WO2010046586A1

WO2010046586A1 - Combination of two profiles made of a synthetic material

Info

Publication number: WO2010046586A1
Application number: PCT/FR2009/051987
Authority: WO
Inventors: Renaud Subra
Original assignee: Saint-Gobain Glass France
Priority date: 2008-10-20
Filing date: 2009-10-16
Publication date: 2010-04-29
Also published as: CN102187045A; FR2937368A1; FR2937368B1; EP2350417A1

Abstract

The invention relates to the combination by abutment of two ends of profiles (10, 11) defining an intermediate frame for double glazing, said profiles including or being essentially made of a synthetic material, typically of the thermoplastic type, and said profiles being rigidly connected together by a connector (2), preferably made of a synthetic material, that comprises a middle portion (21) and at least two extensions (22, 23) provided with anchoring means (30, 31) for rigidly connecting said profile ends around the connector, characterised in that said profile ends rigidly connected together by the connector are bevelled at complementary respective angles such that said ends are brought into contact and merge substantially at least along the bevelled edge (40, 41) thereof. The invention also relates to a strut frame including such a combination, and to an insulation glazing including such a frame.

Description

ASSOCIATION OF TWO PROFILES IN SYNTHETIC MATTER

The invention relates to the combination of two profiles with a connector inserted into their ends, said profiles being made of synthetic material. Such an association is used in particular to form the spacer frame of an insulating glazing unit. The term "ends of profiles", two free ends of two separate profiles. A well-known type of insulating glazing unit comprises two glass sheets which are spaced apart by a gas strip such as air, argon or krypton and which are separated and joined by means of a spacer frame consisting of hollow hollow profiles or profiles assembled by corner pieces called connectors. 90 ° corner pieces are commonly called squares.

To seal the glazing, the spacer frame is glued to the glass sheets by a butyl rubber elastomer bead applied directly to the profiles forming the spacer frame by extrusion through a nozzle. Once the glazing is assembled, the elastomeric sealing bead plays a role in temporarily holding the glass sheets. Finally, the peripheral groove delimited by the two glass sheets and the spacer frame is injected with a crosslinkable sealant of the polysulfide or polyurethane or silicone type which terminates the mechanical assembly of the glass sheets. Butyl rubber mainly has the role of sealing the interior of the glazing with water vapor, while the sealant ensures a seal with liquid water or solvents.

The hollow profiles used are generally metallic, such as aluminum. However, synthetic profiles have been used for some time, as described for example in patent applications EP 852 280, EP 127 739 or US Pat. No. 5,260,112; they thus have a lower coefficient of thermal conductivity which ultimately results in better thermal insulation for the glazing. However, such plastic profiles have a mechanical strength different from that observed for conventional aluminum profiles, which may in particular cause increased problems of rigidity. This difference in mechanical content behavior and the resulting problems are particularly observed for large spacer frames, especially at the corners thereof. Reinforcement of these profiles is therefore a key issue when they can be used in double glazing. Such a problem arises particularly in the angles. This is why, for example, it was first proposed, in particular in application EP 852 280, to stiffen the plastics material of the profiles itself by glass fibers.

However, when the plastic is brittle, for example when it is stiffened by glass fibers, it becomes difficult or impossible to obtain, for the spacer frame of double glazing, 90 ° corners having an acceptable aesthetic and sufficient sealing throughout the life of said glazing.

In all cases, the simple 90 ° folding of the thermoplastic profiles to form the corners of the spacer frame, even when they do not contain glass fibers, induces stresses which at minimum give the final glazing a relatively unsightly appearance in the corners, flanges of material extending on both sides of the fold. In addition, in the most severe cases, the stresses caused by the bending at 90 ° induce a risk of cracking or even rupture of the profiles at the fold, the risk being even greater than the plastic used for their manufacture is rigid. Even though this cracking does not occur systematically, it is clear that a defect of some of the spacer frames due to such a fold, even if it is very rare, can not be accepted by the manufacturer because it results in a manifest defect double glazing. The object of the invention is therefore to present a new product, resulting from the combination of profiles by connectors, said association ensuring all at the same time: the waterproofness of the double glazing, a reinforced mechanical strength of all, the aesthetics of double glazing, especially at the corners of double glazing.

More specifically, the present invention relates to an association by abutment of two ends of sections constituting a spacer frame for double glazing, said profiles comprising or consisting essentially of a synthetic material, typically of the thermoplastic type, said profiles being held together. with a connector, preferably made of synthetic material, comprising a median part and at least two extensions or wings provided with anchoring means making it possible to hold said ends of the sections around said connector, characterized in that said ends profiles secured by the connector are bevelled at respective complementary angles, such that said ends are brought into contact with each other and are melted at least substantially all their beveled edge.

The product according to the invention is derived from the combination of plastic profiles already well known in the field. For example, to obtain the 90 ° corners of the frame, they are according to the invention previously cut into bevels at angles to 45 °. After cutting, the two profiles, reinforced by the connectors, are butted to form a 90 ° angle.

For example, for the connection between the two sections, it is possible, without this being considered restrictive, to use the connector made of plastic material described in the patent application FR 2 905 972. In this application, it is proposed a plastic material connector having a middle portion and two wings provided with flexible anchoring means making friction with the inside of the ends of the profiles after interlocking. Compared to connectors made entirely of plastic oversized in a massive manner along their entire length to ensure retention after their insertion force in the profiles, this solution avoids the bursting of the profiles. According to the main characteristic of the invention, at least the end part of the part brought into contact by the abutment between the two sections is melted, in particular by using ultrasound to seal the connection and therefore the double glazing, while the connector ensures the mechanical strength of the assembly. We thus obtain in the end a spacer frame of the double glazing whose aesthetics is irreproachable, especially at the corners.

Among the possible embodiments of the invention, one or more of the following provisions, taken alone or in combination, may be used in addition:

said profile ends are bevelled at 45 ° angles, butted to form a right angle and are melted at least on their edges brought into contact by said abutment,

said section ends are melted to a thickness of less than 5 mm from their edge and are preferably melted to a thickness of less than 2 mm from their edge,

the anchoring means consist of protuberances or protuberances forming projections on the periphery of the wings, said projections establishing the zones of contact with the inner wall of the profiles, at least a part, preferably all, of the ends of said protuberances is melted to establish contact between the inner wall of the profiles and the wings of the connector,

the protuberances comprise rigid nipples protruding on either side of two opposite sides of each of the wings and exerting a point constraint on the inside of the ends of the profiles,

the protuberances are in the form of a protruding lip and a free end which is in contact with the inner walls of the ends of the profiles,

the protuberances are in the form of abutments; the anchoring means of the connector are based on polyamide,

SAN, PP or PE, preferably loaded with reinforcing fibers.

This association between an angular connector and two ends of sections is particularly useful for forming a frame to constitute the interlayer of an insulating glazing, to which the invention is also directed. The invention also relates to an insulating glazing unit comprising such a frame which forms the interlayer of the glazing unit.

Finally, the present invention relates to a process for obtaining an association as previously described, in which ultrasound is used to obtain the fusion of the slices of the ends of the profiles and / or in which ultrasound is used to melt the ends of the protuberances forming projections on the periphery of the body of the wings.

Other advantages and features of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1a is a sectional view of the association of the end of a first section with an angular junction connector,

FIG. 1b is a view along a section AA 'of the profile of FIG. 1a, FIG. 2 is a view identical to that of FIG. 1a, schematizing the placement of the end of the second profile in FIG. the association,

FIG. 3 is a view identical to that of FIG. 2, in which ultrasonic welding means of the two sections are shown;

• Figure 4 is a sectional view of the association finally obtained according to the invention wherein the ends of two profiles are connected via a connector integrally, tight and having a flawless aesthetics.

It is understood that the appended figures, as well as the embodiment which will now be described in connection with them, constitute only one example among other embodiments of the present invention and should not be in any case considered as limiting the scope of the present invention. On the other hand, it is of course also understood that the various structural elements constituting the combination according to the invention which will now be structurally described are necessarily presented in combination in the mode hereinafter developed, but must nevertheless be considered as disclosed individually and in particular are likely to be generalized in the sense of the present invention to other equivalent embodiments of the invention, however not described for reasons of brevity.

FIG. 1a illustrates a first step for obtaining the association according to the invention and finally represented by FIG. 4, in which two ends 10 and 11 of profiles which are connected by abutment and with the aid of a connector 2.

The sections 10 and 11, a cross section of which is illustrated in FIG. 1b, are made of synthetic material, such as thermoplastic material of the SAN type, polypropylene PP, silicone or silicone foam, optionally reinforced with glass fibers 5. and are preferably provided on one of their faces with a thin metal coating (not shown), for example according to the techniques described previously in the patent application EP 852 280. According to the invention and as shown in FIG. 1a, the hollow end of the first profile 10 is previously beveled at 45 °. In a common manner with reference to Figures 1 to 4, the corner connector 2 comprises a middle portion 21, and two extensions or wings 22 and 23 extending on either side of the middle portion along a longitudinal axis B. Both wings are oriented at 90 ° to obtain the corner connector. For such an application, the length of an elongated connector from one wing end to the end of the other wing along the longitudinal axis B may be about 50 mm for example; the section of the connector, according to its small extension in a plane perpendicular to the axis B, may have a height of the order of 3 to 10 mm and a width of 6 to 30 mm. The connector is according to the invention made of a synthetic material, such as plastic optionally filled with reinforcing fibers, for example glass fibers, preferably obtained by injection molding. For example, polyamides, polyethylene, SAN or polypropylene may be mentioned as plastics. The wings 22 and 23 are of substantially parallelepiped shape. They each have two opposite longitudinal faces 24 and 25, and two opposite side walls. The side walls comprise for example protrusions in the form of pins (not shown) which are intended to cooperate with the inner walls of the ends of the profiles to form rigid anchoring means of the connector in the ends, thus firmly holding the profile 10 when the wing 22 of the connector has been engaged. The rigid nipples also center the connector inside the ends of the sections thus making it possible to have the two ends of the profiles facing each other in parallel.

Each of the wings 22, 23 further comprises at its free end at least one, and preferably, two parallel and spaced apart flexible lips 30 which constitute additional anchoring means for the connector engaged in the ends of the profiles.

Preferably, these flexible anchoring means have for the function that they must fulfill a flexibility or elasticity, which is obtained, on the one hand, thanks to the same material constituting them and their shape, and on the other hand, the fact that they are lacking around them material except the minimum material necessary for their attachment to the wings of the connector.

The flexible lips are for example made from a substantially elastic plastic material, such as polyamide, polypropylene PP or polyethylene PE or SAN preferably loaded, for example about 30% by weight, of reinforcing fibers of glass type. Advantageously, they are made of the same material as the other rigid anchoring means (the pins) and the body of the connector in order to manufacture in a single operation the entire connector, for example by molding.

The flexible lips 30 and 31 thus constitute a retaining system projecting from the faces of the flange 22 of the connector, so as to keep the connector locked, once engaged in the hollow end of the profile 10. They prevent a withdrawal massive connector out of the ends of the profiles, through their ends 34 which establish very strong contact areas with the inner wall of the profile, once the connector engaged. Without departing from the scope of the invention, the middle part 21 of the connector may comprise lateral protuberances which project from the side faces 24 and 25 of the wings so as to provide stops 21a and 21b respectively for each sides of an end when the latter is pressed on the connector.

For more details on the structure of such a connector as well as additional details of its implementation for the corner connection between two ends of profiles via it, we can refer to the embodiment described in the application FR 2 905 972. In Figures 2 and 3, there is illustrated the steps of a process leading to obtaining a combination of two ends of profiles according to the invention.

According to the representation of Figure 2 the end of the second section 11 has previously been bevelled at 45 °, so that the ends of the sections 10 and 11 can be abutted and in contact with substantially all of their respective slices 40 and 41.

As already described above with reference to FIG. 1, the side walls comprise, for example, protuberances in the form of pins (not shown) and lips 30, 31 which are intended to cooperate with the internal walls of the ends of profiles (10, 11) to form rigid anchoring means of the connector in the end of the second section 11, thus firmly holding it when the flange 23 of the connector has been engaged. For example, the flexible lips 30 and 31, in particular by their ends 34, thus constitute a retaining system protruding from the faces of the flange 23 of the connector and prevents any withdrawal of the connector, once it has was engaged via its flange 23 in the hollow end of the profile 11, in a commitment movement illustrated by the arrows 60.

FIG. 3 illustrates a possible but non-limiting embodiment of a primordial step of the invention, in which the end portion of the portion brought into contact by the abutment between the two sections is melted, in the simplest way, by the use of ultrasound. This step makes it possible in particular to ensure perfect sealing of the spacer frame at the level of the corner connection and consequently the double glazing, while preserving an irreproachable aesthetic of the corner connection between the two profiles.

More specifically, referring to Figure 3, after abutment of the two ends of the profiles 10 and 11 bevelled at 45 ° so that their edges are in contact, means 50 ultrasonic welding are disposed in contact with the surface at least one of the profile ends 10 and 11.

High frequency vibrations are sent to both parts through a vibrating tool commonly called sonotrode or solder head. The welding is done thanks to the heat generated at the interface of the two parts 10 and 11 by friction, that is to say at their slices 40 and 41.

In known manner, the means 50 may include a fixing device for holding the parts to be welded, an electromagnetic transducer or converter that will generate the high frequency waves and one or more sonotrodes for transmitting ultrasound to the parts to be welded.

The location on the surface of the profiles 10, 11 of said means 50, the welding time, the profile and the type of sonotrodes, their number, the power and the frequency range of use of course configured and adjusted according to the techniques of the art in particular according to the chemical nature of the plastics to be welded (in particular the respective melting point of the plastics to be welded) and the thickness of the parts to be welded and the desired thickness of the weld.

The implementation of the ultrasonic fusion technique finally allows to obtain at the ends of the profiles an angular connection area 70 perfectly sealed and having a perfect aesthetic.

In addition, the tests carried out by the applicant have shown that in the case of the use of a spacer also of thermoplastic material, in particular in a plastic material substantially identical to that used for the profiles and having anchoring means under the form of excrescences including the aforementioned type, said anchoring means establishing intimate contact areas with the inner wall of the ends of profiles, the end of said excrescences also melted at the level of said contact areas under the action of ultrasound, so as to establish extremely strong connection areas with the profile and ultimately stiffen extremely sensitive association between such profiles at the corners. Thus, in FIGS. 3 and 4, the melting zones allowing such stiffening are surrounded, not only of course at the level of the angular connection zone 70 but also at the level of the melted ends 34 of the flexible lips 30 and 31, at the level of the pins located on the side walls (not shown), and at the stops 21a and 21b. Thus, in the end, as illustrated in FIG. 4, a combination of the two sections 10 and 11 fused at their ends is obtained at an angular connection zone 70 which is perfectly sealed and has an aesthetic appearance. perfect, while the rigidity of said association is provided by the angle connector or bracket 2, said stiffness being further reinforced by continuous areas of melt corresponding to the ends of the protrusions of the connector and the inner wall of the profiles.

Claims

1. Association by abutment of two ends of profiles (10, 11) constituting a spacer frame for double glazing, said profiles comprising or consisting essentially of a synthetic material, typically of the thermoplastic type, said profiles being held integral with the using a connector (2), preferably made of synthetic material, comprising a median part (21) and at least two extensions or wings (22, 23) provided with anchoring means (30, 31) making it possible to hold together around of the connector said ends of the profiles, characterized in that said ends of profiles held integral by the connector are bevelled at respective complementary angles, such that said ends are brought into contact with one another and are melted at least substantially all their beveled edge (40, 41).

2. Association according to claim 1, characterized in that said profile ends are bevelled at angles of 45 °, are abutted to form a right angle and are melted at least on their edges brought into contact by said abutment.

3. Association according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said ends of profiles are melted to a thickness of less than 5 mm from their edge and preferably are melted to a thickness of less than 2 mm from their edge.

4. Association according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the anchoring means consist of protuberances or projections (30, 31, 21a, 21b) forming projections at the periphery of the extensions, said projections establishing areas of contact with the inner wall of the profiles.

5. Association according to claim 4, wherein at least a portion, preferably all, of the ends of said protuberances is melted to establish contact between the inner wall of the profiles and the wings (22, 23) of the connector.

6. Association according to claim 5, wherein the growths comprise rigid nipples which protrude from both sides two opposite sides of each of the wings (22, 23) and which exert a point constraint on the inside of the ends of profiles.

7. Association according to claim 5, characterized in that the protuberances are in the form of a lip (30,31) which protrudes, and a free end (34) which is in contact with the internal walls of the ends of sections.

8. Association according to claim 5, characterized in that the growths are in the form of abutments (21 a, 21 b).

9. Association according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the anchoring means (30, 31) of the connector are based on polyamide, SAN, PP or PE, preferably loaded with reinforcing fibers. .

10. Frame comprising at least one association according to any one of the preceding claims.

11. insulating glass comprising a frame according to claim 10 forming the spacer of the glazing.

12. Method for obtaining an association according to one of claims 1 to 9 wherein using ultrasound to obtain the melting of the slices of the ends of the profiles and optionally to melt the ends of the protrusions forming protrusions at the periphery of the body extensions.