Spectacle Lens Retainer With Fluid-Clamped Pin Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for processing spectacle lenses require auxiliary processes like 'blocking' and 'blocking off,' which are inefficient and can cause undesirable deformations due to mechanical clamping or unsupported cavities, leading to inaccuracies in complex surface geometries.
Innovation Solution
A receptacle with a housing and a support arrangement featuring a rubber-elastic membrane and longitudinally displaceable pins, where the clamping mechanism uses fluidically applied forces to clamp or release the pins, ensuring firm support without mechanical deformation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional blocking and clamping methods are used to hold spectacle lenses during machining, then the workpiece can be securely held, but undesirable deformations occur due to mechanical clamping forces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical clamping systems with a magnetic field-based holding system. Magnets embedded in the holder base create a magnetic field that attracts and holds the ferromagnetic spectacle lens blank without mechanical contact, thereby eliminating deformation caused by clamping forces while maintaining secure workpiece holding
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a magnetic field as an intermediary between the holder and the workpiece. This magnetic field acts as a non-contact mediator that provides holding force without direct mechanical contact, preventing the deformation issues associated with traditional mechanical clamping methods
2Productivity
If blockless processing is implemented to eliminate auxiliary processes, then manufacturing efficiency improves, but workpiece stability during machining deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses magnetic attraction forces to replace the need for mechanical blocking and clamping processes. The magnets in the holder base provide sufficient holding force to secure the spectacle lens blank during machining operations, enabling blockless processing while maintaining workpiece stability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of workpiece holding from mechanical contact forces to magnetic field forces. This parameter change allows for contactless holding that provides sufficient stability during machining while eliminating the need for auxiliary blocking processes, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables blockless processing of spectacle lenses, maintaining the workpiece's geometry without deformation, enhancing machining quality and efficiency in an automated manufacturing environment.
Implementation Method 1
whose pin ends serve to flatly and firmly support the workpiece, which is held by one of its workpiece surfaces on the holder via the holding arrangement, on the workpiece surface facing the pin ends in accordance with the geometry of the workpiece surface, wherein the clamping mechanism has at least one force transmission element that is movable with respect to the pins by fluidically applied forces
Implementation Method 2
A receptacle with a housing and a support arrangement featuring a rubber-elastic membrane and longitudinally displaceable pins
Data Source
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AI summary
A fixture (10) for machining, in particular, spectacle lenses (14) as workpieces comprises a housing (26) with a holding arrangement (22) for a workpiece to be machined and a support arrangement (24) for this workpiece, which has a plurality of longitudinally displaceable pins (38) received in a chamber (28) bounded by the housing. The latter can optionally be fixed against longitudinal displacement with respect to the housing by a clamping mechanism (40) and, with their pin ends (42), serve to support the workpiece, which is held on the fixture by one of its workpiece surfaces via the holding arrangement, in a planar and firm manner on the workpiece surface facing the pin ends, according to the geometry of the pin ends. The clamping mechanism has at least one force transmission element (44) which is movable with respect to the pins by fluidically applied forces in order to optionally clamp the pins either in an unactuated, i.e., passive, state of the fixture or in an actuated, i.e.,to release the active state of the recording.