- CAR ACCIDENT SIMULATION GOING THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD DRIVERS
- CAR ACCIDENT SIMULATION GOING THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD DRIVER
Throughout the twenties there were a number of changes in windshield production. Beginning in the late thirties then, manufacturers began using instead Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) which made laminated glass clearer and stronger and helped block high frequency sound and harmful UV rays. In 1938 Carleton Ellis patented a glass-clear synthetic resin that did not discolor over time. There were two significant problems with the laminated glass, however: its inner celluloid layer would discolor, darken, and become brittle over time and it could be punctured easily. Its strength actually meant more structural integrity for the car if it rolled over. Because it was difficult to penetrate, it also kept passengers from being ejected. The laminated window was more secure and if it broke it broke in a spider's web pattern rather than splintering into small shards. in the twenties.Īlso about this time a new urethane glue was also used to bond the glass to the frame. The Triplex Glass Company was founded in 1923 and Triplex glass was brought to the U.S. Benedictus, in 1910, added a gelatin layer which stuck to both panes of glass and patented Triplex. Meanwhile Wood had also been working with cellulose and devised another method for adding a protective layer (originally tree resin, later cellulose) between two pieces of glass and creating shatter-resistant glass. Though Benedictus was granted a patent in 1909, the product was not put into use until World War I when laminated glass was used in the goggles of gas masks.
CAR ACCIDENT SIMULATION GOING THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD DRIVERS
Unfortunately, it was costly and both manufacturers and drivers had a strong interest in keeping cars affordable. After experimenting further Benedictus developed safety glass, two layers of plate glass with a layer of cellulose between them, and he hoped to promote its use in automobiles. Cellulose nitrate, a clear liquid plastic left in the beaker, had dried and kept the glass from breaking into shards. Later as Benedictus climbed a ladder, he bumped that shelf, once again sending the flask to the floor. As the story goes, one day in 1903 he dropped a beaker and his lab assistant, thinking it clean, put it back on the shelf. Benedictus, an accomplished artist, writer, composer, book binder, fabric designer, and scientist, made an accidental discovery in his lab. Two European inventors developed glass laminating, Frenchman Edouard Benedictus and Briton John C. In late 1919 Ford began using laminated glass, over the next decade directing its use in all Ford cars. At least initially Ford manufactured the glass it needed. At Ford's extensive River Rouge Plant there was a steel mill, glass factory, and car assembly line. The table then carried the glass under several grinders and polisher until the product was finished. By the end of 1919 they had perfected a process for pouring molten glass through rollers and onto a mobile table. Clarence Avery, a Ford employee, began working with Pilkington Co., a British glass manufacturer, on a new glass-making process. With more and more customers opting for enclosed vehicles, glass was harder to come by and the price of glass had risen nearly three-fold. He also, however, needed less expensive glass. Bryan in his 1993 book "Henry's Lieutenants": In 1918 Henry Ford saw distortion in the rear window of a Model T and decided he needed to produce improved glass. Another impetus for his decision may have been one reported on by author Ford R. Whatever the circumstances - whether personal experience with accidents, discussions with attorneys about liability issues, etc., Ford was finally convinced it was time to make car windshields safer. There are also stories that Henry Ford and some of his closest friends were themselves injured by flying glass in accidents. In the teens motorists filed a number of lawsuits against car manufacturers, asserting the car makers were the cause of their windshield-related injuries. The latter event was known as wearing a glass necklace.
CAR ACCIDENT SIMULATION GOING THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD DRIVER
When one of these early cars was involved in an accident, it was not uncommon for the driver at a minimum to be injured by flying shards of glass or, far worse, lose his life after going headfirst through the windshield. As more and more cars took to the roads, a rise in accidents was inevitable.