JPH0577046B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a novel method for manufacturing a patterned eyeglass frame member.

[Conventional technology]

Many eyeglass frame members, such as temples, rims, fronts, endpieces, etc., are provided with designs such as letters, symbols, codes, patterns, etc.

In this case, the design is created by engraving, mechanical press (engraving), pad printing, or by hand to form a masking layer, then painting, plating (wet or dry),
It has been applied by methods such as forming a coating layer different from the base material of the glasses frame member by dyeing or the like, and then peeling off the masking layer, or adding color by hand.

However, since the engraving is done by hand,
There is a problem that not only is productivity low, but it also requires skill and cannot be manufactured in large quantities at low cost.

Mechanical pressing (engraving) has high productivity, but it has the problem of creating an ugly bulge around the design. Although pad printing has high productivity, it has the problem that the outline of the design is blurred and ugly.

This method not only has low productivity because it involves manual masking layer forming work, but also has the problem of high manufacturing costs due to the large number of steps.

Manual coloring also has the problem that it not only has low productivity, but also requires skill and cannot be manufactured in large quantities at low cost.

In addition, there is a problem in that either method cannot produce a pattern based on thin line drawings.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to solve these problems.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention irradiates a metal eyeglass frame member 1 with a laser beam in a predetermined pattern shape in a reactive gas atmosphere to cause the metal surface to react with the reactive gas, thereby creating an interference color. A patterned eyeglass frame member is manufactured by reacting and producing a thin film 2 having the above-mentioned pattern or a thin film 2 having an absorption color in the pattern shape.

[Effect]

In the present invention, the strong energy of a laser beam is used to cause a photoreaction (laser CVD) between the metal surface of a member and a reactive gas. The photoreaction itself is known academically.

If the cross-sectional shape of the laser beam is equal to the pattern shape to be formed, it is sufficient to irradiate the laser beam as is (projection exposure method), but if the cross-sectional shape is smaller than the pattern shape to be formed, the spot position may be changed. to draw the desired pattern (drawing method or laser marking method).

According to the latter, it becomes possible to obtain designs that have not been seen before, especially designs based on thin line drawings, and the designs of eyeglass frames can be further diversified and sophisticated.

The frame member referred to in the present invention refers to all parts of an eyeglass frame, such as the front, rim, endpiece,
Refers to blow tips, bridges, blows, blow bars, rim locks, hinges, temples, tip cells, etc.

Materials for frame members include, for example, nickel silver, titanium (including alloys), stainless steel, aluminum alloys,
All metals heretofore known or hereafter developed may be used, such as copper-beryllium alloys, brass, etc. however,
At least the surface must react with the reactive gas to produce a thin film 2 with interference colors or a thin film 2 with absorption colors.

Therefore, the frame member may be a plated or clad material in which the core material is made of a non-reactive material, extremely non-metallic, for example plastic or ceramic, and the surface layer or skin layer is made of a metal that reacts with reactive gases. It may be made of.

Further, examples of the reactive gas include nitrogen, oxygen, methane, acetylene, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, etc., although it depends on the metal constituting the surface of the member.

Irradiation with the laser beam causes the metal on the surface of the frame member to react with the reactive gas, producing a thin film as a reaction product. At this time, if the frame member is heated, the reaction will proceed faster. However, as long as the beam is strong, the frame members may be cooled.

In any case, the rate at which the thin film is formed varies depending on the intensity of the laser beam, the irradiation time, the temperature of the member, the nature and concentration of the reactive gas, and the like.

In the present invention, thin films are roughly classified into those having interference colors and those having absorption colors. In the former case, the film thickness must be thick enough to cause light interference, e.g.
The thickness should be about 0.01 to 0.2 microns, and in the latter case,
It is made thicker, for example, about 0.1 to 1 micron.
Interference colors do not fade and are highly durable.

Note that the laser beam is so powerful that even if there is a thin coating layer on the surface of the component, it can be removed and the metal underneath can react with the reactive gas.

Such a coating layer is a paint with a vehicle of natural or synthetic resin (wet paint, powder paint,
Electrodeposition paint, electrostatic paint) is applied (application methods include spraying, brushing, wiping, dipping, electrophoresis, etc.) and dried (including curing).
plating layer by dry plating or wet plating (electroplating or electroless plating) (nickel, chromium, precious metals, stainless steel, titanium nitride, chromium nitride, titanium carbide, diamond-like hard carbon thin film, dipping, transfer) , a coating film dyed or colored by textile printing, a resin ink layer by printing, a resin layer by coloring, a metal clad layer by rolling coating, etc.

The covering layer may be one layer or multiple layers of two or more layers.
It is effective to change the color, appearance, and material of each layer, and to change the appearance and material of the members.

A powerful laser beam such as a YAG laser or a carbon dioxide laser is preferable.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained with reference to Examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[Example 1] As the frame member 1, a white titanium temple was prepared.

Place this member 1 in a nitrogen gas atmosphere and use a commercially available laser marking device (beam diameter approximately 10 to
A thin arabesque pattern was drawn using a 500 μm YAG laser.

As a result, an eyeglass frame member having a golden arabesque pattern on its surface was obtained.

As a result of analysis, this pattern is a titanium nitride thin film 2.
(approximately 0.1 μm thick) and has a golden color due to the absorption color of titanium nitride. This titanium nitride is
There is no doubt that it was produced by a photoreaction between the titanium component and the reactive gas nitrogen.

[Example 2] As the frame member 1, a titanium temple was prepared.

First step: Apply black acrylic paint to the entire member 1 by spray painting, heat and dry it,
A thin film 3 having a thickness of about 10 μm was formed.

Second step: The member 1 with the coating film 3 was placed in a nitrogen atmosphere, and an arabesque pattern was drawn with a laser beam in the same manner as in Example 1.

As a result, an eyeglass frame member having a golden arabesque pattern on a black background was obtained.

As a result of analysis, this pattern is a thin film of titanium nitride 2.
It was discovered that the titanium nitride film 2 (film thickness: about 0.1 μm), which is produced by a photoreaction between the titanium component and the reactive gas nitrogen, shines in a golden color.

Incidentally, the coating film 3 on the patterned portion had evaporated and disappeared.

Further, after this, if necessary, an overcoat may be applied using a transparent paint.

[Example 3] First, as the frame member 1, a titanium front plated with pink gold by ion plating was prepared.

Then, this member 1 was irradiated with a laser beam from the front in the atmosphere, and the beam was moved according to a predetermined pattern (drawing method).

As a result, a titanium oxide thin film 2 (approximately 0.01 μm thick) having a pink interference color was formed in the irradiated area, and a frame member with a pink pattern on a gold background was obtained.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, there is no manual labor that requires skill, so eyeglass frames can be manufactured in large quantities at low cost.

The design can be formed delicately, without any bulges around it, and the outline of the design can be enlarged.
An extremely beautiful pattern can be obtained without blurring. Complex designs can be easily formed.

Furthermore, since a photoreaction using a laser beam is used, the reaction apparatus is simple and its control is easy.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a part of the temple manufactured in Example 1. Explanation of symbols of main parts, 1...Frame members,
2... Thin film produced by reaction, 3... Paint film.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. By irradiating a metal eyeglass frame member with a laser beam in a predetermined pattern shape in a reactive gas atmosphere, the metal surface and the reactive gas are caused to react, thereby forming a thin film or absorber having an interference color. A method for producing a patterned eyeglass frame member, comprising reacting and producing a colored thin film in the pattern shape.