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BR-122026001818-A2 - Optical articles with specific colored brightness.

BR122026001818A2BR 122026001818 A2BR122026001818 A2BR 122026001818A2BR-122026001818-A2

Abstract

The optical articles disclosed here provide polarized brightness in a certain adjustable color that is visually more noticeable than a normal tinted lens or a normal polarized lens. Optical articles, including lenses for sunglasses, that are configured to color plane polarized light transmitted through the lens will draw the user's attention and help identify contours or hazards on surfaces in the user's field of vision.

Inventors

  • Srinivasan Balasubramanian
  • Aref Jallouli
  • Christelle Marck

Assignees

  • ESSILOR INTERNATIONAL

Dates

Publication Date
20260317
Application Date
20191204
Priority Date
20181206

Claims (14)

  1. 1. Optical article configured to color plane polarized light transmitted through the optical article, the optical article characterized by having a color (A) and comprising: an optical article base material; a polarizing layer having a first color dyeing of color (B); and a second color dyeing of color (C); wherein: the difference in polarizing efficiency (ΔPE(A)) of light transmitted through the optical article is at least 30% between a first wavelength in the visible and a second wavelength in the visible; the overall PE of the optical article is less than 90%; and the color difference (ΔE) between the color of the optical article (A) and the color of the first color dyeing (B) is greater than 2.
  2. 2. Optical article, according to claim 1, characterized in that the resulting difference in hue (Δh) between a hue of randomly polarized light transmitted through the optical article and a hue of perpendicularly polarized light transmitted through the optical article is at least 20; and the brightness in response to perpendicularly polarized light (L2) transmitted through the optical article is greater than 20.
  3. 3. Optical article, according to claim 1, characterized in that the difference in color transmission of randomly polarized light (ΔEr) between the optical article and a control is less than 20.
  4. 4. Optical article, according to claim 1, characterized in that a difference in perpendicularly polarized light color transmission (ΔEp) between the optical article and a control is greater than 30.
  5. 5. Optical article, according to claim 1, characterized in that the difference in polarizing efficiency (ΔPE(A)) is greater than 30% in the range from 450 to 650 nm.
  6. 6. Optical article, according to claim 1, characterized in that the overall polarizing efficiency is between 10% and 90%.
  7. 7. Optical article, according to claim 1, characterized in that the first colored dyeing is provided within the polarizing layer.
  8. 8. Optical article, according to claim 1, characterized in that the first colored dye is a dichroic dye or a mixture of dichroic dyes.
  9. 9. Optical article, according to claim 1, characterized in that the second colored dyeing is provided within the polarizing layer, on a surface of the polarizing layer, in an additional film laminated onto the polarizing layer or lens, within the optical base material or on a surface of the optical base material, or any combination thereof.
  10. 10. Optical article according to claim 1, characterized in that the second colored dye is a dye or a mixture of dyes.
  11. 11. Optical article, according to claim 1, characterized in that the optical article has an a* ranging from -10 to 10 and a b* ranging from -10 to 10.
  12. 12. Optical article, according to claim 1, characterized in that the optical article has an a* ranging from 0 to 20 and a b* ranging from 25 to 45.
  13. 13. Optical article, according to claim 1, characterized in that the optical article has an a* ranging from -20 to 0 and a b* ranging from 0 to 20.
  14. 14. Optical article, according to claim 1, characterized in that the optical article is a lens for sunglasses, a lens for protective eyewear, a contact lens, a helmet visor, a windshield, a vehicle window or a building window.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates generally to optical articles that enhance areas that cause glare to a user. BACKGROUND [0002] Light is typically not directional, and oscillations of light waves are typically not uniformly aligned; that is, the light waves are oriented randomly in all directions. When light is reflected from flat surfaces, it tends to become plane-polarized, meaning that oscillations of light waves are uniformly aligned in the same direction (usually horizontal). This creates an uncomfortable and potentially dangerous intensity of reflected light that causes glare and reduces visibility. [0003] Sunglasses lenses mostly come in one of two types: (1) tinted, non-polarized; and (2) polarized. Tinted, non-polarized sunglasses employ a colored tint that reduces light transmission through the lens. Due to the absence of a polarizing filter, these sunglasses lenses do not block polarized glare. Polarized lenses include a polarizing filter and block most of the light from polarized glare. [0004] In some cases, it is beneficial for a sunglass wearer to use polarized lenses. Boatmen and fishermen, for example, benefit from the ability of polarized lenses to reduce glare reflected from the surrounding water. Non-polarized tinted lenses do not reduce glare reflected from the water. [0005] Many sunglasses exist as one of two extremes — polarized lenses that block most plane-polarized light, and tinted lenses that reduce transmittance over certain wavelength ranges and do not block plane-polarized light. However, in some cases, it is beneficial for a sunglasses wearer to employ lenses that enhance and draw attention to plane-polarized light. [0006] People involved in outdoor activities, such as skiing, skating, cycling, and drivers, benefit from seeing some level of polarized glare. For example, a car driver driving on an icy road will benefit from recognizing icy patches that reflect plane-polarized light. For this purpose, it will be beneficial to produce a lens for sunglasses or other optical article that allows some plane-polarized light to pass through the lens. It will also be beneficial to provide the polarized glare in a certain adjustable color that is visually more noticeable than a normal tinted lens or a normal polarized lens. Lenses that are configured to color plane-polarized light transmitted through the lens will draw the user's attention and help identify the contours or "hazards" of the surface. SUMMARY [0007] The present disclosure solves this problem by providing optical articles that transmit partially polarized brightness in adjustable colors that help a user to see the contours of surfaces. This type of optical article may have application in sporting activities such as skiing, skating, cycling, and water sports, and in the detection of potentially hazardous surfaces such as black ice; such an optical article is described in claims 1 to 14. [0008] Some aspects of the disclosure are directed to an optical article configured to color plane-polarized light transmitted through the optical article. In some embodiments, the optical article has a color (A) and comprises an optical article base material, a polarizing layer having a first color dyeing (B) and a second color dyeing (C), wherein the difference in polarizing efficiency (ΔPE(A)) of light transmitted through the optical article is at least 30% between a first wavelength in the visible and a second wavelength in the visible; the overall PE of the optical article is less than 90%; and the color difference (ΔE) between the color of the optical article (A) and the color of the first color dyeing (B) is greater than 2. PE(A) is the polarizing efficiency as a function of wavelength and is represented by the equation: where T(Δ)par and T(Δ)perp are the transmittance of polarized light parallel to the polarization axis of the lens at wavelength Δ, and the transmittance of polarized light perpendicular to the polarization axis of the lens at wavelength Δ, respectively. The overall polarizing efficiency is represented by the equation: where Tv(par) and Tv(perp) are the visible light transmittance of light polarized parallel and perpendicular to the polarization axis of the lens, respectively. The Tv values can, in turn, be calculated from the formula: where Tv% is the visible light transmission; D(À) is the spectral distribution of the CIE D65 illuminant; VM(À) is the CIE standard photopic luminosity efficiency; t(À) is the spectral transmittance in the 380-780 nm range; and ΔA is the wavelength range. The ΔE values are calculated using the formula: where ΔE is the color difference between two lenses, L is the clarity, a* is the red-green color component, b* is the yellow-blue color component, and the subscripts refer to the corresponding parameters of a first lens and a second lens. [0009] Any embodiment of any of the compositions and/or methods disclosed may consist of or consist essentially of - rather t