The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 09, 2000
Filed:
Mar. 03, 1997
Vera L Lightle, Hudson, WI (US);
Britton G Billingsley, St. Paul, MN (US);
3M Innovative Properties Company, St. Paul, MN (US);
Abstract
A retroreflective applique (10) includes a supporting structure (12), a layer of optical lens elements (14), and a reflective material (16). The layer of optical lens elements (14) is partially embedded in the supporting structure (12), and the reflective material (16) is disposed on the embedded portion of the layer of optical lens elements (14). The supporting structure (12) may contain a binder layer (24) and a heat-activatable adhesive layer (26). The binder layer (24) includes a non-filamentary acrylic polymer layer. The use of such a supporting structure (12) eliminates the need for a release liner on the rear surface (20) of the heat-activatable adhesive layer (26), and it also enables a carrier web (28) to be separated from the polymeric supporting structure (12) before the applique (16) is permanently secured to a substrate. The separation step can be accomplished without causing substantial harm to the retroreflective performance of the applique (10).