Glittering cube-corner article
US5948488A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 30, 1996 |
| Grant date | Sep 7, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 30, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T428/24479
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A glittering non-retroreflective sheeting 60 includes an array of cube-corner elements 30 that are arranged in the array such that the sheeting glitters when light is incident thereon. The glitter is in the form of many discrete points of light 68 that tend to blink off and on. The array may be configured such that a dihedral angle .alpha. varies between adjacent cube faces 31 of adjacent cube-corner elements 30 in each groove in one of the groove sets 45, 46, or 47 and such that the base plane 36 are not parallel to each other when the sheeting 60 is laid flat. Preferably, the dihedral angle .alpha. between faces 31 of adjacent cube-corner elements 30 varies in essentially all of the grooves such that the cube-corner elements are randomly tilted throughout the array. The glitter can make the sheeting very useful for aesthetic or decorative applications.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.