VERBEEREN, Bart (Rue de l'Aurore 2, Jumet, B-6040, BE)
AYOUB, Patrick (Rue de l'Aurore 2, Jumet, B-6040, BE)
VERBEEREN, Bart (Rue de l'Aurore 2, Jumet, B-6040, BE)
| Claims 1. Panel, comprising a first sheet of rigid material (1), a second sheet of rigid material (15), at least two conductive paths (14) and at least one piezoelectric device (13) , wherein the at least two conductive paths (14) are electrically separated from each other, the piezoelectric device (13) is electrically connected to one conductive path (14) and to another conductive path (14), and the at least two conductive paths (14) and the piezoelectric device (13) are provided between the first sheet of rigid material (1) and the second sheet of rigid material (15). 2. Panel according to claim 1, wherein the first sheet of rigid material is a first sheet of glass (1) and the second sheet of rigid material is a second sheet (15) of glass. 3. Panel according to claim 2, wherein the first sheet of glass (1) and the second sheet (15) of glass are attached together, a gas being provided between the first sheet of glass (1) and the second sheet of glass (15). 4. Panel according to any of claims 2 and 3, wherein a sheet of plastics interlayer (4) is provided and the sheet of plastics interlayer (4) and/or the piezoelectric device (13) are/is laminated between the first sheet of glass (1) and the second sheet of glass (15). 5. Panel according to any of the proceeding claims, wherein the at least two conductive paths (14) are provided as conductive layers on the first sheet of rigid material (1) and/or on the second sheet of rigid material (15), 6. Panel according to any of the proceeding claims, wherein the piezoelectric device (13) is electrically connected to one conductive path (14) and/or to another conductive path (14) by well metallization (17), wire bonding (18) and/or a bus bar (16). 7. Panel according to any of the proceeding claims, wherein the electrical separation is realized by laser ablation or decoating. 8. Panel according to any of the proceeding claims, wherein the at least two conductive paths (14) and/or the piezoelectric device (13) are/is provided in an adjacent manner between the first sheet of rigid material (1) and the second sheet of rigid material (15). 9. Device for manufacturing a panel according to any of the claims 4 to 7, comprising a cutting unit (3) for cutting a tailored sheet of the plastics interlayer (4) with dimensions which relate to the dimensions of the first sheet of glass (1), a manipulation device (7) for capturing the tailored sheet of plastics interlayer (4) and for depositing the tailored sheet of plastics interlayer (4) on the first sheet of glass (1), and a lamination unit for laminating the first sheet of glass (1), the tailored sheet of plastics interlayer (4) and the second sheet of glass (15). 10. Method for manufacturing a panel, comprising the steps of: providing a first sheet of rigid material (1) and a second sheet of rigid material (15), applying at least two conductive paths (14) onto the first sheet of rigid material (1) and/or onto the second sheet of rigid material (15), wherein the at least two conductive paths (14) are electrically separated from each other, electrically connecting a piezoelectric device (13) to one conductive path (14) and to another conductive path (14), and attaching the first sheet of rigid material (1) and the second sheet of rigid material (15) together, wherein the at least two conductive paths (14) and the piezoelectric device (13) are provided between the first sheet of rigid material (1) and the second sheet of rigid material (15). 11. Method according to claim 10, wherein the first sheet of rigid material is a first sheet of glass (1) and the second sheet of rigid material is a second sheet (15) of glass and wherein attaching the first sheet of glass (1) and the second sheet of glass (15) together comprises laminating the first sheet of glass (1) and the second sheet of glass (15) via a plastics interlayer (4). |
The present invention relates to a panel, comprising a first sheet of a rigid material , a second sheet of a rigid material, at least two conductive paths and at least one piezoelectric device as well as to apparatus and methods of making and operating the same.
Technical Background
Piezoelectric devices are used to transform mechanical energy into electrically energy and vice versa. Panels of glass are known with a piezoelectric device, wherein the piezoelectric device is provided on an outer glass surface facing away from the panel. In this manner, the piezoelectric device can be used for recording glass movements or vibrations, or for transferring vibrations into the glass for generating sound. Those piezoelectric devices are usually glued on the outer surface of the panel, thus increasing the thickness of the panel. As a consequence, those solutions known from the prior art are subject to deterioration, as the piezoelectric device can be ripped off the glass surface accidentally or intentionally.
Summary of the Invention
Accordingly, it is the object of the invention to provide an alternative panel, comprising a first sheet of a rigid material , a second sheet of a rigid material, at least two conductive paths and at least one piezoelectric device as well as apparatus and methods of making and operating the same.
This object is addressed by the features of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments of the invention are given in the dependent claims.
An advantage of the present invention is that it provides a panel of rigid material for detecting and/or generating vibrations, wherein the panel provides a better resistance against outer influences such as deterioration. Accordingly, the above object is addressed by a panel, comprising a first sheet of rigid material, a second sheet of rigid material, at least two conductive paths and at least one piezoelectric device, wherein the at least two conductive paths are electrically separated from each other, the piezoelectric device is electrically connected to a first conductive path and to a second conductive path, and the at least two conductive paths and the piezoelectric device are provided between the first sheet and the second sheet of rigid material.
Obviously, in the case of a piezoelectric device which only needs one conductive path to provide the piezoelectric device with power and/or modulation, the invention can also be realized with such a panel comprising only one conductive path.
Preferentially, the first sheet and the second sheet are both glass sheets. Nevertheless, the first and second sheet can be made of any other rigid material which can transfer vibrations such as vitroceramic materials, plexiglass, ... Thus, it is an essential idea of the invention to provide the piezoelectric device between the first sheet of rigid material, e.g. glass, and the second sheet of rigid material, e.g. glass,, opposite to the prior art, wherein the piezoelectric device was provided on an outer glass surface i.e. facing away from the panel. In other words, and opposite to the prior art, it was surprisingly found that the piezoelectric device can be provided between the first sheet of rigid material and the second sheet of rigid material. Thus, providing a piezoelectric device between the first sheet of rigid material and the second sheet of rigid material does not affect the thickness of the panel, compared to a panel as known from the prior art without a piezoelectric device provided between the first sheet of rigid material and the second sheet of rigid material.
In this way, the panel according to the invention with a piezoelectric device provided between the first sheet of rigid material and the second sheet of rigid material can be used for detecting movement or vibration on the panel, e.g. for realizing a keyboard on the panel in which case the piezoelectric device is used as a piezo sensor. Alternatively, a piezoelectric device provided between the first sheet of rigid material and the second sheet of rigid material can be used for generating acoustical vibrations of the panel, e.g. for realizing a glass based speaker in which case the piezoelectric device is provided as a piezoelectric actuator. As yet another alternative a piezoelectric device can be provided between the first sheet of rigid material and the second sheet of rigid material for both detecting movement or vibration on the panel and for generating acoustical vibrations from the panel. Preferably, two piezoelectric devices are provided, for example for realizing a glass based speaker. The first sheet of glass and/or the second sheet of glass can be provided as any kind of glass suitable for a panel as known from the prior art, e.g. comprising a thickness ranging from 0,3 to 15 mm and having dimensions, e.g. of 30 cm x 30 cm or greater.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the at least two conductive paths are provided as conductive layers on the first sheet of rigid material and/or on the second sheet of rigid material. More generally, the conductive paths, which are preferably realized as parts of a conductive layer
(which can be transparent, translucent or opaque), can also be provided as any kind of conductive paths known from the prior art, e.g. comprising a conductive metal oxide layer such as a tin oxide, an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer or a layer on the basis of another form or derivative of SnO2, having a thickness of 300 nm for instance. The conducting paths can also be realized thanks to screen printing.
Moreover the conducting paths can also be realized thanks to conducting wires.
The same applies for the piezoelectric device, i.e. the piezoelectric device can be provided as any kind of piezoelectric device known from the prior art and preferably suitable for providing between the first sheet of glass and the second sheet of glass.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the conductive paths are realised by previously patterning the first sheet of glass and/or the second sheet of glass with a conductive layer and/or by previously removing at least a part of the conductive layer deposited on the first sheet of glass by means of an ablation technique, e.g. laser ablation. In this way, electrically conductive path can be provided on the first sheet of glass and/or on the second sheet of glass to which the piezoelectric device can be electrically connected. It is furthermore preferred, that the electrical separation between the at least two conductive paths is realized by an ablation technique such as laser ablation.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the first sheet of glass and the second sheet of glass are attached to together, preferably forming an insulating layer. It is further preferred, that a gas is provided between the first sheet of glass and the second sheet of glass. The gas can be provided for example as air or argon, thus forming the insulating layer.
However, according to an especially preferred embodiment of the invention, a sheet of plastics interlayer is provided and the sheet of plastics interlayer and/or the piezoelectric device are/is laminated between the first sheet of glass and the second sheet of glass. For example, the plastics interlayer may comprise polyvinylbutyral. Typically, the plastics interlayer is not transparent when applied, but becomes transparent after laminating, i.e. after calendering and autoclaving. Further, a thermoplastic material such as polyurethane can be used as a plastics interlayer as well. In the case of that especially preferred embodiment and in the case of conducting paths realized as conducting wires, the conducting wires can be embedded in the plastics interlayer.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the piezoelectric device is electrically connected to one conductive path and/or to another conductive path by any suitable conductive connection such as conductive glue, soldering, metallization, wire bonding and/or by means of a bus bar. For example, the electrical connection to the conductive path can be achieved by conductive glue and/or by soldering, or by any other means known from the prior art. It is further preferred, that the electrical connection to the piezoelectric device is provided on a side of the piezoelectric device. It is furthermore preferred to apply the bus bar on the conductive path, to solder and/or to glue a wire on the bus bar and to connect the wire to the piezoelectric device. In general, the electrical separation between the at least two conductive paths can be achieved by any means known from the prior art. However, according to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the electrical separation is realized by laser ablation or decoating.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least two conductive paths and/or the piezoelectric device are/is provided in an adjacent manner between the first sheet of glass and the second sheet of glass. In this way, the form factor of the panel is reduced, compared to a panel known from the prior art wherein the piezoelectric device is provided not between the first sheet of glass and the second sheet glass, i.e. is provided outside the panel. In other words, the panel according to the invention allows a protection of the piezoelectric device, as the piezoelectric device is "encapsulated" between the first sheet of glass and the second sheet of glass. Such an embodiment does not necessarily increase the thickness of the panel compared to a panel known from the prior art wherein the piezoelectric device is provided outside of the panel.
The object of the invention is further addressed by a device for manufacturing a panel as described before, comprising a cutting unit for cutting a tailored sheet of the plastics interlayer with dimensions which relate to the dimensions of the first sheet of glass, a manipulation device for capturing the tailored sheet of plastics interlayer and for depositing the tailored sheet of plastics interlayer on the first sheet of glass, and a lamination unit for laminating the first sheet of glass, the tailored sheet of plastics interlayer and the second sheet of glass.
Instead of stretching the plastics interlayer over the first sheet of glass, as known from the prior art, according to the invention first a tailored sheet of a plastics interlayer is cut and then deposited on the first sheet of glass. Preferably, the cutting unit is provided as a cutting table for cutting the tailored sheet of the plastics interlayer. It is further preferred, that the dimensions of the plastics interlayer are chosen to be greater than the dimensions of the first sheet of glass, for example around 1 cm larger than the first sheet of glass, so that the excess part of the tailored sheet of plastics interlayer, which extends beyond the panel, can be removed in a trimming step later on or an operator may remove the excess part with a knife. On the other hand, it is equally possible that the dimensions of the plastics interlayer are chosen equal to the dimensions of the first sheet of glass. In this case, no later removing step needs to be done.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, a conveyer is provided for conveying the first sheet of glass, the sheet of plastics interlayer and/or the second sheet of glass. Preferably, the conveyor first conveys the first sheet of glass, so that the manipulation device can then deposit the sheet of plastics interlayer on the first sheet of glass. A second sheet of glass is provided on the plastics interlayer and then conveyed into the lamination unit for laminating the first sheet of glass, the sheet of plastics interlayer and the second sheet of glass, wherein the piezoelectric device is provided between the first sheet of glass and the second sheet of glass.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the manipulation device is provided with at least a sucker for capturing the sheet of plastics interlayer and for depositing the sheet of plastics interlayer on the first sheet of glass. It is further preferred that the manipulation device is adapted for capturing the sheet of plastics interlayer and for depositing the sheet of plastics interlayer in a flat state. For example, the manipulation device can be provided as a crane or a crane runway with suction cups for capturing the sheet of plastics interlayer from the cutting unit and for depositing the sheet of plastics interlayer on the first sheet of glass conveyed on the conveyor in a flat state.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, an assembling unit is provided for depositing the piezoelectric device on the first sheet of glass prior to depositing the tailored sheet of plastics interlayer on the first sheet of glass. Preferably, piezoelectric device is electrically connected to the conductive path by conducting glue and/or by soldering.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the manipulation device is adapted for depositing the sheet of plastics interlayer on the first sheet of glass from above. This means that instead of stretching the sheet of plastics interlayer over the first sheet of glass, the sheet of plastics interlayer is deposited or lowered by the manipulation device from above by means of a crane or a crane runway.
The object of the invention is further addressed by a method for manufacturing a panel, comprising the steps of providing a first sheet of rigid material and a second sheet of rigid material, applying at least two conductive path onto the first sheet of rigid material and/or onto the second sheet of rigid material, wherein the at least two conductive paths are electrically separated from each other, electrically connecting a piezoelectric device to one conductive path into another conductive path, and attaching the first sheet of rigid material and a second sheet of rigid material together, wherein the at least two conductive paths and the piezoelectric device are provided between the first sheet of rigid material and the second sheet of rigid material.
Accordingly, it is an essential idea of the invention to provide the piezoelectric device between the first sheet of rigid material and the second sheet of rigid material, thus not increasing the thickness of the panel compared to a panel without a piezoelectric device. It is a further advantage of the invention that the piezoelectric device is protected, i.e. against deterioration, as the piezoelectric device can not be ripped of anymore as it is provided between the first sheet of rigid material and the second sheet of rigid material.
Preferentially, the first sheet and the second sheet are both glass sheets. Nevertheless, the first and second sheet can be made of any other material which can transfer vibrations such as vitroceramic materials, plexiglass, ... Generally, the first sheet of glass and the second sheet of glass can be provided together by any means known from the prior art. However, according to another preferred embodiment of the invention, attaching the first sheet of glass and the second sheet of glass together comprises laminating the first sheet of glass and the second sheet of glass via a plastics interlayer, preferably by a plastics interlayer comprising polyvinylbutyral or any other material known from the prior art.
Preferred embodiments for the method according to the invention emerge in an analogue manner to the above described panel. These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.
Brief description of the drawings In the drawings:
Fig. 1 schematically shows a lamination line for manufacturing a panel according to a preferred embodiment of the invention,
Fig. 2 schematically shows a manipulation device according to the preferred embodiment of the invention,
Fig. 3 schematically shows a panel according to another preferred embodiment of the invention, Fig. 4 schematically shows a panel according to another preferred embodiment of the invention,
Fig. 5 schematically shows a panel according to another preferred embodiment of the invention,
Fig. 6 schematically shows a panel according to another preferred embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 7 schematically shows a panel according to another preferred embodiment of the invention.
Detailed Description of the Illustrative embodiments
The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are only schematic and are non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn on scale for illustrative purposes. Where the term "comprising" is used in the present description and claims, it does not exclude other elements or steps. Where an indefinite or definite article is used when referring to a singular noun e.g. "a" or "an", "the", this includes a plural of that noun unless something else is specifically stated.
The term "comprising", used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter; it does not exclude other elements or steps. Thus, the scope of the expression "a device comprising means A and B" should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B.
Furthermore, the terms first, second, third and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention described herein are capable of operation in other sequences than described or illustrated herein. Moreover, the terms top, bottom, over, under and the like in the description and the claims are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention described herein are capable of operation in other orientations than described or illustrated herein.
It is to be noticed that the term "comprising" , used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter; it does not exclude other elements or steps. It is thus to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components as referred to, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components, or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression "a device comprising means A and B" should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B.
Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but may. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments.
Similarly it should be appreciated that in the description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.
Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some but not other features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention, and form different embodiments, as would be understood by those in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.
In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.
The invention will now be described by a detailed description of several embodiments of the invention. It is clear that other embodiments of the invention can be configured according to the knowledge of persons skilled in the art without departing from the technical teaching of the invention, the invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims.
Fig. 1 schematically shows a lamination line for manufacturing a panel according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. A first sheet of glass 1 is conveyed on a conveyer 2 towards a cutting unit 3, which is provided for cutting a tailored sheet of plastics interlayer 4 with certain dimensions, which relate to the dimensions of the first sheet of glass 1, on a cutting table 5. Typically, and as depicted in Fig. 1 , the plastics interlayer 4 is stored on a role 6. For cutting a tailored sheet of the plastics interlayer 4, the plastics interlayer 4 is rolled from the roll 6 onto the cutting table 5 and cut by the cutting unit 3 to dimensions which relate to the dimensions of the first sheet of glass 1. The tailored sheet of plastics interlayer 4 is then captured by a manipulation device 7 by means of a sucker 8. The conveyor 2 conveys the first sheet of glass 1 close to the manipulation device 3 in a position 9, so that the manipulation device 7 can deposit the tailored sheet of plastics interlayer 4 onto the first sheet of glass 1. A second sheet of glass 15, not depicted in Fig. 1, is also deposited on the tailored sheet of plastics interlayer 4 for forming a so-called sandwich of a panel of laminated glass 10. The panel of laminated glass 10 is then calendered by means of calendering roles 11 and autoclaved by means of autoclaving 12. Fig. 2 further shows schematically the steps of cutting the plastics interlayer 4 to a tailored sheet and of applying the tailored sheet of plastics interlayer 4 on the first sheet of glass 1. First, the plastics interlayer 4 is cut on the cutting table 5 to a tailored sheet. In the next step the manipulation device 7 captures the tailored sheet of plastics interlayer 4 by means of a sucker 8 and lifts up the tailored sheet of plastics interlayer 4 from the cutting table 5. The manipulation device 7 then transports the tailored sheet of plastics interlayer 4 towards the first sheet of glass 1 and deposits the tailored sheet of plastics interlayer 4 from above onto the first sheet of glass 1. As can be seen further from Fig. 2, a plurality of piezoelectric devices 13 are provided in electrical contact with a conductive path 14 previously deposited on the first sheet of glass 1.
Fig. 3 to Fig. 7 show a panel according to preferred embodiments of the invention, comprising the first sheet of glass 1, having a thickness arranging from 0,3 to 15 mm and dimensions of 30 cm x 30 cm or more, on which two conductive paths 14 are provided that are electrically separated from each other, e.g. by a laser ablation. The conductive paths 14 are provided for example by a sputtering technique and comprise a conductive metal oxide layer such as a tin oxide layer, an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer or a layer on the basis of any form or derivative of SnO 2 having a thickness of about 300 nm for instance. The piezoelectric device 13, for example a commercially available PKS1-4A10 manufactured by Murata, is electrically connected to two copper bus bars 16, for example copper bus bars 16 commercialised by Strip Tinning, wherein the two bus bars 16 are each electrically connected to one of the two conductive paths 14 by means of soldering or glue. As can be seen from Fig. 3, the top electrode of the piezoelectric device 13, which is connected to the upper bus bar 16, is electrically connected by a metallization 17 on the piezoelectric device 13 itself to the conductive path 14. Alternatively, as depicted in Fig. 4, the electrical connection to the top electrode of the piezoelectric device 13 can be realized by via bonding or by an electrical connection on the side 19, as depicted in Fig. 5. For all embodiments, as depicted from Fig. 3 to Fig. 7, the electrical separation between the conductive paths 14 is realized by laser ablation or decoating 20.
As can be seen from Fig. 6, the piezoelectric device 13 is provided between the first sheet of glass 1 and a second sheet of glass 15. As outlined before, the piezoelectric device 13 and the plastics interlayer 4 are laminated in such manner that the piezoelectric device 13 and the plastics interlayer 4 are provided between the first sheet of glass 1 and a second sheet of glass 15. The electrical connection to the conductive path 14 can be provided by wire 21, as depicted in Fig. 7. The obtained panel of laminated glass 10 embedding at least the piezoelectric device 13 can be used for detecting a movement or vibration on the panel, for generating acoustical vibration, for example for realizing a glass based speaker, or for both detecting movement or vibration on the panel and to generate acoustical vibrations from the panel. While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other variations to be disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practising the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting scope.
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