Cup attaching apparatus

Abstract

A cup attaching apparatus for attaching a cup to an eyeglass lens, comprises: a lens mount on which the lens is to be mounted; at least three support pins provided on the lens mount to support the lens when a rear refractive surface of the lens is brought in contact with the support pins; a holding unit adapted to hold the support pins so that a supporting plane defined by the support pins is inclineable; a lens clamp for clamping the lens in cooperation with the lens mount when the lens is mounted on the lens mount; at least three presser pins provided on the lens clamp to clamp the lens when a front refractive surface of the lens is brought in contact with the presser pins; and a locking unit adapted to keep the supporting plane defined by the support pins in a substantially horizontal position when the lens is not clamped between the lens mount and the lens clamp.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification illustrate an embodiment of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the objects, advantages and principles of the invention.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a schematic external view of a cup attaching apparatus of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic configuration views of the attaching apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a rotating mechanism for a cup holder and a rotating mechanism for a blocking arm;

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C are views showing changing of orientations of the cup holder;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are sectional views showing a schematic configuration of a modified form of the rotating mechanism for the cup holder and the rotating mechanism for the blocking arm;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are views showing changing of the orientations of the cup holder;

FIG. 7 is a schematic external view of a lens mount;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the lens mount;

FIG. 9 is a partly sectional view taken along a line B-B in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along a line C-C in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along a line D-D in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along a line E-E in FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is a bottom view of a lens clamp;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of a portion F in FIG. 13;

FIGS. 15A and 15B are schematic configuration views of a moving unit for the lens clamp;

FIG. 16 is a schematic configuration diagram of an illumination optical system and a light receiving optical system of the attaching apparatus and a schematic block diagram of a control system of the attaching apparatus;

FIG. 17 is a view showing a setting screen for the orientation of the cup holder;

FIGS. 18A, 18B, and 18C are views showing positions of support pins in a unprocessed lens blocking mode, a processed lens blocking mode, and a shape measuring mode;

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a measuring screen for a shape of a demo lens; and

FIG. 20 is a view showing a setting screen for positions of holes and others.

Claims

1. A cup attaching apparatus for attaching a cup to an eyeglass lens, comprising: a lens mount on which the lens is to be mounted;at least three support pins provided on the lens mount to support the lens when a rear refractive surface of the lens is brought in contact with the support pins;a holding unit adapted to hold the support pins so that a supporting plane defined by the support pins is inclineable;a lens clamp for clamping the lens in cooperation with the lens mount when the lens is mounted on the lens mount;at least three presser pins provided on the lens clamp to clamp the lens when a front refractive surface of the lens is brought in contact with the presser pins; anda locking unit adapted to keep the supporting plane defined by the support pins in a substantially horizontal position when the lens is not clamped between the lens mount and the lens clamp.

2. The cup attaching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the locking unit inhibits the holding unit from inclining so that the supporting plane is substantially horizontal while the lens is not clamped and permits the holding unit to incline while the lens is clamped.

3. The cup attaching apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a moving mechanism adapted to move the lens clamp in a direction that approaches the lens mount to clamp the lens, and wherein the locking unit controls inclination of the holding unit to be permitted/inhibited in interlocking relation to operation of the moving mechanism.

4. The cup attaching apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a mode selector for selecting between a first mode for attaching the cup to an unprocessed lens and a second mode for attaching the cup to a processed lens; wherein the moving mechanism causes the lens clamp to move to clamp the lens when the first mode is selected and does not cause the lens clamp to move when the second mode is selected, andthe locking unit permits the holding unit to incline when the first mode is selected and inhibits the holding unit from inclining when the second mode is selected.

5. The cup attaching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the locking unit includes an urging member which applies an urging force to the support pins so that the supporting plane defined by the support pins is in the substantially horizontal position, andthe urging force of the urging member is strong enough to keep the supporting plane in the substantially horizontal position against a load on the support pins when the lens is mounted thereon and to allow the supporting plane defined by the support pins to incline under a load on the support pins when the lens is pressed by the presser pins.

6. The cup attaching apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising an inclination mechanism adapted to hold the holding unit in such a manner that the holding unit is allowed in incline, and the urging member is one of a magnet and a resilient member, provided in the inclination mechanism.

7. The cup attaching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the presser pins are provided on the lens clamp so that a pressing plane defined by the presser pins is substantially horizontal.