JP2612068B2 - Press forming equipment for optical elements - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an optical element press-forming apparatus for press-forming an optical element (for example, a lens) from a glass preform. An optical element that can be easily and easily assembled into an optical system by an optical element that can be press-formed with high accuracy (that is, excellent in shape accuracy and surface roughness) and with high efficiency. The present invention relates to an element press forming apparatus.

[Prior Art] A conventional optical element, for example, a lens is entirely a lens portion forming a lens surface.

The optical element press forming apparatus for press-forming this optical element from a glass preform has a preform intake chamber, a heating chamber, a press chamber, a slow cooling chamber, and a lens removal chamber. The desired optical element can be obtained by moving the mold for press molding from the preform intake chamber to the lens removal chamber in order while maintaining the atmosphere.

A related device of this type is, for example, JP-A-61-26528.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The above prior art does not consider the following points.

. Since the entire optical element (hereinafter, referred to as a lens) is a lens portion, when the lens is handled, for example, when a molded product (that is, a lens) is removed from a mold, the lens surface is contact-adsorbed with a suction jig or the like. The lens surface may be damaged.

. When assembling a lens into an optical system, for example, a lens barrel, a spacing tube for maintaining the spacing between the lenses is pressed against the lens surface, but since the lens surface is a curved surface, the lens is sometimes inclined and assembled. .

. In order to prevent the lens from tilting, it is necessary to make the gap between the lens outer diameter and the lens barrel inner diameter extremely small, and the dimensional control of the lens outer diameter and the lens barrel inner diameter must be strictly controlled. Therefore, it is not easy to assemble the lens into the lens barrel, and it takes a long time to assemble the lens.

. This is a so-called complete filling method, in which the mold composed of the upper mold, the lower mold and the body mold is clamped, and the gap (ie, cavity) formed by these is completely filled with the preform to press-mold the lens. It was necessary to strictly control the weight so that the preform just filled the void.

. Since it is a completely filled system, softened glass enters between the upper or lower mold and the body mold, and burrs are generated on the molded product. Therefore, when the molded product is taken out of the mold, if the burrs are broken, the burrs remain in the lower mold as a residue, which hinders continuous press molding. Further, when the swarf enters the gap between the body mold and the lower mold, galling occurs at the time of sliding of the lower mold, which may cause damage to the mold.

. When the mold cavity surface formed in the mold is concave to form the gap, the outer peripheral portion becomes edge-shaped, and there is a possibility that the mold may be damaged during assembly.

. After press-molding by applying a pressing force to the mold, the pressurizing force is unloaded, and the mold is moved to the annealing chamber while the mold is clamped, where the molded product (ie, lens) is cooled. Therefore, sink marks occurred in the molded product, and the shape accuracy was deteriorated.

. A large space is required to move the mold, and the apparatus becomes large. In addition, since a large number of molds (one mold for one molded product) are used, the manufacturing cost of the mold and the apparatus is increased. There was a problem that also becomes high.

. Since the mold moves, the upper and lower dies cannot be connected to a push rod or the like, and the upper and lower dies are moved by vacuum suction. Therefore, in order to ensure smooth sliding, it is necessary to make the clearance between the body mold and the upper and lower molds larger than that in which the mold is fixed to the press mechanism. There is also a problem that the inclination of the lower lens surface becomes large.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has as its object to eliminate the possibility of damaging the lens surface during handling, to facilitate the assembly of the optical system, and to improve the shape accuracy. It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact optical element press-forming apparatus capable of simultaneously and easily press-forming a large number of optical elements with a short molding cycle.

[Means for Solving the Problems] Further, the configuration of the press forming apparatus for an optical element of the present invention includes a preform supply chamber, a molding chamber, and a molded product take-out chamber. In a molding chamber, a glass preform is supplied, and in the molding chamber, the preform is press-molded into an optical element having a predetermined shape, and the molded article is taken out to the molded article removal chamber. This apparatus press-molds a flanged optical element (hereinafter referred to as a molded product) including a lens portion forming a lens surface and a flange portion formed on the outer peripheral side of the lens portion and integrally formed with the lens portion. The molding chamber is a body mold having a preform entrance and a molded article exit on the side surface, and is relatively movably fitted into the body mold. When the mold is clamped, a mold having upper and lower molds in which a cavity capable of forming a plurality of cavities having the same shape as the lens portion of the molded article at symmetrical positions with respect to the center axis of the barrel mold, By holding the upper mold and the lower mold and clamping the molds, the preforms carried into each of the gaps can be simultaneously pressed to press-mold a plurality of molded products, and the lower mold can be used as a body mold. A press mechanism capable of rotating about a central axis; and a preform carried into the upper mold, the lower mold and the gaps thereof from a periphery of the body mold to a predetermined molding temperature, and A heating mechanism disposed so as to be relatively movable with respect to the mold, and the upper mold, the lower mold, and the molded product in the gap therebetween can be cooled to a predetermined temperature from around the body mold; Do not interfere with A cooling mechanism disposed so as to be relatively movable with respect to the barrel die, and a preform that can be transported from the preform supply chamber side to the molded product removal chamber side, and the preform is heated to a predetermined temperature in the middle thereof. A transfer mechanism equipped with a preheating furnace for preheating the preform, and a preform preheated by the preheating furnace is received from the transfer mechanism, and this is transferred from the barrel-shaped preform carrying inlet / molded product carrying outlet to the gap. Can be brought in,
A preform loading / unloading mechanism that can take out the molded product in the gap from the preform loading / unloading port and pass it to the molded product unloading chamber side of the unloading mechanism with respect to the preheating furnace. The preform supply chamber has a stocker capable of storing the preform, and receives the preform from the stocker, and supplies the preform to the preform supply chamber side of the preheating furnace in the transfer mechanism of the molding chamber. The molded product take-out chamber, and a stocker capable of storing molded products, and a molded product taken out from a transfer mechanism of the molded room, and transferred to the stocker. And a molded product taking-out mechanism, wherein the preform supply chamber, the molding chamber, During and between this molding chamber between said demold chamber, is provided with a Shatsuta to maintain independently each chamber atmosphere respectively.

 The details are as follows.

The optical element targeted by the present invention is a press lens with a flange having a flange portion having a flat surface in the radial direction on the outer peripheral side of the lens portion.

The press lens forming apparatus with a flange according to the press forming apparatus for an optical element for press forming the press lens with a flange fixes a mold to a press mechanism, and a molded product (that is, a press lens with a flange) is cooled and solidified. The pressure can be maintained up to this point.
The die is a multi-cavity die, and the press mechanism is capable of rotating the lower die of the die around the center axis of the trunk die.

[Function] Since the press lens is a press lens with a flange,
At the time of handling, it suffices to handle by sucking the flange portion, so that the lens surface is not damaged. Further, when the flanged press lens is assembled into the lens barrel, the spacing tube may be pressed against the flange portion to hold the flanged press lens. Therefore, the flanged press lens is not assembled at an angle, and the assembly is extremely easy. In order to form the press lens with a flange, only the lens portion is molded with the cavity formed by the gap of the mold, and the flange portion is molded in a free space outside the cavity. Unlike the perfect filling method, not only is the weight control of the preform easy, but there is no burr on the molded product, and even if the mold cavity surface is concave, the outer periphery becomes edge-shaped. Nor.

In addition, since the mold is fixed to the press mechanism in the press lens forming device with a flange, the pressing force can be maintained until the molded product is cooled and solidified, and "sink" occurs due to viscoelastic deformation of the glass. In addition, a flanged press lens having excellent shape accuracy can be formed. In addition, the clearance between the body mold and the upper and lower molds can be reduced, and the inclination of the upper and lower lens surfaces of the flanged press lens can be reduced. Further, since a large number of flanged press lenses can be press-formed at the same time without moving the die, not only the molding cycle is shortened, but also the die cost and apparatus manufacturing cost are reduced.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to examples.

 First, start with the optical element.

FIG. 1 shows a flanged press lens according to a first embodiment of an optical element to which the present invention is applied;
(A) is a plan view, (b) is a side view, FIG. 2 is a partial sectional side view showing a handling state of the flanged press lens, and FIG. 3 is a flanged press lens. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a processed product obtained by finishing the outer diameter of FIG. 4, and FIG. 4 shows a state in which the processed product is assembled in a lens barrel; FIG. 4 (a) is a partial sectional side view thereof; )
Fig. 5 is a front view thereof, Fig. 5 shows a state in which a conventional press lens is incorporated in a lens barrel, (a) is a partial cross-sectional side view thereof, and (b) is a front view thereof. It is.

The flanged press lens 31 includes a lens portion 31a forming a lens surface and an outer peripheral side of the lens portion 31a.
It comprises a lens portion 31a and an integrally molded flange portion 31b, and the shape of the flange portion 31b is a concentric ring shape of the lens portion 31a when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the flange surface.

When handling the flanged press lens 31 having such a shape, as shown in FIG. 2, the suction portion 37a of the suction device 37 is brought into contact with the flange surface of the flange portion 31b, and the flanged press lens 31 is moved. There is nothing to contact the lens portion 31a because it only needs to be adsorbed. Therefore,
It can be handled without damaging the lens surface at all.

The procedure for assembling the flanged press lens 31 into the lens barrel will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the molded article (i.e., the flanged press lens 31) of the outer diameter, finishing in smaller d ₁ than the inner diameter D ₁ of the lens barrel 33 (hereinafter, .31B of numbered and 31A the workpiece '
Is a flange part). An inner diameter D ₂ of the spacing tube 34, finish slightly larger than the lens effective diameter d ₂ of the flanged press lens 31A. That is, finishing is performed so that the dimensional relationship of D ₁ −d ₁ > D ₂ −d ₂ is satisfied.

When the press lens 31A with a flange is inserted into the lens barrel 33 and the end face of the spacing tube 34 is pressed against the flange portion 31b ', the assembly of the press lens 31A with the flange is completed.

Since the assembly can be performed in this manner, the entire lens surface of the flanged press lens 31A can be effectively used as an optical path. In addition, press lens 31A with flange
Since the lens is not assembled in a tilted manner, it is easy and accurate to set the optical axis between the plurality of lenses. Furthermore, the dimensional difference between the outer diameter d ₁ of the inner diameter D ₁ and the flanged press lens 31A of the lens barrel 33, so can be made larger than conventional, it is easy to assemble the flanged press lens 31A.

When a conventional press lens is incorporated in a lens barrel,
As shown in FIG. 5, since the press lens 32 has no flange portion, the spacing tube 34 must be pressed against the lens surface and pressed, and there is a possibility that the press lens 32 is inclined and assembled. To prevent this, the inside diameter of the lens barrel 33 and the press lens
Since the dimensional difference with the outside diameter of 32 must be reduced,
The assembly of the press lens 32 was not easy and required a long time.

The method of forming the press lens 31 with flange is as follows.
The details will be described later, but in short, a lens-shaped (or spherical) glass preform is
It is supplied to the cavity of the mold and press-molded. In this press molding, it is the lens portion 31a that is clamped and molded with the cavity formed by the gap, and the flange portion 31b is press-molded in a free space outside the cavity. That is, unlike the conventional case, the prefill is not completely filled with the preform completely inside the cavity, so that the surplus material of the preform can escape to the outer diameter side of the flange portion 31b.

 According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.

I. In order to handle the press lens 31 with a flange, the flange portion 31b may be handled by contacting and sucking, so that the lens surface is not damaged.

B. To incorporate the flanged press lens 31 into the lens barrel 33,
Since the spacing tube 34 may be pressed against the flange portion 31b ', the entire surface of the lens can be effectively used as an optical path, and the press lens 31A with a flange can be easily assembled. It is easy to put out.

C. Since the press molding of the flanged press lens 31 is not a complete filling method like the conventional press lens, the surplus material of the preform can escape to the flange portion 31b, and the weight management of the preform is easy.

 Another embodiment will be described.

In the flanged press lens 31 shown in FIG. 1, the shape of the flange portion 31b is a ring shape, but the shape of the flange portion is not limited to the ring shape, and may be any shape, for example, a rectangular shape. .

FIG. 6 shows a press lens with a flange according to a second embodiment of the optical element to which the present invention is applied;
(A) is a plan view and (b) is a side view.

The flanged press lens 35 is provided with a flange 35b formed integrally with the lens 35a on the outer peripheral side of the lens 35a, and the outer shape of the flange 35b is viewed from a direction perpendicular to the flange surface. Sometimes a rectangular shape.

The press lens 35 with a flange is convenient for assembling into a lens barrel having a rectangular cross section, for example.

Next, an embodiment of a press forming apparatus for an optical element will be described.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a press lens forming apparatus with a flange according to an embodiment of the press forming apparatus for an optical element of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB 'in FIG. 7, and FIGS. 10 to 15 show details of the vicinity of the mold in FIG. 7. FIG. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the preform is being carried in, FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC ′ of FIG.
FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing a state in which the mold and the preform are being heated, FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing a state in which a pressing force is applied to the preform, and press molding is performed, and FIG. ,
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the molded article is being cooled, and FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the molded article is being carried out from the gap of the mold.

This press lens forming apparatus with a flange has an atmosphere tank including a molding chamber 1, a preform supply chamber 2, and a molded product take-out chamber 3, a gantry 4 for supporting the chamber, and a press frame 5, and the press lens with a flange. 31 is used for press molding.

The molding chamber 1 includes a mold 9, a press drive mechanism 10 related to a press mechanism, a pressure rod 11, a pressure receiving rod 12, a heater 14 related to a heating mechanism, a cooling mechanism 13, and a platen 1 related to a transport mechanism.
8, a conveyor 19, a preheating furnace 20, and a preform carrying-in / molding-product carrying-out mechanism 15.

The mold 9 includes, as shown in FIGS.
An upper mold 7 and a lower mold 8 are fitted into the body mold 6 so as to be relatively movable with almost no radial gap. The body die 6 has a regular hexagonal shape in a cross section perpendicular to the axis, and a rectangular preform inlet / outlet 6a and a mold cleaning jig inlet / outlet 6b formed in a side surface thereof. Have been. The body mold 6 is fixed to the mold receiving base 29 by bolts 30 inserted into the mounting holes.

When the upper mold 7 and the lower mold 8 are clamped (that is, when the pressure rod 11 connected to the lower mold 8 rises to the top dead center),
Lens part 31 of flanged press lens 31 (see Fig. 1)
A cavity 7a, 8a in which four cavities having the same shape as a can be formed at symmetrical positions with respect to the center axis of the body mold. The upper die 7 is fixed to the pressure receiving rod 12 on the apparatus body side, and the lower die 8 is connected to the pressure rod 11. The press rod is attached to a press drive mechanism 10 on the apparatus body side, and the press drive mechanism 10 drives the press rod to
The lower die 8 can be raised and clamped via 11, and the lower die 8 can be rotated around the trunk die central axis.

The heating heater 14 is capable of adjusting the temperature by itself, and is so arranged that the preform 16 carried into the upper mold 7, the lower mold 8 and the gap 8 a can be uniformly heated from the periphery of the barrel mold 6. It is divided into six parts in the direction, and is formed so as to make surface contact with the body mold 6. Then, it is suspended from the apparatus main body so as to be able to move up and down, descends only at the time of the heating step, and is located on the outer periphery of the barrel mold 6.

The cooling mechanism 13 is provided so as to uniformly cool the upper mold 7, the lower mold 8, and the molded product 31 (that is, the flanged press lens) in the gaps 7a, 8a from around the body mold 6. Each set is divided into three parts, each of which is further divided into three parts, and is formed so as to be in surface contact with the body mold 6. Then, the half cracks can move while being separated from each other in the horizontal direction.
And is located on the outer periphery of the trunk mold 6 without interfering with the body mold 6.

The conveyor 19 has a preform on its platen 18.
The preform 16 can be transferred from the preform supply chamber side to the molded product take-out side while the preform 16 is moved by the preheating furnace 20.
It can be preheated to a predetermined temperature.

The preform loading / unloading mechanism 15 is reciprocally movable in a horizontal direction (however, in a direction orthogonal to the direction of movement of the cooling mechanism 13), and its suction portion 15a is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown). Have been. Then, the preform 16 preheated in the preheating furnace 20 is sucked from the platen 18 by the suction unit 15a, and can be carried into the gap 8a from the preform carry-in / molded product carry-out opening 6a of the body die 6, and The molded product 31 in the gap 8a is sucked, and can be returned to the platen 18 from the preform carrying-in / mold-product carrying-out opening 6a.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a mold cleaning mechanism provided opposite to the preform carry-in / molded product carry-out mechanism 15;
The mold 9 can be cleaned by blowing a non-oxidizing gas into the inside.

 22a is an open door.

The preform supply chamber 2 has a preform
Disk-shaped stocker on which multiple 16 can be placed 23
a, and a preform supply mechanism 24 capable of taking the preform 16 from the stocker 23a and placing the preform 16 on the platen 18 of the molding chamber 1. The stocker 23a is arranged around the center of the disk. , And the preform supply mechanism 24 can swing around its fulcrum. 25a is a shirt provided between the preform supply chamber 2 and the molding chamber 1, and 22b is an air opening door.

The molded article take-out chamber 3 has a disk-shaped stocker 23b on which a plurality of molded articles 31 can be stored, and takes out the molded article 31 from the platen 18 of the molding chamber 1 and places it on the stocker 23b. And a molded product take-out mechanism 26 that can be placed, and the stocker 23b
Can be rotated around the center of the disk, and the molded product take-out mechanism 26 can swing around the fulcrum. Reference numeral 25b denotes a shutter provided between the molded product removal chamber 3 and the molding chamber 1;
Is a door open to the atmosphere.

The operation of press-molding the flanged press lens 31 by the flanged press lens forming apparatus configured as described above will be described.

First, a removable stocker 23a carrying a predetermined number of preforms 16 is installed in the preform supply chamber 2, and an empty stocker 23b for receiving molded articles is installed in the molded article removal chamber 3. Next, the air opening doors 22a, 22b, 22 of the molding chamber 1, the preform supply chamber 2, and the molded article taking-out chamber 3 will be described.
After closing c and evacuating the atmosphere tank to 10 ^-1 Torr or less,
A non-oxidizing gas (for example, N ₂ 100%) is filled to about the residual pressure (about 0.15 MPa). Each of the chambers is provided with a pipe for evacuation, air, and filling with a non-oxidizing gas, and each chamber has a function of independently performing evacuation, air, and filling with a non-oxidizing gas. .

When the gas pressure in the atmosphere tank reaches a predetermined pressure, the preform 16 has a degree of freedom of vertical movement and rotation, and is suctioned and lifted from the stocker 23a by the preform supply mechanism 24 having a vacuum suction chuck 24a at the tip, The preform 16 is rotated and moved onto the platen 18 on the conveyor 19 of the molding chamber 1, and after a predetermined distance, the vacuum suction is released and the preform 16 is set in a predetermined hole on the platen 18. Preform supply mechanism 24
Then, it rises and rotates, returns to the preform supply chamber 2, and enters a state in which the next preform 16 can be suctioned. At the same time, the stocker 23a is also at a predetermined angle (60 in this embodiment).
゜) Rotate and wait at the next preform suction position.

The preform 16 on the platen 18 is
And is preheated to a predetermined temperature in the preheating furnace 20. The preform 16 is sent to the preform carry-in standby position b, where it is separated from the platen 18 by the lift of the lifter 28 and is attracted to the vacuum suction chuck 15a of the preform carry-in / molded product carry-out mechanism 15. The lifter 28 returns to the original standby position. The preform 16 is sent by the preform loading / unloading mechanism 15 through the preform loading / unloading port 6a of the barrel die 6 and onto one of the gaps 8a of the lower die 8a. When the lower die 8 rises to a position shortly before contact with the preform 16, the vacuum suction is released at the same time, and the preform 16 is carried into one space 8a of the lower die 8. When the lower die 8 is lowered to the original position, it rotates by a predetermined angle (in the present embodiment, it is rotated by 90 ° because it has four pieces). At the same time, the suction chuck 15a of the preform carrying-in and molded-product removing mechanism 15 returns to the original standby position. Hereinafter, by the same operation, four preforms are carried into the lower die 8. In this way, when the preform 16 is supplied to the lower die 8, the lower die 8 moves up to a position immediately before the press where the preform 16 is not pressed. The heater 14 descends to a predetermined position, and heats the mold 9 and the preform 16 to a predetermined molding temperature.

When the temperature of the preform 16 rises to a predetermined temperature, the pressure rod 11 rises, and the four preforms 16 are simultaneously pressed. When press molding is completed, heater 14 turns off.
, And the heater 14 returns to the original position. Next, the cooling device 13 moves forward from the left and right, comes into contact with the mold 9, and cools the mold 9 to a predetermined temperature. Until the molded article 31 is cooled and solidified, the pressing rod remains at the pressing end position, and the pressing force is maintained.

After the mold 9 is cooled to a predetermined temperature and the molded product 31 is solidified,
The pressure rod 11 descends to open the mold. The suction chuck 15a of the preform loading / unloading mechanism 15 advances to the first molded product of the lower mold 8 through the preform loading / unloading port 6a. When the lower mold 8 rises until it comes into slight contact with the preform 16, vacuum suction works, and the molded product 31 is sucked by the vacuum suction chuck 15a. The lower die 8 descends, returns to the original position, and rotates by a predetermined angle (90 ° in this embodiment, and rotates to a position where the next molded product can be carried out). Vacuum suction chuck
In 15a, the preform 16 is returned to the platen 18 and stopped, and the vacuum suction is released and the molded product 31 is dropped on the lifter 28 which has risen to a predetermined height. The lifter 28 descends to the original position, and places the molded product 31 on the platen 18 on the way. The molded product 31 is moved by the platen 18 by the conveyor 19 and gradually cooled. Hereinafter, the molded product 31 in the lower die 8 is continuously taken out to the platen 18 on the conveyor 19 by the same operation.

When the molded product 31 reaches the position C on the conveyor 19, it is taken out by the vacuum suction chuck 26a provided in the molded product take-out mechanism 26, and the molded product 31 is dropped and stored on the stocker 23b.

When a predetermined number of molded articles 31 accumulates in the stocker 23b, the shirt 25b is closed, the excess pressure in the molded article removal chamber 3 is released to the atmosphere, and when the pressure inside and outside the room becomes the same, the atmosphere opening door 22c opens, The stocker 23b is taken out of the room, and a desired molded product 31 is obtained.

According to the embodiment described above (the embodiment of the press lens forming apparatus with a flange), the following effects can be obtained.

I. Since the mold 9 is held by the press mechanism, a molded product
Pressing force can be applied until 31 is cooled and solidified, "
A flanged press lens with excellent shape accuracy without sink marks can be obtained.

B. Since a large number of molded products can be press-molded at the same time without moving the mold 9, the size of the apparatus is reduced and the molding cycle is short.

C. Since the clearance between the body mold 6, the upper mold 7, and the lower mold 8 is small, the inclination of the upper and lower lens surfaces of the molded product 31 can be reduced.

D. Since the lens portion 31a is molded with the cavity of the mold 9 and the flange portion 31b is molded outside the cavity (that is, the method is not a completely filled system), the molded product 31 does not have burrs.

In the case of press-molding the flanged press lens 35 shown in FIG. 6 (that is, a flange having a rectangular outer shape), it is appropriate to use a cylindrical preform.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, there is no risk of damaging the lens surface during handling, and it is easy to assemble the optical system, and a large number of optical elements having excellent shape accuracy are provided. It is possible to provide a compact optical element press-forming apparatus which can be press-formed simultaneously and easily in a short molding cycle.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a flanged press lens according to a first embodiment of an optical element to which the present invention is applied;
(A) is a plan view, (b) is a side view, FIG. 2 is a partial sectional side view showing a handling state of the flanged press lens, and FIG. 3 is a flanged press lens. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a processed product obtained by finishing the outer diameter of FIG. 4, and FIG. 4 shows a state in which the processed product is assembled in a lens barrel; FIG. 4 (a) is a partial sectional side view thereof; )
FIG. 5 is a front view thereof, FIG. 5 shows a state in which a conventional press lens is incorporated in a lens barrel, (a) is a partial cross-sectional side view thereof, and (b) is a front view thereof. FIG. 6, FIG.
7A and 7B show a press lens with a flange according to a second embodiment of the optical element to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 7A is a plan view, FIG. 7B is a side view thereof, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a flanged press lens forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the optical element press forming apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 7, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB 'of FIG. 7, and FIGS. 10 to 15 show details of the vicinity of the mold in FIG. 7, and FIG. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC ′ of FIG. 12, FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the mold and the preform are being heated, and FIG. 13 is a state in which pressing force is applied to the preform to perform press molding. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the mold and the molded article are being cooled; and FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the gap in the mold is carrying out the molded article. . 1 ... molding chamber, 2 ... preform supply chamber, 3 ... molded product take-out chamber, 6 ... body mold, 6a ... preform carry-in and molded product carry-out port, 7 ... upper mold, 8 ... lower mold , 7a, 8a ……
Air gap, 9 Mold, 10 Press drive mechanism, 11 Pressure bar, 12 Pressure receiving rod, 13 Cooling mechanism, 14 Heater, 15 Preform carry-in and molded product carry-out mechanism , 16 ……
Preform, 18 ... Platen, 19 ... Conveyor, 20 ...
… Preheating furnace, 23a, 23b… Stocker, 24… Preform supply mechanism, 26… Mold removal mechanism, 31, 35… Press lens with flange, 31a, 35a… Lens part, 31b, 35b
.... Flange part.

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Asao 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside the Hitachi, Ltd. Production Research Laboratory (72) Inventor Kunio Katsuta 1410 Inada Inada, Katsuta-shi, Ibaraki Pref. Hitachi, Ltd. Inside the factory (56) References JP-A-1-145339 (JP, A) JP-A-1-215729 (JP, A) JP-A-63-192438 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A preform supply chamber, a molding chamber, and a molded product take-out chamber, wherein a glass preform is supplied from the preform supply chamber to the molding chamber, and the preform is formed in the molding chamber. An optical element press-molding apparatus which press-molds an optical element having a predetermined shape and removes the molded article into the molded article removal chamber, comprising: a lens portion forming a lens surface; and an outer periphery of the lens portion. And a flanged optical element (hereinafter, referred to as a molded product) comprising the lens portion and the integrally molded flange portion, which can be press-molded. A body die having a molded product outlet, and a mold having a shape identical to that of the lens part of the molded product when the mold is clamped and movably fitted into the body die. A mold comprising upper and lower dies, each of which is formed with a plurality of cavities which can be formed symmetrically with respect to the center axis of the mold; and A press mechanism capable of simultaneously pressurizing the preform carried into the press-forming device to press-mold a plurality of molded products, and rotating the lower die around a center axis of the trunk die; A heating mechanism that is capable of heating the preform carried into the upper mold, the lower mold, and the gap from the periphery to a predetermined molding temperature, and that is disposed so as to be relatively movable with respect to the body mold; From above, the upper and lower molds and the molded product in the gaps thereof can be cooled to a predetermined temperature, and are disposed so as to be relatively movable with respect to the body mold without interfering with the heating mechanism. Cooling mechanism and A transfer mechanism which can transfer the ohm from the preform supply chamber side to the molded article take-out chamber side, and in which a preheating furnace for preheating the preform to a predetermined temperature is provided, The preform preheated in the above can be received from the transport mechanism, and can be carried into the cavity from the barrel-shaped preform carry-in / cum-out port, and the molded product in the cavity can be taken into the pre-form carry-in port. It has a preform carry-in and molded-product unloading mechanism that can carry out the molded product from the molded product take-out port and pass it to the molded product take-out chamber side of the pre-heating furnace of the carry-out mechanism, and the preform supply chamber has A preform can be stored in the stocker, and the preform is received from the stocker, and the preform is heated by the transport mechanism in the molding chamber. And a preform supply mechanism capable of supplying the preform supply chamber to the preform supply chamber side, wherein the molded product removal chamber takes out a molded product from a stocker capable of storing the molded product and a transfer mechanism of the molding chamber. Which has a molded product take-out mechanism that can be transferred to the stocker, between the preform supply chamber and the molded room, and between the molded room and the molded product take-out chamber, respectively. A press forming apparatus for an optical element, comprising a shutter for independently maintaining an atmosphere of each chamber.