TWI401217B - Arrayed glass lenses and forming method, forming apparatus thereof - Google Patents

Description

Array glass lens and molding method thereof and molding equipment

The present invention relates to an array glass lens and a molding method therefor, and a molding apparatus, and more particularly to an array glass lens manufactured by using a high temperature auxiliary gas pressure molding apparatus.

As the technology of various optical lenses continues to advance, the process has progressed toward high precision, high density, and miniaturization. In the application of optical lenses, not only miniaturization, but also resolution and stability requirements are increasing. In particular, the Micro Lens Array is applied to a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) photosensitive element, and since it can provide good optical imaging quality, it has received increasing attention. The microarray lens can also be applied to a backlight structure such as a backlight of a display and a projector, a coupler for optical communication, and a ring lens of a laser head.

At present, methods for fabricating array lenses include conventional Ultra-Precision, Molding Process, Hot Embossing, Sol-Gel, and Lithographic. Among them, although the molding technology can mass produce high-precision micro-optical lenses, it is necessary to fabricate a composition containing an array structure on the glass of the free-form surface to facilitate more uniform dispersion of the focused light source, and the mold used must use ultra-precision processing. Make the mold surface have a microstructure. In today's technology, it is necessary to produce a mold having a complicated surface or a microstructure, which requires a very high production cost; and the molding process requires both upper and lower molds, and when the glass substrate is heated and pressed, the adhesion of the upper and lower mold contact faces is easily broken. Gap, as well as other problems such as stickiness or bubble residue, greatly affect the quality of the array lens.

Compared with the molding process, the lithography process can produce a better quality array lens, but the manufacturing process is complicated and the cost is too expensive, which is not suitable for mass production.

Therefore, there is a need in the industry for a method that can solve the manufacturing disadvantages of the above-described conventional techniques to improve the quality of the array lens and greatly reduce the production cost.

In order to solve the above-mentioned prior art, the present invention provides a method for forming an array glass lens. The method for forming the array glass lens mainly includes:

Providing a loading platform; providing a molding die, positioning the loading platform, the molding die comprising a first surface, a second surface, and a plurality of penetration holes arranged in an array and penetrating the first surface and the second surface;

Providing a glass substrate having an optical surface covering the first surface of the molding die; providing a chamber having an internal accommodating space, wherein the molding die and the glass substrate are placed in the accommodating space of the chamber;

Providing a first pressure in the accommodating space of the chamber;

Providing a second pressure on the second surface of the molding die, and the second pressure is less than the first pressure;

Providing a predetermined temperature to the chamber;

The first pressure, the second pressure and the preset temperature are maintained for a predetermined time; whereby the optical surface of the glass substrate forms an array-arranged array of glass lenses corresponding to the positions of the penetration holes of the molding die.

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a method for forming an array glass lens. By controlling the pressure difference, temperature and time, high precision can be produced on the surface of the glass substrate for different glass substrates and thicknesses. Array of glass lenses.

A secondary object of the present invention is to provide a method for forming an array glass lens, which uses a differential pressure method to flow a softened glass to a penetration hole of a molding die by a differential pressure method, and each of the penetration holes is molded. The holes all have the same pressure to form an array of convex lenticular shapes.

The present invention further provides an array glass lens, characterized in that the array glass lens is formed by a glass substrate having an optical surface by the following molding method, including:

Providing a carrying platform;

Providing a molding die positioned on the loading platform, the molding die comprising a first surface, a second surface and a plurality of through holes arranged in an array and penetrating through the first surface and the second surface to optically of the glass substrate Covering the first surface of the molding die;

Providing a chamber having an internal accommodating space for placing the molding die and the glass substrate in the accommodating space of the chamber;

Providing a first pressure in the accommodating space of the chamber;

Providing a second pressure on the second surface of the molding die, and the second pressure is less than the first pressure;

Providing a predetermined temperature to the chamber;

Maintaining the first pressure, the second pressure and the preset temperature for a preset time;

Thereby, the optical surface of the glass substrate is formed with array lenses arranged in an array corresponding to the positions of the penetration holes of the molding die.

Therefore, it is still another object of the present invention to provide an array glass lens which is formed by a high temperature auxiliary gas pressure method to form a convex lens-like microarray glass lens having high precision, thereby providing better optical imaging quality.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an array glass lens which is formed by a high temperature assisted gas pressure method to form a convex lens-shaped microarray glass lens having a free curved surface, thereby providing better light source diffusibility.

The invention further provides an apparatus for forming an array glass lens, which is used for forming an optical lens of a glass substrate to form an array lens, which mainly comprises: a carrying platform; a molding die, which can be positioned on the carrying platform, the molding die includes a first surface a second surface and a plurality of through holes arranged in an array and penetrating through the first surface and the second surface, the first surface of the molding die is covered by the optical surface of the glass substrate; and the cavity having the internal receiving space a chamber for placing the molding die in the accommodating space of the chamber; a gas pressing device for providing a first pressure in the accommodating space of the chamber; and a pressure reducing device for providing a second pressure on the second surface of the molding die, And the second pressure is less than the first pressure; and a heating device provides a preset temperature to the chamber; and a control device maintains the first pressure, the second pressure and the preset temperature for a predetermined time.

Therefore, another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for forming an array glass lens, wherein a through hole of a molding die penetrates the first surface and the second surface, so that the glass substrate is in a high temperature auxiliary pressure process, and the mold There are no problems with stickiness and air bubbles.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a molding apparatus for an array glass lens, which is easy to manufacture and different from the conventional molding technique, and does not need to simultaneously manufacture upper and lower molds having complicated surfaces, thereby reducing production and manufacturing costs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an array glass lens forming apparatus capable of producing array-shaped lens glass for a glass substrate of various materials, structures, or profiles by a high temperature auxiliary gas pressure method.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for forming an array glass lens which can form a non-axisymmetric array of glass lenses on a free-form curved glass substrate by a high temperature auxiliary gas pressure method and a molding die.

Since the present invention discloses an array glass lens and a molding method thereof and a molding apparatus, the principle of mold fabrication and high temperature auxiliary gas pressure used in the related art has been known to those of ordinary skill in the related art, and therefore, the description below will no longer be Make a full description. At the same time, the drawings referred to in the following texts express the structural schematics related to the features of the present invention, and need not be completely drawn according to the actual size, which is first described.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. The method for forming an array glass lens according to the present invention is as follows:

Step 101: Provide a carrier.

Step 102: Providing a molding die positioned on the carrying platform. The molding die includes a first surface and a second surface, and a plurality of penetration holes arranged in an array and penetrating the first surface and the second surface. The shape of the through hole is not limited, and may be set according to the shape requirements of the array lens, such as a square, a circle or other non-axisymmetric shapes, and a projection having a circular shape is preferable. In addition, the material of the molding die is not limited, and may be stainless steel, superalloy, quartz or ceramic. Moreover, the profile of the molding die is not limited, and is set according to the outer curve of the glass substrate. In addition, in order to produce an array glass lens with higher surface quality, the surface of the molding die may further be coated with a platinum-rhodium alloy. Or it is a material with high hardness, smooth surface, corrosion resistance and low friction coefficient such as DLC (Diamond Like Carbon).

Step 103: Providing a glass substrate having at least one optical surface and covering the optical surface to the first surface of the molding die. The glass substrate may be an inorganic glass material, for example, an oxide series glass, a phosphate glass, a borate glass, a halogen glass, or an infrared glass, and the structure may be irregular. Flat sheet, curved sheet, or irregular three-dimensional shape.

Step 104: Providing a chamber having an internal accommodating space for accommodating the molding die and the glass substrate.

Step 105: providing a first pressure in the accommodating space of the chamber, wherein the first pressure in the chamber is formed by providing a specific gas, wherein the specific gas system is nitrogen, argon or other inert gas. According to this, the first pressure in the chamber is greater than one atmosphere.

Step 106: providing a second pressure on the second surface of the molding die, and the second pressure is less than the first pressure, and the second pressure is preferably near vacuum.

Step 107: Providing a preset temperature to the chamber, the preset temperature being provided by a heating device. The position of the heating device may be internal to the chamber or external to the chamber, and may be a conventional electric resistance heating method or an infrared heating device with high heating efficiency.

Step 108: Maintain the first pressure, the second pressure and the preset temperature for a preset time.

Step 109: According to this, the optical surface of the glass substrate is aligned with the position of the penetration hole of the molding die, and an array lens arrayed in an array is formed.

It should be particularly noted that the corresponding upper and lower molds need to be produced compared to the conventional molding process, and if a micro-array lens with a relatively precise process is to be produced, the manufacturing cost of the upper and lower molds is more expensive, and Not easy to maintain, and still can not effectively solve the problem of sticking and air bubbles. According to the method for forming an array glass lens according to the present invention, the molding die only needs to be single, so there is no problem of the adhesion of the upper and lower molds, and the manufacturing cost is effectively reduced. And because the through hole of the molding die penetrates through the first surface and the second surface, the high-temperature auxiliary pressing process is used to protrude the position of the glass substrate corresponding to the penetration hole to form an array lens, the non-mold and the glass. The contact molding process also solves the problems of prior art glass and mold sticking and bubble residue. In addition, when the temperature is maintained at a high temperature for a period of time, when the glass substrate is softened, all the penetration holes of the molding die have the same pressure difference by the differential pressure method, thereby uniformly shaping the optical surface of the softened glass substrate. The through holes of the mold flow, thereby forming an array glass lens having a convex lens shape.

The present invention further provides a second preferred embodiment, which is an array glass lens, characterized in that the array glass lens is produced by a glass substrate having an optical surface by the following molding method, please refer to FIG. 2, wherein The material and structure of the glass substrate are as described in the first embodiment, and the steps of the molding method are as follows:

Step 201: Provide a carrier.

Step 202: Providing a molding die positioned on the carrier. The molding die includes a first surface and a second surface, and a plurality of penetration holes arranged in an array and penetrating the first surface and the second surface. The shape of the through hole is not limited, and may be set according to the shape requirements of the array lens, such as a square, a circle or other non-axisymmetric shapes, and a projection having a circular shape is preferable. In addition, the material of the molding die is not limited, and may be stainless steel, superalloy, quartz or ceramic. Moreover, the profile of the molding die is not limited, and is set according to the outer curve of the glass substrate. In addition, in order to produce an array glass lens with higher surface quality, the surface of the molding die may further be coated with a platinum-rhodium alloy. Or it is a material with high hardness, smooth surface, corrosion resistance and low friction coefficient such as DLC (Diamond Like Carbon).

Step 203: Providing a chamber having an internal accommodating space for accommodating the molding die and the glass substrate.

Step 204: providing a first pressure in the accommodating space of the chamber, wherein the first pressure in the chamber is formed by providing a specific gas, wherein the specific gas system is nitrogen, argon or other inert gas. Accordingly, the first pressure in the chamber is greater than one atmosphere.

Step 205: providing a second pressure on the second surface of the molding die, and the second pressure is less than the first pressure, and the second pressure is preferably close to the vacuum.

Step 206: Providing a preset temperature to the chamber, the preset temperature being provided by a heating device. The position of the heating device may be internal to the chamber or external to the chamber, and may be a conventional electric resistance heating method or an infrared heating device with high heating efficiency.

Step 207: Maintain the first pressure, the second pressure and the preset temperature for a preset time.

Step 208: Depending on the position of the through hole of the molding die corresponding to the position of the through hole of the molding die, the array lens is arranged to be arranged in an array, wherein the projection shape of each lens is not limited, and may be square or circular. Or any shape such as non-axisymmetric, and each lens is a convex lens, and the convex lens has an arc shape adjacent to the central portion.

Referring to FIG. 3A, a third preferred embodiment of the present invention is an apparatus for forming an array glass lens for forming an optical surface of a glass substrate into an array lens, which mainly includes a carrying platform 11. A molding die 12, a chamber 14 having an internal housing space, a gas pressurizing device 15, a pressure reducing device 16, a heating device 17, and a control device 18.

The forming die 12 is positioned above the carrier 11. Referring to FIG. 3B , the molding die 12 includes a first surface 121 , a second surface 122 , and a plurality of penetration holes 123 arranged in an array and extending through the first surface 121 and the second surface 122 . The shape of the through hole 123 is not limited, and may be set according to the shape requirements of the array lens, such as a square, a circle, or any other shape such as non-axisymmetric. Further, the material of the molding die 12 is not limited, and may be a material such as stainless steel, superalloy, quartz or ceramic. Moreover, the profile of the molding die 12 is not limited, and it is provided by the outer profile of the glass substrate 13. In addition, the surface of the molding die 12 may be coated with a platinum-ruthenium alloy or a material such as a ruthenium-like film having high hardness, smooth surface, corrosion resistance and low friction coefficient to produce a surface quality demand. Array glass lens.

In addition, the first surface 121 of the molding die 12 is provided with an optical surface (not shown) of the glass substrate 13, and it is noted that the molding device for the array glass lens of the present invention can be applied to any Structured glass, such as square, round, flat or other non-axisymmetric shapes, can be made. The material of the glass substrate 13 is not limited, and for example, an oxide series glass, a phosphate glass, a borate glass, a halogen glass, or an infrared glass can be produced.

The chamber 14 is configured such that the molding die 12 and the glass substrate 13 are placed in the accommodating space of the chamber 14. Further, the material of the outer cover 141 of the chamber 14 can be made of a material resistant to high temperature and high pressure such as quartz.

The gas pressurizing device 15 provides a first pressure in the accommodation space of the chamber 14.

The pressure reducing device 16 provides a second pressure to the second surface 122 of the forming mold 12, and the second pressure is less than the first pressure for adhering the glass substrate 13 over the first surface 121 of the forming mold 12.

The heating device 17 is configured to provide a predetermined temperature to the chamber 14, wherein the heating device 17 can be disposed inside the chamber 14 or outside the chamber 14 depending on the heating design. The heating device 17 can be a conventional electric resistance heating method or an infrared heating device with high heating efficiency.

The control device 18 is used to precisely control the gas pressurizing device 15, the decompressing device 16 and the heating device 17, and maintain the first pressure, the second pressure and the preset temperature for a predetermined time. At this time, after the glass substrate 13 is softened by high temperature, the differential pressure method means that the first pressure is greater than the second pressure, so that each of the penetration holes 123 has the same pressure, so that the glass substrate 13 corresponds to The position of the penetration hole 123 is uniformly flowed from the first surface 121 of the molding die 12 to the second surface 122, thereby forming an array glass lens. It should be particularly noted that since the through hole 123 penetrates the first surface 121 and the second surface 122, it belongs to the non-mold contact process, so that the problem of sticking and bubble residue of the glass and the mold of the prior art can be completely solved. .

The molding apparatus for the array glass lens of the present invention can set specific parameters according to the type of the mold, the material of the glass substrate and the softening point thereof, the thickness of the lens, and the like, and the control device 18 controls the time of the pressure application. A pressure difference between the pressure and the second pressure, temperature, and holding time, etc., thereby producing a high-precision array glass lens.

The above description is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the patent application rights of the present invention. The above description should be understood and implemented by those skilled in the art, so that the other embodiments are not deviated from the present invention. Equivalent changes or modifications made in the spirit of the disclosure should be included in the scope of the patent application.

101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208. . . step

11. . . Carrying platform

12. . . Molding mold

121. . . First surface

122. . . Second surface

123. . . Penetrating hole

13. . . Glass substrate

14. . . Chamber

141. . . Cover

15. . . Gas pressurizing device

16. . . Pressure reducing device

17. . . heating equipment

18. . . Control device

1 is a flow chart showing a method of forming an array glass lens according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a flow chart showing a molding method used for an array glass lens according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3A is a schematic view showing a molding apparatus for an array glass lens according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3B is a cross-sectional view showing a molding die used in a molding apparatus for an array glass lens according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109. . . step

Claims (34)

A method for forming an array glass lens, comprising: providing a loading platform; providing a molding die positioned on the loading platform, the molding die comprising a first surface, a second surface and a plurality of arrays arranged in an array a through hole of the first surface and the second surface; providing a glass substrate having an optical surface covering the first surface of the molding die; providing a chamber having an internal receiving space, the Forming the mold and the glass substrate in the accommodating space of the chamber; providing a first pressure in the accommodating space of the chamber; providing a second pressure on the second surface of the molding die, and the second pressure is less than The first pressure; providing an infrared heating device to heat the chamber to a predetermined temperature by infrared heating; maintaining the first pressure and the second pressure and the preset temperature for a predetermined time; thereby, the glass base The optical surface of the material is formed with array lenses arranged in an array corresponding to the positions of the through holes of the molding die. The method of forming an array glass lens according to claim 1 of the patent application, further comprising providing a specific gas in the chamber to form a first pressure. A method of molding an array glass lens according to claim 2, wherein the specific gas system is selected from the group consisting of nitrogen gas, argon gas, inert gas, and the like. The method of forming an array glass lens according to claim 1, wherein the first pressure is greater than one atmosphere. A method of forming an array glass lens according to claim 1 wherein the second pressure approaches a vacuum. A method of forming an array glass lens according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the through hole of the molding die has a circular projection. A method of molding an array glass lens according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the glass substrate is in the form of a flat plate. The method for forming an array glass lens according to claim 1, wherein the preset temperature is set outside the chamber by the infrared heating device to supply thermal energy. The method of forming an array glass lens according to claim 1, wherein the preset temperature is set inside the chamber by the infrared heating device to supply thermal energy. The method for molding an array glass lens according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the material of the molding die is selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, superalloy, quartz, and ceramic. A method of forming an array glass lens according to claim 10, wherein the surface of the molding die is further coated with a platinum-rhodium alloy. A method of forming an array glass lens according to claim 10, wherein the surface of the molding die is further coated with a diamond-like film. An array glass lens, characterized in that the array glass lens is formed by a glass substrate having an optical surface, comprising: providing a loading platform; providing a molding die, positioning on the loading platform, the molding The mold comprises a first surface, a second surface and a plurality of through holes arranged in an array and penetrating the first surface and the second surface, and the optical surface of the glass substrate is covered by the first surface of the molding die Providing a chamber having an internal accommodating space, the molding die and the glass substrate are placed in the accommodating space of the chamber; providing a first pressure in the accommodating space of the chamber; providing a second pressure On the second surface of the molding die, and the second pressure is less than the first pressure; providing an infrared heating device to heat the chamber to a predetermined temperature by infrared heating; and the first pressure, the second pressure, and the Presetting the temperature for a predetermined time; whereby the optical surface of the glass substrate corresponds to the shape of the through holes of the molding die Array lenses arranged in an array. An array glass lens according to claim 13 wherein the projection of each lens is circular. An array glass lens according to claim 13 wherein each lens is a convex lens, and the central portion of the convex lens has an arc shape. An array glass lens according to claim 13 wherein the glass substrate is in the form of a flat plate. The array glass lens of claim 13, wherein the molding method further comprises providing a specific gas in the chamber to form a first pressure. The array glass lens of claim 17, wherein the specific gas system of the molding method is selected from the group consisting of nitrogen gas, argon gas, inert gas, and the like. The array glass lens of claim 13, wherein the first pressure of the molding method is greater than one atmosphere. The array glass lens of claim 13, wherein the second pressure of the molding method approaches a vacuum. The array glass lens of claim 13, wherein the preset temperature of the molding method is disposed outside the chamber by the infrared heating device to supply thermal energy. The array glass lens of claim 13, wherein the preset temperature of the molding method is disposed inside the chamber by the infrared heating device to supply thermal energy. The array glass lens according to claim 13, wherein the material of the molding die of the molding method is selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, superalloy, quartz, and ceramics. The array glass lens of claim 23, wherein the surface of the molding die of the molding method is further coated with a platinum-rhodium alloy. An array glass lens according to claim 23, wherein the surface of the molding die of the molding method is further coated with a diamond-like film. An array glass lens forming device for forming an optical surface of a glass substrate into an array lens, mainly comprising: a loading platform; a molding die positionable on the loading platform, the molding die comprising a first surface, a second surface, and a plurality of penetration holes arranged in an array and extending through the first surface and the second surface The first surface of the molding die is covered by the optical surface of the glass substrate; a chamber having an internal accommodating space, the molding die is placed in the accommodating space of the chamber; a gas pressing device is provided a first pressure in the accommodating space of the chamber; a pressure reducing device providing a second pressure on the second surface of the molding die, wherein the second pressure is less than the first pressure; and an infrared heating device to the infrared ray Heating causes the chamber to reach a predetermined temperature; and a control device maintains the first pressure and the second pressure with the preset temperature for a predetermined time. A molding apparatus for an array glass lens according to claim 26, wherein the through hole of the molding die has a circular projection. A molding apparatus for an array glass lens according to claim 26, wherein the glass substrate is in the form of a flat plate. A molding apparatus for an array glass lens according to claim 26, wherein the infrared heating device is disposed outside the chamber to supply thermal energy. A molding apparatus for an array glass lens according to claim 26, wherein the infrared heating device is disposed inside the chamber to supply thermal energy. The molding apparatus for an array glass lens according to claim 26, wherein the material of the molding die is selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, superalloy, quartz, and ceramic steel. A molding apparatus for an array glass lens according to claim 31, wherein the surface of the molding die is further coated with a platinum-rhodium alloy. A molding apparatus for an array glass lens according to claim 31, wherein the surface of the molding die is further coated with a diamond-like film. The apparatus for forming an array glass lens according to claim 26, wherein the gas pressurizing device supplies a specific gas selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, argon and inertia. A group of gases, etc.