Eyeglass lens processing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9925635-B2
Application number	US-201113248640-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 29, 2011
Priority date	Sep 30, 2010
Publication date	Mar 27, 2018
Grant date	Mar 27, 2018

Abstract

In an eyeglass lens processing apparatus, if a material selector selects a thermoplastic material for the lens, a control unit performs a first step and then a second step. In the first step, the control unit controls a lens rotating unit to position a lens in a plurality of lens rotation angles and controls an axis-to-axis distance changing unit to cause a roughing tool to cut into the lens up to a roughing path for each of the plurality of lens rotation angles, the lens being not rotated by the lens rotating unit when the roughing tool is cutting into the lens up to the roughing path. In the second step, the control unit controls the lens rotating unit and the axis-to-axis distance changing unit to rough the lens based on the roughing path while the lens rotating unit rotates the lens.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An eyeglass lens processing apparatus comprising:
a lens rotating unit including a lens chuck shaft for holding an eyeglass lens and a motor for rotating the lens chuck shaft;
only one processing tool rotating unit including a roughing tool for roughing a periphery of the lens, a processing tool rotating shaft to which the roughing tool is attached, and a motor for rotating the processing tool rotating shaft;
an axis-to-axis distance changing unit including a motor moving the lens chuck shaft toward the processing tool rotating shaft to change an axis-to-axis distance between the lens chuck shaft and the processing tool rotating shaft;
a control unit obtaining a roughing path based on a target lens shape, and controlling the lens rotating unit and the axis-to-axis distance changing unit based on the obtained roughing path to rough the periphery of the lens by the roughing tool,
wherein the control unit performs a first step and then a second step,
wherein in the first step, the control unit executes a cut-in processing operation a plurality of times,
wherein in each of the cut-in processing operations, the control unit controls the axis-to-axis distance changing unit to cause the roughing tool to cut into the lens up to the roughing path, controls the axis-to-axis distance changing unit to separate the roughing tool from the lens after the roughing tool is cut into the lens up to the roughing path and controls the lens rotating unit to rotate the lens by a lens rotation angle, the lens being not rotated by the lens rotating unit when the roughing tool is cutting into the lens up to the roughing path,
wherein in the second step, the control unit controls the lens rotating unit and the axis-to-axis distance changing unit to rough the lens based on the roughing path while the lens rotating unit rotates the lens, and
wherein the roughing tool cuts into the lens along an entire thickness direction of the lens in both the first step and the second step, wherein the thickness direction is perpendicular to a movement direction of the lens chuck shaft.

2. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
in the first step, after the roughing tool cuts into the lens up to the roughing path while not rotating the lens, the control unit controls the axis-to-axis distance changing unit to separate the lens from the roughing tool, controls the lens rotating unit to rotate the lens by a predetermined angle, controls the axis-to-axis distance changing unit to cause the roughing tool to cut into the lens up to the roughing path again while not rotating the lens, and repeats these processes in the plurality of lens rotation angle directions until the lens rotates once under these processes.

3. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the predetermined angle is set within a range from 30 degrees to 80 degrees.

4. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein
the plurality of lens rotation angles are angles obtained by dividing one rotation of the angle by 5 to 12.

5. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein
the plurality of rotating angles are stored in a memory as predetermined values.

6. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein
the control unit sets the plurality of rotating angles based on a diameter of the roughing tool, the roughing path or a target lens shape, and a diameter of the unprocessed lens.

7. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein
the control unit sets the plurality of rotating angles so that the entire periphery of the lens is processed by the roughing tool at the first step.

8. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein
the control unit sets the plurality of rotating angles so that a distance between a chuck center of the lens chuck shaft and a roughing region where the roughing tool roughs the lens in the first step is equal to or less than a predetermined distance which is smaller than a radius of the lens and at which an axial deviation between the lens and the lens chuck shaft does not occur at the second step.

9. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein
the plurality of lens rotation angles are angles obtained by dividing one rotation of the angle by 5 to 12, and an interval of the adjacent angles are within a range between 30 degrees and 80 degrees.

10. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a material selector selecting material of the lens,
wherein if the material selector selects a thermoplastic material for the lens, the control unit performs the first step and then the second step, wherein
in the second step of roughing, the control units controls the lens rotating unit to rotate the lens in the same direction as the rotation direction of the roughing tool.

11. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein
if the material selector selects a lens of thermoset material,
in the second step, the control unit controls the lens rotating unit to rotate the lens in a direction opposite to a rotating direction of the roughing tool.

12. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the control unit controls the axis-to-axis distance changing unit so that a cutting-in speed of the roughing tool at the first step is set to equal to or less than a predetermined allowable value.

13. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a processing mode selector selecting a first mode in which a surface of the lens is slippery and a second mode in which the surface of the lens is normal,
wherein the control unit controls the axis-to-axis distance changing unit so that the cutting-in speed of the roughing tool at the first step in the second mode is faster than that of the first mode, and controls the lens rotating unit so that the rotating speed of the lens at the second step in the second mode is higher than that of the first mode.

14. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the roughing tool includes at least one grindstone.

15. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a processing mode selector configured to select a first mode in which a surface of the lens is slippery and a second mode in which the surface of the lens is normal, wherein the control unit controls the axis-to-axis distance changing unit and the lens rotating unit in such a manner that the roughing tool roughs the periphery of the lens while the lens rotating unit stops rotating the lens.

16. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:
a processing mode selector selecting a first mode in which the roughing tool roughs the lens while the lens rotating unit stops rotating the lens and a second mode in which the roughing tool roughs the lens while the lens rotating unit rotates the lens,
wherein the control unit controls the axis-to-axis distance changing unit and the lens rotating unit according to one of the first mode and the second mode selected by the processing mode selector.

17. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the entirety of the first step is completed before the second step is performed.

18. The eyeglass lens processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the roughing tool does not contact the lens when the lens rotating unit rotates the lens from a fir

Assignees

• Shibata Ryoji
• Nidek Kk

Inventors

• Shibata Ryoji

Classifications

• B24B9/144

  the spectacles being used as a template · CPC title

• B24B49/02

  according to the instantaneous size and required size of the workpiece acted upon, the measuring or gauging being continuous or intermittent (B24B49/12 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B24B47/22

  Equipment for exact control of the position of the grinding tool or work at the start of the grinding operation · CPC title

• B24B9/148 Primary

  electrically, e.g. numerically, controlled · CPC title

• B24B51/00

  Arrangements for automatic control of a series of individual steps in grinding a workpiece (if applicable to other machine tools, G05B takes precedence) · CPC title