JPS62144914A - Manufacture of optical component and device thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a high accuracy molding by enclosing and heating the softening resin in the mold, irradiating said resin in the mold with ultraviolet rays or electron radiation, and curing the same in such a way as coinciding with the shape of the mold. CONSTITUTION:An ultraviolet-curing resin under softening condition is supplied over the upper face 7a of the lower model 7. The quantity of resin to be supplied is equivalent to the volume of the optical component to be molded. The press ram 21 is lowered and the upper mold 24 is inserted in the fixed mold 6, the resin being enclosed between the upper face 7a of the lower mold 7 and the lower face 24a of the upper mold 24. Further, the pressurizing force is applied with the pressurizing ram 21, and the resin is pressurized with the fixed pressure between both molds 7 and 24. At the same time, ultraviolet rays are generated by the curing rays generating device. Said ultraviolet rays penetrate the silicon glass fiber 11 and the lower mold 7 made of silicon glass and irradiated over the lower face of resin in the cavity. Also, ultraviolet rays penetrate a silicon glass fiber 25 at the top and the upper mold 24 made of silicon glass and irradiated over the upper face of resin in the cavity. When curing is completed, an optical component corresponding to the shapes of the faces 7a and 24a of the molds 7 and 24 respectively is formed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an optical component manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus for molding optical components that require optically good refractive index and transparency using resin.

[Technical Background and Problems with the Prior Art] Recently, devices using optical components, such as optical playback devices, have been widely developed.

Conventional optical components such as lenses have mainly been manufactured using a glass polishing process. However, lenses used in recent optical reproducing devices and the like are increasingly manufactured by injection molding of resin materials.

The method of injection molding a resin material has the advantage that lenses can be mass-produced at low cost and that aspherical lenses can also be manufactured easily.

On the other hand, in the case of manufacturing methods that involve injection molding of resin materials, the material Distortion and the like are likely to occur on the surface during curing, and there is a risk that an error will occur between the shape of the molded optical component and the target shape.

Therefore, optical components molded by such a manufacturing method have problems in terms of optical properties.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides a method and apparatus for manufacturing optical components that can mold resin optical components with high precision using a mold using a method that does not utilize heat. is intended to provide.

[Summary of the invention]

The method for manufacturing optical components according to the present invention involves sealing a resin that is cured by ultraviolet rays or electron beams into a mold in a softened state.
Pressure is applied and the resin in the mold is irradiated with ultraviolet rays or electron beams to harden the resin in accordance with the shape of the mold.

As the resin material, for example, acrylic resin or epoxy resin containing an ultraviolet sensitizer is used.If this resin is sealed in a mold in a softened state and pressurized, and the resin is irradiated with ultraviolet rays, the resin will change. is cured in a shape that matches the mold, allowing optical parts to be molded without distortion.

Further, the optical component manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention includes a pair of molds that are supported so as to be movable for mold matching and face each other, a transparent member that faces the mold matching part, and a mold matching part that is connected to the mold matching part through the transparent member. A curing radiation generating device that supplies ultraviolet rays or electron beams to the hardening beam is provided.

In this device, the mold itself is molded using a transparent member, or the transparent member is placed opposite the mold matching part, and the resin supplied into the mold can be irradiated with ultraviolet rays through the transparent member. .

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the structure of the optical component manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of an optical component manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

Reference numeral 1 in the figure indicates a press bolster. A base 2 and a fixed holder 3 are installed on the press bolster 1, and mold holders 4 and 5 are installed on top of the base 2 and a fixed holder 3. A fixed mold 6 is mounted in the center of the mold holder 5, and a lower mold 7 is inserted into the mold holder so as to be slidable in the vertical direction.

The lower end of the lower mold 7 is held by protruding holders 8 and 9. The lower end of the protruding holder 8 is connected to the lifting shaft lO. The elevating shaft IO is driven by an elevating mechanism (not shown), so that the protruding holder 8.9 and the lower die 7 are moved up and down as necessary. The lower mold 7 is made of a transparent material such as quartz glass that transmits ultraviolet rays well. The upper surface 7a of the lower mold 7 is formed into a concave shape according to the shape of the optical component. Further, a quartz glass fiber 11 is connected to the lower end of the lower mold 7, and a curing line generator (not shown) for generating ultraviolet rays is connected to the tip of the quartz glass fiber 11.

Reference numeral 21 located above is a press ram.

This press ram 21 is driven to be pressurized downward by a pressurizing device (not shown). Elevating holders 22 and 23 are fixed to the lower surface of the press ram 21, and an upper die 24 is held in the center of the elevating holder 23. This upper mold 24 is made of quartz glass that transmits ultraviolet rays well, and its lower surface 24a is formed into a concave shape according to the shape of the optical component. When the press ram 21 descends, the upper mold 24 enters the fixed mold 6, and when the molds are aligned, the upper surface 7a of the lower mold 7 and the lower surface 24a of the upper mold 24
This allows a cavity to be formed according to the shape of the optical component. Further, a quartz glass fiber 25 is connected to the upper end of the upper mold 24, and a curing line generator (not shown) for generating ultraviolet rays is connected to the tip of the quartz glass fiber 25.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the optical component manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the ultraviolet rays generated from the curing line generator are supplied to the lower mold 7 or the upper mold 24 via the quartz glass fibers 11 or 25, but the second
In the illustrated embodiment, a hardening wire supply hole 22 is provided in the lifting holder 22.
A is bored, and a condenser lens 26 fixed to the tip of a quartz glass fiber 25 faces the opening.

In this device, ultraviolet rays transmitted through a quartz glass fiber 25 are irradiated into the elevating holder 22 by a condensing lens 26, reflected by a total reflection prism 27, and supplied to the Hi-hi type 24.

Next, a method for manufacturing an optical component according to the present invention using the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described.

This manufacturing method uses an ultraviolet curing resin material in which an acrylic resin or an epoxy resin contains an ultraviolet sensitizer. A common example of this type of resin material is an ultraviolet curable adhesive for adhesion between lenses. On the other hand, the ultraviolet curable resin used in the present invention is the same type of adhesive, but it needs to be formulated with components that weaken adhesiveness and improve mold release properties. It is.

As a method for manufacturing an optical component, an ultraviolet curable resin is supplied onto the upper surface 7a of the lower mold 7 in a softened state. The amount of resin supplied is the same as the volume of the optical component to be molded.

After supplying the resin, when the press ram 21 is lowered, the upper mold 24 is inserted into the fixed mold 6, and the resin is poured onto the upper surface 7 of the lower mold 7.
a and the lower surface 24a of the upper mold 24. Furthermore, pressure is applied by the pressure ram 21 to compress the resin into both the molds 7 and 24.
Pressure is applied at a predetermined pressure in between. At the same time, a curing line generator generates ultraviolet rays. The ultraviolet rays pass through the quartz glass fiber 11 and the lower mold 7 made of quartz glass, and are irradiated onto the lower surface of the resin in the cavity. On the other hand, the ultraviolet rays pass through the upper quartz glass fiber 25 and the quartz glass upper mold 24, and are also irradiated onto the upper surface of the resin in the cavity. The resin inside the cavity is an ultraviolet curing resin containing an ultraviolet sensitizer, so it
Radical polymerization is initiated or promoted by irradiation with nanometer ultraviolet rays, and curing begins at a predetermined curing rate. When curing is completed, an optical component corresponding to the shape of the surfaces 7a and 24a of each mold 7 and 24 will be molded.

After the molding is completed, the press ram 21 is raised to extract the upper mold 24 from the fixed mold 6. Furthermore, the protruding holders 8 and 9 are lifted by the lifting shaft 10, and the optical component is ejected from the fixed mold 6.

Furthermore, when using the apparatus according to the embodiment of FIG.
The ultraviolet light transmitted through the quartz glass fiber 25 is transmitted through the lens 2.
6 irradiates the inside of the lifting holder 22. Furthermore, the ultraviolet rays are reflected by the prism 27 and irradiated into the upper mold 24, and the ultraviolet rays transmitted through the upper mold 24 harden the resin in the cavity.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the lower mold 7 and the upper mold 24 are made of quartz glass, and the ultraviolet rays are transmitted through the molds 7 and 24 to irradiate the resin. The mold 7 and the upper mold 24 are made of non-transparent material, and the fixed mold 6
Alternatively, a transparent member such as glass fiber may be provided separately from each mold 6, 7. Place the transparent member into the lower mold 7 or upper mold 2
4 or in a fixed mold 6, and the ultraviolet rays may be irradiated into the cavity using this transparent member.

Furthermore, various types of resins have been rapidly developed recently, and resins whose curing is initiated by irradiation with electron beams are also being developed. It is also possible to use such a resin as a material and harden the resin to match the shape of the cavity by irradiating the cavity with an electron beam.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, optical parts such as lenses and prisms can be molded from a resin material without using heat. The molded optical component will not be distorted due to temperature conditions such as a temperature difference or a difference between resin injection time and cooling time. Therefore, the molded optical component can be finished with high precision without any errors in shape. Furthermore, if an epoxy resin is used as the resin material to be molded, optical parts with excellent heat resistance can be molded, and the range of applications of optical parts can be expanded.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an optical component manufacturing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an optical component manufacturing apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of the device. 7...Lower mold, 24...Upper mold, 7.11, 24.25
...Ultraviolet transmitting material. Figure 1

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A resin that is hardened by ultraviolet rays or electron beams is sealed in a mold in a softened state and pressurized, and the resin in the mold is irradiated with ultraviolet rays or electron beams to harden the resin to match the shape of the mold. A method of manufacturing an optical component consisting of: (2) The method for manufacturing an optical component according to claim 1, wherein the resin is an acrylic resin or an epoxy resin containing an ultraviolet sensitizer. (3) A pair of molds supported so as to be movable for mold matching and facing each other, a transparent member facing the mold matching part, and curing by supplying ultraviolet rays or electron beams to the mold matching part through this transparent member. An optical component manufacturing device comprising a line generating device. (4) The optical component manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the pair of opposing molds is formed of a transparent member. (5) The optical component manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the pair of opposing molds are formed of a material other than a non-transparent member, and the transparent member faces the mold matching portion.