US Patent 7386998 Method of manufacturing holder-mounted optical element

A cylindrical holder material having a thin deformed portion is located in a press forming die. An optical element material is installed inside the holder material and the holder material and the optical element material are heated to their respective softening temperatures, thereby forming a cylindrical holder from the holder material and an optical element from the optical element material by press forming the holder material and the optical element material that have been heated to their respective softening temperatures. Thus, the optical element is integrated inside the holder and the deformed portion of the holder is deformed towards the outside thereof by a pressing force applied by the optical element.