JPH046113A - Drum mold transferring arm in device for forming glass lens - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the optical axis of glass stock to be formed coincide surely with the central axis of a forming mold at the time of forming by providing a specified structure to the title arm for transferring a drum mold with set glass stock to be to the space between heating furnaces and the forming mold. CONSTITUTION:The title arm 9 for transferring a drum mold 17 with set glass stock 5 to be formed to the space between heating furnaces 6, 7 and a forming mold 8 is fitted with the drum mold 17 with a stepped part 20 for charging the glass stock 5 at the inner circumferential surface and a fixing means 23 forming the surface of the outer circumferential wall of the drum mold 17 and press-fixing the glass stock 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a conveyance arm of a glass lens molding apparatus that has high molding precision and surface precision in press molding.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, a technique has been proposed for manufacturing optical elements such as lenses, prisms, and filters only by press molding without performing post-processing such as polishing. In this technique, a desired optical element is manufactured by transporting and stopping a glass material heated to a moldable temperature between molds and press-molding it with a mold having a desired shape.

The above techniques have the advantage that optical elements can be manufactured in a short period of time, and aspherical lenses can be manufactured easily and in a short period of time in the same way as ordinary spherical lenses.

The biggest problem with glass optical elements manufactured using the above technology is that the optical axis of the glass material and the axis of the mold do not match during molding.
This result requires a centering process.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, there is Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 167228/1988, which was proposed by the present applicant.

The technology described in this publication involves providing a taper on the outer periphery of the mold body that engages the separate mold placement part of the transfer arm and the separate mold placement part so that the center main axis of the body mold and the axis of the molding die are aligned. This is a device designed to do this.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the technique disclosed in the above publication has the problem that if a foreign object such as a glass piece enters the tapered surface, the tapered surface becomes tilted and cannot be conveyed accurately, and the tapered surface suffers from scratches, rust, etc. The same problem as above occurred when this occurred. In addition, the body mold is generally made of a material such as ceramic or carbide, which has a coefficient of linear expansion smaller than that of glass material, so when the optical element molded at high temperature is cooled to room temperature, the body If the amount of shrinkage of the mold is greater than that of the optical element, there is also the problem that it becomes an interference fit and cannot be removed.

Generally, it is difficult to perform taber processing on such materials.

This was the same for the above-mentioned trunk type and transfer arm. That is, if the coefficient of linear expansion of the material of the transport arm is larger than that of the body mold, there is a problem that as the transport arm cools, the body mold becomes an tight fit, making it impossible to remove the optical element from the transport arm.

The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to make the optical axis of the glass material coincide with the axial center of the mold during molding, and to make it possible to reliably and accurately transport the glass material in a glass lens molding device. The purpose is to provide a transport arm.

[Means and effects for solving the problem] The present invention provides a method for loading a glass material to be formed onto the inner circumferential surface of a body mold conveying arm that conveys a body mold on which a glass material is placed between a heating furnace and a molding die. This body mold conveying arm for a glass lens molding apparatus is characterized in that it is provided with a body mold in which a stepped portion is formed, and a fixing means for forming and press-fixing the outer circumferential wall surface of the body mold.

〔Example] Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a glass lens molding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view from the front showing essential parts of the molding section main body shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3a is a cross-sectional view showing a side surface of the trunk-type transfer arm shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the distal end, with the barrel mold shown in FIG. 3a removed.

FIG. 3C is a sectional view taken along line A--A shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a flat device base 1 of a molding device 1
At the center position above 0, there is a box-shaped box which is formed into a cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. A molding main body portion 3 provided with a molding chamber 8 is provided. The side wall surface of the molding chamber 8 is provided with an opening for conveyance, and the glass material 5 to be molded is
A cylindrical main heating furnace 7 for heating is installed in series. Further, a box-shaped preheating furnace 6 for preheating the glass material 5 to be formed is connected to the side surface of the main heating furnace 7 . A belt-shaped conveying arm 9 for conveying the glass material 5 to be formed to the preheating furnace and the main heating furnace is arranged on the axial side wall surface of the preheating furnace 6 which is connected to the main heating furnace 7. An opening 6-1 is formed in the opening 6-1. A transport arm drive device 13 is disposed at a side position of this opening 6-1.
It is configured to transport the glass material 5 to be molded to a preheating furnace 6, a main body heating furnace 7, and a molding chamber 8 for molding.

Storage chambers 14 and 15 are provided on both sides of the transport arm drive device 13 in the longitudinal direction, respectively, for storing the glass material 5 to be molded and the optical element that has been molded.

Between the storage chambers 14 and 15, there is a transport opening 6-1 in the preheating furnace 6 that intersects with the opening 6-1 of the transport arm 9.
A belt-shaped conveyance magazine 4 is arranged so as to be able to pass through the glass material 2, and configured to place and convey the glass material 5 to be formed.

The molds in the molding chamber 8, that is, the upper molding mold 11 and the lower molding mold 12, are connected to a driving means (not shown) provided outside the molding chamber 8 and are operated in the vertical direction shown by the arrow. is configured to do so.

The configuration of the transport arm 9 that transports the glass material 5 to be formed into the molding chamber 8, the main heating furnace 7, and the preheating furnace 6 is as follows.
As shown in FIG.
On the other hand, a hole 19 is bored into which a ring-shaped body mold 17 is inserted and loaded with a glass material 5 to be formed.

The hole 19 has a stepped portion 2 on the inner peripheral wall surface as shown in FIG.
0 is formed, and the stepped portion formed on the outer peripheral wall surface of the separate mold 17 and the il! They are formed to match when placed.

Further, a rectangular notch 21 is formed in the proximal direction of the circumference of the hole 19, and a separate mold 1 on which the glass material 5 to be formed is placed is formed.
In order to press and fix the outer peripheral surface of 7 at two points, the tip is formed into a U-shape, and a long rod-shaped separate fixing member 23 is slidable in a hole formed in the longitudinal direction in the main body 16. The mold 17 is configured to be fixedly attached thereto. Further, a driving means 24 that slides and presses the separate mold fixing member 23 is connected to the base end (right end) of the separate mold fixing member 23, and drives the separate mold 17 to the distal end 18.
When the mold is placed in the hole 19, the mold is activated and the U-shaped tip 23 presses and fixes the outer peripheral surface of the separate mold 17 at two points.

The operation of the molding apparatus 10 of this embodiment having the above configuration will be explained.

Another mold 17 on which the glass material 5 to be formed is placed from the storage chamber 15
is placed from above the transport magazine 4 into the hole 19 of the distal end portion 18 of the transport arm 9. That is, when the mold is transferred, the driving means 24 provided in the main body 16 is driven, and the outer peripheral surface of the separate mold 17 is pressed and fixed by the tip of the U-shaped separate mold fixing member 23. Then, a transport arm 9 on which the glass material 5 to be formed is placed
are moved in the axial direction (to the left) by the operation of the transport arm drive unit 13, inserted into the preheating furnace 6, and then heated to a predetermined temperature in the main heating furnace 7, respectively.

The glass material 5 to be formed, which has been heated to a predetermined temperature, is transferred to a forming chamber 8.
The glass material 5 is positioned with high precision so that the axis between the upper mold 11 and the lower mold 12 that have been carried into the mold coincides with the optical axis of the glass material 5 to be formed, and then stopped. (Part 2).

Glass material 5 to be formed placed between forming molds 11 and 12
are pressed and transfer-molded on their respective molding surfaces by the operation (arrows) of the upper and lower molds 11 and 12.

The molded optical element is moved backward on the transport arm 9 to its original position by the operation of the transport arm drive section 13. That is,
It passes through the molding chamber 8 and the main heating furnace 7 and is carried out to the preheating furnace 6, and then the separate mold fixing member 23 is moved back by the actuation of the drive means 24 of the transfer arm 9, and the U-shaped tip and the separate mold are moved back. 1
The upper body mold 17 which separates the outer peripheral surface of the mold 7 becomes free and taken out to the outside, and the process is completed.

In the transport arm configured as described above, the separate mold loaded with the glass material to be formed is fixed at two positions by the driving means, so that the separate mold can be securely and accurately fixed to the transport arm.

Further, since the separate fixing member is configured to be slidably attached and detached using a driving means, it has the advantage that it can be easily attached and detached.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 4a is a perspective view showing the tip of a barrel-shaped conveyance arm in a glass lens molding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB, showing a state in which the glass material to be formed is loaded into a mold different from that shown in FIG. 4a.

In this embodiment, the same configurations and members in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

The difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that the transfer arm 9
The fixing member is made of a material having a larger coefficient of linear expansion than the material of which the tip portion 18 of the main body 16 is made. This will be explained in detail below.

As shown in FIG. 4a, a circular hole 19 into which a separate mold 17 is inserted and attached is bored into the distal end 18 of the band-shaped main body 16.
A stepped portion 20 is formed on the inner peripheral wall surface. Further, on the upper surface of the circumference, in order to fix the separate mold 17, there are cutouts 25, 26, 2 formed at three equally spaced locations and at the same depth as the step portion 20.
7, and the cutouts 25.26.27 are made of a material with a large coefficient of linear expansion, and the cutouts 25.2
6. Another type of fixing member 2829 formed corresponding to the shape of 27.
30 are each inserted and mounted.

The fixing member 28, 29, 30 may be made of a material with a large coefficient of linear expansion, such as stainless steel or the like with a large coefficient of linear expansion, if the transfer arm 9 is made of ceramic, porcelain, or cermet, etc. with a small coefficient of linear expansion. be done.

The operation of the molding apparatus of this embodiment having the above configuration will be explained.

Another type I7 on which the glass material 5 to be formed is placed on the magazine 4
is inserted into and placed (transferred) into the trunk-shaped placement hole 19 of the distal end portion 18 of the transfer arm 9. The transfer arm 9 is carried into the preheating furnace 6 and the main heating furnace 7 by the operation of the transfer arm driving means 13 . Due to this loading, the hole 19 of the transport arm 9
Fixing member 2 loaded into the cutout 25, 26, 27 of
8, 29, and 30 are heated and expanded, and extended in the direction of the inner peripheral surface of the hole 19 to abut the outer peripheral surface of the body type F from three directions, and further expanded and expanded to evenly press the outer peripheral surface. Fix it.

In the main heating furnace 7, when the glass material 5 to be formed reaches a predetermined temperature, it is transferred between the upper mold 11 and the lower mold 12 in the molding chamber 8 and is molded.

The molded optical element is transported from the molding chamber and the main heating furnace 7 by the operation of the transport arm 9, and is cooled in the cooling furnace, whereby the fixing member 28.2930 contracts and the separate mold 17
The separate mold 17 is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the mold 17 and taken out from the transfer arm 9 to complete the process, and the same process as above is repeated to mold the next glass material 5 to be formed.

In the above embodiment, notches were formed in three places, and the separate mold was pressed and fixed with the fixing member, but the number is not limited to three places, and five or six places may be provided as necessary. It is clear that this is the case.

According to the present embodiment having the above-mentioned structure, since the structure is made of materials having different linear expansion coefficients, the structure is simpler than that of the first embodiment, and there is no need for a driving means for fixing the separate mold. Excellent in terms of cost.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention having the above configuration, a separate mold on which a glass material to be formed is placed is used, and the glass material to be formed is stabilized and molded because it is transported by a transfer arm provided with a fixing means for placing the separate mold. At this time, the axis of the mold and the optical axis of the glass material to be molded can be easily aligned.

In addition, since a small step part for inserting and placing the glass material to be formed into the body mold is provided in advance, scratches, dust, glass pieces, etc. do not enter the placement area, which has a great effect on quality and production. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a glass lens molding apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view from the front showing essential parts of the molding section body shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3a is a sectional view showing a side surface of the different type of transfer arm shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the tip portion with the different mold shown in FIG. 3a removed. FIG. 3C is a sectional view taken along A-AvA shown in FIG. FIG. 4a is a perspective view showing the tip of the different mold transfer arm in the glass lens molding apparatus according to the present invention, with the different mold removed. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line BB showing a state in which the torso mold is placed on the transfer arm shown in FIG. 4a. 1... Molding device 3... Molding main body 4... Transport magazine 5... Glass material to be formed 6... Preheating furnace 6-1, 6-2... Opening 7... Main heating furnace 8...Molding chamber 9...Transfer arm 10...Place table 11...Upper mold 12...Lower mold 13...Drive device 14.15--1 Storage chamber 16...Main body 17...Different mold 18...Tip 19...-Reception 20...Step 27...Notch 28°30...Different mold fixing member 24... driving means

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In the body conveyance arm that conveys the body mold on which the glass material to be formed is placed between the heating furnace and the forming mold, the body mold has a stepped part formed on the inner peripheral surface for loading the glass material to be formed; A body mold conveying arm in a glass lens molding apparatus, characterized in that a fixing means for forming and press-fixing an outer peripheral wall surface of the body mold is provided.