Hoya Corporation

Other

Shinichiro Hirota

Kishio Sugawara

Tadayuki Fujimoto

Ken Uno

Hiroyuki Sakai

Tetsuro Izumitani

Hidemi Tajima

Hiroyuki Sawada

Shinji Hada

Kohichi Saitoh

Masahiro Yoshida

Yasuhiro Fujiwara

Teruo Yamashita

Yoshiatsu Yokoo

Chiemi Hata

Zou Xuelu

Yasuo Kusumi

Kenji Okamura

Shinichiro Hara

Helmuth E Meissner

Disclosed is a method of manufacturing ultraprecise lenses, including aspherical lenses, not requiring grinding or polishing after press molding. The method comprises heating a glass material to a temperature corresponding to a glass viscosity of from 10to 10dPaS so that the glass material is softened, and press molding the glass material with the pressing molds which are heated to a temperature corresponding to a glass viscosity of from 10to 10dPaS. Provided that the glass material is not heated to a temperature as high as that corresponding to a glass viscosity of 10dPaS when the pressing mold is heated to a temperature corresponding to a glass viscosity of 10and that the glass material is not heated to a temperature as low as that corresponding to a glass viscosity of 10dPaS when the pressing mold is heated to a temperature corresponding to a glass viscosity of 10dPaS. The glass material to be molded comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of NbO, WO, and TiOand has a refractive index nd of greater than or equal to 1.65, an Abb&#xe8; number (&#x3bd; d) of less than or equal to 35, and a sag point (Ts) of less than or equal to 570&#xb0; C. Each of the pressing molds comprises a film comprising carbon on a molding surface.

Method of manufacturing glass optical elements

A transfer arm holds a plurality of preforms arranged in a single line and simultaneously drops and supplies the preforms downward. A positioning arm has a pair of arm split members split in its widthwise direction. The arm split members have positioning surfaces formed on their contact surfaces to be brought into contact with outer peripheries of the preforms. After the preforms are dropped and supplied from the transfer arm, the arm split members of the positioning arm are opened and closed so that the positioning surfaces are brought into contact with the outer peripheries of the preforms. Thus, the performs are properly positioned.

Press molding apparatus for an optical element and method of manufacturing the optical element

In a press molding apparatus for press molding a plurality of glass materials into a plurality of glass optical elements by the use of a pressing mold including upper and lower molds each of which has a plurality of molding surfaces, at least one of the upper and the lower molds is a heat generator within which heat is generated when the heat generator is subjected to a high-frequency induction heating by an induction heating coil. The heat generator having a plurality of shape-processed portions () produced by partially processing a shape of the heat generator in order that a temperature distribution of the heat generator is adjusted. The apparatus simultaneously press forms, into the glass optical elements, the glass materials supplied between the molding surfaces of the upper and the lower molds which are subjected to the high-frequency induction heating.

Press molding apparatus

A press molding apparatus includes upper and lower mother moldsand. Each of the mother moldsandhas four molding surfaces arranged in a single line and satisfies the relationship given by L&#xd7;&#x3b1;&#xd7;&#x394;T/t&#x3c;0.0008, where L represents the length, t, the thickness, &#x3b1;, the thermal expansion coefficient, and &#x394;T, the temperature difference between both ends in the thickness direction during induction heating. The press molding apparatus may include a pressing mold set including upper mother moldsandattached to a common fixed shaftthrough upper supporting shaftsandand lower mother moldsanddriven by a common drive shaftthrough lower supporting shaftsand. The upper mother moldsandand the lower mother moldsandare collectively heated by induction heating coilsand, respectively.

Press molding apparatus and press molding method

A molded glass article manufacturing device, having a means of forcefully separating a molded glass article attached to the forming surface of an upper mold or a lower mold, and readily and reliably aligning the axes of the upper mold and lower mold, a molded glass article manufacturing method, and a method of assembling a molded glass article manufacturing device are provided. A molded glass article manufacturing device comprising a drum capable of regulating an upper mold and a lower mold having opposing forming surfaces so that the displacement axes thereof align; a forced mold separating means separating a molded glass article adhered to a forming surface from the mold by contact with at least the rim portion of the molded glass object; and a displacement means for displacing said forced mold separating means relative to said upper mold or said lower mold so that, in the course of separation of said upper mold and said lower mold, said forced mold separating means contacts at least the rim portion of said molded glass article and separates said molded glass article from the forming surface. Further, a manufacturing method for molded glass articles employing this device and a method of assembling molded glass article manufacturing devices are disclosed.

Method and apparatus for preparation of molded glass

Disclosed is a mold including upper and lower molds for obtaining glass optical elements by press molding a glass molding material softened by heat, in which either one of the upper and lower molds is made of a ceramic matrix and the matrix has no surface hole having a diameter of 300 microns or more on the molding surface, and a method for manufacturing glass optical elements using the mold. For example, on the upper mold and the lower mold formed is a &bgr; type silicon carbide having a thickness that a molding surface can be reproduced by grinding and a density of 3.20 g/cm or more so as to include at least the molding surface facing a surface of the glass molding material G. The mold according to the invention can be reused even where pullouts occur from repetitive use.

Mold used for molding glass optical elements process for preparation of glass optical elements and method for rebirth of mold

A method for supplying a glass molding material by dropping it from a higher level onto a molding surface of a lower mold of a mold constituted of an upper mold and the lower mold, in which a guide means is used for dropping the glass molding material and is disposed at a position such that the glass molding material drops onto the molding surface of the lower mold, and the guide means used for this method are disclosed. Moreover, a method for supplying a glass molding material to a molding surface of a lower mold of a mold constituted of an upper mold and the lower mold, in which after the glass molding material is supplied to the molding surface of the lower mold the position of the glass molding material is corrected so that the vertical center of the glass molding material substantially coincides with the center point of the molding surface of the lower mold, and a position correcting means used for this method are disclosed. A manufacturing method for glass optical elements in which a glass molding material supplied to a molding surface of a lower mold by the above method is press-molded is disclosed.

Method for supplying glass molding material to molds, and method for manufacturing glass optical elements

The optical fiber fixing member made of glass, especially optical fiber guide block, is conventionally produced by a mechanical processing. However, the mechanical processing has problems that a production cost becomes high and mass-production is difficult. The problems above can be solved by the present invention providing a method for producing an optical fiber fixing member comprising: disposing a glass shaping preform whose plane view resembles to the plane view of the molded article and whose faces to be positioned in the pressurizing direction during press-molding assumes planes or outwardly convex curved surfaces, in a mold having a cavity of a given shape; and heating the glass shaping preform up to a temperature at which the glass shaping preform can be mold-shaping and thereby press-molding it into a molded article having at least one edge formed of a free surface.

Optical fiber fixing member and method for manufacturing the same

Process for preparation of glass optical elements

Disclosed are a molding apparatus for glass optical elements a plurality of molds each constituted of an upper mold and a lower mold, a matrix supporting the molds, and heating means wound around the matrix for heating the molds, wherein the matrix extends in a longitudinal form and has a constant width, wherein the plurality of the molds are arranged in the matrix in a line so that the center of each mold is located on a center line of the matrix, and wherein a distance between the heating means and the matrix is constant at least at an edge of the matrix in a transverse direction, and a molding method for optical elements comprising the steps of: softening a plurality of glass material pieces by heat; and making a simultaneous press molding of the glass material pieces with a plurality of molds, constituted of upper and lower molds, arranged in a longitudinal form matrix, in a line extending in a longitudinal direction, wherein each mold is heated by thermal conductance from the matrix heated by heating means wound around the matrix, to heat at least substantially equally two opposite positions in a horizontal cross section of each mold. By the press molding apparatus and the press molding method according the invention, the press molding is performed upon heating uniformly a plurality of molds, thereby manufacturing glass optical elements having a good surface precision and a good surface quality.

Press molding apparatus for glass optical elements and molding method

Disclosed is a manufacturing method for molded glass articles including glass optical elements such as high precision lenses not requiring grinding and polishing after press molding. The manufacturing method according to the invention is a method for manufacturing the molded glass articles having a higher surface precision with a high productivity by pressing a glass material in a stepwise manner constituted of some steps depending on a temperature condition of the glass material.

Manufacturing method for molded glass articles

A manufacturing method for molded glass articles including glass optical elements such as high precision lenses not requiring grinding and polishing after press molding. The manufacturing method according to the invention is a method for manufacturing the molded glass articles having a higher surface precision with a high productivity by pressing a glass material in a stepwise manner constituted of some steps depending on a temperature condition of the glass material.

In a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing a plurality of kinds of glass molding articles, a plurality of processing compartments are arranged in order of processing steps. The compartments have their functions which process glass materials to be molded which are accommodated respectively in a plurality of molds and which are different in processing condition from each other. The functions are different in property from each other. Each of the compartments is divided into a plurality of processing chambers having their functions which process the glass materials. The functions of the processing chambers of the compartment are identical in property with each other but different in condition from each other. The molds remain respectively in the processing chambers for a predetermined period of time. The molds are successively moved to their respective subsequent processing chambers to process the glass materials to form the glass molding articles.

Apparatus for simultaneously manufacturing glass molding articles

In a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing a plurality of kinds of glass molding articles, a plurality of processing compartments are arranged in order of processing steps. The compartments have their functions which process glass materials to be molded which are accommodated respectively in a plurality of molds and which are different in processing condition from each other. The function are different in property from each other. Each of the compartments is divided into a plurality of processing chambers having their functions which process the glass materials. The functions of the processing chambers of the compartment are identical in property with each other, but different in condition from each other. The molds remain respectively in the processing chambers for a predetermined period of time. The molds are successively moved to their respective subsequent processing chambers to process the glass materials to form the glass molding articles.

Method of manufacturing glass molding articles

The present invention relates to a mold for producing glass articles comprising a glass-made mold base, an intermediate layer formed by a silicon carbide and/or silicon nitride film, and an uppermost layer formed by a carbon film. Since the mold for producing glass articles exhibits an excellent bonding between the glass-made mold base and the uppermost layer formed by the carbon film, peeling of the uppermost layer can be prevented. Therefore, the function of the uppermost layer as an adhesion-prevention layer against the glass to be molded can be exhibited for a long time, causing an economic advantage since the life of the mold can be lengthened. In addition, since the maximum surface roughness of the working surface of the mold can be reduced and the surface shape accuracy can be maintained, a molded glass article exhibits excellent surface accuracy without optical defects.

Growing community of inventors

Fuchu, Japan

Shinichiro Hirota