3m Innovative Properties Company

Timothy J Lindquist

Seyed Abolhassan Angadjivand

John M Brandner

James E Springett

Andrew R Fox

John D Stelter

Stephen A Johnson

Terence D Neavin

Onur Sinan Yordem

Mitchell T Johnson

Troy K Ista

Scott J Tuman

Matthew T Scholz

Timothy J Hebrink

William J Kopecky

Jayshree Seth

Timothy L Wong

Fred Boyle McCormick

Christopher Stewart Lyons

Mario Alberto Perez

Ronald Wayne Ausen

Michael R Berrigan

Marvin E Jones

Mark A Roehrig

Ta-Hua Yu

Kristopher J Derks

Stephen P Maki

Terry R Hobbs

Gregg A Patnode

Richard Yufeng Liu

Steven P Swanson

Scott J Jones

Bradley W Eaton

Joseph C Spagnola

Matthew Justin Michel

John M Sebastian

William T Fay

David J Rowe

Semra Colak Atan

Robert Steven Kody

Denise R Rutherford

Victor Ho

Derek W Patzman

John W Longabach

Dietmar Schlei

Ravi K Sura

Richard J Thompson

Anne N De Rovere

Kevin D Hagen

Grant F Tiefenbruck

David L Seidel

John P Purcell

Myron K Jordan

Chad R Wold

Kevin T Huseby

Kimberley D Klepzig

Semra Colak

Brandy S Nolan

Andrew M Mevissen

Kenneth L Looney

John F Iii Van Derlofske

James B Svacha

Fred B Mc-Cormick

An optical system () that allows a viewer () to simultaneously see images created by an electronic display () as well as real world objects () includes a reflective polarizer () as an image combiner for head-mounted displays and an absorptive polarizer () deployed in the same combiner to reduce glare by minimizing ambient reflections from the reflective polarizer. To prevent the absorptive polarizer () from blocking linearly polarized light sources from being transmitted through the combiner, a weak absorptive polarizer is provided to allow transmission of polarized sources while still minimizing glare.

Optical system

Multilayered polymer films are configured so that successive constituent layer packets can be delaminated in continuous sheet form from the remaining film. The new films are compatible with known coextrusion manufacturing techniques, and can also be made without the use of adhesive layers between layer packets that are tailored to be individually peelable from the remainder of the film. Instead, combinations of polymer compositions are used to allow non-adhesive polymer layers to be combined in such a way that delamination of the film is likely to occur along a plurality of delamination surfaces corresponding to interfaces between particular pairs of layers for which the peel strength is reduced relative to the peel strength at other layer interfaces within the film. The absence of an adhesive between peelable layer packets results in the delamination being irreversible.

Coextruded polymer film configured for successive irreversible delamination

Multilayered polymer films are configured so that successive constituent layer packets can be delaminated in continuous sheet form from the remaining film. The films are compatible with known coextrusion manufacturing techniques, and can be made without adhesive layers between layer packets that are tailored to be individually peelable from the film. Instead, combinations of polymer compositions are used to allow non-adhesive polymer layers to be combined such that irreversible delamination of the film is likely to occur at interfaces between layer packet pairs. Some polymer layers, including at least one embedded layer, may include an ultraviolet (UV) light stabilizer such as a UV absorber, antioxidant, or hindered amine light stabilizer (HALS), and these layers may be positioned at the front of each layer packet. After the UV-stabilized layer of one packet has been used, the packet can be peeled away to expose a new UV-stabilized layer of the next layer packet.

Successively peelable coextruded polymer film with extended UV stability

Multilayered polymer films are configured so that successive constituent layer packets can be delaminated in continuous sheet form from the remaining film. The films are compatible with known coextrusion manufacturing techniques, and can be made without adhesive layers between layer packets that are tailored to be individually peelable from the remainder of the film. Instead, combinations of polymer compositions are used to allow non-adhesive polymer layers to be combined such that irreversible delamination of the film is likely to occur at interfaces between layer packets pairs. Some of the polymer layers, including at least one embedded layer, comprise an antimicrobial agent, and these layers may be positioned at the front of each layer packet. After the antimicrobial layer of one layer packet has been used, the packet can be peeled away to expose a pristine antimicrobial layer of the next layer packet. The antimicrobial agent may be organic.

Successively peelable coextruded polymer film with embedded antimicrobial layer(s)

Barrier assemblies including ultrathin barrier laminates and methods of making the barrier assemblies are provided. A barrier assembly includes a thermoplastic polymer skin layer having opposite first and second major surfaces, and a barrier stack coated on the first major surface of the thermoplastic polymer skin layer to form an integral protective layer having a thickness no greater than about 0.5 mil (about 12.7 microns). The removable carrier film has a major surface releasably attached to the second major surface of the thermoplastic polymer skin layer. In some cases, the removal of the carrier film results in ultrathin barrier laminates.

Ultrathin barrier laminates and devices

Nonwoven fibrous webs include elastic filaments such that the web as a whole exhibits elastic properties when stretched. The webs include a multiplicity of nonwoven fibers and at least one elastic filament entangled with at least a portion of the nonwoven fibers to form a self-supporting, cohesive, elastic nonwoven fibrous web. Methods of making such elastic nonwoven fibrous webs using hydro-entanglement, and uses of such webs to form articles are also described.

Elastic nonwoven fibrous webs and methods of making and using

Multilayered polymer films are configured so that successive layer packets can be delaminated in continuous sheet form from the remaining film. The films are compatible with known coextrusion manufacturing techniques, and can be made without adhesive layers between layer packets. The layer packets are individually peelable from the remainder of the film. Combinations of polymer compositions are used to allow non-adhesive polymer layers to be combined such that irreversible delamination of the film is likely to occur at interfaces between layer packet pairs. The films are post-formed, e.g. using heat and pressure, to deform the film from an initial flat or limp condition into a contoured shape that is self-supporting. The contoured shape may comprise regions of simple and/or complex curvature. Despite the permanent contoured shape, individual packets can still be successively peeled away to expose a fresh surface of the next layer packet, having the same contoured shape.

Post-formed successively peelable coextruded polymer film

A nonwoven fibrous web comprising a matrix of continuous meltspun fibers bonded to a coherent self-sustaining form, and separately prepared microfibers dispersed among the meltspun fibers. The microfibers may have median diameters less than one or two micrometers. A method for preparing such a nonwoven fibrous web comprises establishing a stream of continuous oriented meltspun fibers having a longitudinal axis, establishing a stream of meltblown microfibers that exit a meltblowing die at a point near the stream of meltspun fibers, the meltblown stream being aimed to merge with the meltspun stream and having a longitudinal axis that forms an angle of between 0 and 90 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the meltspun stream, capturing the meltblown fibers in the stream of meltspun fibers, and collecting the merged stream as a web on a collector spaced near the intersection point of the meltspun and meltblown streams.

Method of manufacturing a fibrous web comprising microfibers dispersed among bonded meltspun fibers

A molded respirator is made from a monocomponent monolayer nonwoven web containing a bimodal mass fraction/fiber size mixture of intermingled continuous monocomponent polymeric microfibers and larger size fibers of the same polymeric composition. The respirator is a cup-shaped porous monocomponent monolayer matrix whose matrix fibers are bonded to one another at least some points of fiber intersection. The matrix has a King Stiffness greater than 1 N. The respirator may be formed without requiring stiffening layers, bicomponent fibers, or other reinforcement in the filter media layer.

Process of making a molded respirator

A porous monocomponent nonwoven web contains a bimodal mass fraction/fiber size mixture of intermingled continuous microfibers and larger size fibers of the same polymeric composition. There are at least five times as many microfibers as larger size fibers, and a histogram of the mass fraction of fibers vs. fiber size exhibits a larger size fiber mode greater than 10 &#x3bc;m. The web may be made by flowing fiber-forming material through a die cavity having larger size orifices and at least five times as many smaller size orifices to form filaments, attenuating the filaments into fibers and collecting the attenuated fibers to form the nonwoven web. The web is especially well suited to the manufacture of self-supporting three dimensional articles such as molded cup-shaped respirators and pleated air filters.

Process of making a monocomponent non-woven web

A pleated filter is made from a monocomponent monolayer nonwoven web containing a bimodal mass fraction/fiber size mixture of intermingled larger size and smaller size continuous monocomponent polymeric fibers of the same polymeric composition. Rows of pleats are formed in the nonwoven web, and the pleated web is cut to a desired size and shape to provide a filter element containing a self-supporting porous monocomponent monolayer matrix of fibers bonded to one another at least some points of fiber intersection and having an average initial submicron efficiency of at least 15% at a 1.52 meters/sec face velocity. The filter element is deformation resistant without requiring stiffening layers, bicomponent fibers or other reinforcing measures in the filter media layer.

Pleated filter with bimodal monolayer monocomponent media

A consumer scrubbing wipe article is disclosed that includes a nonwoven substrate and a texture layer. The nonwoven substrate has a dry basis weight of less than about 300 g/m. A non-crosslinked, abrasive resin-based texture layer is printed onto at least one surface of the substrate such that the texture layer extends at least 50 microns outwardly beyond the substrate surface upon coalescing. The texture layer bonds to the surface of the substrate via coalescing, and includes resin characterized as independently imparting a scrubbyness attribute to the article upon coalescing.

Consumer scrubbing wipe article and method of making same

Shaped filtration articles are made from a monocomponent nonwoven web formed by flowing first and second fiber-forming materials of the same polymeric composition through first and second die cavities in respective fluid communication with first and second sets of orifices in a meltblowing die tip. The first fiber-forming material flows at a lesser flow rate or viscosity through the first die cavity and first set of orifices to form a set of smaller size filaments and the second fiber-forming material flows at a greater flow rate or viscosity through the second die cavity and second set of orifices to form a set of larger size filaments. The collected nonwoven web contains a meltblown bimodal mass fraction/fiber size mixture of intermingled continuous microfibers and larger size fibers of the same polymeric composition.

Method for making shaped filtration articles

Monocomponent monolayer meltblown web and meltblowing apparatus

A molded respirator is made from a monocomponent monolayer nonwoven web containing a bimodal mass fraction/fiber size mixture of intermingled continuous monocomponent polymeric microfibers and larger size fibers of the same polymeric composition. The respirator is a cup-shaped porous monocomponent monolayer matrix whose matrix fibers are bonded to one another at at least some points of fiber intersection. The matrix has a King Stiffness greater than 1 N. The respirator may be formed without requiring stiffening layers, bicomponent fibers, or other reinforcement in the filter media layer.

Molded monocomponent monolayer respirator with bimodal monolayer monocomponent media

Growing community of inventors

Woodbury, MN, United States of America

Timothy J Lindquist