Glare Management of Reflective and Thermoreflective Surfaces

Abstract

The reflectivity and transmissivity of building and vehicle surfaces is maintained while employing partial, variable, selective, or asymmetric diffusers between a surface and an external light source such that the reflected light is diffused to produce a reduction in glare, while minimally effecting the specular or collimated transmission (if any) of light through the surface. Glare is also reduced by utilizing diffuser devices that reflect light in a temperature dependent manner.

1 - 22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . A diffusive polarizing filter comprising
 a grid of wires with irregular surfaces placed in parallel at a regular spacing, wherein   the surface irregularities are larger than wavelengths of incident light; and   reflected light from the incident light of a first polarity is diffuse while transmitted light from the incident light of a second polarity is collimated.   
     
     
         24 . The polarizing filter of  claim 23 , wherein each of the wires in the grid are segmented to define microscopic gaps. 
     
     
         25 . A diffusive polarizing filter comprising
 a nonplanar substrate; and   a grid of wires placed on the non-planar substrate, wherein   reflection of incident light from the diffusive polarizing filter exhibits a dependency between an incident angle of the incident light and a departure angle of the incident light that varies with a contact location of the incident light on the substrate.   
     
     
         26 . The diffusive polarizing filter of  claim 25 , wherein height variations in the non-planar substrate are regular along one or more axes of symmetry. 
     
     
         27 . The filter of  claim 25 , wherein height variations in the non-planar substrate are irregular along one or more axes of symmetry. 
     
     
         28 . The filter of  claim 25 , wherein the wires in the grid are placed in parallel at a regular spacing. 
     
     
         29 . The filter of  claim 25 , wherein the wires form chiral structures. 
     
     
         30 . The polarizing filter of  claim 25 , wherein each of the wires in the grid are segmented to define microscopic gaps. 
     
     
         31 . A glare-reducing polarizing filter comprising
 a grid of metamaterial wires, wherein   the metamaterial wires form chiral structures;   the grid is more diffusive to light passing through in a first direction than to light passing through in a second, opposite direction; and   the grid passes collimated light in the second direction.   
     
     
         32 . The glare-reducing polarizing filter of  claim 31 , wherein the grid is formed as an irregular arrangement of the wires; 
     
     
         33 . The glare-reducing polarizing filter of  claim 31  further comprising
 a thermotropic depolarizer film that supports the grid of metamaterial wires; and 
 a specular reflector supported on a second side of the thermotropic depolarizer film. 
 
     
     
         34 - 47 . (canceled) 
     
     
         48 . A method for producing a thermoreflective effect in a first direction and a thermoabsorptive effect in a second direction comprising
 interleaving layers of an absorptive polarizer film and a reflective polarizer film; and   interposing a thermotropic depolarizer between a first set of layers of the absorptive polarizer film and the reflective polarizer film and a second set of layers of the absorptive polarizer film and the reflective polarizer film.