U.S. patent application number 12/132076 was filed with the patent office on 2008-12-11 for decorative effect for glass bodies.
This patent application is currently assigned to APPLIED COATINGS GROUP, INC.. Invention is credited to Paul D. Gray, Andrew G. Pomeroy.
Application Number | 20080302039 12/132076 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40094570 |
Filed Date | 2008-12-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080302039 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pomeroy; Andrew G. ; et
al. |
December 11, 2008 |
Decorative Effect for Glass Bodies
Abstract
Glass bodies are decoratively affected by having coatings of
dichroic materials applied to an uneven surface. The dichroic
materials transmit or reflect different colors of light in patterns
that are determined by the unevenness of the coated surface and an
angle of view of an observer. Both the color patterns and the
colors forming the patterns change with different viewing angles of
the coated surface.
Inventors: |
Pomeroy; Andrew G.;
(Ontario, NY) ; Gray; Paul D.; (Kendall,
NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BROWN & MICHAELS, PC;400 M & T BANK BUILDING
118 NORTH TIOGA ST
ITHACA
NY
14850
US
|
Assignee: |
APPLIED COATINGS GROUP,
INC.
Rochester
NY
|
Family ID: |
40094570 |
Appl. No.: |
12/132076 |
Filed: |
June 3, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60942816 |
Jun 8, 2007 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/306 ;
52/745.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04C 1/42 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
52/306 ;
52/745.2 |
International
Class: |
E04C 1/42 20060101
E04C001/42 |
Claims
1. A decorative effect applied to a glass surface, the decorative
effect comprising: the glass surface being uneven by having at
least one of the forms consisting of: a) a predetermined non-planar
topography; and b) a textured pattern; the surface being coated
with at least two materials having dichroic effects; and the
dichroic materials effecting a color pattern of light that varies
with different angles of view of the coated surface by an
observer.
2. The decorative effect of claim 1 wherein the glass surface is an
inside surface of a glass block.
3. The decorative effect of claim 1 wherein the glass surface is a
back surface of a glass tile.
4. The decorative effect of claim 3 including an opaque protective
coating applied over the dichroic materials.
5. The decorative effect of claim 1 wherein the glass surface is
part of a wall or door panel.
6. The decorative effect of claim 1 wherein the glass surface has
an undulated topography.
7. The decorative effect of claim 1 wherein the dichroic materials
are transmissive.
8. The decorative effect of claim 1 wherein the dichroic materials
are reflective.
9. A method of imposing a color pattern on observable light, the
method comprising: coating dichroic materials on an uneven surface
of a glass body to conform the dichroic materials into the uneven
surface; using the unevenness of the coated dichroic materials to
impose a color pattern on the observable light; and the color
pattern being variable with changes in an angle by which an
observer views the coated surface.
10. The method of claims 9 wherein the coated surface is an inside
surface of a glass block.
11. The method of claim 9 wherein the coated surface is a back
surface of a glass tile.
12. The method of claim 11 including an opaque protective coating
applied over the dichroic materials.
13. The method of claim 9 wherein the coated surface undulates in a
predetermined topography.
14. The method of claim 9 wherein the coated dichroic materials
have a textured pattern.
15. The method of claim 9 wherein the coated glass surface forms
part of a wall or door panel.
16. The method of claim 9 wherein the dichroic materials are
transmissive.
17. The method of claim 9 wherein the dichroic materials are
reflective.
18. A decorative glass body comprising: the glass body having a
front surface facing toward an observer and a rear surface opposite
the front surface; the rear surface being coated with at least two
materials having dichroic effects; the rear surface unevenly
departing from a plane by having at least one of the forms
consisting of: a) a pre-determined topography; and b) a textured
pattern; the dichroic materials being conformed with the unevenness
of the rear surface so as to effectively impose a color pattern on
light seen by the observer; and the color pattern varying with
different angles of view of the observer relative to the front
surface.
19. The decorative glass body of claim 18 wherein the rear surface
is an inside surface of a glass block.
20. The decorative glass body of claim 19 wherein the rear surface
has an undulated topography.
21. The decorative glass body of claim 18 wherein the rear surface
is a back surface of a glass tile.
22. The decorative glass body of claim 21 including an opaque
protective coating covering the dichroic materials.
23. The decorative glass body of claim 18 wherein the dichroic
materials are transmissive.
24. The decorative glass body of claim 18 wherein the dichroic
materials are reflective.
25. The decorative glass body of claim 18 wherein the glass body is
a panel.
26. The decorative glass body of claim 18 wherein the glass body is
assembled into a wall or door.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Decorative glass blocks, glass tiles, and glass panels.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Glass has been used decoratively for millennia, and for
decorative purposes, glass bodies have been shaped, surface
patterned, colored, and surface coated in a multitude of ways. This
nevertheless leaves unfulfilled an insatiable need for interesting
new decorative effects.
SUMMARY
[0003] The inventive decorative effect involves varying color
patterns resulting from dichroic materials coated on an uneven
surface of a glass body. The dichroic materials transmit or reflect
different colors of light, and the unevenness of the coated surface
imposes patterns on the colors of light that are transmitted or
reflected. These colors and patterns of colors also change with
different viewing angles of an observer, which adds considerably to
their decorative interest.
[0004] Dichroic coatings, which are known, have been applied to
plane surfaces for optical and technical reasons. Applying dichroic
coatings to uneven glass surfaces has the unexpected effect of
making color patterns vary with viewing angles. Colors in the
patterns can change, and forms of color patterns can also change
with different viewing angles so that the decorative effect is made
lively and surprising.
DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a structural glass block
having a dichroic coating on an undulating internal surface.
[0006] FIG. 2 is an abstract representation of variable color
patterns caused by the coating on the undulating surface of the
block of FIG. 1.
[0007] FIG. 3 is a plan view of a glass tile having a patterned
surface.
[0008] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the tile of FIG. 3
showing a dichroic coating on the patterned surface, and a
protective coating over the dichroic coating.
[0009] FIG. 5 is a partially schematic representation of a frame
that includes glass tiles or blocks for a door or wall panel
providing variable color patterns according to the invention.
[0010] FIGS. 6 and 7 are photographs showing, at different viewing
angles, a stack of glass blocks that are made decorative according
to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] The variable color patterns produced by the invention
involve both an uneven surface of a glass body and a dichroic
coating on the uneven surface. Uneven surfaces on glass bodies are
known, and dichroic coatings on smooth plane surfaces are known,
but neither of these by themselves produce color patterns of
varying colors that change with an observer's angle of view.
Dichroic coatings conforming to an uneven glass surface do produce
such variable color patterns, which depend not only on the
unevenness of a glass body surface, but also on the unevenness of a
dichroic coating deposited on the glass body surface.
[0012] Dichroic materials and the formation of these materials into
thin optical coatings are well understood. These are described for
example in Thin Film Optical Filters, Third Edition by Angus
Macleod. Dichroic materials have the property of transmitting or
reflecting light of selected wave lengths or colors, and
correspondingly not transmitting or not reflecting light of other
wave lengths or colors. Many materials are known to have such
dichroic properties, and many ways of coating these materials on a
glass surface are also known. These include several forms of vacuum
deposition and sputtering, for example.
[0013] Optical thin film coatings of dichroic materials are often
used as filters, and these can be formed as long pass, short pass,
band pass, interference, and mixtures of these. At least two
dichroic material layers are required to achieve the decorative
effects made possible by the invention, but many more than two
layers can also be used. Four or more different dichroic layers are
preferred to ensure that observable color patterns are interesting
and variable. The dichroic materials used for coated layers also
preferably differ from each other in the wave lengths of light they
transmit or reflect.
[0014] Uneven surfaces of glass bodies contribute to the
interesting color patterns achievable with the invention. The glass
body surfaces can be uneven in a multitude of ways. One way is to
have an uneven topography with hills and valleys, for example. The
unevenness can be predetermined by a mold or can even be random
resulting from manufacturing irregularities. The insides of
structural glass blocks, for example, are readily molded with an
undulating surface that works well with dichroic materials.
[0015] Uneven surfaces can also be patterned with variations that
range from a micro to a macro scale. A pattern can repeat several
times over a glass surface or a single pattern can extend its
variation over a whole substrate, for example. Patterned unevenness
of a glass surface can be textured to have visible irregularities.
A glass surface can also be roughened by etching or sand blasting,
and roughening can be applied in patterns that leave some of the
surface specularly reflective.
[0016] An uneven surface can also affect thickness of coatings of
dichroic materials. The coating process may not be exactly uniform
in the first place, and unevenness of the surface being coated can
additionally attribute varying thickness to the coated materials.
These variations can add unpredictable interest to the observable
color patterns. An uneven surface can also be formed by etching,
sand blasting, or other technique that modifies the reflectance and
transmission of a glass surface that is otherwise nearly plane.
Both front and back surfaces of a glass body can be made uneven,
and the unevenness can be different for opposite surfaces so that
each surface can contribute to the interesting effects
achieved.
[0017] Combinations of uneven glass surfaces and dichroic coatings
can be complex enough so that the ways that color patterns will
form and vary with different viewing angles can be quite
unpredictable. This can add considerably to the decorative interest
of a product, and interesting variation in the end result can even
be left to random variations in manufacturing processes.
[0018] The color of the glass used for a glass body can also play a
role in the decorative effect produced. Dichroic coatings can be
designed with glass color in mind to take advantage of different
color pattern effects derivable from the dichroic coatings, the
unevenness of surfaces, and the color of the glass substrate.
[0019] Structural glass blocks are generally transmissive, and this
is considered in designing dichroic coatings for preferably
internal surfaces of glass blocks. One or both of these surfaces
can be coated with dichroic materials, but generally coating one
surface is sufficient. The coating within the interior of a glass
block is preferred as naturally protected by the structure of the
block itself.
[0020] Glass tiles, which are often laid on a wall or counter,
produce visible colored patterns by reflectance from the dichroic
coating that is preferably on a back surface of the tile. The
dichroic coatings on the back side of a tile are also preferably
covered with a protective coating, which is preferably opaque, so
that the surface on which the tiles are mounted is not visible. The
protective opaque coating can have many different colors, and these
can play a role in the color pattern observable from the reflected
light.
[0021] The cross-sectional view of glass block 10 of FIG. 1 has a
multi-layered dichroic coating 15 deposited or coated on an
internal surface 11. Light transmitted through block 10 is affected
by the unevenness of surface 11 and the materials used in dichroic
layers 15 for an observer on either side of block 10. Both interior
surfaces 11 and 12 can be coated with dichroic layers, but an
interesting and variable result can be achieved with a single
interior coating. External surfaces of glass block 10 can also be
coated with dichroic materials, but this subjects the coatings to
damage.
[0022] The abstract representation of a variable color pattern for
block 10 as viewed in FIG. 2 is endlessly variable by changing an
angle of view. Block 10 appears different when viewed from
different sides or when viewed from different angles. These changes
vary not only the colors that are made visible, but the patterns of
the those colors. It is therefore possible to make blocks 10 that
are endlessly variable among themselves by having different
dichroic coatings and different surface unevenness.
[0023] The glass tile 20 of FIG. 3 has a repeating pattern 25
making a rear surface of tile 20 uneven. This surface is preferably
coated with dichroic layers 15, which in turn are covered with a
protective and preferably opaque layer 16, as shown in FIG. 4.
Dichroic materials 15 interact with the uneven pattern 25 to change
colors in different ways at different viewing angles. Tile pattern
25 can repeat as illustrated in FIG. 3, or can extend in a single
variation across the whole surface of tile 20. Both the patterns
that can be used and the dichroic materials that can be applied are
practically endless. An added variation can be use of different
colors of glass for the substrate of tile 20.
[0024] Glass tiles 20 can also be made transmissive by omitting
opaque layer 16. Transmissive glass tiles 20 can then be arranged
in a see-through manner such as a door panel transmitting light in
either direction. Glass tiles can also have opaque rear coatings
16, as shown in FIG. 4, and then be arranged back-to-back to
present one variable color pattern on one side of a panel and
another variable color pattern on the other side of the panel.
[0025] Panel 40 of FIG. 5 schematically shows three tiles or blocks
30 arranged within frame 35 for use in a door or on a wall. Blocks
or tiles 30 can be either transmissive or reflective, depending on
whether the panel is arranged in a see-through position or is
displayed against an opaque backdrop. Glass tiles can also be
arranged back-to-back in panel 40 so that the tiles produce color
patterns reflectively. Such patterns can vary on different sides of
a panel, and at least one opaque coating can prevent transmission
of light through both tiles.
[0026] A stack of glass blocks similar to block 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2
are viewed at different camera angles in FIGS. 6 and 7. These
different views show how color patterns from the same blocks change
with a small change in a viewing angle.
* * * * *