JPH09295357A - Apparatus for feeding contact lens and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To hold a lens fed along with a liquid to a feed assembly by taking a contact lens out of a lens hydrating palette and altering spatial distribution to place the contact lens on a package element. SOLUTION: Each of a plurality of the fingers 264 attached to a head element has an elongated shape having convex lens attachment surface 266 and the fine hole 268 of a center part is extended from an upper part 270 to a lens feed surface 266. When a hydrating palette is fed along a lens feed line to be positioned just under a lens feed assembly, air is sprayed on a lens to float the same and the lens is positioned on the attaching surface 266 of the finger 264. Then, the head element and the lens are set to proper arrangement according to an inspection station apparatus. Next, the head element and the lense are fed to the position on the palette on the conveyor line of a next treatment station and a liquid is discharged from the center hole 268 of the finger 264 to carry the lens to the package element of the palette together with a liquid.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to the field of contact lens manufacturing. More specifically, the present invention takes contact lenses from a first set of pallets, inserts them into corresponding package elements of a second set of pallets, undergoes inspection and lens package elements via a final package sealing assembly. The present invention relates to a device for transporting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Integral molding of hydrophilic contact lenses
Larsen US Pat. No. 4,495,313, Larsen et al. US Pat. No. 4,640,489, Larsen et al. US Pat. No. 4,680,336, Larsen et al. US Pat. No. 4,889,664. , Larsen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,459, all assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

In reference to these prior arts, a monomer or a mixture of monomers is sandwiched between a front curve (lower) integral molding station and a rear curve (upper) integral molding station formed in 2 × 4 molds, respectively. Discloses a method of manufacturing a contact lens for forming a lens. A monomer is polymerized to form a lens, which is taken out of the mold and processed in a hydration water tank to be packaged for the consumer.

US Pat. Nos. 5,080,839 and 5,094,609 each disclose a method and contact lens for hydrating a contact lens formed of a monomer or mixture of monomers disclosed in the aforementioned patents. A chamber for hydration is disclosed. The methods disclosed in these patents significantly shorten the processing time by hydrating the lens and using a small amount of deionized water and a small amount of salt-free surfactant to separate the lens from the mold, and Avoids the time-consuming ionic neutralization of the polymers produced during the hydration process. When using deionized water, the final step in the process is to introduce buffered saline into the product package along with the lens and then seal the lens in the package to balance the final product lens (ion neutralization, final hydration). , And the final sizing of the lens) is performed in a package at room temperature or during sterilization.

US Pat. No. 4,961,820, also assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses a final package for contact lenses, the package comprising a transparent plastic material such as polypropylene and a heat seal to it. Formed from a laminated foil that is stopped.

US Pat. Nos. 5,080,839 and 5,094,609 contemplate that the entire hydration process and delivery to the final package form can be accomplished in a fully automated fashion, while Although the chambers and methods disclosed in the aforementioned patents allow for automated processing of lenses during hydration, suitable automated equipment for inspecting and handling lenses with high yield as well as the method in fully automated equipment Implementations could not be easily made or taught from the prior art.

The manufacturing assembly line includes equipment for manufacturing the product and for packaging it. Furthermore, a device is provided for directing the insertion of the product into the package and / or the inspection of the product. In addition, a recent advance in the inspection of contact lenses made in accordance with the foregoing method is US Patent Application No. 07/99 entitled "Lens Inspection Method and Apparatus Thereof" assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
Automation of lens inspection has become possible, as taught in No. 3,796 (Attorney Docket No. VTN0037). In addition, recent advances in hydration and automatic processing of wet contact lenses have also been assigned to the assignee of the present invention and are assigned to US patent application Ser. No. 08/25, entitled “Automated method for hydrating soft contact lenses and apparatus thereof”.
As taught in No. 8,556 (Attorney Docket No. 8,998), automated lens inspection during and after hydration by an automated lens inspection system has enabled lens handling by robots.

Automated manufacturing processes often include steps that are particularly sensitive to interruptions. For example, in a contact lens co-molding manufacturing station, temperature fluctuations in the co-molding station must be constant for successful co-molding of a thermoplastic element having a sufficiently accurate optical surface. However, other equipment on the production line can be interrupted frequently,
It may be necessary to replenish materials and replace parts. For example, the material for making the packaging material may be supplied in divided rolls and must be replaced when exhausted.

[0009]

In the design of a production line that includes both types of equipment, one piece of equipment provides a buffer to temporarily hold continuously produced parts and the other to provide a short interruption. Area needs to be provided. Therefore, their purpose in the prior art is to provide one or more accumulators or buffer areas for use in manufacturing lines to equalize such variations.
Also, with particular reference to the manufacture of contact lenses, a recent development is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and is assigned to US patent application Ser. No. 08/258, entitled “Method and apparatus for contact lens inspection and package preparation”. No. 557 (VTN0086) (Attorney Docket No. 9010), a buffer station is included in the manufacturing line for the purpose of allowing one machine to operate continuously while another machine can be interrupted. US Patent Application No. 08 / 258,55
No. 7 is included herein by reference.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a portion of a contact lens assembly line. The pallet of packaging elements is filled with a certain amount of deionized water, monolithically shaped, hydrated and washed, and a pair of contact lenses is taken out from the pallet and inserted into each packaging element. Transport the combination to a buffer station, transport the set of elements to a low-vibration conveyor line, inspect contact lenses for defects, remove deionized water from the package, remove the combined elements from the pallet, and package with the defective lens. Leave it on the conveyor line and collect the elements in a collection box. The package containing the correct lens is placed on a good product line, the lenses of the good product line are arranged in a fixed array and transported to a pallet, a fixed amount of saline solution is introduced into the package, and the foil cover is heat sealed to the package. To do.

More particularly, it relates to an assembly comprising the device of the invention for carrying out the process introduced above.
A deionized water injection assembly is a device for injecting a quantity of deionized water into packaging elements on a pallet.
The deionized water injection assembly is mounted on a conveyor line where a pallet of an array of packaging elements is transported from a remote manufacturing location to a second location for receiving contact lenses. The spatial distribution of the fixed array of package elements is specifically set to match the optical array of the inspection station.

The lens removal and inspection assembly of the present invention is a lens carrier that lifts a lens from a hydration pallet in a first position and places it in a package element in a second position with the addition of deionized water. In addition to transporting the lens, the apparatus also changes the spatial orientation of the lens in the hydration pallet so that the orientation of the lens corresponds to the packaging element (and lens inspection station).

To elaborate on the means for removing the lens from the hydration pallet and transferring it to the packaging element, the hydration pallet includes a set of concave surfaces for placing the lens with a quantity of deionized water. The bottom of the recess contains at least one hole through which liquid can be drained, into which the wet lens is lifted. The lens carrier assembly includes a set of downwardly extending elongate finger elements, each finger element having a convex lens carrier surface that secures the lifted lens with surface tension. The convex lens transport surface is designed with an annularly raised skirt around the tip to prevent the lens from sliding off from its desired position during transport.
A lens delivered to a convex lens delivery surface on a finger of a lens delivery device may have small bubbles on the exposed surface. If air bubbles remain on the lens surface during the inspection process, it may interfere with correct inspection and the lens may be mistakenly judged as defective and discarded unnecessarily. At least one air jet is blown to each lens. Remove air bubbles from exposed surfaces. The fingers of the lens transport assembly are mounted in rows on parallel beams slidably mounted on the guide rails. The collimated beam is associated with the piston / cylinder element and is pulled up when the lens removal and bubble blowing steps are performed. This action alters the relative separation of the lens about one axis so that the lens is aligned to fit the arrangement provided on the lens inspection palette.

The lens transport assembly moves linearly to a position on the inspection pallet to a second location. The fingers of the lens transport assembly are designed with internal conduits that extend from a small aperture on the lens transport surface of the finger to the deionized water tank to allow selective release of deionized water. At the location on the package, a small jet of deionized water is ejected from each aperture on the finger and the lens fixed to it, separating the contact lens from the lens transport surface and dropping it into the package mounted on the inspection carrier.

The packaging elements, including the pallet and contact lenses, are transported by conveyor belts to a buffer station. More specifically, the pallets are conveyed to a separating device, which alternately turns the pallets into parallel conveyor lines. The conveyor line extends a sufficient distance from the first end to the end to allow for large time delays without stopping the integral molding line, which requires a long time to start. You can save the lens.

The buffer station taught in US patent application Ser. No. 08 / 258,557, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Inspecting Contact Lenses and Preparing a Package, and Apparatus Therefor," is located on the manufacturing line after the inspection station and the lens Drain deionized water from the package containing. In the absence of a liquid environment, the lens will not last more than 15 minutes before refilling. Moving the buffer station to a point in the line where the lens is immersed in deionized water allows the lens to be held indefinitely without damage.

At the remote end of the buffer station, at the end of the parallel conveyor line where pallets can be stored, 2
There is an assembly assembly that combines alternating pallets from one conveyor line and sends them to the next processing station. More specifically, the parallel conveyor line of the buffer station is equipped at the end (the end where the pallets are conveyed) with a device for selectively combining the streams of the two pallets and passing them to the next conveyor.

In the embodiment of the buffer station, which will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings, the conveyor line which conveys the pallets to the buffer station and which extends after the buffer station is shared with the first of the two parallel conveyor lines. A straight line adjoins this. Thus, the separating device can first send one pallet to the first buffer line and the next pallet to the parallel second buffer line.
Similarly, in the reverse manner, the combination device passes one pallet from the first buffer line and conveys the pallet from the second buffer line to the conveyor line that follows the buffer station and out of the first buffer line. It works so that the next pallet of can be passed and sent one after another.

In another variation of the system, the separating and combining system divides and joins the pallet train of two buffer lines, either continuously or selectively. In the first variant, the pallet train is always divided by the separating device and integrated by the combining device during the operation of the production line. The separating device and the combining device only engage under the condition that the subsequent processing station is interrupted. This other variation of the separator operates only on interruption, and the combiner continues operating after subsequent assembly resumes until there is no pallet on the second buffer line. It will be appreciated that there are various alternative buffering algorithms that use separating and combining devices for separating and combining pallets, all of which have similar functionality and are within the scope of the present invention. The pallet train continuing from the buffer station is transported to the take-out position. At this position, the pallet is lifted from the conveyor line by the low vibration pallet transport assembly and placed on the low vibration conveyor. The low-vibration conveyor conveys the pallet to an inspection station where it determines the optical characteristics of the hydrated and packaged lens. It will be appreciated that an accurate inspection of the lens cannot be performed if the perceived optical characteristics of the lens are distorted by bubbles attached to the lens surface. Waves and vibrations of deionized water in the package also have the same distortion effect, leading to false detection of defects. As such, low-vibration conveyor lines provide a means for pushing strains due to water as well.

However, in order to maintain the same velocity of product flow in the system, the decrease in speed of the pallet train along the low-vibration conveyor line must be correspondingly compensated by the increase in the density of pallets moving along it. It will be understood that this will not happen. The low-vibration pallet transport assembly places successive pallets closely on the low-vibration line so that the pallet spacing is substantially less than previous conveyor lines.

Each lens within each pallet is determined for optical accuracy and the result is stored in the controller / processor memory and continues to use the means for separating good lenses from bad lenses. First, the pallet containing the package filled with deionized water is transported to the drainage assembly. Appropriate saline is introduced into the package only after the optical accuracy of the lens has been determined. As mentioned above, the optical and physical properties of the lens need to equilibrate in saline for several hours. Due to the delay in the introduction of saline water until the lens inspection is completed, there is room for the production line to move significantly faster. It will be appreciated that this balancing can advantageously be done in a package that has been sealed after the lens has been removed from the manufacturing line.

At the inspection station, a light beam or pulse is emitted from the light source to the lens package, received by the vertical lens unit and focused toward the screen to create an image of the lens. The image is converted to an electrical information signal and processed to determine if the lens is acceptable for consumer use. The results of the lens inspection are stored in a programmable logic controller, where the subsequent assembling and transport assembly is adjusted.

After inspection, the pallet is lifted to a drainage assembly mounted above the conveyor line. A device for draining deionized water from a package containing contact lenses is described in US patent application Ser. No. 08 / 999,234 entitled "Solution Removal Nozzle", also assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
No.

After draining the water, the package is transported along the conveyor line to the lens package removal point. At this location the package is lifted from the pallet by the lens package transport assembly and transferred to another conveyor line. More specifically, there are other variations of lens package transport assemblies. The first example of change is
The lens package elements are all removed from the pallet, and the second variation is to only remove the package containing the correct lens. The first change transports the package to the discard conveyor line, stopping during transport to discard the incorrectly formed lens and the package it is in. The assembly conveys the remaining properly formed lenses and packages to the good conveyor line.
In a second variation, the lens package transport assembly removes only properly formed lenses and packages from the pallet and moves them to the non-defective conveyor. The discarded lenses are removed from the inspection pallet in a subsequent recovery procedure. It will be appreciated that in any event, the inspection assembly will make a decision, which will be stored in memory by the processor / controller and performed by the lens package transport assembly.

More specifically, with respect to the lens package transport assembly, a set of descending fingers extending downwardly from the vacuum manifold is located directly above the package on the pallet. The package is fixed to the lens package transport assembly by descending from the above position, bringing the tips of the fingers into contact with the package, and vacuuming the inside. As mentioned above, the processor / controller selectively controls picking up of the optically correct lens package,
Or the assembly picks up the entire lens package. In either case, the desired lens package is conveyed to the non-defective conveyor line where the vacuum is released and the lens package is dropped from the finger tips.

In any case, the arrangement of the lens packages finally placed on the non-defective conveyor line is always the same as when it was on the pallet (incorrectly formed lens packages are removed). It does not have to be an array. The non-defective line performs a gathering function, which repositions the lens package into a uniform arrangement. More specifically, the conveyor line conveys the product to a separate enclosure structure. The first lens package is transported and packaged between collimating guide rails (aligning the lens package along one axis of movement). The first lens package on the line is stopped by the gate at the distal end.
The next lens package abuts the first package following the preceding package and stops. When a predetermined number of lens packages have entered the enclosure and a fixed array of lens packages has been created, the lens packages are removed from the conveyor line and placed on the final package pallet.

More specifically, the lens package elements are removed from the enclosure directed by the conveyor line by a rotating lens package transport assembly.
The assembly includes an array of suspension fingers, which in many ways is similar to a lens package transfer assembly, which lifts an array of lens package elements and places them on a pallet. The assembly further includes a rotary movement to rotate the array of elements to match the orientation of the pallet used for the primary package.

The lens package elements are placed on the pallet before entering the saline weighing closure assembly. More specifically, the pallet is gradually moved to a position below the saline hydration unit. The unit includes an array of liquid dispensers, which fills the package with saline.
As the pallet is gradually aligned under the liquid dispenser, buffered saline is injected into each of the packages, causing each of the lenses to enter the equilibrium stage, and to the tension of the human eye (which is isotonic). To fit.

Once the package is filled with saline, the pallet is advanced and sealed with foil wrap. More specifically, with respect to the device for applying and sealing the foil wrap to the package, an elongated compartment of foil wrap material amount is advanced from the printing device (to print information about the particular lens use). The foil is cut into pieces that are sized to fit across the top of the array of packaging elements. The foil piece and the lens package assembly are aligned with each other. A vacuum gripping device grips the foil piece and lowers it towards the packaging element and places it so that it abuts. When the foil wrapping device reaches a predetermined position, the sealing mechanism is brought into contact with the package, and the foil is heat-sealed in the package by one high-temperature short-time cycle sealing operation.
The sealed package is advanced to the sealing assembly, stored during equilibration and finally packaged for delivery.

The present invention is designed for use at the processing station of an automated contact lens manufacturing facility after hydration. The present invention is particularly directed to contact lenses integrally molded on an automated manufacturing line, for example, co-pending US patent application Ser.
No. 58654 (VTN0772) (Agent reference number 90)
16) manufactured in an automated manufacturing line as disclosed in US patent application Ser. No. 08 / entitled "Automated method and apparatus for hydrating soft contact lenses".
It is hydrated with the hydration system disclosed in 258556 and is preferably applied to the automatically inspected contact lens disclosed in US patent application Ser. No. 08/994564 entitled "Lens Examination Method and Apparatus Thereof".

The present invention will be described with respect to particular assemblies and devices and with reference to the drawings which illustrate these features. More specifically, the present invention will be described in terms of several assemblies such as: First, a deionized water injection assembly that fills the packaging element prior to inserting the lens,
Second, a lens transport inspection assembly that receives the lenses from the hydration pallet and repositions them on the packaging elements and thirdly for holding a group of lens package pallets during temporary interruption of the subsequent assembly. A buffering station providing a buffering area and a separating and gathering device included therein, fourth, the inspection pallet is removed from the conveyor line and inserted into the low vibration inspection assembly conveyor line to determine which lens package is optically accurate. Low-vibration lens package transporting and injecting deionized water from the package, inspection, draining assembly, and fifth, taking the lens package elements out of the pallet and determining the lens package to be optically accurate. The lens transport assembly to be mounted on the A good conveyor line to put together a such lens package elements to a certain sequence, rotating the element in a horizontal plane to retrieve the sequence, rotating lens package transport assembly for transporting a different pallet line, the seventh,
A saline injection device and foil sealing assembly that introduces the appropriate saline into the lens packaging element and heat seals the foil label on top of the packaging element for shipping and identification.

[0032]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The advantages and assembly of the invention described in the above summary of an automated device for combinatorially inspecting and sealing contact lenses and packaging elements are described in detail below in a preferred embodiment. Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate the description with reference to the accompanying drawings. Similar elements in the figures are marked with the same reference numerals throughout the several figures.

Deionized Water Injection Assembly Referring to FIG. 1, a preferred packaging element 10 is shown in perspective view. Package element is co-pending US patent application 995
No. 607, which is more fully described, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The packaging element 10 may be injection molded or thermoformed from a plastic sheet material such as polypropylene. The package element 10 includes a flat, essentially rectangular shaped platform portion 12 which is visually divided into laterally independent portions 14a, 14b by locating notches 16a, 16b formed in opposite sides of the platform portion. There is. The first portion 14a forms a recess 24 that is particularly suitable for receiving and transporting contact lenses and liquids. Second part 14b
Is generally flat and provides a surface suitable for contact and is in an ideal position for abutment with vacuum lifting means.

The package carrier forms an angled flange member with a wall portion formed at one end that is angled downwardly and outwardly from the platform portion 12 to form an angled flange member. Descending downwardly from the corners of the platform portion 12 at its opposite ends are a pair of locating flanges 20,22, only one of which is illustrated in FIG. The locating flanges 20, 22 are used with the angled flange 18 and the locating notches 16a, 16b to align the package carrier during robotic operation. In particular, notches 16a, 16b are received on either side of platform portion 12 to allow co-operation with locating pins on various carrier pallets. The flange structures 18, 20, 22 are compatible with the three-dimensional structure of the pallet on which the package elements are placed and provide additional fastening means for holding the elements on the pallet.

As mentioned above, the first portion 14a of the platform includes an essentially hemispherical recess 24 which generally conforms to the curved shape of a contact lens (not shown). The contact lens is suitable for being sealed and stored in the recess 24, while at the same time Martinez's US Pat.
Immersion in a suitable sterile aqueous solution in a manner similar to that disclosed in No. 91,820. The application is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The upstanding portion of the wall portion 18 descending outwardly and downwardly from the platform portion 12 is equal to the height or depth of the recess 24 in providing automatic alignment of the package elements.

The recess 24 is used to assist in retaining a contact lens in the center of the recess 24 during drainage of deionized water in a deionized water draining assembly, which is described more fully below with reference to the associated drawings. Also included are a plurality of small gripping indicia 26.

The outer periphery of the recess 24 includes a raised annular rim 28 to improve the efficiency of heat sealing the foil label in a foil sealing assembly that hermetically seals the contact lens and packaging elements for commercial distribution. It is provided to increase it. The cutouts 30 are used by the consumer to remove the foil wrap to reach the lens contained therein and facilitate gripping the foil wrap when in use.

FIG. 2 is a view of the packaging element being transported to the deionized water injection assembly. A perspective view of a test pallet being transported to a lens transport assembly via a lens transport assembly, a lens inspection assembly, and a deionized water drain assembly is shown. The pallet 40 has a cavity 46 shaped to receive the underside of the recess 24 of the packaging element 10.
Including first and second parallel rows 42,44 of. The parallel rows 42, 44 of cavities are separated by a channel 48 formed by two wall portions 50a, 50b. The wall corresponding to row 44 descends downward and outward, and the angle of inclination is specifically set to receive the descending wall portion 18 of the respective packaging element 10 flat. The outer edges 54 of the rows 42 are similarly beveled to receive the wall portions 18 of the packaging elements 10 arranged in the rows 44.

The pallet is provided with a pair of elongated notches 56,58 for receiving the locating flanges 20,22 of the package element. Elongated notches 56, 5
8 provides a gripping surface for the transport means for lifting, rotating and transporting the pallet.

In addition, pallet 40 includes locating pins 52 that engage package elements at the lateral edges. The locating pin 52 is used to form the notches 16a, 16 of the package element 10.
engages b and provides more precise alignment, especially with respect to the long axis of the pallet. The combination of slanted walls 50b, 54, grooves 56, 58, locating pins 52, each of which is associated with a corresponding packaging element feature, provides a particularly effective means of ensuring against diagonal rotation.

The inspection pallet 10 is provided with three alignment openings 60 on either side of the pallet 40.
It is used in the means associated with the assembly of the present invention to transport and secure a pallet in place during its operation.

As suggested in FIG. 2, the package elements 10 are manufactured in sets of 16 and arranged on a pallet 40 in a predetermined arrangement, typically 2 × 8 rows. The pallets and packages are conveyed via the conveyor line to the deionized water injection assembly in pairs in a direction forming a 4x8 array.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, deionized water injection assembly 100 is shown in front and side views. The assembly 100 includes four separate elements: a water supply head 110, a set of cooperating longitudinally oriented stops 120a, 120b, a pallet positioner 130, an overflow drain unit 140. The water supply head 110 moves up and down with respect to the conveyor line 102 and the pallet 40 above it. A set of cooperating longitudinally oriented soops 120a, 120b are used to stop the advancing pallet 40 and to supply a pair of pallets cycle by cycle. The pallet positioning device 130 receives the advancing pair of pallets 40 and advances the device itself and the pallet horizontally to a first pouring position,
Next, it moves to the second water injection position. When the package is filled after the second position, the pallet positioner 130 moves vertically to move the pallet 40 onto the conveyor line 102.
Can be advanced along. Pallet positioner 130 returns to a position to receive the next set of advancing pallets 40. The overflow drainage unit 140 is arranged immediately below the conveyor line, vertically aligned with the pallet positioning device 130, and receives drainage from the supply device.

As shown in FIG. 3, a set of longitudinally oriented cooperating stops 120a, 120b are provided on the pallet 4.
Advance 0 before weighing. The pair of co-ordinated longitudinally oriented stops 120a, 120b each include a longitudinally aligned plate 122 having one of its front faces orthogonal to the axis of travel of the conveyor line 102. The plate 122 is connected to a piston / cylinder 124, the selective vertical movement of which causes the plate 122 to move to the conveyor line 1.
Advance in a row of pallets 40 advancing along 02.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the water supply head 110 includes a horizontally arranged reciprocating support plate 112. Support plate 112 is 4 ×
It has 16 holes arranged in a matrix of 4. The top of the support plate 112 receives a set of 16 flexible hoses 11, 4 such as Tygon tubing or other liquid conduit, and deionized water extends downwardly from the bottom of the support plate 112 for the correct amount of desorption. Supply to a set of 16 elongated Teflon tubes 118 that are particularly suitable for supplying ionized water. Teflon surfaces are a particularly desirable material as they generally do not deposit large water droplets that would fall at inadvertent times in the dispensing cycle.

The support plate 112 is laterally bonded to 111 and is operable to raise and lower the water supply head 110 (and the Teflon tube 118) in accordance with a predetermined deionization hydration cycle more fully described. .

Below the conveyor line, an overflow drainage unit 140, arranged to catch excess water discharged from the dispenser during the drain cycle or misfeed of the cycle, is vertically aligned with the pallet positioner 130. I am doing it. The drainage unit includes a basin with a sloping base to form a funnel-like shape for pumping water therein to holes 144 in the base. Hole 144 is connected to drain 146 and transports drainage away from the assembly.

The fourth element of deionized water injection assembly 100 includes pallet positioner 130. This element receives a pair of advancing pallets 40 and first holds it in a first position directly below the water supply head 110 so that the first 16 recesses 24 of the packaging element are deionized water. Allow filling. When the first 16 recesses 24 have been filled, the pallet positioner 130 moves horizontally to the second position, repositioning the pallet 40 at the second position, just below the water supply head 110. In this position, the second 16 recesses 40 of the pair of pallets 40 receive a quantity of deionized water. When the second stage of dispensing is performed, the positioning device opens the pallet and raises it to advance the pallet thereunder, in the pallet receiving position (first
Position) and make a reciprocating motion back.

With respect to the elements of the pallet positioner 130, the positioner is a pair of spaced arms 131, 132.
Which extend across conveyor line 102 and are ideally spaced to receive and hold a pair of pallets 40 advancing conveyor line 102. The arms 131, 132 are connected to a vertically oriented piston / cylinder 134 on the third lateral end 133, which causes the arm 132 to move up and down in time with the dispensing cycle.

Vertically oriented piston / cylinder 13
In addition to the four, the arms 131, 132 include an elongated spar member 135 and a piston / cylinder 136 arranged horizontally.
Connected to each other. Piston / Cylinder 136
The operation causes the arms 131 and 132 to move relative to each other. More specifically, the arm 131 is arranged in front of the dispensing head, is on the upper side of the dispensing head with respect to the moving direction of the conveyor line 102, and the other arm 132 is on the lower side of the water supply head 110. The pair of pallets 40 is moved to the second dispensing position while still moving even if they move away from each other.

In operation, the entire assembly functions according to a predetermined timing schedule and the pallet 40
Starting with the advance towards the assembly along the pair of conveyor lines 102. The pair of pallets 40 is the first of a pair of longitudinally directed cooperating stops 120a, 120b.
Passing through, plate 122 is lifted, restricting further pallets 40 from entering the dispensing position.

The two pallets 40 advance until they reach a second longitudinal cooperating stop 120b, at which point the pallet positioner 130 descends to a position that holds the pallets in the first dispensing position. Deionized water is passed through the Teflon tube 118 to the first 16 recesses 24 of the pallet.
Inject. When water is injected, the vertical stop 120
b is retracted and the horizontally oriented piston / cylinder 136 of the pallet positioner 130 is actuated, thereby placing the pallet 40 in the second dispensing position. After filling the second set of 16 recesses 24 with deionized water, the arms 131, 132 are lifted by the vertically oriented piston / cylinder 134 and the horizontally oriented piston / cylinder 136 is retracted.

The pair of first pallets 40 is assembled 10
When 0 is passed, the vertical stop 120a is lowered to allow the next pair of pallets to enter the dispensing section and the second set of vertical stops 120b is raised. After the second pair of pallets have advanced, the vertical stop 120a is lifted to stop the next pallet 40 from entering and the cycle is repeated.

Once each of the packaging elements 10 has received a certain amount of deionized water, the packaging elements and pallets are transported along the conveyor line to a lens mounting position where each recess 24 is contacted by a mounting assembly as described below. Accept the lens.

Lens Transport and Inspection Assembly FIG.
The contact lens hydration pallet 200 is shown in a top view with the dashed lines corresponding to the internal structure of the hydration pallet. Contact lens hydration pallet 200 includes 32 hemispherical recesses 202, which is also assigned to the assignee of the present invention, a U.S. patent application entitled "Automated Method and Apparatus for Hydrating Soft Contact Lenses". 08th
Contact lenses are transported via a series of removal stations as more fully disclosed in US Pat.

Contact lens hydration pallet 200 comprises a plurality of conduits 20 extending upwardly from the upper surface of the pallet.
6. These plurality of conduits 206 are connected to the small holes 204 via internal branch conduits 208,
The bottom of 04 is located at the bottom of each hemispherical recess 202. The holes 204 are in fluid communication with an external supply and are in fluid communication with a gas and / or a liquid, and are for selectively introducing the liquid or gas between the surface of the hemispherical recess 202 and the lens disposed therein. it can. Gas or liquid hole 2
Selective introduction via 04 causes the lenses to be propelled upwards, each sticking to the corresponding convex lens attachment surface of the finger elements of the lens carrier assembly as described below.

6, 7, and 8 illustrate the contact lens transport assembly 210 in side, top, and perspective views, respectively. Contact lens transport assembly 210
Generally includes a head element 240 and a double axis linear translation mounting unit 220. First, with respect to the double axis linear translation mounting unit 220, the mounting bracket 2
22 is connected to the head element 240 at the lower horizontal surface 222a. The mounting bracket 222 is a board element 224.
Mounted in this connection, the mounting bracket 222 can be raised and lowered in this connection using a vertically oriented moving mechanism. It will be appreciated that various means may be used above and below the mounting bracket 222, including articulated robots. It also includes an IKO ball screw drive system for reciprocating the head between the preferred mechanical arrangements.

As shown in FIG. 8, the substrate element 22
4 is mounted on a horizontal track 226, along which it moves in response to the movement of the power means. In FIG.
Although the power means 228 are shown as being ball screw driven, various other moving means of equivalent function could be used. For example, the moving means can include a hydraulic or pneumatic piston / cylinder arrangement, or can include a rack arm assembly. Ball screws are suitable in terms of accuracy, mechanical simplicity, long-term operability, and efficiency.

With respect to the head element 240, the coupling element 24
2 is fixed at the upper end to the lower surface of the mounting bracket 222. The lower ends of the coupling elements 242 are attached to a pair of guide plates 244, which are held parallel to one another by crossbars 246. A set of four horizontal support beams 248 are separated from each other by a crossbar 2
It is slidably attached to 46. Horizontal support beam 24
8 are slidably mounted on crossbar 246 so that they can be pulled in or out of each other in accordance with proper alignment.

A means for allowing the horizontal support beams 248a-d to move relative to each other is a pair of piston / cylinder 25.
0,252. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the first
Piston / cylinder 250 has two inner beams 248
b, c and the second piston / cylinder 252 has 2
It connects to the outer beams 248a, d of the book. As shown in FIG. 7, the second piston / cylinder 252 is directly welded to the bracket 254 on one of the outer beams 248a, and the second piston / cylinder 252 is mounted on the bracket 260 attached to the outer beam 248d. It is welded to the connecting plate 256 which is connected to the. First piston /
Cylinder 250 is directly connected to brackets 262a, 262b, which further includes two inner beams 248.
Welded to b and c.

Extending downwardly from each horizontal support beam 248a-d is a plurality of finger elements 264.
Then, the lens sticks to this while moving. In the preferred embodiment, there are thirty-two fingers 264 mounted on four beams in a 4 × 8 array of eight fingers per beam, which is 32 of the contact lens hydration pallet 200.
It corresponds to each hemispherical recess 202. Selective actuation of the first and second pistons / cylinders 250, 252 causes the beams to move relative to each other, changing the relative spacing of the finger elements 264.

FIG. 9 is a side view of finger element 264. Finger element 264 includes an elongated shape having a convex lens attachment surface 266, the curvature of surface 266 generally corresponding to the concave curvature of a contact lens. A central hole 268 extends through the fingers 264 from the upper portion 270 to the lens transport surface 266. This hole 268 is included for selective drainage of liquid through it, which is deionized water, and is described below with respect to the placement of the lens on the corresponding pallet 40.

The end of each finger 264 has a finger 264.
Of generally cylindrical shaft portion 274 to lens carrying surface 26
An annular slotted skirt 272 separating the six curved shapes is included. Skirt with 27 slots
2 alternately includes vertically oriented slots 272a and skirt elements 272b to help retain the lens on attachment surface 266 and prevent it from sliding or moving from a desired position. Slots 2 aligned vertically
72a is designed to provide a smooth channel for upwardly flowing liquids or gases at the lens transport surface. The skirt element 272b prevents the contact lens from sliding off the lens carrying surface as the liquid or gas flows to the surface.

The annular mounting disk 271 has a tip 2
Located at a distance from 66 around the cylindrical axis of finger 264. The mounting disc 271 is coupled to the upper or lower surface of the corresponding horizontal support beam 248,
The upper portion of finger 264 is connected to an external supply of liquid, such as deionized water, with lens carrying surface 266 extending downward. In either case, the upper portion 27 of the finger 264 is
0 is preferably flexible and connects to a tube 273 so that a fluid, such as air or deionized water, can be selectively supplied to central bore 268 for the operation of a given assembly.

In operation, the hydration pallet is advanced along lens transport line 275 to a position just below contact lens transport assembly 210 in operation, as shown in FIG.
A double axis linear translation mounting unit 220 lowers the head element 240 and the lens carrying surface of the fingers 264 is located directly above the hemispherical recess 202 of the pallet. Once in place, a fixed amount of air is delivered to the plate conduits 206, 2
Spray via 08. The air lifts the contact lens from the recess 202 and positions it on the lens mounting surface 266 of the finger 264. When the lens is transported to the pallet via several take-off stations before arriving at the contact lens transport assembly 210, the lens and pallet recess 202 remains deionized water. Deionized water helps the lens stick to surface 266 of fingers 264 by surface tension. The lens is attached to the curved lens attachment surface 266 with an additional surfactant, etc. (which may not be necessary), but the addition of a surfactant will effectively wet the surface and increase the surface tension of the deionized water and the large amount of surrounding water. The atmospheric pressure can promote the attachment of the lens. In transport, it is desirable to place each of the fingertips 266 within 1.5 mm of the lens to ensure direct and accurate transport.

In some cases, the outer surface of the lens may have bubbles in the deionized water that it adheres to. If the bubbles remain (and do not dissolve) or are not removed from the lens in any way, subsequent inspection of the optical accuracy of the lens will not be successful. Degassed ionized water is used in the hydration device to minimize bubble formation and also to remove bubbles from the surface of the lens when the head element 240 and fingers 264 are raised and the mounting assembly is a hydration conveyor line. 275 and the package element pallet line 102 to the defoaming unit 280.

Referring to FIG. 10, there is shown a cross-sectional view of the finger 264 carrying the lens and the recess 282 of the defoaming unit 280. The defoaming unit 280 includes a plate 284 having an array of recesses 282. The uniform array of recesses 282 is designed to fit the spacing of fingers 264 of head element 240. The base of the recess 282 includes a through hole 286, which forms the opening of the conduit 288 extending downwardly to the air supply means. Selective evacuation of air via the conduit is directed to the lens attached to the lens attachment surface 266 of finger 264. After the air jet the lens moves over the lens attachment surface 266, but the slotted skirt 27
2 prevents sliding from the center position greater than a portion of one lens radius. The jet removes air bubbles from the lens surface and the inspection process does not misidentify such air bubbles as a manufacturing error in the lens itself.

After performing the bubble removal process, the pistons / cylinders 250, 252 are actuated to activate the horizontal support beam 248.
Lift. Varying the relative placement of the lenses orthogonal to the horizontal support beam 248 (which brings the four rows of eight fingers closer together, but does not change the spatial separation of the fingers within the row) is a matter of inspection station equipment. Therefore, the placement of the packaging elements on the pallet 40 is set and is not the same as the relative spacing of the lenses during casting or hydration.

When the pistons / cylinders 250, 252 set the fingers 264 and the lenses on them in the proper arrangement, the horizontally moving means 228 moves the head elements 240 and the lenses onto the pallet 4 on the conveyor line 102.
Transport to a position above 0. Recess 202 to which the lens corresponds
When placed on top, a certain amount of deionized water is expelled from the finger tip through the central hole 268 into the space between the lens and the lens attachment surface. The amount of deionized water should be sufficient to release the surface tension sticking to the lens surface. The lens is carried with water into the packaging element 10.

Contact lenses and lens package elements are transferred to a pair of pallets 40 on a conveyor conveyor line 102.
It moves to the next processing station which is a buffer station. The fingers of the lens transport assembly return to the open space arrangement and the head element 240 returns to the receiving position above the hydration conveyor line 275 to await the next batch of contact lenses.

Buffer Station (Separator and Grouper) The contact lens manufacturing process is largely determined by the handling conditions of the lens itself. For example, one of the most important constraints for which an entire molded product handling assembly is designed is that it should not contact the optical surface. A handling condition often associated with the assembly of the present invention is that once the lens is hydrated it cannot be allowed to remain dry for more than 15 minutes.

As with most production line equipment, the assembly of the present invention forms a post lens hydration equipment and requires regular inspection and / or replenishment of materials used in manufacturing. For example, the primary packaging processing station (saline injector and foil sealing assembly) requires regular replacement of the foil material that is heat sealed to the packaging elements. But the operation of other assemblies is sensitive to interruptions. On the other hand, a one-piece assembly must maintain continuous operation for proper equilibration, which is important for optimal yield.

One or more buffer stations are required to allow for continuous operation of some assemblies, and to provide regular service or replenishment of other processing stations. The ideal location for the buffer station should be where the lens is in the hydration environment. The buffer station of the present invention is located between the lens transport assembly and the inspection station.

The pallets 40, each filled with deionized water and loaded with contact lenses, form a 2 × 8 matrix. When paired, the palettes form a 4x8 matrix. Lens insertion station (lens transfer assembly)
At, the pair of pallets travel sideways. The elongated axis formed by the column of eight recesses on each pallet is parallel to the direction of movement of the conveyor line.

FIGS. 11, 12, 13, and 14 are perspective views of a buffer station including a separating unit and a collecting unit, respectively. As shown in FIG. 12, the buffer station includes first, second, third and fourth portions 304, 308, 312, 316 of the conveyor line, each for moving the pallet in the same direction. Will be placed. The separating unit 320 is arranged behind the first part 304, and the collecting unit 340 is arranged in the fourth part 31.
Place in front of 6. Second and third portions 308, 312
Run in parallel with each other, each beginning with a separating unit 320 and ending with a collecting unit 340.

The first portion 304 of the buffer conveyor line is positioned at a right angle to the lens conveyor line conveyor line 102 and advances the pallet from the lens conveyor assembly as previously described. With particular reference to FIG. 11, a top view of the end of the lens conveyor line 102 and the beginning of the first portion of the buffer conveyor line and the lateral pallet conveyor unit 306 for moving the pallet 40 from the former to the latter is illustrated. . When the pair of pallets 40 reaches the end of the lens transport conveyor line 102, the guide 300 stops the advance. The pallet 40 is extruded by the pressure plate 302 from the lens conveyor line 102 to the first portion 304 of the buffer conveyor line.

The pressure plate 302 comprises an arm 303 extending from the rear side, which is mechanically connected to a sliding element 305 arranged beyond the wall element 300. Forward sliding element 3
Selective movement of 05 provides linear lateral movement of the platen 302 to move the pallet 40 to the first portion 304 of the bumper conveyor.
Move to The pressure plate 305 operates in the reverse direction to move to the next pallet 4
Return to a position that accepts a 0 pair. It will be appreciated that various mechanisms may be used to provide the proper operation of the platen. Examples are ball screw drives, hydraulics, pneumatics or piston / cylinder elements, or mechanical racking devices.

The pair of inspection pallets 40 is the first buffer line.
When the pallet is transferred to the section 304, the pallet is transformed from the parallel relationship to the serial relationship because the section 304 is oriented in the direction orthogonal to the lens transport conveyor 102. The second portion 308 of the buffer conveyor line is the first
It is collinear with the part 304. A vertical stop mechanism 310a, which is similar in shape and function to the vertical stop cooperating stops 120a, 120b of the deionized water injection assembly, is located in front of the separator 320 and separates 320. Heparet's Pallet 1
Only enter one. For the second pair of pallets,
Separation device 320 conveys to a third portion 312 of the buffer conveyor that runs parallel to second portion 308.

Second and third parts 3 of the buffer conveyor line
Vertical stops 310 located at 08 and 312
b and 310c are arranged to prevent premature advancement of the pallet 40 on the conveyor until transport is complete.

Separation device 320 is for each pallet
To the pallet 40 during a break in a subsequent assembly of the manufacturing line.
Provide heavy truck mooring line. Pallet 40 is second
And queuing along the third portion 308, 312 for a distance determined to be sufficient to store the number of pallets 40 that will be manufactured during a normal service interruption of the manufacturing line, such as for example 20 minutes.

At the distal ends of the second and third parts 308, 312, a gathering unit 340 is provided to merge the rows of the two pallets 40, in a row at regular intervals, along the fourth portion 316 of the buffer conveyor. To the inspection station,
Allow me to move forward. In addition, vertical stop 3
10d, 310e are located at the ends of the portions 308, 312, respectively, and only one pallet 40 is engaged to enter the assembling device at any given time.

The gathering device 340 remains engaged during the normal operation of the production line, but separates it so that the pallet 40 is not advanced further in the event of an interruption. During this time, the pallet 40, which continues to advance from the lens transport assembly, has the second and third portions 308, 312 of the buffer conveyor.
Are stored in parallel lines. When the interruption is over, the gathering device 340 reengages and merges the stored pallets into successive rows. Last vertical stop 310f
Can be placed at the exit of the gathering device 340 to prevent premature advancement or twisting of the power conveyor, and to space the pallets 40 of the fourth section 316 as they enter the inspection station.

FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of the separation unit. The features and functions of the separation device 320 will be described.
A housing 321 that is an inverted L-shaped member is attached to the side edge of the conveyor line at the joining point of the first and second portions 304 and 308. Extending outwardly from the L-shaped member 321 is a pair of substantially parallel guide rails 323. The rail 323 is received by a fixed plate 327 attached to the outer lateral edge of the third portion 312 of the buffer conveyor. The first movable plate 329 is slidably attached to the guide rail 323 so that the planes of the first plate 329 are aligned vertically in parallel with the conveyor moving direction. This first plate 329 has a second and a third
From the first position between the conveyor sections 308, 312 and the second position of the fixed plate 327. A second movable plate is also attached to the guide rails 323 and similarly to the power means (not shown), from the position at the outer lateral edge of the second conveyor section 308 to the second and third positions.
Is capable of reciprocating to a position between the portions 308,312. The first and second plates 329, 331 are moved between them by the pallet 40 from the first portion 304 to the third portion 312 by selective reciprocating movement of the plates 329, 331 along the guide rail 323. It is maintained at intervals to allow.

In operation, as can be seen from FIG. 13, the reciprocating movement of the plates 329, 331 is such that the third part 3
12 is selectively controlled so that the pallets are alternately transferred to. Various power means and / or coupling means can be used to reciprocate the plates 323, 331, eg the guide rail comprises screws,
Attaching the plates 329, 331 to this includes nuts such that rotation of the plates causes them to move along the guide rails 323. Drive plate 331 in a similar design
And an air piston / cylinder mounted in an L-shaped member 321 for reciprocating the same. In such a design, coupling means, such as both plates 32
Drive plate 33 with fixed rod welded to 9, 331
It must be used to follow the movement of plate 329 with the movement of 1.

A perspective view of the gathering unit is shown in FIG. 14 and provides a detailed description of the features and functions of the gathering unit. Similar in many ways to the separation unit 320, the collection unit is basically the same device operating in reverse. The housing element 341 is L-shaped and is attached to the outer lateral edge of the second portion 312 of the buffer conveyor. A pair of guide rails 343 extending outwardly from the housing member 341 are received in a fixed plate 347 attached to the outer lateral edge of the third portion 312 of the cushioning conveyor. A set of spaced movable plates 349, 35
1 is a guide rail 3 so that the planes of these plates 349, 351 are aligned parallel to the direction of movement of the conveyor in a direction perpendicular to the plane.
It is slidably attached to 43. The second movable plate 351 is provided with power means (not shown) for reciprocating movement from a position at the outer lateral edge of the second conveyor portion 308 to a position between the second and third portions 308, 312. Be combined. The first and second plates 349, 351 have the pallet 40 between them and the third part 312 to the fourth part.
To the portion 316 of the plate 34 along the guide rail 343.
9,351 maintained in spaced relation for delivery by selective reciprocating motion.

In operation, as can be seen from FIG. 14, one of the plates 349, 351 is the second portion 308.
From one to the next are selectively controlled such that alternating pallets from the third portion 312 proceed to the fourth portion 316.
The various power means and / or coupling means are attached to the plate 34.
9, 351 can be used to reciprocate together. For example, the guide rail 343 and the plates 349, 3
It can be threaded so as to be connectable to the threaded hole of 51 or to the nut. A similar design has L-shaped members 34
1 includes a pneumatic piston / cylinder attached to and reciprocating a drive plate 351. In such a design, coupling means, eg both plates 3
A fixed rod attached to 49,351 must be used to follow the movement of drive plate 351 with the movement of plate 349.

Low vibration lens package transport assembly,
Inspection Assembly, Drainage Assembly Referring to FIG.
A schematic top view of the present invention is provided. As shown,
In the lens transport unit 299, the lens is transported to the packaging element of the inspection pallet 40 and sequentially follows the buffer station 399. The pallet that has advanced through the buffer station passes through the conveyor section 499 and the inspection station 599.
To a low vibration conveyor assembly as described below.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a low vibration transport assembly for transporting an inspection pallet from conveyor 316 to an inspection station. As the pallet 40 passes through the gathering unit of the cushioning assembly and past the fourth portion of the cushioning conveyor, it is transported to the stage area 325 as illustrated in FIG. 12 previously described. In this stage area 325, the overhead biaxial transport carrier reciprocates to pick up one pallet 40 and transport it to the automatic lens inspection station as shown in FIG. Overhead transport is a two-axis Hauser transport mechanism used to separate the automated lens inspection system from the rest of the line after hydration.

It is important to minimize vibrations of the lens and deionized water during its transport throughout the inspection line so that the waves do not wobble, which causes optical distortion and, as a result, It causes misidentification of lens quality. By using a two-axis transport mechanism, the pallets can be gently transported to an automated lens inspection system, thereby avoiding vibrations that can adversely affect the inspection results.

After lifting the first pallet from the stage area, the next pallet advances to the stage area and is conveyed onto the inspection line conveyor. The two-axis transport mechanism transports the pallet from a buffer conveyor that advances to the inspection line at arbitrary speeds and intervals, where the pallet speed is substantially slowed to avoid vibration. Therefore, the spacing of the pallets on the inspection conveyor need to be substantially close to each other, allowing the inspection conveyor to accommodate the same number of pallets at any given time.

The low vibration pallet transport assembly 400 includes a pair of pallet gripping plates 402a, 402b mounted in corresponding blocks 404a, 404b in spaced relation to each other. Grip plate 402
One of the a is slidably attached to its block 404a such that selective actuation of the extension mechanism (built into block 404a) increases or decreases the spacing between the two gripping plates 402a, 402b. To do. Block 4
04a, 404b are mounted on a common wall element 406 which is slidably mounted on a substrate element 408. A second power mechanism (also not shown) is installed inside the substrate element 408 and is connected to the common wall 406 so that the wall 406 can be selectively raised and lowered. Substrate element 408 is mounted on a horizontal track 410 having moving means to reciprocate the entire assembly from a position above stage area 325 to inspection station conveyor line 420.

In operation, the low vibration pallet transport assembly 400 reciprocates in the stage area 325 to receive the pallet 40. The common plate 406 descends, which causes the pallet gripping plates 402a, 40a
2b is placed adjacent to the lateral edge of the pallet 40. The power elements inside the block 402a are actuated to narrow the plate and bring the pallet 40 into contact with the inner surfaces of the plates 402a, 402b. The pallets are horizontal plates 402a, 402b
Once fixedly gripped by, the common wall 406 rises and the pallet moves to the fourth portion 316 of the buffer conveyor line.
Is conveyed to the inspection station conveyor line which is arranged at a right angle to the. When in position on the inspection conveyor line 420, the pallet 40 is released on the line and opened by the operation of the plate spreading mechanism. The pallet is transported to the inspection station. When the pallet is transported, the low vibration lens transport assembly 400 moves up and returns to the stage area 325 to receive the next pallet.

In an automated lens inspection system, the inspection pallet 40 is transported through the system when a light pulse is directed through the lens package and contact lens to focus the camera and produce an image of the lens below it. Preferably, the camera includes an array of pixels, each of which produces an electrical signal that is proportional to or representative of the intensity of light incident on its respective one of the pixels. These electrical signals are then digitally processed to determine if the lens is acceptable for consumer use. A preferred procedure for processing or analyzing electrical signals from a pixel array is co-filed US patent application Ser.
No. 95281. Another system is used to inspect 16 lenses carried on a pallet. After completing the test on the last bank of lenses, the automated lens inspection system sends a block of data with visual inspection results to a programmable logic controller used to collect the lenses for packaging. This information is used by the lens package transport assembly as described below.

After the lenses are inspected by the automatic lens inspection system, the pallets are lifted by the second two-axis overhead transfer device and placed on the conveyor for transfer to the deionized water drainage station (drainage station 699 in FIG. 15). . Deionized water is a "solution removal nozzle"
A specially designed nozzle as described in US patent application Ser. No. 08 / 999,234, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. As previously mentioned,
Deionized water is used in the package carrier to center the lens during the inspection process, but the buffered saline is removed before packaging to allow accurate weighing in the final package. . This is described in detail herein below.

After removal of deionized water, the lens, package carrier, and inspection pallet are transferred to a lens transfer assembly, from which the package elements and lenses are removed, and an optically inaccurate lens package (as determined by the inspection station). On the conveyor as a defective lens, and the correct lens package on the good conveyor.

First Rotating Lens Package Transport Assembly FIG. 18 illustrates the lens transport assembly in a perspective view with the device in a position above the pallet of lens packages with deionized water removed. Assembly 500 includes a support 502 that reciprocates and connects at the lower end of longitudinal axis 504. The shaft 504 is connected to the rotating means 506 at the upper end,
04 and the support 502 can be selectively rotated 90 degrees in accordance with a predetermined arrangement of the pallet 40 or the direction of the conveyor (see FIG. 19) on which the lens package is placed. It will be appreciated that the rotation means 506 may allow the shaft to reciprocate between two orthogonal directions including, for example, an air cylinder having stops corresponding to 90 degree rotations.

The rotating means 506 is located inside the mounting platform 501 and is connected to a two-axis transport subassembly (the horizontal track of which is identified in FIG. 18 as element 503). The biaxial transport subassembly is supported 50 from a first position to a second position, for example, from a position above a drainage conveyor line to a position above a gathering conveyor line (more fully described with reference to FIG. 19).
You can move 2.

Extending downwardly from the support 502 is a set of resilient suspending fingers 508 having a generally oval shape. Fingers 508 each have an open tip 510 at the lower end that forms an entrance to a central volume that extends the length of the finger. The upper ends of the fingers 508 are connected to a vacuum tube 512 so that the central volume of the fingers is in a sealed gas flow relationship to tubes 512 that are individually connected to a vacuum source (not shown). Each tube is valved separately and the valve is independently controlled by the processor according to the signal received from the inspection station as to which lens package contains the correct lens. Selective actuation of the vacuum source thus provides low pressure suction at tip 510 of finger 508.
When using this low pressure suction, the finger tip 510 is placed on a flat surface, thereby sealing the central volume and securing the flat surface to the finger 508.

In operation, the pallet 40 with the deionized water drained lens package is transported to the first position and the lens package is substantially aligned with the fingers 508 of the first rotating lens transport assembly 500. The fingers 508 move downward until the chip 510 abuts the flat surface portion 46b of the package element,
A sealing interface is formed with this. Selective actuation of the valve that controls the vacuuming of each finger 508 lifts the packaging element and lens from the pallet. The entire lens package is removed from the pallet 40 and the subsequent actuation of the valve is used to place the inaccurately molded lens on another conveyor and the optically accurate lens on a good conveyor, or In another embodiment, only good lenses are transported and discarded lenses are otherwise removed later from the inspection pallet. This method can be used to increase (shorten) the cycle time of the carrier.

Once the appropriate lens package has been removed from the pallet 40, the manifold 502 and fingers 508 are simultaneously rotated upward 90 ° by the rotating means 506 while reciprocating by the biaxial transport subassembly. The fingers 508 are repositioned on the gathering conveyor, at which point the vacuum inside the fingers 508 holding the lens package is released and the lens package is placed on the conveyor.

Once the optically accurate lens package has been placed, the assembly 500 reciprocates back to pick a new set of lens packages from the next inspection pallet 40.

Collecting Conveyor and Second Rotating Lens Package Assembly The first rotating lens package transport assembly 500 places the optically accurate lens package on the collecting conveyor 602 as shown in FIG. The gathering conveyor includes a belt-type power surface to carry two rows of lens packages. Conveyor surface 604 is divided by guide walls 606 into parallel longitudinal channels 605. As illustrated in FIG. 19, the rows of lens packages may not be evenly distributed on the conveyor surface when placed.

The lens package is conveyed along the conveyor until the leading package comes into contact with the movable gate element 610. Gate element 610 is channel 605
Interfere with the continuous transport of each leading lens package. By stopping the forward movement of the front lens package, the subsequent package abuts the front package,
Here, they are put together in an evenly spaced array. Place the sensor block on the conveyor surface 604 and on the gate element 610.
Place it on the better side. Additional sensors can be placed at such a distance that the stage position 609 aligns a particular number of lens packages. For example,
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 19, the array of lens packages located between the wall element 608 and the sensor element 610 is 2 × 5. Gating element 610 provides controlled flow of only the correct number of lens packages needed to complete the 2x5 array at the stage position.

FIG. 20 illustrates a perspective view of the second rotating lens package transport assembly 650. When the entire 2 × 5 array of lens packages is placed at this stage position 609, the second rotating lens package transport assembly 650 takes out the array, rotates it, and lowers a set of suction fingers to load the lens packages. Transport to a pallet of saline injection device and foil sealing assembly. The second rotating lens package carrier assembly includes features that are similar in many ways to the first lens carrier assembly 500. The assembly includes a support 652 attached to the lower end of rotating shaft 654. The upper end of the shaft 654 is a rotation means (not shown) for rotating the support by 90 degrees in the horizontal plane.
Connected to Extending downwardly from support 652 is an array of regularly spaced fingers 658, the tip 660 of which is hollow through which vacuum can be drawn. This vacuum is used to hold the lens package element stationary during transport. Fingers 658 are hollow so as to form a conduit for vacuuming and are connected to tube 662 at support 652 for the purpose of providing vacuum pressure to fingertip 660.

The rotating shaft 654 is connected to the mounting platform 651 via rotating means. The mounting platform is mounted on a two-axis power means (the track 653 includes a horizontal shaft member on which the mounting platform moves. In operation, the assembly is on the collecting conveyor 602, at stage position 609, after the lens packages have been assembled. Once the sensor element has determined that the entire 2 × 5 array of lens packages has been formed, the manifold 652 and fingers 658 are lowered by biaxial power means.When the lens packages make contact, a vacuum is pulled on the finger tip 660. So that a fixed grip of the lens package is maintained, the manifold 652 and fingers 658 are raised, rotated and moved to a position above the next assembly pallet row.

Similar to the first rotating lens package transport assembly 500, the rotating means and the biaxial power means preferably each include an air cylinder with a 90 degree stop and a pair of orthogonal IKO ball screw mechanisms. .

Saline Injector and Foil Seal Assembly FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 show a saline infuser and foil seal assembly 700 in each of the main perspective views. FIG. 21 is a schematic apparatus arrangement of an assembly including a conveyor loop 702 in which a plurality of pallets 704 are arranged at intervals. The pallet train is driven intermittently so that the pallets stop at various subassemblies that are sequentially spaced along the conveyor 702.

The associated assemblies and subassemblies that cooperate to provide saline and heat-sealed covers to previously unsealed lens packages include conveyor 70.
No. 4, a second rotating lens package transport assembly 650, a saline infusion device subassembly located a short distance below the transport assembly 650 adjacent to the front of the conveyor, and a printing device. Includes a foil take-out placement unit 777 that receives the foil from and a heat sealing unit 780 that seals the foil into the package.

Each of the fixed pallets 704 is specifically designed to support a 2 × 5 array of individual lens packages. However, this assembly is a second lens package transport assembly 650 in another embodiment.
It is to be understood that, depending on the number of fingers and the size of the gathering conveyor stage position 609, they can be designed to accommodate different numbers of rows and different packages in each row.

With particular reference to FIG. 22, in the saline injector subassembly 750, the lens package is filled with saline having a tension that corresponds to the human unaided eye. A fixed pallet 704 carries the lens package and advances under the horizontal beam 752. Beam 752 is connected at its lateral end to a mounting base 754 adjacent conveyor loop 702. 1 x 5 dispensing tube 75
An array of six extends downwardly from beam 752 and is supplied with saline by saline conduit 758, each supplied by an independent weighing pump (not shown).

When the pallet 704 is gradually advanced to the position aligned with the weighing tube 754, the weighing pump is operated to dispense an accurate amount of physiological saline into the package recess 24. Each contact lens is thereby completely immersed in saline. The speed of pumping the saline solution and the diameter of each dispensing tube 756 are selected so that the saline solution does not splash from any of the recesses in the package, and the saline solution splashing on the annular rim 28 is sealed with a subsequent foil seal. This is very important as it may interfere with the stopping action.

An optical verification probe (indicated in the figure) was attached to the front of the saline injector subassembly to ensure that the lens package was on the advancing pallet 704 and the dispensing tube 756 was removed from the pallet. It is possible not to dispense the physiological saline solution. In addition, a sensor may likewise be mounted along the conveyor, below the saline infusion device subassembly 750, to detect that a correctly measured amount of saline is present in each lens package. A variety of such sensors are available and are taught in co-pending US patent application Ser. No. 08 / 431,891 entitled "Linear Package Array" (Attorney Docket 9401). For example, the sensor may be a reflected light sensor commercially available from OMRON, or may be a proximity sensor, or may be used with a Keyence 24W-V25R type fiber optic probe and a 24W-AA1C type amplifier. Each detector examines and verifies the correct surface of saline in each lens package.

Referring to FIG. 21 and further to FIG. 22, at a subsequent foil take-out placement station 775, a pair of laminated foil strips are placed in a 2 × 5 array of package bases, each foil strip being in a 1 × 5 row. To cover the packaging elements of. The foil strip is printed with all identification required for the final package. The laminated top coversheet is made with a foil labeling machine according to the disclosure of US patent application Ser. No. 08/106386 (VTN0089) (Attorney Docket No. 9013) entitled "Double Sided Foil Printing." The foil labeling device extends at right angles to the linear packaging device as indicated by the FOIL arrow in FIG. A pair of foil strips are received from the labeling device and a 2x5 of the package base is provided by a foil pick and place unit.
Place on top of each 1 × 5 row of array.

The optional mechanical cutting station 777 includes a pallet 704 with each foil strip properly placed.
Place each foil strip in alignment with the lens package in. In addition, a subsequent cover presence detector can be used to confirm the correct general alignment of each foil strip. At the subsequent processing station 780, the foil strip is heat sealed to the lens package. More specifically, a set of heated sealing heads, spaced apart along the length of the heating head plate 782 and supported by pneumatic cylinders or presses 784, include an annular ring of foil and packaging elements. The foil strip is pressed against the lens package so that the rim 28 is crimped between the heated sealing head and the pallet 704.

Multiple optical detections to examine the outer edges of each sheet of laminated foil strips on the lens package array to ensure that the foil is correctly and accurately aligned and heat sealed to the array of lens packages. A final optical inspection station (not shown) containing the instrument probe can be located on the underside of the heat seal station 780.

At the farthest position on the lower side, the robot assembly 790 having a plurality of vacuum suction cups takes out the sealed 1 × 5 package array from the pallet 704 and conveys it to the output position.

Although some assemblies, examples, and variations for post-hydration handling of contact lens package elements of the present invention have been described in detail herein, the disclosure and teachings of the invention are within the ordinary skill in the art. It should be understood that suggests many alternative designs for. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be construed as being limited only by the claims set forth below.

The preferred embodiments are as described below. (1) The lens transport carriage further includes a set of horizontal guide rails, a plurality of beam elements slidably mounted in parallel on the plurality of horizontal guide rails, and coupled to the beam elements. 2. At least one reciprocating drive for reciprocating the guide rails relative to one another, as claimed in claim 1. (2) The plurality of finger elements are arranged in a plurality of straight lines, a linear array extends downwardly from each of the beams, each of the fingers having an upper end and a lower end and a convex lens carrying surface. An aspect comprising: an elongated shaft at the lower end and an annular skirt with a notch for positioning the contact lens in position adjacent the tip and along the shaft. 1. The device according to 1. (3) The device according to claim 1, further comprising a second moving mechanism for reciprocating the carriage along a second moving shaft. (4) The finger element further includes a lumen extending from the upper end to the pore of the lens carrying surface for receiving a certain amount of liquid therethrough and selectively discharging the liquid therefrom. The apparatus according to aspect 1. (5) The device has a plurality of recesses at the first location, each of the recesses aligned with the lens carrying surface, and further having at least one hole in which a contact lens is placed. A plate that can be placed,
A plurality of internal conduits within the plate extending from each of the holes to a liquid source, the selective release of liquid through the conduits causing the contact lenses of the recesses to be discharged therefrom to an associated lens transport surface. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a lens pallet having a conduit for receiving.

(6) An air jet unit arranged at the second location is further included, and the air jet unit has a plurality of recesses at regular intervals, the regular intervals corresponding to the spatial distribution of the fingers. Plate, at least one hole in each of the recesses, a conduit extending from a remote air tank to each hole in each of the recesses, and air passing through the conduit from the through hole to the finger. Apparatus for selectively orienting contact lenses fixed to said lens carrying surface to remove air bubbles therein. (7) The lens transport assembly is shaped to match the concave surface of a contact lens so that the lens can be secured to the lens transport surface by surface tension. Contact lens carrier assembly. (8) The notched annular skirt and at least one skirt element for preventing contact lenses from sliding off the lens carrying surface when the liquid or gas is discharged toward the lens and the lens carrying surface. 4. A contact lens delivery assembly according to claim 3 including a set of vertically aligned slots formed in the skirt element to allow upwardly expelled liquids or gases to flow therethrough. . 9. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of: (9) changing the relative spatial dimension of the array after the lens has been transported to the lens transport surface. (10) The method further comprises the step of ejecting a certain amount of air from the pores formed in each of the cavities immediately below each lens to push the lens toward the lens carrying surface. Item 4. The method according to Item 4. (11) The step of injecting a fixed amount of air from directly below each lens is characterized by being followed by the step of blowing an air jet to each lens for the purpose of removing bubbles that may be present on the lens surface. The method according to aspect 10.

[0120]

As described above, according to the present invention, the contact lens is taken out from the pallet of the first set and is inserted into the corresponding package element of the pallet of the second set, and after inspection, the final package is obtained. An apparatus can be provided that conveys the lens package element through the sealing assembly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a package element into which a contact lens is inserted and used as a tray for the lens during inspection and as part of the primary contact lens package.

2 is a perspective view of an inspection pallet used to transport the plurality of packaging elements illustrated in FIG. 1 across several assemblies and processing stations of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of an apparatus for filling a quantity of degassed deionized water into packaging elements on a pallet.

FIG. 4 is a side and front view, respectively, of a device for filling a quantity of degassed deionized water into packaging elements on a pallet.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a hydration pallet with hydrated and washed lenses in the first position.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a lens transport inspection assembly that removes integrally molded contact lenses from a hydration pallet and changes the relative spacing between them to place the contact lenses on a package element.

FIG. 7 is a top view of a lens transport inspection assembly that removes integrally molded contact lenses from a hydration pallet and changes the relative spacing between them to mount the contact lenses on a package element.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a lens transport inspection assembly that removes integrally molded contact lenses from a hydration pallet and changes the relative spacing between them to place the contact lenses on a package element.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a finger element of a lens transport inspection assembly on which a lens is mounted.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a bubble removing liquid ejecting mechanism for removing bubbles from the outer surface of the contact lens.

FIG. 11 is a top view of a pallet transport unit that transports a pair of pallets from a lens transport conveyor line to an interference conveyor line.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a buffer station to which a pallet for transporting a lens package unit is sent.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a separation device located at the entrance to the buffer station.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the collecting device arranged at the exit of the buffer station.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing the assembly processing station arrangement of the post-hydration apparatus of the present invention including an inspection station and deionized water drainage assembly.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a low vibration pallet transfer assembly for transferring a pallet carrying lens package elements from one conveyor line to a low vibration inspection conveyor line.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a first rotary lens package transport assembly that takes out a package and a lens from an inspection pallet and mounts an optically accurate lens package on a non-defective conveyor line.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a non-defective conveyor line further used to group lens package elements into an array.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a second rotating lens package transport assembly that picks up an array of lens package assemblies from a non-defective conveyor line and places them on a pallet for saline injection and foil sealing.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of a saline infusion device and foil sealing assembly.

FIG. 21 is a side view of a saline solution injector and foil sealing assembly.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a saline solution injector and foil sealing assembly.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Russell James Edwards, United States, 32258 Florida, Jacksonville, Blueberry Woods Circle 4535 (72) Inventor Darren Scott Keane, United States, 32257 Ji, Florida Jacksonville, Southington Place 11260 (72) Inventor William Edward Holly United States, 32087 Ponte Vedra Beach, Serano Way 180 (72) Inventor John Mark Ripper United States, 32257 Hunt Valley Drive, West Jacksonville, FL 8991 (72) Inventor Wallace Anthony Martin USA Country, 32065 Sandlewood Court, Orange Park, Florida 2603 (72) Inventor Daniel Tufan Wong, United States, 32225 Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida 13753 (72) Inventor Ture Quint-Larsen Denmark, Holte, Deko-2840, Solerodobey 40 (72) Inventor Niels Jorgen Madsen Denmark, Deko, Allerode 3450 Forelvey 18 (72) Inventor Boge Peter Gandersen Chico 3080 Prost Garzvey 13 (72) Inventor Thomas Christian Raven Helsinor 3000, Denmark Congens Gade 14 A

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for delivering a contact lens element from a first location to a second location, the plurality of elongated finger elements each forming a convex lens delivery surface, the first location. A lens carrier carriage having an array of elongated finger elements for receiving the contact lens elements, a drive for changing the spatial relationship of the array, and a carriage for carrying the carriage and the lens to a second location. And a fine hole formed on the convex lens transport surface for injecting a liquid between the lens and the surface to mount the lens on the second lens carrier at the second location. A device comprising. 2. An assembly for removing an array of contact lenses from a hydration pallet, altering the spatial distribution of the contact lenses and mounting the contact lenses on a packaging element, the guides comprising a plurality of horizontal guides. A mounting bracket including a rail; a plurality of beam elements slidably mounted in parallel on the plurality of horizontal guide rails; and a dynamic coupling between the beam elements for a compact spacing and a wide spacing. At least one drive assembly reciprocating along said guide rail; and a plurality of finger elements arranged in a linear array and extending downwardly from at least one of said beams, each of said finger elements having an upper end. An elongated shaft having a lower end and a lower end, extending from the upper end to the lower end, penetrating and receiving a certain amount of liquid, A lumen for selectively releasing the fixed amount of liquid, a lens carrying surface at the lower end of the shaft for receiving and fixedly holding a contact lens, and the shaft adjacent the tip. A notched toroidal skirt for keeping the contact lens in place along a vertical axis and a biaxial movement mechanism for reciprocating the mounting bracket along vertical and horizontal axes. An assembly characterized by the following. 3. At least one beam element for facilitating transport of a contact lens between two locations and a finger element including first and second ends, the lens transport surface at said first end. A longitudinal axis having an elongate axis having a notch and a means for attaching to the beam element at a second end remote from the axis, the elongate axis having a notched circle adjacent the first end. Including an annular skirt; and including a lumen extending through the elongate shaft for introducing a liquid between the lens carrying surface and a contact lens secured thereto to separate the lens. A contact lens carrier assembly characterized by: 4. A method of delivering a contact lens element, comprising placing an array of elongated finger elements, each having a lens carrying surface formed thereon, over an array of lens carrier cavities, the method comprising a contact lens. Radiating liquid from each of the cavities associated with each of the cavities toward the lens to transfer the lens to an associated lens transport surface; transporting the array of elongated finger elements to a second location; Emitting a lens at said second location to a set of lens carriers.