JP3817203B2 - Plastic lens dyeing method and plastic lens dyeing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a plastic lens dyeing method and dyeing apparatus by a gas phase method, and more specifically, a plastic lens dyeing method by a gas phase method capable of efficiently heating and sublimating a sublimable dye and performing dyeing in a short time. The present invention relates to a staining apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A method of dyeing plastic lenses by a gas phase method has been known. As an example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-82204 discloses that an aluminum plate is coated with a sublimation dye in a grid pattern, and the aluminum plate is heated with a heating member such as an electric resistance heater or a far infrared heater, A method for dyeing lenses by sublimating dyes is described.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the method disclosed in JP-A-2002-82204 is not always satisfactory in dyeing time, and a method for dyeing a lens in a shorter time is required in order to increase production efficiency. Yes.
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide a method and an apparatus for dyeing a lens in a shorter time than the conventional method.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
As a result of intensive studies to solve the above-described problems, the present inventors have found that the problems can be solved by heating the substrate by electromagnetic induction heating. The present invention has been completed based on such findings.
That is, the dyeing method of the plastic lens of the present invention is:
(1) Directly or indirectly apply a sublimation dye on the substrate, and the surface of the substrate on which the sublimation dye is applied and the surface to be stained of the plastic lens are spaced apart from each other, A method for dyeing a plastic lens, comprising a dyeing step of dyeing the plastic lens by sublimating a sublimable dye by heating the substrate by electromagnetic induction heating,
(2) In the coating step, the plastic lens dyeing method according to (1) above, wherein the sublimation dye is scattered on the substrate and applied.
(3) The method for dyeing a plastic lens according to (2) above, wherein the coating is performed while changing the interstitial spacing in the substrate.
(4) The method for dyeing a plastic lens according to any one of (1) to (3), further comprising a radiation layer forming step of forming a far-infrared radiation layer on a surface on which a sublimable dye is applied on the substrate before the coating step.
[0005]
(5) After the coating step, and before the dyeing step, a lens setting step in which the surface of the substrate on which the sublimable dye is applied and the surface to be dyed of the plastic lens are spaced apart from each other by the lens holder, the plastic lens, A step of moving the lens holder holding the substrate to the heating position, a step of sealing the entire plastic lens and the lens holder holding the substrate, and a step of decompressing the sealed space. The method for dyeing plastic lenses according to any one of (1) to (3) above,
(6) The above (1) to (5), further comprising a step of releasing the sealing after the dyeing step, a step of moving the heating position to the retracted position, and a step of cooling the lens at the retracted position. Dyeing method for any plastic lens,
It is.
[0006]
The plastic lens dyeing device of the present invention is
(7) A holder for holding the substrate on which the lens and the sublimable dye are applied, a sealing means for sealing the holder, a decompression means for reducing the pressure inside the sealing, and a heating means for heating the substrate by electromagnetic induction heating. And (8) a moving means for moving the holder from the initial position to the heating position, a release means for releasing the sealing after the heating by the heating means, and a lens at the initial position. A cooling means for cooling the plastic lens dyeing device according to (7), further comprising:
It is.
[0007]
In the above (4), the far-infrared radiation paint used for forming the far-infrared radiation layer on the substrate is disclosed in JP-A Nos. 61-149737, 10-279845, and 10-324825. JP-A-10-219137 and the like. Examples thereof include a paint having a far infrared radiation effect such as silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide and titanium oxide having an average particle diameter of about 150 μm, and a paint containing a binder such as an organosilicon compound and a polyurethane solution. And a far-infrared radiation layer is formed by apply | coating this coating material on a board | substrate. The method of application is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include brush coating, a spray method, a dipping method, and a spin coat method.
[0008]
In the present invention, the sublimable dye means a dye having a property of sublimation when the dye is heated in the air or in vacuum. As such a dye, the lower left of page 2 of JP-A-1-277814. Dyes listed in columns 6 to 13; Dianix Red TA-N (Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation), Kayalon Microester Red C-LSconc (Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.), Kayalon Microester Red AQ-LE (Nippon Kasei) Yakuhin), Miketon Fast Red Z (Mitsui Chemicals), Kayalon Microester Red DX-LS (Nippon Kayaku), Dianix Blue UN-SE (Mitsubishi Chemical), DisperseFast Blue Z (Mitsui Chemicals) ), Dianix / Samaron Navy Blue TA-N (Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation), Kalonon Microester Blue C-LS conc (Nippon Kayaku), Kaylon Microester Blue AQ-LE (Nihon Kayaku), Kalonon Microester Blue DX -LS conc (Nippon Kayaku), Dianix / Samaron Orange TA-N (Mitsubishi Chemical), Dianix Yellow TA-N (Mitsubishi Chemical), Kalonon Mi croester Yellow AQ-LE (Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.), Kayalon Microester Yellow DX-LS conc (Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.), Miketon Fast Yellow Z (Mitsui Chemicals), Kayalon Microester Yellow C-LS (Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.) And the like are preferably used.
[0009]
In the plastic lens dyeing method of the present invention, the substrate is heated by electromagnetic induction heating. The electromagnetic induction heating is a method in which when electricity flows through the magnetic force generating coil, when the magnetic lines of force pass through the metal product, the eddy current is changed to generate heat in the metal product. Therefore, the material of the substrate used in the present invention is preferably a material that generates heat due to the lines of magnetic force generated by the current flowing through the magnetic force generation coil of the electromagnetic induction heater. Examples thereof include iron and stainless steel. be able to.
The size of the substrate needs to be larger than the range to be dyed in the plastic lens. The position where the sublimation dye is applied on the substrate or the far-infrared radiation layer formed on the substrate (hereinafter also referred to as “coating surface”) is the position where the dye on the substrate falls within a predetermined range. If it is.
[0010]
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-82204, in the case where the dye is applied in a scattered manner, the X axis and the Y axis are set on the coated surface from the viewpoint of uniformly dyeing the plastic lens. It is preferable that a line parallel to each of the X axis and the Y axis is assumed at intervals of 0.2 to 3.0 cm, particularly preferably at intervals of 0.2 to 1.5 cm, and a dye is applied to the intersection position. .
When dyeing the entire surface, as shown in FIG. 3, the dye is scattered over the entire surface.
In the case of half dyeing, as shown in FIG. 4, the dye is applied by changing the interspersed intervals in a gradation as it goes in the vertical direction at the position corresponding to the lens.
By such means, it becomes possible to control the staining density of the lens. At the time of application, the position where the dye should be applied on the substrate may be marked so that the application position can be easily recognized.
Examples of the coating method include printing using ink that does not peel off by heating or washing during processing, engraving, and a method using commercially available coating pattern editing software.
[0011]
The sublimable dye is applied to a predetermined position on the coating layer in the form of a dye liquid containing a solvent such as water or a binder such as a water-soluble acrylic resin. The amount of these solvents used can be 1 to 30 with respect to the sublimable dye 1 in weight ratio.
The dye solution can be applied using, for example, a microsyringe or a dispenser capable of applying a small amount. The application amount can be changed according to the dyeing concentration, and can be, for example, in the range of 0.01 to 500 microliters for each intersection position.
In order to fix the sublimation dye, the substrate can be heated in advance when the dye solution is applied.
It is also possible to intersperse a predetermined sublimation dye at a predetermined position on the coating layer based on the color information.
[0012]
The dotted range of the sublimation dye applied on the surface to be coated needs to be larger than the range to be dyed in the plastic lens in order to uniformly dye the plastic lens. In the case where the range where the sublimable dye is scattered is smaller than the range to be dyed in the plastic lens, although the dye is sublimated radially, dyeing unevenness is likely to occur. In addition, when making the coated surface and the dyed plastic lens interspersed with the sublimable dye, the positional relationship in which the range to be dyed in the plastic lens is included in the range of the sublimated dye scattered Make them face each other.
[0013]
In addition, as described in JP-A No. 2001-66401, a layer made of a sublimable dye is uniformly applied by a spray method instead of being scattered on the surface to be coated. It can also be formed.
[0014]
The sublimable dye applied on the coated surface (the substrate or the far-infrared radiation layer formed on the substrate) is heated and sublimated by heating the substrate, but the dyeing method of the present invention uses electromagnetic induction heating. It is the method of heating a board | substrate using. In this method, the substrate and the magnetic heating member may be in a non-contact state.
[0015]
The operation of heating the substrate by electromagnetic induction heating and sublimating the sublimable dye to dye the lens may be performed in the air or in vacuum, but when dyeing in a short time, it is performed in a vacuum atmosphere. Is preferred. The degree of vacuum is appropriately selected according to the material of the dyed plastic lens and the type of sublimation dye used.
[0016]
The heating temperature of the substrate varies depending on the material of the lens to be dyed, the sublimation dye to be used, etc., but is preferably 100 ° C. or higher for dyeing in a short time. Furthermore, the dyeing time can be appropriately selected according to the material of the plastic lens to be dyed, the type of sublimation dye used, and the like.
[0017]
When the dyeing layer is formed on the surface of the plastic lens by sublimating the sublimable dye, the temperature of the plastic lens varies depending on the type of the lens and is not particularly limited, but it is preferably maintained in the range of 70 to 150 ° C.
[0018]
The plastic lens used in the present invention is not particularly limited. For example, methyl methacrylate homopolymer, copolymer comprising methyl methacrylate and one or more other monomers as a monomer component. Diethylene glycol bisallyl carbonate homopolymers, copolymers comprising diethylene glycol bisallyl carbonate and one or more other monomers as monomer components, sulfur-containing copolymers, halogen copolymers, Examples thereof include lenses made of polycarbonate, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, unsaturated polyester, polyethylene terephthalate, polyurethane, polythiourethane and the like. Further, a lens obtained by applying a known primer layer or hard coat layer on these plastic lenses can also be dyed by the dyeing method of the present invention.
[0019]
Next, the plastic lens dyeing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0020]
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an example of a plastic lens dyeing apparatus using the electromagnetic induction heating method of the present invention.
The staining apparatus 500 cools the lens mount 100, the lens holder 110, the moving mechanism 120 in which the lens mount 100 moves in the front-rear direction, the lens 50, the covering lid 130 for sealing the lens holder 110, and the lens 50. The cooling unit 140, the frame plate 150, and an electromagnetic induction heater (not shown in FIG. 1) are basically configured. It is preferable that the frame plate 150 and the lens mount 100 are made of different members from the viewpoint of work so that heat generated by electromagnetic induction heating is not transmitted to the frame plate 150. This is because if the frame plate 150 is heated more than necessary due to electromagnetic induction heating, there is a possibility that the operation will be hindered. In this example, the lens plate 100 is spaced from each other so that heat is not transmitted to the frame plate 150 and is connected by four connecting members. From the viewpoint of placing the substrate 160 coated with the dye thereon, placing the lens holding stand 110, and placing the lens 50 in the lens holding stand, the material of the lens placing stand 100 is similar to the substrate. A material that generates heat by electromagnetic induction heating is preferred. Examples thereof include iron and stainless steel that conduct electricity. In order to prevent the lens holding table 110 from being heated more than necessary, a heat insulating rubber can be interposed between the lens holding table 110 and the lens mounting table 100.
[0021]
Next, a method for setting the lens 50 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 which is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship of each member.
As shown in FIG. 2, a substrate 200 made of stainless steel or the like on which a far-infrared radiation layer 210 is formed is placed on the lens mount 100 as necessary. At this time, a sublimable dye 220 is applied to the far-infrared radiation layer. Then, the ring-shaped lens holder 110 is placed so that the substrate surface coated with the sublimable dye 220 and the surface to be dyed of the plastic lens 50 can be opposed to each other. The lens 50 is placed in the hollow portion of the ring-shaped lens holder 110 to hold the lens 50, and the state of the apparatus A shown in FIG. 1 is set (set state, initial state).
[0022]
Thereafter, the frame plate 150 on which the lens 50 and the lens holder 110 are mounted is moved to the bottom of the cover 130 by the moving mechanism 120. The frame plate 150 is provided with a rectangular frame 151 on the outside thereof, and is connected by four connecting members 120. Connecting bars 153 are provided at the lower four corners of the frame 151, and are connected to a slide member 154 that is “inverted L-shaped” when viewed from the front, and rectangular when viewed from the side and top. As the slide member 154 slides on the rail 155, the frame plate 150 slides. The slide member 154 is connected to an extendable shaft member 156.
[0023]
After the lens mount 100 is moved to below the cover lid 130, the cover lid 130 is moved downward so that the lens 50 and the lens holder 110 can be sealed by the cover lid 130 movable in the vertical direction. This state corresponds to the device B shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, a top plate 300 is placed under the lens mount. The top plate 300 is made of heat-resistant glass, aluminum, ceramics, or the like that does not conduct electricity so that the magnetic force generating coil of the electromagnetic induction heater 400 under the top plate 300 is not heated more than necessary.
[0024]
After sealing the lens 50 and the lens holder 110 with the cover lid 130 (not shown in FIG. 2), the electromagnetic induction heater 400 generates a magnetic force to heat the substrate 200, which is a material that conducts electricity, The lens is dyed by sublimating the dye applied on the coated surface. When the far-infrared radiation layer is provided, the far-infrared radiation is applied to the lens 50 by the far-infrared radiation layer, so that when the high-frequency electromagnetic induction heater has the same output as compared with the case where the far-infrared radiation layer is not provided, It is heated in a short time and at a higher temperature, and can be dyed in a short time. When magnetic force is generated by the high frequency electromagnetic induction heater, it is also possible to depressurize the sealed space at the same time in order to dye in a short time.
[0025]
After the dyeing is completed, the cover lid 130 is moved upward, and the lens mount 100 is moved to the initial position. When moved to the initial position, the lens 50 and the lens holder 110 are cooled by the cooling device 150 from under the lens mount 100 so that the operator is not burned.
In this dyeing apparatus, the distance between the plastic lens 50 to be dyed and the sublimable dye 220 is appropriately selected according to the heating temperature, dyeing time, vacuum degree, desired dyeing density, etc. of the lens and dye. Is generally selected in the range of 1 to 1000 mm.
[0026]
【Example】
Examples of the present invention will be described below, but the present invention is not limited to the examples.
Example 1
As the staining device, the staining device shown in FIG. 1 was used. Further, the lens base material was an Airy base material (trade name: manufactured by HOYA Corporation), and the dyes used were a mixture of the following four dyes (all sold by Futaba Sangyo Co., Ltd.).
(1) Disperse Red M
(2) Disperse Black B
(3) Disperse erotic G
(4) Disperse Blue-R
A far-infrared radiation layer formed on a stainless steel substrate with 0.06 g of a dye solution containing a total of 5% by weight of the above four types of dyes (mixing ratio is 1: 3: 2: 4: by weight) (The "Cera spats processing" of Parker Processing Co., Ltd. thickness 5-20 microns) was applied so as to be scattered over.
Dyeing was performed by heating for 60 minutes by an electromagnetic induction heating method (for 5 kW) so that the degree of vacuum was 21 kPa and the substrate temperature was 120 ° C. As a result, a uniformly dyed lens having a transmittance of 37% (measurement wavelength: 575 nm) was obtained. Note that the initial substrate temperature was room temperature and the initial vacuum was atmospheric pressure. For the heating time of 60 minutes, the covering lid shown in FIG. 1 was lowered downward, and the state in which the lens was hermetically sealed was defined as the starting time.
It took about 20-30 seconds for the substrate temperature to reach 120 ° C.
When the lens surface temperature was measured so that the lens surface temperature could be measured, the lens surface temperature after 8 minutes was 92.0 ° C., and the lens surface temperature after 30 minutes was 106 ° C.
[0027]
Example 2
Dyeing was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a stainless steel plate having no far-infrared radiation layer was used.
When the transmittance of the obtained lens was measured (measurement wavelength: 575 nm), it was 68%.
[0028]
Comparative Example 1
Dyeing was performed for 60 minutes with the apparatus shown in the examples of JP-A-2002-82204 so that the degree of vacuum was 3.5 kPa and the substrate temperature was 120 ° C. The dyes and lenses used were of the same type as in Example 1.
Note that the initial substrate temperature was room temperature and the initial vacuum was atmospheric pressure. For 60 minutes of heating time, the lens was set in the dyeing apparatus, and the time when the heater (5 kw) and the vacuum pump switch were pressed was counted as the starting time. As a result, a uniformly dyed lens having a transmittance of 78% (measurement wavelength: 575 nm) was obtained. It took about 30 minutes for the substrate temperature to reach 120 ° C.
[0029]
According to the present invention, the lens dyeing time can be shortened by heating the substrate by electromagnetic induction heating.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a plastic lens dyeing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship of each member in an example of plastic lens dyeing according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an embodiment in which a sublimable dye is scattered on a substrate according to the present invention.
50: Lens 100: Lens mount 110: Lens holder 120: Moving mechanism 130: Cover lid 140: Cooling means 150: Frame plate 151: Frame body 153: Connecting rod 154: Slide member 155: Rail 156: Shaft member 200: Substrate 210: Far-infrared radiation layer 220: Sublimation dye 300: Top plate 400: Electromagnetic induction heater (magnetic heating member)
500: Dyeing device

Claims (2)

  A holder that holds the lens and the substrate, a sealing unit that seals the holder, a decompression unit that decompresses the inside of the seal, and a heating unit that heats the substrate by electromagnetic induction heating. 1. A plastic lens dyeing apparatus comprising: a far infrared radiation layer; and a sublimation dye applied on the far infrared radiation layer.   The moving means for moving the holder from the initial position between the heating positions, the releasing means for releasing the sealing after the heating by the heating means, and the cooling means for cooling the lens at the initial position. The plastic lens dyeing device according to 1.

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