Structured retroreflective sheeting having a rivet-like connection
AssigneeMinnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
InventorsBruce B. Wilson, Cheryl M. Frey
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Abstract
The present invention provides a retroreflective sheeting including a structured film having an array of structured elements and a sealing film attached to the structured film by a plurality of rivet-like connections perforating the sealing film. Preferably, the rivet-like connections form flanges. The preferred sealing film is a thermoplastic polymer with a ductile yield of at least about 20%. The retroreflective sheetings according to the present invention can also include a seal coat located on the sealing film. In some embodiments, the seal coat can be prepared from a seal coat precursor comprising radiation curable components. The present invention also includes methods of manufacturing the various embodiments of the retroreflective sheetings.
Claims47
A retroreflective sheeting comprising:
- a) a structured film comprising an array of structured elements;
- and
- b) a sealing film attached to the structured film by a plurality of rivet-like connections, wherein a first side of the sealing film faces the structured elements and a second side faces away from the structured elements, and further wherein each of the rivet-like connections comprises a perforation in the sealing film through which a portion of the structured film protrudes to attach the sealing film to the structured film.
A retroreflective sheeting comprising:
- a) a cube-corner film comprising an array of cube-corner elements;
- and
- b) a sealing film attached to the cube-corner film by a plurality of rivet-like connections, wherein:
- (i) each of the rivet-like connections comprises a perforation in the sealing film through which a portion of the cube-corner film protrudes to attach the sealing film to the cube-corner film;
- and
- (ii) the sealing film comprises a multiphase styrenic thermoplastic copolymer.
A method of manufacturing retroreflective sheeting comprising:
- a) providing a structured film comprising an array of structured elements;
- and
- b) attaching a sealing film to the structured film by forming a plurality of rivet-like connections between the structured film and the sealing film, wherein the structured film perforates the sealing film to form each of the rivet-like connections.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.