Patent US6565776B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6565776B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Lens molds with protective coatings for production of contact lenses and other ophthalmic products
Assignee: Bausch and Lomb Inc
•
Filing: 2000-06-12
•
Granted: 2003-05-20
•
Expires: 2020-06-12
Abstract
Abstract This invention relates to the preparation of molds for the production of contact lenses and other ophthalmic articles. By using an inorganic material to coat the optical surfaces and sidewalls of mold parts made from clear-resin materials, manufacturers can produce lens molds with greater dimensional stability and chemical resistance. In addition to protecting the clear resin from interaction with otherwise reactive monomers from which the molded article is made, such coatings can also be used to achieve preferential release of the molded article. The resulting mold is especially useful for providing an economical way to improve manufacturing quality of contact lenses.
Inventors
- 👤 Hongwen Li
- 👤 Dominic V. Ruscio
- 👤 Yu Chin Lai
- 👤 Horngyih Huang
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 15:26
CPC Classifications
B; B29; B29D; B29D11/00; B29D11/00009; B29D11/0048; B29D11/00548; B29C; B29C33/00; B29C33/56; B29C35/00; B29C35/02; B29C35/08; B29C35/0888; B29D11/00519; B29C35/0805; B29C2035/0827; B29C2035/0833; B29C33/38; B29C33/3842; B29L; B29L2011/00; B29L2011/0016; B29L2011/0041; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S425/00; Y10S425/808
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 44
Claim 1
Independent Claim
96 words
A mold assembly for the manufacture of at least one ophthalmic article used in or on the eye, which mold assembly comprises a mateable pair of mold parts made from a clear-resin mold material wherein the cavity surfaces of the mold parts comprises a coating of an inorganic material to protect the mold parts from attack by monomer used in making the ophthalmic article, which protective coating is permanently and externally applied to the cavity surfaces of the mold assembly and is essentially non-reactive with the surface of the ophthalmic article formed by the mold system.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
96 words
A mold assembly for the manufacture of at least one ophthalmic article used in or on the eye, which mold assembly comprises a mateable pair of mold parts made from a clear-resin mold material wherein the cavity surfaces of the mold parts comprises a coating of an inorganic material to protect the mold parts from attack by monomer used in making the ophthalmic article, which protective coating is permanently and externally applied to the cavity surfaces of the mold assembly and is essentially non-reactive with the surface of the ophthalmic article formed by the mold system.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
19 words
The mold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the ophthalmic article is a contact lens or an intraocular lens.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
52 words
The mold assembly of claim 1 or 2 , wherein the mold parts are injection molded and have sufficient dimensional stability so that any departures from the intended radius of curvature are within +/−20 microns for all periods of time between one day and six months after production of the mold parts.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
35 words
The mold assembly of claim 3 , wherein the clear resin used to make the mold transmits more than 20% of UV light, in the case of a lamp used to cure the lens material.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
15 words
The mold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the protective coating comprises a silicon-containing material.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
The mold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the protective coating comprises one or more metal oxides.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
24 words
The mold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the protective coating is uniform, continuous, and sufficiently dense to form a barrier to monomer diffusion.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
20 words
The mold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the coating has been uniformly applied using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD).
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
26 words
The mold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the coating is between 10 nm and 5 μm thick and is permanently affixed to the mold surface.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
31 words
The mold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the mold is made from a material selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polycarbonate, polystyrene, polyester, polysulfone, polyacrylate, or polymethacrylate.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
25 words
The mold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the protective coating comprises silicon oxide, silicon nitride or a material consisting of silicon, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
The mold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the protective coating comprises TiO 2 or TiN.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
17 words
The mold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the protective coating comprises Ta 2 O 5 .
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
17 words
The mold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the protective coating comprises Al 2 O 3 .
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
18 words
The mold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the protective coating comprises multiple layers of different coating materials.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
20 words
The mold assembly of claim 1 , wherein each of the mold parts is coated with a different coating material.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
16 words
The mold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the inorganic coating contains minor amounts of carbon.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
124 words
A mold assembly for the manufacture of at least one soft contact lens, which mold assembly comprises at least one anterior and one posterior mold part molded from a clear resin that transmits at least 20% of actinic light and has sufficient dimensional stability to limit any deviations from intended radius of curvature to +/−20 microns within any period from one day to six months after mold production, wherein the mold parts each have a protective inorganic coating that is 10 nm to 5 μm thick, which coating is non-reactive with the lens formed by the mold assembly, and whereby the coating protects the cavity surfaces of the lens mold from chemical attack by the monomers used to form the lens in the mold.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
124 words
A mold assembly for the manufacture of at least one soft contact lens, which mold assembly comprises at least one anterior and one posterior mold part molded from a clear resin that transmits at least 20% of actinic light and has sufficient dimensional stability to limit any deviations from intended radius of curvature to +/−20 microns within any period from one day to six months after mold production, wherein the mold parts each have a protective inorganic coating that is 10 nm to 5 μm thick, which coating is non-reactive with the lens formed by the mold assembly, and whereby the coating protects the cavity surfaces of the lens mold from chemical attack by the monomers used to form the lens in the mold.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
25 words
The mold assembly of claim 18 , wherein the resin used to make the mold has greater dimensional stability and higher light transmittance than polypropylene.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
16 words
The mold assembly of claim assembly 18 , wherein the resin is polycarbonate, polyacrylate, or polystyrene.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
41 words
The mold assembly of claim 18 , wherein the posterior mold part has a reservoir to collect monomer overflow produced during lens production and wherein the coating has been applied to protect the overflow reservoir as well as the mold cavities.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
28 words
The mold assembly of claim 18 , wherein the coating uniformly and continuously covers the lens molds and protects the mold from attack by polyvinylpyrrolidone or dimethylacrylamide monomer.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
115 words
A method of molding an ophthalmic article for use in or on the eye, comprising the following steps: a) injection molding the parts of a clear-resin mold assembly comprising at least one anterior and one posterior mold part for production of the ophthalmic article; b) permanently affixing a uniform and continuous protective coating of an inorganic material to at least one of the cavity surfaces of the mold parts to protect the surfaces from chemical attack by the monomers used to make the ophthalmic article being molded; and c) cast molding at least one ophthalmic article using the mold assembly, wherein its protective coating does not react or coat the surface of the ophthalmic article.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
115 words
A method of molding an ophthalmic article for use in or on the eye, comprising the following steps: a) injection molding the parts of a clear-resin mold assembly comprising at least one anterior and one posterior mold part for production of the ophthalmic article; b) permanently affixing a uniform and continuous protective coating of an inorganic material to at least one of the cavity surfaces of the mold parts to protect the surfaces from chemical attack by the monomers used to make the ophthalmic article being molded; and c) cast molding at least one ophthalmic article using the mold assembly, wherein its protective coating does not react or coat the surface of the ophthalmic article.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 23 , wherein the ophthalmic article is an intraocular lens or a contact lens.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method of claim 23 , comprising the step of selecting a mold resin for a mold part that has sufficient dimensional stability to limit deviations from intended radius of curvature of the mold part to +/−20 microns within a period of one day to six months from the time of producing the mold part.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 23 , comprising applying the protective coating to the mold using a technique that produces a dense, uniform, and continuous protective coating.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 23 , including coating a monomer overflow reservoir along the posterior mold part's circumference with the protective coating to protect the reservoir from monomer chemical attack.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 23 , including applying the coating to the mold using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD).
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 23 , wherein the inorganic material comprises silicon.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 28 wherein precursor of the coating comprises carbon even though the inorganic coating produced therefrom contains no carbon or carbon in only minor amounts.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 23 , including the step of coating mold cavity surfaces with multiple layers of different coating materials.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 23 , including applying a different coating material to the cavity surface of each mold part.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 23 , including applying a protective coating to both mold cavities and adjusting the hydrophilic or hydrophobic quality of each protective coating to induce preferential release of the ophthalmic article that is made by the mold assembly.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 33 , wherein the hydrophilic or hydrophobic quality of each protective coating is adjusted by the amount of oxygen, or weight ratio thereof to the precursor compound, used in forming the inorganic coating.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
68 words
The method of claim 23 , including applying a coating material capable of transmitting actinic light to the cavity surface of at least one lens mold part through which actinic light energy is directed and applying a second coating material offering substantial protection against monomer interaction but lacking sufficient light energy transmittance to the mold cavity surface of the mold part through which curing energy is not directed.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 23 , wherein the mold assembly is used once to make an ophthalmic article and then discarded.
Claim 40
Independent Claim
145 words
A method of molding at least one soft contact lens comprising the following steps: a) injection molding the parts of a clear-resin mold assembly comprising at least one anterior and one posterior lens mold part for contact-lens production, wherein the mold part has sufficient dimensional stability to limit deviations from intended radius of curvature of the mold part to +/−20 microns within a period of one day to six months from the time of producing the mold part; b) permanently affixing a uniform and continuous protective coating of an inorganic material to at least one of the cavity surfaces of the mold parts to protect the surfaces from chemical attack by the monomers used to make the lens being molded; and c) cast molding at least one contact lens using the mold assembly, wherein its protective coating does not react or coat the lens surface.
Claim 41
Independent Claim
145 words
A method of molding at least one soft contact lens comprising the following steps: a) injection molding the parts of a clear-resin mold assembly comprising at least one anterior and one posterior lens mold part for contact-lens production, wherein the mold part has sufficient dimensional stability to limit deviations from intended radius of curvature of the mold part to +/−20 microns within a period of one day to six months from the time of producing the mold part; b) permanently affixing a uniform and continuous protective coating of an inorganic material to at least one of the cavity surfaces of the mold parts to protect the surfaces from chemical attack by the monomers used to make the lens being molded; and c) cast molding at least one contact lens using the mold assembly, wherein its protective coating does not react or coat the lens surface.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 37 , wherein the mold assembly is used once to make an ophthalmic article and then discarded.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 37 , wherein cast molding in part (c) comprises either light or thermal curing or both.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 37 , wherein a glow discharge process is used to apply the inorganic coating to the mold.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3673055A
Cited
US3916033A
Cited
US4159292A
Cited
JPS58153608A
Cited
US4882238A
Cited
US4701288A
Cited
US4957663A
Cited
US4661573A
Cited
US5096626A
Cited
JPH0260721A
Cited
EP0362137A2
Cited
US4983702A
Cited
US5010155A
Cited
US5352714A
Cited
US5328954A
Cited
US5882698A
Cited
US5611970A
Cited
EP0677373A1
Cited
US5632936A
Cited
US5639510A
Cited
US5540410A
Cited
US5837314A
Cited
EP0686484A2
Cited
US5690865A
Cited
US5849209A
Cited
US5674557A
Cited
US5849222A
Cited
US5779943A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2006-05-19 | 2006-11-18 | 2007-05-20 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-05-19 | 2010-11-18 | 2011-05-20 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-05-19 | 2014-11-18 | 2015-05-20 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |