Iridescent badges for vehicles and methods of making the same

Abstract

An iridescent vehicle badge (and methods for making it) that includes a translucent, polymeric badge having a non-planar shape and comprising an interior and an exterior surface. Further, at least one of the surfaces of the badge comprises a plurality of diffraction gratings that are integral with the badge, each having a thickness from 250 nm to 1000 nm and a varying period from 50 nm to 5 microns. In some cases, the thickness can range from 500 nm to 750 nm. The period, in some cases, can vary within a set of discrete values in one or more portions of the at least one of the surfaces of the badge, e.g., from 150 nm to 400 nm.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An iridescent vehicular badge, comprising:
 a translucent, polymeric badge having a non-planar shape and comprising an interior and an exterior surface,   wherein at least one of the surfaces of the badge is non-planar and comprises a diffraction grating integral with the badge, the grating having a thickness from 250 nm to 1000 nm and a period from 50 nm to 5 microns.   
     
     
         2 . The badge according to  claim 1 , wherein the badge has a composition selected from the group consisting of silicones, acrylics and polycarbonates. 
     
     
         3 . The badge according to  claim 1 , wherein the grating has a thickness from 500 nm to 750 nm and a period from 150 nm to 400 nm. 
     
     
         4 . The badge according to  claim 1 , wherein the diffraction grating comprises grooves having a triangular- or hillock-shaped cross-section. 
     
     
         5 . The badge according to  claim 1 , wherein the period of the diffraction grating varies within the at least one of the surfaces of the badge. 
     
     
         6 . The badge according to  claim 1 , wherein the period of the diffraction grating varies between two to five discrete values within the at least one of the surfaces of the badge. 
     
     
         7 . The badge according to  claim 5 , wherein the period of the diffraction grating varies within a set of discrete values in one or more portions of the at least one of the surfaces of the badge. 
     
     
         8 . An iridescent vehicular badge, comprising:
 a translucent, polymeric badge having a non-planar shape and comprising an interior and an exterior surface,   wherein at least one of the surfaces of the badge comprises a plurality of diffraction gratings that are integral with the badge, each having a thickness from 250 nm to 1000 nm and a varying period from 100 nm to 5 microns.   
     
     
         9 . The badge according to  claim 8 , wherein the badge has a composition selected from the group consisting of silicones, acrylics and polycarbonates. 
     
     
         10 . The badge according to  claim 8 , wherein the at least one of the surfaces of the badge comprising the plurality of diffraction gratings is non-planar. 
     
     
         11 . The badge according to  claim 8 , wherein each of the diffraction gratings has a thickness from 500 nm to 750 nm and a period from 150 nm to 400 nm. 
     
     
         12 . The badge according to  claim 8 , wherein each of the diffraction gratings comprises grooves having a triangular- or hillock-shaped cross-section. 
     
     
         13 . The badge according to  claim 8 , wherein the period of each of the diffraction gratings varies between two to five discrete values within the at least one of the surfaces of the badge. 
     
     
         14 . The badge according to  claim 13 , wherein the period of each of the diffraction gratings varies within a set of discrete values in one or more portions of the at least one of the surfaces of the badge. 
     
     
         15 . A method of making an iridescent vehicular badge, comprising:
 forming a mold with mold surfaces corresponding to interior and exterior surfaces of the badge;   ablating at least one of the mold surfaces to form a diffraction grating mold surface; and   forming the badge with a diffraction grating having a thickness from 250 nm to 1000 nm and a period from 50 nm to 5 microns in the mold surfaces with a polymeric material.   
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 15 , further comprising:
 heating the diffraction grating mold surface prior to the forming the badge step.   
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the ablating step is conducted with a laser ablation process. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the ablating step is conducted to form a plurality of diffraction grating mold surfaces, and the forming step is conducted with a polymeric material to form the badge with a plurality of diffraction gratings, each having a thickness from 250 nm to 1000 nm and a period from 50 nm to 10 microns. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein at least one of the surfaces of the badge is non-planar and comprises the diffraction grating. 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the polymeric material is selected from the group consisting of silicones, acrylics and polycarbonates.