Glass laminate using textured adhesive

Abstract

A method for laminating glass, a laminate assembly, and an adhesive-coated plastic material used in a laminate assembly. Specifically an adhesive, once applied to a plastic layer is grooved or textured to allow formerly trapped air to escape from between layers of a laminate assembly during a laminate process. This can allow for the adhesive layer to be thinner, while still providing for a final product that is relatively air bubble-free and optically pleasing or substantially free of optical defects caused by waviness of the plastic layer between two PVB sheets and/or wrinkles of the plastic sheet.

1 . A laminate assembly comprising:
 a flexible plastic film having two opposing sides; and   a first layer of adhesive applied to one of said two opposing sides, said first layer of adhesive having a thickness in a range of 10 to 50 microns and further having a plurality of grooves, the grooves having respective widths in a range of 20 to 100 microns and respective depths in a range of about 10 to 50% of the thickness of the first layer of adhesive;   a sheet of adhesive positioned adjacent a second of said two opposing sides;   a first layer of glass positioned adjacent to the first layer of adhesive with the grooves of the first layer of adhesive facing towards the first layer of glass; and   a second layer of glass positioned adjacent to the sheet of adhesive.   
     
     
         2 . The laminate assembly of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of grooves includes a first plurality of grooves parallel to each other at a first groove spacing in a range of 0.1 to 10 millimeters and a second plurality of grooves parallel to each other at a second groove spacing in a range of 0.1 to 10 millimeters, with the first plurality of grooves intersecting the second plurality of grooves at an approximately perpendicular angle in a grid arrangement. 
     
     
         3 . The laminate assembly of  claim 1  wherein the flexible plastic film comprises polyethylene terephthalate. 
     
     
         4 . The laminate assembly of  claim 1  wherein the first layer of adhesive includes polyvinyl butyral. 
     
     
         5 . The laminate assembly of  claim 1  wherein the sheet of adhesive has a thickness in a range of 0.5 to 1.5 millimeter. 
     
     
         6 . The laminate assembly of  claim 1  wherein the laminate is generally wrinkle free and has a compressive strain factor (CSF) greater than or equal to 0.5 
     
     
         7 . The laminate assembly of  claim 1  wherein the sheet of adhesive includes polyvinyl butyral. 
     
     
         8 . The laminate assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible plastic film includes an optical coating on at least one of said two sides of the flexible plastic film. 
     
     
         9 . The laminate assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the first layer of adhesive is applied to the optical coating. 
     
     
         10 . The laminate assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the optical coating is an anti-infrared coating. 
     
     
         11 . A laminate assembly comprising an adhesive-coated plastic material, the adhesive-coated plastic material comprising:
 a flexible plastic film having two opposing sides; and   a first layer of adhesive applied to at least one of said two opposing sides, said first layer of adhesive having a thickness in a range of 10 to 50 microns and further having a plurality of grooves, the grooves having respective widths in a range of 20 to 100 microns and respective depths in a range of about 10 to 50% of the thickness of the first layer of adhesive;   a second layer of adhesive positioned adjacent a second of said two opposing sides;   a first layer of glass positioned adjacent to the first layer of adhesive with the grooves of the first layer of adhesive facing towards the first layer of glass; and   a second layer of glass positioned adjacent to the second layer of adhesive.   
     
     
         12 . The laminate assembly of  claim 11 , wherein said second layer of adhesive has a thickness in a range of 0.5 to 1.5 millimeters. 
     
     
         13 . The laminate assembly of  claim 11  wherein the plurality of grooves includes a first plurality of grooves parallel to each other at a first groove spacing in a range of 0.1 to 10 millimeters and a second plurality of grooves parallel to each other at a second groove spacing in a range of 0.1 to 10 millimeters, with the first plurality of grooves intersecting the second plurality of grooves at an approximately perpendicular angle in a grid arrangement. 
     
     
         14 . The laminate assembly of  claim 11  wherein the first layer and the second layer of adhesive include polyvinyl butyral. 
     
     
         15 . The laminate assembly of  claim 11  wherein the laminate is generally wrinkle free and has a compressive strain factor (CSF) greater than or equal to 0.5. 
     
     
         16 . The laminate assembly of  claim 11  wherein the second layer of adhesive includes polyvinyl butyral. 
     
     
         17 . The laminate assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the flexible plastic film includes an optical coating on at least one of said two sides of the flexible plastic film. 
     
     
         18 . The laminate assembly of  claim 17 , wherein the first layer of adhesive is applied to the optical coating. 
     
     
         19 . The laminate assembly of  claim 18 , wherein the optical coating is an anti-infrared coating. 
     
     
         20 . A laminate assembly comprising an adhesive-coated plastic material, the adhesive-coated plastic material comprising:
 a flexible plastic film having two opposing sides; and   a first layer of adhesive applied to at least one of said two opposing sides, said first layer of adhesive having a thickness in a range of 10 to 50 microns and further having a plurality of grooves, the grooves having respective widths in a range of 20 to 100 microns and respective depths in a range of about 10 to 50% of the thickness of the first layer of adhesive;   a second layer of adhesive positioned adjacent a second of said two opposing sides, said second layer of adhesive having a thickness in a range of 10 to 50 microns and further having a plurality of grooves, the grooves having respective widths in a range of 20 to 100 microns and respective depths in a range of about 10 to 50% of the thickness of the second layer of adhesive;   a first layer of glass positioned adjacent to the first layer of adhesive with the grooves of the first layer of adhesive facing towards the first layer of glass; and   a second layer of glass positioned adjacent to the second layer of adhesive with the grooves of the second layer of adhesive facing towards the second layer of glass.