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:
Mar. 12, 2002
Filed:
Nov. 20, 1998
Louis S. Polster, Alexandria, VA (US);
Other;
Abstract
An apparatus, method and control system involve treating articles in one or more of a plurality of liquid treatment bath chambers. The apparatus includes one or more article raising and lowering devices and a plurality of treatment bath chambers, preferably having separate heaters, temperature and level monitors, filling and draining devices, and devices for keeping treatment bath components in suspension. The method preferably includes treating articles, preferably eyeglass lenses, by supporting the articles on an arm and dipping them into one or more of the plurality of treatment bath chambers, which may separately contain assorted coating liquids such as tint coatings, UV protection coatings, scratch resistance coatings, neutralizing liquids for removing tinting, and rinsing liquids. The control system preferably controls which bath chamber or bath chambers are to be used for each treatment liquid, the temperature of each bath liquid, the liquid level in each bath chamber, the duration of treatment in each bath, and the speed of withdrawal from each bath for providing the option of different gradient coatings on articles. The control system also preferably manages the power usage in the system, when necessary, by rotating which heaters receive power until all of the chambers are fully heated, at which time the control system only provides power to heat those chambers whose temperatures have dropped to a predetermined temperature.