Title: Method for Manufacturing a Design Object

Cross-Relation to other applications

[001] This application claims priority of and benefit to UK Patent Application No. GB 1519988.8 filed on 12 November 2015 entitled "Method for Manufacturing a Design Object" and is related to German Patent Application No. DE 10 2015 103 203.6 Al filed on 11 August 2015. Field of the Invention

[002] This application relates to a method for manufacturing a design object from a plurality of glass sheets.

Background of the Invention

[003] A decorative glass block bearing a design is known, for example, from US Patent Application Publication No US 2004/0163759, which teaches cutting a hollow glass block into two halves and then inserting a translucent sheet bearing a design between the cut edges of the two halves of the blocks.

[004] German Patent Application No. DE 37 30 869 Al (Kepka) teaches a method for making a glass block or plastic block with a void within the block. The block is made up of at least two halves which are glued together, such that the layer of glue is oriented in a vertical plane. Figures or other decorative forms can be made by sand blasting designs in either or both of the two halves along a surface plane before the two halves are glued together.

[005] Japanese Patent Applications No. 2001 018347 and No 2002 128546 both teaches a laminate made of two substrates bonded together with a resin or intermediate layer.

[006] French Patent Application No. 2 777 508 Al teaches a decorative object made from two glass sheets bonded together with different shapes cut into the two glass sheets.

[007] Korean Patent Application No. 10 2006 0101094 A teaches the manufacturing of a decorative object made of two or more glass plates which are laminated together on their surface planes and then a design or shape is cut in the decorative object using a horizontally arranged water cutting jet at a direction parallel to the glued surface planes.

[008] None of the prior art documents teaches a design object which is made from three or more glass plates or glass sheets which are stuck or laminated together and in which an impression of the shape, form or design as a void in the design object is created by the holes through the thickness in a direction substantially normal to the surface plane in contiguous ones of the glass plates or the glass sheets.

Summary of the Invention

[009] The disclosure teaches a method for manufacturing a design object from a plurality of glass sheets. The glass sheets have an upper surface and a lower surface. The upper surface and the lower surface are arranged parallel to each other in a planar manner, defined as being a surface plane. The glass sheets have a thickness between the upper surface and the lower surface, whereby the thickness is defined as being normal to the surface plane, and thus also substantially normal to both the plane in which the upper surface is located and the plane in which the lower surface is located. The method comprises cutting a hole in one or more of the plurality of glass sheets through the thickness at an angle to form a first void glass sheet, applying an adhesive layer to at least one surface of the first void glass sheet, and applying at least one of a further one of the plurality of glass sheets or a further void glass sheet to the glued side of the first void glass sheet to form the design object. The further ones of the plurality of glass sheets can have further holes, i.e. are further void glass sheets, or can have no holes. The arrangement of the plurality of glass sheets formed one glass sheet on top of another glass sheet enables the design object to be created. The holes can take a variety of shapes and match up with other holes in other layers in order to produce the design object. [0010] The surfaces of the glass sheets are cleaned and a protective film applied to both of the sides of the glass sheet prior to the cutting of the hole. The cleaning of the surfaces of the glass sheet ensures a good bond between the (removable) protective film and the surface of the glass sheet. The protective film is to ensure a good cut of the hole in the glass sheet to avoid, for example, stress cracks appearing in the glass sheet or jagged edges of the hole being created. The protective film is removed after the cutting of the hole. [0011] In one exemplary aspect of the method, the cutting is carried out by water jet. Laser cutting devices or mechanical cutting devices could also be used. Water jet cutting uses sand particles and thus the protective film can also prevent scratches on the surface of the glass sheet caused by the sand particles. [0012] The application of glue in the adhesive layer is made in a sideways manner in one direction to reduce the production of gas bubbles in the adhesive layer. The adhesive layer of the design object is cured, for example, in UV light.

[0013] The disclosure also teaches a design object made from a plurality of glass sheets with one or more holes and glued together by a substantially bubble free adhesive layer. [0014] In a further aspect of the invention, alternative ones of the adhesive layers can be made from a coloured epoxy resin. The coloured epoxy resin is cured by drying in air at room temperature or in an oven.

Description of the Figures

[0015] Fig. 1A shows an exemplary design object manufactured according to the method of this application in both a side view and a perspective view.

[0016] Fig IB shows a single sheet of the design object with a hole.

[0017] Fig. 2A shows the outline of the method of this application.

[0018] Fig. 2B shows the single sheet of glass during the method.

[0019] Figs. 3A-3C and 4A-4C show various examples of the design object (single sheets, side views and perspective views).

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0020] The invention will now be described on the basis of the drawings. It will be understood that the embodiments and aspects of the invention described herein are only examples and do not limit the protective scope of the claims in any way. The invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents. It will be understood that features of one aspect or embodiment of the invention can be combined with a feature of a different aspect or aspects and/or embodiments of the invention. [0021] Fig. 1A shows a non-limiting example of a design object 10 created by the manufacturing method of this disclosure. Fig. 1A shows a design object 10 with a plurality of glass sheets 20 and a void 25 located within the design object 10. The plurality of glass sheets 20 are glued together by an adhesive layer 30. Only two of the adhesive layers 30 are labelled in Fig. 1 A for clarity purposes. It will be seen from the Fig. 1 A that the design object 10 of the document differs from those known in the cited art in that the design object 10 is formed from a plurality of glass layers 20, i.e. more than two glass layers 20, with a design being formed by the voids 25 in contiguous ones of the glass layers 20. [0022] The adhesive layer 30 is made using a transparent glue or, as explained later, can be replaced by a coloured adhesive layer 40 (see Fig. 3A-3C). If colour is present in the design object 10, then in a non- limiting example of the design object 10, every second one of the adhesive layers 30 is made from a coloured epoxy resin and the other ones of the adhesive layers 30 are made from the transparent glue, as will be discussed below in more detail.

[0023] The glass sheets 20 used in one aspect of the invention are made from a glass with low iron content supplied by Pilkington Glass and sold under the trade name Optiwhite®. It would be possible to use other glasses for the manufacture of the design object 10 and the invention is not limited to the use of the low iron content glass. The glass sheets 20 with low iron content are preferable because the glass sheets have no "greenish" tinge. Indeed, it would be possible also to use clear polymers or other translucent (see-through) materials to create the design object 10. [0024] Fig. IB shows an example of a single one of the plurality of glass sheets 20. The glass sheets 20 have an upper surface and a lower surface, which are arranged planer to each other in a surface plane, and are separated by a thickness at a normal to the surface plane. A hole 23 is cut at a normal to the surface plane through the thickness of the glass sheet 20. The hole 23 is in this example square or rectangular, but this is not limiting of the invention. The outer shape is in this example square or rectangular, but this is not limiting the invention. The hole 23 is made by a water jet oriented, in one aspect of the invention, at a normal to the surface plane of the glass sheet 20, as will be explained later. It is possible to cut the hole 23 at other angles, for example between 45° or 60° and 90° to the surface plane.

[0025] The void 25 in Fig. 1A appears to be an elongated, twisted oblong located within the design object 10. This appearance is merely exemplary of the voids 25 that can be created within the design object 10 using the holes 23 having differing shapes and forms. The void 25 in this example is created by cutting square shapes in a number of the glass sheets using the method of this disclosure and aligning the cut square shapes at an angle to each other, for example at 0.5° to each other, but this is not limiting of the invention. Figs. 3A to 3C and 4A to 4C shows various other shapes of the design object 10 and it will be noted that the voids 25 in the design objects 10 take different forms.

[0026] Fig. 2A shows a method for the manufacture of the design object 10. In a first step 200, a number of smaller glass sheets 20 are cleaned using a standard glass cleanser, such as those supplied by Bohle or 3M.

[0027] Both surfaces of the cleansed glass sheet 20 are covered in step 210 by applying a protective film 15 (see Fig. 2B), such as a "Sebstklebefolie" (=self adhesive foil) manufactured by Surepromise, article number HGl 11, and then a hole is cut in step 220 by a water jet. Other cutting methods could be used, such as laser cutting. The protective film 15 is also used to ensure that the surface of the glass sheet 20 is not scratched during the cutting of the hole. Fig. 2B shows the glass sheet 20 with the protective film 15.

[0028] The protective film 15 is removed in step 230 and the surfaces of the glass sheet 20 cleansed once again in step 240 to remove any remaining adhesive, glass splinters or other particles or dirt on the surface of the glass sheets 20.

[0029] An adhesive layer is prepared in step 250 as follows and is placed carefully on one of the surfaces of the glass sheet 20 in step 260. The adhesive layer is formed from a glue (Product name: UV-Klebstoff Verifix® LV 740 https://www.bohle-group.com/shop/uv- klebstoff_verifix_lv_740_DE:::l ::_::20383.html) on the cleaned glass surface in one direction, e.g. from left to right. Care is taken that no bubbles form in the layer of the solution on the surface of the glass sheet 20. Other suitable glues can be used.

[0030] A cleaned surface of another one of the glass sheets 20 is then placed in step 270 on the adhesive layer very carefully in one direction e.g. from left to right constantly checking for bubbles. This cleaned surface has no adhesive layer. If there are any bubbles formed and visible after close inspection the glass sheets needs to be slightly lifted and placed back again until all bubbles are gone. The glass sheets 20 are cured for around 3 minutes in UV light in step 280. More than one glass sheet 20 can be glued together to form the design object 10. Any surplus glue emerging from the edges between the glass sheets 20 from the transparent adhesive layer 30 can be cleaned using an alcohol-based cleaner.

[0031] The design object is ground with a rotary sander which has industrial diamond disk pads. Product name: ProVetro Profischleifer 60cm http://www.glsgmbh.de/?info=products&product_details=307 2100 and then polished by hand grinder. (Product name: 3M Handschleifer 20243d.120mm Aufnahme5/8 " ,Druckluftbetrieb)

http://www.glsgmbh.de/?info=products&product_details= 49000050. It will be noted that other grinding and polishing can be used without limitation for the manufacture of the design object and the invention is not limited to the use of the rotary sander.

[0032] In another aspect, the design object 10 can be made of glass sheets 20 with coloured epoxy layers 40, as can be seen in Fig. 3B-3C. In this aspect, two of the glass sheets 20 are initially stuck together with an adhesive layer formed from a coloured epoxy layer 40 to form a laminated pair of the glass sheets. The details of the formation of the coloured epoxy layers are outlined in pending German patent application No DE 10 2015 103 203.6 Al . The coloured epoxy layers 40 are cured at temperature for several days, e.g. 3 days in a normal environment and can be accelerated by curing in an oven. A number of pairs of the glass sheets 20 are manufactured at the same time. Other types of coloured adhesive layers can be used. It will be noted that these other types of coloured adhesive layers need to form a bond between the pairs of glass sheets which enable mechanical polishing of the design object 10 to be carried out without disturbing the structure of the design object 10 and in particular the adhesive layers. [0033] After two of the glass sheets 20 are stuck together on the surface planes of the glass sheets 20 to form the laminated pair of the glass sheets 20, any surplus from the coloured epoxy layer 40 will need to be later mechanically removed from the edges of the pair of the glass sheets 20. Unlike the transparent adhesive layer 30, the surplus from the coloured epoxy layer cannot be removed by an alcohol-based solvent cleaner. The hole 23 is cut through the double thickness in the pair of the glass sheets 20 using the vertically directed water jet at normal to the surface plane, as given in step 220. Other cutting methods can be used. The hole 23 is cut after the pair of the glass sheets have been stuck together used the coloured epoxy layer 40 because it would not be possible to remove surplus epoxy from the hole 23. The method is continued as shown in Fig. 2A in which the pairs of the glass sheets 20 are then stuck together using the transparent adhesive layer 30. The design object 10 is then polished, which will also include the removal of the surplus from the coloured epoxy layer 40 from the outside of the design object 10, as noted above.

[0034] The design object 10 formed from this aspect appears therefore coloured and is shown in Fig. 3B-3C. It will be noted that it is not possible to use the coloured epoxy layer 40 to stick all of the glass sheets 20 together, as it would not be possible to remove any surplus coloured epoxy from the interior of the hole 23 when the final design object 10 is completed.

[0035] The design objects 10 shown in the accompanying figures are substantially rectangular. It will be appreciated that this form is not limiting of the invention and it would be equally possible to make spherical, cylindrical,polygonal or other shaped design objects.

Reference Numerals

10 Design object

15 Protective film

20 Glass sheets

23 Hole

25 Void

30 Adhesive layer

40 Coloured adhesive layer