Retroreflective sheeting

Details Retroreflective sheeting Retroreflective sheeting

1997-08-12

2000-08-29

Thibodeau, Paul

Stock material or miscellaneous articles

Structurally defined web or sheet

Physical dimension specified

428334, 428335, 428336, 428355AC, 428421, 428522, B32B 2700, B32B 2708, B32B 2730

Patent

active

061105740

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a retroreflective sheeting which is useful for use in signs (e.g. road signs and construction signs), number plates on vehicles such as automobiles and motor cycles, safety goods (e.g. safety cloth and survival equipment), sporting goods (e.g. snow pole), marking materials (e.g. signboards), etc., which is low in extent of freezing or snow sticking on the surface when used particularly in cold districts, and which, even when the surface is stained with a paint, an ink or the like, has excellent stain removability (that is, the stain can be easily removed only by wiping with dry cloth or water washing, without using any organic solvent or the like).


BACKGROUND ART

Retroreflective sheetings, which retroreflect a light incident thereon, towards the light source, have heretofore been well known and, for their retroreflecting property, have been widely used in the above-mentioned application fields.
These conventional retroreflective sheetings, however, have various problems when used particularly in cold districts. For example, when the atmospheric temperature falls below 0.degree. C., the waterdrops adhering on the surface of retroreflective sheeting freeze, resulting in reduced retroreflecting property of the sheeting; and, when there is snowfall, snow adheres on the surface of retroreflective sheeting and, in an extreme case, the retroreflective sheeting may completely lose the display function of sign. Thus, there have often occurred, in cold districts, troubles such as reduction in visibility or retroreflecting property of retroreflective sheeting, caused by ice, snow or the like.
Various attempts have heretofore been made for prevention of the above-mentioned freezing or snow sticking of retroreflective sheeting in cold districts. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,508 discloses a method of fitting, to a sign, a heat-storing substance to prevent the freezing or snow sticking of the sign by utilization of the heat stored in the substance. This method, however, has such problems as the fitting of the heat-storing substance to a sign is troublesome and needs an additional cost. Therefore, the method is very difficult to put into wide practical application.
Recently, in addition, there have occurred troubles (problems) that the surfaces of, in particular, signs such as road signs and construction signs are stained, by mischief, with a paint, an ink or the like, resulting in reduced display function of sign. Attempts have heretofore been made as well for recovery of the lost function of sign by removing the stain from the stained sign. For example, a method is in use which comprises coating, on the surface of a retroreflective sheeting, a solution of an acrylic crosslinking resin or the like, drying the resulting sheeting to form a solvent-resistant surface layer on the sheeting and, when the resulting sheeting is stained, wiping and removing the stain with an organic solvent. This method, however, has problems in that, in stain removal, a solvent capable of dissolving the stain must be used and this has adverse effects on operator's health and operational environment.
Furthermore, there is also known a so-called enclosed lens retroreflective sheeting obtained by using a fluorine-contained resin film as at least part of a retroreflective sheeting. For example, there is disclosed, in the gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 86701/1992, a retroreflective sheeting of ultrahigh weatherability comprised of a surface layer made of a fluorine-contained resin film, laminating thereon a substantially mono-layer of glass beads of high refractive index and a focusing layer film in this order, and forming a metal layer on the focusing layer film.
According to the gazette, the above retroreflective sheeting of ultrahigh weatherability is produced by coating, on an appropriate supporting film, a coating composed mainly of a fluorine-contained resin solution, drying the resulting material to form a fluorine-contained resin surface layer, coating, on the surf

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Mark et al., Encyclopedia of Polymer Science, vol. 15, pp. 563-567, Oct. 1989.

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