JPH05138658A - Molding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To suppress interferences in an apparatus by disposing mold means along a closed line providing a plurality of work stations being in close contact with the linen, detecting the existence and non-existence of the mold means at the position corresponding to respective work stations, and controlling a transporting operation and a working operation. CONSTITUTION:On the upper surface of an index table 24, eight molds 10 are placed at intervals of 45 deg. on the circumference along the circular locus about the rotational shaft of the table 24, and on the central part of the upper surface, an opening and closing device 25 is arranged that serves to open and close the lid of the molds 10. At the position surrounding the outer periphery of the table 24, six UV ray irradiating devices 26 are disposed at Intervals of 45 deg. so that respective mold members 10 are subjected to UV ray irradiation corresponding to the stoppage position of the molds 10 through the intermittent movement at intervals of 45 deg.. While the mold 10 A supplied with a glass member 100 by a robot 28 is intermittently moved, it is irradiated and thus cured upon counterclockwise rotation of the table 24. Then, a finished product is removed by a second robot 30. A mold existence and non-existence sensor 72 is provided opposite to the molds 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention supplies a base material to a mold member arranged on a line that draws a closed curve, conveys the mold member along the line, and disposes each member arranged along this line. The present invention relates to a molding apparatus that performs a molding operation at a work station and completes a base material into a molded product while the mold member makes one round of the line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a molding apparatus having a large number of work stations and a plurality of molding die members corresponding to the plurality of work stations arranged on a rotating index table, molding is performed at the first work station. When the base material for the mold is supplied to the mold members, the forming process is performed sequentially at each work station, and the finished product is taken out from the mold members at the final work station, conventionally, the mold members are compatible with all work stations. They had to be placed and molded sequentially.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned conventional molding apparatus has the following problems. (1) For example, when one of the mold members is removed from the molding device for cleaning or repair, the molding device must be stopped until the spare mold member is attached or the mold member is reattached. .. Therefore, when the spare mold member is attached, the cost for manufacturing the spare mold member is high, and when the molding apparatus is stopped, the production efficiency is reduced. (2) If the base material of the molded product is not supplied to the mold member due to the malfunction of the molding device, or conversely, the finished product is not taken out of the mold member, if the molding operation is continued as it is, However, objects may interfere with each other or collide with each other, resulting in destruction of the device.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to attach a spare mold member even if some of the plurality of mold members are removed, Without stopping the entire device,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a molding apparatus capable of continuously performing a molding operation.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and to achieve the object, a plurality of molding apparatuses of the present invention are arranged on a line that draws a closed curve, and conveyed in one direction along the line. The mold means and a position close to the line,
A plurality of work stations arranged at predetermined intervals along the line, and the mold at a position corresponding to each of the plurality of work stations. First detection means for detecting the presence or absence of each means, and control means for controlling the transfer operation of the mold means and the operation of the plurality of work stations based on the output signal of the first detection means. It is characterized by having.

Further, in the molding apparatus according to the present invention, each of the plurality of work stations further comprises second detecting means for detecting whether or not an object to be molded exists in the mold means. The control means controls the transport operation of the die means and the operations of the plurality of work stations based on the output signal of the first detection means and the output signal of the second detection means. It has a feature.

[0007]

As described above, since the molding apparatus according to the present invention is constructed, even when a part of the mold means is removed from the line, if the mold means is not present at the corresponding position, By stopping only the operation of the work station, it becomes possible to continue the molding operation without causing the respective parts to interfere in the apparatus. Further, even when there is no object to be molded in the mold means, by stopping the operation of only the work station corresponding to the mold means, it is possible to similarly prevent the interference of each part of the apparatus.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a replica lens molding apparatus will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a mold for molding an aspherical lens by replica molding.

First, before describing the structure of the mold, the outline of the method of molding the optical element by replica molding will be described. The method of forming an optical element by replica molding is for forming a shape on a surface of a glass material that is difficult to process with a glass material, and a surface of a glass member processed into a shape that is relatively easy to process. A resin layer having a desired complicated surface shape made of a resin material is formed. As an example, it is possible to form an aspherical resin film on the surface of a glass member processed into a spherical shape to form an aspherical lens in which a glass material and a resin material are combined. That is, in order to provide a lens in which aberration is corrected by a single lens, the surface shape of the lens needs to be an aspherical shape, but it is not easy to process the glass material into an aspherical shape, and A lens using a resin that is easily molded into a spherical shape is hard to earn the power of the lens. Therefore, by combining the two, it is intended to utilize the advantages of both. The lens manufactured in this way is called a replica lens.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, a bonding surface 10 which is one surface of a glass member 100 whose surface is processed into a spherical shape.
0a, a resin layer 102 made of a thin film of an active energy ray curable resin is formed. Glass member 100
Has a trunk portion 100b on its outer peripheral portion, and is supported on the support member 14 in a state where the trunk portion 100b is in contact with the upper end portion 14a of the support member 14. The upper end 14a projects by a height h from the edge of the molding surface 12a of the mold member 12 for forming the surface shape of the resin material. The amount of protrusion h defines the resin layer to have a predetermined thickness (for example, about 30 μm) even at the thinnest portion of the resin layer (since the molding surface 12b has an aspherical shape, the thickness of the resin layer varies depending on the location. Depending on). Then, the liquid resin material filled in the space defined by the molding surface 12a of the mold member 12 and the joint surface 100a is irradiated with active energy rays to cure the resin material, thereby replicating the replica lens. Complete 105.

The structure of the mold 10 for molding the replica lens will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, a substantially cylindrical mold member 12 is placed on the upper surface of an index table 24, which will be described later, and has an upper end surface for transferring a predetermined shape to the surface of the resin layer as described above. The molding surface 12a is formed. Mold member 12
A cylindrical support member 14 having an inner diameter that fits into the outer diameter of the mold member 12 is mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the mold member 12. The upper end portion 14a of the support member 14 is described above from the edge portion of the mold member 12. As it did, it projects by the height h. The glass member 100 is placed on the upper end 14 a of the support member 14, and the joining surface 100 a of the glass member 100 and the molding surface 12 of the mold member 12 are placed.
The replica lens 105 can be molded by curing a resin material filled in a space defined between the replica lens 105 and a.

A push-up pin 18 for releasing the molded replica lens 105 from the mold member 12 is slidable in a vertical direction at one position on the circumference between the mold member 12 and the support member 14. The push-up pin 18 is slid vertically upward by a pin driving device 19 on a pedestal 22 which has been inserted.
Can be released from the mold member 12.

A cylindrical lid 16 having an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the support member 14 and having a sealed upper end is mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the support member 14. The body 16 is slidable in a direction along the central axis of the support member 14 with the inner diameter of the body 16 fitted to the outer diameter of the support member 14. A hole portion 16a for supplying a resin material is formed on the molding surface 12a on the upper surface of the lid body 16. Through this hole portion 16a, the tip of a liquid constant quantity supply device 36, which will be described later, is inserted into the mold 10. The resin material can be supplied onto the molding surface 12a without completely removing the lid 16 from the support member 14 by advancing into the interior of the mold. Also, through the hole 16a,
The resin material is irradiated with active energy rays.

Further, by pressing the upper surface of the glass member 100 with the edge portion 16b at the inner peripheral lower portion of the hole 16a, the bonding surface 100a of the glass member 100 is fixed to the support member 1
4 can be held in close contact with the upper end portion 14a of the glass member 4, and the center of the glass member 100 can be aligned with the center of the molding surface 12a by the centripetal action. Further, a hole portion 16c is formed on the upper side surface of the lid body 16, and when the lid body 16 is slid upward with respect to the support member 14, a hand 60 described later is used through the hole portion 16c. By inserting the glass member 100, which is the base material of the replica lens 105, into the mold 10, the mold 1 can be obtained without completely removing the lid 16 from the support member 14.
The glass member 100 can be supplied to the inside of the glass.

A lid position detection sensor 70 for detecting the position of the lower end of the lid 16 as shown in the drawing is mounted on the pedestal 22 in the vicinity of the index table 24. The lid position detection sensor 70 is composed of, for example, a light reflection type sensor. The position of the lower end of the lid 16 is at the position shown by the solid line, for example, when the glass member 100 exists inside the mold 10, but there are two points when the glass member 100 does not exist inside the mold 10. It is in the position shown by the chain line. Therefore, by detecting the position of the lower end of the lid body 16 with the lid position detection sensor, it is determined whether or not the glass member 100 is supplied inside the mold 10.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the shape of the lid body 16. As shown in the drawing, a hole portion 16a is formed on the upper surface of the lid body 16, and a substantially rectangular shape is formed above the outer peripheral surface. Hole 1
6c is formed. A cutout portion 16d is formed below the outer peripheral surface of the lid body 16. The cutout portion 16d is formed.
A claw body 25g of the opening / closing device 25, which will be described later, enters into the space, and the vertical movement of the claw body 25g causes the lid body 16 to open and close with respect to the support member 14.

FIGS. 3 to 5 are views showing the structure of a molding apparatus for efficiently molding a plurality of replica lenses by arranging a plurality of the molds 10 described above. Further, these figures show the initial state at the time of starting the operation of the molding apparatus. In FIG. 3, the pedestal 22, which is the base of the entire apparatus, is fixed on the floor surface in the factory, and in this state, the replica lens 10
The molding process of No. 5 is performed. A disk-shaped index table 24 for supporting the mold 10 for molding the replica lens 105 is supported at a central portion of the upper surface of the pedestal 22 in a state of being lifted by a predetermined height with respect to the upper surface of the pedestal 22. Has been done. The disk-shaped index table 24 is supported by a rotary shaft whose central portion is erected on the pedestal 22 in a state of being lifted by the predetermined height described above. It is adapted to be driven to rotate intermittently (45 ° each) around the center.

As shown in FIG. 4, the index table 2
In the vicinity of the outer periphery of the upper surface of No. 4, eight molds 10 are arranged at 45 ° intervals with the central axis line being located on the circumference along a circular locus centering on the rotation center axis of the index table 24. Has been done. Here, for the sake of convenience of the following description, these eight molds are respectively provided with 10A and 10A as shown in the drawing.
, 10H (the respective molds 10A to 10H are assumed to be in the positions shown in the drawing in the initial state of the molding apparatus).

At the center of the upper surface of the index table 24, when the glass member 100 is supplied into the molds 10A to 10H and when the molded replica lens 105 is taken out from the molds 10A to 10H, the molds 10A to 10H are formed. An opening / closing device 25 for opening / closing the lid 16 in the vertical direction with respect to the support member 14 is provided. At the position surrounding the outer circumference of the index table 24 on the upper surface of the gantry 22,
Six ultraviolet irradiation devices 26A to 26F are arranged at 45 ° intervals on the circumference around the rotation axis of the index table 24.
Ultraviolet rays are irradiated to the respective mold members 10A to 10H corresponding to the movement stop positions of the molds 10A to 10H due to the intermittent movement of the intervals.

For the eight molds 10A to 10H,
Since the six ultraviolet irradiation devices 26A to 26F are arranged, two of the eight molds 10A to 10H (one in the figure, 1
0A, 10H), the ultraviolet irradiation device is not arranged at the position, but at the position on the frame 22 where the ultraviolet irradiation device is not arranged, there are two molds (10A, 10H in the figure). ), The first robot 28 and the second robot 30 are arranged respectively. Of these, the first robot 28 is a robot for supplying the glass member 100, which is the base material of the molded product, to the mold (10A), and the second robot 30 is the robot for the completed replica lens 105. It is a robot for taking out from the mold (10H).

Incidentally, these ultraviolet irradiation devices 26A to 26
The F, the first and second robots 28, 30 have the mold 10 at the position on the index table 24 corresponding to them.
Mold presence / absence detection sensors 72A to 72H for detecting whether or not there are provided, respectively. These mold presence / absence detection sensors 72A to 72H are, for example, light reflection type sensors, which irradiate the mold 10 with light and reflect the reflected light.
The presence or absence of the mold 10 is detected. Further, the above-mentioned lid position detection sensors 70A to 70H are also similar to the ultraviolet irradiation devices 26A to 26F, the first and second robots 28 and 3.
They are arranged at positions corresponding to 0, respectively.

On the floor surface adjacent to the pedestal 22, a robot pedestal 31 is arranged.
On the upper surface of the mold 1, the glass member 100 is supplied to the first robot 28, the hand 34 for removing the completed replica lens 105 from the second robot 30, and the mold 10.
A third robot 32 including a supply device 36 for supplying an active energy ray irradiation type resin to A to 10H, for example, an ultraviolet curing type resin in one embodiment is provided.

To describe the positional relationship in more detail, in the initial state of the molding apparatus 20, the mold 10A to which the glass member 100 is to be supplied is located at a position corresponding to the first robot 28. And the molding device 20
As shown in FIG. 4 which is a view seen from above in the vertical direction, the mold 10B is located at a position rotated by 45 ° in the counterclockwise direction about the rotation center of the index table 24, and corresponds to this mold 10B. An ultraviolet irradiation device 26A for irradiating the mold (10B) with ultraviolet rays is arranged at the position to be turned on. Then, from the mold 10B to the index table 2
The mold 10C is located at a position further rotated by 45 ° in the counterclockwise direction around the center of rotation of 4,
The molds 10B to 10H are arranged at positions rotated by 45 ° in the counterclockwise direction from the mold 10A, respectively.

Of these molds, ultraviolet irradiation devices 26A to 26F are arranged at positions corresponding to 10B to 10G, respectively, so that the molds 10B to 10G can be irradiated with ultraviolet light. .. The mold 10H is
It is located at a position rotated 315 ° in the counterclockwise direction with respect to the mold 10A, that is, at a position rotated 45 ° in the clockwise direction, and the second robot 30 is arranged at a position corresponding to this mold 10H. .. Then, it is possible to take out the replica lens 105 whose molding is completed from the mold 10H.

That is, in the initial state of the molding apparatus 20, the mold 10A to which the glass member 100 is supplied by the first robot 28 is intermittently rotated by 45 ° with the rotation of the index table 24 in the counterclockwise direction. To the positions where the molds 10A to 10G were located in the initial state, and the ultraviolet irradiation devices 26A to 26F are stopped.
Thus, each of them is irradiated with ultraviolet rays for a predetermined time. As a result, the ultraviolet curable resin is cured to a predetermined hardness, and then the mold 1
After moving to the position where 0H was present, at this position, the replica lens 105 completed by the second robot 30 is
It is taken out from the mold 10A.

On the other hand, between the first robot 28 and the second robot 30 on the pedestal 22, a petri dish 40 containing an ultraviolet curable resin is arranged. Then, the third robot 32 is provided with a liquid fixed amount supply device 36 for sucking the ultraviolet curable resin from the dish 40 and supplying a fixed amount of the ultraviolet curable resin to the molds 10A to 10H and the glass member 100. Has been done.

The third robot 32 is further provided with a collet chuck-shaped gripping hand 34 for gripping the glass member 100 which is the base material of the molded product. Then, the pallet 4 on the pallet supply device 42 arranged in a position within the operation range of the third robot 32 adjacent to the gantry 22.
4, the glass member 100 is grasped and taken out by the grasping hand 34, and is delivered to the first robot 28.

At a position adjacent to the petri dish 40 on the pedestal 22, a temporary placing table 41 for temporarily placing the unprocessed glass member 100 is arranged. In one embodiment, in order to improve the efficiency of the molding operation, before the glass member 100 is supplied to the mold 10 (10A), the completed replica lens 105 is taken out from the mold 10 (10H) first. There is. Therefore, in order to store the taken out replica lens 105 in the pallet 44,
It is necessary to take out one glass member 100 from the pallet 44 and make an empty space in the pallet 44. As described above, the temporary placing table 41 is used to remove one glass member 100 from the pallet 44 in advance and set it there.

A control device 46 for managing the control operations of the robots of the molding apparatus 20 in parallel is arranged beside the pedestal 22, and the molding apparatus 20 is provided in front of the pedestal 22. An operation panel 48 is provided for issuing operation commands and monitoring. Next, FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the opening / closing device 25 for opening / closing the lid 16. This switchgear 2
5 is the first opening / closing device 25A as shown in FIGS.
And the second opening / closing device 25B. Since the structures of the first and second opening / closing devices 25A and 25B are the same, the structure of the first opening / closing device 25A will be described as a representative thereof. The reference numerals of the respective parts of the first opening / closing device 25A are appended with ′, and the reference numerals of the respective parts of the second opening / closing device 25B are designated.

At the center of the index table 24,
The column 25a is arranged in an upright state, and a support plate 25b is attached to the upper end surface of the column 25a in a state of extending in the horizontal direction. A first air cylinder 25c is attached to the lower surface of the front end of the support plate 25b with the cylinder rod 25d of the first air cylinder 25c extending along a vertical line. The second air cylinder 25 is attached to the tip of the cylinder rod 25d of the first air cylinder 25c.
e is attached with the cylinder rod 25f being along the horizontal line. The claw body 25 is attached to the tip of the cylinder rod 25f of the second air cylinder 25e.
It is mounted with g extending horizontally. That is, the claw body 25g is moved to the index table 24 by the operation of the first and second air cylinders 25c and 25e.
On the other hand, as shown by the arrow in the figure, it can be moved vertically and horizontally. Therefore, after the tip of the claw body 25g is inserted into the cutout portion 16d of the lid body 16 shown in FIG. 2, the claw body 25g is moved upward by the first air cylinder 25c to support the lid body 16. The member 14 can be opened. The lid 16 can be closed with respect to the support member 14 by performing the operation opposite to the above.

The mold presence / absence detection sensor 72H described above is provided at a position facing the mold 10 of the second air cylinder.
(72G for the second robot 25c) is attached. Next, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing structures and operations of the first robot 28 and the second robot 30. Since the structures of the first robot 28 and the second robot 30 are almost the same, the structure will be described on behalf of the first robot 28. It should be noted that the reference numbers of the first robot 28 with a ′ attached thereto are the reference numbers of the respective parts of the second robot 30.

In FIG. 7, the main body 50 of the first robot
Is slidably supported on a rail 52 fixed on the pedestal 22, and is movable along the rail 52 in a direction along the normal line of the outer peripheral portion of the index table 24. On the upper surface of the main body 50, a column 53 upright with respect to the upper surface is attached so as to be movable in the vertical direction by a drive mechanism such as a rack and pinion,
A support member 56 having a substantially U-shape is attached to the support column 53 via a rotation drive device 54 having a rotation axis in a direction along a horizontal line.
Is installed. Between the U-shaped ends of the support member 56, the slide shaft 5 is provided along the vertical direction.
8 is attached to the slide shaft 58,
A slide member 59 is mounted so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. A hand 60 for further supplying the glass member 100 into the mold 10 is attached to the slide member 59 in a state of extending in the horizontal direction.

The hand 60 has a glass member 100 on its lower surface (in the state shown by the solid line in the drawing).
The glass member 100 is held with the optical axis of the glass member 100 aligned with the vertical line. The suction unit 60a is connected to a pump provided outside the first robot 28 by a pipe, and the glass member 100 is sucked by the suction unit 60a by sucking air by the pump.

A compression spring 57, which biases the upper end surface of the slide member 59 downward with respect to the upper end of the support member 56, is loosely fitted to the slide shaft 58 in the state shown by the solid line in the figure. The slide member 59 is mounted in a fitted state, and the slide member 59 is normally positioned below the support member 56 as shown in the drawing. Therefore, as shown by the solid line in the figure, the hand 60 is positioned below the support member 56 by the urging force of the compression spring 57 unless the force for pushing the hand 60 upward acts. Has been done.

Further, since the support member 56 is rotatable about the rotary shaft extending along the horizontal line by the above-mentioned rotary drive device 54, the hand 60 is shown by a solid line in the drawing as necessary. As described above, the suction portion 60a can be moved to the downward position and the suction portion 60a to the upward position as indicated by the chain double-dashed line. Next, the replica lens 105 is formed by the molding device 20 configured as described above.
The operation of forming and processing will be described.

First, the operation of supplying the ultraviolet curable resin and the glass member 30 to the mold 10 by the first robot 28 and the third robot 32 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 11. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the first robot 28 is moved in a direction away from the outer peripheral portion of the index table 24, and then the rotary drive device 54 is operated to move the hand 6
As indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 7, the suction portion 60a is directed upward. Next, one glass member 100 is taken out from the pallet 44 by the gripping hand 34 provided in the third robot 32, and this glass member 100 is shown in FIG.
As indicated by the chain double-dashed line, the robot is placed on the suction unit 60a of the hand 60 of the first robot 28, and the hand 60 of the first robot 28 is moved to the suction state. Here, in actuality, when the first glass member 100 of the pallet 44 is taken out, the glass member 100 is not transferred from the gripping hand 34 to the first robot 28 but placed on the temporary placing table 41. Here, the supply operation of the second and subsequent glass members 100 will be described, and the step of mounting on the temporary placing table 41 will be described later. After that, the liquid quantitative supply device 36 provided in the third robot 32 supplies the resin material onto the upper surface of the first predetermined amount of the glass member 100, that is, the bonding surface 100a.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the third robot 3
The tip of the liquid constant quantity supply device 36 of No. 2 is made to enter the inside of the mold 10, and the resin material is secondly applied onto the molding surface 12a of the mold member 12.
Supply a predetermined amount of. At this time, the first predetermined amount and the second
Is the sum of the predetermined amount of
00a and the molding surface 12a of the mold member 12 are set to an amount slightly larger than the amount that just fills the space. Further, during the operation of supplying the resin material, the rotation driving device 54 is operated to operate the bonding surface 10 of the glass member 100.
The direction of the hand 60 is reversed so that 0a faces downward. After that, the second air cylinder 25 of the opening / closing device 25
e to move the claw body 25g into the cutout portion 16d of the lid body 16.
Then, the first air cylinder 25c is operated to slide the lid 16 upward with respect to the support member 14.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the hand 60 is inserted into the mold 10 through the hole 16c formed in the lid 16, and the support column 53 of the first robot 28 is slid downward. By doing so, the glass member 100 approaches the upper end portion 14a of the support member 14, but as shown in FIG. 10 along with the operation of moving to the lower side of the glass member 100 at this time. As described above, the resin material
It is spread on a and spreads evenly in the space defined between the molding surface 12a and the joining surface 100a.

Further, the sliding amount of the support column 53 to the lower side at this time is such that the glass member 100 is the upper end portion 14 of the support member 14.
It is set to be larger than the amount that is exactly in contact with a, and the excessive amount of the column 53 overshooting is absorbed by the hand 60 moving upward with respect to the slide shaft 58. Since the hand 60 is biased downward by the compression spring 57, the glass member 100 is pressed onto the upper end portion 14a of the support member 14 by the biasing force of the compression spring 57, and the glass member 100. Will be held in a state in which the support member 14 is firmly attached.

In this state, the suction state of the hand 60 is released, and the support column 53 of the first robot 28 is moved upward,
With the tip of the hand 60 separated from the glass member 100, the hand 60 is retracted from the inside of the mold 10. After that, the first air cylinder 25c is operated again to slide the lid 16 downward with respect to the support member 14, and the glass member 100 is sandwiched by the lid 16 to support the support member 1.
Fix on 4. FIG. 11 shows this state.

With the above, the supply of the resin material and the glass member 100 to the mold 10A is completed. When the supply operation of the resin material and the glass member 100 to the mold 10A is completed, the index table 24 is moved in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.
After rotating 5 °, the mold 10A is moved directly below the ultraviolet irradiation device 12A, and ultraviolet rays are irradiated for a predetermined time through the hole 16a of the lid 16.

Thereafter, as described above, the mold 10A is stopped in the counterclockwise direction at the positions further rotated by 45 °, and after receiving the ultraviolet irradiation by the ultraviolet irradiation devices 12B to 12F, respectively. It will return to the position corresponding to the second robot 30. At the time of returning to the position corresponding to the second robot 30, since the resin material is completely cured, the pin driving device 19 on the pedestal 22 is operated to push the replica lens 105 by the push-up pin 18. The mold member 12 is lifted and released from the mold member 12. After that, by the procedure opposite to the operation of supplying the glass member 100 by the first robot 28 with the hand 60 ′ of the second robot 30,
The replica lens 105 is taken out of the mold 10A, and the completed replica lens 105 is held in the same state as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. Then, the second robot 30
After releasing the suction state of the hand 60 ′, the completed replica lens 105 is returned to the pallet 44 by the gripping hand 34 of the third robot 32.

Thus, the molding operation of the replica lens 105 is completed. In the above description, only the movement of the mold 10A has been described. However, when the mold 10A is rotated 45 ° counterclockwise from the initial position, the mold 10H comes to a position corresponding to the first robot 28. The resin material and the glass member 100 to the mold 10H are again provided by the first robot 28.
Supply operation is performed. In this way, by rotating the index table 24 every 45 °, the eight molds 10A to
10F is processed by one step from the next die, and once the first die 10A returns to the position corresponding to the second robot 30, thereafter, the index table 24 is moved to 45 By rotating every °, sequential type 10B ~ 1
The completed replica lens 105 is taken out from 0H, and a large amount of the replica lens 105 can be molded.

Next, the molding operation of the above-mentioned replica lens will be described in more detail with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. When starting the molding apparatus, first, in step S202, the index table 24 is rotated by one step. However, it is assumed that FIG. 4 shows the arrangement of the respective molds 10A to 10H after rotating this one step. When the one-step rotation of the index table 24 is completed, the rotation detection sensor (not shown) detects the end of the rotation of the index table 24 in step S204, and the rotation end signal P1.
Is output.

When the rotation end signal P1 is output, the operation of each part of the molding apparatus 20 is started. First,
The second opening / closing device 25B of the lid 16 is provided at step S220.
When it is confirmed that the rotation of the index table 24 is completed, the process proceeds to step S221. In step S221, the control device 46 moves the mold 10 to the position (the position of the mold 10H in FIG. 4) corresponding to the second opening / closing device 25B on the index table 24 by the detection signal output from the mold presence / absence detection sensor 72G. Determine if there is. When the mold 10 (10H) is not present at the position corresponding to the second opening / closing device 25B in step S221, that is, the mold 10
If (10H) is removed from the index table 24, it is not necessary to take out the replica lens 105 from the mold 10 (10H), and therefore the process proceeds to step S222. In step S222, the control device 4
6 outputs a lid lowering signal P5 in order to continuously operate the other work stations of the molding apparatus 20. Then, returning to the start, the second opening / closing device 25B waits until the index table 24 rotates one step next.

On the other hand, in step S221, when the mold 10 (10H) is located at the position corresponding to the second opening / closing device 25B, the process proceeds to step S223. In step S223, the control device 46 determines whether or not the molded replica lens 105 exists in the mold 10 (10H) based on the detection signal output from the lid position detection sensor 70G. In step S223, the replica lens 105
Is not in the mold 10 (10H), the mold 10 (1
Since it is not necessary to take out the replica lens 105 from 0H), the process proceeds to step S222. After that, return to the start as above. In step S223, the mold 10 (1
If the replica lens 105 is present in (0H), the process proceeds to step S224, where the second opening / closing device 25B is the mold 1
The lid 16 of 0 (10H) is lifted. At this time, a lid opening / closing sensor (not shown) detects that the lid 16 is opened, and this lid opening / closing sensor outputs a lid rising signal P2 in step S225.

Correspondingly, the pin driving device 19 responds to the lid raising signal P2 in step S212, and the lid 16 is driven.
Is confirmed to have risen, the process proceeds to step S214, and the releasing operation of the completed replica lens 100 is performed.
Then, in step S216, the mold release end signal P3 is output from the pin driving device 19, and the pin driving device 19
It returns to the start and waits until the index table 24 rotates next time.

On the other hand, the second robot 30 uses the step S
When it is confirmed in 250 that the rotation of the index table 24 is completed, the process proceeds to step S251. In step S251, similarly to step S221, it is determined whether or not there is the mold 10 (10H) at the position corresponding to the second robot 30 (the position corresponding to the second opening / closing device 25B). If at step S251, the mold 10 (1
0H), the second robot 30 also
Since it is not necessary to take out the replica lens 105 from (10H), the process returns to the start. Then, it stands by until the index table 24 is rotated next time.

In step S251, the mold 10 (10
If there is H), the process proceeds to step S252, and similarly to step S235, it is determined whether or not the replica lens 105 is present in the mold 10 (10H). Step S25
If the replica lens 105 is absent in No. 2, the second robot 30 similarly installs the replica lens 105 in the mold 10.
Since it is not necessary to take out from (10H), it returns to the start and waits until the index table 24 rotates next time.

In step S252, the replica lens 105
Is in the mold 10 (10H), step S2
Proceeding to 53, the second robot 30 moves to the replica lens 1
In preparation for the take-out operation of 05, the hand 60 'is turned up and down to change the state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7 to the state shown by the solid line. In step S254, the mold release end signal P3 is output from the pin driving device 19 in step S216.
When it is confirmed that the mold release is completed by the output of, the second robot 30
, The hand 60 'is inserted into the mold 10 (10H in the initial state shown in FIG. 4) to adsorb the completed replica lens and remove it from the mold 10 (10H). Then, in step S258, the hand save signal P4 is output.

The second opening / closing device 25B has a step S22.
6 receives the hand retreat signal P4 and then hand 6
When it is confirmed that 0'has retracted from the mold 10 (10H), the process proceeds to step S228, the lid 16 is lowered, and the mold 1
0 (10H) is closed. And step S23
At 0, the lid lowering signal P5 is output, the process returns to the start and waits until the index table 24 rotates next time.

On the other hand, the second robot 30 uses the step S
After outputting the hand withdrawal signal P4 at 258, the step S
At 260, the hand 60 'is turned up and down again and returned to the position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. Then, the adsorption state is released in step S262, and the adsorption release signal P6 is output in step S264. After that, the process returns to the start and waits for the next rotation of the index table 24.

Next, in step S290, the third robot 32 first sucks a fixed amount of the ultraviolet curable resin from the petri dish 40 by the liquid quantitative supply device 36, and waits until the rotation of the index table 24 is completed. When it is confirmed in step S292 that the rotation of the index table 24 is completed by receiving the rotation end signal P1, the process proceeds to step S294.

In step S294, the control device 4 is activated by the detection signal output from the die presence / absence sensor 72H.
6 is placed at a position corresponding to the first robot 28 and the mold 10 (1
0A) is determined. If step S294
At the position corresponding to the first robot 28,
If (10A) does not exist, the process proceeds to step S302. If there is the mold 10 (10A) in step S294, the process proceeds to step S295, and the control device 4 is operated by the detection signal output from the lid position detection sensor 70H.
6 determines whether or not there is the replica lens 105 in the mold 10 (10A). If the replica lens 105 is present in step S295, it means that the replica lens 105 whose molding has been completed has not been correctly taken out, so the control device 46 stops the molding device 20 and issues an alarm. If it is determined in step S295 that the replica lens 105 is not in the mold 10 (10A), the process proceeds to step S297, and the third robot 32
Supplies a fixed amount of the resin material to the mold 10 (10A) by the liquid constant quantity supply device 36.

Next, in step S298, it is determined whether or not the glass member 100 to be supplied to the mold 10 is the first glass member 100 in the pallet 44. If the glass member 100 to be taken out from the pallet 44 is the first glass member in step S298, the process proceeds to step S300, and the third robot 32 places the glass member 100 on the temporary placing table 41. Place, step S
Proceed to 302. If it is determined in step S298 that the glass member 100 is not the first glass member 100, step S3 is performed.
Continue to 02.

In step S302, the control device 46 is operated by the detection signal output from the mold presence / absence detection sensor 72G.
Is placed at a position corresponding to the second robot 30.
H) is determined. If there is no mold 10 (10H) in step S302, step S31
Go to 1. If the mold 10 (10H) is located at the position corresponding to the second robot 30 in step S302, the process proceeds to step S304, and the lid position detection sensor 70G
The control unit 46 controls the mold 10 according to the detection signal output from the mold 10.
It is determined whether or not the replica lens 105 is present within (10H). If the replica lens 105 is not in the mold 10 (10H) at step S304, the process proceeds to step S311. If the replica lens is in the mold 10 (10H) at step S304, the process proceeds to step S306.

When it is confirmed in step S306 that the suction state of the replica lens 105 in the second robot 30 is released by receiving the suction release signal P6, the process proceeds to step S308, and the third robot 32 The replica lens 105 completed by the gripping hand 34 is removed from the second robot 30. Step S
At 310, the third robot 32 uses the replica lens 10
5 is returned to the pallet 44. At this time, step S298
Since one glass member 100 has already been extracted from the pallet 44, the replica lens 105 is stored in the space after the glass member 100 has been extracted.

In step S311, it is again determined whether or not the mold 10 (10A) is located at the position corresponding to the first robot 28. If, in step S311, the mold 10 (1
0A), the process returns to step S292, and the third robot 32 waits until the index table 24 rotates one more step. Also, step S311
If there is a mold 10 (10A), step S312
Proceed to.

In step S312, it is determined whether all the glass members 100 in the pallet 44 have been processed. If it is determined in step S312 that the unprocessed glass member 100 remains in the pallet 44, the process proceeds to step S316, and the third robot 32 sucks one glass member 100 from the pallet 44. And take it out. If all the glass members 100 in the pallet 44 have been processed in step S312, the process proceeds to step S314, and the third robot 32 picks up the glass member 100 on the temporary placing table 41 by suction. Here, when picking up the glass member 100 on the temporary table 41, the pallet 44 filled with the completed replica lens 105 is used.
Is replaced with a new pallet 44 containing unfinished parts.

Next, in step S318, the adsorbed glass member 100 is placed on the adsorbing surface 60a of the hand 60 of the first robot 28. Then, in step S320, the placement end signal P7 is output. On the other hand, the first robot 28 sends the placement end signal P7 at step S270.
Is received, it is confirmed that the glass member 100 is placed on the hand 60, and therefore the process proceeds to step S272,
The glass member 100 is adsorbed to the hand 60. Step S2
At 74, the adsorption end signal P8 is output.

The third robot 32 executes step S322.
When the adsorption end signal P8 is received at the glass member 10
Since it is confirmed that 0 has been adsorbed by the hand 60, the process proceeds to step S324, and the bonding surface 100a of the glass member 100 is joined.
Supply the resin material to. Thereafter, in step S326, the supply end signal P9 is output, and the process returns to step S290.

Next, the first robot 28 moves to step S2.
When the supply end signal P9 is received at 75, it is confirmed that the resin material has been supplied to the glass member 100.
Proceeding to step S276, the hand 60 is turned from the state shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 7 to the state shown by the solid line. On the other hand, when the first opening / closing device 25A receives the rotation end signal P1 of the index table 24 in step S232, it is confirmed that the rotation of the index table 24 is completed and the index table 24 is positioned, and therefore the process proceeds to step S233.

At step S233, the control device 46
Based on the output signal of the mold presence / absence sensor 72H, it is determined whether or not the mold 10 (10A) is located at a position corresponding to the first opening / closing device 25A. If, in step S233, the mold 10 (10
If there is no A), the glass member 10 is attached to the mold 10 (10A).
Since it is not necessary to supply 0, the process proceeds to step S234, the controller 46 outputs the lid lowering signal P12 and returns to the start, and waits until the index table 24 is rotated next.

In step S233, the mold 10 (10
If there is A), the process proceeds to step S235, and the control device 46 determines whether or not the replica lens 105 is present in the mold 10 (10A) based on the output signal of the lid position detection sensor 70H. If, in step S235, the mold 10 (1
0A), the replica lens 105 is located at the position of the second robot 30,
Since it means that the mold 10 (10A) was not taken out normally, stop the molding apparatus 20 as a whole,
Give an alarm.

If the replica lens 105 is not present in the mold 10 (10A) at step S235, a normal state is shown. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S237 and the mold 10
The lid 16 of (10A) is raised. Then, in step S236, the lid rising signal P10 is output. The first robot 28 sends the lid lift signal P at step S278.
When 10 is received, it is confirmed that the lid 16 of the mold 10 (10A) has been opened, and therefore the process proceeds to step S280, and the glass member 100 is supplied into the mold 10 (10A). Then, when the supply of the glass member 100 to the mold 10 (10A) is completed and the hand 60 retracts from the mold 10 (10A), the supply end signal P11 is output in step S282.

After that, in step S284, the hand 60
Is turned up and down and returned to the state shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. Then, the process returns to step S270 and waits until a new glass member 100 is placed on the hand 60. On the other hand, the first opening / closing device 25A is connected to the step S239.
When the supply end signal P11 is received at
Since it is confirmed that the supply operation of the glass member 100 to (10A) is completed, the process proceeds to step S240 and the mold 10
The lid 16 of (10A) is lowered. Then, in step S242, the lid lowering signal P12 is output, and then the process returns to the start and waits until the next rotation of the index table 24 is completed.

When it is confirmed in step S330 that the rotation of the index table 24 is completed, the irradiation devices 26A to 26F proceed to step S332. In step S332, the control device 46 determines whether or not the mold 10 (10B to 10G) is located on the index table 24 at positions corresponding to the irradiation devices 26A to 26F, respectively. If at step S332, the mold 10 (10B-1
If some of 0G) are not present, the irradiation device 26 corresponding to the position where the mold 10 is not present returns to the start without irradiating the ultraviolet rays.

In step S332, the irradiation device 26 at the position where it is determined that the mold 10 is present is set in step S334.
At, the irradiation of ultraviolet rays is started. This irradiation of ultraviolet rays is continued until time t has elapsed in step S336, and is stopped in step S338 after the time t has elapsed. Then, in step S340, the irradiation end signal P
13 is output.

As described above, the index table 2
The molding operation of each work station corresponding to the movement of 1 step of 4 is completed. The index table 24 includes steps S206, S208, and S210.
, The lid lowering signal P of the mold 10H, which is a signal notifying the end of these molding operations, and the lid lowering signal P of the mold 10A.
12. By receiving the irradiation end signal P13,
It is detected that the molding operation of one step is completed, and the process returns to step S202 to rotate another step (45 degrees). By repeating such an operation, one replica lens 105 is completed after the index table 24 makes one rotation. And then 4
One replica lens 105 is completed for each rotation of 5 degrees. And at this time, the mold presence / absence detection sensors 72A to 7
2H and the lid position detection sensors 70A to 70H detect the presence / absence of a mold and the presence / absence of a replica lens inside the mold, and the control device controls the operation of each station of the molding device 20, so that the mold 10 can perform all operations. The molding operation can be continued even if the work stations are not aligned.

The present invention can be applied to modifications and variations of the above embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the replica lens is formed has been described, but the present invention can be applied to the processing or assembly of other types of products. Further, it has been explained that only the first glass member of the pallet is placed on the temporary placing table, and the glass member on the temporary placing table is processed after all the other glass members have been processed. One glass member 1
A procedure may be taken such that these glass members are once placed on the temporary placing table each time an individual piece is supplied. Even in such a case, by temporarily placing the glass member on the temporary placing table, a space for one glass member can be opened in the pallet, so that the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

Further, the glass member to be processed is not placed on the temporary placing table, but the completed replica lens is placed on the temporary placing table, and the glass member is supplied to the processing or assembling apparatus. After that, the replica lens on the temporary table may be returned to the pallet.

[0072]

As described above, according to the method and apparatus for feeding and taking out parts of the present invention, even when a part of the mold means is removed from the line, there is no mold means at the corresponding position. By stopping only the operation of the work station, it becomes possible to continue the molding operation without interfering with each other in the apparatus. Also,
Even when there is no object to be molded in the mold means, by stopping the operation of only the work station corresponding to the mold means, it is possible to prevent the interference of each part of the apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing the structure of a mold according to an embodiment when the present invention is applied to molding a replica lens.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the shape of a lid in a mold.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a molding apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the molding apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the molding apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a structure of a lid opening / closing device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a structure of a first robot.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a supply state of a resin material to a mold.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a state of supplying a glass member to a mold.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which a glass member is placed on a support member.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a state in which a glass member is fixed in a mold.

[Fig. 12]

[Fig. 13]

FIG. 14

FIG. 15

FIG. 16

FIG. 17

FIG. 18

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a replica lens forming operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 type 12 type member 14 support member 16 lid 18 push-up pin 19 pin drive device 20 molding device 22 mount 24 index table 26A to 26F ultraviolet irradiation device 28 first robot 30 second robot 32 third robot 34 gripping hand 36 Liquid quantitative supply device 40 Petri dish 42 Pallet supply device 44 Pallet 46 Control device 48 Operation panel 50 Main body 52 Rail 53 Strut 54 Rotation drive device 56 Support member 57 Compression spring 58 Slide shaft 59 Slide member 60 Hand 70 Lid position detection sensor 72 type Presence detection sensor 100 Glass member 102 Resin layer 105 Replica lens

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of die means arranged on a line that draws a closed curve and conveyed in one direction along the line, and a predetermined distance along the line at positions close to the line. A plurality of work stations arranged in a state of being arranged, respectively corresponding to the plurality of work stations,
First detecting means for respectively detecting the presence or absence of the mold means at positions corresponding to the plurality of work stations; and a conveying operation of the mold means based on an output signal of the first detecting means, A molding apparatus, comprising: a control unit that controls operations of a plurality of work stations. 2. Each of the plurality of work stations comprises:
The mold means further comprises second detection means for detecting whether or not a molding target is present, and the control means comprises the first means.
2. The conveyance operation of the die means and the operations of the plurality of work stations are controlled based on the output signal of the detection means of 1. and the output signal of the second detection means. The molding apparatus described.