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Patent EP0089705B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0089705B1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Method of manufacturing contact lenses by moulding, and apparatus therefor
Assignee: Novartis AG
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Filing: 1983-02-28
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Granted: 1986-12-10
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Expires: 2003-02-28
Abstract
Abstract The invention concerns a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a contact lens, through molding within water-tight molds. The polymerization of lenses is insured by arranging a number of molds within one or several sealed metallic chambers (9) constituting a resonant cavity of a unique mode for an ultra high frequency wave; these molds are positioned in an area of the cavity where the electromagnetic field approximately of ultra high frequency waves is homogeneous, and are distributed so that the amounts of basic composition to be polymerized act as a load fitted to the inside of said cavity.
Inventors
- 👤 Bernard Feurer
- 👤 Gilles Parnot
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 06:11
CPC Classifications
B; B29; B29D; B29D11/00; B29D11/00009; B29D11/00038; B29D11/00125; B29D11/00134; B29C; B29C33/00; B29C33/0022; B29C35/00; B29C35/02; B29C35/08; H; H05; H05B; H05B6/00; H05B6/64; H05B6/80; B29C35/0805; B29C2035/0855; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S425/00; Y10S425/808
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
271 words
Method of manufacturing a contact lens of suitable optical quality, which consists in - producing closed tight moulds which reproduce in hollow form the shape of the lenses to be obtained and are composed of a material that is transparent or has low absorptive power for ultra-high frequency electromagnetic waves, said moulds being made such as to have a much greater temperature lag than that of the amount of base composition required for producing a lens; - developing a base composition from one or more monomers, having polymerisable double bonds and having absorptive power for ultra-high frequency waves, and - effecting the polymerisation of the composition inside the closed moulds by irradiation by means of ultra-high frequency waves, the polymerisation operation being carried out by placing a plurality of moulds (1), each containing a given amount of base composition, inside at least one closed chamber (9), said process being characterised in that the metal chamber is rotationally symmetrical, constituting a resonance cavity with one single mode for the frequency of the ultra-high frequency waves used, said moulds being superimposed in columns and distributed so that the amounts of base composition, contained in the latter, serve as fillings adapted to the interior of said resonance cavity, said moulds being positioned, on the one hand, in four, so-called centre, columns, located directly adjacent to a radiating aerial (10) which extends along the axis of the chamber, and, on the other hand, in four other, so-called peripheral, columns, located on the immediate periphery of the centre columns, each peripheral column being placed in the space between the outer circumference of two neighbouring centre columns.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
271 words
Method of manufacturing a contact lens of suitable optical quality, which consists in - producing closed tight moulds which reproduce in hollow form the shape of the lenses to be obtained and are composed of a material that is transparent or has low absorptive power for ultra-high frequency electromagnetic waves, said moulds being made such as to have a much greater temperature lag than that of the amount of base composition required for producing a lens; - developing a base composition from one or more monomers, having polymerisable double bonds and having absorptive power for ultra-high frequency waves, and - effecting the polymerisation of the composition inside the closed moulds by irradiation by means of ultra-high frequency waves, the polymerisation operation being carried out by placing a plurality of moulds (1), each containing a given amount of base composition, inside at least one closed chamber (9), said process being characterised in that the metal chamber is rotationally symmetrical, constituting a resonance cavity with one single mode for the frequency of the ultra-high frequency waves used, said moulds being superimposed in columns and distributed so that the amounts of base composition, contained in the latter, serve as fillings adapted to the interior of said resonance cavity, said moulds being positioned, on the one hand, in four, so-called centre, columns, located directly adjacent to a radiating aerial (10) which extends along the axis of the chamber, and, on the other hand, in four other, so-called peripheral, columns, located on the immediate periphery of the centre columns, each peripheral column being placed in the space between the outer circumference of two neighbouring centre columns.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
65 words
Method according to Claim 1, characterised in that the moulds (1) are arranged, on the one hand, in centre columns, located directly adjacent to the aerial (10) and extending approximately over the height of the chamber (9), and, on the other hand, in peripheral columns, located on the immediate periphery of the centre columns and extending over a fraction of the height of the chamber.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
240 words
Method of manufacturing a contact lens of suitable optical quality, which consists in - producing closed tight moulds which reproduce in hollow form the shape of the lenses to be obtained and are composed of a material that is transparent or has low absorptive power for ultra-high frequency electromagnetic waves, said moulds being made such as to have a much greater temperature lag than that of the amount of base composition required for producing a lens; - developing a base composition from one or more monomers, having polymerisable double bonds and having absorptive power for ultra-high frequency waves, and - effecting the polymerisation of the composition inside the closed moulds by irradiation by means of ultra-high frequency waves, the polymerisation operation being carried out by placing a plurality of moulds (1), each containing a given amount of base composition, inside at least one closed chamber (9), said process being characterised in that the metal chamber is rotationally symmetrical, constituting a resonance cavity with one single mode for the frequency of the ultra-high frequency waves used, said moulds being super-imposed in columns and distributed so that the amounts of base composition, contained in the latter, serve as fillings adapted to the interior of said resonance cavity, said moulds being positioned in a column placed along the axis of the chamber, the resonance cavity being excited by an iris (25) which is symmetrical relative to the median transverse plane of the chamber.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
240 words
Method of manufacturing a contact lens of suitable optical quality, which consists in - producing closed tight moulds which reproduce in hollow form the shape of the lenses to be obtained and are composed of a material that is transparent or has low absorptive power for ultra-high frequency electromagnetic waves, said moulds being made such as to have a much greater temperature lag than that of the amount of base composition required for producing a lens; - developing a base composition from one or more monomers, having polymerisable double bonds and having absorptive power for ultra-high frequency waves, and - effecting the polymerisation of the composition inside the closed moulds by irradiation by means of ultra-high frequency waves, the polymerisation operation being carried out by placing a plurality of moulds (1), each containing a given amount of base composition, inside at least one closed chamber (9), said process being characterised in that the metal chamber is rotationally symmetrical, constituting a resonance cavity with one single mode for the frequency of the ultra-high frequency waves used, said moulds being super-imposed in columns and distributed so that the amounts of base composition, contained in the latter, serve as fillings adapted to the interior of said resonance cavity, said moulds being positioned in a column placed along the axis of the chamber, the resonance cavity being excited by an iris (25) which is symmetrical relative to the median transverse plane of the chamber.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
26 words
Method according to Claim 3, characterised in that the moulds are placed in a central tubular guide (28, 30), going through the chamber along its axis.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
45 words
Method according to Claim 4, characterised in that the moulds are made to pass along in the central guide (30) at a speed appropriate for ensuring that each mould stays in the useful central volume of the chamber for the time required for the treatment.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
33 words
Method according to one of the Claims 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, in which the moulds (1) are placed in a chamber (9) which is excited in the resonance mode TM 010.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
57 words
Method according to one of the Claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, characterised in that auxiliary dielectric fillers, made of a material that has absorptive power for ultra-high frequency waves, are inserted in one or more mould columns (1), so as to increase the uniformity of the electromagnetic field at the level of the moulds.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
47 words
Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that cooling is brought about by ventilation of the upper part of the chamber, so as to even out the temperature inside the latter and produce a temperature below about 40°C at the level of the moulds.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
40 words
Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the chamber (9) is supplied with ultra-high frequency waves, so that the mean power density inside the latter lies approximately between 10- 2 and 50.10- 2 watt/cm 3 .
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
79 words
Method according to one of the preceding claims, in which the base composition is a monomer or a mixture of monomers, having a high molecular volume, from the following group: hydroxyethyl methacrylate, hydroxypropyl methacrylate, hydroxyethyl acrylate, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, N-vinyl pyrrolidone, methyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid, characterised in that an initiator, consisting, in particular, of azo-bisisobutyronitrile or a hydroperoxide or a peroxide, is admixed to said base composition in a proportion by weight ranging from about 0.04% to 0.15%.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
143 words
Apparatus for performing the method in accordance with Claim 1, with a view to manufacturing contact lenses, comprising means for generating ultra-high frequency waves of predetermined frequency (2), a closed chamber and a wave guide, characterised in that the chamber (9) is cylindrical, metallic and suitable for forming a resonance cavity with single mode for the frequency of said waves, containing an axial metal aerial (10), placed along the axis of the chamber (9) and going through one of the circular bases of the latter, so as to penetrate into the wave guide (4), which is provided with a transverse coupling bar (11) to which said aerial is fastened, and also containing means for positioning (13, 14, 15) a plurality of moulds in said cavity, capable of enabling said moulds to be placed in an approximately uniform electromagnetic field zone of said cavity.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
120 words
Apparatus for performing the method in accordance with Claim 3, with a view to manufacturing contact lenses, comprising means for generating ultra-high frequency waves of predetermined frequency (2) and a closed chamber, characterised in that the chamber (9) is cylindrical, metallic and suitable for forming a resonance cavity with single mode for the frequency of said waves, containing an iris (25), which is symmetrical relative to the median transverse plane of the chamber and consists of a slit worked into the cylindrical wall of the latter, and also containing means for positioning (13, 14, 15) a plurality of moulds in said cavity, suitable for enabling said moulds to be placed in an approximately uniform electromagnetic field zone of said cavity.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
55 words
Apparatus according to either Claim 11 or 12, characterised in that it comprises a cylindrical chamber (9) having an internal diameter D such that in case of mode TM 010 or in case of mode TM 110, where D is expressed in millimetres and where f is the frequency of the waves, expressed in megahertz.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
74 words
Apparatus according to one of the Claims 11, 12, or 13, characterised in that the means for positioning the moulds comprise one or more guides, made of a dielectric material (13, 14, 28, 30) that is transparent or has low absorptive power for ultra-high frequency waves, this guide or these guides each extending parallel to the axis of the chamber (9) and being suitable for containing the moulds and keeping them in superimposed position.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
47 words
Apparatus according to Claim 14, characterised in that it comprises eight detachable guides (13, 14), each capable of containing a column of superimposed moulds, the chamber (9) being provided with means (15) for maintaining the guides, enabling them to be placed into predetermined positions inside said chamber.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
32 words
Apparatus according to Claim 14, characterised in that it comprises a central tubular guide, extending along the axis of the chamber and passing through the latter from one side to the other.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
41 words
Apparatus according to one of the Claims 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 or 16, characterised in that it is provided with means (21) for ventilating the upper part of the chamber, capable of producing flow of external air around the latter.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
51 words
Apparatus according to one of the Claims 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 or 16, characterised in that it is provided with means for ventilating the upper part of the chamber, comprising means (22, 23) for blowing air into the interior of said upper part and an exit orifice for air (24).
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
86 words
Apparatus according to one of the Claims 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 or 18, in which the wave- generating means comprise a magnetron (2), associated with an electricity supply system (3), a wave guide (4), connecting said magnetron with the radiating means (10), coupled with the chamber (9), and an adjustable E/H converter (8), inserted in this wave guide (4) and suitable for enabling the waves reflected in the wave guide to be reduced to a minimum, depending on the filling of the chamber.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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