JP4597879B2 - How to remove contact lenses after mold opening - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention does not directly produce a contact lens in a mold, but casts a resin mold consisting of a curved concave mold and a curved convex mold that can be produced by pouring resin into the resin mold, and after the mold is assembled, In the method of producing a contact lens by injecting resin, after the mold of the resin mold is opened, the contact lens remaining inside the curved concave mold is not damaged and can be quickly removed. The present invention relates to a method for taking out a contact lens after opening.

  In general, when contact lenses are produced directly in the mold, the mold is expensive and difficult to manage the mold, and the manufacturing process is large and mass production becomes difficult. There are many methods in which a contact lens is produced by casting a resin mold comprising a curved concave mold and a curved convex mold where a contact lens is completed, and injecting resin into the resin mold after the mold assembly. When molding this contact lens, the resin was filled in the resin mold to mold the contact lens, and then the mold was opened to take out the contact lens remaining inside the curved concave mold. In this case, as a method of taking out the contact lens remaining in the curved concave mold, a method of putting a groove in the curved concave mold and pushing it out with a press, a method of manually pulling the curved concave mold from two directions and taking it out, a curved concave mold A method of incising with a nipper or the like, a method of injecting high-pressure water into a curved concave mold, a method of performing hydration, a method of applying a force to the notch provided in the curved concave mold or removing the notch, a curved There was a method of weakening the adhesion between the mold surface and the contact lens by radiating microwaves from below the concave mold.

  However, there are many defective products such as a method of putting a groove in the curved concave mold and pushing it out with a press, a method of manually pulling out the curved concave mold from two directions, and a method of cutting out the curved concave mold with a nipper or the like, and There were problems such as taking time and effort. Also, the method of injecting the high-pressure water into the curved concave shape makes it difficult for the contact lens to jump out and drop into a fixed position, and since the contact lens is wet with water, it cannot be immediately transported by the suction pad. It was. In addition, the hydration method has problems that the contact lens is wet with water and cannot be immediately transported by the suction pad, and that it takes much time to remove the contact lens. On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-61965 proposes a method of taking out the contact lens by providing the notch. In this Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-61965, since the shape of the curved concave mold is special, the manufacturing cost of the mold becomes high, and the structure of the apparatus for deforming the whole by applying force to the notch or removing the notch is complicated. As a result, there have been problems such as a large equipment cost and the need for an installation location.

Furthermore, as a method for radiating the microwave, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-326540 has been proposed. When microwaves are radiated from below the curved concave mold and the contact lens is heated, a favorable thermal gradient is created between the contact lens and the curved concave mold to facilitate separation, but a thermal gradient is generated. In this case, it is necessary to add special conditions such as mold separation according to the difference in temperature, and there is a problem that the equipment becomes large and equipment investment increases.
JP 2000-61965 A JP 2003-326540 A

  The present invention provides a method for taking out a contact lens after opening a mold, in which when the contact lens is taken out from the curved concave mold of the resin mold, the contact lens is not damaged and can be taken out quickly and reliably, and high production of the contact lens is possible. The purpose is to provide.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. That is, after forming a contact lens, the mold is opened, and the curved concave mold is set on the upper part of the mounting attachment that can be freely rotated. This is a take-out method in which a pair of detaching pieces are brought close to each other so that a force is applied to the curved concave mold from the outer periphery to the center side, and the curved concave mold is rotated so that the contact lens inside thereof is detached. In addition , a taper portion is provided so that the inside of the separation piece gradually approaches the center, and as the pair of opposing separation pieces approach each other, the outer periphery of the curved concave mold increases the pressing force toward the center, and at the same time, the curved concave mold is rotated once. It is preferable to adopt a method. Further, when the contact lens is detached, it is preferable to carry it out from above or below the curved concave mold. The “contact lens” referred to in the present invention includes not only a lens attached to the ocular surface but also an intraocular lens.

After the contact lens (2) is molded and the mold is opened as in claim 1, the curved concave mold (1) is set on the upper part of the rotatable attachment (3), and a pair of opposing release pieces By approaching (4), a force is applied to the curved concave mold (1) from the outer periphery to the central side, and the curved concave mold (1) is rotated, and the contact lens (2) inside thereof is detached and removed. By doing so, the contact lens (2) is reliably detached from the curved concave mold (1), so that the contact lens (2) can be taken out quickly and reliably with a suction pad and the operation can be automated. The high production of the contact lens (2) can be fully automated, and there is no damage when the contact lens (2) is taken out.

The taper portion (41) is attached so that the inside of the release piece (4) gradually approaches the center as in claim 2, and the outer periphery of the curved concave mold (1) becomes closer as the opposing pair of release pieces (4) approach each other. By increasing the pressing force toward the center and rotating the curved concave mold (1), the outer circumference of the curved concave mold (1) is gradually deformed and a force is smoothly applied without applying a large load. The lens (2) can be detached without applying a large load, the contact lens (2) is hardly damaged and the same effect as in the first aspect can be obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the length of the taper portion (41) is set such that the curved concave mold (1) is rotated once, so that the particularly soft contact lens (2) is detached from the curved concave mold (1). At this time, since the contact lens (2) is detached by applying a pressing force to the entire circumference of the curved concave mold (1), the contact lens (2) can be reliably taken out.

After the contact lens (2) is detached from the curved concave mold (1) as shown in claim 4 and the curved concave mold (1) is removed from the state shown in FIG. The contact lens (2) can be easily removed from the state of FIG. 3 (d), and the contact lens (2) is carried out from below the curved concave mold (1), so that the state of FIG. The contact lens (2) that is detached from the camera and dropped can be carried out by a belt conveyor (not shown) disposed below.

  FIG. 1 is a view showing main members used in an embodiment of the method of the present invention, and the numbers will be described. (1) is a curved concave mold of a resin mold for a contact lens for filling a raw material monomer and polymerizing to form a contact lens (2) to be described later. The curved concave mold (1) has a collar (11) Is formed (see FIG. 3). The resin mold is composed of a curved concave mold (1) and a curved convex mold (not shown). (2) is a molded contact lens left inside the curved concave mold (1). (3) is a rotatable attachment for setting the curved concave mold (1) on the upper part. (4) is a pair of detachment pieces arranged facing the left and right (in the direction of the white arrow in FIG. 1) of the attachment (3) for attachment, and the detachment piece (4) is provided with a taper portion (41). The taper portion (41) may be attached to a groove provided for inserting the flange portion (11) of the curved concave mold (1). Further, it is preferable that the length of the tapered portion (41) is such that the curved concave mold (1) is rotated once, and the detachment piece (4) moves in parallel with respect to the attachment (3). A rack mechanism or the like (not shown) may be provided. For example, it is preferable to use a structure in which a gear is provided below the attachment (3) and a rack is provided below both detachment pieces (4). The movement of the detachment piece (4) is not limited to parallel movement that moves to the left and right. For example, the detachment piece (4) moves back and forth toward the center of the attachment (3). In this case, if the attachment for attachment (3) smoothly rotates and the curved concave mold (1) can also rotate, there is no need to translate it. Further, the length of the tapered portion (41) is not limited to the length that the curved concave mold (1) is rotated once. (5) is a turntable for rotatably supporting the attachment (3) for attachment. The turntable (5) is interlocked with the detachment piece (4). For example, the detachment piece (4) may be provided with a rack, and the turntable (5) may be provided with the gear engaged with the rack. .

FIG. 3 shows the method of the present invention, which will be described. After the resin is injected into the resin mold in advance to form the contact lens (2) and the mold is opened, the contact lens (2) remains in the curved concave mold (1) of the resin mold. A thing is prepared and the curved concave mold (1) is set on the upper part of the attachment (3) for attachment (refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2). First, a starting switch (not shown) is turned on to start the drive device, so that the flange (11) of the curved concave mold (1) enters the groove while the release pieces (4) facing left and right approach each other [FIG. See a)]. Thereafter, when the separation piece (4) comes closer, the curved concave mold (1) is pressed while pressing the curved concave mold (1) from the outer periphery toward the center by the tapered portion (41) of the separation piece (4). Since the curved concave mold (1) is rotated, the pressing force gradually increases while rotating. At this time, a gap is formed between the curved concave mold (1) and the contact lens (2), and the contact lens (2) is detached from the curved concave mold (1). Since the separation is completed in the states of FIGS. 3B and 2B, the subsequent separation pieces (4) are returned to their original positions so as to be separated from each other [see FIG. 2A]. . When the contact lens (2) is formed of a soft material, the curved concave mold (1) is rotated once, and the pressing force from the separation piece (4) is gradually applied and rotated over the entire outer periphery. Thus, it is preferable to use a taper portion (41). At this time, the curved concave mold (1) may be provided with a tapered portion (41) that rotates one or more times.

  Then, the detached contact lens (2) may be transported by removing the contact lens (2) from the curved concave mold (1) by unillustrated unloading means. As shown in FIG. 3 (c), the take-out method is such that the curved concave mold (1) is placed on the top of the mounting attachment (3) and the contact lens is placed on the top of the mounting attachment (3). (2) Once dropped and taken out from above with a suction pad, etc., and as shown in FIG. 3 (d), the curved concave mold (1) is turned upside down (opening upward) And set it in a state where the curved concave mold (1) is put on the upper part of the attachment (3) as shown in FIG. 3 (e). There is a method of dropping downward, and either method may be used. In this way, the outer periphery of the curved concave mold (1) rotates while being mechanically pressed, and is separated and securely peeled with some deformation, so that the curved concave mold (1) is not damaged without damaging the contact lens (2). ) And the contact lens (2) can be quickly and easily recovered from the curved concave mold (1) by carrying-out means such as a suction pad and a carrying-out belt.

  The product of the present invention is not only the contact lens (2), but also a method of filling the gap between the resin molds with a raw material and then opening the resin mold and taking out the molded lens remaining in the mold. For example, even if the molded lens is an ophthalmic lens or an optical lens, the molded lens can be taken out in the same manner.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the principal part member used by embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the motion of the principal part member of this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows this invention method.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Curved concave type 2 Contact lens 3 Attachment for attachment 4 Detachment piece
41 Taper

Claims (4)

After forming a contact lens (2) by filling a polymer material by filling the gap between the curved concave mold (1) and the curved convex mold with a resin mold for the contact lens, the resin mold is opened, A method of taking out the contact lens (2) remaining inside the curved concave mold (1), wherein the curved concave mold (1) is set on an upper part of a rotatable attachment (3), and a pair of opposed By bringing the detachment piece (4) closer, a force is applied to the curved concave mold (1) from the outer periphery to the central side, and the curved concave mold (1) is rotated, so that the contact lens (2) inside thereof is detached. A method for removing a contact lens after mold opening. A taper portion (41) is provided so that the inside of the detachment piece (4) gradually approaches the center, and the outer periphery of the curved concave mold (1) as the pair of horizontally movable detachment pieces (4) that face each other approach each other. 2. The method for removing a contact lens after mold opening according to claim 1, wherein the pressing force increases toward the center and the curved concave mold (1) is rotated. The length of the tapered portion (41) is, after being close to a pair of disconnecting piece (4) facing the curved concave (1) after the mold opening according to claim 1, wherein a length that is rotated 1 How to take out contact lenses. The method of taking out a contact lens after opening the mold according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the contact lens (2) is detached and carried out from above or below the curved concave mold (1).