JP3346585B2 - Manufacturing system for plastic lenses for spectacles - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for producing a plastic lens for spectacles, particularly a plastic lens for spectacles suitable for producing a progressive multifocal lens.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A spectacle lens is prepared for personal use in any of myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia and astigmatism according to a prescription based on optometry.

On the other hand, recently, molded lenses made of plastic have been widely used in place of conventional glass lenses.
This is particularly noticeable in a progressive multifocal lens for both directions.

Conventionally, spectacle lenses are manufactured in advance as blanks and stocked, and polished in accordance with necessary conditions such as power and astigmatism angle according to the prescription of the customer, to obtain a spectacle lens for the customer, Alternatively, predict the contents of the prescription with high frequency and produce and stock it as a finished product in advance,
By selecting and using the lens that best suits the customer from among them. At this time, the customer's prescription data is ordered from a spectacle retailer to a manufacturing department of a predetermined lens maker by facsimile or the like, where it is again processed into manufacturing data for a manufacturing line and input to a management computer. I have.

[0005]

However, in order to manufacture a lens by polishing from a blank according to the prescription of an individual customer, it takes at least one to two weeks from the time an order is received until it reaches the customer's hand. In addition, there is a possibility that a mistake in the transfer of the manufacturing data from the prescription data may occur. Further, there is a problem that the cost is increased because high-precision processing machine equipment is required for polishing.

On the other hand, when preparing finished products in advance,
Although there is an advantage that it can be delivered to the customer's hand in a relatively short time, in the case of a bifocal spectacle lens, it covers all types of power, such as distance, near, astigmatism, combinations thereof, and lens size Has the problem that a huge amount of stock is required.

[0007] In view of the above, the present invention significantly reduces the time required for a process from receiving an order from a customer to shipping a product, enabling the supply of a product with quick and accurate specifications, reducing manufacturing costs, An object of the present invention is to provide a system for manufacturing a plastic lens for spectacles, which can reduce inventory management and can surely provide a lens that meets a customer's prescription.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art by storing customer prescription data and processing data based on the prescription data in a computer and centrally managing them. A system for manufacturing a plastic lens for spectacles, comprising a lens molding step of molding a lens with a light or thermosetting plastic material based on prescription data and processing data corresponding to the customer according to an order of the customer, and a lens molding process. A polishing step, a step of applying an indication specific to the lens, such as the type, frequency, and manufacturing identification number of the lens, to the lens formed in the lens forming step or a transfer body thereof, and a surface treatment step of processing the surface of the lens. With
Hard coating process of curing light or thermosetting type hard coat liquid on the lens surface, dyeing process of coloring the lens surface, anti-reflective film deposition process of forming an anti-reflective film on the lens surface Forming a lens consistently or via selection based on processing data corresponding to the display of the lens uniqueness stored in the computer, and in the system, Based on the prescription data and processing data predicted based on the past orders received when the operation rate decreases, the built-in products formed through the lens molding process, polishing process, hard coating process are stocked, and the customer's prescription Based on the data, select a pre-made product that matches the data, and select the dyeing process and the anti-reflective coating deposition process It is an aspect 2 to form a derived to the lens. Claim 3 has means for receiving processing data of a customer transmitted online from a terminal such as a retail store, calculating a processing instruction value, and giving an instruction to start the process based on the calculated data. is there.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

In the system for manufacturing a plastic lens for spectacles according to the present invention, as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1, the prescription data obtained from the customer is directly transferred online from a terminal provided at the spectacle retailer to the manufacturing section of the lens manufacturer. Or the prescription data is received from a retail store by a relay base via a transmission means such as telephone or facsimile, and is transmitted online from the relay base. And this host computer 1
The prescription data is processed into production data for a production line, and after a molding process 2 for molding a lens based on the production data, a hard coating is applied to the surface of the lens according to the specifications of the surface treatment processing of the lens. Step 3, a dyeing step 4 for dyeing the surface of the lens, and an antireflection film deposition step 5 for forming an antireflection film on the lens surface, or through any of them, and then packaging the product lens for shipment. The process is performed, and integrated production of plastic lenses according to customer-specific prescriptions, or product stocking at predetermined times based on past orders received.

The data in each of the above-mentioned steps is stored in a host computer 1 and assigned to a predetermined step block.
Necessary data of the manufacturing data is provided to a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as a block PC1 to a block PC4) for communicating the processes. Further, a total of 18 personal computers for communication control (hereinafter, referred to as PC-1 to PC-18) are connected below the block PC-1 to block PC-4. In each of the work processes, these PC-1 to PC-18 are provided with a manufacturing number of a bar code attached to a lens or a pallet flowing through a line. , Receiving predetermined manufacturing data from the upper corresponding block PC, directly determining the pass / fail of the input predetermined inspection data, and checking the pass / fail result of the inspection input by the worker and the defective item in the upper corresponding block. It performs a communication control function such as transmission to a PC.

[0012] Further, since the check of the passage of the product is executed in each PC, the present situation of the predetermined product can be immediately confirmed. Based on the present status data, it is possible to quickly respond to inquiries about the progress from the retail store via online.

Next, each step will be described together with the contents of data by a PC. [Lens molding step] The lens molding step 2 is a block diagram in the case of using a photo-curable plastic raw material in FIG. 2, and its contents are based on prescription data from PC-1.
That is, it is classified according to whether it is an integrated product or a built-in product. In the case of a built-in product, it is classified into a blank stock, a hard coat stock, or a hard coat + anti-reflection treated stock, and the necessary data for each (Fig. 3) Is printed by the printer 6 to issue a work label 7. As shown in FIG. 3, the work labels 7 to be issued include "integrated product", "built-in product", "polishing and dispensing product", and "HC
(Hard coat) pay-out products "and" vapor deposition pay-out products ". In the data displayed here, "Production No."
Is assigned by the host computer 1 based on the rearrangement number at the time of receiving the order, and is replaced by the manufacture number. A 5-digit sequence is used. The “glass type (P type)” refers to the upper mold 9, and the “glass type (A, C type)” refers to two types of the lower mold 10. The photocurable plastic raw material used is urethane acrylic.

In the case of an integrated product, the mold tray 8 displayed on the work label 7 is collated by the PC-2, and the molding is performed. The tray 8 has a thin box-like shape in which two receiving portions 8a and 8b capable of individually receiving the mold pallets 11 and 12 individually storing a pair of upper and lower molds 9 and 10 (made of glass) are provided. The work label 7 is stuck on the outer surface of the tray 8 by hand or mechanical means. And these mold pallets 1
The trays 1 and 12 are stored in the receiving sections 8a and 8b of the tray 8.

The trays 8 are stacked and set at several places, and are carried out from the lower side of the stack to a cleaning step 13 immediately before the assembly step 14 of the molds 9 and 10 is started. At this time, the "processing priority" of the instruction content by the work label 7
If is a limited express, the tray has priority over the cleaning process 1
Sent to 3.

In the cleaning step 13, the molds 9, 1
In order to make the light transmittance of the film 0 completely, both surfaces thereof are cleaned, and the peripheral surface is cleaned in order to make the tape sticking in a later step good. In this cleaning, as shown in FIG. 4 to FIG. 7, the peripheral surface of a sponge roll 15 such as urethane foam containing a cleaning liquid is applied to the peripheral surface of each mold 9 or 10 in the first tank, and Chuck 16 for holding
The (suction pad) is rotated at 500 to 1000 rpm, and the sponge roll 15 is rotated in the same direction for cleaning. At this time, the pressing force of the sponge roll 15 is controlled based on the outer diameter measurement results of the molds 9 and 10. In the second tank, the used surface side of each of the molds 9 and 10 is chucked, and the sponge roll 17 is moved from the center of the mold to the outside while rotating the sponge roll 17 at 200 to 500 rpm on the non-used surface for cleaning. At this time, the molds 9 and 10 are given the same rotation as described above, and the moving distance of the sponge roll 17 is controlled based on the outer diameter data of the molds 9 and 10, and the sponge roll 17 is moved outside the molds 9 and 10. When it reaches the end, it is separated from the molds 9 and 10. In the third tank, cleaning is performed with pure water in the same manner as in the second tank. After being cleaned in this manner, an appropriate amount (2 to 3 cc) of IPA (isopropyl alcohol) is applied to the cleaning surfaces of the molds 9 and 10 in the fourth tank and dried. At this time, the chuck 1
The number of rotations is low during IPA coating and high during drying (see FIG. 8), and the cycle time is about 20 seconds, but the actual required time is 13 if the transport time is subtracted.
Can be finished within seconds.

After the cleaning and drying of the non-use surface are completed in this way, before entering the fifth tank, the molds 9 and 10 are turned over and chucked so that the use surface is on the upper side.

In the fifth, sixth and seventh tanks, molds 9 and 9 are formed by the same process as in the second, third and fourth tanks.
Washing and drying of the 10 working surfaces are performed. However, the seventh
In the tank, for example, a cationic activator 50 is used to control the adhesion between the surface to be used and the plastic raw material.
Apply IPA with ~ 3000 ppm and dry. This makes it possible to improve the releasability of any of the photocurable and thermosetting plastic raw materials. After the processing in the seventh tank is completed, a mold assembling step 14 is performed.
Transferred to

FIG. 9 to FIG. 11 show an example of the mold assembling step 14. In this embodiment, the upper mold 9
The upper and lower molds 9, 10 are transported by transporting means 18, 19 (specifically, by a belt) for the lower mold 10 and the lower mold 10.
The molds 9 and 10 are gripped by 0 and 21 and transferred to the positioning section 22.

The positioning portion 22 supports the lower surfaces of the front and rear ends in the diametrical direction of the molds 9 and 10 as shown in FIG. 9 and has an interval at which the mold holders 23 and 24 can be inserted between the molds 9 and 10. And placed along the upper surfaces of the mold receivers 25, 25 and 26, 26 arranged in a completely horizontal state, and facing the front and rear end faces in the diameter direction of the molds 9, 10 placed over the opposite ends of the mold receivers. It has a pair of centering tools 27, 27 and 28, 28 that move evenly, and the opposed end faces of the centering tools have a V-shaped shallow planar shape so as to contact two points on the peripheral surfaces of the molds 9, 10. Abutment edge 27a,
28a.

Therefore, the upper and lower molds 9 and 10 are placed on the respective mold receiving tables 25, 25, 26 and 26, whereby the parallelism of the molds 9 and 10 is obtained on the upper surfaces thereof, and the centering tools 27, 27, The optical axes of the molds 9 and 10 are extended by being clamped between the contact edges 27a and 27a and 28a and 28a by the approaching movement of the molds 28 and 28, and the molds 9 and 10 are positioned by these.

The mold holders 23 and 24 are moved forward and backward by a servo motor toward the center of the back of the molds 9 and 10, and the leading ends thereof are suction pads for holding the molds 9 and 10 by suction without losing their parallelism. As a result, the molds 9 and 10 are held by suction.

As shown in FIG. 11, the molds 9 and 10 are provided with indicia 2 serving as indices on their peripheral surfaces for astigmatic axis alignment.
9a and 30a are provided, and the engraved position is detected by an optical sensor, and the astigmatic axis between the upper and lower molds 9 and 10 is aligned. This operation is performed by rotating the mold holders 23 and 24. At this time, in order to prevent erroneous detection of marks other than the marks 29a and 30a, marks 29b and 30b are also applied to positions shifted by a predetermined angle from the reference position, and after the first marks 29a and 30a are detected, a predetermined mark is first detected. It is desirable to rotate the angle and detect the second engraved marks 29b and 30b as a regular position (reference position).

After detecting the reference positions of the molds 9, 10, the lower mold 10 is rotated by an angle corresponding to the axis of astigmatism.
After the lower mold 10 rotates, the edge thickness of the lower mold 10 corresponding to the raw material injection position 31 formed in the upper mold 9 is scanned and measured by an optical sensor. As shown in FIG. 12, the raw material injection position 31 is formed of a notch 32 that is concave in a semi-circular cross section in the radial direction of the peripheral portion of the upper mold 9, and the inner end of the notch 32 is located around the lens to be molded. It extends to a slightly overlapping position.

After measuring the edge thickness of the lower mold 10 corresponding to the material injection position 31 as described above, the mold holder 2
3 and 24 are moved on the same axis (FIG. 9C).
(D)) Then, the molds 9 and 10 are moved closer to each other in the axial direction so as to have a predetermined center thickness, the center thickness is determined, and the adhesive tape 33 is stretched over the peripheral surfaces of the molds 9 and 10. Wrap. As a result, a mold assembly 34 having a lens molding cavity formed therein is obtained.

The axis of astigmatism and the center thickness are previously calculated by the PC-3, and are used for rotating the mold holders 23 and 24.
This is performed by controlling a servo motor for controlling the thickness.

Immediately before the end of the winding of the adhesive tape 33, a print 35 having the same number (for collation) as the one attached to the tray 8 is made on the outer surface of the adhesive tape 33 by ink jet.

In the cleaning step 13 and the assembling step 14, the molds 9 and 10 are separated from the tray 8, but the tray 8 is transferred synchronously by a conveyer (for example, a belt conveyor) running in parallel.

In the raw material injection step 36, the mold assembly 34 is held so that the injection position 31 determined in the assembling step 14 does not collapse.
3, the injection nozzle of the injection head 37 is pierced to perform injection of the plastic raw material.

The adhesive tape 33 on both sides of the insertion position of the injection nozzle 38 is provided with two holes 39, 39 for venting air on both sides of the injection position before winding the adhesive tape to the injection step. The injection nozzle 38 is inserted between the holes to inject the raw material. As the injection of the raw material progresses, the air in the cavity escapes from the holes 39,39. At this time, the inflow state of the raw material is such that the raw material has viscosity, so that the raw material gradually flows into both sides from the center of the cavity, and the injection nozzle 3
8, the air in the spaces a, a on both sides is filled with holes 39, 39 on both sides.
Then, the air is exhausted, and the time when the air is completely exhausted and the raw material starts to come out of the holes 39, 39 is detected by the capacitance sensor 40, thereby detecting the full state and stopping the injection.

Here, the function of the PC-3 will be briefly described.

All the work steps of the above-mentioned cleaning step, assembling step and pouring step are all performed by a personal computer (cell P).
C) is provided and M / C control is performed.
Therefore, it is necessary to input the processing data of the corresponding lens (for example, lens center thickness setting value, lens diameter, astigmatism axis setting value, mold size, and injection information) to each cell PC.
Therefore, the manufacturing number of the bar code attached to the lens or the pallet by the PC-3 is determined. With reference to the upper corresponding block P
The processing data can be sent from C to the cell PC. At this time, the setting state of the mold can be determined in the cleaning step. This processing data is carried over to the assembling process and the pouring process. Eventually, when the injection step is completed, the processing end information is sent to PC-3, a passage check is performed, and the result is input to block PC-1.

After the injection of the raw material is completed, the injection head 37 is retracted, the injection nozzle 38 is pulled out, and the piercing hole is pressed against the tape surface using a tape-shaped jig 41 as shown in FIG. Pressed by means 42, light source 43 (FIG. 14)
(UV irradiation) to perform temporary polymerization. The jig 41 winds up the tape 41a so that a new tape surface is always used for pressing.

At the time of injecting the raw material, in the case of a lens having a thin edge as shown in FIG.
In order to avoid erroneous detection of a full state when it spreads to the inner surface of 0, the injection speed in the initial stage of injection was reduced, the speed was increased at the time when the flow path of the raw material was formed, and the state was close to the full state. Sometimes I set it to slow down again. Decreasing the injection speed at the end of the injection is to increase the detection accuracy. The control of the injection rate is P
In C-3, the volume of the cavity is calculated in advance, and the servomotor for moving the valve body for adjusting the opening of the injection valve is controlled. At the end of the injection, the injection speed is reduced by 60 to 95% of the volume of the cavity.
It is preferable to reach the point when the raw materials have reached this point.

After the injection step 36, the mold assembly 3
4 is released and carried out to the next polymerization step 44.

The light irradiation time in the polymerization step 44 is 2.5 to 4 minutes in order to secure the physical properties of the lens.
The time corresponding to a minute is performed in an atmosphere of 120 ° C. ± 10 ° C., and the irradiation direction is performed from both sides of the mold assembly 34.

The raw material temperature after the polymerization step 44 is 16
Since it is a high temperature of 0 ° C. or more, and detaping and depolymerizing operations in the subsequent steps become impossible, a cooling period of about 10 minutes is provided in an atmosphere of 50 ° C. to 80 ° C.

On the other hand, the tray 8 is also conveyed by the conveying means in the order in which the molds 9 and 10 have been conveyed to the cleaning step 13, and the mold assembly 34 is returned to the tray 8 by the robot (removal step 45). . After receiving the mold assembly 34 in the tray 8, a buffer heat retaining step 46 for about 15 minutes is performed in the above-mentioned atmosphere of about 50 ° C. to 80 ° C. in consideration of the speed of a manual operation part in a later step. At this time, the work label 7 attached to the tray 8
And the adhesive tape 3 of the mold assembly 34
3 is compared with the number printed on the number 3, and its identity is confirmed.

After the above collation, a tape removing operation of peeling off the adhesive tape 33, a removing operation 47 of a polymer or the like that easily accumulates at the boundary between the molds 9 and 10 and the adhesive tape 33 are performed, and then the lower mold 10 is formed. A wedge is inserted between the lens 48 and the lens 48 to separate them, and the upper mold 9 is peeled from the lens 48 to take out the lens 48 (mold release step 49). These detaping and releasing operations are performed manually, but it is possible to automate them.

After being released in this manner, the upper and lower molds 9 and 10 correspond to the mold pallet 1 flowing therethrough.
The molded lenses 48 are returned to the lens pallets 1 and 12, respectively, and are put into another lens pallet 50. At the same time, the work label 7 attached to the tray 8 is replaced on the outer surface of the lens pallet 50. The empty tray 8 is returned to the tray storage area, and the mold pallets 11 and 12 from which the molds 9 and 10 have been returned are subjected to spin cleaning in a cleaning step 51 and, at the same time, appearance check is performed, and then the PC-18 is used. Type matching is performed, and the passed one is stored in a predetermined position of the mold stocker 52.

On the other hand, the molded lens 48 is visually observed in an appearance inspection step 53 to determine whether there is a defect such as a scratch or presence of a contaminant. If it is determined by this appearance inspection that the product is defective, the defective item is key-input at the terminal, and a reproduction instruction is issued through the PC-4.

The lens 48 that has passed the visual inspection is shown in FIG.
And a system 55 for stocking as a polished product.

In the dimension inspection step 54, the power, the center thickness, the prism and the astigmatic axis of the lens 48 are checked. These checks are performed by an automatic lens meter and a digital gauge. The data of the lens 48 is read and transferred to the PC-5, and the desired prescription data previously displayed on the work label 7 (barcode display) is stored in the block PC. −
1 and the PC-5 makes a comparison with the actually measured data to make a determination. If it is determined in this step that the product is defective, a re-production instruction is issued together with the defective item, and the defective item is stored as measurement data and provided for technical analysis.

The lens 4 which has passed both the appearance and the dimensions in this way
8 is independent of the lens pallet 50, so that the lens itself is displayed so that the individual lens can be identified. This display does not necessarily have to match the number assigned to the tray 8 (or the lens pallet 50), and may be any number that can be used in subsequent work steps.

The indication 48a on the lens is indicated by the shape of the notch 32 on the outer periphery of the lens 48 by the notch 32 formed in the upper mold 9 for injecting the raw material into the cavity of the mold assembly 34 (FIG. 18A). , (B)) using the convex portion 56 formed in a semi-cylindrical shape (marking step 57). Therefore, the present invention can be implemented by detecting the convex portion 56 by the contact type detecting means and engraving the peak 56 at the center thereof. In addition, the convex portion 56 may be detected and stamped by image processing. The use of a CO ₂ laser is suitable for this marking. The PC-6, which is higher than the bar code of the work label 7, is printed on this stamp.
The value of the position (radial position) to be stamped is received from, and marking is performed. This is because the position is not affected when the periphery is shaved during the outer peripheral shaping step 58.

After the marking is made in this manner, the peripheral portion is cut by dry or wet grinding as shown in FIG. 19, and the outer periphery is shaped to a predetermined outer diameter. After the outer peripheral shaping is completed, pairing 59 of a pair of lenses for the right eye and the left eye is performed, whereby the lens forming step 2 is completed.

Among the molds used in the lens molding step, a convex mold is used in which the contour of the convex mold part is close to the shape of the spectacle frame, and the concave mold for normal molding is used. Means for forming a lens having a substantially small diameter by combining a mold for use with the lens. [Hard Coating Step] In this embodiment, a thermosetting type hard coat liquid will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to the thermosetting type.

The lens 48 molded in the molding step 2
When the coating process is carried out, as shown in FIG.
Process selection instruction (nozzle conversion instruction) is blocked by P
Received from C-1, a Dip slip 60 is issued in the case of DMC.

Here, as a method of applying the hard coat liquid,
DC type is spin type, DMC type is immersion (Di
p) The method is taken as an example.

When shifting to the hard coat DC step, the lens surface is manually wiped with acetone or the like in the lens wiping step 61 in order to eliminate UV irradiation unevenness. Next, in the UV irradiation step 62, the surface of the lens is irradiated with UV light, and a process for improving the adhesion between the lens substrate and the hard coat is performed. This UV irradiation is performed by a high-pressure mercury lamp. In addition, treatment with an acid, alkali, an organic solvent, plasma treatment, microwave irradiation, electron beam E
A processing method such as the processing by B may be used.

After the above processing, the process enters a spin hard coat SHC process 63. In the SHC process 63, as shown in the process diagram in FIG. 21, the surface (concave side) of the lens supported by the suction pad and rotating at 500 to 1000 rpm is impregnated with an alumina-based abrasive in the first tank. 20
A sponge roll rotating at 0 to 500 rpm is pressed and wiped while applying a load of about 400 g to physically peel off and remove the lens surface, completely remove the surface dirt and remove the heterogeneous layer on the surface And homogenize. In addition, as this treatment, other surface peeling means by spraying abrasive grains,
Alternatively, it is also possible to employ surface peeling means by eye screening in which fine particles of dry ice or ice are sprayed. By this surface treatment, the quality of the appearance is improved, the adhesion of the coating layer is improved, and if there is a dyeing in a subsequent step, the dyeing characteristics are enhanced. The above processing conditions are selected according to the material of the lens substrate.

In the second tank, the abrasive adhered during the processing in the first tank is completely removed by scrubbing with pure water and sponge. This removal is also performed under the same conditions of the number of rotations of the lens, the number of rotations of the sponge roll, and the load as in the above polishing.

In the third tank, the lens is set at 500 to 15
Rinse by IPA while rotating at about 00 rpm to clean the lens surface immediately before applying the hard coat liquid. Then, spin at 2000 rpm or more for 3 to 5 seconds to evaporate IPA. Thereafter, a hard coat liquid is applied and spin is applied to form a hard coat layer having a constant film thickness. At the time of applying the hard coat liquid, if the hard coat liquid is applied while rotating the lens at about 500 rpm or more, the hard coat liquid does not flow to the back side of the lens, and a uniform film thickness layer can be formed. In addition, when applying the hard coat liquid, the ejection from the nozzle is started near the outer periphery of the lens and is shifted to the center of the lens. By doing so, air bubbles in the hard coat liquid generated at the initial stage of ejection of the hard coat liquid are scattered from the outer periphery of the lens by centrifugal force, and no air bubbles remain on the lens, so that the appearance and the yield are improved. In addition, the application means of the hard coat liquid may be a spray method other than the nozzle,
The application by these may be not only one side of the lens but also a simultaneous application on both sides.

Immediately after the hard coat layer is formed on the lens surface as described above, the lens is turned upside down so that the concave surface faces downward, thereby preventing the appearance failure due to dripping. In this way, setting is performed by leaving the substrate at room temperature (40 ° C. or lower) for 1 to 5 minutes, and the surface of the hard coat liquid is smoothed by the surface tension of the hard coat liquid itself.

Subsequently, by heating at 130 ° C. for about 20 minutes, the hard coat liquid is reacted and cured to perform temporary baking. The heating means for this pre-baking is selected depending on the type of the hard coat liquid. Other examples of this hard coat liquid include U
There are V-curable hard coat, EB-curable hard coat, microwave-curable hard coat, etc.
It is practical to use a hardening type hard coat. That is, when this UV-curable hard coat is used, there is no restriction on the spin conditions when applying the hard coat liquid as compared with the case where a thermosetting hard coat is used, and any number of rotations may be used. (40-60
C) has the advantage that the viscosity is reduced and the surface is easily smoothed. Further, UV irradiation during curing is 5 to 20.
This is because there is an advantage that the calcination can be completed in seconds and the calcination becomes unnecessary.

After heating, if the lens is kept at 60 ° C. or higher, fixation of the abrasive, drainage, etc. will occur in the next step (convex polishing) and thereafter, and the appearance and durability will be degraded. Lower to or below ° C.

In the fourth tank, the surface of the convex surface of the lens is modified in the same manner as in the first tank, the cleaning treatment in the second tank, and the application of the hard coat liquid in the third tank are performed in the same manner. Setting and calcination are performed in the same manner as in the case of the concave surface, the lens is removed, and after the appearance inspection 64, the main calcination 65 is entered. This main firing 65 is performed at 135 ° C. for about 3 hours.
Thereby, the reaction of the hard coat liquid on both surfaces of the lens is completed.

On the other hand, in the case of a DMC system in which an anti-reflection film is formed on the surface of the hard coat, as shown in FIG.
In the same manner as in (1), the surface is wiped off by including an alumina-based abrasive in a sponge, thereby removing and removing the lens surface. This removes adhered dirt that does not fall off by immersion cleaning in the pre-washing, and removes a heterogeneous layer on the surface. Next, in a wiping step 67, the lens is wiped with acetone or the like to remove dust and the like.

Subsequently, in a jig setting step 68, lenses are set at intervals on a jig for accommodating a predetermined number of sheets at a time to prepare for batch processing. The jig on which the lens is set in this manner is subjected to pre-washing 69 to clean the lens surface with a surfactant or the like, modify the surface with an alkaline solution or the like, pull up hot pure water, and dry the water in 13 to 16 tanks. After the pre-wash 69 is completed, the lens is immersed in a hard coat liquid in a Dip step 70, and is pulled up to a desired film thickness by controlling the constant speed or the pulling speed.

Next, in the calcination step 71, 70 to 10
The hard coat liquid is semi-cured at a relatively low temperature of 0 ° C. (for example, a hot air oven). After firing, the lens is taken out of the jig, the lens is placed flat on a pallet through an appearance inspection step 72, and the main firing step 73 is entered. In the main firing step 73,
Heating at 135 ° C. for about 3 hours completes the reaction of the hard coat liquid. Thus, the hard coating process 3 is completed. If a defect occurs in the appearance inspections 64 and 72, the defect item in both the hard coat specification (DC) and the hard coat and anti-reflection treatment specification (DMC) process is passed to the block PC via the PC-7. -1 and a reproduction instruction is issued.

The process then proceeds to FIG. 22, where a quality assurance mark is stamped 74 as necessary. Then, data such as a manufacturing number, presence / absence of dyeing, color, sample color arrival information, presence / absence of vapor deposition, processing priority, distinction between shipping and stock, lens diameter, delivery date, etc. are input to the PC-8 based on these keys. A new work label 75 is issued. Then, the work label 75 is affixed to a pallet 76 flowing to the subsequent steps.

Subsequently, in a frequency inspection step 77, it is measured whether or not there is a change in the frequency except for the center thickness after the hard coating, and the measured data is compared with the prescription data from the PC-9 to determine the frequency. A final check is made. As a result, when it is determined that the product is defective, the defective item and the measurement data are input, and a reproduction instruction is issued.

If this frequency check is passed, it is determined whether or not the lens is a specification requiring dyeing, whether or not deposition of an antireflection film is necessary, and whether or not the lens is stock is determined by the work label 7.
5 is sorted by reading the bar code.

When proceeding to the dyeing step 4, dyeing sorting 78 is performed in advance. The dyeing sorting 78 is selected for DC or DMC according to the display of the operation label 75, and is used for DC color (DCC) and DMC color (DMC).
CC) is selected. After the selection, the color selection, the dyeing time and the like are calculated and displayed from the PC, and the dyeing is performed according to the instruction. [Dyeing Step] The lens is dyed by dispersing a disperse dye in water, adding an additive such as an auxiliary agent, and immersing the lens in a dye bath heated to 70 to 90 ° C. Staining concentration is proportional to immersion time. In the case of dyeing with a predetermined color tone, toning and dyeing time are determined as standard colors, and if there is a sample color, the sample color is analyzed by a spectrophotometer to perform toning. The toning can be carried out by subjecting the data of the target color obtained by measurement with a spectrophotometer to computer processing and finding an appropriate dyeing bath and dyeing time.

The dyed lens is visually inspected for color difference in a step 79, and is subjected to a color inspection, a color defect of half-staining (staining only a half area of the lens), a defective appearance, etc. Is checked. If it is determined that the product is defective, a defective item is keyed into the PC-10, and a reproduction instruction is issued.

As for the lenses which are transferred to the stock 81 system, the lenses which have not been subjected to the dyeing treatment or the deposition treatment of the antireflection film are sent to the stocking process 83 (PC-17) to be stocked. In this system, when the operation rate decreases during a period when orders from customers are small (eg, from the middle of the week to the weekend), the most frequently received frequency and astigmatism axis (90 °, 180 °) are determined based on past order data. Predict and create the predicted lens as a hard-coated lens. Immediate delivery when receiving an order for a lens with the same prescription 8
If the product is to be delivered out of the container 2 or if dyeing is required, it is sent to the dyeing process 4 where the previous process is omitted and used.

For a lens that does not require dyeing after completion of the hard coating step 3 and requires a deposition of an anti-reflection film, the lens passes the dyeing step 4 and a deposition step 5 (see FIG. Go to 23). [Anti-Reflection Film Deposition Step] In this deposition step 5, collation of necessity of deposition is performed and sorting based on the collation is performed. Lenses requiring deposition are placed in a basket 120 after a pre-cleaning step 84 (fluorocarbon-free cleaning). It is stored and goes through the appearance inspection 85. If it is determined by the appearance inspection 85 that the product is defective, the defective item is keyed into the PC-11 and a reproduction instruction is issued.

The lens passed in the visual inspection is set on the dome 86 and deposited in a vacuum chamber. This vapor deposition is performed in the order of the concave vapor deposition 87, the return set 88, and the convex vapor deposition 89. The chamber may be any of a 5-tank type and a 3-tank type. In the case of a five-tank type, as shown in FIG.
1, a return chamber 92, a convex vapor deposition chamber 93, and a discharge chamber 94. In the case of a three-tank type, a roughing chamber 95, a double-side vapor deposition chamber 96, and a discharge chamber 97 are provided as shown in FIG. 10 in the roughing chamber
^-4 Torr, 10 ^-5 Torr in the deposition chamber
The thickness is controlled by controlling the amount of reflected light. Both types have a reversing mechanism for automatically reversing the lens on the dome 86. As shown partially in FIG. 26, this reversing mechanism supports a holder 98 for holding, for example, two lenses as a set on a dome 86 by a central shaft 99 so as to be reversible. When the deposition on one side of the lens is completed, the rotation speed of the dome 86 is reduced to about 30 seconds / 1 rotation, and the reversing cylinder 101 (see FIG.
In step 7), when the reversing projection 100 is pushed and rotated by 90 ° or more, it is reversed by its own weight. After confirming that the dome 86 has rotated more than one rotation, the cylinder 101
To shorten.

After completion of the vapor deposition, the interference color test 102 is performed by the PC-11. If it is determined that the product is defective, a defective item is input and a reproduction instruction is issued.

The lens that has passed the interference color test 102 is stored in the basket 85 again, and the CF processing 103 is performed. This CF processing is a batch processing, and firing (processing with hot air of about 50 ° C. for 15 to 20 minutes) is performed, washing is performed, and the process proceeds to the color difference inspection 104. In the color difference inspection 104, it is mainly checked whether or not the coating has come off due to the pre-washing step using a spectrophotometer.
At step 12, the required transmission amount is compared with the transmission amount due to color omission and checked. If it is determined that the product is defective, the measurement data by the spectrophotometer, the required color data (including the sample color data), and the defective item are keyed in, and a reproduction (return to the pre-staining process) instruction is issued. .

The lenses that have passed the color difference inspection 104 are:
The process proceeds to a final outer diameter inspection 105, where a final appearance inspection is performed. The result of this inspection is keyed into PC-13, and in the case of a defective product, a defective item is input. Out of the non-defective products that have passed this final inspection, the shipped products are thereafter sent to the packaging bag printing process.

On the other hand, at the time of proceeding to the dyeing step 4, if the lens has a specification without dyeing, it is stored in a pair in the case 106 in a flat state, and the final appearance inspection 1 is performed.
Turned to 05.

The lens which has completed the final appearance inspection 105 is
The system is immediately sorted into a system for immediate shipment and a system for stock 107. The system leading to the stock 107 is prepared when the operation rate decreases, as in the case of the end stage of the hard coating process 3 described above, and is prepared for shipment.

With the above, all the lens manufacturing steps are completed.
Enter the packaging process. [Packing Step] In this packing step 108, a required print 110 is placed on an outer bag 109 in which the left and right lenses are placed.
1, the lens is subjected to diametrical horizontal line printing 112, which is used as a guide for frame-fitting cutting at an eyeglass shop.
Then, the lens and the outer bag 109 are collated 113, and the lenses are stored as a pair. Then sorting and packaging 114
Is carried out, and the shipment processing 115 (PC-14) is carried out. In the shipping process 115, the PC-14 checks whether a predetermined product is shipped to a predetermined destination.

On the other hand, the stock 107 system is subjected to a stocking process 118 through a wading package 117 (packaging of one lens unit) as a stock product. This wadding package 1
At 17, print data is received from the PC-16, and based on the print data, the print data is printed on the bag 119 by the wading packaging machine. The contents of the print are printed as a barcode type such as a production date, a product name, a frequency (SC axis, addition), the presence or absence of vapor deposition, and the like.

In the polishing step 121 (FIG. 28) after the lens forming step 2, the lens formed in the lens forming step 2 is used as a blank and polished to form a spectacle lens, which is managed by the block PC-2. A work label 122 on which predetermined specifications are printed by reading a barcode is issued from a label printer 123 (work slip issuance 124), and at the same time, a confirmation diagram 125 of SS processing (processing specification to a shape close to an eyeglass frame) is given. Can be

According to the contents of the work label 122, the dispensing of blanks 126, 126 conforming to the contents of the work label 122 is performed.
7 is performed, and the surface of the blank is blocked 128 by tape application.
29 is performed. Then, the CG cut 130, the smoothing 131, the polishing 132, and the deblock 13
In step 3, the block is released, chamfering 134 is performed if necessary, and cleaning 135 and lens marking 136 are performed. Next, the dimension inspection 137, the blur inspection 138, and the outer diameter inspection 139 are checked through the PC-15, and are supplied to the above-described marking step 57 or the pairing 59 thereafter.

In this embodiment, in order to reduce the load on the host computer, four process communication blocks PCs are used.
, And a plurality of PCs for communication control are further arranged below it to achieve vertical distribution. If the capacity of the host computer is sufficiently large, the host computer is connected to each terminal arranged in the work process It is also possible to directly access data in the host computer. Also, an engineering workstation (EWS) is connected via a local area network (LAN) instead of the above-described device configuration, and the EWS accesses a data storage data server provided in the LAN to obtain predetermined data. Can be.

In any case, the data provided is the latest update data, and the host computer always manages the accumulation of the production data of the new order product, the update of the setting data, the deletion of the production data after the completion of the processing, and the like. I can do it.

The host computer accumulates data on defective items generated in each process and the like, and can collect data for technical analysis for reviewing materials used and work procedures. Hard coating process 3,
The arrangement of the dyeing step 4 and the antireflection film deposition step 5 can be performed without necessarily the order of the embodiments, and the same applies to other steps. By arranging the order of the steps according to the reference numerals used in the above embodiment, a combination as shown in FIG. 29 can be realized.

[0081]

As described above, according to the present invention, prescription data or option data obtained from a customer is input to a computer, converted into processing information, and each manufacturing process is managed based on the processed prescription data. As it can be manufactured by integrated production, it is possible to continuously produce eyeglass lenses, which are multi-product, small-volume products, with consistency, and there is no need to stock products from order receipt to product shipment. The use of photo-curable plastics has reduced the number of inventories and inventory space, making it easier to manage, and the time required from order receipt to product shipment was at least 30 hours with conventional grinding. In this case, the time can be greatly reduced to about 5 hours, and it is possible to hand the product to the customer's hand earlier. In addition, since the work in each step is performed automatically or manually in accordance with instructions from a computer, there is little room for individual differences, and a high-quality lens suitable for a customer's prescription can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a manufacturing process of a plastic lens for spectacles according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a process chart showing details of a lens forming process in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of contents of display data of a work label used in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing one means of cleaning the peripheral surface of the mold in the cleaning step of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing one means of surface cleaning.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an IPA application state.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a reverse support state of the mold.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing the number of rotations and time during IPA coating and spin drying.

9 (A) to 9 (F) are explanatory views showing an example of the mold assembling step of FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between upper and lower molds in each step of FIG. 9;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are explanatory diagrams showing indices for detecting astigmatic axes of upper and lower molds. FIGS.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a notch formed in the upper mold.

FIG. 13 is a front view showing an example of a plastic material injection head.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing a state where a plastic raw material is injected into a mold assembly by an injection head.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal situation as viewed from the front.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory view showing one means for sealing an injection port after injection of a plastic raw material.

FIG. 17 is a process chart showing a step after a lens forming step.

FIGS. 18A and 18B are front views showing the positional relationship of marking on a molded lens.

FIG. 19 is a front view showing the lens after outer peripheral shaping.

FIG. 20 is a process chart showing details of a hard coating process.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing details of a spin hard coating process in FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a process chart showing details of a dyeing process which shifts from a hard coating process.

FIG. 23 is a process chart showing details of an antireflection film deposition step and a packaging step.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing contents when the number of vapor deposition chambers in FIG. 23 is five.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing contents in the case of three tanks.

FIG. 26 is a partial plan view showing an example of a reversing mechanism of the lens holder on the dome.

FIG. 27 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 28 is a process diagram showing a polishing step when a polishing blank is formed in a lens forming step.

FIG. 29 is an explanatory view showing an example of arrangement change of each step in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Host computer 2 Lens molding process 3 Hard coating process 4 Dyeing process 5 Anti-reflection film deposition process 7, 75 Work label 8 Tray 9 Upper mold 10 Lower mold 11, 12 Mold pallet 15, 17 Sponge roll 16 Chuck 22 Positioning part 23, Reference Signs List 24 mold holding tool 25, 26 mold receiving table 27, 28 centering tool 31 raw material injection position 32 cutout 33 adhesive tape 34 mold assembly 37 injection head 38 injection nozzle 40 detection sensor 41 holding jig 48 molded lens 50 lens Pallet 52 Mold stocker 56 Convex part 60 Dip slip 76 Pallet 86 Dome 109 Outer bag 117 Wadding packaging bag 120 Basket

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-56-28828 (JP, A) JP-A-53-121642 (JP, A) JP-A-1-70867 (JP, A) “Optical technology contact” Japan Opto-Mechatronics Association Issued March 20, 1991 Volume 29 Issue 3 1

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A system for manufacturing plastic lenses for spectacles by storing prescription data of a customer and processing data based on the data in a computer and centrally managing the prescription data, the prescription data corresponding to the customer according to the order of the customer And a lens forming step of forming a lens from a light or thermosetting plastic material based on the processing data and a polishing step of the lens, and a display unique to the lens, such as the type, frequency, and manufacturing identification number of the lens, and the lens forming. A step of applying a lens or a transfer body thereof molded in the step, and a surface treatment step of treating the surface of the lens, wherein the surface treatment step hardens a light or thermosetting type hard coat liquid on the lens surface. Coating process, dyeing process for coloring the lens surface, reflection on the lens surface A lens for forming an anti-reflection film, wherein the lens is formed through consistent or selective processing based on processing data corresponding to the indication of the lens stored in the computer, Lens manufacturing system. 2. A system for manufacturing plastic lenses for spectacles by storing prescription data of a customer and processing data based on the data in a computer and centrally managing the prescription data. The prescription data corresponding to the customer according to the order of the customer And a lens forming step of forming a lens from a light or thermosetting plastic material based on the processing data and a polishing step of the lens, and a display unique to the lens, such as the type, frequency, and manufacturing identification number of the lens, and the lens forming. A step of applying a lens or a transfer body thereof molded in the step, and a surface treatment step of treating the surface of the lens, wherein the surface treatment step hardens a light or thermosetting type hard coat liquid on the lens surface. Coating process, dyeing process for coloring the lens surface, reflection on the lens surface An anti-reflection film deposition process of forming an anti-reflection film is performed in a system for manufacturing a plastic lens for spectacles for forming a lens consistently or via selection based on processing data corresponding to an indication of the lens stored in the computer. Based on the prescription data and processing data predicted based on past orders received when the operation rate of the production line decreases, stock the built-in products formed through the lens molding process, polishing process, and hard coating process,
A plastic lens manufacturing system for eyeglasses, characterized in that a prescription product conforming to the data is selected based on the prescription data of the customer, and the lens is formed through a dyeing process and an antireflection film deposition process. . 3. Receiving customer processing data transmitted online from a terminal of a retail store or the like, calculating a processing instruction value,
The system for manufacturing a plastic lens for eyeglasses according to claim 1, further comprising means for giving an instruction to start the process based on the calculated data.