Patent ID: 8162656

Claim:
A molding assembly for molding an array of interconnected microlenses, the molding assembly comprising: a mold plate forming at least one set of cavities and a recess, said cavities being spaced apart from each other and connected to each other by said recess, wherein the mold plate includes an outer surface forming said recess and the mold cavities extend inward from said outer surface; an injection head for injecting molten lens material into said cavities and said recess to form said array of microlenses in the cavities and a lens flange in said recess, said microlenses being spaced apart from each other, and said lens flange connecting all of the microlenses together to facilitate handling and positioning the microlenses; and a heating element for heating said molten material in said injection head to maintain said molten material as a fluid until the entire set of interconnected cavities and the recess are filled.