Vehicle window and a method of manufacturing the window

The present invention generally relates to the mounting of windows in a frame, particularly to the mounting of windows of a vehicle, e.g. an automobile, in the body frame work. The invention provides a window ready to be mounted comprising, along its edges, a first profiled bead of adhesive material, already cured and having the general cross section of an U-profile. This first bead is elastic but not plastically deformable. The first bead comprises in its interior a second bead of plastically deformable not yet cured adhesive material consisting of a substance chemically compatible to the material of the first bead. The second bead, serving as the real adhesive material, is protected from environmental influences e.g. by covering it by a protection foil which is removed just prior to mounting the window.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention generally relates to the mounting of windows in a 
frame, particularly to the mounting of windows of a vehicle, e.g. an 
automobile, in the body frame work. The invention provides a window ready 
to be mounted comprising, along its edges, a first profiled bead of 
adhesive material, already cured and having the general cross section of 
an U-profile. This first bead is elastic but not plastically deformable. 
The first bead is adapted to receive in its interior a second bead of 
plastically deformable not yet cured adhesive material consisting of a 
substance chemically compatible to the material of the first bead. 
Further, the invention relates to a method of manufacturing a vehicle 
window of the kind mentioned above. 
2. Prior Art 
Conventionally, a vehicle window is fixed in the frame of a vehicle body by 
means of a double U-profile frame member made of rubber or a similarly 
elastically resilient material. On the one hand, the edge of the window is 
received in a first recess of the double U-profile facing the interior of 
the double U-profile frame member, and on the other hand, the second 
recess directed away from the double U-profile frame member engages the 
edges of a body frame, of a flange or the like of the vehicle body to 
thereby fix the window in its desired position. 
More and more, to so-called direct mounting of vehicle windows is used in 
which an edge portion of the window is glued to the edges of a body frame, 
of a flange or the like e.g. of a vehicle body by means of a suitable 
adhesive material. The known methods may be divided into the following 
three groups: 
1. Methods in which the window is delivered to the car manufacturer in a 
"pure" form, in some cases equipped with a layer of material along its 
edges which is impermeable to light and UV-radiation and/or with a layer 
of primer material. No further preparation of the window glass has been 
effected. Thereby, the mounting adhesive material is applied immediately 
in situ, i.e. just before mounting the window into the car body by gluing. 
2. Methods in which the window is provided with a first bead of adhesive 
material, if appropriate also using a light- or UV-impermeable layer 
and/or a primer layer. The application of this first bead is performed 
separatly from the car manufacturing plant or from the assembling line. 
The first bead is fully cured. The real mounting material is again applied 
immediately prior to mounting the window into the frame of the car body. 
3. Methods in which the window is fully prepared, ready to be mounted, 
distantly from the assembling line and probably some time prior to having 
to be mounted. Thereby, the adhesive bead required for gluing the window 
into the frame of the car body, consisting of a polyurethane material 
curing under the influence of moisture, is applied along the edges of the 
window, and the window thus prepared, ready to be mounted, is sealed in 
air tight foil material to enable the window to be stored during a certain 
period without curing of the adhesive material. 
All three methods mentioned hereinabove can not provide an optimal 
solution. The reason is that in all cases considerable time- and 
labour-consuming operations have to be performed to prepare the window for 
mounting. These operations have to be done immediately in situ, e.g. at 
the assembly line for an automobile. Particularly, in the case of the 
methods 1. and 2. explained hereinbefore, the window probably has to be 
cleaned along its edge portion and the adhesive material must be applied 
to the window and/or to the edge portion of the frame, of the flange or 
the like of a car body. In the case of method 3. explained hereinbefore, a 
large sized sealing foil must be carefully removed in order not to damage 
the already applied adhesive material and the large and expensive sealing 
foil must be removed from the work place and destroyed or recycled in some 
way. 
The purpose of the present invention is, generally speaking and in the 
widest sense, to improve a method of the category 3. explained 
hereinbefore and to provide an improved ready-to-mount vehicle window. 
A method relating to the aforementioned category 1. is known, for instance, 
from the published German Patent Application P 27 30 831 and must not be 
discussed in detail here. The disadvantages of the methods according to 
category 1. are well known in the art; particularly disadvantageous is 
that the edge portion onto which the adhesive material is applied has to 
be cleaned just prior to applying the adhesive material, the 
time-consuming applying of the adhesive material bead which must be 
performed with the utmost accuracy and the short period of time provided 
to perform these operation which is directly dependent from the operation 
cycle set for the assembly line. 
The published German Patent Application P 34 09 831 discloses a vehicle 
window suitable for adhesive mounting in a car body; the subject matter of 
that application belongs to the aforementioned category 2. 
The window comprises two glass layers; the glass layer facing the interior 
of the vehicle is smaller than the outer glass layer such that a 
step-shaped recess is formed running along the edge of the window. The 
glass layer with the larger size comprises a frame-like strip applied to 
the projecting edge portion and consisting of a light-impermeable 
material. Onto this frame-like strip is applied a continuous bead 
consisting of a sealing and adhesive material filling the step-shaped 
recess and preventing a diffusion of steam into the space between the two 
glass layers. The size and shape of the aforementioned continuous bead 
serves as an intermediate layer for the real adhesive material required to 
mount the window in the mounting flange of the car body. 
The continuous bead can be applied to the step-shaped recess provided in 
the window just in the factory, immediately after the manufacturing 
process of the window, and thus provides a reliable sealing of the 
intermediate layer provided between the two glass layers from the 
atmospheric moisture. 
If the said continuous bead projects over the inner glas layer, it serves 
simultaneously as a spacer if the windows are stacked one over the other 
one. 
The continuous bead according to the aforementioned German Patent 
Application P 34 09 831 is preferably covered by means of a protection 
foil or a corresponding protection strip made of paper which is removed 
immediately prior to mounting the window into the car body. 
The adhesive bonding of the vehicle window with the mounting flange of the 
car body may be performed in different ways. Preferably, a layer or a 
further bead of adhesive material compatible with the material of the 
aforementioned continuous bead is applied onto the latter one with the 
result that the aforementioned continuous bead serves as an intermediate 
body between the window and the adhesive layer. 
The method according to the published German Patent Application P 34 09 960 
relates to the adhesive bonding of vehicle windows into the frame of a 
vehicle body whereby the adhesive material is applied directly at the 
assembly line; thus, this publication belongs to the aforementioned 
category 2. According to Lhe disclosure of this publication two beads of 
compatible adhesive material are applied to the window in two separate 
phases. In the first phase, a profiled bead of adhesive material is 
applied onto an edge region of the window and subsequently cured whereby 
one or more primer layers may be provided between said profiled bead and 
the surface of the window. Thus, in the second phase when the second bead 
is applied, the first profiled bead forms an intermediate body between the 
window and the second bead, said intermediated body being no longer 
plastically deformable. 
While the profiled first bead applied onto the window is already cured when 
the window is to be mounted, the second bead is applied at the assembly 
line immediately before mounting the window. 
It is admitted that certain minor advantages result from a method disclosed 
in the two aforementioned German Patent Applications, especially with 
respect to the application of the second bead of adhesive material which 
is the real bonding bead; however, many of the disadvantages discussed in 
connection with the proceeding according to category 1. hereinbefore are 
nevertheless existing. 
The only publication known to the inventors which belongs to the 
aforementioned category 3., i.e. a method in which the window is prepared 
ready to be mounted into a car body, is the published German Patent 
Application P 36 38 449. According to the disclosure of this publication, 
the application of the adhesive material onto the window is performed 
independently with regard to time and place of the car to which the window 
has to be mounted. An adhesive material is used which cures under the 
influence of atmospheric moisture. The adhesive material is protected from 
any moisture during its application or immediately thereafter until to the 
moment of mounting the window into the car by a combination of a 
superposition of a dry protection gas with a chemical drying agent and/or 
a physical drying process. 
The window with the applied adhesive material is singly or in groups of 
several units packaged in an environment free of moisture such that the 
adhesive material can not contact any moisture during the subsequent 
storage or transport. 
Preferably, the window is sealed between air tight foils such that the foil 
have a certain distance from the adhesive material. Then, the air enclosed 
in this window package is evacuated and the package is filled with a 
protection gas. The pressure on the window and the adhesive material can 
correspond to the atmospheric environment pressure such that even soft 
parts of the package are not deformed. 
In order to achieve a close fit of the foils, they can be heated during 
packing the window. Another possibility is to shape the foils at least in 
the region of the adhesive material which has to be touchless covered 
prior to welding the foil material. In order to prevent a slipping of the 
packed windows when stacked suitable projections can be provided when the 
foils are shaped. Vacuum-shaped hard foils can be used, but particularly 
if soft foils are used it may be advantageous to provide spacer members 
inserted into the packaging in the region of the adhesive material prior 
to sealing the foil. By the provision of spacers also a sliding of the 
windows within the packaging can be prevented. 
In the place where the window is to be mounted, the still packed window 
must be ventilated in order to enable the foil to be removed. In order to 
support this operation the window packaging can comprise means for the 
ventilating of the packaging at a later date. For instance, suitable 
ventilating tubes may be provided in the packaging. The ventilating 
operation can be performed with air having a high humidity to displace the 
protection gas. If a certain time period has gone before the foil is 
removed the curing of the adhesive material can be accelerated. 
Essential is, consequently, that the window is readily prepared by means of 
cleaning agents, primers and adhesive material separately with regard to 
time and place from the assembly line, from the repair shop or the like, 
and that the adhesive material is perfectly sealed against moisture. 
It is true that a proceeding in line with the teaching of the 
aforementioned publication removes the need to apply the real mounting 
adhesive material bead in situ, e.g. at the assembly line. On the other 
hand, however, it is disadvantageous that the window prepared in 
accordance with the teaching of the aforementioned publication must 
firstly be prepared for the ventilating operation, that usually a certain 
time has to pass after the ventilation operation, that the unpacking of 
the window is cumbersome and time-consuming, and that the voluminous 
packaging material has to be removed from the work station and destroyed 
or recycled. Moreover, the aforementioned publication does not disclose 
how an unintentional and highly unwelcome escaping of the still pasty 
adhesive material over the edge of the window and/or into the viewing area 
of the window is avoided. Finally, there are no teachings in the 
aforementioned publication how a positioning or centering of the window 
within the frame or the mounting flange of the car body is supported or 
simplified. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
It is a basic object of the invention to provide a vehicle window according 
to category 3. as mentioned hereinbefore having improved characteristics. 
Particularly, a vehicle window shall be provided which is ready to use at 
an assembly line, in a repair work shop or the like without the need to 
apply an adhesive material thereto. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide a vehicle window in a 
ready-to-use condition which can be mounted into a car body framework 
without time-consuming preparation operations. 
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a vehicle window 
in a ready-to-use condition which must not be ventilated and unpacked in a 
time-consuming operation prior to be ready to be mounted into the car body 
framework. 
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a vehicle window 
in a ready-to-use condition which is not contained in a bulky package, 
thereby avoiding the need to unpack the window and to remove heavy 
packaging material from the work place. 
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a vehicle window 
in a ready-to-use condition which includes means to support the centering 
and positioning, respectively, of the window in the frame into which it is 
to be mounted. 
Finally, it is a still further object of the invention to provide a vehicle 
window in a ready-to-use condition which comprises means preventing that 
the still plastically deformable adhesive material may escape over the 
edge portion of the window and/or into the viewing field of the window 
upon mounting the window. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In order to meet these and other objects, the invention provides a window 
ready to be mounted comprising, along its edges, a first profiled bead of 
adhesive material, already cured and having the general cross section of 
an U-profile. This first bead is elastic but not plastically deformable. 
The first bead comprises in its interior a second bead of plastically 
deformable not yet cured adhesive material consisting of a substance 
chemically compatible to the material of the first bead. The second bead, 
serving as the real adhesive material, is protected from environmental 
influences e.g. by covering it by a protection foil which is removed just 
prior to mounting the window. 
Particularly, the invention provides a prefabricated vehicle window adapted 
to be directly glued into a frame, a flange or the like, comprising a 
primer layer applied in an edge portion of the vehicle window and a first 
profiled bead consisting of an already cured adhesive material applied 
onto said primer layer extending along an edge portion of said vehicle 
window. The already cured adhesive material has elastic properties but 
cannot be plastically deformed, and the first profiled bead has a 
generally U-shaped cross section. The two legs of the U-shaped profile 
have different height, a first leg remote from the edge of the vehicle 
window having a greater height than a second leg adjacent to the edge of 
the vehicle window. The first profiled bead has a tub-like recess 
receiving a second bead consisting of a plastically deformable and/or 
activatable adhesive material which is chemically compatible with respect 
to the material of said first profiled bead. 
Thus, upon delivering a prefabricated vehicle window according to the 
invention to the assembly line, is is only necessary, depending of the 
kind of the adhesive material used, to activate the adhesive material 
whereby the tub-shaped profile of the first bead, on the one hand, 
prevents the still pasty or to a pasty condition activated second bead 
from escaping out of the U-shaped recess of the first bead such that the 
edges and/or the viewing areas are not contaminated, and on the other 
hand, the cured first bead sets a reference for the positioning and 
centering of the prefabricated vehicle window within a frame or a aperture 
in a car body delimited by mounting flanges into which the window has to 
be bonded. 
It was already stated that the two legs of the U-shaped profile have 
different height, a first leg remote from the edge of the vehicle window 
having a greater height than a second leg adjacent to the edge of the 
vehicle window. By this characteristic, the centering and positioning 
function of the first already cured bead is improved. 
According to a preferred embodiment, the first higher leg of the first 
profiled bead comprises a rib projecting toward the interior of said 
tub-like recess such that an edge of the frame, flange or the like into 
which the window has to be mounted may engage therewith. This helps to 
hold the window in proper position up to the moment when the second bead 
of adhesive material has cured. 
In order to ensure that the second bead may be covered in the easiest way, 
e.g. to protect it from mechanical damage or to protect it from the 
influence of moisture, light and the like, the second bead is fully 
received in the interior of said tub-like recess formed in the first bead. 
Preferably, the second bead has an essentially triangular or trapezoidal 
cross section, the surface thereof adjacent to the opening of the tub-like 
recess ascending toward the higher leg of said first bead, and said second 
bead having two essentially perpendicularly running faces, one face 
thereof resting on the ground of the tub-like recess and the other face 
thereof resting on the higher leg of said first bead. Thus, it is ensured 
that the second bead which is still plastically deformable when the window 
is mounted cannot escape from the tub-like recess and merge into undesired 
regions of the window and/or the mounting frame, mounting flange or the 
like. 
Preferably, said first bead is at least partially covered by a removable 
cover foil such that said cover foil does not touch said second bead in 
the interior of said tub-like recess. Depending of the material of the 
first and/or second bead, said cover foil may extend only between said 
first and second leg of said first bead such that the tub-like recess of 
said first bead is sealed, or said cover foil can fully enclose the first 
bead. 
Preferably, said cover foil is gas tight and/or moisture tight and/or light 
tight and is adhesively but releasably connected to the first bead. In a 
preferred embodiment, the cover foil is a plastic foil which optionally 
may further comprise a metal layer, even more preferably an 
aluminium-plastic sandwich foil because these materials have been proven 
as having very good moisture, light and UV-radiation blocking properties. 
The real adhesive material, i.e. the second bead, may consist of an 
adhesive material which cures under the influence of oxygen, of an 
adhesive material which cures under the influence of moisture, of an 
adhesive material which may be activated under the influence of heat, of 
an adhesive material which may be activated under the influence of heat 
and then irreversibly cures, or of a slowly curing two component adhesive 
material. 
Furthermore, the invention provides a method of producing such a 
prefabricated window. In accordance with the invention, the method 
comprises the steps of extruding a first bead of adhesive material having 
an essentially U-shaped cross section along the edge portion of a window, 
curing said first bead of adhesive material after it has been deposited on 
the window, and depositing a second bead of adhesive material which is 
chemically compatible with respect to the adhesive material of the first 
bead and which is plastically deformable and/or activatable in the 
interior of the tub-like recess of the first bead, whereby the depositing 
and the curing of the first bead and the depositing of the second bead in 
the interior of the tub-like recess of the first bead is performed 
separately from the mounting of the vehicle window as far as time and 
place is concerned. 
With other words, a window is prepared with cleaning agents, with a primer 
layer, with a first bead of adhesive material whereby the latter is cured. 
Then, the first bead is provided with a second bead of a suitable adhesive 
material as explained hereinabove. All these steps are performed e.g. in a 
specialized window manufacturing plant. Only then, i.e. when the window is 
ready to be mounted e.g. into the body of a car, it is transported to the 
assembly line and can be mounted without the need of any further steps 
required at the assembly line. 
If the first bead consists of a moisture reactive polyurethane material, it 
is advisable to treat it with hot steam after its application onto the 
window to accelerate its curing. Thereafter, it can be cooled down to a 
low temperature before the second bead is applied into its interior. 
In order to prevent the second bead from mechanical damage and/or from 
premature curing, it is recommended that the first bead is covered by a 
protection foil consisting preferably of a plastic-metal sandwich 
immediately after depositing the second bead into the tub-shaped recess of 
the first bead. 
Preferably, the prefabricated vehicle window of of this invention is used 
as a ready-to-mount unit adapted to be mounted in car bodies by gluing 
without the need of an additional mounting adhesive material which must be 
applied in situ, e.g. at an assembly line.

DESCRIPTION OF SOME PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The vehicle window to be mounted in a frame by adhesive bonding is, in the 
present example and as can be seen from the drawings, a composite window 1 
comprising a first glass layer 2 and a second glass layer 3. The two glass 
layers are connected to each other by means of a thin plastic foil 4. The 
window 1 being mounted, the first glass layer 2 will face the interior of 
the vehicle and the free surface of the second glass layer 3 will be the 
outer surface of the window 1. The free surface of the first glass layer 2 
is provided with a primer layer 6 applied onto the glass layer 2 along the 
edges 5 of the window 1. 
The primer layer 6 serves as a base layer for a first bead, generally 
designed by reference numeral 7, to improve the adherence of the latter to 
the surface of the glass layer 2. The first bead 7 generally has an 
U-shaped cross section, thereby defining an inner tub-shaped recess 10, 
with a first, outer wall portion or leg 8 located adjacent to the edges 5 
of the glass layer 2 and a second, inner wall portion or leg 9 facing the 
central portion of the glass layer 2. The second, inner wall portion 9 is 
higher than the first, outer wall portion 8. The two wall portions or legs 
8 and 9 delimit an elongate tub-like recess 10 extending continuously 
along the edge of the window 1. 
The tub-like recess 10 receives a second bead of adhesive material 11 which 
has essentially triangular (as shown in the drawings) or trapezoidal cross 
section. Thereby, the arrangement is such that the second adhesive bead 
11, on the one hand, lies completely within the open tub-like recess 10 
which is delimited by the two wall portions or legs 8 and 9, respectively; 
with other words, the second bead 11 does not project over a plane running 
through the two upper edges of the two wall portions or legs 8 and 9. On 
the other hand, the surface of the second bead 11 facing the open side of 
the tub-like recess 10 ascends toward the higher wall portion or leg 9 of 
the first bead 7. Preferably, during depositing of the second bead 11 into 
the tub-like recess 10, care should be taken that the said second bead 11 
not only tightly fits the ground surface of the tub-like recess 10 but, 
whenever possible also but at least partly, the inner surface of the 
higher wall portion or leg 9. The reason therefore is to reduce the danger 
that the plastically deformable material of the second bead 11 escapes 
from the tub-like recess 10 over the lower wall portion or leg 8 when the 
window is mounted in the associated frame. 
The higher wall portion or leg 9 is provided, according to FIGS. 1 to 4, 
with a rib 12 or according to FIGS. 5 and 6 a rib 14, both projecting 
towards the interior of the tub-like recess 10. Since the material of the 
first bead 7 is elastic, the inner wall portion or leg 9 can be used to 
center and fix the window 1 after the mounting step during a time period 
until the second bead 11, i.e. the real adhesive bead, is cured and does 
not need any further mechanical support. The rib 12 of a first embodiment 
according to FIGS. 1 to 4 is located along the upper edge of the higher 
wall portion or leg 9 and engages the edge of a flange 15 (FIG. 4) of a 
(not shown) vehicle body as soon as the window 1 is mounted. The rib 14 of 
the second embodiment (FIGS. 5 and 6) is located somewhat below that upper 
edge of the higher wall portion or leg 9 and performs essentially an even 
more pronounced engaging function as can be clearly seen in FIG. 6, where 
the window 1 is inserted into a flange 15 of a (not shown) vehicle body. 
An important feature of the vehicle window according to the present 
invention is that the second bead 11 consisting of adhesive material and 
located within the interior of the first, U-shaped bead 7 can be covered 
in order to avoid mechanical damage and contamination of the second bead 
11 and/or in order to protect the second bead 11 from air, moisture, light 
or UV-radiation. It is understood that the measures to be taken depend on 
the material of the second bead 11. A first possibility shown in FIGS. 2 
and 5 consists in providing a protection foil 16 extending between the 
upper edges of the outer and inner wall portions 8 and 9, respectively. 
Since the second bead 11 consisting of adhesive material is located 
completely within the tub-like recess 10 of the first bead 7, the 
protection foil 16 does not touch the second bead 11. This embodiment is 
sufficient in all cases if the material of the first bead 7 is impermeable 
itself with respect to gas, moisture, light, UV-radiation and the like. 
If this is not the case, a protection foil 17 according to FIG. 3 can be 
provided which completely covers the first bead 7 and, consequently, also 
the second bead 11 of adhesive material without touching the latter one. 
Preferably, a plastic foil material is used for the protection foils 16 or 
17 which is gas tight, moisture tight and light tight. In the case of very 
high demands, preferably a metal covered plastic foil is used, e.g. an 
aluminium-plastic sandwich foil. 
In order to enable the protection foil 16 and 17, respectively, without any 
effort immediately prior to mounting the window 1, the foils 16 and 17 
respectively are adhesively fixed to the first bead 7 by means of a 
releasable adhesive material well known in the art. 
The manufacture of the vehicle window according to the invention is 
performed as follows: 
The vehicle window 1 is cleaned and, if appropriate, provided with a layer 
running along the edge 5 of the window 1 and being impermeable for light 
and UV-radiation. Then, the primer layer 6 is applied onto a portion of 
the window 1 running along its edge 5 as well. As a next step, the first 
bead 7 is applied onto said primer layer 6 by means of an extrusion method 
well known in the art which has not to be further explained here. It is 
understood that the extrusion process must provide the desired U-shaped 
cross section required for the window of this invention. Thereafter, the 
first bead 7 is cured; the curing process can be supported or accelerated, 
depending on the material used for the first bead 7, by treating it with 
heat and/or steam as soon as it has been applied onto the primer layer 6. 
In a next step the first bead 7 can be cooled and/or dried, if necessary, 
in order to provide an optimal situation for applying the second bead 11 
into the tub-like recess 10 provided in the first bead 7. The second bead 
11 consists of a material or a substance which is chemically compatible 
with the material of the first bead 7. Further details with regard to the 
material of the first and second beads will be given hereinbelow. An 
essential point consists in the fact that the material of the second bead 
11 is not cured or has a slow curing behaviour or can be activated later. 
Under certain circumstances the application of the second bead 11 and the 
mounting of the protection foil 16 and 17, respectively, must be performed 
in an inert protection gas atmosphere in order to prevent the material of 
the second bead 11 to react or to be activated too rapidly. 
All these manufacturing steps as hereinbefore explained are performed 
separately with regard to time and place from the real mounting of the 
window. With other words, the window 1 can be pre-manufactured as a 
ready-to-mount unit in a manufacturing plant providing optimal conditions 
for cleaning the window, for applying the primer layer 6 and the first 
bead 7, for curing the latter one, for applying the second bead 11 and for 
fixing the protection foil 16 and 17, respectively. Thus, the 
prefabricated vehicle window can be delivered to e.g. an automotive 
manufacturing plant and the only step still necessary is to remove the 
protection foil 16 and 17 respectively and/or the activation of the second 
bead 11. The use of a real mounting adhesive material, particularly the 
time- and labour-consuming applying thereof onto the window is avoided. 
The first bead 7 can consist of a polyurethane system material, for 
instance a moisture curing one component system or a chemically curing two 
component system. In the first case, the material once applied to the 
window 1, can be treated by hot steam to accelerate the curing thereof. 
Anyhow, these polyurethane materials cure quickly and remain elastic even 
in the fully cured state. 
Several different materials can be used to realize the second bead 11: 
a. Adhesive materials curing under the influence of oxygen 
These substances have to be sealed against air and oxygen containing gases 
during their storage. Thus, it is essential to provide a protection foil 
16 according to FIGS. 2 and 5 or, even better, a protection foil 17 
according to FIG. 3 since most of the substances used for the forming of 
the first bead 7 are air-permeable to a certain extent. As an example for 
adhesive materials curing under the influence of oxygen can be mentioned: 
A mixture consisting of polyurethane prepolymer having mercaptan and 
groups and an oxydation accelerator, e.g. according to European Patent No. 
0 066 167. 
b. Adhesive materials curing under the influence of moisture 
In this case, accordingly, the same remarks are true as listed under 
paragraph a. hereinbefore. As typical examples, the follows substances can 
be mentioned: 
Polymercapto compounds and alkaline earth peroxide in a water-free 
condition, e.g. according to U.S. Pat. No. 3,912,696 or U.S. Pat. No. 
3,225,017. 
Polyurethane prepolymer having silane end groups, e.g. according to U.S. 
Pat. No. 3,632,557 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,925. 
Polyurethane prepolymer having isocyanate end groups, e.g. according to 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,794 or European Patent No. 0 040 469. 
Silicon compounds curing under the influence of moisture, e.g. according to 
German Patent 12 55 924 or British Patent 992 366. 
A mixture of a flexible epoxy resin with a polyfunctional cetamine. 
A mixture consisting of a flexible epoxy resin with a molecular sieve 
loaded with polyfunctional amine. 
c. Thermoplastic adhesive substances 
These adhesive substances are usually called "hot melts", are rigid at room 
temperature and get pasty or liquid upon heating them to a certain 
temperature. As soon as they are cooled down they will be rigid again. Due 
to the fact that the first bead 7 is a bad heat conductor, the conditions 
to use adhesive substances of this kind is favoured or even possible. The 
activated, i.e. heated second bead 11 is thermally insulated from the 
window 1 and therefore remains applicable during a sufficient time period. 
A covering by means of a protection foil 16 and 17, respectively, is not 
imperative except for the purpose of protecting the second bead 11 from 
contamination and/or mechanical damage. Examples for such substances are 
thermoplastic polyurethane caoutchouc. 
d. Adhesive substances curing under the influence of heat 
Generally, the same remarks are true in this case as listed under c. 
However, there is one important difference: As soon as these substances 
are heated over a critical temperature and subsequently cooled down they 
remain irreversibly in a solid condition. In practice, such a substance to 
form the second bead 11 is heated to a first temperature T.sub.1 which is 
below the critical temperature T.sub.2 in order to enable the second bead 
11 to be applied into the tub-like recess 10 of the first bead 7. Upon 
mounting the window 1 the second bead 11 is heated again but to a 
temperature which is higher than said critical temperature T.sub.2 and 
cooled down. The result is that any further heating will not have any 
influence on the condition of the material of the second bead 11. As 
examples for such substances the following ones can be named: Mixtures 
consisting of an epoxy resin and BF.sub.3 -amine complex; polyurethane 
adhesive substances curable under the influence of heat. 
e. Slowly reacting two component systems 
Such systems can be adjusted to a desired potlife by varying the chemical 
composition. These systems can be used as second bead 11 in all cases when 
an extended storage of the window is not expected. A protection by means 
of a foil 16 and 17, respectively, is not required, except to protect the 
second bead 11 from mechanical damage. As typical example for such 
substances can be named: Mixtures consisting of polyurethane prepolymers 
containing OH-groups and polyurethane prepolymers containing NCO-groups. 
In any case, it is important to consider that the material chosen for the 
second bead 11 is chemically compatible with the material of the first 
already applied and cured bead 7. With other words, it must be ensured 
that the second bead 11, after having been activated, reliably adheres not 
only to the frame, flange or the like to which the window is to be 
connected but also to the first bead 7. 
The following table shows, for the purpose of illustration, the most 
important attributs of some substances which can be used for the second 
bead 11. It is understood that the values in said table are only rough 
guiding figures. 
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SUB- 
STANCE STORAGE LIFE ACTIVATION POTLIFE 
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a. 2-6 months O.sub.2 --contact after 
10-30 min 
removal of pro- 
tection foil 
b. 30 min to atmospheric 10-30 min 
2 weeks humidity 
c. 6-12 months heat 5 s-1 min 
d. 6-12 months heat 20 s-3 min 
e. 30-180 min -- 30-240 min 
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