Polymeric sheet having oriented multilayer interference thin film flakes therein, product using the same and method
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A polymeric sheet comprising a first layer of polymeric material having first and second parallel surfaces, a plurality of multilayer interference thin film flakes disposed in the first layer of polymeric material, said flakes having first and second parallel surfaces and a width and a thickness and having an aspect ratio of at least 2:
- 1 for the width with respect to the thickness, said flakes being oriented so that the flakes lie in planes with the first and second parallel surfaces of the flakes being substantially parallel to the first and second parallel surfaces of the first layer of polymeric material.
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Abstract
A polymeric sheet comprising a layer of polymeric material having a first and second parallel surfaces. A plurality of oriented multilayer interference thin film flakes are disposed in the layer of polymeric material. The flakes have first and second parallel surfaces and a width and a thickness and have an aspect ratio of at least 2:1 for the width with respect to the thickness.
192 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A polymeric sheet comprising a first layer of polymeric material having first and second parallel surfaces, a plurality of multilayer interference thin film flakes disposed in the first layer of polymeric material, said flakes having first and second parallel surfaces and a width and a thickness and having an aspect ratio of at least 2:
- 1 for the width with respect to the thickness, said flakes being oriented so that the flakes lie in planes with the first and second parallel surfaces of the flakes being substantially parallel to the first and second parallel surfaces of the first layer of polymeric material.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 18)
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11. A polymeric sheet comprising a polymeric substrate having first and second surfaces and forming a primary layer, a secondary layer of a polymeric material disposed on each of said first and second surfaces, said secondary layer having a plurality of oriented multilayer interference thin film flakes disposed in the second layer, said flakes having first and second parallel surfaces and a width and a thickness to provide an aspect ratio of at least 2:
- 1 for the width with respect to the thickness, said oriented flakes lying in planes in the secondary layer with the first and second surfaces of the flakes being substantially parallel to the first and second surfaces of the secondary layer.
- View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 24)
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17. A polymeric sheet comprising a layer of polymeric material having first and second parallel surfaces, a plurality of oriented multilayer interference thin film flakes disposed in said layer of polymeric material, said flakes having first and second parallel surfaces and a width and a thickness to provide an aspect ratio of at least 2:
- 1 for the width with respect to the thickness, said layer of polymeric material being biaxially oriented with the flakes lying in planes in the directions of the biaxial orientation with the first and second surfaces of the flakes being substantially parallel to the first and second surfaces of the layer, and an additional layer of polymeric material being disposed on each of the surfaces of the first named layer of polymeric material.
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19. A polymeric sheet as in claim wherein said first layer of polymeric material and said second and third layers of polymeric material are coextruded.
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20. A security product, a sheet of material having first and second surfaces, an optical article carried by the sheet of material, said optical article comprising a layer of polymeric material having first and second parallel surfaces, a plurality of oriented multilayer interference thin film flakes disposed in the layer of polymeric material, said flakes having first and second parallel surfaces and a width and a thickness and having an aspect ratio of at least 2:
- 1 for the width with respect to the thickness, the first and second parallel surfaces of the flakes lying parallel to the first and second surfaces of the layer of polymeric material.
- View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method for forming an optical product utilizing multilayer interference thin film flakes having first and second parallel surfaces and a width and a thickness and having an aspect ratio of at least 2:
- 1 for the width with respect to thickness comprising melting a polymeric material, introducing the flakes into the polymeric material, forming the melted polymeric material into a molten mass with the flakes therein to cause the flakes to orient themselves in the molten mass as it is being formed into a sheet having first and second parallel surfaces so that the first and second surfaces of the flakes lie in planes parallel to the first and second parallel surfaces of the sheet and cooling the sheet to cause the same to solidify to form a sheet.
- View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method for forming an optical product utilizing multilayer interference thin film flakes having first and second parallel surfaces and a width and thickness and having an aspect ratio of at least 2:
- 1 for the width with respect to the thickness comprising dissolving a polymer into a solvent, introducing the multilayer interference thin film flakes to the dissolved polymer, forming a polymeric sheet having first and second parallel surfaces by casting the dissolved polymer with the multilayer interference thin film flakes therein into a solidified polymer onto a releasable substrate, drawing the polymeric sheet so as to orient the flakes in the solidified polymer, removing the coated sheet from the releasable substrate, the first and second surfaces of the flakes lying in planes parallel to the first and second surfaces of the sheet.
Specification