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US 4,697,407 AGranted
Retroreflective fiber and method of making same
AssigneeMinnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
InventorAllan Wasserman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A thread-like continuous retroreflective fiber and method of making same, comprising the steps of laminating a thin film of retroreflective material to a supporting polyester film, and then slitting the laminate to form narrow strips of retroreflective material having sufficient strength to be combined with other fibers to form a composite yarn having retroreflective characteristics, which composite yarn may then be woven, knitted, or spun to provide a fabric having retroreflective characteristics.
Claims3
A retroreflective thread-like fiber consisting of:
- (a) a first elongated ribbon-like strand having a substantially rectangular cross-section a thickness of approximately five mils and a width in the range between 10 and 62.5 mils and having a plurality of exposed minute glass beads bonded in a flexible elastomeric material on one surface of said strand;
- and
- (b) a second elongated ribbon-like strand having a substantially rectangular cross-section and formed of supporting material adhered to the opposite surface of said first strand, said second strand being approximately one-tenth as thick and the same width as said first strand whereby a composite ribbon-like fiber having a substantially rectangular cross-section is formed having said exposed beads on one surface only.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.