Bausch-lomb Incorporated

Other

Trevor F O'Neill

Robert G Duggan

Ger M Reynolds

Gabriel Philip Kennedy

John Wadding

David Sheppard

Michael W Murphy

Ted Foos

John J Cardiff

Anthony LaRuffa

Patrick J Tobin

John R Coppinger

Thomas Stevenson

Anthony O'Neill

Patrick D O'Neill

A method of measuring an axis angle of a toric contact lens including a posterior toric central zone having a cylindrical axis, and an anterior lens surface forming a ballast that has an axis of orientation offset from the cylindrical axis at a selected rotational angle is disclosed. The method involves (a) providing anterior and posterior mold sections including respective anterior and posterior mold cavity defining surfaces, wherein the posterior mold cavity defining surface includes a toric central zone and the anterior mold cavity defining surface is shaped to provide the ballast, the mold sections being alignable at multiple rotational positions; (b) providing a detectable feature on each of the anterior and posterior mold sections at a predetermined angular location with respect to the tonic and ballast axes thereof, respectively; (c) rotating the detectable feature of the posterior mold section relative to the detectable feature of the anterior mold section, wherein the detectable feature of the anterior mold section is a zero reference; and (d) measuring the axis angle between the detectable feature of the posterior mold section relative to the detectable feature of the anterior mold section after rotational displacement of the mold sections during toric contact lens formation.

Method and system of measuring toric lens axis angle

The invention relates to a method for heat sealing a lidstock () to a container () for a blister package, the container having a top surface comprising a substantially flat sealing flange () surrounding a blister () and a lip () having at least one raised surface (), the method comprising the steps of a) locating the lidstock on the top surface; b) providing a first seal between the lidstock and the at least one raised surface of the lip with a first heat sealing tool (); c) providing a second hermetic seal between the lidstock and the sealing flange surrounding the blister with a second heat sealing tool. The invention also relates to a package for storing a hydrophilic contact lens comprising a lip having at least one raised surface and a removable lidstock sealed to a sealing flange and to the at least one raised surface. Also disclosed is an apparatus for heat sealing the lidstock to the container.

Apparatus and method for sealing a lidstock to a container

A method for controlling a production line for the manufacture and/or packaging of contact lenses which production line simultaneous by processes at least two lots, the method comprising dividing at least a portion of the production line into a series of cells through which the contact lens pass sequentially, and providing a control system comprising at least three shifts registers each containing information about each of said cells, including: (a) a location shift register which indicates whether a cell should be empty or occupied, (b) a lot data shift register which is a non-binary shift register and contains manufacturing and/or prescription data about the contact lens which should be in the cell and (c) a condition shift register which provides an indication of the condition of the product in the cell, and simultaneously indexing all of said shift registers as a lens passes down the production line from one cell to the next cell.

Production line control using shift registers for contact lens manufacture

A method for tracking multiple SKUs of contact lenses in a manufacturing line comprising the steps of: a) molding a plurality of contact lenses, b) providing a plurality of carriers each having a carrier indicator, c) inspecting each contact lens to determine information relating to its prescription, d) transferring each lens to a carrier, e) reading the carrier indicator of the carrier of step d) and f) storing in machine-accessible memory the information associated with the carrier indicator of the carrier of step (e) and the information relating to the lens for step (c).

Contact lens manufacture

Apparatus and method for inexpensively storing a quantity of packages awaiting transfer to a manufacturing process station includes a dispenser for quickly removing the packages from the container and directly into a secondary receptacle which is particularly adapted for feeding the packages to the process station. The provision of an inexpensive container to hold the packages is advantageous in that the more expensive secondary receptacles are not tied up for the sole purpose of holding packages which are awaiting the next process station.

Blister package storage and dispensing container and method

Apparatus and method for handling an ophthalmic lens in a manufacturing line where lenses are presented for picking and transport to a respective lens receptacle. The problem of lens fly-away is prevented by a cover which releasably couples to the lens picking means and is deposited over the lens receptacle immediately following release of the lens into the secondary receptacle and withdrawal of the lens picking means.

Apparatus and method for handling an ophthalmic lens

A package assembly includes packages that are connected to a common sheet of lidstock. Various packages are separated from other packages by severing the lidstock between the packages. The packages are supported in depressions in a tray, and the depressions are tapered to facilitate severance of the lidstock.

Growing community of inventors

Tramore, Ireland

Trevor F O'Neill