Claims
- 1. An apparatus for flushing a contact lens comprising:
- a chamber defined by a pair of mating members, said mating members forming a cavity when mated for receiving said lens, said cavity inhibiting inversion of said lens when emplaced therein;
- conduit means located on each of said mating members for introducing fluid into said chamber completely about said lens, said conduit means being centrally formed on each said mating member;
- means for introducing a flow of said fluid between said members through said conduit means; and
- exit means for evacuating a fluid from said chamber located radially around said chamber, such that said lens is flushed radially on each side from its center when fluid is entered into said conduit means and evacuated from said exit means.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein one of said mating members contains a projection located centrally within said chamber and said second mating member contains a recess located centrally within said chamber such that a lens having a concave surface and a convex surface is fit in said cavity with said projection proximal to said concave surface and said recess proximal to said convex surface.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said second member recess has a radius of curvature greater than that of the first member projection.
- 4. An apparatus for flushing a contact lens having a convex side and a concave side and a circumferential edge comprising:
- mating members for receiving said lens, each of said mating members having a face generally conforming to one of said lens sides and a wall surrounding said edge, such that said faces and said walls define a cavity when mated, said cavity holding said lens to inhibit inversion of said lens emplaced therein;
- each said mating member containing conduit means for introducing fluid through a said face; means for introducing a flow of said fluid between said members through said conduit means; and
- exit means being located on one of said walls in at least one of said members to evacuate fluid from said cavity.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said cavity becomes filled and said lens immersed in from about 0.4 to 1.5 milliliters fluid.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said cavity becomes filled and said lens immersed in from about 0.6 to 1.0 milliliters of fluid.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein each said mating member is formed on a frame containing a plurality of said mating members.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 7 in which each mating member on one of said frames is formed to orient each lens formed within said chambers in the same direction.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said exit means contain a plurality of drainage holes located around said wall.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said holes are equidistantly spread around said wall.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said exit means contain a plurality of drainage slots located around said wall.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said slots are equidistantly spread around said wall.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said mating members contain cylindrical attachments opposite said faces, said conduit means passing through said attachments.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said cylindrical attachments of said mating members are attached to cylindrical components on a frame for holding said attachments.
- 15. A chamber for flushing a contact lens defined by a pair of mating holding means, one of said means having a concave side and the other means a convex side, comprising:
- male holding means including a convex projection, a wall enclosing said convex projection and centrally located conduit means for transporting fluid through said male holding means to said concave is side of said lens;
- female holding means including a concave recess, a wall enclosing said concave recess and centrally located conduit means for transporting fluid through said female holding means to said convex side of said lens, one of said holding means engageable with the other to form a cavity by said walls and said convex projection and concave recess for confining a lens;
- means for introducing a flow of said fluid between said-members through said conduit means; and
- exit means located on at least one of said walls such that fluid is evacuated through said chamber at said exit means.
- 16. The chamber of claim 15 wherein both said holding means have cylindrical attachments connected thereto, said cylindrical attachments containing said conduit means, and connecting to receptacles on a frame, a first frame receiving a plurality of male holding means and a second frame receiving a plurality of female holding means.
- 17. The chamber of claim 16 wherein said means for introducing a flow of said fluid further comprises said frame containing a fluid line attaching to each said conduit means on said holding means.
- 18. The chamber of claim 16 wherein said exit means comprises a plurality of exit slots spaced from each other on the wall of one of said holding means.
- 19. The chamber of claim 16 wherein said conduit means causes the radial flushing of each said lens side with exit of fluid from said exit means. .Iadd.
- 20. A contact lens transfer system, said system comprising:
- a transport frame, said transport frame facilitating transfer of a contact lens between two processing stations;
- a carrier element, said element including a body portion having a convex lens attachment surface on one end and a means for attaching said body portion to said transport frame on an opposite end; and
- a fluid line extending through said body portion for introducing a fluid between said convex lens attachment surface and a contact lens carried thereon to release said lens. .Iaddend..Iadd.21. A contact lens transfer system, as claimed in claim 20 wherein said convex lens attachment surface generally conforms to a concave surface of a contact lens to enable said convex lens attachment surface to hold a contact lens with surface tension. .Iaddend..Iadd.22. A contact lens transfer system, as claimed in claim 20 wherein said body portion includes a radial wall having a plurality of openings formed therein, said wall formed proximal to a circumference of the contact lens attachment surface. .Iaddend..Iadd.23. A contact lens transfer system, as claimed in claim 20 wherein said body portion includes an annular shoulder formed proximal to a circumference of the contact lens attachment surface. .Iaddend..Iadd.24. A contact lens transfer system comprising:
- a carrier assembly;
- a plurality of contact lens carrier elements attached to said carrier assembly, said carrier elements including a body portion having a convex lens attachment surface on one end and a fitting means for attaching said carrier element to said carrier assembly on an opposite end;
- means cooperating with said carrier assembly for attaching contact lenses to said plurality of carrier elements;
- means cooperating with said carrier assembly for releasing contact lenses from said plurality of carrier elements; and
- means cooperating with said carrier assembly to transfer said assembly and
- said lenses between two or more processing stations. .Iaddend..Iadd.25. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 24 wherein said means for releasing contact lenses includes a fluid line extending through said body portion for introducing a fluid between said convex lens attachment surface and said lens. .Iaddend..Iadd.26. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 24 wherein said convex lens attachment surface generally conforms to a concave surface of said contact lens to enable said convex lens attachment surface to hold a contact lens with surface tension. .Iaddend..Iadd.27. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 24 wherein said body portion includes a radial wall having a plurality of openings formed therein, said wall formed proximal to the circumference of the convex lens attachment surface. .Iaddend..Iadd.28. A contact lens transfer system, as claimed in claim 24 wherein said body portion includes an annular shoulder formed proximal to a circumference of the contact lens attachment surface. .Iaddend..Iadd.29. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 24 wherein said means cooperating with said carrier assembly for attaching contact lenses to said plurality of carrier elements includes a plurality of concave lens holding means, each of said concave lens holding means containing a lens associated with a respective carrier element, means for inverting and submerging said engaged carrier element, lens and concave lens holding means into a quantity of fluid to transfer said lens to said carrier element by gravity. .Iaddend..Iadd.30. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 29 wherein said concave lens holding means is a contact lens mold in which said lens was molded. .Iaddend..Iadd.31. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 29 which further includes means for removing said engaged carrier elements and concave lens holding means from said fluid and disengaging said concave lens holding means from said carrier. .Iaddend..Iadd.32. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 24 wherein said means cooperating with said carrier assembly for attaching contact lenses to said plurality of carrier elements includes a source of pressurized air for lifting said contact lenses into engagement with the convex lens attachment surface of said carrier elements. .Iaddend..Iadd.33. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 24 wherein said means cooperating with said carrier assembly for attaching contact lenses to said plurality of carrier elements includes a plurality of concave lens holding means, each means containing a lens associated with a respective carrier element and a pressurized source of fluid for introducing said pressurized fluid against a convex surface of each lens in said lens holding means to lift the lens into engagement with the convex lens attachment surface of each carrier element. .Iaddend..Iadd.34. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 33 wherein said concave lens holding means is a hydration chamber having a fluid line through which said pressurized fluid is introduced. .Iaddend..Iadd.35. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 24 wherein said means cooperating with said carrier assembly for releasing contact lenses also includes a plurality of concave lens holding means, each of said means associated with a respective carrier element to receive a lens attached thereto, and a fluid line extending through said body portion of said carrier element for introducing a fluid between said convex lens attachment surface and said lens to release the lens from said convex lens attachment surface and transfer said lens to said concave holding means. .Iaddend..Iadd.36. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 35 wherein said fluid is air pressure. .Iaddend..Iadd.37. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 35 wherein said fluid is a water solution. .Iaddend..Iadd.38. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 35 wherein said concave lens holding means is a hydration chamber. .Iaddend..Iadd.39. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 35 wherein said concave lens holding means is an inspection carrier. .Iaddend..Iadd.40. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 39 wherein said concave lens holding means is part of a final package for said lens. .Iaddend..Iadd.41. A contact lens transfer system as claimed in claim 33 wherein said pressurized fluid is compressed air. .Iaddend.
Parent Case Info
.Iadd.This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/180,624 filed Jan. 13, 1994, now abandoned. .Iaddend.
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Date |
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EPX |
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Aug 1979 |
DEX |
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Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
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Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
180624 |
Jan 1994 |
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Reissues (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
510341 |
Apr 1990 |
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