Coburn Optical Industries, Inc.

Gerber Coburn Optical, Inc.

Sinties Corporation, Inc.

William L Dixon

Kimber W Rarick

James E Riley

A machine for cutting/grinding ophthalmic lenses has a lens spindle aligned on a vertical longitudinal axis and a tool spindle aligned on an angled axis in relation to the vertical axis. The lens blank is chucked on the upper end of the lens spindle and a tool is mounted on a lower end of the tool spindle. One motor rotates the lens spindle and the lens blank about the longitudinal axis and a second motor vertically reciprocates the lens spindle and the lens blank. A third motor rotates the tool spindle and the tool about the angled axis and a fourth motor linearly horizontally reciprocates the tool spindle and the tool. A microprocessor coordinates the rotation and reciprocation of the spindles to cause the tool to cut/grind the lens blank to a predetermined contour. The tool has a spherical grinding surface of diameter approximating but not greater than twice the radius of the steepest lens curvature to be cut/ground. Preferably, the angled axis intersects the vertical axis with an angle of approximately 125 to 145 degrees therebetween. Also preferably, the microprocessor causes the tool spindle to rotate at an angular velocity of approximately 8,000 revolutions per minute and the lens spindle to rotate at an angular velocity of approximately 20 to 150 revolutions per minute, so that the impact of the lens speed on the relative surface speed of the tool to the lens is negligible.

Lens grinder

Exerciser

In accordance with the invention a holder is provided for an eyeglass frame having a pair of lens rims spaced apart by a bridge. A pair of supports are fixed in spaced apart relationship on a base plate and a cradle is journalled between the supports to rock beneath an axis spaced from and parallel to the base plate. A pair of jaws transversely mounted on the cradle in relation to the axis is biased toward closing and has a mouth accessible from above the axis. One or both of the jaws inwardly tapered from the mouth to a narrow passage and outwardly tapered from the narrow passage to a throat. The throat has inwardly extending seats. Thus, when a frame is inserted transversely into the mouth toward the throat with its upper rims against one of the jaws and its lower rims against the other of the jaws, the jaws open against bias to pass the frame through the narrow passage and then close under bias to secure the frame in the throat and on the seats. Preferably, the seats are aligned on the jaws so as to support the frame substantially along a plane parallel to the base plate when the cradle is in a normal angular orientation with respect thereto and to support either of the rims substantially along that plane when the cradle is rocked to left or right angular orientations with respect thereto. The cradle is preferably journalled snugly enough to be frictionally secured in its normal, left or right orientations as desired. A tongue extending from the cradle is biased for reciprocal motion between the jaws and to extend from beneath the throat toward the narrow passage to center the frame transversely across the axis while the frame passes through the narrow passage to the throat.

Growing community of inventors

Bixby, OK, United States of America

William L Dixon