Computer system for quality control correlations

A quality control system for optimizing process parameters in an automated production line for producing contact lenses, said production line having a plurality of process stations, said system comprising:

• (a) a plurality of process controllers for controlling one or more process stations, each of said controllers regulating a plurality of process control devices, said devices controlling production parameters used in the automated manufacture of contact lenses at said process station(s),
• (b) an automated lens inspection means for automatically evaluating each contact lens produced and generating exception data for each flawed contact lens,
• (c) polling means for polling each of said process controllers on a frequent basis to acquire process control data for each period,
• (d) means for generating contact lens data comprising means for correlating said exception data to said process control data for each contact lens to enable tracking and isolation of the process parameters that resulted in the production of flawed contact lenses, and
• (e) a relational database for storing said process control data, said contact lens data and said exception data received from said correlating means.

A multi-level quality control system for an automated production line for producing contact lenses in palletized batches, said production line having a plurality of process stations, said system comprising:

• (a) a plurality of process controllers for controlling one or more process stations at a first control level, each of said controllers regulating a plurality of process control devices, said devices controlling production parameters used in the automated manufacture of contact lenses at said process station(s), each of said controllers generating a reject signal when a pallet of lenses encounters a production parameter that exceeds a predefined range,
• (b) a plurality of means responsive to said reject signal to remove said pallet from said production line after said signal is generated,
• (c) an automated lens inspection means for automatically evaluating each contact lens produced and generating exception data for each flawed contact lens that was produced with production parameters that did not exceed said predefined ranges,
• (d) polling means for polling each of said process controllers and said lens inspection means on a frequent basis to acquire process control data for each period,
• (e) means for correlating said process control data with contact lens data representing the pallet of contact lenses resident in said process station during said period, and further correlating exception data to said process control data and said contact lens data to optimize process parameters used in the production of contact lenses,
• (f) a relational database for storing said process control data, said contact lens data and said exception data received from said polling means,

A multi-level quality control system for an automated production line for producing contact lenses in palletized batches, said production line having a plurality of process stations, said system comprising:

• (a) a plurality of process controllers for controlling one or more process stations at a first control level, each of said controllers regulating a plurality of process control devices, said devices controlling production parameters used in the automated manufacture of contact lenses at said process station(s), each of said controllers generating a reject signal when a pallet of lenses encounters a production parameter that exceeds a predefined range,
• (b) a plurality of means responsive to said reject signal to remove said pallet from said production line after said signal is generated,
• (c) an automated lens inspection means for automatically evaluating each contact lens produced and generating exception data for each flawed contact lens that was produced with production parameters that did not exceed said predefined ranges,
• (d) polling means for polling each of said process controllers and said lens inspection means on a frequent basis to acquire process control data for each period, said polling means correlating said data with contact lens data representing the pallet of contact lenses resident in said process station during said period,
• (e) a relational database for storing said process control data, said contact lens data and said exception data received from said polling means,
• (f) a second level data processing means for correlating said exception data to said process control data and said contact lens data to isolate production line components responsible for the production of one or more flawed contact lenses during each cycle of operation.

A multi-level quality control system for an automated production line for producing molded contact lenses in palletized batches, said production line having a plurality of process stations, including at least one injection station for molding mold parts used to mold said contact lenses, said system comprising:

• (a) a plurality of process controllers for controlling one or more process stations and said injection station at a first control level, each of said controllers regulating a plurality of process control devices used in said process stations and said injection station, said devices controlling production parameters used in the automated manufacture of contact lenses at said station(s), each of said controllers generating a reject signal when a pallet of mold parts or a pallet of molded lenses encounters a production parameter that exceeds a predefined range,
• (b) a plurality of means responsive to said reject signal to remove said pallet from said production line after said signal is generated,
• (c) an automated lens inspection means for automatically evaluating each contact lens produced and generating exception data for each flawed contact lens that was produced with production parameters that did not exceed said predefined values,
• (d) polling means for polling each of said process controllers and said lens inspection means on a frequent basis to acquire process control data for each period, said polling means correlating said data with contact lens data representing the pallet of contact lenses resident in said process station during said period,
• (e) a relational database for storing said process control data, said contact lens data and said exception data received from said polling means,
• (f) a second level data processing means for correlating said exception data with said process control data for said injection station(s) and process control data from said process stations to optimize process parameters used in the production of contact lenses.

A method of optimizing control of process parameters in an automated production line for producing contact lenses, when said production line has a plurality of inter-related production stations, said method comprising:

• (a) controlling one or more production stations automatically with one or more primary level controllers which regulate a plurality of process control devices to thereby control a plurality of production parameters used in the automated manufacture of contact lenses,
• (b) automatically evaluating each contact lens produced and generating visual inspection data for each contact lens produced,
• (c) polling each of said primarily level controllers on a frequent basis to acquire process control data for each period, and then correlating said process control data with assigned contact lens data which represents the contact lenses resident in said production station during said period,
• (d) storing said process control data, said contact lens data and said visual inspection data received from said polling means in a relational data base,
• (e) correlating said visual inspection data to said process control data and said contact lens data to optimize process parameters used in the production of contact lenses.