Coopervision International Holding Company, LP

Coopervision, Inc.

Ocular Sciences, Inc.

Other

Gregg A Dean

Neil Goodenough

J Christopher Marmo

Ian Bruce

Sarah L Almond

Robert Oag

Richard C Rogers

Philip A Brame

Geoffrey A Blyth

Jamie Snell

Pete Coldrey

Sarah E Darnton

Eve Blyth, Legal Representative

Neil G Goodenough

Arthur Back

David Robert Morsley

David M Radcliffe

Jaroslaw W Orlik

Euan Ferguson

Colin Ball

A collet () for holding a contact lens mold half () during machining of a surface of the mold half () having a disc () having a face and defining:

Method and apparatus for manufacturing contact lens moulds

A method of manufacturing an ophthalmic lens using a first mold portion and a puck assembly. The puck assembly comprises a carrier puck. The puck assembly supports at least one of the first mold portion and the lens during at least two of the following ophthalmic lens manufacturing steps: assembling the first mold portion and a second mold portion into a mold assembly including a lens-defining cavity containing a lens precursor material; curing the lens precursor material in the mold assembly to form a lens; separating the mold assembly such that the lens remains attached to the first mold portion; detaching the lens from the first mold portion; extracting unwanted material from the lens; hydrating the lens; inspecting the lens, and packaging the lens.

Manufacture of ophthalmic lenses

Apparatus and methods are described for manufacturing contact lenses employing dissolvable mold structure. The apparatus and methods involve approaches to dissolve at least portions of a mold and to separate a lens from the mold to present the lens for collection.

Method and apparatus for manufacturing contact lenses

Methods, devices, and systems for manufacturing ophthalmic lenses using direct injection molding are described. The present methods, devices, and systems include a mold block having a first mold insert and a second mold insert defining a lens-shaped cavity between them. A raised non-uniform region that projects into the lens-shaped cavity is incorporated in a peripheral zone of the molding surface of at least one of the mold inserts. When an ophthalmic lens is formed using the described mold block, at least one depression is produced in the lens. A gate placed at the non-uniform region allows the depression to hide any gate witness that may form when the mold is closed or separated.

Methods, devices, and systems for injection molding contact lenses

Contact lens molds and systems and methods for producing contact lens molds are described. The contact lens mold sections include two optical quality surfaces, a flange circumscribing at least a portion of the two optical quality surfaces, and an elongate member extending from the flange. Two mold sections can contact one another to form a mold assembly having a contact lens shaped cavity. The mold sections are structured to form a contact lens having an edge that does not require further physical modification before placement on an eye. Systems and methods are described which direct a molten polymeric material into cavities corresponding to the mold sections.

Contact lens molds and systems and methods for producing same

Systems and methods for producing silicone hydrogel contact lenses are described. Certain of the present systems include a contact lens mold forming station, a station for filling a contact lens mold section with a lens precursor composition and for placing a second mold section on the filled mold section to form a contact lens mold assembly, a curing station for forming a contact lens, a mold assembly separation station, and an extraction/hydration station. Certain of the present methods include forming a plurality of mold sections, placing a lens precursor composition on a surface of a first mold section, placing a second mold section on the first mold section, polymerizing the lens precursor composition, separating the first and second mold sections, removing the silicone hydrogel contact lens from one of the mold sections, extracting extractable components from the contact lens, and hydrating the contact lens.

Systems and methods for producing silicone hydrogel contact lenses

A contact lens having a rotational stabilization mechanism thereon, such as prism ballast, and a thickness profile that reduces the torque imparted on the lens by the action of the eyelids, especially for stabilizing toric lenses. The prism ballast is provided on one or more portions of the anterior face of the lens such that the lens body has a uniform thickness of within 10% along horizontal cross-sections. The anterior face of the lens may be segregated into a peripheral zone, an inner zone circumscribed by the peripheral zone, and a central optic zone. The prism ballast portion is provided within the inner zone, which may be further subdivided into a superior portion, an intermediate portion proximate the optic zone, and an inferior portion. The ballast portion increases in thickness along a superior-inferior line parallel to a vertical meridian, and has a substantially uniform thickness perpendicular thereto. The peripheral zone may be tapered, and have a rounded edge. The rate of thickness change across any portion of the peripheral zone is less than about 250 &#x3bc;m/mm.

Contact lens having a uniform horizontal thickness profile

Contact lenses for use in eyes are provided and include a lens body and a plurality of microchannels defined in a posterior face of the lens body. The microchannels are structured to promote effective tear fluid exchange between an exposed surface of the eye and a surface of the eye covered by the lens body. Each of the microchannels preferably includes a substantially junctionless, convex surface along a major portion of a length of the microchannel.

Contact lenses with blended microchannels

Methods for producing contact lenses include providing a back surface tool having a surface generally corresponding to a desired contact lens surface and a convex curve along an outer radius thereof, positioning the tool in a molding apparatus, introducing a moldable material into the molding apparatus to form a first mold section having a negative impression of the surface of the tool, assembling the first mold section with a second mold section to form a lens shaped cavity therebetween and forming a contact lens member in the lens shaped cavity of the assembled mold sections. Molds useful in producing contact lenses, tools useful in making mold sections for molding contact lenses and contact lenses having rounded edge surfaces are also provided.

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Southampton, United Kingdom

Gregg A Dean