Optical: systems and elements – Signal reflector – Including a curved refracting surface
Patent
1998-01-16
1999-11-23
Phan, James
Optical: systems and elements
Signal reflector
Including a curved refracting surface
359538, 359539, 359540, 359541, 359900, G02B 5128
Patent
active
059888210
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to lens type functional retroreflective sheeting which is useful in signs such as road signs, guide signs and construction signs, license plates for vehicles such as automobiles and motorcycles, safety goods such as safety clothing, safety shoes and life-saving devices, signboards, markings for vehicles, and the like.
More particularly, it relates to lens type functional retroreflective sheeting having retroreflective regions and visual functionality presenting regions, the retroreflective sheeting comprising: a functional resin layer containing a functional pigment having light-storing or fluorescent properties, microspherical lens-embedding regions in which microspherical lenses are densely distributed on the surface of the functional resin layer of the support so as to form a mono-layer, and microspherical lens-free regions in which essentially no microspherical lens is embedded and the functional resin layer is exposed; lens-bearing surface of the base sheet; and partly bonded together.
BACKGROUND ART
Conventionally, retroreflective sheeting capable of reflecting incident light back toward the light source has been well known, and such sheeting is widely used in the above-described fields of application owing to good visibility at night on the basis of its retroreflectivity. For example, road signs, construction signs and other signs using retroreflective sheeting have excellent characteristics in that, at night or the like, they reflect light from a light source (e.g., the headlamps of a moving vehicle such as automobile) back toward the light source (i.e., the moving vehicle) and afford good visibility to the viewer of the signs (i.e., the driver of the vehicle), thus permitting the transmission of correct information.
Thus, retroreflective sheeting generally reflects light from a light source back toward the light source and hence affords good visibility in the direction of the light source. However, when the viewer is positioned in a direction different from that of the light source, its visibility is markedly reduced. Moreover, owing to the nature of retroreflective sheeting, the difference between the angle of incidence of light from the light source of a vehicle such as an automobile and the angle of observation of the driver of the vehicle increases as the light source comes nearer, resulting in a marked reduction in visibility. Recently, with the development of road systems and the diversification of provided information, the amount of information displayed on each sign is increasing. With consideration for the speed of vehicles, it may be very difficult for the drivers to read necessary information in a very short period of time when they are within the visible range of retroreflected light.
Accordingly; in the case of applications requiring the provision of more correct information, pronounced propaganda effects and the like, conventional retroreflective sheeting having retroreflectivity alone is limited in visibility. In particular, there is a strong demand for excellent retroreflective sheeting which can always afford good visibility to viewers at night even when the viewers are positioned in directions different from that of the light source.
In order to meet this demand, various attempts have been made to improve the visibility of retroreflective sheeting. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 173008/'93 discloses encapsulated lens retroreflective sheeting having both retroreflectivity and light-storing luminosity wherein a transparent resin layer is used as a support for partially embedding retroreflective microspherical lenses (i.e., microspherical lenses having a deposited metal film coating the approximately hemispherical surfaces thereof and hence exhibiting retroreflectivity) and a layer of a light-storing luminescent substance is disposed on the back surface (i.e., the surface opposite to the light incidence side) of the support. However, owing to the structure of this retroreflective sheeting, the light radiating from the luminescen
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patent: 5601911 (1997-02-01), Ochi et al.
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patent: 5759671 (1998-06-01), Tanaka et al.
Hiromitsu Kiyohito
Ochi Katsura
Takao Kunihiro
Tanaka Osamu
Nippon Carbide Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Phan James
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