Protective laminate for windshields

Abstract

Protective laminate films protect an underlying windshield from damage due to impacting rocks and other debris. The laminate films generally include a substrate having a scratch resistant coating and an adhesive layer on opposing surfaces thereof. Each layer is transparent such that, when applied to a windshield, the laminate film does not impact a driver's visibility. Each layer may also be flexible so that the laminate films can be molded to a curved windshield. Generally, the scratch resistant coating protects the laminate films from scratching or other damage from impacting debris or from windshield wipers. The substrate provides structural integrity to the laminate films and may provide some impact dispersion. The adhesive layer, in addition to adhering the laminate films to the windshield, may also provide significant impact resistance that protects the windshield from cracks or chips due to impacting rocks or other debris.

1 . An optically transparent laminate film for protecting a vehicle windshield, comprising: 
 a substrate comprising a first surface and a second surface;    a scratch-resistant coating disposed upon the first surface of the substrate; and    a shock absorbing adhesive layer disposed upon the second surface of the substrate, wherein the shock absorbing adhesive layer substantially reduces damage to an underlying glass layer.    
     
     
         2 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is both shock absorbing and substantially disperses forces from impacting debris and thereby reduces damage to an underlying glass layer.  
     
     
         3 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is UV stabilized.  
     
     
         4 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises polyethylene terephthalate.  
     
     
         5 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises a material selected from the group consisting of plasticized vinyls (polyvinyl chloride with plasticizer), polyesters, polyurethanes, polycarbonates, and acrylics.  
     
     
         6 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the substrate has a thickness of from about 2 mils to about 10 mils.  
     
     
         7 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the substrate has a thickness of from about 3 mils to about 5 mils.  
     
     
         8 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive layer comprises two or more laminar optical grade adhesives laminated together to form a compound layer having more shock absorbance properties than the laminar optical grade adhesives have singularly.  
     
     
         9 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive layer is selected from the group consisting of acrylic, urethane, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyvinyl chloride based materials.  
     
     
         10 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive layer has a thickness from about 12 GSM to about 30 GSM.  
     
     
         11 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive layer has a thickness from about 14 GSM to about 20 GSM.  
     
     
         12 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the scratch-resistant coating has a thickness from about 2 microns to about 10 microns  
     
     
         13 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the scratch-resistant coating has a thickness from about 3 microns to about 5 microns.  
     
     
         14 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive layer has a Shore A hardness of from about 10 to about 20.  
     
     
         15 . A protected vehicle windshield comprising: 
 a windshield; and    a laminate film affixed to substantially the entire exterior surface of the windshield, the laminate film comprising: 
 a substrate comprising a first surface and a second surface, wherein the substrate is both shock absorbing and substantially disperses forces from impacting debris and thereby reduces damage to the underlying windshield;  
 a scratch-resistant coating disposed upon a first surface of the substrate, wherein the scratch-resistant coating is substantially resistant to scratching from windshields wipers, car wash brushes and other typical forces upon the windshield; and  
 an adhesive layer disposed upon a second surface of the substrate and adhered to the automobile windshield, wherein the adhesive layer provides shock absorbing properties that substantially protect the windshield from damage from impacting rocks or other debris.  
   
     
     
         16 . An optically transparent laminate film for protecting an automobile windshield, comprising: 
 a scratch-resistant substrate comprising a first surface and a second surface, the first surface comprising a material that is substantially scratch resistant; and    a shock absorbing adhesive layer disposed upon the second surface of the substrate, wherein the shock absorbing adhesive layer is effective to: 
 substantially disperse the impact forces of debris that contacts an automobile windshield and thereby reduce damage to the windshield; and  
 securely adhere the laminate film to the underlying automobile windshield.  
   
     
     
         17 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is shock absorbing such that it substantially disperses forces from impacting debris and thereby reduces damage to an underlying glass layer.  
     
     
         18 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 16 , wherein: 
 the substrate has a thickness of from about 3 mils to about 5 mils;    the adhesive layer has a thickness from about 14 GSM to about 20 GSM;    the scratch resistant coating has a thickness from about 3 microns to about 5 microns.    
     
     
         19 . An optically transparent laminate film for protecting a standard overland laminated safety glass automobile windshield, comprising: 
 a transparent substrate comprising a first surface and a second surface, the substrate having a thickness of from about 3 mils to about 5 mils;    a scratch resistant coating disposed upon the first surface of the substrate, wherein the scratch resistant coating has a thickness of from about 2 microns to about 10 microns; and    an adhesive layer disposed upon the second surface of the substrate, wherein the adhesive layer has a thickness from about 14 GSM to about 20 GSM and wherein the adhesive layer is shock absorbing such that it substantially disperses forces from impacting debris and thereby reduces damage to an underlying glass layer.    
     
     
         20 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 19 , wherein the substrate is shock absorbing such that it substantially disperses the forces from impacting debris and thereby reduces damage to an underlying glass layer.  
     
     
         21 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 19 , wherein the substrate comprises a material selected from the group consisting of: polyethylene terephthalate, plasticized vinyls (polyvinyl chloride with plasticizer), polyesters, polyurethanes, polycarbonates, and acrylics.  
     
     
         22 . A laminate film as defined in  claim 19 , wherein the adhesive layer is selected from the group consisting of acrylic, urethane, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyvinyl chloride based materials.