Patents Assigned to Pilkington North America
  • Patent number: 7160578
    Abstract: A chemical vapor deposition process for laying down an aluminum oxide coating on a glass substrate through the use of an organic ester having a ? hydrogen on the alkyl group bonded to the carboxylate oxygen and an inorganic aluminum halide. The resulting article has an aluminum oxide coating which can be of substantial thickness because of the high deposition rates attainable with the novel process. Preferably, the coating deposition rates resulting from the method of the present invention may be greater than or equal to 200 ? per second.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2007
    Assignee: Pilkington North America
    Inventors: Michael P. Remington, Jr., David A. Strickler, Srikanth Varanasi
  • Patent number: 7153380
    Abstract: A method of affixing a gasket to a transparent substrate utilizing a fixture having a channel formed therein, into which the gasket is inserted and held in place by, for example, a vacuum. Alternatively, a removable form may be inserted into the channel, and the elastomeric member/gasket is inserted into the removable form. A suitable substrate is precisely positioned on the fixture in a predetermined position relative to the elastomeric member. An adhesion promoting primer may be applied to the substrate, and an adhesive may be applied to the gasket, or to the substrate. The elastomeric member is then bonded to the transparent substrate. Finally, the completed assembly is removed from the fixture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2006
    Assignee: Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Charles E. Ash, Thomas S. Hicks
  • Patent number: 7138181
    Abstract: A coated glass article which may be heat strengthened with reduced variability in sheet resistance is disclosed. A multi-layer coating is formed on a glass substrate including a barrier applied on the glass substrate, base layer of a substantially undoped metal oxide applied over the barrier layer, and an electrically conductive layer of a doped metal oxide applied directly on the base layer. The same source metal is used for the base layer and the electrically conductive layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2006
    Assignee: Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard J. McCurdy, Steve E. Phillips, David W. Perry, Michel J. Soubeyrand
  • Patent number: 7025405
    Abstract: A substantially flush mounted vehicular window frame assembly and method for producing same are provided, where a slider panel can be moved in either direction across a fixed panel having a window aperture defined therein. Stationary rails, near horizontal edges of the aperture, run in parallel and extend the width of the assembly. The slider panel with locator rails attached to two edges, mates with and moves between the stationary rails. Pillar seals attached to the fixed panel near vertical aperture edges, make sealable contact with the slider panel when it covers the aperture. Slider seals attached to fixed panel edges that form the horizontal edges of the aperture, make sealable contact with the slider panel when it covers the aperture. Flush mounting of the assembly is achieved by placing the window frame assembly and associated panels in substantially an exterior vehicle body frame plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2006
    Assignee: Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventor: John H. Gillen
  • Patent number: 6998362
    Abstract: An infrared and ultraviolet absorbing soda-lime-silica glass of a neutral tint containing 0.3% to 0.7% by weight total iron expressed as Fe2O3, together with amounts of Se, Co3O4 and a ferrous iron content to provide a ratio of ferrous iron to total iron in the range of 21 to 34. NiO and TiO2 may be added to the glass. The resultant glass, in a nominal 4 mm thickness, has a visible light transmission of at least 70% and a direct solar heat transmission at least 12 percentage points below the visible light transmission. The iron in the glass is preferably provided by the inclusion of the mineral wuestite in the glass batch formulation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2006
    Assignees: Pilkington PLC, Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Paige L. Higby, Bret E. Penrod, Rodney G. Baker, Kenneth Melvin Fyles, Helen Louise McPhail
  • Patent number: 6899935
    Abstract: A method of affixing a specialized dual durometer gasket to a substrate is disclosed. The method utilizes a fixture having a channel formed therein, into which the dual durometer gasket is inserted and held in place by, for example, a vacuum. Alternatively, a removable form may be inserted into the channel, and the elastomeric member/gasket is inserted into the removable form. A suitable substrate is precisely positioned on the fixture above the channel containing the gasket. An adhesion promoting primer may be applied to the substrate, and an adhesive is applied to the gasket, or to the substrate, so that upon application of a lifting force, the gasket is raised from the channel into bonding contact with the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2005
    Assignee: Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Charles E. Ash, Thomas S. Hicks
  • Patent number: 6874218
    Abstract: A seal attachment fixture and method are provided for attaching a seal to an encapsulated gasket disposed on a work piece, for example, an automotive window assembly. The seal attachment fixture includes fixture members, which slidably move into contact with openable lip portions on the gasket, thus exposing a retention slot defined therein. With the gasket retention slot open, a seal is then inserted within the slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2005
    Assignee: Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas S. Hicks, Thomas M. Lingle
  • Patent number: 6876897
    Abstract: A positioning device precisely positions a work piece at a workstation. Precise positioning is accomplished through the use of a tool controller, a programmed mechanism, and a minimal pneumatic circuit. Pre-programming of the tool controller results in initially locating the work piece, precisely positioning the workpiece at the workstation, and then locking-in the position of the workpiece at the workstation time-after-time. A method for operating the positioning device is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2005
    Assignee: Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventors: John H. Gillen, Douglas G. Burwell, George Bukovinszky, Mark E. Cargill
  • Patent number: 6858306
    Abstract: A glass article having a solar control coating is disclosed for use in producing heat reducing glass especially for use in architectural windows. The coated article includes a glass substrate, a coating of an antimony doped tin oxide deposited on and adhering to the glass substrate and a coating of fluorine doped tin oxide deposited on and adhering to the surface of the coating of antimony doped tin oxide. The low emittance of the coated glass article, when combined with the surprisingly selective solar absorption of the multilayer stack provides improved heat rejection in summer and heat retention in winter, while permitting the transmittance of a relatively high degree of visible light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2005
    Assignees: Pilkington North America Inc., Pilkington PLC
    Inventors: David A. Strickler, Kevin D. Sanderson, Srikanth Varanasi, Ronald D. Goodman
  • Patent number: 6827970
    Abstract: A niobium doped tin oxide coating is applied onto a glass substrate to produce a low emissivity (low E) glass. The coating can optionally be doped with both niobium and other dopant(s), such as fluorine. The low emissivity glass has properties comparable or superior to conventional low E glass with fluorine doped tin oxide coatings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2004
    Assignee: Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Srikanth Varanasi, David A. Strickler, Kevin Sanderson
  • Patent number: 6827974
    Abstract: One or more coating precursors are selected from metal or silicon compounds at a temperature above their melting points but substantially below their standard vaporization temperature, thereby causing the coating precursors to be in the form of a liquid. A vaporization chamber has a structure for continually injecting the liquid coating precursor into the chamber to produce a vapor. A seal-less, magnetically driven portion rotates a structure for distributing the liquid coating precursor in the vaporization chamber. In one embodiment, a barrier gas is injected adjacent the chamber at a velocity greater than the diffusion velocity of the vapor to prevent the vapor from communicating with the magnetically driven portion. In another embodiment, a first portion of the magnetically driven portion is connected to a structure for distributing the liquid coating precursor in the vaporization chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2004
    Assignee: Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Douglas M. Nelson
  • Publication number: 20040202803
    Abstract: A spandrel panel is provided which has at least one low visible light transmittance pane having a composition such that the low visible light transmittance pane exhibits, when measured utilizing Illuminant D65, a visible light transmittance (Tvis) of 15% or less. In the past, spandrel panels were typically constructed with a film or coating, for example a frit, disposed on at least one surface of one of the panes or with a sheet of opaque material positioned within or next to the spandrel panel. In the present invention, obtaining low visible light transmittance through the spandrel panel is achieved via the chemical composition of at least one of the panes. This results in a lower cost spandrel panel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 14, 2003
    Publication date: October 14, 2004
    Applicant: Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Scott E. Hoover
  • Patent number: 6733889
    Abstract: A coated glass article is formed having a glass substrate and at least first and second coatings deposited over the glass substrate. The first coating is a low emissivity layer having a first refractive index. The second coating is a reflecting layer having a second refractive index greater than the first refractive index of the first coating. The coated glass—article exhibits an Rf>15% and an emissivity less than or equal to about 0.3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2004
    Assignee: Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Srikanth K. Varanasi, Michael P. Remington, Jr., David Strickler
  • Patent number: 6701835
    Abstract: A method for producing precise, complex patterns on a glass or plastic substrate using a writing system capable of dispensing high viscosity materials at a volume rate synchronous with the rate of movement of a flexural member relative to said substrate, is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2004
    Assignee: Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Travis W. Thompson, Geoffrey D. Charles
  • Patent number: 6521295
    Abstract: Antimony doped tin oxide coatings on glass are prepared by providing a uniform, vaporized reactant mixture containing an organotin compound, an organoantimony compound, water and oxygen, and delivering the reactant mixture to the surface of the hot ribbon of glass, where the compounds react to form an antimony doped tin oxide coating. The antimony doped tin oxide coatings applied in accordance with the invention exhibit improved uniformity in thickness and sheet resistance over the coated surface of the glass, and increased coating/manufacturing efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2003
    Assignee: Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael P. Remington, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6505483
    Abstract: A pressure pad array is used to float glass sheets from a glass heating furnace to a ring mold in a press bending station. The pressure pads have transversely spaced, longitudinally-extending slotted nozzles angled towards one another to provide a static pressure area for floating the glass sheet. The slotted nozzles are aligned with the direction of glass sheet travel and the space between adjacent pressure pads is covered by a spacer baffle to generate additional static pressure flotation areas. The static pressure areas formed by the slotted nozzles generally produce uniform pressure profiles extending longitudinally and transversely against the sheet's underside to stably float the glass sheets on a heated gas cushion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2003
    Assignees: Surface Combustion, Inc., Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Max Hoetzl, Thomas A. Dunifon, Larry L. Rozevink
  • Patent number: 6437322
    Abstract: A moisture sensor for detecting moisture on the surface of a transparent material. The moisture sensor includes one or more emitters for producing emitter signals, and one or more detectors for receiving the emitter signals. The detector produces a detector output signal which is filtered and amplified in a pre-demodulation gain and filtering circuit to remove some of the unwanted signal components including noise from ambient light and EMI. Digital Signal Processing filtering is used after the moisture signal is demodulated to a dc signal to discern small signal changes due to moisture events in the presence of large amounts of the noise created by the pre-demodulation gain circuit. The DSP filtering includes a low pass filter stage and a bandpass filter stage implemented by a microcomputer and provides a Finite Impulse Response, an Infinite Impulse Response, or uses Fast Fourier Transform to provide the necessary filtering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2002
    Assignee: Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Rein S. Teder
  • Patent number: 6320164
    Abstract: An oven view window comprising a glass substrate, and having disposed on a major surface thereof, a thermally activated, light-scattering coating which, when at a temperature below the activation temperature of the coating is translucent-to-opaque in appearance, but when at a temperature above the activation temperature of the coating is essentially transparent in appearance. Optionally, an infrared reflective coating and a color suppressing coating may also be deposited, in a variety of configurations, onto the oven view window carrying the thermally activated, light-scattering coating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: Pilkington North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Fred A. Millett