JPH06239628A - Conveyor in apparatus for forming glass - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To locate an optical glass material placed on a conveying arm relatively to a forming mold. CONSTITUTION:A conveying arm 12 having an optical glass material 7 placed on the tip thereof is equipped with a knocking contact part 61 provided with a stopper pin protruded in the conveying direction of the conveying arm 12. On the other hand, a stopper 65 is installed oppositely to the knocking contact part 61 in a forming chamber equipped with both a top and a bottom forces 2 and 3. The stopper 65 is provided with a tapered part 67. When the stopper pin is brought into contact with the tapered part 67, the central axis of the optical glass material 7 and the axial center of the top and bottom forming forces coincide. When heating conditions of the optical glass material 7 are changed, the displacement of the length of the conveying arm 12 is offset with the displacement due to the movement of the tapered part 67 caused by the displacement of the stopper 65 according to the thermal displacement.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a conveying device in a glass forming apparatus in which an optical glass material is placed on a conveying arm so that it can be carried in and out of a heating furnace and a molding chamber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a glass molding apparatus in which an optical glass material is heat-softened to a moldable viscosity, and the heat-softened optical glass material is press-molded by upper and lower molds and then annealed. A transfer arm is used as a means for carrying the optical glass material into and out of the heating furnace and the molding chamber. Such a transfer arm is configured so as to position and transfer the optical glass material that is placed and supported between the upper and lower molding dies, and conventionally, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-182122, a taper pin and a stopper bolt are provided on the transfer arm. And a stopper plate having a fitting hole is provided in the molding chamber, the taper pin is fitted into the fitting hole, and the stopper bolt is brought into contact with the stopper plate. There is disclosed a conveying device in which the central axis of the and the upper and lower dies are aligned.

[0003]

According to the above prior art, the stopper bolt and the stopper plate are brought into contact with each other so that the center axis of the optical glass material and the axis of the upper and lower molds are aligned with each other. When the arm is heated in the heating furnace, the distance between the engaging contact portion of the transfer arm and the central axis of the optical glass material placed on the arm changes depending on the heating temperature. Since the temperature of the heating furnace varies depending on the glass material of the optical glass material to be molded, a deviation occurs between the center axis of the optical glass material and the axial center of the upper and lower molds for each glass type. Therefore, in the above conventional technique, the position of the stopper plate is moved in accordance with the temperature of the heating furnace, that is, for each glass type of the optical glass material, in order to match the central axis of the optical glass material with the axis of the upper and lower molds. Therefore, it is necessary to change the amount of protrusion of the stopper bolt, or the workability is poor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art. Even if the temperature of the heating furnace varies depending on the glass type of the optical glass material, the transfer arm can be easily moved without moving the positioning member. An object of the present invention is to provide a conveying device in a glass forming device capable of ensuring the positioning accuracy of the stop position of the optical glass material placed on the substrate.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, as shown in the conceptual diagram of FIG. In a conveying device of a glass lens forming apparatus that conveys between the mold 2 and the lower molding die 3, the conveying arm 12 is provided with a butting contact portion 61, and a taper portion 67 is formed so as to come into contact with the butting contact portion 61. The stopper 65 is provided near both upper and lower molds 2 and 3. In addition, 25 and 26 are heaters for heating the upper and lower molds 2 and 3, respectively.

[0006]

According to the above construction, when a certain optical glass material 7 is heated by the heating furnace 8 and pressed by the upper and lower molding dies 2 and 3, the stopper 65 serves as the heat of the heating furnace 8 and the heater 2.
Under the influence of the heat of 5, 26, it expands as shown in FIG. Then, in this state, the taper portion 6 of the stopper 65 is
The abutting contact portion 61 abuts against 7, and the central axis of the optical glass material 7 and the axial centers of the upper and lower molding dies 2 and 3 are aligned. Next, when the optical glass material 2 having a higher transition point and a higher softening point is heated and molded than the optical glass material 2, the temperature of the heating furnace 8 and the heaters 25 and 26 becomes higher, so that the stopper 65 is However, the temperature is further increased by the influence of heat, and the temperature further extends from the state shown in FIG. Therefore, the position of the tapered portion 67 formed on the stopper 65 is displaced, and as shown in FIG.
The position where the abutting abutting portion 61 abuts is retracted by Δl when viewed from the upper and lower molds 2 and 3. At this time, the heating temperature of the transfer arm 12 also rises, so the abutting contact portion 61
And the mounting portion of the optical glass material 7 extend in proportion to the temperature rise. Therefore, the Δl and the extension amount of the transfer arm 12 are offset, and the center axis of the optical glass material 7 and the upper and lower molding dies 2, 3 are irrespective of the heating temperature of the optical glass material 7.
The axis centers of are the same. The displacement of the stopper 65 in both the upper and lower molds 2 and 3 is extremely small compared to the displacement amount of the stopper 65 in the lengthwise direction and can be ignored.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a glass molding apparatus for molding an optical glass element equipped with a conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view for explaining the operation of the carrying device, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are a plan view and a perspective view of a main part of the carrying device.

First, the outline of the glass molding apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The glass molding apparatus 1 includes a molding body 4 equipped with upper and lower molding dies 2 and 3, and a glass lens after molding. The mold release ring drive unit 5 for separating the mold from the upper and lower molds 2 and 3, and the optical glass material 7 placed on the magazine 6 in the preheating furnace 8a, the main heating furnace 8b, and the molding chamber 10. A transfer arm drive unit 40 having a transfer arm 12 for transferring to a molding point 11, and an apparatus base 1.
It is composed of 4 mag.

The upper and lower molds 2 and 3 are provided with a column 17 standing on a lower plate 16 fixed to a table 15 on the apparatus base 14.
It is arranged in the molding chamber 10 formed by the cover 18 and the upper plate 19 which open the periphery thereof. Upper mold 2
The tip (lower end) of the holder 20 fixed to the lower surface of the upper plate 19
It is fixed to the through a mounting ring 21. On the other hand, the lower die 3 is fixed via a mounting ring 24 to the tip (upper end) of a movable shaft 23 that is movably supported vertically via a bearing 22 mounted on the table 15. Reference numerals 25 and 26 denote heaters.

The upper and lower molds 2 and 3 are loosely fitted with mold release rings 27 and 28 for releasing the molded glass lenses from the molds 2 and 3, respectively.
28 is an upper and lower arm 2 that is vertically moved by the drive unit 5.
The mold release function is exerted via 9, 30. Further, the movable shaft 23 fixedly equipped with the lower die 3 is set to be vertically driven by an eccentric cam 32 which is rotationally driven via an encoder 31.

Transport arm drive unit (drive table) 40
Is for moving the transfer arm 12 forward and backward, and is configured so that the transfer arm 12 can be moved forward and backward to the preheating furnace 8a, the main heating furnace 8b, and the molding point 11. The transfer arm drive unit 40 includes a transfer direction drive unit 41 that moves the transfer arm 12 toward the preheating furnace 8a, the main heating furnace 8b, and the molding point 11 (transfer direction).
And a transport orthogonal drive unit 51 capable of finely adjusting and transporting the transport arm 12 in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. The transport direction driving unit 41 transports the motor 43, a ball screw 43 extending in the transport direction and driven to rotate by the motor 42, a table 44 screwed to the ball screw 43 and movable in the transport direction, and a table 44. And a guide member 45 that guides in the direction. On the other hand, the transport orthogonal direction drive unit 51 is screwed and mounted on a motor 52, a ball screw 53 rotatably driven by a motor 52 extending in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and the transport arm 12 on the upper surface thereof. And a guide member 55 that is fixed to the upper surface of the table 44 of the transport drive unit 41 and guides the table 54 in the transport orthogonal direction.

Next, the structure for stopping and positioning the transfer arm 12 in the transfer device equipped in the glass forming apparatus having the above-mentioned structure will be described with reference to FIGS. The stop positioning mechanism includes a butting contact portion 61 fixedly mounted on the transfer arm 12.
And a stopper 65 attached to the upper plate 19 and provided inside the molding chamber 11, and the abutting contact portion 61 and the stopper 65 are arranged so as to be capable of contacting each other.
The abutting abutting portion 61 is fixed on the transfer arm 12 via a screw 62, and is a prismatic protrusion provided on both upper sides of a surface (hereinafter, referred to as a front surface) facing the stopper 65 and protruding toward the stopper 65. It is composed of a portion 63 and a stopper pin 64 which is fixed so as to project in the carrying direction of the carrying arm 12 at the center of the front surface.

The stopper 65 is fixed to the lower surface of the upper plate 19 near the upper and lower molds 2 and 3 via a heat insulating plate 66, and has a taper angle β formed on the tip end surface facing the abutting contact portion 61. 67 and a prismatic protrusion 68 provided on both lower sides of the tapered portion 67 so as to protrude toward the abutting contact portion 61. The stopper 65 is made of stainless steel having a thermal expansion coefficient α = 18 × 10 ⁻⁶ (1 / ° C.), and its length L is 200 mm at room temperature.

The transfer arm 12 is made of a material similar to that of the stopper 65, and a gob plate supporting portion 3 for supporting a gob plate 33 in which the optical glass material 7 is housed at the tip thereof.
4 are provided. Distance l ₁ between the central axis of the optical glass material 7 held by the gob tray support 34 via the gob tray 33 and the tip of the stopper pin 64 provided at the abutting contact portion 61.
Is set to 100 mm at room temperature. Further, the distance from the position of the tapered portion 67 of the stopper 65 that abuts the stopper pin 64 to the axis of the upper and lower molds 2 and 3 is also set to be l ₁ = 100 mm at room temperature.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described together with the method for molding an optical glass element. The optical glass material 7, which is a molding material for the optical glass element, is placed and supported on the magazine 6 via the gob plate 33. A plurality of gob trays 33 are placed on the magazine 6, and the magazine 6 is sequentially conveyed from the supply chamber 38 into the preheating furnace 8a, and the glass lens after the completion of molding is placed on the magazine 6. The magazine 6 that supports the gob tray 33 is stored in the storage chamber 39. That is, the magazine 6 discharged from the supply chamber 38 is set so as to be stopped and controlled in the preheating furnace 8a, and the optical glass material 7 to be molded in the gob plate 33 on the magazine 6 is set. When the placed gob dish 33 reaches a predetermined position in the preheating furnace 8a, the magazine 6 is stopped and the optical glass material 7 is preheated together with the gob dish 33.

After the preheating, the gob tray 33 on the magazine 6 is transferred and supported on the gob tray support 34 formed at the tip of the transfer arm 12, as shown in FIG. 8 (A). It The gob plate 33 on the magazine 6 transfers the transfer arm 1
FIG. 8A shows a method of transferring the second gob dish support portion 34 onto the gob dish support portion 34.
To FIG. 8D. That is, FIG. 4 and FIG.
As shown in (B), the gob plate pushing-up cylinder 35 installed at the lower position of the magazine 6 is driven, and the gob plate 33 is temporarily placed on the magazine 6 by the pushing-up portion 37 at the tip of the piston rod 36 of this cylinder 35. Push up from. Then, the transfer arm 1 arranged on the upper side of the magazine 6
8 is moved in the arrow X direction of FIG. 8B by the transfer direction drive unit 41 of the transfer arm drive unit 40, and as shown in FIG. 8C, from the tip of the transfer arm 12 to the gob plate support unit 34.
The shaft center of the piston rod 36 is stopped at a position where it is coaxial with the shaft center of the gob dish support portion 34 via the groove 34a formed in the above. After that, the piston rod 36 is moved downward,
As shown in (D), the gob tray 33 is transferred to the gob tray support portion 34 of the transport arm 12.

Next, the transfer direction drive unit 41 of the transfer arm drive unit 40 is operated again to move the transfer arm 12 forward, stop it in the main heating furnace 8b, and heat the optical glass material 7 to a temperature above the transition point. To do. As a result, the optical glass material 7 is heated and softened to a viscosity that allows pressing.

After the heating and softening of the optical glass material 7 is completed, the conveying direction driving section 41 is further operated to carry the conveying arm 12 into the molding chamber 10, and as shown in FIGS. 12 butting contact part 6 fixed on 12
1 and the stopper 65 arranged in the molding chamber 10 are abutted against each other to stop the movement of the transfer arm 12. At this time, the lower surfaces of the prismatic protrusions 63, 63 of the engaging abutting portion 61 engage with the upper surfaces of the prismatic protrusions 68, 68 of the stopper 65, and the transfer arm 12 causes the prismatic protrusions 63, 63 to move. While being carried by the stopper 65 via the stopper 65, the tip of the stopper pin 64 of the butting contact portion 61 contacts the taper portion 67 of the stopper 65, and the center axis of the optical glass material 7 placed on the transport arm 12 The axes of the upper and lower molds 2 and 3 coincide with each other, that is, the optical glass material 7 is accurately positioned at the molding point 11.

After that, the lower mold 3 is moved upward, and the optical glass material 7 is pressed by the upper mold 2 to reverse the molding surface shapes of the upper and lower molds 2 and 3 to the optical glass material 7 to mold a glass lens.
Then, the lower die 3 is moved downward to release the glass lens through the release rings 27 and 28, and the glass lens is placed on the transport arm 12 again, and then the transport arm 12 is moved backward by the operation of the transport direction drive unit 41. Then, FIG. 8 (D), (C), (B), (A)
The gob plate 33 is transferred to the magazine 6 by the procedure of 1 and stored in the storage chamber 39.

Next, the displacement ΔL of the stopper 65 due to the heat of the preheating furnace 8a, the main heating furnace 8b, and the heaters 25 and 26, and the contact position between the tapered portion 67 and the stopper pin 64 caused by the displacement ΔL of the stopper 65. The relationship between the displacement Δl and the displacement Δl ₁ of the contact position and the distances to the axial centers of the upper and lower molding dies 2 and 3 will be exemplified for the following conditions 1, 2, and 3. However, the taper angle α of the taper portion 67
And the displacement Δl of the contact position is Δl = ΔL × tan
The displacement ΔL of the stopper 65 due to heat fluctuation and the displacement Δl ₁ of the distance indicated by β are ΔL = L × α × Δt, Δl ₁ =
It is represented by l ₁ × α × Δt (α: thermal expansion coefficient, Δt; temperature fluctuation).

Condition 1 The temperature of the stopper 65: 200 ° C., the temperature of the tip of the transfer arm 12: 650 ° C., the temperature of the heaters 25 and 26: 6
00 ° C, temperature of main heating furnace 8b: 750 ° C, preheating furnace 8
Temperature of a: 300 ° C. Condition 2: Temperature of stopper 65: 300 ° C., temperature of transfer arm 12 tip side: 750 ° C., temperature of heaters 25, 26: 720
C., temperature of main heating furnace 8b: 870.degree. C., temperature of preheating furnace 8a: 400.degree. C. Condition 3 Temperature of stopper 65: 400.degree. C., temperature of transfer arm 12 tip side: 850.degree. C., heaters 25, 26 temperature: 850
℃, the temperature of the main heating furnace 8b: 990 ℃, the temperature of the preheating furnace 8a: 500 ℃

Displacements ΔL, Δl under conditions 1, 2, and 3,
The value of Δl ₁ is shown in Table 1 for Condition 2 and Condition 3 based on Condition 1. Here, the taper angle β of the tapered portion of the stopper 65 is formed to β = 26.5 °.

[0023]

[Table 1]

According to Table 1, the stopper pin 63 of the abutting contact portion 61 fixed to the transfer arm 12 and the stopper 6 are shown.
The displacement Δl of the contact position with the tapered portion 67 of _{No. 5} and the displacement Δl _{1 of the} front end side of the transfer arm 12 (the distance to the axial centers of the upper and lower molding dies 2 and 3) are offset by each condition. You can confirm that.

According to the present embodiment, since the stopper 65 is provided with the taper portion 67, even if the molding temperature condition is changed, the upper and lower molding of the transfer arm 12 is performed from the contact position of the stopper pin 63 and the taper portion 67. Since the distance to the axes of the molds 2 and 3 can be kept constant, the work of adjusting the position of the transfer arm 12 becomes unnecessary even if the molding temperature changes. Also, during molding,
Even if a downward releasing force is generated between the lower mold 3 and the optical glass material 7, the prismatic protrusion 63 provided on the butting contact portion 71 is carried by the prismatic protrusion 68 provided on the stopper 65. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the bending of the transfer arm 12 from occurring.

In the present embodiment, the temperature of the stopper 65 is determined by the set temperatures of the heaters 25, 26, the main heating furnace 8b, and the preheating furnace 8a. Let the oil flow inside,
It can be carried out while controlling the temperature of the stopper 65. As a result, the time during which the temperature of the stopper 65 becomes constant is shortened and the temperature fluctuation is reduced, so that the accuracy of the stop position of the transfer arm 12 is further improved. In the above method, it is necessary to change the temperature of the heater, water, oil, etc. for each molding temperature condition, but since it is only necessary to change the setting of the temperature, the change is easy and the workability does not deteriorate. .

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the stopper is provided with the tapered portion, when the heating condition is changed, the abutting contact portion fixed to the transfer arm and the tapered portion of the stopper are provided. The contact position is set to a displacement, and this displacement cancels the displacement of the distance from the abutting contact part to the axial center of the upper and lower molding dies due to the change in heating conditions. As a result, even if the heating conditions of the optical glass material fluctuate, the center axis of the optical glass material placed on the transfer arm and the axis of the upper and lower molding dies are always aligned. The work of adjusting the position of the arm is unnecessary, and the productivity is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a carrying device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing displacement of a stopper and displacement of an abutting contact portion.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a glass forming apparatus equipped with a carrying device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a cross-sectional view of the glass forming apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing, in a partial cross section, a state in which the positioning mechanism is in contact with the carrying device of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which the positioning mechanism is in contact with the carrying device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state before the contact of the positioning mechanism in the transport apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view for explaining a step of placing an optical glass material on a transfer arm in a glass forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Upper mold 3 Lower mold 7 Optical glass material 8 Heating furnace 12 Transfer arm 61 Abutting contact part 65 Stopper 67 Tapered part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A transfer device in a glass forming apparatus for mounting an optical glass material on a transfer arm and transferring it between a heating furnace and an upper / lower molding die, wherein the transfer arm is provided with an abutting contact portion, and A conveying device in a glass forming apparatus, characterized in that a stopper having a taper portion that abuts against an abutting abutting portion is provided near the upper and lower molds.