Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Steven C. Jensen
  • Patent number: 6416188
    Abstract: Exposed lens retroreflective appliques incorporate a monolayer of beads and a dielectric mirror proximate the beads. A pigmented or otherwise colored bead bond layer in which the beads are partially embedded is visible through the dielectric mirror, giving the article a highly colored daytime appearance. The appliques exhibit an initial reflectivity. By appropriate materials selection, the appliques can be made to retain at least 75%, and in most instances at least 90%, of the initial reflectivity if subjected to fifty home laundering cycles. In one case the dielectric mirror includes zinc sulfide as a relatively high refractive index material and calcium fluoride as a relatively low refractive index material. In another case the dielectric mirror includes zinc sulfide as the relatively high refractive index material and silicon dioxide as the relatively low refractive index material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventors: Jeanine M. Shusta, Norman D. Ligtenberg, William B. Robbins