Systems and methods for creating optical effects on media
Assignee3DTL, Inc.
InventorElizabeth A. Downing
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods and systems for optical effects in pigments, inks, and on media. One aspect of this disclosure involves a pigment particle which includes a core, having a fluorescent material and having a spherical shape, and a shell surrounding the core; the shell includes a photochromic material which has a first optical property in a first light source and a second optical property in a second light source which includes a set of wavelengths not sufficiently present in the first light source. The second optical property attenuates an emitted radiation from the fluorescent material. Other aspects are also described.
Claims16
An object comprising:
- a substrate;
- and
- an indicia comprising a plurality of first particles coupled to the substrate, each first particle including a shell covering a core, wherein the shell includes a first material, and wherein the core includes a second material,
- wherein the first material comprises a photochromic material having a first optical appearance without ultraviolet (UV) excitation and a second optical appearance after receiving UV excitation after a first response time,
- wherein the second material comprises a fluorescent chromophore which emits fluorescent radiation in response to UV illumination, wherein the second material is capable of providing a color after receiving UV excitation after a second response time, the second response time being less than the first response time, and wherein the indicia appears to radiate a first color upon initial UV excitation after the second response time and before the first response time while the first material has the first optical appearance and then appears to radiate a second color upon continued UV excitation after the first response time as the first material has changed to the second optical appearance, wherein the photochromic material, when having the second optical appearance, attenuates the fluorescent radiation from the fluorescent chromophore, and wherein the first color is based on the fluorescent radiation from the fluorescent chromophore.
A method to authenticate an object, the method comprising:
- exposing a material on the object to a set of wavelengths for a period time longer than a first response time and a second response time, the first response time longer than the second response time, wherein the material appears to radiate a first color upon initial exposure to the set of wavelengths after the second response time and before the first response time, and wherein the material appears to radiate a second color upon continued exposure to the set of wavelengths after the first response time, wherein the material comprises a plurality of particles, each particle including a shell covering a core, wherein the shell includes a first material comprising a photochromic material, and wherein the core includes a second material comprising a fluorescent chromophore which emits fluorescent radiation in response to UV illumination;
- observing radiation of the first color in response to the exposing after the second response time and before the first response time;
- and
- observing radiation of the second color in response to the exposing after the first response time and after the observing of radiation of the first color, wherein the observing radiation of the first color and the second color is used to determine an authenticity of the object.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.