Flexible, substrate-insular retroreflective sheeting

Claim 2

An encapsulated-lens retroreflective sheeting comprising: a) a substantially transparent face member; b) an encapsulating member having a front and a back side, said front side of said encapsulating member and said face member being sealed by a network of interconnecting bonds; and c) retroreflective elements disposed between said face member and said encapsulating member and arranged in substantially a monolayer with an air-interface; wherein said encapsulating member comprises a plasticizer-resistant barrier layer, said barrier layer comprising at least one of the following: polyester, nylon, polyvinylidene dichloride, ethylene vinyl alcohol, fluoropolymer, or metal film, and being substantially impermeable to monomeric plasticizers, and said sheeting is sufficiently flexible to be wrapped around a 1/8 inch mandrel at a temperature of about 0° C., and has an impact-resistance of at least 40 inch-pounds at 0° C.

Claim 3

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said sheeting is sufficiently flexible to be wrapped around a 1/8 inch mandrel at a temperature of about -23° C.

Claim 4

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said sheeting has sufficient impact resistance to withstand a 100 inch-pound impact at a temperature of about 0° C. without breaking.

Claim 5

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said sheeting has sufficient impact resistance to withstand a 160 inch-pound impact at a temperature of about -23° C. without breaking.

Claim 6

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said barrier layer comprises a polymeric film.

Claim 7

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said barrier layer comprises a metal film and is between about 0.25 and about 3 mils thick.

Claim 8

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said barrier layer is between about 0.25 and about 10 mils thick.

Claim 9

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said barrier layer is between about 0.25 and about 1 mil thick.

Claim 10

The sheeting of claim 8 wherein said barrier layer comprises a biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate film.

Claim 11

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said barrier layer is between about 2 and about 4 mils thick.

Claim 12

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said barrier layer comprises an extruded film.

Claim 13

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said barrier layer was used as a sealing film during the formation of said network of interconnecting bonds.

Claim 14

The sheeting of claim 12 wherein said barrier layer comprises a biaxially-oriented polyethylene terphthalate film.

Claim 15

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said face member is multilayer.

Claim 16

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said face member comprises at least one of the following: protective agents, colorants, and adhesion promoters.

Claim 17

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said encapsulating member comprises at least one of the following: coloring agent, protective agent, adhesion promoter, and processing aid.

Claim 18

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said encapsulating member comprises a layer of binder material on the front side thereof and said retroreflective elements are partially embedded in and protrude from said front side thereof.

Claim 19

The sheeting of claim 17 wherein said binder layer comprises a substantially thermoplastic material.

Claim 20

The sheeting of claim 17 wherein said binder layer comprises at least one of the following: urethanes, vinyls, and olefins.

Claim 21

The sheeting of claim 17 wherein said binder layer comprises a curable material.

Claim 22

The sheeting of claim 17 wherein said retroreflective elements are glass microspheres having reflectors disposed behind the rear surfaces thereof.

Claim 23

The sheeting of claim 21 wherein said microspheres have an average diameter are between about 40 and about 200 microns.

Claim 24

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said retroreflective elements are prismatic reflectors and are disposed on the back side of said face member.

Claim 25

The sheeting of claim 1 further comprising a mounting adhesive on the back side of said encapsulating member.

Claim 26

The sheeting of claim 24 wherein said adhesive comprises a plasticizer-tolerant adhesive.

Claim 27

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said sheeting is adhered to a plasticized substrate.

Claim 28

The sheeting of claim 1 further comprising a plasticizer-tolerant reinforcing member adhered to the back side of said encapsulating member.

Claim 29

The sheeting of claim 1 which is adhered to a traffic cone.

Claim 30

The sheeting of claim 1 wherein said barrier layer is substantially impermeable to dioctyl phthalate and dioctyl terephthalate.

Claim 31

An encapsulated-element retroreflective sheeting comprising: a) a substantially transparent face member; b) an encapsulating member having a front and a back side, said front side of said encapsulating member and said face member being sealed by a network of interconnecting bonds; and c) retroreflective elements disposed on the back side of said face member and arranged in substantially a monolayer with an air-interface; wherein said encapsulating member comprises a plasticizer-resistant barrier layer comprising at least one of the following: polyester, nylon, polyvinylidene dichloride, ethylene vinyl alcohol, fluoropolymer, or metal film, said barrier layer being substantially impermeable to monomeric plasticizers.

Claim 32

An encapsulated-element retroreflective sheeting comprising: a) a substantially transparent face member; b) an encapsulating member having a front and a back side, said front side of said encapsulating member and said face member being sealed by a network of interconnecting bonds; and c) retroreflective elements disposed on the back side of said face member and arranged in substantially a monolayer with an air-interface; wherein said encapsulating member comprises a plasticizer-resistant barrier layer comprising at least one of the following: polyester, nylon, polyvinylidene dichloride, ethylene vinyl alcohol, fluoropolymer, or metal film, said barrier layer being substantially impermeable to monomeric plasticizers.

Claim 33

An encapsulated-element retroreflective sheeting comprising: a) a substantially transparent face member; b) an encapsulating member having a front and a back side, said front side of said encapsulating member and said face member being sealed by a network of interconnecting bonds; and c) retroreflective elements disposed between said face member and said encapsulating member and arranged in substantially a monolayer with an air-interface; wherein said encapsulating member comprises a plasticizer-resistant barrier layer and a layer of binder material in which said retroreflective elements are partially embedded, said sheeting is sufficiently flexible to wrapped around a 1/8 inch mandrel at a temperature of about 0° C. and has an impact-resistance of at least 40 inch-pounds at 0° C., said barrier layer and said layer of binder material are self-adhered directly together, said barrier layer comprising at least one of the following: polyester, nylon, polyvinylidene dichloride, ethylene vinyl alcohol, fluoropolymer, or metal film, said barrier layer being substantially impermeable to monomeric plasticizers.

Claim 34

An encapsulated-element retroreflective sheeting comprising: a) a substantially transparent face member; b) an encapsulating member having a front and a back side, said front side of said encapsulating member and said face member being sealed by a network of interconnecting bonds; and c) retroreflective elements disposed between said face member and said encapsulating member and arranged in substantially a monolayer with an air-interface; wherein said encapsulating member comprises a plasticizer-resistant barrier layer and a layer of binder material in which said retroreflective elements are partially embedded, said sheeting is sufficiently flexible to wrapped around a 1/8 inch mandrel at a temperature of about 0° C. and has an impact-resistance of at least 40 inch-pounds at 0° C., said barrier layer and said layer of binder material are self-adhered directly together, said barrier layer comprising at least one of the following: polyester, nylon, polyvinylidene dichloride, ethylene vinyl alcohol, fluoropolymer, or metal film, said barrier layer being substantially impermeable to monomeric plasticizers.