3m Innovative Properties Company

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

Other

Kenneth L Smith

Gerald M Benson

Michael Benton Free

James C Coderre

William D Coggio

John C Kelliher

Olester Benson, Jr

Suman K Patel

Bimal V Thakkar

Nelson D Sewall

Mikhail L Pekurovsky

Todd A Ballen

Cheryl M Frey

William Blake Kolb

Raymond C Chiu

Tzu-Li J Huang

Mieczyslaw H Mazurek

Michael L Steiner

Mark E Gardiner

Kui Chen-Ho

Paul Edward Humpal

James R Imbertson

John A Worrell

Sidney A Ellingstad

Andrew John Ouderkirk

Brant Ulrick Kolb

Gary Timothy Boyd

Encai Hao

Thomas J Blong

Tao Liu

Scott Melvyn Tapio

Susan K Nestegard

Michael J Sykora

James W Howard

Bruce Brandon Wilson

Peiwang Zhu

John S Huizinga

James E Lasch

Robert R Kieschke

Gary E Gaides

Michele A Craton

Michael P Daniels

Robert F Watkins

Jeffrey D Janovec

Robert L Erwin

Roger E Luehrs

Dan E Luttrell

John Allen Wheatley

John C Nelson

Robert L W Smithson

Carsten Franke

Travis L Potts

Conrad V Anderson

Thomas J Dahlin

Forrest J Rouser

David W Meitz

Lars A Smeenk

Mark E Reeves

Theodore J Szczech

Alexander J Huffman

Madeleine B Fleming

Lucas D Crestik

Jesse R Behnke

Margaret A Hartfel

Michael R Duoos

Kenneth A Epstein

Duane Douglas Fansler

Gilles J Benoit

Douglas Scott Dunn

Michael A Kropp

Rolf W Biernath

Craig R Schardt

John P Baetzold

Guanglei Du

Daniel J Schmidt

Michael E Hamerly

Justin M Johnson

Chester A Bacon, Jr

D Scott Thompson

Serkan Yurt

Brian W Ostlie

Edward J Kivel

Vera L Lightle

James B Snyder

Anthony F Schultz

Jeanine M Shusta

Tien Yi T H Whiting

Ronald J Tabar

Jonah Shaver

Onur Sinan Yordem

Bryan T Whiting

Jaime R Ojeda

Richard F Griffith

Mark D Nachbor

Taylor J Kobe

Christopher S Grinde

Jordan D Whitney

Olester Benson

Wavelength-selective films are visibly apparent under the selective wavelength. Wavelength-selective films typically reflect off axis the selected wavelength and therefore can provide high-contrast against a background when applied in a pattern on a substrate. However, it is difficult to apply unique patterned embedded images from film. Disclosed is a cost-effective method and construction of a patterned wavelength-selective image to a substrate. In the disclosed wavelength-selective image, wavelength-selective film particles are applied to an adhesive pattern to create the wavelength-selective image.

Patterned wavelength-selective image

Continuous additive manufacturing apparatuses are provided. An apparatus includes an actinic radiation-transparent substrate having a major surface and an irradiation source configured to direct actinic radiation through the actinic radiation-transparent substrate at predetermined dosages at predetermined locations. The apparatus further includes a means for depositing a composition onto the major surface of the actinic radiation-transparent substrate and a means for conveying the actinic radiation-transparent substrate or the irradiation source with respect to each other.

Continuous additive manufacturing apparatus

A continuous method of manufacturing adhesives is provided. The method includes obtaining an actinic radiation-polymerizable adhesive precursor composition disposed on a major surface of an actinic radiation-transparent substrate and irradiating a first portion of the actinic radiation-polymerizable adhesive precursor composition through the actinic radiation-transparent substrate for a first irradiation dosage. The method further includes moving the actinic radiation-transparent substrate and irradiating a second portion of the actinic radiation-polymerizable adhesive precursor composition through the actinic radiation-transparent substrate for a second irradiation dosage. Optionally, the method also includes irradiating a third portion of the actinic radiation-polymerizable adhesive precursor composition through the actinic radiation-transparent substrate prior to moving the substrate. The first irradiation dosage and the third irradiation dosage are often not the same, thereby forming an integral adhesive having a variable thickness in an axis normal to the actinic radiation-transparent substrate.

Continuous additive manufacturing methods

A new technique for making cube corner elements that involves end milling is used in the fabrication of cube corner elements having non-orthogonal dihedral angles and dihedral angle errors, and arrays of such cube corner elements. A given optical face of a cube corner element may be a compound face with two constituent faces. In some cases, the constituent faces may be parallel and coplanar such that a given dihedral angle error pertains to the entire optical face, while in other cases, the two constituent faces may not be parallel, and may be associated with different dihedral angle errors.

Non-orthogonal cube corner elements and arrays thereof made by end milling

In some examples, a computing device includes one or more computer processors, a communication device, and a memory comprising instructions that cause the one or more computer processors to: receive, using the communication device and from a set of vehicles, different sets of infrastructure data for a particular infrastructure article that is proximate to each respective vehicle of the set of vehicles, wherein each respective vehicle in the set of vehicles comprises at least one infrastructure sensor that generates infrastructure data descriptive of infrastructure articles that are proximate to the respective vehicle; determine, based at least in part on the different sets of infrastructure data for the particular infrastructure article from each respective vehicle of the set of vehicles, a quality metric for the infrastructure article; and perform at least one operation based at least in part on the quality metric for the infrastructure article.

Vehicle-sourced infrastructure quality metrics

An optical filter including a polarizer and a visible light blocking filter is described. The polarizer is configured to transmit at least 60 percent of light in a first infrared wavelength range that is incident on the polarizer at normal incidence in a first polarization state, to transmit less than 30 percent of light in a second infrared wavelength that is incident on the polarizer at normal incidence in a second polarization state orthogonal to the first polarization state, and to transmit less than 30 percent of light in a third infrared wavelength range that is incident on the polarizer with a 50 degree angle of incidence in the second polarization state. The visible light blocking filter configured to transmit at least 60 percent of light in the first infrared wavelength range at normal incidence in the first polarization state.

Optical filter

A light control film includes a plurality of spaced apart substantially parallel first light absorbing regions arranged along a first direction, each first light absorbing region having a width and a height, the plurality of first light absorbing regions including nonoverlapping first and second sub-pluralities of the plurality of first light absorbing regions, the first sub-plurality of the plurality of first light absorbing regions having a first viewing angle, the second sub-plurality of the plurality of first light absorbing regions having a different second viewing angle.

Light control film with varied viewing angle

The present disclosure is directed to lamina(e) comprising cube corner elements, a tool comprising an assembly of laminae and replicas thereof. The disclosure further relates to retroreflective sheeting.

Retroreflective sheeting including cube corner elements

This disclosure generally relates to retroreflective articles and methods of making such articles.

Retroreflective articles including optically active areas and optically inactive areas

The present application relates generally to retroreflective sheeting and the tools and methods used to make retroreflective sheeting. Microreplication tools and sheeting include controlled surface structure or haze. The surface structure or haze can be introduced, for example, by chemical etching of the tool surface and/or electroplating.

Retroreflective sheeting

Disclosed is an identification system to improve safety on roads and allow for the driver or for the vehicle itself, if it is autonomous or semi-autonomous, to have readable and useful information about road signs, roadways, and adjacent roadway information. The disclosed identification system comprises a marker with marker communication information that can be read by a vehicle information system to provide information to the vehicle. Information that the marker communication information may convey would allow the vehicle information system to detect or recognize, or both detect and recognize critical road sign, roadway information, and adjacent roadway information. Then, the vehicle information system could respond to the information received from the marker communication information.

Sign to vehicle identification system

Retroreflective sheeting comprising cube corner microstructure and having channels substantially parallel to a longitudinal, peripheral edge of the sheeting.

Cube corner retroreflective sheeting having channels

Cube corner articles such as retroreflective sheeting utilize multiple cube corner arrays in a tiled configuration, each tile containing one array of canted cube corner elements. The tiles may be long and narrow, and the array in each of at least two or three adjacent tiles, or even in every tile, may include at least one lengthwise groove that is parallel to an edge of the tile and parallel to a fixed in-plane axis. Each tile may have a width that is narrow (e.g. 0.2 to 5 mm), and equal to an integer multiple of a lengthwise groove pitch to avoid or reduce ineffective fragmented cube corners along the tile edge. Each array may have a plane of cant and a primary plane of entrance angularity, and the primary planes of entrance angularity for the multiple tiles may be more evenly distributed in azimuthal angle than the planes of cant.

Microtiled prismatic cube corner articles

Growing community of inventors

White Bear Lake, MN, United States of America

Kenneth L Smith