JP7415578B2 - dyeing system - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a dyeing system for dyeing resin bodies.

Various techniques have been proposed for dyeing resin bodies such as plastic lenses. For example, in a dyeing method called a dip dyeing method, a resin body is dyed by immersing the resin body in a dyeing solution. However, with the dyeing method, it is difficult to create a good working environment, and it is also difficult to dye some resin bodies (for example, lenses with a high refractive index).

Therefore, a technique has been proposed in which the resin body is dyed by transferring the dye to the surface of the resin body and heating the resin body to which the dye is attached. For example, in the dyeing method described in Patent Document 1, a sublimable dye is applied (printed) onto a substrate using an inkjet printer. Next, with the resin body and the base body disposed in a vacuum without contacting each other, the sublimable dye applied to the base body is sublimated, thereby transferring the dye to the resin body. Next, the resin body is heated and the dye is fixed by scanning the resin body with laser light. A method for dyeing a resin body by transferring a sublimable dye to a resin body using a vapor phase transfer method is called a vapor phase transfer dyeing method.

JP2018-127722A

In the vapor phase transfer dyeing method, in order to dye a resin body with the color to be dyed, it is necessary to print the dye onto the substrate using a printing device at a discharge amount corresponding to the color to be dyed. Here, even if the printing device is controlled to print the dye with the discharge amount corresponding to the planned color, there are differences in the individual printing devices, changes in the condition of the printing device due to use, and the installation environment of the dyeing system (for example, temperature, etc.). ), depending on individual differences in the heating means used to heat the resin body, the color of the dyed resin body may not be the expected color. In the conventional method, the operator had to check the color of the dyed resin body and adjust the amount of dye discharged by the printing device himself so that the intended color would be dyed in the subsequent dyeing process. Therefore, it has been difficult to restrict the work process of the worker.

A typical objective of the present disclosure is to provide a dyeing system capable of appropriately dyeing a resin body with a predetermined color.

A dyeing system provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is a dyeing system that dyes a resin body, and includes a printing device that prints a dye on a substrate, and a dyeing system that faces the resin body to the substrate on which the dye is printed. a transfer device that transfers the dye to the resin body in a state where the dye is transferred; a dye fixing device that fixes the dye to the resin body by heating the resin body to which the dye has been transferred; a color information measuring device that measures color information of the resin body that has been dyed, and a control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to measure the color information of the resin body by the printing device to dye the resin body with a color to be dyed. A discharge amount determining step for determining the discharge amount of the dye, and the use of the discharge amount of the dye determined in the discharge amount determining step, allows the printing device, the transfer device, and the dye fixing device to actually a result color information acquisition step of acquiring result color information that is color information measured by the color information measuring device with respect to the dyed resin body; the result color information acquired in the result color information acquisition step; a correction step in which the color of the resin body to be dyed in a subsequent dyeing process approaches the planned color by correcting the discharge amount of the dye determined in the discharge amount determination step based on the scheduled color; .

According to the dyeing tray according to the present disclosure, a resin body is appropriately dyed with a scheduled color.

1 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of a staining system 1. FIG. It is a perspective view of the staining tray 80 in a state in which two lenses L are installed and a substrate S is not installed, as seen diagonally from the upper right. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the staining tray 80 showing an exploded view of a mounting frame 89, a lens L, and a spacer 87 mounted on one of the two mounting sections 82 in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the automatic staining device 3 viewed diagonally from above and to the right. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the transfer/fixing unit 4 viewed diagonally from above and to the right. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the conveyance device 10 viewed diagonally from above and to the right. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first delivery section 110 viewed diagonally from above and to the right. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the transfer device 40 viewed diagonally from above and to the right. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a longitudinal section of the transfer device 40 viewed from the rear. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the occlusion chamber set part 430 viewed diagonally from above and to the right. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the substrate holding device 90 viewed diagonally from above and to the right. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the dye fixing device 50 when viewed from the front. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of first staining control processing executed by the controller 71. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of second staining control processing executed by the controller 71. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of third staining control processing executed by the controller 71. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a discharge amount maintenance process executed by the controller 71. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of staining quality determination processing executed by the controller 71. FIG.

<Summary>
(First aspect)
The dyeing system exemplified in the present disclosure includes a conveyance device, a reading section, a dye fixing device, and a control section. The conveying device continuously conveys the conveying unit containing the resin body. A transport unit is a unit transported by a transport device. The reading unit reads information regarding the transport unit. The dye fixing device fixes the dye attached to the surface of the resin body to the resin body by heating the resin body of the conveyance unit conveyed by the conveyance device. The control unit executes a parameter acquisition step and a fixing control step. In the parameter acquisition step, the control unit acquires, based on the information read by the reading unit, parameters for a treatment to be performed on the resin body included in the transport unit from which the information has been read. In the fixing control step, the control section controls the drive of the dye fixing device according to the acquired parameters when the dye fixing device heats the resin body of the transport unit that has read the information.

According to the staining system exemplified in the present disclosure, parameters of the treatment to be performed on the resin body are acquired for each transport unit based on the information regarding the transport unit read by the reading section. According to the obtained parameters, the resin body is heated in an appropriate manner depending on each resin body, and the dye is fixed. Therefore, the resin body is automatically and appropriately dyed.

The transport device may continuously transport a plurality of transport units. The reading unit may read information regarding the transport unit for each transport unit. The dye fixing device may fix the dye attached to the surface of the resin body to the resin body by heating the resin body included in the conveyance unit for each conveyance unit conveyed by the conveyance device. In this case, each of the plurality of resin bodies is automatically dyed in succession. On the other hand, when dyeing the resin body contained in each transport unit while continuously transporting multiple transport units, the transport order of the transport units may be changed, or some transport units may be There may be cases where it is removed from the conveyance device midway through. As a result, the resin body may be dyed in a manner different from the intended manner. However, in the dyeing system of the present disclosure, even if the transport order of the transport units is changed, the resin bodies are dyed in a method appropriate for each resin body based on the information about the transport units read by the reading section. Ru. Therefore, a plurality of resin bodies are appropriately dyed according to each resin body.

The dye fixing device may include an electromagnetic wave generating section that generates electromagnetic waves. The dye fixing device may heat the resin body by irradiating the resin body with electromagnetic waves. In this case, the dyeing system can appropriately control heating of the resin body by electromagnetic waves depending on the resin body. Therefore, the resin body is automatically and appropriately dyed.

Note that the specific method for the dye fixing device to irradiate the resin body with electromagnetic waves can be selected as appropriate. For example, the electromagnetic wave generating section of the dye fixing device may be a laser light source that emits laser light. The dye fixing device may include a scanning section that scans the resin body with laser light emitted from the laser light source. The control section may control driving of the scanning section of the dye fixing device according to the acquired parameters when the dye fixing device heats the resin body of the transport unit that has read the information. In this case, since the laser beam is scanned in accordance with each of the plurality of resin bodies, the dye is properly fixed to the resin bodies. Further, the dye fixing device may include a distribution adjustment section that adjusts the intensity distribution of the electromagnetic waves irradiated onto the resin body from the electromagnetic wave generation section. The distribution adjustment section includes, for example, an opening through which part of the electromagnetic waves passes, and may be installed between the electromagnetic wave generation section and the resin body. The control unit may change at least one of the position of the distribution adjustment unit, the shape of the opening, etc., for example, according to the acquired parameters. Even in this case, electromagnetic waves are irradiated appropriately depending on the resin body.

When using a laser light source or distribution adjustment unit, etc., the dye It is easy to shorten the time required for fixing. On the other hand, when a resin body is irradiated with electromagnetic waves, the temperature of the surface of the resin body rises rapidly, so temperature differences may occur depending on the parts of the resin body (for example, the difference between the center and the periphery). . When temperature differences occur between parts, dyeing quality may deteriorate. How the temperature difference occurs varies depending on the shape of the resin body, etc. Furthermore, it may be desirable to change the electromagnetic wave irradiation method depending on the material of the resin body. In contrast, the dyeing system of the present disclosure can appropriately control the heating of the resin body by electromagnetic waves depending on each resin body. Therefore, the resin body is automatically and appropriately dyed.

The reading unit may include an identifier reading unit that reads an identifier provided for each shipping unit. In the parameter acquisition step, the control unit may acquire the parameters of the transport unit corresponding to the identifier read by the identifier reading unit from a database that stores parameters for each transport unit. In this case, even if the order of a plurality of transport units changes, for example, the parameters of each transport unit can be appropriately grasped by the control section.

The control unit executes an association step in which a parameter indicating the treatment content is associated with an identifier of a transport unit in which the resin body is included and stored in the database based on treatment information indicating the treatment content to be performed on the resin body. You may. In this case, the identifier and the parameter are stored in the database in an appropriately associated manner for each transport unit (that is, for each resin body). Therefore, by reading the identifier, appropriate treatment can be performed for each resin body.

The dyeing system may further include a printing device and a transfer device. The printing device prints dye onto a sheet-like substrate. The transfer device transfers the dye onto the resin body in a state where the resin body of the conveyance unit conveyed by the conveyance device faces the substrate on which the dye is printed. The control unit may further execute an identifier printing control step of printing an identifier corresponding to the transport unit on the substrate together with the dye by controlling the printing device. In this case, even if an identifier is not provided on the installation part (for example, a tray) on which the resin body is installed, the parameters are appropriately acquired for each transport unit. In addition, even after the dyeing process has been executed, the identifier of the substrate transported together with the resin body can be read, making it easy to check the schedule and results of the dyeing process (for example, whether the dyeing process was carried out as planned or not). will be confirmed.

In addition, the control unit may print on the base body, together with the identifier, at least one of characters and symbols indicating the details of the treatment to be performed on the resin body included in the transport unit. In this case, the operator can easily confirm the details of the treatment to be performed (or performed) on the resin body without having the reader read the identifier.

The transport unit may include an installation section on which the resin body is placed (for example, a tray on which the resin body is placed). The identifier may be provided on the installation part. In this case, the identifier of the installation section where the resin body is installed is read by the reading unit, thereby appropriately acquiring the parameters of the treatment to be performed on the resin body.

However, it is also possible to change the member on which the identifier is provided. For example, an identifier may be provided on the resin body itself. In this case, when the parameters of the resin body are acquired, the possibility that the parameters of one resin body will be confused with the parameters of another resin body is further reduced.

The reading section may include a tag reading section that reads information from a writable tag provided on the transport unit. The control unit may acquire parameters included in the information read by the tag reading unit in the parameter acquisition step. In this case, by storing parameters indicating treatment details in the tag in advance, even if the order of a plurality of transport units changes, for example, the parameters of each transport unit can be appropriately grasped by the control section.

The reading section may include an optical property measuring device that measures the optical properties of the resin body that is the lens. In the parameter acquisition step, the control unit may acquire parameters for controlling driving of the dye fixing device based on the optical properties of the lens measured by the optical property measuring device. When the resin body is a lens, the optical characteristics change depending on the shape of the lens. If the shape of the lens differs, the way in which temperature differences occur depending on the part of the lens when the lens is heated by the dye fixing device differs. Therefore, the dyeing system heats the lens in an appropriate manner according to each lens by acquiring parameters according to the shape of the lens based on the optical characteristics of the lens measured by the optical property measuring device. I can do it. Furthermore, optical characteristics change depending on the material of the lens. Depending on the material of the lens, it may be desirable to change the way the dye fixing device heats the lens. Therefore, the dyeing system can heat the lens in an appropriate manner according to each lens by acquiring parameters according to the material of the lens based on the optical properties measured by the optical property measuring device. .

In addition, if the optical properties of the lens actually measured by the optical property measuring device are different from the optical properties included in the parameters obtained by reading the identifier or tag, the control unit warns the operator. At least one of the treatment and the treatment of interrupting the dyeing process may be performed. In this case, the lens is more appropriately stained.

The dyeing system may further include at least one dyeing process execution device that executes a dyeing process for dyeing the resin body other than the dye fixing process executed by the dye fixing device. The transport device may transport the transport unit to each of the dye fixing device and the dyeing process execution device. The control unit may control the driving of the dyeing process execution device according to the acquired parameters when causing the dyeing process execution device to execute the dyeing process on the resin body of the transport unit that has read the information. In other words, the control section may control a plurality of dyeing processes performed on each resin body based on information read by the reading section. In this case, a plurality of dyeing steps are appropriately performed depending on each resin body. Therefore, each resin body is dyed more appropriately.

In addition, among the dyeing steps, the steps other than the dye fixing step include at least one of a dye adhesion step in which the dye is attached to the substrate on the sheet, and a transfer step in which the dye attached to the substrate is transferred to the resin body. You can stay there. In this case, the dyeing system can perform a series of dyeing steps more smoothly.

The control unit controls the drive of the printing device according to the acquired parameters when causing the printing device, which is one of the dyeing process execution devices, to print the dye on the substrate used by the conveyance unit that has read the information. Further control steps may be performed. In this case, the dyed substrate for dyeing the resin bodies is appropriately printed according to each resin body.

The dyeing system may further include a rotation device that is one of the dyeing process execution devices. The rotation device defines the direction of the resin body with respect to the dye-applied substrate by rotating the resin body for each conveyance unit conveyed by the conveyance device. When the rotating device rotates the resin body of the transport unit that has read the information, the control section may further execute a rotation control step of controlling the driving of the rotating device according to the acquired parameters. For example, when performing gradation dyeing on a cylindrical lens, a progressive lens, etc., it is necessary to appropriately define the orientation (direction) of the lens with respect to the dye-applied substrate using a rotating device. The dyeing system can appropriately define the direction of the resin body with respect to the dye-coated substrate for each transport unit by controlling the drive of the rotating device according to the parameters.

The dyeing system may further include a coating device. The coating device coats the surface of the resin body to which the dye has been fixed by the dye fixing device for each transport unit transported by the transport device. When coating the resin body of the transport unit that has read the information, the control unit may further execute a coating control step of controlling the drive of the coating device according to the acquired parameters. In this case, the coating on the resin bodies is performed appropriately depending on each resin body.

The transport device may transport the transport unit from the printing device to the transfer device. In this case, the substrate printed with the dye is placed in the transport unit in the printing device, and the substrate is transported together with the transport unit to the transfer device. Therefore, the process of transporting the substrate is simplified.

(Second aspect)
The dye fixing device exemplified in the present disclosure includes a laser light irradiation section, a laser light blocking section, an inlet, an outlet, and a pressure difference generation section. The laser light irradiation section includes a laser light source that emits laser light, and irradiates the resin body with the laser light through an objective lens. The laser beam blocking section is a cylindrical member that blocks leakage of the laser beam outside the high path by covering at least a part of the periphery of the optical path of the laser beam extending from the objective lens of the laser beam irradiation section to the resin body. be. The inflow port is formed in the laser light blocking section and allows gas to flow from the outside to the inside of the laser light blocking section. The exhaust port is formed in the laser light blocking section and discharges gas from inside the laser light blocking section to the outside. The pressure difference generating section generates a pressure difference for causing gas to flow from the inlet to the outlet.

According to the dye fixing device exemplified in the present disclosure, gas flows from the inlet to the outlet. In other words, gas flows inside the laser light blocking section. Therefore, even if the dye on the surface of the resin body is heated and gasified, the dye is less likely to adhere to the objective lens of the laser beam irradiation section. Therefore, various effects caused by the dye adhering to the objective lens of the laser beam irradiation section are appropriately suppressed.

Note that the discharge port may be formed in the laser beam blocking section on the downstream side of the optical path of the laser beam relative to the objective lens of the laser beam irradiation section. In this case, even if the gas flowing from the inlet to the outlet contains gasified dye, it is difficult for the gas to reach the objective lens. Therefore, the possibility that the gasified dye will adhere to the objective lens is further reduced compared to the case where the discharge port is formed upstream of the objective lens in the optical path of the laser beam.

Further, the direction in which the optical path of the laser beam extends can be defined as appropriate. For example, when a laser light source emits laser light from above to below, the downstream side of the optical path of the laser beam is the lower side, and the upstream side of the optical path is the upper side. Further, when the laser light source emits laser light to the left, the downstream side of the optical path of the laser light is the left side, and the upstream side is the right side.

Furthermore, the inlet and outlet exemplified in the present disclosure are holes formed in the wall surface of the laser light blocking section. However, it is also possible to vary the configuration of the inlets and outlets. For example, at least one of the inlet and the outlet may be a gap formed between the laser beam blocking section and another member (for example, a laser beam irradiation section or a resin body).

The outlet may be formed in the laser light blocking section on the downstream side of the optical path of the laser light than the inlet. In this case, inside the laser beam blocking section, gas flows from the upstream side to the downstream side of the optical path of the laser beam. Therefore, the possibility that the gasified dye will adhere to the objective lens of the laser beam irradiation section is further reduced.

The discharge port may be provided in the laser light blocking section on the upstream side of the optical path of the laser light with respect to the position where the resin body is installed. If the exhaust port is installed in the laser beam blocking section at the position where the resin body is installed or on the downstream side of the optical path from the position where the resin body is installed, the gas flowing in from the inlet will be discharged from the resin. pass through the body. When the gas passes through the resin body, the resin body to be heated is cooled by the gas, which deteriorates the heating efficiency. On the other hand, if the outlet is provided upstream of the optical path than the position of the resin body, the gas flowing in from the inlet becomes difficult to reach the resin body. Therefore, the dye fixing device can appropriately suppress the gasified dye from adhering to the objective lens while suppressing the resin body from being cooled by the gas.

However, it is also possible to change the positions of the inlet and outlet. For example, in the laser beam blocking section, an inlet and an outlet may be formed to face each other across the optical path between the objective lens of the laser beam irradiation section and the position where the resin body is installed. In this case, the gas passes across the optical path of the laser beam. Therefore, even if the gasified dye moves from the resin body toward the objective lens, the gasified dye tends to flow to the discharge port before reaching the objective lens. Further, in the laser beam blocking section, an outlet may be provided at a position where the resin body is installed or downstream of the optical path from the position where the resin body is installed. Even in this case, the gasified dye becomes difficult to adhere to the objective lens.

The dye fixing device may include a thermo camera. The thermo camera is provided inside the laser light blocking section and detects the heat distribution of the resin body. In this case, the dye fixing device can more appropriately control the heating of the resin body based on the detection result of the heat distribution by the thermo camera.

The dye fixing device may further include a scanning section that scans the resin body with the laser light emitted from the laser light source. The control section of the dye fixing device may control the driving of the scanning section based on the heat distribution of the resin body detected by the thermo camera. In this case, the resin body is heated more appropriately with laser light based on the actual heat distribution of the resin body.

Note that the specific configuration of the scanning section can be selected as appropriate. For example, the scanning unit may be a scanner (for example, at least one of a galvanometer mirror, a polygon mirror, an acousto-optic device, etc.) that deflects the traveling direction of the laser beam. In this case, the scanning section may be provided in the laser beam irradiation section. Further, the scanning section may be a moving section that moves the position of the resin body with respect to the laser beam. A scanner and a moving part may be used together.

The discharge port may be formed in the laser light blocking section on the downstream side of the optical path of the laser light rather than the electromagnetic wave entrance section that makes the electromagnetic waves enter the thermo camera. In this case, the dye heated and gasified by the laser beam becomes difficult to adhere not only to the objective lens of the laser beam irradiation unit but also to the electromagnetic wave input unit of the thermo camera. Therefore, the degradation of the performance of the thermo camera due to dye adhesion to the electromagnetic wave incident part is appropriately suppressed.

Note that the electromagnetic wave incident section may be, for example, an imaging lens (eg, a germanium lens, etc.) that images the electromagnetic waves (infrared rays, etc.) generated from the resin body on a detection element of a thermo camera. Further, the thermo camera may be provided with a filter that blocks light having the wavelength of the laser light irradiated by the laser light irradiation section. In this case, the electromagnetic wave incidence section may be composed of an imaging lens and a filter.

The pressure difference generating section may include at least one of an inlet blower and an outlet blower. The inflow blower blows gas into the inside of the laser light blocking section from the inflow port. The exhaust blower blows gas from the exhaust port to the outside of the laser light blocking section. By including at least one of an inlet blower and an outlet blower, the dye fixing device can appropriately generate a pressure difference for causing gas to flow from an inlet to an outlet with a simple configuration.

The dye fixing device may further include a drive detection section that detects whether the pressure difference generation section is normally driven. When the drive detection unit detects that the pressure difference generation unit is not operating normally, the control unit of the dye fixing device issues a warning to the operator and causes the laser beam irradiation unit to heat the resin body. At least one of the processes that prohibits the above may be executed. In this case, adhesion of dye to the objective lens of the laser beam irradiation unit due to failure of the pressure difference generation unit or the like is appropriately suppressed.

(Third aspect)
The dye fixing device exemplified in the present disclosure includes a laser light irradiation section, a laser light blocking section, and a radiant heat reflection section. The laser light irradiation unit irradiates the resin body with laser light. The laser beam blocking section is a cylindrical member that covers at least a portion of the periphery of the optical path of the laser beam extending from the laser beam irradiation section to the resin body, thereby blocking leakage of the laser beam out of the optical path. The radiant heat reflecting part is provided at least on the inner circumferential surface of the peripheral part of the resin body that covers the periphery of the resin body among the laser light blocking parts, and reflects the radiant heat from the resin body.

According to the dye fixing device exemplified in the present disclosure, leakage of laser light out of the optical path is blocked by the laser light blocking section. Furthermore, a radiant heat reflecting section is provided on the inner circumferential surface of the peripheral portion of the resin body that covers the periphery of the resin body in the laser light blocking section. Therefore, at least a portion of the radiant heat emitted from the resin body heated by the laser beam is reflected toward the resin body by the radiant heat reflecting section. As a result, the heat of the resin body (particularly the outer peripheral portion) becomes difficult to diffuse to the surroundings, so that the temperature of the resin body is easily increased appropriately by the laser beam. Therefore, the dye is easily fixed to the resin body appropriately.

The radiant heat reflecting section may be provided all around the periphery of the cylindrical resin body. In this case, the radiant heat emitted from the resin body is more easily reflected back to the resin body by the radiant heat reflecting section more efficiently. Therefore, the resin body is heated more appropriately by the laser beam.

However, the radiant heat reflecting section may be provided (for example, intermittently) in a part of the peripheral part of the resin body in the circumferential direction. Even in this case, the resin body is heated more appropriately than in the case where the radiant heat reflecting section is not provided.

Even if at least a part of the laser beam blocking section that is different from the peripheral area of the resin body is formed of a light-transmitting member that blocks the laser beam irradiated from the laser beam irradiation section and transmits visible light. good. In this case, the operator can see the state of the resin body covered with the laser beam blocking part through the light-transmitting member. Therefore, work can be performed more appropriately.

Note that the entire body of the cylindrical laser light blocking section may be formed of a light-transmitting member. The laser light blocking section may be formed by attaching a radiant heat reflecting section to the main body of the laser light blocking section formed of a light-transmitting member. In this case, the operator can view the resin body from various locations other than the radiant heat reflecting section.

However, it is also possible to change the configuration of the laser light blocking section. For example, the entire main body of the laser light blocking section may be formed of a radiant heat reflecting section.

The radiant heat reflecting section may be made of metal including aluminum or stainless steel. Aluminum and stainless steel easily reflect radiant heat (electromagnetic waves). Therefore, the temperature of the resin body becomes more likely to rise.

However, the radiant heat reflecting section may be formed of metals other than aluminum and stainless steel. Further, the radiant heat reflecting portion may be formed of a material other than metal.

(Fourth aspect)
The dyeing system exemplified in the present disclosure includes a printing device, a transfer device, a dye fixing device, a color information measuring device, and a control unit. A printing device prints the dye onto the substrate. The transfer device transfers the dye to the resin body with the resin body facing a substrate on which the dye is printed (a dye-applied substrate). The dye fixing device fixes the dye onto the resin body by heating the resin body onto which the dye has been transferred. The color information measuring device measures color information of a resin body to which a dye is fixed (that is, a dyed resin body). The control unit executes a discharge amount determination step, a result color information acquisition step, and a correction step. In the discharge amount determining step, the control unit determines the amount of dye to be discharged onto the substrate by the printing device in order to dye the resin body with the color scheduled to be dyed (planned color). In the resulting color information acquisition step, the control unit determines whether the resin body actually dyed by the printing device, the transfer device, and the dye fixing device by using the discharged amount of the dye determined in the discharged amount determining step. Result color information, which is color information measured by a color information measuring device, is obtained. In the correction step, the control unit adjusts the color of the resin body to be dyed in the subsequent dyeing process by correcting the dye ejection amount determined in the ejection amount determination step based on the result color information and the planned color. Get closer to the planned color.

According to the dyeing system of the present disclosure, the amount of dye discharged (i.e., The discharge amount of the dye for dyeing the resin body with the planned color is corrected. As a result, in the subsequent dyeing process, the discharge amount of the dye printed on the substrate for dyeing the planned color is corrected, so that the color of the resin body that is actually dyed appropriately approaches the planned color. Therefore, the resin body is appropriately dyed with the planned color.

A specific method for correcting the dye ejection amount determined in the ejection amount determining step can be selected as appropriate. For example, the control unit may correct the dye ejection amount according to the result of a comparison process of the resultant color information and the color information of the planned color. The comparison process may be, for example, a process of acquiring the difference between the result color information and the color information of the planned color, or a process of acquiring the ratio between the result color information and the color information of the planned color. .

For example, the control unit may correct the dye ejection amount determined later in the ejection amount determining step by correcting the determination procedure for determining the dye ejection amount in the ejection amount determining step. Various procedures can be adopted as the determination procedure for determining the amount of dye to be ejected (that is, the algorithm for determining the amount of dye to be ejected). For example, a table may be stored in the storage device that associates each color for dyeing the resin body with the discharge amount of each dye. The control unit may determine the ejection amount by acquiring the ejection amount of each dye corresponding to the scheduled color from a table. In this case, in the correction step, the determination procedure may be corrected by correcting the information in the table. In addition, information on the discharge amount of each dye (for example, red, yellow, and blue) to dye the resin body at a predetermined concentration with each of a plurality of dyes of different colors (for example, red, yellow, and blue) is also provided. base color information) may be stored in the storage device. The control unit may determine the ejection amount by calculating the ejection amount of each dye for dyeing the planned color based on the base color information. In this case, in the correction step, the determination procedure may be corrected by correcting the base color information.

In addition, in the present disclosure, as a transfer method for transferring the dye to the resin body, the sublimable dye printed on the base is sublimated while the resin body and the dye-attached base are faced in a non-contact manner in a vacuum. , exemplifies a vapor phase transfer method for transferring dye to a resin body. However, it is also possible to change the transfer method. For example, the dye may be transferred to the resin body while the dye-applied substrate is in contact with the resin body.

In the ejection amount determination step, the control unit determines the ejection amount of the specific dye by setting a color of a predetermined density that is dyed with one specific dye among the plurality of dyes that can be ejected by the printing device as a planned color. You may. In the correction step, the control unit may correct the ejection amount of the specific dye determined in the subsequent ejection amount determination step, based on the density indicated by the resultant color information and the density of the planned color. In this case, the amount of dye ejected is corrected so that the resin body is appropriately dyed with the predetermined density with respect to the specific dye. Therefore, the resin body is appropriately dyed with a color dyed with a specific dye at a predetermined density.

The control unit may repeatedly execute the ejection amount determining step, the resultant color information obtaining step, and the correction step using each of the plurality of dyes that can be ejected by the printing device as a specific dye. In this case, the ejection amount is corrected for each of the plurality of dyes so that the resin body is appropriately dyed at the planned concentration. Therefore, a large number of colors expressed by a combination of a plurality of dyes can be appropriately dyed into the resin body.

In the ejection amount determination step, the control unit determines the ejection amount of the plurality of dyes by setting a color of a planned density that is dyed with a plurality of dyes among a plurality of dyes that can be ejected by the printing device as a planned color. good. In the correction step, the control unit may correct the ejection amount of at least one of the plurality of dyes based on the resultant color information and the planned color. In this case, it is also possible to collectively correct the ejection amounts of a plurality of dyes.

The color information measuring device may be a spectrometer that measures the spectral spectrum of the resin body as color information. In this case, compared to the case where an RGB camera or the like is used as a color information measuring device, color information is obtained in which the influence of the lighting environment and the like is suppressed. Therefore, the dyeing quality is further improved. Furthermore, even when a resin body is dyed using a plurality of dyes, a spectral spectrum that is a distribution of intensity for each wavelength is obtained, so the ejection amount of each of the plurality of dyes can be appropriately corrected.

A specific method for correcting the dye ejection amount based on the optical spectrum can also be selected as appropriate. For example, the control unit obtains the spectral transmittance of the dyed resin body as the resulting color information, and corrects the amount of dye discharged based on the transmittance of the maximum absorption peak of each dye and the transmittance of the planned color. You may. In other words, if the transmittance of a color dyed with a specific dye is higher than planned, the control unit increases the ejection amount of the specific dye compared to before correction, and if the transmittance is lower than planned, the controller increases the ejection amount of the specific dye. The amount of dye ejected may be reduced compared to before the correction. When a resin body is dyed using a plurality of dyes, the control section may correct the ejection amount for each dye based on the transmittance of the maximum absorption peak of each dye.

However, a measuring device other than a spectrometer (for example, an RGB camera) may be used as the color information measuring device. Furthermore, by combining a general camera and an RGB filter, the spectral characteristics of the resin body may be estimated as color information.

If the difference between the result color information acquired in the result color information acquisition step and the planned color exceeds an allowable range, the control unit generates a notification to notify the user that the quality of the dyeing of the resin body is poor. Further steps may be performed. In this case, the user can easily understand that the resin body has not been properly dyed.

The control unit may execute the correction step when the difference between the result color information acquired in the result color information acquisition step and the planned color exceeds a threshold value. In this case, if the quality of dyeing is not good, the amount of dye discharged is corrected to improve the quality of subsequent dyeing. Therefore, the resin body is dyed more appropriately.

The control unit may perform feedback control in which the correction step is repeated each time the resin body dyeing process is performed. In this case, each time the resin body is actually dyed, the amount of dye discharged is appropriately corrected, so that the resin body is dyed more appropriately.

However, the timing for executing the correction step can be selected as appropriate. For example, the correction step may be performed when the dyeing system is shipped from the manufacturer, during initial operation of the dyeing system, or during maintenance of the dyeing system. Further, the control unit may execute the correction step when the user inputs an instruction to execute the correction step. Further, the control unit may execute the correction step when the number of times the difference between the resultant color information and the planned color exceeds a threshold value reaches a predetermined number of times.

A color information measuring device uses multiple light sources of different types (for example, a standard light source defined by a standard (for example, CIE standard light source D65), a white light source, a light source that emits light similar to sunlight, etc.) (two or more). In this case, color information of the dyed resin body is appropriately acquired using a light source desired by the user.

The resin body to be dyed may be a lens used for eyeglasses. In the correction step, the control unit may correct the ejection amount of the dye to be determined later for each type of lens base material to be dyed. Even if the amount of dye discharged is the same, the dyed color differs depending on the type of lens base material. Therefore, by correcting the amount of dye ejection for each type of lens base material, the amount of dye ejection necessary to appropriately dye each base material is determined depending on the base material.

Note that the control unit acquires color information of the lens before being dyed, and subtracts the color information of the lens before being dyed from the resultant color information, thereby obtaining color information about the dyed color. You can. In this case, since the influence of the color of the lens before being dyed is excluded, the relationship between the amount of dye discharged and the dyeing result can be appropriately understood.

(Fifth aspect)
A resin body to be dyed is placed on the dyeing tray exemplified in the present disclosure in a dyeing process using a vapor phase transfer dyeing method. The staining tray illustrated in the present disclosure includes a tray body and a placement frame on which a resin body is placed. The mounting frame is removable from the tray body.

When using the staining tray of the present disclosure, an operator can remove the mounting frame from the tray body and wash or discard the removed mounting frame. Therefore, the operator can perform the dyeing process more efficiently and appropriately than when cleaning or discarding the entire tray.

The tray body may be provided with a mounting portion to which the mounting frame is removably mounted. In this case, it becomes easier to attach the mounting frame to an appropriate position, so that the dyeing quality is further improved.

A substrate mounting portion may be formed in the tray body. The substrate mounting portion may be formed on the outside of the tray body above the mounting portion. A substrate to which a sublimable dye is attached is placed on the substrate mounting section. In this case, the dye is appropriately transferred to the resin body by sublimating the sublimable dye while the substrate is placed on the substrate mounting portion.

The substrate mounting portion may be formed on the outside of the tray body above the mounting portion. In this case, by placing the base on the base mounting portion, the base appropriately faces the resin body placed on the mounting frame.

The staining tray may further include a spacer. The spacer forms a space between the substrate placed on the substrate placement portion and the placement frame. In this case, the sublimable dye is appropriately transferred from the base to the resin body through the space formed by the spacer. Furthermore, leakage of the sublimated dye to the outside is appropriately suppressed by the spacer.

The spacer may extend in a cylindrical shape upward from the outer circumference of the portion of the mounting frame where the resin body is placed. In this case, a space is appropriately formed between the base and the mounting frame by the spacer.

Note that when the spacer is attached to the tray main body, the upper end portion of the spacer may protrude above the mounting surface of the base mounting section. In this case, the base and the upper end of the spacer tend to come into close contact with each other, making it even more difficult for the sublimated dye to leak to the outside.

The spacer may be a separate member from the mounting frame. That is, the spacer and the mounting frame may not be integrated but may be separated. The spacer may be attached to and detached from the tray body together with the mounting frame. In this case, the operator can place the resin body on the placement frame installed on the tray body with the spacer removed. When the spacer is removed, the space around the mounting frame becomes larger than when both the mounting frame and the spacer are installed on the tray body. Therefore, the operator can easily place the resin body on the placement frame. In addition, when the mounting frame and the spacer are separate members, it is easy to use different materials for the mounting frame and the spacer. Therefore, the manufacturer of the staining tray can appropriately select materials according to the respective functions of the mounting frame and the spacer.

However, the mounting frame and the spacer may be integrated. Even in this case, the sublimable dye is appropriately transferred to the resin body and is unlikely to leak to the outside.

The tray body may further include a positioning section. The positioning section positions the base body placed on the base body mounting section with respect to the resin body. In this case, the position of the base relative to the resin body is accurately determined by the positioning section. Moreover, the possibility that the position of the base body will shift with respect to the resin body is also reduced. Therefore, dyeing can be performed more easily and with high quality. Note that the positioning portion may protrude upward from the outside of the tray main body relative to the substrate placement portion. In this case, the base body is appropriately positioned inside the positioning section.

The tray body may further include a base protector. The substrate protection portion extends to a position above the placement surface on which the substrate is placed in the substrate placement portion of the tray body by a distance equal to or greater than the thickness of the substrate. In this case, even if some object (for example, another staining tray, etc.) is stacked on the staining tray on which the substrate is placed, the stacked objects are likely to come into contact with the substrate protection part rather than the substrate. Therefore, damage to the base body is less likely to occur. Therefore, deterioration in dyeing quality is appropriately suppressed. Note that it is more desirable that the height of the substrate protecting portion from the mounting surface of the substrate mounting portion be greater than the thickness of the substrate. In this case, the substrate is better protected.

At least a portion of the positioning portion and at least a portion of the base protection portion may also be used. In this case, the structure of the staining tray that has both the function of positioning the substrate and the function of protecting the substrate can be easily simplified.

The tray body may further include a bottom fitting and a top fitting. The bottom fitting portion is a recess formed in the bottom of the tray body. The upper fitting part is a protrusion formed on the upper part of the tray main body, and when another tray main body is stacked on top, it fits into the bottom fitting part of the stacked tray main bodies. In this case, a plurality of staining trays are stacked one above the other in a stable state.

At least a portion of the positioning portion and at least a portion of the upper fitting portion may also be used. Further, at least a portion of the base protection portion and at least a portion of the upper fitting portion may be used. In this case, the structure of the staining tray is easily simplified.

The height of the upper fitting part from the mounting surface of the base mounting part may be greater than or equal to the sum of the depth of the bottom fitting part and the thickness of the base body. In this case, even if a plurality of dyeing trays are stacked one on top of the other, the base is unlikely to come into contact with the dyeing trays stacked above, so damage to the base is less likely to occur. Therefore, deterioration in dyeing quality is appropriately suppressed. Note that it is more desirable that the height of the base protector from the mounting surface of the base mounting part be greater than the sum of the depth of the bottom fitting part and the thickness of the base. In this case, the substrate is better protected.

The resin body to be dyed may be a lens used for eyeglasses. One tray main body may be formed with two mounting parts to which mounting frames are mounted. In this case, a pair of spectacle lenses (left and right) are dyed while being placed on one dyeing tray. Therefore, the work efficiency of the worker is further improved.

A plurality of types of mounting frames may be provided depending on the diameter of the lens to be dyed. In this case, by appropriately selecting a mounting frame corresponding to the diameter of the lens, various lenses having different diameters can be appropriately dyed using one tray body.

A light transmitting part that transmits light in the vertical direction may be formed in each of the mounting frame and the mounting part. In this case, at least one of color information and optical properties of the lens can be measured while the lens is placed (mounted) on the staining tray. Therefore, work efficiency is further improved.

A recessed portion may be formed around the mounting portion in the tray main body and expanding outward from the mounting portion. In this case, the operator can easily attach and detach various members (for example, the mounting frame, the resin body, etc.) to and from the mounting section by inserting a finger or the like into the recess.

The mounting portion may further include a sensor transmitting portion that transmits light emitted by the optical sensor. In this case, the optical sensor appropriately detects whether at least one of the resin body, the mounting frame, and the spacer is installed on the tray body.

The melting point of the material of at least the portion of the mounting frame that is in contact with the resin body may be 200° C. or higher. In the fixing step in the vapor phase transfer dyeing method, the resin body reaches a high temperature. Therefore, by setting the melting point of the material of the mounting frame to 200° C. or higher, deformation of the mounting frame, etc. can be appropriately suppressed. Further, the thermal conductivity of the material of at least the portion of the mounting frame that is in contact with the resin body may be 0.5 W/mK or less. In this case, it becomes difficult for heat to be conducted from the heated resin body to the outside, so that the resin body can be easily heated appropriately. By setting the melting point of the material of the mounting frame to 200° C. or higher and the thermal conductivity to 0.5 W/mK or lower, deformation of the mounting frame, etc. is suppressed, and the resin body is easily heated.

The aforementioned identifier or tag may be provided on the tray body. The tray body can be used more times than the mounting frame or the like. Therefore, compared to the case where the identifier or tag is provided on the mounting frame or the like, the frequency of installing the identifier or tag on the member is reduced.

Note that in the present disclosure, the tray on which the resin body is placed is used as the installation part on which the resin body is installed. However, it is also possible to change the configuration of the installation part. For example, the installation part may hold the resin body by sandwiching it from the sides.

<Embodiment>
Hereinafter, one typical embodiment according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The dyeing system 1 automatically and continuously dyes the resin body. In this embodiment, the resin body to be dyed is a plastic lens L used for eyeglasses (see FIG. 2, etc.). However, at least some of the techniques exemplified in the present disclosure can also be applied to the case of dyeing resin bodies other than the lens L. For example, when dyeing various resin objects such as goggles, cell phone covers, light covers, accessories, toys, films (e.g., 400 μm or less in thickness), and board materials (e.g., 400 μm or more in thickness), It is also possible to apply at least some of the techniques exemplified in the disclosure. The resin body to be dyed also includes a resin body added to a member different from the resin body (for example, wood, glass, etc.). Moreover, the dyeing system 1 of this embodiment dyes a plurality of resin bodies while continuously conveying them. However, at least a portion of the techniques exemplified in the present disclosure can also be employed in a dyeing system that transports and dyes resin bodies one set at a time.

(System configuration)
Referring to FIG. 1, the system configuration of the staining system 1 of this embodiment will be schematically described. The dyeing system 1 of this embodiment includes a conveyance device 10, a preparatory unit 20, a printing device 30, a transfer device 40, a dye fixing device 50, a coating device 60, and a control device 70.

Although details will be described later, the transfer device 40 and dye fixing device 50 of this embodiment are included in the automatic dyeing device 3 that automatically and continuously transfers and fixes dye to a plurality of lenses L. Note that the automatic dyeing device 3 may also incorporate devices other than the transfer device 40 and the dye fixing device 50 (for example, the printing device 30, etc.).

The transport device 10 transports the transport unit U (see FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 8) to the automatic dyeing device 3 or the like. Specifically, the transport device 10 of this embodiment continuously transports the plurality of transport units U to the printing device 30, the automatic dyeing device 3, and the like. The transport device 10 of this embodiment transports the transport unit U in the order of the preparation unit 20, the printing device 30, the transfer device 40, the dye fixing device 50, and the coating device 60 (that is, from left to right in FIG. 1). . The transport unit U includes a staining tray 80 (see FIG. 2) and a lens L placed on the staining tray 80. The staining tray 80 is an example of an installation part in which the lens L, which is a resin body, is installed. Further, the transport unit U may include a sheet-like substrate (dye-applied substrate) S (see FIGS. 5, 6, and 8), the surface of which is coated with a dye.

The preparatory unit 20 performs preparations before actually transferring and fixing the dye to the lens L. Specifically, the preparation unit 20 of this embodiment includes an optical property measuring device 21 and a rotation device 22.

The optical property measuring device 21 includes a measurement optical system that measures the optical properties of the lens L. The optical property measuring device 21 measures the optical properties of the lens L (for example, spherical power, astigmatic power, astigmatic axis angle, prism power, etc.) by projecting a measurement light beam onto the lens L and receiving the measurement light beam that has passed through the lens L. ) is read. By measuring the astigmatic axis angle of the lens L, the angle of the rotation direction of the lens L is determined. Since a known configuration can be adopted for the optical property measuring device 21, a detailed description thereof will be omitted (the configuration of the optical property measuring device 21 is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-107910).

The rotation device 22 includes a support section that supports the lens L, and an actuator (for example, a motor) that rotates the lens L supported by the support section. The rotation device 22 defines the rotation direction of the lens L by rotating the lens L, which is a type of resin body, for each transport unit U transported by the transport device 10. The rotation device 22 of this embodiment defines the rotation direction of the lens L in a target direction by rotating the lens L based on the angle of the rotation direction of the lens L measured by the optical property measuring device 21. . Although details will be described later, the staining system 1 of this embodiment is used when performing gradation staining and when the lens L is not shaped symmetrically around the geometric center axis, by rotating the lens L, The angle of the lens L is adjusted to the angle of the dye printed on the substrate S.

Note that it is also possible to change the specific method for rotating the lens L by the rotation device 22. First, the method of determining the angle of the rotation direction of the lens L is not limited to the method of measuring the astigmatic axis angle of the lens L. For example, the preparation unit 20 may include a hidden mark detection section that detects a hidden mark indicating the angle of the rotation direction of the lens L. In this case, the rotation device 22 may determine the angle of the rotation direction of the lens L based on the hidden mark detected by the hidden mark detection section, and may rotate the lens L based on the determination result. Further, at least one of determining the angle of the lens L and rotating the lens L may be performed by an operator. Furthermore, if the lens L has a symmetrical shape around the geometric center axis, it goes without saying that the procedure of rotating the lens L can be omitted.

The printing device 30 prints dye on a sheet-like substrate S (see FIGS. 5, 6, and 8). In this embodiment, the substrate S is paper or a metal film (made of aluminum in this embodiment) having an appropriate hardness. However, as the material of the base body S, other materials such as a glass plate, heat-resistant resin, and ceramic can also be used. Further, although the details will be described later, in the dyeing system 1 of this embodiment, in order to properly transfer the dye to the lens L while preventing dye aggregation etc. By heating the dye on the substrate S with the lenses L facing each other at a distance, the dye is transferred (deposited) onto the surface of the lens L (the dyeing method in this embodiment is referred to as a vapor phase transfer dyeing method). ). Therefore, the printing device 30 uses an inkjet printer that prints on the substrate S with ink containing a sublimable dye. Further, the printing device 30 can also print on the substrate S with normal ink that does not contain sublimable dye. The printing device 30 executes printing based on print data created by the control device 70, which is an information processing device (in this embodiment, a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as "PC"). An appropriate amount of dye adheres to the substrate S. It is also easy to create a dye-coated substrate S for gradation dyeing.

Note that it is also possible to change the configuration of the printing device 30. For example, the printing device may be a laser printer. In this case, the toner may contain a sublimable dye. Furthermore, instead of the printing device 30, the dye may be applied to the substrate S using a dispenser (liquid quantitative application device), a roller, or the like.

The transfer device 40 transfers the dye from the substrate S to the lens L in a state where the dye-printed substrate S is opposed to the lens L for each transport unit U transported by the transport device 10. As described above, in this embodiment, the dye is transferred from the substrate S to the lens L by the vapor phase transfer method. However, it is also possible to change the method of transferring the dye to the lens L. For example, the dye may be transferred from the substrate S to the lens L while the substrate S and the lens L are in contact with each other. Details of the configuration of the transfer device 40 will be described later.

The dye fixing device 50 fixes the dye attached to the surface of the lens L to the resin body by heating the lens L for each transport unit U transported by the transport device 10. The dye fixing device 50 of this embodiment heats the lens L by irradiating the lens L with laser light, which is an electromagnetic wave. However, a device (such as an oven) that irradiates the lens L with electromagnetic waves other than laser light may be used as the dye fixing device. Details of the configuration of the dye fixing device 50 will be described later.

On the downstream side of the dye fixing device 50 (in the present embodiment, on the path between the dye fixing device 50 and the coating device 60) in the transportation path of the transportation unit U by the transportation device 10, there is a transfer device 40 and a dye fixing device. A color information measuring device 51 is provided to measure color information of the lens L dyed (fixed) with dye by the device 50. The color information measuring device 51 of this embodiment is a spectroscopic measuring device that measures the spectral spectrum (specifically, the transmission spectrum in this embodiment) of the lens L as color information. Therefore, color information is obtained with the influence of the lighting environment and the like being suppressed compared to the case where an RGB camera or the like is used. Further, even when the lens L is dyed using a plurality of dyes, the spectral spectrum, which is the distribution of intensity for each wavelength, is obtained, so color information of the dyed lens L can be appropriately obtained.

However, devices other than the spectrometer (for example, an RGB camera) may be used as the color information measurement device. Furthermore, it is also possible to change the location where the color information measuring device 51 is provided. For example, the dye fixing device 50 may be provided with a color information measuring device 51. A color information measuring device 51 may be provided on the downstream side of the coating device 60 on the conveyance path.

The coating device 60 coats the surface of the lens L to which the dye is fixed by the dye fixing device 50 for each transport unit U transported by the transport device 10. A specific method for coating the lens L by the coating device 60 can be selected as appropriate. For example, at least one of a spray method, an inkjet method, a spin method, a dip method, etc. may be employed as the coating method. The type of coating may also be appropriately selected from many types (for example, hard coat, antireflection coat, water repellent coat, primer coat, etc.).

The control device 70 manages various controls in the dyeing system 1. Various information processing devices (for example, at least one of a PC, a server, and a mobile terminal) can be used as the control device 70. The control device 70 includes a controller (for example, a CPU, etc.) 71 that performs control, and a database 72 that stores various data. Note that it is also possible to change the configuration of the control device 70. First, a plurality of devices may cooperate to function as the control device 70. For example, the control device that controls various controls in the staining system 1 and the control device that includes the database 72 may be separate devices. Further, controllers of a plurality of devices may cooperate to execute various controls in the staining system 1. For example, at least one of the transport device 10, the optical property measuring device 21, the rotation device 22, the printing device 30, the transfer device 40, the dye fixing device 50, and the coating device 60 often includes a controller. In this case, the controller of the control device 70 and the controller of another device may cooperate to control the staining system 1.

The dyeing system 1 includes a reading section 2 for reading information regarding the transport unit U for each transport unit U. As an example, the reading section 2 of this embodiment is an identifier reading section that reads an identifier provided on the transport unit U. The transport unit U is specified by the identifier read by the identifier reading section 2. The type of identifier used in the staining system 1 can be selected as appropriate. For example, at least one of a QR code (registered trademark), a bar code, an identification hole formed according to a predetermined rule, etc. can be employed as the identifier. The identifier reading unit 2 may be any identifier reader (for example, a QR code (registered trademark) reader, a barcode reader, an identification hole reader, etc.) that corresponds to the identifier being used.

In this embodiment, when the lens L is heated by the dye fixing device 50, the temperature of the transport unit U increases. Also, when the dye is transferred to the lens L by the transfer device 40, the temperature of the conveyance unit U increases as the substrate S is heated. Further, the transfer device 40 of this embodiment transfers the dye to the lens L in a substantially vacuum environment. Therefore, it is conceivable that it becomes difficult for the reading section 2 to read information due to the influence of heat and atmospheric pressure. However, in this embodiment, the transport unit U is provided with an identifier that is not easily affected by heat and atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the dyeing system 1 of this embodiment can appropriately read information regarding the transport unit U while executing a dyeing process that requires heating and reduced pressure.

However, it is also possible to change the configuration of the reading section 2. For example, the transport unit U may be provided with a tag (such as an IC tag) on which information can be written. The information written in the tag may include parameters of a treatment to be performed on the lens L included in the transport unit U. In this case, the reading unit 2 may be a tag reading unit that reads information from a tag. By reading the information from the tag by the tag reading unit 2, the parameters of the treatment to be performed on each lens L are appropriately acquired by the control device 70.

Further, the optical property measuring device 21 that reads the optical properties of the lens L may function as a reading unit that reads information regarding the transport unit U. Further, the hidden mark detection section that detects hidden marks on the lens L may function as a reading section that reads information regarding the transport unit U.

In this embodiment, a reading unit 2 is provided in each of the plurality of devices that constitute the staining system 1. Specifically, the reading unit 2A is provided at a position in front (upstream side) of the position where the transport unit U reaches the preparation unit 20 on the transport path of the transport unit U by the transport device 10. The preparatory unit 20 is provided with a reading section 2B. The printing device 30 is provided with a reading section 2C. The transfer device 40 is provided with a reading section 2D. The dye fixing device 50 is provided with a reading section 2E. The coating device 60 is provided with a reading section 2F. By providing the reading unit 2 in each of the plurality of devices, each time the transport unit U is transported to each device, information regarding the transport unit U is read and various processes are appropriately executed.

However, it is also possible to change the position of the reading section 2. First, it is also possible to omit at least one of the plurality of reading sections 2A to 2F shown in FIG. 1. For example, only the reading section 2A provided on the upstream side of the conveyance path may be employed. The control device 70 may determine the position where each transport unit U is being transported by the transport device 10. In this case, the control device 70 may execute the treatment for each lens L based on the position of each transport unit U and the information read by the reading section 2 regarding the transport unit U.

(Dyeing tray)
The staining tray 80 used in the staining system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. As described above, the staining tray 80 is an example of an installation part where the lens L is installed during transportation. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the staining tray 80 in which two lenses L are installed (mounted) and a substrate S is not installed. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the staining tray 80 showing the mounting frame 89, the lens L, and the spacer 87 mounted on one of the two mounting sections 82.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the staining tray 80 of this embodiment includes a tray body 81, a mounting frame 89, and a spacer 87. The tray body 81, the mounting frame 89, and the spacer 87 are all made of a material that can withstand high temperature and low pressure (substantially vacuum). In this embodiment, at least the portion of the mounting frame 89 on which the lens L is placed and makes contact (the entire mounting frame 89 in this embodiment) is made of a material with a melting point of 200° C. or higher (for example, Teflon (registered trademark)). (Trademark), stainless steel, aluminum, etc.). In the fixing step (details will be described later) in the vapor phase transfer dyeing method, the lens L becomes hot. Therefore, by setting the melting point of the material of the mounting frame 89 to 200° C. or higher, deformation of the mounting frame 89 and the like can be appropriately suppressed. Furthermore, at least the portion of the mounting frame 89 on which the lens L is mounted and makes contact (the entire mounting frame 89 in this embodiment) is made of a material having a thermal conductivity of 0.5 W/mK or less (for example, Teflon). It is more preferable to use a fluororesin such as (registered trademark). By setting the thermal conductivity of the material of the mounting frame 89 to 0.5 W/mK or less, it becomes difficult for heat to be conducted from the heated lens L to the mounting frame 89, so that the lens L is easily heated appropriately. . In this embodiment, the tray body 81 and the spacer 87 are made of metal (aluminum), and the mounting frame 89 is made of Teflon (registered trademark). However, it is also possible to change the material of the staining tray 80. For example, the tray body 81 and the spacer 87 may be made of resin or the like. The mounting frame 89 may be made of metal or the like.

A resin body (lens L in this embodiment) to be dyed is placed on the placement frame 89 . The mounting frame 89 of this embodiment is formed into a ring shape having an outer diameter slightly larger than the lens L. A light transmitting portion 89S, which is a circular hole that transmits light in the vertical direction, is formed in the center of the mounting frame 89. The light transmitting portion 89S may be formed of a material that transmits light (for example, glass, etc.) instead of a hole. Depending on the diameter of the lens L to be installed, a plurality of types of mounting frames 89 are available in which the diameter of the annular stepped portion on which the lens L is mounted differs. The operator places the lens L on the staining tray 80 using a placement frame 89 that corresponds to the diameter of the lens L to be dyed.

The spacer 87 extends in a cylindrical shape upward from the outer periphery of the portion of the mounting frame 89 where the lens L is mounted. As described above, in this embodiment, the spacer 87 and the mounting frame 89 are separate members. Therefore, the operator can place the lens L on the mounting frame 89 with the spacer 87 removed. Therefore, the operator can easily place the lens L on the mounting frame 89. Moreover, since the mounting frame 89 and the spacer 87 are separate members, it is easy to use different materials for the mounting frame 89 and the spacer 87. However, the mounting frame 89 and the spacer 87 may be integrated.

A mounting portion 82 is formed in the tray body 81. A mounting frame 89 and a spacer 87 are removably mounted on the mounting section 82 . Therefore, the operator can remove the mounting frame 89 and spacer 87 from the mounting portion 82 of the tray main body 81 and wash or discard only the removed mounting frame 89 and spacer 87. Therefore, of the dyeing tray 80, only the mounting frame 89 and the spacer 87, to which dye is likely to adhere during the dyeing process, are efficiently cleaned or discarded.

The mounting portion 82 of this embodiment is formed into a bottomed cylindrical shape having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the ring-shaped mounting frame 89 and the diameter of the cylindrical spacer 87. Therefore, the operator can easily attach the mounting frame 89 to the mounting section 82. However, it goes without saying that the shapes of the mounting frame 89 and the mounting portion 82 can be changed as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom (in the present embodiment, the center of the bottom) of the mounting portion 82, which has a cylindrical shape with a bottom, is provided with a hole (in the present embodiment, a circular hole) that transmits light in the vertical direction. A transparent portion 82S is formed. The light transmitting portion 82S may be formed of a material that transmits light (for example, glass, etc.) instead of a hole. Since the mounting part 82 is formed with a light transmission part 82S, and the mounting frame 89 is also formed with a light transmission part 89S, the lens L is installed (placed) on the staining tray 80, and the substrate S is Color information, optical characteristics, etc. of the lens L can be measured in a state in which it is removed from the staining tray 80.

In this embodiment, two mounting portions 82 are formed in one tray main body 81. Therefore, a pair of lenses L (left and right) used in one pair of glasses are dyed while being placed on one dyeing tray 80. Therefore, the work efficiency of the worker is improved.

In the tray main body 81, on the outer side above the mounting part 82, there is a substrate mounting part 85 on which a sheet-like substrate S (see FIGS. 5, 6, and 8) to which a sublimable dye is attached is placed. It is formed. By placing the substrate S on the substrate mounting portion 85, the sublimable dye attached to the substrate S faces the lens L placed on the mounting frame 89. Therefore, the dye is properly transferred to the resin body.

The cylindrical spacer 87 forms a space between the substrate S placed on the substrate placement section 85 and the lens L placed on the placement frame 89 . Therefore, the sublimable dye is appropriately transferred from the substrate S to the lens L through the space formed by the spacer 87. Further, leakage of the sublimated dye to the outside is appropriately suppressed by the spacer 87. Therefore, the outside of the space is less likely to be stained with dye, and the dyeing quality is also less likely to deteriorate.

When the mounting frame 89 and the spacer 87 are mounted on the mounting section 82, the upper end of the spacer 87 protrudes above the mounting surface of the base mounting section 85. Therefore, the substrate S placed on the substrate mounting portion 85 and the upper end of the spacer 87 are likely to come into close contact with each other, making it even more difficult for the sublimated dye to leak to the outside.

A recess 83 that extends outward from the mounting part 82 (that is, a recess 83 that forms a space between the tray main body 81 and the mounting frame 89 and spacer 87) is formed around the mounting part 82 in the tray main body 81. It is formed. Therefore, the operator can easily remove the mounting frame 89, spacer 87, and lens L from the mounting section 82 by inserting a finger or the like into the recess 83. The recess 83 in this embodiment is a notch formed in the tray main body 81 having a substantially plate shape. However, it is also possible to change the configuration of the recess 83. For example, a recessed portion may be formed that is recessed below the upper surface of the mounting frame 89 when it is mounted on the mounting portion 82 . Furthermore, four recesses 83 in this embodiment are formed around each mounting portion 82 . However, it goes without saying that the number of recesses 83 can be changed as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of sensor transmitting parts 82T are formed on the side surfaces of the mounting part 82, which has a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape, to transmit light emitted by the optical sensor. Therefore, whether or not at least one of the lens L, the mounting frame 89, and the spacer 87 (in this embodiment, the spacer 87) is attached to the attachment part 82 can be appropriately detected by the optical sensor. In the dyeing system 1 of this embodiment, when it is detected by the optical sensor that the spacer 87 is not attached to the attachment part 82, the transfer process by the transfer device 40 and the fixing process by the dye fixing device 50 (that is, Irradiation of laser light to fix dyes) is prohibited.

In the tray body 81, at a position outside the mounting section 82 (more specifically, outside the substrate mounting section 85), there is a tray located above the mounting surface of the substrate mounting section 85 on which the substrate S is placed. A protrusion 84 (84A, 84B) is provided that protrudes from.

The shape of the base body S of this embodiment is a rectangular sheet that covers both the two mounting parts 82. In this embodiment, a plurality of (eight ) is formed. Therefore, the base body S is appropriately positioned with respect to the lens L by placing the base body S in the area surrounded by the plurality of protrusions 84 (base body mounting portion 85). Moreover, the possibility that the position of the mounted base body S will shift with respect to the lens L is also reduced. That is, at least some of the plurality of protrusions 84 in this embodiment (in this embodiment, all the protrusions 84A and 84B) function as a positioning part that positions the base body S with respect to the lens L.

Further, at least some of the plurality of protrusions 84 (in this embodiment, all the protrusions 84A and 84B) have a thickness that is larger than the mounting surface of the substrate mounting section 85 on which the substrate S is placed. It protrudes to an even higher position. Therefore, even if some objects are stacked on the staining tray 80 on which the substrate S is placed, the stacked objects tend to come into contact with the protrusions 84, so that it is difficult for the objects to come into contact with the substrate S. Therefore, damage to the base body S is less likely to occur. As described above, the protrusion 84 of this embodiment functions as a substrate protection section that protects the substrate S placed on the staining tray 80 from objects stacked on top of the substrate S.

In this embodiment, the plurality of protrusions 84 serve both as a positioning section and a base protection section. In other words, the protrusion 84 serves as at least a portion of the positioning portion and at least a portion of the base protection portion. Therefore, the structure of the staining tray 80 is easily simplified.

At the bottom of the tray body 81 (in the present embodiment, at two locations at the bottom of each attachment section 82), bottom fitting sections 86 are formed which are upwardly recessed portions. Among the plurality of protrusions 84 formed on the upper part of the tray body 81, four protrusions 84B adjacent to the mounting part 82 are arranged so that the other staining trays 80 (tray bodies 81) are stacked on the upper part of the staining tray 80. When the dyeing trays 80 are stacked, they fit into the bottom fitting portions 86 of the stacked dyeing trays 80. In other words, the four protrusions 84B function as upper fitting parts that fit into the bottom fitting parts 86 of other tray bodies 81 stacked on top. Therefore, the plurality of dyeing trays 80 are stacked one above the other in a stable state. In addition, each of the bottom fitting part 86 and the top fitting part of this embodiment is arrange|positioned asymmetrically (for example, rotationally asymmetrically, etc.). Therefore, the operator can easily stack the plurality of dyeing trays 80 with their orientations aligned.

Further, the height of the protrusion 84B from the mounting surface of the substrate mounting portion 85 is greater than or equal to the sum of the depth of the bottom fitting portion 86 (depth of the recess) and the thickness of the substrate S. Therefore, even if a plurality of dyeing trays 80 are stacked with the substrate S placed on the substrate mounting portion 85, the substrate S is unlikely to come into contact with the dyeing tray 80 stacked above. Damage to S is less likely to occur.

As described above, in this embodiment, the protrusion 84B serves as an upper fitting part, a positioning part, and a base protection part. Therefore, the structure of the staining tray 80 is easily simplified. However, two or all of the upper fitting part, the positioning part, and the base protection part may be composed of separate members.

Note that when a plurality of protrusions 84 are provided on the tray main body 81, it goes without saying that the number of protrusions 84 is not limited to eight. It is also possible to change the shape of the protrusion 84. For example, the protrusion may be a rib-shaped member extending upward from a position along the outer periphery of the base body S.

The tray body 81 is provided with an identifier 88 that can be read by the reading section 2. The tray main body 81 can be used more times than the mounting frame 89 and the like. Therefore, compared to the case where the identifier 88 is provided on the mounting frame 89 or the like, the frequency of installing the identifier 88 on the member is reduced. Note that when a tag reading section that reads information from a tag is used as the reading section 2 (see FIG. 1), a tag onto which information can be written may be provided on the tray body 81 instead of the identifier 88.

(Automatic staining device)
The automatic staining apparatus 3 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 12. As described above, the automatic dyeing device 3 of this embodiment includes the transfer device 40 and the dye fixing device 50, and automatically and continuously transfers and fixes the dye to a plurality of lenses L. The automatic staining device 3 is incorporated into the staining system 1 together with the printing device 30 and the like. Note that, as described above, the printing device 30 and the like may also be incorporated into the automatic dyeing device 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, the automatic staining device 3 includes a substantially box-shaped housing 31. As shown in FIG. Inside the housing 31, a transfer/fixing unit 4 (see FIG. 5) in which a transfer device 40, a dye fixing device 50, etc. are assembled into a part of the conveying device 10 is housed. In the transfer/fixing unit 4 , the left and right ends of the transport device 10 protrude outward from the housing 31 .

A front face 32 (front left side in FIG. 3) of the casing 31 is connected to the main body of the casing 31 via a hinge at the right end, and is rotatably provided with respect to the main body of the casing 31. When maintenance or the like of the automatic staining device 3 is performed, the entire front surface 32 is opened. Further, a wide range slightly above the vertical center of the housing 31 is formed of a transparent member. Therefore, the operator can check the treatment being performed by the automatic staining device 3 through the transparent member. An emergency stop button 34 and the like for inputting an instruction to forcibly stop the operation of the automatic staining device 3 is provided slightly below the center in the vertical direction on the front surface 32 of the housing 31. Further, a touch panel 35 is provided at the upper part of the front surface 32 of the housing 31, through which the user inputs various operation instructions.

As shown in FIG. 5, the transfer/fixing unit 4 includes a portion of the conveyance device 10, a transfer device 40, a dye fixing device 50, and a substrate holding device 90. The transport device 10 of the present embodiment, schematically, continuously transports a plurality of transport units U from the upstream side (the left side of the paper in FIG. 5) to the downstream side (the right side of the paper in FIG. 5) in the transport direction. In the transfer/fixing unit 4, each device is arranged in this order from the upstream side in the conveyance direction: a transfer device 40, a dye fixing device 50, and a substrate holding device 90. The transport device 10 transports the transport unit U in the order of the transfer device 40, the substrate holding device 90, the dye fixing device 50, and the substrate holding device 90. Note that the arrangement of the dye fixing device 50 and the substrate holding device 90 may be reversed. The automatic dyeing apparatus 3 of this embodiment transports the transport unit U containing the substrate S to which the dye is attached to the transfer/fixing unit 4.

(Transport device)
The conveying device 10 included in the transfer/fixing unit 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. As shown in FIG. 6, the transport device 10 includes a pair of rails 101 extending in the transport direction. A rotating belt 102 arranged along the rail 101 is provided near the rail 101 . The rotating belt 102 is connected to a conveyance motor 103 (for example, a step motor, etc.). The rotation belt 102 rotates as the conveyance motor 103 is driven. As the rotating belt 102 rotates, the transport unit U moves in the transport direction along the rails 101.

Sensors (photoelectric sensors in this embodiment) 104 for detecting the presence or absence of the transport unit U are provided at a plurality of positions on the rail 101. The control device 70 can detect the position of the transport unit U being transported by the transport device 10 based on the detection results of each of the plurality of sensors 104.

The transport device 10 includes a first delivery section 110 and a second delivery section 120. The first transfer unit 110 is provided at a transfer transfer position near the transfer device 40 (see FIG. 5), and is used to transfer the transfer unit U between the transfer device 10 and the transfer device 40. The second delivery section 120 is provided at a fixing delivery position near the dye fixing device 50 (see FIG. 5), and transfers the resin body (lens L) of the transportation unit U between the transportation device 10 and the dye fixing device 50. Used for handover.

As shown in FIG. 7, the first delivery section 110 includes a base section 111, a left arm section 112, a right arm section 113, and a vertically moving section 114. The base 111 connects the left arm 112 and the right arm 113. Specifically, the left arm portion 112 extends upward from the left end of the base portion 111 and is bent rightward from the upper end portion. The right arm portion 113 extends upward from the right end of the base portion 111 and is bent leftward from the upper end portion. The distance between the upper end of the left arm section 112 and the upper end of the right arm section 113 is set to be slightly shorter than the length of the staining tray 80 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) in the left-right direction.

The vertically moving part 114 is fixed to the base 111. The vertical movement section 114 is an actuator (in this embodiment, a cylinder) such as a motor, a cylinder, or a solenoid. By driving the vertical movement section 114, the base 111, the left arm section 112, and the right arm section 113 move up and down together. With the transport unit U being transported to a predetermined transfer delivery position near the transfer device 40, the left arm part 112 and the right arm part 113 are moved upward, thereby lifting the transport unit U at the transfer delivery position. . The transport unit U lifted by the first delivery section 110 is delivered to the transfer device 40 (details will be described later). Furthermore, the transport unit U is transferred from the transfer device 40 to the first transfer section 110 with the left arm section 112 and the right arm section 113 moved upward. Thereafter, the left arm section 112 and the right arm section 113 are lowered, thereby returning the transport unit U to the transport path.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 6. The second delivery section 120 includes a lens lift section 121, a vertical movement section 122, and a resin body switching section 123. The lens lift section 121 is located below the transport unit U that has been transported to the fixing delivery position. The vertical movement section 122 is fixed to the lens lift section 121. The vertical movement section 122 is an actuator (in this embodiment, a cylinder) such as a motor, a cylinder, or a solenoid. By driving the vertical movement section 122, the lens lift section 121 moves in the vertical direction. When the lens lift section 121 moves upward, one of the two lenses L of the transport unit U is delivered to a fixing position where a fixing process by the dye fixing device 50 is performed. Furthermore, when the lens lift section 121 moves downward, the lens L is transferred from the fixing position to the conveyance path. The resin body switching unit 123 includes an actuator (in this embodiment, a cylinder) such as a motor, a cylinder, or a solenoid. The resin body switching unit 123 switches the lens L to be placed at the fixing position among the two lenses L included in the transport unit U by moving the lens lift unit 121 in the transport direction using an actuator.

The transport device 10 includes a plurality of unit positioning sections 130. The unit positioning section 130 is provided at a predetermined position on the transport path between the pair of rails 101. When the unit positioning section 130 is moved upward by a vertical movement actuator (not shown), the unit positioning section 130 comes into contact with the transport unit U that has been transported along the transport path, and the transport of the transport unit U is stopped at a predetermined location. Therefore, the transport device 10 of this embodiment can accurately stop the transport unit U at a predetermined position on the transport route. That is, the automatic staining apparatus 3 of this embodiment can stop the transport unit U at a more accurate position by using both the sensor 104 and the unit positioning section 130. However, it is also possible to omit one of the sensor 104 and the unit positioning section 130.

(transfer device)
The transfer device 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10. As shown in FIG. 8, the transfer device 40 of the present embodiment includes a table section 401, electromagnetic wave passing sections 410R and 410L, an electromagnetic wave generation section 420, a closed chamber setting section 430, and an air pressure control section 450. The platform 401 supports the transfer device 40. The electromagnetic wave passing sections 410R and 410L pass the electromagnetic waves generated by the electromagnetic wave generating section 420 to a base body S disposed in a closed chamber C (see FIG. 9), which will be described later. The electromagnetic wave generating section 420 generates electromagnetic waves for heating the base body S. The closed chamber set part 430 forms a closed chamber C together with the platform 401 and the like. That is, the inside of the closed chamber C becomes a closed space surrounded by the closed chamber set part 430, the platform part 401, and the like. Further, the closed chamber setting unit 430 sets the transport unit U delivered from the first delivery unit 110 (see FIG. 7) of the transport device 10 inside the closed room C. The atmospheric pressure control unit 450 changes the atmospheric pressure within the closed chamber C.

The platform section 401 includes a bottom section 402, a right column section 403R, a left column section 403L, and a base section 404. The bottom portion 402 is placed on the installation site and supports the entire transfer device 40 . The right column portion 403R extends upward from the right end portion of the bottom portion 402. The left column portion 403L extends upward from the left end of the bottom portion 402. The base 404 is fixed to the upper end of the right column 403R and the upper end of the left column 403L. Therefore, when viewing the platform 401 from the front and back directions, the platform 401 has a rectangular opening. The base 404 is a substantially plate-shaped member having sufficient strength. Openings are formed in the base 404 at positions facing each of the two lenses L set in the closed chamber C by the closed chamber setting section 430.

The electromagnetic wave passing sections 410R and 410L are cylindrical members, and are provided between each of the two openings formed in the base 404 and the electromagnetic wave generating section 420. As shown in FIG. 9, the electromagnetic wave generating section 420 includes generation sources (halogen heaters in this embodiment) 421R and 421L that generate electromagnetic waves. The generation source 421R is arranged on the axis of the cylindrical electromagnetic wave passage section 410R. Similarly, the generation source 421L is arranged on the axis of the cylindrical electromagnetic wave passage section 410L.

As shown in FIG. 10, the occlusion chamber set part 430 includes a base 431, a occlusion chamber bottom 440, a longitudinally moving section 432, a vertically moving section 433, and guide poles 434R, 434L (only the guide pole 434R is shown in FIG. 10). ). The base 431 is a substantially plate-shaped member and serves as the base of the closed chamber setting section 430. As shown in FIG. 8, the base 431 is placed inside a rectangular opening in the base 401. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the closed chamber bottom 440 is a substantially plate-shaped member having sufficient strength. A transport unit mounting section 441 on which a transport unit U (see FIG. 8, etc.) including the base body S is mounted is formed on the upper surface of the closed chamber bottom section 440 . The transport unit mounting portion 441 of this embodiment has unevenness that matches the shape of the staining tray 80 (see FIGS. 2, 3, and 9).

Although the details will be described later, the occlusion chamber bottom 440 is pressed from below to the top against the base 404 (see FIGS. 8 and 9) of the platform 401, so that the occlusion chamber C (see FIG. 9) is closed. Close the bottom. As shown in FIG. 10, a tray pressing section 442 and a sealing section 443 are provided on the upper surface of the closed chamber bottom section 440.

The tray pressing section 442 protrudes upward from each of a plurality of positions on the transport unit mounting section 441 (in the present embodiment, four corners of the transport unit mounting section 441), and also includes a biasing member (for example, a spring, etc.). ) is biased upward. When the closed chamber bottom 440 is pressed upward from below against the base 404, the staining tray 80 of the transport unit U is pressed into the closed chamber C by the plurality of tray pressers 442. As a result, the dye heated by electromagnetic waves and sublimated from the substrate S is less likely to leak out of the placement frame 89 of the dyeing tray 80 and the spacer 87 (see FIGS. 2 and 3).

The seal portion 443 is arranged so as to cover the outer periphery of the transport unit mounting portion 441 in an annular manner without any gaps. The seal portion 443 protrudes slightly upward from the upper surface of the transport unit mounting portion 441. The seal portion 443 is made of a material that can withstand high temperatures and pressure changes and has appropriate elasticity. Therefore, when the closed chamber bottom 440 is pressed upward from below against the base 404, the seal portion 443 is pressed against the bottom surface of the base 404 and deforms, improving the airtightness of the closed chamber C (see FIG. 9). .

The back-and-forth moving unit 432 is an actuator (in this embodiment, a cylinder) that moves the operating shaft 432A in the back-and-forth direction, and is fixed to the base 431. An operating shaft 432A of the back-and-forth moving portion 432 is fixed to the bottom portion 440 of the closed chamber. When the back-and-forth moving section 432 is driven, the obstruction chamber bottom 440 moves in the back-and-forth direction.

As shown in FIG. 9, the vertical movement section 433 is an actuator (in this embodiment, a cylinder) that moves the operating shaft 433A in the vertical direction, and is fixed to the bottom section 402 of the platform section 401. An operating shaft 433A of the vertically moving section 433 is fixed to the base 431. Further, the guide poles 434R and 434L are rod-shaped members extending downward from the bottom surface of the base 431. The guide poles 434R, 434L are inserted into each of the cylinder parts 405R, 405L provided on the bottom part 402 of the platform part 401 so as to be vertically movable. When the vertical movement section 433 is driven, the base 431 moves in the vertical direction. The vertical movement of the base 431 is guided by guide poles 434R, 434L and cylindrical portions 405R, 405L. As the base 431 moves in the vertical direction, the closed chamber bottom 440 supported by the base 431 moves in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 9, a mask portion 412R is provided at the center of the cylindrical electromagnetic wave passage portion 410R. Similarly, a mask section 412L is provided at the center of the electromagnetic wave passage section 410L. The mask sections 412R and 412L block the path of the electromagnetic waves that are irradiated to the central part of the dye circularly attached to the substrate S, among the paths of the electromagnetic waves that are irradiated to the substrate S from the generation sources 421R and 421L of the electromagnetic wave generation section 420. do. As an example, the mask parts 412R and 412L of the present embodiment have a shaft part that extends downward along the axis of the cylindrical electromagnetic wave passing parts 410R and 410L, and a shaft part that extends outward in a circle from the lower part of the shaft part about the axis. Equipped with a disc part. Electromagnetic waves irradiated to the center of the circular dye are blocked by the disc.

When the mask portions 412R and 412L are not provided, the intensity of the electromagnetic waves irradiated to the center of the circularly adhered dye is greater than the intensity of the electromagnetic waves irradiated to the periphery of the dye. Furthermore, heat in the center of the circular dye is more difficult to dissipate than heat in the periphery. Therefore, the electromagnetic waves irradiated to the central part of the circular dye are blocked by the mask parts 412R and 412L, thereby suppressing the temperature of the central part of the dye from rising excessively compared to the temperature of the peripheral part. . As a result, the dye is more likely to be uniformly transferred to the lens L.

The electromagnetic wave passing section 410R is provided with a temperature detection section 414R that detects the internal temperature. Similarly, the electromagnetic wave passage section 410L is provided with a temperature detection section 414L that detects the internal temperature. If the temperature inside the closed chamber C does not rise even after irradiation of electromagnetic waves by the generation sources 421R and 421L, the controller 71 performs a process of warning the operator that a failure has occurred, and prohibits execution of the transfer process. Execute at least one of the following processes.

The air pressure control unit 450 (see FIG. 8) includes a pump and a solenoid valve. By driving the pump, gas in the closed chamber C is discharged to the outside through an air supply and exhaust pipe (not shown). As a result, the inside of the closed chamber C becomes a substantially vacuum state. By closing the solenoid valve, the airtightness within the closed chamber C is maintained. Further, by opening the electromagnetic valve 33, gas is introduced from the outside into the closed chamber C in a reduced pressure state, and the air pressure inside the closed chamber C increases. Note that a pressure sensor is provided inside the closed chamber C to detect the atmospheric pressure inside the closed chamber C. The controller 71 performs a process of warning the operator that the transfer device 40 is out of order and a process of prohibiting execution of the transfer process if the air pressure in the closed chamber C does not decrease even after driving the pump. Execute at least one of the following.

The operation of the transfer process by the transfer device 40 will be explained. First, the controller 71 drives the forward and backward moving section 432 (see FIGS. 8 and 10) of the closed chamber setting section 430 while the transport unit U is raised by the first delivery section 110 (see FIGS. 5 to 7). By doing so, the closed chamber bottom 440 is moved from inside the opening of the platform 401 to the front (towards the transport path). As a result, the closed chamber bottom 440 is located below the transport unit U. Next, the controller 71 causes the first transfer unit 110 to lower the transport unit U, thereby placing the transport unit U on the transport unit mounting portion 441 on the bottom portion 440 of the closed chamber. Next, the controller 71 moves the occlusion chamber bottom 440 on which the transport unit U is placed below the base 404 of the platform 401 by driving the back-and-forth moving section 432 of the occlusion chamber setting section 430 . Next, the controller 71 drives the vertical movement section 433 of the occlusion chamber setting section 430 to move the occlusion chamber bottom 440 on which the transport unit U is placed upward, and moves the occlusion chamber bottom 440 upward relative to the base 404 from below. to press.

Here, the transfer device 40 needs to form a closed chamber C. Since the inside of the closed chamber C is in a substantially vacuum state, the weight of the members forming the closed chamber C tends to be large. Therefore, it is inefficient to move the entire transfer device 40 and place the transport unit U inside the closed chamber C. In contrast, the transfer device 40 of the present embodiment forms the closed chamber C by raising only the closed chamber bottom 440 that closes the bottom of the closed chamber C among the members forming the closed chamber C. The transport unit U is placed inside the closed chamber C. Therefore, the transfer process is efficiently performed.

Furthermore, as described above, the staining tray 80 of the transport unit U is pressed into the closed chamber C from below by the tray pressing section 442. As a result, the sublimated dye is less likely to leak out of the placement frame 89 of the dyeing tray 80 and the spacer 87 through the gap. Further, when the closed chamber bottom portion 440 is pressed against the base portion 404 from below, the seal portion 443 is pressed against the bottom surface of the base portion 404 and deforms. As a result, sealing performance is improved.

Next, the controller 71 drives the air pressure control unit 450 to bring the inside of the closed chamber C into a substantially vacuum state. The controller 71 heats the dye on the substrate S included in the transport unit U by causing the generation sources 421R and 421L of the electromagnetic wave generation section 420 to generate electromagnetic waves. The heated dye sublimes and is transferred to the surface (in this embodiment, the upper surface) of the lens L disposed facing the substrate S. Here, the mask parts 412R and 412L block the path of electromagnetic waves irradiated to the center of the dye circularly attached to the substrate S. Therefore, the circular dye is easily heated evenly.

Next, the controller 71 stops driving the generation sources 421R and 421L, and causes the air pressure control unit 450 to increase the air pressure in the closed chamber C. The controller 71 drives the vertical movement section 433 of the occlusion chamber setting section 430 to move the occlusion chamber bottom 440 on which the transport unit U is placed downward. Next, the controller 71 moves the closed chamber bottom 440 on which the transport unit U is placed toward the transport path by driving the back-and-forth moving section 432 of the closed chamber setting section 430. As a result, the bent portions at the upper ends of the left arm section 112 and the right arm section 113 of the first delivery section 110 are located between the closed chamber bottom section 440 and the staining tray 80. The controller 71 raises the left arm part 112 and the right arm part 113 to retract the closed chamber bottom 440 backward from the transport path with the transport unit U lifted. The controller 71 causes the first transfer unit 110 to lower the transport unit U and transfer it onto the transport path. With the above processing, the transfer process is completed.

(Substrate holding device)
The substrate holding device 90 will be explained with reference to FIG. The substrate holding device 90 removes the substrate S from the transport unit U after the transfer process is performed and before the fixing process is performed. Further, the substrate holding device 90 of this embodiment places the removed substrate S on the transport unit U again after the fixing process is performed.

The substrate holding device 90 of this embodiment includes a back-and-forth moving section 901, a vertical moving section 902, and a substrate holding section 903. The back-and-forth moving unit 901 is an actuator (in this embodiment, a cylinder) that moves the operating shaft 901A in the back-and-forth direction. An operating shaft 901A of the longitudinally moving section 901 is fixed to the vertically moving section 902. The vertical movement section 902 is an actuator (in this embodiment, a cylinder) that moves an operating shaft (not shown) in the vertical direction. The operating axis of the vertically moving section 902 is fixed to the base body holding section 903. When the back-and-forth moving section 901 is driven, the up-down moving section 902 and the base body holding section 903 move in the front-back direction. When the vertically moving section 902 is driven, the base body holding section 903 moves in the vertical direction.

The substrate holding section 903 includes a suction port 904 and a channel connection section 905. The suction port 904 faces downward. The substrate holder 903 of this embodiment is provided with six suction ports 904 (only five suction ports 904 are shown in FIG. 11). However, it goes without saying that the number of suction ports 904 can be changed. The flow path connection section 905 is connected via a tube to a pump (not shown) that generates suction pressure. The plurality of suction ports 904 and the flow path connecting portion 905 are connected by a gas flow path (not shown) formed inside the substrate holding portion 903. Gas is sucked from the suction port 904 by driving the pump.

When the substrate S is removed from the transport unit U by the substrate holding device 90, the controller 71 drives the forward and backward movement section 901 to move the substrate S above the transport unit U transported to the substrate removal position in front of the substrate holding device 90. The base body holding section 903 is moved. Next, the controller 71 drives the vertical movement section 902 to move the base body holding section 903 downward. When the substrate holder 903 descends, the suction port 904 of the substrate holder 903 comes into contact with the upper surface of the substrate S placed on the transport unit U. The controller 71 drives the pump to suck gas from the suction port 904 . As a result, the substrate S is sucked and held by the suction port 904. The controller 71 drives the back-and-forth moving unit 901 with the base body S held by the base body holder 903, and retracts the base body holder 903 and the base body S to the rear (that is, to a retracted position evacuated from the transport path).

Although details will be described later, the dyeing system 1 may print an identifier for identifying the transport unit U on the substrate S together with the dye. In this case, the reading section 2E (see FIG. 1) of the dye fixing device 50 is arranged below the substrate holding section 903 that has been moved to the retracted position. As described above, the dye is printed on the lower surface facing the lens L, of the upper and lower surfaces of the sheet-like substrate S. Therefore, if the printing device 30 prints the identifier on the bottom surface of the substrate S in the same way as the dye, the number of steps will be reduced compared to the case where the identifier is printed on the top surface of the substrate S. On the other hand, if an identifier is printed on the lower surface of the substrate S, it is difficult to read the identifier while the substrate S is placed on the transport unit U. In contrast, in the present disclosure, the reading section 2E is arranged below the substrate holding section 903 in the retracted position. Therefore, the staining system 1 can appropriately read the identifier printed on the lower surface of the substrate S. However, the identifier may be printed on the top surface of the base S. In this case, the reading unit 2E may be placed above the base body holding unit 903 that has been moved to the retracted position.

Further, the aforementioned color information measuring device 51 (see FIG. 1) is provided near the substrate holding device 90. The controller 71 causes the color information measuring device 51 to measure the color information of the lens L while the substrate S is evacuated from the staining tray 80 by the substrate holding device 90 . As described above, in the staining tray 80 of this embodiment (see FIGS. 2 and 3), the mounting portion 82 is formed with the light transmitting portion 82S, and the mounting frame 89 is also formed with the light transmitting portion 89S. ing. Therefore, in a state where the lens L is installed (mounted) on the staining tray 80 and the substrate S is removed from the staining tray 80, the color information of the lens L is appropriately measured by the color information measuring device 51.

When the fixing process by the dye fixing device 50 is completed, the controller 71 drives the back-and-forth moving section 901 to move the substrate holding section 903 above the transport unit U that has been transported to the substrate removal position. Next, the controller 71 drives the vertical movement section 902 to move the base body holding section 903 downward. The controller 71 releases the holding of the substrate S by the substrate holding section 903 by stopping the driving of the pump. As a result, the substrate S, which was once removed from the transport unit U, is returned to the transport unit U. By returning the substrate S to the transport unit U after the fixing process is completed, the operator can easily compare the dyed lens L and the substrate S used for dyeing. Therefore, the operator can appropriately confirm the dyeing quality and the cause when the dyeing quality is low.

Note that the timing for placing the substrate S on the transport unit U again may be after the fixing process by the dye fixing device 50 and the coating process by the coating device 60 (see FIG. 1) are both completed. In this case, the fixing process and the coating process are easily performed with the substrate S removed from the transport unit U.

(Dye fixing device)
The dye fixing device 50 will be described with reference to FIG. 12. The dye fixing device 50 performs a fixing process of fixing the dye attached to the surface of the lens L to the lens L by heating the lens L. Specifically, the dye fixing device 50 of this embodiment heats the lens L by irradiating the lens L with laser light, which is an electromagnetic wave. The dye fixing device 50 includes a laser light irradiation section 510, a laser light blocking section 520, a thermo camera 530, an inlet 540, an outlet 550, a pressure difference generation section 560, and a radiant heat reflection section 570.

Laser light irradiation section 510 includes a laser light source 511 and an objective lens 512. The laser light source 511 emits laser light with a wavelength that is absorbed by the material of the lens L. Laser light emitted from the laser light source 511 is irradiated onto the lens L installed at the fixing position 501 via the objective lens 512. Note that the laser light source 511 of this embodiment emits laser light downward. Therefore, the downstream side of the optical path of the laser beam is the lower side when viewed from the laser light source 511. However, the direction in which the laser beam is irradiated may be in a direction other than the downward direction (for example, the horizontal direction, the upward direction, or the diagonal direction). The upstream and downstream directions of the optical path of the laser beam are uniquely determined depending on the direction in which the laser beam is irradiated.

Further, the laser beam irradiation section 510 includes a scanning section 513. The scanning unit 513 scans the laser light emitted from the laser light source 511 relative to the lens L. The scanning unit 513 of this embodiment includes a scanner that deflects the traveling direction of laser light. The laser light emitted from the laser light source 511 is deflected in its traveling direction by the scanner, and then is irradiated toward the lens L through the objective lens 512. Specifically, the scanning unit 513 of this embodiment includes an X scanner that scans a laser beam in the X direction that intersects the optical axis of the laser beam, and an X scanner that scans the laser beam in the Y direction that intersects both the optical axis and the X direction. Equipped with a Y scanner. The scanning unit 513 can scan laser light in two-dimensional directions using an X scanner and a Y scanner. As an example, a galvanometer mirror is employed in the scanner (each of the X scanner and Y scanner) of this embodiment. However, scanners other than galvanometer mirrors (eg, polygon mirrors or acousto-optic elements) may also be used. Further, the scanning section may be a moving section that moves the position of the lens L relative to the laser beam. As the scanning unit, a scanner and a moving unit may be used together.

The laser light blocking section 520 is a cylindrical member made of a material that blocks laser light (for example, at least one of acrylic, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, resin such as polyvinyl chloride, and metal). The laser beam blocking section 520 blocks at least a portion of the periphery of the optical path extending from the objective lens 512 of the laser beam irradiation section 510 to the lens L installed at the fixing position 501 (that is, the periphery of the optical axis O of the objective lens 512). By covering it, leakage of laser light out of the optical path is blocked. Therefore, safety is improved by the laser light blocking section 520. Specifically, the laser light blocking section 520 of this embodiment covers the entire periphery of the optical path extending from the objective lens 512 to the lens L. Therefore, safety is further improved. The shape of the laser light blocking section 520 of this embodiment is approximately cylindrical. However, the shape of the laser light blocking section 520 is not limited to a substantially cylindrical shape.

At least a part of the laser light blocking section 520 that is different from the resin body peripheral section 525 that covers the periphery of the lens L installed at the fixing position 501 has a light transmitting property that blocks laser light and transmits visible light. It is formed of a member (as an example, in this embodiment, transparent acrylic resin). Therefore, the operator can see the state of the lens L covered by the laser light blocking section 520 through the light-transmitting member. In this embodiment, the entire main body of the laser light blocking section 520 other than the resin body peripheral section 525 is formed of a light-transmitting member. Therefore, the operator can view the lens L from various locations other than the peripheral portion of the resin body.

The laser light blocking section 520 is provided with a lens detection sensor 521 that detects whether the lens L is placed at the fixing position 501. When the lens detection sensor 521 detects that the lens L is not placed at the fixing position 501, the controller 71 performs a warning process to warn the operator that the lens L is not placed at the fixing position 501, and a fixing process. (i.e., irradiation of laser light).

The thermo camera 530 is provided inside the cylindrical laser light blocking section 520. The thermo camera 530 detects the heat distribution of the lens L placed at the fixing position 501. Specifically, the thermocamera 530 allows electromagnetic waves generated from the lens L disposed at the fixing position 501 to enter the interior through the electromagnetic wave incidence section 531, and is detected by a detection element. The thermo camera 530 can detect the heat distribution of the lens L based on the detected electromagnetic waves. Note that the electromagnetic wave incidence section 531 includes an imaging lens (for example, a germanium lens, etc.) that images the electromagnetic waves generated from the lens L onto the detection element. Furthermore, the electromagnetic wave incidence section 531 includes a filter that blocks the wavelength of the laser light irradiated by the laser light irradiation section 510. Therefore, the laser light is less likely to affect the detection results of the thermo camera 530.

The controller 71 controls the driving of the scanning unit 513 based on the thermal distribution of the lens L detected by the thermo camera 530. Therefore, based on the actual heat distribution of the lens L, the heating treatment of the lens L can be performed more appropriately.

Both the inflow port 540 and the discharge port 550 are formed in the cylindrical laser light blocking section 520. The inlet 540 is provided in the laser light blocking section 520 on the upstream side of the laser light optical path than the outlet 550 is. The inlet 540 allows gas to flow into the laser beam blocking section 520 from the outside. The outlet 550 is provided in the laser light blocking section 520 on the downstream side of the laser beam optical path than the inlet 540 (that is, on the side closer to the lens L than the inlet 540 is). Further, the discharge port 550 is provided in the laser beam blocking section 520 on the downstream side of the laser beam optical path rather than the electromagnetic wave incident section 531 of the thermo camera 530. Further, the discharge port 550 is provided on the upstream side of the optical path of the laser light from the position of the lens L disposed at the fixing position 501 in the laser light blocking section 520. The exhaust port 550 exhausts gas from inside the laser light blocking section 520 to the outside. The exhaust port 550 is connected to an exhaust pipe 551 that guides the gas to be exhausted to a predetermined position. Therefore, gas is more appropriately discharged from the laser beam blocking section 520.

The pressure difference generator 560 generates a pressure difference for causing gas to flow from the inlet 540 to the outlet 550. As an example, the pressure difference generation section 560 of this embodiment is an inflow blower that blows gas into the laser beam blocking section 520 from the inflow port 540. That is, the pressure difference generating section 560 of this embodiment is provided at the inlet 540. However, an exhaust blower that blows gas from the exhaust port 550 to the outside of the laser beam blocking section 520 may be provided in at least one of the exhaust port 550 and the exhaust pipe 551, separately from the inflow blower or together with the inflow blower. good. In other words, the pressure difference generating section 560 controls at least one of the paths of the gas flowing into the laser beam blocking section 520 from the inlet 540 and the path of the gas exhausted to the outside of the laser beam blocking section 520 from the exhaust port 550. It is sufficient if it is provided in either one.

A drive detection section 561 is provided in the pressure difference generation section 560. The drive detection section 561 detects whether the pressure difference generation section is normally driven. When the drive detection unit 561 detects that the pressure difference generation unit 560 is not being driven normally, the controller 71 issues a warning to the operator and causes the laser beam irradiation unit 510 to perform a heating operation on the lens L. Execute at least one of the prohibited processes. Therefore, the possibility that the fixing process will be performed while the pressure difference generating unit 560 is out of order is reduced.

In the laser beam blocking section 520, a radiant heat reflecting section 570 is provided at least on the inner peripheral surface of the resin body peripheral section 525 to reflect the radiant heat generated from the lens L, which is a resin body. Therefore, at least a portion of the radiant heat emitted from the lens L heated by the laser beam is reflected toward the lens L by the radiant heat reflecting section 570. As a result, the heat of the lens L (particularly the outer peripheral portion of the lens L) becomes difficult to diffuse to the surroundings, so that the temperature of the lens L is easily increased appropriately by the laser beam. In other words, the radiant heat reflecting section 570 makes it easier for the overall temperature of the lens L to rise, and also makes it difficult for a temperature difference to occur between the outer circumference and the inner side of the lens L. Therefore, the dye is easily fixed to the lens L appropriately.

The radiant heat reflecting section 570 is provided all around the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical resin body peripheral section 525 in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the radiant heat emitted from the lens L is more efficiently transferred to the lens L by the radiant heat reflector 570 than when the radiant heat reflector is provided in a part of the inner peripheral surface of the resin body peripheral part 525 in the circumferential direction. It is more likely to be reflected.

As described above, at least a portion of the laser light blocking section 520 other than the resin body peripheral section 525 where the radiant heat reflecting section 570 is provided is formed of a light-transmitting member. Therefore, according to the dye fixing device 50 of this embodiment, the lens L can be appropriately heated, and the state of the lens L can be easily checked.

The radiant heat reflecting section 570 protrudes below the lower end of the inner circumferential surface of the resin body peripheral section 525. Therefore, the periphery of the lens L installed at the fixing position 501 is more appropriately covered by the radiant heat reflecting section 570. Therefore, the lens L is heated more appropriately.

The radiant heat reflecting section 570 is formed of a metal containing aluminum or stainless steel (in this embodiment, a single piece of aluminum or a single piece of stainless steel). Aluminum and stainless steel easily reflect radiant heat (electromagnetic waves). Therefore, the temperature of the lens L increases more appropriately.

The operation of the fixing process by the dye fixing device 50 will be described. The controller 71 causes the second delivery section 120 (see FIG. 6) of the conveyance device 10 to move the lens L to the fixing position 501, and also drives the pressure difference generation section 560. The controller 71 causes the laser light source 511 to emit a laser beam while driving the pressure difference generating section 560, and controls the driving of the scanning section 513. Specifically, the controller 71 acquires parameters for the treatment to be performed on the lens L based on the information regarding the transport unit U read by the reading section 2E (see FIG. 1). The controller 71 controls the driving of the scanning unit 513 based on the acquired parameters and the thermal distribution of the lens L detected by the thermo camera 530. The parameters may include, for example, a parameter for the target temperature of the lens L. Further, in the fixing process, the degree to which temperature differences occur between each part of the lens L varies depending on the shape of the lens L. Therefore, the parameters may include parameters related to the shape of the lens L (for example, parameters related to the power of the lens L, etc.). Further, the dye may be more appropriately fixed to the lens L by changing the temperature transition of the lens L depending on the material of the lens L. Therefore, the parameters may include parameters regarding the material of the lens L. Furthermore, depending on the density of the color to be dyed on the lens L, the dye may be properly fixed on the lens L by changing the temperature transition of the lens L. Therefore, the parameters may include parameters related to the density of the color that is dyed on the lens L. Further, the controller 71 may control the driving of the scanning unit 513 based on the heat distribution of the lens L detected by the thermo camera 530 so that the temperature difference between each part of the lens L becomes small.

Here, in the dye fixing device 50 of this embodiment, gas flows inside the laser light blocking section 520 from the inlet 540 to the outlet 550. In other words, the gas flows from the upstream side (in this embodiment, upward) to the downstream side (in this embodiment, downward) of the optical path of the laser beam. Therefore, even if the dye on the surface of the lens L is heated and gasified, the dye is less likely to adhere to the objective lens 512 of the laser beam irradiation section 510. Therefore, the influence caused by dye adhering to the objective lens 512 is suppressed.

Further, the discharge port 550 is provided in the laser light blocking section 520 on the upstream side of the optical path of the laser light with respect to the position of the lens L disposed at the fixing position 501. Therefore, the gas that has flowed into the laser beam blocking section 520 from the inlet 540 has difficulty reaching the heated lens L. Therefore, the lens L to be heated is prevented from being cooled by the gas flowing into the inside of the laser light blocking section 520. Therefore, reduction in heating efficiency is suppressed.

Further, the discharge port 550 is provided in the laser beam blocking section 520 on the downstream side of the laser beam optical path rather than the electromagnetic wave incident section 531 of the thermo camera 530. Therefore, even if the dye on the surface of the lens L is heated and gasified, the dye is unlikely to adhere to the electromagnetic wave incidence section 531 of the thermo camera 530. Therefore, deterioration in the performance of the thermo camera 530 is also appropriately suppressed.

Note that it is also possible to change the positions of the inlet 540 and the outlet 550. For example, between the objective lens 512 of the laser beam irradiation unit 510 and the lens L disposed at the fixing position 501 in the laser beam blocking unit 520, an inlet and an outlet are arranged opposite to each other across the optical path of the laser beam. It may be formed to do so. In this case, even if the gasified dye moves from the lens L toward the objective lens 512, the gasified dye tends to flow to the discharge port before reaching the objective lens 512.

When the heating treatment of the lens L by the laser beam is completed, the controller 71 returns the lens L to the transport path using the second delivery unit 120 (see FIG. 6) of the transport device 10. The controller 71 determines, based on parameters, whether lenses L that require heat treatment are placed on the staining tray 80 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) in addition to lenses L that have already undergone heat treatment. to decide. If the lens L that requires further heat treatment is not placed on the dyeing tray 80, the controller 71 ends the fixing process for the lens L of the transport unit U, and moves the transport unit U to the downstream side (in this embodiment, the substrate It is conveyed to a holding device 90). When a lens L that requires further heat treatment is placed on the dyeing tray 80, the controller 71 drives the resin body switching section 123 of the second delivery section 120 to place the lens L at the fixing position 501. Switch. Thereafter, the controller 71 heats the lens L placed at the fixing position 501 and causes the transport unit U to transport downstream.

In addition, in the dyeing system 1 of this embodiment, optical sensors (not shown) are provided on the upstream side of the transfer device 40 and the upstream side of the dye fixing device 50 in the conveyance path by the conveyance device 10. The optical sensor attaches the lens L, the mounting frame 89, and the spacer to the staining tray 80 by emitting light in a direction that passes through a pair of light transmitting parts 82S formed in the attachment part 82 of the staining tray 80. 87 (spacer 87 in this embodiment) is installed. Therefore, the controller 71 can appropriately grasp whether the spacer 87 is attached to each of the pair of attachment parts 82 in the staining tray 80 (that is, whether the lens L is installed or not). be.

(First staining control process)
The first staining control process executed by the controller 71 of the staining system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 13. The first staining control process is executed when the staining tray 80 (in this embodiment, the tray body 81) is provided with an identifier. That is, in the first staining control process, information on the identifier provided on the transport unit U is read, and parameters corresponding to the read information are acquired. According to the acquired parameters, the operation of the dyeing process by the dye fixing device 50 and the like is controlled. When the controller 71 executes the staining process on the lenses L placed in each of the plurality of transport units U, the controller 71 executes the first staining control process illustrated in FIG. 13 according to the staining control program stored in the storage device. Execute.

First, the controller 71 determines whether treatment information indicating the details of the treatment to be performed on the lens L has been acquired (S1). The treatment information may be input into the controller 71 by, for example, an operator operating an operation unit (not shown), or may be created by another device. In the first staining control process, the treatment information acquired in S1 includes information indicating whether or not to perform gradation staining and the direction, information on the number of lenses L to be included in one transport unit U (one or two), At least information on the color to be dyed on the lens L (that is, the color of the dye printed on the substrate S), information on the density of the color to be dyed, information on the material of the lens L, and information on the coating to be performed on the lens L. Either is included. Further, the treatment information acquired in S1 may include information regarding the shape of the lens L. The shape of the lens L (curve value, thickness, etc.) affects the optical characteristics (for example, spherical power, etc.) of the lens L. Therefore, the information regarding the shape of the lens L may include information regarding the curve value, thickness, and optical characteristics of the lens L. When information regarding the shape of the lens L is acquired in S1, the process in S6, which will be described later, may be omitted. Further, the optical characteristics of the lens L vary depending on the material of the lens L. Therefore, information on the material of the lens L may be acquired based on the optical properties of the lens L measured by the optical property measuring device 21. Further, the information regarding the shape of the lens L may include at least one of the diameter and external shape of the lens L. If the treatment information has not been acquired (S1: NO), the process moves directly to S4.

If treatment information for the lens L is acquired (S1: YES), the reading unit 2A reads the identifier 88 of the transport unit U on which the lens L for which treatment information is acquired is placed (S2). Based on the treatment information acquired in S1, the controller 71 stores parameters indicating treatment details in the database 72 in association with the identifier read in S2 (S3). The parameters stored in S3 include a gradation parameter indicating whether to perform gradation dyeing and the direction thereof, a lens number parameter indicating the number of lenses L to be included in one transport unit U, and a color to dye the lenses L (i.e., the color of the substrate S a color parameter indicating the color of the dye to be printed on the lens L, a density parameter indicating the color to be dyed on the lens L (in other words, the density of the color printed on the substrate S), a material parameter indicating the material of the lens L, and a color parameter indicating the color of the dye to be printed on the lens L; At least one of the coating parameters indicating the content of the coating to be performed is included. Further, if information regarding the shape of the lens L has been acquired in S1, a shape parameter indicating the shape of the lens L may be stored in S3.

Next, it is determined whether the transport unit U has been transported to the preparation unit 20 (S4). If the transport unit U is not transported to the preparatory unit 20 (S4: NO), the process directly advances to S8. When the transport unit U reaches the preparatory unit 20 (S4: YES), in S5, the identifier 88 of the transport unit U that has reached the preparatory unit 20 is read by the reading section 2B. Further, the parameters (at least the gradation parameters in S5) corresponding to the read identifier 88 are acquired from the database 72 (S5). Next, the controller 71 acquires the shape parameters of the lens L based on the optical properties of the lens L read by the optical property measuring device 21, and stores them in the database 72 in association with the identifier read in S5 (S6 ). The controller 71 controls the rotational drive of the lens L by the rotation device 22 based on the gradation parameter corresponding to the identifier read in S5 and the direction of the lens L read by the optical property measuring device 21 (S7). . In other words, the controller 71 controls the angle of the dye printed on the substrate S by rotating the lens L when performing gradation dyeing and when the lens L is not symmetrical about the geometric center axis. Adjust the angle of lens L to . Note that if the shape of the lens L is symmetrical about the geometric center axis, the process of S7 may be omitted.

In addition, instead of rotating the lens L, which is a resin body, by the rotation device 22, the dyeing system 1 adjusts the angle of the rotation direction of the dye area to be printed by the printing device 30, which will be described later, in accordance with the direction of the read lens L. You may decide. Even in this case, gradation dyeing or the like is appropriately applied to the resin body. Further, the controller 71 may acquire parameters of the optical characteristics of the lens L in S5. If the optical properties of the lens L read by the optical property measuring device 21 are different from the optical properties acquired in S5, the controller 71 performs a warning process to warn the operator and interrupts the dyeing process for the lens L. At least one of the following interruption processes may be executed. In this case, the possibility that a lens L different from the lens L to be dyed will be erroneously dyed is reduced.

Next, it is determined whether the transport unit U has been transported to the printing device 30 (S8). If the transport unit U is not being transported to the printing device 30 (S8: NO), the process moves directly to S11. When the transport unit U reaches the printing device 30 (S8: YES), the identifier 88 of the transport unit U that has reached the printing device 30 is read by the reading section 2C in S9. In addition, the parameters corresponding to the read identifier 88 (in S9, at least one of a gradation parameter, a lens number parameter, a color parameter, a density parameter, a material parameter, and a shape parameter (which may include optical property parameters) ) is obtained from the database 72. The controller 71 controls the driving of the printing device 30 according to the parameters acquired in S9, thereby causing the printing device 30 to perform a dye printing operation on the substrate S (S10). For example, the controller 71 may cause the printing device 30 to print the dye of the color indicated by the color parameter at the density indicated by the density parameter according to the presence or absence of gradation indicated by the gradation parameter. Further, the controller 71 may cause the printing device 30 to print the same number of circular dye areas as the number of lenses indicated by the lens number parameter. The controller 71 may cause the printing device 30 to print the dye at a discharge amount depending on the material of the base material of the lens L.

Next, it is determined whether the transport unit U has been transported to the transfer device 40 (S11). If the transport unit U is not transported to the transfer device 40 (S11: NO), the process directly advances to S13. When the transport unit U reaches the transfer device 40 (S11: YES), the controller 71 controls the number of lenses L placed on the transport unit U (if the number of lenses L is one, the number of lenses L is The transfer device 40 is caused to perform the transfer process depending on the position (S12). Specifically, in S12, the identifier 88 of the transport unit U that has reached the transfer device 40 is read by the reading unit 2D of the transfer device 40. Further, a parameter (at least the lens number parameter in S12) corresponding to the read identifier 88 is acquired from the database 72. The controller 71 controls the operation of the transfer device 40 according to the acquired parameters.

Next, it is determined whether the transport unit U has been transported to the dye fixing device 50 (S13). If the transport unit U is not transported to the dye fixing device 50 (S13: NO), the process directly advances to S16. When the transport unit U reaches the dye fixing device 50 (S13: YES), in S14, the identifier 88 of the transport unit U that has reached the dye fixing device 50 is read by the reading section 2E. In addition, the parameters corresponding to the read identifier 88 (at least any of the gradation parameter, lens number parameter, color parameter, density parameter, material parameter, shape parameter (optical property parameter, lens diameter parameter, etc. in S14) )) are obtained from the database 72. The controller 71 controls driving of the dye fixing device 50 according to the acquired parameters (S15).

Specifically, the controller 71 limits the temperature of the light colored portion of the lens L (portion with high luminous transmittance) to a temperature lower than the temperature of the dark colored portion, according to the gradation parameter. As a result, discoloration of the base material due to an excessive rise in temperature in the light-colored region is suppressed. Further, the controller 71 causes the dye fixing device 50 to perform a fixing process for the number of lenses L according to the lens number parameter. Furthermore, the controller 71 increases the temperature of the lens L to an appropriate temperature according to the color to be dyed by setting the target temperature of the lens L according to the color parameter. Further, the controller 71 fixes the dye to the lens L using an appropriate method depending on the material of the lens L by controlling the temperature transition of the lens L according to the material parameters. In detail, the controller 71 determines the time required for the temperature of the lens L to reach the target temperature, the temperature increase rate, the length of time for maintaining the temperature of the lens L at the target temperature, etc., depending on the material of the lens L. Control at least one of them. Further, the controller 71 controls the driving of the scanning unit 513 according to the shape parameters, thereby suppressing the temperature difference between parts due to the shape of the lens L from becoming excessively large. Specifically, the controller 71 of this embodiment changes the scanning speed of the laser beam on the lens L depending on the area while keeping the output of the laser beam constant, thereby applying energy to the lens L for each area. Adjust to. At a position where the scanning speed of the laser beam is low, the energy applied to the site per unit time is greater than at a position where the scanning speed is high. When the laser beam energy is applied equally to each part, the temperature of the parts of the lens L where the thickness is small is more likely to rise compared to the parts where the thickness is large. Further, since heat is more easily released from the peripheral portion of the lens L than from the central portion of the lens L, the temperature of the peripheral portion is less likely to rise compared to the central portion. Therefore, the controller 71 scans the laser beam at an appropriate scanning speed according to the thickness and position of the lens L according to the shape parameters of the lens L, thereby suppressing the temperature difference between parts from becoming excessively large.

Next, it is determined whether the transport unit U has been transported to the coating device 60 (S16). If the transport unit U is not transported to the coating device 60 (S16: NO), the process returns to S1 as it is. When the transport unit U reaches the coating device 60 (S16: YES), in S17, the identifier 88 of the transport unit U that has reached the coating device 60 is read by the reading section 2F. Further, the parameters (at least the coating parameters in S17) corresponding to the read identifier 88 are acquired from the database 72. The controller 71 controls the driving of the coating device 60 according to the acquired parameters (S18). After that, the process returns to S1.

(Second staining control process)
With reference to FIG. 14, the second staining control process executed by the controller 71 of the staining system 1 will be described. In the second dyeing control process, the controller 71 controls the printing device 30 to print the identifier on the substrate S together with the dye. That is, when the second staining control process is executed, the identifier is provided on the substrate S instead of the staining tray 80, unlike when the first staining control process is executed. Note that the same process as the above-described first staining control process (see FIG. 13) can be adopted as part of the process in the second staining control process. Therefore, in the second staining control process, steps that can adopt the same process as the first staining control process are given the same step numbers as the first staining control process, and their explanations are omitted or simplified. do. In addition, when the second staining control process is executed, at least the reading unit 2A, the reading unit 2B, and the reading unit 2C are omitted among the plurality of reading units 2 (see FIG. 1) provided in the staining system 1. Good too.

First, the controller 71 determines whether treatment information indicating the details of the treatment to be performed on the lens L has been acquired (S1). If the treatment information has not been acquired (S1: NO), the process moves directly to S11. When treatment information for the lens L is acquired (S1: YES), the controller 71 determines an identifier to be associated with the lens L for which treatment information is acquired (S21). Next, the controller 71 transports the transport unit U containing the lens L for which treatment information is to be obtained to the preparation unit 20 (S22). The controller 71 acquires the shape parameters of the lens L based on the optical properties of the lens L read by the optical property measuring device 21, and stores them in the database 72 in association with the identifier determined in S21 (S6). Note that if the information regarding the shape of the lens L has been acquired in S1, the process in S6 may be omitted. The controller 71 controls the rotational drive of the lens L by the rotation device 22 based on the gradation parameter corresponding to the gradation treatment information acquired in S1 and the direction of the lens L read by the optical property measuring device 21. (S7).

Next, the controller 71 transports the transport unit U including the lens L for which treatment information is to be obtained to the printing device 30 (S23). The controller 71 selects at least any of the following parameters based on the treatment information acquired in S1: a gradation parameter, a lens number parameter, a color parameter, a density parameter, a material parameter, and a shape parameter (which may include optical property parameters). By controlling the driving of the printing device 30 according to (1), the printing device 30 is caused to print the dye on the substrate S (S10). Further, the controller 71 prints the identifier determined in S21 on the substrate S together with the dye by controlling the driving of the printing device 30 (S24). Further, the controller 25 controls the driving of the printing device 30 to print at least one of characters, symbols, etc., indicating the details of the treatment to be performed on the lens L, on the base body S (S25). Therefore, the operator can easily confirm the content of the treatment to be performed (or has been performed) on the lens L by looking at at least one of the characters and symbols printed on the base S.

Next, when the transport unit U reaches the transfer device 40 (S11: YES), the controller 71 controls the number of lenses L placed on the transport unit U (if the number of lenses L is one, The transfer device 40 is caused to perform a transfer process according to the position of L (S12). Specifically, in S12, the identifier printed on the substrate S included in the transport unit U is read by the reading section 2D of the transfer device 40. A parameter (at least the lens number parameter in S12) corresponding to the read identifier is acquired from the database 72. The controller 71 controls the operation of the transfer device 40 according to the acquired parameters.

When the transport unit U reaches the dye fixing device 50 (S13: YES), the identifier printed on the substrate S is read by the reading section 2E, and the parameters corresponding to the read identifier are acquired (S14). The controller 71 controls driving of the dye fixing device 50 according to the acquired parameters (S15).

When the transport unit U reaches the coating device 60 (S16: YES), the identifier printed on the substrate S is read by the reading section 2F, and the parameters corresponding to the read identifier are acquired (S17). The controller 71 controls the driving of the coating device 60 according to the acquired parameters (S18). After that, the process returns to S1.

(Third staining control process)
The third staining control process executed by the controller 71 of the staining system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 15. In the third staining control process, the controller 71 controls the operation of each device according to the parameters read by the tag reading section 2. That is, when the second staining control process is executed, the parameters themselves are stored in the tag of the transport unit U, unlike when the first and second staining control processes are executed. Note that the same process as the above-described first stain control process (see FIG. 13) can be adopted as part of the process in the third stain control process. Therefore, in the third staining control process, steps that can adopt the same process as the first staining control process are given the same step numbers as the first staining control process, and their explanations are omitted or simplified. do. Further, when the third staining control process is executed, at least one of the plurality of reading units 2 (see FIG. 1) provided in the staining system 1 (in this embodiment, reading units 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E) , 2F) includes a tag reading unit that reads information from the tag. Furthermore, when the third staining control process is executed, the reading section 2A shown in FIG. 1 is changed to a tag writing section 2A that writes information to the tag. Furthermore, in the embodiment described below, the reading section 2B shown in FIG. 1 is changed to a tag reading/writing section 2B that can read information from the tag and write information to the tag. The tag is provided on a member included in the transport unit U (for example, the tray body 81 of the dyeing tray 80, etc.).

First, the controller 71 determines whether treatment information indicating the details of the treatment to be performed on the lens L has been acquired (S1). If the treatment information has not been acquired (S1: NO), the process moves directly to S4. When the treatment information for the lens L is acquired (S1: YES), the controller 71 writes the parameters included in the treatment information acquired in S1 to the tag of the transport unit U from which the treatment information was acquired by the information writing section 2A. (S31).

Next, when the transport unit U reaches the preparation unit 20 (S4: YES), the tag reading/writing section 2B reads information from the tag of the transport unit U (S32). The controller 71 acquires the shape parameters of the lens L based on the optical properties of the lens L read by the optical property measuring device 21, and writes them to the tag by the tag reading/writing unit 2B (S33). Note that if the information regarding the shape of the lens L has been acquired in S1, the process in S33 may be omitted. The controller 71 controls the rotational drive of the lens L by the rotation device 22 based on the gradation parameter included in the information read in S32 and the direction of the lens L read by the optical property measuring device 21 (S7). .

When the transport unit U reaches the printing device 30 (S8: YES), the reading section 2C reads information from the tag of the transport unit U (S34). The controller 71 causes the printing device 30 to perform a dye printing operation on the substrate S by controlling the driving of the printing device 30 according to the parameters included in the information read in S34 (S10).

When the transport unit U reaches the transfer device 40 (S11: YES), the controller 71 controls the number of lenses L placed on the transport unit U (if the number of lenses L is one, the number of lenses L is The transfer device 40 is caused to perform the transfer process according to the position) (S12). Specifically, in S12, the information written on the tag of the transport unit U is read by the reading section 2D of the transfer device 40. The operation of the transfer device 40 is controlled according to the parameters included in the read information (at least the lens number parameter in S12).

When the transport unit U reaches the dye fixing device 50 (S13: YES), the reading section 2E reads information from the tag of the transport unit U (S35). The controller 71 controls the driving of the dye fixing device 50 according to the parameters included in the information read in S35.

When the transport unit U reaches the coating device 60 (S16: YES), the reading section 2F reads information from the tag of the transport unit U (S36). The controller 71 controls the driving of the coating device 60 according to the parameters included in the information read in S36 (S18).

(Discharge amount maintenance processing)
With reference to FIG. 16, the discharge amount maintenance process executed by the controller 71 of the staining system 1 will be described. In the discharge amount maintenance process, the discharge amount of the dye discharged (printed) onto the substrate S by the printing device 30 is corrected so that the lens L is appropriately dyed with the color scheduled to be dyed (including color density). Ru. The operator can input into the dyeing system 1 an instruction to execute the discharge amount maintenance process. The operator may, for example, perform the dyeing system 1 at the time of shipping the dyeing system 1 from the manufacturer to the customer, at the time of initial operation of the dyeing system 1, at the time of maintenance of the dyeing system 1, and when the dyeing quality of the lens L deteriorates. It is possible to input an instruction to execute the discharge amount maintenance process. When an instruction to execute the discharge rate maintenance process is input, the controller 71 executes the discharge rate maintenance process illustrated in FIG. 16 in accordance with the discharge rate maintenance control program stored in the storage device.

First, the controller 71 acquires information on the type of base material of the lens L to be dyed (S40). Even when the amount of dye ejected by the printing device 30 is the same, the dyed color (for example, color density, etc.) differs depending on the type of the base material of the lens L. Therefore, the controller 71 executes the processes of S42 to S52, which will be described later, for each type of base material acquired in S40. As a result, the amount of dye discharged necessary for appropriately dyeing each base material is determined depending on the base material.

Next, the controller 71 selects one of a plurality of dyes (for example, in this embodiment, red, yellow, and blue) that can be ejected (printed) by the printing device 30. One of the dyes is specified as the dye whose ejection amount is to be corrected (S41).

Next, the controller 71 determines the color of the planned density to be dyed with the dye specified in S41 as the planned color to dye the lens L (S42). Color information such as a planned color may be expressed by hue, brightness (or density), and saturation. In this embodiment, spectral transmittance data is used as color information for specifying the color of the lens L including the planned color. For example, the L ^* a ^* b ^* color space may be used for color information. Furthermore, the luminous transmittance Y value may be used as the color information. L ^* indicates lightness, and a ^* and b ^* indicate chromaticity (hue and saturation). Furthermore, the luminous transmittance Y value indicates the rate at which the lens L transmits visible light. However, it goes without saying that other color systems may be used as the color information of the lens L.

Next, the controller 71 determines the ejection amount of a specific dye to be ejected (printed) by the printing device 30 according to the determination procedure in order to dye the lens L with the planned color determined in S42 (S43). As an example, in this embodiment, in order to dye a resin body with each of a plurality of dyes (red, yellow, and blue in this embodiment) at a predetermined concentration, information on the discharge amount of each dye (base color information) is provided. , are stored in advance in a storage device (for example, database 72, etc.). The controller 71 determines the ejection amount by calculating the ejection amount of each dye (in S43, the ejection amount of a specific dye) for dyeing the lens L with the planned color based on the base color information. That is, in this embodiment, as a determination procedure (algorithm) for determining the ejection amount, a procedure for calculating the ejection amount of each dye based on the base color information and the planned color is used. As described above, in this embodiment, the procedure for determining the ejection amount is determined for each type of base material of the lens L to be dyed.

However, it is also possible to change the procedure for determining the ejection amount of each dye. For example, a table that associates the color information of the planned color with the ejection amount of each dye necessary to dye the lens L with the planned color may be stored in advance in the storage device (for example, the database 72, etc.). The controller 71 may determine the amount of dye to be ejected by acquiring the amount of each dye to be ejected corresponding to the scheduled color from a table. In other words, a table that associates scheduled colors and ejection amounts may be used as a determination procedure (algorithm) for determining the ejection amount.

Next, the controller 71 outputs an instruction to the printing device 30 to eject (print) the specified dye onto the substrate S by the ejection amount determined in S43 (S44). When printing is completed, the controller 71 causes the transfer unit U to be transferred to the transfer device 40, and causes the transfer device 40 to execute the transfer process (S45). When the transfer process is completed, the controller 71 causes the conveyance unit U to be conveyed to the dye fixing device 50, and causes the dye fixing device 50 to execute the fixing process (S46). For the fixing control process in S46, the same process as in S15 (see FIGS. 13 to 15) can be adopted.

Next, the controller 71 calculates the color information (result color information) measured by the color information measuring device 51 (see FIG. 1) regarding the lens L actually dyed by the printing device 30, the transfer device 40, and the dye fixing device 50. (S47). As an example, in this embodiment, as described above, spectral transmittance data (specifically, L ^* a ^* b ^* color space and luminous transmittance Y value) is used as the resultant color information.

Here, the color information measuring device 51 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of light sources of different types (for example, a standard light source (for example, CIE standard light source D65, etc.), a white light source, and a light source that emits light similar to sunlight. etc.). The color information measuring device 51 acquires color information as a result of the lens L using a light source specified by the operator. Therefore, the resulting color information of the lens L is appropriately acquired depending on the light desired by the user.

Next, the controller 71 determines the color of the lens L to be dyed in the subsequent dyeing process according to the result of the comparison process between the resultant color information acquired in S47 and the color information of the planned color determined in S42. The amount of ejection of the identified dye by the printing device 30 (as an example, the procedure for determining the amount of ejection in this embodiment) is corrected so that the color approaches the color (S49). In this embodiment, as the comparison process, a process of calculating the difference between the resultant color information and the color information of the planned color is performed. However, a process of calculating the ratio of the color information of the result color information and the color information of the planned color may be used as the comparison process. In S49 of this embodiment, the determination procedure for determining the ejection amount of the specified dye is corrected based on the difference between the density of the color indicated by the result color information and the density indicated by the color information of the planned color. Specifically, when a calculation based on base color information and a planned color is used as the ejection amount determination procedure (algorithm), the calculation procedure is corrected based on the difference in color information. Further, when a table that associates scheduled colors and ejection amounts is used as the ejection amount determination procedure (algorithm), the association in the table is corrected. Note that a specific method for correcting the determination procedure can be selected as appropriate. For example, the amount of correction in the determination procedure may be determined in advance according to the difference or ratio between the resultant color information and the color information of the planned color. Further, the correction amount for the determination procedure may be obtained by inputting the difference or ratio between the resultant color information and the color information of the planned color to a mathematical model trained by a machine learning algorithm. As described above, the correction process illustrated in S49 is executed depending on the type of the base material of the lens L.

Next, the controller 71 determines whether the processes of S42 to S49 have been completed for all of the plurality of dyes that can be ejected (printed) by the printing device 30 (S51). If the processing has not been completed (S51: NO), other dyes whose processing has not been completed among the plurality of dyes are specified (S52), and the processing of S42 to S49 is repeated. As a result, the ejection amounts of all dyes are appropriately corrected. Therefore, a large number of colors expressed by a combination of a plurality of dyes can be appropriately dyed on the resin body. When the processing for all dyes is completed (S51: YES), the ejection amount maintenance processing ends.

In the ejection amount maintenance process illustrated in FIG. 16, the ejection amount (in this embodiment, the ejection amount determination procedure) is corrected for all of the plurality of dyes (red, yellow, and blue in this embodiment). However, the ejection amount may be corrected for only some of the plurality of dyes. Furthermore, in the ejection amount maintenance process illustrated in FIG. 16, the ejection amount is corrected for each dye. However, in S42, the colors to be dyed with a plurality of dyes may be determined. In S43, the ejection amount of each of the plurality of dyes for dyeing the planned color may be determined. At S44, multiple dyes may be printed on the substrate S. In S49, the ejection amount of each of the plurality of dyes may be corrected according to the result color information and the color information of the planned color. Further, in S49, the ejection amount of each dye may be corrected based on the transmittance value of the wavelength of the maximum absorption peak of each dye, which is obtained from the spectral transmittance data that is the resultant color information. In this case, by performing the processes of S42 to S49 once, the ejection amounts of the plurality of dyes are appropriately corrected. Note that in this embodiment, a spectrometer that measures the optical spectrum of the lens L is used as the color information measurement device 51. Therefore, even when the lens L is dyed with a plurality of dyes, the ejection amount of each dye is appropriately corrected.

(Staining quality determination process)
With reference to FIG. 17, the staining quality determination process executed by the controller 71 of the staining system 1 will be described. In the dyeing quality determination process, it is determined whether the difference between the resultant color of the actually dyed lens L and the planned color exceeds an allowable range (that is, whether the quality of the dyeing is poor or not); Processing is performed according to the determination result.

Note that the staining quality determination process can also be executed by being incorporated into the first to third staining control processes (see FIGS. 13 to 15) described above. That is, in the staining quality determination process, it is possible to perform the process using the identifier and tag, the process by the preparatory unit 20, and the process by the coating device 60, which were explained in FIGS. 13 to 15. However, in order to simplify the explanation of the staining quality determination process, the explanation of the process using the identifier and the tag will be omitted below. Moreover, the same process as the above-described discharge amount maintenance process (see FIG. 16) can be adopted for some processes in the dyeing quality determination process (for example, the processes in S44 to S47, etc.). Therefore, in the dyeing quality determination process, steps that can adopt the same process as the ejection amount maintenance process are given the same step numbers as the ejection amount maintenance process, and the explanation thereof will be omitted or simplified. When the controller 71 executes the staining process on the lenses L placed in each of the plurality of transport units U, the controller 71 executes the staining quality determination process illustrated in FIG. 17 in accordance with the staining control program stored in the storage device. Execute.

First, the controller 71 acquires information on the type of base material of the lens L to be dyed (S40). The processes of S61 to S66, which will be described later, are executed for each type of base material acquired in S40. Next, the controller 71 acquires information (color information) about the color planned to dye the lens L (S61). As described above, the controller 71 may acquire the color parameter associated with the identifier 88 or the color parameter read from the tag as the planned color information.

The controller 71 determines the discharge amount of each dye to dye the lens L with the planned color acquired in S61 (S62). A procedure similar to the aforementioned S42 (see FIG. 16) can be adopted as the determination procedure for determining the ejection amount of each dye. The process of S62 is executed depending on the type of the base material of the lens L.

The controller 71 outputs an instruction to the printing device 30 to discharge (print) each dye onto the substrate S by the discharge amount determined in S62 (S44). When printing is completed, the controller 71 causes the transfer unit U to be transferred to the transfer device 40, and causes the transfer device 40 to execute the transfer process (S45). When the transfer process is completed, the controller 71 causes the conveyance unit U to be conveyed to the dye fixing device 50, and causes the dye fixing device 50 to execute the fixing process (S46). Next, the controller 71 calculates the color information (result color information) measured by the color information measuring device 51 (see FIG. 1) regarding the lens L actually dyed by the printing device 30, the transfer device 40, and the dye fixing device 50. (S47).

Next, the controller 71 determines whether the difference between the resultant color information and the color information of the planned color acquired in S61 exceeds an allowable range (threshold) (S62). The threshold value may be set as appropriate depending on the required level of staining quality. If the difference between the resultant color information and the planned color is less than or equal to the threshold (S62: NO), the dyeing quality is within the allowable range, and the process ends as is.

If the difference between the resultant color information and the planned color exceeds the threshold (S62: YES), quality defect notification processing is executed (S63). In the quality defect notification process, the user is notified that the quality of the dyeing of the lens L is poor. The method of notifying that the dyeing quality is poor can be selected as appropriate. For example, a method of displaying a message on a monitor, a method of notifying by voice, a method of notifying by a warning lamp, etc. can be adopted.

Next, the controller 71 determines whether the discharge amount correction mode is selected by the operator (S65). In this embodiment, the operator can select the discharge amount correction mode or the quality defect determination mode when causing the dyeing system 1 to execute the dyeing process. In the discharge amount correction mode, the discharge amount of each dye is corrected when the dyeing quality is poor. In the poor quality determination mode, simply when the dyeing quality is poor, the operator is notified that the quality is poor.

If the ejection amount correction mode is not selected and the quality defect determination mode is selected (S65: NO), the process ends as is. If the discharge amount correction mode is selected (S65: YES), the controller 71 adjusts the subsequent dyeing process according to the result color information acquired in S47 and the color information of the planned color acquired in S61. The ejection amount of each dye by the printing device 30 (in this embodiment, the ejection amount determination procedure) is corrected so that the color of the lens L to be dyed approaches the planned color (S66). In S66 of this embodiment, the determination procedure for determining the ejection amount of each dye is based on the difference between the density of the color indicated by the resultant color information and the density indicated by the color information of the planned color. Corrected for each type of material. Specifically, when a calculation based on base color information and a planned color is used as the ejection amount determination procedure (algorithm), the calculation procedure is corrected based on the difference in color information. Further, when a table that associates scheduled colors and ejection amounts is used as the ejection amount determination procedure (algorithm), the association in the table is corrected.

When the ejection amount correction mode is always selected, the correction process of S66 is repeatedly executed every time the lens L dyeing process is executed. That is, each time the dyeing process is executed, feedback control is performed to correct the amount of dye discharged according to the resulting color information.

The techniques disclosed in the above embodiments are merely examples. Therefore, it is also possible to modify the techniques exemplified in the above embodiments. For example, only some of the techniques exemplified in the above embodiments may be employed. As an example, in the first staining control process to the third staining control process exemplified in the above embodiment, a large number of parameters of treatments to be performed on the lens L are obtained, and various parameters are determined by the staining system 1 according to the obtained large number of parameters. Movement is controlled. However, it is also possible to control some operations in the staining system 1 by referring to only some of the many parameters exemplified in the above embodiments.

Note that the process of acquiring parameters in S5, S9, S14, and S17 in FIG. 13, S14, S17 in FIG. 14, and S32, S34, S35, and S36 in FIG. 15 is an example of a "parameter acquisition step." The process of controlling the drive of the dye fixing device in S15 of FIGS. 13 to 15 is an example of a "fixing control step." The process of associating parameters with identifiers and storing them in S3 of FIG. 13 is an example of the "association step." The process of printing an identifier on the substrate S in S24 of FIG. 14 is an example of an "identifier printing control step." The process of causing the printing device 30 to print dye in S10 of FIGS. 13 to 15 is an example of a "print control step." The process of controlling the drive of the rotating device 22 in S7 of FIGS. 13 to 15 is an example of a "rotation control step." The process of controlling the driving of the coating apparatus in S18 of FIGS. 13 to 15 is an example of a "coating control step."

The process of determining the amount of dye to be ejected for dyeing the lens L with the planned color in S43 of FIG. 16 and S62 of FIG. 17 is an example of the "ejection amount determining step." The process of acquiring the resultant color information in S47 of FIGS. 16 and 17 is an example of the "resultant color information acquisition step." The process of correcting the determination procedure in S49 of FIG. 16 and S66 of FIG. 17 is an example of a "correction step." The quality defect notification process executed in S63 of FIG. 17 is an example of a "notification step."

1 Staining system 2 Reading section 10 Conveying device 21 Optical property measuring device 22 Rotating device 30 Printing device 40 Transfer device 50 Dye fixing device 51 Color information measuring device 60 Coating device 71 Controller 72 Database 80 Staining tray 81 Tray body 82 Mounting section 82S Light transmission part 83 Recessed part 84A Projection (positioning part, base protection part)
84B Projection (positioning part, base protection part, upper fitting part)
85 Base mounting section 86 Bottom fitting section 87 Spacer 88 Identifier 89 Mounting frame 89S Light transmission section 510 Laser light irradiation section 511 Laser light source 512 Objective lens 513 Scanning section 520 Laser light blocking section 525 Resin body peripheral section 530 Thermo camera 540 Flow Inlet 550 Outlet 560 Pressure difference generating section 570 Radiant heat reflecting section L Lens S Substrate U Conveying unit

Claims (9)

A dyeing system for dyeing a resin body,
a printing device that prints dye on a substrate;
a transfer device that transfers the dye to the resin body with the resin body facing the substrate printed with the dye;
a dye fixing device that fixes the dye to the resin body by heating the resin body to which the dye has been transferred;
a color information measuring device that measures color information of the resin body to which the dye is fixed;
a control unit;
Equipped with
The control unit includes:
a discharge amount determining step of determining an amount of dye to be discharged onto the substrate by the printing device in order to dye the resin body with the color to be dyed;
By using the discharge amount of the dye determined in the discharge amount determination step, the color information measuring device measures the resin body actually dyed by the printing device, the transfer device, and the dye fixing device. a result color information obtaining step of obtaining result color information that is the color information obtained by
By correcting the dye ejection amount determined in the ejection amount determining step based on the result color information obtained in the result color information acquisition step and the scheduled color, dyeing is not performed in the subsequent dyeing process. a correction step for bringing the color of the resin body closer to the planned color;
A staining system characterized by carrying out. The dyeing system according to claim 1,
The control unit includes:
In the ejection amount determining step, the ejection amount of the specific dye is determined by setting a color of a predetermined density that is dyed with one specific dye among a plurality of dyes that can be ejected by the printing device as the planned color. death,
The dyeing system is characterized in that, in the correction step, the ejection amount of the specific dye determined in the ejection amount determining step is corrected based on the density indicated by the resultant color information and the density of the planned color. The staining system according to claim 2, comprising:
The control unit includes:
By performing the ejection amount determining step, the resultant color information obtaining step, and the correction step using one of the plurality of dyes that can be ejected by the printing device as a specific dye, correct the discharge amount, and
By performing the ejection amount determining step, the resultant color information obtaining step, and the correction step using another dye whose ejection amount has not been corrected among the plurality of dyes as a new specific dye. , a dyeing system characterized in that the ejection amount of the new specific dye is corrected . The dyeing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The control unit includes:
In the ejection amount determining step, the ejection amount of the plurality of dyes is determined by setting a color of a predetermined density that is dyed with a plurality of dyes among a plurality of dyes that can be ejected by the printing device as the predetermined color;
The dyeing system is characterized in that in the correction step, the ejection amount of at least one of the plurality of dyes is corrected based on the resultant color information and the planned color. The dyeing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The dyeing system is characterized in that the color information measuring device is a spectroscopic measuring device that measures the spectral spectrum of the resin body as the color information. The dyeing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The control unit includes:
a notification that notifies the user that the quality of the dyeing of the resin body is poor when the difference between the result color information acquired in the result color information acquisition step and the planned color exceeds a tolerance range; A staining system characterized by carrying out further steps. The dyeing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The control unit includes:
The staining system is characterized in that the correction step is executed when the difference between the result color information acquired in the result color information acquisition step and the planned color exceeds a threshold value. The staining system according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The control unit includes:
A dyeing system characterized in that a feedback control is executed to repeat the correction step each time a resin body dyeing process is executed. The staining system according to claims 1 to 8,
The resin body to be dyed is a lens used for eyeglasses,
The dyeing system is characterized in that, in the correction step, the control unit corrects the amount of dye ejection determined in the ejection amount determining step for each type of base material of the lens to be dyed.

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