3m Innovative Properties Company

Stephan J Pankratz

Adam D Haag

Matthew B Johnson

Gary Timothy Boyd

John F VanDerlofske, Iii

Kristy A Gillette

Brianna N Wheeler

Jonah Shaver

Eileen M Franey

Kenneth A Epstein

Zhisheng Yun

Gilles J Benoit

Hao Wu

Craig R Schardt

Stephen J Willett

William F Edmonds

Robert P Wenz

Michael S Groess

Brianna N Nieson

John F Iii Vanderlofske

A glass laminate including first and second glass layers, a reflective film having opposed first and second major surfaces and disposed between the first and second glass layers with the first and second major surfaces facing the respective first and second glass layers, a first adhesive layer disposed between and bonding together the first glass layer and the reflective film, and a second adhesive layer disposed between and bonding together the second glass layer and the reflective film is described. The second adhesive layer is thicker than the first adhesive layer such that the first major surface of the reflective film is separated from an outermost major surface of the first glass layer by a distance d1, the second major surface of the reflective film is separated from an outermost major surface of the second glass layer by a distance d2, and 0.05≤d1/d2≤0.9.

Glass laminate including reflective film

A display system includes a display panel configured to emit polarized light having a first polarization state and substantially distinct blue, green and red emission spectra having respective blue, green and red full widths at half maxima (FWHMs). The display system includes a reflective polarizer configured to reflect the polarized image light as a first reflected polarized image light. For substantially normally incident light and for the first polarization state, the reflective polarizer has a reflectance of greater than about 60% across each of the blue and red FWHMs, and a transmittance of at least about 50% for at least a first wavelength between the FWHMs of the blue and green emission spectra, and for at least a second wavelength between the FWHMs of the green and red emission spectra.

Display system for vehicle

A heads-up display includes a windshield with a standardized wedge profile and an embedded reflective polarizer and a display. The reflective polarizer is disposed between, and spaced apart from, opposing outermost first and second major glass surfaces of the windshield. The heads-up display forms a virtual image for viewing by the eye of a passenger. An image emitted by the display may include a first image ray emitted from a predetermined region of the display and incident on the outermost first major glass surface of the windshield at an angle of incidence greater than about 60 degrees, with at least 90% of the incident first emitted image ray polarized in a plane of incidence of the first emitted image ray.

Standardized wedge profile in glass laminate for ghost reduction

A heads up display (HUD) includes a display source for emitting an emitted image, a windshield and an absorbing polarizer. For substantially normally incident light, the absorbing polarizer substantially transmits the incident light polarized along a pass direction, and substantially absorbs the incident light polarized along a block direction. The emitted image includes at least one image ray that is received and transmitted by the absorbing polarizer toward the windshield at a first location of the absorbing polarizer. The transmitted image ray is received and reflected by the windshield at a second location of the windshield. A first normal line of the absorbing polarizer at the first location is substantially parallel to a projection of the transmitted image ray onto the windshield. Further, the pass direction of the absorbing polarizer at the first location is substantially parallel to a second normal line of the windshield at the second location.

Heads up display

An optical system includes a display including an active display region having a maximum lateral dimension D and configured to emit an image for viewing by an eye of a viewer, the active display region including a display center and a predetermined region including the display center, the predetermined region having a largest lateral dimension d, such that d/D≤0.25; a windshield of a vehicle; and an optical film configured to receive the image emitted by the active display region and reflect or transmit at least a portion of the received image toward the windshield, the windshield configured to receive the image reflected or transmitted by the optical film and reflect at least a portion of the received image toward the eye, such that for at least one first location within the predetermined area of the active display region, the emitted image includes a first emitted image cone emitted from the first location, the first emitted image cone including a first emitted central image ray emitted from the first location, wherein the optical film is so oriented as to cause the first emitted central image ray to be substantially polarized in a plane of incidence when incident on the windshield.

Polarization optimized heads-up display

A glass laminate () including first and second glass layers (), a reflective film () having opposed first and second major surfaces and disposed between the first and second glass layers () with the first and second major surfaces facing the respective first and second glass layers (), a first adhesive layer () disposed between and bonding together the first glass layer () and the reflective film (), and a second adhesive layer () disposed between and bonding together the second glass layer () and the reflective film () is described. The second adhesive layer () is thicker than the first adhesive layer () such that the first major surface of the reflective film () is separated from an outermost major surface of the first glass layer () by distance d, the second major surface of the reflective film () is separated from an outermost major surface of the second glass layer () by a distance d, and 0.05<d/d<0.9.

An optical system, including a reflective polarizer, and a display and a mirror disposed on a same side of, and generally facing, the reflective polarizer. The reflective polarizer may transmit at least 80% of incident light having a first polarization state and may reflect at least 80% of incident light having a second polarization state, and the mirror may reflect at least 80% of the incident light for each of the first and second polarization states. The central locations of the display, reflective polarizer, and mirror may define a midplane which includes first, second, and third regions, such that the first region includes portions of the image rays that pass at least once across the region, the second region includes portions of the image rays that pass at least twice across the region, and the third region includes portions of the image rays that pass three times across the region. The first, second, and third regions may have respective areas A, A, and A, such that A/Ais greater than or equal to about 0.20, or 0.22, or 0.24, or 0.26, or 0.28, or 0.30.

Compact heads-up display

A display system includes a display panel configured to emit a polarized image light having a first polarization state and at least one emission spectrum having a full width at half maxima (FWHM). The display system includes a reflective polarizer configured to receive and reflect the polarized image light as a first reflected polarized image light. For a first light incident at a first predetermined angle, the reflective polarizer has an average reflectance of greater than about 60% across the at least one emission spectrum for the first polarization state, a transmittance of at least about 50% for at least wavelength outside the FWHM of the at least one emission spectrum for the first polarization state, and an average total transmittance of greater than about 70% across a visible wavelength range including the FWHM of the at least one emission spectrum for an orthogonal second polarization state.

A method includes providing a polymerized optical film structure having a microstructured surface, forming a scratch having a length on the microstructured surface to form a scratched optical film, illuminating the scratched optical film to form an illuminated scratch, measuring a plurality of scratch contrast ratio values along the length of the illuminated scratch with a detector, and determining a maximum scratch contrast ratio from the plurality of scratch contrast ratio values along the length of the scratch.

Methods for testing durable optical elements

A frontlit touch panel for use with a reflective light valve, comprising a front light guide having at least one light input face that supplies light to the guide, a viewing face, a light output face opposite the viewing face, and at least one component of a touch-sensitive transducer, the light output face having a light extraction layer thereon having a substantially flat light exit face and containing buried reflective facets that extract supplied light from the guide through the light exit face. The touch panel can be used with a light source, reflective light valve and suitable control electronics to form a compact, efficient illuminated touch panel display assembly.

Frontlit illuminated touch panel

An illuminated frontlit display includes a front light guide having at least one light input face that supplies light to the guide, a viewing face, and a light output face opposite the viewing face, the light output face having a light extraction layer thereon, the extraction layer having a substantially flat light exit face and containing buried reflective facets that extract supplied light from the guide through the light exit face to a reflective light valve and back through the viewing face of the guide to a viewer.

Growing community of inventors

Minneapolis, MN, United States of America

Stephan J Pankratz