Laminated vehicle windshield with internal luminous sign(s)

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11027528-B2
Application number	US-201616062332-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 13, 2016
Priority date	Dec 14, 2015
Publication date	Jun 8, 2021
Grant date	Jun 8, 2021

Abstract

A laminated vehicle windshield containing internal luminous information, includes a first glazing, a lamination interlayer, a second glazing and peripheral exterior and interior masking layers. A first curved organic-light-emitting-diode (OLED) device is between the second and third main faces windshield, the first OLED device forming a first sign.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A laminated vehicle windshield including one or more internal luminous signs, comprising:
a first curved glazing with a first main face, which first main face is intended to be on an exterior side of the vehicle, and an opposite second main face;
a second curved glazing with a third main face and an opposite fourth main face, which fourth main face is intended to be on an interior side of the vehicle, at least one of the first and second curved glazings being made of mineral glass,

said first and second curved glazings being connected together via the second and third faces by a lamination interlayer made of a thermoformable polymeric material, said lamination interlayer including a first bonding main face toward a side of the second main face and a second bonding main face toward a side of the third main face;
a first peripheral layer forming an interior masking layer made of opaque material, which is between the second bonding face and the third main face or that is on the fourth main face;
a second peripheral layer forming an exterior masking layer made of opaque material, between the first bonding face and the second main face, facing the interior masking layer; and
a first radiation source for first signs,

wherein the first radiation source includes a first curved organic-light-emitting-diode (OLED) device between the second and third main faces configured to emit a first emission in the visible spectrum,
wherein the first OLED device, which is configured to emit a first emission, forms a first luminous sign, and
wherein when the first OLED device is in a zone of the interior masking layer, the interior masking layer includes a first passing aperture to let the first luminous sign be seen.

2. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first sign is inscribed in a rectangle of centimeter-sized vertical dimension or height H and such as to define an angle α between the windshield and a gaze axis of the driver, the first sign being characterized by a vertical apparent height H′ and H is set by the formula H=H′/sin (α).

3. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 1 , wherein all or some of the first curved OLED device is arranged in the vision area.

4. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a color filter between the first curved OLED device and the fourth main face or the third main face side.

5. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the color filter includes a colored filtering layer that is on the third main face side:
on the third main face;
or on the first curved OLED device;
or on a curved carrier that is common to the first curved OLED device and to a second OLED device forming a second sign, said curved carrier being transparent in front of the first curved OLED device.

6. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the interior masking layer is on the third main face, and the first passing aperture is filled with a transparent layer or with a colored filtering layer.

7. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a second curved OLED device forms a second sign, made up of one or more symbols and/or letters, which sign is adjacent to the first sign, and wherein the second curved OLED device is between the second and third main faces, said second curved OLED device being distinct from the first curved OLED device and of thickness E2, the first and second OLED devices being on a curved common carrier.

8. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the common carrier bears electrical conductors, said conductors supplying power to the first curved OLED device and to the second curved OLED device, and the common carrier bearing one or more first electronic components including a first microcontroller addressing the first curved OLED device and regulating the electrical power supply of the first curved OLED device.

9. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first curved OLED device is covered by a dielectric protective layer that optionally bears electrical conductors that supply the first curved OLED device with power and that are invisible or transparent when present in the vision area, said protective layer optionally extending beyond one or more edges of the first curved OLED device and covering a second OLED device that is adjacent to the first curved OLED device and that forms a second sign.

10. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first curved OLED device is mounted on the second main face directly or via a carrier that is common to a second OLED device that is adjacent to the first curved OLED device and that forms a second sign, the first bonding main face optionally being apertured plumb with the first curved OLED device, or wherein the curved first OLED device is mounted on the third main face directly or via a carrier that is common to a second OLED device that is adjacent to the first curved OLED device and that forms a second sign, the second bonding main face optionally being apertured plumb with the first curved OLED device.

11. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first curved OLED device is encapsulated by the thermoformable material.

12. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the thermoformable material includes polyvinyl butyral.

13. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first sign is chosen from:
a driver aid;
a status indicator indicating an operating state of the automobile;
information on the external environment; and
an indicator indicating connectivity to a communications network on the front passenger side lateral edge.

14. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the interior masking layer and the exterior masking layer are made of the same material, and are on the second main face and the third main face or on the second main face and the fourth main face.

15. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the interior masking layer is a strip of width L0 and in the zone of the first sign of width L1>L0.

16. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first curved OLED device includes a first substrate and is configured to emit through the first substrate and an optional second OLED device that includes a second substrate that is adjacent or identical to the first substrate, and that is configured to emit through the second substrate.

17. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first curved OLED device includes a first curved transparent substrate including on the second main face side in this order:
a transparent lower electrode;
a first organic light-emitting system; and
a reflective upper electrode;
and wherein the windshield optionally includes a second OLED device, between the second and third main faces, which includes a second curved transparent substrate, face F3 side, adjacent to the first curved OLED device and configured to illuminate a second sign, and including on the second main face side in this order:
a transparent lower electrode;
a second organic light-emitting system; and
a reflective upper electrode.

18. The laminated vehicle windshield as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first curved glazing has a thickness E1 of at most 2.5 mm and the second curved glazing has a thickness E1 of at most 2.2 mm.

19. The laminated vehicl

Assignees

• Saint Gobain

Inventors

• Laluet Jean-Yves
• Bauerle Pascal

Classifications

• B32B2333/12

  Polymers of methacrylic acid esters, e.g. PMMA, i.e. polymethylmethacrylate · CPC title

• B32B17/10761

  containing vinyl acetal · CPC title

• B32B2323/00

  Polyalkenes · CPC title

• B32B2367/00

  Polyesters, e.g. PET, i.e. polyethylene terephthalate · CPC title

• G02B2027/0141

  characterised by the informative content of the display · CPC title