Color-shifting pigments and foils with luminescent coatings
First Claim
1. A luminescent color-shifting pigment flake, comprising:
- a reflector layer;
a first dielectric layer overlying the reflector layer;
a first absorber layer overlying the first dielectric layer; and
a luminescent coating layer overlying the first absorber layer;
wherein the pigment flake exhibits a discrete color shift such that the pigment flake has a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Interference pigment flakes and foils are provided which have luminescent and color-shifting properties. A luminescent material coating structure is provided which partially covers or encapsulates a color-shifting pigment flake, or covers the outer surface of a foil. The pigment flakes can have a symmetrical coating structure on opposing sides of a core layer, can have an asymmetrical coating structure with all of the layers on one side of the core layer, or can be formed with encapsulating coatings around the core layer. The coating structure of the flakes and foils includes a core layer, a dielectric layer overlying the core layer, and an absorber layer overlying the dielectric layer. The luminescent pigment flakes and foils exhibit a discrete color shift so as to have a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing. The luminescent pigment flakes can be interspersed into liquid media such as paints or inks to produce colorant materials for subsequent application to objects or papers. The luminescent foils can be laminated to various objects or can be formed on a carrier substrate.
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Citations
84 Claims
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1. A luminescent color-shifting pigment flake, comprising:
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a reflector layer;
a first dielectric layer overlying the reflector layer;
a first absorber layer overlying the first dielectric layer; and
a luminescent coating layer overlying the first absorber layer;
wherein the pigment flake exhibits a discrete color shift such that the pigment flake has a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
a pigment medium; and
a plurality of luminescent color-shifting pigment flakes dispersed in the pigment medium, the pigment flakes having a multilayer structure as defined in claim 1.
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38. The colorant composition of claim 37, wherein the pigment medium comprises a material selected from the group consisting of acrylic melamine, urethanes, polyesters, vinyl resins, acrylates, methyl methacrylate, ABS resins, epoxies, styrenes, ink and paint formulations based on alkyd resins, and mixtures thereof.
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39. The colorant composition of claim 37, wherein the pigment flakes have a dimension on any surface thereof ranging from about 2 microns to about 200 microns.
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40. The colorant composition of claim 37, further comprising a plurality of non-luminescent color-shifting pigment flakes dispersed in the pigment medium.
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41. The colorant composition of claim 40, wherein the non-luminescent color-shifting pigment flakes and the luminescent color-shifting pigment flakes are combined in a mixture comprising at least about 1 wt-% luminescent color-shifting pigment flakes prior to being dispersed in the pigment medium.
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42. The colorant composition of claim 40, wherein the plurality of luminescent color-shifting pigment flakes include two or more luminescent flake types having the same color shift and combined in a predetermined ratio to produce a selected luminescent signature for the colorant composition.
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43. A luminescent color-shifting pigment flake, comprising:
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a multilayer core comprising;
a first absorber layer;
a first dielectric layer overlying the first absorber layer;
a reflector layer overlying the first dielectric layer;
a second dielectric layer overlying the reflector layer; and
a second absorber layer overlying the second dielectric layer; and
a luminescent coating layer substantially surrounding the multilayer core;
wherein the pigment flake exhibits a discrete color shift such that the pigment flake has a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A luminescent color-shifting pigment flake, comprising:
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a core layer;
a dielectric layer substantially surrounding the core layer;
an absorber layer substantially surrounding the dielectric layer; and
a luminescent coating layer substantially surrounding the absorber layer;
wherein the pigment flake exhibits a discrete color shift such that the pigment flake has a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51)
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52. A luminescent color-shifting pigment flake, comprising:
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a core reflector layer having a top surface, a bottom surface, and at least one side surface;
a dielectric layer overlying the top surface and the bottom surface but not on at least one side surface of the reflector layer;
an absorber layer substantially surrounding the dielectric layer and in contact with at least one side surface of the reflector layer; and
a luminescent coating layer substantially surrounding the absorber layer;
wherein the pigment flake exhibits a discrete color shift such that the pigment flake has a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing. - View Dependent Claims (53)
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54. A luminescent color-shifting pigment flake, comprising:
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a core layer;
a reflector coating substantially surrounding the core layer;
a dielectric layer substantially surrounding the reflector coating;
an absorber layer substantially surrounding the dielectric layer; and
a luminescent coating layer substantially surrounding the absorber layer;
wherein the pigment flake exhibits a discrete color shift such that the pigment flake has a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56)
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57. A luminescent color-shifting pigment flake, comprising:
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a core layer;
a first absorber layer substantially surrounding the core layer;
a dielectric layer substantially surrounding the first absorber layer;
a second absorber layer substantially surrounding the dielectric layer; and
a luminescent coating layer substantially surrounding the second absorber layer;
wherein the pigment flake exhibits a discrete color shift such that the pigment flake has a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61)
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62. A luminescent color-shifting pigment flake, comprising:
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a first absorber layer;
a dielectric layer overlying the first absorber layer;
a second absorber layer overlying the dielectric layer; and
a luminescent coating layer substantially surrounding the first and second absorber layers and the dielectric layer;
wherein the pigment flake exhibits a discrete color shift such that the pigment flake has a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing. - View Dependent Claims (63, 64)
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65. A luminescent color-shifting foil, comprising:
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a reflector layer;
a dielectric layer overlying the reflector layer;
an absorber layer overlying the dielectric layer; and
a luminescent coating layer overlying the absorber layer;
wherein the foil exhibits a discrete color shift such that the foil has a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing. - View Dependent Claims (66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71)
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72. A luminescent color-shifting foil device, comprising:
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a carrier substrate;
a first absorber layer overlying the carrier substrate;
a dielectric layer overlying the first absorber layer;
a second absorber layer overlying the dielectric layer; and
a luminescent coating layer overlying the second absorber layer;
wherein the foil exhibits a discrete color shift such that the foil has a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing.
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73. A luminescent optical effect pigment composition, comprising:
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a plurality of optical effect pigment flakes having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface; and
a luminescent coating layer overlying at least one of the first or second surfaces of the pigment flakes. - View Dependent Claims (74, 75, 76)
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77. A luminescent color-shifting pigment flake, comprising:
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an optically variable layer having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, the optically variable layer comprising one or more solidified polymeric liquid crystal components; and
a luminescent coating layer overlying at least one of the first or second surfaces of the optically variable layer. - View Dependent Claims (78)
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79. A method of fabricating a luminescent color-shifting pigment flake material, comprising:
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providing a plurality of non-luminescent color-shifting pigment flakes;
encapsulating the color-shifting pigment flakes with a luminescent coating layer to produce a plurality of luminescent color-shifting flakes that exhibit a discrete color shift such that the material has a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing. - View Dependent Claims (80, 81, 82, 83, 84)
dissolving a luminescent material in a sol-gel solution;
immersing the pigment flakes in the sol-gel solution to form coated pigment flakes; and
separating the coated pigment flakes from the sol-gel solution.
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84. The method of claim 79, wherein the pigment flakes are encapsulated by a process comprising:
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forming porous nanospheres from a sol-gel solution;
imbibing the nanospheres with a luminescent material to produce luminescent nanospheres;
immersing the pigment flakes in the sol-gel solution to form coated pigment flakes encapsulated with the luminescent nanospheres; and
separating the coated pigment flakes from the sol-gel solution.
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Specification