Johnson & Johnson Vision Products Inc.

Johnson and Johnson Vision Care, Inc.

Richard W Abrams

Russell J Crossman

Russell J Edwards

Daniel Tsu-Fang Wang

John E Studer

Borge Peter Gundersen

Charles R Ashley

Thomas Christian Ravn

William Edward Holley

Mark E Schlagel

John Mark Lepper

Kiyoshi Imai

Masao Funo

Hirokazu Kitagawa

Michael Francis Widman

Svend Christensen

Mary L Dolan

Victor Lust

Wallace Anthony Martin

Stephen Robert Beaton

Kornelis Renkema

Wybren Van Der Meulen

Jongliang Wu

David Dolan

Ture Kindt-Larsen

Darren S Keene

James A Ebel

Gary S Hall

Olin W Calvin

Kenneth Kurt Pricer

Charles R Hood

Thomas C Ravin

Craig William Walker

Scott Frederick Ansell

Richard J Fougere

Phillip King Parnell, Sr

Claude E Monsees

W Anthony Martin

Dominic P Gourd

Dharmesh K Dubey

Edward A Dzwill

Ravi Sankar Sanka

Ronaldus Joannes Cornelis Maria Kok

Leonard Ross Reinhart

Lars William Johnson

Thomas A Matiacio

Jan Albert Maria Windey

Lenora L Copper

Daniel T-f Wang

Thomas R Rooney

Menno Ben Kubbinga

Adrianus Hendrik Kooiman

Edwin Van Doorn

Frederick W Koberna

Robert J Tesar

Xu Song

James K Miars

Ben A Hutchinson

David M Maroukis

Hiroshi Matsumoto

Kevin P Mccabe

Phillip K Parnell

Ronaldus Joannes Kok

Novel methods and apparatus are disclosed for handling carriers for soft contact lenses in a lens manufacturing system. In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, article handling devices are located beneath a pre-cure station and a curing station of the system to move lens carriers within those stations. Pursuant to a second aspect of the invention, in a preferred embodiment multiple sets of assemblies are provided for moving a multitude of lens carriers into, through, and out from the pre-cure station and the curing station. In accordance with a third aspect of the invention, the curing station is provided with an intelligent buffer.

Apparatus and method for handling lens carriers

Novel methods and apparatus are disclosed for handling carriers for soft contact lenses in a lens manufacturing system. In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, article handling devices are located beneath a pre-cure station and a curing station of the system to move lens carriers within those stations. As a result of locating these devices beneath these stations, the desired movement of the carriers can be achieved without increasing the footprint of the station. Pursuant to a second aspect of the invention, a complete set of assemblies is provided for moving a multitude of lens carriers into, through, and out from the pre-cure station and the curing station. This set of assemblies accomplishes this movement in a completely automated, high speed, mass production basis. In accordance with a third aspect of the invention, the curing station is provided with an intelligent buffer. This buffer allows the lens carriers to accumulate in the curing station, and then discharges the carriers from the station in an ordered manner at the appropriate time. This enables the output or throughput of the curing station to be controlled or adjusted to accommodate changing conditions or circumstances occurring in the manufacturing system downstream of the curing station.

Contact lens container

In a soft contact lens manufacturing process, an injection molding machine (IMM) produces many thermoplastic injection molded front curve (FC) and back curve (BC) mold parts, each of which mold parts is subsequently used only once to mold a single soft contact lens. An inlay station with alignment assemblies and transfer tubes provide for the precise transfer to and alignment of the FC and BC molds in pallets during their transfer from the IMM to pallets on an assembly line in a high speed automated commercial production operation. A rotatable FC transfer arm and a rotatable BC transfer arm transfer the FC and BC molds from the IMM machine to the pallets in an inlay station. The precisely aligned transfer is provided by two alignment rods of an alignment assembly which pass through two alignment apertures in the pallet and then pass through two alignment apertures in one of the FC or BC alignment arms.

Inlay station with alignment assemblies and transfer tubes

Contact lens package

An apparatus for the processing and segmenting of a cover-forming laminate web or sheeting structure which is adapted to interconnect a plurality of containers, such as the base members of blister packages each of which is designed to contain a hydrophilic contact lens in a sterile aqueous solution. More specifically disclosed is an apparatus for the imprinting, perforating, slitting and cutting the laminated web structure such that the severed laminate segments constitute printed covering label for an array of such containers, and whereby the laminated web or sheeting segment may be severed along weakening or perforation lines so as to provide a separable packaging arrangement for individual of the containers which are subsequently adhered thereto.

Apparatus and method for preparing printing labels

A multi-layered foil laminate having at least one layer, preferably an exterior layer which is constituted of a plastic film material, and which is provided with printing on both surfaces of the layer. In essence, the method of double-sided printing includes initially printing on a first side of an outer layer of a plastic film material, preferably such as polyester, wherein the printing is imparted to the side or surface of the plastic film material facing towards an underlying metallic foil to which it is to be adhered, and wherein the printing is applied to the plastic film material through the intermediary of reverse halftone color printing, whereby subsequent this particular printing on the one side of the outer plastic film layer having been completed, the plastic film material is adhesively fastened at the printed surface thereof to the underlying metallic foil, such as through the interposition of a suitable adhesive. Thereafter, in order to effectuate the printing on the opposite or external surface of the outer plastic film material, the laminated foil has thermal transfer printing imparted to the outer surface of the plastic film layer, preferably through the intermediary of a ceramic printing head, imparting further indicia indicative of specific information relative to the contents of a package which is to be equipped with the foil laminate.

Laminated foil package covering with double-sided printing

A base member for a blister package for the containment of a contact lens includes a planar flange extending outwardly about a cavity for housing the contact lens. Proximate the peripheral edge of the flange, there is formed a continuous groove into which there is pressed the material of a flexible cover sheet of the blister package so as to clampingly engage the base member.

Packaging method for contact lenses

A method of double-sided printing, in effect, on opposite or both surfaces of a layer on a multi-layered foil laminate. Moreover, also disclosed is the provision of a novel multi-layered foil laminate having at least one layer, preferably an exterior layer which is constituted of a plastic film material, and which is provided with printing on both surfaces of the layer. In essence, the inventive method of double-sided printing includes initially printing on a first side of an outer layer of a plastic film material, preferably such as polyester, wherein the printing is imparted to the side or surface of the plastic film material facing towards an underlying metallic foil to which it is to be adhered. Thereafter, in order to effectuate the printing on the opposite or external surface of the outer plastic film material, the laminated foil has thermal transfer printing imparted to the outer surface of the plastic film layer, preferably through the intermediary of a ceramic printing head, imparting further indicia indicative of specific information relative to the contents of a package which is to be equipped with the foil laminate.

Method of double-sided printing of a laminate and product obtained

An automated apparatus for controlling the automatic packaging of contact lenses in a contact lens fabrication facility includes: a first robotic transfer device for periodically transferring a first predetermined amount of individual packages from an inspection station to an intermediate consolidation buffer and depositing the packages on the consolidation buffer; a control device for tracking and identifying each individual contact lens conveyed from the inspection station to the consolidation buffer and including memory and logic circuits for storing the identity of individual packages containing contact lenses that have been previously determined at the inspection station as being out of specification, and, generating a signal to enable the first robotic device to discard any individual package identified as out of specification; and; a second robotic assembly for periodically transferring a second predetermined amount of individual packages from the consolidation buffer to a second processing station, the control device enabling the first robotic device to provide a sufficient amount of individual packages to the consolidation buffer to enable the second robotic assembly to continuously transfer the second predetermined amount of packages to the second processing station in every period.

Automated apparatus and method for consolidating products and packaging

A packaging arrangement for packaging products such as contact lenses in packages such as blister packs. The packaging arrangement includes an intermittently indexed, linearly driven endless conveyor which includes a plurality of identical support pallets, equally spaced apart along the endless conveyor. Each support pallet is designed to support and align an array of individual package bases. The arrangement is such that each support pallet with an array of individual package bases thereon is sequentially stopped at a plurality of spaced work stations along the endless conveyor.

Packaging arrangement

Package for a multiple of contact lenses

An automated apparatus for controlling the automatic packaging of contact lenses in a contact lens fabrication facility includes: a first robotic transfer device for periodically transferring a first predetermined amount of individual packages from an inspection station to an intermediate consolidation buffer and depositing the packages on the consolidation buffer; a control device for tracking and identifying each individual contact lens conveyed from the inspection station to the consolidation buffer and including memory and logic circuits for storing the identity of individual packages containing contact lenses that have been previously determined at the inspection station as being out of specification, and, generating a signal to enable the first robotic device to discard any individual package identified as out of specification; and, a second robotic assembly for periodically transferring a second predetermined amount of individual packages from the consolidation buffer to a second processing station, the control device enabling the first robotic device to provide a sufficient amount of individual packages to the consolidation buffer to enable the second robotic assembly to continuously transfer the second predetermined amount of packages to the second processing station in every period.

Automated apparatus and method for consolidating products for packaging

Packaging arrangement for contact lenses

Growing community of inventors

Jacksonville, FL, United States of America

Richard W Abrams