Composite solar/safety film and laminated window assembly made therefrom

Abstract

A laminated window construction includes a solar control film formed by a flexible plastic substrate such as a PET sheet having on one surface a multilayer solar coating. This multilayer solor coating includes at least one thin layer of metal and at least one adjacent adherent layer of a dielectric material. An energy absorbing safety film of the type normally used in shatterproof glass laminates (e.g., plasticized PVB) is bonded to at least one side, and preferably both sides, of the solar control film to form a composite solar/safety film. This composite solar/safety film is specially designed to contribute, after incorporation into a glass laminate, no more than about two percent of visible reflection (based on total incident visible radiation) which has the effect of substantially masking the visible effects of wrinkles in the solar control film substrate (i.e., the wrinkles are made less visible). This low level of visible reflection contribution is achieved by careful control of the optical properties of the solar control film, the safety film or both. Outer layer transparent glass panes are laminated to one or both sides of the composite solar/safety film to provide a safety window which in one preferred embodiment is a windshield having at least seventy percent normal visible light transmissibility, and a total reflection of visible light of generally less than ten percent.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.