JP2006131288A - Optical element storage case - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To hold all optical elements stored in a case stably and fixedly without adhesive action, etc. for preventing the generation of a foreign substance, etc. <P>SOLUTION: A tray 10 is formed horizontally and vertically with element storage parts 11 where works 1 are mounted in a standing state, protruding from the upper face part 10a of the tray 10. A resin sheet cover member 13 covers wholly the opened upper face part 10a to be inserted in a vacuum pack 14. By making the inside of the pack 14 in a vacuum condition, the works 1 are held and fixed between the bottom face of the tray 10 and the cover member 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a case for accommodating, for example, an optical element having an optical function such as a lens, an optical filter, a dichroic function, a phase difference function, or a function as a diffraction grating, particularly an optical element having a rectangular thin glass substrate. Is.

  As an optical element, for example, an optical filter is formed by forming a filter film on the surface of a thin glass plate by means such as vacuum deposition, but when incorporated into a predetermined optical device, a small chip state such as several cm square or less. It is generally incorporated as Therefore, when manufacturing an optical filter, a film is usually formed on the surface in a large glass state, and then cut to a required size. The optical elements such as the optical filter formed in this way are stored in a predetermined case, and are shipped in a state of being accommodated in the case.

  As described above, the packaging case for accommodating the optical elements is composed of the tray-like case main body and the lid for accommodating the optical elements, respectively, so that the optical elements can be easily attached to and detached from the case. Also, from the viewpoint of protecting the accommodated optical element, the optical element is usually accommodated while standing on the case body. For this purpose, a large number of element receiving portions each having a groove for accommodating the optical element in the case main body are formed vertically and horizontally, and the depth dimension of the groove is the same as or smaller than the height dimension of the optical element. If the upper end of the optical element protrudes from the case body when the optical element is accommodated in the element accommodating portion, the right and left sides of the optical element are gripped without touching the effective surface of the optical element. Thus, it can be accommodated in the element accommodating portion or taken out from the element accommodating portion. By attaching a lid to the case body containing a large number of optical elements in this way, and fixing the peripheral edges of the case body and the lid body with an adhesive tape or the like in a simple manner, These optical elements are packed in a state of being completely housed in the case.

  By the way, in order to allow the optical element to be easily attached to and detached from the case, the optical element is accommodated in an element accommodating portion formed of a groove having a width slightly larger than the thickness of the optical element with some allowance. Accordingly, the optical element can move in the direction along the groove within a limited range within the case. For this reason, the optical element will vibrate in the element accommodating portion when the case is transported, etc., and as a result, the optical element slides between the optical element and the inner surface of the case. Wear powder, broken pieces, etc. will be generated. In particular, as described above, when an optical element is formed by cutting glass, if the optical element after cutting is not subjected to a treatment such as polishing, a large amount of wear powder and broken pieces are generated. Become. If foreign matter such as abrasion powder or broken pieces generated in this way adheres to the effective surface of the optical element, the optical function is deteriorated. Therefore, if foreign matter adheres to the effective surface of the optical element, the contaminated material must be removed by cleaning. If the cut optical element is processed so as to have a smooth arcuate shape by polishing its end face, the generation of the above-mentioned wear powder and broken pieces can be suppressed to a considerable degree.

  However, as described above, cleaning is necessary to remove foreign matter adhering to the optical element, and end face processing is performed to suppress generation of wear powder, which is a problem of cost increase. Etc. are not preferable.

In consideration of the above points, various methods for fixing the optical element so as not to move after the optical element is accommodated in the case have been proposed. As one of the proposals, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an adhesive tape is attached to the bottom of the groove, and when the optical element is accommodated, its lower end is fixed to the adhesive tape. is there. As another proposal, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, the case main bodies are stacked and the upper and lower optical elements are clamped between the upper and lower case main bodies (and the lid).
JP 2002-59989 A JP 2003-200991 A

  However, as in Patent Document 1, when the optical element is fastened to the adhesive tape, not only is it difficult to take out from the case, but the adhesive remains attached to the end of the removed optical element. If it is assembled to an optical device without removing the adhesive, there is a concern that an adverse effect such as a handling error of the optical element may occur. In addition, when the thickness of the optical element is extremely thin, there is a problem that fixing and stability are not always sufficient only by fixing only one end surface of the optical element to the adhesive tape. On the other hand, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, if the optical component is clamped from above and below, its fixing property and stability can be obtained. However, the dimensional accuracy of the optical component is usually not adjusted very strictly, and processing errors Etc. have occurred. Therefore, due to the variation in the size of the optical element, the clamping force can be applied only to the largest optical component of the optical element, and sufficient clamping force cannot be applied to other parts. There is also a problem that the clamping force is hardly applied to the smallest one and the like, and the occurrence of vibration during transportation cannot be completely prevented. That is, the countermeasures proposed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above cannot always be sufficient.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its object is to fix all optical elements accommodated in the case in an extremely stable state without acting adhesive force or the like. And holding so that foreign matter or the like does not adhere to the workpiece.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the first invention is a non-covered tray in which a predetermined number of element accommodating portions for accommodating a thin plate-shaped optical element in an upright state are formed vertically, and a vacuum pack for accommodating the tray. And a flexible protective sheet mounted inside the vacuum pack. The tray containing the optical elements is covered with a protective sheet so that the optical elements are covered with the protective sheet. The inside is in a vacuum state, and the configuration is such that each optical element is fixedly held by clamping the upper and lower end faces of each optical element between the bottom surface of the tray and the protective sheet. It is the feature.

  In addition, as a feature of the second invention, a non-covered tray in which a predetermined number of element accommodating portions for accommodating a thin plate-shaped optical element in a standing state are formed in length and width, a flexible cushioning material, and the cushioning material A vacuum pack made of a multi-layered airtight member including an outer layer having high strength against scratching, and a tray containing the optical elements are accommodated in the vacuum pack, and the interior thereof is brought into a vacuum state. The optical elements are fixedly held so that the upper and lower end faces of the elements are clamped between the bottom surface of the tray and the multilayer airtight member.

  Here, the optical element is housed in an upright state in the element housing portion of the tray, and the clamping force of the optical element by vacuum is to press the upper and lower ends of the optical element against the bottom surface of the tray and the vacuum pack. To demonstrate. The end of the optical element is pressed against the tray, and the pressing force is obtained from the vacuum pack side. That is, the vacuum pack itself or the protective sheet is pressed against the end face of the optical element. In this case, the optical element has a thin plate shape, and sharp corners are present when the optical element has a quadrangular shape. Therefore, the member that exerts the function of pressing the optical element must be a material that is not damaged or cracked at the corners of the optical element. That is, it must maintain sufficient strength against scratching and tearing. In addition, it is necessary to apply a substantially uniform pressing force to all the optical elements in a state where a large number of optical elements are accommodated in the tray. Therefore, even a protective sheet is a multilayer airtight member constituting a vacuum pack. Anyway, flexibility in a high bending direction is required. The member having flexibility in the bending direction may be a soft member. However, it is necessary to press only the end face of the optical element when a vacuum force is applied, but it is not desirable to be flexible enough to be in close contact with the front surface (or back surface) of the optical element. Furthermore, it is also required that there is no risk of dust generation even when sliding with respect to the optical element.

  A general vacuum pack is configured to use a thin foil-like metal film such as aluminum or a sheet-like member such as nylon, and attach one or more layers of resin films on both sides. The multilayer airtight sheet is formed into a bag shape. In this case, if the protective sheet is provided inside the multilayer hermetic sheet constituting the vacuum pack, and the vacuum pack itself is not easily damaged and has a property that does not generate dust, the vacuum pack itself is used as an optical element. It can be used as a pressing means. In any case, it is fixed so as to cover the upper part of the tray and press the optical element from the upper side.

  When a protective sheet is used, this protective sheet can be fixed to the tray. However, when the inside of the vacuum pack is evacuated, it must be held so that no large tension is generated in a part of the protective sheet. . Therefore, it is desirable to mount the protective sheet so as to cover the tray without fixing it.

  When a negative pressure is applied to the inside of the vacuum pack, the inner surface or the protective sheet slides along the corners of the optical element and is pressed against the corners. Accordingly, the surface of the vacuum pack that contacts the optical element or the protective sheet is non-fibrous. As a result, it is possible to prevent the fibers from being partially peeled to form dust generating elements and the fibers to adhere to the optical element. Non-fibrous material is necessary on the surface that directly contacts the optical element, but a fibrous sheet such as paper may be interposed in the intermediate layer.

  The element accommodating portion formed on the tray can be constituted by a groove having a predetermined depth. The depth of the groove is not more than the height dimension of the optical element. If the optical element is completely buried in the groove, the pressing force on the vacuum pack side cannot be exhibited. Accordingly, the optical element is accommodated so as to be at least substantially coincident with the upper surface of the tray, or more desirably accommodated in a state where the optical element protrudes somewhat. This makes it difficult to attach and detach the optical element to and from the tray by handling means or manually. It can be easily attached to and detached from the element accommodating portion without touching the effective surface of the optical element. However, from the standpoint of stability, in particular, prevention of the optical element from popping out, it is desirable that the protruding portion of the optical element has a height equal to or less than half that height.

  When the inside of the vacuum pack is evacuated, the inner surface or the protective sheet comes into contact with the end surface of the optical element, and the optical element is pressed against the bottom surface of the tray. At this time, since it is pressed against each optical element independently by the action of negative pressure, even if there is some dimensional error in each optical element, almost equal clamping force acts on all the optical elements. To do. The degree of vacuum pressure in the vacuum pack depends on the strength of the optical element. That is, if the optical element is thin and easily deformed, a very strong pressing force cannot be applied. On the other hand, in the case of an optical element that is thick and difficult to deform, the vacuum pressure can be further increased in order to ensure its fixability. In short, the internal pressure of the vacuum pack exerts as strong a pressing force as possible on condition that the optical elements accommodated in the tray are not deformed or damaged.

  By configuring as described above, in a tray in which a large number of optical elements are accommodated, each optical element is accommodated in a fixed and stable state, and even if the tray is moved or vibrated, The optical element does not slide with respect to the inner surface of the tray, no wear powder or broken pieces are generated, and no foreign matter enters from the outside, so keep the optical element clean. There are effects such as being able to.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the workpiece 1 handled by the present invention is made of a rectangular thin glass plate, and a filter is formed on the surface thereof by, for example, a film forming means. However, the workpiece | work 1 is not limited to this, The optical element and other member which have a thin-plate shape can be made into object.

  In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a tray. The tray 10 accommodates a large number of workpieces 1 in an upright state. For this purpose, an element comprising a groove for accommodating a plurality of workpieces 1 with a predetermined pitch interval. A plurality of storage portions 11 are formed in the tray 10. The tray 10 is a lidless one whose upper end is opened, and the workpiece 1 is detachably accommodated from the upper surface portion 10a of the tray 10 into each element accommodating portion 11.

  The tray 10 is formed of a thin plastic molded product. From the viewpoint of reinforcement and shape retention, a plurality of rows of concave grooves 12 that are long in the arrangement direction of the workpieces 1 and have a groove width shorter than the width dimension of the workpieces 1 are formed. Therefore, the contact area to the workpiece 1 is reduced by the bent portion of the concave groove 12. The element accommodating portion 11 is composed of grooves formed so as to protrude from the left and right side wall portions of the grooves 12 formed in a plurality of rows, and the groove width is slightly larger than the thickness of the workpiece 1. As a result, the workpiece 1 can be easily inserted into and removed from the element accommodating portions 11, 11 formed on the left and right sides of the concave groove 12, and can be stably held without being rattled with the workpiece 1 standing up when mounted. Is done.

  The depth of the element accommodating portion 11 provided with the tray 10 is shallower than the height of the workpiece 1. Therefore, in the state where the workpiece 1 is accommodated in the tray 10, the tip portion of the workpiece 1 protrudes from the upper surface portion 10 a of the tray 10. This projecting length is set to a length sufficient to smoothly perform the operation of inserting / removing the workpiece 1 with respect to the element accommodating portion 11 because of the relationship with the handling means of the workpiece 1. However, in order to stabilize the workpiece 1 so that it does not jump out of the element accommodating portion 11 by the movement of carrying the tray 10 or the like, the workpiece 1 is at least half or more, preferably about 2/3 of the inside of the element accommodating portion 11. The depth of the element accommodating portion 11 is set so that the element accommodating portion 11 is accommodated.

  As described above, in a state where a predetermined number of workpieces 1 are mounted in the vertical and horizontal directions of the tray 10, as shown in FIG. 2, the open upper surface portion 10a is attached so as to cover the cover member 13. It has become so. Here, the cover member 13 constitutes a protective sheet, has a high strength that does not easily cause scratching or tearing even if pressed against a sharp object, and wears even if the surface is rubbed. It is made of non-fibrous material, specifically a synthetic resin sheet, without generating dust. Moreover, it must be flexible in the bending direction. However, stretchability is not a requirement for the cover member. However, it is desirable that the sheet is somewhat stretchable from the viewpoint of uniform pressing force and protection of the workpiece 1. Further, the sheet should have a friction coefficient as small as possible, that is, smooth and slippery.

  The size of the cover member 13 is such that it can completely cover the area of the tray 10 where the element accommodating portion 11 is formed, and more preferably has a surface wider than the upper surface portion 10 a of the tray 10. That is, even when the work 1 is mounted on all the element accommodating portions 11 of the tray 10, it is desirable that the size of the side wall portion 10 b around the tray 10 is partially covered by the cover member 13.

  Here, the cover member 13 is attached so as to cover the upper surface portion 10a of the tray 10. However, the cover member 13 is actually in contact with the front end portion of the work 1, and is not the upper surface portion 10a of the tray 10 except for its peripheral edge portion. Keep in contact. The cover member 13 is not fixed to the tray 10 or any other member, and at least the entire upper surface portion 10a of the tray 10 is completely left in a completely free state. It comes to cover.

  The work 1 is mounted on all the element accommodating portions 11 provided on the tray 10 and is inserted into the vacuum pack 14 while being covered with the cover member 13. Here, the vacuum pack 14 has a rectangular shape as a whole, and one side thereof is open. Accordingly, the tray 10 covered with the cover member 13 is inserted into the vacuum pack 14 from the opening side, and is packed in such a manner that the opening is sealed after the inside is evacuated. As a result, the inside of the vacuum pack 14 is in a vacuum state, so that the upper end surface of the work 1 is pressed through the cover member 13 and is held so as to press the work 1 against the bottom surface of the element housing portion 11. .

  Here, when the upper portion of the tray 10 is covered with the cover member 13, the cover member 13 comes into contact with the end surface of the workpiece 1 protruding from the upper surface of the tray 10, and the upper surface of the tray 10, the front and rear workpieces 1, 1 and the cover member. 13 form a tunnel-like space. When a vacuum is applied to the inside of the vacuum pack 14, this space tends to shrink. The cover member 13 is flexible in the bending direction and only covers the tray 10 and is held in an unfixed state. Accordingly, the cover member 13 is bent in a concave shape between the front and rear workpieces 1, 1, and a force that presses the workpiece 1 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3 acts. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the inter-column space of the workpieces 1 behaves in the same manner, so that the pressing force in the direction of the arrow acts on the cover member 13 in the same figure. As a result, since the lower end portion of the work 1 is in contact with the bottom surface of the element housing portion 11 in the tray 10, the work 1 is fixed so as to be sandwiched between the bottom surface of the tray 10 and the cover member 13. Moreover, since the pressing force by the cover member 13 acts independently on each workpiece 1 even though a large number of workpieces 1 are accommodated in the tray 10, the size of the workpiece 1 varies. However, all the workpieces 1 can be stably fixed.

  Since the workpiece 1 is thin, if the pressing force based on the negative pressure described above acts excessively, the workpiece 1 may be deformed or damaged by the action of the pressure. Therefore, by adjusting the negative pressure applied in the vacuum pack 14, the work 1 is not deformed by the pressing force against the bottom surface of the tray 10 due to the vacuum pressure in the vacuum pack 14, and is stable with respect to the work 1. Make the clamping force act. And although the edge part of the workpiece | work 1 is the sharpest, since the cover member 13 is in an unconstrained state, this cover member 13 is not partly applied with a strong tensile force by the action of negative pressure. A substantially uniform pressing force acts on the whole. For this reason, if the cover member 13 is provided with a certain level of strength, there is no possibility that the edge portion of the work 1 is pressed and torn or damaged. Therefore, a situation in which the vacuum pack 14 located outside the cover member 13 is damaged and the pressing force to the work 1 by the cover member 13 is not lost occurs.

    As a result, even if the tray 10 is moved, the workpiece 1 is fixed in a stable state between the bottom surface of the tray 10 and the cover member 13, and the workpiece 1 may slide with them to generate wear powder or broken pieces. Since no foreign matter enters from the outside of the vacuum pack 14, the peripheral portion of the work 1 is kept in an extremely clean state, and the surface portion of the work 1 which is an effective surface is not covered. There is no possibility that foreign matter or the like adheres to the effective surface.

  Then, the vacuum pack 14 is opened to release the internal negative pressure, and the cover member 13 is taken out of the vacuum pack 14 together with the cover member 13, and then the cover member 13 is removed, so that it can be incorporated into a predetermined device or subjected to appropriate processing. Can be done.

  Here, the tray 10 packed with the vacuum pack 14 is covered with one surface of the cover member 13 and the vacuum pack 14, but the tip of the work 1 protrudes from the tray 10. Therefore, the work 1 may be cracked or the like depending on the handling. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the lid 20 can be attached to the tray 10. The inner surface of the lid 20 is positioned higher than the surface of the vacuum pack 14 in which the workpiece 1 is accommodated and protrudes upward, so that a predetermined space is formed therebetween.

  If constituted in this way, the vacuum pack 14 equipped with the lid 20 can be stacked, and when storing or transporting, even if the vacuum packs 14 are stacked in multiple stages and packed in an air packing or the like, There is no possibility that the workpiece 1 is damaged. However, when the vacuum packs 14 are stacked, a predetermined interval is provided between the upper and lower vacuum packs 14 and 14 so that no particular external force is applied to the workpiece 1 in the vacuum pack 14 positioned above and below. Make it. And in order to make this space | interval the minimum necessary, the height of the side wall part 10b of the tray 10 is set suitably. Furthermore, it is good also as a structure which provides the protrusion and recessed part for maintaining between the vacuum packs 14 and 14 piled up and down on this side wall part in a connection state.

  In the above-described embodiment, the cover member 13 is interposed between the vacuum pack 14 and the work 1. However, for example, if the vacuum pack having the configuration shown in FIG. It is not necessary to interpose the cover member 13 between the vacuum pack and the workpiece. The vacuum pack 30 illustrated in the figure is composed of a five-layer laminate film. The layer located at the center of the film is an airtight film 31 made of nylon, for example. In addition, a cushion layer 32 that has a cushion function and absorbs a load by being elastically deformed even when pressed against the corners of the work 1 is attached to the upper and lower sides of the airtight film 31. Further, the outer sides of both cushion layers 32 have sticky strength, have a high strength that does not easily cause scratching or tearing even when pressed against a sharp object, and wear or wear even if the surface is rubbed. It is comprised from the outer layer 33 which consists of resin materials, such as linear low density polyethylene, as resin which does not generate | occur | produce dust.

  Thus, the vacuum pack 30 itself, that is, the multilayer hermetic member, exerts a function of pressing the end face of the workpiece 1 by forming the vacuum pack 30 with a multilayer film so as to have the required characteristics. You can also In this case, the same function can be exhibited without providing the cover member 13 constituting the protective sheet as described in the first embodiment. That is, although a large number of workpieces 1 are accommodated in the tray 10, the tray 10 is inserted into the vacuum pack 30 and the inside is brought into a vacuum state, whereby the pressing force is independently applied to each workpiece 1. Acts, and all the workpieces 1 can be stably fixed.

It is an external appearance perspective view which shows the tray of the optical element storage case in one Embodiment of this invention, and the optical element accommodated in this tray. It is structure explanatory drawing which shows the tray which comprises an optical element accommodation case, a cover member, and a vacuum pack. It is sectional drawing of the arrangement direction of the workpiece | work in the state which put the tray in the vacuum pack and was made into the vacuum. It is sectional drawing of the row direction of the workpiece | work in the state which put the tray in the vacuum pack and was made into the vacuum. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which attached the cover body to the tray accommodated in the vacuum pack. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the multilayer body of the vacuum pack which shows other embodiment in this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Work 10 Tray 11 Element Housing 12 Groove 13 Cover Member 14, 30 Vacuum Pack 20 Lid 31 Airtight Film 32 Cushion Layer 33 Outer Layer

Claims (5)

An open tray in which a predetermined number of element accommodating portions for accommodating thin plate-shaped optical elements in a standing state are formed vertically and horizontally;
A vacuum pack to store this tray,
It consists of a flexible protective sheet that is installed inside this vacuum pack,
The tray containing the optical elements is covered with a protective sheet so that the optical elements are covered with a protective sheet, and the inside of the vacuum pack is brought into a vacuum state. An optical element housing case characterized in that each optical element is fixedly held so as to be clamped between a bottom surface and the protective sheet. The optical element housing case according to claim 1, wherein the protective sheet is flexible in a bending direction, and a contact surface to the optical element is formed of a non-fibrous cover member. An open tray in which a predetermined number of element accommodating portions for accommodating thin plate-shaped optical elements in a standing state are formed vertically and horizontally;
A vacuum pack composed of a multi-hermetic layer member including a cushion material having flexibility and an outer layer having high strength against scratching covering the cushion material;
The tray in which each optical element is accommodated is accommodated in the vacuum pack, the inside thereof is in a vacuum state, and the upper and lower end surfaces of each optical element are between the bottom surface of the tray and the multilayer airtight member. An optical element housing case characterized in that each optical element is fixedly held by being clamped. Each of the element accommodating portions is formed of a groove having a predetermined depth, and the optical element is formed of a rectangular thin plate member. When the optical element is accommodated in the groove, the optical element is shorter than half of the height. The optical element housing case according to claim 1, wherein the optical element housing case protrudes from the upper surface of the tray by an amount corresponding to the amount. 4. The structure according to claim 1, wherein a lid is attached to the vacuum packed tray so that a plurality of stages can be stacked so that an external load does not act on the optical element. Optical element storage case.

Images