System and method for conformal cooling during a lens manufacturing process

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11110630-B2
Application number	US-201616087973-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 25, 2016
Priority date	Mar 25, 2016
Publication date	Sep 7, 2021
Grant date	Sep 7, 2021

Abstract

The disclosed embodiments include a system and method for manufacturing a lens. In one embodiment, the system includes a lens mold. According to the embodiment, the lens mold contains a part cavity and a material flow path fluidly coupled to the part cavity and a lens material inlet. The system also includes a heat transfer insert. According to the embodiment, the heat transfer insert includes an insert surface positioned adjacent to a part surface of the cavity, a sealed fluid inlet, a sealed fluid outlet, and a conformal fluid conduit that extends from the sealed fluid inlet to the sealed fluid outlet.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for manufacturing a lens, the method comprising:
heating a lens material to a temperature above its glass transition temperature;
delivering the heated lens material to a material flow path having a lens material inlet and a lens material outlet fluidly coupled to a cavity of a mold, the cavity defining a lens, the cavity including a first portion having a first thickness and a second portion having a second thickness, the first thickness being greater than the second thickness;
flowing the lens material through the material flow path into the cavity;
dissipating heat from the lens material through a heat transfer insert that forms a part surface of the cavity, the heat transfer insert comprising
at least one conformal fluid conduit comprising
a first conformal fluid conduit overlying the first portion, and
a second conformal fluid conduit overlying the second portion,

a first heating element proximate to the first conformal fluid conduit, and
a second heating element proximate to the second conformal fluid conduit; and

retrieving a solidified lens from the cavity after solidification of the lens material.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one conformal fluid conduit comprises a plurality of conformal fluid conduits,
the method further comprising raising the temperature of the surface of the cavity to a temperature that is above the glass transition temperature of the lens material, the raising the temperature of the surface of the cavity comprising circulating a heated fluid through the plurality of conformal fluid conduits.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising lowering the temperature of the lens material disposed within the cavity to a preselected temperature that is below the glass transition temperature of the lens material, the lowering the temperature of the lens material disposed within the cavity comprising circulating a cooled fluid through a plurality of conformal fluid conduits.

4. A lens manufacturing system comprising:
a mold having at least one part cavity and a material flow path, the material flow path being fluidly coupled to the at least one part cavity and a lens material inlet, the at least one part cavity comprising a first portion having a first thickness and a second portion having a second thickness, the first thickness being greater than the second thickness; and
at least one heat transfer insert having an insert surface that forms a part surface of the at least one part cavity, the at least one heat transfer insert comprising
a sealed fluid inlet,
a sealed fluid outlet,
at least one conformal fluid conduit extending from the sealed fluid inlet to the sealed fluid outlet, the at least one conformal fluid conduit comprising
a first conformal fluid conduit overlying the first portion, and
a second conformal fluid conduit overlying the second portion,

a first heating element proximate to the first conformal fluid conduit, and
a second heating element proximate to the second conformal fluid conduit.

5. The lens manufacturing system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one part cavity comprises an arched upper surface and an arched lower surface, and
wherein the at least one heat transfer insert includes a first heat transfer insert comprising an arched lower surface that forms the arched upper surface of the part cavity.

6. The lens manufacturing system of claim 5 , wherein the at least one heat transfer insert includes a second heat transfer insert having an upper arched insert surface that forms the arched lower surface of the part cavity.

7. The lens manufacturing system of claim 4 , wherein the first conformal fluid conduit has an increased cross-sectional area relative to the second conformal fluid conduit.

8. The lens manufacturing system of claim 7 , wherein the first conformal fluid conduit has a cross-sectional area that is related to the first thickness and the second conformal fluid conduit has a cross-sectional area that is related to the second thickness.

9. The lens manufacturing system of claim 4 , wherein the first conformal fluid conduit is positioned closer to the insert surface than the second conformal fluid conduit.

10. The lens manufacturing system of claim 4 , wherein the second conformal fluid conduit comprises a flow restrictor and is operable to circulate fluid at a reduced flow rate relative to the first conformal fluid conduit.

11. The lens manufacturing system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one heat transfer insert comprises a metal selected from a group consisting of steel, stainless steel, ceramic, aluminum, copper, beryllium-copper alloy, and a combination thereof.

12. The lens manufacturing system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one heat transfer insert is insertable into and removable from the part cavity.

13. The lens manufacturing system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one heat transfer insert is formed using a manufacturing process that comprises an additive manufacturing process.

14. The lens manufacturing system of claim 4 , wherein the mold comprises a cooling fluid inlet conduit coupled to the sealed fluid inlet and a cooling fluid outlet conduit coupled to the sealed fluid outlet.

15. The lens manufacturing system of claim 4 , wherein the mold comprises a plurality of the at least one part cavity and a plurality of the at least one heat transfer insert that each has the insert surface that forms the part surface of one of the part cavities, the sealed fluid inlet, the sealed fluid outlet, and the conformal fluid conduit extending from the sealed fluid inlet to the sealed fluid outlet, and
wherein the mold further comprises a cooling fluid inlet conduit coupled to the sealed fluid inlets of the plurality of heat transfer inserts.

16. The lens manufacturing system of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of heat transfer inserts are positioned within the plurality of part cavities.

17. The lens manufacturing system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one heat transfer insert comprises a boundary surface that is selected to form the boundary of an optical surface.

18. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
sensing, by a temperature sensor, a temperature measurement corresponding to the lens cavity; and
heating one or more of the first and second heating elements to add heat to the lens cavity based on the sensed temperature measurement.

Assignees

• Essilor Int

Inventors

• Kitchloo Paresh
• Payne Nathan
• Tisne Severine

Classifications

• B33Y70/00

  Materials specially adapted for additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B29D11/00

  Producing optical elements, e.g. lenses or prisms (grinding or polishing of optical elements B24B; constructional form of optical elements G02B; {optical parts of spectacles G02C7/00}) · CPC title

• B29D11/00442

  Curing the lens material · CPC title

• B29C33/04 Primary

  using liquids, gas or steam {(tyre moulds with incorporated heating or cooling means using liquids, gas or steam B29D30/0601)} · CPC title

• B29C33/3828

  Moulds made of at least two different materials having different thermal conductivities · CPC title