JPH04217482A - Hand for forming at high temperature - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a hand which correctly transfer a glass blank or plastic blank at the specified position of a die to the device which forms a commodity, an optical element for instance, by heating and pressurizing the same blank. CONSTITUTION:The optical means 15a, 15b which detect the transfer state of a die and bland for the movement adjustment of the hand are equipped with the hand, the image of the die is detected by the above optical means, and the commodity having no eccentricity in the wall thickness of a mold, a lens is obtainable by transferring the blank to the correct position of the die with the hand being controlled by its movement based on the image thereof.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a high-temperature molding hand used in an apparatus for heating and press-molding materials such as glass or plastic blanks.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Apparatuses for molding optical elements, such as lenses, by heating a glass blank and inserting it into a mold member and pressurizing the mold member are known. The mold member of the lens molding device mentioned above is composed of an upper mold, a lower mold, or a body mold that slides and holds the upper mold and the lower mold, and a molding cavity formed by the upper mold, the lower mold, and the body mold molds the glass blank into a lens. Process.

[0003] After opening the upper and lower molds, placing the glass blank into the mold using the fingers holding the glass blank and retracting the fingers, the glass blank is molded into a lens by a pressurizing operation.

[0004] The above-mentioned mold member is heated to a high temperature of 500 to 700°C in order to deform the glass blank by heating and pressing, and the glass blank is also heated to a temperature of 50°C, which is a temperature suitable for deforming by pressing.
The molding chamber is heated to a high temperature of 0 to 700°C, and the molding chamber is maintained at a high temperature in an inert gas atmosphere to prevent oxidation of the mold.

When placing the glass blank held by the hand on the molding cavity surface of the lower mold, if the glass blank is not placed accurately at the predetermined position of the lower mold, it will be in a deviated state, that is, the center of the glass blank will If the glass blank is pressurized by the lower mold and upper mold while the center of the lower mold is shifted, the outer peripheral wall thickness of the lens will be uneven and the lens will have thicker and thinner parts. It ends up being

That is, as shown in FIG.
If the glass blank is placed on the lower mold by hand so that the center axis P2 of the glass blank coincides with the center axis P2 of the glass blank, a molded lens with a uniform wall thickness can be obtained.

However, when the glass blank is placed offset from the center axis of the lower mold as shown in FIG.
When pressure molded in this state, a lens with non-uniform outer circumferential thickness is formed as shown in FIG.

[0008] Therefore, the operation of inserting the glass blank into the mold by hand must ensure that the glass blank is placed in the correct predetermined position in the lower mold.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a hand that can place a glass blank or a lens blank in a predetermined position in a mold when the hand inserts the blank into the mold. Particularly, in the present invention, when a hand holding a blank is put into the mold, the blank holding is released, and the blank is placed in the lower mold, the position of the mold members, especially the lower mold, is visually checked or the lower mold is displayed as an image. We propose a hand that allows you to adjust the position of the blank and the position of the lower die.

0010

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention includes an optical means in a hand for inserting a glass blank or a plastic blank into a mold, and the optical means allows the position of the hand, that is, the position of the held blank, to be adjusted between The above problem was solved by visualizing or displaying the positional relationship.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be explained below based on illustrated embodiments. FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a glass press molding apparatus to which the hand of the present invention is applied, a hand for transporting a glass blank in the molding apparatus, and a position measuring device for a mold.

In the figure, 1 is an ITV camera, 2 is a photographing lens, 3 is a half mirror, and 4 is a first illumination light source for photographing. This illumination light is outputted to 4a through the ITV camera section, and is coaxial illumination that passes through the optical axis of the ITV camera section. 5 is a projection lens, which is an optical lens that magnifies the image taken by the photographing lens 2; 6 is a second illumination light source for photographing, and the illumination light is condensed through a fiber 6a and a condenser lens 6b. 1 to 6 above will be referred to as the ITV camera section.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a drive motor for the camera stage
) is shown.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a drive motor for the Y-axis of the camera stage, which moves the ITV camera section in the optical axis direction of the ITV camera, and the direction 8a indicates its origin position (Y0). Reference numeral 9 denotes a drive motor for the Z-axis of the camera stage, which moves the ITV camera section in the vertical direction, and the direction 9a indicates its origin position (Z0). 10 is an ITV controller that connects the IT
Captures image data captured by the V camera 1 and processes the data.

The ITV controller 10 outputs drive command signals to the camera stage drive motors 7, 8, and 9, and controls the origin positions 7a, 8a, and 9a of each camera stage.
The current position data is read from the source and each origin position detection signal is inputted. Also, the ITV controller 10
is the robot controller 1 that controls the molding equipment
The ITV controller 10 has an input/output section that communicates with the ITV controller 10, and is composed of a CPU that organically controls and performs calculations on the entire ITV controller 10, and a display that displays operational information of the ITV controller 10.

Reference numeral 10a denotes an image monitor that displays images taken by the ITV camera 1. A configuration having these 1 to 10 is called a position measuring device.

11 is a robot controller and a molding device 2
Output of the drive command signal to the hand drive motors 12, 13, and 14 of No. 2 and the origin positions 12a and 13a of each drive section of the hand.
, 14a, input operation of each origin position detection signal, adsorption operation command of the glass blank to the band and drop operation from the hand, each press drive unit 19a of the upper and lower dies 16 and 17 that performs pressing. , 19b
Processing to output a drive command signal to the upper and lower molds, outputting a heater drive command signal to heat the upper and lower molds, inputting each temperature signal to the upper and lower molds, and a heater drive command signal to heat the hand 15 that adsorbs the glass material. Performs output and temperature signal input processing for the hand 15.

The robot controller 11 also includes the ITV controller 10 that controls the position measuring device.
It has an input/output section that communicates with the robot controller, and consists of a CPU that organically controls and performs calculations on the whole, and a display that displays operation information of the robot controller 11.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a hand θ-axis drive motor, and the hand 15 rotates in response to a drive command signal from the robot controller, and the direction 12a indicates its origin position (θ0).

Reference numeral 13 denotes a hand Z-axis drive motor, and the hand 15 moves up and down in response to the same drive command signal as described above.
The direction indicates its origin position (Z0).

Reference numeral 14 denotes a hand R-axis drive motor.The R-axis drive motor 14 is driven by a drive command signal similar to the above, and is transmitted to the R-axis drive arm 14b shown in FIG.
4c Move the hand 15 along the hand guide pole into a linear motion to determine the position in the R direction. Note that the direction 14a indicates the origin position (R0).

15 is a part for carrying the glass blank by hand, the details of which are shown in FIGS. 4, 7, and 8, and 15a is a tilting mirror. can be seen. 15
b is a vertical mirror that makes it easy to detect the spatial position of the hand 15 with the ITV camera 1 of the measuring device.

Reference numeral 15c indicates a point where the glass blank is sucked and dropped, and a concave portion having a circular diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the glass blank and larger than the effective optical diameter of the glass blank after molding is provided on the lower surface of the hand 15.

15d is used when a glass blank is sucked at the suction pipe port, and 15e is used when a glass blank is dropped from the exhaust pipe port. The suction pipe port 15d and the exhaust pipe port 15e are the glass blank suction and fall location 15c.
It is provided in the circular diameter recess. Each operation is performed by opening and closing a valve provided in each pipe, and drive commands are issued by the robot controller 11.

A heater 15f is provided inside the hand 15 and heats the hand 15 to a certain temperature. 15g is a hand temperature sensor installed inside the hand 15;
Detect the temperature of 5.

[0026] 16 is an upper press die, 17 is a lower press die, and 18 is a barrel die. Both upper and lower press molds 16 and 17 are inserted into the upper and lower inner parts of the barrel mold 18. Body mold 18 shown in FIG.
The misalignment of the center axes of the upper and lower molds 16 and 17 inserted into the upper and lower mold insertion portions of the upper and lower molds 18a and 18b depends on the center axis misalignment of the upper and lower mold insertion portions of the body mold 18. 1
8c is the matching body type 18.

[0027] Also, the upper and lower parts 16 and 17 inserted into the body mold 18
Openings 18d and 18e are provided in the body mold 18 between them, and both openings 18d and 18e penetrate through the opening 1.
8d is an IT having the ITV camera 1 of the position measuring device;
This is an opening where the V-camera section images the press die, glass blank hand, etc.

The opening 18e is a hand insertion/removal opening through which the hand 15 places a glass blank on the lower press mold 17 and the cavity surface, and takes out a glass blank from the cavity surface of the lower press mold 17.

[0029] 18f and 18g are heating heaters and the body type 18
The upper part of the press is heated with an 18f heater, the lower part is heated with an 18g heater, and the body mold 18 is heated with each heater to form the press upper and lower molds 16 and 17 inserted into the upper and lower mold insertion parts 18a and 18b. Heat transfer and press upper and lower molds 16
, 17 are heated. In addition, each heating heater 18f, 18
A plurality of g are inserted into the upper and lower parts of the body mold 18.

18h and 18i are press mold temperature sensors, 18h is a temperature sensor for the upper press mold 16, 18i is a temperature sensor for the lower press mold 17, and each sensor 18h
, 18i penetrate a part of the body mold 18 and reach the inside of each press upper and lower mold, and detect the temperature of each press upper and lower mold. Incidentally, the body mold 18 is fixed to a base plate 23 of the main body of the molding apparatus. Reference numeral 19a denotes a press upper die press drive unit, and 19b denotes a press lower die press drive unit, in which each of the upper and lower press dies 16 and 17 is driven in the vertical direction by each drive command signal from the robot controller 11 to perform a press operation. be exposed. 20 is a glass material, which is shown placed on the cavity surface of the lower press die 17.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a transparent window glass, which is attached to the chamber 22 as necessary, and is connected to the opening 18 of the body mold 18.
This is a transparent window glass 21 that is provided at the same position as d, and through which an ITV camera unit having the ITV camera 1 of the position measuring device images the press mold, glass material, hand, etc. Thereby, even if the atmosphere inside the chamber 22 is a vacuum, N2, and high temperature atmosphere, it is possible to image and measure the position of the press die, glass material, hand, etc. inside the chamber 22.

[0032] The transparent window glass 21 is connected to the optical axis 4a of the ITV camera section having the ITV camera 1 of the position measuring device.
4b with respect to the vertical axis.

First illumination light source 4 for photographing the ITV camera section
Coaxial illumination light 4a passing through the optical axis illuminates the transparent window glass 21, and the reflected light from the glass surface enters the photographing lens 2 of the ITV camera section, and the reflected light enters the imaging device of the ITV camera 1 for photographing. However, the transparent window glass 21 is tilted at an angle that does not saturate the electrical signal output from the imaging device.

Reference numeral 22 is a chamber provided to create an atmosphere in which a glass material is press-molded. In addition, cooling water flows through the chamber 22 due to heat dissipation from heating points in the chamber such as the press die and hand.
This prevents deformation. 23 is a base plate of the glass press molding device.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of the above embodiment will be explained. In the apparatus shown in FIG. 4, a glass blank g is placed on a glass blank mounting table 22A in the molding chamber 22 by a glass blank carrying means (not shown).

Hand 1 by robot controller 11
Each movement control system (movement movement in each direction of Z-axis, Q-axis, and R-axis) of 5 operates accurately, and blank suction by the hand is possible.
Hand operation - The blank is transferred onto the lower mold cavity surface, and if the center of the glass blank and the center of the lower mold cavity surface are aligned, the molded lens will have a uniform wall thickness. It becomes a lens.

However, the molding apparatus shown in FIG.
Rotation of 5 - Suction - Rotation of the hand 15 in the mold - Removal (dropping) of the glass blank by the hand - Molding by pressurizing the mold - Removal of the molded lens by the hand - Removal of the molded lens from the molding chamber - Adsorption of the glass blank by the hand Repeat the molding cycle of...

During the continuous molding cycle described above, the components of the molten glass blank are fused to the cavity surface of the mold member and the mold is oxidized. Furthermore, it is necessary to lower the temperature of the molding chamber and the mold member for cleaning the mold member.

Each member of the hand 15 is affected by the temperature drop and rise due to this temperature drop and temperature rise to the molding temperature after the cleaning process. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the position of inserting the glass blank into the mold by hand.

First, the hand holding the glass blank on the glass blank mounting table by suction and rotating the glass blank g is inserted through the opening 18e of the body mold 18, and the glass blank g is placed on the cavity surface of the lower mold. position it above.

As an embodiment of the hand 15 according to the present invention, i) an image on the screen of the ITV camera 1 (mirror 15 of the hand)
The operator directly sees the image of the lower mold reflected through a and operates the hand robot to place the glass blank g in the center of the lower mold.
There is an operation to move the hand so that it is placed.

[0042] Also, ii). There is a mode in which an operator inputs control information of the robot controller 11 to an input section of the robot controller 11 using an image on the screen of an ITV camera, and operates the hand 15 through arithmetic processing within the controller 11.

Furthermore, iii). There is a configuration in which an image of the mirror 15a of the hand is transmitted to the ITV controller 10 by an ITV camera, the image is processed by the controller 10, a signal resulting from the image processing is transmitted to the robot controller 11, and the robot controller 11 controls the operation of the hand 15.

[0044]

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention provides a high-temperature molding hand used in a molding device that heats and presses a glass blank or plastic blank to mold it into an article, by equipping the hand with an optical means. The position of the blank and the mold member on which the blank is placed can be visually recognized or image processed.

As a result, the blank could be placed at an accurate position by controlling the hand either manually by the operator or automatically by the controllers 11 and 10.

As a result, a highly accurate optical element could be obtained. Particularly good results were obtained in molding lenses that require dimensional accuracy in the outer circumferential thickness of lenses.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a blank being transferred to a mold in a normal state.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a blank being transferred out of alignment with the center axis of the mold.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a lens pressure-molded in the state shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a molding apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a drive mechanism that drives the hand 15 according to the present invention.

6 is an explanatory diagram of the structure of the barrel mold 18 shown in FIG. 4. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a main part of the hand 15 according to the present invention.

8 is a cross-sectional view of the central main part of the hand 15 shown in FIG. 7. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ITV camera 2 Imaging lens 3 Half mirror 4 First illumination light source for photography 4a, 4b Optical axis 5 Projection lens 6 Second illumination light source for photography 6a Fiber 6b Condensing lens 7 Camera stage X-axis drive motor 7a　Operation direction X0 Origin position 8 Camera stage Y-axis drive motor 8a　Operation direction Y0 Origin position 9 Camera stage Z-axis drive motor 9a　Operation direction Z0 Origin position 10 ITV controller 10a Image monitor 11 Robot controller 12 Hand θ-axis drive motor 12a　Operation direction θ0 Origin position 13 Hand Z-axis drive motor 13a　Operation direction Z0 Origin position 14 Hand R-axis drive motor 14a　Operation direction R0 Origin position 15 Hand 15a Tilt mirror 15b Vertical mirror 15c Glass material suction and fall point 15d Adsorption pipe port 15e Exhaust pipe port 15f Heater 15g Temperature sensor 16　Press upper mold 17　Press lower die 18 Torso type 18a Upper mold insertion part 18b Lower mold insertion part 18c Mold insertion center axis 18d, 18e Trunk-shaped opening 18f, 18g heater 19a Upper drive unit 19b Lower drive unit 20 Lens 21 Transparent window glass 22 Chamber 23 Base plate

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A hand for high-temperature molding, characterized in that the hand for inserting glass or plastic or taking out parts is equipped with an optical means. 2. The high-temperature molding hand according to claim 1, wherein the optical means is means for visually recognizing the glass/plastic and/or mold member. 3. The high-temperature molding hand includes a blank holder for carrying the glass or plastic into the mold member, and the optical means is a mirror provided on the hand, and the mirror allows the glass or plastic to be conveyed into the mold member. 2. The high temperature molding hand according to claim 1, wherein the mold member is visually recognized. 4. The high-temperature molding hand according to claim 3, wherein the high-temperature molding hand is a hand for inserting a glass blank into a mold member and taking out an optical element molded by the mold member. hand. 5. The high-temperature molding hand according to claim 3, wherein the mirror includes an inclined mirror and a vertical mirror formed on the end face of the hand.