3m Innovative Properties Company

3m Innovation Properties Company

Tri Dinh Pham

Gary Timothy Boyd

Joseph T Aronson

Steven H Kong

Qingbing Wang

Robert A Yapel

Mitchell A F Johnson

Steven D Solomonson

Fei Lu

Scott R Kaytor

Slah Jendoubi

Tao Liu

Encai Hao

Matthew S Stay

Daniel J Schmidt

Caleb T Nelson

Steven J McMan

Anthony M Renstrom

Owen M Anderson

Jason S Petaja

David A Rosen

William Blake Kolb

Gilles J Benoit

Carl A Stover

Nicholas A Johnson

Bharat R Acharya

David T Yust

Haiyan Zhang

Robert D Taylor

Daniel J Theis

William F Edmonds

Quinn D Sanford

Matthew S Cole

Jeremy O Swanson

Matthew E Sousa

Lin Zhao

Joseph P Attard

Benjamin J Forsythe

Shu-Ching Fan

Lisa A DeNicola

Qunyi Chen

Joseph A Zigal

Mark A Roehrig

Vivian Wynne Jones

Keith Michael Kotchick

Robert B Secor

Matthew R D Smith

Przemyslaw Pawel Markowicz

Stephen J Etzkorn

Matthew R C Atkinson

John F Van Derlofske, Iii

Corey D Balts

Steven Hin-Chung Kong

Michael R Leaf

Sara Suzanne Merritt

Kyle J Lindstrom

Kenneth A Epstein

Ronald David Jesme

Adam D Haag

Matthew B Johnson

Aaron K Nienaber

Christopher Bland Walker, Jr

David Scott Thompson

Zhaohui Yang

Neeraj Sharma

Joseph B Eckel

Kristopher J Derks

Jeffrey L Solomon

Raymond J Kenney

Dale L Ehnes

Shawn C Dodds

Mark B O'Neill

Gary E Gaides

Taun L McKenzie

Bert T Chien

Michelle Lund Toy

Keith R Bruesewitz

Brandt K Carter

Nathaniel K Naismith

David J Lamb

Oanh V Pham

Robert L Erwin

Garth V Antila

Serena L Schleusner

Steven J Botzet

Christopher P Tebow

Matthew Rd Smith

Michael K Gerlach

Yang Liu

Gary T Boyd

Timothy J Reddy

Brian L Oldfield

Michael J Wayne

Bradley S English

Keith R Jacobs

Connie L Johnson

Steven H C Kong

Robert L Endres

Mitchell AF Johnson

Matthew RC Atkinson

A light control sheet having opposing first and second major faces and an internal array of disruptive optical interfaces, wherein the light control sheet is light transmissive such that an image incident to one of the major faces is visible from the other major faces within a field of view which is perpendicular to the major faces but wherein the image is obscured outside the field of view.

Light control sheet

Various embodiments of an optical construction and an electronic device that includes such optical construction are disclosed. The optical construction includes a lens film having an outermost structured first major surface and an opposing outermost substantially planar second major surface. The structured first major surface includes a plurality of microlenses. The optical construction also includes a mask disposed adjacent to the second major surface of the lens film and includes a plurality of laser-ablated openings disposed through the mask. The openings are aligned to the microlenses in a one-to-one correspondence. The mask further includes a UV-cured polymer material and an optically absorptive material.

Optical construction including lens film and mask

An optical film includes a structured film and a light control film formed on the structured film. The structured film includes a substrate and a plurality of polymeric microstructures formed on a major surface of the substrate. Each microstructure includes an optical facet and a sidewall meeting the optical facet at a ridge of the microstructure. The light control film includes an optically transparent material disposed on and covering the plurality of polymeric microstructures, and a plurality of optically absorptive louvers formed in the optically transparent material opposite the structured film. The louvers extend along a longitudinal direction and are spaced apart along an orthogonal transverse direction. The louvers have an average depth D into the optically transparent material and have an average width W in the transverse direction. D/W can be greater than 2. The optical film is integrally formed.

Optical film and method of making

An optical film has a major surface including a plurality of microstructures. Each microstructure includes an optical facet and a sidewall meeting the optical facet at a ridge of the microstructure. The optical facet and the sidewall define an oblique angle therebetween. For each microstructure in at least a majority of the microstructures, an optically absorptive layer is disposed on the sidewall. The optical film can include a polymeric layer having a microstructured surface at least partially coated with an inorganic optically transparent layer. The optically absorptive layer can an average thickness t where 100 nm<t<1 micrometer. A first layer can be disposed between the sidewall and the optically absorptive layer where the first layer has a lower extinction coefficient than the optically absorptive layer.

Optical film

A curved display includes a display panel having a curved major surface and a light control film disposed proximate the display panel. The curved major surface is curved about a first axis, and a central portion of the curved major surface has a surface normal along a second axis substantially orthogonal to the first axis. The light control film includes a major surface having a substantially same shape as the curved major surface and includes a plurality of alternating optically transmissive and optically absorptive regions. In a cross-section orthogonal to the first axis, a transmissive region and adjacent absorptive regions define a central ray transmission direction through the optically transmissive region such that a light ray emitted by the display panel and transmitted through the optically transmissive region along the transmission direction is refracted upon exiting the curved display into a direction substantially parallel to the second axis.

Curved display with light control film

A display system for sensing a finger of a user applied to the display system includes a display panel; a sensor for sensing the finger; a sensing light source configured to emit a first light having a first wavelength W1; and a reflective polarizer disposed between the display panel and the sensor. For a substantially normally incident light, an optical transmittance of the reflective polarizer versus wavelength for a first polarization state has a band edge such that for a first wavelength range extending from a smaller wavelength L1 to a greater wavelength L2 and including W1, where 30 nm≤L2−L1≤50 nm and L1 is greater than and within about 20 nm of a wavelength L3 corresponding to an optical transmittance of about 50% along the band edge, the optical transmittance has an average of greater than about 75%.

Display system with finger sensing

An optical system includes a lens layer including a plurality of microlenses arranged along orthogonal first and second directions, and at least one optically opaque mask layer spaced apart from the lens layer and defining a plurality of through openings therein arranged along the first and second directions. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the microlenses and the openings, such that for each microlens, the microlens and corresponding openings are substantially centered on a straight line making a same oblique angle with the lens layer. An optical layer can include the lens layer and the optically opaque mask layer embedded in the optical layer.

Optical layer and optical system

An optical system includes an optical film curved about a first axis and a light control film curved about the first axis. The light control film can be disposed between a light source and the optical film. The optical film includes a microstructured first major surface and an opposing second major surface. The microstructured first major surface defines a linear Fresnel lens including a plurality of Fresnel elements extending longitudinally along the first axis. The first major surface of the optical film faces the light control film. The light control film can include a plurality of alternating optically transmissive and optically absorptive regions extending longitudinally along the first axis such that in a cross-section orthogonal to the first axis, for at least a majority of the optically transmissive regions, a centerline between adjacent optically absorptive regions is substantially normal to a major surface of the light control film.

Optical system including light control film and Fresnel lens

An optical film () includes a microstructured surface () comprising a plurality of prismatic structures (), the microstructured surface () defining a reference plane (-) and a thickness direction () perpendicular to the reference plane; wherein the plurality of prismatic structures includes a plurality of facets (), each facet having a facet normal direction forming a polar angle with respect to the thickness direction and an azimuthal angle along the reference plane, and wherein the microstructured surface has a surface azimuthal distribution of the plurality of facets that is substantially uniform, and wherein the microstructured surface has a surface polar distribution of the plurality of facets that has an off-axis peak polar distribution.

Faceted microstructured surface

Pedicure basin base

A method of making an optical film for control of light includes positioning a first mixture on a substrate, wherein the first mixture includes a first plurality of magnetizable particles dispersed in a first resin, assembling the first plurality of magnetizable particles into a desired structure for the control of the light by rotating modulation of at least a first magnetic field relative to the first plurality of magnetizable particles, and vitrifying the first resin while the first plurality of magnetizable particles are in the desired structure.

Magnetizable particles forming light controlling structures and methods of making such structures

An optical system includes a light source, an optical film curved about a first axis, and a light control film curved about the first axis and disposed between the light source and the optical film. The optical film includes a microstructured first major surface and an opposing second major surface. The microstructured first major surface defines a linear Fresnel lens including a plurality of Fresnel elements extending longitudinally along the first axis. The first major surface of the optical film faces the light control film. The light control film includes a plurality of alternating optically transmissive and optically absorptive regions extending longitudinally along the first axis such that in a cross-section orthogonal to the first axis, for at least a majority of the optically transmissive regions, a centerline between adjacent optically absorptive regions is substantially normal to a major surface of the light control film.

Optical system including light control film and fresnel lens

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Woodbury, MN, United States of America

Tri Dinh Pham