EP1055046B1 - Profiled spacer for an insulation-plate unit - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a spacer profile of an elastically-plastically deformable material with low heat conductivity for a spacer frame to be mounted in the marginal area of at least two spaced-apart panes by forming an intermediate pane space, whereby the spacer profile comprises a chamber which has in one of its walls at least one elastically-plastically deformable reinforcement element extending along the chamber, and whereby the spacer profile has a diffusion-proof layer extending substantially over its entire width and length. In order to produce the profile through cold flexion, the lateral walls of the chamber are each provided with at least one reinforcement element.

Description

The present invention relates to a spacer profile made of an elastically-plastically deformable, poorly heat-conducting material for a spacer frame in the edge area of at least two spaced apart disks, in particular transparent ones Washers for insulating washer units, to form a space between the washers is, wherein the spacer profile comprises a chamber which in its walls a plastically deformable reinforcing element extending in the longitudinal direction of the profile having.

Within the scope of the invention, elastically-plastically deformable materials mean such materials in which elastic restoring forces are effective after the bending process, as is typically the case is the case with plastics, whereby part of the bend is plastic, not reversible deformation occurs.

Plastically deformable materials include those materials after which the deformation practically no elastic restoring forces act, as is typical when bending Metals beyond the yield point is the case.

Such materials should be among poorly heat-conducting or heat-insulating materials are understood to be clear compared to metals, i.e. at least by one Factor 10, show lower thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity values are typically in of the order of magnitude λ ≈ 5 W / (m · K) and below, preferably they are less than 1 W / (m · K) and more preferably less than 0.3 W / (m · K).

Within the scope of the invention, the panes of the insulating pane unit are normally glass panes made of inorganic or organic glass, but without the invention thereon would be limited. The panes can be coated or otherwise refined, around the insulating pane unit special functions such as increased thermal insulation or Soundproofing.

The most important task of spacer frames is to keep windows of a window unit at a distance to maintain the mechanical strength of the unit and the space between the panes to protect against external influences. Especially with insulating washer units with high thermal insulation, it should be noted that the heat transfer characteristics of the edge bond and thus the spacer profile from which the spacer frame is made special attention is required. A deterioration in thermal insulation high Insulating pane unit designed for thermal insulation in the edge area, in particular by conventional metallic spacers have been proven several times.

Therefore, in addition to metallic spacer profiles, spacer profiles have also been used for a long time Made of plastic used for the low thermal conductivity of these materials exploit. However, such materials usually have one compared to metals low diffusion tightness. But since it must be prevented that in the area existing humidity penetrates into the space between the panes and also escapes filling gases such as argon, krypton, xenon and sulfur hexafluoride, with which the space between the panes is filled must be kept within minimal limits, are usually special measures when using profiles made of plastic required. For this reason z. B. proposed in DE-A-33 02 659, a spacer profile to be provided with a vapor barrier by placing a Metal foil or a metallized plastic foil is applied.

Plastic profiles also have the disadvantage that they are only with great effort or do not bend at all to produce one-piece spacer frames. In general are therefore plastic profiles to straight rods in the dimensions of each Disc unit of appropriate dimensions cut and connected to each other by several corner connections connected to a spacer room.

DE-U-93 03 795 used for the formulation of the preamble of claim 1 reinforcement bodies extending in the longitudinal direction of the profile, the only in the inner wall of the spacer profile facing the space between the letters are embedded. This is supposed to ensure the stability of the space between the panes facing inner wall, which is endangered by UV radiation and thermal expansion is support. The bending behavior of the previously known profile is not in the publication addressed.

DE-U-92 14 799 and GB-A-2 162 228 disclose spacer profiles of the aforementioned Kind with a single, from the one outer corner area of the profile over the Outer wall in the other outer corner area extending reinforcing element, which Manufacturing a one-piece spacer frame by bending obviously does not allow.

It is the object of the present invention to be inexpensive on a large scale to provide producible heat-insulating spacer profile from which a one-piece spacer frame should be easy to manufacture. The profile should especially with conventional, if necessary slightly modified, conventional bending systems be cold bendable, that is to say bendable with little warming at most, so that annoying Deformation does not occur.

This object is achieved by a spacer profile with the features of patent claim 1 solved. According to the invention it is provided that the reinforcing elements only in the side walls and / or the corner areas of the profile are provided.

Since with a spacer profile according to the invention the reinforcing elements only in the area the side walls of the spacer profile consisting of poorly heat-conducting material are arranged and thus no direct thermal contact between the Disks is manufactured, the heat conduction from one disk to another through the Spacer profile through the reinforcement elements only to an extremely small extent affected. Due to their plastic deformability and the arrangement in the area of the side walls of the profile, on the other hand, they are crucial for fulfilling the invention underlying task at.

The inventive arrangement of the reinforcing elements ensures that the Selection of the elastic-plastically deformable, which forms the main volume portion of the profile, poorly heat-conducting material whose plastic deformability is not in the The focus is on the use of almost completely elastic materials can, if they offer advantages in terms of thermal insulation. On the other The reinforcing elements can be targeted with regard to their plastic deformability and their properties are selected during the bending process without losing their dimensions or their material with regard to the level of their thermal conductivity Are subject to restrictions.

For the bending process, customary bending systems are without any noteworthy modifications suitable.

The profile according to the invention is designed as a hollow chamber profile, the chamber in the normal case is filled with hygroscopic material and with water vapor permeable areas, e.g. Perforations in the inner wall facing the space between the panes Chamber a steam or moisture exchange between the space between the panes and enable the chamber. As a result, the moisture content in the space between the panes kept low to avoid condensation at low temperatures. As an alternative, the spacer profile can also face the space between the panes have an open U-shaped cross-section if care is taken to ensure that the desiccant is firmly anchored in the chamber, e.g. about adhesion.

The cross section of the reinforcing elements can be designed in a variety of ways. So can these elements z. B. be formed as wires, which is a simple and therefore inexpensive Manufacturing enables.

Furthermore, the reinforcing elements can also be designed as flat or angle profiles. This ensures particularly high dimensional stability, especially in the cross-sectional corner areas, of the spacer profile guaranteed. It is also a combination of wires and Flat or angle profiles possible in a spacer profile.

The reinforcing elements generally consist of metal or a metal alloy, preferably made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. This makes one special high plastic deformability of the spacer profile and a particularly low one Springback reached after bending

The diameter of the wires is preferably less than 3 mm, in particular about 1 mm, while the flat or angular profiles generally have a thickness of less than 3 mm, preferably have a thickness of less than 1 mm. By such a choice of The diameter of the wires or the thickness of the profiles becomes a good plastic deformability ensured with low material costs and low weight of the spacer profile.

The reinforcing elements are preferably in cross-sectional corner areas of the spacer profile arranged. These areas are because they are in the bending process due to stretching or compression be particularly stressed, very sensitive, and damage occurs with conventional Profiles during the bending process, especially at these points. The Arrangement of the reinforcing elements in these areas prevents the occurrence such damage. Are reinforcing elements in the form of wires or angle profiles arranged at least in the region of both ends of the two side walls, this increases the bending resistance moment of the spacer profile in an advantageous manner, so that particularly good cold bendability is achieved

In another preferred embodiment, flat or angular profiles extend in the essentially over the entire height of the side walls of the spacer profile. Because of that The resulting high bending moment becomes particularly high for the side walls Dimensional stability imparted, so that the occurrence of disturbing deformations reliably avoided becomes.

In a further preferred embodiment, the cross-sectional shape corresponds to that in FIG Cross-sectional corner areas of the spacer profile provided angle profiles essentially the cross section of this corner area, so that good protection of the spacer profile during the bending process and general handling as well as high dimensional stability is achieved.

It is within the scope of the invention to use reinforcing elements made of different materials to be provided within a profile. Reinforcing elements made of composite materials can also be used be provided. The reinforcing elements can in their longitudinal direction or have different materials or different thicknesses over their cross section.

Have particularly suitable heat-insulating materials for the spacer profile thermoplastic materials with a thermal conductivity λ <0.3 W / (m • K), z. B. polypropylene, Polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide or polycarbonate. Plastic may contain common fillers, additives, dyes, UV protection agents, etc.

A spacer profile is preferably substantially the entire width and length extending diffusion-tight layer made of a material with a thermal conductivity λ <50 W / (m • K) is provided. As preferred materials for the diffusion-tight Layer has turned out to be metals, especially tinplate or stainless steel. The Diffusion-tight layer can also be made of a plastic, such as a fluoropolymer, polyvinylidene chloride or ethyl vinyl acetate. The diffusion-tight layer can pass through physical or chemical coating processes such as sputtering or Plasma polymerization can be applied. However, it is preferably in foil form cohesively connected to the profile. Here means "cohesive connection" for example, by permanently connecting the two components of the network Laminate, if necessary using an adhesion promoter, by embedding or similar techniques.

The diffusion-tight layer is preferably also arranged in the region of the side walls.

For reasons of cost and production technology, the diffusion density becomes Layer preferably on the outside of the outer wall and optionally the side walls applied to the chamber. But it can also be arranged on the inside or in the Walls are embedded. As a result, the bending process can continue depending on the bending system be simplified, since in this way a direct contact of the mechanically sensitive diffusion-tight layer with force-exerting elements of the bending system can be avoided can. This can also provide permanent protection for the diffusion-tight layer be ensured.

The diffusion-tight layer can additionally be provided with a protective layer in order, for. B. aging processes or radiation influences or damage due to mechanical Avoid stress to a large extent.

In a pane unit according to the invention with a spacer profile as described above the spacer profile is preferably with a butyl sealant based on Polyisobutylene glued to the inside of the panes.

Figur 1

eine erste Ausführungsform eines Abstandhalterprofils im Querschnitt mit als Drähten ausgebildeten Verstärkungselernenten einschließlich der Scheiben,

Figur 2

eine zweite Ausführungsform des Abstandhalterprofils im Querschnitt mit als Flachprofilen ausgebildeten Verstärkungselementen,

Figur 3

eine dritte Ausführungsform des Abstandhalterprofils im Querschnitt mit einer Kombination von als Drähten ausgebildeten Verstärkungselementen und als Winkelprofil ausgebildeten Verstärkungselementen,

Figur 4

eine vierte Ausführungsform des Abstandhalterprofils im Querschnitt mit als Winkelprofil ausgebildeten Verstärkungselementen, die außen an den Seitenwänden des Abstandhalterprofils angebracht sind.

The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. It shows:

Figure 1

1 a first embodiment of a spacer profile in cross section with reinforcement elements, including the disks, which are designed as wires,

Figure 2

2 shows a second embodiment of the spacer profile in cross section with reinforcing elements designed as flat profiles,

Figure 3

3 shows a third embodiment of the spacer profile in cross section with a combination of reinforcing elements designed as wires and reinforcing elements designed as an angular profile,

Figure 4

a fourth embodiment of the spacer profile in cross section with reinforcing elements designed as an angle profile, which are attached externally to the side walls of the spacer profile.

Figures 1 to 4 show cross-sectional views of spacer profiles according to the invention. This cross section normally changes over the entire length of a spacer profile for the respective embodiments, apart from manufacturing technology conditional tolerances, not.

In Figure 1 is a first embodiment of a spacer profile according to the present Invention shown. The spacer profile is arranged between disks 100, whereby a space between the panes 110, here with a width of approximately 15.5 mm, is defined. The profile is attached to the inside of the panes 100 by means of adhesive 28. A chamber 10 of the spacer profile with a substantially rectangular cross section has side walls 20 and 26, an inner wall 24 facing the space between the panes and one outer wall 22 facing the outer edge of the insulating pane unit. She is with one hygroscopic material 12, for example silica gel or molecular sieve, at least partially filled. The hygroscopic material 14 can be through slits or perforations 14 or other areas permeable to water vapor in the inner wall 24 of the spacer profile Absorb moisture from this space.

In all cross-sectional corner areas there are reinforcement elements designed as wires 30 embedded, which extend in the longitudinal direction of the profile.

On the side walls 20 and 26 and the outer wall 22 of the spacer profile is one diffusion-tight layer 60 applied.

Aluminum wire 30 with a diameter was used here as the material for the reinforcing elements of 1.2 mm is used. The two mounted in a side wall 20 and 26, respectively Wires 30 are spaced so that their centers are about 4.3 mm apart. The Spacer profile is made of polypropylene, with the inner wall 24 and the outer wall 22 each have a thickness of approximately 1 mm, the side walls 20, 26 facing the panes each have a thickness of approximately 2.5 mm. The cohesive with the outside of the Profile-connected diffusion-tight layer 60 consists of a tinplate with a thickness of 0.125 mm. Overall, the profile weight is about 85 g / m.

The walls 20 to 26 of the chamber 10 of the spacer profile are flat in this figure Areas shown in a right-angled arrangement. It is within the scope of the invention, individual Walls, especially the outer wall, with roundings, bevels or other modified Design shapes, as is the case with spacer profiles for insulating washer units is common, or to adjoin the walls at angles deviating from 90 ° to let.

FIG. 2 shows a further preferred embodiment in which the reinforcing elements are designed as flat profiles 40. The flat profiles 40 are

Flat aluminum profiles with the dimensions 5.5 x 0.8 mm ² . The flat profiles 40 extend essentially over the entire height of the side walls 20 and 26 of the spacer profile.

As in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the spacer profile consists of polypropylene with a wall thickness of 1 mm or 2 mm. The diffusion-tight layer consists of a tin plate with a thickness of 0.125 mm, so that there is an approximate total profile weight of 97 g / m.

FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment, in which a combination of wires 30 and angle profiles 50 is used as reinforcing elements. With the wires 30 are again aluminum wires with a diameter of 1.2 mm, while the Angle profiles 50 have a thickness of approximately 0.6 mm and leg length of approximately 2 mm. As in the exemplary embodiment from FIG. 2, the angle profiles can also consist of Aluminum exist, but other materials can be used than for the wires become. The angle profiles can also consist of a composite material. Furthermore, the angular profile in the areas in which it is to adapt to the outer contour of the spaced Is bent, made of another material or another Thick than in its other areas, where it runs largely straight. The cross-sectional shape of the angle profiles 50 corresponds essentially to the shape the cross-sectional corner areas of the spacer profile. This makes it particularly high Dimensional stability achieved. As a diffusion-tight layer 60 is a stainless steel sheet with a Thickness of 0.05 mm applied.

A further embodiment is shown in FIG. 4, in which the reinforcing elements as Angle profiles 55 are formed, the outside of the side walls 20, 26 of the spacer profile are attached and the spacer profile made of polypropylene or PET include in these areas as it were. The angle profiles 55 consist of tinplate or aluminum and have a thickness of about 0.5 mm. The in the inner wall 24 and the outer wall 22 of the spacer profile protruding leg regions of the angle profile have a length of about 2 mm.

The diffusion-tight layer 60 consists of 0.05 mm stainless steel or a tinplate. Further can be provided that a barrier layer made of fluoropolymer as the diffusion-tight layer 60 is provided.

The diffusion-tight layer 60 extends in the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 4 the entire outer wall 22 of the spacer profile, in the embodiments according to the 1 and 2 additionally over the entire side walls 20, 26, while in the case of FIG shown embodiment, no separate diffusion-proof layer is provided.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10

chamber

12

hygroscopic material

14

perforations

20, 26

Side walls of the chamber of the spacer profile

22

outer wall of the spacer profile facing away from the space between the panes

24

inner wall of the spacer profile facing the space between the panes

28

Glue

30

reinforcement elements designed as wires

40

reinforcement elements designed as flat profiles

50

reinforcement elements designed as angle profiles

55

reinforcement elements designed as angle profiles

60

diffusion-proof layer

100

slices

110

Disk space

Claims (13)

1. A spacer section made of an elastically-plastically deformable, poorly thermally conducting material, for a spacer frame which is mounted in the edge region of at least two spaced-apart plates (100), particularly transparent panes for insulating glass units, with the formation of a plate gap (110), wherein the spacer section comprises a chamber (10) which has a plastically deformable reinforcing element in its walls which extends in the longitudinal direction of the section, characterised in that the reinforcing elements (30, 40, 50, 55) are only provided in the sidewalls (20, 26) and/or in the comer regions of the section.
2. A spacer section according to claim 1, characterised in that the chamber (10) is completely or partially filled with a hygroscopic material, and that the chamber (10) comprises regions (14) towards the plate gap (110) which are permeable to water vapour.
3. A spacer section according to claim 1, characterised in that it has a U-shaped cross-section which is open towards the plate gap (110).
4. A spacer section according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that wires (30) are provided as reinforcing elements.
5. A spacer section according to claim 4, characterised in that the diameter of the wires is less than 3 mm, preferably about 1 mm.
6. A spacer section according to any one claims 1 to 3, characterised in that flat sections (40) or angle sections (50, 55) are provided as reinforcing elements.
7. A spacer section according to claim 6, characterised in that the flat sections (40) or angle sections (50, 55) have a thickness of less than 3 mm, preferably a thickness of less than 1 mm.
8. A spacer section according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the reinforcing elements (30, 40, 50, 55) consist of a metal or metal alloy, preferably of aluminium or an aluminium alloy.
9. A spacer section according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterised in that the cross-sectional shape of the angle sections (50, 55) used as reinforcing elements substantially corresponds to the shape of the cross-sectional corner regions of the spacer section, or the angle sections themselves form said. cross-sectional corner regions.
10. A spacer section according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the reinforcing elements (40, 50, 55) extend substantially over the entire height of the sidewalls (20, 26) of the spacer section.
11. A spacer section according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it consists of a synthetic thermoplastic material with a thermal conductivity λ < 0.3 W/(m . K), such as polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide or polycarbonate.
12. A spacer section according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised by a diffusion-proof layer (60) which extends over substantially the entire width and length of the spacer section and which consists of a synthetic thermoplastic material with a thermal conductivity λ < 50 W/(m . K).
13. A spacer section according claim 12, characterised in that the diffusion-proof layer (60) is disposed on the outer face of the chamber (10).

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