US Patent No: 6,013,370

Number of patents in Portfolio can not be more than 2000

Bright metal flake

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Importance

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Abstract

A rigid and brittle bright metal flake is formed of a central layer of a reflective material supported on both sides by dielectric layers. In a preferred embodiment, the metal layer is aluminum having a thickness of about 100 nm and the dielectrics are either silicon dioxide or magnesium fluoride, each having a thickness of about 100 nm. The result is a very thin three-layered metal flake about 300 nm thick that exhibits a uniaxial compressive strength of about 8 times a corresponding uniaxial tensile strength. As a result, the metal flake is then afforded the benefits of rigidity and brittle fracture during the manufacturing and applicational processes which ultimately provides favorable planar and specular reflectance characteristics in the visible wavelength range.

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First Claim

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Patent Owner(s)

Patent OwnerAddressTotal Patents
JDS UNIPHASE CORPORATIONSAN JOSE, CA1880

International Classification(s)

  • [Classification Symbol]
  • [Patents Count]

Inventor(s)

Inventor Name Address # of filed Patents Total Citations
Coulter, Kent Santa Rosa, CA 2 64
Mayer, Thomas Linz, AT 129 1319
Phillips, Roger W Santa Rosa, CA 125 2651

Cited Art

Patent Info (Count) # Cites Year
 
BASF AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT (3)
4,552,593 Preparation of effect pigments coated with metal oxides 59 1983
4,978,394 Metal oxide coated aluminum pigments 65 1989
5,763,086 Goniochromatic luster pigments with silicon-containing coating 59 1996
 
JDS UNIPHASE CORPORATION (2)
4,838,648 Thin film structure having magnetic and color shifting properties 95 1988
5,135,812 Optically variable thin film flake and collection of the same 118 1991
 
CIBA SPECIALTY CHEMICALS CORPORATION (1)
5,766,335 Colored luster pigments 57 1997
 
E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS AND COMPANY (1)
4,213,886 Treatment of aluminum flake to improve appearance of coating compositions 44 1978
 
ECKART GMBH (1)
5,332,767 Synthetic resin-coated metal pigment, process for the production thereof and use thereof 53 1991
 
Henkel Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien (1)
4,756,771 Colorless sealing layers for anodized aluminum surfaces 54 1987
 
OPTICAL COATING LABORATORY, INC. (1)
4,309,075 Multilayer mirror with maximum reflectance 57 1979
 
SIBERLINE MANUFACTURING CO., INC., A CORP. OF IN (1)
4,629,512 Leafing aluminum pigments of improved quality 29 1985
 
Silberline Limited (1)
5,593,773 Metal powder pigment 41 1995
 
TOYO ALUMINIUM KABUSHIKI KAISHA (1)
5,766,334 Colored titanium flakes, process for their preparation and resin composition containing colored titanium flakes 34 1996
 
WHK, INC. (1)
4,321,087 Process for making metallic leafing pigments 58 1980
 
YKK CORPORATION (1)
5,198,042 Aluminum alloy powders for coating materials, and coating materials containing the alloy powders 41 1991

Patent Citation Ranking

Forward Cites

Patent Info (Count) # Cites Year
 
JDS UNIPHASE CORPORATION (54)
6,157,489 Color shifting thin film pigments 44 1998
6,150,022 Bright metal flake based pigments 68 1998
6,761,959 Diffractive surfaces with color shifting backgrounds 28 1999
6,241,858 Methods and apparatus for producing enhanced interference pigments 37 1999
6,545,809 Color shifting carbon-containing interference pigments 8 1999
6,246,523 Methods of fabricating color shifting thin film pigments 18 2000
6,243,204 Color shifting thin film pigments 32 2000
6,236,510 Color shifting thin film pigments 5 2000
6,524,381 Methods for producing enhanced interference pigments 9 2000
6,387,498 Bright metal flake based pigments 21 2000
6,586,098 Composite reflective flake based pigments comprising reflector layers on bothside of a support layer 30 2000
6,686,042 Optically variable pigments and foils with enhanced color shifting properties 9 2000
6,383,638 Bright metal flake based pigments 10 2000
6,572,784 Luminescent pigments and foils with color-shifting properties 47 2000
6,565,770 Color-shifting pigments and foils with luminescent coatings 56 2000
6,692,830 Diffractive pigment flakes and compositions 30 2001
6,749,936 Achromatic multilayer diffractive pigments and foils 23 2001
6,841,238 Chromatic diffractive pigments and foils 31 2002
6,997,981 Thermal control interface coatings and pigments 8 2002
6,749,777 Diffractive pigment flakes and compositions 28 2002
6,759,097 Methods for producing imaged coated articles by using magnetic pigments 26 2002
6,751,022 Color shifting carbon-containing interference pigments and foils 18 2003
6,744,559 Color shifting carbon-containing interference pigments and foils 2 2003
6,818,299 Multi-layered magnetic pigments and foils 24 2003
7,169,472 Robust multilayer magnetic pigments and foils 3 2003
6,676,741 Methods for producing enhanced interference pigments 4 2003
6,699,313 Composite reflective flake based pigments 4 2003
6,991,860 Titanium-containing interference pigments and foils with color shifting properties 8 2003
6,933,048 Titanium-containing interference pigments and foils with color shifting properties 2 2003
6,849,343 Titanium-containing interference pigments and foils with color shifting properties 2 2003
6,838,166 Multi-layered magnetic pigments and foils 41 2003
6,987,590 Patterned reflective optical structures 26 2003
7,005,178 Security articles having diffractive surfaces and color shifting backgrounds 6 2003
7,754,112 Methods for forming security articles having diffractive surfaces and color shifting backgrounds 0 2003
7,029,745 Security articles having diffractive surfaces and color shifting backgrounds 4 2003
6,833,959 Color shifting carbon-containing interference pigments 0 2004
6,831,785 Color shifting carbon-containing interference pigments 0 2004
7,224,528 Optically variable security devices 9 2005
7,235,300 Titanium-containing interference pigments and foils with color shifting properties 0 2005
7,645,510 Provision of frames or borders around opaque flakes for covert security applications 0 2005
7,667,895 Patterned structures with optically variable effects 1 2005
7,608,330 High chroma optically variable color-shifting glitter comprising particles having interference structure coating 1 2006
8,343,615 Dynamic appearance-changing optical devices (DACOD) printed in a shaped magnetic field including printable fresnel structures 0 2006
7,674,501 Two-step method of coating an article for security printing by application of electric or magnetic field 1 2006
7,630,109 Covert security coating 0 2006
7,625,632 Alignable diffractive pigment flakes and method and apparatus for alignment and images formed therefrom 3 2006
7,876,481 Patterned optical structures with enhanced security feature 0 2006
7,729,026 Security device with metameric features using diffractive pigment flakes 0 2006
7,934,451 Apparatus for orienting magnetic flakes 1 2007
8,118,963 Stamping a coating of cured field aligned special effect flakes and image formed thereby 0 2007
7,550,197 Non-toxic flakes for authentication of pharmaceutical articles 1 2007
7,880,943 Patterned optical structures with enhanced security feature 0 2007
8,025,952 Printed magnetic ink overt security image 1 2007
8,241,748 High chroma optically variable color-shifting strand and woven products 0 2009
 
ENGELHARD CORPORATION (4)
6,325,847 Precious metal color effect materials and production thereof 17 1999
6,475,273 Color effect materials and production thereof 0 2000
6,440,208 Alloy color effect materials and production thereof 9 2000
6,582,764 Hybrid inorganic/organic color effect materials and production thereof 7 2001
 
HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P. (2)
7,349,155 Screen having a layer of reflectors 2 2004
7,189,284 Ink with bragg reflectors 0 2004
 
BASF AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT (1)
7,449,239 Coated metallic luster pigments for pigmenting high molecular weight materials 0 2004
 
ECKART GMBH (1)
6,287,695 Corrosion-stable aluminum pigments and process for the production thereof 4 1997
 
FLEX PROODUCTS, INC. (1)
6,569,529 Titanium-containing interference pigments and foils with color shifting properties 18 2000
 
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY (1)
6,586,046 Fluidized bed apparatus and method for treatment of nonspherical, nonequiaxed particles 4 2000