Method for colouring a transparent article made of polycarbonate and resulting article
AssigneeEssilor International (Compagnie General d'Optique)
InventorGilles Baillet
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention concerns a method which comprises irradiating at least one face of an article with UV radiation, causing the article to be photodegraded over a thickness of at least 1 μm and contacting the irradiated face of the article with a coloring agent, so as to diffuse the coloring agent in the entire thickness of the photodegraded surface layer of the article. The invention is useful for optical and ophthalmologic articles.
Claims51
1-39. (Canceled)
A method for coloring a transparent article comprising two opposite principal faces and made of polycarbonate material, wherein the polycarbonate material is further defined as a polycarbonate material not containing polyester groups, the method comprising:
- a) photodegrading the polycarbonate material of the transparent article by irradiation of at least one of the principal faces of the article with UV radiation to produce at least one photodegraded surface layer of polycarbonate material with a thickness of at least 1 μm, wherein the UV radiation is further defined as comprising at least 50% energy of irradiation originating from radiation with wavelength equal to or less than 320 nm;
- and
- b) placing a coloring agent in contact with the at least one photodegraded surface layer, so that the coloring agent diffuses into the photodegraded surface layer.
An article made from polycarbonate material, the polycarbonate material further defined as a polycarbonate material not containing polyester groups, the article comprising at least one photodegraded surface layer into which a coloring agent has been diffused, the at least one photodegraded surface area being on at least one principal face of the article and having a thickness of at least 1 μm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.