Electrochromic window fabrication methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9513525-B2
Application number	US-201514740114-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 15, 2015
Priority date	Nov 8, 2010
Publication date	Dec 6, 2016
Grant date	Dec 6, 2016

Abstract

Methods of manufacturing electrochromic windows are described. An electrochromic device is fabricated to substantially cover a glass sheet, for example float glass, and a cutting pattern is defined based on one or more low-defectivity areas in the device from which one or more electrochromic panes are cut. Laser scribes and/or bus bars may be added prior to cutting the panes or after. Edge deletion can also be performed prior to or after cutting the electrochromic panes from the glass sheet. Insulated glass units (IGUs) are fabricated from the electrochromic panes and optionally one or more of the panes of the IGU are strengthened.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method of manufacturing one or more electrochromic panes, the method comprising:
(a) depositing an electrochromic device on a glass sheet;
(b) detecting one or more defects in the electrochromic device using lock-in infrared thermography while applying electrical energy to the electrochromic device and defining a cutting pattern based on the locations of the one or more defects, the cutting pattern for cutting the glass sheet with the electrochromic device previously deposited thereon in (a); and
(c) cutting the glass sheet according to the cutting pattern to create the one or more electrochromic panes.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more defects are detected by measuring temperature variations while electrical energy is applied to the electrochromic device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cutting pattern is defined based on the one or more identified regions of low defectivity; the glass sheet being cut from a region of low defectivity.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying electrical energy to the electrochromic device is used to change one or more optical properties to cause the one or more defects to be detectable.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein (b) comprises at least one of:
identifying one or more areas of non-uniformity in the electrochromic device,
identifying one or more areas where materials used to make the electrochromic device were deposited on the back side of the glass sheet, and
identifying one or more performance characteristics of the electrochromic device.

6. A method comprising:
(a) applying electrical energy to an electrochromic device to change one or more optical properties;
(b) detecting one or more electrical short defects in the electrochromic device using lock-in infrared thermography; and
(c) mitigating the one or more electrical short defects detected in (b) , wherein mitigating comprises detecting the one or more electrical short defects by measuring temperature variations while electrical energy is applied to the electrochromic device, wherein the temperature variations are induced by leakage current from the electrical short defects.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein (c) is performed after an electrochromic device pane is cut from a larger sheet of glass coated with the electrochromic device.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein mitigating in (c) further comprises circumscribing the one or more electrical short defects using laser ablation.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein mitigating in (c) further comprises mitigating the one more electrical short defects by localized laser heating.

10. A method of processing an electrochromic window, the method comprising:
(i) identifying one or more electrical short defects in an electrochromic device on a pane of the electrochromic window, wherein the one or more electrical short defects are identified by measuring temperature variations using lock-in infrared thermography while electrical energy is applied to the electrochromic device coating; and
(ii) mitigating the one or more electrical short defects detected in (i).

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein (i) and (ii) are performed after the pane is cut from a larger sheet of glass with the electrochromic device.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein (i) and (ii) are performed before the pane is cut from a larger sheet of glass with the electrochromic device.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein (ii) comprises circumscribing the one or more electrical short defects using laser ablation.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein (ii) comprises mitigating the one more electrical short defects by localized laser heating.

15. The method of claim 6 , wherein the electrochromic device is an all solid state and inorganic electrochromic device.

Assignees

• View Inc

Inventors

• Collins Mark A
• Parker Ronald M
• Rozbicki Robert T
• Shrivastava Dhairya

Classifications

• B32B2333/12

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

• Y10T156/1052

  with cutting, punching, tearing or severing · CPC title

• B32B17/10513

  Electrochromic layer · CPC title

• B32B17/10128

  Treatment of at least one glass sheet · CPC title

• G02F1/155

  Electrodes · CPC title