Abstract: In a process and machine for coating a surface of an ophthalmic lens, the lens is manually loaded by the operator to a wash/dry station within an enclosure of the coating machine. Thereafter, the machine computer controls the entire process. The machine is closed to minimize the introduction of external contaminates into the machine. Positive pressure and filtration of air is initiated in the enclosure before washing the lens. The loaded lens is washed and dried at the wash/dry station. The dried lens is transferred to a coating station within the enclosure and coated. The coated lens is transferred to a curing oven within the enclosure and cured. The cured lens is then discharged from the curing oven and the machine for collection by the operator. The machine can simultaneously process three lenses, one in the wash/dry/coat section, one in the cure section and one at a pick-off station between the wash/dry/coat and cure sections of the machine.

Abstract: A process and machine for cleaning ophthalmic lenses and blocks heats a washing solution in a wash tank and a rinsing solution in a rinse tank to approximately 140.degree. F. Ultrasonic wave agitation is then initiated in the solutions. A set of lenses or blocks is immersed in the ultrasonically agitated washing solution for approximately one-half the predetermined time of the wash cycle. Mechanical agitation of the immersed set of lenses or blocks is initiated in the ultrasonically agitated washing solution for the remainder of the predetermined time of the wash cycle. The set of lenses or blocks is then raised above the washing solution for a predetermined drip period. The set of lenses or blocks is then immersed in the ultrasonically agitated rinsing solution for approximately one-half the predetermined time of the rinse cycle.

Abstract: A process and machine for cleaning ophthalmic lenses and blocks heats a washing solution in a wash tank and a rinsing solution in a rinse tank to approximately l40.degree. F. Ultrasonic wave agitation is then initiated in the solutions. A set of lenses or blocks is immersed in the ultrasonically agitated washing solution for approximately one-half the predetermined time of the wash cycle. Mechanical agitation of the immersed set of lenses or blocks is initiated in the ultrasonically agitated washing solution for the remainder of the predetermined time of the wash cycle. The set of lenses or blocks is then raised above the washing solution for a predetermined drip period. The set of lenses or blocks is then immersed in the ultrasonically agitated rinsing solution for approximately one-half the predetermined time of the rinse cycle.

Abstract: A holder for suspending ophthalmic lenses and lens blocks of various diameters from a rod in a lens and block cleaning machine has a frame with a horizontal base member and a pair of upright members extending upwardly, one from each end of the base member. A hanger extending from the upper ends of the upright members is adapted to suspend the frame from the rod. Pairs of pins extend forwardly from the front and rearwardly from the back of the base member along parallel spaced apart first and second axes in a horizontal plane. Arms are pivotally pinned to the upright members for rotation about axes parallel to the first and second axes from lowest positions approximately sixty degrees below horizontal to highest positions approximately sixty degrees above horizontal. Detents prevent rotation of the arms below the lowest position or above the highest position. Torsion springs connected between the upright members and the arms bias arms toward their lowest positions.

Abstract: A tool for polishing/fining an ophthalmic lens has a housing with an interior open at the ends thereof. Resiliently elastic diaphragms with central spherical work surfaces extend across the ends of the housing. A cluster of rods extends longitudinally in sliding abutment within the housing from one diaphragm work surface to the other. A cap has a rim which fixes the exterior perimeter of the first diaphragm against the top of the housing. The cap defines a pneumatic chamber longitudinally aligned between the exterior surface of the first diaphragm and the interior wall of the cap. A passage through the cap wall admits air under pressure into the chamber. A ring fixes the exterior perimeter of the other diaphragm against the bottom of the housing. Preferably the cap and ring thread onto the housing with the diaphragms therebetween. Pneumatic distortion of one diaphragm is transmitted by longitudinal displacement of individual ones of the cluster of rods to the interior surface of the other diaphragm.

Abstract: A recognition apparatus and method are provided for identifying the type of work piece loaded onto the rotating shaft chuck of an ophthalmic product generator. A digital electronic system supplies signals which control the angular displacement of the chuck. Each type of work piece has a unique pattern of passages aligned on a plane transverse to its rotational axis which rotate into and out of alignment with a single registration line in the plane. Unique signature data which identifies each type of work piece by the angular positions at which the passages come into and go out of alignment with the registration line is stored in the digital electronic system. A beam of light, preferably infrared, is continuously transmitted along the registration line during a signature rotation of the chuck. The angular positions of the loaded work piece and the status of an electrical signal generated when the light beam passes through the passages are detected and stored in the digital electronic system.

Abstract: A unitary lap blank has a front polishing portion and a rear disk portion contoured for coupling the disk to a chuck of the lathe and also to a chuck of the polishing machine. Preferably, the disk has a circular channel in its face opposed to its base and a pair of seats in the opposed face symmetrically diametrically aligned in a land defined by the channel. The channel is of diameter, width and depth and the seats are spaced for mating with complementary components on the lathe chuck. The disk also has a circular seat centered in the land and a pair of parallel side walls disposed along symmetrically opposed cords of the disk transverse to a line connecting the pair of seats, the side walls being spaced apart by a distance and the seat being of diameter and depth for mating with complementary components on the polishing machine chuck.

Abstract: An ophthalmic lens block and lens generating machine compression sleeve chuck are provided such that the block is of diameter suitable for the lens edging step of the lens generating process. The lens generating chuck consists of a plurality of concentric sleeves mounted on a hub of the spindle shaft and having lengthwise slots permitting compression of the sleeve onto the hub and the block. The sleeves are biased to telescope toward the lens so as to abut the front surface of the lens in a concentric pattern extending outwardly from the outer diameter of the block to support the front surface of the lens against the forces applied to the rear face of the lens during the cutting process. Thus, the combination of the block and the chuck is also suitable for the lens generating, fining and polishing steps of the lens generating process. Consequently, after polishing, the block is left on the lens.

Abstract: A conformal tool for fining/polishing ophthalmic lenses has a rigid base, a substantially air impervious elastic membrane and a bladder conformable to a surface of the lens to be fined/polished. The perimeters of the base, the membrane and the bladder are contiguously clamped to provide a pneumatically discrete chamber between the base and the membrane and a chamber containing conformable filler such as sand between the membrane and the bladder. The pneumatically discrete and filler containing chambers together have a substantially fixed volume. The clamping provides a passage into the pneumatically discrete chamber so that air under pressure, when admitted into the pneumatically discrete chamber, stretches the membrane to increase the pneumatically discrete chamber volume and decrease the filler containing chamber volume. As air pressure is increased, the air separates the membrane from the base to build an air cushion therebetween as the conformable filler chamber volume decreases.

Abstract: An air pressurized chuck has a spindle journalled in a housing for rotation about a longitudinal axis. One means is mounted in a penultimate portion of the spindle and rotatable therewith for longitudinally reciprocating along the axis in one direction in response to the bias of a coil spring disposed concentrically about the axis between the spindle and the reciprocating means and in an opposite direction in response to a pneumatic force selectively applied to the reciprocating means in excess of the bias. Another means is mounted in an ultimate portion of the spindle and rotatable therewith for concentrically reciprocating gripping portions thereof in relation to the longitudinal axis in an outward direction in response to movement of the longitudinal reciprocating means in the one direction and in an inward direction in response to movement of the longitudinal reciprocating means in the opposite direction.

Abstract: A tool for polishing/fining an ophthalmic lens has a housing with an interior open at planar ends thereof. A cluster of rods is longitudinally aligned in sliding abutment within the housing, each rod of the cluster extending from one planar end of the housing to the other. One resiliently elastic diaphragm extends across one planar end and another resiliently elastic diaphragm extends across the other planar end. A cap has a rim which fixes the exterior perimeter of the first diaphragm against the top of the housing. The cap defines a pneumatic chamber longitudinally aligned between the exterior surface of the first diaphragm and the interior wall of the cap. A passage through the cap wall admits air under pressure into the chamber. A ring fixes the exterior perimeter of the other diaphragm against the bottom of the housing. Screws secure the cap and ring to the housing with the diaphragms therebetween.

Abstract: A block for coupling an ophthalmic lens to at least two machine chucks is molded, preferably using adhesive material in a liquid or gel state, as a unitary member of diameter less than a diameter of the lens with concentric inner and outer portions separated by a narrow intermediate portion. The inner, outer and intermediate portions have a front face molded to conform to a face of the lens. The outer portion has a rear face molded to conform to a first chuck and the inner portion has a rear face molded to conform to a second chuck. The intermediate portion is thinner than the inner and outer portions so that the outer portion is separable from the unitary member and the lens by lifting the outer portion away from the lens and tearing the member along the intermediate portion. Preferably, the outer portion rear face has means such as a tab or a pair of diametrically aligned tabs on its outer edge for facilitating lifting of the outer portion from the lens.

Abstract: A machine and process for making an ultraviolet cured block for an ophthalmic lens are provided in which a lens is placed at an input port to the machine by an operator. Data related to the lens is fed to or stored in the machine from either a keyboard or a data base. The lens is then collected from the input port for processing and transported, preferably by means of pneumatics, to a block molding point within the confines of the machine. A special adhesive is administered to the surface of a mold unit and the mold unit is then positioned to receive the lens. Pressure is applied to squeeze the lens against the adhesive and the mold. After molding the adhesive onto the lens, the lens and mold are transported via servo slide to a UV station where curing takes place from above the lens. After preliminary curing, the lens and mold unit are taken to a removal station and the lens, together with the adhesive cured to its front surface, is removed from the mold unit, again preferably by means of pneumatics.

Abstract: In a linear feedback servo control system, the motion profile for each axis is pre-filtered before it is introduced to the servo loop for that axis. The motion profile is pre-filtered by a filter having an inverse amplitude response to the amplitude response of the servo loop. Therefore, the composite amplitude response of the filter/servo loop combination is approximately ideal for all relevant frequencies. The pre-filtering is done using constant delay filters, whether high pass, low pass or hybrid, that exhibit a phase lag corresponding to a time delay that is essentially constant at all relevant frequencies. Each axis of synchronized motion is pre-filtered with constant delay filters having the same time delay constant, but selected so that the motion of each axis provides sufficient accuracy within the intended bandwidth of that particular axis. Consequently, while phase lag is not zero, there is essentially constant delay for all axes at all relevant frequencies.

Abstract: A method of speed optimization of a spindle component of a machine having multiple synchronized components moving along multiple axes over a motion profile.

Abstract: A dynamic infeed control is used to segment swarf produced in a lathing operation into short manageable segments. The preferred dynamic method for segmenting the swarf is to add a sine wave motion to the nominal infeed motion. The amplitude of the sine wave is 0.5 times the nominal infeed, although this may vary somewhat due to the properties of the specific material being machined. The frequency of the sine wave is a non-zero integral multiple of the rotational frequency of the lens plus 0.5. Thus the minimum sine wave frequency will be 1.5 times the rotational frequency of the lens and this factor may increase by increments of 1. In equation form, W.sub.SW =(n+0.5).times.W.sub.RL where W.sub.SW is the frequency of the sine wave, W.sub.RL is the rotational frequency of the lens and n is an integer equal to or greater than 1. Thus relative minima and maxima are created during one lens rotation that correspond to the relative maxima and minima on the next lens rotation, respectively.

Abstract: A tool for fining/polishing an opthalmic lens has a spindle and a pliant casing containing a conformable filler connected to the spindle for rotation therewith. A pliant pad adhered to the casing has a plurality of slots extending from its perimeter toward its center defining a plurality of fingers which are contoured to the surface of the lens by the filler.Preferably, the lens is rotated about a vertical fixed axis substantially transverse to the lens and the tool is rotated about a fixed axis intersecting the lens and substantially normal to a surface of the lens to be fined/polished with the tool disposed above the lens. The axis of the horizontal displacement of the tool can be selectively varied in relation to the lens axis. The angular disposition of the tool axis in relation to the lens axis can be selectively varied.

Abstract: An ophthalmic lens block and lens generating machine compression sleeve chuck are provided such that the block is of diameter suitable for the lens edging step of the lens generating process. The lens generating chuck consists of a plurality of concentric sleeves mounted on a hub of the spindle shaft and having lengthwise slots permitting compression of the sleeve onto the hub and the block. The sleeves are biased to telescope toward the lens so as to abut the front surface of the lens in a concentric pattern extending outwardly from the outer diameter of the block to support the front surface of the lens against the forces applied to the rear face of the lens during the cutting process. Thus, the combination of the block and the chuck is also suitable for the lens generating, fining and polishing steps of the lens generating process. Consequently, after polishing, the block is left on the lens.

Abstract: A grinding wheel for V-profiling ophthalmic lenses of various diameters, powers and thicknesses has a V-shaped groove circumferentially thereabout which defines a forward V surface and a rear V surface meeting at a nadir of the groove. A rear flat surface tapers outwardly in relation to an axis of rotation of the wheel from a rear edge of the rear V surface toward a rear face of the wheel. The forward V surface is of a first grinding aggressiveness, the rear V surface is of second grinding aggressiveness greater than the first grinding aggressiveness and the rear flat surface is of third grinding aggressiveness substantially greater than the second grinding aggressiveness. In a preferred embodiment, the wheel also has a forward flat surface tapering outwardly in relation to the axis of rotation of the wheel from a forward edge of the forward V surface toward a forward face of the wheel.

Abstract: An improved process for positioning a bevel along the edge of an opthamalic lens computes point-to-wheel data definitive of a planar relationship between the lens and the wheel, stores the point-to-wheel data, computes corrected horizontal displacement data definitive of a three dimensional relationship between the lens, the wheel and a plot of sequential contact points therebetween using the computed point-to-wheel data, stores the corrected horizontal displacement data, and controls the relative positions of the edging wheel and the lens in response to the corrected horizontal displacement data.The corrected horizontal displacement data is computed by sequentially testing at successive incremental angles of a radius originating at a center of rotation of the lens at a beginning reference angle of the lens to determine an incremental angle at which the lens initiates contact with the wheel.