Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

3m Innovative Properties Company

James H Harper

Larry K Stump

Dale H Haunschild

Gary R Miron

Raymond E Grunzinger, Jr

Robert H Brink

Terrence W Miller

Warren J Johnson

Timothy D Bredhal

Neil A Hodson

Roberta M Collins Harper

Linda S Smith

Steven T Link

A pavement marking tape having a scrim, wherein the scrim is extensible to enable the tape to conform to irregularities in a road surface, and thereby bond more securely to that surface.

Pavement marking tape

A pavement marking material comprises a flexible base sheet that is conformable to an irregular pavement surface. A non-continuous, durable, wear-resistant polymeric top layer is adhered to one surface of the base sheet. The discontinuous nature of the polymeric top layer provides for increased initial conformance of the pavement marking to irregular pavement surfaces. The discontinuous nature of the polymeric top layer also reduces elastic tensile stresses which tend to build up in continuous top layers and cause adhesive failure. A plurality of particles, retroreflective microspheres and/or skid-resistant particles, are embedded in and protrude from the non-continuous top layer.

Retroreflective article with non-continuous top coat

Pavement marking material comprising a top layer, an optional base sheet, and a layer of adhesive, wherein the adhesive comprises a rubber and a high loading of tackifier. Such adhesives have been found to exhibit exceptional impact shear resistance.

Pavement marking material

A pavement marking material comprises a flexible base sheet that is conformable to an irregular pavement surface. A durable, wear-resistant, polymeric top layer is adhered to one surface of the base sheet. The top layer is capable of undergoing brittle fracture at a temperature from 0.degree. C. to 45.degree. C. such that when the base sheet conforms an irregular surface, the top layer readily forms ruptures to relieve stress build-up in the top layer as the regions of the top layer defined by the ruptures remain adhered to, and follow the conformance of, the base sheet. A plurality of particles are embedded in and protrude from the top layer. The particles comprise retroreflective beads and skid-resistant granules. In a preferred embodiment, the top layer is characterized by a Young's modulus of from about 50,000 psi to about 300,000 psi, and a percent elongation at break of from about 4% to about 35%.

Pavement marking material with rupturing top layer

A laser shield is constructed from a non-linting fabric sheet and a metal layer. The shield can be used as a laser-resistant surgical drape during laser surgery to protect the patient from aberrant laser strikes. The laser shield resists penetration by commonly-used surgical lasers, is non-reflective and flame resistant, and provides ready detection of any laser beam which strikes it.

Laser shield

Retroreflective images are formed on garments and other substrates with a transfer sheet material that comprises a support sheet, a dense continuous monolayer of transparent microspheres partially embedded in the support sheet, and a thick transfer layer printed over a limited portion of the continuous layer of microspheres in an imagewise pattern. In use the transfer sheet material is laid against a substrate, the transfer layer adhered to the substrate, and the support sheet stripped away. The transfer layer remains in place and pulls the microspheres from the support sheet, leaving a sharply defined design that is retroreflective over the full area of the design.

Growing community of inventors

Saint Paul, MN, United States of America

James H Harper