The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 10, 1977
Filed:
Mar. 17, 1975
David P Hamblen, Rochester, NY (US);
Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY (US);
Abstract
A centrifugal molding method is provided for making a plastic lens having a gradient index of refraction. A reusable silicone rubber mold is placed in a rotatable mold carrier and two copolymerizable monomer compositions containing monomers having different indices of refraction are combined in the mold to form a polymerization mixture which has an index of refraction varying radially outward from its axis of rotation. The first monomer composition is placed in the mold and, while the mold is rotating sufficiently to force the first monomer composition to the outside edge of the mold, a second monomer composition is introduced via hypodermic injection into the center of the mold. The speed of rotation is reduced and the two monomer compositions diffuse one into the other in a controllable manner. Ultraviolet exposure, either directly on the mold or variably through a photographic mask with varying density, modifies the diffusion by initiating polymerization and increasing the viscosity of the monomer compositions. Finally the monomer compositions in the mold are completely polymerized by heat curing in an oven.