Patents by Inventor Dirk Sprenger

Dirk Sprenger has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20140284236
    Abstract: A packaging unit for accommodating glass rolled onto a winding core is provided. The packaging unit includes at least two wall parts that can be separated from one another and together form a closed unit. A first retaining element is connected to a first wall part and a second retaining element is connected to a second wall part arranged opposite the first wall part. A damping element is connected to at least one retaining element and/or to at least one of the first and second wall parts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 16, 2012
    Publication date: September 25, 2014
    Applicant: SCHOTT AG
    Inventors: Gregor Kuebart, Thomas Wiegel, Juergen Vogt, Holger Wegener, Rainer Schwertfeger, Georg Sparschuh, Dirk Sprenger, Angelika Ullmann
  • Patent number: 8039407
    Abstract: The invention provides a method for producing a glass ceramic comprising the steps of melting a starting glass that is free from alkali, except for incidental contamination, and that contains at least one garnet-forming agent and at least one oxide of a lanthanoid; grinding the starting glass to produce a glass frit; molding by pressing and sintering the glass frit until at least one garnet phase containing lanthanoids is formed. A glass ceramic produced in this way may contain 5-50% by weight of SiO2, 5-50% by weight of Al2O3 and 10-80% by weight of at least one oxide selected from the group formed by Y2O3, Lu2O3, Sc2O3, Gd2O3, Yb2O3, Ce2O3, as well as 0.1-30% by weight of at least one oxide selected from the group formed by B2O3, Th2O3, and oxides of the lanthanoids, except Lu2O3, Gd2O3, Yb2O3, Ce2O3. Such a glass ceramic is suited especially for down conversion of excitation radiation in the blue and in the UV region of the spectrum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2011
    Assignee: Schott AG
    Inventors: Karine Seneschal-Merz, Bernd Hoppe, Dirk Sprenger, Martin Letz, Thilo Zachau, Friedrich Siebers
  • Patent number: 7958746
    Abstract: The invention proposes a method for producing glass ceramics which is particularly well suited as light conversion material, especially for down conversion. One initially produces a starting glass, containing (on an oxide basis) 5-50% by weight of SiO2, 5-50% by weight of Al2O3 and 10-80% by weight of at least one oxide selected from the from the group formed by Y2O3, Lu2O3, Sc2O3, Gd2O3, Yb2O3, Ce2O3, as well as 0.1-30% by weight of at least one oxide selected from the group formed by B2O3, Th2O3, and oxides of the lanthanoids, except Lu2O3, Gd2O3, Yb2O3, Ce2O3. Thereafter, the material is heated up for ceramization at a heating rate of at least 100 K/min to a temperature in the range of between 1000° C. to 1400° C. until crystallites are formed that contain a garnet phase. Thereafter, the material is cooled down to room temperature. Alternatively, controlled cooling-down from the molten state is possible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2011
    Assignee: Schott AG
    Inventors: Karine Seneschal-Merz, Bernd Hoppe, Dirk Sprenger, Friedrich Siebers, Martin Letz, Thilo Zachau
  • Patent number: 7910505
    Abstract: The invention provides a method for producing a glass ceramic comprising the steps of melting a starting glass that is free from alkali, except for incidental contamination, and that contains at least one garnet-forming agent and at least one oxide of a lanthanoid; grinding the starting glass to produce a glass frit; molding by pressing and sintering the glass frit until at least one garnet phase containing lanthanoids is formed. A glass ceramic produced in this way may contain 5-50 % by weight of SiO2, 5-50 % by weight of Al2O3 and 10-80 % by weight of at least one oxide selected from the group formed by Y2O3, Lu2O3, Sc2O3, Gd2O3, Yb2O3, Ce2O3, as well as 0.1-30% by weight of at least one oxide selected from the group formed by B2O3, Th2O3, and oxides of the lanthanoids, except Lu2O3, Gd2O3, Yb2O3, Ce2O3. Such a glass ceramic is suited especially for down conversion of excitation radiation in the blue and in the UV region of the spectrum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2011
    Assignee: Schott AG
    Inventors: Karine Seneschal-Merz, Bernd Hoppe, Dirk Sprenger, Martin Letz, Thilo Zachau, Friedrich Siebers
  • Publication number: 20110062393
    Abstract: The invention provides a method for producing a glass ceramic comprising the steps of melting a starting glass that is free from alkali, except for incidental contamination, and that contains at least one garnet-forming agent and at least one oxide of a lanthanoid; grinding the starting glass to produce a glass frit; molding by pressing and sintering the glass frit until at least one garnet phase containing lanthanoids is formed. A glass ceramic produced in this way may contain 5-50% by weight of SiO2, 5-50% by weight of Al2O3 and 10-80% by weight of at least one oxide selected from the group formed by Y2O3, Lu2O3, Sc2O3, Gd2O3, Yb2O3, Ce2O3, as well as 0.1-30% by weight of at least one oxide selected from the group formed by B2O3, Th2O3, and oxides of the lanthanoids, except Lu2O3, Gd2O3, Yb2O3, Ce2O3. Such a glass ceramic is suited especially for down conversion of excitation radiation in the blue and in the UV region of the spectrum.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2010
    Publication date: March 17, 2011
    Inventors: Karine Seneschal-Merz, Bernd Hoppe, Dirk Sprenger, Martin Letz, Thilo Zachau, Friedrich Siebers
  • Patent number: 7906444
    Abstract: The invention relates to a glass ceramic armour material consisting (in % by weight in relation to oxide base) of 5-33 SiO2, 20-50 Al2O3, 5-40 MgO, 0-15 B2O3, 0.1-30 Y2O3, Ln2O3, As2O3, Nb2O3 and/or Sc2O3 and 0-10 P2O5. The inventive armour material can also be reinforced with inorganic reinforcing fibres in a quantity of 5-65% by weight, preferably consisting of C, SiC, Si3N4, Al2O3, ZrO2 or Sialon. Said armour material is characterised in that it exhibits a high elasticity modulus and is producible from green glass without to fear a premature crystallisation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2011
    Assignee: Schott AG
    Inventors: Rainer Liebald, Wolfram Beier, Jochen Alkemper, Thilo Zachau, Dirk Sprenger
  • Patent number: 7735338
    Abstract: The method of making thin glass panes includes conveying a glass melt through a vertical inlet to a drawing tank with a slit nozzle; drawing a glass ribbon downward from the slit nozzle; setting a total throughput by setting length and cross section of the inlet and by heating and cooling the inlet to control glass melt viscosity so that pressure in the inlet decreases; and setting a throughput per unit of length in a lateral direction along the glass ribbon via nozzle system geometry and by heating and cooling of the drawing tank and slit nozzle to control melt viscosity, so that glass does not wet an underside of the slit nozzle near a breaking edge. The setting of the total throughput and the throughput per unit length are largely decoupled to simplify process control. An inventive apparatus for performing the method is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2010
    Assignee: Schott AG
    Inventors: Rudolf Mueller, Horst Loch, Dirk Sprenger, Jose Zimmer, Holger Wegener
  • Patent number: 7592278
    Abstract: A glass ceramic is specified, with a crystalline phase consisting predominantly of BPO4, and preferably exclusively of BPO4. The glass ceramic contains 10 to 50 wt.-% SiO2, 5 to 40 B2O3, 25 to 75 wt.-% P2O5, up to 5 wt.-% refining agents, up to 1 wt.-% impurities, and 0.1 to 10 wt.-% of at least one constituent selected from the group of M32O3, M52O5 and M4O2, wherein M3 is an element selected from the group of the lanthanoids, yttrium, iron, aluminum, gallium, indium and thallium; wherein M5 is an element selected from the group of vanadium, niobium and tantalum and wherein M4 is an element selected from the group of titanium, zirconium, hafnium and cerium. The glass ceramic is advantageously suitable for being coated with semiconductor materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2009
    Assignee: Schott AG
    Inventors: Meike Schneider, Thilo Zachau, Jochen Alkemper, Dirk Sprenger
  • Publication number: 20090156384
    Abstract: The invention relates to a glass ceramic armour material consisting (in % by weight in relation to oxide base) of 5-33 SiO2, 20-50 Al2O3, 5-40 MgO, 0-15 B2O3, 0.1-30 Y2O3, Ln2O3, As2O3, Nb2O3 and/or Sc2O3 and 0-10 P2O5. The inventive armour material can also be reinforced with inorganic reinforcing fibres in a quantity of 5-65% by weight, preferably consisting of C, SiC, Si3N4, Al2O3, ZrO2 or Sialon. Said armour material is characterised in that it exhibits a high elasticity modulus and is producible from green glass without to fear a premature crystallisation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2006
    Publication date: June 18, 2009
    Inventors: Rainer Liebald, Wolfram Beier, Jochen Alkemper, Thilo Zachau, Dirk Sprenger
  • Patent number: 7476623
    Abstract: In the method for microstructuring flat glass substrates a substrate surface of a glass substrate is coated with at least one structured mask layer and subsequently exposed to a chemically reactive ion etching process (RIE) with at least one chemical etching gas. In order to provide the same or a higher quality etching and etching rate even for economical types of glass the chemical etching gas is mixed with at least one noble gas, so that the proportion of sputtering etching in the ion etching process is significantly increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2009
    Assignee: Schott AG
    Inventors: Bianca Schreder, Rainer Liebald, Edgar Pawlowski, Dirk Sprenger, Dietrich Mund, Juergen Leib
  • Patent number: 7470642
    Abstract: An aluminoborosilicate glass having a density less than 2.40 g/cm3 and a specific modulus of elasticity greater than 30 GPa·cm3·g?1 is disclosed that comprises the following components (in wt. %): SiO2 58-70, Al2O3 12-20, B2O3 5-15, MgO 0-9, CaO 2-12, BaO 0, 1-5, SnO2 0-1, As2O3 0-2, the glass, apart from random impurities, being free of SrO and free of alkali oxides. The glass is particularly suitable as a substrate glass for LCD displays, for example.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2008
    Assignee: Schott AG
    Inventors: Joerg Fechner, Peter Brix, Dirk Sprenger
  • Publication number: 20080257860
    Abstract: In the method for microstructuring flat glass substrates a substrate surface of a glass substrate is coated with at least one structured mask layer and subsequently exposed to a chemically reactive ion etching process (RIE) with at least one chemical etching gas. In order to provide the same or a higher quality etching and etching rate even for economical types of glass the chemical etching gas is mixed with at least one noble gas, so that the proportion of sputtering etching in the ion etching process is significantly increased.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 22, 2008
    Publication date: October 23, 2008
    Inventors: Bianca Schreder, Rainer Liebald, Edgar Pawlowski, Dirk Sprenger, Dietrich Mund, Juergen Leib
  • Publication number: 20080227616
    Abstract: The invention relates to novel uses of glass ceramics, wherein glass ceramics, in particular, in the form of a glass ceramic tube, are used. Said glass ceramics contain 0—less than 4 wt % P205 and 0 less than 8 wt-% CaO. The tubes can be used in multiple areas of application and/or in multiple types of lamps, for example in general lighting or car lights and in heat radiators, such as halogen lamps or incandescent lamps, and/or in high pressure discharge lamps or low pressure discharge lamps. The glass ceramics, can also, in particular, be minimised in order to form known backlighting in conjunction with background lighting of flat screens. Said type of glass ceramics have excellent spectral transmission in the visible wave length rang and are solarisation stable and absorb strong UV light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2005
    Publication date: September 18, 2008
    Inventors: Ulrich Peuchert, Joerg Hinrich Fechner, Thilo Zachau, Uwe Kolberg, Paul Kissl, Rainer Liebald, Dirk Sprenger
  • Publication number: 20080184741
    Abstract: The method of making thin glass panes includes conveying a glass melt through a vertical inlet to a drawing tank with a slit nozzle; drawing a glass ribbon downward from the slit nozzle; setting a total throughput by setting length and cross section of the inlet and by heating and cooling the inlet to control glass melt viscosity so that pressure in the inlet decreases; and setting a throughput per unit of length in a lateral direction along the glass ribbon via nozzle system geometry and by heating and cooling of the drawing tank and slit nozzle to control melt viscosity, so that glass does not wet an underside of the slit nozzle near a breaking edge. The setting of the total throughput and the throughput per unit length are largely decoupled to simplify process control. An inventive apparatus for performing the method is also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 4, 2007
    Publication date: August 7, 2008
    Inventors: Rudolf Mueller, Horst Loch, Dirk Sprenger, Jose Zimmer, Holger Wegener
  • Publication number: 20080041106
    Abstract: The invention proposes a method for producing glass ceramics which is particularly well suited as light conversion material, especially for down conversion. One initially produces a starting glass, containing (on an oxide basis) 5-50% by weight of SiO2, 5-50 % by weight of Al2O3 and 10-80% by weight of at least one oxide selected from the from the group formed by Y2O3, Lu2O3, Sc2O3, Gd2O3, Yb2O3, Ce2O3, as well as 0.1-30% by weight of at least one oxide selected from the group formed by B2O3, Th2O3, and oxides of the lanthanoids, except Lu2O3, Gd2O3, Yb2O3, Ce2O3. Thereafter, the material is heated up for ceramization at a heating rate of at least 100 K/min to a temperature in the range of between 1000° C. to 1400° C. until crystallites are formed that contain a garnet phase. Thereafter, the material is cooled down to room temperature. Alternatively, controlled cooling-down from the molten state is possible.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2007
    Publication date: February 21, 2008
    Inventors: Karine Seneschal-Merz, Bernd Hoppe, Dirk Sprenger, Friedrich Siebers, Martin Letz, Thilo Zachau
  • Publication number: 20070281851
    Abstract: The invention provides a method for producing a glass ceramic comprising the steps of melting a starting glass that is free from alkali, except for incidental contamination, and that contains at least one garnet-forming agent and at least one oxide of a lanthanoid; grinding the starting glass to produce a glass frit; molding by pressing and sintering the glass frit until at least one garnet phase containing lanthanoids is formed. A glass ceramic produced in this way may contain 5-50 % by weight of SiO2, 5-50 % by weight of Al2O3 and 10-80 % by weight of at least one oxide selected from the group formed by Y2O3, Lu2O3, Sc2O3, Gd2O3, Yb2O3, Ce2O3, as well least one oxide selected from the group formed by B2O3, Th2O3, and oxides of the lanthanoids, except Lu2O3, Gd2O3, Yb2O3, Ce2O3. Such a glass ceramic is suited especially for down conversion of excitation radiation in the blue and in the UV region of the spectrum.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2007
    Publication date: December 6, 2007
    Inventors: Karine Seneschal-Merz, Bernd Hoppe, Dirk Sprenger, Martin Letz, Thilo Zachau, Friedrich Siebers
  • Patent number: 7300896
    Abstract: A glass ceramic comprises (in wt.-% on oxide basis): SiO2 35 to 60, B2O3>4 to 10, P2O5 0 to 10, Al2O3 16.5 to 40, TiO2 1 to 10, Ta2O5 0 to 8, Y2O3 0 to 6, ZrO2 1 to 10, MgO 6 to 20, CaO 0 to 10, SrO 0 to 4, BaO 0 to 8, ZnO 0 to 4, SnO2+CeO2 0 to 4, SO42?+Cl? 0 to 4, wherein the total content (SnO2+CeO2+SO42?+Cl?) is between 0.01 and 4 wt.-%. The glass ceramic may be processed by the float glass method, may be transparent and is, inter alia, suitable as a substrate for thin film semiconductors, in particular for display applications, solar cells etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2007
    Assignee: Schott AG
    Inventors: Thilo Zachau, Rainer Liebald, Dirk Sprenger, Meike Lohmann
  • Patent number: 7291571
    Abstract: The invention relates to crystallizable aluminosilicate magnesium-containing glass which is used for producing extremely solid and break-resistant glass-ceramics having an easily polished surface. The inventive crystallizable glass contains 5-33 mass % of SiO2, 25-40 mass % of Al2O3, 5-25 mass % of MgO, 0-15 mass % of B2O3, 0.1-30 mass % of Y2O3, Ln2O3, As2O3 and/or Nb2O5 and 0.1-10 mass % of P2O5.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2007
    Assignee: Schott AG
    Inventors: Dirk Sprenger, Thilo Zachau, Rainer Liebald
  • Publication number: 20070243992
    Abstract: An aluminoborosilicate glass having a density less than 2.40 g/cm3 and a specific modulus of elasticity greater than 30 GPa·cm3·g?1 is disclosed that comprises the following components (in wt. %): SiO2 58-70, Al2O3 12-20, B2O3 5-15, MgO 0-9, CaO 2-12, BaO 0,1-5, SnO2 0-1, As2O3 0-2, the glass, apart from random impurities, being free of SrO and free of alkali oxides. The glass is particularly suitable as a substrate glass for LCD displays, for example.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2007
    Publication date: October 18, 2007
    Inventors: Joerg Fechner, Peter Brix, Dirk Sprenger
  • Publication number: 20070202343
    Abstract: The invention relates to a color effect layer system, including: a carrier substrate selected from glass or glass-ceramics, at least one layer of spheres, particularly preferred at least 50 layers, more preferred 50 to 100 layers, including filled or not filled cavities/honeycombs, in the form of a porous material composite of a crystal-like superstructure or an inverse crystal-like superstructure having a three-dimensional periodic or substantially periodic configuration in the order of magnitude of the wavelength of visible light, wherein the sphere diameters and optionally the cavity/honeycomb diameters have a very strict distribution. In addition to the excellent optical properties, the coating systems also have sufficient mechanical stability.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 21, 2007
    Publication date: August 30, 2007
    Inventors: Dirk Sprenger, Martin Letz, Steffen Reichel, Wolfgang Mannstadt, Peter Blaum