Contact lens filling and mold closing method and device

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of contact lens automatic production, in particular to a contact lens filling and mold closing method and device, and the method comprises the following steps: S10, carrying a jig assembly to a station; s20, a lower die is fixed through a lower die positioning mechanism; s30, an upper mold positioning mechanism fixes the upper mold, a mold opening mechanism opens the upper mold, and the upper mold positioning mechanism moves the upper mold away from the lower mold; s40, the liquid injection unit is filled with injection liquid; s50, an upper die positioning mechanism is used for positioning an upper die and a lower die; S60, the upper die positioning mechanism is used for pressing the upper die and the lower die; s70, the lower die positioning mechanism stops positioning, and the turnover unit drives the jig assembly to leave the station; the whole structure is compact, the function integration degree is high, and redundant turnover and complex actions are not needed; rapid mold splitting and cover opening can be achieved, and the liquid injection filling action integrating pumping and injection is completed through the liquid injection valve set; the liquid injection needle group is prevented from performing redundant actions, the multi-hole liquid injection filling efficiency is improved, the risk of manual operation is reduced, and the overall production and processing quality of contact lenses is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of automated production of contact lenses, in particular to a contact lens filling and moulding method and device. Background Art

[0002] Contact lenses are becoming increasingly popular because of their role in vision correction and beautification;

[0003] At present, compression molding is a new contact lens molding process. In the process of preparing contact lenses by compression molding, liquid materials such as high molecular polymers are mostly used; injection is an important part of the process of preparing contact lenses by compression molding, and the injection process has also been partially automated. However, in conventional automated equipment, the specific actions of the raw materials are also separated by injection and suction. The overall injection operation is complicated and prone to failure. The injection precision is poor, and the upper and lower molds are not concentric and level during the closing process, resulting in thick and thin edges of the lens, affecting the quality of the finished contact lenses; the pressing process is not synchronized and stable, and the bubbles in the mold are not completely eliminated, which can easily lead to a high bubble rate in the lens, which will also affect the qualified rate of the lens. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a contact lens filling and mold closing method and device with automatic mold opening and closing, multi-cavity synchronization, high functional integration and stable operation.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] A contact lens filling and mold closing method includes a mold opening and closing unit, a liquid injection unit, and a turnover unit for a turnover fixture component, and the specific steps are as follows:

[0007] S10. The turnover unit transports the fixture assembly to the liquid filling station;

[0008] S20. The lower mold positioning mechanism of the mold opening and closing unit fixes the lower mold of the mold from below the mold to be filled;

[0009] S30. After the upper mold positioning mechanism of the mold opening and closing unit fixes the upper mold of the mold from above the mold to be filled, the mold opening mechanism of the mold opening and closing unit opens the upper mold of the mold, and the upper mold positioning mechanism moves the upper mold away from the lower mold;

[0010] S40. The injection unit fills the lower mold with liquid;

[0011] S50. The upper mold positioning mechanism moves the upper mold back to the lower mold and places the upper mold in the lower mold;

[0012] S60. The upper mold positioning mechanism applies pressure to the upper mold to press the upper mold and the lower mold together;

[0013] S70. The lower mold positioning mechanism stops positioning, and the turnover unit drives the completed fixture assembly to leave the workstation.

[0014] Further, in step S40:

[0015] S41. The injection unit is in the pumping action, the injection valve group of the injection unit is in the pumping state, and the injection unit injector assembly extracts the raw material from the constant temperature bin for temporary storage;

[0016] S42. When the injection unit is in the injection action, the injection valve group of the injection unit is switched to the injection state, and the needle group module of the injection unit drives the injection needle group to the top of the fixture assembly;

[0017] S43. The injector assembly pushes the liquid into the injection needle assembly and fills it into the lower mold to complete the injection filling;

[0018] Furthermore, the lower die positioning mechanism includes a lower die positioning nozzle disposed below the fixture assembly and a lower die positioning drive for driving the lower die positioning nozzle to move up and down;

[0019] Furthermore, the mold opening mechanism includes at least one mold opening drive, a fork connecting plate installed on the execution end of the mold opening drive, and a mold opening fork installed on the fork connecting plate for inserting and separating the upper mold and the lower mold of the contact lens;

[0020] Further, the upper mold positioning mechanism includes a nozzle assembly, an upper mold die set that pushes the nozzle assembly to rise and fall; the upper mold die set includes an upper mold lifting drive fixed on the upper mold bracket, an upper mold sliding frame is installed on the execution end of the upper mold lifting drive, the upper mold sliding frame is slidably installed on the upper mold bracket, and a nozzle mounting frame for mounting the nozzle assembly is provided at the bottom of the upper mold sliding plate;

[0021] Further, the nozzle assembly includes a plurality of nozzle slide bars slidably mounted on the nozzle mounting frame, an upper mold nozzle is mounted at the end of each nozzle slide bar, and a mold closing weight is mounted on the rod body of each nozzle slide bar; the upper mold nozzle is located above the fixture assembly;

[0022] Furthermore, the syringe assembly and the constant temperature chamber are both mounted on the injection main frame; the injection needle group is connected to the injection valve group using an injection hose; the injection needle group is mounted on the execution end of the needle group module, and the needle group module is mounted on the side of the injection main frame using an injection side frame;

[0023] Furthermore, the needle group module includes a needle group forward drive installed on the injection side frame, a displacement adjustment platform installed on the execution end of the needle group forward drive, and a needle group downward drive installed on the execution end of the displacement adjustment platform; the needle group downward drive execution end is installed with a needle group mounting plate; a plurality of injection needles are installed on the needle group mounting plate to form an injection needle group;

[0024] A contact lens filling and mold clamping device, used for implementing the above-mentioned contact lens filling and mold clamping method, comprises a mold opening and closing unit, a liquid injection unit, and a turnover unit for transmitting a jig assembly; the mold opening and closing unit comprises an upper mold positioning assembly for defining an upper mold position, a lower mold positioning mechanism for defining a lower mold position, and a mold opening mechanism for opening the mold; the liquid injection unit comprises a liquid injection needle group, a needle group module for driving the liquid injection needle group to move to the liquid injection position, an injector assembly for extracting and injecting raw materials, a liquid injection valve group, and a constant temperature bin for storing raw materials;

[0025] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0026] In actual use, the fixture assembly is moved from the turnover unit to the liquid injection and filling station, and the contact lens mold to be filled is placed in the fixture assembly; the overall liquid injection and filling is divided into three actions, mold opening, filling and mold closing; during the mold opening action, the lower mold positioning mechanism positions the lower mold, and the mold opening mechanism separates the upper and lower contact lens molds, and the upper mold module drives the suction nozzle assembly to descend and absorb the upper mold and then rise, and the mold is opened to wait for liquid injection and filling; during the liquid injection and filling, the syringe assembly extracts the raw material and performs liquid injection and filling actions. During the liquid extraction action, the liquid injection valve group is in the liquid extraction mode, and the liquid injector assembly extracts the raw material. The material is drawn out from the constant temperature warehouse for temporary storage, and the constant temperature warehouse is a small constant temperature refrigerator; during the injection action, the injection valve group switches to the injection mode, and the needle group module drives the injection needle group to move to the top of the fixture assembly, and the injector assembly pushes the raw material into the injection needle group to complete the filling and injection action; after the injection is completed, the upper mold module drives the suction nozzle assembly to descend and uses the counterweight designed by itself to close the mold and cover the mold to complete the mold closing action; during the entire mold opening and filling action, the turnover unit stops moving, and the fixture assembly is in a stationary state. After the mold closing is completed, the turnover unit drives another fixture assembly to start the next filling and mold closing work cycle;

[0027] The contact lens filling and clamping device integrates the mold opening, filling and clamping actions, has a compact overall structure, a high degree of functional integration, and does not require redundant turnover and complex actions; it can realize rapid mold separation and cover opening, and the liquid extraction and injection actions of the raw materials are realized by the liquid injection device assembly, and the integrated liquid extraction and injection filling actions are completed through the liquid injection valve group; it avoids unnecessary actions of the liquid injection needle group, improves the efficiency of multi-hole liquid injection and filling, reduces the risk of manual operation, and improves the overall production and processing quality of contact lenses. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 The overall structure diagram of the present invention is

[0029] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the mold opening and closing unit structure of the present invention

[0030] Figure 3 This is a partial enlarged schematic diagram of the opening and closing mold unit D of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 4 It is a side view of the mold opening and closing unit structure of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 5 It is a partial enlarged schematic diagram of the opening and closing mold unit B of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 6 It is a partial enlarged schematic diagram of the opening and closing mold unit C of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the liquid injection unit of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 8 It is a partial enlarged schematic diagram of the injection unit A of the present invention;

[0036] Fig. 9 It is a rear view of the liquid injection unit of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments.

[0038] refer to Figure 1-9 As shown, a contact lens filling and mold closing method includes a mold opening and closing unit 500, a liquid injection unit 400, and a turnover unit 200 for a turnover fixture assembly 300, and the specific steps are as follows:

[0039] S10. The turnover unit 200 transports the fixture assembly 300 to the liquid filling station;

[0040] S20. The lower mold positioning mechanism 560 of the mold opening and closing unit 500 fixes the lower mold of the mold from below the mold to be filled;

[0041] S30. After the upper mold positioning mechanism of the mold opening and closing unit 500 fixes the upper mold of the mold from above the mold to be filled, the mold opening mechanism 550 of the mold opening and closing unit 500 opens the upper mold of the mold, and the upper mold positioning mechanism moves the upper mold away from the lower mold;

[0042] S40. The injection unit 400 fills the lower mold with liquid;

[0043] S50. The upper mold positioning mechanism moves the upper mold back to the lower mold and places the upper mold in the lower mold;

[0044] S60. The upper mold positioning mechanism applies pressure to the upper mold to press the upper mold and the lower mold together;

[0045] S70. The lower mold positioning mechanism 560 stops positioning, and the turnover unit 200 drives the completed fixture assembly 300 to leave the workstation.

[0046] In actual use of the present invention, the fixture assembly 300 is operated by the turnover unit 200 to the liquid injection and filling station, and the contact lens mold to be filled is placed in the fixture assembly 300; the overall liquid injection and filling is divided into three actions, mold opening, filling and mold closing; during the mold opening action, after the lower mold positioning mechanism 560 positions the lower mold, the mold opening mechanism 550 separates the upper and lower molds of the contact lens, the upper mold positioning mechanism descends and absorbs the upper mold and then rises to open the mold, waiting for the liquid injection unit 400 to inject liquid and fill; after the liquid injection is completed, the upper mold positioning mechanism descends and closes the mold to complete the mold closing action; during the entire mold opening and filling action, the turnover unit 200 stops moving, the fixture assembly 300 is in a stationary state, and after the mold closing is completed, the turnover unit 200 drives another fixture assembly 300 to start the next filling and mold closing work cycle.

[0047] The contact lens filling and mold closing method integrates the mold opening, filling and mold closing actions, has a compact overall structure, a high degree of functional integration, and does not require redundant turnover and complex actions; it can realize rapid mold separation and cover opening, and the liquid extraction and injection actions of the raw materials are realized by the liquid injection device assembly, and the integrated liquid extraction and injection filling actions are completed through the liquid injection valve group; it avoids unnecessary actions of the liquid injection needle group, improves the efficiency of multi-hole liquid injection and filling, reduces the risk of manual operation, and improves the overall production and processing quality of contact lenses.

[0048] In step S40:

[0049] S41. The injection unit 400 is in the pumping action, the injection valve group 450 of the injection unit 400 is in the pumping state, and the injection unit 400's injector assembly 460 extracts the raw material from the constant temperature bin 430 for temporary storage;

[0050] S42. When the injection unit 400 is in the injection action, the injection valve group 450 of the injection unit 400 is switched to the injection state, and the needle group module 420 of the injection unit 400 drives the injection needle group 410 to the top of the fixture assembly 300;

[0051] S43. The liquid injector assembly 460 pushes the liquid into the liquid injection needle assembly 410 and fills the liquid into the lower mold, completing the liquid injection and filling.

[0052] During liquid injection and filling, the syringe assembly 460 extracts the raw material and performs liquid injection and filling operations. During the liquid extraction operation, the injection valve group 450 is in the liquid extraction mode, and the injector assembly 460 extracts the raw material from the constant temperature bin 430 for temporary storage. The constant temperature bin 430 is a small constant temperature refrigerator. During the liquid injection operation, the injection valve group 450 switches to the liquid injection mode, and the needle group module 420 drives the injection needle group 410 to move to the top of the fixture assembly 300, and the injector assembly 460 pushes the raw material into the injection needle group 410 to complete the filling and liquid injection operation.

[0053] In this embodiment, the lower mold positioning mechanism 560 includes a lower mold positioning suction nozzle 562 for adsorbing the lower mold, and a lower mold positioning drive for pushing the lower mold positioning suction nozzle 562 up and down; when the fixture assembly 300 enters the workstation, the lower mold positioning drive 561 is used to push the lower mold positioning suction nozzle 562 up for adsorption and positioning; the lower mold positioning suction nozzle 562 is used to adsorb and fix the lower mold in the fixture assembly 300 to ensure the stability of the lower mold during mold opening, filling and mold closing; after the mold closing is completed, the lower mold positioning drive 561 is used to push the lower mold positioning suction nozzle 562 down, waiting for the next fixture assembly 300 to enter the workstation and start the next work cycle;

[0054] In this embodiment, the mold opening mechanism 550 includes at least one mold opening drive 551, a fork connecting plate 552 installed on the execution end of the mold opening drive 551, and a mold opening fork 553 installed on the fork connecting plate 552 for inserting and separating the upper mold and the lower mold of the contact lens; the mold opening mechanism is located on the side of the liquid injection filling station, the mold opening drive 551 is a cylinder, and each mold opening drive 551 corresponds to a mold on the jig assembly 300; the mold opening drive 551 pushes the fork connecting plate 552 forward to insert the mold opening fork 553 into the mold on the jig assembly 300. Since the mold has been positioned by the lower mold positioning mechanism 560, only the upper mold is inserted by the mold opening fork 553 and hovers on the mold opening fork 553, waiting for the suction nozzle assembly 540 to be adsorbed.

[0055] In this embodiment, the upper mold positioning mechanism includes a nozzle assembly 540 and an upper mold die set 520 that pushes the nozzle assembly 540 to rise and fall; the upper mold die set 520 includes an upper mold lifting drive 521 fixed on the upper mold bracket 510, and an upper mold sliding frame 522 is installed at the execution end of the upper mold lifting drive 521. The upper mold sliding frame 522 is slidably installed on the upper mold bracket 510, and a nozzle mounting frame 530 for mounting the nozzle assembly 540 is provided at the bottom of the upper mold sliding plate 522;

[0056] A plurality of upper mold modules 520 can be arranged on the upper mold support 510 as required, and the upper mold lifting drive 521 is an electric cylinder module. The upper mold lifting drive 521 can push the upper mold sliding frame 522 to perform lifting movement, thereby driving the suction nozzle assembly 540 to achieve the lifting movement of the upper mold after suction;

[0057] In this embodiment, the suction nozzle assembly 540 includes a plurality of suction nozzle slides 542 slidably mounted on the suction nozzle mounting frame 530, and an upper mold suction nozzle 541 is mounted on the end of each suction nozzle slide 542, and a mold closing counterweight 543 is mounted on the rod body of each suction nozzle slide 542; the upper mold suction nozzle 541 is located above the jig assembly 300; a plurality of suction nozzle slides 542 are slidably mounted on the suction nozzle mounting frame 530, and a sliding installation method is adopted to avoid the descending action during the mold closing process from being directly transmitted to the mold, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the mold; the bottom of each suction nozzle slide 542 is connected to the upper mold suction nozzle 541, and the weight of the mold closing counterweight 543 corresponding to each upper mold suction nozzle 541 is consistent; the use of a counterweight with a reasonable weight can not only effectively realize the mold closing action, but also avoid damage to the mold; corresponding to different mold closing requirements, it is only necessary to replace the mold closing counterweight 543 on the suction nozzle slide 542.

[0058] In this embodiment, the syringe assembly 460 and the constant temperature chamber 430 are both installed on the injection main frame 470; the injection needle group 410 is connected to the injection valve group 450 by using the injection hose 411; the injection needle group 410 is installed at the execution end of the needle group module 420, and the needle group module 420 is installed on the side of the injection main frame 470 by using the injection side frame 412; the injection valve group 450 is a reversible three-way valve group; the injection valve group 450 connects the injection needle group 410 and the constant temperature chamber 430, and the needle group module 420 is installed on the side of the injection main frame 470. The overall layout is compact and avoids unnecessary movement stroke.

[0059] In this embodiment, the needle group module 420 includes a needle group forward drive 421 installed on the injection side frame 412, a displacement adjustment platform 422 installed on the execution end of the needle group forward drive 421, and a needle group downward drive 423 installed on the execution end of the displacement adjustment platform 422; the needle group forward drive 421 is a linear module, and the needle group downward drive 423 is a cylinder; the needle group forward drive 421 is used to drive the needle group downward drive 423 to move above the fixture assembly 300, and the needle group downward drive 423 drives the needle group module 420 to probe downward for injection; a manually adjustable displacement adjustment platform 422 is also provided between the needle group forward drive 421 and the needle group downward drive 423 to realize precise position adjustment of the execution end to avoid quality problems caused by errors.

[0060] In this embodiment, the execution end of the needle group downward drive 423 is installed with a needle group mounting plate 424; a plurality of injection needles are installed on the needle group mounting plate 424 to form an injection needle group 410; when the number of injection needles needs to be adjusted, it is only necessary to replace the corresponding needle group mounting plate 424, thereby realizing rapid equipment adjustment and debugging to adapt to more types of contact lens-related fixtures.

[0061] In this embodiment, a leakage collection bucket 480 is also installed under the injection needle group 410; after the injection is completed, the injection needle group 410 returns to the initial static position under the drive of the needle group module 420, and the leakage collection bucket 480 can prevent the residual raw material from the needle tip from dripping.

[0062] A contact lens filling and mold clamping device, used for the above-mentioned contact lens filling and mold clamping method, includes a mold opening and closing unit 500, an injection unit 400, and a turnover unit 200 for transferring a jig assembly 300; the mold opening and closing unit 500 includes an upper mold positioning assembly for defining an upper mold position, a lower mold positioning mechanism 560 for defining a lower mold position, and a mold opening mechanism 550 for opening the mold; the injection unit includes an injection needle group 410, a needle group module 420 for driving the injection needle group 410 to move to the injection position, an injector assembly 460 for extracting and injecting raw materials, an injection valve group 450 for switching the extraction and injection action, and a constant temperature warehouse 430 for storing raw materials.

[0063] The specific embodiments described herein are merely examples of the spirit of the present invention. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications or additions to the specific embodiments described or replace them in similar ways without departing from the scope defined by the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A contact lens filling and mold closing method, characterized in that: The method comprises a mold opening and closing unit (500), a liquid injection unit (400) and a turnover unit (200) for rotating a jig assembly (300), and the specific steps are as follows: S10. The turnover unit (200) transports the fixture assembly (300) to the liquid filling station; S20. The lower mold positioning mechanism (560) of the mold opening and closing unit (500) fixes the lower mold of the mold from below the mold to be filled; S30. After the upper mold positioning mechanism of the mold opening and closing unit (500) fixes the upper mold of the mold from above the mold to be filled, the mold opening mechanism (550) of the mold opening and closing unit (500) opens the upper mold of the mold, and the upper mold positioning mechanism moves the upper mold away from the lower mold; S40. The injection unit (400) fills the lower mold with liquid; S50. The upper mold positioning mechanism moves the upper mold back to the lower mold and places the upper mold in the lower mold; S60. The upper mold positioning mechanism applies pressure to the upper mold to press the upper mold and the lower mold together; S70. The lower mold positioning mechanism (560) stops positioning, and the turnover unit (200) drives the completed fixture assembly (300) to leave the workstation.

2. A contact lens filling and mold closing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S40: S41. The injection unit (400) is in the liquid extraction action, the injection valve group (450) of the injection unit (400) is in the liquid extraction state, and the injection device assembly (460) of the injection unit (400) extracts the raw material from the constant temperature bin (430) for temporary storage; S42. When the injection unit (400) is in the injection action, the injection valve assembly (450) of the injection unit (400) is switched to the injection state, and the needle assembly module (420) of the injection unit (400) drives the injection needle assembly (410) to the top of the fixture assembly (300); S43. The liquid injector assembly (460) pushes the liquid into the liquid injection needle assembly (410) and fills the liquid into the lower mold, completing the liquid injection and filling.

3. A contact lens filling and mold closing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lower die positioning mechanism (560) comprises a lower die positioning suction nozzle (562) arranged below the fixture assembly (300) and a lower die positioning drive (561) for driving the lower die positioning suction nozzle (562) to move up and down.

4. A contact lens filling and mold closing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mold opening mechanism (550) comprises at least one mold opening drive (551), a shift fork connecting plate (552) mounted on the execution end of the mold opening drive (551), and a mold opening fork (553) mounted on the shift fork connecting plate (552) for inserting and separating the upper mold and the lower mold of the contact lens.

5. A contact lens filling and mold closing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper mold positioning mechanism includes a suction nozzle assembly (540) and an upper mold die set (520) that pushes the suction nozzle assembly (540) to rise and fall; the upper mold die set (520) includes an upper mold lifting drive (521) fixed on an upper mold bracket (510), an upper mold sliding frame (522) is installed on the execution end of the upper mold lifting drive (521), the upper mold sliding frame (522) is slidably installed on the upper mold bracket (510), and a suction nozzle mounting frame (530) for mounting the suction nozzle assembly (540) is provided at the bottom of the upper mold sliding plate (522).

6. A contact lens filling and clamping device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The suction nozzle assembly (540) includes a plurality of suction nozzle slide bars (542) slidably mounted on a suction nozzle mounting frame (530), an upper mold suction nozzle (541) being mounted at the end of each suction nozzle slide bar (542), and a mold closing weight (543) being mounted on the rod body of each suction nozzle slide bar (542); the upper mold suction nozzle (541) is located above the fixture assembly (300).

7. A contact lens filling and mold closing method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The syringe assembly (460) and the constant temperature chamber (430) are both mounted on a liquid injection main frame (470); the liquid injection needle group (410) is connected to the liquid injection valve group (450) by means of a liquid injection hose (411); the liquid injection needle group (410) is mounted on the execution end of the needle group module (420), and the needle group module (420) is mounted on the side of the liquid injection main frame (470) by means of a liquid injection side frame (412).

8. A contact lens filling and mold closing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The needle group module (420) comprises a needle group forward drive (421) mounted on the injection side frame (412), a displacement adjustment platform (422) mounted on the execution end of the needle group forward drive (421), and a needle group downward drive (423) mounted on the execution end of the displacement adjustment platform (422); a needle group mounting plate (424) is mounted on the execution end of the needle group downward drive (423); and a plurality of injection needles are mounted on the needle group mounting plate (424) to form an injection needle group (410).

9. A contact lens filling and clamping device, characterized in that: The contact lens filling and mold clamping method used for implementing the above-mentioned claims 1-8 comprises a mold opening and closing unit (500), an injection unit (400), and a turnover unit (200) for transferring a jig assembly (300); the mold opening and closing unit (500) comprises an upper mold positioning assembly for defining an upper mold position, a lower mold positioning mechanism (560) for defining a lower mold position, and a mold opening mechanism (550) for opening the mold; the injection unit comprises an injection needle group (410), a needle group module (420) for driving the injection needle group (410) to move to the injection position, an injector assembly (460) for extracting and injecting raw materials, an injection valve group (450), and a constant temperature bin (430) for storing raw materials.

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