EP0481634A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Removable, high temperature resistant retroreflective marking material
Assignee: 3M Co
•
Filing: 1991-10-02
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2011-10-02
Abstract
Abstract A retroreflective marking material which can be secured to a substrate, e.g., a firefighter's helmet, and then readily removed, even after exposure to heat and flame, when desired. The marking material can contain fluorescent coloring agent(s) to afford good daylight visibility.
Inventors
- 👤 David A. C/O Minnesota Mining And Engler
- 👤 Britton G. C/O Minnesota Mining And Billingsley
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 09:11
CPC Classifications
G; G08; G08B; G08B5/00; G08B5/004; A; A42; A42B; A42B3/00; A42B3/04; A42B3/06; A42B3/061; A62; A62B; A62B17/00; A62B17/003; G02; G02B; G02B5/00; G02B5/12; G02B5/126; G02B5/128; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S428/00; Y10S428/906; Y10S428/913; Y10S428/92; Y10S428/921; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/14; Y10T428/1405; Y10T428/24; Y10T428/24355; Y10T428/24372; Y10T428/24421; Y10T428/24802; Y10T428/24942; Y10T428/25; Y10T428/252; Y10T428/28; Y10T428/2848; Y10T428/2852; Y10T428/2878; Y10T428/2891; Y10T428/29; Y10T428/2982; Y10T428/2991; Y10T428/2993; Y10T428/2996; Y10T428/31504; Y10T428/31507; Y10T428/31551; Y10T428/31645; Y10T428/31652; Y10T428/31663; Y10T428/31826; Y10T428/31855; Y10T428/31935
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
106 words
A marking material characterized in that said marking material comprises: a) a flexible retroreflective sheeting comprising a retroreflective layer of closely packed retroreflective elements protruding from the front surface of a binder layer, a fire resistant fabric disposed behind the binder layer, and optionally a layer of bonding adhesive bonding said binder layer to the front of said fire resistant fabric; and b) a mounting adhesive layer covering the rear of the fire resistant fabric, which mounting adhesive adheres strongly to polycarbonate and yet can be stripped cleanly from the polycarbonate after being held in a forced air oven at 260 ° C for 5 minutes.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
106 words
A marking material characterized in that said marking material comprises: a) a flexible retroreflective sheeting comprising a retroreflective layer of closely packed retroreflective elements protruding from the front surface of a binder layer, a fire resistant fabric disposed behind the binder layer, and optionally a layer of bonding adhesive bonding said binder layer to the front of said fire resistant fabric; and b) a mounting adhesive layer covering the rear of the fire resistant fabric, which mounting adhesive adheres strongly to polycarbonate and yet can be stripped cleanly from the polycarbonate after being held in a forced air oven at 260 ° C for 5 minutes.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
126 words
The marking material of claim 1 further characterized in at least one of the following: a) said mounting adhesive comprises (1) a copolymer of alkyl acrylate and a minor amount of at least one vinyl-unsaturated homopolymerizable emulsifier monomer which is a surfactant having both a hydrophobic and a hydrophilic moiety and (2) from about 5 to about 50 weight percent of tackifier resin; or b) said mounting adhesive comprises a copolymer of alkyl acrylate and a small amount of a monovalent salt of a styrene sulfonate; or c) said mounting adhesive comprises a blend of (1) a tacky adhesive that is capable of being emulsified in water and (2) a copolymer of alkyl acrylate and a small amount of a monovalent salt of a styrene sulfonate.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
30 words
The marking material of claim 2 c) further characterized in that said tacky adhesive is derived from a member selected from rubbers, silicones, polyvinyl acetate modified acrylics, and polyvinyl acetates.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
32 words
The marking material of claim 1 further characterized in that said mounting adhesive provides a room temperature adhesion to polycarbonate of between about 100 and about 3000 grams/inch-width (39.0 and 1180 grams/centimeter-width).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
26 words
The marking material of claim 1 further characterized in that said retroreflective elements comprise substantially transparent microspheres with specularly reflective layers on the rear portions thereof.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
63 words
The marking material of claim 5 further characterized in at least one of the following: a) said specularly reflective layers comprise at least one of the following: partially-light-transmissive coatings, metallic coatings, or reflective particles in said binder layer; or b) said specularly reflective layers comprise partially- light-transmissive coatings consisting of two layers that differ in index of refraction by at least about 0.1.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
25 words
The marking material of claim 1 further characterized in that at least one of said optional bonding layer and said mounting adhesive contains fire retardant.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
18 words
The marking material of claim 1 further characterized in that said binder layer contains a fluorescent coloring agent.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
16 words
The marking material of claim 1 wound upon itself in roll form for storage or shipment.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
17 words
A polycarbonate helmet to which marking material of claim 1 has been adhered by said mounting adhesive.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.