Transitions Optical, Inc.

Ppg Industries Ohio, Inc.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Jiping Shao

Anil Kumar

Peter C Foller

Meng He

Forrest R Blackburn

Terry A Kellar, Ii

Ruisong Xu

Brian C Benicewicz

Hongying Zhou

Songwei Lu

Irina G Schwendeman

Xiao-Man Dai

Chenguang Li

Charles M Kania

Truman F Wilt

Todd M Roper

Kurt A Humbert

John D Basil

David John Park

Gobinda Saha

Renlong Gao

Gereme Thomas Hensel

David C Martin

Courtney Richman

Rachael L DeMeio

Kenneth T Phelps

Zilu Li

Terry A Kellar

Terry A Ii Kellar

A substrate at least partially coated with an anti-fingerprint coating is prepared from a coating composition that includes: (a) an organic solvent; and (b) an alkoxysilane functional polymer having at least one ester linkage, at least one urethane linkage, and at least one alkoxysilane functional group. Further, the polymer is prepared from components including: (i) an active hydrogen functional compound having a hydroxyl group, amino group, thiol group, or a combination thereof; (ii) an intramolecular cyclic ester; and (iii) an isocyanate functional compound. The active hydrogen functional compound (i), the isocyanate functional compound (iii), or both (i) and (iii) have one or more alkoxysilane functional groups. Alkoxysilane functional polymers and coating compositions containing the same are also included.

Polymers, coating compositions containing such polymers, and anti-fingerprint coatings formed therefrom

A fluoropolymer having fluoropolyether linkages, at least two ester linkages, and hydrolyzable functional groups is represented by chemical structure (I): With respect to chemical structure (I), m is a number from 1 to 4 and n is a number from 10 to 60, each Ris independently fluorine or CF, Ris an alkylene group, Ris an alkylene group in which one or more hydrogens of the alkylene group are optionally substituted with fluorine, Ris an alkyl group in which one or more hydrogens of the alkyl group are substituted with fluorine, Ris an alkylene group in which at least one hydrogen of the alkylene group is substituted with a group comprising CF, CFH, or a hydrolyzable silyl group, and Z is a group represented by chemical structure (II), Methods of preparing the fluoropolymer and coating compositions containing the fluoropolymer are also included.

Fluoropolymers, methods of preparing fluoropolymers, and coating compositions containing fluoropolymers

A stain resistant, soft touch coating composition can include: (a) a fluoropolymer comprising at least one reactive functional group; (b) a polyester polyol; and (c) a crosslinker reactive with (a) and (b). The polyester polyol can include a reaction product obtained from a mixture of reactants including: an aliphatic diol; a polyol having 3 or more hydroxyl groups; and a cyclic polycarboxylic acid, or an anhydride or ester thereof.

Stain resistant, soft touch coating compositions and coatings formed therefrom

The present invention relates to optical elements, such as but not limited to ophthalmic elements, comprising an alignment facility for an optical dye. The optical elements include a substrate; and an alignment facility for an optical dye connected to at least a portion of the substrate, where the alignment facility is an at least partial coating of an at least partially ordered liquid crystal material having at least a first general direction.

Optical elements with alignment facilities for optical dyes

Disclosed herein are solventborne liquid UV-curable coating compositions comprising: a radiation curable compound comprising an acrylate-terminated compound having greater than two unsaturated sites, wherein the acrylate-terminated compound comprises a reaction product of reactants comprising: an adduct of a polyisocyanate, wherein the adduct of a polyisocyanate comprises a reaction product of reactants comprising a polyisocyanate comprising greater than two isocyanate groups and a compound having groups reactive with the isocyanate groups of the polyisocyanate; and an active hydrogen-containing acrylate; and a photoinitiator composition that includes a first photoinitiator composition for providing surface cure and a second photoinitiator composition for providing through cure of the resultant coating layer. Also disclosed are related multi-component composite coatings, coated substrates, and methods for coating a substrate.

UV-curable coating compositions, multi-component composite coatings, and related coated substrates

Provided are phase-separating polymer systems including a cured polymeric liquid crystal matrix phase and a guest phase including at least one photoactive material where the guest phase separates from the matrix phase during the curing process. Optical elements, including ophthalmic elements and other articles of manufacture including the phase-separating polymer systems are also disclosed. Methods of forming a liquid crystal phase-separating photoactive polymer system are also described.

Alignment facilities for optical dyes

Photochromic-dichroic articles are provided, which include a substrate, a first photochromic-dichroic layer over the substrate, and a second photochromic-dichroic layer over the first photochromic-dichroic layer. The first photochromic-dichroic layer includes a first photochromic-dichroic compound that is laterally aligned within the first photochromic-dichroic layer, and which defines a first polarization axis of the first photochromic-dichroic layer. The second photochromic-dichroic layer includes a second photochromic-dichroic compound that is laterally aligned within the second photochromic-dichroic layer, and which defines a second polarization axis of the second photochromic-dichroic layer. The first polarization axis and the second polarization axis are oriented relative to each other at an angle of greater than 0&#xb0; and less than or equal to 90&#xb0;. The photochromic-dichroic articles can provide, for example, a combination of increased optical density and increased kinetics when exposed to a given amount of actinic radiation.

Photochromic article having two at least partially crossed photochromic-dichroic layers

Various non-limiting embodiments disclosed herein provide phase-separating polymer systems including a cured polymeric liquid crystal matrix phase and a guest phase including at least one photoactive material where the guest phase separates from the matrix phase during the curing process. Optical elements, including ophthalmic elements and other articles of manufacture including the phase-separating polymer systems are also disclosed. Methods of forming a liquid crystal phase-separating photoactive polymer system are also described.

A liquid crystal cell including a first substrate having a first surface; a second substrate having a second surface, wherein the second surface of the second substrate is opposite and spaced apart from the first surface of the first substrate so as to define a region; and within the region defined by the first surface and the second surface, a liquid crystal material adapted to be at least partially ordered and at least one thermally reversible photochromic-dichroic compound adapted to be at least partially aligned and having an average absorption ratio greater than 2.3 in an activated state.

Polarizing, photochromic devices and methods of making the same

Liquid crystal compositions comprising compounds including at least one mesogenic substructure and at least one long flexible segment and a compound selected from a photochromic compound, a dichroic compound and a photochromic-dichroic compound and methods of synthesizing the same and their use in articles of manufacture and ophthalmic devices are disclosed.

Liquid crystal compositions comprising mesogen containing compounds

Compounds including at least one mesogenic substructure and at least one long flexible segment and methods of synthesizing the same are disclosed. Formulations which include various embodiments of the mesogen containing compounds and their use in articles of manufacture and ophthalmic devices are also disclosed.

Mesogen containing compounds

Provided is an optical element including:

Various non-limiting embodiments disclosed herein provide methods of making alignment facilities for optical dyes connected to an optical substrate. For example, one non-limiting embodiment provides a method of making an alignment facility for an optical dye connected to at least a portion of an optical substrate, such as an ophthalmic substrate, by forming at least one at least partial coating comprising an at least partially ordered liquid crystal material on at least a portion of the substrate. Other non-limiting embodiments related to optical elements, such as but not limited to ophthalmic elements, comprising an alignment facility for an optical dye. Still other non-limiting embodiments provide alignment facilities for optical dyes comprising coatings or sheets of an at least partially ordered liquid crystal material.

Growing community of inventors

Monroeville, PA, United States of America

Jiping Shao