Obscuring bus bars in electrochromic glass structures
View Patent ↗Embodiments described include bus bars for electrochromic or other optical state changing devices. The bus bars are configured to color match and/or provide minimal optical contrast with their surrounding environment in the optical device. Such bus bars may be transparent bus bars.
1. An insulated glass unit (IGU) comprising:
first and second substantially transparent substrates;
a spacer between the first and second substantially transparent substrates;
a primary seal between the spacer and the first substantially transparent substrate and between the spacer and the second substantially transparent substrate;
an electrochromic device on at least one of the first and second substantially transparent substrates; and
a bus bar associated with the electrochromic device and located in the primary seal, the bus bar camouflaged to blend in with its background.
2. The IGU of claim 1 , wherein camouflaged means having minimal optical contrast between the bus bar and the primary seal and/or spacer of the IGU.
3. The IGU of claim 2 , wherein the bus bar is made of an electrically conductive material comprising a tinting agent configured to approximate the color of the bus bar to that of the primary seal and/or spacer of the IGU.
4. The IGU of claim 3 , wherein the tinting agent comprises carbon black, graphite and/or graphene.
5. An electrochromic glass structure comprising:
a substantially transparent substrate;
an electrochromic device disposed on the substantially transparent substrate, the electrochromic device having one or more transparent conductive layers;
a bus bar configured to power the electrochromic device; and
an opaque obscuring layer located in a region between the bus bar and the substantially transparent substrate.
6. The electrochromic glass structure of claim 5 , wherein the opaque obscuring layer has at least a width configured to block view of the bus bar from an observer outside the electrochromic glass structure.
7. The electrochromic glass structure of claim 6 , wherein the opaque obscuring layer has a width greater than the width of the bus bar.
8. An IGU comprising:
a first pane having a first substantially transparent substrate, an electrochromic device disposed on the first substantially transparent substrate, the electrochromic device comprising a first transparent conductive layer proximal the first substantially transparent substrate, an electrochromic stack, and a second transparent conductive layer;
a second pane having a second substantially transparent substrate;
a spacer between the first and second panes;
a primary sealant adhering the spacer to the first and second panes;
a pair of bus bars on the first transparent conductive layer, nearest the first pane; and
one or more transparent bus bars on the second transparent conductive layer.
9. The IGU of claim 8 , wherein the pair of bus bars are located between the spacer and the first substantially transparent substrate such that the spacer blocks view of the pair of bus bars from an observer viewing through the second pane, and wherein the pair of bus bars are made of materials configured to match the color to the spacer and/or the primary sealant of the IGU.
10. The IGU of claim 8 , wherein the one or more transparent bus bars are in the viewable region of the IGU.
11. The IGU of claim 10 , further comprising an additional one or more transparent bus bars in electrical communication with the first transparent conductive layer and also in the viewable region of the IGU.
12. The IGU of claim 11 , wherein the additional one or more transparent bus bars are patterned onto the first substantially transparent substrate and then the first transparent conductor layer is fabricated thereon.
13. The IGU of claim 11 , wherein the additional one or more transparent bus bars are embedded in the first substantially transparent substrate in at least in the viewable region of the of the IGU.
14. An IGU or laminate comprising:
a) an electrochromic device on at least one transparent substrate, of at least two transparent substrates of the IGU or laminate; and
b) at least one transparent bus bar configured to electrically power the electrochromic device.
15. The IGU or laminate of claim 14 , wherein the transparent bus bar comprises a transparent conductive material embedded with conductive particles.
16. The IGU or laminate of claim 15 , wherein the conductive particles are nanoparticles.
17. The IGU or laminate of claim 16 , wherein the conductive particles are metal particles or carbon-based particles.
18. The IGU or laminate of claim 17 , wherein the conductive particles are silver nanoparticles.
19. The IGU or laminate of claim 17 , wherein the conductive particles are graphene nanoparticles.
20. The IGU or laminate of claim 14 , wherein the at least one transparent bus bar is a thin layer of metal or metal alloy.
21. The IGU or laminate of claim 20 , wherein the thin layer of metal or metal alloy is between about 1 nm and about 10 nm thick.
22. The IGU or laminate of claim 20 , wherein the thin layer of metal or metal alloy is less than about 5 nm thick.