coating of an infra-red reflective material which material is of the type that is a transparent semiconductor and normally exhibits iridescent colors in daylight illumination, the improvement wherein
a second coating, is between said glass and said first coating, and said second coating forms means to substantially diminish iridescent colors of said first coating by providing at least two additional interfaces which form means, together with the mass of said second coating, to reflect and refract light such that the observability, in daylight illumination, of said iridescent colors is substantially reduced; - and
wherein said second coating has a composite refractive index defined as about the square root of the multiple of the refractive indices of said glass and said first coating, and wherein second coating is comprised of 2 layers each having a thickness of about 1/4 wavelength of light having a vacuum wavelength of about 500 nanometers. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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64. A structure as defined in claim 63 wherein said structure comprises only transparent sheeting which are formed of clear glass or glass of light tint, said structure being free from metallic, gray or bronze and other dark-toned tones capable of suppressing the visibility of iridescence.
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65. The structure of claim 63 wherein said film closer to said glass is silicon oxynitride.
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66. A structure as defined in any of claim 65 wherein said Color Index value is less than about 8.
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67. A structure as defined in claim 63 wherein the structure comprises an amorphous layer immediately over said glass.
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68. A structure as defined in claim 63 wherein said second coating comprises two layers including
(a) one film closer to the glass and having a composition disclosed in Table B; - and
(b) a second film closer to said first coating and having a composition disclosed in Table C of the Specification.
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69. A structure as defined in claim 63 wherein said first coating is stannic oxide.
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70. A structure as defined in claim 63 wherein said second coating is comprised of two layers including
(a) one layer, closer to the glass and having a refractive index in a range of about 1.6 to 1.7; (b) a second layer, closer to the first coating and having a refractive index in a range of about 1.8 to 1.9, and wherein said first coating has a refractive index of about 2, and said glass has a refractive index of about 1.5.
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71. A structure as defined in claim 70 wherein said first coating is stannic oxide.
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72. A structure as defined in claim 70 wherein said structure comprises only transparent sheeting which are formed of clear glass or glass of light tint, said structure being free from metallic, gray or bronze and other dark-toned tones capable of suppressing the visibility of iridescence.
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73. A structure as defined in claim 70 wherein said second coating comprises two layers including
(a) one film closer to the glass and having a composition disclosed in Table B; - and
(b) a second film closer to said first coating and having a composition disclosed in Table C of the Specification.
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74. A structure as defined in claim 70 wherein the structure comprises an amorphous layer immediately over said glass.
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75. The structure of claim 70 wherein said film closer to said glass is silicon oxynitride.
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76. In a structure formed of at least one transparent glass sheet and comprising thereon a first inorganic coating of an infra-red reflective material which material is of the type that is a transparent semiconductor and normally exhibits iridescent colors in daylight illumination, the improvement wherein
a second coating, is between said glass and said first coating, and said second coating forms means to substantially diminish iridescent colors of said first coating by providing means, together with the mass of said second coating, to reflect and refract light such that the observability, in daylight illumination, of said iridescent colors is substantially reduced; - and
wherein said second coating forms a gradient, with respect to refractive index, gradually increasing between said glass and said infra-red reflecting material, from a refractive index closer to that of said glass to a refractive index closer to that of said infra-red reflective material. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101)
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102. A structure formed of at least one transparent glass sheet and comprising thereon a first inorganic coating of an infra-red reflective material which material is of the type that is a transparent semiconductor and normally exhibits iridescent colors in daylight illumination,
a second coating, also of the type that normally exhibits iridescent color in daylight illumination, on a transparent sheet but is spaced from said second coating wherein one of said coatings differs from the other of said coatings, in thickness, by about 1/4 wavelength of 500 nanometer light, such that, together, said coatings form means to reflect and refract light which adds incoherently and markedly reduces the perceptibility of iridescence of said structure.
Specification