JP2007210845A - Lens molding device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lens molding device which can obtain an excellent durability, and can produce a lens inexpensively at high productive efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: The lens molding device 1 for continuously molding the lens A while being conveyed by compression-molding a pellet (a) for every die 2 charged with the pellet is provided with: a charging part 3 where the lens A is discharged from an opened die 2, a pellet a is fed, and die closing is performed; and a working part 4 where a plurality of molding stages 41 capable of continuously performing heating, compression molding and cooling are radially arranged. The working part 4 is provided with a dispersion feeding apparatus 40 where the die 2 passed through the charging part 3 is fed to each molding stage 41, and each die 2 worked at each molding stage 41 is recovered to the charging part 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for molding a glass or resin lens used in a camera-equipped mobile phone or various optical devices.

  In general, glass or resin lenses used in camera-equipped mobile phones and various optical devices are manufactured by heat compression molding a pellet-shaped material.

  Conventionally, the manufacturing of this lens is configured such that a plurality of lenses can be molded at once by a single compression molding by putting pellets into a plurality of cavities formed in one mold. Batch forming methods are known.

  However, in the case of this batch molding method, when trying to mold many lenses at once, unevenness in heating or uneven pressure will occur depending on the part of the mold, making it difficult to mold a stable product. Become.

Therefore, progressive molding is configured so that a plurality of molds having one cavity can be prepared, and pellets can be put into these molds, and the lenses can be continuously molded while being compressed and fed one by one. A method has been adopted.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-292629 JP-A-4-164826

  However, as in the case of the above-described conventional progressive molding system, when a lens is continuously molded while sequentially feeding the mold, processing is performed while sequentially feeding the mold for each stage, such as heating, compression molding, and cooling. Therefore, work is performed at each stage, such as heating at the heating stage, compression molding at the compression stage, cooling at the cooling stage, etc., but when moving between the stages, the work stops once and the work is performed intermittently. turn into. Therefore, work efficiency will deteriorate.

  In addition, since the work is performed at each stage while sequentially feeding the molds, the work time for sequentially feeding to the adjacent stage must be set according to the stage having the longest work time. In other words, even if compression molding can be performed in just a few seconds, if heating in the heating stage requires several tens of seconds, the mold must be fed in order to match this several tens of seconds. The work efficiency becomes worse.

  Furthermore, the compression stage is composed of a plurality of stages such as pre-pressurization and main pressurization, but each stage is provided with a pressurizing plate for compressing the mold from above and below at high pressure. When the mold is slid between the plates to pressurize them, they must be fed forward between adjacent pressurizing plates. In other words, it is not possible to forward the molds using a roller conveyor or a belt conveyor, but the molds must be fed forward by pushing and sliding with a chuck or an arm. Similarly, in the heating stage and the cooling stage, a heating plate with a built-in heater and a cooling plate through which cooling water flows are brought into contact with the mold for heating and cooling. The mold must be moved forward as if it were slid between the plates. Therefore, in order to mold one lens, it is necessary to push and slide the die by the number of stages to make it progressive. Therefore, if the die is used continuously in units of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, metal friction will occur. As a result, both the mold and the apparatus have an influence, and there is a disadvantage that sufficient durability cannot be obtained.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lens molding apparatus that can obtain excellent durability and can manufacture a lens at low cost with high production efficiency.

  In order to solve the above problems, the lens molding apparatus of the present invention prepares a plurality of molds having at least one cavity, puts pellets into these molds, compresses and molds each mold and conveys it. This is a production device that can continuously mold the lens while taking out the lens from the mold that has been opened, and supplying the pellet to the cavity surface of the mold after removal to close the mold And a processing section in which a plurality of molding stages capable of performing heating, compression molding, and cooling continuously are arranged in a radial manner. In each processing section, a die that has been charged is transferred to each molding stage. In addition, a distributed supply device is provided that is configured to collect the molds processed at the respective molding stages to the preparation unit.

  Further, in this lens molding apparatus, at least the processing part is provided in a chamber that can keep the inside in an inert gas atmosphere.

  As described above, according to the lens molding apparatus of the present invention, a mold is supplied to each molding stage capable of continuously performing heating, compression molding, and cooling by a distributed supply device, and continuous at each molding stage. Specifically, after the lens is molded, it can be collected into the charging section. Therefore, since each work is not intermittent, work efficiency is good, and since there is no need to sequentially feed the mold for each work, it is not necessary to adjust the time setting for the forward feed to the longest work time. It can be lost. Furthermore, after each mold is supplied from the preparation part to the forming stage, there is no such thing as progressive feeding between the forming stages by only two exchanges collected from this forming stage to the preparation part. Durability can be improved by reducing metal friction between the mold and the apparatus.

  In addition, the processing unit does not need to form a conveyance line to sequentially feed the molds between the molding stages, and exchanges the molds between the plurality of radially arranged molding stages and the dispersion supply device. Therefore, it is possible to design the processing part itself in a compact manner. Therefore, even when the entire processing portion is provided in a chamber having an inert gas atmosphere to prevent oxidation of the mold, the volume of the inert gas can be reduced by reducing the volume of the chamber as much as possible.

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

  1 shows an outline of the entire configuration of the lens molding apparatus 1, FIG. 2 shows a preparation section 3 of the lens molding apparatus 1, FIG. 3 shows a processing section 4 of the lens molding apparatus 1, and FIGS. Indicates the mold 2.

  In other words, the lens molding apparatus 1 can continuously mold the lens A while putting resin or glass pellets a into a plurality of molds 2 and compressing and transporting each of the molds 2. The charging unit 3 and the processing unit 4 are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the mold 2 includes a lower mold 21, an upper mold 22, a guide 23, and a stopper 24.

  The lower die 21 is configured by providing a projecting portion 21b projecting in a columnar shape from the center of a disk-shaped flange 21a, and is recessed in an arcuate cross section at the projecting tip surface portion of the projecting portion 21a. A cavity surface 21c is formed.

  The upper mold 22 is formed by turning the lower mold 21 upside down, and a cavity surface 22c that is recessed in an arcuate cross section is formed on the projecting tip surface portion of the projecting section 22b projecting from the flange 22a. ing.

  The guide 23 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the projecting portion 21b of the lower mold 21 is inserted into the cylinder from below, and the mold is closed by inserting the projecting portion 22b of the upper mold 22 into the cylinder from above. It is made to be able to. In this closed state, the cavity 20 of the mold 2 can be formed by the cavity surface 21c of the lower mold 21, the cavity surface 22c of the upper mold 22, and a part of the inner peripheral surface of the guide 23. It is made like that.

  The stopper 24 is formed in a cylindrical shape that can be fitted to the outer side of the guide 23. The stopper 24 has a height from the bottom surface of the flange 21a of the lower mold 21 to the upper surface of the flange 22a of the upper mold 22 in a state where the mold is closed and the ideal cavity 20 is formed so that the cavity 20 is constant. The lower mold 21 and the upper mold 22 are prevented from closing the mold beyond the height of the stopper 24 when formed by compression molding.

  The stopper 24 is not limited to a height formed from the bottom surface of the flange 21 a of the lower mold 21 to the upper surface of the flange 22 a of the upper mold 22. It is interposed between the flange 21a of the mold 21 and the flange 22a of the upper mold 22 so that the distance between the projecting portions 21b, 22b of the lower mold 21 and the upper mold 22 is kept constant. 22 may be configured so that it cannot be closed.

  Since the lens A molded by the mold 2 has a small diameter of 1 to 30 mm, it becomes a defective product due to a slight difference in the combination of the molds 2. Therefore, it is preferable to use the lower mold 21, the upper mold 22, the guide 23, and the stopper 24 in the same combination. Each of the lower mold 21, the upper mold 22, the guide 23, and the stopper 24 is provided with a code that can be read by a laser or a camera. These cords are provided on the bottom surface of the flange 21a of the lower die 21, the upper surface of the flange 22a of the upper die 22, the upper end surface of the guide 23, and the upper end surface of the stopper 24, respectively. All codes except the lower mold 21 can be confirmed by reading work from above. Since the lower mold 21 cannot be read from above, a cord is provided on the bottom surface of the flange 21a. As the code, a laser-printed two-dimensional code or the like can be used.

  A plurality of molds 2 configured in this way are provided so as to circulate through the transport line. This conveyance line is formed so as to circulate the mold 2 from the preparation unit 3 through the pre-processing conveyance line 5 to the processing unit 4 and then through the post-processing conveyance line 6 to the preparation unit 3 again. Yes.

  The preparation unit 3 is provided at the conveyance leading end of the post-processing conveyance line 6 so as to position the flowed mold 2. This positioning is performed by holding and fixing the lower die 21 by a chuck extending from the periphery of the working position of the preparation unit 3. This fixed position is fixed at a predetermined position of the preparation unit 3 programmed in advance. After the work in the preparation section 3 is finished, the fixing by the chuck is released and the work is transferred to the pre-processing transport line 5.

  Then, after the upper mold 22 is fixed to the preparation section 3 by another chuck provided above the mold 2 and lifted by the cylinder, the mold is opened, and then the slide movement is performed in the horizontal direction while holding the upper mold 22. A mold opening device 30 is provided. The mold opening device 30 is configured such that after the lens A is taken out from the mold 2 that has been opened and a new pellet a is supplied, the mold can be closed by performing the reverse operation.

  Further, in order to take out the lens A from the mold 2 that has been opened, the preparation unit 3 is provided with a suction head 31 that can take out the lens A from the mold 2 by suction. The suction head 31 is programmed so as to move between the mold 2 and the tray 8 which are opened to take out the lens A of the mold 2 to the tray 8. Further, a centering device 81 is provided between the preparation unit 3 and the tray 8 in order to lower the lens A sucked by the suction head 31 once and accurately position it. Since the lens A can be accurately attracted by positioning with the centering device 81 and then attracting again with the attracting head 31, the molded lenses A can be arranged on the tray 8. When the lens A is full, the tray 8 is stored in the tray collection box 80, and an empty tray 8 is supplied from the tray collection box 80 for replacement. The lens A may be inspected by performing laser irradiation or the like while the lens A is positioned by the centering device 81. In this case, by building each data, each lens A collected in the tray collection box 80 is managed using which mold 2 and when it is manufactured, and what the inspection result is. Can do.

  Further, a suction head 32 for supplying pellets a which are materials for forming a new lens A to the mold 2 from which the lens A is taken out is located at a position facing the suction head 31 of the preparation unit 3. Is provided. The suction head 32 is programmed to perform an operation of moving between the tray 9 and the mold 2 opened to supply the pellets a of the tray 9 to the mold 2. In addition, a centering device 91 is provided between the preparation unit 3 and the tray 9 for once dropping the pellet a adsorbed by the adsorption head 32 and positioning it accurately. Since the pellet a can be accurately adsorbed by positioning it with the centering device 91 and then again adsorbing with the adsorption head 32, the adsorption head 32 can reliably prevent the mold 2 from dropping. The pellet a can be accurately placed at the center position of the cavity surface 21c of the lower mold 2. When the pellet a becomes empty, the tray 9 is collected into the tray collection box 90, and the tray 9 on which the pellet a is placed is supplied from the tray collection box 90 for replacement. In addition, after the pellet a is positioned by the centering device 91, the material inspection may be performed by measuring the weight of the pellet a or the like. In this case, it is possible to prevent the defective material from being supplied to the mold 2 by performing a material inspection in advance.

  In the preparation section 3, a series of operations of taking out the lens A from the mold opening, supplying the pellet a, and closing the mold are all performed based on operations programmed in advance. At this time, the preparation unit 3 is provided with cameras 33 on the upper side, the lower side, and the side, respectively, monitors whether there is an operation error, reads the code of the mold 2, and manufactures information about the molded lens A. Has been made to build. Further, the lower mold 21 and the upper mold 22 constituting the mold 2 are always closed at the same position based on information from the camera 33. That is, the position of the cord of the lower mold 21 is confirmed by the lower camera 33, and the mold is closed by adjusting the position of the cord of the upper mold 22 to the same position as the code of the lower mold 21 by the upper camera 33. Has been made. At this time, only the camera 33 provided on the upper side is interlocked with the mold opening device 30. That is, when the mold opening device 30 lifts the upper mold 22 and slides in the horizontal direction, the mold opening device 30 stops in the middle, and the camera 33 can photograph the mold 2 with the mold opened from above. Yes. Also, when the mold opening device 30 performs the reverse operation to close the mold after taking out the lens A from the mold 2 and supplying a new pellet a, the lateral opening of the mold opening device 30 is performed. The movement is stopped halfway, and the camera 33 can take a picture of the mold 2 charged with the pellet a from above.

  The camera 33 provided on the side is not particularly limited to the camera 33 as long as the molded lens A can be monitored to be opened while being stuck to the upper mold 22. Alternatively, a laser sensor or the like may be used.

  The processing unit 4 includes a plurality of radially arranged molding stages 41 and a dispersion supply device 40 that supplies the molds 2 to the molding stages 41 and collects the molds 2 from the molding stages 41. It is comprised.

  The molding stage 41 is arranged in a radial circle shape so as to be dispersed in 7 out of 8 parts equally divided at a central angle of 45 degrees. A dispersion supply device 40 is provided at the remaining one of the eight locations.

  Each molding stage 41 is formed in a plate shape, so that the mold 2 can be sandwiched from above and below each molding stage 41 as shown in FIG. 3 above each molding stage 41. A made plate 42 is provided. The plate 42 is fixed at a position above the molding stage 41, and each molding stage 41 can be moved up and down by a servo press 43. The mold 2 can be pressurized between each molding stage 41 and the plate 42 by raising and lowering the servo press 43. The plate 42 may be in the form of a plate having the same size as that of the molding stage 41, or the plate 42 itself is fixed, so that one giant connecting between the molding stages 41 is provided. It may be a plate. Since the molding stage 41 and the plate 42 pressurize the mold 2 between them, one made of a steel plate having excellent compressive strength is used.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a cooling pipe 44 is provided inside each molding stage 41 so that cooling water can pass therethrough, and each molding stage 41 is cooled by the cooling water passing through the cooling pipe 44. By cooling the heat, the heat of the mold 2 in contact with each of the molding stages 41 is prevented from being transmitted to the devices that drive the processing unit 4. The cooling pipes 44 may be introduced for each position of each molding stage 41, or the adjacent molding stages 41 are connected by the same cooling pipe 44, as shown in FIG. By switching the one-way solenoid valve 44a as shown in FIG. 6 or the two-way solenoid valve 44b as shown in FIG. 6B, a detour is provided so that the cooling water does not flow into the cooling pipe 44 of each molding stage 41 except when necessary. 44c may be formed.

  Each molding stage 41 is provided with a cooling plate 45 that sandwiches the outer peripheral surface of the mold 2 from both sides. The cooling plate 45 can be moved closer to or away from the mold 2 placed on the molding stage 41 and lifted by the servo press 43 by being sandwiched or not sandwiched from both sides. Has been made. When cooling the mold 2, the cooling plate 45 can cool the mold 2 by sandwiching the outer peripheral surface of the mold 2 from both sides. In addition, after cooling is finished, the mold 2 is released from being held away from the mold 2. The cooling plate 45 is not limited to the case where the outer peripheral surface of the mold 2 is directly sandwiched and cooled from both sides, but is fixed at a position close to the outer peripheral surface of the mold 2 and indirectly the mold 2. It may be one that cools.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, each molding stage 41 is provided with a heating head 46 having a heating coil 46 a that can surround the mold 2. The heating head 46 surrounds the periphery of the mold 2 by a heating coil 46 a in a state where the mold 2 placed on each molding stage 41 is raised by the servo press 43. When the mold 2 is heated, the mold 2 placed on each molding stage 41 is raised by the servo press 43 so that the heating coil 46 a of the heating head 46 surrounds the mold 2. It is. Further, after the heating is finished, the mold 2 placed on each molding stage 41 may be lowered by the servo press 43. The mold 2 is heated by energizing the heating coil 46a and heating it by electromagnetic induction. At this time, a shielding plate 46b is provided and shielded between the heating head 46 and the heating coil 46a so that the heat of the heated mold 2 is not transmitted to the heating head 46 side.

  The distributed supply device 40 is conveyed by a chuck 40a that conveys the mold 2 from the conveyance leading end portion of the pre-processing conveyance line 5 to the machining portion 4, a rotary table 40b that rotates at the center of each molding stage 41, and the chuck 40a. The slider 40c is configured to move the mold 2 from the transfer position to the turntable 40b.

  The slider 40c is provided with an annular holding portion 40d at the tip thereof so that the mold 2 can be surrounded from the periphery. The slider 40c can be moved up and down with the holding portion 40d. Further, the slider 40c can be expanded and contracted so that the mold 2 can be exchanged between the transport position transported by the chuck 40a and the turntable 40b. The slider 40c is lowered from above the mold 2 at the transport position, and the slider 40c contracts in a state where the holding portion 40d surrounds the periphery of the mold 2, so that the mold 2 is moved from the transport position to the turntable 40b. It is made to be able to pull in. The slider 40c is rotated together with the turntable 40b to a desired position of the forming stage 41, and then extended so that the mold 2 can be conveyed from the turntable 40b to the forming stage 41. Thereafter, the slider 40c is lifted and released from the state surrounding the periphery of the mold 2, and then is separated from the mold 2 by contracting. Further, by performing an operation opposite to the above-described operation, the mold 2 of the molding stage 41 is transported to the transport position and pulled back to the transport base end of the post-processing transport line 6.

  In the processing unit 4 configured in this way, the mold 2 is sequentially supplied to each of the seven molding stages 41 by the dispersion supply device 40, and the molds 2 are taken out from the molding stage 41 after the molding is completed. The new mold 2 is again supplied to the vacant molding stage 41. Therefore, the dispersion supply device 40 performs an operation of taking out the mold 2 from the molding stage 41 and supplying a new mold 2 to the molding stage 41 taken out by a single operation. For example, since there are seven molding stages 41, in order to take out the mold 2 of the molding stage 41 supplied first, if one operation takes 2 seconds, 14 seconds are required, and one operation takes 40 seconds. In such a case, 280 seconds are required. This number of seconds preferably matches the molding time of the mold 2 in the molding stage 41. However, it is impossible to actually perform the heating, compression molding, and cooling steps in 14 seconds. Takes too much time. When one operation time is short, the processing unit 4 may be provided with more molding stages 41. Conversely, when one operation time is long, the mold 2 from the molding stage 41 is used. The operation time can be shortened by using a distributed supply device 40 designed to simultaneously take out the mold 2 and supply the mold 2 to the molding stage 41, or to reduce the molding stage 41 and make the processing unit 4 compact. Can do. Accordingly, in the present embodiment, the number of molding stages 41 is seven, but it may be six or less, or may be eight or more.

  FIG. 8A to FIG. 8F show another embodiment of the distributed supply device 40 in the processing unit 4. The distributed supply device 40 shown in FIG. 8A conveys the mold 2 to the center of the processing unit 4 by the chuck 40a, and lifts it to the center of the base 40f by the cylinder 40e. ) To supply the mold 2 to each molding stage 41. 8B is configured such that the mold 2 is directly transferred between the chucks 40a instead of the slider 40c (see FIG. 3) having the holding portion 40d (see FIG. 3). Yes. The distributed supply device 40 shown in FIG. 8C directly grips the mold 2 at the transfer front end portion of the pre-processing transfer line 5 to the processing unit 4 by the chuck 40 a that can be expanded and contracted from the center of the processing unit 4. It can be pulled in. The dispersion supply apparatus 40 shown in FIG. 8D is configured to convey the mold 2 conveyed by the chuck 40a to a predetermined molding stage 41 by a chuck 40g that holds the mold 2 from above. The dispersion supply device 40 shown in FIG. 8E is configured such that the processing unit 4 itself rotates, and the mold 2 is directly supplied to the molding stage 41 by the chuck 40a. The dispersion supply device 40 shown in FIG. 8 (f) can supply the mold 2 directly to each molding stage 41 by a chuck 40 h that can expand and contract at a predetermined angle. .

  The mold 2 that has passed through the processing section 4 is transported to the preparation section 3 by a post-processing transport line 6. When it is determined that the lens A taken out by the preparation unit 3 is defective, the new resin pellet a is not supplied to the preparation unit 3, and the mold 2 that has been closed is processed from the pre-processing conveyance line 5. Instead of being sent to the section 4, it is flowed to the post-processing transport line 6 and is recovered from the recovery line 61 of the defective mold 2. The mold 2 that has solved the problem is placed again on the input line 62 of the mold 2 and returned to the transport line 6 after processing.

  According to the lens molding apparatus 1 configured in this way, the mold 2 is supplied to each molding stage 41 by the dispersion supply apparatus 40, and heating, compression molding, and cooling are continuously performed to advance the molding operation of the lens A. be able to. Therefore, each operation is not intermittent and can be molded efficiently. In addition, since it is not necessary to sequentially feed the mold 2 for each process such as heating, compression molding, and cooling, it is not necessary to set a time for forward feeding in accordance with the longest working process time, and wasteful waiting time can be eliminated. it can.

  Further, in the processing unit 4, the mold 2 from the preparation unit 3 is supplied to the molding stage 41, and then only two exchanges are collected from the molding stage 41 to the preparation unit 3. Since there is no such thing as forward feeding, it is possible to reduce the metal friction of the mold 2 and the machined portion 4 and improve the durability.

  Further, the processing unit 4 does not need to form a transfer line for sequentially feeding the mold 2, and exchanges the mold 2 between the plurality of radially arranged molding stages 41 and the dispersion supply device 40. Therefore, the processing part 4 itself can be designed in a compact manner. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, even when the processing part 4 is provided in the chamber 7 in an inert gas atmosphere to prevent the mold 2 from being oxidized, the volume of the chamber 7 is made as small as possible to reduce the inert gas. It becomes possible to reduce consumption.

  The chamber 7 is composed of a housing capable of maintaining the inside thereof in an inert gas atmosphere, and includes a first air chamber 71 provided with a preparation portion 3 and a pre-processing transport line 5, The second air chamber 72 is provided with the portion 4, and only the post-processing transfer line 6 is provided outside the first air chamber 71.

  Therefore, the first air chamber 71 includes a shutter 71 a that passes when the mold 2 after passing through the processing section 4 goes out to the post-processing transport line 6, and the post-processing transport line 6 outside the chamber 7 to the chamber. And a shutter 71 b that passes when entering the preparation section 3 in the first air chamber 71.

  A shutter 71c is also provided on the upper surface of the first air chamber 71, and the lens A molded by the mold 2 is taken out from the shutter 71c, or the resin pellet a is supplied to the mold 2. It is made to be able to.

  Further, a shutter 70 is also provided between the first air chamber 71 and the second air chamber 72, and when the mold 2 from the pre-processing conveyance line 5 is supplied to the processing unit 4, or the processing unit When the mold 2 processed in 4 is returned to the transport line 6 after processing, it passes through the shutter 70. As a result, the second air chamber 72 provided with the processing portion 4 is arranged so that the first air chamber 71 is interposed between the outside and the outside so that an inert gas atmosphere can be maintained very strictly. Yes. Therefore, in the processing section 4, the mold 2 is in a high temperature state where it is easy to oxidize during processing, but since an inert gas atmosphere can be strictly maintained, deterioration of the mold 2 due to oxidation can be prevented. . The second air chamber 72 is provided with a concentration meter 73 for measuring the inert gas concentration of the inert gas atmosphere so that the atmosphere can be managed. When the concentration is lowered, the inert gas can be supplied into the first air chamber 71 or the second air chamber 72 by opening and closing the valve 75 of the line led out from the gas cylinder 74.

  Regarding the timing of supplying the inert gas by opening and closing the valve 75, in the case of the second air chamber 72, since the concentration meter 73 is provided, the inert gas may be supplied according to the concentration meter 73. Also in the case of the first air chamber 71, a concentration meter 73 may be provided similarly to the second air chamber 72, and an inert gas may be supplied according to the concentration meter 73. In this case, however, two densitometers 73 are required, which is uneconomical. Therefore, the first air chamber 71 may be one that supplies an inert gas in accordance with a predetermined program, or an excessive inert gas is supplied to the second air chamber 72 and the excess air is discharged. The active gas may be distributed to the first air chamber 71. In addition, in the case of the second air chamber 72, the inert gas supply path 76 supplied from the valve 75 is preferably the innermost part away from the shutter 70 that partitions the first air chamber 71. In the case of the first air chamber 71, it is preferable to provide an air curtain of an inert gas provided near the shutter 71c so that the shutter 71c is opened. Further, after opening the shutter 71c, opening the upper mold 22 and taking out the lens A, the inert gas from the supply passage 76 is also used for cleaning the cavity 20 until the next resin pellet a is supplied to the cavity 20. May be sprayed onto the cavity 20.

  Since only the conveyance line 6 after processing is taken out of the chamber 7 in the chamber 7, even if heat is trapped in the chamber 7, the mold 2 is sufficiently cooled outside the chamber 7. be able to. In the post-processing transport line 6, the mold 2 is cooled after the processing, and the most secure against oxidation is ensured.

  In the lens molding apparatus 1 configured as described above, all operations are performed in the chamber 7 except for the post-processing conveyance line 6 in which the mold 2 is cooled and the most safe against oxidation is ensured. Therefore, it can prevent that the metal mold | die 2 deteriorates by oxidation. In addition, since the post-processing conveyance line 6 that can ensure safety is provided outside and the volume other than that is provided in the chamber 7, the volume of the chamber 7 is reduced as much as possible. Can be reduced.

  Further, the second air chamber 72 provided with the processing portion 4 has a double structure in which the mold 2 is in a high temperature state but the first air chamber 71 is interposed between the second air chamber 72 and the outside. It is easy to maintain the concentration of the active gas atmosphere, and the oxidation of the mold 2 can be effectively prevented without increasing the consumption amount of the inert gas.

  In the present embodiment, a shutter 71c is provided on the upper surface of the first air chamber 71 of the chamber 7, and the lens A is taken out from the shutter 71c or the resin pellet a is supplied. The tray 8 for taking out the lens A and the tray 9 on which the resin pellet a is placed may be provided in the first air chamber 71.

  In the present embodiment, the lens molding apparatus 1 is provided in the chamber 7, but the chamber 7 may not be provided, or only the second air chamber 72 provided with the processing unit 4. It may be.

  The present invention can be applied to the production of resin or glass lenses used in various cameras such as camera-equipped mobile phones.

It is a block diagram which shows the outline of the whole structure of the lens molding apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic block diagram around the preparation part of the lens shaping | molding apparatus which concerns on this invention. (A) is a vertical sectional view showing a schematic configuration around the processing section of the lens molding apparatus according to the present invention, and (b) and (c) are horizontal sectional views showing the operation of the dispersion supply device of the processing section. It is a disassembled perspective view of the metal mold | die used for the lens shaping | molding apparatus which concerns on this invention. (A) And (b) is sectional drawing which shows the state before shaping | molding of the metal mold | die used for the lens shaping | molding apparatus which concerns on this invention, and after shaping | molding. (A) is a piping diagram which shows the flow of the cooling water of the process part of the lens shaping | molding apparatus which concerns on this invention, (b) is a part of piping diagram which shows other embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the heating head of the process part of the lens molding apparatus which concerns on this invention. (A) thru | or (f) is the schematic which shows various embodiment of the dispersion | distribution supply apparatus of the process part of the lens shaping | molding apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lens shaping | molding apparatus 2 Mold 20 Cavity 3 Preparation part 4 Processing part 5 Pre-processing conveyance line 6 Post-processing conveyance line 7 Chamber 70 Shutter 71 1st air chamber 71c Shutter 72 2nd air chamber a Resin pellet A Lens

Claims (2)

A production apparatus that can prepare a plurality of molds having at least one cavity, and can continuously form a lens while feeding pellets into these molds, compression molding and transporting each mold. Because
Taking out the lens from the mold that has been opened, and supplying a pellet to the cavity surface of the mold after the removal, and a charging part that closes the mold,
A processing stage in which a plurality of molding stages capable of continuously performing heating, compression molding, and cooling are radially arranged;
The processing unit is provided with a distributed supply device that supplies the molds that have passed through the preparation unit to each molding stage, and collects the molds processed at each molding stage to the preparation unit. A lens molding apparatus. The lens molding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least the processing portion can keep the inside in an inert gas atmosphere.

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