Retroreflective composite reflective microspheres and reflective inorganic material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12196987-B2
Application number	US-202117498533-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 11, 2021
Priority date	Jan 12, 2021
Publication date	Jan 14, 2025
Grant date	Jan 14, 2025

Abstract

A robust sintered retroreflective composite comprising, a core bead, a peripheral bead, and an interphase coating. The bead can be used in typical retroreflective indicia and uses.

First claim

We claim:

1. A sintered retroreflective composite comprising
a core bead having a diameter of greater than 500μ; and on a core bead surface,
a plurality of peripheral beads having a diameter of less than 400μ and having a refractive index greater than about 1.8; and
a sintered interphase coating having a thickness of about 10 to 100 μm; wherein the retroreflective composite comprises the core bead and the peripheral beads bonded with the interphase coating comprising an inorganic pigment, a glass particulate, and an interfacial modifier.

2. The composite of claim 1 wherein the inorganic pigment comprises mica.

3. The composite of claim 2 wherein the inorganic pigment comprises a combination of mica and TiO 2 .

4. The composite of claim 3 wherein the inorganic pigment comprises mica with a surface coating of TiO 2 .

5. The composite of claim 1 wherein the core bead comprises a spherical core bead.

6. The composite of claim 1 wherein the core bead comprises a transparent core bead.

7. The composite of claim 6 wherein the core bead comprises a soda lime glass.

8. The composite of claim 6 wherein the core bead has a diameter of about 1 to 2.5 mm.

9. The composite of claim 6 wherein the core bead has a diameter of about 1.2 to 2 mm.

10. The composite of claim 1 wherein the peripheral bead and the glass particulate are similar in in a chemistry of the composition.

11. The composite of claim 1 wherein for every part by weight of the interfacial modifier there is about 1 to 100 parts of glass particulate and 1 to 100 parts of inorganic pigment.

12. The composite of claim 1 wherein the peripheral bead has a diameter of about 10 to 100μ.

13. The composite of claim 1 wherein the peripheral bead has a refractive index of about 1.8 to 3.

14. The composite of claim 1 wherein the peripheral bead has a refractive index of about 1.8 to 2.6.

15. The composite of claim 1 wherein the peripheral bead is a hollow glass microsphere.

16. The composite of claim 1 wherein the peripheral beads form a complete single layer of peripheral beads on the surface of the core bead.

17. The composite of claim 1 wherein the glass particulate is a finely divided glass particulate having a particle size of less than 100μ.

18. The composite of claim 1 wherein the interfacial modifier comprises an organo-metallic compound.

19. The composite of claim 1 wherein the bead comprises aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, silicon dioxide, carborundum, titanium nitride, titanium carbide, or tungsten carbide.

Assignees

• Tundra Composites Llc
• Tundra Compoistes Llc

Inventors

• Bartel Adam
• Heikkila Kurt
• Kroll John

Classifications

• B29D11/00605

  Production of reflex reflectors · CPC title

• B05D5/063

  Reflective effect (B05D5/067 takes precedence) · CPC title

• C03C25/46

  Metals · CPC title

• C03C12/02

  Reflective beads · CPC title

• C03C17/008

  comprising a mixture of materials covered by two or more of the groups C03C17/02, C03C17/06, C03C17/22 and C03C17/28 · CPC title