JP2012201056A - Lens material injection apparatus for plastic lens mold - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lens material injection apparatus for a plastic lens mold capable of supporting a mold without deforming a tape and capable of accurately inserting an injection nozzle in an injection port.SOLUTION: The lens material injection apparatus includes a support device 41 for supporting the plastic lens mold 2 composed of a mold assembly 3 and an injection auxiliary member 4, and an injection apparatus body 43 for injecting a plastic lens material in the plastic lens mold 2. The support device 41 supports the injection auxiliary member 4 so that the through-hole thereof is upwardly directed. The injection apparatus body 43 includes an injection nozzle 51 and a lens material supply device 52.

Description

  The present invention relates to a lens material injecting apparatus for a plastic lens molding die, which injects a plastic lens material into a plastic lens molding die in which an injection assisting member is bonded to a tape that is a mold for molding an edge surface.

  Conventional plastic lenses for spectacles are generally formed by cast polymerization. This casting polymerization is a method in which a plastic lens material is injected into a mold and cured by heat or energy such as ultraviolet rays to obtain a molded product. As a mold used for cast polymerization, for example, there is one described in Patent Document 1.

  The mold disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a mold assembly in which a lens molding cavity is formed, and an injection assisting member bonded to the mold assembly. The mold assembly is composed of a pair of disk-shaped mold members that are molds for lens surface molding, and a tape that is wound around the outer periphery of these mold members so as to be a mold for edge surface molding. Yes. The tape has an injection port for injecting a plastic lens material.

  The injection assisting member is for guiding a plastic lens material into the cavity. The injection assisting member includes a cylinder for inserting a nozzle for supplying a plastic lens material, and a plate-like attachment piece integrally formed at one end of the cylinder. The mounting piece is formed in a shape along the outer peripheral surface of the mold assembly. The mounting piece is formed with an opening that communicates the inside and outside of the cylindrical body. The mounting piece is bonded to the outer peripheral surface of the mold assembly with an adhesive tape or an adhesive.

The opening formed in the mounting piece is positioned at a position facing the inlet of the tape.
In order to inject the plastic lens material into the mold shown in Patent Document 1, the nozzle is inserted from the injection assisting member into the injection port of the tape, and the plastic lens material is supplied to the nozzle.

International Publication WO 2010/098466

  The inventor is considering automating the process of injecting the plastic lens material into the plastic lens mold described above. However, in order to achieve this automation, there were the following two problems. The first problem is that since the outer peripheral portion of the plastic lens mold is formed of a tape, the tape is easily deformed when the mold is held by a machine. When the tape is deformed, a deformed lens, that is, a defective product is formed.

  The second problem is that the plastic lens mold must be accurately positioned at a predetermined lens material injection position. If the plastic lens mold is not positioned at the lens material injection position, the nozzle cannot be correctly inserted into the injection port of the mold assembly. When the nozzle hits the tape around the inlet, the tape is pushed by the nozzle and deforms, and a defective product is formed as described above.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and can support a plastic lens mold without deforming the tape, and can correctly insert a lens material injection nozzle into an injection port. An object of the present invention is to provide a lens material injection device for a mold.

  In order to achieve this object, the lens material injection device for a plastic lens mold according to the present invention becomes a mold for molding a flange surface on the outer peripheral portion of a pair of disk-shaped mold members serving as a mold for molding a lens surface. Support for supporting a plastic lens mold comprising a mold assembly in which a tape is wound and a through hole connected to an injection port formed in the tape and the injection auxiliary member bonded to the tape An injection device body for injecting a plastic lens material into the plastic lens mold, and the support device supports the injection auxiliary member so that the through hole is directed upward, The injection device main body includes a lens material injection nozzle that is inserted from above into the through hole of the injection assisting member supported by the support device, and a nozzle that is inserted into the nozzle. The stick lens material in which and a lens material supply device.

  According to the present invention, in the above invention, the support device includes a support member having a recessed portion that opens toward one side in a horizontal direction in a shape in which the injection assisting member can be fitted, and the injection that is fitted into the recessed portion. And a pressing member that presses the auxiliary member against the bottom of the recessed portion.

  According to the present invention, in the above invention, the lens material supply device includes an elevating device that elevates and lowers the injection nozzle, and the elevating device has a standby position positioned above an injection assisting member supported by the support device. The nozzle is raised and lowered between the lower end of the nozzle and an injection position where the nozzle is inserted into the mold assembly.

  The lens material injection device for a plastic lens mold according to the present invention supports the injection assisting member in a state where the mold assembly is suspended. For this reason, the force applied to the tape of a mold assembly becomes remarkably small compared with the case where it hold | maintains across the outer peripheral part of a mold assembly.

The injection assisting member is provided at a position corresponding to the injection port of the mold assembly. That is, the support device supports the injection assisting member, whereby the injection port is positioned with respect to the lens material injection nozzle.
Therefore, according to the present invention, the lens material for the plastic lens mold can support the plastic lens mold without deforming the tape of the mold assembly, and can correctly insert the lens material injection nozzle into the injection port. An infusion device can be provided.

It is a side view of the lens material injection device for a plastic lens mold according to the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the shaping | molding die for plastic lenses. FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of a plastic lens mold, in which FIG. 1A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the entire mold cut away, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the manufacturing apparatus for plastic lens molds. It is a top view which expands and shows a support apparatus principal part. It is the VI-VI sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state at the time of lens material injection | pouring.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a lens material injection device for a plastic lens mold according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
A lens material injection device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is for injecting a plastic lens material into a plastic lens mold 2.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A, the plastic lens mold 2 includes a cylindrical mold assembly 3 and the injection assisting member 4 bonded to the outer peripheral surface of the mold assembly 3. It is configured.

  The mold assembly 3 includes a pair of disk-shaped mold members (first mold member 5 and second mold member 6) and a tape 7 wound around the outer peripheral surfaces of these mold members 5 and 6. It is configured. In this mold assembly 3, the injection assisting member 4 is bonded after the injection port 8 (see FIG. 2) is formed on the tape 7.

The mold members 5 and 6 are formed in a predetermined shape by a glass material that can transmit light, and constitute a mold for forming a lens surface. In FIG. 3, the lower surface 5a of the first mold member 5 located on the upper side is a concave curved surface that is convex upward, and the upper surface 6a of the other second mold member 6 is convex upward. It is a convex curved surface.
The tape 7 constitutes a mold for molding the edge surface of the lens. This tape 7 is a so-called adhesive tape formed of a material that can transmit light. The tape 7 is wound and pasted around the outer peripheral surfaces of the first and second mold members 5 and 6 at least once. That is, the peripheral wall of the plastic lens mold 2 is constituted by the tape 7.
The tape 7 covers the entire outer peripheral surface of the first and second mold members 5 and 6. The tape 7 is wound around the first and second mold members 5 and 6 so as not to protrude from the non-use surface of the second mold member 6. The non-use surface is a concave surface opposite to the upper surface 6a of the second mold member 6. The width of the tape 7 can be changed as appropriate as long as it seals the gap between the first and second mold members 5 and 6.

  Although not shown, the tape 7 includes a belt-like base material and an adhesive layer formed on one surface of the base material (a surface facing the mold members 5 and 6). Examples of the base material include polyester. The material forming the adhesive layer is preferably one that does not dissolve into the plastic lens material or inhibit the polymerization, and examples thereof include a silicone-based adhesive.

By winding the tape 7 around the pair of mold members 5 and 6, the mold assembly 3 having the lens forming cavity 9 (see FIG. 3) is assembled.
The inlet 8 formed in the tape 7 is for injecting a plastic lens material into the cavity 9. The injection port 8 is formed by, for example, a cutter (not shown) on the tape 7 wound around the first and second mold members 5 and 6.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the injection assisting member 4 is integrally formed with a mounting piece 11 formed in a shape that can be overlaid on the outer periphery of the mold assembly 3, and the mounting piece 11. And the auxiliary member main body 12. The injection assisting member 4 is made of a plastic material. The mounting piece 11 is formed in a plate shape curved with a curvature along the outer peripheral surface of the mold assembly 3. In the assembled state shown in FIG. 3, the mounting piece 11 is bonded to the mold assembly 3 with an adhesive 13.

  The auxiliary member main body 12 is a cylinder having a quadrangular cross section, and is formed so as to extend from the mounting piece 11 to the side opposite to the mold assembly 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the auxiliary member main body 12 according to this embodiment includes a flat plate portion 12a extending in parallel with the radial direction of the mold assembly 3, and an inclined portion 12b facing the flat plate portion 12a. . The inclined portion 12b is inclined so as to gradually approach the flat plate portion 12a toward the mounting piece 11. A flange 14 is provided at the end of the auxiliary member main body 12 on the side opposite to the mounting piece 11.

The inside of the auxiliary member main body 12 becomes a passage 15 through which a molten plastic lens material (not shown) flows. The attachment piece 11 is formed with a slit-like hole 16 (see FIG. 3) serving as an opening at one end of the passage 15. The hole 16 is formed to extend in parallel with the flat plate portion 12a when the mounting piece 11 is viewed from the mold assembly 3 side. In this embodiment, the passage 15 and the hole 26 constitute a through hole 27 in the present invention.
After the injection port 8 is formed in the tape 7, the injection assisting member 4 is bonded to the mold assembly 3 with the hole 16 facing the injection port 8.

The plastic lens mold 2 can be manually attached with an injection port, but a plastic lens mold 2 manufactured by a mold manufacturing apparatus 31 shown in FIG. 4 is mainly used.
The molding die manufacturing apparatus 31 manufactures the plastic lens molding die 2 by bonding the injection assisting member 4 to the mold assembly 3 described above. As shown in FIG. 4, the mold manufacturing apparatus 31 has a configuration in which various processing apparatuses are arranged around a transport apparatus 32 formed of a turntable. The mold assembly 3 is held by a clamp device 33 provided in the transport device 32 and is transported to various devices.

The various processing devices include a front-rear direction positioning device 34, a vertical direction positioning device 35, an injection port forming device 36, a bonding device 37, and the like.
The clamp device 33 has a configuration in which the mold assembly 3 is held by the four support members 38 in a state where the lens surface is oriented in the vertical direction. Hold the clip.

  The front-rear direction positioning device 34 moves the mold assembly 3 in the radial direction of the transfer device 32 (turn table) to position the mold assembly 3. The vertical positioning device positions the mold assembly 3 by moving the mold assembly 3 in the vertical direction. The injection port forming device forms the injection port 8 on the tape 7 of the mold assembly 3 by a cutter (not shown). The bonding device 38 applies an adhesive to the attachment piece 11 of the injection assisting member 4 and adheres the attachment piece 11 to a position corresponding to the injection port 8 of the tape 7. The position corresponding to the inlet 8 of the tape 7 here is a position where the hole 16 of the mounting piece 11 and the inlet 8 of the tape 7 overlap with each other when the injection assisting member 4 is viewed from the flange 14 side. .

  According to the mold manufacturing apparatus 31, the mold assembly 3 held by the clamp apparatus 33 is referred to as the front and rear direction positioning apparatus 34 → the vertical direction positioning apparatus 35 → the inlet forming apparatus 36 → the bonding apparatus 37. Sent in order. By sending the mold assembly 3 in this way, the injection assisting member 4 is automatically adhered to the mold assembly 3, and the plastic lens mold 2 is manufactured.

  The plastic lens mold 2 manufactured by the mold manufacturing apparatus 31 has the injection assisting member 4 firmly bonded to the mold assembly 3. This is because the amount of adhesive applied can be accurately controlled and the magnitude of the pressing force when the attachment piece 11 is bonded to the mold assembly 3 can be accurately controlled.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lens material injection device 1 according to this embodiment includes a support device 41 for supporting the plastic lens mold 2 and a plastic lens material 42 in the plastic lens mold 2 (see FIG. 7). An injection device main body 43 and a tilting device 44 for supporting these devices 41, 43.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the support device 41 supports the injection assisting member 4 with a support member 45 and a pressing member 46 to be described later so that the through hole 27 is directed upward.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the support member 45 includes a plate-like portion 45a extending in the horizontal direction (left-right direction in FIGS. 1 and 6) and a support body 45b extending downward from the plate-like portion 45a. It is configured. The lower end portion of the support body 45b is attached to a tilting device 44 described later.
As shown in FIG. 5, the plate-like portion 45a is formed with a recessed portion 47 having a predetermined shape and opening toward one side in the horizontal direction. The shape of the recessed portion 47 is a shape in which the auxiliary member main body 12 of the injection auxiliary member 4 can be fitted. As shown in FIG. 6, the width of the opening portion of the recessed portion 47 is formed so as to gradually increase from the inside of the recessed portion 47 toward the opening edge. The thickness (width in the vertical direction) of the plate-like portion 45 a is formed to be smaller than the distance between the attachment piece 11 of the injection assisting member 4 and the flange 14.

Although not illustrated, the injection assisting member 4 is loaded into the plate-like portion 45a by an operator, an injection assisting member transfer device, or the like. In a state where the auxiliary member main body 12 of the injection assisting member 4 is fitted in the recess 47, the flange 14 of the injection assisting member 4 is supported by the plate-like portion 45a.
As shown in FIG. 1, the pressing member 46 is supported by the tilting device 44 via a moving device 48 described later. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the pressing member 46 includes a pressing piece 46 a that is sized to be inserted into the recessed portion 47 of the plate-like portion 45 a and is opposed to the recessed portion 47. Is arranged.

  The moving device 48 is for moving the pressing member 46 in the horizontal direction. The moving device 48 according to this embodiment moves the pressing member 46 between a pressing position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1 and a standby position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The pressing position is a position where the injection assisting member 4 loaded on the support member 45 is pressed by the pressing member 46 and pressed against the bottom 47a (see FIG. 5) of the recessed portion 47. The standby position is a position where a gap through which the injection assisting member 4 can pass is formed between the support member 45 and the pressing member 46.

As shown in FIG. 1, the injection device main body 43 injects a plastic lens material 42 into the plastic lens mold 2 using a lens material injection nozzle 51. The injection device main body 43 according to this embodiment includes the nozzle 51 and a lens material supply device 52 for supplying the plastic lens material 42 to the nozzle 51.
As shown in FIG. 7, the nozzle 51 is formed in a tubular shape having a size that can be inserted into the hole 16 of the injection assisting member 4, and is supported by the lens material supply device 52 so as to extend in the vertical direction. . The nozzle 51 is disposed at a position facing the hole 16 of the injection assisting member 4 supported by the support device 41.

The lens material supply device 52 is configured to allow the plastic lens material 42 sent from a lens material tank (not shown) to flow out from the nozzle 51 by a predetermined supply amount at a predetermined time. The lens material supply device 52 according to this embodiment includes an elevating device 53 (see FIG. 1) for elevating the nozzle 51.
The elevating device 53 elevates and lowers the nozzle 51 between a standby position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1 and an injection position shown in FIG. The standby position is a position where the nozzle 51 is separated upward from the injection assisting member 4 supported by the support device 41. The injection position is a position where the lower end of the nozzle 51 is inserted into the mold assembly 3.

  The tilting device 44 is configured to tilt the support device 41 and the injection device main body 43 described above between an upright position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1 and an inclined position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Has been. The direction in which the tilting device 44 tilts the support device 41 and the injection device main body 43 is a direction in which the lens surface tilts with respect to the vertical direction.

  In injecting the plastic lens material 42 into the plastic lens mold 2 using the lens material injection apparatus 1 configured as described above, first, the supporting device 41 supports the injection assisting member 4 of the plastic lens mold 2. . In this support step, for example, after the operator or the transfer device for the injection assisting member fits the auxiliary member main body 12 into the recessed portion 47, the moving device 48 moves the pressing member 46 from the standby position to the pressing position. .

  Then, when the pressing member 46 presses the auxiliary member main body 12 against the bottom of the recessed portion 47, the injection assisting member 4 is sandwiched and supported by the pressing member 46 and the support member 45 from both sides in the horizontal direction. At this time, the plastic lens mold 2 is supported by the support device 41 in a state where the mold assembly 3 is suspended.

  Next, the lifting device 53 lowers the nozzle 51 from the standby position to the injection position. In this descending step, the nozzle 51 penetrates the injection assisting member 4 in the vertical direction and is inserted into the cavity 9 through the injection port 8 of the tape 7. After the nozzle 51 is thus inserted into the plastic mold 2, the tilting device 44 tilts the support device 41 and the injection device main body 43 by a predetermined angle. The reason for inclining the plastic lens mold 2 in this way is to prevent bubbles from being generated in the next injection step.

  After the tilting operation of the tilting device 44 is finished, the lens material supply device 52 supplies the plastic lens material 42 to the nozzle 51 as shown in FIG. At this time, the plastic lens material 42 flowing out from the nozzle 51 flows down to the bottom of the cavity 9 along the wall surface of the mold member 6 as described above. The plastic lens material 42 is accumulated from the bottom of the cavity 9 formed in a circular cross section, and after filling the cavity 9, a predetermined amount is discharged from the injection port 8 to the injection assisting member 4 side. The timing for stopping the supply of the plastic lens material 42 can be determined based on the supply amount or based on the position of the liquid surface of the plastic lens material 42 accumulated in the injection assisting member 4. The position of the liquid surface of the plastic lens material 42 can be detected by a sensor (not shown) installed at a position adjacent to the nozzle 51, for example.

  After this injection step is completed, the tilting device 44 returns the support device 41 and the injection device main body 43 to the upright position shown in FIG. 1, and the lifting device 53 raises the nozzle 51 to the standby position. Then, an operator attaches a lid (not shown) for preventing leakage to the flange of the injection assisting member 4. After the lid is attached in this manner, the moving device 48 moves the pressing member 46 to the standby position while the injection assisting member 4 is supported by the operator or the transfer assisting member transfer device. When this moving operation ends, the injection operation by the lens material injection device 1 ends.

  The lens material injection device 1 according to this embodiment supports the injection assisting member 4 so that the mold assembly 3 is suspended as described above. For this reason, the force applied to the tape 7 of the mold assembly 3 is significantly reduced as compared with the case where the outer periphery of the mold assembly 3 is held.

The injection assisting member 4 is provided at a position corresponding to the injection port 8 of the mold assembly 3. That is, the support device 41 supports the injection assisting member 4 so that the injection port 8 of the mold assembly 3 is positioned with respect to the nozzle 51.
Therefore, according to this embodiment, the plastic lens mold 2 can be supported without deforming the tape 7 of the mold assembly 3 and the lens material injection nozzle 51 can be correctly inserted into the injection port 8. A lens material injection device for a plastic lens mold can be provided.

  The support device 41 of the lens material injection device 1 according to this embodiment includes a support member 45 and a pressing member 46. The support member 45 is formed with a recessed portion 47 that is open to one side in the horizontal direction in a shape in which the injection assisting member 4 can be fitted. The pressing member 46 presses the injection assisting member 4 fitted in the recessed portion 47 against the bottom 47 a of the recessed portion 47. That is, the injection assisting member 4 is supported by being sandwiched from both sides in the horizontal direction by the support device 41.

  For this reason, when the injection assisting member 4 is supported by the support device 41, the injection assisting member 4 does not push the mold assembly 3 or be pulled from the mold assembly 3. Therefore, when the injection assisting member 4 is supported by the support device 41, it is possible to reliably prevent an external force from being applied to the tape 7 of the mold assembly 3. As a result, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a lens material injection device for a plastic lens mold that can mold a high-quality plastic lens.

The nozzle 51 according to this embodiment is supported by the lifting device 53. The elevating device 53 is located between a standby position located above the injection assisting member 4 supported by the support device 41 and an injection position where the lower end of the nozzle 51 is inserted into the mold assembly 3. The nozzle 51 is moved up and down.
Therefore, in this lens material injection device 1, the lens material injection nozzle 51 is always moved to the same position by driving by the elevating device 53 and is reliably inserted into the injection port 8 of the mold assembly 3. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to automate the process of injecting the plastic lens material 42 into the mold 2 and provide a lens material injection device for a plastic lens mold that can mold a high-quality plastic lens. can do.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Lens material injection apparatus, 2 ... Plastic lens shaping | molding die, 3 ... Mold assembly, 4 ... Injection assistance member, 7 ... Tape, 41 ... Support apparatus, 42 ... Plastic lens material, 43 ... Injection apparatus main body, 45 ... Support 46, pressing member, 47, recessed portion, 48, moving device, 51, nozzle, 52, lens material supply device, 53, lifting device.

Claims (3)

Connected to a mold assembly in which a tape to be used as a mold for forming a flange surface is wound around an outer peripheral portion of a pair of disk-shaped mold members that serve as a mold for molding a lens surface, and an inlet formed in the tape A support device for supporting a plastic lens mold comprising the injection assisting member having a through hole and bonded to the tape;
An injection device body for injecting a plastic lens material into the plastic lens mold,
The support device supports the injection assisting member so that the through hole is directed upward,
The injection device main body includes a nozzle for injecting lens material inserted from above into the through hole of the injection auxiliary member supported by the support device;
A lens material injection device for a plastic lens mold, comprising: a lens material supply device for supplying a plastic lens material to the nozzle. The lens material injecting device for a plastic lens mold according to claim 1, wherein the supporting device has a recessed portion that opens toward one side in a horizontal direction in a shape in which the injecting auxiliary member can be fitted, and
A lens material injecting device for a plastic lens mold, comprising: a pressing member that presses the injection assisting member fitted in the recessed portion against the bottom of the recessed portion. The lens material injecting device for a plastic lens mold according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lens material supplying device includes an elevating device for moving the injecting nozzle up and down.
The lifting device lifts and lowers the nozzle between a standby position positioned above the injection assisting member supported by the support device and an injection position where the lower end of the nozzle is inserted into the mold assembly. An apparatus for injecting a lens material for a plastic lens mold.

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