JP2009202883A - Lens unit storing tray - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To store a lens unit by preventing an optical element from being peeled from a frame, and to hold the stored lens unit by turning it reversely without pinching it. <P>SOLUTION: A lens unit storing tray 10 stores the lens unit P having the frame P1 provided with a flange part F, a first optical element P2 fixed in the frame P1 and a second optical element P3. The tray is formed with an upper end surface 21a of a cylindrical hole part 21 for holding the side peripheral face of a cylindrical part P1a of the frame P1 and a lower surface F2 of the flange, and a bottom face 22a of a recessed part 22 for holding the side peripheral face F3 of the flange and the upper face F1 of the flange. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a tray for storing an objective lens unit for an optical pickup.

  As an objective lens unit for an optical pickup according to the present invention, there is one described in Patent Document 1, for example.

Incidentally, optical products such as lenses are stored and transported in a dedicated storage tray (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 to 4).
JP 2006-85837 A JP 2000-304991 A JP 2003-828285 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-341771

  However, each of the storage trays described in Patent Documents 2 to 4 stores a single lens and cannot accommodate a lens unit having a plurality of lenses. In the lens unit of Patent Document 1, two optical elements are bonded and fixed to the inner ends of a cylindrical lens frame, and the bonding strength between the lens frame and the optical element is lower than the strength of a single lens. For this reason, when the lens unit is stored in the conventional storage tray, the tray itself and the optical element of the lens unit come into contact with each other. For example, the optical element and the tray repeatedly collide due to vibration during transportation, and the impact load is reduced. There is a possibility that the optical element may be peeled off from the adhesion surface by being applied to the adhesion surface between the lens frame and the optical element.

  In addition, there is a step of visually inspecting the optical function surface of the lens unit using a microscope to check that there are no scratches or dirt. In this step, it is necessary to visually observe the optical elements on both sides of the lens frame. This inspection is performed with the lens unit placed on the main body side of the storage tray. However, when a conventional storage tray is used, only the lens unit is lifted to view the optical elements on both sides of the lens frame. It was necessary to reverse it. The lens unit is 5 to 6 mm in diameter, and can be picked and inverted by tweezers, etc., but in addition to being a cumbersome operation, at this time, the optical elements are scratched by tweezers etc. There was a fear.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and stores the lens unit by preventing the optical element from peeling off from the lens frame, and allows the operator to visually invert the stored lens unit without picking it. It is an object of the present invention to provide a lens unit storage tray that can be used.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1
A lens unit storage tray for storing a lens unit having a lens frame provided with a flange and a plurality of optical elements fixed to the lens frame,
A tray body that holds a side peripheral surface of the lens frame and a lower surface of the flange;
A lid member for holding a side peripheral surface and an upper surface of the flange;
It is characterized by providing.

Invention of Claim 2 is a tray for lens unit accommodation of Claim 1, Comprising:
The lens unit storage tray is configured to hold the side peripheral surface of the lens frame and the lower surface of the flange at the upper portion, and hold the side peripheral surface and the upper surface of the flange at the lower portion, The lens unit is housed so that it can be stacked in multiple stages.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the tray main body includes the tray main body that holds the side peripheral surface of the lens frame and the lower surface of the flange, and the lid member that holds the side peripheral surface of the flange and the upper surface. The lid member can hold the lens unit by holding only the lens frame without contacting the optical element. Therefore, since the tray body or the lid member does not come into contact with the optical element, it is possible to prevent the optical element from being peeled off from the lens frame. Further, by flipping the lens unit upside down in a state where the lens unit is housed and held by the tray main body and the lid member, it is possible to make the operator visually check both sides of the lens unit housed without picking the lens unit with tweezers or the like.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the lens unit storage tray holds the side peripheral surface of the lens frame and the lower surface of the flange in the upper part, and the side peripheral surface and upper surface of the flange in the lower part. The lens unit storage tray on the upper side of the stored lens unit serves as a lid member, and the lens on the lower side is configured so that the lens unit can be stacked and stacked in multiple stages. The unit storage trays can be stacked in multiple stages, each holding a lens unit as a tray body. Therefore, many lens units can be stored in a compact storage space.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, a lens unit stored in a lens unit storage tray (hereinafter referred to as a tray) according to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a lens unit P in the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the lens unit P includes a lens frame P1, a first optical element P2, and a second optical element P3. The lens frame P1 has a stepped cylindrical shape including a cylindrical portion P1a and a concentric cylindrical flange portion F formed at the upper end thereof. The first optical element P2 is fitted to the upper end of the lens frame P1 and fixed with an adhesive, and the second optical element P3 is fixed to the lower end with an adhesive. In addition, a flange upper surface F1, a lower surface F2, and a side peripheral surface F3 are formed in the flange portion F of the lens frame P1 so as to come into contact with a tray 10 described later.

  As the lens unit P, for example, an objective lens unit for an optical pickup as described in JP-A-2006-85837 can be used.

  Next, the tray according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 (a) to (c), FIG. 3 and FIG. 2A is a plan view of the upper surface side of the tray member 1 constituting the tray 10 according to the present invention, FIG. 2B is a side view, and FIG. 2C is A in FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 2C, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the tray 10 in which the lens unit P is accommodated.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the tray 10 according to the present invention is composed of a pair of tray members 1 and 1 formed in the same shape as the tray main body and the lid member in the present invention, and accommodates the lens unit P. It is formed so that it can be stacked in multiple stages.

  The tray member 1 is formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape, and has a large number of substantially cylindrical hole-like storage portions 2 that are arranged in the width direction X and the longitudinal direction Y in an orderly manner.

  The storage unit 2 stores the lens unit P, and is formed in a hole shape penetrating in the thickness direction (vertical direction) of the tray member 1. More specifically, it is formed in a stepped cylindrical hole shape including a cylindrical hole portion 21 in which the cylindrical portion P1a of the lens frame P1 is loosely fitted and a concave portion 22 in which the flange portion F of the lens frame P1 is loosely fitted. .

  When the cylindrical portion P1a of the lens frame P1 is loosely fitted from the upper surface side of the tray member 1, the cylindrical hole portion 21 touches the flange lower surface F2 of the lens frame P1 with the upper end surface 21a that is flush with the upper surface of the tray member 1. It is formed to hold in contact. The depth of the cylindrical hole 21 is formed to be sufficiently deeper than the length from the lower flange surface F2 of the lens unit P to the lowest end of the second optical element P3. Further, a chamfer 21b is provided on the inner peripheral edge of the upper end of the cylindrical hole portion 21 so that the lens frame P1 can be easily inserted.

  The concave portion 22 is formed concentrically with the cylindrical hole portion 21 so as to be recessed from the lower surface of the tray member 1 to the upper surface side. When the flange portion F of the lens frame P1 is loosely fitted from the lower surface side of the tray member 1, the bottom surface 22a The flange upper surface F1 is formed so as to contact and hold. Further, the depth of the concave portion 22 is formed to be deeper than the thickness of the flange portion F. Further, a chamfer 22 b is provided on the inner peripheral edge of the lower end of the recess 22 so that the flange portion F can be easily inserted.

  Moreover, the tray member 1 is provided with the engaging shaft part 3a, the engaging hole part 3b, and the groove part 4, as shown to Fig.1 (a)-(c).

  The engagement shaft portion 3a and the engagement hole portion 3b are provided at positions corresponding to the upper surface and the lower surface at the four corners of the tray member 1, and are formed to be engageable with each other. Thus, when the trays 10 are stacked in multiple stages, that is, when the tray members 1 are stacked in multiple stages, the engagement shaft portion 3a is in the engagement hole portion 3b in the upper tray member 1, and the engagement hole portion 3b is in the lower stage. The tray members 1 are respectively engaged with the engagement shaft portions 3a, and the storage portions 2 are fixed and positioned so as to be in substantially the same position in the width direction X and the longitudinal direction Y. Further, the engagement shaft portion 3 a and the engagement hole portion 3 b have an engagement depth that allows the upper surface of the tray member 1 and the lower surface of the upper tray member 1 to be in close contact with each other.

  The groove portions 4 are formed on both sides of the storage portion 2 along the longitudinal direction Y of the tray member 1, and are continuous in the longitudinal direction Y with the storage portion 2 interposed in the present embodiment. For example, when the lens unit P is taken out from the storage portion 2, the groove portion 4 is provided so that both ends thereof can be easily sandwiched with tweezers or the like. The groove 4 has a length that does not penetrate to the side surface of the tray member 1 so that foreign matter does not enter from the side surface when the tray members 1 are stacked in multiple stages.

  The tray member 1 as described above can be formed, for example, by injection molding a resin material.

  Next, a method for storing and taking out the lens unit P from the tray 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, when the lens unit P is stored in the tray 10, the cylindrical portion P1a of the lens frame P1 is inserted into the cylindrical hole of the storage unit 2 of the tray member 1 by sandwiching the flange side peripheral surface F3 of the lens frame P1 with tweezers, for example. Insert into part 21. Then, the flange lower surface F2 of the lens frame P1 is held in contact with the upper end surface 21a.

  Next, the other tray members 1 are connected to the tray member 1 so that the engagement shaft portions 3a at the four corners of the tray member 1 engage with the engagement hole portions 3b of the other tray members 1 (see FIG. 1). It is loaded on the upper stage. Then, the concave portion 22 of the storage portion 2 in the other tray member 1 is loosely fitted to the flange portion F, and the upper surface of the tray member 1 and the lower surface of the other tray member 1 are in close contact with each other. In this way, the lens unit P is accommodated so as to be sandwiched between a pair of tray members 1 and 1 constituting the tray 10.

  The tray 10 is a tray body and a lid member, and the shapes other than the holding portion of the lens unit P need not be the same. In this case, the tray 10 is configured to hold the side circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion P1a of the lens frame P1 and the flange lower surface F2 at the upper portion, and hold the flange side circumferential surface F3 and the flange upper surface F1 at the lower portion. It only has to be done. With this configuration, the tray member 1 on the upper side of the stored lens unit P is used as a lid member, and the tray member 1 on the lower side is used as a tray body to hold the lens units P and stack them in multiple stages. Can do.

  In this way, the lens unit P is stored in the storage unit 2 with the cylindrical portion P1a of the lens frame P1 loosely fitted in the cylindrical hole portion 21 of the tray member 1. That is, since the cylindrical hole portion 21 of the tray member 1 can hold and hold the side peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion P1a of the lens frame P1, the cylindrical hole portion 21 of the tray member 1 can receive the vibration during transportation. The inner peripheral surface and the side peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion P1a come into contact with each other, so that the lens unit P is held and movement in the lateral direction is restricted.

  By repeating the same procedure, the tray members 1 can be stacked in multiple stages, that is, the trays 10 can be stacked in multiple stages, and a large number of lens units P can be accommodated. However, at the time of storage and transportation, separate sealable floor plates and lids (both not shown) are attached to the lowermost stage and the uppermost stage so that foreign matter does not enter.

  On the other hand, in order to take out the lens unit P accommodated in the tray 10, first, by disengaging the engagement hole 3 b of the other upper tray member 1 from the engagement shaft portion 3 a of the lower tray member 1, The other tray member 1 is removed from the lower tray member 1. Then, for example, the tip of the tweezers is put in the groove 4 on both sides of the storage portion 2 of the tray member 1, and the lens unit P is taken out by lifting the flange side peripheral surface F3 with the tweezers as deep as possible.

  Next, a method for holding the lens unit P upside down will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5A, 5B, and 6. FIG. Here, FIG. 5A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the storage unit 2 that holds the lens unit P, FIG. 5B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the storage unit 2 that holds the lens unit P upside down, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the tray 10 in which the lens unit P is stored and turned upside down.

  First, the lens unit P is held on the tray member 1 in the vertical direction. That is, the cylindrical portion P1a of the lens frame P1 is inserted into the cylindrical hole portion 21 of the storage portion 2 from the upper surface side of the tray member 1, and the upper end surface 21a of the cylindrical hole portion 21 is mirrored as shown in FIG. The flange lower surface F2 of the frame P1 is brought into contact with and held. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, another tray member 1 is stacked on the upper stage so that the tray 10 houses the lens unit P. Then, in this state, the upper and lower sides are reversed and turned upside down as shown in FIG. 6, and then the upper tray member (freely fitted to the cylindrical portion P1a) is removed. Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, the lens unit P is turned upside down and turned upside down, and the flange top surface F1 of the lens frame P1 contacts and is held by the bottom surface 22a of the recess 22 of the storage unit 2. It will be in a state to be.

  Here, the vertical direction means that the tray member 1 is arranged with the cylindrical hole portion 21 on the upper side and the concave portion 22 on the lower side, or stacked in multiple stages as in the vertical positional relationship shown in FIG. State. Further, the upside down direction means a state in which the upside down direction is reversed from the upside down state.

  As described above, the tray 10 does not come into contact with the first and second optical elements P2 and P3, either when it is upside down or upside down, and it does not touch either the upper surface F1 or the lower surface F2 of the flange portion F. The lens unit P can be held by holding only one of them.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, the lens unit P is housed in the housing portion 2 with the flange portion F being loosely fitted in the concave portion 22 of the tray member 1. That is, the concave portion 22 of the tray member 1 can hold the flange-side peripheral surface F3 in contact therewith. Therefore, for example, when visually inspecting the second optical element P3 side using a microscope, even if the tray member 1 is moved by hand under the microscope in the upside down state shown in FIG. The lens unit P can be prevented from shifting laterally from a substantially fixed position on the tray member 1.

  In the case where the tray 10 has a different shape for the tray body and the lid member as described above, the tray body holds the side peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion P1a and the flange lower surface F2, and the lid member is the flange side peripheral surface. If it is comprised so that F3 and the flange upper surface F1 may be hold | maintained, there can exist said effect.

  As described above, according to the tray 10 in the present embodiment, only one of the upper surface F1 and the lower surface F2 of the flange portion F is held without contacting the first and second optical elements P2 and P3. Thus, the lens unit P can be held. Further, the lens unit P is turned upside down while the lens unit P is housed and held by the pair of tray members 1 and 1 constituting the tray 10, so that the stored lens unit P is turned upside down without being picked, and is made visible to the operator. be able to.

  Further, since the tray 10 can store the lens units P and can be stacked in multiple stages, a large number of lens units P can be stored in a compact storage space.

  Further, since the lens unit P stored in the tray 10 is restrained from moving in the lateral direction, the lens unit P is moved in the lateral direction due to vibration during transportation, an operation at the time of visual inspection, and the like. It can prevent that an element contacts.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment and its modification, Of course, it can change suitably.

It is a sectional side view of the lens unit in an embodiment. (A) It is a top view of the upper surface side of the tray member in embodiment, (b) It is a side view, (c) It is AA sectional drawing of (a). It is the partial expansion part of FIG.2 (c). It is an expanded sectional view of the tray which accommodated the lens unit in embodiment. (A) It is an expanded sectional view of the accommodating part which hold | maintains a lens unit in an up-down normal direction in embodiment, (b) It is an expanded sectional view of the accommodating part hold | maintained upside down. It is an expanded sectional view of the tray which accommodated the lens unit in the embodiment and turned upside down.

Explanation of symbols

1 Tray member (tray body, lid member)
10 Tray (lens unit storage tray)
F Flange F1 Flange upper surface F2 Flange lower surface F3 Flange side peripheral surface P Lens unit P1 Lens frame P2 First optical element P3 Second optical element

Claims (2)

A lens unit storage tray for storing a lens unit having a lens frame provided with a flange and a plurality of optical elements fixed to the lens frame,
A tray body that holds a side peripheral surface of the lens frame and a lower surface of the flange;
A lid member for holding a side peripheral surface and an upper surface of the flange;
A tray for storing a lens unit.   The lens unit storage tray is configured to hold the side peripheral surface of the lens frame and the lower surface of the flange at the upper portion, and hold the side peripheral surface and the upper surface of the flange at the lower portion, The lens unit storage tray according to claim 1, wherein the lens unit is stored and can be stacked in multiple stages.

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