Selective Substrate Dyeing Using Material Permeability Without Masking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for selectively coloring substrates with complex surface structures or small dimensions are inefficient and costly due to the need for masking and masking removal processes, which are not compatible with complex or small-scale patterns.
Innovation Solution
A selective staining process involving a substrate with different material surface portions, where one material is permeable to dyes when heated and the other is impermeable, allowing for dye penetration into the first material while preventing it from entering the second material, without the use of a mask, and using a dye source that releases dyes upon heating, followed by rinsing to remove excess dyes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a mask is applied to mask the second portion of the substrate, then selective coloring can be achieved, but the process becomes incompatible with complex surface structures and small dimensions, and the process time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate surface is designed with different material properties in different regions: the first portion is made permeable to dyes while the second portion remains impermeable. This local differentiation of material properties enables selective dye penetration without requiring external masking, directly resolving the contradiction between selective coloring precision and process complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate itself provides the selective coloring function through its inherent material differences rather than requiring an external mask. The first material's permeability and the second material's impermeability cause the substrate to automatically direct dye penetration to the desired regions, eliminating the masking step and its associated complexity
2Manufacturing precision
If a mask is applied and then removed after dyeing, then selective coloring is achieved, but the process time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The masking step is completely extracted and eliminated from the process. Instead of applying a mask and then removing it, the invention uses the substrate's inherent material differences to provide selective coloring in a single dyeing step, thereby eliminating the time-consuming masking and unmasking operations while maintaining selective coloring precision
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate's material structure performs the masking function inherently through its differential permeability properties. The first material allows dye penetration while the second material prevents it, enabling the substrate to self-direct the coloring process without external intervention, thus eliminating the time loss associated with mask application and removal
3Adaptability or versatility
If the substrate has a complex surface structure or very small dimensions, then functional requirements are met, but conventional masking processes cannot be applied
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is designed with locally differentiated material properties where the first portion is made permeable and the second portion impermeable to dyes. This local quality differentiation enables selective coloring that adapts to complex surface structures and small dimensions without requiring physical masks, thereby maintaining both structural adaptability and manufacturing ease
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical masking system is replaced with a chemical/physical property-based system. Instead of using physical masks that cannot access complex or small features, the invention uses differential material permeability to achieve selective coloring, which naturally adapts to any surface geometry including complex structures and small dimensions
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables rapid and economical selective coloring of substrates with complex structures or small dimensions, maintaining transparency and achieving high light transmission, suitable for applications like spectacle lenses, by ensuring dyes only penetrate into the intended material, leaving the other surface uncolored and transparent.
Implementation Method 1
heating the dye source near the exposed surface of the substrate, such that dyes are transferred from the dye source onto the exposed surface of the substrate
Implementation Method 2
the first material which is used for the surface portion to be colored, called the first surface portion, is permeable to the dyes when this first material is heated
Implementation Method 3
the dyes diffuse only into the first material when the substrate is heated
Implementation Method 4
the second material which is used for the surface portion which must not be colored, called the second surface portion, is impermeable to the same dyes
Implementation Method 5
rinsing the uncovered surface of the substrate with a solvent for the dyes, so as to remove dyes remaining on the uncovered surface
Data Source
Figure 1~3
AI summary
The invention relates to a selective dyeing method used for dyeing a substrate (10), selectively within a first uncovered surface portion (S1) of said substrate. For this purpose, the substrate consists of a material (2) that is impervious to a dye with the exception of the first portion of the uncovered surface. In particular, the impervious material can form a layer which covers a base portion (3) of the substrate in a second portion (S2) of the uncovered surface. The substrate is heated such that the dye (C) penetrates a pervious material (1) which constitutes the first portion of the uncovered surface. The method is particularly useful for eliminating light diffused by the walls of a multilayer structure which is supported by means of ocular glass.