Contact lens cleaning apparatus and method

An apparatus for cleaning contact lenses:

• a well containing a liquid;
• a basket submerged in the liquid and holding an article having a surface;
• a contaminant layer disposed as a contiguous film on the surface and bonded thereto;
• a transducer creating waves in the liquid, the waves impinging on the surface;
• a convector creating convection current passing along the surface;
• the transducer breaking loose the bonding of the contaminant layer by cavitating the liquid proximate the surface;
• and
• the convector, tearing the contaminant layer from the surface by applying fluid drag to a portion of the contaminant layer extending into the convection current.

A method of cleaning contact lenses comprising:

• providing a housing;
• providing a well within the housing;
• providing a convection drive assembly within the well;
• providing baskets to hold contact lenses;
• providing a convective impeller effective to motivate a vigorous convective flow along a surface of a contact lens captured in a basket;
• providing an ultrasonic transducer generating ultrasonic waves in a liquid surrounding the baskets;
• operating simultaneously the ultrasonic generator and the convective drive assembly to impose microcavitation between a contaminant layer adhered to a contact lens and the surface of contact lens;
• and
• creating a convective shear flow imposing hydrodynamic drag on exposed projections of the contaminant layer to a degree effective to tear the contaminant layer from the surface of the contact lens upon exposure due to microcavitation between the layer and the contact lens.