Dye-coated substrate manufacturing equipment and dyeing system

Abstract

To provide an apparatus for manufacturing a substrate with a dye and a dyeing system which can improve efficiency and quality when a resin body is dyed.SOLUTION: An apparatus for manufacturing a substrate with a dye manufactures a substrate with a dye. The substrate with the dye is used in a dyeing step of dyeing a resin body. A die transferred to the resin body is attached to the substrate with the dye. The apparatus for manufacturing the substrate with the dye includes a printer and a substrate mounting apparatus 400. The printer prints a dye on the substrate. The substrate manufacturing apparatus 400 mounts a substrate at a predetermined position of the resin body in a tray for dyeing in a state in which a dye printed by the printer faces the resin body mounted on the tray for dyeing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus that manufactures dye-coated substrates used in a dyeing process, and a dyeing system that includes the dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Various techniques have been proposed for dyeing resin bodies such as plastic lenses. For example, in a dyeing method known as the dip dyeing method, the resin body is dyed by immersing it in a dyeing solution. However, in the dip dyeing method, it is difficult to improve the working environment, and it is also difficult to dye some resin bodies (such as lenses with a high refractive index).

[0003] Therefore, a technique has been proposed for dyeing a resin body by transferring a dye to the surface of the resin body and heating the resin body to which the dye has been attached. For example, in the dyeing method described in Patent Document 1, an ink containing a sublimable dye is applied (printed) to a substrate by a printing device (inkjet printer). Next, in a state in which the resin body and the substrate are arranged in a vacuum without contacting each other, the sublimable dye applied to the substrate is sublimated, thereby transferring the dye to the resin body. Next, a laser beam is scanned over the resin body, which heats the resin body and fixes the dye. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-127722 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In conventional methods, when dyeing a resin body, many steps were performed manually by an operator. For example, if the dye printed on the substrate was not properly positioned relative to the resin body, the dyeing quality would be reduced. The operator manually aligned the dye-bearing substrate relative to the resin body and then performed the transfer process. Therefore, a technology that can reduce the tasks that an operator needs to perform and dye a resin body more efficiently and appropriately is desired.

[0006] A typical object of the present disclosure is to provide a dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus and a dyeing system that can improve efficiency and quality when dyeing a resin body. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus provided by a typical embodiment of the present disclosure is an apparatus for manufacturing a dye-applied substrate, which is a substrate having a dye attached thereto to be transferred to a resin body, used in a dyeing process for dyeing the resin body, and includes a printing device for printing the dye on a substrate, and a substrate mounting device for mounting the substrate at a predetermined position of the resin body on a dyeing tray in a state in which the dye printed by the printing device faces the resin body placed on the dyeing tray. The substrate mounting device includes a substrate holding section that holds the substrate in a state of contacting a back side of a printing surface of the substrate on which the dye is printed, and the substrate holding section that holds the substrate is driven by an actuator to move the substrate to the predetermined position in the dyeing tray, thereby mounting the substrate at the predetermined position. .

[0008] A dyeing system provided by a typical embodiment of the present disclosure includes the dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus, a transfer device that transfers the dye of the dye-coated substrate manufactured by the dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus to a resin body, and a dye fixing device that heats the resin body to which the dye has been transferred by the transfer device, thereby fixing the dye adhered to the surface of the resin body to the resin body.

[0009] According to the dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus and dyeing system of the present disclosure, the efficiency and quality when dyeing a resin body are appropriately improved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a dyeing system 1. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a staining tray 80 on which two lenses L are placed but no base body S is placed, as viewed from diagonally above on the right. [Diagram 3] 3 is an exploded perspective view of the staining tray 80 showing a mounting frame 89, a lens L, and a spacer 87 mounted in one of the two mounting portions 82 in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus 30, seen from the left rear. [Diagram 5] 1 is a perspective view of a cartridge mounting portion 140 and an ink agitation portion 150 in a use state, as viewed obliquely from the front left. [Figure 6] 1 is a left side view of the cartridge mounting portion 140 and the ink agitation portion 150 in an operational state. [Figure 7] 1 is a left side view of the cartridge mounting portion 140 and the ink agitation portion 150 in an inclined state. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the substrate transfer device 200 as viewed from diagonally rear left. [Figure 9] 1 is a perspective view of the printing device 100 and the base body moving device 300 as viewed from diagonally rear left. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the base body moving device 300 as seen from diagonally rear left. [Figure 11] 4 is a perspective view of the substrate mounting device 400 in a state in which the substrate holding portion 410 is not upside down, as viewed from the diagonally front right (the direction of the arrow F in FIG. 4). [Figure 12] 4 is a perspective view of the substrate mounting device 400 with the substrate holding portion 410 turned upside down, as viewed from the diagonally front right (the direction of the arrow F in FIG. 4). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] <Summary> (First aspect) The dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus exemplified in the present disclosure manufactures a dye-coated substrate. The dye-coated substrate is used in a dyeing process for dyeing a resin body. Dye to be transferred to the resin body is attached to the dye-coated substrate. The dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus includes a printing device and a substrate mounting device. The printing device prints dye (e.g., ink containing dye) onto the substrate. The substrate mounting device mounts the substrate (dye-coated substrate) at a predetermined position on the resin body in the dyeing tray, with the dye printed by the printing device facing the resin body mounted on the dyeing tray.

[0012] According to the dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus exemplified in the present disclosure, a dye-applied substrate is manufactured by printing a dye on a substrate using a printing device. The manufactured dye-applied substrate is automatically placed in a predetermined position on a dyeing tray by a substrate placing device. In other words, even if an operator does not manually place the dye-applied substrate on the dyeing tray, the dye-applied substrate is automatically placed in an appropriate position on the dyeing tray. Therefore, the efficiency and quality of dyeing a resin body are appropriately improved.

[0013] The substrate mounting device may be incorporated into the dyeing system separately from the printing device. In this case, the substrate mounting device can also be expressed as follows: A substrate mounting device that mounts a substrate at a predetermined position of a resin body on a dyeing tray in a state where the dye printed on the substrate by the printing device faces the resin body placed on the dyeing tray.

[0014] The substrate mounting device may include a substrate holding section that holds the substrate in contact with the back side of the printing surface on which the dye is printed, out of the pair of surfaces of the substrate. In this case, the substrate is appropriately held in a state in which the occurrence of bending, bending, breakage, etc. of the substrate is suppressed, compared to when one end of the substrate is held, etc.

[0015] The substrate mounting device may include a ventilation section. The ventilation section is formed at a position of the substrate holding section that contacts the back surface of the substrate. The ventilation section allows gas to pass through. The control section of the substrate mounting device may suck gas from the ventilation section using an airflow control device such as a pump or a fan, thereby adsorbing and holding the substrate on the substrate holding section. The control section may also release the suction of gas from the ventilation section by the airflow control device, thereby placing the substrate held by the substrate holding section at a predetermined position on the staining tray. In this case, the substrate mounting device can make the substrate holding section hold the substrate with a stronger holding force by utilizing the suction of gas.

[0016] The base may be a flexible member including a metal layer (e.g., aluminum foil, etc.). In this case, the thickness of the base may be 1 μm to 1000 μm. A base including a metal layer is more likely to bend than a base such as paper. However, by holding the base by the base holding part, even a base that is prone to bend can be held appropriately.

[0017] The control unit of the substrate mounting device may place the substrate held by the substrate holder at a predetermined position on the staining tray by discharging gas from the ventilation unit using the airflow control device. In this case, even if the substrate is difficult to separate from the substrate holder due to the influence of static electricity or the like generated between the substrate holder and the substrate, the substrate is properly separated from the substrate holder by the gas discharged from the ventilation unit. Thus, the substrate is more properly placed on the staining tray.

[0018] The substrate mounting device may include a sensor for detecting whether the substrate has been detached from the substrate holder. When the sensor detects that the substrate has not been detached from the substrate holder when the substrate is placed on the staining tray, the control unit may discharge the substrate from the ventilation unit to place the substrate on the staining tray. In this case, the substrate is appropriately placed on the staining tray according to the state of the substrate.

[0019] However, in cases where the substrate is easily separated from the surface of the substrate holder, the substrate mounting device may place the substrate on the staining tray by simply releasing the suction of gas from the ventilation part without discharging gas from the ventilation part. In this case, the airflow control device may not have a function of discharging gas.

[0020] Furthermore, the substrate may be held and released by a method other than that using the suction of gas. For example, the substrate holding device may hold the substrate by sandwiching a part of the sheet-like substrate in the thickness direction.

[0021] The contact surface of the substrate holder that contacts the back surface of the substrate may be a flat surface. In this case, the substrate is held in contact with the flat contact surface of the substrate holder, which further reduces the possibility of the substrate being warped or bent. This reduces the likelihood of deterioration in dyeing quality and defects in the dyeing process.

[0022] The ventilation section may include a groove section formed on the contact surface of the base holding section. The shape of the groove section may be formed in a shape corresponding to the printed shape of the dye printed on the printing surface of the base by the printing device (preferably a shape in which the outer peripheral region approximately matches the outer peripheral region of the printed shape of the dye). In this case, by positioning the groove section on the back surface of the printed area of ​​the dye on the base, the printed area of ​​the dye is held more firmly by the base holding section. This suppresses bending, bending, and the like from occurring in the printed area of ​​the dye, making it even more difficult for the dyeing quality to deteriorate.

[0023] The resin body to be dyed may be a substantially disk-shaped eyeglass lens. The printing device may print a dye (e.g., an ink containing a dye) in a circular shape on the printing surface of the substrate. The ventilation portion may include an annular groove formed on the contact surface of the substrate holding portion. In this case, the annular groove is located on the back side of the dye printed in a circular shape on the substrate, so that the circular portion on which the dye is printed is more firmly held by the substrate holding portion. Thus, the substrate is more appropriately held by the substrate holding portion while suppressing bending and bending of the portion on which the dye is printed.

[0024] The annular groove is desirably formed at a position on the contact surface of the base holder that contacts the back surface of the circular dye printed on the base. A plurality of annular grooves may be formed concentrically. In this case, the back surface of the portion of the base where the dye is printed is more firmly held by the base holder.

[0025] The substrate holding section may further include a placement positioning section that fits into a tray fitting section formed at a predetermined position on the staining tray. The substrate mounting device may place the substrate at a predetermined position on the staining tray with the placement positioning section fitted into the tray fitting section of the staining tray. In this case, the relative position of the substrate holding section with respect to the staining tray is fixed at a constant position by fitting the tray fitting section and the placement positioning section. Therefore, the substrate mounting device can more accurately place the substrate at the predetermined position on the staining tray.

[0026] The substrate mounting device may further include a top-bottom inversion unit that rotates the substrate holding unit to invert the top and bottom of the substrate holding unit. The control unit of the substrate mounting device may hold the substrate on the top of the substrate holding unit, and then invert the top and bottom of the substrate holding unit using the top-bottom inversion unit to mount the substrate at a predetermined position on the dyeing tray. In general, a printing device prints dye on the top surface of a substrate. In contrast, when mounting a dye-applied substrate on a dyeing tray, it is necessary to position the dye of the dye-applied substrate below the substrate so that the dye of the dye-applied substrate faces the resin body mounted on the dyeing tray. The substrate mounting device can easily make the dye printed on the top surface of the substrate face the resin body by inverting the top and bottom of the substrate holding unit using the top-bottom inversion unit. Thus, the dye-applied substrate is appropriately mounted on the dyeing tray.

[0027] The configuration of the up-down inversion unit can also be selected appropriately. For example, the up-down inversion unit may invert the up-down of the base body holder by rotating the base body holder around a horizontally arranged rotation axis. In this case, the up-down inversion unit has both the function of inverting the up-down of the base body holder and the function of moving the position of the base body holder to the opposite side of the rotation axis. This makes it easy to simplify the process.

[0028] The substrate mounting device may further include a heating unit that heats the substrate holding unit to dry the dye (in this disclosure, ink containing dye) printed on the substrate held by the substrate holding unit. In this case, the substrate mounting device has a function of drying the dye printed on the substrate in addition to a function of placing the dye-coated substrate on the dyeing tray. This allows the dyeing process to be performed more efficiently and appropriately.

[0029] In addition, when the base holding part is heated to dry the dye on the base, the ventilation part may include the above-mentioned annular groove part. In this case, the annular groove part is located on the back side of the dye printed in a circle on the base, so that the circular part on which the dye is printed comes into contact with the base holding part more firmly. As a result, heat is easily conducted from the base holding part to the dye, so that the dye is dried more appropriately.

[0030] The dyeing system of the present disclosure can also be expressed as follows: A dyeing system comprising: a dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a dye-applied substrate, which is a substrate to which a dye to be transferred to a resin body is attached, used in a dyeing step for dyeing a resin body, a transfer device for transferring the dye of the dye-applied substrate manufactured by the dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus to a resin body, and a dye fixing device for fixing the dye attached to the surface of the resin body to the resin body by heating the resin body to which the dye has been transferred by the transfer device, wherein the dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus comprises a printing device for printing the dye on a substrate, and a substrate mounting device for mounting the substrate at a predetermined position of the resin body on the dyeing tray with the dye printed by the printing device facing the resin body placed on the dyeing tray. In this disclosure, as a transfer method in which a transfer device transfers a dye to a resin body, a vapor phase transfer method is exemplified in which a dye is transferred to a resin body by sublimating a sublimable dye printed on a substrate in a state in which the resin body and the dye-applied substrate are opposed to each other in a non-contact manner in a vacuum. However, it is also possible to change the transfer method. For example, the dye may be transferred to the resin body in a state in which the dye-applied substrate is in contact with the resin body. This also applies to the second and third embodiments described below.

[0031] (Second aspect) The dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus exemplified in this disclosure manufactures a dye-coated substrate. The dye-coated substrate is used in a dyeing process for dyeing a resin body. Dye to be transferred to the resin body is attached to the dye-coated substrate. The dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus exemplified in this disclosure includes a printing device, a cartridge mounting unit, and an ink agitation unit. The printing device prints ink containing dye onto the substrate. The cartridge mounting unit mounts a cartridge containing ink to be supplied to the printing device. The ink agitation unit agitates the ink in the cartridge when the cartridge is mounted in the cartridge mounting unit.

[0032] According to the dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus exemplified in the present disclosure, the ink in the cartridge is automatically stirred by the ink stirring unit and supplied to the printing device without the need for an operator to manually stir the ink. Therefore, the resin body is dyed efficiently and appropriately, regardless of the tendency of the dye concentration in the ink to be uneven.

[0033] The specific form of the cartridge can be selected as appropriate. For example, the cartridge may have a bag-shaped member (such as an aluminum pouch) filled with ink. In this case, the ink is less likely to dry inside the cartridge. In addition, the ink may be directly filled inside the cartridge, which has flexibility.

[0034] The ink agitation unit (control unit of the dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus) may agitate the ink in the cartridge when a predetermined time or more has passed since the ink was last agitated. In this case, the ink in the cartridge is periodically agitated, so that the resin body is dyed efficiently and appropriately. For example, the ink agitation unit may periodically agitate the ink every time a predetermined time has passed since the ink was last agitated. The ink agitation unit may also agitate the ink when a predetermined time or more has passed since the ink was last agitated and an instruction to start printing is input to the printing device.

[0035] The ink stirring unit (control unit of the dye-coated substrate manufacturing device) may stir the ink in the cartridge while the printing device is not printing. In this case, ink that has already been stirred is supplied to the inkjet head during printing, improving the dyeing quality. Also, problems such as ink clogging are less likely to occur.

[0036] The ink agitation unit (control unit) may agitate the ink in the cartridge after the printing device is powered on and before printing is performed by the printing device. In other words, the ink agitation unit may agitate the ink when the printing device is powered on. In this case, the ink in which the substances had settled while the power to the printing device was cut off is automatically agitated by the ink agitation unit, and then printing is performed by the printing device. Therefore, the resin body is dyed efficiently and appropriately.

[0037] It is also possible to change the timing at which the ink agitation unit agitates the ink in the cartridge. For example, the ink agitation unit may agitate the ink every time the printing device prints with the ink a predetermined number of times.

[0038] The ink stirring unit may stir the ink in the cartridge by tilting the cartridge mounted in the cartridge mounting unit from the usage state for printing and then returning it to the usage state. In this case, the ink in the cartridge can be appropriately stirred without inserting any member inside the cartridge.

[0039] However, it is also possible to change the method by which the ink agitation unit agitates the ink in the cartridge. For example, the ink agitation unit may agitate the ink in the cartridge by inserting a screw or the like into the cartridge and driving the screw to agitate the ink.

[0040] The cartridge mounting section may be capable of mounting a plurality of cartridges. The ink stirring section may simultaneously stir the ink in the plurality of cartridges mounted in the cartridge mounting section. In this case, the ink is stirred more efficiently than when the ink in each of the plurality of cartridges is stirred individually.

[0041] The method for simultaneously stirring the ink in the multiple cartridges can be selected as appropriate. For example, the ink stirring unit may simultaneously stir the ink in the multiple cartridges by collectively tilting the entire cartridge mounting unit in which the multiple cartridges are mounted. The ink stirring unit may also simultaneously stir the ink in the multiple cartridges by collectively driving multiple screws inserted in each of the multiple cartridges with one actuator (e.g., a motor, etc.).

[0042] The dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus may further include a weight sensor that detects the weight of the cartridge mounted in the cartridge mounting section. The control section of the dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus may generate ink remaining amount information regarding the remaining amount of ink in the cartridge based on the weight of the cartridge detected by the weight sensor.

[0043] A common method for estimating the remaining amount of ink in a cartridge is to estimate the remaining amount of ink based on the number of times ink is ejected from an inkjet head. However, the error between the remaining amount of ink estimated based on the number of times ink is ejected and the actual remaining amount of ink is likely to be large. Therefore, when estimating the remaining amount of ink based on the number of times ink is ejected, in order to prevent printing from being performed in a state where the ink is completely used up, causing problems in the inkjet head, it is necessary to recommend to the operator to replace the cartridge when the estimated remaining amount of ink is sufficient. In this case, the amount of ink that remains in the cartridge and is discarded increases. In particular, since ink containing a dye for dyeing resin bodies is expensive, it is very important to reduce the amount of ink that is discarded.

[0044] In contrast, when the remaining ink amount information is generated based on the actually detected weight of the cartridge, the information is generated with higher accuracy than when the remaining amount is estimated using the number of times the ink is ejected, and therefore the amount of ink discarded is appropriately reduced.

[0045] The specific method of using the remaining ink information generated based on the weight of the cartridge can be selected as appropriate. For example, the control unit may output the generated remaining ink information by displaying it on a display unit, outputting a voice, or the like. The control unit may notify an operator of the remaining ink information estimated based on the weight of the cartridge by displaying it on a display unit, or the like. The control unit may also execute at least one of the following actions based on the remaining ink information estimated based on the weight of the cartridge: recommending to the operator to replace the cartridge, stopping printing by the printing device until the cartridge is replaced, and the like.

[0046] The weight sensor may detect only the weight of the cartridge. Alternatively, the weight sensor may detect the total weight of the cartridge and a member fixed to the cartridge (such as an insertion portion into which the cartridge is inserted). Even in this case, if the weight of the member fixed to the cartridge is known, the remaining ink amount information is appropriately generated based on the weight detected by the weight sensor.

[0047] The control unit may control the ink stirring operation in the cartridge by the ink stirring unit based on the weight of the cartridge detected by the weight sensor. The weight of the cartridge detected by the weight sensor changes depending on the weight of the ink remaining in the cartridge. Therefore, by controlling the ink stirring operation by the ink stirring unit based on the detection result by the weight sensor, an appropriate stirring operation according to the weight of the ink remaining in the cartridge is performed.

[0048] A specific method for controlling the operation of the ink agitation unit based on the weight of the cartridge detected by the weight sensor can be appropriately selected. For example, the control unit may change the time interval for agitating the ink by the ink agitation unit based on the weight of the cartridge detected by the weight sensor. The control unit may also change the number of times the ink is agitated by the ink agitation unit based on the weight of the cartridge detected by the weight sensor.

[0049] The control unit may perform zero point adjustment of the weight sensor (i.e., a process of adjusting the detection result when the weight applied to the weight sensor is zero to zero (the origin)) with the cartridge tilted by the ink agitation unit by 90 degrees or more from the usage state. When the ink agitation unit tilts the cartridge by 90 degrees or more from the usage state, the weight applied from the cartridge to the weight sensor becomes zero. By performing zero point adjustment of the weight sensor in this state, the detection accuracy of the cartridge weight by the weight sensor is appropriately improved. In other words, by utilizing the configuration for tilting the cartridge to agitate the ink also for zero point adjustment of the weight sensor, the detection accuracy of the cartridge weight can be efficiently improved.

[0050] When the zero point adjustment of the weight sensor is performed, the angle at which the ink stirring unit tilts the cartridge from the usage state may be greater than 90 degrees. In this case, the possibility that the weight of the cartridge will be applied to the weight sensor when the zero point adjustment of the weight sensor is performed is more appropriately reduced.

[0051] The cartridge mounting section may include a linear guide that limits the movable direction of the cartridge in the vertical direction when in use. The weight sensor may detect the weight of the cartridge in a state in which the movable direction is limited by the linear guide. In this case, the accuracy of the detection of the cartridge weight by the weight sensor is improved. Therefore, the accuracy of the remaining ink amount information generated based on the detection result by the weight sensor is further improved.

[0052] It is also possible to change the method of adjusting the zero point of the weight sensor. For example, the dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus may be provided with a biasing means (e.g., a spring or the like) capable of biasing the cartridge mounted in the cartridge mounting section upward. The control unit may adjust the zero point of the weight sensor while the cartridge is biased upward by the biasing means.

[0053] The dyeing system of the present disclosure can also be expressed as follows: A dyeing system comprising: a dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a dye-coated substrate, which is a substrate to which a dye to be transferred to a resin body is attached, used in a dyeing step for dyeing a resin body, a transfer device for transferring the dye of the dye-coated substrate manufactured by the dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus to a resin body, and a dye fixing device for fixing the dye attached to the surface of the resin body to the resin body by heating the resin body to which the dye has been transferred by the transfer device, wherein the dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus comprises a printing device for printing an ink containing a dye onto a substrate, a cartridge mounting unit for mounting a cartridge containing the ink to be supplied to the printing device, and an ink stirring unit for stirring the ink in the cartridge with the cartridge mounted in the cartridge mounting unit.

[0054] (Third aspect) The dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus exemplified in this disclosure manufactures a dye-coated substrate. The dye-coated substrate is used in a dyeing process for dyeing a resin body. A dye to be transferred to the resin body is attached to the dye-coated substrate. The dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus exemplified in this disclosure includes a printing device, a conveying device, and a substrate moving device. The printing device prints a dye (e.g., an ink containing a dye) for dyeing the resin body onto the substrate. The conveying device conveys a dyeing tray on which the resin body is placed. The substrate moving device moves the substrate on which the dye has been printed by the printing device from the printing position by the printing device to the conveying device side.

[0055] According to the dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus exemplified in the present disclosure, the substrate on which the dye is printed by the printing device is automatically moved from the printing position to the conveying device by the substrate moving device. Therefore, it is not necessary for an operator to manually move the substrate from the printing position. Therefore, the resin body is dyed more efficiently and appropriately.

[0056] The dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus may further include a substrate mounting device that mounts a substrate at a predetermined position on a dyeing tray installed on the transport device. The substrate moving device may deliver the substrate, on which the dye has been printed by the printing device, from the printing position of the printing device to the substrate mounting device. In this case, the dye-applied substrate, on which the dye has been printed by the printing device, is automatically transported in sequence by the substrate moving device, the substrate mounting device, and the transport device. This further reduces the burden on the worker.

[0057] The substrate mounting device and the substrate moving device may be an integrated device. In other words, one device may have both a function of moving the substrate from the printing position to the transport device side and a function of placing the moved substrate on the dyeing tray in the transport device.

[0058] The printing device may be equipped with a carriage that moves the head that ejects the dye in the main scanning direction relative to the substrate. The substrate moving device may also function as a sub-scanning device that moves the substrate in a sub-scanning direction intersecting the main scanning direction while the printing device is printing the dye. In this case, both the sub-scanning during printing and the movement of the substrate from the printing position to the transport device side are appropriately performed while preventing the configuration of the device from becoming complicated. In addition, it is also easier to reduce the space required to install the device compared to when a sub-scanning device is provided separately from the substrate moving device.

[0059] The printing device may include an operation unit that is operated by an operator to input operation instructions and faces the front side of the device. The operation unit may be arranged in a state where the operator can operate it from the front side of the printing device. Operation instructions for performing maintenance of the printing device may be input to the operation unit facing the front side. The operation unit facing the front side may be an operation panel (for example, an operation panel with multiple buttons, or a touch panel, etc.) that can input multiple types of operation instructions. The transport device may be installed on the side opposite to the front side of the printing device (i.e., the back side). In this case, the base moving device moves the base on which the dye is printed to the back side of the printing device. The operator needs to perform maintenance of the printing device from the front side facing the operation unit. Therefore, by arranging the transport device on the back side of the printing device, the operator can easily perform maintenance of the printing device from the front side of the printing device. In other words, the transport device and the like do not get in the way of the operator when performing maintenance of the printing device. In addition, since there is no need to form a space for the operator to perform maintenance near the transport device, it is easy to reduce the space in which the device is installed. Since there is no need to detour the transport path of the transport device in order to secure space for maintenance, the transport path is prevented from becoming longer.

[0060] The above-mentioned operation unit only needs to face the front side so that an operator can operate it from the front side. Therefore, the operation unit may be disposed on the front side of the housing of the printing device. The operation unit may also be disposed on a surface other than the front side (for example, the top surface of the housing) facing the front side.

[0061] The substrate moving device may include a substrate support section and a suction hole. The substrate support section has a support surface on which the substrate is placed. The suction hole is formed in the support surface of the substrate support section. The substrate may be adsorbed onto the support surface of the substrate support section by sucking gas through the suction hole. In this case, the substrate moving device can appropriately support the substrate on the substrate support section by utilizing the suction of gas to suppress the occurrence of damage, deformation, and the like of the substrate.

[0062] The substrate moving device may further include a movement drive unit (e.g., a slider or the like) that moves the substrate support unit in at least one dimensional direction. In this case, the substrate moving device can appropriately move the substrate by moving the substrate support unit that supports the substrate with the movement drive unit. In other words, unlike the case where the substrate is moved by a pinch roller or the like, the substrate is appropriately moved in a state in which bending, bending, or the like is suppressed from occurring in the substrate.

[0063] However, the configuration of the substrate moving device may be changed. For example, the substrate moving device may move the substrate from the printing position to the transport device side by at least one of a pinch roller and a robot arm.

[0064] The suction holes may be provided at least along the outer periphery of the support surface of the base support part. In this case, the base is easily attracted to the entire support surface of the base support part. This further reduces the possibility of damage, deformation, etc. of the base.

[0065] The substrate may include a metal layer (e.g., aluminum foil, etc.). The substrate may be flexible. The thickness of the substrate may be 1 μm to 1000 μm. When a substrate including a metal layer is moved by a pinch roller, the substrate may be bent due to the stress of the force applied to the substrate from the pinch roller. In response to this, the substrate support part is moved in a state in which the substrate is adsorbed to the support surface of the substrate support part, whereby the substrate is appropriately prevented from being bent. The substrate may be formed by laminating a dye retention layer (e.g., a hydrophilic polymer film layer, etc.) that enhances the retention of the printed dye on the metal layer. In this case, the dye printed on the substrate is easily retained appropriately.

[0066] The dyeing system of the present disclosure can also be expressed as follows: A dyeing system comprising: a dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a dye-applied substrate, which is a substrate to which a dye to be transferred to a resin body is attached, used in a dyeing step for dyeing a resin body, a transfer device for transferring the dye of the dye-applied substrate manufactured by the dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus to a resin body, and a dye fixing device for fixing the dye attached to the surface of the resin body to the resin body by heating the resin body to which the dye has been transferred by the transfer device, wherein the dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus comprises a printing device for printing the dye on a substrate, a transport device for transporting a dyeing tray on which the resin body is placed, and a substrate moving device for moving the substrate on which the dye has been printed by the printing device from a printing position by the printing device to the transport device side.

[0067] <Embodiment> A typical embodiment according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The dyeing system 1 dyes a resin body automatically and continuously. In this embodiment, the resin body to be dyed is a plastic lens L (see FIG. 2, etc.) used for glasses. However, at least a part of the technology exemplified in this disclosure can also be applied to dyeing a resin body other than the lens L. For example, at least a part of the technology exemplified in this disclosure can be applied to dyeing various resin bodies such as goggles, mobile phone covers, light covers, accessories, toys, films (e.g., thickness 400 μm or less), and plate materials (e.g., thickness 400 μm or more). The resin body to be dyed also includes a resin body attached to a member different from the resin body (e.g., wood or glass, etc.). In addition, the dyeing system 1 of this embodiment dyes a plurality of resin bodies while continuously conveying them. However, at least a part of the technology exemplified in this disclosure can also be adopted in a dyeing system that conveys and dyes resin bodies one set at a time.

[0068] (System Configuration) The system configuration of a dyeing system 1 of this embodiment will be described briefly with reference to Fig. 1. The dyeing system 1 of this embodiment includes a conveying device 10, a preparation unit 20, a dye-applied substrate manufacturing device 30, a transfer device 40, a dye fixing device 50, a coating device 60, and a control device 70.

[0069] The conveying device 10 conveys dyeing trays 80 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) on which lenses L, which are resin bodies, are placed, to each device in the dyeing system 1. In detail, the conveying device 10 of this embodiment conveys a plurality of dyeing trays 80 continuously within the dyeing system 1. The conveying device 10 of this embodiment conveys the dyeing trays 80 in the following order (i.e., from left to right in FIG. 1): the preparatory unit 20, the dye-applied substrate manufacturing device 30, the transfer device 40, the dye fixing device 50, and the coating device 60.

[0070] The pre-preparation unit 20 performs preparations prior to actually transferring and fixing the dye to the lens L. In detail, the pre-preparation unit 20 of this embodiment includes an optical characteristic measuring device 21 and a rotating device 22.

[0071] The optical characteristic measuring device 21 includes a measuring optical system that measures the optical characteristics of the lens L. The optical characteristic measuring device 21 projects a measuring light beam onto the lens L and receives the measuring light beam that has passed through the lens L to read the optical characteristics of the lens L (e.g., spherical power, cylindrical power, cylindrical axis angle, prism power, etc.). By measuring the cylindrical axis angle of the lens L, the angle of the rotation direction of the lens L is determined. A known configuration can be adopted for the optical characteristic measuring device 21, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted (the configuration of the optical characteristic measuring device 21 is described in, for example, JP 2012-107910 A, etc.).

[0072] The rotation device 22 includes a support portion that supports the lens L, and an actuator (e.g., a motor or the like) that rotates the lens L supported by the support portion. The rotation device 22 determines the rotation direction of the lens L by rotating the lens L. The rotation device 22 of this embodiment determines the rotation direction of the lens L to 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. The dyeing system 1 of this embodiment is a case where gradation dyeing is performed and the lens L is not symmetrical about the geometric central axis, and thereby rotates the lens L to match the angle of the lens L with the angle of the ink (dye) printed on the substrate S.

[0073] The dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus 30 manufactures a dye-applied substrate used in a dyeing process for dyeing a resin body (lens L). The dye-applied substrate includes a sheet-shaped substrate S (see FIG. 4) and a dye attached to one surface of the substrate S. In this embodiment, the substrate S has a metal layer (a layer of aluminum foil in this embodiment) and is flexible. In detail, the substrate S is formed by laminating a dye retention layer (a layer of hydrophilic polymer film in this embodiment) for increasing the retention of the printed dye on the metal layer. Therefore, the dye printed on the substrate S is easily retained appropriately. The thickness of the substrate S in this embodiment is 1 μm to 1000 μm. However, other materials such as paper, glass plate, heat-resistant resin, and ceramics can also be used as the material of the substrate S.

[0074] The dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus 30 of this embodiment includes a printing apparatus 100 (see FIG. 4). The printing apparatus 100 prints ink containing dye onto the substrate S to manufacture a dye-applied substrate. In the dyeing system 1 of this embodiment, in order to appropriately transfer the dye onto the lens L while preventing the dye from coagulating, the dye of the substrate S is heated in a vacuum (including near vacuum) environment in which the substrate S and the lens L are spaced apart and opposed to each other, so that the dye is transferred (deposited) onto the surface of the lens L (the dyeing method in this embodiment is called a vapor phase transfer dyeing method). Therefore, the printing apparatus 100 uses an inkjet printer that prints ink containing a sublimable dye onto the substrate S. The printing apparatus 100 can also print normal ink that does not contain a sublimable dye onto the substrate S. The printing device 100 executes printing based on print data created by a control device 70, which is an information processing device (in this embodiment, a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as "PC"). As a result, an appropriate amount of ink (dye) is adhered to an appropriate position on the substrate S. It is also easy to create a dye-coated substrate S for dyeing gradations.

[0075] The configuration of the printing device 100 can be changed. For example, the printing device may be a laser printer. In this case, the toner may contain a sublimable dye. Also, instead of the printing device 100, the dye may be applied to the substrate S by a dispenser (a device for applying a fixed amount of liquid), a roller, or the like. Details of the dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus 30 will be described later.

[0076] The transfer device 40 transfers the dye attached to the substrate S to the lens L in a state where the substrate S faces the lens L. As described above, in this embodiment, the dye is transferred from the substrate S to the lens L by a 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 in a state where the dye of the substrate S and the lens L are in contact with each other.

[0077] The dye fixing device 50 heats the lens L to which the dye has been transferred by the transfer device 40, thereby fixing the dye attached to the surface of the lens L to the resin body. 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 that irradiates the lens L with electromagnetic waves other than laser light (e.g., an oven) may be used as the dye fixing device.

[0078] The coating device 60 applies a coating to the surface of the lens L on which the dye has been fixed by the dye fixing device 50. A specific method for the coating device 60 to apply coating to the lens L can be appropriately selected. For example, at least one of a spray method, an inkjet method, a spin method, a dip method, and the like may be adopted as the coating method. The type of coating may also be appropriately selected from many types (for example, a hard coat, an anti-reflective coat, a water-repellent coat, a primer coat, and the like).

[0079] The control device 70 controls various controls in the dyeing system 1. The control device 70 can be various information processing devices (for example, at least one of a PC, a server, and a mobile terminal). The control device 70 includes a controller (for example, a CPU, etc.) 71 that controls the controls, and a database 72 that stores various data. The configuration of the control device 70 can be changed. 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 dyeing system 1 and the control device that includes the database 72 may be different devices. In addition, the controllers of the plurality of devices may cooperate to execute various controls in the dyeing system 1. For example, at least one of the conveying device 10, the optical property measuring device 21, the rotating device 22, the dye-applied substrate manufacturing 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 the other devices may cooperate to control the dyeing system 1.

[0080] (dyeing tray) The staining tray 80 used in the staining system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the staining tray 80 on which two lenses L are set (placed) and on which no base body S is set. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the staining tray 80, showing an exploded view of a mounting frame 89, lenses L, and spacer 87 mounted on one of two mounting parts 82.

[0081] As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 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 formed of materials that can withstand high temperatures and low pressures (almost vacuum). A resin body to be stained (a lens L in this embodiment) is placed on the mounting frame 89. The mounting frame 89 of this embodiment is formed in a ring shape having an outer diameter slightly larger than that of the lens L. The spacer 87 extends upward in a tubular (cylindrical) shape from the outer periphery of the mounting frame 89 at a portion where the lens L is placed. The tray body 81 is formed with a mounting portion 82. The mounting portion 82 is detachably attached to the mounting portion 82. In this embodiment, two mounting portions 82 are formed on one tray body 81. Therefore, a pair of lenses (left and right) L used for one pair of spectacles is stained while being placed on one staining tray 80.

[0082] A substrate mounting section 85 on which a sheet-like substrate S (see FIG. 4) to which a sublimation dye is attached is mounted is formed on the outer side of the tray body 81 and above the mounting section 82. By mounting the substrate S on the substrate mounting section 85, the sublimation dye attached to the substrate S faces the lens L mounted on the mounting frame 89.

[0083] The cylindrical spacer 87 forms a space between the substrate S placed on the substrate mounting portion 85 and the lens L placed on the mounting 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. When the mounting frame 89 and the spacer 87 are mounted on the mounting portion 82, the upper end of the spacer 87 protrudes above the mounting surface of the substrate mounting portion 85. Therefore, the substrate S placed on the substrate mounting portion 85 and the upper end of the spacer 87 are easily brought into close contact with each other, so that the sublimated dye is less likely to leak to the outside.

[0084] A protrusion 84 is provided on the tray main body 81 at a position outside the mounting portion 82 (more specifically, outside the substrate mounting portion 85) that protrudes upward above the mounting surface of the substrate mounting portion 85 on which the substrate S is placed.

[0085] The shape of the substrate S in this embodiment is a rectangular sheet covering both mounting parts 82. In this embodiment, a plurality of (eight) protrusions 84 are formed at positions along the outer periphery of the substrate S when the substrate S is placed at an appropriate position on the staining tray 80 (i.e., when the substrate S is placed appropriately on the substrate placement part 85). Therefore, the substrate S is appropriately positioned with respect to the lens L by placing the substrate S in an area (substrate placement part 85) surrounded by the plurality of protrusions 84. In addition, the possibility that the position of the placed substrate S will be shifted with respect to the lens L is reduced. In other words, at least a portion of the plurality of protrusions 84 in this embodiment (all of the protrusions 84 in this embodiment) functions as a positioning part that positions the substrate S with respect to the lens L.

[0086] Furthermore, at least some of the multiple protrusions 84 on the staining tray 80 (all of the protrusions 84 in this embodiment) fit into placement positioning parts 413 (see FIG. 11) formed on the substrate holding part 410 of the substrate mounting device 400, which will be described later. As a result, the relative position of the substrate holding part 410 with respect to the staining tray 80 is fixed to a predetermined position. That is, the protrusions 84 in this embodiment function as tray fitting parts that fit into the placement positioning parts 413 of the substrate holding part 410. This will be described in detail later.

[0087] It goes without saying that when multiple protrusions 84 are provided on the tray body 81, the number of protrusions 84 is not limited to eight. It is also possible to change the shape of the protrusions 84. For example, the protrusions may be rib-shaped members extending upward from positions along the outer periphery of the base body S.

[0088] (Dye-coated substrate manufacturing equipment) The dye-stained substrate manufacturing apparatus 30 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 4 to 12. In the following description, the upper right side of the paper in Fig. 4 is the front side of the dye-stained substrate manufacturing apparatus 30, and the lower left side of the paper is the rear side of the dye-stained substrate manufacturing apparatus 30. The lower right side of the paper in Fig. 4 is the left side of the dye-stained substrate manufacturing apparatus 30, and the upper left side of the paper is the right side of the dye-stained substrate manufacturing apparatus 30. Figs. 4, 8, 9, and 10 are perspective views of each device as viewed from the left rear. Meanwhile, Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the device as viewed from the left front. Also, Figs. 11 and 12 are perspective views of the device as viewed from the right front (the direction of the arrow F in Fig. 4).

[0089] As shown in Fig. 4, the dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus 30 of this embodiment includes a printing device 100, a substrate transfer device 200, a substrate moving device 300 (see Figs. 9 and 10), and a substrate mounting device 400. The substrate moving device 300 is not shown in Fig. 4 because it has been moved to the inside of the printing device 100 in Fig. 4. The substrate moving device 300 is disposed closer to the printing device 100 than the substrate transfer device 200. Each of the printing device 100, the substrate transfer device 200, the substrate moving device 300, and the substrate mounting device 400 are assembled in a housing 31. A transport device 10 is also assembled in the housing 31.

[0090] The printing device 100 prints ink containing dye on a sheet-like substrate S. The substrate transfer device 200 transfers the substrate S from a substrate stock section 210 that stocks substrates S on which ink has not been printed to a substrate moving device 300 (see Figs. 9 and 10). The substrate moving device 300 moves the substrate S (substrate with dye) on which ink has been printed by the printing device 100 from the printing position by the printing device 100 to the conveying device 10 side. The substrate transfer device 200 also transfers the substrate S on which ink has been printed from the substrate moving device 300 to a substrate mounting device 400. The substrate mounting device 400 mounts the substrate S on a predetermined position (substrate mounting section 85) of the lens L on the dyeing tray 80 in a state in which the printed dye (ink) faces the lens L (see Figs. 2 and 3) mounted on the dyeing tray 80. The details of each part will be explained below.

[0091] (Transportation device) The conveying device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. The conveying device 10 includes a pair of rails 11 extending in the conveying direction. A rotating belt 12 is provided near the rails 11 and arranged along the rails 11. The rotating belt 12 is connected to a conveying motor (e.g., a step motor) 13. The conveying motor 13 is driven to rotate the rotating belt 12. The rotation of the rotating belt 12 moves the dyeing tray 80 along the rails 11 in the conveying direction.

[0092] The conveying device 10 includes a plurality of tray positioning units 14. The tray positioning units 14 are provided at predetermined positions on the conveying path between a pair of rails 11. When the tray positioning units 14 are moved upward by a vertical actuator (not shown), the tray positioning units 14 come into contact with the staining tray 80 conveyed on the conveying path, and the conveying of the staining tray 80 stops at a predetermined position. Therefore, the conveying device 10 of this embodiment can accurately stop the staining tray at a predetermined position on the conveying path. Furthermore, sensors (not shown) for detecting the presence or absence of the staining tray 80 are provided at a plurality of positions on the rail 11. The control device 70 can detect the position of the staining tray 80 conveyed by the conveying device 10 based on the detection results of each of the plurality of sensors.

[0093] The conveying device 10 of this embodiment conveys the dyeing tray 80 from the upper left side to the lower right side in Fig. 4. On the conveying path of the conveying device 10, downstream of the conveying path shown in Fig. 4 (lower right side in Fig. 4), the transfer device 40 and the dye fixing device 50 (see Fig. 1) are arranged. The dye-applied substrate manufacturing device 30 places the substrate (dye-applied substrate) S, on which ink has been printed by the printing device 100, on the dyeing tray 80 by the substrate placing device 400. Thereafter, the dyeing tray 80 is conveyed to the transfer device 40 by the conveying device 10. The positional relationship between the printing device 100 and the conveying device 10 will be described later.

[0094] (Printing device) The printing device 100 will be described with reference to Figs. 4 to 7. The printing device 100 of this embodiment is an inkjet printer capable of printing ink containing dye (specifically, sublimable dye) on a substrate S. As shown in Fig. 4, the printing device 100 includes an inkjet head 110, a carriage 120, an operation unit 130, and a cartridge mounting unit 140. In addition, as shown in Figs. 5 to 7, the printing device 100 includes an ink agitation unit 150.

[0095] As shown in Fig. 4, the inkjet head 110 is provided inside the printing device 100. The inkjet head 110 ejects ink. In detail, the inkjet head 110 is provided with a plurality of ink ejection units (eight in this embodiment). Each ink ejection unit ejects ink supplied from each of a plurality of cartridges 141 (eight in this embodiment) mounted in the cartridge mounting unit 140 (see Figs. 5 to 7) downward toward the base body S.

[0096] The carriage 120 moves the inkjet head 110 in a main scanning direction MD relative to the substrate S. A control unit (controller 71 in this embodiment) of the dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus 30 moves the inkjet head 110 in the main scanning direction MD by controlling the driving of a main scanning motor (not shown) equipped to the carriage 120. The controller 71 prints ink in a two-dimensional area of ​​the substrate S by controlling the ejection of ink from the inkjet head 110 while controlling the relative main scanning and sub-scanning of the substrate S and the inkjet head 110. The sub-scanning method in this embodiment will be described later.

[0097] The operation unit 130 is installed facing the front side of the printing device (upper right side in FIG. 4). In other words, the operation unit 130 is arranged in a state where an operator can operate it from the front side of the printing device 100. The operation unit 130 is operated by an operator during maintenance of the printing device 100. That is, an operation instruction for performing maintenance is input to the operation unit 130 facing the front side. The operation unit 130 of this embodiment is an operation panel that can input a plurality of types of operation instructions, and includes at least one of a plurality of buttons and a touch panel, for example. By operating the operation unit 130 by an operator, various operation instructions are input to the printing device 100. Therefore, when performing maintenance of the printing device 100, the operator operates the operation unit 130 from the front side of the printing device 100. Note that the operation unit 130 of this embodiment is installed on the front of the housing of the printing device 100. However, the operation unit may be installed on a surface (e.g., the top surface, etc.) different from the front of the housing so as to face the front.

[0098] Here, the conveying device 10 that conveys the dyeing tray 80 is installed on the opposite side of the front side of the printing device 100 (i.e., on the rear side of the printing device 100). Therefore, unlike a case where the conveying device 10 is installed on the front side of the printing device 100 (i.e., the side facing the operation unit 130), the conveying device 10 is unlikely to interfere with the operation of the operation unit 130 when the operator operates it. Therefore, the operator can easily perform maintenance of the printing device 100 from the front side of the printing device 100. In addition, since there is no need to form a space for the operator to perform maintenance near the conveying device 10, it is easy to reduce the space in which the device is installed. There is no need to detour the conveying path of the conveying device 10 to secure a space for performing maintenance, and the conveying path is also prevented from becoming long.

[0099] The cartridge mounting section 140 of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 5 to 7. The cartridge mounting section 140 mounts a cartridge 141 having ink to be supplied to the inkjet head 110. The cartridge 141 of this embodiment is configured by arranging a bag (aluminum pouch) filled with ink inside a housing having appropriate rigidity. As shown in Fig. 5, the cartridge mounting section 140 includes a plurality of insertion sections 143 and linear guides 145 (eight in this embodiment). A cartridge 141 is inserted into each insertion section 143. That is, the cartridge mounting section 140 of this embodiment can mount a plurality of cartridges 141. In this embodiment, the cartridge 141 is mounted in the cartridge mounting section 140 by inserting the cartridge 141 into the cylindrical insertion section 143. In addition, a guide piece 144 having a guide hole through which the linear guide 145 is inserted is fixed to the insertion section 143.

[0100] The linear guide 145 restricts (guides) the movable direction of the insertion portion 143 into which the cartridge 141 is inserted in one dimension. In detail, the linear guide 145 of this embodiment restricts the movable direction of the insertion portion 143 to the vertical direction (up and down direction) in the usage state (state shown in FIG. 6) when the printing device 100 prints ink. In this embodiment, the linear guide 145, which extends vertically in the usage state, is inserted into a guide hole of a guide piece 144 fixed to the insertion portion 143, thereby restricting the movable direction of the insertion portion 143 (cartridge 141) to the vertical direction.

[0101] 6 and 7, the cartridge mounting portion 140 includes a plurality of weight sensors 147 (eight in this embodiment). Each weight sensor 147 detects the weight of each of the plurality of cartridges 141 mounted in the cartridge mounting portion 140 during use. As shown in FIG. 6, each of the plurality of weight sensors 147 in this embodiment is provided at a position that contacts the bottom of the insertion portion 143 during use. Therefore, during use, the total value of the weight of the insertion portion 143 and the weight of the cartridges 141 mounted in the insertion portion 143 is detected by the weight sensor 147.

[0102] In this embodiment, the weight detected by the weight sensor 147 minus the weight of the insertion section 143 and the weight of the housing of the cartridge 141 approximates the weight of the ink remaining inside the housing of the cartridge 141. Therefore, the controller 71 can generate ink remaining amount information regarding the remaining amount of ink in the cartridge 141 based on the weight detected by the weight sensor 147 during use. For example, the dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus 30 may store the weight detected by the weight sensor 147 in the database 72 as an offset value when the cartridge 141, which is completely empty of ink, is attached to the insertion section 143. The controller 71 may generate ink remaining amount information based on the weight detected by the weight sensor 147 and the offset value.

[0103] As described above, the movable direction of the insertion portion 143 in the usage state is limited to the vertical direction by the linear guide 145. As a result, the detection accuracy of the weight of the cartridge 141 (specifically, the total weight of the cartridge 141 and the insertion portion 143) by the weight sensor 147 is improved.

[0104] In this embodiment, each insertion section 143 is provided with a needle, a tube, and an electromagnetic valve. When the cartridge 141 is attached to the insertion section 143, the needle pierces the rubber plug of the aluminum pouch in the cartridge 141. As a result, the ink in the cartridge 141 is supplied to the inkjet head 110 through the needle and the tube. The electromagnetic valve can control the flow of ink in the tube by switching between compressing and releasing the tube. For example, when replacing the cartridge 141, the controller 71 can reduce the possibility of air getting into the tube by stopping the flow of ink in the tube with the electromagnetic valve.

[0105] The ink agitation unit 150 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 5 to 7. The ink agitation unit 150 agitates the ink in the cartridge 141 when the cartridge 141 is mounted in the cartridge mounting unit 140. Therefore, even if an operator does not manually agitate the ink, the ink in the cartridge 141 is automatically agitated by the ink agitation unit 150 and supplied to the inkjet head 110. Therefore, the ink is appropriately printed on the substrate S, regardless of the tendency for dye-containing ink to vary in density.

[0106] The ink agitation unit 150 of this embodiment tilts the cartridge 141 mounted in the cartridge mounting unit 140 from the usage state (the state shown in FIG. 6) when printing (i.e., when ink is supplied to the inkjet head 110) to an inclined state (the state shown in FIG. 7). Thereafter, the ink agitation unit 150 returns the cartridge 141 from the inclined state to the usage state. As a result, the ink in the cartridge 141 is appropriately agitated without the need to insert any member inside the cartridge 141.

[0107] In detail, the ink stirring section 150 includes an actuator (solenoid in this embodiment) 151 and a rotation support section 152. The rotation support section 152 supports the cartridge mounting section 140 having a plurality of insertion sections 143 so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 153. An operating section of the actuator 151 (the operating shaft of the solenoid in this embodiment) is connected to a position of the rotation support section 152 that is offset from the rotation shaft 153 (in this embodiment, below the rotation shaft 153 in FIG. 6). Therefore, by operating the actuator 151, the cartridge 141 mounted in the cartridge mounting section 140 rotates about the rotation shaft 153 between a use position (see FIG. 6) for printing and a tilted position (see FIG. 7) for stirring the ink. In detail, the actuator 151 pushes out the operating shaft, so that the cartridge 141 is in a use state (see FIG. 6), and the actuator 151 retracts the operating shaft, so that the cartridge 141 is in a tilted state (see FIG. 7). Therefore, the ink in the cartridge 141 is appropriately agitated.

[0108] As described above, the cartridge mounting section 140 can mount a plurality of cartridges 141. The ink agitation section 150 can simultaneously agitate the ink in the plurality of cartridges 141 by operating one actuator 151 to tilt the entire cartridge mounting section 140 in which the plurality of cartridges 141 are mounted. Thus, the ink in the plurality of cartridges 141 is more efficiently agitated.

[0109] The controller 71 (the control unit of the dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus 30 in this embodiment) causes the ink stirring unit 150 to stir the ink in the cartridge 141 after the printing device 100 is powered on and before printing is performed by the printing device 100. In other words, the controller 71 in this embodiment stirs the ink when the printing device 100 is powered on. Therefore, the ink in the cartridge 141, which has become non-uniform in dye concentration while the printing device 100 is powered off, is automatically stirred by the ink stirring unit 150, and then printing is performed by the printing device 100.

[0110] Furthermore, the controller 71 causes the ink agitation unit 150 to agitate the ink in the cartridge 141 when a predetermined time or more has passed since the ink was last agitated. Therefore, the ink in the cartridge 141 is periodically agitated, so that the lens L is appropriately dyed. Note that the controller 71 periodically agitates the ink every time the time since the ink was last agitated reaches a predetermined time. However, the controller 71 may also agitate the ink when a predetermined time or more has passed since the ink was last agitated and an instruction to start printing is input to the printing device 100.

[0111] Furthermore, the controller 71 stirs the ink in the cartridge 141 while the printing device 100 is not printing. Therefore, during printing, ink that has already been stirred is supplied to the inkjet head 110, improving dyeing quality. Also, problems such as ink clogging are less likely to occur.

[0112] The controller 71 controls the ink stirring operation of the ink stirring unit 150 in the cartridge 141 based on the weight of the cartridge 141 detected by the weight sensor 147. Therefore, an appropriate stirring operation is performed according to the weight of the ink remaining in the cartridge 141. For example, the controller 71 may change the time interval at which the ink is stirred by the ink stirring unit 150 based on the weight detected by the weight sensor 147. The controller 71 may also change the number of times the ink is stirred by the ink stirring unit 150 based on the weight detected by the weight sensor 147.

[0113] As described above, the controller 71 generates ink remaining amount information on the remaining amount of ink in the cartridge 141 based on the weight detected by the weight sensor 147. Therefore, information on the remaining amount of ink is generated with higher accuracy than when the remaining amount is estimated using the number of times the ink is ejected. In detail, in this embodiment, the controller 71 notifies the operator of the information on the remaining amount of ink estimated based on the weight detected by the weight sensor 147 by displaying it on a display unit (not shown) or by voice, etc. Furthermore, when the remaining amount of ink estimated based on the weight detected by the weight sensor 147 becomes equal to or less than a first threshold, the controller 71 executes an exchange recommendation operation for recommending to the operator to exchange the cartridge 141. Furthermore, when the estimated remaining amount of ink becomes equal to or less than a second threshold that is smaller than the first threshold, the controller 71 executes a print stop operation for stopping printing until the cartridge 141 is replaced. Note that the method of outputting the ink remaining amount information described in this embodiment is merely an example. In other words, it is of course possible to change the method of outputting the ink remaining amount information.

[0114] As shown in FIG. 7, in the ink stirring unit 150 of this embodiment, the rotation angle θ of the cartridge 141 in the tilted state relative to the cartridge 141 in the used state is set to 90 degrees or more. In detail, in this embodiment, the rotation angle θ is set to an angle greater than 90 degrees (for example, 93 degrees to 95 degrees). Therefore, while the cartridge 141 is in the tilted state, the weight related to the weight sensor 147 from the cartridge 141 is zero. The controller 71 performs zero point adjustment of the weight sensor 147 while the cartridge 141 is in the tilted state (that is, while the ink stirring unit 150 has tilted the cartridge 141 by 90 degrees or more from the used state). Therefore, the accuracy of weight detection by the weight sensor 147 is appropriately improved.

[0115] (Substrate transfer device) The substrate transfer device 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 8. As described above, the substrate transfer device 200 transfers the substrate S on which no ink is printed from the substrate stock unit 210 to the substrate moving device 300 (see Figs. 9 and 10). The substrate transfer device 200 also transfers the substrate S on which ink is printed from the substrate moving device 300 to the substrate mounting device 400 (see Figs. 11 and 12).

[0116] Substrates S on which ink is not printed are stacked and stocked in the substrate stock section 210. In this embodiment, a cassette 211 including a plurality of stacked substrates S is attached to the substrate stock section 210 by an operator, so that the substrates S are stocked in the substrate stock section 210.

[0117] A distance measuring sensor 213 is provided above the substrate stock section 210. The distance measuring sensor 213 detects the position (height) of the uppermost substrate S among the substrates S stocked in the substrate stock section 210. The dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus 30 also includes a lifting device 214. The lifting device 214 lifts and lowers (moves up and down) the substrate stock section 210. In this embodiment, the controller 71 controls the drive of the lifting device 214 so that the position (height) of the uppermost substrate S detected by the distance measuring sensor 213 is a predetermined position. Therefore, the substrate transfer device 200 can stably receive the uppermost substrate S of the substrate stock section 210.

[0118] The substrate transfer device 200 includes a suction holder 220, a first slider 230, a second slider 240, and a lifting device 250. The suction holder 220 holds the substrate S by suctioning gas. In this embodiment, the body of the suction holder 220 is a plate-shaped member having a plurality of circular holes. The suction holder 220 includes a plurality of suction ports 221. The plurality of suction ports 221 face downward from the body of the suction holder 220 and are connected to an ejector (not shown) that sucks gas. The ejector generates negative pressure by utilizing the Venturi effect. Note that a pump or the like may be used instead of the ejector. The first slider 230 moves the suction holder 220 in a first direction (in this embodiment, the left-right direction in the dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus 30). The second slider 240 moves the suction and holding part 220 in a direction horizontally intersecting the first direction (in this embodiment, the front-rear direction in the dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus 30). In addition, the lifting device 250 lifts and lowers (moves up and down) the suction and holding part 220.

[0119] The controller 71 controls the driving of the first slider 230 and the second slider 240, and causes the lifting device 250 to lower the suction holder 220 a predetermined distance while the suction holder 220 is positioned above the substrate stock unit 210. As a result, the suction ports 221 in the suction holder 220 come into contact with the substrate S at the top of the substrate stock unit 210. Next, the controller 71 causes an ejector (not shown) to suck gas from the suction ports 221, thereby causing the suction holder 220 to hold the substrate S. Next, the controller 71 controls the driving of the first slider 230, the second slider 240, and the lifting device 250 to move the substrate S to a predetermined position on the substrate moving device 300 (see FIG. 9 and FIG. 10). In particular, the suction holder 220 is disposed at a higher position than the substrate support unit 330 of the substrate moving device 300. The controller 71 moves the suction holder 220 holding the substrate S to above (vertically above) the substrate support 330 of the substrate transfer device 300. Thereafter, the controller 71 releases the suction of gas from the suction port 221, thereby transferring the substrate S to the substrate support 330 of the substrate transfer device 300.

[0120] The controller 71 also controls the driving of the first slider 230 and the second slider 240, and causes the lifting device 250 to lower the suction holder 220 a predetermined distance while the suction holder 220 is positioned above the substrate support 330 (see FIGS. 9 and 10). As a result, the suction ports 221 in the suction holder 220 come into contact with the substrate S on the substrate support 330. Next, the controller 71 causes an ejector (not shown) to suck gas from the suction ports 221, thereby causing the suction holder 220 to hold the substrate S. Next, the controller 71 controls the driving of the first slider 230, the second slider 240, and the lifting device 250, thereby moving the suction holder 220, which is holding the substrate S, above the substrate holder 410 of the substrate mounting device 400. Thereafter, the controller 71 releases the suction of gas from the suction port 221, thereby transferring the substrate S to the substrate mounting device 400.

[0121] (Substrate moving device) The substrate moving device 300 will be described with reference to Fig. 9 and Fig. 10. As shown in Fig. 9, the substrate moving device 300 can move the substrate S from a position (printing position) where printing is performed by the inkjet head 110 (see Fig. 4) inside the printing device 100 to the side of the transport device 10 (see Fig. 4) installed outside the printing device 100. As described above, the transport device 10 of this embodiment is disposed on the rear side of the printing device 100 (lower left side of the paper in Fig. 9). Therefore, the substrate moving device 300 moves the substrate S from the printing position inside the printing device 100 to the rear side of the printing device 100.

[0122] As shown in Fig. 10, the base body moving device 300 of this embodiment includes a base portion 310, a vibration absorbing material 320, a base body support portion 330, and a slider 340. The base portion 310 is a plate-shaped member that serves as a base for supporting the entire base body moving device 300 including the base body support portion 330. The base portion 310 is fixed to the printing device 100 (see Fig. 4) via a vibration absorbing material (e.g., seismic isolation rubber, etc.) 320. The vibration absorbing material 320 absorbs vibrations. In this embodiment, the vibration absorbing materials 320 are installed at multiple locations so that the center of gravity of the multiple vibration absorbing materials 320 coincides with the center of gravity of the printing device 100 in a plan view.

[0123] The base body support part 330 supports the base body S from below. In the base body moving device 300 of this embodiment, two base body support parts 330 are provided side by side in the left-right direction (the direction along the main scanning direction MD of the printing device 100). However, the number of base body support parts 330 provided in the base body moving device 300 may be one or three or more.

[0124] The substrate support part 330 of this embodiment includes a support surface 331, a suction hole 332, and a pump connection part 333. The substrate S is placed on the support surface 331. The support surface 331 of this embodiment is a flat surface arranged horizontally. The support surface 331 of this embodiment is formed in a shape slightly larger than the rectangular shape of the substrate S. Therefore, the sheet-like substrate S is difficult to separate from the support surface 331. The suction hole 332 is formed in the support surface 331 of the substrate support part 330. The suction hole 332 is connected to a pump (not shown) that sucks gas via the pump connection part 333. The controller 71 controls the drive of the pump to suck gas from the suction hole 332, thereby allowing the substrate S to be adsorbed to the support surface 331 of the substrate support part 330. Therefore, the substrate S is appropriately supported on the support surface 331 in a state in which damage and deformation of the substrate S are suppressed.

[0125] In detail, a plurality of suction holes 332 (eight in this embodiment) are provided at least along the outer periphery of the support surface 331 of the base support part 330. As a result, the sheet-like base S is sucked by the suction holes 332 at a plurality of points on the outer periphery. Therefore, the base S is more appropriately supported by the base support part 330.

[0126] As described above, the base body S of this embodiment includes a metal layer and is flexible. When the base body S including a metal layer and having flexibility is moved by pinch rollers, the base body S may bend due to the stress of the force applied to the base body S from the pinch rollers. In response to this, the base body moving device 300 of this embodiment moves the base body support part 330 while the base body is adsorbed to the support surface 331 of the base body support part 330, thereby making it possible to appropriately suppress bending of the base body S during movement.

[0127] The slider 340 moves the substrate support part 330 in a one-dimensional direction. In detail, the slider 340 of the present embodiment moves the substrate support part 330 in the front-rear direction in the dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus 30, thereby moving the substrate S supported by the substrate support part 330 from the printing position to the transport device 10 side.

[0128] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the front-rear direction in the dye-applied substrate manufacturing apparatus 30 coincides with the sub-scanning direction SD of the printing device 100. The substrate moving device 300 of this embodiment moves the substrate S in the sub-scanning direction SD that intersects (orthogonal in this embodiment) the main scanning direction MD of the carriage 120 (see FIG. 4) during ink printing by the printing device 100. In other words, the substrate moving device 300 of this embodiment also serves as a sub-scanning device that moves the substrate S in the sub-scanning direction SD during printing by the printing device 100. Therefore, the substrate moving device 300 appropriately performs both the sub-scanning during printing and the movement of the substrate S from the printing position, without complicating the device configuration.

[0129] When the substrate moving device 300 moves the substrate S supported by the substrate support section 330 to the side closest to the transport device 10, the substrate S is adjacent to the substrate mounting device 400 (see FIGS. 11 and 12). The substrate moving device 300 transfers the substrate S, on which ink has been printed, to the substrate mounting device 400 by moving the substrate S from the printing position toward the transport device 10. Therefore, the substrate S, on which ink has been printed by the printing device 100, is automatically transported in order by the substrate moving device 300, the substrate mounting device 400, and the transport device 10. This further reduces the burden on the operator.

[0130] (Substrate mounting device) The substrate mounting device 400 will be described with reference to Figs. 11 and 12. As described above, the substrate mounting device 400 mounts the substrate S at a predetermined position of the lens L on the dyeing tray 80 (substrate mounting section 85 above the lens L in this embodiment) in a state in which the dye (ink) printed on the substrate S faces the lens L (see Figs. 2 and 3) placed on the dyeing tray 80. Therefore, even if an operator does not manually place the substrate S on the dyeing tray 80, the substrate S is automatically and appropriately placed at an appropriate position on the dyeing tray 80. As described above, Figs. 11 and 12 are views of the device as viewed from the right front (the direction of the arrow F in Fig. 4). The substrate mounting device 400 of this embodiment includes a substrate holding section 410, a top-bottom inversion section 430, and a heating section 450.

[0131] The substrate holding section 410 holds the substrate S in a state of contacting the reverse side of the printing surface on which dye (ink) is printed, of the pair of surfaces of the substrate S, which is sheet-like. Therefore, compared to a case where one end of the substrate S is held, the substrate S is less likely to bend, bend, or break. In the substrate mounting device 400 of this embodiment, two substrate holding sections 410 are provided side by side in the left-right direction (the direction along the main scanning direction MD of the printing device 100). However, the number of substrate holding sections 410 provided in the substrate mounting device 400 may be one or three or more.

[0132] 11, a ventilation section 411 is formed in the base holding section 410 at a position that contacts the back side of the printed surface of the base S. The ventilation section 411 allows gas to pass between the ventilation section 411 and an airflow control device (e.g., a pump, not shown) that can switch between suction and exhaust of gas. In this embodiment, the ventilation section 411 formed on the surface of the base holding section 410 (the contact surface that contacts the base S) is connected to the airflow control device through a flow path inside the base holding section 410.

[0133] The contact surface of the base body holding part 410 that comes into contact with the back surface of the base body S is a flat surface. Therefore, the sheet-like base body S is held in a state of contact with the flat contact surface of the base body holding part 410. As a result, the possibility of the base body S being warped or bent is further reduced.

[0134] In this embodiment, the ventilation section 411 includes a groove formed on the contact surface of the base holding section 410 that comes into contact with the base S. The shape of the groove (annular) corresponds to the printed shape of the dye printed on the printing surface of the base S by the printing device 100 (circular in this embodiment). Therefore, by positioning the groove on the back surface of the dye-printed area of ​​the base S, the dye-printed area is more firmly held by the base holding section 410.

[0135] In other words, in this embodiment, the ventilation section 411 includes an annular groove formed on the contact surface of the base holding section 410 that comes into contact with the base S. As described above, the resin body dyed by the dyeing system 1 of this embodiment is a substantially disk-shaped lens (spectacle lens) L. The ink containing the dye is printed in a circular shape on the printing surface of the base S. The ventilation section 411 including the annular groove is located on the back side of the dye printed in a circular shape on the base S. As a result, the circular portion on which the dye is printed is held more firmly by the base holding section 410. This more appropriately prevents bending or the like from occurring in the portion on which the dye is printed.

[0136] Note that the ventilation portion 411 has a plurality of circular grooves formed concentrically. Therefore, the base body S is held by the base body holding portion 410 more firmly than when there is only one circular groove.

[0137] The up-down inversion unit 430 inverts the up-down of the base body holding unit 410 that holds the base body S. In detail, the up-down inversion unit 430 in this embodiment includes a rotating shaft 431 and actuators (air cylinders in this embodiment) 432, 433. The rotating shaft 431 is disposed in the horizontal direction and is fixed to the base body holding unit 410. The operating parts of the actuators 432, 433 (operating shafts of air cylinders in this embodiment) are connected to a part of the base body holding unit 410.

[0138] As shown in Fig. 11 and Fig. 12, when the actuators 432, 433 are actuated, the substrate holding part 410 fixed to the rotating shaft 431 rotates 180 degrees around the rotating shaft 431. As a result, the substrate holding part 410 is inverted upside down. Furthermore, when the substrate holding part 410 is rotated by the upside-down inversion part 430 from the state shown in Fig. 11 to the state shown in Fig. 12, the substrate holding part 410 moves to above the staining tray 80 on the conveying device 10. In other words, the upside-down inversion part 430 has both the function of inverting the substrate S held by the substrate holding part 410 upside down and the function of moving it above the staining tray 80.

[0139] As shown in FIG. 11, the substrate holding part 410 has a positioning part 413 at a predetermined position. The positioning part 413 in this embodiment is a plurality of recesses. When the substrate holding part 410 is turned upside down by the upside-down inversion part 430, the plurality of positioning parts 413 provided on the substrate holding part 410 fit into a plurality of protrusions (tray fitting parts) 84 on the staining tray 80. As a result, the relative position of the substrate holding part 410 with respect to the staining tray 80 is fixed at a predetermined position. Therefore, the substrate mounting device 400 can mount the substrate S on the substrate mounting part 85 of the staining tray 80 more accurately.

[0140] The heating unit 450 heats the substrate holding unit 410 to dry the ink printed on the substrate S held by the substrate holding unit 410. Therefore, the substrate mounting device 400 has a function of drying the ink printed on the substrate S in addition to the function of mounting the substrate S on the dyeing tray 80. In detail, the heating unit 450 is formed of a material having high thermal conductivity and is disposed at a position adjacent to the substrate holding unit 410 (in this embodiment, a position adjacent to the lower side of the substrate holding unit 410). The heating unit 450 is provided with a heater mounting unit 451 to which a heater (not shown) is attached. The heater mounted on the heater mounting unit 451 is driven to heat the heating unit 450. As a result, the substrate holding unit 410 adjacent to the heating unit 450 is heated.

[0141] As described above, the ventilation portion 411 including the annular groove is located on the reverse side of the dye (ink) printed in a circle on the base S. Therefore, the circular portion of the base S on which the ink is printed comes into more firm contact with the base holding portion 410. This makes it easier for heat to be conducted from the base holding portion 410 to the ink, so that the ink is dried more appropriately.

[0142] A radiant heat reflecting plate 453 is provided on the side and bottom surface of the heating unit 450. A gap is provided between the radiant heat reflecting plate 453 and the heating unit 450. In addition, the surface of the radiant heat reflecting plate 453 facing the heating unit 450 is formed in a mirror-like shape so as to easily reflect the radiant heat from the heating unit 450. Therefore, the radiant heat reflecting plate 453 appropriately prevents the radiant heat from the heating unit 450 from being transmitted to the sides and below the heating unit 450.

[0143] The controller 71 causes the airflow control device to suck gas from the ventilation section 411, thereby causing the substrate S to be held by the substrate holding section 410. In addition, the controller 71 causes the airflow control device to release the suction of gas from the ventilation section 411, while the substrate holding section 410 is inverted upside down by the upside-down inversion section, thereby placing the substrate S held by the substrate holding section 410 at a predetermined position on the staining tray 80. Therefore, by utilizing the suction of gas, the substrate mounting device 400 can appropriately hold and mount the substrate S while suppressing damage to the substrate S.

[0144] Furthermore, the controller 71 places the substrate S held by the substrate holding part 410 at a predetermined position on the staining tray 80 by discharging gas from the ventilation part 411 using the airflow control device while the substrate holding part 410 is upside down using the upside-down inversion part. Therefore, even if the substrate S is difficult to separate from the substrate holding part 410 due to the influence of static electricity or the like generated between the substrate holding part 410 and the substrate, the substrate S can be easily and appropriately separated from the substrate holding part 410 by the gas discharged from the ventilation part 411.

[0145] The techniques disclosed in the above embodiments are merely examples. Therefore, the techniques exemplified in the above embodiments may be modified. For example, only some of the techniques exemplified in the above embodiments may be adopted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0146] 1. Dyeing system 10. Conveyor 30 Dye-coated substrate manufacturing equipment 71 Controller 80 Dyeing Tray 84 Protrusion 85 Base body placement section 100 Printing equipment 110 Inkjet head 120 Carriage 130 Operation section 140 Cartridge mounting section 141 Cartridge 147 Weight Sensor 150 Ink stirring unit 153 Rotation axis 200 Substrate transfer device 210 Base Stock Section 300 Substrate moving device 330 Base support part 331 Support surface 332 Suction hole 400 Substrate placement device 410 Base holding part 411 Ventilation section 413 Placement and positioning unit 430 Upside-down part 431 Rotating Axis

Claims

1. A dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a dye-coated substrate, which is a substrate having a dye attached thereto and is used in a dyeing process for dyeing a resin body, comprising: a printing apparatus for printing a dye onto a substrate; a substrate mounting device that mounts the substrate at a predetermined position of the resin body on the dyeing tray in a state in which the dye printed by the printing device faces the resin body placed on the dyeing tray; Equipped with The substrate mounting device is a substrate holding part that holds the substrate in a state of contacting a back side of a printing surface, of a pair of surfaces of the substrate, on which the dye is printed; A dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that the substrate holding section, while holding the substrate, is driven by an actuator to move the substrate to the predetermined position in the dyeing tray, and the substrate is placed at the predetermined position.

2. 2. The dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, The substrate mounting device is The base holder further includes a ventilation portion formed at a position in contact with the back surface of the base and allowing gas to pass therethrough, The substrate is held by the substrate holder by sucking gas through the ventilation portion, A dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that the substrate held by the substrate holding section is placed at the predetermined position on the dyeing tray by releasing the suction of gas from the ventilation section.

3. 3. The dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, The substrate holder is The staining tray further includes a placement positioning portion that fits into a tray fitting portion formed at a predetermined position of the staining tray, The dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus is characterized in that the substrate mounting device mounts the substrate at the predetermined position on the dyeing tray with the mounting positioning portion fitted into the tray fitting portion of the dyeing tray.

4. The dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The substrate mounting device is Further comprising a top-bottom inversion unit that inverts the base holder upside down, A dye-coated substrate manufacturing apparatus characterized in that after the substrate is held on the upper part of the substrate holding part, the substrate holding part is turned upside down by the up-down inversion part, and the substrate is placed at the predetermined position on the dyeing tray.

5. An apparatus for manufacturing a dye-coated substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 4, a transfer device that transfers the dye of the dye-coated substrate manufactured by the dye-coated substrate manufacturing device to a resin body; a dye fixing device that heats the resin body to which the dye has been transferred by the transfer device, thereby fixing the dye attached to the surface of the resin body to the resin body; A dyeing system comprising:

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