Apparatus and method for manufacturing spectacle lens

Abstract

To provide an apparatus and a method for manufacturing a spectacle lens which may apply a coating liquid to a lens surface preferably.SOLUTION: An apparatus 10 for manufacturing a spectacle lens comprises a coating device 20 that discharges and applies a coating liquid onto a lens surface L1 of a lens base material L. The coating device 20 includes: a storage part 30 that stores the coating liquid; a discharge part 42 that is positioned on the downstream side in a flow path direction of the coating liquid with respect to the storage part 30 to discharge the coating liquid; a storage part heater 60 for heating the coating liquid stored in the storage part 30; and a downstream side heater 70 for heating the coating liquid on the downstream side in the flow path direction with respect to the storage part 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for manufacturing eyeglass lenses. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, as a manufacturing device for eyeglass lenses, there is known one that includes a coating device that discharges and coats a coating liquid onto the lens surface of a lens substrate (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-85610 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in eyeglass lens manufacturing equipment, depending on the structure of the coating device, the temperature of the coating liquid ejected from the coating device may not be stable, which can result in changes in the viscosity of the coating liquid, making it difficult to apply the coating liquid properly to the lens surface.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for manufacturing eyeglass lenses that are simple in configuration and capable of applying a coating liquid to the lens surface in a satisfactory manner. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is equipped with a coating device that discharges and coats a coating liquid onto the lens surface of a lens substrate, and the coating device solves the above problem by comprising a storage section that stores the coating liquid, a discharge section that is positioned downstream of the storage section in the flow direction of the coating liquid and discharges the coating liquid, a storage section heater that heats the coating liquid stored in the storage section, and a downstream heater that heats the coating liquid downstream of the storage section in the flow direction. The method for manufacturing a spectacle lens of the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by manufacturing a spectacle lens using the spectacle lens manufacturing apparatus. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the coating liquid can be applied to the lens surface satisfactorily with a simple configuration. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a spectacle lens manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a coating device. [Figure 3] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] An eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus 10 and manufacturing method according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0010] First, the eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus 10 manufactures eyeglass lenses by performing various processes on a lens substrate L, and as shown in FIG. 1, is equipped with a cleaning apparatus 100 that cleans the lens substrate L before applying a coating liquid, a coating apparatus 20 that discharges and applies a coating liquid to the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L, a UV irradiation apparatus 110 that cures the coating liquid applied by the coating apparatus 20 with UV radiation, a back surface cutting apparatus 120 that cuts the lens back surface L2 opposite the lens surface L1, a polishing apparatus 130 that polishes the lens back surface L2 of the lens substrate L, a hard coat deposition apparatus 140 that deposits a hard coat, and an edge processing apparatus 150 that grinds the outer edge of the lens substrate L.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 2, the coating device 20 includes a storage section 30 for storing the coating liquid, a discharge valve 40 installed downstream of the storage section 30 in the flow direction of the coating liquid, a piping tube 50 connecting the storage section 30 and the discharge valve 40, a storage section heater 60 for heating the coating liquid stored in the storage section 30, a downstream heater 70 for heating the coating liquid downstream of the storage section 30 in the flow direction, a heat insulating material 80 covering the piping tube 50, and a lens rotation support section 90 for supporting the lens substrate L.

[0012] Each component of the coating device 20 will be specifically described below.

[0013] The reservoir 30 is a portion for storing the application liquid, and in this embodiment, is configured in the shape of a syringe. In this embodiment, the reservoir 30 has a capacity equivalent to several tens of lens substrates (specifically, approximately 50 lens substrates).

[0014] As shown in FIG. 2, the discharge valve 40 has a casing 41, a valve mechanism (not shown) that opens and closes the coating liquid flow path, and a discharge section 42 that is positioned downstream of the storage section 30 in the flow path direction and that discharges the coating liquid.

[0015] The casing 41 is made of metal such as SUS (stainless steel) and has a coating liquid flow path therein. The valve mechanism opens and closes a coating liquid flow path formed inside the casing 41 . In the coating device 20 of this embodiment, the inside of the storage section 30 is pressurized by nitrogen or the like, and when the coating liquid flow path is opened by the valve mechanism, a predetermined amount of coating liquid is discharged from the discharge section 42. In this embodiment, the valve mechanism is configured as a diaphragm-type valve mechanism having a diaphragm valve that opens and closes the coating liquid flow path and a drive unit that drives the diaphragm valve, but the specific form thereof may be any as long as it is capable of opening and closing the coating liquid flow path.

[0016] The piping tube 50 is made of a synthetic resin such as polyurethane and has flexibility, and connects the reservoir 30 and the discharge valve 40 to form a coating liquid flow path. By connecting the storage section 30 and the discharge valve 40 with such a flexible piping tube 50, the positional relationship between the storage section 30 and the discharge valve 40 can be freely determined, thereby improving the design freedom of the coating device 20. In this embodiment, the coating liquid flow path in the piping tube 50 has a capacity equivalent to the capacity of several lens substrates (specifically, approximately 1 to 2 lens substrates).

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, the reservoir heater 60 is installed so as to heat the application liquid stored in the reservoir 30. The reservoir heater 60 has a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the coating liquid in the reservoir 30, and has the function of maintaining the temperature of the coating liquid in the reservoir 30 at a predetermined set temperature.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, the downstream heater 70 is installed so as to heat the coating liquid inside the discharge valve 40 (the coating liquid flow path formed in the casing 41). The downstream heater 70 has a metal contact portion that is placed in contact with the casing 41 and a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the contact portion. This allows the heater 70 to utilize thermal conduction between the metal contact portion and the metal casing 41 to detect the temperature of the casing 41 (and, therefore, the temperature of the inner wall of the coating liquid flow path formed in the casing 41), and has the function of maintaining the temperature of the casing 41 (and, therefore, the temperature of the inner wall of the coating liquid flow path formed in the casing 41) at a predetermined set temperature.

[0019] The heat insulating material 80 is made of a material having heat insulating properties, such as glass wool, rock wool, or polystyrene foam, and is arranged so as to cover the outer periphery of the piping tube 50, as shown in FIG. By covering the piping tube 50 with such heat insulating material 80, it is possible to suppress temperature changes in the coating liquid located inside the piping tube 50, and to stabilize the temperature of the coating liquid discharged from the discharge portion .

[0020] Furthermore, since the coating device 20 of this embodiment is configured to apply the coating liquid discharged from the discharge unit 42 to the lens surface L1 while rotating the lens substrate L, as shown in FIG. 3, it is equipped with a lens rotation support unit 90 that adsorbs and holds the lens back surface L2 opposite the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L and supports the lens substrate L rotatably around a rotation axis that passes through the lens substrate L (specifically, the center of the lens surface L1) and extends in the lens thickness direction, a thickness direction relative movement unit (not shown) that moves the lens substrate L and the discharge unit 42 (including the discharge valve 40) relatively in the lens thickness direction, and a radial direction relative movement unit (not shown) that moves the lens substrate L and the discharge unit 42 (including the discharge valve 40) relatively in the lens radial direction.

[0021] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, multiple (three) coating devices 20 are provided, specifically, a first coating device 20 that applies a coating liquid (primer liquid) for forming a primer layer on the lens surface L1, a second coating device 20 that applies a coating liquid (photochromic liquid) for forming a photochromic layer on the primer layer formed on the lens surface L1, and a third coating device 20 that applies a coating liquid (protection liquid) for forming a protection layer on the photochromic layer formed on the lens surface L1. Accordingly, the UV irradiation devices 110 are also provided downstream of the plurality of (three) coating devices 20, respectively.

[0022] In the manufacturing apparatus 10 of this embodiment obtained in this manner, the coating device 20 is equipped with a downstream heater 70 for heating the coating liquid downstream of the storage section 30 in the flow path direction, in addition to the storage section heater 60 for heating the coating liquid stored in the storage section 30.This makes it possible to stabilize the temperature of the coating liquid being ejected, thereby stabilizing the viscosity of the coating liquid and enabling the coating liquid to be applied smoothly onto the lens surface. To explain the above effect in more detail, when the temperature of the coating liquid is controlled only by the reservoir heater 60 without providing the downstream heater 70, if the coating liquid flow path downstream of the reservoir 30 whose temperature is controlled by the reservoir heater 60 (in the case of this embodiment, the coating liquid flow path in the piping tube 50 or the discharge valve 40) has a capacity large enough to store a certain amount of coating liquid, such as enough for several lens substrates, the temperature of the coating liquid in the downstream coating liquid flow path may drop depending on the surrounding environment and the state of the downstream coating liquid flow path. Therefore, in anticipation of such a drop in the temperature of the coating liquid, it is possible to set the temperature setting by the reservoir heater 60 (setting of the temperature of the coating liquid maintained by the heater) to a temperature (e.g., 40°C) higher than the temperature appropriate for coating the lens substrate (e.g., 28°C). However, depending on the discharge interval of the coating liquid, the coating liquid may be discharged before the temperature in the downstream coating liquid flow path has dropped to the expected temperature (e.g., 30°C), making it difficult to stabilize the temperature of the discharged coating liquid. Therefore, in the coating device 20 of this embodiment, a downstream heater 70 is provided in addition to the storage section heater 60 to heat the coating liquid downstream of the storage section 30 in the flow path direction. This makes it possible to stabilize the temperature of the coating liquid being ejected regardless of the state of the coating liquid flow path downstream of the storage section 30 or the ejection interval of the coating liquid, etc., and therefore makes it possible to stabilize the viscosity of the coating liquid and stabilize the film thickness of the coating liquid on the lens surface, thereby enabling the coating liquid to be applied well onto the lens surface. Furthermore, by stabilizing the temperature of the coating liquid being ejected as described above, not only can the viscosity of the coating liquid be maintained at a good level, but the performance of the coating liquid can also be maintained at a good level. For example, if the coating liquid is a light-adjusting liquid, controlling the temperature of the coating liquid within a predetermined range can improve the compatibility of the acrylic monomer, which is the main component of the light-adjusting liquid, and can also improve the effect of the leveling agent added to the light-adjusting liquid.

[0023] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various design modifications can be made without departing from the present invention as defined in the claims, such as configuring an eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus 10 and manufacturing method by arbitrarily combining each configuration of the above or following embodiments and variations.

[0024] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the lens substrate L is described as a semi-finished lens, that is, a semi-finished lens that is a semi-finished product in which the shape of the lens front surface side, which has a convex curved surface (facing outward when worn) (a convex curved surface near the center) is in a completed state, and the shape of the lens back surface L2, which has a concave curved surface (facing the eyeball when worn) (a concave curved surface near the center), is processed in the above-described grinding process to achieve a shape that satisfies the prescription of the eyeglass lens wearer, but the specific form of the lens substrate L is not limited to the above.

[0025] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the coating liquid applied to the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L has been described as a primer liquid for forming a primer layer on the lens surface L1, a coating liquid (photochromic liquid) for forming a photochromic layer on the primer layer formed on the lens surface L1, a coating liquid (protective liquid) for forming a protective layer on the photochromic layer formed on the lens surface L1, etc. However, the specific type of coating material may be any type that can be applied to the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L.

[0026] In addition, when the coating process using the coating device 20 is a process of applying a coating liquid (in this embodiment, a photochromic liquid) to a lens surface L1 on whose surface a primer layer formed from a solvent-based primer liquid is formed, the effect of improving the coating properties of the coating liquid described above becomes more pronounced. That is, compared to a primer layer formed from a water-based primer liquid, a primer layer formed from a solvent-based primer liquid has a larger contact angle and poorer compatibility with the coating liquid (light-adjusting liquid), and therefore the effect of improving the coating properties of the coating liquid described above becomes more pronounced. The solvent-based primer liquid mentioned above is a primer liquid such as TR-SC-P (manufactured by Tokuyama Corporation) which is prepared by dissolving various raw materials such as polyurethane resin in a hydrocarbon organic solvent or a hydrocarbon ester, and the water-based primer liquid mentioned above is a primer liquid such as NJ-321A (manufactured by Tokuyama Corporation) which is prepared by dissolving various raw materials such as polyurethane resin in water as a solvent.

[0027] When the coating liquid applied by the coating device 20 is a photochromic liquid whose main component is an acrylic monomer, it is preferable to set the temperature setting in the reservoir heater 60 (the temperature setting maintained by the heater) to 36 to 58°C, and it is also preferable to set the temperature setting in the downstream heater 70 to 32 to 38°C. Furthermore, when the coating liquid applied by the coating device 20 is a protection liquid whose main component is an acrylic monomer, it is preferable to set the temperature of the reservoir heater 60 to 36 to 40°C, and it is also preferable to set the temperature of the downstream heater 70 to 32 to 38°C. In this specification, the term "main component" refers to a component that accounts for 90% by mass.

[0028] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the downstream heater 70 is described as being installed to heat the coating liquid in the discharge valve 40, but the specific aspect of the downstream heater 70 is not limited to this, and the downstream heater 70 may be installed to heat the coating liquid downstream of the storage section 30 in the flow path direction. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 10... Manufacturing equipment 20 Coating device 30 Storage section 40 Discharge valve 41 Casing 42 ··· Discharge part 50 ··· Piping tube 60 Reservoir heater 70 Downstream heater 80 ··· Heat insulation material 90 Lens rotation support part 100 Cleaning equipment 110...UV irradiation equipment 120 Back side cutting device 130... Polishing equipment 140 Hard coat deposition equipment 150 ··· Edge processing equipment L: Lens substrate L1: Lens surface L2: Back of lens

Claims

1. A device for manufacturing eyeglass lenses, The coating device is equipped with a device that dispenses and applies a coating liquid to the lens surface of a lens substrate. The coating apparatus is A storage section for storing the coating solution, A discharge section for discharging the coating liquid is located downstream of the storage section in the flow direction of the coating liquid, A storage heater for heating the coating liquid stored in the storage section, A downstream heater for heating the coating liquid downstream of the storage section in the flow direction, An apparatus for manufacturing eyeglass lenses, characterized by comprising the following features.

2. A discharge valve is provided, which is installed downstream of the storage section in the flow direction. The discharge valve comprises a casing, a valve mechanism for opening and closing the coating liquid flow path, and the discharge section. The eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the downstream heater is installed to heat the coating liquid in the discharge valve.

3. The casing is formed from metal, The downstream heater has a contact portion that is positioned in contact with the casing, The eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the downstream heater is equipped with a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the contact portion.

4. The eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the storage section and the discharge valve are connected by a piping tube.

5. The eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that it is provided with an insulating material to cover the aforementioned piping tube.

6. A method for manufacturing eyeglass lenses, characterized by manufacturing eyeglass lenses using the eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus described in claim 1.

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