JP2007169079A - Molding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a molding apparatus capable of conveying a mold set heated at high temperatures while minimizing the lowering of its temperature. <P>SOLUTION: The molding apparatus 10 is provided with an isolation chamber 28 and a conveying mechanism 30. In the isolation chamber 28, the working areas 46, 48 and 50 for heating, press-molding and cooling, respectively and also an I/O (in-and-out) port 44 for carrying the mold set 14 in and out are arranged on a circular ring or linearly and are housed to be isolated from the atmosphere. The conveying mechanism 30 arranged in the chamber 28 has an insulation member 62 for receiving the mold set 14 which is carried in the I/O port 44 from the outside of the chamber 28, and an arm 40 which can grip the member 62. The mechanism 30 is provided in order to convey the member 62 gripped by the arm 40 together with the mold set 14 from the port 44 through the working areas 46, 48 and 50 for heating, press-molding and cooling sequentially to return to the port 44. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention forms a molded product such as a high-precision optical glass element such as an aspherical glass lens represented by a digital camera or the like by heat-softening a molding material such as a glass material and then press molding. The present invention relates to a molding apparatus for performing the above.

Glass forming apparatuses are disclosed in Patent Document 1 to Patent Document 3, and the like.
As described in Patent Document 1, the work area of each step of heating, press molding, and cooling is arranged on a ring. The glass material is held by a ring-shaped body mold, and the ring-shaped body mold is gripped by a hand to sequentially convey the glass material to the work area of each process.

  Further, as described in Patent Document 2, a number of molding dies corresponding to the number of work areas in each process are installed on the rotary table. By intermittently rotating the rotary table, the mold is sequentially conveyed to the work area of each process.

Furthermore, as described in Patent Document 3, only the glass material is arranged on the ring by one hand that rotates and expands and contracts. This glass material is sequentially conveyed to the work area of each process.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-118641 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-157425 JP-A-4-21527

  In the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, a glass material having a small heat capacity is similarly held by a hand and conveyed through a ring-shaped body mold having a small heat capacity. For this reason, the glass material is susceptible to temperature changes due to the influence of the temperature of the hand and the surroundings.

  In the method disclosed in Patent Document 2, the mold moves together with the rotary table. For this reason, there exists a difficulty in the shielding structure of the work area of each process.

  Furthermore, in the method disclosed in Patent Document 3, the temperature of the glass material changes more greatly than in the method disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and the object of the present invention is to maintain uniform heating without reducing the temperature of the mold set heated to a high temperature as much as possible. An object of the present invention is to provide a molding apparatus capable of conveying a mold set as it is.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a molding apparatus according to the present invention sandwiches a material to be molded by a mold set configured by fitting a pair of upper and lower molds to a cylindrical body mold, The material is molded through a heating process, a press molding process, and a cooling process to form a desired molded product. And this molding apparatus arrange | positions the work area of each process of the said heating, press molding, and cooling, and IO port part which carries in and out of the said metal mold | die group on a ring or a straight line, and isolates these from air | atmosphere. An isolation chamber that is housed in the isolation chamber, a heat insulating member that is disposed in the isolation chamber and receives the mold set carried into the IO port portion from the outside of the isolation chamber, and a hand capable of gripping the heat insulating member. And holding the heat insulating member with the hand and transporting the mold set together with the heat insulating member from the IO port portion to the IO port portion sequentially through the work areas of the heating, press molding and cooling steps. And a transport mechanism.
Since the mold set is received by the heat insulating member, it is prevented from being affected by the temperature of the heat insulating member during the conveyance. Therefore, for example, when shifting from the work area of the heating process to the work area of the press molding process, the mold set can be conveyed without reducing the temperature as much as possible.

In addition, when the work area of each step of heating, press molding, and cooling and the IO port part for carrying in and out the mold set are arranged on a ring, the transport mechanism is arranged in the center of the isolation chamber. A rotating shaft that can be rotated and raised and lowered, and the hand of the transport mechanism opens and closes in a circumferential direction with a position radially separated from the rotating shaft as a pivot shaft. It is preferable that the handle can be gripped.
Since the heat insulating member can be gripped and transported by the hand, it is possible to prevent the mold assembly from being affected by the temperature.

Further, it is preferable that the hand is provided in a state of facing the work area of each process and the IO port unit at the same time.
For this reason, a heat insulation member can be conveyed from each work area to the adjacent work area at the same time. That is, it is possible to always arrange the mold sets at regular intervals inside the molding apparatus.

Further, it is preferable that the transport mechanism has a push-up mechanism for transferring the mold set above the heat insulating member when the mold set is carried into and out of the isolation chamber from the IO port portion. is there.
For this reason, when the mold set is separated from the heat insulating member or when the mold set is arranged on the heat insulating member, it is possible to prevent the mold set from being separated by supporting the bottom surface of the mold set with a rod. it can.

The load lock mechanism is disposed in a state of being connected to the IO port portion, and has a load lock mechanism for carrying the mold set into and out of the IO port portion. It is preferable that it can be maintained in an active gas atmosphere or a vacuum.
For this reason, the heat insulation effect of a heat insulation member can be efficiently given with respect to a metal mold set.

In addition, at least one of the heating and press molding work areas has a heat-resistant chamber in which the mold set can be opened and closed, and the heat-resistant chamber has an inert gas atmosphere or vacuum inside. It is preferable that it can be held.
For this reason, the heat which heated the mold set can be hold | maintained in the work area of a heating process, and / or the work area of a press molding process, and a mold set can be heated uniformly.

In addition, an infrared lamp method or a high frequency induction heating method is used as a heating means for the mold set in at least one of the heating and press working areas, and the heating means is provided from an outer peripheral portion of the heat insulating chamber. It is preferable that the mold set is heated, kept warm, or slowly cooled.
For this reason, the mold set can be easily heated or kept warm from the outside of the heat-resistant chamber, or can be slowly cooled.

Moreover, it is preferable that the cooling means of the work area of the cooling process has a function of cooling by contact with a water cooling plate or air cooling with an inert gas.
For this reason, the mold set may be cooled by contact with a water cooling plate, that is, water cooling, the mold set may be cooled by air cooling, or the mold set may be cooled by combining both.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the shaping | molding apparatus which can convey a metal mold | die assembly can be provided, maintaining the uniform heating, without reducing the temperature of the metal mold | die set heated to high temperature as much as possible.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Here, a preferred embodiment of the three-zone annular glass forming apparatus 10 will be described. The glass forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is applied to a continuous forming apparatus (see FIGS. 11 and 12) while taking advantage of the conventional batch type forming apparatus (see FIG. 10). is there.

  An overall image of the three-zone annular glass forming apparatus 10 is shown in FIG. A glass material (molded material) 12 before molding is shown in FIG. 2 (A), and a mold set 14 is shown in FIGS. 2 (B) and 2 (C). Further, details of each part of the three-zone annular glass forming apparatus 10 are shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the mold set 14 includes an upper mold 14a, a lower mold 14b, and a body mold 14c. The mold set 14 is based on a lower mold 14b, and an upper mold 14a is placed thereon. Further, the lower mold 14b is formed with a protruding portion that protrudes in a flange shape at the bottom. A barrel die 14c is disposed on the protruding portion of the lower die 14b and on the outer periphery of the upper die 14a so as to prevent the upper die 14a from being displaced relative to the lower die 14b. The body mold 14c is formed in a cylindrical shape. A through-hole 14d that communicates between the upper mold 14a and the lower mold 14b is formed on the side surface of the trunk mold 14c toward the center of the trunk mold 14c. The through hole 14d is formed to allow the gas between the upper and lower molds 14a and 14b to enter and exit from the gas outside the mold set 14. Of course, when evacuated, gas is discharged from the through hole 14d.
In the present embodiment, the size of the glass molded product (optical element) molded using the mold set 14 shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C is 75 mm. That is, in the present embodiment, a relatively large size application is adopted. 2C employs a biconvex lens in which the molding surfaces of both the upper mold 14a and the lower mold 14b are formed in a concave shape, but a monoconcave single convex meniscus lens is also molded. can do. In this case, one molding surface of the upper mold 14a and the lower mold 14b may be protruded with respect to the other.

  A glass material 12 shown in FIG. 2A that is formed using the three-zone annular glass forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. The manufacturer of the glass material 12 is OHARA. The glass type is S-BSL7 (BK-7 equivalent). The refractive index (Nd) is 1.51633. The strain point is 532 ° C. The annealing point is 563 ° C. The transition point is 576 ° C. The yield point is 625 ° C. The softening point is 718 ° C.

Next, the overall configuration of the three-zone annular glass forming apparatus 10 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the three-zone annular glass forming apparatus 10 includes a lower frame 22 and an upper frame 24. The lower frame 22 is a base part of the three-zone annular glass forming apparatus 10 and is formed in a box shape such as a substantially rectangular parallelepiped. An opening 22 a having a substantially rectangular shape is formed on each side surface of the lower frame 22. With these openings 22a, tools, maintenance equipment, and the like can be easily taken in and out, for example, during maintenance of the transport mechanism 30 to be described later, so that the transport mechanism 30 can be easily maintained. Further, an inert gas cylinder 16a, a vacuum pump 16b, a cooling water tank 16c, and a control device 18 shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 are disposed inside or in the vicinity of the lower frame 22. Note that, here, description will be made assuming that nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas is used as the inert gas.

  The upper frame 24 is disposed on the upper side of the lower frame 22. The upper frame 24 includes a standing frame 24a that is erected from four corners on the upper surface of the lower frame 22, and a flat frame 24b that is placed on the erected frame 24a. An isolation chamber 28 is disposed between the flat frame 24 b and the upper surface of the lower frame 22.

  The isolation chamber 28 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. A mold transport mechanism 30 is disposed in the isolation chamber 28. Here, in order to make the apparatus 10 as compact as possible, the mold set 14 (see FIGS. 2B and 2C) is conveyed in a rotary manner. For this reason, the mold transport mechanism 30 includes a rotation shaft 32 substantially at the center of the upper surface of the lower frame 22. The rotating shaft 32 is rotated by a rotating motor 34 formed of a servo motor and is moved up and down by a lifting cylinder 36. The rotation motor 34 and the lift cylinder 36 are electrically connected to the control device 18 described above. The upper end of the rotating shaft 32 is disposed inside the isolation chamber 28. A transfer rotary table 38 formed in a disk shape is attached to the upper end of the rotary shaft 32. Of course, the rotary shaft 32 is attached to the center of the rotary table 38. That is, the transfer rotary table 38 is disposed in the isolation chamber 28 and can be rotated and moved up and down in the isolation chamber 28.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4 (A) and 4 (B), four sets of hands (two-claw air chucks) 40 are attached to the transfer rotary table 38. Here, these four sets of hands 40 are arranged on the same circumference (the same ring) centering on the rotation shaft 32 described above at equal intervals 90 degrees away from each other. When the conveyance rotary table 38 is rotated about the rotary shaft 32 described above, the four sets of hands 40 of the conveyance rotary table 38 respectively have an IO port unit 44, a heating unit 46, a press molding unit 48, which will be described later, It faces the cooling unit 50 at the same time. These hands 40 hold the body part of a heat insulating shaft (heat insulating member) 62 (to be described later) on which the mold set 14 (see FIGS. 2B and 2C) is placed, and are provided in the IO port 44. The set 14 is connected to the heating unit 46, the mold set 14 in the heating unit 46 is set to the press forming unit 48, the mold set 14 in the press forming unit 48 is set to the cooling unit 50, and the mold set 14 in the cooling unit 50 is set. They are simultaneously transported to the IO port unit 44. Here, it is preferable to use a ceramic material (for example, Si ₃ N ₄ or the like) having poor heat conductivity and high press strength for the heat insulating shaft 62.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, in the isolation chamber 28, the IO port 44, the heating unit 46, the press molding unit 48, and the cooling unit 50 have the same circumference (same as the center of rotation shaft 32). Are arranged at equal intervals 90 degrees apart from each other. The base portions of the IO port portion 44, the heating portion 46, the press molding portion 48, and the cooling portion 50 are respectively fixed to the upper surface of the lower frame 22. That is, one station configuration is provided for each process of heating, press molding, and cooling in order to prevent the movement of the mold assembly 14 during each process or to reduce the movement amount of the mold assembly 14 as much as possible. Total 3 stations (3 zones). However, since the IO port unit 44 is added to the above-described three stations, the total number of stations in the molding apparatus 10 is four stations (four zones).

The heating unit 46, the press molding unit 48, and the cooling unit 50 are arranged in a manner in the isolation chamber 28 together with the transport mechanism 30 of the mold set 14. The inside of the isolation chamber 28 is replaced with a vacuum atmosphere isolated from the atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere so as to prevent the mold set 14 to be heated from being oxidized. In this case, it is not necessary to always keep the inside of the isolation chamber 28 in a vacuum atmosphere. For example, when the forming apparatus 10 is started up, a vacuum is once drawn before the isolation chamber 28 is replaced with an inert gas. Thereafter, the inert gas can be effectively replaced with the inert gas by simply ejecting the inert gas into the isolation chamber 28 and expelling air (gas) containing oxygen or the like. That is, the vacuum state may be changed to an inert gas (N ₂ gas) atmosphere by purging, or only the inert gas (N ₂ gas) may be blown into the isolation chamber 28 so as to drive out oxygen. That is, it is sufficient if oxygen can be expelled from the isolation chamber 28.

Next, the configuration of the IO port unit 44 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the lower frame 22 is provided with a mold lifting cylinder 52 that penetrates and extends upward while keeping the bottom wall of the isolation chamber 28 airtight. The mold lifting cylinder 52 is provided with a lifting shaft 54 that is lifted up and down. A mold cradle 56 is disposed at the upper end of the elevating shaft 54.

  A cylindrical heat insulating shaft 62 made of, for example, silicon nitride is placed in the concave portion (shaft) 56a on the upper side of the mold receiving base 56. A flange portion is formed at the lower end of the heat insulating shaft 62 so as to be erected with respect to the mold receiving base 56. Further, a flange portion is also formed at the upper end portion of the heat insulating shaft 62. A die plate 64 on which the mold set 14 is placed is installed on the flange portion at the upper end of the heat insulating shaft 62. The die plate 64 is preferably made of a ceramic material (for example, SiC or TiC).

  A mold ejector cylinder 66 is built in the lifting shaft 54 described above. At least three push rods (push-up pins) 68 are moved up and down by the die ejector cylinder 66. The upper ends of these extrusion rods 68 are always arranged at the same height. Further, the upper ends of the push rods 68 are appropriately separated from each other, and an appropriate virtual triangle is formed by these upper ends. By the way, through-holes (not shown) are formed in the above-described mold receiving base 56, heat insulating shaft 62, and die plate 64 in the vertical direction. Therefore, the push rod 68 moves up and down so as to penetrate the mold receiving base 56, the heat insulating shaft 62 and the die plate 64 and to protrude upward, and to be able to be extracted downward from the lower end portion of the heat insulating shaft 62.

  A thermocouple 70 for detecting the temperature of the mold set 14 shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C is attached to, for example, the upper end of at least one of the push rods 68. The thermocouple 70 detects the temperature of the mold set 14 conveyed from the cooling unit 50. The thermocouple 70 is electrically connected to the control device 18. For this reason, the temperature detected by the thermocouple 70 is transmitted to the control device 18, and the control device 18 determines whether or not the mold set 14 can be carried out from the isolation chamber 28.

  Further, an O-ring 56 b is disposed on the upper surface of the mold receiving base 56 and around the heat insulating shaft 62. When the raising / lowering shaft 54 of the die raising / lowering cylinder 52 is raised, the O-ring 56b on the die receiving base 56 is brought into close contact with the edge of the opening 28a provided on the top wall of the isolation chamber 28. At this time, the opening 28a is airtightly closed from the inside. The size of the opening 28a is a shape and size that allows the heat-insulating shaft 62 to pass but does not allow the mold receiving base 56 to pass.

  An IO chamber 72 constituting a load lock mechanism is disposed above the opening 28a. In the IO chamber 72, an elevating cylinder 60 disposed on the flat frame 24b of the upper frame 24 is disposed. For this reason, the IO chamber 72 can be opened and closed with respect to the atmosphere, that is, the outside of the device 10. For example, the elevating cylinder 60 is equipped with a cap (not shown) that can keep the IO chamber 72 airtight in a closed state. For this reason, the IO chamber 72 can deliver the mold set 14 from the outside to the inside of the molding apparatus 10 or from the inside to the outside of the apparatus 10 by opening the cap.

  Further, the nitrogen gas cylinder 16 a can supply nitrogen gas to the isolation chamber 28 and the IO chamber 72. Further, the vacuum pump 16b can discharge the gas in the IO chamber 72.

When the mold set 14 is carried into the IO port 44, the vacuum pump 16b is driven to evacuate the interior of the isolation chamber 28 and the IO chamber 72 communicated by the opening 28a provided on the top wall of the isolation chamber 28. To do. While vacuuming in this way, the mold cradle 56 is raised to seal the above-described opening 28 a of the isolation chamber 28, and then the elevating cylinder 60 is driven to open the IO chamber 72. At this time, the push rod 68 is disposed at the raised position.
When the isolation chamber 28 is not in a vacuum, such as when the molding apparatus 10 is started up, the IO chamber 72 need not be evacuated.

The mold set 14 supports the bottom surface of the lower mold 14b by a hand (not shown) of a robot (self-contained device) or the like because the lower mold 14b falls off only by gripping the body mold 14c. A robot hand is inserted between the extrusion rods 68 and the like, and the bottom surface of the mold set 14 is placed on the extrusion rods 68. After the robot hand or the like is pulled out from under the mold set 14, the push rod 68 is lowered. Then, the mold set 14 is placed on the die plate 64. At this time, it is preferable to lower the upper end of the push rod 68 until the upper end of the push rod 68 is further lowered from the flange portion at the lower end of the heat insulating shaft 62.
The IO chamber 72 is provided with a plunger 72a as a mechanism for pressing the upper mold 14a and the body mold 14c so as to prevent the upper mold 14a from popping out due to atmospheric pressure when the inside is evacuated. ing.

  Next, a cap (not shown) of the IO chamber 72 is closed and sealed, and the inside of the IO chamber 72 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 16b. Thereafter, nitrogen gas is supplied into the IO chamber 72. For this reason, the inside of the IO chamber 72 has the same nitrogen gas atmosphere as that in the isolation chamber 28. Thereafter, the mold cradle 56 is lowered and the mold set 14 is taken into the IO port 44 in the isolation chamber 28.

  In this state, the mold set 14 is transferred from the IO port unit 44 to the heating unit 46 and the mold set 14 is transferred from the cooling unit 50 to the IO port unit 44.

On the other hand, when the mold set 14 is carried out from the IO port unit 44, the mold set 14 is transferred from the cooling unit 50 to the IO port unit 44. The mold lift 56 is raised by the mold lifting cylinder 52 to close the opening 28 a provided on the top wall of the isolation chamber 28. The push-out rod 68 is raised by the die ejector cylinder 66 and lifted by a predetermined amount so as to separate the bottom surface of the die set 14 from the die plate 64. At this time, the temperature of the bottom surface of the mold set 14 is detected by the thermocouple 70 provided at the tip of the push rod 68. If this temperature is not more than a predetermined value, the IO chamber 72 is opened. When the temperature of the mold set 14 is not lower than the predetermined value, the IO chamber 72 is opened after waiting for the temperature to be lower than the predetermined value. When the IO chamber 72 is opened, a robot hand (not shown) is inserted between the die plate 64 and the mold set 14 to carry the mold set 14 out of the IO port 44. Thereafter, the push rod 68 is disposed at the lowered position.
Note that the inside of the isolation chamber 28 may be kept in a vacuum instead of a nitrogen gas atmosphere. In this case, the IO chamber 72 is not supplied with nitrogen gas but only evacuated.

Next, the configuration of the heating unit 46 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, at the bottom of the isolation chamber 28, there is provided a mold cradle 82 on which the mold set 14 transported from the IO port 44 together with the heat insulating shaft 62 by the hand 40 is placed. The upper surface of the mold receiving table 82 is installed at the same height as the upper surface of the mold receiving table 56 of the IO port unit 44. A shaft (not shown) is formed at the center of the mold receiving table 82. This shaft is formed at a position 90 degrees away from the lifting shaft 54 of the IO port 44 around the rotation shaft 32 of the transport mechanism 30. This shaft is penetrated to form a through hole 82a. Nitrogen gas can be supplied to the through hole 82 a of the mold receiving table 82. When the heat insulating shaft 62 is placed on the mold cradle 82, the through hole 82a and the inner hole of the heat insulating shaft 62 are communicated. Further, another through hole 82b is formed in the mold cradle 82, and this through hole 82b is connected to the vacuum pump 16b.

  Above the mold cradle 82 of the heating unit 46, a quartz chamber 84 having a wide range of electromagnetic wave transmission properties such as infrared rays to ultraviolet rays and heat resistance, and an infrared lamp heater unit 86 surrounding the periphery thereof are supported. The air cylinder 90 can be moved up and down via a plate 88. The air cylinder 90 is mounted on the flat frame 24 b of the upper frame 24. The heater unit 86 is electrically connected to the control device 18. A through hole 88a is formed at the center of the support plate 88 and is connected to the nitrogen gas cylinder 16a.

When the quartz chamber 84 is in the lowered position, a heating space isolated from the inside of the isolation chamber 28 is formed around the mold set 14 and retracted upward when the mold set 14 is transported. Nitrogen gas is supplied to the heating space in the quartz chamber 84 from the through hole 88a of the support plate 88 and the through hole 82a of the mold cradle 82 through the heat insulating shaft 62, and at the same time, Exhaust (evacuation) is performed by the vacuum pump 16b through the through hole 82b. Note that an O-ring 92 that prevents communication between the inside and the outside of the quartz chamber 84 is provided on the mold cradle 82 and the support plate 88, respectively.
In addition, in the quartz chamber 84, when the inside of the isolation chamber 28 is kept in vacuum, only vacuuming is performed in accordance with this.

  The heating unit 46 is provided with a lower thermocouple 96 that is pushed up from a lower thermocouple elevating air cylinder 94 provided on the lower frame 22 and is brought into contact with the die plate 64. The lower thermocouple 96 passes through the mold cradle 82 and passes through the flange portion at the upper end of the heat insulating shaft 62. The lower thermocouple 96 is electrically connected to the control device 18. The output of the lower thermocouple 96 is taken into the control device 18 and the output of the infrared lamp heater unit 86 is controlled to heat the mold set 14 to a predetermined temperature.

  Although not shown, a plunger 84a is provided as a mechanism for pressing the upper mold 14a so as to prevent the upper mold 14a and the body mold 14c from popping out when the quartz chamber 84 is evacuated at atmospheric pressure. It is arranged. This is the same as the plunger 72 a of the IO port 44.

Next, the structure of the press molding part 48 is demonstrated using FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the press molding unit 48 has a configuration in which the press mechanism 102 and the upper thermocouple 104 are added to the configuration of the heating unit 46 shown in FIG. is there. For this reason, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the member which has the same function as the member demonstrated with the heating part 46 mentioned above, and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. The center axis of the mold cradle 82 of the press molding unit 48 shown in FIG. 7 is located at a position 180 degrees away from the lifting shaft 54 of the IO port unit 44 around the rotation shaft 32 of the transport mechanism 30. Is formed. In other words, the central axis of the mold cradle 82 of the press molding unit 48 is positioned 90 degrees away from the central axis of the mold cradle 82 of the heating unit 46 with the rotation axis 32 of the transport mechanism 30 as the center. Is formed.

  In the press mechanism 102, an upper shaft 110 that is moved up and down by a speed reducer (screw jack) 108 driven by a servo motor 106 extends through the top wall of the isolation chamber 28 in an airtight manner and extends into the isolation chamber 28. An opening 88 b is formed in the support plate 88. An O-ring 112 that seals between the upper shaft 110 and the support plate 88 is disposed in the opening 88b. The servo motor 106 is electrically connected to the control device 18. A die plate 64a is attached to the tip (lower end) of the upper shaft 110 via a heat insulating shaft 62a. The heat insulation shaft 62a has the same configuration as the heat insulation shaft 62 described above. The die plate 64a has the same configuration as the above-described die plate 64. The upper shaft 110 has a communication hole 110a formed coaxially with the die plate 64a. A nitrogen gas cylinder is connected to the communication hole 110a.

  In the press molding section 48, the temperature of the mold set 14 is detected by the upper and lower thermocouples 104 and 96. The upper thermocouple 104 has one end abutted on the die plate 64 a and the other end electrically connected to the control device 18. Then, in a state where the temperature of the mold set 14 is stable at a predetermined molding temperature, the upper shaft 110 is lowered and the die plate 64a is pressed against the upper mold 14a of the mold set 14. Press molding is performed by pressing the upper die with a predetermined force while controlling the output of the servo motor 106 by the output of the load cell 114 provided in the middle of the upper shaft 110. The load cell 114 is electrically connected to the control device 18.

Next, the configuration of the cooling unit 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 (A) to 8 (C).
As shown in FIG. 8 (A), at the bottom of the isolation chamber 28, as with the heating part 46 and the press molding part 48, a mold cradle 122 having a through hole 122 a on the central axis is provided. Yes. The central shaft (through hole 122 a) of the mold cradle 122 is formed at a position that is 270 degrees away from the lifting shaft 54 of the IO port 44 around the rotation shaft 32 of the transport mechanism 30. That is, the central axis of the mold cradle 122 of the cooling unit 50 is a position 90 degrees away from the central axis of the mold cradle 82 of the press molding unit 48 with the rotation axis 32 of the transport mechanism 30 as the center. Is formed.

  A pair of water coolers 124 are disposed above the mold cradle 122. These water coolers 124 are moved up and down by a pair of water cooler lift air cylinders 126a. Further, as shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C, the water cooler 124 is opened and closed by the water cooler opening / closing air cylinder 126b (see FIG. 8A) so as to approach and separate from each other.

  As shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C, these water coolers 124 are formed in a semicircular shape so as to surround the outer periphery of the mold set 14. These water coolers 124 are arranged at two positions, that is, an opened state that is slightly away from the outer periphery of the mold set 14 and that faces the outer peripheral surface of the mold set 14, and a closed state that is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the mold set 14. .

  A cooling water tank 16 c is connected to the water cooler 124. Therefore, when cooling water is supplied in a circulating state from the cooling water tank 16c and the water cooler 124 is in a closed state (see FIG. 8C), the mold assembly 14 is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the mold assembly 14. Water cooling is possible. Further, a nitrogen gas cylinder is connected to the water cooler 124. Therefore, when the water cooler 124 is in the open state (see FIG. 8B), nitrogen gas is supplied from the nitrogen gas cylinder 16a, and nitrogen is directed from the inner peripheral surface of the water cooler 124 toward the outer peripheral surface of the mold set 14. Gas is blown. For this reason, the mold set 14 can be air-cooled.

Next, the operation of the three-zone annular glass forming apparatus 10 having such a configuration will be described.
First, the three-zone annular glass forming apparatus 10 is brought into an initial state. The initial state of the three-zone annular glass forming apparatus 10 means that each drive unit (IO port part 44, heating part 46, press forming part 48, cooling part 50) of the forming apparatus 10 is at the origin position.

The cap of the IO chamber (load lock chamber) 72 shown in FIG. 5 is opened by raising the elevating cylinder 60, and the elevating shaft 54 of the mold elevating cylinder 52 of the IO port 44 is on the upper side. That is, the IO chamber 72 is open to the atmosphere, and the inside of the isolation chamber 28 is sealed. The inside of the isolation chamber 28 is evacuated and then replaced with an inert gas (N ₂ gas) in advance. Further, the die ejector cylinder 66 is driven, and the upper end of the push rod 68 is disposed above the heat insulating shaft 62 and the die plate 64. The quartz chamber 84 and the heater unit 86 (each heater / chamber unit) of the heating unit 46 shown in FIG. 6 and the press forming unit 48 shown in FIG. 7 escape upward. The upper shaft (press shaft) 110 of the press forming portion 48 is escaping upward. The water cooler (water cooling block) 124 of the cooling unit (cooling unit) 50 shown in FIG. 8A is open (see FIG. 8B).

  Next, the operator places the glass material 12 described above in order to place it on the heat insulating shaft 62 on the IO port portion 44 (actually, on the lower die plate 64 because the die plate 64 is fastened to the heat insulating shaft 62). The assembled die set 14 is placed on the upper end of the push rod 68. This placement may be manual or a self-contained device using a SCARA robot or the like. Then, the die ejector cylinder 66 is driven to draw the upper end of the push rod 68 into the die plate 64 and the heat insulating shaft 62. For this reason, the bottom surface of the mold set 14 is installed on the die plate 64. At this time, the die set 14 is placed at a predetermined position (recess (shaft) 56 a) by the die plate 64.

  Next, the elevating cylinder 60 of the IO port 44 is lowered and the IO chamber (load lock chamber) 72 is sealed with a cap (not shown). Then, the IO chamber 72 is evacuated. When the IO chamber 72 reaches a specified degree of vacuum (3 Pa in the present embodiment), an inert gas is injected from the gas cylinder 16a. Since the through hole 14d for venting air is pre-processed on the side surface of the body die 14c of the die set 14, the gas is taken in and out and the inside of the die set 14 is completely replaced with the inert gas. Is done.

  An inert gas is injected into the IO chamber 72 of the IO port 44 so that the pressure is the same as that in the isolation chamber 28. When the same pressure is reached, the lifting / lowering shaft 54 of the IO port 44 is lowered and the mold set 14 is carried into the isolation chamber 28.

  The hand (two-jaw chuck) 40 of the transport mechanism 30 shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B is closed, and the body portion between the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the heat insulating shaft 62 is gripped. The lift cylinder 36 of the transport mechanism 30 shown in FIG. 3 is driven to raise the transport rotary table 38 so that the heat insulating shaft 62 and the shaft (not shown) of the die receiving base 56 of the IO port 44 are fitted. remove. Then, the servo motor 34 of the transport mechanism 30 is driven to rotate the rotary shaft 32 by 90 degrees, so that the mold set 14 is transported from the IO port unit 44 to the heating unit 46.

  The rotary table 38 of the transport mechanism 30 that has been lifted upward for transport is lowered, and the shaft of the mold receiving table 82 of the heating unit 46 and the heat insulating shaft 62 shown in FIG. Then, the hand 40 that has been closed for conveyance is opened.

  The air cylinder 90 is driven to lower the quartz chamber 84 and the heater unit 86 of the heating unit 46 downward. At this time, since the quartz chamber 84 is sealed by the O-ring 92 or the like, the isolation chamber 28 and the inside of the quartz chamber 84 are isolated.

While introducing an inert gas into the quartz chamber 84 of the heating unit 46, the infrared lamp heater unit 86 is turned on to raise the temperature of the mold set 14 to a predetermined heating temperature. Note that in this embodiment mode, heating is performed while flowing an inert gas from an inert gas cylinder. However, heating may be performed without flowing an inert gas, or heating may be performed by evacuation. Also good.
The area of the heating unit 46 can be individually accommodated in the quartz chamber 84, and the infrared lamp heater unit 86 is arranged on the outer periphery of the quartz chamber 84, so that the large-diameter mold set 14 can be formed. It is possible to heat uniformly and maintain the temperature.

  When the mold set 14 reaches a predetermined temperature, the temperature is maintained for a predetermined time, and then the heater unit 86 and the quartz chamber 84 of the heating unit 46 are moved upward through the support plate 88 by driving the air cylinder 90. .

  The hand (two-jaw chuck) 40 of the transport mechanism 30 shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B is closed again, and the body portion of the heat insulating shaft 62 is gripped. The transport mechanism 30 is raised upward to release the fitting between the heat insulating shaft 62 and the shaft of the mold receiving table 82 of the heating unit 46. Then, the rotary table 38 of the transport mechanism 30 shown in FIG. 3 is rotated by 90 degrees to transport the mold set 14 from the heating unit 46 to the press molding unit 48 shown in FIG. At this time, the mold set 14 is quickly conveyed while being placed on the heat insulating shaft 62. Therefore, the mold assembly 14 heated to a high temperature is conveyed from the heating unit 46 to the press molding unit 48 while keeping the uniform temperature without reducing the temperature as much as possible.

  The conveyance mechanism 30 raised upward for conveying the mold set 14 is lowered, and the axis of the mold cradle 82 of the press molding part 48 and the heat insulating shaft 62 are fitted. Then, the hand 40 that has been closed for conveyance is opened.

  The heater unit 86 and the quartz chamber 84 of the press forming part 48 are lowered. At this time, the quartz chamber 84 is sealed with an O-ring 92 or the like, and the isolation chamber 28 and the quartz chamber 84 are isolated.

  The area of the press molding part 48 can be individually accommodated in the quartz chamber 84, and the infrared lamp heater unit 86 is arranged on the outer peripheral part of the quartz chamber 84, so that the large-diameter mold set 14 is provided. Can be heated uniformly to maintain the temperature.

  While evacuating the inside of the quartz chamber 84 of the press molding part 48 through the through hole 82b of the mold cradle 82, the infrared lamp heater unit 86 is turned on to raise the temperature of the mold set 14 to a predetermined temperature. . Alternatively, the temperature of the mold set 14 raised in temperature by the heating unit 46 is maintained. In the present embodiment, it has been described that the evacuation is performed when the temperature of the mold set 14 is raised. However, the evacuation may not be performed. In this case, the inert gas may be heated or kept warm while being injected into the quartz chamber 84 from the through hole 82 a of the mold set 14 through the inner hole of the heat insulating shaft 62 or the communication hole 110 a of the upper shaft 110. Further, the inert gas may be heated without being injected into the quartz chamber 84 or may be kept warm. That is, the inside of the quartz chamber 84 of the press-molding unit 48 has a structure that can be evacuated, but either an inert gas atmosphere or a vacuum atmosphere can be arbitrarily selected.

  Here, before evacuating the inside of the quartz chamber 84 of the press molding part 48, the upper shaft 110 is lowered so as to prevent the upper mold 14a and the body mold 14c from popping out due to atmospheric pressure when evacuated. The die plate 64a is brought close to or in contact with the upper mold 14a. Vacuuming is performed in this state.

  When the degree of vacuum in the quartz chamber 84 reaches a predetermined degree of vacuum (3 Pa in the present embodiment) and a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the servo motor 106 is driven and an upper shaft (screw jack) 108 is The press shaft 110 is lowered. And the upper part of the upper metal mold | die 14a is pressed through the heat insulation axis | shaft 62a and the die plate 64a. That is, the glass material 12 in the mold set 14 is press-molded. In press forming, detection data monitored by the load cell 114 is input to the control device 18, and the electric servo motor 106 is appropriately controlled by the control device 18. Here, press molding is performed using a press force feedback mechanism. That is, the press forming of the press forming unit 48 is driven by the electric servo motor 106 and feedback control of the pressing force is performed while the pressing force is monitored by the load cell 114. Here, press molding is performed in accordance with any programmed press force profile (see FIG. 9). For this reason, it is possible to accurately control the press position and the press force.

  Note that the pressing amount and pressing force of the upper mold 14 a can be set in the control device 18 for each mold 14. That is, the press amount and the press force are set for each desired molded product.

  When the predetermined press molding process is completed, the mold set 14 is shifted to the slow cooling process inside the press molding section 48. In this case, the cooling means (slow cooling means) is inactive through the inner hole of the heat insulating shaft 62 from the through hole 82a of the mold pedestal 82 and through the inner hole of the heat insulating shaft 62a from the communication hole 110a of the upper shaft 110. Gas is injected into the quartz chamber 84. And the groove | channel (not shown) provided in the back surface of the upper and lower die plates 64 and 64a is air-cooled. Then, the mold assembly 14 and the molded product of the glass material 12 are indirectly air-cooled. At this time, the press shaft 110 can arbitrarily press the mold set 14. For this reason, the mold set 14 can be cooled while a pressing force is applied to the mold set 14.

  When the temperature of the mold set 14 detected by the upper and lower thermocouples 104 and 96 is lowered to a predetermined temperature, the air cylinder 90 is driven to raise the heater unit 86 and the quartz chamber 84 of the press molding unit 48 upward.

  The hand (two-jaw chuck) 40 of the transport mechanism 30 shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B is closed, and the body portion of the heat insulating shaft 62 is gripped. The transport mechanism 30 is lifted upward to disengage the heat insulating shaft 62 from the shaft of the die receiving base 82 of the press molding unit 48. And the rotation table 38 for conveyance of the conveyance mechanism 30 is rotated 90 degree | times, and the metal mold | die set 14 is conveyed from the press molding part 48 to the cooling part 50 shown to FIG. 8 (A).

  The conveyance rotary table 38 of the conveyance mechanism 30 raised upward for conveyance is lowered, and the shaft of the mold receiving base 122 of the cooling unit 50 and the heat insulating shaft 62 are fitted. Then, the hand 40 that has been closed for conveyance is opened.

  The water cooler 124 (see FIG. 8B) in the opened state is lowered by driving the water cooler elevating air cylinder 126a. The mold set 14 is air-cooled with an inert gas from an inert gas nozzle (not shown) provided on the inner wall of the water cooler 124 with the water cooler 124 open.

  Note that the air cooling step may be omitted, for example, a water cooling step may be performed without air cooling the mold set 14 with an inert gas. However, if quenching by water cooling is performed while the temperature of the mold set 14 is high, the accuracy of the molded product of the glass material 12 may be affected. Or there exists a possibility that the die set 14 or a molded product may be damaged by thermal stress. For this reason, it is preferable to perform water cooling after air cooling to a predetermined temperature as in the present embodiment. In addition, as a consideration when performing air cooling, attention should be paid to the accuracy of the molded product so that the inert gas is uniformly applied to the outer peripheral portion of the mold set 14 as much as possible.

  When the temperature of the mold set 14 detected by the lower thermocouple 96 is lowered to a predetermined temperature, the water cooler opening / closing air cylinder 126b is driven to close the water cooler 124, and the water cooler 124 is moved to the outer periphery of the mold set 14. (See FIG. 8C). Then, cooling water is supplied from the cooling water tank 16 c to the water cooler 124 to rapidly cool the mold set 14. It is preferable to supply the cooling water only when necessary, but it is also preferable to always supply the cooling water. After the mold set 14 is cooled to a predetermined temperature within a predetermined time, the water cooler opening / closing air cylinder 126b is driven to open the water cooler 124 (see FIG. 8B). Thereafter, the water cooler elevating air cylinder 126a is driven to raise the water cooler 124 upward. The predetermined temperature at this time is assumed to be a temperature that does not oxidize even if the mold set 14 is left in the atmosphere from the isolation chamber 28. In this embodiment, the temperature was 220 ° C. (see FIG. 9).

  The hand (two-jaw chuck) 40 of the transport mechanism 30 shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B is closed, and the body portion of the heat insulating shaft 62 is gripped. The transport mechanism 30 is lifted upward to disengage the heat insulating shaft 62 from the shaft of the mold receiving base 122 of the cooling unit 50. Then, the transfer rotary table 38 of the transfer mechanism 30 is rotated 90 degrees, and the mold set 14 is transferred from the cooling unit 50 to the IO port 44 shown in FIG.

  The conveyance mechanism 30 raised upward for conveyance is lowered, and the recess (shaft) 56a of the mold receiving base 56 of the IO port 44 and the heat insulating shaft 62 are fitted. Then, the hand 40 that has been closed for conveyance is opened.

  The mold raising / lowering cylinder 52 of the IO port 44 is driven to raise the raising / lowering shaft 54 upward. Then, the opening 28 a is sealed with the O-ring 56 b of the mold receiving base 56. In this state, the elevating cylinder 60 is driven, and the cap of the IO chamber 72 is opened.

  The die set 14 incorporating the molded product is carried out from the heat insulating shaft 62 on the IO port 44 (actually, on the lower die plate 64 because the die plate 64 is disposed on the heat insulating shaft 62). Such unloading may be performed manually, or a robot (self-contained device) (not shown) may be used as when unloading.

  Further, when the mold set 14 is lifted by grasping the body mold 14c of the mold set 14 shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the lower mold 14b falls off. For this reason, the ejector cylinder 66 provided in the IO port portion 44 is driven to project the push rod 68 toward the bottom surface of the lower mold 14b. For this reason, the mold set 14 is lifted upward with respect to the die plate 64. Then, the mold set 14 is carried out while supporting the bottom surface of the mold set 14.

Then, the said process is repeated from the beginning and the glass raw material 12 is shape | molded.
The molding sequence described above describes the steps from when the mold set 14 is carried into the molding apparatus 10 until it is carried out. As the operation of the molding apparatus 10, the mold set 14 is connected to the IO port 44. It is possible to carry another mold set 14 into the IO port unit 44 of the apparatus 10 when it is conveyed from the heating unit 46 to the heating unit 46. By following the above steps (procedures), the mold set 14 can be sent continuously to each zone or intermittently. In addition, the molding apparatus 10 can be operated semipermanently by loading a new mold set 14 at the same time when the mold set 14 is unloaded from the IO port 44. In order to operate the molding apparatus 10 semipermanently and continuously feed the mold set 14 into the molding apparatus 10, it is necessary to prepare at least four mold sets 14.

  In the present embodiment, the infrared lamp heater unit 86 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) is used as the heating means of the mold set 14, but high frequency induction heating (RF) may be used. Further, in the present embodiment, the electric servo motor 106 has been described as the drive source for the press driving means of the mold set 14, but a hydraulic cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder may be used. Furthermore, the hand 40 of the transport mechanism 30 has a method in which the claw is long and only opens and closes. However, the hand 40 is a short claw hand, and this hand is provided at the tip of an arm that expands and contracts radially with respect to the central rotation axis. It is good also as a system.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the mold set 14 has the barrel structure having the barrel mold 14c has been described. However, the structure of the mold set 14 is not limited to the barrel structure.

FIG. 9 shows a graph representing the molding temperature profile and the molding press force profile on the vertical axis when the glass material 12 is molded into a desired shape by the above molding process (molding procedure). The horizontal axis is time. The time required for the IO port unit 44 is not included in FIG.
In FIG. 9, the mold set 14 is carried into the IO port 44 at room temperature (region (I) in FIG. 9). And it heats up from room temperature with the heating part 46, and heat retention temperature shall be 720 degreeC (area | region (II)). Quick transfer from the heating unit 46 to the press forming unit 48 (region (III)). The temperature is raised again by the press molding section 48, and the heat retention temperature is set to 730 ° C. (region (IV)). Furthermore, the annealing end temperature in the press forming part 48 is set to 600 ° C. Quickly transfer from the press forming part 48 to the cooling part 50 (area V). The nitrogen air cooling start temperature in the cooling unit 50 is 600 ° C., the water cooling start temperature is 500 ° C., and the cooling end temperature is 220 ° C. (region (VI)). The mold set 14 is transferred from the cooling unit 50 to the IO port unit 44 (region (VII)). At this time, the mold assembly 14 was molded at a temperature of 220 ° C. Note that the temperature raising / warming temperature in the heating unit 46 may be 730 ° C.

The pressing force profile was formed by controlling the first press to 20 kN, the second press (holding pressure) to 5 kN, and the third press to 40 kN.
These profiles can be arbitrarily changed by the setting of the control device 18. It is also possible to individually set the temperature, pressing position, and pressing force for each mold set 14. In this case, different molded products are formed.

  As the molding time for each process at this time, the press molding process (including the slow cooling process) is the longest in each process, and the time is 5 minutes. Other processes (heating / cooling processes) can be processed more quickly. However, as described above, when the mold set 14 is continuously transported, the heating, press molding, and cooling processes must be transported simultaneously in the same time. For this reason, the heating process and the cooling process are intentionally slowed. Therefore, the element determined as the molding tact depends on the molding time of the press molding part 48. However, the holding time of the heating unit 46 is affected by the uniform heating performance of the mold set 14. Further, the cooling time in the cooling unit 50 is affected by the accuracy due to the thermal contraction (sink) of the molded product / die assembly 14. Therefore, the longer the time until heating and cooling, the less affected by the accuracy of the molded product, so it is preferable to delay the heating and cooling steps according to the time of the press molding step. is there. The uniform heating performance of the mold set 14 at this time was within ± 1 ° C. for the entire mold set 14. The molding tact for the application molded in the present embodiment from the molding tact of FIG. 9 is 5 minutes / piece when the mold set 14 is continuously carried into and out of the molding apparatus 10.

When the accuracy of the molded product molded by such an action was evaluated, the following evaluation was obtained.
The surface accuracy of the molded product of the glass material 12 is within λ / 16 with respect to the surface accuracy of the mold set 14 within λ / 16. The decenters on the upper and lower surfaces of the glass lens are such that the clearance between the body mold 14c and the upper and lower molds 14a and 14b of the mold set 14 is within 1 μm with respect to φ3 μm. The tilt of the upper and lower surfaces of the lens is within 1 sec with respect to the tilt of the upper and lower surfaces of the press shaft of the molding apparatus within 1 sec.

  Although not shown in FIG. 9, molding of a microlens array or the like was also performed. In this case, evacuation is always necessary in the process of the press forming section 48. This is because the mold assembly 14 has a concave molding surface and the material 12 is molded in a flat plate state. Therefore, air (inert gas) remains in the recesses of the mold assembly 14 unless vacuum molding is performed. This is because the molded part may come out. Therefore, a good molded product can be obtained even in a complicated molding application such as a microlens array.

  Although not shown in FIG. 9, as a result of carrying out with a multi-cavity mold assembly in which 18 lens molds of 10 mm in diameter are arranged in one mold assembly 14, a molding profile similar to FIG. It was possible to mold with. The accuracy is the same as described above. Therefore, in the case of a φ10 mm lens, a molding tact of 5 min / 18 = 0.28 min = 16.8 sec was realized.

  In the present embodiment, the mold set 14 is not fixed to the molding apparatus 10, but is carried out of the molding apparatus 10 every molding cycle. There is no need to stop the molding apparatus 10. For this reason, the mold assembly 14 was maintained about every 30 shots while the apparatus 10 was in operation. The maintenance method at this time was a simple one such as lightly wiping the molding surface with a solvent such as IPA.

  Normally, when a mold is fixed to an apparatus such as a batch molding apparatus (see FIG. 10), the apparatus continues to operate without maintenance up to about 1000 shots in consideration of a loss such as a time for the apparatus to stop. However, due to the compatibility between the glass material and the mold material, the mold forming surface may become cloudy before maintenance, or in the worst case, glass may be welded. Is required.

  However, by performing simple mold maintenance every 30 shots this time, even if glass and mold materials that are not compatible with conventional molding equipment, fatal re-polishing etc. even after 10,000 shots have passed. The necessary maintenance can be eliminated. Note that simple maintenance may be performed manually or on an automated line.

Hereinafter, the accuracy and productivity of the conventional batch molding apparatus 210 (see FIG. 10) and the continuous molding apparatus 410 (see FIGS. 11 and 12) and the molding apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be compared.
In the case of the conventional batch type molding apparatus 210 shown in FIG. 10, the molding can be performed with accuracy comparable to the molding apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. However, the water cooling in the cooling process in the cooling section is very difficult and the heating, press molding and cooling processes cannot be divided. Needed.

  Further, in the case of the conventional continuous molding apparatus 410 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a lens of about φ10 can be produced at about 30 sec / piece. However, when molding a lens with a diameter of about φ75, both the accuracy and the molding tact can be reduced due to the uniform heating failure of the mold set due to heat transfer heating by the hot plate, the press failure by dividing the press process into two steps, etc. No practical product was obtained. Naturally, molding applications such as microlens arrays that require a vacuum function cannot be molded.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following can be said.
According to these embodiments, it is possible to provide a molding apparatus 10 that applies the advantages of the conventional batch type molding apparatus to a continuous molding apparatus. However, the molding apparatus 10 does not cover all the disadvantages of the conventional batch molding apparatus 210 (see FIG. 10) and the continuous molding apparatus 410 (see FIGS. 11 and 12). Especially the shaping | molding apparatus 10 which concerns on this Embodiment can shape | mold the glass raw material 12 efficiently using the large diameter die set 14 of a trunk | drum type structure. In addition, it is possible to propose a molding apparatus that enables the press molding unit 48 to perform molding in a vacuum atmosphere. From the above, the molding apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can produce the high-precision glass element 12 at low cost and in large quantities. That is, according to this Embodiment, the shaping | molding apparatus 10 and the shaping | molding method which can produce the high precision glass element 12 in low cost and in large quantities can be provided.

  Further, since the mold set 14 heated to a high temperature is transported in a state of being placed on the heat insulating shaft 62, for example, when heated, the mold set 14 is moved to the next zone (without lowering the temperature as much as possible). (Process). That is, it is possible to prevent heat from being exerted on the mold set 14 from below or the like. If the die plate 64 is formed of a heat insulating material, the mold assembly 14 is heated from the heat insulating shaft 62 and the die plate 64 even when the die plate 64 is disposed on the heat insulating shaft 62. Can be prevented from being affected. In this case, one end of the upper thermocouple 104 shown in FIG. 7 slightly protrudes from the lower surface of the die plate 64a, and the temperature of the upper die 14a can be detected.

  Further, when the mold set 14 having the trunk mold 14c is used, the lower mold 14b is detached from the trunk mold 14c even if the mold set 14 is lifted while the barrel mold 14c is held. In the present embodiment, the push rod 68 having an axis in the axial direction of the heat insulating shaft 62, that is, the vertical direction, can be projected and retracted with respect to the upper surface of the upper end portion of the heat insulating shaft 62 (the upper surface of the die plate 64). That is, the push rod 68 can be projected and retracted with respect to the upper surface of the die plate 64. Therefore, when the die set 14 is carried in and out of the IO port portion 44, the push rod 68 is operated so that the bottom surface of the die set 14 is easily separated from the top surface of the die plate 64. Can be held in.

  In the above-described embodiment, the heating unit 46 is provided in the isolation chamber 28. However, the press molding unit 48 may heat the substrate from room temperature. In addition, although the cooling unit 50 has been described, it is also preferable that the press forming unit 48 is air-cooled to 220 ° C. That is, in the present embodiment, the description has been made using the three-zone glass forming apparatus 10, so each process of heating, press forming, and cooling is performed in three zones (three stations) of the heating unit 46, the press forming unit 48, and the cooling unit 50. Although it is divided, in order to simplify the molding apparatus, the heating process of the heating unit 46 and the press molding process of the press molding unit 48 are performed together, for example, heating, heat retention, and pressing in the press molding zone (area). The steps up to molding and slow cooling may be integrated. In this case, the cost of the apparatus can be reduced, but the molding tact is slightly increased. Conversely, the molding apparatus may divide the heating and cooling processes (heating unit 46 and cooling unit 50) excluding the press molding process into several parts.

  Furthermore, each process (heating part 46, press molding part 48, cooling part 50) may be arranged on a straight line. However, when each process is arranged on a straight line, the IO port unit 44 includes an I port unit (not shown) for carrying in the mold set 14 and an O port unit (not shown) for carrying out the mold set 14. And divided. That is, the mold set 14 is carried into the molding apparatus from the I port portion, moved in order through the heating unit 46, the press molding unit 48, and the cooling unit 50, and carried out from the O port unit.

  The embodiment has been specifically described so far with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and all the embodiments performed without departing from the scope of the invention are described. Including.

The schematic perspective view which shows the state which saw through a part of glass forming apparatus which concerns on preferable one Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a schematic perspective view which shows the glass raw material shape | molded with the glass forming apparatus which concerns on preferable one Embodiment, (B) is the inside of the metal mold | die group arrange | positioned at the glass forming apparatus which concerns on preferable one Embodiment. Schematic which shows the state which inserted the glass raw material in (C), Schematic which shows the state which inserted and shape | molded the glass raw material in the metal mold | die group arrange | positioned at the glass forming apparatus which concerns on preferable one Embodiment. The schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state of the center part of the glass forming apparatus which concerns on preferable one Embodiment. (A) is the schematic which shows the arrangement | positioning state of IO port part, a heating part, a press molding part, and a cooling part with the conveyance mechanism in the isolation chamber of the glass forming apparatus which concerns on preferable one Embodiment, (B) is preferable one. The schematic perspective view which shows the conveyance mechanism of the glass forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment. The schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state of the IO port part of the glass forming apparatus which concerns on preferable one Embodiment. The schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state of the heating part of the glass forming apparatus which concerns on preferable one Embodiment. The schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state of the press molding part of the glass forming apparatus which concerns on preferable one Embodiment. (A) is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state of the cooling part of the glass forming apparatus which concerns on preferable one Embodiment, (B) is a pair of water cooling of the cooling part of the glass forming apparatus which concerns on preferable one Embodiment. Schematic which shows the state with which the child | opening was open with respect to the metal mold | die assembly, (C) is a state with which one pair of water coolers of the cooling part of the glass forming apparatus which concerns on preferable one Embodiment closed with respect to the metal mold | die assembly. Schematic shown. A graph showing the molding temperature and pressing force profile with the vertical axis representing the molding temperature and pressing force when molding the glass material using the glass molding apparatus according to a preferred embodiment. .

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Three-zone annular glass molding apparatus, 12 ... Glass material, 14 ... Mold set, 14a ... Upper die, 14b ... Lower die, 14c ... Body die, 16a ... Inert gas cylinder, 16b ... Vacuum pump, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 18 ... Control apparatus, 22 ... Lower frame, 24 ... Upper frame, 24a ... Standing frame, 24b ... Flat plate frame, 28 ... Isolation chamber, 28a ... Opening, 40 ... Hand, 44 ... IO port part, 46 ... Heating part, 48 ... Press molding part, 50 ... Cooling part, 82 ... Mold cradle, 82a ... Through hole, 82b ... Through hole, 84 ... Quartz chamber, 86 ... Infrared lamp heater unit, 88 ... Support plate, 88a ... Through hole, 88b ... Opening, 90 ... Air cylinder, 92 ... O-ring, 94 ... Lower thermocouple lifting / lowering air cylinder, 96 ... Lower thermocouple, 102 ... Pressing mechanism, 104 ... Upper thermocouple, 106 ... Servo motor Motor, 108 ... reduction gear screw jack, 110 ... press axis, 110a ... communication hole, 112 ... O-ring, 114 ... load cell

Claims (8)

The material to be molded is sandwiched by a mold set configured by fitting a pair of upper and lower molds to a cylindrical body mold, and the material to be molded is subjected to a desired molding through a heating process, a press molding process, and a cooling process. A molding apparatus for molding a product,
An operation chamber for each of the heating, press molding, and cooling steps, and an isolation chamber for storing and storing the IO port portion for carrying in and out the mold set on an annular or straight line so as to isolate them from the atmosphere ,
A heat insulating member that is disposed in the isolation chamber and receives the mold set that is carried into the IO port unit from the outside of the isolation chamber; and a hand capable of gripping the heat insulating member; A transport mechanism for gripping a member and transporting the mold set together with the heat insulating member from the IO port section to the IO port section sequentially through the work areas of the heating, press molding, and cooling steps. A molding apparatus characterized by: When the work area for each step of heating, press molding and cooling, and the IO port part for carrying in and out the mold set are arranged on the ring,
The transport mechanism is further provided with a rotation shaft that is erected at the center of the isolation chamber and can be rotated and raised and lowered.
The said hand of the said conveyance mechanism can hold | grip the said heat insulation member by opening and closing in the circumferential direction centering on the position radially separated with respect to the said rotating shaft. Molding equipment.   The molding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the hand is provided in a state of facing the work area of each step and the IO port unit simultaneously.   The transport mechanism includes a push-up mechanism that transfers the mold set above the heat insulating member when the mold set is carried into and out of the isolation chamber from the IO port portion. The molding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. It is arranged in a state of being connected to the IO port part, and has a load lock mechanism for carrying the mold set into and out of the IO port part,
The molding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the load lock mechanism is capable of maintaining the inside of the isolation chamber in an inert gas atmosphere or a vacuum. In at least one of the heating and press working areas, there is a heat-resistant chamber for accommodating the mold set so as to be opened and closed,
The molding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the heat resistant chamber can be maintained in an inert gas atmosphere or in a vacuum. As a heating means of the mold set in at least one of the heating and press working areas, an infrared lamp method or a high frequency induction heating method is used.
The molding apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the heating unit heats, keeps, or gradually cools the mold set from an outer peripheral portion of the heat insulating chamber.   The molding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cooling means in the work area of the cooling step has a function of cooling by contact with a water cooling plate or air cooling with an inert gas.

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