Search

EP-4159002-B1 - APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR REMOVING AT LEAST ONE PORTION OF AT LEAST ONE COATING SYSTEM PRESENT IN A MULTI-GLAZED WINDOW MOUNTED ON A STATIONARY OR MOBILE OBJECT

EP4159002B1EP 4159002 B1EP4159002 B1EP 4159002B1EP-4159002-B1

Inventors

  • MORGANTE, Eric

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20210521

Claims (11)

  1. An apparatus (100) for removing in situ at least one portion (13) of at least one coating system (12) present in a multi-glazed window (11) comprising at least two glass panels alternatively separated by at least one interlayer and forming multiple interfaces; the apparatus (100) comprising a. a decoating device (101) including a laser source (102) that generates a laser beam (103) having a specific direction b. two motors (104a, 104b) configured to displace said decoating device (101) along a plane (P), defined by a longitudinal axis X and a transversal axis Y; characterized in that said decoating device further comprises an orientation means (104) configured to control the direction of said laser beam (103) and in that said apparatus comprises - an optical system configured to detect on which interface said coating system is localized, and to estimate a distance between said decoating device and the detected interface; and - a displacement means configured to control the position of said decoating device in the direction normal to the plane P.
  2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus comprises a synchronization means configured to synchronize the direction of said laser source via said orientation means with the displacement of said decoating device via said motors.
  3. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said orientation means comprises at least a rotatable mirror or a mirrors using a galvanometer based motor.
  4. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said apparatus comprises at least one suction means (300) configured to detachably fix said apparatus to said multi-glazed window (11), preferably said suction means comprises a vacuum pad or a suction cup.
  5. An apparatus according to any one of preceding claims, wherein said apparatus (100) comprises at least one rigid pushing means (200) configured to stabilize the apparatus (100) on said multi-glazed window (11).
  6. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said displacement device comprises a third motor and a displacement control unit, configured to control and displace said decoating device in the direction normal to the plane P; configured to displace said decoating device of a displacement distance equal to the difference between the estimated distance and a focus distance in order to focus said decoating device on said detected interface of at least one coating system.
  7. A method for removing at least one portion (13) of at least one coating system (12) present in a multi-glazed window (11) with an apparatus (100) according to any of claims 1 to 6; said method comprising the following steps: A. mounting said apparatus on an external interface (P1) of said multi-glazed window and B. removing a first portion (13) of said coating system with said decoating device (101) by orienting the laser beam (103) with said orientation means (104) and by displacing the decoating device with said motors to remove a predetermined shape from said coating system.
  8. A method according to claim 7, wherein said apparatus (100) is according to claims 2 to 7, during the step B, said synchronisation means synchronises the displacement of the decoating device in the plane P, the speed of each of said two motors and the orientation of the laser beam.
  9. A method according to claims 7 to 8, wherein said apparatus (100) is mounted on a first interface (P1) of said multi-glazed window (10) with at least one suction means (14) to be detachably fixed to said first interface.
  10. A method according to claims 7 to 9, wherein said apparatus (100) is mounting on a first interface (P1) of said multi-glazed window (10) with at least one rigid pushing means (200) to said first interface (P1) to stabilize and ensure the parallelism between said multi-glazed window (10) and the decoating device (101).
  11. Use of the apparatus (100) according to claims 1 to 6 to remove at least one portion (13) of said coating system (12) wherein said orientation means (104) controls the direction of said laser beam (103), wherein the two motors displace the decoating device in the plane P and wherein said multi-glazed window is mounted on a stationary object (10) or on a mobile object (10).

Description

Technical Field The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for removing at least one portion of at least one coating system in a multi-glazed window. The invention is preferably used to modify the electromagnetic properties of a multi-glazed window already mounted on a stationary object, for instance a building, or mounted on a mobile object, for instance a vehicle, a train. This modification is achieved by partially decoating a coating system included on the interior interface of the glass panels forming the multi-glazed window. Thus, the invention concerns multiple domains where multi-glazed windows including at least one coating system are used and wherein removing part of said coating system is required. Background Art A standard single-layered window has poor thermal performances. This is why most windows are now built using two or more glass panels separated by a gas and/or polymer-based interlayer. This kind of windows are is called a multi-glazed window. A coating system is typically applied on the interface of one or several glass panels of a multi-glazed window in order to further improve the multi-glazed window properties. This coating system can either improve the multi-glazed window insulation, reduce the amount of infrared and/or ultraviolet radiation entering the multi-glazed window and/or keep the sun's heat out of a space wherein such multi-glazed window insulation is used. However, this type of coating systems is generally metal-based and therefore acts as a Faraday cage, preventing electromagnetic waves such as radio waves, from entering or leaving the space. In order to improve the transmittance of a multi-glazed window containing a coating system, one can use a laser decoating system to remove at least one portion of the coating system. The total surface to be decoated is typically between 1 and 3% of the total coating system surface, in order to both improve the transmission of radio waves through the multi-glazed-window without impairing the properties of said coating system. Preferably, to improve the transmission of a radio wave through the window, the decoating system will remove segments from the coating system and the sum of the longest sub-segment of each segment is equal to nλ/2 wherein n is a positive integer greater than zero and lambda (λ) is the wavelength of the radio wave. It is necessary to have a wide band frequency selective surface in order to ensure the transmission of waves of different frequencies through the multi-glazed window, typically between 2GHz and 100Ghz. For instance, the decoating system can be configured to remove a segment of a length greater than 400 mm and a width between 10 and 100 µm. Preferably, for some applications such as toll communication systems, 4G and/or 5G receptors and transmitters, a small decoating portion is desired instead of a large decoating portion. For instance, a small decoating portion has typically a length less than 400 mm. A simple approach to solve this problem of RF energy reflection is to remove a portion 13 of the coating system 12. This approach, however, reduces the solar control benefits offered by the multi-glazed window. Moreover, for multi-glazed window located inside the building, the vehicle or the car, the decoated region would be unacceptably large. On top of that, the transition between the decoated portion and the coating itself is eye-visible and usually non-accepted by users. Another solution has been to cut lines in the coating system to create a surface which is frequency selective: it has relatively high reflectivity/absorbance for solar energy but relatively low reflectivity/absorbance in the RF region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The cutting may be performed by laser ablation and the spacing of the slits is chosen to provide selectivity at the desired frequency. To improve the transmittance of said multi-glazed window, WO 20200/050762 describes an apparatus comprising a laser light source and a lens array configured to focus said laser light source on a coating system of a multi-glazed window. Said apparatus is mounted on suction pads to secure said apparatus on said multi-glazed window. Said apparatus also comprises at least two motors configured to move said laser along rails along the X and Y axis. Said laser is capable of scribing a grid shape on said coating system to improve the electromagnetic transmission of said multi-glazed window. However, said laser is always focused on the internal surface of the second glass panel in the multi-glazed window. In fact, this apparatus is only calibrated for a single type of double-glazed window being two glass panels separated by a spacer creating a space filled with gas, where the coating system is positioned on the internal interface of the window. Hence, it is not possible to use this apparatus to other types of windows where the glass thickness is different or where the coating system is applied on a different interface. Document WO20