Patents by Inventor Christopher Chadwick Bowley

Christopher Chadwick Bowley has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Optical bodies containing cholesteric liquid crystal material and methods of manufacture
    Patent number: 6917399
    Abstract: An optical body includes a substrate and a cholesteric liquid crystal layer disposed on the substrate. The cholesteric liquid crystal layer has a non-uniform pitch along a thickness direction of the layer and comprises a crosslinked polymer material that substantially fixes the cholesteric liquid crystal layer. The crosslinking hinders diffusion of cholesteric liquid crystal material within the cholesteric liquid crystal layer. In other methods of making an optical body, a reservoir of chiral material is provided during the process over a first cholesteric liquid crystal layer to diffuse into the layer and provide a non-uniform pitch. Alternatively, two coating compositions can be disposed on a substrate where the material of the first coating composition is not substantially soluble in the second coating composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2005
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventors: Richard John Pokorny, Marc Dudley Radcliffe, Philip Edwin Watson, Christopher Chadwick Bowley, Ikuko Ebihara
  • Optical bodies containing cholesteric liquid crystal material and methods of manufacture
    Publication number: 20020159019
    Abstract: An optical body includes a substrate and a cholesteric liquid crystal layer disposed on the substrate. The cholesteric liquid crystal layer has a non-uniform pitch along a thickness direction of the layer and comprises a crosslinked polymer material that substantially fixes the cholesteric liquid crystal layer. The crosslinking hinders diffusion of cholesteric liquid crystal material within the cholesteric liquid crystal layer. In other methods of making an optical body, a reservoir of chiral material is provided during the process over a first cholesteric liquid crystal layer to diffuse into the layer and provide a non-uniform pitch. Alternatively, two coating compositions can be disposed on a substrate where the material of the first coating composition is not substantially soluble in the second coating composition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2001
    Publication date: October 31, 2002
    Inventors: Richard John Pokorny, Marc Dudley Radcliffe, Philip Edwin Watson, Christopher Chadwick Bowley, Ikuko Ebihara