METHODS OF CHANGING COLOR OF SURFACE-FORMING PORTIONS

Abstract

To deposit a photochromic substance 3 on a surface-forming portion 1 of an object; and, when light in an ultraviolet range 5 is projected onto the surface of the deposited photochromic substance 3 to change the color of the photochromic substance 3 by photochromism, cover the deposited photochromic substance 3 with a wavelength-cutoff agent 4 that blocks wavelengths in an ultraviolet spectrum contained in natural light and/or illumination light.

Claims

1. A method of changing a color of a surface-forming portion comprising: depositing a photochromic substance on a surface-forming portion of an object; and applying a wavelength-cutoff agent to a surface of the deposited photochromic substance in changing a color of the photochromic substance by photochromism by irradiating the surface of the deposited photochromic substance with light in an ultraviolet range, before the irradiation of the light in the ultraviolet range, the wavelength-cutoff agent blocking light with a wavelength in an ultraviolet spectrum contained in natural light and/or illumination light.

2. A method of changing a color of a surface-forming portion comprising: depositing a photochromic substance on a surface-forming portion of an object; and applying a wavelength-cutoff agent to the surface of the deposited photochromic substance in changing a color of the photochromic substance by photochromism by irradiating the surface of the deposited photochromic substance with light in an ultraviolet range, after the color of the photochromic substance has been changed by the irradiation with the light in the ultraviolet range, the wavelength-cutoff agent blocking a wavelength in an ultraviolet spectrum contained in natural light and/or illumination light.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the wavelength-cutoff agent is applied on the photochromic substance so that the amount of light with wavelengths blocked by the wavelength-cutoff agent is kept for a certain time.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein wavelengths in the ultraviolet spectrum to be cut off by the wavelength-cutoff agent are 400 nm to 280 nm, preferably 400 nm to 315 nm.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the surface-forming portion whose color has been changed by photochromism returns to an original color of the surface-forming portion upon irradiation with light in a visible range.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the photochromic substance deposited on the surface-forming portion is an organic photochromic compound that turns, upon irradiation with light with specific wavelengths in an ultraviolet spectrum, to a color in a visible region corresponding to the irradiated specific wavelengths.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the organic photochromic compound is a single-crystal diarylethene comprising three organic molecules having different structures.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the surface-forming portion of the object is that of any one of nails, artificial nails, lips, hair on one's body including hair on one's head, eyeglasses, watches, jewelry including rings, bracelets, and necklaces, bags, shoes, textiles including neckties, scarves, and handkerchiefs, natural and synthetic fibers, bodies of vehicles including motorcycles and cars, wall materials, indoor equipment including pieces of furniture and ornaments, outdoor equipment including signboards, and wall surfaces including ceilings, floors, and side walls of buildings.

9. A system for changing a color of a surface-forming portion comprising: a surface-forming portion of an object, a photochromic substance deposited on the surface-forming portion; light-emitting means configured to emit light in an ultraviolet range; and application means applying a wavelength-cutoff agent to the surface-forming portion on which the photochromic substance has been deposited, by driving the wavelength-cutoff agent before the light-emitting means is driven, the wavelength-cutoff agent blocking a specific wavelength in an ultraviolet spectrum to the surface-forming portion on which the photochromic substance has been deposited, wherein the light in the ultraviolet range is projected from the light-emitting means onto the surface-forming portion to cause the photochromic substance to induce photochromism and change a color of the surface-forming portion.

10. A system for changing a color of a surface-forming portion comprising: a surface-forming portion with a photochromic substance deposited on a surface-forming portion of an object; light-emitting means configured to emit light in an ultraviolet range; and application means applying a wavelength-cutoff agent to the surface-forming portion after the light-emitting means has been driven and the photochromic substance has undergone a change in color by photochromism, the wavelength-cutoff agent blocking a specific wavelength in an ultraviolet spectrum to the surface-forming portion on which the photochromic substance has been deposited, wherein the light in the ultraviolet range is projected from the light-emitting means onto the surface-forming portion to cause the photochromic substance to induce photochromism and change a color of the surface-forming portion.

11. The system according to claim 9, wherein the photochromic substance is an organic photochromic compound that changes its color, upon irradiation with light with specific wavelengths in an ultraviolet spectrum, to a color in a visible region corresponding to the irradiated specific wavelengths, and reverts to its original color upon irradiation with light in a visible range.

12. The system according to claim 9, wherein the surface-forming portion is that of any one of nails, artificial nails, lips, hair on one's body including hair on one's head, eyeglasses, watches, jewelry including rings, bracelets, and necklaces, bags, shoes, textiles including neckties, scarves, and handkerchiefs, natural and synthetic fibers, bodies of vehicles including motorcycles and cars, wall materials, indoor equipment including pieces of furniture and ornaments, outdoor equipment including signboards, and wall surfaces including ceilings, floors, and side walls of buildings.

13. The system according to claim 9, wherein the light-emitting means can emit light with specific wavelengths in a region between ultraviolet and infrared.

14. The system according to claim 9, wherein the wavelength-cutoff agent allows tuning of wavelengths to be cut off in 20 nm increments and cutting them off.

15. A method of changing a color of an object by adding a graphic pattern to a three-dimensional object, comprising: applying a photochromic compound to a surface of a three-dimensional object such as a car body; scanning the object with a 3D scanner to obtain 3D scan data and modeling and analyzing an object's shape; mapping the analyzed object with a pre-selected graphic pattern; irradiating the mapped object with light with specific wavelengths in an ultraviolet spectrum to change a color of the photochromic compound applied to the object, during or after the mapping; and coating the object with a wavelength-cutoff agent that cuts off wavelengths in an ultraviolet spectrum, after irradiating the mapped object with light with specific wavelengths in an ultraviolet spectrum to change a color of the photochromic compound that has been applied to the object, during or after the mapping.

16. A method of changing a color of an object by adding a graphic pattern to a three-dimensional object, comprising: applying a photochromic compound to a surface of a three-dimensional object such as a car body; scanning the object with a 3D scanner to obtain 3D scan data and modeling and analyzing an object's shape; mapping the analyzed object with a pre-selected graphic pattern; and coating the object with a wavelength-cutoff agent that cuts off wavelengths in an ultraviolet spectrum before the photochromic compound undergoes a change in color, when the mapped object is irradiated with light with specific wavelengths in an ultraviolet spectrum to change a color of the photochromic compound that has been applied to the object, during or after the mapping.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the three-dimensional object is a nail, an artificial nail, a lip, hair on one's body including hair on one's head, eyeglasses, a watch, jewelry including a ring, a bracelet, and a necklace, a bag, shoes, a textile including a necktie, a scarf, and a handkerchief, a natural or synthetic fiber, a body of a vehicle including a motorcycle and a car, a wall material, indoor equipment including a piece of furniture and an ornament, outdoor equipment including a signboard, and a wall surface including a ceiling, a floor, and a side wall of a building.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0037] FIG. 1 An explanatory diagram schematically illustrating a color-changing method according to the present invention being applied to nails (fingernails, artificial nails).

[0038] FIG. 2 An explanatory diagram schematically illustrating how a color-changing method according to the present invention is applied to a car.

[0039] FIG. 3 A diagrammatic flow diagram for explaining steps of combining a color-changing method according to the present invention with the mapping of a car body with a graphic pattern.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0040] Next, an embodiment for implementing the method of the present invention is described with reference to the drawings.

[0041] FIG. 1 illustrates the application of the present invention to changing the color of a nail. The reference numerals 1 and 2 represent a human finger and an artificial nail attached to the nail of the finger, respectively. The artificial nail 2 can be either a plastic nail with an organic photochromic compound applied as a photochromic material, or an organic photochromic compound formed into a nail shape.

[0042] The artificial nail 2 in the step (a) in FIG. 1 has a photochromic material 3 coated with a wavelength-cutoff agent 4 that cuts off specific wavelengths in the ultraviolet spectrum. In the next step (b), the artificial nail 2 attached to the nail of the finger 1 is irradiated with light in the ultraviolet range 5a, which is different from the specific wavelengths, from a light-emitting means 5. In FIG. 1, the reference numeral 6 represents a light source control unit that chooses a plurality of specific wavelengths in the ultraviolet spectrum emitted from the light-emitting means 5, with association to the colors intended to be induced, and wirelessly supplies a control signal to the light-emitting means to instruct emission of the chosen specific wavelengths. As an example, the color of the artificial nail 2 can be developed as (changed to) the desired color by exposing it to light at 370 nm, 380 nm, or 405 nm when the desired color is red, yellow, or blue, respectively.

[0043] For the coating of the wavelength-cutoff agent 4, which cuts off wavelengths in the ultraviolet spectrum other than the aforementioned irradiated wavelengths, the wavelength-cutoff agent 4 can be coated after irradiating the photochromic material 3 with light with wavelengths for inducing the desired color from the light-emitting means 5 to turn the photochromic material 3 into the desired color. The timing of the coating of the wavelength-cutoff agent 4 in the following examples is the same as in the above example in that it can be after the color of the photochromic material 3 has been changed. For the above wavelength-cutoff agent 4, the wavelengths to be cut off are 400 nm to 280 nm contained in natural light, and preferably at least 400 nm to 315 nm. The term “ultraviolet radiation” and “ultraviolet wavelength” are interchangeably used herein with wavelengths in the ultraviolet spectrum.

[0044] The light-emitting means 5 in FIG. 1 has a battery as a power source, a lamp as a light source, and a control board inside. In the case where the photochromic material 4 is an inorganic one that changes its color to the color of the irradiated light, a color filter is placed in front of the light source. In the case where a picture or other graphic is projected on the artificial nail 2, a graphic board made of liquid crystal or other material is placed in front of the light source.

[0045] The photochromic material 3 of the artificial nail 2 changes, upon irradiation with the light with specific wavelengths 5a, its color to a color of wavelengths in the visible spectrum corresponding to the irradiated specific wavelengths. For the generated color, the surface of the photochromic material 3 is coated with a wavelength-cutoff agent 4 that can cut off ultraviolet radiation of natural light. Thus, the ultraviolet radiation is cut off and the generated color does not fade for a certain time (see the step (c)).

[0046] Next, an example in which the color-changing method of the present invention is applied in combination with mapping of a car body with a graphic pattern is described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0047] FIG. 2 shows a conceptual diagram illustrating a case where the color-changing method of the present invention is applied to a car body. In FIG. 2, a photochromic material 11 is applied to a car body 10. For this purpose, used is a specially-adapted handheld device (hereinafter referred to as a “rewritable booster 13”) with 3D scanning and projection mapping functions which emits light with specific wavelengths that change the color of and/or patterns on an object (the body 10). This allows instant changing of the color and/or a graphic design of the car body 10 according to the scene, season, or mood of the day and reduction of an overwhelming amount of time and cost compared to conventional painting or wrapping to provide significant user benefits. Referring to FIG. 3, the above example is described in order of performing process steps. It should be noted that a UV wavelength-cutoff agent 12 is coated after the color of the photochromic material 11 has been changed by light irradiation with the rewritable booster 13.

[0048] In the step 1, the car body 10 is scanned in 3D. Specifically, the rewritable booster 13 moves all around the car to scan the entire car body 10 while projecting a scanning laser 13a onto the car body 10.

[0049] In the step 2, the shape of the car body 10 is instantly modeled and analyzed 10a using a special application software based on the scan data obtained in the step 1, and mapping data 13b for a pre-selected graphic pattern 14 is produced.

[0050] In the step 3, the rewritable booster 13 moves all around the car while projecting light with specific wavelengths in the ultraviolet spectrum to the car body 10 and projects the mapping data 13b generated in the step 2 onto the car body 10. As a result, the photochromic material 11 on the surface of the car body 10 changes to a specific color, and the graphic pattern 14 based on the mapping data 13b is drawn (mapped) on the car body 10.

[0051] As described above, the present invention makes it possible to change the color of the car body 10 to the desired color and map it with the desired graphic pattern simultaneously, allowing significant reduction of the time and effort required for painting car bodies or mapping them with graphics using conventional methods.

[0052] Not only car users but also car dealers can enjoy the aforementioned advantages. This is because a single car can be displayed in multiple colors and graphics by applying the method of the present invention to cars to be displayed in a shop.

[0053] The present invention described above can be applied to the following as an object: nails, artificial nails, lips, hair on one's body including hair on one's head, eyeglasses, watches, jewelry including rings, bracelets, and necklaces, bags, shoes, textiles including neckties, scarves, and handkerchiefs, natural and synthetic fibers, bodies of vehicles including motorcycles and cars, wall materials, indoor equipment including pieces of furniture and ornaments, outdoor equipment including signboards, and wall surfaces including ceilings, floors, and side walls of buildings.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0054] 1 finger [0055] 2 artificial nail [0056] 3 photochromic material [0057] 4 wavelength-cutoff agent [0058] 5 light-emitting means [0059] 6 light source control unit