JP2003315517A - Retroreflective material - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a retroreflective material which has excellent reflective performance and excellent properties even when it is used outdoors and which can be generally easily fabricated by ordinary people a low cost by using an all-purpose transparent film, sheet, plate or glass plate and laminating the back face of the film, sheet or the like to the front face of an open-type retroreflective material. <P>SOLUTION: In the open-type retroreflective material comprising many transparent minute spheres, its surface layer consists of a retroreflective portion composed of the part where the transparent minute spheres 1 are two- dimensionally present and an adhesive portion composed of a part where the transparent minute spheres are not present on the plane. The ratio of the areas ranges from 70:30 to 30:70. A material to be laminated such as a film, a sheet and a plate can be laminated on the front face of the adhesive portion. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a material such as a film, a sheet, or a plate having transparency which is adhered to the surface of the surface to easily add reflectivity to an existing facility.
The present invention relates to a retroreflective material having excellent workability and expandability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a retroreflective material provided with transparent glass microspheres and a metal evaporated reflective layer has been widely used. When the retroreflective material is illuminated by an automobile headlight, the light is retroreflected by the transparent glass microspheres and the metal vapor-deposited reflective layer, and when the light returns to the driver, the display on the reflective material is visually recognized. Is what you can do. In recent years, retro-reflective materials have been used in traffic signs, construction signs, advertising signs, etc. to improve visibility especially at night and from the viewpoint of ensuring traffic safety at night. It has been used more widely than ever before for the decoration of shoes, bags, sports shoes, etc. as a safety clothing such as plows, armbands, etc. as a measure to prevent traffic accidents when the general public walks at night or jogs. ing.

When a retroreflective material is used for displaying a road sign or a signboard, most of it is used outdoors, so that the surface of the retroreflective material is maintained in order to maintain a normal reflective performance even during rain. Requires a surface film or resin layer. That is, a bridge is formed on the surface of an open type retroreflective material, and a surface film is adhered to the bridge to integrate the capsule type retroreflective material, and transparent glass microspheres are completely buried in the resin layer. Generally, a closed type retroreflective material formed by the above method is used.
When these are used as a display, a method of printing characters or a pattern on the surface of the retroreflective material, a method of cutting out the retroreflective material, or the like is adopted, and both are provided on the back surface of the retroreflective material. Adhesives have been used to adhere to substrates such as signs. However, such a method has a problem that the retroreflective material is curled up during long-term use, or is intentionally peeled off by mischief or the like.

Further, since these retroreflective materials are generally manufactured to be used for special purposes such as road signs, special films and resins forming the surface are also used. , It is necessary to use the ink specified by the manufacturer of the reflective material for printing, and the retroreflective material is expensive, so it needs to be used by a highly skilled person, and it cannot be used universally. It was

In order to solve these various problems, a general-purpose transparent film is used on the surface, and characters and patterns are printed on the surface to make it general-purpose. The transparent film is used as a surface film and an adhesive is applied to the surface. Although it may be possible to attach it to a retroreflective material coated with, the above-mentioned closed-type or capsule-type retroreflective material has a problem that the surface film becomes double and the reflection performance deteriorates.

Even so, if the installed signboard is difficult to see at night, if it is desired to improve the visibility,
In general, the open type retroreflective material has higher retroreflectivity than the closed type, and thus it is desired to use the open type retroreflective material. However, compared with the closed type retroreflective material, the open type retroreflective material, in which the transparent glass microspheres are exposed, has an uneven surface, and it requires more specialized equipment to apply the adhesive with a uniform thickness. Experience has been needed. As a countermeasure, there is a method in which a transparent body and an open type retroreflective material are stacked and fixed from the surroundings to obtain the above-mentioned capsule type form, but this method uses a retroreflective material only in the central part of the transparent body. When attaching the retroreflective material to only a part of the transparent body, such as arranging it, when arranging it without contacting the fixture, attach the retroreflective material to a polyester film etc. There is a problem that extra materials and work steps are required, such as fixing the retroreflective material by supplementing the space between the fixtures with another transparent film or the like.

[0007] In addition, as a method often used mainly for producing patches and the like, it is necessary to weld a film, sheet, plate or the like to a transparent glass microsphere or a surface resin of a retroreflective material with a welder. However, this also had a problem that the metal vapor deposition of the reflective layer sparked.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves these various problems and provides a general-purpose transparent film, sheet,
By using a plate, glass plate, etc., and attaching an open type retroreflective material to the back side from the front side, it has excellent reflection performance and is excellent even when used outdoors, and is generally used by ordinary people. However, it is an object of the present invention to provide a retroreflective material that can be easily and inexpensively manufactured.

[0009]

Means for Solving the Problems The inventors of the present invention have conducted extensive studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, and as a result, have a retroreflecting portion and a surface of an adhesive portion in advance. The present invention has been accomplished by discovering that the reflective material has excellent processability and expandability.

That is, according to the present invention, in an open type retroreflective material composed of a large number of transparent microspheres, the surface layer thereof comprises a retroreflective portion and an adhesive portion, and the area ratio thereof is 70:30 to 30. : 70, and relates to a retroreflective material in which a material to be bonded such as a film, a sheet or a plate can be bonded to the adhesive portion from the surface side.

The present invention will be described in detail below. An example of the retroreflective material of the present invention will be described based on FIG. In FIG. 1, a reflective layer 2 is provided behind the transparent microspheres 1, a transparent microsphere 1 provided with the reflective layer 2 behind is provided with a portion 5 and a non-existing portion 6, and an adhesive is provided on the entire rear surface thereof. The layer 3 is provided, and the whole of them is held by the fixing resin layer 4. Here, the refractive index of the transparent microspheres 1 is preferably 1.7 or more,
More preferably, it is 1.8 to 2.3. Refractive index is 1.7
If it is less than 1, the retroreflective performance is deteriorated, which is not preferable. The average particle size of the transparent microspheres 1 is 500 μm or less, preferably 30 to 200 μm. If the average particle diameter exceeds 500 μm, the thickness of the retroreflective material becomes large, and a versatile material cannot be obtained. Any material may be used as the material for the transparent microspheres 1 as long as it has high transparency and a refractive index within the above range, but especially transparent glass microspheres have high transparency, and the refractive index is easily adapted to the purpose and weather resistance. Is also preferable.

The reflective layer 2 provided on the back surface of the transparent microsphere 1 of the present invention is formed by depositing a metal thin film of aluminum, gold, silver, tin, nickel, stainless steel or the like by a method such as vapor deposition, sputtering or plating. Alternatively, a transparent metal oxide film such as aluminum, titanium, or silica or a transparent metal such as zinc sulfide can be formed by vapor deposition, sputtering, or the like.

Here, the thickness of the reflective layer 2 is 300 to 300.
0Å is preferred, and more preferably 500-1500Å
Is. If the thickness of the reflective layer 2 is too thin, the retroreflective performance will be significantly reduced. In particular, an aluminum thin film that is inexpensive and has a high light reflectance is preferably used.

As the adhesive layer 3 used in the present invention,
For example, various synthetic resins such as acrylic resin, urethane resin, polyester resin, epoxy resin, nylon resin, rubber resin and vinyl resin can be used. It is also possible to use a mixture of two or more thereof. Preferably, a resin having a highly durable composition such as weather resistance is used.

As the fixing resin layer 4 used in the present invention, similar to the adhesive layer 3, for example, acrylic resin, urethane resin, polyester resin, epoxy resin,
Various synthetic resins such as nylon-based resin, rubber-based resin and vinyl-based resin can be used. It is also possible to use a mixture of two or more thereof. A resin having a composition that firmly adheres to the transparent microspheres 1 or the reflective layer 2 or the adhesive layer 3 formed on the back surface thereof, has a strong holding force for the transparent microspheres 1 and has high durability such as weather resistance is preferable. Used.
Further, as the fixing resin layer 4, a film or a non-woven fabric is preferably used. As the film, polyester film, nylon film and the like are preferable.

The open type retroreflective material shown in FIG. 1 according to the present invention is a resin for temporary embedding of microspheres such as polyethylene having a low softening point on a film substrate such as a polyethylene terephthalate film produced by the following method. The layers are formed and laminated to create a temporary buried support. The microspheres are heated at a temperature above the softening point of the resin for temporary embedding, and the transparent microspheres are sprinkled over the entire surface in a single layer from above, and the diameter of the transparent microspheres is 20 to 60.
% In the resin layer for temporary embedding of the microspheres. A metal is vapor-deposited on the exposed microspheres of the transparent microsphere temporary embedding support thus formed to form a laminate having transparent microspheres having a reflective layer. An adhesive is placed on the surface of this laminated body and another substrate in an arbitrary pattern, the laminated body is superposed on the installation surface so that the reflection layer surface is in contact, and pressure is applied from above to the adhesive in the form of the pattern. After burying the transparent microspheres in, the adherend is peeled off to form a laminated body having a transparent microsphere portion having a reflective layer and a transparent microsphere-free portion. As the substrate to be newly prepared here, a polyester film such as polyethylene terephthalate or polyethylene naphthalate,
Paper or the like is preferably used. Further, as the adhesive for forming the pattern, a material such as a saturated polyester-based thermocompression-bonding adhesive having good adhesion to the substrate and metal vapor deposition is selected. A pressure sensitive adhesive such as an acrylic resin is applied to the above to a predetermined thickness. Further, a fixing resin is laminated thereon with a predetermined thickness. Then, the temporary embedding support in which the transparent microspheres have been temporarily embedded is peeled off to obtain a retroreflective material in which the tops of the transparent microspheres and the adhesive are exposed in the air.

As a second example of the present invention, it is manufactured by the following method. A resin layer for temporary embedding of microspheres having a low softening point such as polyethylene is formed and laminated on a film base material such as a polyethylene terephthalate film to prepare a temporary embedding support. This temporary embedding support is heated at a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point of the resin for temporary embedding of microspheres, and transparent microspheres are partially sprinkled on the monolayer to obtain 20-60% of the diameter of the transparent microspheres.
Embedded in a resin layer for temporary embedding of microspheres.

Here, as a method for partially spraying the transparent microspheres, a release film having an arbitrary shape is attached on the temporary embedding support in advance, or thermosetting is performed on the temporary embedding support by gravure printing or the like. For example, a method of partially covering the surface of the temporary buried support by applying a hydrophilic resin or a non-adhesive resin is used. Further, a method is preferably used in which the discharge portion of the device for spraying the transparent microspheres is blocked at an arbitrary interval so that the temporary buried support is sprayed in stripes.

A metal is vapor-deposited on the transparent microsphere exposed portion of the temporary embedding support in which the transparent microspheres thus formed are partially temporarily buried, to form a reflective layer. A pressure sensitive adhesive such as an acrylic resin is applied to the above to a predetermined thickness. Further, a fixing resin is laminated thereon with a predetermined thickness. Then, the temporary embedding support in which the transparent microspheres have been temporarily embedded is peeled off to obtain a retroreflective material in which the tops of the transparent microspheres and the adhesive are exposed in the air.

As one example of the use of the retroreflective material of the present invention, an example in which a retroreflective material having transparent microspheres and an adhesive formed on a checkered flag pattern is attached to a transparent film is shown in FIG. explain. The retroreflective material 7 is the same as that described in FIG. 1, and is composed of the transparent microspheres 1, the reflective layer 2, the adhesive layer 3, and the fixing resin layer 4. The surface film 9 printed with the printing ink 8 is laminated in front of the transparent microspheres 1 and the adhesive layer 3, and is adhered to the surface film 9 by the adhesive layer 3 by pressing. The printing ink 8 is not limited to a transparent or opaque dye or pigment, but a printing ink having good printability on the surface film 9 and strong durability such as weather resistance is selected. When sufficient durability cannot be obtained by itself, additives such as antioxidants and ultraviolet absorbers that improve weather resistance can be appropriately added. Further, by disposing the print surface inside, that is, by disposing the print film between the surface film and the retroreflective material portion, the discoloration of the printing ink is further improved, but in this embodiment, the print surface is emphasized in order to further emphasize the print portion. Was on the outside. Further, the surface film 9 is appropriately selected so as to obtain strong adhesion with the adhesive layer 3. Surface film 9
As the transparent material, those having transparency and strong durability such as weather resistance and impact resistance are preferable. For example, polyurethane film, polycarbonate film, polyester film, acrylic film and the like can be preferably used. Further, the adherend to be surface-adhered is not limited to the film, and a transparent sheet or plate may be used. For example, a sheet material such as an acrylic resin, a polycarbonate resin, or a polyester resin can be preferably used. Further, a glass plate can also be preferably used. The thickness of the adherend on the surface is not particularly limited, but is preferably 50 mm or less. Thickness is 5
When it is attached to a sheet-like material having a thickness of more than 0 mm, the amount of light transmitted to the rear of the sheet rapidly decreases, and sufficient reflection performance may not be obtained. FIG. 3 shows an example of display using the retroreflective material of the present invention. The retroreflective material 7 has a checkered flag pattern, and has a retroreflective portion composed of a portion 5 where the transparent microspheres 1 are present on a plane and an adhesive portion composed of a portion 6 where the transparent microspheres 1 are not present on a plane. Exists. The display body is manufactured by laminating the retroreflective material 7 on the surface film 9 on which characters are printed with the printing ink 8 and adhering it with the adhesive portion.

As another example of the use of the retroreflective material of the present invention, an example in which the retroreflective material 10 of the present invention cut into an arbitrary shape is attached to an existing show window 11 will be described with reference to FIG. To do. Cut-out retroreflective material 7
Is cut out into a desired shape by using a cutting plotter or the like from the base material before peeling the temporary buried support. At this time, the cutting blade of the cutting plotter is inserted from the side of the fixing resin layer 4 in FIG. 1 and the cutting blade is adjusted so as to stop at the temporary embedding support layer. By peeling off, the bonding work can be performed satisfactorily and quickly. If a re-separable resin is used for the adhesive layer used here, the show window can be easily returned to its original state after a necessary period has passed. Removable resins include various synthetic resins such as acrylic resin, urethane resin, rubber resin, vinyl acetate resin, ethylene vinyl acetate resin, and urethane cross-linking resins of these resins. Can be preferably selected depending on the material of the film, sheet or plate. Further, according to the period of implementation, a re-adhesive resin obtained by crosslinking the above resin is preferably selected so as to exhibit a slight adhesive property even after re-peeling.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Embodiment 1 A temporary buried support in which a polyethylene film having a thickness of 40 μm is laminated on a polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 75 μm is heated at 120 ° C. for 3 minutes to melt the polyethylene film, and an average particle diameter of 80 μm is applied onto the polyethylene film.
High-refractive-index transparent glass microspheres having a refractive index of 1.92 are dispersed over almost one surface, and approximately 50% of the diameter of the transparent glass microspheres is temporarily buried.

A reflective layer of an aluminum thin film having a thickness of about 800 Å is formed thereon by vacuum vapor deposition. Then separately 7
A thermocompression-bonding adhesive made of saturated polyester resin is applied to a 5 μm polyethylene terephthalate film with a thickness of about 4
A checkered flag pattern with a side of 10 mm is formed so as to have a size of 0 μm, and then the transparent glass microspheres are thermocompression-bonded to a temporary embedding support that is temporarily embedded, and then peeled off, and the transparent glass microspheres become a checkered flag pattern. Obtain the remaining temporary buried support.

Further, an acrylic resin is applied to the entire surface of the temporary buried support so as to have a thickness of 60 μm, and this is pressure-bonded to a fixing resin layer made of polyester resin having a thickness of 20 μm to form a retroreflective portion. A retroreflective material having a 50:50 surface of the adhesive portion having no retroreflective component is obtained.

The retroreflective material thus prepared was pressed from the front surface side to a transparent 75 μm polyethylene terephthalate film on which characters were previously printed and adhered to produce a display. Even when this display was installed outdoors, good visibility was obtained both during the day and at night, and it could be used for a long period of time.

Embodiment 2 In the same manner as in Embodiment 1, a temporary buried support is obtained in which transparent glass microspheres are left on a checkered flag pattern having a side of 10 mm. A 20 μm thick thermocompression-bonding resin film with a release paper made of urethane is thermocompression-bonded to the entire surface of this temporary buried support, and a retroreflective part and an adhesive part having no retroreflective component are composed of a 50:50 surface. A retroreflective material that can be bonded by thermocompression is obtained.

Separately from this, a polyurethane-based resin was applied to a release polyethylene terephthalate film coated with silicon to a thickness of 20 μm and heated at 100 ° C. for 3 minutes, and then the release polyethylene terephthalate film was removed to obtain elasticity. An excellent urethane surface film was obtained.

The retroreflective material and the urethane surface film thus prepared were cut into a size of 10 × 250 mm, and the retroreflective material was peeled off from the release paper on the back surface, arranged in order on the back part of the jumper, and then thermocompression bonded. As a result, a jumper having a reflector patch was obtained. The reflector was sufficiently visible to the headlights of the car even at night, and could be used to extend and contract the clothes when worn.

Embodiment 3 A temporary buried support obtained by laminating a polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 75 μm with a polyethylene film having a thickness of 40 μm is heated at 120 ° C. for 3 minutes and then heated to 10 mm.
A release polyethylene terephthalate film coated with silicon having a width on one side is attached at 10 mm intervals with the release surface facing outward. This is heated again at 120 ° C. for 3 minutes to melt the polyethylene film, and high refractive index glass microspheres having an average particle size of 80 μm and a refractive index of 1.92 are dispersed on the polyethylene film, and the diameter of the transparent glass microspheres is about 50. Temporarily bury%. In this way, a film having a width of 10 mm parallel to the direction in which the transparent glass microspheres are spread and having a portion in which the transparent glass microspheres are embedded and a portion in which the transparent glass microspheres do not exist alternately is obtained.

A reflective layer of an aluminum thin film having a thickness of about 800 Å is formed thereon by vacuum vapor deposition. Further, an acrylic resin having a thickness of 60 μm is formed on the entire surface of the temporary buried support.
It is applied so as to have a thickness of m, and this is pressure-bonded with a fixing resin layer made of a polyester-based resin having a thickness of 20 μm, and the retroreflective portion and the adhesive portion having no retroreflective component have a 50:50 stripe retroreflective portion. Get the wood.

The retroreflective material and the urethane surface film thus prepared were set to 20 mm so that the reflective material portion was in the center.
I slit-cut the width and glued it to the bottom of the rear glass of the car from the inside. Good visibility was obtained even when the vehicle was stopped at night, and it could be used for a long time.

Embodiment 4 In the same manner as in Embodiment 1, a temporary buried support is obtained in which transparent glass microspheres are left on a checkered flag pattern having a side of 10 mm. An isocyanate-crosslinked acrylic resin as a releasable adhesive was applied to the entire surface of this temporary buried support to a thickness of 60 μm, and this was pressure-bonded with a thermocompression-bondable adhesive film made of a polyester-based resin having a thickness of 20 μm, 50:50 retroreflective part and adhesive part without retroreflective component
A retroreflective material consisting of the surface of

The retroreflective material thus prepared was cut into letters in advance by a cutting machine and pressed from the front surface side to a glass window for adhesion to manufacture a display body. Good visibility was obtained both during the day and at night, and the retroreflective material portion of the present embodiment was peeled off from the glass window, but could be completely peeled off without a part of the reflecting material remaining on the glass window.

Embodiment 5 A polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 75 μm is coated with a polyethylene emulsion having a melting point of 100 ° C. in a width of 10 mm in parallel with the direction of application.
A temporary embedding support is obtained by coating and drying in stripes with a space of mm. This temporary buried support is heated at 110 ° C. for 3 minutes to melt only the striped polyethylene film, and the average particle diameter of 80 μm and the refractive index of 1.
92 high refractive index glass microspheres are sprinkled, and approximately 50% of the diameter of the transparent glass microspheres is temporarily buried.

A reflective layer of an aluminum thin film having a thickness of about 800 Å is formed thereon by vacuum vapor deposition. Further, an acrylic resin having a thickness of 60 μm is formed on the entire surface of the temporary buried support.
m, and a 20 μm thick fixing resin layer made of a polyester resin is laminated thereon, and the retroreflective portion and the adhesive portion having no retroreflective component are 50:50 stripes. Get a reflector.

The retroreflective material prepared in this manner was slit-cut to a width of 20 mm so that the reflective material portion was in the center,
I glued it from the inside to the bottom of the rear glass of the car. Good visibility was obtained even when the vehicle was stopped at night, and it could be used for a long time.

Embodiment 6 In the same manner as in Embodiment 1, a temporary buried support is obtained in which a transparent glass microsphere is left in a checkered flag pattern having a side of 10 mm. A colorless transparent acrylic resin is applied to the entire surface of this temporary buried support to a thickness of 60 μm, and a fixing resin layer made of a polyester resin colored with a fluorescent orange pigment having a thickness of 20 μm is laminated thereon. Then, a retroreflective material is obtained in which the retroreflective portion and the adhesive portion without the retroreflective component, through which the fluorescent orange colored layer is visible, have a surface of 50:50.

The retroreflective material thus prepared was cut out into characters by a cutting machine in advance and pressed against a glass window and adhered to manufacture a display body. Good visibility was obtained both daytime and nighttime, and it could be used for a long time. Particularly in the daytime, better visibility was obtained as compared with the retroreflective material containing no fluorescent color.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, the surface layer of the retroreflective material is composed of the retroreflective part and the adhesive part having no retroreflective component, and various patterns can be easily set. A reflective material is provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a retroreflective material of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a usage example of the retroreflective material.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a usage example of the retroreflective material.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another usage example of the retroreflective material.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 transparent microspheres 2 reflective layer 3 Adhesive layer 4 Adhesive resin layer 5 Area where transparent microspheres exist on a plane 6 Area where transparent microspheres do not exist on a plane 7 Retroreflective material 8 printing ink 9 Surface film 10 Retro-reflective material 11 show windows

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme Coat (reference) G09F 3/10 G09F 3/10 J 13/16 13/16 F (72) Inventor Misao Iizumi Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture 2-16-0 Ogawa 2-chome, Chiyokawa-cho (72) Inventor Daisuke Minoura 2-16-1 Ogawa 2-chome, Chiyokawa-cho, Kameoka-shi, Kyoto Prefecture F-Term (Reference) 2D064 BA03 CA05 CA09 EA02 EA03 EB26 2H042 EA07 EA13 EA17 EA21 EA22 5C096 AA15 AA24 AA25 BA03 BB27 BB34 BB41 CA02 CA03 CA12 CA13 CA28 CA32 CB01 CE03 CE22 EB05 EB18 EB19 FA01 FA02 FA03 FA07

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An open type retroreflective material comprising a large number of transparent microspheres, the surface layer of which comprises a retroreflective portion and an adhesive portion, and the area ratio thereof is 7%.
The retroreflective material is 0:30 to 30:70, and a material to be bonded such as a film, a sheet or a plate can be bonded to the adhesive portion from the surface side. 2. The retroreflective material according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive portion is made of an adhesive. 3. The retroreflective material according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive portion is a thermocompression-bonding adhesive. 4. The retroreflective material according to claim 2, wherein the adhesive portion is a laminate of a transparent pressure-sensitive adhesive and a resin containing a coloring component and / or a luminous component. 5. The retroreflective material according to claim 2, wherein the adhesive is removable.