Retroreflective inks
AssigneeReflec plc
InventorBrian Sagar
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The combination of ingredients, especially for use in the formulation of a one or two-pack retroreflective ink, comprising retroreflective elements, microbeads additional to said retroreflective elements and/or constituting said retroreflective elements at least in part, binder chemicals for attaching the retroreflective elements and microbeads to a substrate to which the ink is to be applied, and a coupling agent for coupling the microbeads and cross-linking the binder chemicals, the coupling agent being unreactive until the printing process is carried out.
Claims57
A combination of ingredients forming a retroreflective ink, the combination comprising metallised retroreflective elements, microbeads additional to said retroreflective elements and/or constituting said retroreflective elements at least in part, a binder chemical for attaching the retroreflective elements and microbeads to a substrate to which the ink is to be applied, the binder chemical being a polyvinylidene chloride co-polymer, a coupling agent for coupling the microbeads and cross-linking the binder chemical, the coupling agent being a mixture of an aminoalkyl silanetriol and a blocked hexamethylene diisocyanate trimer, and a buffer, the coupling agent being unreactive and uncured until a curing step is carried out and reactive when the curing step is carried out during which a temperature of the substrate and ink applied to the substrate is elevated to between 60 and 200° C., the coupling agent having a storage life of not less than about 3 months and being unreactive except at elevated temperature of the curing step.
A method for making a one-pack retroreflective ink comprising the steps of:
- (a) making metallised microbeads;
- (b) suspending the microbeads in a liquid carrier medium, the liquid carrier medium is comprised of a binder chemical for attaching the microbeads to a substrate to which the ink is to be applied, the binder chemical being a polyvinylidene chloride co-polymer, a coupling agent which couples the microbeads and cross-links the binder chemical, the coupling agent being an aminoalkyl silanetriol and a blocked hexamethylene diisocyanate trimer, and a buffer, the one-pack retroreflective ink having a storage life of not less than about 3 months and the coupling agent being unreactive and uncured until a curing step is carried out and reactive when the curing step is carried out during which a temperature of the substrate and ink applied to the substrate is elevated to between 60 and 200° C., the coupling agent having a storage life of not less than about 3 months and being unreactive except at elevated temperature of the curing step.
A combination of ingredients forming a retroreflective ink, the combination comprising retroreflective elements, microbeads additional to said retroreflective elements and/or constituting said retroreflective elements at least in part, a binder chemical for attaching the retroreflective elements and microbeads to a substrate to which the ink is to be applied, the binder chemical being a polyvinylidene chloride co-polymer, and a coupling agent for coupling the microbeads and cross-linking the binder chemical, the coupling agent being a mixture of an aminoalkyl silanetriol and a blocked hexamethylene diisocyanate trimer and being unreactive and uncured until a curing step is carried out and reactive when the curing step is carried out during which a temperature of the substrate and ink applied to the substrate is elevated to between 60 and 200° C., the coupling agent having a storage life of not less than about 3 months and being unreactive except at elevated temperature of the curing step, wherein the ink retains a viscosity of between 10 and 30 Pascal seconds for not less than 3 months.
A method for making a one-pack retroreflective ink comprising the steps of:
- (a) making metallised microbeads;
- (b) suspending the microbeads in a liquid carrier medium, the liquid carrier medium is comprised of a binder chemical for attaching the microbeads to a substrate to which the ink is to be applied, the binder chemical being a polyvinylidene chloride co-polymer, and a coupling agent which couples the microbeads and cross-links the binder chemical, the coupling agent being a mixture of an aminoalkyl silanetriol and a blocked hexamethylene diisocyanate trimer, the one-pack retroreflective ink having a storage life of not less than about 3 months and the coupling agent being unreactive and uncured until a curing step is carried out and reactive when the curing step is carried out during which a temperature of the substrate and ink applied to the substrate is elevated to between 60 and 200° C., the coupling agent having a storage life of not less than about 3 months and being unreactive except at elevated temperature of the curing step,
- wherein the ink retains a viscosity of between 10 and 30 Pascal seconds for not less than 3 months.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.