Thermoset relief patterned sheet

Claim 2

A flexible, composite sheet material having a patterned relief surface of high quality and definition said composite sheet material comprising a flexible base film having opposing front and rear surfaces with the distance therebetween varying over the extent of the base film due to inherent accuracy limitations in the production of said base film and resulting in relatively small but measurable variations in the thickness of the base film, and a continuous coating of a cured thermosetting polymer extending over substantially the entire front surface of said base film and bonded thereto, said coating having a nonplanar outer surface defining a predetermined relief pattern of high quality and durability and of fine definition in said thermosetting polymer layer, the thickness of said cured thermosetting polymer layer in which said relief pattern is formed compensatingly varying in relation to said variations in thickness of said base film so that the distance from the outermost surface portions of the relief pattern to the rear surface of said base film is uniform throughout the sheet material in spite of said variations in thickness of the base film whereby variations in thickness in the overall composite sheet are eliminated.

Claim 3

A sheet material as set forth in claim 1 wherein said base film comprises a thermoplastic polymer.

Claim 4

A sheet material as set forth in claim 1 wherein said base film comprises a polyester film.

Claim 5

A sheet material as set forth in claim 1 wherein said thermosetting polymer coating is adherently and permanently bonded to said base film.

Claim 6

A sheet material as set forth in claim 1 wherein said thermosetting polymer coating is bonded to said base film with a relatively weak bond strength permitting subsequent stripping of the base film from the thermosetting polymer layer.

Claim 7

A sheet material as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cured thermosetting polymer coating comprises an actinic radiation cured polymer.

Claim 8

A sheet material as set forth in claim 6 wherein said actinic radiation cured polymer comprises an acrylated urethane polymer.

Claim 9

A sheet material as set forth in claim 6 wherein said actinic radiation cured polymer is substantially transparent to ultraviolet radiation and comprises an ultraviolet radiation cured polymer.

Claim 10

A sheet material as set forth in claim 6 wherein said actinic radiation cured polymer is substantially opaque to ultraviolet radiation and comprises an electron beam radiation cured polymer.

Claim 11

A sheet material as set forth in claim 1 including an adhesion promoter between the front surface of said base film and said thermosetting polymer coating providing enhanced adhesion between said base film and said thermosetting polymer coating.

Claim 12

A sheet material as set forth in claim 1 which is of predetermined, substantially uniform width, of indeterminate length, and in roll form.

Claim 13

A flexible composite sheet material having a patterned relief surface of high quality and definition, said composite sheet material comprising a flexible base film of molecularly oriented polyethylene terephthalate having front and rear surfaces and a thickness of about 4 to about 10 mils, and a continuous coating of a thermosetting actinic radiation cured acrylated urethane polymer extending over substantially the entire front surface of said base film, and said coating having a nonplanar outer surface defining a predetermined desired relief pattern of high quality and durability and of fine definition in said coating.

Claim 14

A flexible composite sheet material having a patterned relief surface of high quality and definition, said composite sheet material comprising a flexible base film of molecularly oriented polyethylene terephthalate having front and rear surfaces and a thickness of about 4 to about 10 mils, and a continuous coating of a thermosetting actinic radiation cured acrylated urethane polymer extending over substantially the entire front surface of said base film, and said coating having a nonplanar outer surface defining a predetermined desired relief pattern of high quality and durability and of fine definition in said coating.

Claim 15

A flexible, composite sheet material having a patterned relief surface of high quality and definition, said composite sheet material comprising a flexible optically transparent base film of a thermoplastic polymer, said base film being of predetermined, substantially uniform width and of indeterminate length, and said base film having opposing front and rear surfaces with the distance therebetween varying over the length and width of the base film due to inherent accuracy limitations in the production of said base film and resulting in relatively small but measurable variations in the thickness of the base film, and an optically transparent coating of an actinic radiation cured thermosetting polymer extending over substantially the entire front surface of said base film and bonded thereto, said coating having a nonplanar outer surface defined by a plurality of relief formations forming a predetermined relief pattern of high quality and durability and of fine definition in said thermosetting polymer layer, said relief formations being of uniform size throughout the composite sheet material, and the thickness of said cured thermosetting polymer layer in which the relief formations are formed compensatingly varying in relation to said variations in thickness of said base film so that the distance from the outermost surface portions of the relief formations to the rear surface of said base film is uniform throughout the composite sheet material in spite of said variations in thickness of the base film whereby variations in thickness in the overall composite sheet are eliminated.

Claim 16

A flexible, composite sheet material having a patterned relief surface of high quality and definition, said composite sheet material comprising a flexible optically transparent base film of a thermoplastic polymer, said base film being of predetermined, substantially uniform width and of indeterminate length, and said base film having opposing front and rear surfaces with the distance therebetween varying over the length and width of the base film due to inherent accuracy limitations in the production of said base film and resulting in relatively small but measurable variations in the thickness of the base film, and an optically transparent coating of an actinic radiation cured thermosetting polymer extending over substantially the entire front surface of said base film and bonded thereto, said coating having a nonplanar outer surface defined by a plurality of relief formations forming a predetermined relief pattern of high quality and durability and of fine definition in said thermosetting polymer layer, said relief formations being of uniform size throughout the composite sheet material, and the thickness of said cured thermosetting polymer layer in which the relief formations are formed compensatingly varying in relation to said variations in thickness of said base film so that the distance from the outermost surface portions of the relief formations to the rear surface of said base film is uniform throughout the composite sheet material in spite of said variations in thickness of the base film whereby variations in thickness in the overall composite sheet are eliminated.