Microtiled prismatic cube corner articles
US9703023B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 13, 2014 |
| Grant date | Jul 11, 2017 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 13, 2034 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B5/124
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Cube corner articles such as retroreflective sheeting utilize multiple cube corner arrays in a tiled configuration, each tile containing one array of canted cube corner elements. The tiles may be long and narrow, and the array in each of at least two or three adjacent tiles, or even in every tile, may include at least one lengthwise groove that is parallel to an edge of the tile and parallel to a fixed in-plane axis. Each tile may have a width that is narrow (e.g. 0.2 to 5 mm), and equal to an integer multiple of a lengthwise groove pitch to avoid or reduce ineffective fragmented cube corners along the tile edge. Each array may have a plane of cant and a primary plane of entrance angularity, and the primary planes of entrance angularity for the multiple tiles may be more evenly distributed in azimuthal angle than the planes of cant.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.