Method for imparting an optical element with a light influencing property in a gradient pattern

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11446697-B2
Application number	US-201616470413-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 28, 2016
Priority date	Dec 28, 2016
Publication date	Sep 20, 2022
Grant date	Sep 20, 2022

Abstract

A method for imparting an optical element with at least one light influencing property in a gradient pattern. The method includes (a) providing an optical substrate having first and second surfaces; (b) depositing a first composition over the first surface of the optical substrate so as to provide a first treated surface region and an untreated surface region, the first composition including a material which provides a light influencing property; (c) depositing a second composition over the optical substrate of (b) to provide a second treated surface region over the untreated surface region and over a portion of the first treated surface region to form a first overlap region; and (d) spinning the optical substrate of (c) thereby providing the optical element having a light influencing property in a gradient pattern.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for imparting an optical element with at least one light influencing property in a gradient pattern, the method comprising:
(a) providing an optical substrate having a first surface and a second surface;
(b) depositing a first composition over a portion of the first surface of the optical substrate so as to provide a first treated surface region and an untreated surface region, the first composition comprising a material which provides at least one light influencing property;
(c) depositing at least one second composition over the optical substrate of (b) to provide at least a second treated surface region over at least a portion of the untreated surface region and over a portion of the first treated surface region to form a first overlap region having a width in the range of 5 to 25 millimeters; and
(d) spinning the optical substrate of (c) thereby providing the optical element having a light influencing property in a non-uniform, linear pattern over the first surface thereof in one direction.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one second composition is deposited over a portion of the first treated surface region to form a first overlap region, and over the entire untreated surface region to form a second treated surface region.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein in (c) the second composition is deposited over a portion of the first treated surface region to form the first overlap region, and over a portion of the untreated surface region to form a second treated surface region and a remaining untreated surface region.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein in (c) at least one additional composition is deposited over at least a portion of the second treated surface region to form a second overlap region, and over at least a portion of the remaining untreated surface region.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein, during the deposition of the at least one second composition and the at least one additional composition, the optical substrate is positioned at an angle of from 15° to 50° from horizontal, and the angle during the deposition of the at least one second composition and the at least one additional composition is the same or different from the angle during the deposition of the first composition.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising (e) subjecting the optical substrate of (d) to at least one of thermal cure or radiation cure conditions.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first composition is deposited over at least 25 percent of the first surface of the optical substrate.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one second composition comprises a material which provides the at least one light influencing property.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first composition comprises a material selected from the group consisting of a fixed tint dye, a photochromic dye, a photochromic-dichroic dye, a dichroic dye, and mixtures thereof.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one second composition comprises a material which provides the at least one light influencing property, the material being selected from the group consisting of a fixed tint dye, a photochromic dye, a photochromic-dichroic dye, a dichroic dye, and mixtures thereof.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein, during the deposition of the first composition, the optical substrate is positioned at an angle of from 15° to 50° from horizontal.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein in (d) the spinning is accomplished in two stages such that the optical substrate of (c) first is subjected to spinning at a speed in the range of 200 rpm to less than 1000 rpm for a period of time in the range of 2 to 20 seconds, then subsequently is subjected to spinning at a speed in the range of 1000 rpm to 2000 rpm for a period of time in the range of 2 to 20 seconds.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the light influencing property is selected from the group consisting of polarization, photochromicity, tint, and combinations of any of the foregoing light influencing properties.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the optical element is selected from the group consisting of lenses, windows, display elements, goggles, visors, face shields, automotive transparencies, aerospace transparencies, and wearable displays.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the optical element is a lens.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first surface of the optical substrate of (a) comprises an alignment layer thereover, and at least the first composition comprises a material selected from the group consisting of a dichroic dye, a photochromic-dichroic dye, and mixtures thereof.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the alignment layer comprises:
(i) an ordered liquid crystal material having an irreversibly fixed first general direction, and at least one of the dichroic dye or the photochromic-dichroic dye are aligned in a second general direction which is parallel to the first general direction; or
(ii) a polymeric sheet having a first general direction, and at least one of the dichroic dye or the photochromic-dichroic dye are aligned in a second general direction which is parallel to the first general direction.

Assignees

• Transitions Optical Ltd

Inventors

• Kumar Anil
• Park David
• Smyth Brian

Classifications

• B29D11/00317

  Production of lenses with markings or patterns · CPC title

• B29D11/00923

  on lens surfaces for colouring or tinting (printing or marking in general B41M) · CPC title

• B05D1/005 Primary

  Spin coating · CPC title

• B05D2203/35

  Glass · CPC title

• B05D5/065

  having colour interferences or colour shifts or opalescent looking, flip-flop, two tones · CPC title