U.S. patent application number 09/147696 was filed with the patent office on 2001-10-25 for armoured glazing, in particular for vehicle fixed or mobile side glazing.
Invention is credited to GOURIO, NOEL.
Application Number | 20010032540 09/147696 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 9508118 |
Filed Date | 2001-10-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010032540 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
GOURIO, NOEL |
October 25, 2001 |
ARMOURED GLAZING, IN PARTICULAR FOR VEHICLE FIXED OR MOBILE SIDE
GLAZING
Abstract
The invention concerns an armoured laminated bullet-proof and/or
splinter-proof glazing, comprising on at least part of its
periphery, one or several rigid protuberances (3), each of which
belonging substantially to a plane parallel to that of the window
or its extension, and having a thickness for its being inserted at
least partially, temporarily or permanently, in the window aperture
rabbet.
Inventors: |
GOURIO, NOEL; (ORLEANS,
FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OBLON SPIVAK MCCLELLAND
MAIER & NEUSTADT
1755 JEFFERSON DAVIS HIGHWAY
FOURTH FLOOR
ARLINGTON
VA
22202
|
Family ID: |
9508118 |
Appl. No.: |
09/147696 |
Filed: |
May 3, 1999 |
PCT Filed: |
June 17, 1998 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/FR98/01269 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
89/36.02 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10S 428/911 20130101;
B32B 17/10064 20130101; B32B 17/10293 20130101; F41H 5/0407
20130101; B32B 17/1033 20130101; F41H 5/263 20130101; B32B 17/10366
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
89/36.02 |
International
Class: |
F41H 005/02; B32B
023/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 18, 1997 |
FR |
97/07561 |
Claims
1. Laminated, armored, bulletproof and/or shatterproof glass
partition, characterized in that it comprises, over at least a
portion of its periphery, one or several rigid protuberances, each
of them perceptibly corresponding to a plane parallel to the
surface defined by the glass partition or the extension of this
surface, and having a thickness allowing it to be inserted at least
in part, temporarily or permanently, in the fillister of the
opening for the glass partition.
2. Glass partition in accordance with claim 1, characterized in
that said rigid protuberances are in the extension of a single
sheet making up the glass partition or of a single group of such
adjacent sheets.
3. Glass partition in accordance with claim 1 or 2, characterized
in that said or at least one of said protuberance(s) is/are made up
of an insert (3) in particular of metal positioned each time
partially inside the laminated structure constituting the glass
partition, in the extension of one or several adjacent sheets (2)
forming the latter, made of glass or vitroceramics or plastic.
4. Glass partition in accordance with claim 3, characterized in
that said insert (3) is positioned in the extension of a single
interpolated adhesive layer (2) of polyvinylbutyral (PVB) making up
the glass partition.
5. Glass partition in accordance with claim 1 or 2, characterized
in that said or at least one of said protuberance(s) is constructed
as part of a sheet of vitroceramics or glass (2), in particular of
chemically reinforced glass, and constitutes the emerging portion
thereof, possibly covered in plastic (9) or encapsulated in a
plastic film.
6. Glass partition in accordance with any of claims 1 to 5,
characterized in that its outer surface, likely to be damaged first
by a projectile, is formed by a sheet of glass or vitroceramics
(1).
7. Glass partition in accordance with any of claims 1 to 6,
characterized in that it comprises successively, inward in relation
to said protuberance or protuberances, that is, toward the cockpit
of the vehicle or the interior of the structure protected, a stack
of alternating sheets of glass (4, 6) and adhesive layers (5) of
polyvinylbutyral (PVB), with outer sheets of glass (4, 6), then an
interpolated sheet (7) of polyurethane (PU), then a sheet (8) of
polycarbonate (PC) generally coated with a hard scratch-resistant
lacquer and constituting the inner surface of the glass
partition.
8. Glass partition in accordance with any of claims 1 to 7 for a
transport vehicle, characterized in that the rigid protuberance or
protuberances which it comprises have a thickness equivalent to
that of a conventional glass partition for a transport vehicle.
9. Glass partition in accordance with claim 8 in which the outer
surface is positioned in the continuity of the body.
10. Lateral automotive glass partition in accordance with claim 8
or 9 fixed or movable in the vertical or horizontal direction.
Description
[0001] This invention relates to a laminated, armored, bulletproof
and/or shatterproof glass partition, which may be utilized for the
protection of buildings or armored vehicles such as private
vehicles, military vehicles or vehicles for the transport of cash.
This type of glass partition is capable of being installed on
vehicles for road, rail, marine or air transport.
[0002] Considerable efforts have been made with a view to improving
the resistance of armored glass partitions, in particular with
respect to increasingly heavy bullets and increasingly powerful and
concentrated impacts on a weak surface.
[0003] Several approaches occurred to inventors for improving the
ballistic performances of these glass partitions.
[0004] In particular, some solutions have been proposed to improve
the fastening of aircraft windshields. These do not have to
withstand impacts of bullets, but only birds which may collide with
them, and accordingly have a structure differing in the nature of
the components of the laminate and more delicate than that of the
armored glass partition now under consideration.
[0005] Thus, the patent U.S. Pat. No. 3,953,630 describes an
aircraft windshield comprising a flexible insert with high
mechanical resistance, composed of a strip of fabric of glass
fibers impregnated with rubber, or even polyester fibers or
stainless steel wires. This insert extends beyond the periphery of
the windshield and its emerging end is made rigid so as to be
bolted to the body of the aircraft.
[0006] The application FR-A1-2 612 174 relates to an aircraft
windshield composed of two polycarbonate sheets with a soft
interpolated polyurethane layer sandwiched between them. Because of
the low rigidity of the whole thus constituted, it is not possible
to contemplate an assembly identical to that of a glass windshield,
by mere clamping in the fillister, without risking an ejection of
the windshield due to substantial deformations of the
polycarbonate. The document nonetheless makes such an assembly
possible, by proposing to countersink in the periphery of the
interpolated layer a rigid belt, of metal for example, on a level
with the edge of the windshield.
[0007] A comparable rigid belt, intended for a glass partition for
a pressurized aircraft cockpit, comprising two sheets of glass and
an interpolated plastic layer, also is disclosed by patent
application FR-A1-2 720 029. This belt, also countersunk in the
periphery of the interpolated layer, extends beyond the periphery
of the glass partition only possibly to cover the edge thereof
partially or completely, the belt then having a corresponding L,
respectively T profile.
[0008] According to another approach, the patent U.S. Pat. No.
2,991,207 describes an aircraft windshield with improved resistance
to impacts of birds composed of two sheets of glass and one soft
interpolated polyvinylbutyral layer. The latter extends beyond the
periphery of the sheets of glass; a reinforcement piece,
countersunk in the soft layer, extends from the emerging edge
thereof to the interior of the laminate, that is, between the
sheets of glass.
[0009] Surprisingly, the inventors became aware that the
transposition to the armored glass partitions of the techniques
described previously relating to the aircraft windshields, under
the specific conditions of the invention such as defined below, was
capable of improving their resistance to impacts of bullets or
other projectiles from firearms and ensuring their holding in the
fillisters after the first impact.
[0010] This objective was able to be achieved by the invention
which has as its subject a laminated, armored, bulletproof and/or
shatterproof glass partition comprising, over at least a portion of
its periphery, one or several rigid protuberances, each of them
being perceptibly inscribed in a plane parallel to that of the
glass partition or its extension and having at least one peripheral
portion with a thickness less than or equal to that of the
fillister of the opening for the glass partition, so as to be able
to be inserted therein.
[0011] Said rigid protuberances preferably are in the extension of
a single component sheet of the glass partition or of a single
group of such adjacent sheets. In other words, the protuberances
are located perceptibly in alignment in a single position with
respect to the thickness of the glass partition.
[0012] This characteristic facilitates the construction of the
frames for windows or the associated bodies, by allowing the
insertion of the protuberances in a single standard fillister.
[0013] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will
become evident in the light of the following description of the
attached drawings, in which FIGS. 1 to 4 respectively are schematic
representations of four different embodiments of the invention.
[0014] The glass panel of FIG. 1 is composed, from the outside that
is from the side at which the impact is likely to occur toward the
inside:
[0015] of a vitroceramic sheet 1, 6 mm in thickness,
[0016] of an interpolated adhesive layer 2 of polyvinylbutyral
(PVB), 3 mm in thickness,
[0017] of a sheet of glass 4
[0018] of an interpolated adhesive layer 5 of PVB,
[0019] of a sheet of glass 6,
[0020] of an interpolated adhesive layer 7 of polyurethane (PU),
and
[0021] of a sheet 8 of polycarbonate (PC) the inner surface of
which generally is coated with streak-resistant, for example
polysiloxane-based lacquer, over a thickness equal at the very most
to 15 .mu.m, but more often on the order of 2 to 7 .mu.m.
[0022] The sheet 8 also is coated, in whole or in part, as need be,
with a coloring layer in particular following an upper horizontal
strip, or with any other functional layer customarily applied on
the inner surface of a windshield.
[0023] The stratified armor structure, composed of sheets and
layers 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, has a thickness ranging approximately
between 30 and 40 mm. In addition, one may consider interpolating,
between sheet 6 and layer 7, successively from the first to the
second, one or several stacks consisting, in order, of a PVB layer
then a sheet of glass. The thickness of the glass partition thereby
is increased proportionally; preferably, the number of sheets of
glass contained in this stack of alternating sheets of glass and
PVB layers, with outer glass sheets, shall not exceed 4 at the very
most, or in particular 3.
[0024] In the bulletproofing and shatterproofing application of the
invention, the use of hardened glass, that is, glass having been
subjected to a thermal hardening treatment, is avoided because of
its tendency to break into many small-sized splinters on the first
impact of a bullet. The sheets of glass here are composed of
annealed glass or chemically reinforced glass which advantageously
are damaged only locally after having sustained a bullet
impact.
[0025] The outer sheet 1 of the glass partition also could consist
of annealed glass or chemically reinforced glass, its thickness
being equivalent to that of the vitroceramic sheet 1 of FIG. 1.
[0026] All the sheets and layers making up the glass partition are,
of course, transparent.
[0027] According to a first principal embodiment of the invention,
represented in FIGS. 1 and 2, at least one of the protuberances
consists of a metal insert 3 of stainless steel penetrating into
the laminated glass partition to an approximate depth of some
fifteen millimeters and emerging by about the same amount.
[0028] In accordance with FIG. 1, insert 3 is located in the
extension of layer 2; its thickness also is 3 mm.
[0029] FIG. 2 represents a variant of the same embodiment in which
insert 3, identical to that which has just been described, is
located in the extension of sheet 2, made of vitroceramics or,
possibly, of annealed or chemically reinforced glass. Insert 3 also
emerges from the laminated structure by some fifteen
millimeters.
[0030] Insert 3, however, is not represented here in direct contact
with sheet 2 made of vitroceramics or glass, but slightly
separated. As insert 3 and sheet 4 are partially countersunk in the
case of one, and almost completely in the case of the other, in an
adhesive layer 9 made of PVB, the latter, in the course of
manufacture of the glass partition, will be likely to creep,
including into the space left unoccupied between insert 3 and sheet
2. It is possible, however, to limit this unoccupied space to the
point of eliminating it, the adhesive layer 9 then being replaced
by two independent layers. By way of comparison, it is noted that
the creep of the PVB in layer 2 of FIG. 1 is limited by a side of
sheet 1, the edge of insert 3 and a side of sheet 4, possibly to
some minor, negligible seepages at the sheet 1-insert 3 and insert
3-sheet 4 interfaces.
[0031] The second principal embodiment is represented in FIG. 3.
The glass partition represented is distinguished essentially from
that of FIG. 2 in that at least one rigid protuberance is formed by
the emerging portion of a continuous sheet 2 made of glass or
vitroceramics, in particular of chemically reinforced glass, with
an area in excess of that of the other sheets making up the glass
partition.
[0032] Sheet 2 is completely covered, except for its lower edge, in
an adhesive layer 9 of polyurethane (PU). Under these
circumstances, the creeping of the PU may be utilized during the
construction of the laminate. When sheet 2 is made of chemically
reinforced glass, it is strongly recommended to protect the
emerging portion thereof, considering its susceptibility to
scratching. In order to do so, after manufacture of the sheet, an
encapsulation of the emerging portion of the exposed sheet 2 in a
film of suitable plastic also may be implemented.
[0033] According to an embodiment represented in simplified form in
FIG. 4, a glass partition is made up of an outer sheet or a stack
of sheets 10 and an inner stack of sheets 11. The stack has an area
less than that of the sheet or stack 10, so that the periphery of
the second extends uniformly beyond that of the first.
[0034] The sheet or stack 10 is duly made up of a sheet of
chemically reinforced glass, while stack 11 is of the type
described previously in relation to FIGS. 1 to 3.
[0035] A peripheral metal belt 12 is joined at one and the same
time to the sheet or stack 10 and to the stack 11, in the manner
represented in the Figure; a joining by gluing may be
considered.
[0036] This type of configuration achieves excellent bulletproof
and shatterproof properties. The whole constituted by the edge of
the sheet or stack 10 and the belt 12 may be inserted into the
fillister of an opening or simply positioned supported and more or
less nested in relation to the structure of this opening directed
outward, according to the shapes of openings used.
[0037] Although the bulletproof and/or shatterproof glass
partitions of the invention are suitable for the building trade as
well as for all transport vehicles, the glass partitions for
road-transport vehicles, and specifically fixed or in particular
movable lateral glass partitions for private armored vehicles, are
especially contemplated.
[0038] Advantageously, the rigid protuberance or protuberances
has/have a thickness equivalent to that of a conventional glass
partition for an automotive vehicle, and thus easily are inserted
into the fillister instead of a conventional glass partition.
[0039] In the case of a glass partition which is movable, generally
in the vertical direction, the problem of susceptibility to
scratching of a protuberance made of chemically reinforced glass,
necessitating its covering or encapsulation, derives precisely from
these back-and-forth movements, producing friction in the
fillister.
[0040] According to another advantageous characteristic, the outer
surface of the glass partition is placed exactly in the continuity
of the body. The aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle thereby
are improved, in known manner, through a decrease in its
coefficient of penetration in air.
[0041] The glass partition of the invention is distinguished in
particular in the sense that the holding of the glass partition in
the fillister continues to be ensured, to a great extent, after the
first impact, so that a resistance to a second impact, or even to a
subsequent impact, may be achieved, according to the laminated
structures used, the nature of the projectiles and the force of
firing. By comparison with known armored glass partitions, that of
the invention withstands heavier projectiles, more forceful and
more numerous impacts, whether simultaneous or consecutive.
* * * * *