Iridescent film with thermoplastic elastomeric components

• US 5,089,318 A
• Filed: 10/31/1989
• Issued: 02/18/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/1989
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: Engelhard Corporation (BASF SE)
• Original Assignee: Mearl Corporation
• Inventors: Cooper, Scott A., Shetty, Ramakrishna S.
• Primary Examiner(s): RESAN, STEVAN A
• Application Number:
  US07/429,785
• Time in Patent Office: 840 Days
• Field of Search: 428/480, 428/212, 428/213, 428/483, 428/392, 428/473.5, 428/216, 350/163, 350/164, 350/166
• US Class Current: 428/212
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2250/05 5 or more layers
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/412 Transparent
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2367/00 Polyesters, e.g. PET, i.e. polyethylene terephthalate
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/08 of synthetic resin
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/36 comprising polyesters
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/023 Optical properties
• CPC Class Codes: B44F 1/04 after passage through surface layers, e.g. pictures with mirrors on the back
• CPC Class Codes: B44F 1/14 Iridescent effects
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/0841 comprising organic materials, e.g. polymers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24942 including components having same physical characteristic in differing degree
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2495 Thickness [relative or absolute]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24975 No layer or component greater than 5 mils thick
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2964 Artificial fiber or filament
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31721 Of polyimide
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31786 Of polyester [e.g., alkyd, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31797 Next to addition polymer from unsaturated monomers

Abstract

Improvements in multilayer light reflecting film are effected by the use of a thermoplastic elastomer resin in a system in which two or more resinous materials form a plurality of the layers.

Claims

1. A transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of at least 10 very thin layers of substantially uniform thickness, said layers being generally parallel, the contiguous adjacent layers being of different transparent thermoplastic resinous materials of which one is a thermoplastic elastomer, the contiguous adjacent layers differing in refractive index by at least about 0.03.

2. The transparent thermoplastic laminate film of claim 1 wherein the outermost layers of the film are each at least 5% of the total thickness of the film.

3. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 1 having at least 35 layers.

4. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 3 having at least about 70 layers.

5. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 4 wherein said adjacent resinous material has a refractive index which is lower by at least about 0.06.

6. The transparent thermoplastic resinous film of claim 1 wherein at least one layer is polybutylene terephthalate.

7. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 6 wherein the thermoplastic elastomer is a segmented block copolymer of polybutylene terephthalate and polyester glycol.

8. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 6 wherein the thermoplastic elastomer is a segmented block copolymer of polybutylene terephthalate and polyether imide.

9. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 6 having at least 70 substantially uniformly thick layers.

10. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 1 wherein at least one layer is polyethylene terephthalate.

11. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 10 wherein the thermoplastic elastomer is a segmented block copolymer of polyethylene terephthalate and polyether glycol.

12. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 10 wherein the outermost layer resin is a glycol modified polyethylene terephthalate made from ethylene glycol and cyclohexanedimethanol.

13. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 10 having at least 70 substantially uniformly thick layers.

14. A transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of at least 10 very thin layers of substantially uniform thickness, said layers being generally parallel, the contiguous adjacent layers being of different transparent thermoplastic resinous materials, the contiguous adjacent layers differing in refractive index by at least about 0.03 wherein each of the different transparent thermoplastic resinous materials is a segmented block copolymer of a terephthalate polymer and a polyester glycol or polyether imide.

15. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 14 wherein both thermoplastic elastomers are segmented block copolymers of polybutylene terephthalate and polyether glycol.

16. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 14 having at least 70 substantially uniformly thick layers.