Patents
US 7438968 B2: Roadway and vehicular-mounted reflectors incorporating a field of discrete crystal reflectors and retroreflectors
- Granted
- 2008-10-21
- Filed
- 2006-10-26 application 11553246
- Type
- Utility · 25 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
Roadway and vehicular-mounted safety reflectors include a reflective field that incorporates a plurality of discrete crystals that internally reflect light and return the light in a desired directional pattern determined by the internal reflection characteristics and orientation of the crystals. The directional pattern is chosen to optimize the visibility and functionality of the reflector.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg081021.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next Safety, Inc. 3 patents | US company or organization | Jefferson, NC | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Hebrank | Durham, NC | 1 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Charles Eric Hunter | Jefferson, NC | 53 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Michael Wiener | New York, NY | 1 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Drew Narayan | Durham, NC | 1 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Laurie McNeil | Chapel Hill, NC | 1 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| G09F | Displaying; advertising; signs; labels or name-plates; seals | G09F13/16 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| G02B | Optical elements, systems or apparatus | G02B5/124 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| Y10T | Technical subjects covered by former us classification | Y10T428/24372 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-06-26 | Security interest Security interest Security agreement | NEXT SAFETY, INCORPORATED signed 2008-11-24 | HUNTER, CHARLES ERIC JEFFERSON, NC | 22896/92 | PASDL, file of 2026-10-15 |
| 2007-11-27 | Security interest Security interest Security agreement | NEXT SAFETY, INCORPORATED signed 2007-08-31 | HUNTER, JOCELYN JEFFERSON, NC | 20164/333 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2007-10-30 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | MCNEIL, LAURIE signed 2007-10-11 HUNTER, CHARLES ERIC signed 2007-10-12 HEBRANK, JACK signed 2007-10-13 NARAYAN, DREW G signed 2007-10-15 | NEXT SAFETY, INC. JEFFERSON, NC | 20033/341 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.