JP2006206370A - Method and apparatus for cleaning glass forming mold and cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of cleaning a metallic mold, a metallic mold cleaning system and a metallic mold cleaning method by which glass forming productivity is improved. <P>SOLUTION: The metallic mold cleaning apparatus capable of being added to the glass forming apparatus for manufacturing a glass forming article from molten glass is provided with a metallic mold rotating table for holding and moving the metallic mold, a forming mold charging means for charging the forming mold to the metallic mold rotating table, a metallic mold cooling means for cooling the metallic mold, a metallic mold polishing means for polishing the metallic mold, a metallic mold heating means for heating the metallic mold, and a metallic mold discharge means for taking off the metallic mold from the metallic mold rotating table. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus for glass materials and lenses used for molding optical glass elements such as lenses and prisms used in optical devices and optical communication devices, and in particular, a mold cleaning method used for molding. And a cleaning device.

  In recent years, glass elements such as optical lenses are obtained by directly softening a glass material and press-molding it with a mold having a high-precision molding surface in order to omit grinding and polishing processes, thereby directly obtaining optical elements such as lenses. Manufactured by precision press molding. Therefore, since the polishing process can be simplified or omitted, cost reduction is progressing. As a matter of course, cost reduction is also required for the glass material as a raw material. That is, it is important to improve productivity in glass material production.

  As a method for obtaining a glass material for precision press molding, a method of directly receiving molten glass with a mold (see, for example, Patent Document 1), a hole is provided in the mold, and a gas is blown out from the pore to melt glass. There is known a method of obtaining a good surface by forming a gas layer between a mold (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  In general, in precision press molding to obtain optical elements such as glass preforms and lenses as glass materials, carbon, metal nitride, metal carbide on a mold substrate such as stainless steel, carbide, ceramics, Various measures to extend the life of molds have been taken by installing protective films such as precious metals.

  These mold substrates are exposed to rather harsh conditions because they are in direct or indirect contact with high temperature active glass or even higher temperature molten glass. Moreover, even if there is no contact, since it is located in the very vicinity of the glass active at high temperature or the molten glass of higher temperature, it is also exposed to a severe situation. At this time, reaction with oxygen in the atmosphere, dissolved oxygen in the molten glass, or molten glass-containing oxide is likely to occur, the surface of the mold is likely to be oxidized, and the surface of the mold is likely to be deteriorated. Further, the deposits derived from the glass component may accumulate to adversely affect the surface quality of the product, or the deterioration of the mold in precision press molding for glass molding may be promoted. This may cause the mold to have to be replaced in a short period of time, but this replacement generally increases the cost in glass forming. Therefore, cost reduction related to the mold is important for cost reduction in glass molding. Therefore, in order to extend the life of the mold, purification and regeneration of the mold surface have been proposed by various methods.

As a method for removing glass-derived impurities, a method is known in which a current is applied to the mold surface to forcibly diffuse the glass-derived impurities into the mold or in a member other than the mold to prevent deterioration of the mold surface. (For example, see Patent Document 3). There is also known a method of removing an oxide layer on the mold surface caused by molding at a temperature below the yield point by polishing (for example, see Patent Document 4).
JP-A-2-34525 JP-A-2-14839 JP-A-7-69652 JP 2000-44259 A

  However, the mold purification method disclosed in Patent Document 3 requires a special device because it applies a current. Further, the safety of the apparatus is not necessarily high, and the removal target is limited to impurities originating from glass.

  The mold regeneration method disclosed in Patent Document 4 is configured to temporarily stop the molding apparatus and polish the mold due to its structure, and it is considered difficult to improve molding productivity. Further, the polishing method or the apparatus itself is not necessarily clearly described. Further, this mold regeneration method is effective for glass molding at a temperature below the yield point, but may not be applicable to molding from molten glass or molding that requires a large amount of deformation. Further, since it is assumed that the molding apparatus is stopped at the time of polishing, it is considered that continuous molding is difficult. Furthermore, since it is assumed that no protective film is formed on the mold, there is a possibility that the application range is narrow.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described conventional techniques, and provides a mold cleaning method and a cleaning apparatus that can improve productivity in glass material production and precision press molding. For the purpose.

  For the above purpose, in the present invention, a mold cleaning apparatus that can be added to a glass molding apparatus for producing a glass molded product, wherein a mold used for glass molding is provided without stopping the glass molding apparatus. The mold cleaning apparatus is characterized by cleaning.

  Here, in the production of a glass molded product, glass molding includes molding glass from molten glass and press molding from a solid glass preform or the like. That is, the invention of the present application relates to the case of manufacturing a glass preform from molten glass, the case of manufacturing a glass optical element from the molten glass by direct press molding, and the precision press molding of the glass optical element from the glass preform by reheating. It can be applied to any case.

  More specifically, the following are provided.

  (1) A mold cleaning apparatus that can be added to a glass molding apparatus for producing a glass molded product, wherein the mold used for glass molding is cleaned without stopping the glass molding apparatus. The mold cleaning apparatus.

  (2) A mold cleaning apparatus that can be added to a glass molding apparatus for producing a glass molded product, and holds the mold used in the glass molding apparatus in a predetermined position, and the inside of the mold cleaning apparatus Mold transfer means for moving the mold in accordance with the transfer direction of the mold transfer means, and mold injection means for charging the mold so as to be held at the predetermined position of the mold transfer means And a mold discharging means for taking out the mold transferred by the mold transfer means from the predetermined position of the mold transfer means.

  (3) The mold cleaning apparatus according to (1) or (2) above, which includes mechanical cleaning means for mechanically cleaning a mold used in the glass molding apparatus.

  Here, the mechanical cleaning means may mean a means for cleaning the mold surface using mechanical means such as grinding, polishing, and cutting. For the convenience of the cleaning process, it is preferably cleaned by polishing.

  (4) The mold cleaning apparatus according to (1) or (2), further including a mold cooling unit that cools a mold that is inserted by the mold input unit and is transferred by the mold transfer unit to a predetermined temperature. .

  (5) including a mechanical cleaning unit that mechanically cleans a mold used in the glass molding apparatus, and a surface to be cleaned is cleaned by the mechanical cleaning unit, and the mold transfer unit The mold cleaning apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), further including a mold heating unit that heats the mold further moved in the rotation direction to a predetermined temperature.

  (6) The mold cleaning apparatus according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the mold transfer means is a mold rotary table.

  (7) The mold cleaning device according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the mold turntable includes a recess for holding the mold.

  (8) In the mold turntable, the mold feeding means, the mold cooling means, the mechanical cleaning means, the mold heating means, and the mold discharge means are each continuously or intermittently provided. The mold cleaning apparatus according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein the mold cleaning apparatus is controlled to function and rotates synchronously.

  (9) The mold according to any one of (1) to (8), wherein the mechanical cleaning means is a mold polishing means for polishing a surface to be cleaned of the mold transferred by the mold transfer means. Cleaning equipment.

  (10) The mold polishing means includes a mold polishing apparatus and a mold rotating apparatus, the mold polishing apparatus includes a rotating shaft having a polishing member at a tip, and the mold rotating apparatus includes the mold rotating apparatus. The mold cleaning apparatus according to any one of (1) to (9), further including a rotating member that rotates the mold.

  (11) The mold rotating device is provided below the mold rotating table, holds the mold from below, and lifts the mold so as to be close to the mold polishing apparatus while rotating the mold. The mold cleaning apparatus according to any one of (1) to (10).

(12) A glass molding system which is a system for producing a glass molded article,
A glass molding apparatus for producing a glass molded product using a mold, an interlocked mold cleaning apparatus for cleaning the mold in conjunction with the glass molding apparatus, and discharging the mold from the glass molding apparatus In a glass molding system, comprising: a mold discharge supply device that supplies the interlock mold cleaning device, and discharges the mold from the interlock mold cleaning device and supplies the mold to the glass molding device. The cleaning apparatus is a glass forming system including the mold cleaning apparatus according to any one of (1) to (11) above.

  (13) The glass molding device includes a molding die rotary table, and the mold discharge supply device detaches the mold gripped by the gripping device and the mold gripped by the gripping device from each device. A desorption device that moves the mold released by the desorption device, and the glass molding device, the mold discharge supply device, and the interlocking mold cleaning device function in synchronization with each other. The glass forming system according to (12) above.

  (14) The mold rotating table for molding and the mold rotating table of the interlocking mold cleaning device are arranged substantially parallel to each other, and the mold discharge supply device is moved by the moving device to the mold. Is moved between the molding die rotary table and the die rotary table of the interlocking die cleaning device.

  (15) A method of cleaning a mold of a glass molding apparatus for producing a glass molded product by a mold cleaning apparatus provided in the glass molding apparatus, wherein the mold cleaning apparatus removes the mold from the mold A mold turntable for moving in the apparatus, the step of putting the mold into a predetermined position of the mold turntable; and rotating the mold turntable by a predetermined angle to move the mold A step of moving to a mold cleaning position; a step of cleaning the mold by a mechanical cleaning means; and a step of rotating the mold rotary table by a predetermined angle to move the mold to a mold heating position. And a step of discharging the mold from the mold turntable, and the mold turntable is arranged so that the mold can be arranged at each position so that the respective steps are performed in synchronization with each other. The predetermined position Comprising a mold cleaning method.

  (16) A method of cleaning a mold of a glass molding apparatus for producing a glass molded product by a mold cleaning apparatus provided in the glass molding apparatus, wherein the mold cleaning apparatus removes the mold from the mold A mold turntable for moving in the apparatus, the step of putting the mold into a predetermined position of the mold turntable; and the mold turntable into which the mold is put by a predetermined angle Rotating the mold to a mold cooling position; cooling the mold by a mold cooling means; and rotating the mold rotary table by a predetermined angle to move the mold to a mold cleaning position. A step of cleaning the mold by a mechanical cleaning means, a step of rotating the mold rotary table by a predetermined angle and moving the mold to a mold heating position, and For mold heating means A step of further heating, a step of rotating the mold rotary table by a predetermined angle to move the mold to a mold heating position, and a step of discharging the mold from the mold rotary table, A mold cleaning method, wherein the mold rotary table includes the predetermined position so that at least five molds can be arranged at respective positions so that the processes are performed in synchronization.

  (17) The mold cleaning method according to (15) or (16) above, wherein the mechanical cleaning means normalizes by polishing an uncleaned mold surface.

  (18) A method for molding an optical element using a mold, wherein the mold is cleaned by the mold cleaning method according to any one of (15) to (17) above. .

  According to the above-described invention, the mold that is at a high temperature for molding can be cooled, and the mold can be polished at a relatively low temperature. Therefore, even if it is used for molding glass at a temperature higher than the yield point, it is possible to remove glass component deposits, modify surface deterioration due to oxidation, and regenerate the mold surface by removing the oxide layer. it can. Furthermore, since the mold is regenerated away from the glass forming apparatus, it is possible to immediately form the glass using the mold after the mold surface has been regenerated by heating the mold back to the glass forming apparatus. It becomes. Accordingly, in a sense, continuous production of glass molding becomes possible. By such regeneration, the mold can be used for a long time. Further, it is possible to provide a mold cleaning device that improves the productivity of glass molding and reduces the production cost.

  Specifically, the mold cleaning apparatus as described above may be a mold cleaning apparatus that can be added to an apparatus for manufacturing a glass gob from molten glass. The mold cleaning apparatus includes a mold insertion unit, a mold cooling unit, a mold polishing unit, a mold heating unit, a mold discharge unit, and a mold rotary table for moving the mold between the units. May include.

  In the present specification, “cleaning the deterioration of the mold” may include, but is not limited to, removing oxides on the mold surface. That is, the manner of deterioration of the mold differs depending on the combination of the type of glass and the material of the mold. For example, in the case of molding a glass containing a large amount of volatile components, deterioration due to deposition of glass components is more likely to occur than deterioration due to oxide formation due to surface oxidation. In this case, it is often sufficient to remove the deposited glass component instead of removing the surface oxide layer of the mold. Since the glass component on the mold surface is generally simply deposited on the mold surface, polishing is performed by combining a flexible material such as cloth, nonwoven fabric, soft rubber or resin, and fine abrasive grains such as alumina or diamond. By using a member, this glass component can be easily polished and removed.

  On the other hand, the release property of the glass may be improved by forming an oxide layer on the surface of the mold. At this time, if the surface oxide layer is completely removed by a mold cleaning apparatus or method, there is a possibility that quality or productivity may be lowered due to a decrease in mold release property. Therefore, it is not always good to completely remove the surface oxide layer. In such a case, it is considered more effective to modify the surface roughness of the mold surface. That is, it is preferable to correct the surface roughness by polishing under an appropriate condition using an appropriate polishing member.

  On the other hand, when the function is lowered by the oxide formed on the mold surface, it is preferable to remove the surface oxide layer. When a hard protective film is formed on the mold surface, the removal of the surface oxide layer is relatively easy. Since it is considered that the bonding strength between the mold surface and the oxide is reduced on the surface deteriorated by oxidation, it is expected that the polishing should be performed with a polishing force sufficient to remove the oxide layer. At this time, the mold can be regenerated without causing defects such as scratches on the fresh surface of the dense and hard protective film.

  Moreover, the thickness of the protective film may be reduced by removing the oxide layer of the protective film on the mold surface. It may be desirable that the oxide layer on the surface of the protective film does not completely remove the oxide layer each time, which is considered to suppress the progress of oxidation into the protective film to some extent. In particular, in the case where a roughness of about 0.1 μm is allowed as in the case of molding a glass material, in order to reduce the wear of the protective film by polishing as much as possible and to enable long-time molding, an oxide by oxidation If the layer formation is mild, it is also effective to limit the surface roughness without completely removing the oxide layer. On the other hand, when it becomes difficult to modify the surface roughness in a short time, for example, when the surface roughness exceeds 0.1 μm due to molding or when local surface roughness occurs, oxidation occurs. It is considered more preferable to remove the physical layer and regenerate the fresh protective film surface.

  As described above, various cases are assumed to clean the contaminated mold in the present invention. In such various cases, the material of the polishing member used in the polishing mechanism as the polishing means is a cloth, Nonwoven fabrics, rubbers, resins, and composites thereof can be used. The shape of the polishing member can be a cylindrical shape, a spherical shape, a hemispherical shape, the same shape as the molding surface of the mold, or the like, but a cylindrical shape is particularly preferable because it can cope with various curvatures by changing the inclination angle of the polishing member.

  The method of polishing the mold with the polishing member is more preferably a method of rotating the polishing member and simultaneously rotating the mold, but the polishing member may be rotated while the mold is fixed. Conversely, only the polishing member may be moved and rotated. As the abrasive powder (or abrasive grains), for example, diamond, alumina, SiC or the like can be used. In the present specification, a known dry polishing is mainly assumed as a polishing method, but the present invention is not limited to this, and wet polishing can be used.

  In the present invention, in order to clean the mold by polishing, it is preferable to cool the mold to a temperature at which polishing is possible. Here, the means for cooling the mold is not particularly limited, and can be performed by, for example, a cooling method using various cooling media including air cooling, water cooling, and oil cooling, an electric cooling method, and other methods. .

  In the present invention, when the polished mold is returned to the molding machine again, it is preferably heated to a moldable temperature. Here, the means for heating the mold is not particularly limited, and for example, resistance heating, high-frequency heating, infrared heating, or combustion heating such as gas or petroleum can be used.

  The cleaning in the present specification may include polishing a metal mold deteriorated mainly as described above by using an abrasive member. If processing scraps are generated by polishing, install a means for blowing air (for example, a blower), a suction means (for example, a suction device), or a wiping means (for example, a waste cloth, a brush). Thus, the processing waste can be removed.

  The timing for taking out the mold from the glass gob molding machine and replenishing the cleaned mold can be set by a known method. For example, the degree of deterioration of the mold on the molding machine every suitable number of shots derived from experience, such as the glass to be molded and the protective film of the mold, or every suitable operating time, or by a known detector May be detected and determined, and the result may be replaced as appropriate.

  The cleaning apparatus and method of the present invention may be added to, but not limited to, an apparatus and method for forming glass gob mainly from molten glass. That is, it can naturally be used in direct press apparatuses and methods in which an optical composition is directly molded from molten glass, or a molded glass gob is immediately precision press molded. In other words, the glass molding apparatus that operates in conjunction with the mold cleaning apparatus of the present invention is manufactured when a glass preform is manufactured from molten glass, when a glass optical element is manufactured from molten glass by direct press molding, and It is assumed that the glass optical element can be used in any case such as precision press molding by reheating a glass optical element.

  The mold feeding means, the mold cooling means, the mold polishing means, the mold heating means, and the mold discharging means, which have been described above, are the mold feeding device, the mold cooling device, the mold polishing device, and the mold, respectively. A heating device and a mold discharge device may be included. In the following description, the device is a concept including a mechanism, and the device can be read as a mechanism.

  As described above, the mold cleaning apparatus of the present invention is mainly used to clean the lower mold among the molds used in manufacturing a glass molded product. Needless to say, this application is not excluded.

  According to the present invention, the mold can be cooled, the mold can be polished, and the mold can be heated and discharged to the glass forming apparatus. Therefore, even in the molding of glass at a temperature higher than the yield point, the glass component deposits The surface of the mold can be regenerated by removing the oxide, modifying the surface deterioration due to oxidation, and removing the oxide layer. It is also possible to perform continuous molding for a long time without interrupting the molding of the glass while regenerating the mold surface. As a result, it is possible to provide a mold cleaning apparatus that can improve the glass molding productivity and reduce the production cost while enabling the mold to be used for a long time.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Configuration of mold cleaning equipment]
1 to 6 are diagrams schematically showing one example of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 generally corresponds to a plan view. A mold cleaning apparatus 10 as an example of an embodiment of the present invention includes a mold turntable 7 in the middle. Along with the periphery of the mold turntable 7, in the clockwise direction which is the rotation direction of the mold turntable 7 in the present embodiment, the mold charging device 1, the mold cooling device 2, the mold polishing device 3, A mold heating device 4 and a mold discharge device 5 are arranged.

  The mold turntable 7 has a disk shape, and a mold position holding component is provided in each of recesses provided at five mold holding positions provided at substantially equal intervals along the circumferential direction on the upper surface thereof. 7a is provided. The mold turntable 7 can be rotated clockwise by a rotation driving device (not shown).

  The mold insertion device 1 includes a mold insertion grasping claw 1a for grasping the mold 6 and a mold moving arm 1b for moving the mold grasped by the mold insertion grasping claw 1a. The mold moving arm 1b is driven by a movement driving device (not shown) so as to move the mold from the molding mold rotary table 20 of the glass molding apparatus to the mold cleaning apparatus 10.

  The mold is moved by the mold insertion device 1 and is inserted into the lower right mold holding position in the figure, and the mold 6 is moved to the mold cooling position by the clockwise rotation of the mold rotary table 7 as indicated by the arrow. Be made. The mold cooling device 2 includes a mold cooling member 2a that holds a mold cooling plate that is in contact with the mold 6 inside, a mold cooling arm 2b that supports the mold cooling member 2a at one end, It is comprised from the water cooling plate 2c used as the fixed plate which supports the other end of this mold cooling arm 2b (refer FIG. 6). The fixing plate 2c fixes the other end of the mold cooling arm 2b so as to be movable up and down, so that the mold cooling member 2a engages with the mold 6 as necessary. Can be cooled.

  The mold polishing apparatus 3 includes a polishing member 3a, a shaft 3a ′ that holds the polishing member 3a, a motor 3b that rotates the polishing member 3a via the shaft 3a ′, and a vertically movable motor 3b that is rotatably attached. And a possible slider 3c. A mold rotating device that can be a mold polishing auxiliary device includes a mold holding rotating member 8 that holds the mold 6 from below, and a buffer member 9 provided on a contact surface of the mold holding rotating member 8 with the mold 6. And a rotating belt that drives the mold holding rotating member 8 (see FIG. 3). The rotating belt is driven by a rotation driving device (not shown). The mold polishing means can include only this mold polishing apparatus 3, but may also include this mold rotating apparatus at the same time.

  The mold heating device 4 includes a mold heating member 4a including a mold heating plate that is brought into contact with the mold 6, a mold heating arm 4b that supports the mold heating member 4a at one end, and the mold. The mold heating arm 4b is composed of a heating plate 4c which is a fixed plate attached to the other end of the heating arm 4b so as to be movable up and down (see FIG. 6).

  The mold discharge device 5 includes a mold discharge grasping claw 5 a for grasping the mold 6, and the mold 6 grasped by the mold discharge grasping claw 5 a from the mold cleaning device 10 to the glass forming device 20. It comprises a mold discharge arm 5b that is supported so that it can be moved (see FIG. 6). The mold discharge arm 5b is driven by a drive device (not shown) so as to move the mold.

[Operation of mold cleaning equipment]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the mold cleaning apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is a mold feeding apparatus that needs to clean and regenerate the molding surface 6 a as shown in FIG. 2. 1 is grasped by a mold insertion grasping claw 1a, and is moved from the glass forming apparatus 20 to a mold position holding component 7a provided at a predetermined mold holding position of the mold rotary table 7. The mold position holding component 7a has a sleeve shape, but the tip portion has a tapered shape 7b toward the inside, and has a function of assisting the insertion of the mold 6 (FIG. 3). (See (b)). At the time of charging, it is preferable to stop the rotation of the rotary table 7 from the viewpoint of facilitating the charging. Thus, the mold 6 is installed at a position suitable for installing the mold provided on the turntable 7.

  At this time, since the mold remains at a high temperature, the mold 6 is moved to a position where the cooling device 2 can act by rotating the rotary table 7. The mold 6 is cooled to a temperature at which the mold 6 can be polished. Here, the mold cooling device 2 adopts a water cooling method, but is not particularly limited, and employs a cooling method using various cooling media including air cooling or oil cooling, or an electric cooling method. can do.

  The cooled mold 6 is moved to a predetermined polishing position where the mold polishing table 3 can be operated by further rotating the mold rotary table 7. Then, the molding surface 6a is cleaned and regenerated by the mold polishing apparatus 3.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the mold polishing apparatus 3 lifts the mold 6 from below by a mold holding rotating member 8 and holds the mold 6 via a buffer member 9. Further, the polishing member 3a is lowered by the slider 3c to a height at which it comes into contact with the molding surface 6a. By rotating the mold holding and rotating member 8 by the rotating belt 10 driven by the driving device, the mold 6 is rotated, and at the same time, the polishing member 3a is rotated by the motor 3b via the shaft 3a ′, and the surface to be polished is The molding surface 6a can be cleaned or regenerated.

  The polishing force can be adjusted by a pressure adjusting device (not shown) in the slider 3c. Further, in order to prevent scratches and the like during polishing, the slider 3c and the buffer member 9 absorb each vibration component to achieve copy polishing, thereby achieving cleaning and regeneration of the molding surface 6a without impairing shape accuracy. You can also

  The inclination angle of the polishing member 3a with respect to the molding surface 6a can be adjusted by rotating a motor 3b attached to the slider 3c. From the radius of curvature of the molding surface 6a and the shape and outer diameter of the polishing member 3a, the molding surface can be adjusted. It can be set by calculating the angle at which the entire surface of 6a can be polished. 1, 3, and 6 show a cylindrical polishing member 3 a, a member having the same shape as the molding surface (for example, a hemispherical member) can be used. In the case where the molding surface 6a has an aspherical surface having a large curvature change or a complicated shape, a swing mechanism can be added or multistage polishing can be performed.

  Needless to say, the molding surface 6a can be cleaned or regenerated only by the mold polishing apparatus 3 without using the mold rotating apparatus. Further, when the rotary table 7 is rotated, the mold holding rotary member 8 is moved downward so as not to prevent the rotation of the rotary table 7.

  The mold 6 on which the molding surface 6 a has been regenerated is heated by the mold heating device 4 to a temperature at which the mold 6 is sent to the mold heating device 4 and can be put into the glass molding device 20.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the heated mold 6 is grasped by the mold discharge grasping claw 5 a of the mold discharge device 5 and moved from the mold rotary table 7 to the glass forming device 20. Since the series of steps described above is independent of the molding apparatus 20, it is not necessary to stop the production by the molding apparatus 20. Therefore, if the mold 6 is discharged from the molding apparatus 20 and the mold 6 is returned to the molding apparatus 20 in a timely manner, the molding apparatus 20 can be continuously molded for a long time.

  FIG. 5 schematically shows the mold moving paths 140 and 141 and the mold cleaning apparatus 10 by the molding apparatus 20, the mold charging apparatus 1 and the like in a plan view. As can be seen from this figure, the molding die rotary table 21 of the molding device 20 is arranged substantially in parallel with the rotary table 7 of the die cleaning device 10, and the parallel mold moving path 140, 141. The mold moving path 140 is between the predetermined position 142 of the rotary table 7 of the mold cleaning apparatus 10 and the predetermined position 147 of the molding mold rotating table 21, and the mold moving path 141 is the mold cleaning apparatus 10. Between the predetermined position 146 of the rotary table 7 and the predetermined position 148 of the molding die rotary table 21, and the mold 6 is moved between these positions. As described above, the predetermined positions 142, 143, 144, 145, and 146 of the rotary table 7 of the mold cleaning apparatus 10 are a charging position, a cooling position, a polishing position, a heating position, and a discharging position, respectively. On the other hand, the predetermined positions 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158 of the molding die rotary table 21 are positions that exhibit the functions shown in FIG. It is. These predetermined positions are all provided at approximately equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and the glass forming can be continuously performed by rotating both the rotary tables 7 and 21 in synchronization.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6, in the molding apparatus 20, the molten glass supplied from the glass supply apparatus 50 that supplies the molten glass is applied to the molding surface 6 a of the lower mold 6 at the predetermined position 152. It is dropped and moved to a position 154 to be pressed by the upper mold 51 according to the rotation of the molding die rotary table 21. When the rotation stops, the glass material is molded by pressing. Next, the molding die rotary table 21 is rotated and moved to the product take-out position 52, and the product take-out device 52 takes out the molded product from the molding device 20 and sequentially moves it to the transport device 53.

  In synchronism with this series of molding steps, the mold 6 is moved from the position 48 to 42 and is returned to the molding apparatus 20 from the positions 46 to 49 through the cleaning process as described above. In this way, continuous production becomes possible.

  FIG. 7 schematically illustrates another embodiment. The mold insertion device 1 and the mold discharge device 5 in FIG. 6 are configured as a common mold grasping claw rotation moving device 22. The chain of the rotating rail 23 of the mold grasping claw rotation moving device 22, the rotating table 7 of the mold cleaning device 10, and the rotating table 21 of the glass forming device 20 rotate clockwise. This also enables continuous production by synchronizing the timings.

  Hereinafter, the Example using the metal mold | die cleaning apparatus 10 of FIG. 1 is described concretely.

[Example 1]
The base material of the mold 6 was super strong steel, the molding surface 6a had a roughness of less than 0.05 μm, and about 1 μm of tantalum carbide (TaC) was used as a protective film to form a molding die. The mold 6 was heated to 550 ° C. on the glass molding apparatus 21, and the melted SiO ₂ glass was allowed to flow out at 1050 ° C. to prepare a preform in the air atmosphere. The mold 6 used for molding is put into the mold cleaning apparatus 10 from the glass molding apparatus 20 by the mold feeding apparatus 1, and the water cooling plate is brought into contact with the mold 6 in the mold cooling apparatus 2. After cooling to 200 ° C. or lower, the oxide layer on the surface of the mold 6 was removed by the mold polishing apparatus 3. As the polishing member 3a, a cylinder having a diameter of at least half of the outer diameter of the molding surface 6a, in which # 10000 diamond abrasive grains are dispersed in soft rubber, was used. Polishing was performed for 30 seconds by rotating the mold 6 and the polishing member 3a. The mold 6 from which the oxide layer has been removed is heated to 550 ° C. by the resistance heating method in the mold heating device 4 and discharged from the mold cleaning device 20 to the glass forming device 20 by the mold discharge device 5. Cleaning of the mold 6 was achieved without interrupting preform molding. The interval for cleaning the mold 6 was 200 shots.

  By the above-described method, 3000 shots without defects as a glass material could be continuously formed.

  In the conventional method in which the mold 6 is not regenerated, the surface roughness of 0.1 μm or more generated by oxidation of the molding surface 6a in 300 shots is transferred to the glass material, and cannot be used as the glass material. became.

[Example 2]
Stainless steel was used as the base material of the mold 6, and chromium nitride (CrN) was used as a protective film with a thickness of 2 μm on the molding surface 6 a having a roughness of less than 0.05 μm to form a molding die. The mold 6 was heated to 600 ° C. on the glass molding apparatus 20, and the melted SiO ₂ glass was allowed to flow out at 1050 ° C. to prepare a preform in the air atmosphere. The mold 6 used for molding is put into the mold cleaning apparatus 10 from the glass molding apparatus 20 by the mold feeding apparatus 1, and the water cooling plate is brought into contact with the mold 6 in the mold cooling apparatus 2 to make the mold 200. The surface of the mold 6 was polished by the mold polishing apparatus 3 after cooling to below. As the polishing member 3a, a cylinder having a diameter of at least half of the outer diameter of the molding surface 6a, in which # 10000 diamond abrasive grains are dispersed in soft rubber, was used. Chromium nitride (CrN) has a surface oxide layer that contributes to releasability, so the oxide layer on the molding surface 6a is not completely removed and only the roughness is modified to 0.05 μm or less every 1000 shots. Then, the mold 6 and the polishing member 3a were rotated and polished for 10 seconds. The mold 6 with the corrected surface roughness is heated to 600 ° C. by the resistance heating method in the mold heating device 4, discharged from the mold cleaning device 10 to the molding by the mold discharging device 5, and preform molding. The mold 6 was cleaned without interruption.

  By the above method, the molding surface 6a can always maintain a roughness of about 0.05 μm, can be molded by 3000 shots, and can maintain a surface that can be continuously molded.

  In the conventional method in which the roughness of the molding surface 6a is not corrected, the roughness of the molding surface 6a reaches 0.1 μm after 1500 shots, making it impossible to use as the mold 6.

  As described above, by adding the mold cleaning means of the present invention to an apparatus for molding molten glass, it is possible to remove glass component deposits in the mold, modify surface deterioration due to oxidation, and remove the oxide layer. The mold can be used for a long time while the mold surface is regenerated. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is applicable to a manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus for glass materials and lenses used for molding optical glass elements such as lenses and prisms used in optical devices and optical communication devices.

It is a schematic block diagram of the automatic metal mold | die cleaning apparatus by the Example of this invention. It is a partial cross-section schematic diagram of the BB arrow of FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional schematic view taken along the line CC in FIG. 1. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating an automatic mold cleaning system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the automatic mold cleaning system by the Example of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the automatic mold cleaning system by another Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mold injection | throwing-in apparatus 1a Grasping claw for mold | die insertion 1b Mold moving arm 2 Mold cooling device 2a Mold cooling member 2b Mold cooling arm 2c Water cooling plate 3 Mold grinding | polishing apparatus 3a Polishing member 3b Motor 3c Slider 4 Mold heating device 4a Mold heating member 4b Mold heating arm 4c Heating plate 5 Mold ejection device 5a Mold ejection gripping claw 5b Mold ejection arm 6 Mold 6a Molding surface 7 Mold rotary table 7a Mold Position holding component 8 Mold holding rotating member 9 Buffer member 10 Mold cleaning device 20 Glass forming device 21 Mold rotating table 22 Mold holding claw rotation moving device

Claims (18)

  A mold cleaning apparatus that can be added to a glass molding apparatus for producing a glass molded product, wherein the mold used for glass molding is cleaned without stopping the glass molding apparatus. Mold cleaning device. A mold cleaning apparatus that can be added to a glass forming apparatus for producing a glass molded product,
Mold transfer means for holding the mold used in the glass molding apparatus in a predetermined position and moving the mold in the mold cleaning apparatus;
A mold insertion unit provided around the mold according to the transfer direction of the mold transfer unit, to input the mold so as to be held at the predetermined position of the mold transfer unit;
A mold discharge means for taking out the mold transferred by the mold transfer means from the predetermined position of the mold transfer means;
A mold cleaning apparatus comprising:   3. The mold cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising mechanical cleaning means for mechanically cleaning a mold used in the glass forming apparatus.   The mold cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a mold cooling unit that cools a mold that is inserted by the mold input unit and is transferred by the mold transfer unit to a predetermined temperature. Mechanical cleaning means for mechanically cleaning a mold used in the glass forming apparatus,
The surface to be cleaned is cleaned by the mechanical cleaning means,
5. The mold cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a mold heating unit that heats the mold further moved in the rotation direction by the mold transfer unit to a predetermined temperature.   The mold cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the mold transfer means is a mold rotary table.   The mold cleaning apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the mold rotary table includes a recess for holding the mold.   In the mold turntable, each of the mold feeding means, the mold cooling means, the mechanical cleaning means, the mold heating means, and the mold discharging means functions continuously or intermittently. The mold cleaning apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the mold cleaning apparatus is controlled and rotated in synchronization.   9. The mold cleaning apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the mechanical cleaning means is a mold polishing means for polishing a surface to be cleaned of the mold transferred by the mold transfer means.   The mold polishing means includes a mold polishing apparatus and a mold rotating apparatus. The mold polishing apparatus includes a rotatable shaft having a polishing member at a tip, and the mold rotating apparatus rotates the mold. The mold cleaning apparatus of Claim 9 provided with the rotating member to be made.   The said mold rotation apparatus is provided under the said mold turntable, hold | maintains the said mold from the lower side, and raises it so that it may adjoin to the said mold grinding | polishing apparatus, rotating the said mold. Mold cleaning equipment. A glass molding system that is a system for manufacturing glass molded articles,
A glass molding apparatus for producing a glass molded product using a mold;
An interlocking mold cleaning device that cleans the mold in conjunction with the glass forming device;
A mold discharge supply device for discharging the mold from the glass molding apparatus and supplying the mold to the interlocked mold cleaning apparatus, and discharging the mold from the interlock mold cleaning apparatus and supplying the glass molding apparatus; In a glass forming system comprising:
The said interlocking mold cleaning apparatus is a glass forming system containing the mold cleaning apparatus in any one of Claims 1-11. The glass molding apparatus includes a molding die rotary table,
The mold discharge supply device moves a gripping device that grips the mold, a detachment device that detaches the mold gripped by the gripping device from each device, and a mold that is detached by the detachment device. A mobile device,
The glass molding system according to claim 12, wherein the glass molding device, the mold discharge supply device, and the interlocking mold cleaning device function in synchronization with each other. The molding mold rotary table and the mold rotary table of the interlocking mold cleaning device are arranged substantially parallel to each other,
The glass molding according to claim 13, wherein the mold discharge supply device moves the mold between the molding mold rotary table and the mold rotary table of the interlocking mold cleaning apparatus by the moving device. system. A method of cleaning a mold of a glass molding apparatus for producing a glass molded product by a mold cleaning apparatus provided in the glass molding apparatus, wherein the mold cleaning apparatus includes the mold in the apparatus. It is equipped with a mold turntable for moving,
Placing the mold into a predetermined position of the mold turntable;
Rotating the mold turntable by a predetermined angle to move the mold to a mold cleaning position;
Cleaning the mold by mechanical cleaning means;
Rotating the mold turntable by a predetermined angle to move the mold to a mold heating position;
Discharging the mold from the mold turntable, and
The mold cleaning method, wherein the mold rotary table includes the predetermined position so that the mold can be disposed at each position so that the processes are performed in synchronization. A method of cleaning a mold of a glass molding apparatus for producing a glass molded product by a mold cleaning apparatus provided in the glass molding apparatus, wherein the mold cleaning apparatus includes the mold in the apparatus. It is equipped with a mold turntable for moving,
Placing the mold into a predetermined position of the mold turntable;
Rotating the mold turntable into which the mold has been inserted by a predetermined angle and moving it to a mold cooling position;
Cooling the mold by mold cooling means;
Rotating the mold turntable by a predetermined angle to move the mold to a mold cleaning position;
Cleaning the mold by mechanical cleaning means;
Rotating the mold turntable by a predetermined angle to move the mold to a mold heating position;
Heating the mold with a mold heating means;
Rotating the mold turntable by a predetermined angle to move the mold to a mold heating position;
Discharging the mold from the mold turntable, and
A mold cleaning method, wherein the mold rotary table includes the predetermined position so that at least five molds can be arranged at respective positions so that the processes are performed in synchronization.   The mold cleaning method according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the mechanical cleaning means cleans the surface of the non-cleaned mold by polishing. A method for molding an optical element using a mold, wherein the mold is cleaned by the mold cleaning method according to claim 15.

Images