Retroreflective sheet structure
AssigneeAvery Dennison Corporation
InventorFeng Wu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A retroreflective sheet structure (10) comprising a transparent layer (20) having a front light-receiving surface (30) and a rear retroreflecting surface (32). Light incident on the front surface (30) will pass through the layer (20), impinge on the rear retroreflective surface (32) and reflect back out through the front surface (30) in a predetermined direction. An identifying indicia (44) is chosen and then formed on the retroreflecting surface (32). This indicia (44) can be used for identification purposes, even years after an end product incorporating the reflective sheet structure (10) has been out in the field.
Claims16
A method of making a transparent layer (50) that has a front-light receiving surface (30) and a rear retroreflective surface (32) that includes a repeating array of retroreflective elements (34) and identifying indicia (44) at predetermined positions and/or intervals for retroreflective sheeting (48), said method comprising the steps of:
- embossing a thermoplastic film (60) with a tool plate (62);
- and
- cooling the embossed thermoplastic film (60);
- wherein the tool plate (62) has a topography corresponding to the inverse of the retroreflective elements (34) and identifying indicia (44) and includes a series of polyhedron projections (64), the polyhedron projections are pyramids each having three faces (66) arranged at mutually right angles and connected by edges (68) which join at an apex (70), where the majority of faces (66) have flat planar surfaces and at least some of the remaining faces (66) have a tool plate disturbance formed thereon.
A method of making a transparent layer (50) that has a front-light receiving surface (30) and a rear retroreflective surface (32) that includes a repeating array of retroreflective elements (34) and identifying indicia (44) at predetermined positions and/or intervals for retroreflective sheeting (48), said method comprising the steps of:
- embossing a thermoplastic film (60) with a tool plate (62);
- and
- cooling the embossed thermoplastic film (60);
- wherein the tool plate (62) has a topography corresponding to the inverse of the retroreflective elements (34) and identifying indicia (44);
- wherein the identifying indicia (44) will not interfere with or detract from the retroreflective qualities of the structure retroreflective sheeting (48).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.