Dual-pane thermal window with liquid crystal shade

• US 4,893,902 A
• Filed: 05/12/1989
• Issued: 01/16/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alliedsignal Inc. (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alliedsignal Inc. (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Baughman, Ray H., Eckhardt, Helmut, Buff, Ernest D., Fuchs, Gerhard H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, Stanley D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): GROSS, ANITA P
• Application Number:
  US07/350,808
• Time in Patent Office: 249 Days
• Field of Search: 350/331 R, 52/788
• US Class Current: 349/16
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 2009/2464 featuring transparency control by applying voltage, e.g. LCD, electrochromic panels
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 3/6722 with adjustable passage of light
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133308 Support structures for LCD panels, e.g. frames or bezels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1347 Arrangement of liquid crystal layers or cells in which the final condition of one light beam is achieved by the addition of the effects of two or more layers or cells

Abstract

A dual-pane thermal window unit comprises two non-intersecting or, preferably, substantially parallel, spaced window panes, mounted in a window frame, a first of the panes having affixed thereto a first wall of an electro-optical liquid crystal cell providing a selected light transmittance, and a second of said panes delimiting, with a second wall of said cell, a space providing a thermal break. Each of the first and second walls comprises an electrically conductive film composed of plastic and having sufficient supporting strength to maintain the structural integrity of the cell. The window is light weight, economical to manufacture and efficient and reliable in operation.

Claims

1. A method for decreasing radiative and conductive heat transfer between the exterior and the interior of a building, comprising the steps of:

(a) mounting within a window frame a plurality of spaced window panes;

(b) affixing to said panes a plurality of liquid crystal cells, each of said cells being affixed to a different one of said panes; and

(c) delimiting within said window frame a plurality of spaces providing a plurality of thermal breaks, each of said spaces being delimited between a wall of each of said cells and a face of each of said panes.

2. A thermal-pane window unit resistant to radiative heat transfer as well as conductive heat transfer, comprising:

(a) a plurality of substantially parallel, spaced window panes, mounted in a window frame;

(b) a plurality of liquid crystal cells, each of said cells being affixed to a different one of said panes; and

(c) a plurality of thermal breaks, each of said thermal breaks being a space delimited between a wall of each of said cells and a face of each of said panes.