Spin coater

Abstract

A spin coater suitable for spin coating spectacle lens molds with polymerizable coating composition. The spin coater includes a drawer which rotatably mounts at least one chuck thereon, which drawer is slidable between a front and rear position within a housing to sequentially allow application of a coating by the spinning chucks in the front chamber of the housing, followed by polymerization thereof in the rear chamber. Each chuck of the spin coater is provided with a mold seat defined by a ledge and adjacent lip, the lip automatically centering the mold in the seat axis by virtue of its dimensions in relation to the mold. The chuck also has a lengthwise resilient vacuum conduit, preferably in the form of a bellows, which has an open end which can sealingly engage against a seated mold, such that when a vacuum is applied through the vacuum conduit the mold is urged firmly against the ledge of the mold seat. A method of producing a coated spectacle lens, preferably using such a spin coater, involves providing two different abrasion resistent coatings on front and rear molding surfaces of a form, which coatings are only partially polymerized. The form is then filled with resin which is cured and the coated formed lens is separated from the form. The coatings on the lens are then preferably further polymerized by exposure to actinic light.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.