Abrading – Work holder – Clamp
Patent
1995-09-29
1997-08-05
Eley, Timothy V.
Abrading
Work holder
Clamp
269 21, 269266, 451388, 451390, B24B 4106, B25B 1100
Patent
active
056536267
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a device for processing ophthalmic lenses, which has at least one processing station for processing the edge and/or a surface of the ophthalmic lens and a multiaxial positioning unit, which has a gripping unit, which grips the ophthalmic lens and inserts it into the respective processing station respectively removes it therefrom.
2. State of the Art
Ophthalmic lenses are presently fabricated as follows:
First the actual manufacturer of the ophthalmic lens fabricates a so-called blank; this is understood to be a usually round, in some cases however also, a preedged ophthalmic lens, one side of which is finished. Subsequently, when a specific order is placed by an optician, the second surface is fabricated according to the respective prescription, and therefore also referred to as the prescription surface, by either the manufacturer himself or a so-called prescription lens grinder.
This round respectively only preedged ophthalmic lens but fabricated on both sides is then sent to the respective optician who edges the ophthalmic lens according to the frame that the customer has selected.
Recent attempts in reducing working steps and/or costs have increasingly tried to carry out the processing steps "fabrication of the prescription surface" and "edging the ophthalmic lens for the selected frame" on the same processing premises and if possible in the same device.
A short time ago, an older application of the applicant of the present invention, Wernicke & Co. GmbH, proposed automating the handling of ophthalmic lenses, in particular, in edging devices by by means of an industrial robot, thus a multiaxial positioning unit.
3. Description of the Invention
The object of the present invention is to improve a device for processing ophthalmic lenses, which has at least one processing station for processing the edge and/or a surface of the ophthalmic lens in a manner permitting simple handling of an ophthalmic lens and, in particular, inserting this ophthalmic lens in an edging and/or surface processing device.
The present invention is based on the fundamental idea of handling ophthalmic lenses using vacuum grippers. The use of vacuum grippers for handling objects is common knowledge. Hitherto, however they have not been utilized for handling ophthalmic lenses.
The reason for this is probably the general preconceived idea that vacuum grippers can only be attached to even surfaces and not to convex or concave ones, such as are usually the case with ophthalmic lenses.
As the (boundary) surfaces of an ophthalmic lens frequently even have a shape that is not rotationally symmetrical, by way of illustration, they have a toric shape or a purely aspherical one, such as progressive ophthalmic lenses have, an element of the present invention is that the gripping unit designed according to the present invention preferably is provided with multiple, comparatively small vacuum grippers. It can be assumed that, even in the case of a progressive surface of a progressive ophthalmic lens, that the surface at that area where the respective vacuum gripper acts is approximately rotationally symmetrical. Consequently, the so-called "cup" of the vacuum gripper lies completely flat on the surface.
Furthermore, according to the present invention it is advantageous if the gripping unit is provided with two "groups" of vacuum grippers which are disposed along a straight or curved line. In particular, the two groups of vacuum grippers can be disposed along both sides of a "U".
In another embodiment of the invented gripping unit, single vacuum grippers can be switched off and/or can be drawn back in the application direction in such a manner that even ophthalmic lenses of irregular shape, such as are required by frames of extreme shape, can be handled without risk.
The gripping unit designed according to the present invention can, by way of illustration in automation of a state of the art edging device, be applied to the concave side of the ophthalmic lens, with a so-called block fo
REFERENCES:
patent: 4684113 (1987-08-01), Douglas et al.
Gottschald Lutz
Weiss Christian
Eley Timothy V.
Wernicke & Co GmbH
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