Patents by Inventor Uwe Haken

Uwe Haken has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11840033
    Abstract: The invention provides a method producing contact lenses, comprising the step of: separating the mold into the male and female mold halves, with the silicone hydrogel contact lens adhered on one of the male and female mold halves; cooling the lens-adhere mold half with the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens adhered thereon; bringing a shaped ultrasonic horn in direct contact with at least one area of a non-optical surface of the female mold half or the male mold half having the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens attached thereon; and applying a ultrasonic vibrational energy to the at least one area of the non-optical surface of the female mold half or the male mold half having the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens attached thereon so as to separate the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens from the mold half attached thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: Alcon Inc.
    Inventors: Lindsay Olson, Mark Neely, David Saenz Landazabal, Uwe Haken
  • Patent number: 11433630
    Abstract: The present invention generally relates to a method for producing silicone hydrogel contact lenses having less optical defects or free of optical defects by subjecting the extraction tray for the formed silicone hydrogel contact lenses to a reciprocating lowering and raising motion thereof to obtain the silicone hydrogel contact lenses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: Alcon Inc.
    Inventors: Honghui Lu, Mark Neely, Alice Weimin Liu, Xuxian Niu, Uwe Haken
  • Publication number: 20220266554
    Abstract: The invention provides a method producing contact lenses, comprising the step of: separating the mold into the male and female mold halves, with the silicone hydrogel contact lens adhered on one of the male and female mold halves; bring a shaped ultrasonic horn in direct contact with at least one area of a non-optical surface of the female mold half or the male mold half having the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens attached thereon; and applying a ultrasonic vibrational energy to the at least one area of the non-optical surface of the female mold half or the male mold half having the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens attached thereon so as to separate the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens from the mold half attached thereon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2022
    Publication date: August 25, 2022
    Inventors: Alice Weimin Liu, Daryl Reece, Kirk Cooper, Shridhar Natarajan, John Janders, Uwe Haken, Stacey Elliott
  • Patent number: 11358353
    Abstract: The invention provides a method producing contact lenses, comprising the step of: separating the mold into the male and female mold halves, with the silicone hydrogel contact lens adhered on one of the male and female mold halves; bring a shaped ultrasonic horn in direct contact with at least one area of a non-optical surface of the female mold half or the male mold half having the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens attached thereon; and applying a ultrasonic vibrational energy to the at least one area of the non-optical surface of the female mold half or the male mold half having the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens attached thereon so as to separate the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens from the mold half attached thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: Alcon Inc.
    Inventors: Alice Weimin Liu, Daryl Reece, Kirk Cooper, Shridhar Natarajan, John Janders, Uwe Haken, Stacey Elliott
  • Patent number: 11279103
    Abstract: The invention provides a method producing contact lenses, including the step of: holding the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens attached to the one of the female mold half or the male mold half with a vacuum supplied with a suction cup; deforming a surface of the one of the female mold half or the male mold half having the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens attached to with a pin so as to separate the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens from the mold half attached to and to transfer the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens to the suction cup; moving the suction cup away from the pin while the suction cup continues to hold the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens remains; applying a compressed gas to blow the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens away from the suction cup into a container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: Alcon Inc.
    Inventors: Daryl Reece, Uwe Haken, Delores Davis
  • Patent number: 11111055
    Abstract: An embodiment of the invention is a basket for holding contact lenses. The basket comprises a first basket and a second basket mating members, each basket member includes a basket wall defining a first cavity, a planar flange extending out around the first cavity, a plurality of spaced fingers extending upward circumferentially from the periphery of the cavity, wherein the first basket and second basket mating members having a same structure, wherein the first basket and second basket mating members forming a second cavity when mated for receiving said contact lens, the cavity inhibiting inversion or rolling over of said contact lens when emplaced therein. A tray that comprises a plurality of baskets is another embodiment of the invention. In addition, the invention provides a stack assembly that comprises a plurality of trays each of which comprises a plurality of baskets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Alcon Inc.
    Inventors: Daryl Reece, Uwe Haken, Honghui Lu, Oli Jobe, Alice Weimin Liu
  • Publication number: 20210154957
    Abstract: The invention provides a method producing contact lenses, comprising the step of: separating the mold into the male and female mold halves, with the silicone hydrogel contact lens adhered on one of the male and female mold halves; cooling the lens-adhere mold half with the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens adhered thereon; bringing a shaped ultrasonic horn in direct contact with at least one area of a non-optical surface of the female mold half or the male mold half having the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens attached thereon; and applying a ultrasonic vibrational energy to the at least one area of the non-optical surface of the female mold half or the male mold half having the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens attached thereon so as to separate the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens from the mold half attached thereon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2020
    Publication date: May 27, 2021
    Inventors: Lindsay Olson, Mark Neely, David Saenz Landazabal, Uwe Haken
  • Patent number: 11001647
    Abstract: The invention is related to a method for producing silicone medical devices, in particular, silicone contact lenses, having consistent mechanical properties in a cost-effective manner. The invention is also related to a silicone medical device, especially a soft silicone contact lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: Alcon Inc.
    Inventors: Frank Chang, Troy Vernon Holland, Xinming Qian, Robert Scott, Joseph Michael Lindacher, Uwe Haken
  • Publication number: 20200189216
    Abstract: The present invention generally relates to a method for producing silicone hydrogel contact lenses having less optical defects or free of optical defects by subjecting the extraction tray for the formed silicone hydrogel contact lenses to a reciprocating lowering and raising motion thereof to obtain the silicone hydrogel contact lenses.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2019
    Publication date: June 18, 2020
    Inventors: Honghui Lu, Mark Neely, Alice Weimin Liu, Xuxian Niu, Uwe Haken
  • Patent number: 10611107
    Abstract: The invention provides a method of making ophthalmic lenses with an enhanced quality and enhanced yield achieved by using molds having been treated on back surface of mold with corona discharge technique. The method comprises the steps of obtaining a mold for cast-molding contact lenses from a lens formulation, wherein the mold comprises a first mold half having a first molding surface and a first back surface, a second mold half having a second molding surface and a second back surface, wherein when the first and second mold are configured to receive each other such that a lens forming cavity is formed between the first molding surface and the second molding surface and applying a corona discharge on one of the first and second back surfaces so that the molding surface of the mold with the treated back surface has an average water contact angle smaller than the molding surface of the mold with untreated mold by about 0.1 degrees to about 6 degrees.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: Alcon Inc.
    Inventors: Oli Jobe, Uwe Haken
  • Publication number: 20190185209
    Abstract: An embodiment of the invention is a basket for holding contact lenses. The basket comprises a first basket and a second basket mating members, each basket member comprises a basket wall defining a first cavity, a planar flange extending out around the first cavity, a plurality of spaced fingers extending upward circumferentially from the periphery of the cavity, wherein the first basket and second basket mating members having a same structure, wherein the first basket and second basket mating members forming a second cavity when mated for receiving said contact lens, the cavity inhibiting inversion or rolling over of said contact lens when emplaced therein. A tray that comprises a plurality of baskets is another embodiment of the invention. In addition, the invention provides a stack assembly that comprises a plurality of trays each of which comprises a plurality of baskets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Publication date: June 20, 2019
    Inventors: Daryl Reece, Uwe Haken, Honghui Lu, Oli Jobe, Alice Weimin Liu
  • Publication number: 20190177444
    Abstract: The invention is related to a method for producing silicone medical devices, in particular, silicone contact lenses, having consistent mechanical properties in a cost-effective manner. The invention is also related to a silicone medical device, especially a soft silicone contact lens.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2019
    Publication date: June 13, 2019
    Inventors: Frank Chang, Troy Vernon Holland, Xinming Qian, Robert Scott, Joseph Michael Lindacher, Uwe Haken
  • Patent number: 10253112
    Abstract: The invention is related to a method for producing silicone medical devices, in particular, silicone contact lenses, having consistent mechanical properties in a cost-effective manner. The invention is also related to a silicone medical device, especially a soft silicone contact lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: Novartis AG
    Inventors: Frank Chang, Troy Vernon Holland, Xinming Qian, Robert Scott, Joseph Michael Lindacher, Uwe Haken
  • Publication number: 20180169981
    Abstract: The invention provides a method producing contact lenses, comprising the step of: separating the mold into the male and female mold halves, with the silicone hydrogel contact lens adhered on one of the male and female mold halves; bring a shaped ultrasonic horn in direct contact with at least one area of a non-optical surface of the female mold half or the male mold half having the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens attached thereon; and applying a ultrasonic vibrational energy to the at least one area of the non-optical surface of the female mold half or the male mold half having the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens attached thereon so as to separate the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens from the mold half attached thereon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2017
    Publication date: June 21, 2018
    Inventors: Alice Weimin Liu, Daryl Reece, Kirk Cooper, Shridhar Natarajan, John Janders, Uwe Haken, Stacey Elliott
  • Publication number: 20180104919
    Abstract: The invention provides a process for casting—molding contact lenses with enhanced quality and enhanced yield achieved by omitting the previously required check to discover on or in which mold half the contact lens is located after the mold has been opened.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2017
    Publication date: April 19, 2018
    Inventors: Honghui Lu, Uwe Haken, Xuxian Niu, Alexander W. Kim
  • Publication number: 20180104920
    Abstract: The invention provides a method producing contact lenses, including the step of: holding the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens attached to the one of the female mold half or the male mold half with a vacuum supplied with a suction cup; deforming a surface of the one of the female mold half or the male mold half having the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens attached to with a pin so as to separate the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens from the mold half attached to and to transfer the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens to the suction cup; moving the suction cup away from the pin while the suction cup continues to hold the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens remains; applying a compressed gas to blow the molded silicone hydrogel contact lens away from the suction cup into a container.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2017
    Publication date: April 19, 2018
    Inventors: Daryl Reece, Uwe Haken, Delores Davis
  • Patent number: 9802339
    Abstract: The instant invention pertains to a method and a fluid composition for producing contact lenses with improved lens quality and with increased product yield. The method of the invention involves applying to a molding surface of the mold a layer of mold releasing agent selected from a group consisting of fatty amines of carbon chain length C18 or less and silicones bearing pendant substituted pyrrolidone groups solution to reduce an averaged mold separation force by at least about 50% in comparison with that without the releasing agent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: Novartis AG
    Inventors: Arturo Norberto Medina, Jinyu Huang, Katherine Ard, Honghui Lu, Uwe Haken
  • Publication number: 20170240658
    Abstract: The invention is related to a method for producing silicone medical devices, in particular, silicone contact lenses, having consistent mechanical properties in a cost-effective manner. The invention is also related to a silicone medical device, especially a soft silicone contact lens.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 16, 2017
    Publication date: August 24, 2017
    Inventors: Frank Chang, Troy Vernon Holland, Xinming Qian, Robert Scott, Joseph Michael Lindacher, Uwe Haken
  • Publication number: 20170173901
    Abstract: The invention provides a method of making ophthalmic lenses with an enhanced quality and enhanced yield achieved by using molds having been treated on back surface of mold with corona discharge technique. The method comprises the steps of obtaining a mold for cast-molding contact lenses from a lens formulation, wherein the mold comprises a first mold half having a first molding surface and a first back surface, a second mold half having a second molding surface and a second back surface, wherein when the first and second mold are configured to receive each other such that a lens forming cavity is formed between the first molding surface and the second molding surface and applying a corona discharge on one of the first and second back surfaces so that the molding surface of the mold with the treated back surface has an average water contact angle smaller than the molding surface of the mold with untreated mold by about 0.1 degrees to about 6 degrees.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2016
    Publication date: June 22, 2017
    Inventors: Oli Jobe, Uwe Haken
  • Patent number: 9623589
    Abstract: There is described a process for manufacturing an ophthalmic lens and an apparatus for forming an ophthalmic lens, in particular a silicone hydrogel contact lens, wherein in a mold assembly a first and a second mold half (101, 102) are first arranged in an intermediate closed position in which the mold surfaces of the two mold halves are spaced apart from each other at a distance increase (d1) of preferably 1 to 100 ?m relative to a final distance (d0) in a final closed position, and wherein, during curing of the lens forming material (202), the mold surfaces (105, 106) of the mold halves (101, 102) are actively or passively moved or moving from the intermediate closed position to the final closed position, where the distance increase (d1) is 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: Novartis AG
    Inventors: Roger Biel, Gabriela Cocora, Peter Hagmann, Uwe Haken, William Jordan Hall, Axel Heinrich, Günter Lässig, Honghui Lu, Deborah J. Mulcahy, Carlton Pope, Daryl Reece, Bernhard Seiferling