Patent ID: 8092725

Claim:
An apparatus for forming an optical element having an optical element lens portion extending along and radially about an optical axis, the apparatus comprising: a sleeve having a sleeve inner surface defining a sleeve hole formed through the sleeve and extending along and about a sleeve hole axis; a pair of forming molds each of which has a concave surface and a flat facing surface surrounding the concave surface with respective ones of the concave surfaces and the facing surfaces facing each other when disposed inside the sleeve hole, at least one of the pair of the forming molds being fabricated from glass to allow an ultraviolet hardening energy to pass through itself, each one of the pair of forming molds being slidably received in the sleeve hole in a close-fitting relationship, respective ones of the flat facing surfaces extending perpendicularly relative to and inwardly towards the sleeve hole axis at a distance D 1 ; and a ring-shaped frame-like mold member interposed between the facing surfaces of the pair of the forming molds inside of the sleeve hole, the ring-shaped frame-like mold member sized to be slidably received in the sleeve hole in a close-fitting relationship and having an outer peripheral surface, an inner peripheral surface and a pair of mold member flat surfaces extending between and interconnecting the outer and inner peripheral surfaces, the outer peripheral surface extending parallel to the sleeve hole axis and being in sliding contact with the sleeve inner surface, the inner peripheral surface extending parallel to the sleeve hole axis and being disposed inwardly towards the sleeve hole axis from the outer peripheral surface at a distance D 2 to define a mold member hole formed though the ring-shaped frame-like mold member and extending along and about the sleeve hole axis and respective ones of the mold member flat surfaces extending perpendicularly relative to the sleeve hole axis and being in facial contact with respective ones of the flat facing surfaces; wherein an energy hardening resin is filled into the cavity and then hardened by being subjected to the hardening energy passing through the at least one of the pair of the forming molds and wherein the distance D 2 is less than the distance D 1 so that, after the optical element is molded, the optical element has an optical element ring portion radially disposed apart from and surrounding the optical axis and being integrally formed with the optical element lens portion and, as a result of molding, the ring-shaped frame-like mold member being radially disposed apart from and surrounding the optical axis is fixedly connected to and surrounds the optical element ring portion.