APPARATUS FOR FORMATION OF AN OPHTHALMIC LENS PRECURSOR AND LENS

• US 20190041665A1
• Filed: 10/10/2018
• Published: 02/07/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Incorporated (Johnson & Johnson)
• Original Assignee: Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Incorporated (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Widman, Michael F, Enns, John B, Powell, P. Mark, Sites, Peter W
• Granted Patent: US 10,571,718 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 17/00 Details of, or accessories for, apparatus for shaping the material; Auxiliary measures taken in connection with such shaping moulds B28B7/00; after-treatment B28B11/00; feeding or discharging B28B13/00; arrangements for embedding elements in the material B28B23/00
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2035/0827 using UV radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2035/0833 using actinic light
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 35/0805 using electromagnetic radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 39/26 Moulds or cores
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00009 Production of simple or compound lenses
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00134 Curing of the contact lens material
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00144 wherein the lens material is not fully polymerized, e.g. by leaving an unpolymerized volume
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/0073 Optical laminates
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 70/00 Materials specially adapted for additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 2202/08 Series of lenses, lens blanks
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/04 Contact lenses for the eyes disinfection or sterilisation of contact lenses A61L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/047 Contact lens fitting; Contact lenses for orthokeratology; Contact lenses for specially shaped corneae
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/24 Curved surfaces G03F7/70 takes precedence

Abstract

This invention discloses apparatus for generating an ophthalmic lens with at least a portion of one surface free-formed from a Reactive Mixture. In some embodiments, an ophthalmic lens is formed on a substrate with an arcuate optical quality surface via a source of actinic radiation controllable to cure a definable portion of a volume of Reactive Mixture.

Claims

1. An apparatus for forming an ophthalmic device defined by opposing concave and convex surfaces meeting at a peripheral edge, the apparatus comprising:

a male mold mandrel comprising a convex optical quality surface upon which said ophthalmic device may be formed, at least a portion of said convex optical quality surface defining a shape of said concave surface of said ophthalmic device to be formed,

a container suitable for holding a volume of reactive mixture having a volume greater than a volume of said ophthalmic device to be formed, and a shape that does not influence said shape of said ophthalmic device to be formed;

a reactive mixture within said container;

said male mold mandrel positioned relative to said container so that at least said portion of said male mold mandrel is submerged within said reactive mixture;

a light source including a plurality of beams of actinic radiation each directed through the male mold mandrel and its convex optical quality surface and into said reactive mixture at different, predetermined locations;

a control device for selectively controlling on and off states of said plurality of beams of actinic radiation, wherein said each of said plurality of beams, when in the on state, is capable of initiating curing of reactive mixture within its path.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a focusing optical element within a path of said light source.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a collimating optical element within a path of said light source.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control device further comprises a pattern generator for splitting light delivered by the light source.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the pattern generator comprises a digital mirror device for selectively controlling the on and off states of the plurality of beams of actinic radiation.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the control device further comprises a processor in communication with the pattern generator.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the male mold mandrel is comprised of a rigid material at least partially transparent to beams of light in a spectrum of between 360 nM and 435 nM.