Multivariate color system with texture application
First Claim
1. A decorative, translucent thermoplastic structure formed to have the appearance of a unitary color diffused throughout its composition, the structure comprising:
- a transparent resin substrate having opposing front and back surfaces separated by a thickness of 0.236 inches to 1 inch, wherein the front or back surface comprises a bonding surface having a first surface roughness, the thickness defining a distance of opposing side wall surfaces that are perpendicular to the opposing front and back surfaces;
a translucent colored film layer that has a bonding surface with a second surface roughness that is different from the first surface roughness, wherein the bonding surface of the colored film layer has been fused to and intermixed with the bonding surface of the resin substrate; and
a highly uniform texture applied to each surface of the thermoplastic structure;
wherein;
the surface roughness of at least one of the bonding surfaces of the resin substrate or of the first colored film comprises an even distribution of texture granules; and
the applied texture and intermixing of the translucent colored film layer cooperate to diffuse the color of the translucent colored film layer throughout the thermoplastic structure, such that the thermoplastic structure displays the color of the translucent colored film on all sides of the thermoplastic structure, regardless of the viewing direction.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Implementations of the present invention relate to a translucent and/or transparent polymer-based panel system that incorporates multi-colored insert layers that enable manipulation of color, transparency or light transmission of the finished panel system. Implementations of the present invention also relate to the construction of such panels to avoid the capture and retention of air within the panels through the use of textured surfaces at the lamination interfaces. In addition, implementations of the present invention provide a method of quantifying the optical response achieved in a given panel system and describes types of construction that enable the multiplicity of color and optic manipulation. Furthermore, implementations of the present invention provide methods for applying texture in an efficient, uniform manner.
120 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A decorative, translucent thermoplastic structure formed to have the appearance of a unitary color diffused throughout its composition, the structure comprising:
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a transparent resin substrate having opposing front and back surfaces separated by a thickness of 0.236 inches to 1 inch, wherein the front or back surface comprises a bonding surface having a first surface roughness, the thickness defining a distance of opposing side wall surfaces that are perpendicular to the opposing front and back surfaces; a translucent colored film layer that has a bonding surface with a second surface roughness that is different from the first surface roughness, wherein the bonding surface of the colored film layer has been fused to and intermixed with the bonding surface of the resin substrate; and a highly uniform texture applied to each surface of the thermoplastic structure; wherein; the surface roughness of at least one of the bonding surfaces of the resin substrate or of the first colored film comprises an even distribution of texture granules; and the applied texture and intermixing of the translucent colored film layer cooperate to diffuse the color of the translucent colored film layer throughout the thermoplastic structure, such that the thermoplastic structure displays the color of the translucent colored film on all sides of the thermoplastic structure, regardless of the viewing direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A decorative, translucent thermoplastic structure prepared from a plurality of dissimilar resin materials to have the appearance of a unitary structure having a color diffused throughout its composition, the structure comprising:
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a transparent resin substrate having opposing viewing surfaces and a plurality of adjacent edges that separate the opposing viewing surfaces by 0.236 inches to 1 inch, the transparent resin substrate comprising a first resin material; a translucent colored film made of a second resin material that is dissimilar to the first resin material, but that is nevertheless miscible with the first resin material, the translucent colored film being fused to and intermixed with the transparent resin substrate; and a texture having been uniformly applied to all surfaces of a completed panel comprising the fused combination of the resin substrate and colored film layer; wherein the uniformly applied texture combined with the intermixing of the combined resin substrate and colored film layer cooperate to diffuse the color of the colored film throughout the thermoplastic structure regardless of viewing angle on each viewing surface, and substantially uniformly on the plurality of adjacent edges. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A decorative, translucent thermoplastic structure prepared from a plurality of dissimilar resin materials to have the appearance of a unitary structure having a color diffused throughout its composition, the structure comprising:
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a transparent resin substrate having opposing front and back surfaces and a plurality of adjacent edges that separate the opposing viewing surfaces by 0.500 inches to 1 inch, the transparent resin substrate comprising a first resin material, wherein the front or back surface comprises a bonding surface having a first surface roughness; a translucent colored film made of a second resin material that is dissimilar to the first resin material, but that is nevertheless miscible with the first resin material, the translucent colored film having a bonding surface with a second surface roughness that is different from the first surface roughness, the bonding surface of the translucent colored film being fused to and intermixed with the bonding surface of the transparent resin substrate without any air pockets being trapped therein; and a texture having been uniformly applied to all surfaces of a completed panel comprising the fused combination of the resin substrate and colored film layer; wherein the uniformly applied texture combined with the intermixing of the combined resin substrate and colored film layer cooperate to diffuse the color of the colored film throughout the thermoplastic structure regardless of viewing angle on each viewing surface, and substantially uniformly on the plurality of adjacent edges. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification