Laminated vehicle glass structures including embedded piezoelectric exciters for sound generation

A process of forming a laminated glass structure for a vehicle comprising:

• adhesively applying one or more hard piezoelectric exciters to a selected glass surface of a first glass panel, to a selected glass surface of a second glass panel, or a combination thereof;
• assembling the first glass panel, the second glass panel, a plastic layer configured to provide solar reflectivity, and at least one sheet of laminating material to form an assembly, wherein the selected glass surface of the first glass panel, the selected glass surface of a second glass panel, or the combination thereof to which the one or more hard piezoelectric exciters are adhesively applied are oriented to contact the laminating material, and the plastic layer is different from the at least one sheet of laminating material;
• and
• applying heat and pressure to the assembly in amounts effective to laminate the first glass panel to the second glass panel and form the laminated glass structure,
• wherein:
• the one or more hard piezoelectric exciters are intermediate the first and second glass panels and are offset relative to a centerline of the laminated glass structure, and
• the centerline of the laminated glass structure longitudinally extends between the first glass panel and the second glass panel and is defined by a centerline of the plastic layer.

A laminated glass structure for a vehicle, the laminated glass structure comprising:

• an outer glass panel having a thickness of about 1.6 to about 3.5 millimeters, the outer glass panel including an outer surface exposed to an environment about the vehicle and an inner surface;
• an inner glass panel having a thickness of about 0.7 millimeters to about 3.5 millimeters, the inner glass panel including an inner surface and an outer surface exposed an interior of the vehicle;
• a laminating material having a thickness of about 0.3 millimeters to about 2 millimeters between the outer glass panel and the inner glass panel and in contact with the inner surfaces of the outer and inner glass panels, wherein the laminating material comprises polyvinyl butyral resin or ethylene vinyl acetate;
• a plastic layer configured to provide solar reflectivity, wherein the plastic layer is in contact with and different from the laminating material;
• and
• one or more hard piezoelectric exciters which are embedded at least partly in the laminating material, are in a shape of a ring having a thickness less than an actual thickness of the laminating material, and are offset relative to a centerline of the laminated glass structure,
• wherein:
• the centerline of the laminated glass structure longitudinally extends between the inner surfaces of the outer and inner glass panels and is defined by a centerline of the plastic layer, and
• the one or more hard piezoelectric exciters are in contact with a selected one of the inner surfaces, are completely embedded in the laminating material, or are in contact with a surface of the plastic layer,
• wherein the laminated glass structure forms a fixed or sliding roofing system, one or more passenger movable windows, a front windshield and/or a rear windshield.