3m Innovative Properties Company

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

The University of British Columbia

John S Huizinga

James N Dobbs

Gregory F King

Daniel H Carlson

John T Strand

William Vogel Dower

David W Kuhns

Serge Wetzels

Michael Benton Free

M Benton Free

Vincent W King

Thomas B Hunter

Thelma E Hunter, Legal Representative

Kenneth L Smith

Brant Ulrick Kolb

William Blake Kolb

Olester Benson, Jr

Encai Hao

Rolf W Biernath

William D Coggio

Michael L Steiner

Kui Chen-Ho

Scott Melvyn Tapio

Paul Edward Humpal

Peiwang Zhu

Jeremy K Larsen

Robert F Watkins

Larry D Humlicek

Robert L Brott

Haiyan Zhang

Jennifer Rebecca Yi

Brian W Lueck

Luther E Erickson

Samuel Hunter, Legal Representative

Samuel W Hunter

Vincent W S King

Lorne Arthur Whitehead

William Ward Merrill

John C Schultz

Patrick A Mach

Keith Michael Kotchick

Charles A Marttila

Dale L Ehnes

Michael J Sykora

Brinda Balasubramaniam Lakshmi

William C Egbert

William R Dudley

Katherine A Brown

William B Black

Glen A Jerry

Gary A Shreve

Wenyuan Xu

Angela K Dillow

Alan G Hulme-Lowe

Thelma Hunter

Dasaratha V Sridhar

Samual W Hunter, Legal Representative

Douglas M Kedl

John J Costello, Iii

Jennifer R Yi

Benton M Free

Retroreflecting optical constructions are disclosed. A disclosed retroreflecting optical construction includes a retroreflecting layer that has a retroreflecting structured major surface, and an optical film that is disposed on the retroreflecting structured major surface of the retroreflecting layer. The optical film has an optical haze that is not less than about 30%. Substantial portions of each two neighboring major surfaces in the retroreflecting optical construction are in physical contact with each other.

Retroreflecting optical construction

An apparatus for casting a patterned surface on both sides of an opaque web. The apparatus includes a first patterned roll, a second pattered roll, and a means for rotating the first and second patterned rolls such that their patterns are transferred to opposite sides of the opaque web while it is in continuous motion. During this process, their patterns are maintained in continuous registration to within at least 100 micrometers.

Apparatus and method for producing two-sided patterned web in registration

A passive daylight-coupled display having an LCD panel, a diffuser, and a curved reflector behind the LCD panel. For passive backlighting, the diffuser transmits daylight to the reflector, which reflects the daylight to the LCD panel and provides for substantially uniform distribution of the daylight on the LCD panel for backlighting it. A hybrid display includes both a passive backlight and an active backlight for providing backlighting from an active light source.

Passive and hybrid daylight-coupled backlights for sunlight viewable displays

A stereoscopic 3D liquid crystal display module includes a liquid crystal display panel and a directional backlight positioned to provide light to the liquid crystal display panel. A double sided prism film is disposed between the liquid crystal display panel and the directional backlight. The prism film includes a first surface having a series of cylindrical lenses adjacent the liquid crystal display panel and a second surface, opposite the first surface, having a series of non-contiguous prisms adjacent the directional backlight. Each of the non-contiguous prisms is separated from adjacent prisms by a transmissive flat portion or an opaque portion.

Stereoscopic 3D liquid crystal display apparatus having a double sided prism film comprising cylindrical lenses and non-contiguous prisms

A microreplicated article is disclosed. The article includes an opaque web having first and second opposed surfaces. The first surface includes a first microreplicated structure having a plurality of first features. The second surface includes a second microreplicated structure having a plurality of second features. The first microreplicated structure and the second microreplicated structure retain registration within 100 micrometers.

Microreplicated article

A keypad having a virtual floating image that appears to a user to be in a plane other than the apparent plane of the keypad surface. More particularly, the indicia on the keypad appear to float above or below the surface of the device. The keypad can be, for example, the keypad on a cell phone. For such an application there would be more than one array of indicia present on the keypad. For example, there might be ten arrays of indicia, which provide the numerals from 0 to 9 and two more arrays to provide virtual images of the * and # keys. In some embodiments, the keypad is integrated with an illumination source that light up the indicia. The present disclosure also provides a method of manufacturing a key pad with a virtual floating image.

Keypad with virtual image

Techniques are described for estimating the propagation velocity through a surface acoustic wave sensor. In particular, techniques which measure and exploit a proper segment of phase frequency response of the surface acoustic wave sensor are described for use as a basis of bacterial detection by the sensor. As described, use of velocity estimation based on a proper segment of phase frequency response has advantages over conventional techniques that use phase shift as the basis for detection.

Estimating propagation velocity through a surface acoustic wave sensor

A diffraction grating for which the intensity and/or direction of the diffracted light is electronically modulated using the electrophoresis of an index-modifying species. Index-modifying dye ions are dissolved in an electrophoretic medium maintained adjacent the diffraction grating. Application of a voltage across the medium moves many of the ions into the region adjacent the grating such that the ions absorb the incident light or otherwise modify the local index of refraction so as to change the optical characteristics of the diffracted light. Application of an opposite voltage across the medium moves many of the ions away from the grating, allowing light rays to diffract in a different manner when encountering the grating.

Electrostatically-controlled diffraction gratings using ionic electrophoresis

An optical low pass filter or blur filter, and method of making the filters, using an article having a birefringent surface for refracting incoming light when used with an image sensor. The birefringent surface of the article, such as a film, is structured or tilted such that, when the blur filter is placed within an optical path between a lens and the image sensor, the birefringent surface causes refraction of a light signal in the optical path into multiple light signals each being incident upon different sub-pixels within the pixels in the image sensor to prevent or reduce artifacts, such as undesirable color moir&#xe9; effects, in the resulting digital image. The structures on the surface have a variable pitch or angles. The variable pitch can include a periodic, aperiodic, or quasi-aperiodic pitch, to reduce diffractive artifacts in the resulting image.

Article having a birefringent surface and microstructured features having a variable pitch or angles for use as a blur filter

A microreplicated article is disclosed. The article includes a web including first and second opposed surfaces. The first surface includes a first microreplicated structure having a plurality of first features. The second surface includes a second microreplicated structure having a plurality of second features. Corresponding opposed features cooperate to form a lens features.

The invention relates to methods of detecting

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Growing community of inventors

Dellwood, MN, United States of America

John S Huizinga