Method and device for manufacturing spectacle lens

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a method and a device for manufacturing a spectacle lens on which it is possible to favorably adjust the film thickness of a coating liquid. [Solution] A method for manufacturing a spectacle lens, the method comprising: a temperature measurement step for measuring the temperature of a lens surface L1 of a lens base material L; a coating step for applying a coating liquid to the lens surface L1 after the temperature measurement step; and a film thickness adjustment step for adjusting the film thickness of the coating liquid on the lens surface L1 by rotating the lens base material L after the coating step, wherein, in the film thickness adjustment step, the rotation time and / or the rotation speed of the lens base material L is determined on the basis of temperature information of the lens surface L1 acquired in the temperature measurement step, and the lens base material L is rotated.

Description

Eyeglass lens manufacturing method and manufacturing device

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

[0002] Conventionally, a method for manufacturing eyeglass lenses by performing various processes on a lens substrate has been known that includes a coating step of applying a coating liquid to the lens surface, and a film thickness adjustment step of adjusting the film thickness of the coating liquid on the lens surface after the coating step by rotating the lens substrate around a rotation axis that passes through the lens substrate and extends in the lens thickness direction (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] JP 2010-008834 A

[0004] The film thickness adjustment process utilizes the centrifugal force acting on the coating liquid when the lens substrate is rotated to adjust the film thickness of the coating liquid on the lens surface. However, there has been a problem in that the film thickness of the coating liquid may not be adjusted properly depending on the state of the coating liquid on the lens surface.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for manufacturing eyeglass lenses that are simple in construction and that are capable of properly adjusting the film thickness of a coating liquid.

[0006] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing eyeglass lenses, which includes a temperature measurement step of measuring the temperature of the lens surface of a lens substrate, a coating step of applying a coating liquid to the lens surface after the temperature measurement step, and a film thickness adjustment step of adjusting the film thickness of the coating liquid on the lens surface by rotating the lens substrate around a rotation axis that extends through the lens substrate in the lens thickness direction after the coating step. In the film thickness adjustment step, at least one of the rotation time and rotation speed of the lens substrate is determined based on temperature information of the lens surface obtained in the temperature measurement step, and the lens substrate is rotated accordingly. The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing eyeglass lenses, which includes a temperature measurement unit that measures the temperature of the lens surface of the lens substrate, a coating device that applies a coating liquid to the lens surface, and a film thickness adjustment unit that adjusts the film thickness of the coating liquid on the lens surface by rotating the lens substrate around a rotation axis that extends through the lens substrate in the lens thickness direction .... The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing eyeglass lenses, which includes a temperature measurement unit that measures the temperature of the lens surface of the lens substrate, a coating device that applies a coating liquid to the lens surface, and a film thickness adjustment unit that adjusts the film thickness of the coating liquid on the lens surface by rotating the lens substrate around a rotation axis that extends through the lens substrate in the lens thickness direction.

[0007] In the present invention, the film thickness of the coating liquid can be adjusted satisfactorily with a simple configuration.

[0008] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0009] Hereinafter, a spectacle lens manufacturing apparatus 10 and manufacturing method according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. [Spectacle Lens Manufacturing Apparatus]

[0010] First, the eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus 10 of this embodiment will be described below.

[0011] The 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 20 that cleans the lens substrate L, a temperature measurement unit 30 that measures the temperature of the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L, a coating apparatus 40 that applies a coating liquid to the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L, a UV irradiation apparatus 50 that hardens the coating liquid, a back surface cutting apparatus 60 that cuts the lens back surface L2 side opposite the lens surface L1, a polishing apparatus 70 that polishes the lens back surface L2 of the lens substrate L, a hard coat deposition apparatus 80 that deposits a hard coat, and an edge processing apparatus 90 that grinds the outer edge of the lens substrate L.

[0012] Each component of the manufacturing apparatus 10 will be specifically described below.

[0013] First, the cleaning device 20 cleans the lens substrate L with cleaning liquid or cleaning water, and dries the lens substrate L by blowing hot air onto the lens substrate L.

[0014] Temperature measurement unit 30 measures the temperature (surface temperature) of lens surface L1 of lens substrate L using a temperature measuring device, and in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, is provided upstream of each of multiple (three) coating devices 40. Note that the temperature measuring device is preferably a non-contact temperature measuring device that measures the temperature of lens surface L1 from a position away from lens substrate L, such as a radiation thermometer manufactured by Japan Sensor Co., Ltd. or a digital radiation thermometer manufactured by Keyence. Temperature measurement unit 30 may measure the temperature of only a portion of lens surface L1 (in this embodiment, a portion near the center), or may measure the temperature of the entire lens surface L1.

[0015] The coating device 40 coats the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L with a coating liquid, and as shown in FIG. 2 , is equipped with a lens rotation support section 41 that rotatably supports the lens back surface L2 side of the lens substrate L, a spray nozzle 42 that sprays the coating liquid onto the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L, a thickness direction relative movement section (not shown) that moves the lens substrate L and the spray nozzle 42 relatively in the lens thickness direction, a radial direction relative movement section (not shown) that moves the lens substrate L and the spray nozzle 42 relatively in the lens radial direction, and a control section (not shown) that controls each of these sections.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 2, the lens rotation support part 41 adsorbs and holds the lens back surface L2 of the lens substrate L, and supports the lens substrate L rotatably about a rotation axis that extends in the lens thickness direction through the lens substrate L. In this embodiment, the lens rotation support part 41 supports the lens substrate L so that the lens surface L1 faces upward, as shown in Fig. 2. The lens rotation support part 41 also functions as a film thickness adjustment part that rotates the lens substrate L in the film thickness adjustment step described below.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, in the coating process, the spray nozzle 42 is arranged above the lens substrate L supported by the lens rotation support part 41, and is configured to spray the coating liquid downward onto the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L in a pulsed or continuous manner.

[0018] The radial relative movement unit (not shown) moves the lens substrate L and the ejection nozzle 42 relatively in the lens radial direction, and in this embodiment is configured to move the lens rotation support unit 41 in the lens radial direction.

[0019] In addition, the thickness direction relative movement unit (not shown) moves the lens substrate L and the ejection nozzle 42 relatively in the lens thickness direction, and in this embodiment is configured to move the ejection nozzle 42 in the lens thickness direction.

[0020] The control unit (not shown) of the coating device 40 is configured as a part including a memory unit consisting of ROM, RAM, etc., an input unit, an output unit, a control unit consisting of a CPU, etc., a communication unit, an auxiliary storage device, etc.

[0021] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, multiple (three) coating devices 40 are provided, specifically, a first coating device 40 that applies a coating liquid (primer liquid) for forming a primer layer on the lens surface L1, a second coating device 40 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 40 that applies a coating liquid (protection liquid) for forming a protection layer on the photochromic layer formed on the lens surface L1.

[0022] The UV irradiation device 50 cures the coating liquid applied to the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L by the coating device 40 by irradiating it with UV light, and in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, the UV irradiation device 50 is provided downstream of each of the multiple (three) coating devices 40.

[0023] The rear surface cutting device 60 is installed downstream of the UV irradiation device 50 and cuts the rear surface L2 of the lens substrate L into a shape that satisfies the prescription of the eyeglass lens wearer.

[0024] The polishing device 70 is installed downstream of the rear surface cutting device 60 and polishes the lens rear surface L2 of the lens substrate L.

[0025] The hard coat deposition device 80 is installed downstream of the polishing device 70 and deposits a hard coat on at least one of the lens surface L1 and the lens back surface L2.

[0026] The edging device 90 is installed downstream of the hard coat deposition device 80 and cuts the outer edge of the lens substrate L into a shape that fits into the periphery of the eyeglass frame.

[0027] Next, a method for manufacturing a spectacle lens using the manufacturing apparatus 10 of this embodiment will be described below.

[0028] The method for manufacturing eyeglass lenses includes a cleaning step for cleaning the lens substrate L, a temperature measurement step for measuring the temperature of the lens surface L1, a coating step for applying a coating liquid to the lens surface L1, a film thickness adjustment step for adjusting the film thickness of the coating liquid on the lens surface L1, a UV irradiation step for hardening the coating liquid, a back surface cutting step for cutting the back surface L2 of the lens, a hard coat deposition step for depositing a hard coat, a polishing step for polishing the back surface L2 of the lens, and an edging step for grinding the outer edge of the lens substrate L.

[0029] Each step of the method for manufacturing eyeglass lenses will be specifically described below.

[0030] First, the cleaning step is a step in which the lens substrate L is cleaned by the cleaning device 20 and dried by blowing hot air onto the lens substrate L.

[0031] The temperature measurement process is a process in which the temperature of the lens surface L1 is measured by the temperature measurement unit 30 before the coating process, and in this embodiment, as can be seen from Figure 1, it is performed before each of the multiple (three) coating processes.

[0032] The coating step is a step of applying a coating liquid to the lens surface L1 using the coating device 40 after the temperature measurement step. In the coating step, as shown in Fig. 2 , the lens substrate L and the spray nozzle 42 are moved relative to each other in the lens radial direction, and the coating liquid is sprayed from the spray nozzle 42 onto the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L rotating around the rotation axis. Specifically, in this embodiment, the lens rotation support part 41 is moved in the lens radial direction with respect to the lens substrate L that is fixed in the lens radial direction, and the coating liquid is sprayed from the spray nozzle 42 onto the lens surface L1 of the rotating lens substrate L, so that the coating area where the coating liquid is applied on the lens surface L1 shifts from the outer periphery side toward the inner periphery side (center side) of the lens surface L1.

[0033] Furthermore, in the coating process, the lens substrate L and the spray nozzle 42 are moved relative to each other in the lens thickness direction in accordance with the relative positional relationship between the lens surface L1 and the spray nozzle 42 in the lens radial direction so as to maintain the distance between the lens surface L1 and the spray nozzle 42 in the lens thickness direction within a predetermined range (specifically, 3.0 to 5.0 mm); in this embodiment, the spray nozzle 42 is moved in the lens thickness direction relative to the lens substrate L which is fixed in the lens thickness direction, and the coating liquid is sprayed from the spray nozzle 42 onto the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L while adjusting the distance between the lens substrate L and the spray nozzle 42 in the lens thickness direction.

[0034] In the film thickness adjustment process, after the coating process, the lens substrate L is rotated around a rotation axis extending in the lens thickness direction through the lens substrate L by the lens rotation support unit 41, which also functions as a film thickness adjustment unit, and the centrifugal force acting on the coating liquid is used to adjust the film thickness of the coating liquid on the lens surface L1, i.e., to uniformize the film thickness of the coating liquid coated on the lens surface L1 and smooth the surface. In this embodiment, the film thickness adjustment process is carried out with the lens surface L1 facing upward, as shown in FIG.

[0035] In the film thickness adjustment step, based on the temperature information of the lens surface L1 acquired in the temperature measurement step, at least one of the rotation time or rotation speed (number of rotations per unit time, rpm = revolutions per minute) of the lens substrate L that corresponds to (is appropriate for) the temperature is determined, and the lens substrate L is rotated. Specifically, when the control unit of the lens rotation support unit 41 (in this embodiment, the control unit of the coating device 40) that functions as the film thickness adjustment unit receives the temperature information of the lens surface L1 acquired by the temperature measurement unit 30, it refers to an information table (stored in the storage unit) that specifies at least one of the rotation time or rotation speed of the lens substrate L that corresponds to (is appropriate for) the temperature of the lens surface L1, determines at least one of the rotation time or rotation speed that corresponds to the temperature information, and rotates the lens substrate L based on the determined value. When only the rotation time of the lens substrate L is determined based on the temperature information of the lens surface L1, the rotation speed of the lens substrate L can be set to a fixed, predetermined value in advance. When only the rotation speed of the lens substrate L is determined based on the temperature information of the lens surface L1, the rotation time of the lens substrate L can be set to a fixed, predetermined value in advance.

[0036] In the film thickness adjustment process, in addition to the temperature information described above, the control unit of the lens rotation support unit 41 may determine at least one of the rotation time and rotation speed of the lens substrate L according to (suitable for) the temperature and lens substrate information (material or volume) based on lens substrate information including at least one of material information and volume information of the lens substrate L acquired from a storage unit such as a data server (i.e., by referring to an information table that defines at least one of the rotation time and rotation speed of the lens substrate L according to the temperature and lens substrate information). In this case, the temperature change of the lens surface L1 according to the material or volume of the lens substrate L (as estimated from the material or volume) can be reflected in the determination of the rotation time or rotation speed of the lens substrate L.

[0037] The lens substrate information may include any information such as the base curve, diameter, type (whether the lens substrate L is a semi-finished product or a finished product, as described below), and thickness of the lens substrate L, and at least one of the rotation time and rotation speed of the lens substrate L may be determined according to this information (base curve, diameter, etc.). The above information (base curve, diameter, etc.) may be the design values ​​(lens specifications) used in forming the lens substrate L. The above-mentioned lens substrate information may also be used in the coating process and UV irradiation process, not just the film thickness adjustment process. For example, in this embodiment, in the coating process, the coating liquid is applied using information on the material, thickness, base curve, and diameter of the lens substrate L (and information on the color and type of the coating liquid), and in the UV irradiation process, UV irradiation is performed using information on the material and type (whether the lens substrate L is a semi-finished product or a finished product, as described below) of the lens substrate L.

[0038] Furthermore, in the film thickness adjustment process, in addition to the above-mentioned temperature information (or the above-mentioned temperature information and lens substrate information), at least one of the rotation time and rotation speed of the lens substrate L may be determined based on information on the time (time interval) from when the temperature of the lens surface L1 is measured in the temperature measurement process to when the coating liquid is sprayed in the coating process (i.e., by referring to an information table that specifies at least one of the rotation time and rotation speed of the lens substrate L according to the above temperature and time). In this case, the temperature change of the lens surface L1 according to the above time interval (as estimated from the time interval) can be reflected in the determination of the rotation time or rotation speed of the lens substrate L. Note that the above time may be measured by a timer serving as a time measurement unit connected to the temperature measurement unit 30 or the control unit of the lens rotation support unit 41.

[0039] A possible method for acquiring the lens substrate information from the storage unit is to store the lens substrate information in a storage unit consisting of a data server or the like connected to the control unit of the lens rotation support unit 41, and attach a barcode B, such as a one-dimensional barcode or a two-dimensional barcode such as a QR code (registered trademark), storing an identification ID assigned to each lens substrate L to the lens back surface L2 of the lens substrate L, as shown in Fig. 2, read the identification ID from the barcode B attached to the target lens substrate L using a barcode reader, and then the control unit of the lens rotation support unit 41 connected to the barcode reader acquires the lens substrate information of the target lens substrate L from the storage unit based on the read identification ID. In this case, by attaching the barcode B to the lens back surface L2 that will be cut in the back surface cutting step that is performed later, there is no need to provide a separate step of removing the barcode B, thereby reducing the number of steps. It should be noted that the above-described method of acquiring lens substrate information using barcode B is merely one example of a method of acquiring lens substrate information, and any method may be used as long as it acquires lens substrate information stored in a storage unit, and for example, the lens substrate information may be stored in the barcode B itself attached to the lens substrate L, and the lens substrate information may be acquired by the above-described barcode reader from the barcode B. Furthermore, instead of the above-described barcode B, a tag or the like that can store information and that can read the information by a reader (for example, an RFID reader), such as an RFID tag, may be used.

[0040] The UV irradiation process involves irradiating the coating liquid applied to the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L with UV light by the coating device 40 to harden the liquid. In this embodiment, as can be seen from FIG. 1, this process is carried out after each of the multiple (three) coating processes.

[0041] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 , the above-mentioned flow of the temperature measurement process (by the temperature measurement unit 30), the coating process (by the coating device 40), the film thickness adjustment process (by the lens rotation support unit 41), and the UV irradiation process (by the UV irradiation device 50) is performed for each coating liquid (primer liquid, photochromic liquid, and protective liquid) to be applied to the lens surface L1.

[0042] In the back surface cutting step, after the UV irradiation step, the back surface L2 side of the lens substrate L is cut by the back surface cutting device 60 to form a shape that satisfies the prescription of the eyeglass lens wearer.

[0043] In the polishing step, the lens rear surface L2 of the lens substrate L is polished by the polishing device 70 after the rear surface cutting step.

[0044] In the hard coat forming step, after the polishing step, a hard coat is formed on at least one of the lens surface L1 and the lens back surface L2 by a hard coat forming device 80.

[0045] In the edging process, after the hard coat film formation process, an edging device 90 is used to cut the outer edge of the lens substrate L into a shape that will fit into the rim of an eyeglass frame.

[0046] The eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus 10 and manufacturing method of the present embodiment thus obtained comprise a temperature measurement step of measuring the temperature of the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L, a coating step of applying a coating liquid to the lens surface L1, and a film thickness adjustment step of adjusting the film thickness of the coating liquid on the lens surface L1 by rotating the lens substrate L, and in the film thickness adjustment step, at least one of the rotation time or rotation speed of the lens substrate L is determined based on temperature information of the lens surface L1 obtained in the temperature measurement step, and the lens substrate L is rotated. This makes it possible to reflect information on the temperature of the lens surface L1, which affects the viscosity of the coating liquid applied to the lens surface L1, in determining the rotation time or rotation speed of the lens substrate L in the film thickness adjustment step, thereby enabling good adjustment of the film thickness of the coating liquid.

[0047] Furthermore, the above-described effect is particularly pronounced when the process includes, as steps carried out before the temperature measurement step, an upstream coating step of coating a coating liquid on the lens surface L1 (in the present embodiment, a coating step for coating a primer liquid or a coating step for coating a photochromic liquid), and a UV irradiation step of curing the coating liquid coated in the upstream coating step by UV irradiation. That is, in the UV irradiation step, the temperature of the lens surface L1 rises due to heat generated when the lens substrate L absorbs UV light, heat from the UV light source, and the like (particularly in the case of UV irradiation for curing the photochromic liquid, the UV irradiation time is long and the temperature rise of the lens substrate L is large), and therefore the above-described effect of reflecting temperature information about the lens surface L1 after the UV irradiation step in the film thickness adjustment step becomes even more pronounced.

[0048] The amount of temperature change of the lens substrate L due to UV irradiation varies depending on the material and volume of the lens substrate L, the UV irradiation time, etc. The temperature of the lens surface L1 also rises due to the supply of hot air to the lens substrate L in the cleaning process, the presence of heat sources such as lamps installed nearby, etc.

[0049] 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 the respective configurations of the above or following embodiments and modified examples.

[0050] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the lens substrate L has been described as a semi-finished lens, that is, a semi-finished lens that is a semi-finished product (SF) in which the shape of the lens front surface side, which is a convex curved surface (facing outward when worn) (a convex curved surface near the center) is completed, and the shape of the lens back surface L2, which is a concave curved surface (facing the eyeball when worn) (a concave curved surface near the center), is processed in the above-described back surface cutting step to achieve a shape that meets the prescription of the spectacle lens wearer, but the specific form of the lens substrate L is not limited to the above, and for example, the lens substrate L may be a finished product (FSV) in which the shapes of both the lens front surface and the lens back surface are completed. Also, in the above-described embodiment, the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L to which the coating liquid is applied is described as the lens front surface, but the lens surface L1 to which the coating liquid is applied is not limited to the above.

[0051] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the coating liquid applied to the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L is described as being a photochromic liquid or the like for forming a photochromic layer, but the specific type of coating material may be any type that can be applied to the lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L.

[0052] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Manufacturing device 20 Cleaning device 30 Temperature measurement unit 40 Coating device 41 Lens rotation support unit (film thickness adjustment unit) 42 Jet nozzle 50 UV irradiation device 60 Back surface cutting device 70 Polishing device 80 Hard coat film forming device 90 Edge processing device L Lens substrate L1 Lens surface L2 Lens back surface B Barcode

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing eyeglass lenses, comprising: a temperature measurement step of measuring the temperature of the lens surface of a lens substrate; a coating step of applying a coating liquid to the lens surface after the temperature measurement step; and a film thickness adjustment step of adjusting the film thickness of the coating liquid on the lens surface by rotating the lens substrate around a rotation axis that extends in the lens thickness direction through the lens substrate after the coating step, wherein in the film thickness adjustment step, at least one of the rotation time and rotation speed of the lens substrate is determined based on temperature information of the lens surface obtained in the temperature measurement step, and the lens substrate is rotated.

2. The method for manufacturing eyeglass lenses according to claim 1, characterized in that in the film thickness adjustment process, at least one of the rotation time or rotation speed of the lens substrate is determined based on the temperature information and lens substrate information including at least one of material information and volume information of the lens substrate obtained from a memory unit, and the lens substrate is rotated.

3. The method for manufacturing eyeglass lenses according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that in the film thickness adjustment process, at least one of the rotation time and rotation speed of the lens substrate is determined based on the temperature information and the time from when the temperature of the lens surface is measured in the temperature measurement process to when the coating liquid is sprayed in the coating process, and the lens substrate is rotated.

4. A method for manufacturing eyeglass lenses according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises, as a process carried out before the temperature measurement process, an upstream coating process of applying a coating liquid to the lens surface, and a UV irradiation process after the upstream coating process of curing the coating liquid applied in the upstream coating process by UV irradiation.

5. An eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus comprising: a temperature measuring unit that measures the temperature of the lens surface of a lens substrate; an application device that applies a coating liquid to the lens surface; and a film thickness adjusting unit that adjusts the film thickness of the coating liquid on the lens surface by rotating the lens substrate around a rotation axis that extends in the lens thickness direction through the lens substrate, wherein the film thickness adjusting unit is configured to determine at least one of the rotation time and rotation speed of the lens substrate based on the temperature of the lens surface obtained by the temperature measuring unit, and rotate the lens substrate.

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