JP2011206980A - Optical element, molded article, and method for manufacturing optical element - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical element which is effectively manufactured by making a shape of a molded article into an array in which a plurality of optical element parts are two-dimensionally arranged when the optical elements are obtained by multi-cavity molding in case of molding, and cutting the space between the respective optical element parts of the molded article to obtain a product, and to provide a molded article and a method for manufacturing the optical element.SOLUTION: The optical elements are obtained by cutting off a plurality of the optical element parts 14 from the injection molded-article 30 of a transparent thermosetting resin. A plurality of the optical element parts 14 are lengthwise laterally arranged in the molded article 30. The molded article 30 is injection-molded in such a shape that the lengthwise laterally arranged optical element parts 14 are integrally connected to each other. The optical elements are obtained by cutting the space between the optical element parts 14 of the molded article 30 and separating them from each other into the respective optical element parts 14.

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical element made of a transparent thermosetting resin, a molded article, and a method for manufacturing the optical element.

  In general, thermosetting resins have high heat resistance and are used in automobile parts, electrical products, daily necessities and the like that require heat resistance. For example, there are ashtrays for automobiles, bodies of household earth leakage breakers, and grippers for pots. Examples of the thermosetting resin molding method include injection molding, transfer molding, and compression molding. However, thermosetting resins are generally materials that are easy to adhere to a mold and are brittle immediately after molding (for example, when taken out from the mold), and are difficult to release.

Therefore, the molded product may be deformed or damaged when the molded product is taken out from the mold.
However, in products such as the ashtray described above, there is no functional problem even if the shape of the product is slightly deformed, so there is a wide tolerance for manufacturing errors in the product shape, and some deformation is often allowed. . Similarly, in a product with few restrictions on the product shape, deformation and breakage can be suppressed by increasing the product shape.

Further, by adding a mold release agent to the thermosetting resin material or by spraying the mold release agent on the molding die, it is possible to suppress deformation and breakage of the thermosetting resin product at the time of mold release.
In the case of insert molding, since the insert material has sufficient strength, deformation or breakage may not occur.

Further, in the molding of thermosetting resin, there is a problem that air bubbles are easily involved in the product due to the flow characteristics of the material.
For example, the resin in contact with the heated mold cavity inner wall (the part that molds the surface of the molded product) has improved fluidity, and before the mold cavity is sufficiently filled with resin, the mold cavity inner wall When the resin spreads over the entire surface and is heated from the mold, the surface of the molded product is formed and solidified first, and the internal bubbles may remain without being escaped.

In addition, in the thermosetting resin material having a very low viscosity, bubbles are likely to enter locally under the influence of gravity.
However, in the product such as the ashtray described above, even if fine bubbles are mixed inside the molded product, the product is allowed as long as there is no problem in strength and airtightness.
Here, as a transparent thermosetting resin material, for example, a silicone material is a material suitable for an LED lens as an optical element because it is excellent in heat resistance and light resistance (with respect to ultraviolet light).

  For example, some light-emitting devices having LEDs and lenses can be directly mounted on a circuit board, for example, and are soldered in a high-temperature reflow furnace during surface mounting, so that heat resistance is required. In addition, some LEDs can emit ultraviolet rays, and such LED lenses are required to have ultraviolet resistance. In addition, heat resistance and light resistance are required even when used under high temperatures or outdoors under sunlight including ultraviolet rays.

As a heat-resistant optical element material, glass is generally used, but it has a drawback that it has a large specific gravity and is difficult to make a complicated shape, and a transparent thermosetting resin ( Hereinafter, it may be abbreviated as “resin”), which is expected as a lens material of a light emitting device provided with an LED.
However, the thermosetting resin material has problems such as being easily adhered to a molding die as described above, very brittle and easily broken immediately after molding, and soft even when cured at a high temperature.

That is, in the molding of a thermosetting resin, it is difficult to release after molding. Therefore, it has been proposed to vibrate a nest having a molding surface for molding an optical element with ultrasonic waves at the time of mold release (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Furthermore, the silicone material also has a problem that the fluidity at the time of molding changes (varies) due to the history of the temperature received by the silicone material before molding.
In addition, if bubbles are generated inside as described above, it is difficult to use as an optical element.

Therefore, a resin overflow part is provided in the part of the mold cavity where the resin is finally filled, and air is driven into this part to remove the overflowed part after molding, and the product part has air bubbles. It has been proposed to prevent the remaining (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
It has also been proposed to depressurize the inside of the mold cavity in order to prevent bubbles.

JP 2008-201122 A JP 2007-245595 A

By the way, although it depends on the application in the case of an optical element, high shape accuracy in the order of micron or sub-micron may be required, and the deformation or breakage at the time of releasing is fatal as an optical element. It becomes a bug. Therefore, although the yield can be improved by using the ultrasonic vibration at the time of releasing as described above, further improvement in the yield is desired.
At this time, it is conceivable to change the shape and thickness of the optical element in order to prevent deformation and breakage at the time of mold release, but the optical element is designed based on the required optical characteristics. If the shape is changed to prevent damage or damage, desired optical characteristics cannot be obtained.

  In addition, it is conceivable to improve the yield by using in combination with a release agent. However, if the release agent is added to the thermosetting resin material in order to improve the release property, the release agent will dissolve. If it is not cut, or the mold release agent is separated and deposited during molding, the transparency of the optical element is impaired, and the optical characteristics of the optical element may be greatly changed, resulting in a fatal problem. .

  Moreover, even if it is the method of overflowing resin and taking out a bubble out of a cavity, there exists a possibility that a bubble may not necessarily be removed by balance of fluidity | liquidity and a hardening characteristic depending on a product shape. Further, even if the bubbles can be removed, it may take time for molding and the productivity may be deteriorated. In addition, silicone materials as thermosetting resin materials are expensive as resin materials, and it is desired to reduce costs by reducing parts other than products during molding. As a result, the material yield increases, and the yield for the material deteriorates.

Here, FIG. 20A shows the molding surface of the insert 6 of one mold of a pair of molds when a plurality of optical elements are taken (for example, 8 pieces). FIG. 20B shows a side surface of the molded product 1 formed by the insert 6 of the mold. The insert 6 includes a sprue 2a to which a central resin is supplied, a runner 3a for branching out the resin from the sprue 2a to each cavity 5a, and a gate 4a for flowing the resin from the runner 3a into the cavity 5a. Yes.
The molded product 1 formed by this insertion includes a central sprue portion 2 formed by a sprue 2a, a runner portion 3 formed by a runner 3a, a gate portion 4 formed by a gate 4a, and a cavity 5a. It comprises an optical element (optical element part) 5 to be molded.

  21 (a), (b), (c), and (d) show, in order, the state of resin filling into the mold cavity 5a when the molded product 1 is molded. In the case where the cavity 5a is filled with resin from each runner 3a via the gate 4a, the resin spreads over the entire inner wall of the cavity 5a before the cavity 5a is sufficiently filled with the mold as described above. By heating from above, the surface of the molded product is formed and solidified first, and the internal bubbles remain without escape.

In general, when a small molded product is produced with an injection mold, the runner is branched as shown in FIG. 20A to provide a plurality of optical elements 5 with a single molded product. A plurality of inserts 6 shown in FIG. 20 (a) are arranged in one mold so as to mold a plurality of molded products at once.
However, there may be variations in the characteristics of the optical element due to variations in fluidity between the nests and cavities.

In addition, the optical element 5 molded in each cavity 5a is often thin and has a portion where stress is likely to concentrate during release.
In addition, as described above, the silicone material is expensive, and in order to reduce the portion other than the product, a plurality of molded product shapes are formed as described above. However, a plurality of runner portions, overflow portions for each optical element, etc. Thus, the situation is not necessarily that the material is used efficiently.

  Many of these problems are caused by the shape of the cavity 5a and the shape of the molded product 1 formed by the cavity 5a when taking a plurality of substantially the same as the thermoplastic resin as shown in FIGS. 20 (a) and 20 (b). Therefore, when more optical elements 5 are molded at one time, there is a demand for a shape of the molded product 1 that can be more efficiently molded according to the characteristics of the thermosetting resin.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the shape of a molded product when a plurality of optical elements are taken during molding is an array in which a plurality of optical element portions are two-dimensionally arranged, An object of the present invention is to provide an optical element, a molded article, and an optical element manufacturing method that are efficiently manufactured by cutting each optical element portion into a product.

In order to achieve the above object, the optical element according to claim 1 is an optical element that is provided by separating a plurality of optical element parts from a molded product of an injection-molded transparent thermosetting resin,
A plurality of the optical element portions are arranged vertically and horizontally, and a molded product having a shape in which the optical element portions arranged vertically and horizontally are integrally connected is injection molded,
The molded product is provided by being separated between the optical element parts and separated into the optical element parts.

The optical element according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the optical element part includes an optical function part having an optical function, and an outer peripheral part integrally provided around the optical function part.
The molded product is molded into a shape in which the optical element portions are arranged so that the outer peripheral portions are adjacent to each other,
The shape of the removal part to be removed when separating the optical element part between the adjacent optical element parts of the molded product is set by the number of vertical and horizontal arrangements of the optical element part and adjacent to each other. It is set by the distance between the optical element portions.

The molded product according to claim 3 is a molded product that includes a plurality of optical element parts that are provided by injection molding of a transparent thermosetting resin and are separated into optical elements,
A plurality of the optical element portions are arranged vertically and horizontally, and the optical element portions arranged vertically and horizontally are integrally connected.

The molded product according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 3, wherein the optical element portion includes an optical function portion having an optical function, and an outer peripheral portion integrally provided around the optical function portion,
Molded into a shape in which the optical element portions are arranged so that the outer peripheral portions are adjacent to each other,
The shape of the removal part that is removed when separating the optical element part between the adjacent optical element parts is set by the number of vertical and horizontal arrangements of the optical element part, and the adjacent optical element part It is set by the distance between.

The optical element manufacturing method according to claim 5 is an optical element manufacturing method for manufacturing an optical element by separating a plurality of optical element portions from a molded product obtained by injection molding a transparent thermosetting resin,
A plurality of the optical element portions are arranged vertically and horizontally, and a molded product having a shape in which the optical element portions arranged vertically and horizontally are integrally connected, is injection molded,
The molded product is separated between the optical element parts, and each optical element part is separated into optical elements.

The optical element manufacturing method according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 5, wherein the optical element portion includes an optical function portion having an optical function, and an outer peripheral portion integrally provided around the optical function portion. With
The molded product is molded into a shape in which the optical element portions are arranged so that the outer peripheral portions are adjacent to each other,
The shape of the removal part to be removed when separating the optical element part between the adjacent optical element parts of the molded product is set by the number of arrangement of the optical element parts in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the adjacent optical element parts The distance is set by the distance between the optical element portions.

  In the inventions according to claim 1, claim 3 and claim 5, since the optical element portions are arranged vertically and horizontally and integrally formed molded products are formed by injection molding. The molding die used does not have individual cavities for molding each optical element part, and the molding die has a part for molding a plurality of optical element parts as one cavity. A plurality of optical elements are formed in the cavity. In other words, since the plurality of optical element portions are integrally formed, the plurality of optical element portions can be formed with one cavity.

  In this case, the surface area of the inner surface of the cavity is reduced as compared with the case where the cavities for forming the optical element part are individually divided because the cavity forming the plurality of optical element parts is one. . That is, in the portion where the optical element portions are connected, the surface area of the side portions connected to each other among the surface areas of the optical elements obtained by individually separating the optical element portions is reduced. The surface area of the inner surface of the cavity will be reduced. That is, the ratio of the surface area of the cavity inner surface to the volume of the cavity can be reduced by allowing a plurality of optical element portions to be molded with one cavity.

By reducing the surface area of the inner surface of the cavity per individual optical element part, even if the transparent thermosetting resin adheres to the inner surface of the cavity, the force acting on the molded product at the time of mold release can be reduced. Deformation and breakage of the molded product during molding can be suppressed.
In addition, depending on the shape of the connected portions of the optical element units arranged vertically and horizontally, the thickness of the portion may become more than twice, or the complexity of the shape may be reduced. As compared with the case where the individual optical element portions are molded in separate cavities, the thickness is increased and the strength is increased, or the shape is simplified and the concentration of stress is relaxed. Thereby, the deformation | transformation and damage at the time of mold release can be suppressed.
Thus, by suppressing deformation and breakage at the time of mold release, an optical element having good optical characteristics can be obtained.

  Here, conventionally, since individual optical element portions are molded by individual cavities, when the optical element portion to be molded is small, the molded product to be molded is small, so problems such as deformation and breakage are likely to occur. However, by forming a plurality of optical element parts vertically and horizontally and forming them with one cavity, the substantial molded product (part that becomes the product of the molded product) becomes larger and the molded product is smaller. To solve the problem.

In addition, an element having good optical characteristics that does not contain bubbles inside the product can be obtained.
For example, in a method in which each optical element part is formed by each cavity, a plurality of optical element parts are formed even in a product shape that involves bubbles (all of which are defective (or extremely low yield)). In the case of an integral molding method, the ratio of the surface area of the cavity inner surface to the cavity volume can be reduced as described above, so that the difference in the flow rate of the transparent thermosetting resin material around and inside the molded product is small. It becomes difficult to entrain bubbles.

Even in the case of a complicated product shape that cannot completely remove bubbles from the molded product, there are multiple optical element parts in one cavity, so other than the optical element part molded at the place where the bubbles are involved The optical element part has good optical characteristics without bubbles,
An optical element having good optical characteristics can be obtained.
That is, in the configuration in which one optical element part is molded with one cavity, if even one bubble is generated in the cavity, it becomes a defective product, but when molding a plurality of optical element parts with one cavity, Since only the optical element portion containing bubbles is a defective product and the other optical element portions are non-defective products, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the yield is extremely deteriorated.

  In addition, in the configuration in which one optical element portion is formed with one cavity, it is difficult to change the shape of the cavity other than connecting some shape portion such as a shape that overflows to the outside. On the other hand, when a plurality of optical element portions are arranged vertically and horizontally to integrate the optical element portions so that the plurality of optical element portions can be molded with one cavity, the arrangement of the optical element portions The shape of the cavity can be changed by changing the number of vertical and horizontal optical element parts in each, changing the number of integrally formed optical element parts, changing the arrangement interval of each optical element part, etc. That is, the shape of the molded product can be changed relatively freely. This makes it possible to change the shape of the molded product to a shape that is more easily releasable or a shape that is less likely to entrain bubbles without changing the optical characteristics of the optical element.

In claim 2, claim 4 and claim 6, the optical element part is composed of an optical function part and a peripheral part around it. Here, the outer peripheral portion is, for example, a portion used when the optical element is attached to the optical device.
In a molded product having a shape in which a plurality of optical element portions are arranged vertically and horizontally, the outer peripheral portions are adjacent to each other. When separating the optical element portion from the molded product, the outer peripheral portions are cut along the vertical and horizontal arrangements of the optical element portions, so that a portion serving as a cutting margin is necessary, and this is the removal portion.

  In this molded product, when the transparent thermosetting resin is filled in the cavity of the molding die, the resin flows in the cavity and the adjacent optical element part, that is, when the optical element part is separated. It passes through a removal section that is cut and removed. The flow of the resin is affected by the shape of the cross section of the removal portion.

  For example, in a molded product, the optical element portions are arranged in a horizontal row or a vertical row, and when a transparent thermosetting resin material is filled along the length direction of the molded product, the cross-sectional area between the outer peripheral portions of the optical element portions is The cross-sectional area of the one optical element portion is substantially the same, and the resin can not be smoothly filled into the optical function portion as in the conventional case, and air may be easily trapped. Therefore, for example, by increasing the cross-sectional area of the removal part by setting the number of arrangements of the vertical and horizontal optical element parts to two or more, it is possible to smoothly fill the resin into the optical function part.

Moreover, the thickness which becomes the distance between the optical element parts of a removal part is decided by the distance between each optical element part in the arrangement | sequence of the optical element part in a molded article. Here, when the shape of the cross section of the part including the optical function part of the molded product and the shape of the cross section passing only the outer peripheral part not including the optical functional part are greatly different, and the cross sectional shape of the removal part and the outer periphery When the sectional shape of the part is substantially the same, the flow of the resin is also affected by the difference in the thickness of the removal part.
Therefore, it is possible to control the flow of resin during molding of a molded product by changing the number of vertical and horizontal arrangements of the optical element portion of the molded product or by changing the distance between the optical element portions. For example, by obtaining the shape of a molded product that can experimentally optimize the flow characteristics of the resin, it is possible to obtain an optical element that does not contain bubbles and has good optical characteristics. it can.

According to the present invention, the molded product having a shape in which the optical element portions are arranged vertically and horizontally is separated into each optical element portion to obtain an optical element. Therefore, the molded product may be configured to take a plurality of optical elements, The surface area of the part formed by the cavity becomes smaller than the sum of the surface areas of the number of optical elements included in the molded product, and the force from the inner surface of the cavity applied to the molded product is reduced at the time of mold release. It is possible to prevent deformation and damage of the molded product at the time of mold release.
In addition, since the surface area per volume is reduced as described above compared to the conventional case, the possibility of entraining bubbles can be reduced, and even if some of the optical elements are entrained, However, the other optical element portions can have desired optical characteristics that do not include bubbles.

It is a figure which shows the optical element which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, Comprising: (a) is a top view, (b) is sectional drawing. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the molded article in which the optical element part used as the said optical element was arranged vertically and horizontally. It is a figure which shows the said molded article, Comprising: (a) is a front view of the state hold | maintained at the nest | insert of the movable metal mold | die, (b) is sectional drawing. (A), (b), (c), (d) is a figure for demonstrating the flow of the transparent thermosetting resin in the cavity of an injection mold. It is a figure for demonstrating attachment of the said molded article to the board | substrate of an optical apparatus, (a) is a figure which shows the state just before attachment, (b) is a figure which shows the state after attachment. It is a figure for demonstrating positioning of the said molded article to the board | substrate of an optical apparatus, (a) is a front view of the said molded article, (b) is a figure for demonstrating positioning. It is a figure for demonstrating the modification of the positioning of the said molded article to the board | substrate of an optical apparatus, (a) is a front view of the said molded article, (b) is a figure for demonstrating positioning. It is a figure for demonstrating another modification of positioning of the said molded article to the board | substrate of an optical apparatus, (a) is a front view of the said molded article, (b) is a figure for demonstrating positioning. is there. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the injection mold for shape | molding the said molded article. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the stationary side metal mold | die among a pair of metal mold | die of the said injection mold. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the movable side metal mold | die among a pair of metal mold | die of the said injection mold. It is a front view which shows the molding surface of the said fixed side metal mold | die. It is a front view which shows the molding surface of the said movable side metal mold | die. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a molded product in which a groove is provided between optical element units arranged vertically and horizontally, which is a modification of the molded product body. It is a front view which shows the molded product which was the modification of a molded product main body part, Comprising: The slit provided between the optical element parts arranged in length and breadth. It is a front view which shows the molded product which was the modification of a molded product main-body part, and provided the dummy area | region in the circumference | surroundings. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an optical element provided with a reflection film and an antireflection film, which is a modified example of a molded product. It is a front view which shows the molded product of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the attachment to the board | substrate of the molded article of 3rd Embodiment of this invention, Comprising: (a) is a figure which shows the state just before attachment, (b) is a figure which shows the state after attachment. (A) is a front view of the nest | insert of the conventional movable mold, (b) is sectional drawing of the conventional molded product. Conventional (a), (b), (c), and (d) are diagrams for explaining the flow of the transparent thermosetting resin in the cavity of the injection mold.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the optical element 10 of this example is attached to a substrate 51 including the LED element 50 shown in FIG. 5 and the like, and functions as a lens for directing light from the LED element 50 in a set direction. It is. The light emitting device (illuminating device) composed of the LED element 50 and the optical element 10 is used, for example, as a device that is attached to a substrate of a mobile phone and illuminates a shooting range of a camera provided in the mobile phone.

  The optical element 10 can also be used for various light emitting devices and lighting devices using LEDs other than mobile phones. The optical element 10 can be applied to light emitting devices and lighting devices other than LEDs. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to optical devices other than light emitting devices and lighting devices. For example, it can also be used as an optical element for a light receiving element (sensor) for an optical sensor, and in the case of a reflective optical sensor, it may be an optical element for both an LED element and a light receiving element. Further, it may be an optical element of a temperature sensor using an infrared sensor.

The optical element 10 includes, for example, an optical function part 11 having a circular optical function and an outer peripheral part 12 provided integrally around the optical function part 11.
The optical functional unit 11 is circular in plan view, the LED element 50 side (inner surface side) is a substantially flat surface or a gently curved surface, and the opposite side (outer surface side) of the LED element 50 is a large curved surface. Yes.

The outer peripheral part 12 is an outer peripheral plate part 12 a formed in the shape of a rectangular flat plate around the optical function part 11, and an outer peripheral cylindrical part 12 b that is an attachment part to the substrate 51 and surrounds the periphery of the LED element 50. It consists of
The outer peripheral cylindrical portion 12b is formed in a rectangular cylindrical shape from four wall portions corresponding to the four sides of the rectangular plate-shaped outer peripheral plate portion 12a, and protrudes from the outer peripheral portion of the outer peripheral plate portion 12a toward the LED element 50 side. It has become. Moreover, the inside of the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 12b of the optical element 10 is a space on a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, and is in a state where the opposite side of the outer peripheral plate portion 12a is opened.

  Moreover, the outer peripheral surface of the outer peripheral cylinder part 12b is provided with four side surfaces, each side surface is flat, and becomes a cut surface cut when the optical elements 10 are individually separated from the molded product 30 as described later. Yes. As will be described later, when the cut region 62 is provided on the outer periphery of the molded product main body 31, all the four side surfaces are cut surfaces in all the optical elements 10 separated from the molded product 30. In the case where the region 62 is not provided, the optical element 10 arranged other than the corner portion of the outermost peripheral portion of the molded product main body 31 has three side surfaces as cut surfaces and the remaining side surfaces are the cut surfaces. The surface formed in the cavity 31c of the mold 70 of the injection molding apparatus described later.

  Further, in the optical element 10 arranged at the corner of the outer periphery of the molded product 30, two side surfaces sandwiching one corner are cut surfaces, and the two side surfaces sandwiching the corner disposed facing the corner are The surface is formed by the cavity 31c. Note that the angle between the side surfaces that are the molded surfaces of the optical element 10 coincides with the corner of the molded product 30. As will be described later, a runner portion 32 is bonded to one side edge side of the molded product main body portion 31 in which the optical element portions 14 of the molded product 30 are arranged vertically and horizontally over substantially the entire width of one side edge of the molded product main body portion 31. In this case, the runner 32 side of the molded product main body 31 is not the outer periphery of the molded product 30, and the optical element 10 separated from the portion to which the runner 32 is connected except for the corners is four All side surfaces are cut surfaces.

  As the transparent thermosetting resin material, epoxy, silicone, organic-inorganic hybrid resin, and those obtained by adding an inorganic filler to them can be applied. In this embodiment, silicone is used.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the molded product 30 is obtained by integrally molding a plurality of optical element portions 14 that are separated into optical elements 10. In FIG. 2, for ease of explanation, the molded product is illustrated with an arrangement number smaller than the arrangement number of the optical element unit 14 in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, the molded product 30 is held in the cavity of the movable mold.

  Further, the molded product 30 includes a molded product main body 31 in which the optical element units 14 are arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions as described above, a sprue portion 33 molded by a later-described sprue 33 c of the mold 70, and a later-described mold 70. The runner portion 32 is formed by a runner 32c. Further, the runner portion 32 is connected to the molded product main body portion 31, and the boundary portion between the molded product main body portion 31 and the runner portion 32 is a gate portion.

  In this molded product, since the width in the direction orthogonal to the direction from the sprue portion 33 to the molded product main body portion 31 is increased, the runner portion 32 is molded from the sprue portion 33 instead of a columnar shape or a rod shape along a straight line, for example. The triangular shape is widened toward the product main body 31.

In the molded product main body 31 of the molded product 30, the optical element units 14 are arranged side by side in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction orthogonal to each other, and the plurality of optical element units 14 are in a two-dimensional array. Yes.
That is, in the molded product 30, the optical element units 14 are arranged side by side in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the boundary portions of the optical element units 14 are arranged in a straight line (lattice form) in the vertical and horizontal directions.

Therefore, in the molded product main body 31, the arrangement positions of the optical element portions 14 are aligned in a plurality of horizontal rows, and the boundaries between the optical element portions 14 in the plurality of horizontal rows are in the vertical direction. It is linear along. Similarly, in the plurality of vertical columns, the arrangement positions of the optical element units 14 are aligned, and the boundaries between the optical element units 14 in the plurality of vertical columns are linear along the horizontal direction. ing.
Therefore, when the optical element portions 14 are separated from each other, the optical element portion 14 is separated from the optical element 10 by cutting the molded product main body portion 31 into a vertical and horizontal lattice shape according to the number of arrangement of the vertical and horizontal optical element portions 14. can do.

  Moreover, each optical element part 14 in the molded product main body 31 is in a state where the outer peripheral parts 12 are connected to each other, and the side surfaces of the outer peripheral part 12 are formed by the above-described cutting. As described above, all the side surfaces become cut surfaces or only some of the side surfaces become cut surfaces according to the arrangement positions of the optical element unit 14.

In the molded product 30, the outer peripheral cylindrical portions 12 b are arranged adjacent to each other, but a cutting allowance (removal portion) 16 is expected at a portion where the outer peripheral cylindrical portions 12 b are joined. In the sections along the vertical and horizontal cutting directions of the outer cylindrical portion 12b, as shown in FIG. 2, the cutting margin 16 is further added to a thickness 2A that is twice the thickness A of the outer cylindrical portion 12b of the optical element 10. It has become a thickness.
It should be noted that the cutting allowance 16 portion does not become cutting waste at the time of cutting.

In addition, as a method of cutting and separating the optical element portion 14, a conventional cutting technique can be used. For example, a wire saw, laser processing, liquid jet processing, dicing, a cutter blade, or the like can be used.
Further, the cutting / separation is not necessarily limited to the single optical element 10. For example, it can be selected according to the application such as a set of two, a set of four, or a line. In addition, when it is not a single product, it may be cut after being assembled to the optical device as will be described later. Further, the optical device may be used in combination with a plurality of optical elements, that is, used as a lens array including a plurality of optical element portions 14 instead of the single optical element 10.

Here, when one optical element is molded with one cavity as in the prior art, the corners of the outer cylindrical portion 12b and the outer peripheral plate portion 12a of the optical element shown in FIG. For example, when the mold is released from the state held in the movable mold, the inner side surface of the outer peripheral plate portion 12a and the inner side surface and the outer side surface of the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 12b are in close contact with the inner surface of the cavity. Since it becomes a state and a force is applied at the time of mold release, there is a possibility that deformation or breakage may occur at the corner portion.
On the other hand, in the molded product 30, except for the outer peripheral portion, the two outer cylindrical portions 12 b are connected to each other with the cutting margin 16 therebetween as described above. As compared with the above, the thickness of the cross section of the outer peripheral cylindrical portion becomes twice (2A + cutting allowance) or more, and the corners of the inner corner remain on the inner surface side, but the corner portion of the outer corner disappears on the outer surface side. Further, in the molded product 30, the outer peripheral portions 12 are connected to be adjacent to each other, so that the surface area of the molded product 30 is equal to the side surface of the outer peripheral portion 12 as compared with the molded products of the optical elements 10 one by one. As a result, the area closely contacting the inner peripheral surface of the cavity is reduced, and the force applied to the molded product 30 at the time of mold release is reduced. Thereby, the optical element 10 with favorable optical characteristics can be manufactured.

  From the above, the force applied to the molded product 30 that is still hot and brittle at the time of mold release is reduced, the thickness of the portion where the stress is concentrated in the shape is increased, the rigidity is increased, and the stress is concentrated. The shape is weakened. From this, the deformation | transformation and damage of the molded article 30 at the time of mold release can be suppressed. Note that when the individual optical element portions 14 are separated from the molded product main body portion 31 of the molded product 30 to form the optical element 10, the temperature of the molded product 30 is lowered, and the molded product 30 is compared with that at the time of mold release. Therefore, when the molded product 30 is cut, deformation and breakage are unlikely to occur. Therefore, the optical element 10 with good optical characteristics can be obtained even when the integrally formed optical element portions 14 are cut individually.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D, in a later-described mold 70 of the injection molding apparatus, a substantially rectangular plate-shaped cavity that forms a molded product main body 31. Since the runner 32c extends from the sprue 33c to the triangle 31c and is connected to the runner 32c, the transparent thermosetting resin material a flows from one side edge of the cavity 31c along a substantially horizontal row, and the inside of the cavity 31c. The resin material a is filled in

  At this time, as in the conventional case, the resin material a is improved in the fluidity of the portion along the inner surface of the cavity 31c, and the flow in the vicinity of the inner surface of the cavity 31c is faster than the portion away from the inner surface. The cross-sectional area of the cross section that intersects (substantially orthogonal to) the flow direction of the resin is larger than the largest cross section of the cavity that molds the conventional individual optical elements by the number of arrangement in the vertical direction of the optical element section. It is possible to suppress the entrainment of bubbles by smoothly flowing the resin into the cavity 31c including the portion where the functional part 11 is molded.

  In particular, the cross-sectional area of a portion that intersects (substantially orthogonally) the flow direction of the resin material a to be filled is a portion that becomes a cut surface when the optical element portion is separated at a portion where the outer peripheral portions are connected to each other Since it is made larger than the maximum cross-sectional area of the optical element part, the resin is caused to flow smoothly from the outer peripheral part 12 to the part that is to be the optical function part 11, and air bubbles are introduced to the part that is to be the optical function part 11. It is possible to prevent the state from being involved.

  In the entire cavity 31c of the mold 70, for example, as shown in FIG. 4D, the bubble b may remain at the end. In this case, the optical element section 14 in which the bubble b remains is defective. The remaining optical element section 14 becomes a good optical element 10 and the bubbles b may remain from the shape of the optical element when the conventional optical elements are molded with cavities. Compared with the case where it is high, it is possible to improve the yield, and it is possible to mold even an optical element having a shape that is difficult to mold, since the conventional bubble b is likely to remain.

  Here, the degree of difficulty in mold release and the ease of entrainment of bubbles vary depending on the type (grade) of the transparent thermosetting resin material and the product shape, but in the molded product 30, the optical element portions 14 arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions. Since the number of vertical arrangements and the number of horizontal arrangements can be set freely, the shape such as the width and thickness of the cutting allowance 16 that is a connecting portion between the optical element parts 14 can be adjusted according to the material characteristics. In addition, by arbitrarily setting the number of the optical element sections 14 and the aspect ratio, it is possible to deal with transparent thermosetting resin materials and thin-walled products that could not be used so far.

  The shape of the cutting allowance 16 is wider than the shape that becomes the side surface of the optical element 10 (the cutting allowance 16 portion becomes a rib shape in the molded product 30), or a slit or groove is provided in the cutting allowance 16 portion. Thus, the cut surface portion can be narrowed, and the thickness can be arbitrarily changed. When the thickness of the cutting allowance 16 is changed, the cutting allowance portion is cut by a single cut even if the cutting allowance 16 becomes somewhat thick by changing the cutting width at the time of cutting by the processing device for cutting. Is possible. For example, by selecting a cutting blade having a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the cutting allowance 16, the cutting allowance 16 can be removed only by cutting the cutting allowance 16 once. Note that a cutting allowance 16 having a thickness that cannot be removed by a single cut may be provided between the optical element portions 14, and the cut allowance 16 may be removed by two cuts.

In addition, by changing the number of arrays of the optical element portions 14 and the aspect ratio, the cross-sectional area in the direction substantially orthogonal to the flow direction of the transparent thermosetting resin material filled in the cavity 31c can be set almost freely. Can do.
In the conventional method, since the shape of the cavity is determined by the shape of the optical element 10, the fluidity of the resin cannot be controlled by the shape of the cavity (strictly speaking, molding conditions (injection speed and pressure) and gate In this molded product 30, the shape of the molded product 30 can be freely changed to some extent as described above, and the shape of the cavity 31c is also changed accordingly. Thus, the fluidity of the resin can be controlled by the shape of the cavity 31c. When an optical element array is manufactured instead of obtaining individual optical elements, the shape of the cavity is determined by the design of the optical element array, and the shape of the molded product cannot be set freely.

The molded product 30 for separating the optical element portion 14 may be cut by the molded product 30 alone, but as shown in FIG. 5, the molded product 30 is formed on a substrate 51 in which a plurality of LED elements 50 are arranged vertically and horizontally. It is good also as what cut | disconnects the molded article 30 and the board | substrate 51 simultaneously after attaching 30. FIG.
The LED elements 50 are arranged on the substrate 51 and fixed vertically and horizontally. Each LED element 50 is provided on the substrate 51 and is electrically wired so as to be connected to an electrode corresponding to each LED element 50.

Here, the light-emitting device including the optical element 10 and the LED element 50 is a component for surface mounting, and an electrode (not shown) is formed on the back side of each LED element 50 on the substrate 51. And the LED element 50 are connected by wiring formed on the substrate 51.
The light emitting device includes, for example, one LED element 50, and it is necessary to cut a substrate 51 in which a plurality of LED elements 50 are arranged vertically and horizontally to form an LED substrate 52 including each LED element 50. is there.

  The arrangement position of each LED element 50 on the substrate 51 corresponds to the arrangement position of the optical function part 11 of the optical element part 14 in the molded product main body 31, and the LED element 50, the optical function part 11, and When the molded product main body 31 is arranged so as to overlap, the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 12b surrounds the LED element 50. That is, the LED element 50 is accommodated in the recess formed in the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 12b on the LED element 50 side of the optical element portion 14.

Further, the LED element 50 is hermetically sealed in the recess of the optical element part 14 by adhering the front end surface of the outer peripheral cylindrical part 12b of the optical element part 14 to the surface of the substrate 51 on which the LED element 50 is disposed. It will be in the state.
In this case, the cutting position between the outer peripheral portions of the optical element portion 14 and the cutting position between the LED elements 50 of the substrate 51 are overlapped, and by simultaneously cutting these cutting positions, A light-emitting device including one LED element 50 and the corresponding optical element 10 can be obtained.

  Before the molded product main body 31 is bonded to the substrate 51, the boundary between the molded product main body 31 and the runner 32 is used to separate the molded product main body 31 from the sprue 33 and the runner 32 shown in FIG. It is good also as what cut | disconnects by the gate part as follows, and is good also as what cut | disconnects the boundary of the molded article main-body part 31 and the runner part 32, after adhere | attaching on the board | substrate 51. FIG. That is, the molded product 30 and the substrate 51 may be cut after the molded product 30 is bonded to the substrate 51 instead of the molded product main body 31 to obtain the light emitting device.

  As described above, instead of individually attaching each optical element 10 to each LED substrate 52, it becomes possible to bond and join a plurality of optical elements 10 to a plurality of LED substrates 52 at the same time, and to form a molded product. Since the substrate 30 and the substrate 51 can be cut at the same time instead of being cut separately, the number of assembling steps of the light emitting device can be greatly reduced, and the manufacturing period can be shortened and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Further, when the molded product 30 and the substrate 51 are cut separately, the cutting waste adheres to the inside of the outer cylindrical portion 12b of the LED element 50 and the optical element 10, and finally the cutting waste enters the light emitting device. However, the molded product 30 and the substrate 51 are cut in a state in which the LED element 50 is sealed in the optical element 10 by first bonding the substrate 51 and the molded product 30 together. become. Thereby, it is possible to prevent cutting waste from entering the light emitting device.
That is, it is possible to prevent cutting waste from entering the light emitting device and resulting in a defective product.

Further, when the molded product main body 31 is bonded to the substrate 51, the position of the LED element 50 of each LED substrate 52 of the substrate 51 and the position of the optical functional unit 11 of each optical element unit 14 of the molded product main body 31. It is necessary to match with exactly. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, positioning means for engaging the molded product 30 (molded product main body 31) and the substrate 51 may be provided.
For example, a truncated cone-shaped positioning boss (projection) 33 whose diameter decreases toward the distal end side is provided on the distal end surface of the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 12 b in contact with the substrate 51 of the molded product 30. Correspondingly, by providing a frustoconical positioning hole 53 whose diameter decreases toward the bottom and inserting the positioning boss 35 into the positioning hole 53, the substrate 51 (LED element 50) and the molded product 30 (optical function). Positioning with the part 11) may be performed.
In addition, when the uneven | corrugated which mutually engages as a positioning means is provided in the molded article 30 and the board | substrate 51, you may provide a recessed part (convex part) in any of the molded article 30 and the board | substrate 51. FIG.

In FIG. 6, two positioning bosses 35 are provided for each optical element portion 14, and two positioning holes 53 are provided for each LED substrate 52.
By using such positioning means, the position of the optical functional unit 11 of the optical element unit 14 is shifted with respect to the LED element 50, so that the characteristics of the light emitting device are deteriorated or the light emitting device is used for a predetermined application. It is possible to prevent the function from being disabled.

By providing positioning means on the molded product 30 and the substrate 51, the position of the optical function unit 11 with respect to the LED element 50 can be made accurate, and a light emitting device having good characteristics can be manufactured.
Further, it is possible to prevent the molded product 30 from being displaced with respect to the substrate 51 while the adhesive is solidified when the molded product 30 is bonded to the substrate 51.
Further, as the positioning means, unevenness that engages each other is provided on the bonding surfaces of the substrate 51 and the molded product 30 so that the area of the bonding surface is wider than the planar bonding surface and the bonding strength is increased. Can do.

It is not always necessary to provide positioning means for each optical element section 14 as described above, and positioning means may be provided at a plurality of locations of the molded product 30. However, in order to perform positioning with higher accuracy, It is desirable to provide positioning means for each of the element portion 14 and the LED substrate.
For example, when a thermosetting adhesive is used for bonding the substrate 51 and the molded product 30 corresponding to a molded product made of a transparent thermosetting resin, due to a difference in thermal expansion between the substrate 51 and the molded product 30. The position can be prevented from shifting.

  As described above, the positioning means can be easily assembled and can be positioned with high accuracy by using a substantially conical projection (positioning boss 35) or hole (positioning hole 53) such as a truncated cone. Further, the positioning can be performed with higher accuracy when the positioning bosses 35 of the optical element portions 14 and the positioning holes 53 of the LED substrates 52 are at least two or more.

FIG. 7 shows a modification of the positioning means. For example, for each column of the LED elements 50 along the vertical arrangement direction as one of the arrangement directions of the vertical and horizontal LED elements 50 on the substrate 51 side. A positioning groove 54 having an inverted trapezoidal cross section (a shape whose width becomes narrower toward the bottom) is formed.
Further, the molded product 30 is positioned in a trapezoidal cross section (a shape that becomes narrower toward the tip) along the vertical arrangement direction (one arrangement direction) of the optical element portion 14 in correspondence with the position of the positioning groove 54. A protrusion 34 is provided. The position of the positioning ridge 34 needs to be the front end surface of the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 12 b in contact with the substrate 51, and the position of the positioning groove 54 needs to correspond to the position of the positioning ridge 34.

Here, by inserting the positioning protrusion 34 into the positioning groove 54, the position along the horizontal arrangement direction of the vertical and horizontal arrangement directions is determined, but the molded product 30 can move along the positioning groove 54. The position along the vertical arrangement direction is not determined.
Therefore, the end face in the direction orthogonal to the positioning groove 54 of the substrate 51 and the molded product 30 abuts on a regulating member 61 having a regulating plane that abuts on these end faces, whereby the position along the vertical arrangement direction is determined. It is like that. The regulating member 61 is a separate member from the molded product 30 and the substrate 51.

FIG. 8 shows another modification of the positioning means, but the shape of the molded product is also different, and the molded product 30a has a molded product main body 31o in which the optical element portions 14 are arranged vertically and horizontally. A cut region 62 (dummy region), which will be described later, is provided on the outer peripheral side. The excision region 62 will be described in detail later. The above-described different positioning boss 35 and the positioning protrusion 34 are provided in the cut region 62.
The positioning protrusions 34 are provided along one of the vertical arrangement directions of the vertical and horizontal arrangement directions of the optical element section 14, and at the side edge of the molded product 30 a along the vertical arrangement direction of the cut region 62. Is formed.

A positioning boss 35 is provided on the side edge of the cut region 62 opposite to the side edge.
The substrate 51 is provided with positioning holes 53 corresponding to the positioning bosses 35 and positioning grooves 54 corresponding to the positioning ridges 34.
In a state where the positioning boss 35 is inserted into the positioning hole 53, the molded product 30 a can rotate relative to the substrate 51 around the positioning hole 53, and the positioning protrusion 34 is inserted into the positioning groove 54. Then, the molded product 30a can slide relative to the substrate 51 along the positioning groove 54, but the positioning boss 35 is inserted into the positioning hole 53, and the positioning protrusion 34 is inserted into the positioning groove 54. As a result, the rotational movement and the sliding movement are restricted, and the molded product 30 a is positioned on the substrate 51.

As shown in FIGS. 9 to 13, a mold 70 of an injection molding apparatus for injection molding the molded product 30 includes a fixed side mold 71 and a movable side mold 72.
The fixed-side mold 71 includes a fixed-side mounting plate 81 and a fixed-side mold plate (cavity plate) 84 attached to the fixed-side mounting plate 81 via a plurality of receiving plates 82 and 83. A heat insulating plate 85 is interposed between the fixed side mold plate 84 and the receiving plate 83. The fixed side mold plate 84 is provided with a nest 86, and a molding surface 80 for molding the entire molded product 30 shown in FIG. 3 is formed on the front surface of the nest 86. The molding surface 80 is a substantially flat surface, and a portion corresponding to the optical function portion 11 of each optical element portion 14 of the molded product 30 is dug into a concave portion. In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, four nestings 86 are arranged on the fixed-side template 84, and four molding surfaces 80 are provided. The molding surface 80 includes a fixed-side cavity 31a that forms the molded product main body 31, a fixed-side runner 32a, and a fixed-side sprue 33a.

Further, a substantially truncated conical sprue 33a, which is a resin inflow passage, is formed at the center of the insert 86, and a resin inflow passage 92 formed in the sprue unit 91 and the like is formed in the sprue 33a. The resin injected from the nozzle of the resin injection machine into the bush 93 fixed to the fixed side mounting plate 81 is sent into the sprue 33 a through the inflow passage 92. The heat insulating plate 85 functions to prevent the heat of the resin molded product forming portion from being transmitted to the fixed side receiving plate 83 side and ensure the fluidity of the resin in the inflow passage 92. For the same purpose, the sprue unit 91 and the like are water-cooled by a water-cooling pipe or the like.
The fixed side mold plate 84 is provided with guide pins 87 that protrude toward the movable side mold plate 77.

The movable mold 72 includes a movable attachment plate 73 and a movable mold plate (core plate) 77 attached to the movable attachment plate 73 via a plurality of receiving plates 74, 75, 76. Yes. A heat insulating plate 79 is interposed between the receiving plate 75 and the receiving plate 76. The movable side mold plate 77 is provided with a substantially cylindrical insert 78. On the front surface of the insert 78, a forming surface 90 for forming the entire molded product 30 shown in FIG. The molding surface 90 is formed by digging a part of the flat front surface of the insert 78 and is a recess corresponding to the molded product 30. The molding surface 90 includes a movable side cavity 31b, a movable side runner 32b, and a movable side sprue 33b corresponding to the molded product main body 31.
The fixed cavity 31a and the movable cavity 31b constitute the cavity 31c described above, the fixed runner 32a and the movable runner 32b constitute the aforementioned runner 32c, and the fixed sprue 33a and the movable sprue 33b described above. The sprue 33c is configured.
In addition, the movable side mold plate 77 is provided with a guide bush 88 into which the guide pin 87 of the fixed side mold plate 84 is inserted. By inserting the guide pin 87 into the guide bush 88, the fixed side mold plate 84 and The movable side mold plate 77 is aligned.

  The insert 78 is inserted into the columnar through hole 94 of the movable side mold plate 77, the columnar through hole 95 of the receiving plate 76, the columnar through hole 96 of the heat insulating plate 79, and the columnar through hole 97 of the receiving plate 75. It is inserted over. Further, a slight gap is provided between the inner peripheral surfaces of the through hole 94, the through hole 95, the through hole 96 and the through hole 97 and the outer peripheral surface of the insert 78. The insert 78 is fitted into the through hole 94 of the movable side mold plate 77 and the through hole 95 of the receiving plate 76 via O-rings (elastic members) 98 and 99, respectively. The position of is fixed. Each of the O-rings 98 and 99 is mounted in an O-ring groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of the insert 78.

  In addition, a disc-shaped flange 78a is formed at the center of the insert 78 in the front-rear direction (the die-matching surface side is the front side) and protrudes outward in the lateral direction. On the other hand, an annular notch 100 is formed on the rear end side of the through hole 95 of the receiving plate 76 and opens to the rear surface of the through hole 95 and the receiving plate 76. The part 78a is inserted. The annular spacers 101 and 102 are respectively disposed before and after the flange 78a, and the spacers 101 and 102 are sandwiched between the front inner surface of the notch 100 and the front surface of the heat insulating plate 79, so that the flange 78a. Is sandwiched between the spacers 101 and 102. In this case, the total width dimension of the flange part 78 a and the spacers 101 and 102 is set slightly smaller than the width dimension (depth dimension) of the notch part 100. The spacers 101 and 102 are made of a low friction material having a small friction coefficient such as bakelite, and the flange portion 78a can slide in the radial direction between the spacers 101 and 102. When the resin is injected, the nest 78 is pushed to the rear surface side. At this time, the rear surface of the flange portion 78a of the nest 78 is brought into contact with the front surface of the spacer 102. The position of the molding surface 90 for forming the molded product 30 on the front surface of 78 is determined by the width dimension of the spacer 102 in contact with the front surface of the heat insulating plate 79. Further, the outer diameter dimension of the flange portion 78a is set smaller than the diameter of the inner surface in the radial direction of the notch portion 100, and a gap is provided on the outer peripheral side of the flange portion 78a.

  An ultrasonic transducer 104 is attached to the rear surface of the insert 78. A bolt portion 105 is provided at the center of the front surface of the ultrasonic vibrator 104, and a washer 106 made of a heat insulating material such as ceramic is inserted into a female screw hole 78 b formed in the center of the rear surface of the insert 78. Screwed through. By using the heat insulating washer 106, the heat of the resin molded product forming portion is suppressed from being transmitted to the ultrasonic vibrator 104. For the same purpose, the heat insulating plate 79 is interposed between the receiving plates 75 and 76. The ultrasonic vibrator 104 has a plurality of piezoelectric elements 107, and when an AC voltage is applied, the tip portion vibrates at high speed, thereby causing the insert 78 to vibrate at high speed. For example, the ultrasonic vibrator 104 has an oscillation frequency of about 27 kHz and a vibration amplitude of about 10 μm. In this case, the insert 78 functions as a horn, and the insert 78 has a maximum amplitude in the front and rear portions in the front-rear direction, an amplitude of 0 (zero) in the flange 78a, and a flange 78a in the radial direction. The amplitude is at a maximum.

Next, a method for manufacturing the optical element 10 will be described.
The optical element 10 is designed corresponding to the desired optical characteristics and mounting structure.
Next, the shape of the molded product 30 is designed. At this time, in consideration of the shape of the optical element 10, the number of vertical and horizontal arrangements of the optical element unit 14 and the distance between adjacent optical element units 14 in the vertical and horizontal arrangement (thickness of the cutting margin 16) are determined. These determine the length of the molded product 30 in the vertical and horizontal directions suitable for the thickness of the molded product 30 based on the shape of the optical element portion 14 (the length in the direction perpendicular to both the vertical and horizontal arrangement directions), for example. Based on this, the number of arrangement of the optical element sections 14 in the vertical and horizontal directions is determined.

Actually, based on experiments and simulations, the shape of the optical element 10 is taken into consideration so that the strength of the molded product is high and it is difficult for air bubbles to be entrained. The distance between the adjacent optical element portions 14 in the array is determined. Thereby, the shape of the cutting allowance 16 as a removal part removed when isolate | separating the optical element part 14 between the adjacent optical element parts 14 of the molded article 30 is determined.
When determining the shape of the molded product 30, it is necessary to consider the shapes of the molding surfaces 80 and 90 of the mold 70 for molding the molded product 30, and the arrangement of the sprue 33 c, runner 32 c, cavity 31 c, and the like. It is determined.
Further, in the arrangement of the optical element portions 14, it is not always necessary that the number of horizontal rows is the same, and the number of vertical rows is the same, so that the molded product main body 31 does not have to be substantially rectangular. For example, in FIG. The number of the optical element units 14 in the vertical row is sequentially increased so that the width increases as the distance from the runner portion 32 increases, or the number of the optical element portions 14 in the vertical row is sequentially decreased so as to decrease as the distance from the runner portion 32 increases. May be.

Further, the shape of the optical element portion 14 is not limited to a rectangle, but may be other shapes. In this case, for example, a cutting method such as laser processing capable of cutting along a curve is used. It is necessary to separate the optical element unit 14.
After the design of the molded product 30 and the molding surfaces 80 and 90 of the mold 70 is completed, the inserts 78 and 86 of the mold 70 are manufactured, and the mold 70 is assembled.

  The molded product 30 is molded using the mold 70. At this time, the resin injected from the nozzle of the resin injecting machine without the bush 93 is sent into the sprue 33a through the inflow passage 92 of the sprue unit 91, and this resin passes through the runners 32a and 32b to the cavities 31a and 31b ( 31c). As shown in FIG. 4, after the resin is filled in the cavity 31 c, the movable side mold 72 is separated from the fixed side mold 71 and the mold is opened. During or after the mold opening operation, the nesting 78 is vibrated by the ultrasonic vibrator 104. As a result, an air layer is formed between the molded product 30 that is in close contact with the insert 78 and the insert 78, and the molded product 30 is released from the insert 78.

The nest 78 is held by the movable side mold plate 77 and the receiving plate 76 via O-rings 98 and 99, which are elastic members, respectively. Since gaps are respectively formed between the inserts 78, the insert 78 can secure a precise position when the molded product 30 is formed by injection and curing of the resin, and can be ultrasonically vibrated when released.
Further, the flange portion 78a of the insert 78 is a portion where the amplitude in the radial direction is maximized, but since the gap is provided on the outer peripheral side of the flange portion 78a, the flange portion 78a is located between the spacers 101 and 102 in the radial direction. It is possible to slide ultrasonically and vibrate ultrasonically.

Next, after the take-out head of the take-out machine (not shown) is lowered, the take-out head is moved forward (approached to the movable mold 72), and then the sprue portion 33 of the molded product 30 is gripped by the chuck of the take-out head.
Next, the take-out head is retracted (separated from the movable mold 72), and then lifted to be positioned outside between the fixed mold 71 and the movable mold 72.

Next, the molded product 30 may be cut into a lattice shape with the cutting allowance 16, but before the molded product 30 is cut as described above, the LED elements 50 are bonded to the substrate 51 arranged vertically and horizontally.
In this case, a conventional adhesive such as silicone or epoxy can be used.
In addition, what is necessary is just to select the characteristics of adhesives, such as adhesive strength, thermal conductivity, a thermal expansion coefficient, and a refractive index, according to the use and use conditions of an optical device.
Moreover, you may use the sealing material which has adhesiveness as an adhesive agent.

Conventional methods such as an anaerobic type, a thermosetting type, and a photocuring type can be used as an adhesive solidifying method using an adhesive.
In particular, in the case of a silicone material, since it has high heat resistance and UV resistance, a thermosetting type or a UV curing type can be used.
After the molded product 30 and the substrate 51 are bonded, they are cut along the cutting margin 16 of the molded product 30. As a result, the molded product 30 is separated and the optical element 10 is provided, and the optical element 10 is already incorporated in a light emitting device as an optical device.

  In the optical element 10, the molded product 30, and the method for manufacturing the optical element 10, as described above, deformation and breakage at the time of mold release can be suppressed, and bubbles can be prevented from remaining. Thereby, it becomes possible to manufacture an optical element having good optical characteristics with a high yield. Further, the manufacturing of an optical device (light emitting device) including the optical element 10 can be simplified to reduce the cost.

FIG. 14 shows a molded product main body 31m which is a modification of the molded product main body 31, and a groove is formed between the surface on the LED element 50 side of the cutting margin 16 portion of the molded product main body 31 and the surface on the opposite side. 17 is provided.
According to this molded product main body 31m, it is possible to cut along the groove 17 when cutting at the cutting allowance 16 portion between the optical element portions 14, and the cutting allowance between the optical element portions 14 is possible. Cutting at 16 parts can be facilitated.

  FIG. 15 shows a molded product main body 31n which is another modified example of the molded product main body 31, and a slit 18 is provided in a cutting allowance 16 portion of the molded product main body 31. FIG. Also in this case, by providing the slit 18 in the cutting allowance 16, the cutting between the optical element portions 14 can be facilitated.

  However, when forming the molded product main body portions 31m and 31n, if the groove 70 and the slit 18 are provided in the mold 70, the flow passage cross-sectional area of the transparent thermosetting resin material at that portion is reduced. Thus, when adversely affecting the flow of the resin material, it is preferable not to provide the groove 17 or the slit 18. Moreover, in order to control the fluidity | liquidity of the resin material in the cavity 31c, you may provide the groove | channel 17 and the slit 18 in the cutting allowance 16 part as adjustment of the flow-path cross-sectional area of a resin material.

  FIG. 16 shows a molded product body 31o which is still another modified example of the molded product body 31. As shown in FIG. The molded product body 31o has a cut region 62 formed around it. This excision area is an area to be excised when the optical element unit 14 is separated from the molded product 30a having the excision area 62 to form the optical element 10. The cut region 62 is provided to reinforce the outermost peripheral portion of the molded product 30a at the time of molding and to expel the bubbles to the cut region 62 outside the optical element portion 14 when the bubbles are involved. .

  For example, in the molded product main body 31 shown in FIG. 2, in the portion where the optical element portions 14 are adjacent to each other, the thickness of the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 12 b is equal to the thickness of the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 12 b of the two optical element portions 14. However, the thickness of the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 12b of the single optical element 10 is more than twice the thickness of the outer peripheral side of the optical element portion 14 of the outermost peripheral portion of the molded product 30. The portion 14 does not exist, and in this portion, the thickness of the outer cylindrical portion 12b is the same as the thickness of the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 12b of the single optical element 10. Therefore, by providing the cut region 62 around the molded product main body 31, the thickness of the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 12b of the outermost peripheral portion of the molded product main body 31o is the combined thickness of the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 12b and the cut region 62. As described above, it is possible to reinforce the outermost peripheral portion of the molded product main body 31o, and it is possible to prevent deformation and breakage at the outermost peripheral portion of the molded product main body 31o during mold release.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 4, in the cavity 31c, for example, there is a high possibility that the side edge portion on the opposite side of the runner 32c will be filled with the resin last, and the bubble b may remain in this portion. However, the bubble b moves to the ablation region 62 because the ablation region 62 that is separated and excised when the optical element unit 14 is separated is provided in the outermost peripheral portion instead of the optical element unit 14. Therefore, it is possible to prevent bubbles from remaining in the optical element portion 14 of the molded product main body 31o.

In FIG. 16, the cut region 62 is provided over the entire circumference of the molded product main body 31o. However, it is not always necessary to provide the cut region 62. For example, the cut region 62 is provided in a portion to which the runner portion 32 is connected. The cut region 62 may be provided only on the opposite side edge of the runner portion 32 in which bubbles are likely to remain in FIG. Further, from the past results of actual molding, etc., the cutting region 62 is provided only around the part of the outer peripheral part of the molded product main body 31o that is likely to be deformed or damaged or the part that is likely to contain bubbles. It is good.
In this way, by providing the cut region 62 on a part of the outer periphery rather than the entire periphery of the molded product main body 31o, the use amount of the transparent thermosetting resin, which is expensive compared to the transparent thermoplastic resin, can be increased. The cost can be reduced. In order to reduce the material cost regardless of whether the cut region 62 is provided on the entire periphery of the molded product main body 31o or a part thereof, the use of the material is reduced by, for example, reducing the width of the cut region 62. It is preferred to minimize the amount. Further, the width of the cut region 62 may be different depending on the position of the outer periphery of the molded product main body 31o.

FIG. 17 shows the optical element 10 and the LED substrate 52 separated by attaching the molded product 30 to the substrate 51 having the LED elements 50 as described above and then cutting the substrate 51 and the molded product 30 together. The light-emitting device 20 which consists of this is shown, and the modification of the optical element 10 is shown. In addition, it is good also as what attaches each optical element 10 to these each LED board 52, after separating each LED element 52 while separating each optical element 10 used as a modification.
The optical element 10 as a modification is basically the same as the optical element 10 described above, but a known antireflection structure 21 and a known reflection structure 22 are provided on the surface thereof.

  By providing the antireflection structure 21, reflection loss on the surface of the optical element 10 can be suppressed and light can be used efficiently. As the antireflection structure, an AR coating (antireflection film), a film, an antireflection structure using a fine pattern, or the like can be applied. In the case of AR coating, there are methods by sputtering, vapor deposition, and application, any of which can be applied. The optical element 10 itself is required to have heat resistance. For example, the function needs not to be impaired even after the above-described reflow process in surface mounting on a printed board. However, in AR coating by normal sputtering or vapor deposition, cracks and peeling are likely to occur due to the difference in thermal expansion between the resin and the coating. Therefore, in the case of undergoing a reflow process, the AR coating by coating and the antireflection structure by fine pattern are applied. Is desirable.

Alternatively, the reflecting structure 22 may be partially provided so that unnecessary portions are not irradiated with light.
Accordingly, for example, in the case of the optical element 10 for illumination, only a desired irradiation range can be illuminated. Note that the structure that blocks the irradiation of light to unnecessary portions is not limited to the reflection structure 22, and may be a diffusion structure that diffuses light or an absorption structure that absorbs light.
Examples of the diffusing structure / absorbing structure / reflecting structure 22 include wrinkles, blacking, fine patterns, and metal films formed by plating or sputtering.
Further, a high refractive layer can be provided by two-color molding or pasting to give a reflecting function.
In the reflection structure 22, for example, by providing a reflection film around the chip, if the light emitted to an unnecessary part is reflected to the optical function unit 11, the light can be used effectively.

As shown in FIG. 17, by providing an antireflection structure 21 on the surface of the optical function unit 11 on the LED element 50 side and the surface on the opposite side of the LED element 50, light transmission in the optical function unit 11 is performed. The rate can be increased.
Further, by providing the reflecting structure 22 on the surface of the outer peripheral portion 12 on the LED element 50 side and the surface on the opposite side of the LED element 50, the amount of light that reflects light and reaches the optical function portion 11 is increased. be able to.

In addition, the antireflection structure 21 and the reflection structure 22 need to correspond to the wavelength of light emitted from the LED element 50 that is basically used.
The antireflection structure 21 and the reflection structure 22 are preferably provided before the optical element unit 14 is separated from the molded product 30. In the molded product 30, the optical element portions 14 are arranged in close proximity to each other in a predetermined arrangement, so that it is easier than forming the antireflection structure 21 and the reflection structure 22 on each separated optical element 10. Can be formed.
Only the antireflection structure 21 may be provided, or only the reflection structure 22 may be provided.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIG. 18, the molded product 30b of the second embodiment has a shape in which the sprue portion 33p is arranged at the center of the molded product 30b. Therefore, the insert 78c of the mold 70 also has a shape in which the sprue is disposed at the center of the cavity. In addition, a runner is formed around the sprue, and the transparent thermosetting resin flows radially into a cavity provided around the runner.
Thus, the molded product 30b has a shape in which the sprue portion 33p is provided at the center, the runner portion 32p is provided around the sprue portion 33p, and the molded product main body portion 31p is provided around the runner portion 32p. By setting it as such a structure, the amount of resin of the runner part 32p can be decreased with respect to the above-mentioned molded article 30, and cost reduction can be aimed at.
The molded product 30b is a molded product main body portion 31p excluding the runner portion 32p and the sprue portion 33p at the center, in which the optical element portions 14 are arranged vertically and horizontally. The runner portion 32p, the sprue portion 33p and the molded product portion 30b are molded. Except for the arrangement of the product main body 31p, it has the same structure as that of the first embodiment.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIG. 19, the molded product 30q of the third embodiment has the same structure as that of the first embodiment except that the shape of the optical element portion 14a is different from that of the first embodiment.
In the optical element portion 14 of the first embodiment, the outer peripheral portion 12 is provided from the outer peripheral plate portion 12a and the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 12b, but in the optical element portion 14a of the molded product 30q of the third embodiment, The part 12d is composed of only the outer peripheral plate part 12a without including the outer peripheral cylindrical part 12b.

Therefore, the optical element portion 14a of the molded product 30q has no portion where stress concentrates like the corner portions of the outer peripheral plate portion 12a and the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 12b unlike the optical element portion 14 of the molded product 30. There is no need to reinforce 12d, and the LED element 50 side of the molded product 30q is planar. However, since the plurality of optical element portions 14a are arranged vertically and horizontally, the cross-sectional area of the portion of the molded product 30q through which the transparent thermosetting resin material flows forms one optical element portion with one conventional cavity. It is wider than the case, and entrainment of bubbles can be prevented.
Further, when the optical element unit 14a is separated into individual optical elements, the shape does not surround the LED element 50, but the LED element 50 on the substrate 51 is surrounded by the periphery of the LED element 50. An outer peripheral wall 55 having a shape surrounding the outer periphery is provided. The outer peripheral wall 55 has a lattice shape in which a plurality of vertical and horizontal protrusions intersect each other before the LED substrates 52 are individually separated from the substrate 51. Also in the third embodiment, the molded product 30q or the molded product main body 31q is attached to the substrate 51 having the outer peripheral wall 55 without separating the molded product 30q (molded product main body 31q) into the optical element portions 14a. After (after bonding), the light emitting device is separated into individual light emitting devices including the optical element and the LED substrate 52.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Optical element 11 Optical function part 12 Outer peripheral part 14 Optical element part 16 Cutting allowance (removal part)
30 Molded product 30a Molded product 30b Molded product 30q Molded product

Claims (6)

An optical element provided by separating a plurality of optical element portions from a molded product of a transparent thermosetting resin that has been injection-molded,
A plurality of the optical element portions are arranged vertically and horizontally, and a molded product having a shape in which the optical element portions arranged vertically and horizontally are integrally connected is injection molded,
An optical element characterized in that the molded article is provided by being separated between the optical element parts and separated into each optical element part. The optical element portion includes an optical function portion having an optical function, and an outer peripheral portion integrally provided around the optical function portion,
The molded product is molded into a shape in which the optical element portions are arranged so that the outer peripheral portions are adjacent to each other,
The shape of the removal part to be removed when separating the optical element part between the adjacent optical element parts of the molded product is set by the number of vertical and horizontal arrangements of the optical element part and adjacent to each other. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein the optical element is set by a distance between the optical element units. A transparent thermosetting resin is provided by injection molding, and is a molded product including a plurality of optical element parts separated into optical elements,
A molded product, wherein a plurality of the optical element portions are arranged vertically and horizontally, and the optical element portions arranged vertically and horizontally are integrally connected. The optical element portion includes an optical function portion having an optical function, and an outer peripheral portion provided integrally therewith,
Molded into a shape in which the optical element portions are arranged so that the outer peripheral portions are adjacent to each other,
The shape of the removal part that is removed when separating the optical element part between the adjacent optical element parts is set by the number of vertical and horizontal arrangements of the optical element part, and the adjacent optical element part The molded product according to claim 3, which is set by a distance between them. An optical element manufacturing method for manufacturing an optical element by separating a plurality of optical element parts from a molded product obtained by injection molding a transparent thermosetting resin,
A plurality of the optical element portions are arranged vertically and horizontally, and a molded product having a shape in which the optical element portions arranged vertically and horizontally are integrally connected, is injection molded,
A method of manufacturing an optical element, wherein the molded article is separated between the optical element parts to separate the optical element parts into optical elements. The optical element part includes an optical function part having an optical function and an outer peripheral part integrally provided around the optical function part,
The molded product is molded into a shape in which the optical element portions are arranged so that the outer peripheral portions are adjacent to each other,
The shape of the removal part to be removed when separating the optical element part between the adjacent optical element parts of the molded product is set by the number of arrangement of the optical element parts in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the adjacent optical element parts 6. The method of manufacturing an optical element according to claim 5, wherein the distance is set by a distance between the optical element portions.

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