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EP-4229265-B1 - APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR FILLING INSULATING GLASS WITH GAS

EP4229265B1EP 4229265 B1EP4229265 B1EP 4229265B1EP-4229265-B1

Inventors

  • VIANELLO, FORTUNATO
  • VIANELLO, Riccardo

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20211015

Claims (16)

  1. Apparatus (10) for filling insulating glass (1) with gas, comprising: a fixed panel (21) and a movable panel (22); said fixed panel (21) and said movable panel (22) having respective working surfaces (212, 222) designed to hold glass panes (2, 2'); said fixed panel (21) and said movable panel (22) being designed to be juxtaposed along a direction (Z) perpendicular to the two working surfaces (212, 222) in order to joint said glass panes(2, 2') to each other; characterized in that said apparatus (10) comprises - closure means (102, 107, 108, 109) designed to make a sealed chamber (112) between said fixed panel (21) and said movable panel (22); - suction means (104, 105, 111, 106) designed to establish and maintain a certain pressure value inside said chamber (112) as the panes (2, 2') are joined for making the insulating glass (1).
  2. Apparatus (10) for filling insulating glass (1) with gas according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it comprises blowing means (25) designed to blow a gas into said chamber (112).
  3. Apparatus (10) for filling insulating glass (1) with gas according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said closure means comprise an upper sealing window (102), lateral sealing windows (107, 108), and a lower gasket (109), said windows (102, 107, 108) and said lower gasket (109) acting between said fixed panel (21) and said movable panel (22), said windows (102, 107, 108) being movable between a closed position in which they make said chamber (112) impermeable to fluids between said fixed panel (21) and said movable panel (22); and an open position in which said chamber (112) is in fluid communication with the external environment.
  4. Apparatus (10) for filling insulating glass (1) with gas according to any of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that said closure means are made with a rubber membrane.
  5. Apparatus (10) for filling insulating glass (1) with gas according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said suction means designed to establish and maintain a given pressure value inside said chamber (112) comprise: a blower (105) with the suction side connected to a pipe (104) leading to a shutoff valve (111), preferably a three-way valve, and then to a manifold (106) arranged on the rear surface of the fixed panel (21).
  6. Apparatus (10) for filling insulating glass (1) with gas according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that said suction means designed to establish and maintain a given pressure value inside said chamber (112) comprise: a positive displacement vacuum pump with the suction side connected to a pipe (104) leading to a shutoff valve (111), preferably a three-way valve, and then to a manifold (106) placed on the rear surface of the fixed panel (21).
  7. Apparatus (10) for filling insulating glass (1) with gas according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said manifold (106) has a shape that lies substantially parallel to the direction of the upper sealing window (102), and lies along the upper edge of the fixed panel (21).
  8. Apparatus (10) for filling insulating glass (1) with gas according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said blowing means designed to blow a gas into said chamber (112) comprise a manifold (25) arranged on said fixed panel (21) at an edge in front of said manifold (106).
  9. Apparatus (10) for filling insulating glass (1) with gas according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a pressure sensor (110) connected to a control unit (116), designed to measure the pressure inside the chamber (112), said control unit (116) being designed to act accordingly on said suction means (104, 105, 111, 106).
  10. Apparatus (10) for filling insulating glass (1) with gas according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said gas is a gas other than air.
  11. Method for filling insulating glass (1) with gas comprising steps for: - providing an apparatus according to any of the preceding claims; - maintaining inside the chamber (112) between said fixed panel (21) and said movable panel (22) a predetermined pressure value lower than the pressure outside the chamber (112), during the juxtaposition of said fixed panel (21) and said movable panel (22) and the subsequent joining of the glass panes (2, 2') of the insulating glass (1).
  12. Method for filling insulating glass (1) with gas according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the pressure value maintained inside the chamber (112) is such that during the joining and pressing of the glass panes (2, 2') following the squeezing of the spacer (3, 5, 7), the value of the gas pressure inside the insulating glass is substantially the same as the pressure outside the insulating glass.
  13. Method for filling insulating glass (1) with gas according to claim 11, characterized in that the pressure value maintained inside the chamber (112) is such that during the joining and pressing of the glass panes (2, 2') following the squeezing of the spacer (3, 5, 7), the value of the gas pressure inside the insulating glass is substantially the same as the pressure of the location where the insulating glass (1) is to be installed.
  14. Method for filling insulating glass (1) with gas according to the preceding claim, characterized in that to adjust the pressure value inside the insulating glass (1), the control unit (116) comprises a user interface wherein the elevation of the insulating glass (1) installation site can be selected.
  15. Method for filling insulating glass (1) with gas according to any of claims 11-14, characterized in that it comprises a step for blowing gas into said chamber (112) before the glass panes (2, 2') form the insulating glass (1).
  16. Method for filling insulating glass (1) with gas according to any of claims 11-15, characterized in that , if a thermoplastic spacer (7) is used, the method comprises a step wherein, as the movable panel (22) is brought to the fixed panel (21) after the two glass panes (2, 2') and the spacer (7) have been joined together, said action being necessary to squeeze the spacer (7), the pressure in the chamber (112) varies in proportion to the movement of the movable panel (22).

Description

FIELD OF APPLICATION The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for filling insulating glass with gas. In particular, the subject matter of the present invention is an automated device and method for filling insulating glass with gas other than air. PRIOR ART It is known that production lines for making the insulating glass product consist of many processes in cascade and, in particular, comprise the process of filling with gas other than air. The process is known to suffer from a problem associated with the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the insulating glass due to the actual method of manufacturing which, due to compression of the spacing frame, can permanently reduce the volume of the gap to some degree, or because of changed external conditions such as, for example, installation of the finished product at a different elevation than the manufacturing elevation. In reference to figure 1, it is known that a rigid spacer 3 or a flexible spacer 5 pre-coated with sealer 6 and/or adhesive 6' is placed on a glass pane 2' and is subsequently joined to another glass pane 2 so that the assembly may then be sealed over the entire outer perimeter thereof so as to constitute the so-called insulating glass 1. The operation may furthermore be repeated to obtain the insulating glass 1 consisting of three glass panes 2, 2', 2" and two rigid spacers 3, 3' (or flexible spacers 5, 5'), as well as "n" glass panes 2, 2', 2", 2‴, 2M, 2'm, 2"m, and "n-1" rigid spacers 3, 3', 3'' (or flexible spacers 5, 5', 5"). More recently, the solution of extruding a thermoplastic product against the surface of one or more of the two or more glass panes 2', 2" has been developed, so as to create the spacer profile 7 for the subsequent composition of the insulating glass 1, the situation on which the present invention focuses on effectively and primarily. Preferably, the cross-section of said spacer profile is rectangular. For chemical and physical reasons, and to ensure adequate adhesion between the spacer 7 and the glass, the producers of such thermoplastic materials require that application take place in such a way that the size of the bead deposited on the glass 2' in the direction perpendicular to the glass is about 10% (up to 12%) greater than the final desired size reached after assembly and pressing of the insulating glass 1. During the assembly step, after the first glass pane 2 comes into contact with the material of the spacer and has thus achieved a minimal initial seal between the inside gap and the outside of the insulating glass, the panes need to be brought closer to each other so as to reach the desired distance between them and complete adhesion of the thermoplastic material to the glass. In so doing, the volume of the trapped gas is reduced and the pressure inside the insulating unit 1 is increased. In addition to being risky for the integrity of the glass, this pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the insulating glass causes stresses on the spacer frame, which is pushed toward the periphery and the sealing joint along the entire perimeter, with an attendant risk of seal failure and deformation of the glass panes which are convex toward the outside, resulting in a negative optical effect, especially in the case of external facades. Obviously, these effects are not desirable and there are various attempts to remedy them, not without their drawbacks, in the prior art. For example, EP 2 422 033 B1 describes a possible solution for solving the problem described above. The idea consists in deforming a sheet of at least one glass pane of the insulating glass before closing the pane against the thermoplastic spacer. In this way, by releasing the deformation of the bent pane only after pressing, an opening is left, allowing the excess gas to escape. However, this solution involves a substantial mechanical complication of the gas filling and pressing machine since the machine needs to be equipped with mechanisms capable of bending a portion of the pane. In addition, there is still the risk that the stress induced by the deformation will cause the glass to break, especially for certain types of glass. Indeed, the inability to use this solution for types of glass panes that are difficult to deform, such as glass panes with large thicknesses or made from laminated glass, is a limitation on this solution. EP1002925 A2 proposes placing the thermoplastic spacer while reserving a limited area having a size in the direction perpendicular to the glass panes that is the same as the nominal size of the finished product. In this way, the entire perimeter where the spacer has been applied with an oversizing of 10-12% is first closed and pressed, as described earlier, and only after is the gap between the glass panes closed in the area where less material has been deposited. In this way, an escape path is left for the excess gas, which is no longer trapped between the glass panes. But this