Adhesive mountable stack of removable layers

• US 9,968,155 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2017
• Issued: 05/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Racing Optics LLC
• Original Assignee: Racing Optics Incorporated
• Inventors: Wilson, Bart E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hurley, Shaun R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sutton, Andrew W
• Application Number:
  US15/731,469
• Publication Number:
  US 20170281414A1
• Time in Patent Office: 336 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A42B 3/26 with cleaning means, e.g. wipers ; Movable or interchangeable vision films or sheets
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/025 Special attachment of screens, e.g. hinged, removable; Roll-up protective layers
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/045 Eye-shades or visors; Shields beside, between or below the eyes caps with means for protecting the eyes A42B1/018
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2250/244 All polymers belonging to those covered by group B32B27/36
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/412 Transparent
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/418 Refractive
• 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 27/365 comprising polycarbonates
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/023 Optical properties
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/06 permitting easy separation
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/12 using interposed adhesives or interposed materials with bonding properties
• CPC Class Codes: C09J 133/12 Homopolymers or copolymers of methyl methacrylate
• CPC Class Codes: C09J 7/30 characterised by the adhesive composition
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/14 Layer or component removable to expose adhesive

Abstract

An eye protector includes a lens configured to protect the wearer from projectiles, and an optically clear stack attached to the lens. The stack can have one or more removable layers. The eye protector also includes an optically clear dry mount adhesive layer attaching the stack to the lens. The dry mount adhesive may be self-wetting to attach the stack to the lens so that air between the stack and the lens can be removed after the stack is attached and/or adhered to the lens, for example, by applying pressure across the surface of the stack. The refractive indices of the lens, the dry mount adhesive, and each removable layer are matched to within about 0.2.

Claims

1. An eye protector having a center portion defining a center of gaze of a wearer, the eye protector comprising:

a lens having a lens refractive index;

an optically clear stack attached to the lens, the stack comprising at least one removable layer, each removable layer having a removable layer refractive index; and

an optically clear dry mount adhesive layer attaching the stack to the lens, the dry mount adhesive layer forming a continuous and uninterrupted adhesive surface over at least the center portion, the dry mount adhesive layer having a dry mount adhesive refractive index, the dry mount adhesive layer being self-wetting and attaching the stack to the lens so that air between the stack and the lens can be removed after the stack is attached to the lens, and

wherein the lens refractive index, the dry mount adhesive refractive index, and each removable layer refractive index are matched to within 0.2.

2. The eye protector of claim 1, wherein the stack comprises a plurality of removable layers, each of the removable layers attached to at least one other removable layer with an optically clear stack adhesive layer, each stack adhesive layer having a stack adhesive refractive index, wherein the lens refractive index, the dry mount adhesive refractive index, each removable layer refractive index and each stack adhesive refractive index are matched to within 0.2.

3. The eye protector of claim 2, wherein the lens comprises a polycarbonate material having a refractive index between 1.58 and 1.59.

4. The eye protector of claim 3, wherein each of the removable layers comprises a polyethylene terephalate material having a refractive index between 1.57 to 1.67.

5. The eye protector of claim 4, wherein the dry mount adhesive layer comprises a polymethyl methacrylate material.

6. The eye protector of claim 5, wherein each of the stack adhesive layers comprises a high index silicone adhesive.

7. The eye protector of claim 3, wherein the dry mount adhesive layer and each stack adhesive layer comprise a high index silicone adhesive.

8. The eye protector of claim 3, wherein the lens is attached to at least one of a helmet, an eyeglass, a face shield, or a goggle.

9. The eye protector of claim 2, wherein opposed outer portions of each removable layer form a stepped configuration that facilitates gripping of an uppermost removable layer of the stack.

10. The eye protector of claim 2, wherein the dry mount adhesive establishes a peel strength between the stack and the lens that is greater than a peel strength between each removable layer and the stack.

11. An optically transparent stack for affixing to a lens to form an eye protector, the eye protector having a center portion defining the center of gaze of a wearer, the lens having a lens refractive index, the stack comprising:

at least one optically transparent removable layer, each removable layer having a removable layer refractive index; and

an optically transparent dry mount adhesive layer applied to a lower surface of the stack for attaching the stack to the lens, the dry mount adhesive layer forming a continuous and uninterrupted adhesive surface, the surface being sized and shaped to cover at least the center portion, the dry mount adhesive layer being self-wetting and capable of attaching the stack to the lens so that air between the stack and the lens can be removed after the stack is attached to the lens, the dry mount adhesive layer having a dry mount adhesive refractive index,

wherein the lens refractive index, the dry mount adhesive refractive index, and each removable layer refractive index are matched to within 0.2.

12. The stack of claim 11, wherein the stack comprises a plurality of removable layers, each of the removable layers attached to at least one other removable layer with an optically transparent stack adhesive layer, each stack adhesive layer having a stack adhesive refractive index, wherein the lens refractive index, the dry mount adhesive refractive index, each removable layer refractive index and each stack adhesive refractive index are matched to within 0.2.

13. The stack of claim 12, wherein the dry mount adhesive layer comprises an polymethyl methacrylate material.

14. The stack of claim 12, wherein opposed outer portions of each removable layer form a stepped configuration that facilitates gripping of an uppermost removable layer of the stack.

15. The stack of claim 12, wherein the dry mount adhesive is capable of establishing a peel strength between the stack and the lens that is greater than a peel strength between each removable layer and the stack.

16. A method of protecting an eye protector without significantly reducing visual acuity through the eye protector, the eye protector having a center portion defining a center of gaze of a wearer, the eye protector also having a lens having a lens refractive index, the method comprising:

selecting an optically clear stack having at least one removable layer, each removable layer having a removable layer refractive index matched to within 0.2 of the lens refractive index;

exposing an optically clear dry mount adhesive layer, and

dry mounting the stack to the lens so that the adhesive layer forms a continuous and uninterrupted adhesive layer over at least the center portion,

wherein the dry mount adhesive layer is self-wetting and has a dry mount adhesive layer refractive index matched to within 0.2 of the lens refractive index and each removable layer refractive index.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the selecting step comprises selecting a stack having a plurality of removable layers.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the dry mounting step further comprises the step of removing air between the stack and the lens after the stack is dry mounted to the lens.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of breaking an adhesive bond between the stack and an uppermost removable layer of the stack to remove the uppermost removable layer, the breaking step further comprising gripping and pulling a tab on the uppermost layer of the stack to remove the uppermost layer and expose a lower layer of the stack, wherein the adhesive bond is formed by an optically clear stack adhesive layer having a stack adhesive refractive index,

wherein the stack adhesive layer refractive index, the lens refractive index, each removable layer refractive index, and the dry mount adhesive refractive index are matched to within 0.2.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of dry mounting establishes a peel strength between the stack and the lens that is greater than a peel strength between each removable layer and the stack.