CA2504627A1 - Tri-level cube corner ruling - Google Patents
Tri-level cube corner ruling Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2504627A1 CA2504627A1 CA002504627A CA2504627A CA2504627A1 CA 2504627 A1 CA2504627 A1 CA 2504627A1 CA 002504627 A CA002504627 A CA 002504627A CA 2504627 A CA2504627 A CA 2504627A CA 2504627 A1 CA2504627 A1 CA 2504627A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- array
- cube
- retroreflective
- cube corner
- corners
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 150000001875 compounds Chemical class 0.000 claims abstract 2
- 238000003491 array Methods 0.000 claims 5
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 claims 4
- 239000012780 transparent material Substances 0.000 claims 4
- 238000005286 illumination Methods 0.000 claims 2
- 238000000926 separation method Methods 0.000 claims 1
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B5/00—Optical elements other than lenses
- G02B5/12—Reflex reflectors
- G02B5/122—Reflex reflectors cube corner, trihedral or triple reflector type
- G02B5/124—Reflex reflectors cube corner, trihedral or triple reflector type plural reflecting elements forming part of a unitary plate or sheet
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29D—PRODUCING PARTICULAR ARTICLES FROM PLASTICS OR FROM SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE
- B29D11/00—Producing optical elements, e.g. lenses or prisms
- B29D11/00605—Production of reflex reflectors
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
- E01F—ADDITIONAL WORK, SUCH AS EQUIPPING ROADS OR THE CONSTRUCTION OF PLATFORMS, HELICOPTER LANDING STAGES, SIGNS, SNOW FENCES, OR THE LIKE
- E01F9/00—Arrangement of road signs or traffic signals; Arrangements for enforcing caution
- E01F9/50—Road surface markings; Kerbs or road edgings, specially adapted for alerting road users
- E01F9/506—Road surface markings; Kerbs or road edgings, specially adapted for alerting road users characterised by the road surface marking material, e.g. comprising additives for improving friction or reflectivity; Methods of forming, installing or applying markings in, on or to road surfaces
- E01F9/524—Reflecting elements specially adapted for incorporation in or application to road surface markings
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
- Y10T428/24—Structurally defined web or sheet [e.g., overall dimension, etc.]
- Y10T428/24479—Structurally defined web or sheet [e.g., overall dimension, etc.] including variation in thickness
- Y10T428/2457—Parallel ribs and/or grooves
Abstract
A rulable array of cube corners defined by three sets of parallel, equidistant, symmetrical vee-grooves is provided. The directions of the three vee-groove sets make three angles, no two of which are equal. When the array in viewed in plan, lines along the roots of the grooves determine a pattern of triangles in which the apices of the cube corners lie at distances from their respective triangle's centroid that are substantially less than the distance between the triangle's orthocenter and its centroid. In an unmetallized prismatic retroreflective sheeting, the array of quasi-triangular cube corners has the entrance angularity advantages of compound cant with nearly the efficiency of uncanted triangular cube corners at small entrance angles.
Claims (27)
1. A rulable array of cube corners each of which has its long face edges mutually skew.
2. The array defined in claim 1, said cube corners having compound cant.
3. The array defined in claim 2, said cube corners being male and being formed in a transparent material having a second substantially flat surface, said cube corners being retroreflective of light entering the second surface.
4. The array defined in claim 1, the axis of each said cube corner being skew to the axes of its three opposing neighbors.
5. The array of micro-cube corner elements defined in claim 4, wherein each two micro-cube corners are geometrically congruent.
6. An array of micro-cube corner elements defined by three sets, S1, S2, S3, of symmetrical vee-grooves such that within each set the grooves are parallel and equidistant, and such that there is a reference plane such that the roots of the grooves in S1 are generally farther from the reference plane than the roots of the grooves in S2 which are generally farther from the reference plane than the roots of the grooves of S3.
7. The micro-cube corner elements defined in claim 6, wherein no two pairs of lines aligned with the roots of said three sets of vee-grooves makes the same angle when said array of micro-cube corner elements are viewed in plan.
8. An array of micro-cube corners for which the apices lie in one plane and the long face edges lie in three planes.
9. The array defined in claim 8, wherein the four mentioned planes are parallel, and the plane of one set of long face edges is no more than 90o as far from the plane of apices than the plane of a second set of long face edges, which in turn is no more than 90% of the distance from the plane of apices than the third set of long face edges.
10. An array of cube corners defined by three sets of parallel vee-grooves, the directions of said three groove sets making three angles no two of which are equal, wherein, when viewed in plan in a direction normal to the array, lines along the roots of said grooves determine a pattern of triangles in which the apices of said cube corners lie at distances from their respective triangle's centroid that is substantially less than the distance between said triangle's orthocenter and its centroid.
11. The array defined in claim 10, said cube corners being micro-cube corners.
12. A tool for forming the retroreflective cube corner array defined in claim 11, wherein the triangle areas are 0.1 mm2 or smaller.
13. A retroreflective sheeting product comprising the cube corner array defined in claim 11, wherein the triangle areas are 0.1 mm2 or smaller.
14. The array defined in claim 11, said cube corners being male and being formed in a transparent material having a second substantially flat surface, said cube corners being retroreflective of light entering the second surface.
15. The array of retroreflective cube corners defined in claim 14 wherein the distance from apex to centroid is no greater than 750 of said distance from orthocenter to centroid.
16. A retroreflective cube corner array defined in claim 14, wherein each of said corner cube elements is canted between 4°- and 16°.
17. The array of retroreflective cube corners defined in claim 14 wherein the directions of groove sets make angles different from one another by at least 5°.
18. The array of retroreflective cube corners defined in claim 17 wherein the distance from apex to centroid is no greater than 75% of said distance from orthocenter to centroid.
19. The retroreflective cube corner array defined in claim 18, wherein said cube corner elements generally have effective aperture at least 60% for normally incident illumination.
20. The retroreflective cube corner array defined in claim 18, wherein an index of refraction of said transparent material is between 1.40 and 1.80.
21. An array of retroreflective cube corners comprised of a plurality of distinguishable sub-arrays, at least two of which are as defined in claim 18.
22. The retroreflective cube corner array defined in claim 21 in which the Chandler diagrams for some of the sub-arrays are identical to the Chandler diagrams for other of the sub-arrays except for a 90° rotation.
23. The retroreflective cube corner array defined in claim 21 in which the Chandler diagrams for some of the sub-arrays are identical to the Chandler diagrams for other of the sub-arrays except for being mirror images.
24. The retroreflective cube corner array defined in claim 18, wherein the index of refraction of said transparent material is at least 1.58 and wherein all cube corner elements retroreflect with three total internal reflections for all entrance angles .beta. up to 15° for all orientation angles .omega..
25. The retroreflective cube corner array defined in claim 24, wherein said cube corner elements have effective aperture at least 64% for normally incident illumination.
26. The retroreflective cube corner array defined in claim 25 wherein geometric efficiency is at least 16% at .beta.=50° for four values of orientation angle .omega. at separations of 90°.
27. A retroreflective sheeting product comprising the cube corner array defined in claim 26 and having the two of the four said orientation angles .omega. aligned with the web direction of the sheeting.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US10/320,738 | 2002-12-17 | ||
| US10/320,738 US6902280B2 (en) | 2002-12-17 | 2002-12-17 | Tri-level cube corner ruling |
| PCT/US2003/035611 WO2004061489A1 (en) | 2002-12-17 | 2003-11-07 | Tri-level cube corner ruling |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2504627A1 true CA2504627A1 (en) | 2004-07-22 |
| CA2504627C CA2504627C (en) | 2011-03-29 |
Family
ID=32506932
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA2504627A Expired - Lifetime CA2504627C (en) | 2002-12-17 | 2003-11-07 | Tri-level cube corner ruling |
Country Status (12)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (2) | US6902280B2 (en) |
| EP (1) | EP1573368B1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JP2006510951A (en) |
| KR (1) | KR100981220B1 (en) |
| CN (1) | CN100437156C (en) |
| AU (1) | AU2003290666B2 (en) |
| BR (2) | BR0316517A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2504627C (en) |
| ES (1) | ES2663376T3 (en) |
| MX (1) | MXPA05006380A (en) |
| RU (1) | RU2352967C2 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO2004061489A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (28)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US6902280B2 (en) * | 2002-12-17 | 2005-06-07 | Avery Dennison Corporation | Tri-level cube corner ruling |
| CA2518606C (en) * | 2003-03-06 | 2012-07-17 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Lamina comprising cube corner elements and retroreflective sheeting |
| US7156527B2 (en) | 2003-03-06 | 2007-01-02 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Lamina comprising cube corner elements and retroreflective sheeting |
| GB0504959D0 (en) | 2005-03-10 | 2005-04-20 | Rue International De La Ltd | Security device based on customised microprism film |
| BRPI0616423B8 (en) * | 2005-09-26 | 2018-09-04 | Avery Dennison Corp | retro-reflective laminated material |
| US7445347B2 (en) * | 2005-11-09 | 2008-11-04 | Avery Dennison Corporation | Metallized cube corner retroreflective sheeting having a high measured daytime luminance factor |
| US7674028B2 (en) * | 2006-01-13 | 2010-03-09 | Avery Dennison Corporation | Light enhancing structures with multiple arrays of elongate features of varying characteristics |
| US7366393B2 (en) * | 2006-01-13 | 2008-04-29 | Optical Research Associates | Light enhancing structures with three or more arrays of elongate features |
| US7866871B2 (en) | 2006-01-13 | 2011-01-11 | Avery Dennison Corporation | Light enhancing structures with a plurality of arrays of elongate features |
| US7545569B2 (en) | 2006-01-13 | 2009-06-09 | Avery Dennison Corporation | Optical apparatus with flipped compound prism structures |
| US20070086207A1 (en) * | 2006-01-13 | 2007-04-19 | Optical Research Associates | Display systems including light enhancing structures with arrays of elongate features |
| US10989845B2 (en) | 2006-07-17 | 2021-04-27 | Avery Dennison Corporation | Method of making an array of aberrated optical elements |
| EP2056132B1 (en) * | 2006-08-22 | 2012-11-21 | Nippon Carbide Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Triangular pyramid type cubic corner retroreflection article, and its manufacturing method |
| EP2238485B1 (en) | 2008-01-14 | 2021-12-08 | Avery Dennison Corporation | Retroreflector for use in touch screen applications and position sensing systems |
| US8517546B2 (en) * | 2008-03-31 | 2013-08-27 | Nippon Carbide Industries Co., Inc. | Multi-directional cube corner retroreflective article |
| WO2011072219A2 (en) | 2009-12-11 | 2011-06-16 | Avery Dennison Corporation | Position sensing systems for use in touch screens and prismatic film used therein |
| WO2011112475A2 (en) * | 2010-03-06 | 2011-09-15 | John Mcentee | Fresnel reflection device for concentration or collimation |
| US9372288B2 (en) | 2010-10-29 | 2016-06-21 | Nippon Carbide Industries Co., Inc. | Cube-corner retroreflective sheeting |
| US9189078B2 (en) * | 2010-12-20 | 2015-11-17 | Apple Inc. | Enhancing keycap legend visibility with optical components |
| JP2012242508A (en) * | 2011-05-17 | 2012-12-10 | Nikon Corp | Retroreflective member, retroreflective building material and construction method of building |
| JP2012242509A (en) * | 2011-05-17 | 2012-12-10 | Nikon Corp | Retroreflective member, retroreflective building material and construction method of building |
| EP2972524A2 (en) | 2013-03-15 | 2016-01-20 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Microtiled prismatic cube corner articles |
| US10066994B2 (en) * | 2014-12-18 | 2018-09-04 | Raytheon Company | Pyramidal spacer for increased stability Fabry Perot resonator |
| US9817163B2 (en) * | 2015-04-15 | 2017-11-14 | Avery Dennison Corporation | Vented tooling belt for production of structured surfaces |
| US10444615B2 (en) | 2017-08-29 | 2019-10-15 | Avery Dennison Corporation | Retroreflective sheeting for projector-based display system |
| US11001979B2 (en) | 2018-08-13 | 2021-05-11 | Vergence Automation, Inc. | Methods and apparatus for ultrawide entrance angle reflective articles for use with autonomous vehicle machine vision systems |
| US11762133B1 (en) | 2018-09-13 | 2023-09-19 | Vergence Automation, Inc. | Retroreflective materials and articles incorporating near-ideal total internal retroreflective elements |
| CN113917701B (en) * | 2021-12-14 | 2022-02-18 | 成都工业学院 | Projection light field stereoscopic display device |
Family Cites Families (15)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3541606A (en) | 1967-10-16 | 1970-11-17 | Amerace Esna Corp | Reflectorized vehicles and reflectors therefor |
| US4478769A (en) | 1982-09-30 | 1984-10-23 | Amerace Corporation | Method for forming an embossing tool with an optically precise pattern |
| US4486363A (en) | 1982-09-30 | 1984-12-04 | Amerace Corporation | Method and apparatus for embossing a precision optical pattern in a resinous sheet |
| US4460449A (en) | 1983-01-03 | 1984-07-17 | Amerace Corporation | Apparatus for making a tool |
| US4588258A (en) | 1983-09-12 | 1986-05-13 | Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company | Cube-corner retroreflective articles having wide angularity in multiple viewing planes |
| US4775219A (en) | 1986-11-21 | 1988-10-04 | Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company | Cube-corner retroreflective articles having tailored divergence profiles |
| EP0724733B1 (en) * | 1993-10-20 | 2001-09-26 | Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company | Multiple structure cube corner article and method of manufacture |
| DE69629685T2 (en) | 1995-06-09 | 2004-06-17 | Minnesota Mining And Mfg. Co., Saint Paul | RETRO-REFLECTING, CUBED-LIQUID BODY WITH UNQUALIFIED BASE TRIANGLES |
| US6015214A (en) * | 1996-05-30 | 2000-01-18 | Stimsonite Corporation | Retroreflective articles having microcubes, and tools and methods for forming microcubes |
| EP0887665B1 (en) | 1996-10-18 | 2004-12-22 | Nippon Carbide Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Triangular pyramidal cube corner type retroreflective sheet |
| JP3580999B2 (en) * | 1997-11-17 | 2004-10-27 | 日本カーバイド工業株式会社 | Triangular pyramidal cube corner retroreflective sheet |
| JP3975001B2 (en) | 1998-04-22 | 2007-09-12 | 日本カーバイド工業株式会社 | Triangular pyramid cube corner retroreflective sheet |
| US6540367B1 (en) * | 1999-04-07 | 2003-04-01 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Structured surface articles containing geometric structures with compound faces and methods for making same |
| JP3468418B2 (en) | 2000-03-15 | 2003-11-17 | 日本カーバイド工業株式会社 | Triangular pyramidal cube corner retroreflective sheet |
| US6902280B2 (en) * | 2002-12-17 | 2005-06-07 | Avery Dennison Corporation | Tri-level cube corner ruling |
-
2002
- 2002-12-17 US US10/320,738 patent/US6902280B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
2003
- 2003-11-07 KR KR1020057009875A patent/KR100981220B1/en active IP Right Grant
- 2003-11-07 MX MXPA05006380A patent/MXPA05006380A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2003-11-07 EP EP03783248.2A patent/EP1573368B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 2003-11-07 WO PCT/US2003/035611 patent/WO2004061489A1/en active Application Filing
- 2003-11-07 BR BR0316517-5A patent/BR0316517A/en active IP Right Grant
- 2003-11-07 BR BRPI0316517-5A patent/BRPI0316517B1/en unknown
- 2003-11-07 CA CA2504627A patent/CA2504627C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 2003-11-07 AU AU2003290666A patent/AU2003290666B2/en not_active Expired
- 2003-11-07 RU RU2005121911/28A patent/RU2352967C2/en active
- 2003-11-07 JP JP2004564888A patent/JP2006510951A/en active Pending
- 2003-11-07 ES ES03783248.2T patent/ES2663376T3/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 2003-11-07 CN CNB2003801059322A patent/CN100437156C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
2004
- 2004-09-08 US US10/935,276 patent/US7334904B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP1573368A4 (en) | 2006-05-10 |
| BRPI0316517B1 (en) | 2017-07-18 |
| US6902280B2 (en) | 2005-06-07 |
| KR20050110610A (en) | 2005-11-23 |
| MXPA05006380A (en) | 2005-08-26 |
| EP1573368B1 (en) | 2018-02-21 |
| RU2005121911A (en) | 2006-01-27 |
| BR0316517A (en) | 2005-10-04 |
| US7334904B2 (en) | 2008-02-26 |
| AU2003290666A1 (en) | 2004-07-29 |
| US20050030624A1 (en) | 2005-02-10 |
| US20040114244A1 (en) | 2004-06-17 |
| EP1573368A1 (en) | 2005-09-14 |
| ES2663376T3 (en) | 2018-04-12 |
| JP2006510951A (en) | 2006-03-30 |
| AU2003290666B2 (en) | 2008-10-09 |
| CA2504627C (en) | 2011-03-29 |
| CN100437156C (en) | 2008-11-26 |
| RU2352967C2 (en) | 2009-04-20 |
| KR100981220B1 (en) | 2010-09-10 |
| WO2004061489A1 (en) | 2004-07-22 |
| CN1726411A (en) | 2006-01-25 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKEX | Expiry |
Effective date: 20231107 |