Apparatus and method for manufacturing spectacle lens

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an apparatus and method for manufacturing a spectacle lens, allowing a coating liquid to be favorably applied onto a lens surface. [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, wherein 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 the flow path direction of the coating liquid with respect to the storage part 30 and that discharges the coating liquid; a storage part heater 60 that heats the coating liquid stored in the storage part 30; and a downstream side heater 70 that heats the coating liquid on the downstream side in the flow path direction with respect to the storage part 30.

Description

Eyeglass lens manufacturing device and manufacturing method

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

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an apparatus for manufacturing eyeglass lenses, an apparatus including a coating device that applies a coating liquid by discharging it onto the lens surface of a lens substrate is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] JP 2014-85610 A

[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.

[0006] The eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus of the present invention solves the above problem by comprising a coating device that discharges and coats a coating liquid onto the lens surface of a lens substrate, the coating device comprising: a storage section that stores the coating liquid, a discharge section that is arranged downstream of the storage section in the direction of the flow 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 direction of the flow.The eyeglass lens manufacturing method of the present invention solves the above problem by manufacturing eyeglass lenses using the eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus.

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

[0008] The present invention relates to an eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus and a coating device, and an application process for applying the coating material to the eyeglass lens.

[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.

[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 device 100 that cleans the lens substrate L before applying a coating liquid, a coating device 20 that discharges and applies a coating liquid to a lens surface L1 of the lens substrate L, a UV irradiation device 110 that cures the coating liquid applied by the coating device 20 by UV irradiation, a back surface cutting device 120 that cuts the lens back surface L2 side opposite the lens surface L1, a polishing device 130 that polishes the lens back surface L2 of the lens substrate L, a hard coat deposition device 140 that deposits a hard coat, and an edge processing device 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 coating liquid, and in this embodiment is configured in a syringe shape. Note that 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 formed from a metal such as SUS (stainless steel) and has a coating liquid flow path therein. The valve mechanism opens and closes the coating liquid flow path formed in 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. Note that 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 section that drives the diaphragm valve, but the specific aspect 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 flexible synthetic resin such as polyurethane, and connects the reservoir 30 and the discharge valve 40 to form a coating liquid flow path. Connecting the reservoir 30 and the discharge valve 40 with such a flexible piping tube 50 improves the design freedom of the coating device 20, for example by allowing for more flexible positional relationships between the reservoir 30 and the discharge valve 40. In this embodiment, the coating liquid flow path within the piping tube 50 has a capacity equivalent to the capacity of several lens substrates (specifically, approximately 1 to 2 lens substrates).

[0017] 2, the reservoir heater 60 is installed so as to heat the coating 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 a function of maintaining the temperature of the coating liquid in the reservoir 30 at a predetermined set temperature.

[0018] 2, the downstream heater 70 is installed so as to heat the coating liquid in the discharge valve 40 (the coating liquid flow path formed in the casing 41). The downstream heater 70 has a metal contact portion arranged in contact with the casing 41 and a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the contact portion, and thereby has the function of detecting the temperature of the casing 41 (and, accordingly, the temperature of the inner wall of the coating liquid flow path formed in the casing 41) by utilizing thermal conduction between the metal contact portion and the metal casing 41, and maintaining the temperature of the casing 41 (and, accordingly, 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 with heat insulating properties, such as glass wool, rock wool, or polystyrene foam, and is arranged to cover the outer periphery of the piping tube 50, as shown in Fig. 2. 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 stabilize the temperature of the coating liquid discharged from the discharge portion 42.

[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 (and the discharge valve 40 including it) 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 (and the discharge valve 40 including it) relatively in the lens radial direction.

[0021] 1, a plurality (three) of coating devices 20 are provided, specifically a first coating device 20 that coats a coating liquid (primer liquid) for forming a primer layer on the lens surface L1, a second coating device 20 that coats 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 coats a coating liquid (protection liquid) for forming a protection layer on the photochromic layer formed on the lens surface L1. Accordingly, UV irradiation devices 110 are also provided downstream of the plurality (three) of coating devices 20.

[0022] In the manufacturing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment obtained in this manner, the coating device 20 is provided with a downstream heater 70 for heating the coating liquid downstream of the storage unit 30 in the flow path direction, in addition to the storage unit heater 60 for heating the coating liquid stored in the storage unit 30. This makes it possible to stabilize the temperature of the coating liquid being discharged, thereby stabilizing the viscosity of the coating liquid and enabling the coating liquid to be applied satisfactorily to the lens surface. To explain the above effect in more detail, when the temperature of the coating liquid is controlled only by the storage unit heater 60 without providing the downstream heater 70, if the coating liquid flow path downstream of the storage unit 30 whose temperature is controlled by the storage unit heater 60 (in the case of the present embodiment, the coating liquid flow path within 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 the temperature of the coating liquid maintained by the heater) to a temperature (e.g., 40°C) higher than the temperature (e.g., 28°C) appropriate for coating the lens substrate. However, depending on the interval between discharges of the coating liquid, etc., the coating liquid may be discharged before the temperature drops to the expected temperature (e.g., 30°C) in the downstream coating liquid flow path, 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 reservoir heater 60 for heating the coating liquid downstream of the reservoir 30 in the flow path direction. This makes it possible to stabilize the temperature of the discharged coating liquid regardless of the state of the coating liquid flow path downstream of the reservoir 30, the interval between discharges of the coating liquid, etc., and therefore stabilizes the viscosity of the coating liquid and the film thickness of the coating liquid on the lens surface, thereby enabling the coating liquid to be applied satisfactorily to 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 the respective configurations of the above or following embodiments and modified examples.

[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; however, 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 the lens surface L1 on whose surface a primer layer formed from a solvent-based primer liquid has been formed, the effect of improving the coatability 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 is less compatible with the coating liquid (photochromic liquid), so the effect of improving the coatability of the coating liquid described above becomes more pronounced. Note that the solvent-based primer liquid described above is a primer liquid such as TR-SC-P (manufactured by Tokuyama Corporation) obtained by dissolving various raw materials such as polyurethane resin in a hydrocarbon organic solvent or a hydrocarbon ester, and the water-based primer liquid described above is a primer liquid such as NJ-321A (manufactured by Tokuyama Corporation) obtained 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 containing an acrylic monomer as its main component, the temperature setting in the reservoir heater 60 (the temperature setting maintained by the heater) is preferably set to 36 to 58°C, and the temperature setting in the downstream heater 70 is preferably set to 32 to 38°C. When the coating liquid applied by the coating device 20 is a protect liquid containing an acrylic monomer as its main component, the temperature setting in the reservoir heater 60 is preferably set to 36 to 40°C, and the temperature setting in the downstream heater 70 is preferably set 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 form 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.

[0029] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Manufacturing apparatus 20 Coating apparatus 30 Storage section 40 Discharge valve 41 Casing 42 Discharge section 50 Piping tube 60 Storage section heater 70 Downstream heater 80 Heat insulating material 90 Lens rotation support section 100 Cleaning apparatus 110 UV irradiation apparatus 120 Back surface cutting apparatus 130 Polishing apparatus 140 Hard coat deposition apparatus 150 Edge processing apparatus L Lens substrate L1 Lens surface L2 Lens back surface

Claims

1. An apparatus for manufacturing eyeglass lenses, comprising a coating device that discharges and coats a coating liquid onto the lens surface of a lens substrate, the coating device comprising: a storage section that stores the coating liquid; a discharge section that is located downstream of the storage section in the direction of the flow of the coating liquid and that discharges the coating liquid; a storage section heater that heats the coating liquid stored in the storage section; and a downstream heater that is downstream of the storage section in the direction of the flow of the coating liquid and that heats the coating liquid.

2. The eyeglass lens manufacturing device according to claim 1, further comprising a discharge valve installed downstream of the reservoir in the flow path direction, the discharge valve having a casing, a valve mechanism for opening and closing the coating liquid flow path, and the discharge section, and the downstream heater installed so as to heat the coating liquid in the discharge valve.

3. The eyeglass lens manufacturing device according to claim 2, characterized in that the casing is formed from metal, the downstream heater has a contact portion that is placed in contact with the casing, and the downstream heater is equipped with a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the contact portion.

4. The eyeglass lens manufacturing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the reservoir and the discharge valve are connected by a piping tube.

5. The eyeglass lens manufacturing device according to claim 4, further comprising a heat insulating material covering the piping tube.

6. A method for manufacturing eyeglass lenses, comprising the steps of: manufacturing eyeglass lenses using the eyeglass lens manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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