US 7,473,091 B2
Apparatus for manufacturing megapixel multi-focus lens
Myung Sung Woo, Kyoungsangnam-do (Korea, Republic of); Dong Yeon Jung, Kyoungsangnam-do (Korea, Republic of); Sung Ho Han, Kyoungsangnam-do (Korea, Republic of); Yun Hyng Lee, Kyoungsangnam-do (Korea, Republic of); and Jung Hyun Park, Kyoungsangnam-do (Korea, Republic of)
Assigned to AEHO Technology Co., Ltd., Kyoungsangnam-Do (Korea, Republic of)
Filed on Mar. 22, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/726,704.
Claims priority of application No. 20-2006-0016121 U (KR), filed on Jun. 15, 2006; and application No. 20-2006-0016124 U (KR), filed on Jun. 15, 2006.
Prior Publication US 2008/0031990 A1, Feb. 07, 2008
Int. Cl. B29C 43/36 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 425—407  [425/808; 425/406; 425/422] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for manufacturing a megapixel multi-focus lens, comprising:
loading means, comprising an input conveyor to supply a mold body, in which a blank interposed between upper and lower molds is placed, to a loading plate, and a loading bar to supply the mold body, supplied to the loading plate, to a forming position;
compression-forming means, comprising first through third preheating units to preheat the mold body to a predetermined temperature, a compressing unit to compress the preheated mold body at a preset pressure, and first through third cooling units to cool the compressed mold body through a plurality of steps, the first through third preheating units, the compressing unit, and the first through third cooling units being consecutively arranged in a line in a forming chamber and respectively preheating, compressing, and cooling the mold body in the forming chamber filled with nitrogen gas so that the blank is formed into the multi-focus lens having an aspherical surface;
position moving means for moving the mold body to a subsequent processing position in the forming chamber; and
discharge means, comprising a discharge conveyor to discharge the multi-focus lens formed by the compression-forming means,
wherein each of the first through third preheating units comprises a lower heater placed on a base plate provided on a bottom in the forming chamber, a thermal conduction plate made of cemented carbide and layered on the lower heater to transfer heat from the lower heater to the mold body, a guide unit vertically provided on the forming chamber, a vertical drive unit comprising a hydraulic cylinder or motor and provided on an upper end of the guide unit to vertically move an operating bar, and the operating bar, coupled to the vertical drive unit, the operating bar being linearly moved along the guide unit in a vertical direction,
wherein an upper heater is provided under a lower end of the operating bar to move downwards, preheat, and compress the mold body placed on the thermal conduction plate, and
wherein mold body separating means is provided both on a cooling plate, provided between the upper heater and the operating bar to prevent heat from being transferred from the upper heater to the operating bar, and on the upper heater to separate the mold body from the upper heater such that the mold body is prevented from being moved upwards along with the upper heater when the upper heater is moved upwards after moving downwards, and contacting the upper surface of the mold body,
the mold body separating means comprising two vertical rods provided in respective opposite ends of the cooling plate so as to be movable in a vertical direction, a return spring fitted over each of the vertical rods to apply elastic force to the vertical rod in a direction in which the vertical rod is moved downwards, a separating bar coupling the two vertical rods to each other, the separating bar passing through a lower surface of the upper heater, and a seating groove formed in the lower surface of the upper heater, so that the separating bar is seated into the seating groove.