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CN-121999693-A - Articles exhibiting a patterned appearance in reflection and associated methods

CN121999693ACN 121999693 ACN121999693 ACN 121999693ACN-121999693-A

Abstract

An article comprising a substrate and a component disposed on a major surface of the substrate is described herein. The assembly includes a first ink layer disposed proximate the major surface, and an intermediate layer. The first ink layer is printed with a randomized droplet distribution, and the intermediate layer is configured to reflect ambient light transmitted through the first ink layer to present a reflective pattern when the article is viewed from the first major surface. The pattern includes a color boundary extending a distance of at least 5mm and is visible to the naked eye when the first major surface is illuminated by a D65 light source. The first ink layer is printed such that when the display panel is positioned behind the assembly and energized to emit light through the assembly and the substrate, no interference pattern is visible through the assembly and the substrate.

Inventors

  • Carlos Francis Alonzo
  • JI BIBI
  • QIU LING
  • SHAO GENRONG
  • SUN FANG
  • Joshua Lee Tocar

Assignees

  • 康宁公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20241107

Claims (20)

  1. 1. An article of manufacture, the article of manufacture comprising: A substrate comprising a first main surface and a second main surface opposite to the first main surface, and An assembly disposed on the second major surface, the assembly comprising: A first ink layer disposed proximate the second major surface, and An intermediate layer positioned such that the first ink layer is disposed between the intermediate layer and the second major surface, wherein: the first ink layer is printed with a randomized droplet distribution, The intermediate layer is configured to reflect ambient light transmitted through the first ink layer back through the first ink layer and the substrate to present a pattern of reflection of the ambient light when the article is viewed from the first major surface, The pattern comprising a color boundary extending a distance of at least 5mm and being visible to the naked eye when the first major surface is illuminated by a D65 light source, and When the display panel is positioned behind the assembly and energized to emit light through the assembly and the substrate, no interference pattern is visible through the assembly and the substrate.
  2. 2. The article of claim 1, wherein the randomized droplet distribution does not exhibit a linear trajectory corresponding to a raster pattern of a printhead used to deposit the first ink layer.
  3. 3. The article of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the pattern is a wood grain pattern.
  4. 4. The article of claim 3, wherein the pattern comprises a wood grain structure and a background, the wood grain structure comprising a width of less than or equal to 500 μιη.
  5. 5. The article of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the pattern comprises a plurality of color boundaries, wherein the pattern transitions between different hues at different spatial locations.
  6. 6. The article of any one of claims 1-2, wherein: The assembly further includes a second ink layer positioned such that the intermediate layer is disposed between the first ink layer and the second ink layer, and The second ink layer is configured to counteract the pattern in transmission such that the color boundary is not visible when the light is transmitted through the component and substrate.
  7. 7. The article of claim 6, wherein the second ink layer is printed with a randomized droplet distribution.
  8. 8. The article of claim 7, wherein the first ink layer is disposed directly on the second major surface of the substrate.
  9. 9. The article of claim 8, wherein the second ink layer is disposed on (a) a second substrate positioned between the first ink layer and the display panel, or (b) directly on the intermediate layer.
  10. 10. The article of claim 9, wherein the intermediate layer is one of an air gap, a layer of material exhibiting a refractive index that is contrasted with the first ink layer, and a stack of materials.
  11. 11. A method, the method comprising: Printing a first ink layer on a second major surface of a glass substrate according to a pattern using an inkjet printhead, wherein the printing of the first ink layer occurs with at least one of a head gap greater than 1.5mm, a resolution greater than 720 x 1440, and a droplet size comprising a number of droplets greater than 10pL in volume to provide a randomized droplet distribution, and Positioning an intermediate layer such that the first ink layer is disposed between the intermediate layer and the second major surface to form an article, wherein: When ambient light is transmitted through the substrate and the first ink layer, the ambient light reflects off the intermediate layer and is transmitted back through the first ink layer and the substrate to present a pattern of reflection of the ambient light when the article is viewed from the first major surface, The pattern comprising a color boundary extending a distance of at least 5mm and being visible to the naked eye when the first major surface is illuminated by a D65 light source, and When a display panel is positioned behind the intermediate layer such that the intermediate layer is disposed between the first ink layer and the display panel, light emitted by the display panel is transmitted through the intermediate layer, the first ink layer, and the substrate to exhibit a transmissive appearance without interference patterns.
  12. 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising subjecting the second major surface to a plasma treatment prior to the printing.
  13. 13. The method of any one of claims 11-12, wherein the printing is performed with a pass number of less than or equal to 24.
  14. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the number of passes is less than or equal to 16.
  15. 15. The method of any one of claims 11-12, wherein the printing is performed with a head gap of greater than or equal to 2.0 mm.
  16. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the printing is performed at a resolution of 1440 x 1440.
  17. 17. The method of any one of claims 11-12, wherein the printing is performed at the varying droplet size.
  18. 18. The method of any one of claims 11-12, wherein the printing occurs while heating the glass substrate to a temperature greater than or equal to 25 ℃ and less than or equal to 30 ℃.
  19. 19. The method of any of claims 11-12, further comprising printing a second image layer on the intermediate layer or a second substrate aligned with the glass substrate, wherein the second ink layer is configured to counteract the pattern in transmission such that the color boundary is not visible when the light is transmitted through the intermediate layer, first ink layer, and substrate.
  20. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the printing of the second ink layer is performed with at least one of a head gap greater than 1.5mm, a resolution greater than 720 x 1440, and a varying droplet size to provide a second randomized droplet distribution.

Description

Articles exhibiting a patterned appearance in reflection and associated methods Technical Field The present invention relates to articles exhibiting a patterned appearance in a reflective mode to mitigate interference patterns that may occur in a transmissive mode by an ink layer deposited on a substrate by the methods described herein. Background In various applications, it is desirable to provide an article that has a patterned appearance in reflection but still allows some light transmission to facilitate some degree of functionality. For example, in a cover material application, such a patterned reflective appearance may be used to provide a seamless transition between the display and non-display areas of the article. For example, when viewing the article from a covered surface (e.g., of a plastic or glass display cover material), an empty front (deadfronting) technique may be used to hide the edges of the display panel or the like. From an aesthetic or design standpoint, it is desirable to have an empty front appearance so that when the display is off, the display and non-display areas appear indistinguishable from each other and the cover surface presents a uniform appearance. Such a unified appearance is desirable in other applications in automotive interiors (including in-vehicle displays or touch interfaces) and consumer mobile or household electronic products (including mobile devices and household appliances). Existing air-front technologies typically involve the application of films or layers that reduce the overall optical transmittance of the entire assembly (e.g., including the display panel and cover material). By applying such existing films or layers, articles can be provided that have sufficiently low light transmittance to conceal the various components of the assembly while also providing a uniform appearance by mixing the pattern exhibited by the article with surrounding materials (e.g., the article can be patterned to exhibit wood grain or fabric patterns in reflection). However, some existing components may not provide the desired reflective appearance without significantly adversely affecting the optically transmissive properties of the article. Accordingly, an alternative void front approach is desired that provides a uniform or void front appearance in reflection and improved performance in transmission. Disclosure of Invention Aspects (1) relate to an article comprising a substrate comprising a first major surface and a second major surface opposite the first major surface, and a component disposed on the second major surface, the component comprising a first ink layer disposed proximate the second major surface, and an intermediate layer positioned such that the first ink layer is disposed between the intermediate layer and the second major surface, wherein the first ink layer is printed with a randomized distribution of droplets, the intermediate layer is configured to reflect ambient light transmitted through the first ink layer back through the first ink layer and the substrate to present a pattern of ambient light reflection when the article is viewed from the first major surface, the pattern comprising a color boundary extending a distance of at least 5mm and being visible to the naked eye when the first major surface is illuminated by a D65 light source, and the interference pattern is not visible through the component and the substrate when the display panel is positioned behind the component and energized to emit light through the component and the substrate. Aspect (2) relates to the article of aspect (1), wherein the randomized droplet distribution does not exhibit a linear trajectory corresponding to a raster pattern of a printhead used to deposit the first ink layer. Aspect (3) relates to the article according to any one of aspects (1) - (2), wherein the pattern is a wood grain pattern. Aspect (4) relates to the article according to aspect (3), wherein the pattern comprises a wood grain structure comprising a width of less than or equal to 500 μm and a background. Aspect (5) relates to the article of any one of aspects (1) - (4), wherein the pattern comprises a plurality of color boundaries, wherein the pattern transitions between different hues at different spatial locations. Aspect (6) relates to the article according to any one of aspects (1) - (5), wherein the assembly further comprises a second ink layer positioned such that the intermediate layer is disposed between the first ink layer and the second ink layer, and the second ink layer is configured to counteract the pattern in transmission such that the color boundary is not visible when light is transmitted through the assembly and the substrate. Aspect (7) relates to the article of aspect (6), wherein the second ink layer is printed with a randomized droplet distribution. Aspect (8) relates to the article of any one of aspects (6) - (7), wherein the first ink layer is disposed directly on the second major su