DE19513908C2 - Method and device for filling an insulating glass unit with a gas - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method for filling an ISO Lierglaseinheit with a gas and a device for Performing this procedure.

To improve the insulating properties of insulating glass it is advisable to fill the air in the insulating glass gap to be replaced by an inert gas filling. With argon as filling gas K values from 1.1 to 1.3 can be reached while still further improvements in the insulation value only with the very expensive gases such as krypton or xenon can be obtained. In the Production companies for the manufacture of insulating glass units higher cycle times in connection with a Requires minimizing the loss of expensive rare gas.

The Gasbe used so far meet these requirements filling process not fair. In these known methods the insulating glass units in the spacer frame Provide two holes, one on top and one on which are arranged laterally below. The gas comes from below filled with a little overpressure through the spacer where the heavy gas displaces the air from below and out the upper hole. The fill level is indicated by  a gas probe measured when the corresponding desired gas concentration automatically cut off the gas supply poses. The maximum fill level that can be achieved with this method speed is around seven liters per minute. Before On the other hand, gas filling without gas swirling is advantageous and without large gas losses with an optimal filling level.

EP 0 046 847 B1 describes a device for filling the Interior of an insulating glass unit with a filling gas knows. A filling device, a pressure measuring device, is used for measuring the gas pressure inside the insulating glass unit and a suction device that is connected to a discharge opening of the insulation Glass unit can be connected. Depending on the through the pressure measuring device constantly measured pressure becomes the quantity of the inflowing gas and / or the amount of the outflowing Air-gas mixture controlled, using a filling probe or a filler neck of the filling device or on a Suction probe of the suction device inside the insulating glass Unit-reaching sensor attached to the pressure gauge is. However, this procedure requires an automatic, very precise pressure monitoring to prevent the Panes due to the pressure increase in the space between the panes and the subsequent pressure reduction by suction prevent. Until the start of the fast filling ratio goes well lost a moderate amount of time because the disk volume and the used glass thicknesses measured with slow pressure increase Need to become. Smaller insulating glass units tolerate over no quick fill at all. The pressure control has over this has proven to be prone to failure in practice.  

It is already known from US Pat. No. 2,756,467, according to Extract a first amount of air from the space between the panes simultaneously sucking out air and gas while maintaining a low vacuum until the air is out of the pane space is replaced by the gas; then a Refill the gas to normal pressure.

The invention is based, another method and a task additional device for safe and quick filling of insulating glass develop units.

With regard to the method, this object is achieved by the following features:

• a) Determination of the volume of the pane to be filled space (hereinafter "SDR");
• b) extraction of a predetermined cycle, for each cycle same amount of air from the SDR through an upper air extraction opening of the SDR and simultaneous isochronous pumping a predetermined one, the same for each cycle, against the the amount of air extracted at the same time, but less processed gas in the SDR through a lower filler opening;
• c) Adding those pumped into the SDR in each filling cycle Gas volumes and switching off the pulsed gas filling, if this addition to the SDR volume determined at the beginning corresponds.

The term "quantity" is used to understand the gas volume the.

It is advantageous if the volume is determined using a Computer and switching off the gas filling computer-controlled he follows.  

To achieve a high degree of gas filling, it is advantageous if computer-controlled shutdown of the gas filling a slow filling cycle follows (gas after-run), which is controlled is depending on the at an upper outflow opening of the SZR measured gas concentration.

With regard to the device, the above-defined object is achieved by the following features:

• a) two working in opposite directions in tandem, each double active pistons with the same delivery rates pump;
• b) each piston pump has two unequal working spaces or on;  
• c) are the two smaller work rooms (gas work room) via a changeover control with each pump stroke via a Gas feed line to a gas storage or via a gas filling line to the lower filling opening of the SDR closable;
• d) are the two larger work rooms (air work room) alternate with a switch control with each pump stroke alternately via an air suction line to an upper air outlet suction opening of the SDR and via an air discharge line the ambient air can be connected;
• e) a calculator for determining the SDR volume, for counting of the individual gas filling strokes, for comparison of the determined ten SDR volume with the resulting from the added gas filling strokes and for control the pump shutdown.

According to the invention, the filling of the SDR is thus initially carried out Volume made. For this, a barcode reader is used the insulating glass label that he when entering the order disc size and disc spacing is read. Is If a barcode is not available, this data can also be entered manually entered into the calculator. In any case, the time-consuming pressure build-up to determine the disk volume mens.

The gas is heated using conventional methods, if necessary with mixed with other gases and then turned on by the piston pump sucks. In the device used according to the invention one cylinder is always in the intake stroke while the other Cylinder is in the exhaust stroke. Since the gas working room every Zy linders smaller than his air work space, becomes with the air suck off an easy despite the simultaneous gas filling Vacuum generated in the SDR. This allows one in Ver very high filling speed, similar to the known methods achieve speed. Due to the permanent pressure equalization be  there is no danger that the Burst discs. Rather, the filling speed is only still limited by the size of the fill and control hole.

To swirl the incoming gas with that in the SDR To minimize available air, the switching cycles of the the cylinder helpful. In practice it has been found that the onset of circular swirling in the SDR during the cycle change is prevented immediately.

According to the invention, the previously required stan can be dispensed with level control, which is an even quiet gas flow requires and so far constantly during filling Interruptions.

Another advantage of the method according to the invention is to see that the gas storage, so usually the Gas bottles can be pumped empty, which is due to the high The liter price of xenon and krypton is a significant cost represents factor. This advantage results from the fact that the process according to the invention has no minimum gas pressure for the Gas filling is required. With previously known methods the filling device became less than the minimum filling pressure switched off.

The new filling method allows insulating glass panes in the Filling the production line without any significant loss of time. So it is no longer necessary to fill the washers len from the production process. The filler drive and the device used ko work inexpensive, safe and fast.

Which calculates the filling quantity from the data "size and distance" The computer controls the system in such a way that theoretically too determining degree of filling already achieved by volume measurement becomes. However, around any air pockets in the SDR to flush out becomes an automatic gas after  run provided. This is by an in an upper Aus flow opening of the SDR protruding sensor controlled which the gas concentration of the outflowing air-gas mixture is measured.

Further features of the invention are the subject of the Unteran sayings and are combined with other advantages of Invention explained in more detail using an exemplary embodiment.

In the drawing is an example serving schematically Embodiment of the invention shown.

Shown are two in tandem working in opposite directions, each because double-acting and the same delivery performance aufwei-sending piston pumps 1 , 2 , the disc piston dividing the cylinder space into a gas working space 3 or 4 and in a Luftar beitsraum 5 or 6 . The disc pistons of both piston pumps 1 , 2 are connected to one another via a piston rod 7 , which extends only through the two gas working spaces 3 , 4 , which are thus rod 7 by the volume of these pistons 7 are smaller than the associated air working space 5 or 6 . The drive of the two piston pumps 1 , 2 takes place via a arranged between these two piston pumps to controllable compressed air cylinder 8 , the disc piston 9 on which the two disc pistons of the piston pumps 1 , 2 mitein other connecting piston rod 7 is attached. The control or reversal of the compressed air cylinder 8 is only indicated schematically and provided with the reference numeral 10 .

The two gas work rooms 3 , 4 are via a changeover control 11 with each pump stroke alternately via a gas feed line 12 or 13 to a gas storage unit 14 (which is usually a gas bottle) or via a gas filling line 15 or 16 to a lower filler opening of the space between the panes ( SZR) an insulating glass unit 17 can be connected. The two somewhat larger air work rooms 5 , 6 can be connected to a switching control 18 with each pump stroke alternately via an air suction line 19 or 20 to an upper air suction opening of the SDR and via an air blow-out line 21 or 22 to the ambient air or atmosphere.

Also provided is a computer (not shown in more detail in the drawing) for determining the SDR volume, for counting the individual gas filling strokes, for comparing the determined SDR volume with the gas filling volume resulting from the added gas filling strokes and for applying control 10 to switch off the Pump drive.

A sensor 23 which controls the gas concentration of the outflowing air-gas mixture and which controls a gas follow-up protrudes into an upper outlet opening of the SDR.

The computer controls the system in such a way that, theoretically, a degree of filling to be determined is already achieved by volume measurement. However, in order to be able to flush out any remaining air pockets in the SDR with the gas and thus achieve a higher gas filling level, the gas filling controlled by the computer is followed by a gas filling stroke of the piston pump 1 , 2 , which is preferably carried out slowly, the drive of which is now from the sensor 23 is controlled. As soon as it detects a sufficiently high gas concentration in the outflowing gas-air mixture, it switches off the pump drive (finally).

Claims (6)

1. Process for filling an insulating glass unit with a gas, consisting of the following process steps:

• a) Determination of the volume of the gas gap to be filled (hereinafter "SDR");
• b) periodic suction of a predetermined amount of air that is the same for each cycle from the SDR through an upper air suction opening of the SDR and simultaneous isochronous pumping in of a predetermined amount that is the same for each cycle, but less than the simultaneously extracted amount of air, of prepared gas in the SDR by a lower one A filling opening;
• c) Adding the gas volumes pumped into the SDR in each filling cycle and switching off the pulsed gas filling if this addition corresponds to the SDR volume determined at the beginning.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the volume determination via a computer and the shutdown The gas filling is computer controlled.   3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the computer controlled shutdown of the Gasbe filling is followed by a slow filling cycle (gas overrun), which is controlled depending on the an upper outflow opening of the SZR measured gas con centering. 4. Device for performing the method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized by the following features:

• a) two tandem operating in opposite directions, each double-acting and the same delivery on pointing piston pumps ( 1 , 2 );
• b) each piston pump ( 1 , 2 ) has two unequal working spaces ( 3 , 5 ) and ( 4 , 6 );
• c) the two smaller work spaces (gas work space 3 , 4 ) are via a changeover control ( 11 ) for each pump stroke via a gas feed line ( 12 , 13 ) to a gas storage unit ( 14 ) or via a gas filling line ( 15 , 16 ) to the lower filling opening can be connected to the SDR;
• d) the two larger work spaces (air work space 5 , 6 ) are via a changeover control ( 18 ) with each pump stroke alternately via an air suction line ( 19 , 20 ) to an upper air suction opening of the SDR and via an air blow-out line ( 21 , 22 ) to the ambient air connectable;
• e) a computer for determining the SDR volume, for counting the individual gas filling strokes, for comparing the determined SDR volume with the gas filling volume resulting from the added gas filling strokes and for controlling the pump shutdown.

5. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that the drive of the two piston pumps ( 1 , 2 ) has a reversible compressed air cylinder arranged between them ( 8 ), the disc piston ( 9 ) on which the two pistons of the two pumps ( 1st , 2 ) connecting piston rod ( 7 ) is attached. 6. Apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that in a top outflow opening of the SDR a gas concentration of the outflowing air-gas mixture measuring sensor ( 23 ) protrudes, which controls a gas wake.