Patents by Inventor Roland Bürkle

Roland Bürkle 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).

  • Patent number: 6853123
    Abstract: A flat light source having a front plate and a rear part. The front plate is held at a distance from the rear part by spacers. A gaseous filling which is under a pressure lower than the ambient atmospheric pressure is introduced into the intermediate space between the front plate and rear part, and the front plate is of a glass material. To be able to produce flat light sources of this type which have a low intrinsic weight, according to this invention the front plate and/or the rear part can be configured as an at least partly thermally or chemically tempered glass pane or the front plate and/or the rear part can be configured as a glass pane which at least in areas is coated with ductile polymer material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2005
    Assignee: Schott AG
    Inventors: Kurt Nattermann, Volker Seibert, Roland Bürkle, Reinhard Kassner
  • Patent number: 6815070
    Abstract: The invention relates to a glass-plastic composite film, especially for use in electronic components and devices, such as displays. The inventive film consists of a glass film which is between 10 &mgr;m and 500 &mgr;m thick, and is characterised in that a polymer layer with a thickness of between 1 &mgr;m and 200 &mgr;m f is applied directly to at least one of the side faces of said film and in that at least one side on the surface of the film has a waviness of less than 100 nm and a roughness RT<30 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2004
    Assignee: Schott Spezialglas GmbH
    Inventors: Roland Bürkle, Silke Deutschbein, Reiner Mauch, Karl-Heinz Sossenheimer, Andreas Weber
  • Patent number: 6689414
    Abstract: A method of protecting a glass substrate, especially a display glass or a hard disk blank made from a glass or a glass-ceramic, from unacceptable surface damage and scratches, often leading to glass breakage, during processing and transport, is described. This protective method includes applying a removable protective coating made of at least one polymer layer, or at least one polyvinyl alcohol layer, to the glass substrates by spraying or rolling the polyvinyl alcohol or a polymer solution of the polymer to be applied in a polar organic solvent, onto the glass substrate, or dipping the substrate into it. Then when the substrate is ready for its end use, the protective coating is removed by washing in water or polar organic solution so that a residue does not remain on it. The glass substrates, protected in this manner have outstanding surface quality and improved hard disk blanks can be economically produced from them.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2004
    Assignee: Schott Glas
    Inventors: Andreas Weber, Reiner Mauch, Roland Buerkle, Andreas Berndt, Dirk Schlatterbeck, Marten Walther, Inka Henze
  • Patent number: 6592703
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for cutting a laminate made of a brittle material and a plastic with a cutting tool is described. The plastic is heated up, thereby lowering its viscosity, at least in the region of a predetermined cutting line. A cutting tool is placed onto the plastic side of the laminate, the loading pressure being adjustable. By moving cutting tool relative to the laminate along the predetermined cutting line, the plastic is severed; at the same time the brittle material is scored, thereby inducing a mechanical stress. If appropriate, the mechanical stress along the cutting line is subsequently increased to exceed the rupture strength of the scored brittle material. A preferred application is the cutting of thin glass or glass-ceramic/plastic laminates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2003
    Assignee: Schott Glas
    Inventors: Andreas Habeck, Roland Buerkle, Torsten Otto, Oliver Scherer
  • Patent number: 6588477
    Abstract: The apparatus for cutting a laminate, which is made of a brittle material and a plastic, has a cutting tool for severing the plastic along a predetermined cutting line and simultaneously scoring the brittle material; a heating device for heating the plastic along the cutting line; a device for pressing the cutting tool with an adjustable pressure on the laminate; a device for moving the engaged cutting tool along the cutting line to simultaneously sever the plastic and score the brittle material and a controller for controlling the heating device so that during the severing and scoring a temperature of the cutting tool is maintained constant and the heating is sufficient to lower viscosity of the plastic along the cutting line so that a predetermined loading pressure of the cutting tool on the laminate necessary for simultaneously scoring the brittle material and severing the plastic is not exceeded, whereby uncontrollable fracture of the brittle material does not occur.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2003
    Assignee: Schott Glas
    Inventors: Andreas Habeck, Roland Buerkle, Torsten Otto, Oliver Scherer
  • Patent number: 6491972
    Abstract: A method of protecting a surface of a display glass or a hard disk substrate during processing arid transport includes applying at least one polyvinyl alcohol or other polymer protective layer on the surface, which is soluble in polarorganic solvents, so that the layer can be removed after processing and transport by washing in heated water or a polar organic solvent without leaving residues on the surface. The polyvinyl alcohol used to make the protective coating has an average molecular weight of ≧ about 60,000 g/mol and a hydrolysis degree of ≧95% and the at least one polyvinyl alcohol layer is dried by heating at temperatures of about 150° C. or less to form the protective coating after applying the polyvinyl alcohol layer. The other polymers are less soluble in water than polyvinyl alcohol but are easily removed with organic solvent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2002
    Assignee: Schott Glas
    Inventors: Andreas Weber, Reiner Mauch, Roland Buerkle, Andreas Berndt, Dirk Schlatterbeck, Marten Walther
  • Publication number: 20020134485
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for cutting a laminate made of a brittle material and a plastic with a cutting tool is described. The plastic is heated up, thereby lowering its viscosity, at least in the region of a predetermined cutting line. A cutting tool is placed onto the plastic side of the laminate, the loading pressure being adjustable. By moving cutting tool relative to the laminate along the predetermined cutting line, the plastic is severed; at the same time the brittle material is scored, thereby inducing a mechanical stress. If appropriate, the mechanical stress along the cutting line is subsequently increased to exceed the rupture strength of the scored brittle material. A preferred application is the cutting of thin glass or glass-ceramic/plastic laminates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 21, 2002
    Publication date: September 26, 2002
    Inventors: Andreas Habeck, Roland Buerkle, Torsten Otto, Oliver Scherer
  • Publication number: 20020136907
    Abstract: A method of protecting a glass substrate, especially a display glass or a hard disk blank made from a glass or a glass-ceramic, from unacceptable surface damage and scratches, often leading to glass breakage, during processing and transport, is described. This protective method includes applying a removable protective coating made of at least one polymer layer, or at least one polyvinyl alcohol layer, to the glass substrates by spraying or rolling the polyvinyl alcohol or a polymer solution of the polymer to be applied in a polar organic solvent, onto the glass substrate, or dipping the substrate into it. Then when the substrate is ready for its end use, the protective coating is removed by washing in water or polar organic solution so that a residue does not remain on it. The glass substrates, protected in this manner have outstanding surface quality and improved hard disk blanks can be economically produced from them.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 5, 2000
    Publication date: September 26, 2002
    Inventors: Andreas Weber, Reiner Mauch, Roland Buerkle, Andreas Berndt, Drik Schlatterbeck, Marten Walther
  • Publication number: 20020000292
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for cutting a laminate made of a brittle material and a plastic with a cutting tool is described. The plastic is heated up, thereby lowering its viscosity, at least in the region of a predetermined cutting line. A cutting tool is placed onto the plastic side of the laminate, the loading pressure being adjustable. By moving cutting tool relative to the laminate along the predetermined cutting line, the plastic is severed; at the same time the brittle material is scored, thereby inducing a mechanical stress. If appropriate, the mechanical stress along the cutting line is subsequently increased to exceed the rupture strength of the scored brittle material. A preferred application is the cutting of thin glass or glass-ceramic/plastic laminates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2001
    Publication date: January 3, 2002
    Inventors: Andreas Habeck, Roland Buerkle, Torsten Otto, Oliver Scherer