The disclosure relates to articles made from strengthened glass materials. More particularly, the disclosure relates to articles made from strengthened glass materials that are resistant to damage caused by sharp contact flaws.
Glass materials, such as glasses and glass ceramics, are widely used in applications such as viewing windows, touch screens, and external housings for various electronic devices. When used in these and other applications, glass materials are subject to impact, abrasion, and other damage-causing events that may lead to catastrophic failure of the material. To prevent such failure, the major surfaces of these glass materials are sometimes strengthened by either thermal or chemical means to provide surface layers that are under compressive stress.
Compressive layers are most effective in preventing the propagation of flaws resulting from bending. However, failure analysis of such articles indicate that bending stresses during failure of such devices during use is minimal.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds