Light-emitting, glass-ceramic article

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9664375-B2
Application number	US-201113882324-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 26, 2011
Priority date	Nov 4, 2010
Publication date	May 30, 2017
Grant date	May 30, 2017

Abstract

An article including at least one lighting zone, manufacture of the article, and a cooking apparatus including such an article when in a form of a glass-ceramic plate. The article includes at least one glass-ceramic substrate, and at least one light guide, the light guide coupled to at least one light source on one side outside of the lighting zone, and including, in the lighting zone, at least one mechanism of extracting radiation emitted by the light source.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An article comprising:
at least one lighting zone;
at least one glass-ceramic plate including a glass-ceramic main surface; and
at least one light guide defined by a substantially polygonal planar glass plate including a main surface facing the glass-ceramic main surface and including an elongate portion extending from the glass plate, an end of the elongate portion being coupled to at least one light source located outside a periphery of the glass-ceramic plate when seen from a to view, and the light guide including, in the lighting zone, at least one means for extracting radiation emitted by the light source to guide light toward the at least one glass-ceramic plate,
the at least one extracting means being disposed on at least one of:
a surface of the light guide opposite the glass-ceramic plate, and
at least one layer internal to a thickness of the light guide;
wherein the at least one lighting zone is configured to surround and indicate at least one heating zone.

2. The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one light source comprises at least one light-emitting diode.

3. The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the light guide comprises, over at least part of the surface of the light guide opposite the glass-ceramic plate, a rough zone to enable local and controlled extraction of light.

4. The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one extracting means is localized to all of one face of the light guide.

5. A method of manufacturing an article according to claim 1 , the method comprising:
ceramizing precursor glass to obtain the glass-ceramic plate, then
connecting the light guide to the glass-ceramic plate.

6. The article as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
a mirror layer disposed on the surface of the light guide opposite the at least one glass-ceramic plate.

7. The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the light guide comprises, over at least part of a surface of the light guide, a coated zone covered by a coating to enable local and controlled extraction of light.

8. The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one extracting means is combined with at least one of
a surface treatment,
a concealing coating, and
a screen printed layer

formed on the glass-ceramic plate to target the at least one lighting zone.

9. The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one extracting means includes one or more scattering elements and the one or more scattering elements is in the range from 0.03 mm 2 to 0.2 mm 2 .

10. The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one extracting means includes one or more scattering elements and the one or more scattering elements is an internal laser etching at the at least one layer internal to the thickness of the light guide.

11. The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one extracting means includes one or more scattering elements and the one or more scattering elements has a light reflection coefficient higher than 50%.

12. The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one extracting means includes one or more scattering elements and the one or more scattering elements has a light transmission coefficient higher than 50%.

13. The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one glass-ceramic plate has a transmission factor of a peak wavelength higher than or equal to 50%.

14. The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one extracting means includes at least one or more treatments which include an etched surface.

15. The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one glass-ceramic plate has a face provided with bumps to increase a strength of the at least one glass-ceramic plate and
wherein a flat surface of the light guide directly contacts the bumps of the lower face of the at least one glass-ceramic plate.

16. An article comprising:
at least one lighting zone;
at least one glass-ceramic plate including a glass-ceramic main surface; and
at least one light guide defined by a planar glass plate including a main surface facing the glass-ceramic main surface and including an elongate portion, an end of the elongate portion of the light guide being coupled to at least one light source outside a periphery of the glass-ceramic plate when seen from a top view, and the light guide including, in the lighting zone, at least one means for extracting radiation emitted by the light source to guide light toward the at least one glass-ceramic plate,
wherein the light guide includes at least one aperture in the at least one lighting zone, and
wherein the at least one means for extracting radiation includes a sandblasted zone on a surface of the light guide opposite the glass-ceramic plate.

17. An article comprising:
at least one lighting zone;
at least one glass-ceramic substrate; and
at least one light guide, the light guide being coupled to at least one light source on one side outside of outside a periphery of the glass-ceramic plate when seen from a to view, and the light guide including, in the lighting zone, at least one means for extracting radiation emitted by the light source to guide light from the light source toward the glass-ceramic substrate,
wherein the light guide includes at least one frustoconical aperture in the at least one lighting zone, and
wherein the extracting means is combined with at least one of
a surface treatment, a concealing coating, and
a screen printed layer
formed on a surface of the glass-ceramic plate proximate the light guide.

18. An article comprising:
at least one lighting zone;
at least one glass-ceramic plate including a glass-ceramic main surface; and
at least one light guide defined by a substantially polygonal planar glass plate including a main surface facing the glass-ceramic main surface and including an elongate portion extending from the glass plate, an end of the elongate portion being coupled to at least one light source located outside a periphery of the glass-ceramic plate when seen from a to view, and the light guide including, in the lighting zone, at least one means for extracting radiation emitted by the light source to guide light toward the at least one glass-ceramic plate,
the at least one extracting means being disposed on at least one of:
a surface of the light guide opposite the glass-ceramic plate, and
at least one layer internal to a thickness of the light guide;
wherein the light guide includes at least one aperture in the at least one lighting zone, or a frustoconical aperture, and the at least one lighting zone is configured to surround and indicate a heating zone.

19. The article as claimed in claim 18 , wherein one or more edges of the aperture is beveled or chamfered.

Assignees

• Guiset Pierrick
• Laluet Jean-Yves
• Mallet Claire
• Eurokera

Inventors

• Guiset Pierrick
• Laluet Jean-Yves
• Mallet Claire

Classifications

• F21V33/0044 Primary

  Household appliances, e.g. washing machines or vacuum cleaners · CPC title

• F24C15/105

  Constructive details concerning the regulation of the temperature · CPC title

• F24C7/083 Primary

  on tops, hot plates · CPC title

• G02B6/006

  to produce indicia, symbols, texts or the like · CPC title

• G02B6/0095

  Light guides as housings, housing portions, shelves, doors, tiles, windows, or the like · CPC title