JP2004341474A - Method for manufacturing optical component, material for optical component, and optical component - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing an optical component by which the service life of a mold is prolonged, a lens free from distortion or optically undesired peculiarity is produced and the optical component is accurately and easily assembled into a device body, and to provide a material for optical component. <P>SOLUTION: A member for successively setting lenses 26 where many successively provided holes 27 are formed previously is placed on a lower pressing mold 28, and lens material 25 is set in the holes 27, respectively. A lens lower surface mold 28-1 and a lens upper surface mold 29-1 having an effective diameter smaller than the diameter m of the hole 27 are respectively formed on the lower pressing mold 28 and an upper pressing mold 29. The lens is molded with pressing load nearly equal to the pressure for pressing the material 25 by the upper and lower molds. By using different material for the materials 25 and the member 26, respectively, the optical noise of the lens is restrained. By using metal for the member 26, soldering is facilitated in the case of assembling the lens in the device body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an optical component, a material used for the method, or an optical component manufactured by the method. Here, the optical component is, for example, a lens component or a lens array.

  Conventionally, as a method of manufacturing a lens having a relatively small diameter of, for example, 2 mm or less, a lens is molded by pressing a single optical material whose diffusion to the surroundings is restricted by an upper mold and a lower mold with a barrel mold. Later, there has been known a lens manufacturing method in which the upper mold is removed and the completed lens is taken out by a suction tool.

  However, this method is disadvantageous in that the suction tool cannot operate properly when the inside diameter of the body die is extremely small, for example, 3 mm or less, and it is difficult to take out the body out of the body die even if suction is possible. For this reason, a lens manufacturing method has been devised in which lenses are connected and molded at one time.

  FIG. 11A is a diagram showing an example of a lens manufacturing method in which a large number of lenses are formed at a time by arranging the lenses in a row, and FIG. It is a top view which shows a lens array (lens array). In this lens manufacturing method, as shown in FIG. 1A, a flat optical material 3 whose periphery is regulated by a barrel mold 1 and placed on a lower mold 2 is pressed by an upper mold 4. Then, the plurality of lenses 5 are formed at one time.

  As shown in FIG. 11 (b), the lens assembly 6 including the plurality of lenses 5 thus completed and the original optical material 3 having no lens portion has a large overall size. It can be easily taken out of the body mold. Thereafter, the lenses 5 are cut off individually and used individually. In this lens manufacturing method, a plurality of lenses can be molded at one time, so that production efficiency is improved (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  FIGS. 12 (a) to 12 (d) are views showing an example in which a plurality of pairs of combined lenses are individually molded at a time to improve production efficiency, although the method is slightly different from the above. FIG. 3A shows a state in which a plurality of lenses on the upper and lower two combined lenses are formed at a time, and a body mold 7 and a mold surface integrated with the body mold 7 have a flat lower mold 8. And an optical material 9 accommodated in a mold formed by the above, and an upper mold 13 including an upper lens mold 11 and an upper lens mold support member 12. The upper mold 13 presses the optical material 9 from above, and the upper lens 14 is formed by the lens upper mold 11.

FIG. 2B shows a lens assembly 15 including the plurality of upper lenses 14 completed as described above and the original optical material 9 having no lens portion.
FIG. 3C shows a state in which a plurality of lenses below the upper and lower two combined lenses are molded at one time. The body mold 16, a lens lower mold support member 17 integrated with the body mold 16, and A lower mold 19 composed of a plurality of lens lower molds 18 supported by a lens lower mold support member 17, an optical material 20 housed in a mold formed by these, and an upper mold 21 having a flat mold surface. Is shown. The upper mold 21 presses the optical material 20 from above, and the lower lens 22 is formed by the lens lower mold 18.

FIG. 4D shows a lens assembly 23 including the plurality of lower lenses 14 completed as described above and the original optical material 20 having no lens portion. The upper lens 14 and the lower lens 22 described above are individually combined by a flat portion to form a combined lens (for example, see Patent Document 2).
JP-A-2002-265226 (abstract, FIG. 3) JP-A-2002-243912 (paragraphs 0042 to 0045, FIGS. 3 and 4)

  By the way, in each of the above-mentioned lens assembly manufacturing methods, the lens portion and the non-lens portion are formed of the same optical material. At this time, if the thickness of the non-lens portion is to be reduced, the forming load of the pressing die that presses the entire surface from above and below becomes large, so that the life of the pressing die is short, and the frequency of replacement with a new pressing die is high. There was a problem that it was not economical. Furthermore, there is also a problem that the non-lens portion is broken, and it has been desired to solve these problems.

  In addition, in the lens individually cut out from the lens assembly, the central part forming the optical function surface and the non-optical function part around it are made of the same optical material such as glass and resin, so that physical distortion and optical It is easy to cause a habit that causes a malfunction. There has been a demand for a method of manufacturing a lens in which the physical distortion and the optically unusual habit are suppressed and the quality of the lens such as shape and accuracy is stabilized.

In addition, since these lenses are extremely small, there is a problem that a high-level technology for accurately assembling them into, for example, a CCD device or the like is required. Then, a method of easily and accurately incorporating the components by, for example, soldering has been sought.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, an object of the present invention is to prolong the life of a press die, eliminate the habit of causing a molded lens to be physically distorted or optically defective, and provide a highly accurate main body device. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing an optical component which can be easily incorporated, or a material therefor. Further, by manufacturing by this manufacturing method, it is possible to provide an optical component that can be easily handled even if the optical component has a small outer peripheral portion thickness (so-called edge thickness).

  First, the method for manufacturing a lens array according to the first aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for manufacturing a lens array other than a first material which is a surface including at least an optically functional surface after molding a lens array, And a second material, which is the surface of the first material, is molded to obtain a lens array in which the first material and the second material are integrated.

The first material and the second material may be, for example, the same material.
Further, the second material may be a light-shielding material, for example. In this case, it is preferable that the light-shielding material is made of, for example, metal, cermet, or ceramic.

  Next, the material for a lens array according to the fifth aspect of the present invention includes a first material which is a surface including at least an optically functional surface after molding the lens array, and a surface including at least an optically functional surface after molding the lens array. A lens array material used in a lens array manufacturing method for obtaining a lens array in which the first material and the second material are integrated by molding using a second material that is a surface other than the first material. The second material has a continuous hole into which the first material fits.

  The connecting hole is configured to have a diameter larger than the diameter of the lens forming function surface of the upper and lower pressing dies of the lens array forming die, for example, as described in claim 6. For example, as described in claim 8, the diameter of the upper and lower openings and the diameter of the inner wall are different from each other, and the inner wall surface has at least Ra0. It is formed with a roughness of 01 microns or more.

  Further, the second material has a positioning portion for positioning the upper and lower press dies when the second material is accommodated in the upper and lower press dies, for example, as described in claim 10. As described in the eleventh aspect, the through-hole is provided at at least two places, and for example, as in the twelfth aspect, the peripheral cutout is provided at at least one place.

  Next, the lens array according to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention is a lens array other than a first material that becomes a surface including at least an optically functional surface after molding the lens array, and a surface that includes at least an optically functional surface after molding the lens array. A lens array obtained by molding using a second material to be the surface of the lens, wherein the first material and the second material are integrated, and the second material is It is provided with a continuous hole into which one material is fitted.

Here, the first material and the second material are, for example, as described in claim 14, the first material is fused to the inner wall surface of the continuous hole provided in the second material. It is integrated by the thing.
Here, the continuous hole has a diameter larger than the diameter of the lens forming functional surfaces of the upper and lower pressing dies of the lens array forming die, for example.

Here, for example, the thickness of the portion of the first material fused to the inner wall surface of the second material may be 0.3 mm or less.
Next, in the method for manufacturing a lens component according to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, the first material after molding has a surface including at least the optical function surface, and the molding has a surface other than the surface including at least the optical function surface By molding using the second material, a lens component in which the first material and the second material are integrated is obtained.

  Next, the lens material of the invention according to claim 18 is a first material that has at least an optical function surface after molding, and a second material that has a surface other than at least the optical function surface after molding. A lens material used in a method of manufacturing a lens component by molding using a material to obtain a lens component in which the first material and the second material are integrated, wherein the second material is And a hole into which the first material is fitted.

  Next, the lens material according to the nineteenth aspect of the present invention is a lens material comprising a first material having at least an optical function surface after molding, and a second material having a surface other than at least the optical function surface after molding. A lens component obtained by molding using the material, wherein the first material and the second material are integrated, wherein the second material has a hole into which the first material is fitted. Unit.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the molding load of the upper and lower pressing dies can be reduced, soldering at the time of assembling to the main body device can be facilitated, and problems such as distortion generated in the lens can be suppressed, and The optical disturbance in the optical system can be suppressed, and the lens material and the die can be accurately positioned with a simple configuration. This enables the production of lenses with stable quality such as shape accuracy when mass-producing small lenses. It becomes possible.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C are diagrams showing a lens array manufacturing method according to an embodiment. First, as shown in FIG. 11A, this method of manufacturing a lens array includes at least a lens array (having the same form as the conventional lens assembly 6 shown in FIG. 11B) after molding. Molding is performed using a first material 25 serving as a surface including the optical function surface and a second material 26 serving as a surface other than at least the surface including the optical function surface after the lens array is formed.

  The first material 25 is placed in a continuous hole 27 (in the example shown in the figure, it is clearly shown as nine) for connecting a plurality of lenses formed in the second material 26. In the fitted state, as shown in FIG. 4B, the lens is placed on the lower pressing die 28 of the lens array forming die together with the second material 26. FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ in FIG.

  In this state, the first material 25 can be deformed to a higher temperature than the glass transition point, and the upper pressing die 29 of the lens array mold is brought into contact with the surface of the second material 26 from above at an appropriate high temperature. It descends as shown by arrow B in (b). As a result, the first material 25 is pressed by the lens lower surface mold 28-1 as the lens molding function surface of the lower pressing mold 28 and the lens upper surface mold 29-1 as the lens molding function surface of the upper pressing mold 29, and the lens lower surface mold 28 is pressed. -1 and the lens upper mold 29-1 are formed into a shape according to the lens array 30 as a whole as shown in FIG. Since the entire size of the lens array 30 is large, the lens array 30 can be easily taken out of the mold after removing the upper pressing mold 29 in FIG.

  In the lens array 30, as shown in FIG. 3C, a first material 25 as a lens function member is fused to a continuous hole 27 of a second material 26 as a lens continuous member, and And a large number of lenses 31 (in this example, nine as shown in FIG. 7A) composed of the first material 25 integrated with the second material 26. Is established.

  The dimension of the optically functional surface (the surface that effectively functions as a lens) 31-1 of the lens 31 is, as shown in FIG. 3C, the effective diameter m of the continuous hole 27 of the second material 26 (this effective diameter m). (The diameter m will be described later in detail). As described above, the first material 25 forms a surface including at least the optical function surface 31-1 after the molding of the lens array 30. On the other hand, the second material 26 forms a surface other than the surface including at least the optical function surface 31-1. Thereafter, each lens 31 is individually cut off.

  As described above, the lens material 30 is formed by fusing the first material 25 as the lens functional member to the inner wall of the continuous hole 27 of the second material 26 as the lens connecting member. The thickness of the portion of the second material 26 of the second material 26 fused to the inner wall of the continuous hole 27 (the thickness of the lens 31 on the outer peripheral portion of the optical function surface 31-1 in FIG. 1C) is 0.3 mm or less. Even with a small thickness, it can be formed while preventing burrs and chips.

Although not shown in the figure, when forming the continuous holes 27 in the second material 26, a grid-like scribe line for cutting is formed in advance so that each lens 31 can be easily separated individually. Alternatively, the continuous holes 27 may be formed in each lattice.
Also, in FIGS. 1B and 1C, both the upper and lower lens pressing molds are shown as molds in which the lens is formed as a convex surface. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The other may be for the concave surface of the lens, and the upper and lower sides may be of a type that forms the concave surface of the lens.

  FIG. 2 is a chart showing a combination of the first material 25 and the second material 26 used for molding the lens array 30. The chart shown in the figure shows the first material 25 and the first material 25 that were variously tested in the trial and error test performed by the present inventor until the practical lens array 30 was formed as described above. 2 shows the results of examining the state of fusion between the first material 25 and the second material 26 after the molding was performed 500 times for each combination with the second material 26.

  The chart in the figure includes, from left to right, a second material column 32 which is a surface other than the surface including the optical functional surface, a first material column 33 which is a surface including the optical functional surface, a result column 34, and an evaluation. Column 35. Then, as shown on the left end of the table, a molding test was performed using ten types of combinations of the first material 25 and the second material 26.

  The combination of the first raw material 25 and the second raw material 26 is a combination of quartz glass (linear expansion coefficient 5 × 10 ＾ -6) and glass A (linear expansion coefficient 9 × 10 ＾ -6) shown in the second material column 32. ), Glass B (coefficient of linear expansion 10.4 × 10 6), stainless steel (coefficient of linear expansion 16 × 10 6), and carbon steel (coefficient of linear expansion 12 × 10 6). As shown in the first material column 33, the above glass A (coefficient of linear expansion: 9 × 10 ＾ −6) is uniformly combined with the second material to the sixth second material. .

  As a seventh combination, a mixed material of TiC and TiN (linear expansion coefficient 7.8 × 10 × −6) as a second material, and glass C (linear expansion coefficient 11 × 10 × −6) as a first material ) Is used. From the eighth to the tenth, WC (linear expansion coefficient: 6.4.times.10@-6), SiC (linear expansion coefficient: 4.0.times.10@-6), and ZrO2 (linear expansion coefficient) For the rate of 9.5 × 10 素材 −6), glass A is combined again as the first material.

  With respect to these combinations, as shown in the result column 34, except for the fifth combination, in the molding with other combinations, as shown in FIG. The material 26 was all fused in the 500 molding tests. In the fifth combination, among the 500 molding tests, the fusion of the first material 25 and the second material 26 was recognized in the 80 molding tests, and in the remaining 420 molding tests, the fusion was performed. Was not found.

  That is, as shown in the evaluation column 35, all of the combinations other than the fifth combination are evaluated as "O" and passed, and only the fifth combination is evaluated as "X" and rejected. ing. This is because carbon steel (coefficient of linear expansion: 12 × 10 ＾ −6), which is the second material in the rejected fifth combination, does not easily fuse with the glass material due to the high carbon content. It seems to be.

  To summarize the above, when the first material 25 is glass, the second material 26 may be the same glass material as the first material 25, or may be a metal such as stainless steel or copper. A mixed material of TiC and TiN or a cermet (abbreviation of ceramic metal) like WC (a sintered composite material in which an oxide, carbide, nitride, boride, silicide, or the like is dispersed in a metal ground) may be used. It was also found that ceramics (a general term for non-metallic inorganic materials obtained through processes such as molding and firing) such as SiC and ZrO2 may be used.

  When the second material 26 is made of metal, when the individually separated lenses 31 are assembled to the CCD device body or the like, the lens 31 is connected to the metal housing of the CCD device body via the surrounding second material 26. This makes it easy to assemble the lens 31 to the main body of the CCD device, thereby providing an advantage that the work efficiency in the assembling process is improved.

  The above-mentioned metal, cermet, or ceramics is a light non-transmissive (light-shielding) material. When such a light-shielding material is used as the second material 26, the light from the periphery of the lens 31 is removed. Since the noise light is blocked, there is obtained an advantage that the optical function of the lens 31 is improved.

In the above example, although different types of materials are included as the first material 25, glass materials are all used. However, the first material 25 is not limited to a glass material, but may be a resin material as long as it can exhibit a lens function.
FIG. 3 is a table showing a combination of a first material 25 and a second material 26 made of a resin material that can be used for molding the lens array 30 described above. The chart shown in the figure also shows that the first material 25 and the first material 25 made of various resin materials were tested in a trial and error test conducted by the inventor before the practical lens array 30 was molded. 2 shows the results of examining the state of fusion between the first material 25 and the second material 26 after the molding was performed 500 times for each combination with the second material 26.

  Also in the table of FIG. 12, from left to right, a second material column 36 which is a surface other than the surface including the optical function surface, a first material column 37 which is a surface including the optical function surface, a result column 38, and an evaluation Column 39. Although the table shows the combination of the first material 25 and the second material 26 in two lines, the combination is not limited to two types.

  For example, in the combination of the first row, the second material column 36 shows three types of resins, ABS, polycarbonate, and delrin, and the first material column 37 shows a cyclic olefin polymer, polycarbonate, acrylic, And styrene methacrylic resin copolymers. This indicates that these three types of resins and four types of resins may be appropriately selected and combined. That is, 4 × 3 = 12 combinations of the first material 25 and the second material 26 can be obtained from each material in the first row of the chart.

  Similarly, in the combination of the second row, the second material column 36 shows four kinds of resins of a cyclic olefin polymer, polycarbonate, acrylic, and styrene methacrylic resin copolymer, and the first material Column 37 shows four kinds of resins of the cyclic olefin-based polymer, polycarbonate, acrylic, and styrene methacrylic resin copolymer as described above. This indicates that these four types of resins and four types of resins may be appropriately selected and combined. That is, 4 × 4 = 16 types of combinations are obtained as combinations of the first material 25 and the second material 26 from each material in the second row of the chart.

  In any case, as shown in the result column 38, the first material 25 and the second material are used in all combinations of the twelve combinations shown in the first row and the sixteen combinations shown in the second row. The result that the material 26 was fused well was obtained, and as shown in the evaluation column 39, the evaluation was "O" and all passed.

  By the way, as described above, the second material 26 has a large number of continuous holes 27 as a lens continuous member in its configuration. A special relationship is set between the diameter of the continuous hole 27 and the diameter of the lens lower surface mold 28-1 and the lens upper surface mold 29-1 as the lens forming function surfaces of the upper and lower pressing molds of the lens array mold. Have been.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between the diameter of the continuous hole 27 of the second material 26 and the diameter of the lens forming function surface of the upper and lower pressing dies of the lens array forming die. As shown in the drawing, the diameter m of the continuous hole 27 is the diameter n1 of the lens upper mold 29-1 as the lens molding function surface of the upper pressing mold 29 of the lens array molding die and the lens molding function surface of the lower pressing mold 28. Is formed to be larger than the diameter n2 of the lens lower surface mold 28-1.

  Thereby, the optical function surface 31-1 of the lens 31 formed in the lens array 30 shown in FIG. 1C is always formed smaller than the optically effective size of the continuous hole 27 of the second material 26. . Therefore, there is no possibility that the optical function of the optical function surface 31-1 of the lens 31 is hindered by the second material 26.

  By the way, in the above-described example, the continuous hole 27 of the second material 26 is formed in a cylindrical shape. If the continuous hole 27 is cylindrical in this manner, the molded lens 31 may fall out of the continuous hole 27 if the fusion is not sufficient. In particular, when the second material 26 is a material other than a glass material, it is tested that if the inner wall surface of the continuous hole 27 is smooth, the fusion is not sufficiently performed and the tendency of the lens to fall off becomes strong. Has been known from experience.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the roughness of the inner wall surface of the continuous hole 27 of the second material 26 and the degree of fusion of the first material 25. The table shows, from left to right, a roughness column 41 of the inner wall surface of the continuous hole, a column 42 of the number of times of the forming test, and a result column 43. The number of repetitions of the molding test shown in the column 42 of the number of repetitions of the molding test is 500 times.

  In the roughness column 41 of the inner wall surface of the continuous hole shown in the figure, the roughness of the inner wall surface of the continuous hole 27 is Ra0.005 μm, Ra0.008 μm, Ra0.01 μm, and Ra0. 015 μm, which indicates that the roughness gradually increases at appropriate intervals. The result of repeating the fusion test with the specific first material 25 500 times for each of the continuous holes 27 in which the inner wall surface is formed with such a roughness is shown in a result column 43. I have.

  As shown in the result column 43, in the case of the roughness of Ra 0.005 μm, 420 pieces were not fused in the 500 fusion tests, and in the case of the roughness of Ra 0.008 μm, 160 times and Ra0. With a roughness of 01 μm, all were fused in 500 fusion tests, and with a roughness of Ra 0.015 μm, all were similarly fused.

That is, it has been found that the inner wall surface of the continuous hole 27 is desirably formed with a roughness of at least Ra 0.01 micron.
In addition to the roughness of the inner wall surface of the continuous hole 27, the shape of the inner wall surface of the continuous hole 27 is related to the quality of the first material 25.

  6A to 6E are side sectional views showing various shapes of the inner wall surface of the continuous hole 27. 6 (a) to 6 (e) indicate the first material 25, and the round shapes shown by broken lines in FIG. 6 (e) indicate that the lower mold surface on which the second material 26 is placed is a flat surface. The positional relationship between the continuous holes 27 (27a to 27e) and the first material 25 when assumed is shown for reference.

6 (a) to 6 (e), FIG. 6 (a) shows the continuous hole 27a having the above-mentioned cylindrical inner wall surface, and the inner wall surface has a roughness of at least Ra 0.01 μm or more. Is formed.
6 (b) to 6 (d) show shapes that can satisfactorily fuse the first material 25 regardless of the roughness of the inner wall surface. In FIGS. 7B to 7D, the continuous holes 27 (27b to 27d) are formed so that the diameter of the upper and lower openings and the diameter of the inner wall are different.

  That is, in FIG. 3B, the diameter of the inner wall is larger than the diameter of the upper and lower openings, and the cross section of the continuous hole 27b is cut so that the inner wall has a corner. FIG. 3C also shows an example in which the diameter of the inner wall is larger than the diameter of the upper and lower openings. In this case, the cross-section of the continuous hole 27c is formed by cutting the inner wall into an arc shape. I have.

FIG. 3D shows an example in which the diameter of the inner wall is smaller than the diameter of the upper and lower openings, and the cross-section of the continuous hole 27d is such that the inner wall forms a corner and protrudes.
FIG. 11E also shows an example in which the diameter of the inner wall is smaller than the diameter of the upper and lower openings. In this example, a step of Ra 0.01 μm or more is formed on the inner wall by a coarse notch. Then, an example in which the inner wall surface is further roughened is shown. 6B to 6D, the inner wall surface may of course be roughened as described above.

  In the shape of the continuous holes 27 (27a to 27e) shown in FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (e), a cylindrical one like the continuous holes 27a and a vertical opening like the continuous holes 27b and 27c. If the diameter of the inner wall is larger than the diameter of the inner wall, the diameter of the upper and lower openings becomes the optical effective diameter for the lens, and the diameter of the upper and lower openings is the diameter of the inner wall as in the continuous holes 27d and 27e. If it is larger, the diameter of the inner wall becomes the optically effective diameter for the lens.

  By the way, when the lens material (first material) and the lens continuous material (second material) are formed by the upper and lower pressing dies as described above, the lens material is formed by the upper and lower pressing dies and the lens. If the position does not correspond exactly to the lower mold surface, the correct lens cannot be formed. In general, since the mutual positions of the upper and lower pressing dies are determined by the body die (not shown in FIG. 1), there is no problem. Therefore, the lens continuous material accommodated in the upper and lower pressing dies and placed on the lower die is lowered. When the lens material is positioned with respect to the mold, the lens material is consequently positioned with the upper and lower pressing dies.

  FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a configuration example for positioning the lens continuous material (second material) with respect to the down-pressing die in association with the down-pressing die, and FIG. It is a figure showing a state. As shown in FIG. 2A, a positioning hole 44 for positioning the lower press die 28 is provided at at least two places in the second material 26 separately from the continuous hole 27.

  These positioning holes 44 are externally fitted and positioned on columnar positioning projections 45 provided on the lower press die 28, respectively, as shown in FIG. By this positioning, the continuous hole 27 of the second material 26 correctly corresponds to the lens lower die surface 28-1 of the lower press die 28 shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 3B, the lens material (first material) inserted into the continuous hole 27 correctly corresponds to the lens lower mold surface 28-1. Of course, this allows the lens material (first material) to be correctly positioned on the lens upper surface mold 29-1 of the upper pressing mold 29 shown in FIG. Corresponding.

  The positioning hole 44 is formed as a through hole in the example shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, but need not be limited to the through hole since the positioning may be performed with the lower press die. For example, a concave portion or a groove formed on the lower surface of the second material may be used, and in that case, a convex portion or a strip-shaped protrusion that engages with the concave portion or the groove may be formed on the lower die side. .

Alternatively, the projections may be formed on the lower surface of the second material with the concavities and convexities reversed, and the recesses engaged with the projections may be formed in a lower press die. Even with this, the same result can be obtained as positioning.
Further, the positioning portions formed on the second material are not limited to the positioning holes, concave portions, grooves, convex portions, protrusions, and the like provided in at least two places as described above. The positioning portion can also be formed by cutting out any one place around the second material.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another configuration example for positioning the lens continuous material (second material) with respect to the lower press die in association with the lower press die. As shown in the figure, a part of the periphery of the second raw material 26 is formed with a notch 26-1 in which the periphery on the circular arc is cut out linearly. The material placement surface of the lower stamping die 28 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the periphery of the second material 26 immediately, that is, the arc-shaped step portion 28-2 and the linear step portion 28-3 connected to the arc-shaped step portion 28-2. Are formed with steps.

  When the second material 26 is placed on the material placing surface of the lower press die 28 formed with a step downward from the periphery, the notch 26-1 of the second material 26 is It is placed so as to coincide with the linear step portion 28-3. Thereby, the second material 26 is positioned with respect to the material placing surface of the lower press die 28.

  In the above example, the cutout portion 26-1 of the second material 26 is a linear cutout portion. However, the cutout portion 26-1 is not limited to this, and may be a square cutout or a semicircular cutout. good. In short, the circular periphery of the second material 26 may be cut out into a shape other than the surrounding circular arc, and a step corresponding to the cutout may be provided on the lower press die side.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 9 will be described. The lens component of the present embodiment is similar to that obtained by the manufacturing method shown in FIG. 1 as a result. However, the lens component of the present embodiment is not obtained by cutting the lens array. That is, this is one in which one lens and one holding member are prepared, and a lens component is manufactured therefrom.

The lens component 50 includes a first material 51 and a second material 52. The second material 52 has an opening at the center. The lens component 50 is formed integrally with the first material 51 on the inner surface of the opening.
The molding of the lens component 50 is performed as shown in FIG. That is, the second material 52 is arranged on the lower pressing die 53, and the first material 51 is arranged in the opening of the second material 52. Here, heating is performed to a temperature at which the first material 52 can be deformed, and when the first material 51 is softened, the upper pressing mold 54 is lowered. Thus, the lens surface is formed by being sandwiched between the two molds from above and below.

  As described above, since the first material 51 and the second material 52 are different from each other, if a material having good adsorbability is used as the second material 52, for example, the handling of the lens component 50 becomes easy. Alternatively, if a metal such as iron or nickel is used as the second material 52, the lens component 50 can be held by the magnetic force of a magnet or the like, so that the handling becomes easy.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

(A), (b), (c) is a figure which shows the lens array manufacturing method in one Embodiment. 4 is a table showing a combination of a first material made of glass and a second material made of another material used for molding a lens array. 4 is a chart showing a combination of a first material and a second material made of a resin material that can be used for molding a lens array. It is a figure showing the relation between the diameter of the continuous hole of the 2nd material, and the diameter of the lens forming functional surface of the upper and lower press dies of the lens array mold. It is a figure showing the relation between the roughness of the inner wall surface of the continuous hole of the 2nd material, and the fusion degree of the 1st material. (A)-(e) is sectional side view which shows various shapes of the inner wall surface of a continuous installation hole. (A) is a figure which shows the structural example for positioning a lens continuous raw material (2nd raw material) with respect to a lower press type | mold in association with a lower press type | mold, and (b) is a figure which shows the operation state. It is a figure which shows the other example of a structure for positioning a lens continuous raw material (2nd raw material) with respect to a lower press type | mold in association with a lower press type. It is a figure showing the structure of the lens component which is another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a method for manufacturing the lens component illustrated in FIG. 9. (A) is a figure which shows an example of the manufacturing method of the conventional lens array (lens array), (b) is a top view which shows the lens array formed and completed. (A)-(d) is a figure which shows the example which raises a production efficiency by shape | molding a pair of combination lenses individually as a lens array.

Explanation of reference numerals

1 body type
2 lower mold
3 Optical materials
4 Upper type
5 lens
6 lens assembly
7 Body type
8 Lower mold
Reference Signs List 9 optical material 11 upper lens mold 12 upper lens support member 13 upper lens 14 upper lens 15 lens assembly 16 trunk mold 17 lower lens support member 18 lower lens 19 lower mold 20 optical material 21 upper mold 22 lower lens 23 Lens Assembly 25 First Material 26 Second Material 26-1 Peripheral Notch 27, 27a-27e Continuous Hole 29 Upper Pressing Type 29-1 Lens Upper Type 28 Lower Pressing Type 28-1 Lens Lower Type 28-2 Arc-shaped step portion 28-3 Linear step portion 30 Lens array 31 Lens 31-1 Optical function surface 32, 36 Second material column 33, 37 First material column 34, 38 Result column 35, 39 Evaluation column 41 Roughness column of the inner wall surface of the hole 42 Repetition number column of molding test 43 Result column 44 Positioning hole 45 Positioning protrusion 50 Lens component 51 First material 52 Second Material 53 under press die 54 on the press die

Claims (19)

A first material that becomes a surface including at least the optically functional surface after molding the lens array;
A second material that becomes a surface other than the surface including at least the optically functional surface after molding the lens array,
A lens array manufacturing method for obtaining a lens array in which the first material and the second material are integrated with each other by using a molding method.   2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first material and the second material are made of the same material.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the second material is a light-shielding material.   4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the light-shielding material is a metal, a cermet, or a ceramic. Molding is performed using a first material that is a surface including at least the optical function surface after molding the lens array, and a second material that is a surface other than the surface including at least the optical function surface after molding the lens array. And a lens array material used in a lens array manufacturing method for obtaining a lens array in which the first material and the second material are integrated,
A material for a lens array, wherein the second material has a continuous hole into which the first material is fitted.   6. The lens array material according to claim 5, wherein the continuous hole has a diameter larger than a diameter of a lens forming function surface of an upper and lower pressing die of the lens array forming die.   The lens array material according to claim 5, wherein the continuous hole has a cylindrical shape.   7. The lens array material according to claim 5, wherein the continuous holes are formed so that the diameter of the upper and lower openings and the diameter of the inner wall are different.   9. The lens array material according to claim 7, wherein the continuous hole has an inner wall surface with a roughness of at least Ra 0.01 μm or more. 10.   The lens array material according to claim 5, wherein the second material includes a positioning portion for positioning the upper and lower press dies when the second material is accommodated in the upper and lower press dies.   The lens array material according to claim 10, wherein the positioning portion is a through hole provided at least at two places.   The lens array material according to claim 10, wherein the positioning portion is a peripheral cutout portion provided at at least one place. Molding is performed using a first material that is a surface including at least the optical function surface after molding the lens array, and a second material that is a surface other than the surface including at least the optical function surface after molding the lens array. A lens array obtained by integrating the first material and the second material,
The said 2nd raw material is provided with the continuous hole which the said 1st raw material fits, The lens array characterized by the above-mentioned.   The first material and the second material are integrated by fusing the first material to an inner wall surface of a continuous hole provided in the second material. The lens array according to claim 13.   15. The lens array according to claim 14, wherein the continuous hole has a diameter larger than a diameter of a lens forming function surface of upper and lower pressing dies of the lens array forming die.   16. The lens array according to claim 15, wherein a thickness of a fusion portion of the first material with the inner wall surface of the second material is 0.3 mm or less. A first material that becomes a surface including at least an optical function surface after molding;
A second material that becomes a surface other than the surface including at least the optical function surface after molding;
Molded using
A method of manufacturing a lens component for obtaining a lens component in which the first material and the second material are integrated. A first material that becomes a surface including at least an optical function surface after molding;
A second material that becomes a surface other than the surface including at least the optical function surface after molding;
Molded using
A lens material used in a method of manufacturing a lens component for obtaining a lens component in which the first material and the second material are integrated,
A lens material, wherein the second material has a hole into which the first material is fitted. A first material that becomes a surface including at least an optical function surface after molding;
A second material that becomes a surface other than the surface including at least the optical function surface after molding;
A lens component obtained by molding using the first material and the second material, wherein:
The said 2nd raw material is provided with the hole which the said 1st raw material fits, The lens component characterized by the above-mentioned.

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