Colored iridescent film

• US 5,451,449 A
• Filed: 05/11/1994
• Issued: 09/19/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Engelhard Corporation (BASF SE)
• Original Assignee: Mearl Corporation (BASF SE)
• Inventors: Cooper, Scott A., Shetty, Ramakrishna S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ryan, Patrick J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Krynski, William A.
• Application Number:
  US08/240,903
• Time in Patent Office: 496 Days
• Field of Search: 264/171, 428/195, 428/212, 428/213, 428/913, 428/914, 428/204, 428/480, 428/483
• US Class Current: 428/195.1
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/412 Transparent
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/418 Refractive
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2309/105 Thickness
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/08 of synthetic resin
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/20 using fillers, pigments, thixotroping agents
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/308 comprising acrylic (co)polymers
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/36 comprising polyesters
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/023 Optical properties
• CPC Class Codes: B44F 1/14 Iridescent effects
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/223 containing organic substances, e.g. dyes, inks or pigments
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/26 Reflecting filters G02B5/28 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24802 Discontinuous or differential coating, impregnation or bond [e.g., artwork, printing, retouched photograph, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24876 Intermediate layer contains particulate material [e.g., pigment, etc.]
• 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 428/31786 Of polyester [e.g., alkyd, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31797 Next to addition polymer from unsaturated monomers

Abstract

Disclosed is a transparent thermoplastic resinous film of at least 10 generally parallel layers in which the contiguous adjacent layers are of diverse transparent thermoplastic resinous material differing in refractive index by at least about 0.03, the film containing a sufficient quantity of a transparent dye which is soluble in the thermoplastic resinous material of the layers in which it is located to enhance or modify the apparent color of at least one of the reflection and transmission colors of the film.

Claims

1. A transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of at least 10 very thin layers of substantially uniform thickness of about 30 to 500 nm, said layers being generally parallel and one surface of each of two of said layers constituting the outermost surfaces of the laminate film, 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, and the film containing a sufficient quantity of a stable transparent dye which is soluble in the thermoplastic resinous material of the layers in which it is located to enhance or modify the apparent color of at least one of the reflection and/or transmission colors of the film.

2. The transparent thermoplastic laminate film of claim 1 wherein each of the outermost surfaces of laminate film have a skin laminated thereto, said skin being a layer of transparent thermoplastic resinous material of substantially uniform thickness and each skin being at least 5% of the total thickness of the film and skins.

3. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 2, wherein the skin comprises polyethylene terephthalate or polybutylene terephthalate.

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

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

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

7. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 1 wherein one of the thermoplastic resinous materials is polyethylene terephthalate.

8. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 7 wherein one of the thermoplastic resinous materials is polymethyl methacrylate.

9. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 7 having at least 70 substantially uniformly thick layers.

10. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 1 in which the dye is present in each of the different thermoplastic resinous materials.

11. The transparent thermoplastic resinous laminate film of claim 1 in which the dye is present in less than all of the different transparent thermoplastic resinous materials.