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US 6,283,825 B1Granted
Automatic trimmer machine
AssigneeJohnson & Johnson Vision Products, Inc.
InventorJose Ulloa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automatic trimmer machine for finding the geometrical center of an optic having a non-round periphery, trimming the edge of the optic to a prescribed diameter for each optic, cleaning and drying the optic, and verifying the diameter of the optic. The machine improves efficiency and reduces operator handling of the lens. Further, the work area is maintained substantially debris free.
Claims18
A machine for processing of an optic, comprising:
- controller;
- and
- transfer means for automatically loading said optic on to and downloading said optic off of a platform of at least one of a plurality of processing stations, and transferring said optic between each processing station in response to control signals generated by said controller, said plural processing stations including:
- an infeed station for receiving said optic,
- an imaging station for determining a center of said optic said imaging station comprising a charge coupled device and an illumination source for illuminating said optic so as to detect a substantially circular inner edge by which the center of said optic is determined,
- a trimming station for grinding the edge of said optic to a prescribed diameter said trimming station comprising a platform and a grinding wheel for trimming the edge of said optic based on a prescribed diameter and a debris containment enclosure disposed about said platform and grinding wheel, said debris containment enclosure having an array of nozzles oriented so that one of a fluid, air, or a combination thereof sprayed from each nozzle hits the inner surface of said enclosure and run-off therefrom is directed into a channel,
- a cleaning and drying station for cleaning and drying said optic,
- and an outfeed station for receiving the processed optic.
5 more elements
A method for manufacturing an optic comprising the steps of:
- (a) automatically downloading said optic off of a platform at an infeed station using a transfer means;
- (b) moving said optic from the infeed station to an imaging station;
- (c) determining a center of said optic while holding said optic in said transfer means;
- (d) moving said optic from the imaging station to a grinding station;
- (e) automatically loading said optic on to a platform at said grinding station using said transfer means;
- (f) trimming excess resin from the edge of said optic using a grinding wheel based on a recipe selected from a plurality of prescribed recipes for different diameter optics stored in a memory device;
- (g) automatically downloading said optic from said platform at said grinding station using said transfer means;
- (h) moving said optic from the grinding station to the cleaning and drying station housed in a cleaning containment enclosure having a central axis;
- (i) automatically loading said optic on to a platform at the cleaning and drying station using said transfer means;
- (j) spraying both surfaces of said optic with a cleaning fluid;
- (k) rotating said optic about the central axis of said cleaning containment enclosure to remove the cleaning fluid from the surfaces of said optic;
- and
- (l) automatically downloading said optic from said platform at the cleaning and drying station.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.