JP2009202140A - Apparatus for coating optical lens and needle centering method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for coating an optical lens, in the syringe replacement part of which a needle arranged at the tip of a syringe can be precisely positioned to the rotation center of a turntable and to provide a needle centering method. <P>SOLUTION: Mark tables 80A, 80B are arranged in the syringe replacement part 9 correspondingly to respective syringe supports 23B, 23C of a syringe holder 23. Needle positioning marks M<SB>1</SB>, N<SB>1</SB>, M<SB>2</SB>, N<SB>2</SB>showing the rotation centers O<SB>1</SB>, O<SB>2</SB>of turntables 25A, 25B of a spin coating unit are indicated on the mark tables 80A, 80B correspondingly to syringes to be mounted on syringe mounting parts 34A, 34B of syringe supports 23B, 23C. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical lens coating apparatus and a needle centering method.

  In the production of optical lenses, particularly spectacle lenses, in order to improve light shielding properties, light control properties, scratch resistance, water repellency, etc., a coating film made of a material suitable for the purpose is formed on the lens surface. (For example, refer nonpatent literature 1). Various coating apparatuses that automatically form such a coating film have been proposed in the past (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  Furthermore, when the coating solution is applied to the surface of the object to be processed by spin coating, it is necessary to drop the coating solution on the center of rotation of the object to be processed. There is also known a position adjusting device for accurately positioning above the center of rotation (see, for example, Patent Documents 3 and 4). That is, since the spin coating method is a method of obtaining a uniform film thickness by diffusing the coating solution dropped on the surface of the rotating object to be processed using the centrifugal force, the dropping means ( If the tip of the nozzle is deformed and deviates from the rotation center of the object to be processed, the coating solution is not evenly diffused in the radial direction of the object to be processed, and the coating solution is applied to the spots. In particular, when applying a coating solution with a high viscosity by the spin coating method, if the tip position of the nozzle is slightly deviated from the rotation center of the turntable, the rate of occurrence of coating spots increases and a uniform film thickness can be obtained. Disappear.

  For this reason, the position adjusting device described in Patent Document 3 includes a nozzle that performs processing on an object to be processed such as a glass substrate or a silicon wafer, a position detection unit that detects a home position of the nozzle, and the detection unit. A calculation unit that calculates a target position of a nozzle for performing processing on the object to be processed based on the home position detected by the calculation unit, a transfer unit that transfers the nozzle to the target position calculated by the calculation unit, and a preset value. And a memory for storing the coordinate data of the target position with the coordinate data of the home position as the origin. Then, the difference between the coordinate data of the home position set by the calculation means and the coordinate data of the detected home position is calculated, and the coordinate data of the target position stored in the memory is calculated based on the difference. Correcting and supplying the corrected coordinate data to the conveying means automatically corrects the nozzle position deviation.

  The alignment method described in Patent Document 4 includes an alignment jig for aligning the discharge positions of the nozzles. This alignment jig is integrally provided with a vertical shaft mounted on a rotating shaft and a disk provided at the upper end of the shaft, and a photoelectric sensor for detecting a nozzle on the disk is perpendicular to two directions. By arranging them in the same number, a grid-like light beam lattice is formed, whereby the position of the nozzle is detected and the nozzle is automatically aligned.

“Glasses” Medical Sakai Publishing, May 22, 1986, pages 81-83 JP 2002-177852 A JP 2006-263495 A JP 9-148230 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-22559

  However, since the position adjustment device described in Patent Document 3 described above includes a position detection unit, a calculation unit, a memory, and the like and is configured to electrically correct the nozzle position deviation, the device itself becomes complicated. Further, since it is necessary to calculate the coordinate data of the home position and the target position in advance and store them in the memory, when the work for that is complicated and the tip of the nozzle is greatly deformed, the position of the nozzle is detected. There was a problem that it was not possible to correct the displacement.

  The alignment method described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 4 requires a special alignment jig in which a large number of photoelectric sensors are arranged in parallel, and when the nozzle is aligned, the alignment jig is used instead of the spin chuck. Since it is necessary to perform the alignment work by attaching the tool to the rotating shaft, there is a problem that the exchange work of the spin chuck and the alignment jig is troublesome.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to easily and accurately set the needle provided at the tip of the syringe in the syringe replacement part to the rotation center of the turntable. An object of the present invention is to provide an optical lens coating apparatus and a needle centering method which can be matched.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a coating apparatus for applying a coating solution to an optical lens, wherein a syringe containing the coating solution and having a needle at a lower end is detachably attached, and the syringe is applied to a syringe exchange unit. Syringe holders that are alternately moved to a part, a spin coating apparatus that includes a coating container that is provided in the coating unit and has a turntable in which the optical lens is installed with the coated surface facing up, and the syringe replacement unit And a needle positioning mark indicating the center of rotation of the turntable is displayed on the mark table.

  Further, the present invention is the above invention, wherein the syringe holder has a main body pivotally supported on a shaft and has at least one syringe mounting portion, and is attached to the main body so as to be movable up and down. It is provided with at least two syringe supports that are alternately moved to the syringe replacement part and the application part by the rotation of.

  Furthermore, the present invention relates to a needle centering method of a coating apparatus in which a needle tip of a syringe for dropping a coating solution onto a surface to be coated of an optical lens coincides with a rotation center of a turntable for rotating the optical lens, A step of mounting a centering rod on the syringe mounting portion of the syringe holder, comprising: a syringe holder that is alternately moved to the syringe replacement portion and the application portion; and a mark table disposed in the syringe replacement portion; Moving the bar above the turntable; and lowering the centering bar to bring the tip of the centering bar closer to the turntable so that the center of the centering bar coincides with the rotation center of the turntable. A step of adjusting the centering rod, a step of moving the centering rod above the mark table, and a step of lowering the centering rod to move the tip of the centering rod On the mark table, removing the centering rod from the syringe mounting portion, mounting a syringe filled with a coating solution on the syringe mounting portion, and a needle attached to the lower end of the syringe And a step of adjusting the tip of the mark so as to coincide with the mark displayed on the mark table.

  In the present invention, when the tip of the needle is made to coincide with the needle positioning mark displayed on the mark table in the syringe replacement part, the tip of the needle is made to coincide with the rotation center of the turntable when the syringe is moved to the application part. be able to. Therefore, the coating solution can be dropped on the center of rotation of the coated surface of the optical lens, a uniform film thickness can be obtained over the entire surface, and the occurrence of coating spots can be prevented.

  Further, according to the present invention, the needle tip only needs to coincide with the mark, so that the structure is simple and the centering operation of the needle can be easily performed without requiring skill.

  In the present invention, the syringe holder is provided with two syringe supports each having two syringe mounting parts, and these syringe supports are moved alternately to the syringe replacement part and the application part. The application of the solution, the replacement of the syringe and the centering operation of the needle tip can be performed in parallel, and the operating rate and productivity of the apparatus can be improved.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.
1 is a schematic plan view showing the internal structure of an optical lens coating apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a syringe holder, FIG. 3 is a side view of the syringe holder, and FIG. 4 is a coated surface of a spectacle lens. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the coating part and the syringe exchange part, FIGS. 6A to 6C are diagrams for explaining a needle centering method, and FIG. These are flowcharts of the needle centering method.

  First, the overall structure of the coating apparatus 1 according to the present invention will be schematically described. The coating apparatus 1 has a coating solution 4 (in a syringe 3) on a coated surface (convex optical surface) of a plastic spectacle lens 2. 3) is a device that automatically performs a series of operations in the clean room 5 of the housing 6 by forming a coating film by dripping the coating solution, diffusing the coating solution by spin coating, and curing it by natural drying. In addition, the coating apparatus 1 can continuously perform the operation of simultaneously applying and curing the coating solution 4 on two sets of spectacle lenses 2 that are a pair of left and right, that is, a total of four spectacle lenses 2. It is configured to be able to.

  As the spectacle lens 2, various plastic lens base materials for spectacles can be used. As a plastic lens substrate, for example, a copolymer of methyl methacrylate and one or more other monomers, a copolymer of diethylene glycol bisallyl carbonate and one or more other monomers, a copolymer of polyurethane and polyurea, polycarbonate, Examples thereof include polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, copolymers of unsaturated polyester and polyurea, polycarbonate, polyurethane, polythiourethane, sulfide resin using ene-thiol reaction, and vinyl polymer containing sulfur.

  The eyeglass lens 2 may be a convex lens on at least one surface, and may be a convex lens on both surfaces. Further, a meniscus lens having one convex surface and the other concave surface may be used. The eyeglass lens 2 is preferably a circular lens having a diameter of about 50 to 100 mm and a curved surface having a surface curve of −8 to +8. When a pair of left and right eyeglass lenses 2 is described separately for left eye use and right eye use, the left eye lens is attached with the number “2” and the suffix “L”. The right-eye lens is indicated by adding the numeral “2” to the suffix “R”.

  As the coating solution 4, a dimming aqueous coating solution containing a resin component and an aqueous solvent is used. Examples of the resin component of the aqueous coating liquid include polyurethane resin, vinyl acetate, olefin-based, acrylic-based, epoxy-based and urethane-based emulsions that are ethylene vinyl copolymers. The aqueous coating solution is preferably, for example, an emulsion in which the above resin component is dispersed in an aqueous solvent (for example, water or a mixed solvent of water and alcohol, ketone, cellosolve, or the like). Among these, it is preferable to use a urethane-based emulsion having a polar functional group that is advantageous for expressing adhesion to the surface of the lens substrate. Such an emulsion functions as an adhesive when another functional coating layer (for example, a photochromic layer or a hard coat layer) is formed on the resin layer.

  Unlike non-aqueous coating solutions, such as monomer solutions that cure and polymerize by heating, UV irradiation, etc., the light control aqueous coating solution cures in a short time by forming a coating film by removing moisture after coating. There is an advantage that a film can be formed without requiring a heating means or a UV light source. However, the dimming aqueous coating solution has a higher viscosity than functional coating solutions such as light-shielding, scratch-resistant, and water-repellent, and has a characteristic of, for example, 10 to 200 CPS. Moreover, it is preferable that the solid content density | concentration of the water-system coating liquid for light control is the range of 20-50 mass% from the point of liquid stability and film thickness ensuring.

  When such a dimming aqueous coating solution is applied to the spectacle lens 2, as a pre-process, the surface to be coated of the spectacle lens 2 is chemically treated with acid, alkali, various organic solvents, etc., plasma, ultraviolet rays. It is desirable to improve the adhesion between the lens substrate and the resin layer by performing physical treatment with ozone, etc., and washing treatment with various cleaning agents.

  The casing 6 of the coating apparatus 1 is formed in a L-shaped box in plan view and installed on the floor surface, the inside forms the clean room 5, and the supply port 7 for the spectacle lens 2 is provided on the front surface 6 a. In addition, a discharge port 8 is provided on the front side of the left side surface 6b, and a syringe replacement portion 9 that protrudes rightward and opens to the outside of the housing is provided at the rear end portion of the right side surface 6c. The syringe replacement unit 9 is divided into first and second syringe replacement units 9A and 9B by a partition plate 10a.

  The clean room 5 is set to have an internal pressure slightly higher than the atmospheric pressure by supplying clean air, and is partitioned by the first and second syringe replacement parts 9A and 9B and the partition wall 10b. The interior of the clean room 5 is roughly divided into three regions, that is, a lens supply unit 12, an application unit 13 (13A, 13B), and a lens discharge unit 14.

The lens supply unit 12 is a portion between the supply port 7 and the vicinity of the inner center of the housing 6, and the spectacle lens 2 supplied from the supply port 7 to the first lens delivery position T ₁ is provided on the housing 6. A supply conveyor 16 that conveys the toner to a _second lens transfer position T2 near the center of the interior is disposed. The first lens delivery position T ₁ is provided with a table 17 on which the left-eye lens 2L and the right-eye lens 2R supplied from the supply port 7 are placed, and is placed at the second lens delivery position T ₂ . Similarly, a receiving base 18 for receiving the spectacle lenses 2L and 2R conveyed by the supply conveyor 16 is disposed.

Feed conveyor 16 receives spectacle lenses placed on table 17 2L, 2R, respectively, two belt conveyors 19A for conveying the second lens transfer position T _2, and 19B, these belt conveyors 19A, the 19B A drive mechanism (not shown) for running in synchronization is provided.

The mounting table 17 is disposed in the vicinity of the front ends of the belt conveyors 19A and 19B so as to be raised and lowered. When the spectacle lenses 2L and 2R inserted from the supply port 7 are placed, the mounting table 17 is located above the belt conveyors 19A and 19B. When the eyeglass lenses 2L and 2R are transferred to the belt conveyors 19A and 19B, the eyeglass lenses 2L and 2R are lowered below the belt conveyors 19A and 19B. The conveyors 19A and 19B are configured to receive from below and convey them to the receiving table 18 at the _second lens transfer position T2.

The receiving table 18 has the same structure as the mounting table 17 and is disposed so as to be movable up and down at the _second lens transfer position T2, and is usually positioned below the belt conveyors 19A and 19B. The eyeglass lenses 2L and 2R are raised when the eyeglass lenses 2L and 2R are received, and the eyeglass lenses 2L and 2R are received from the belt conveyors 19A and 19B. The second lens transfer position T ₂ is a position near the end of the supply conveyor 16.

  The application unit 13 includes first and second application units 13A and 13B provided corresponding to the first and second syringe replacement units 9A and 9B inside the partition wall 10b. A spin coating apparatus 20 is provided on each of 13A and 13B. In addition, when not distinguishing and calling the 1st, 2nd syringe exchange part 9A, 9B, and the 1st, 2nd application part 13A, 13B, they are only called the syringe exchange part 9 and the application part 13.

The spin coating apparatus 20 includes a coating container 21 that houses a pair of spectacle lenses 2L and 2R, and a third lens delivery position (standby position) T ₃ that passes the coating container 21 along a pair of rails 22. An application container drive mechanism (not shown) that reciprocates between the application end position P and a syringe holder 23 are provided. The third lens transfer position T ₃ and the coating end position P of the first, second coating portion 13A, are respectively provided to 13B.

The application container 21 is formed of a rectangular parallelepiped container that is long in the front-rear direction of the housing 6, and forms a left-eye lens application chamber 24 </ b> A and a right-eye lens application chamber 24 </ b> B (FIG. 3) whose interiors open upward. . In the center of each of the lens coating chambers 24A and 24B, turntables 25A and 25B on which the eyeglass lenses 2L and 2R are placed with the convex surface, which is a coating surface, facing up are disposed. When the spectacle lenses 2L and 2R are respectively placed, the turntables 25A and 25B are configured to hold them by vacuum suction and to be rotated by a motor when the coating solution 4 is applied. The spectacle centers of the spectacle lenses 2L and 2R coincide with the rotation centers O ₁ and O ₂ (FIG. 5B) of the turntables 25A and 25B with respect to the turntables 25A and 25B by the first transfer 50 described later. To be placed.

  The syringe holder 23 is provided between the syringe replacement part 9 and the application part 13, and reciprocates at a 180 ° angle with a main body 23A rotatably disposed on a vertical shaft 30. A main body driving motor 31 to be rotated, a total of four syringe supports 23B, 23B, 23C, 23C, each of which is arranged to be raised and lowered on the main body 23A, and these syringe supports 23B, 23C, respectively. It is composed of four support drive motors 32 and the like that are moved up and down independently. The shaft 30 is provided at the boundary between the syringe replacement unit 9 and the application unit 13. The main body 23A is composed of a rectangular parallelepiped block, the center of which is pivotally supported by the shaft 30, and the syringe supports 23B and 23C are disposed on two side surfaces facing each other across the shaft 30 so as to be movable up and down. Has been. 2 and 3, only one syringe support 23B is shown, and the other syringe support 23C is not shown.

  The syringe supports 23B and 23C are provided with first and second syringe mounting portions 34A and 34B to which the syringe 3 is mounted, respectively. These syringe mounting portions 34A and 34B are formed of through holes into which the syringe 3 is inserted, and distances C and D (FIG. 5) from the shaft 30 are equidistant (C) at both ends of the syringe supports 23B and 23C, respectively. = D). The syringe 3 has a thin needle 35 (FIG. 3) having a diameter of about 1 to 2 mm attached to the lower end and accommodates the coating solution 4 therein. In the syringe replacement unit 9, each syringe support 23B, 23C The syringes are respectively attached to the syringe attachment parts 34A and 34B. When the syringe 3 is mounted, the main body 23A is rotated by approximately 180 ° and is sequentially mounted on the syringe mounting portions 34A and 34B of the syringe supports 23B and 23C, and the needle 35 is centered. The centering of the needle 35 will be further described later. When the syringes 3 attached to the syringe attachment portions 34A and 34B of the syringe support bodies 23B and 23C are guided into the application portion 13 by the rotation of the main body 23A, the syringes 3 are located above the application end position P and It is located almost directly above the turntables 24A, 24B.

The first transfer 50 is disposed on the left side of the application unit 13 behind the supply conveyor 16. The first transfer 50 includes a transfer body 50A that advances and retreats along a pair of left and right rails 51 that extend in the front-rear direction, and can move up and down with respect to the transfer body 50A and rotate in an angle range of about 180 ° in a horizontal plane. is composed of a hand 50B made of pair that is freely disposed, the second lens transfer position T ₂ of the table 18 on the passed set of spectacle lenses 2L, when holding the 2R first, 2 are alternately conveyed to the spin coating device 20 of the coating unit 13A, 13B, and the geometric center coincides with the rotational centers O ₁ , O ₂ of the rotary tables 25A, 25B on the rotary tables 25A, 25B in the coating container 21. It is comprised so that it may mount.

Therefore, the transfer body 50A includes a fourth lens transfer position T ₄ between the lens transfer position T ₅ of the fifth and reciprocates along the rail 51, the spin coating device 20 of the first coating portion 13A When transporting the spectacle lenses 2L, 2R, the eyeglass lens 2L, 2R moves forward and stops at the _fourth lens transfer position T4. When the transfer main body 50A stops at the _fourth lens delivery position T4, the hand 50B descends to hold the spectacle lenses 2L and 2R on the cradle 18, and when it rises back, it rotates 90 ° to the application unit 13 side. The glasses lenses 2L and 2R that are lowered and held are conveyed into the application container 21 of the spin coating device 20 of the first application unit 13A and placed on the turntables 25A and 25B. Meanwhile, when conveyed to a spin coating device 20 of the second coating unit 13B is spectacle lenses 2L on hand 50B is pedestal 18, after holding the 2R, transfer body 50A until the lens transfer position T ₅ of the fifth Retreat and stop. Then, the hand 50B is turned 90 ° toward the application unit 13 and descends, and the held lenses 2L and 2R are conveyed into the application container 21 of the spin coating apparatus 20 of the second application unit 13B, and each rotation is performed. Place on the bases 25A, 25B.

  When the spectacle lenses 2L and 2R are placed, the rotary tables 25A and 25B of the spin coating apparatus 20 vacuum-suck them and rotate at, for example, about 800 to 3000 rpm. When the turntables 25A and 25B rotate, the application container 21 moves along the rail 22 to the application end position P and stops. During this movement period, each syringe mounting portion 34A and 34B of the syringe support 23B (or 23C). The coating solution 4 in the syringe 3 attached to the lens is dropped from the needle 35 onto the coated surface of each spectacle lens 2L, 2R. The dripping of the coating solution 4 is performed by supplying air into the syringe 3 through the pipe 54 (FIG. 3) and pressurizing the coating solution 4.

  Since the dropping of the coating solution 4 is performed in a state where the rotary bases 25A and 25B are in a rotational motion and a linear motion in addition to the vertical motion along the lens curve of the syringe 3, as shown in FIG. When the application container 21 moves to the application end position P and stops, the rotation center of the spectacle lens 2 coincides with the lower end of the needle 35. The coating solution 4 dropped on the coated surface of the spectacle lens 2 is diffused over the entire coated surface by the centrifugal force of the spectacle lens 2 rotating together with the turntable 25A (25B), and has a uniform film thickness. For example, a resin layer having a thickness of about 0.5 to 50 μm is formed on the surface to be coated.

When application of the coating solution 4 to the spectacle lenses 2L and 2R is completed, the application container 21 returns to the _third lens delivery position T3. When the application container 21 moves back to the _third lens delivery position T ₃ , the first transfer 50 is driven, and the spectacle lenses 2L and 2R in the application container 21 are taken out by the hand 50B and the sixth lens delivery position T _6. Transport to. The sixth lens delivery position T ₆ is placed on the side opposite to the third lens delivery position T ₃ of the second application part 13B across the first transfer 50, and the spectacle lenses 2L and 2R are placed thereon. A mounting table 55 and a second transfer 56 are provided. The hand 50B of the first transfer 50 places the eyeglass lenses 2L, 2R taken out from the application container 21 on the placing table 55 and then moves to the _fourth delivery position T4, and then the hand 50B is placed on the receiving table 18. The glasses lenses 2L and 2R that are placed are held in the same manner as described above, and are transported to the spin coating device 20 of the first application unit 13A or the second application unit 13B, and are transferred to the turntables 25A and 25B in the application container 21. By being driven to be placed, the coating solution 4 is continuously and automatically applied to the spectacle lens 2.

The sixth spectacle lenses 2L which is mounted on the mounting table 55 of the transfer position T ₆ of, 2R is a narrow gap S ₂ than distance S ₁ at the time of supply of the mounting table 55 to the supply port 7 (S ₁ After being changed to> S ₂ ), it is held by the hand 56A of the second transfer 56 and placed on the up and down lens receiving table 58 disposed at the _seventh transfer position T ₇ . The seventh delivery position T ₇ is located on the left side of the second transfer 56 and at the rear end of the lens discharge portion 14.

The second transfer 56 includes the hand 56A that moves linearly. When the hand 56A holds the spectacle lenses 2L and 2R on the mounting table 55, the hand 56A moves in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The eyeglass lenses 2L and 2R are arranged in a vertical row. The second transfer 56 is placed on the lens receiving table 58 at narrow intervals S ₂ than distance S ₁ at the time of supply of the street spectacle lenses 2L described above, the 2R to the supply port 7. This is for shortening the length of the buffer conveyor 60. The interval S ₁ at the time of supplying the spectacle lenses 2L and 2R is set equal to the interval between the two turntables 25A and 25B in the application container 21. The interval between the rotary tables 25A and 25B is set to be large to some extent so that the coating solution 4 scattered by the centrifugal force does not adhere to the adjacent spectacle lens when the spectacle lenses 2L and 2R are rotated.

  The lens discharge section 14 is provided with a buffer conveyor 60 that, when receiving the spectacle lenses 2L and 2R placed on the lens receiving table 58, conveys the eyeglass lenses 2L and 2R to the mounting table 61 disposed at the discharge position W. . The lens pedestal 58 is disposed so as to be movable up and down like the mounting table 17 and the pedestal 18, and is positioned above the buffer conveyor 60 when receiving the spectacle lenses 2 </ b> L and 2 </ b> R from the second transfer 56. When the received spectacle lenses 2L and 2R are transferred to the buffer conveyor 60, the spectacle lenses 2L and 2R placed thereon are transferred to the buffer conveyor 60 by being lowered.

The buffer conveyor 60 is composed of a single belt conveyor, receives a pair of spectacle lenses 2L and 2R mounted on the lens receiving table 58, and conveys them to the mounting table 61. The mounting table 61 includes an interval changing mounting table 61A that is movable in the vertical direction and the front-rear direction on which the spectacle lens 2L is mounted, and a reference mounting table 61B that is movable up and down on which the spectacle lens 2R is mounted. Spacing-changing table 61A is located at a distance S ₂ in front of the normal reference table 61B, the spacing S ₂ between the reference table 61B moves forward when receiving the spectacle lenses 2L to expand the S ₁ It is configured. Thus, spectacle lenses 2L and 2R, when delivered to the table 61 is distance S ₂ is discharged from the discharge port 8 is enlarged in S _1, the other functional coating layer on the coated surface in the next step (e.g., A photochromic layer, a hard coat layer, etc.) are also formed by the spin coat method. Note that the coating solution 4 applied to the spectacle lens 2 by the spin coating apparatus 20 is cured while the spectacle lens 2 is moving in the clean room 5 in the case of the dimming aqueous coating solution described above (about 5 minutes). Cured) and handed over to the next step.

Next, the centering method of the needle 35 will be described with reference to FIGS.
As described above, when the coating solution 4 is applied to the surface to be coated of the spectacle lens 2 by the spin coating method, it is necessary to accurately drop the coating solution 4 on the rotation center of the spectacle lens 2. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 5, two mark tables 80 </ b> A and 80 </ b> B are disposed in the syringe replacement unit 9. These mark tables 80A and 80B are disposed so as to be positioned directly below the syringe mounting portions 34A and 34B of the first and second syringe support members 23B and 22C in the syringe replacement unit 9. One mark table 80A is arranged at a point-symmetrical position across the syringe mounting part 25A of each syringe support 23B, 23C in the application part 13 and the shaft 30, and the other mark table 80B is arranged in the application part 13. The syringe support portions 23B and 23C are disposed at point-symmetric positions with the syringe mounting portion 25B and the shaft 30 in between. In these mark tables 80A and 80B, needle positioning marks M ₁ , N ₁ , M ₂ and N ₂ indicating the rotation centers O ₁ and O ₂ of the turntables 25A and 25B are respectively attached to the syringe mounting portions 34A, It is displayed corresponding to each syringe 3 attached to 34B. That is, the one mark table 80A, the rotation center O ₁ to match the needle 35 of the syringe 3 to be mounted on the syringe mounting part 34A of one of the syringe support 23B to the rotation center O ₁ of the turntable 25A The rotation center O ₁ is shown in order to make the needle positioning mark M _{1 shown} and the needle 35 of the syringe 3 attached to the syringe attachment part 34A of the other syringe support 23C coincide with the rotation center O ₁ of the turntable 25A. A needle positioning mark N ₁ is displayed. Further, the other mark table 80B, the rotation center O ₂ in order to match the needle 35 of the syringe 3 to be mounted on the syringe mounting part 34B of one of the syringe support 23B in the rotational center O ₂ of the rotary shaft 25B The rotation center O ₂ is shown in order to align the needle positioning mark M _{2 shown} and the needle 35 of the syringe 3 attached to the syringe attachment part 34B of the other syringe support 23C with the rotation center O ₂ of the turntable 25B. A needle positioning mark N ₂ is displayed.

In this case, the needle positioning marks M ₁ and N ₁ and M ₂ and N ₂ have different manufacturing errors for the syringe supports 23B and 23C, mounting errors for the main body 23A, manufacturing errors for the syringe mounting portions 34A and 34B, and the like. It is necessary to measure each syringe support 23B and 23C and display it on each mark table 80A and 80B. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, when the rotation angle of the main body 23 </ b> A of the syringe holder 23 is 175 °, the stop positions of the syringe support bodies 23 </ b> B and 23 </ b> C are different. Needle positioning marks M ₁ and N ₁ are necessarily displayed at different positions on the mark table 80A. The same applies to the mark table 80B. In FIG. 6, the positions of the syringe supports 23B and 23C and the mark tables 8A and 80B shown in FIG. 5 are reversed left and right.

Such needle positioning marks M ₁ , N ₁ , M ₂ , and N ₂ are displayed on the mark tables 80A and 80B by mounting the syringe 3 on the syringe mounting portions 34A and 34B of the syringe supports 23B and 23C, respectively. Done before. Hereinafter, a description of the marking procedure for needle positioning marks M _1.

  First, as shown in FIG. 7, a centering rod 90 having a sharp tip 90a is prepared, and this centering rod 90 is mounted on one syringe mounting portion 34A of the syringe support 23B with the tip 90a facing downward (FIG. 9). Step 100).

  Next, the main body 23A of the syringe holder 23 is rotated 180 ° to move the syringe support 23B from the syringe exchange unit 9 to the application unit 13, and is stopped above the turntable 25A of the spin coating apparatus 20 (step 101). .

Next, the syringe support 23B of the syringe holder 23 is lowered to bring the tip 90a of the centering rod 90 closer to the turntable 25A (step 102). Then, whether the tip 90a of the centering rod 90 is coincident with the rotation center O ₁ of the turntable 25A the operator to check visually. If they do not match, the centering rod 90 is rotated, or the syringe support 23B is moved and adjusted with the fixing screw 91 in the left-right and front-rear directions so as to coincide with the rotation center O ₁ of the turntable 25A. If they match, the centering rod 90 is firmly fixed to the syringe support 23B with the fixing screw 91 (step 103). It should be noted that it is easy to make the tip 90a of the centering rod 90 coincide with the rotation center O ₁ by providing a minute hole or mark indicating the rotation center O ₁ on the upper surface of the turntable 25A (same for 25B). is there.

Next, the syringe support 23B is raised (step 104), and the syringe support 23B is returned to the syringe replacement unit 9 by rotating the main body 23A by 180 ° (step 105). The syringe support 23B is positioned above the mark table 80A when returned to the syringe replacement unit 9. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the syringe support 23B is lowered to bring the tip 90a of the centering rod 90 closer to the surface of the mark table 80A (step 106), and the tip 90a of the centering rod 90 on the surface of the mark table 80A the matching position to view the needle positioning mark M ₁ (step 107).

Such a marking operation is similarly performed on the syringe mounting portion 34B of the syringe support 23B and the syringe mounting portions 34A and 34B of the syringe support 23C in the same manner using the centering rod 90, whereby each mark table 80A, The needle positioning marks N ₁ , M ₂ , and N ₂ described above can be displayed on 80B, respectively.

When the needle positioning marks M ₁ , N ₁ , M ₂ , and N ₂ are respectively displayed on the mark tables 80A and 80B, the centering rod 90 is removed from the syringe support 23C as shown in FIG. 108), the syringe 3 in which the coating solution 4 is accommodated is mounted on the syringe mounting portions 34A and 34B of the syringe supports 23B and 23C, respectively (step 109). Then, the syringe supports 23B and 23C are lowered to bring the syringes 3 attached to the syringe attachment portions 34A and 34B closer to the mark tables 80A and 80B, and the lower ends of the needles 35 attached to the lower ends of the syringes 3 are respectively Whether or not the needle positioning marks M ₁ , N ₁ , M ₂ , and N ₂ displayed on the mark tables 80A and 80B coincide with each other is sequentially confirmed by visual observation. The needle 35 is bent by hand to match (step 110).

In this way, if the needles 35 of the syringes 3 mounted on the syringe supports 23B and 23C are made to coincide with the needle positioning marks M ₁ , N ₁ , M ₂ , and N ₂ , When the syringe supports 23B and 23C are moved to the application unit 13 by the rotation, the lower end of the needle 35 can be accurately aligned with the rotation centers O ₁ and O ₂ of the turntables 25A and 25B. Can be reliably dropped onto the center of rotation of the spectacle lens 2, and the occurrence of an application group can be prevented.

In the centering operation of the needle 35, the centering rod 90 is sequentially mounted on the syringe mounting portions 34A and 34B of the syringe supports 23B and 23C so as to coincide with the rotation centers O ₁ and O ₂ of the turntables 25A and 25B. After the adjustment, the tip 90a of the centering rod 90 is displayed on the mark tables 80A and 80B as needle positioning marks M ₁ , N ₁ , M ₂ and N ₂ , and the syringe 3 is placed on the syringe mounting portions 34A and 34B. Since the lower end of the needle 35 only needs to be adjusted so as to coincide with the corresponding needle positioning mark M ₁ , N ₁ , M ₂ or N ₂ , the centering operation can be performed very easily.

  In addition, the coating apparatus 1 according to the present invention attaches two syringe supports 23B and 23C to one syringe holder 23, and syringes are respectively attached to the two syringe mounting portions 34A and 34B provided on these syringe supports 23B and 23C. 3, while one syringe support 23 </ b> B is located in the application unit 13 and the syringe 3 drops and applies the coating solution 4 to the spectacle lens 2, the other syringe support 23 </ b> C is attached to the syringe replacement unit 9. When the coating solution 4 of the syringe 3 attached to the syringe support 23B runs out, the main body 23A is rotated 180 ° to move the syringe support 23B to the syringe replacement unit 9, and instead the syringe The support 23C is moved to the coating unit 13, and the syringe 3 attached to the syringe support 23C is coated. Dropping of Ingu solution 4, since it is configured to perform the coating, when replacing the syringe 3, it is not necessary to pause the device, it is possible to improve the operating rate of the apparatus.

  Moreover, since the replacement | exchange operation | work of the syringe 3 is performed in the syringe replacement | exchange part 9, and dripping and application | coating of the coating solution 4 are performed in the clean room 5 with high cleanliness, the quality and reliability of a coating process can be improved. it can.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which a dimming aqueous coating solution is applied to the spectacle lens 2 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and light shielding properties, antiglare properties, The present invention can also be applied when forming a coating film such as a scratch.
Moreover, although two syringe support bodies 23B and 23C were provided in the syringe holder 23, it is also possible to provide two or more. Moreover, you may provide one syringe mounting part with respect to each syringe support body.

  The present invention can be applied not only to spectacle lenses but also to optical lenses such as cameras.

It is a schematic plan view which shows the internal structure of the coating device of the optical lens which concerns on this invention. It is a top view of a syringe holder. It is a side view of the syringe holder. It is a figure which shows the locus | trajectory of the coating solution apply | coated to the to-be-coated surface of a spectacle lens. It is a top view of an application part and a syringe exchange part. (A)-(c) is a figure for demonstrating the centering method of a needle. It is a figure for demonstrating the centering method of a needle. It is a figure for demonstrating the centering method of a needle. It is a figure for demonstrating the centering method of a needle. It is a flowchart of a needle centering method.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Application | coating apparatus, 2 ... Eyeglass lens, 5 ... Clean room, 6 ... Housing | casing, 9 ... Syringe exchange part, 13 ... Application | coating part, 20 ... Spin coating apparatus, 21 ... Application | coating container, 23 ... Syringe holder, 23A ... Main body , 23B, 23C ... syringe support, 25A, 25B ... turntable 30 ... shaft, 34A, 34B ... syringe mounting part, 35 ... needle, 80A, 80B ... mark table, 90 ... centering rod, M _1, N ₁ , M ₂ , N ₂ ... Needle positioning mark, O ₁ , O ₂ .

Claims (3)

In a coating device that applies a coating solution to an optical lens,
A syringe holder that accommodates the coating solution and has a needle at the lower end, which is detachably mounted, and moves the syringe alternately to the syringe replacement part and the application part,
A spin coating apparatus provided with a coating container having a turntable provided in the coating unit, the optical lens being installed with the coated surface facing up;
A mark table provided in the syringe replacement part,
An optical lens coating apparatus, wherein a needle positioning mark indicating a rotation center of the turntable is displayed on the mark table. The optical lens coating apparatus according to claim 1,
The syringe holder has a main body pivotally supported on a shaft, and at least one syringe mounting portion, and is attached to the main body so as to be movable up and down. And at least two syringe supports that are alternately moved to each other. A needle centering method of a coating apparatus, wherein a tip of a syringe for dropping a coating solution onto a surface to be coated of an optical lens is made to coincide with a rotation center of a turntable for rotating the optical lens,
A syringe holder for alternately moving the syringe to a syringe replacement section and an application section;
A mark table disposed in the syringe replacement part,
Mounting a centering rod on the syringe mounting portion of the syringe holder;
Moving the centering rod above the turntable;
Lowering the centering bar to bring the tip of the centering bar closer to the turntable, and adjusting the centering bar so that the center of the centering bar matches the rotation center of the turntable;
Moving the centering rod above the mark table;
Moving the centering bar above the mark table and then lowering it to display the tip of the centering bar on the mark table;
Removing the centering rod from the syringe mounting portion and mounting a syringe filled with a coating solution on the syringe mounting portion;
Adjusting the tip of the needle attached to the lower end of the syringe to match the mark displayed on the mark table;
A needle centering method for a coating apparatus, comprising:

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