Components of articles that include an optical element that imparts structural color to the component are provided. Methods of making the components including the optical element, and methods of using the components such as to make an article of manufacture are provided.

A composite and a coating having engineered reflective properties are described. The composite comprises a matrix and flakes of a multilayer polymer film including one or more bilayers including at least a layer of a first polymer and a layer of a second polymer having a different refractive index than the first polymer. The coating described includes the composite as applied to a surface and has a reflectance of at least 10% for a selected wavelength range and a transmittance of at least 50% at wavelengths outside of the selected wavelength range. Also described are methods for forming the composite and the coating.

The present invention provides a method for fabricating small right angle prism mirrors, projecting system, and small right angle prism mirrors fabricated by a semiconductor process. The method comprises: coating a reflecting layer on a top surface of a glass substrate; forming an optical glue layer on a bottom surface of the glass substrate; utilizing a mold to form a 3D shape on the optical glue layer; exposing the optical glue layer having the 3D shape to solidify the optical glue layer having the 3D shape and combine the glass substrate having the reflecting layer and the optical glue layer having the 3D shape; removing the mold to form a small prism array; and dicing the small prism array to generate a plurality of small right angle prism mirrors.

A new polymer coating for metal surfaces that allows for the application of disperse dyes in a sublimation process that preserves the luster and metal iridescence naturally occurring in a metal surface, such as occurs on a polished aluminum sheet. The coating includes a combination of natural metal oxide additives having the capability to be prepared in nano-sized particles and combined with an organic polymer coating binder and resin in restricted loading levels to allow for light penetration to and from the polished metal surface. An optimal loading level for the additive that utilizes particles having a size of between 5 nm and 15 nm of metal oxide additives is approximately 20 percent by weight of solids.

A printed matter has a substrate and a glossy layer provided on the substrate. The substrate is at least one selected from the group consisting of a steel plate, a metal plate, a plastic plate, a film, a ceramic plate, concrete, wood, glass, and fabric (the substrate is not a transparent member), wherein the glossy layer comprises a translucent ink, wherein on a surface of the substrate, a first region including a first protrusion formed along a first direction in a plane and a second region including a second protrusion formed along a second direction different from the first direction are formed, and wherein the first protrusion includes a curved part which is curved from the first direction to the second direction and connected to the second region.

One or more aspects of the present disclosure provide optical element transfer structures that include an optical element releasably coupled with a transfer medium and methods of making and using the optical element transfer structures. The optical element transfer structures can be used to dispose an optical element onto an article, whereby the optical element imparts a structural color to the article.

A rotary mill for grinding recycled glass materials into particles has a housing defining an impact chamber with a rotor in the chamber at the bottom of an inclined guide wall underneath the feed opening. The rotor has a plurality of axially extending, angularly spaced massive impact hammers so that the impact hammers impact and deflect the solid materials onto a plurality of shatter bars located at the peripheral wall. Each of the impact hammers has a leading blade element of a hardened steel which has a front face inclined relative to a bottom portion of the guide surface so that an outer edge of the front face is angularly advanced relative to an inner edge thereof.

A process for metallising a polymeric surface of an article, the process including applying to the polymeric surface a liquid carrier containing a suspension of metallic or metal-looking particles, wherein the polymeric surface and the liquid carrier are such that the wetting angle between the liquid carrier and the polymeric surface is of substantially 90 or above, and wherein the particles and the polymeric surface are such that the particles have a greater affinity to the polymeric surface than to one another or to the liquid, whereby particles suspended in the liquid migrate to the interface between the liquid and the polymeric surface to form a monolayer coating of particles on the polymeric surface.

A method of providing a metallically reflective surface on a substrate includes applying a primer layer to the substrate, mixing a solution of silver salt with a reducing agent and spraying the solution onto the primer layer to form a silver layer, and applying at least one transparent or translucent top coat layer or at least one clear coat layer onto the silver layer, wherein the primer contains a corrosion inhibitor selected from the group consisting of benzotriazole, tolyltriazole, benzimidazole, derivatives of the compounds and mixtures of two or more of the compounds and/or derivatives.

Light diffusing optical fibers for use illumination applications and which have a uniform color gradient that is angularly independent are disclosed herein along with methods for making such fibers. The light diffusing fibers are composed of a silica-based glass core that is coated with a number of layers including a scattering layer.