An automatic filling and molding method and system for contact lenses

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of contact lens automatic production, in particular to a contact lens automatic filling and molding method and system, comprising a transfer feeding unit for driving a plurality of molding carriers to move, a feeding visual inspection mechanism arranged on the side of the transfer feeding unit along the moving route of the molding carriers, a mold dust removal work station, a corona work station, a liquid injection work station, a molding work station, a mold pressing work station and a material receiving work station; the contact lens automatic filling and molding method and system have a fully automatic process flow, reduce manual interference, avoid the problems of incomplete surface treatment, poor molding precision and high material loss in traditional processes, improve production efficiency, improve molding precision, shorten turnover time, reduce overall production stage operation cost, improve the filling and molding operation efficiency of contact lenses and improve product yield.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of automated contact lens production technology, specifically to an automated filling and molding method and system for contact lenses. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, compression molding is a relatively new contact lens manufacturing process. Existing compression molding methods for contact lens production often use liquid materials such as high-molecular polymers. Molding is a crucial step in the compression molding process, and this process has been partially automated.

[0003] However, in conventional automated equipment, the material turnover speed is slow, the overall filling and mold closing operation is complex and the integration is not high. It is necessary to pre-treat or separately corona treat the mold, which affects the smoothness of the overall processing flow. Furthermore, the mold closing after liquid injection is a one-time operation. If a single pressing fails, it will cause time delays and material losses in subsequent continuous processing. The pressing process is not synchronized and unstable, and air bubbles in the mold are not completely removed, which can easily lead to a high air bubble rate in the lens, which will also affect the lens qualification rate.

[0004] Therefore, in order to meet market demands, a solution is urgently needed. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide an automated filling and molding method and system for contact lenses. The fully automated process reduces human intervention and avoids the problems of inadequate surface treatment, poor molding accuracy, and high material loss in traditional processes. It improves production efficiency, increases molding accuracy, shortens turnaround time, reduces overall operating costs in the production stage, improves the efficiency of contact lens filling and molding operations, and increases product yield.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution.

[0007] The present invention provides an automatic filling and molding method for contact lenses, including a transfer feeding unit that drives multiple molding carriers to move, a material loading inspection mechanism, a mold dust removal station, a corona treatment station, a liquid injection station, a molding station, a molding station, a pressing station and a receiving station arranged on the side of the transfer feeding unit along the movement path of the molding carriers.

[0008] S1. The transfer feeding unit moves the mold-carrying carrier to the loading inspection mechanism to inspect the appearance and position of the mold.

[0009] S2. The transfer feeding unit moves the mold closing carrier carrying the inspected mold to the mold dust removal station to remove dust and impurities from the mold closing surface;

[0010] S3. The transfer feeding unit moves the mold closing carrier carrying the dust-removed mold to the corona station for corona treatment of the mold surface; there are at least two corona stations, which can continuously corona treat the upper mold and the lower mold.

[0011] S4. The transfer feeding unit moves the mold closing carrier carrying the corona-treated mold to the liquid injection station to quantitatively fill the mold with molding liquid.

[0012] S5. The transfer feeding unit moves the mold closing carrier carrying the liquid-filled mold to the mold closing station, where the mold closing station transfers the upper mold to the lower mold to complete the mold closing.

[0013] S6. After the initial mold closing, the mold passes through at least two pressing stations in sequence with the mold closing carrier. Each pressing station presses the mold in stages according to a preset pressure gradient to achieve pre-pressing and final pressing of the mold.

[0014] S7. The transfer feeding unit moves the mold closing carrier carrying the pressed mold to the receiving station to complete the filling and unloading of the mold closing; the transfer feeding unit then moves the empty mold closing carrier into the next work cycle.

[0015] The corona station 300 includes a corona mechanism 310, a corona transfer mechanism 320, and a corona transfer mechanism 330; the corona transfer mechanism 330 includes a transfer rotary drive device 331, a transfer lifting drive device 332 driven by the execution end of the transfer rotary drive device 331, and at least two transfer pick-and-place components 333 driven by the execution end of the transfer lifting drive device 332.

[0016] Furthermore, a loading station is reserved at the loading inspection mechanism, and the loading station is also equipped with an upper mold loading mechanism and a lower mold loading mechanism; both the upper mold loading mechanism and the lower mold loading mechanism are equipped with transfer and conveying mechanisms; in S1, it also includes:

[0017] S11. The transfer feeding unit drives the unloaded mold closing carrier to move, and the upper mold feeding mechanism and the lower mold feeding mechanism respectively move the upper mold and the lower mold to be closed to the corresponding transfer and handling mechanism.

[0018] S12. When the transfer feeding unit drives the unloaded mold closing carrier to move past the upper mold feeding mechanism and the lower mold feeding mechanism, the corresponding transfer and transport mechanism will transport the upper mold and lower mold to be closed to the designated position on the mold closing carrier.

[0019] S13. The transfer feeding unit moves the mold-carrying carrier containing the mold to the loading inspection mechanism for mold inspection.

[0020] Furthermore, the mold dust removal station includes a pressing mold mechanism, a first air blowing assembly, and a second air blowing assembly, all mounted on a dust removal frame; the air outlet of the first air blowing assembly faces the upper mold closing surface, and the air outlet of the second air blowing assembly faces the lower mold closing surface; in S2, it also includes:

[0021] S21. The transfer feeding unit drives the mold closing carrier carrying the upper and lower molds to the dust removal frame, and the upper mold pressing mechanism presses the upper mold tightly;

[0022] S22. The first air blowing component and the second air blowing component perform air blowing dust removal on the mating surfaces of the upper mold and the lower mold.

[0023] Furthermore, S3 also includes:

[0024] S31. The transfer feeding unit moves the mold closing carrier carrying the dust-removed mold to the corona transfer mechanism;

[0025] S32. The corona transfer mechanism transports the mold to be corona-electroded to the corona transfer mechanism, and the corona transfer mechanism moves the mold to be corona-electroded to the corona mechanism to complete the corona-electrode operation.

[0026] S33. The corona transfer mechanism sends the corona-treated mold to the corona transfer mechanism, which then transports the corona-treated mold back into the mold carrier.

[0027] Furthermore, the transfer rotation drive device and the transfer lifting drive device drive the transfer pick-and-place assembly to move, so that the transfer pick-and-place assembly picks up the mold on the mold closing carrier and the corona transfer mechanism and rotates and places it.

[0028] Furthermore, the mold-closing station includes a mold-closing transport drive device, a mold-closing lifting drive device driven by the execution end of the mold-closing transport drive device, and a mold pick-and-place assembly driven by the execution end of the mold-closing lifting drive device; in S5, it also includes:

[0029] S51. The mold clamping carrier moves the mold after liquid injection to the preset position of the mold clamping station, and the mold clamping transport drive device drives the mold clamping lifting drive device to move to the mold removal position.

[0030] S52. The mold clamping and lifting drive device drives the mold pick-and-place assembly to descend, picks up the upper mold on the mold clamping carrier, and then rises.

[0031] S53. The mold closing and transport drive device drives the mold pick-and-place assembly to move directly above the lower mold, and the mold closing and lifting drive device drives the mold pick-and-place assembly to descend, accurately placing the upper mold on the lower mold after liquid injection, thus completing the initial mold closing.

[0032] Furthermore, the molding station includes a molding drive device and a molding base plate that is driven and connected to the execution end of the molding drive device;

[0033] The transfer feeding unit moves the mold closing carrier, which carries the mold after mold closing, to the mold pressing drive device. The mold pressing drive device drives the mold pressing base plate to press down and press the upper mold and the lower mold together.

[0034] Furthermore, the upper mold feeding mechanism includes a material cylinder assembly for placing the mold, a material handling assembly for picking up and placing the mold, and a height adaptation assembly for adjusting the mold receiving and feeding height; the material cylinder assembly includes a rotating material cylinder, a material cylinder drive for driving the rotating material cylinder to rotate, a push rod for pushing the mold inside the rotating material cylinder, and a push rod module for driving the push rod to rise and fall.

[0035] During the feeding process, the push rod module drives the push rod to extend into the rotating cylinder, pushing the mold to the transport position of the material handling component. The material handling component then picks up the mold and places it on the height adaptation component. The height adaptation component then raises and lowers the mold to the specified height, awaiting subsequent actions.

[0036] Furthermore, the transfer and handling mechanism includes a transfer and handling drive device mounted on a transfer bracket above the transfer feeding unit. The execution end of the transfer and handling drive device is connected to the transfer mounting plate. The transfer mounting plate is movably suspended with a transfer suction cup assembly using a suction cup guide rod. A transfer downward probing drive device for driving the transfer suction cup assembly is installed on the transfer mounting plate.

[0037] During transfer and handling, the transfer and handling drive device moves the transfer mounting plate back and forth in the working area; when the transfer mounting plate reaches the handling position, the transfer downward drive device moves the transfer suction cup downward and upward to complete the gripping and placement of the mold.

[0038] This invention also provides an automatic filling and molding system for contact lenses, used to implement the aforementioned automatic filling and molding method for contact lenses. It includes a transfer supply unit that drives multiple molding carriers to move. Along the movement path of the molding carriers, a material feeding inspection mechanism, a mold dust removal station, a corona treatment station, a liquid injection station, a molding station, a pressing station, and a receiving station are also provided on the side of the transfer supply unit. The transfer supply unit drives the molding carriers to move, thereby achieving automated transfer of the mold between the various stations.

[0039] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0040] In practical use, the transfer feeding unit drives the mold-closing carrier to achieve rapid movement and turnover of the mold, ensuring that the mold-closing carrier accurately stops at each workstation; the loading inspection structure ensures that the mold-closing carrier carries the correct mold to be filled and closed, improving the yield of the mold-closing operation; the mold dust removal workstation cleans the mold to be filled and closed to improve the quality of the molded contact lenses; the corona treatment workstation is integrated in the filling and closing stage to facilitate subsequent contact lens processing operations, shorten the contact lens processing flow, and improve the processing efficiency of downstream processes and equipment; the mold-closing workstation works in conjunction with the pressing workstation to separate the mold-closing action of the upper and lower molds from the pressing action, and further breaks down the pressing action as needed through multiple pressing workstations to perform multi-frequency and multi-stage pressing, avoiding internal air bubbles, improving pressing efficiency, and improving the accuracy and quality of the filling and closing operation. Attached Figure Description

[0041] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the mold dust removal station in this invention;

[0044] Figure 4 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the corona station in this invention;

[0045] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the mold-closing worker's standing structure in this invention;

[0046] Figure 6 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the molding station in this invention;

[0047] Figure 7 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the upper mold feeding mechanism in this invention;

[0048] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of the upper mold feeding mechanism in this invention;

[0049] Figure 9 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the transfer and handling mechanism in this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0050] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments.

[0051] refer to Figure 1-9As shown, the present invention provides an automatic filling and molding method for contact lenses, including a transfer feeding unit 200 that drives multiple molding carriers 800 to move. Along the moving path of the molding carriers 800, a loading inspection mechanism 110, a mold dust removal station 140, a corona treatment station 300, a liquid injection station 400, a molding station 500, a pressing station 600, and a receiving station 700 are arranged on the side of the transfer feeding unit 200; the method includes the following steps:

[0052] S1. The transfer feeding unit 200 moves the mold clamping carrier 800 carrying the mold to the loading inspection mechanism 110 to inspect the appearance and position of the mold.

[0053] S2. The transfer feeding unit 200 drives the mold closing carrier 800 carrying the inspected mold to the mold dust removal station 140 to remove dust and impurities from the mold closing surface;

[0054] S3. The transfer feeding unit 200 drives the mold closing carrier 800 carrying the dust-removed mold to the corona station 300 for corona treatment of the mold surface; there are at least two corona stations 300, which can continuously perform corona treatment on the upper mold and the lower mold.

[0055] S4. The transfer feeding unit 200 drives the mold closing carrier 800 carrying the corona-treated mold to the liquid injection station 400 to quantitatively fill the molding liquid into the mold.

[0056] S5. The transfer feeding unit 200 drives the mold closing carrier 800 carrying the liquid injection mold to the mold closing station 500. The mold closing station 500 transfers the upper mold to the lower mold to complete the mold closing.

[0057] S6. After the initial mold closing, the mold passes through at least two pressing stations 600 in sequence with the mold closing carrier 800. Each pressing station 600 presses the mold in stages according to a preset pressure gradient.

[0058] S7. The transfer feeding unit 200 moves the mold closing carrier 800 carrying the pressed mold to the receiving station 700 to complete the handling and unloading of the filled mold; the transfer feeding unit 200 moves the empty mold closing carrier 800 into the next work cycle.

[0059] This automatic contact lens filling and molding equipment utilizes a transfer feeding unit 200 to drive the molding carrier 800, enabling rapid movement and turnover of the mold and ensuring precise docking of the molding carrier 800 at each station. A loading inspection structure 110 ensures that the molding carrier 800 carries the correct mold to be filled and molded, improving the yield rate of the molding operation. A mold dust removal station 140 cleans the mold to be filled and molded, improving the quality of the molded contact lenses. An integrated corona treatment station 300 facilitates subsequent contact lens processing, shortens the processing flow, and improves the processing efficiency of downstream processes and equipment. The molding station 500, in conjunction with the pressing station 600, separates the mold closing and pressing actions of the upper and lower molds. Multiple pressing stations 600 further decompose the pressing action as needed, performing multi-frequency, multi-stage pressing to eliminate gaps and air bubbles, improving pressing efficiency and enhancing the accuracy and quality of the filling and molding operation.

[0060] This automatic contact lens filling and molding equipment features a fully automated process, reducing manual intervention and avoiding problems such as inadequate surface treatment, poor molding accuracy, and high material loss in traditional processes. It improves production efficiency, increases molding accuracy, shortens turnaround time, reduces overall production operating costs, enhances the efficiency of contact lens filling and molding operations, and improves product yield.

[0061] In this embodiment, a loading station is reserved at the loading inspection mechanism 110, and an upper mold loading mechanism 120 and a lower mold loading mechanism 130 are also provided at the loading station; a transfer and conveying mechanism 900 is provided at both the upper mold loading mechanism 120 and the lower mold loading mechanism 130; in S1, it also includes: S11. The transfer supply unit 200 drives the unloaded mold closing carrier 800 to move, and the upper mold loading mechanism 120 and the lower mold loading mechanism 130 respectively load the upper mold to be closed. S12. When the transfer feeding unit 200 moves the unloaded mold closing carrier 800 past the upper mold feeding mechanism 120 and the lower mold feeding mechanism 130, the corresponding transfer conveying mechanism 900 transports the upper mold and lower mold to be closed to the designated position on the mold closing carrier 800; S13. The transfer feeding unit 200 moves the mold closing carrier 800 carrying the mold to the feeding inspection mechanism 110 for mold inspection.

[0062] Specifically, the reserved loading station is used to place the upper mold loading mechanism 120 and the lower mold loading mechanism 130. The two have the same structure, the difference being that the molds they operate on are the upper mold and the lower mold, respectively. The loading inspection mechanism 110 performs visual inspection on the molds after loading to improve the accuracy of the loading action.

[0063] In this embodiment, the transfer feeding unit 200 includes at least two feeding mechanisms 210 arranged in parallel, a plurality of feeding movers 220 assembled on the feeding mechanisms 210, and a connecting mechanism 230 installed at the end of the feeding mechanism 210 for moving the feeding movers 220; the feeding movers 220 are used to install the mold clamping carrier 800.

[0064] Specifically, the feeding mechanism 210 can adopt a magnetic levitation linear motor, the feeding mover 220 can adopt a mover structure matched with the magnetic levitation linear motor, and the connecting mechanism 230 can adopt a structure composed of a linear motor module and a magnetic levitation linear motor. The feeding mechanism 210 drives the feeding mover 220 to move, thereby driving multiple mold closing carriers 800 to move, and quickly transfers the mold to each workstation. In conjunction with the connecting mechanism 230, the mold closing carriers 800 are quickly connected by changing tracks, so as to realize the rapid feeding and turnover of the mold, reduce the turnover and transportation time of the mold, and improve the overall mold filling and closing efficiency.

[0065] Specifically, the magnetic levitation linear motor integrates a permanent magnet array, the feeding mover 220 has a positioning accuracy of ±0.01mm, and the connecting mechanism is equipped with a redundant encoder to achieve a transfer cycle of ≤1.8 seconds between workstations.

[0066] In this embodiment, the mold dust removal station 140 includes a pressing mold mechanism 141, a first air blowing assembly 143, and a second air blowing assembly 144, all mounted on a dust removal frame 142; the air outlet of the first air blowing assembly 143 faces the upper mold closing surface, and the air outlet of the second air blowing assembly 144 faces the lower mold closing surface; in S2, it further includes:

[0067] S21. The transfer feeding unit 200 drives the mold closing carrier 800, which carries the upper mold and the lower mold, to the dust removal frame 142, and the upper mold pressing mechanism 141 presses the upper mold tightly.

[0068] S22. The first air blowing component 143 and the second air blowing component 144 perform air blowing dust removal on the mating surfaces of the upper and lower molds.

[0069] Specifically, the pressing mold mechanism 141 can be a structure composed of a lifting electric cylinder and a pressing plate. The mold hole on the mold closing carrier 800 is a through hole. When the mold is loaded on the through hole, the closing surface of the upper mold is at the bottom and the closing surface of the lower mold is at the top. The pressing mold mechanism 141 presses the upper end face of the upper mold to make the upper mold fit tightly against the mold closing carrier, so as to prevent the upper mold from being blown away from the mold closing carrier when the first air blowing component 143 blows the closing surface of the upper mold. The second air blowing component 144 blows air onto the closing surface of the lower mold from above. The air blows from top to bottom, which only makes the lower mold fit tighter against the mold closing carrier. The bidirectional air blowing at the same time improves the air blowing dust removal efficiency, avoids dust and impurities from affecting the filling and closing effect of contact lenses, and thus improves the quality and yield of contact lens products.

[0070] In this embodiment, the corona station 300 includes a corona mechanism 310, a corona transfer mechanism 320, and a corona transfer mechanism 330; in S3, it also includes:

[0071] S31. The transfer feeding unit 200 drives the mold closing carrier 800 carrying the dust-removed mold to the corona transfer mechanism 330.

[0072] S32. The corona transfer mechanism 330 transports the mold to be corona-electrode to the corona transfer mechanism 320, and the corona transfer mechanism 320 moves the mold to be corona-electrode to the corona mechanism 310 to complete the corona-electrode operation.

[0073] S33. The corona transfer mechanism 320 sends the corona-treated mold to the corona transfer mechanism 330, which then transports the corona-treated mold back into the mold carrier 800.

[0074] During corona treatment, the corona treatment mechanism 310 performs corona treatment on the mold to be corona treated by the corona transfer mechanism 320; the corona transfer mechanism 320 drives the mold to move back and forth between the corona transfer mechanism 330 and the corona treatment mechanism 310; the corona transfer mechanism 330 performs grabbing, repositioning and placement actions on the mold clamping carrier 800 and the corona transfer mechanism 320.

[0075] Specifically, there are at least two corona treatment stations 300, which can continuously corona treat the upper and lower molds. The corona treatment mechanism 310 performs surface corona treatment on the surfaces of the molds to be closed through electrodes to improve the molding effect of the molding fluid and improve the quality of contact lens products. It can use bipolar dual high-frequency generators (output frequency adjustable from 20-40kHz) to achieve synchronous processing of male and female molds through dynamic path planning, with a processing efficiency of 4500 modules / hour. The corona transfer mechanism 330 quickly transfers the molds waiting for corona treatment after dust removal and the molds after corona treatment, and works with the mold closing carrier 800 to achieve online rapid transfer. The corona transfer mechanism 320 quickly transfers the molds, continuously and quickly providing mold materials to the corona treatment mechanism, improving the efficiency of corona treatment operations.

[0076] In this embodiment, the corona transfer mechanism 330 includes a transfer rotation drive device 331, a transfer lifting drive device 332 driven by the execution end of the transfer rotation drive device 331, and at least two transfer pick-and-place components 333 driven by the execution end of the transfer lifting drive device 332. The transfer rotation drive device 331 and the transfer lifting drive device 332 drive the transfer pick-and-place components 333 to move, so that the transfer pick-and-place components 333 pick up the molds on the mold clamping carrier 800 and the corona transfer mechanism 320 and rotate and reposition them.

[0077] Specifically, the transfer rotary drive device 331 can be a rotary motor, the transfer lifting drive device 332 can be a lifting motor, and the transfer pick-and-place component 333 can be a structure that can pick up and place the mold, such as a suction cup or gripper. There are two transfer pick-and-place components 333, which can simultaneously pick up the mold to be corona-electrodeed on the mold closing carrier 800 and the mold that has been corona-electrodeed on the corona-electrode transfer mechanism 320. After the transfer rotary drive device 331 rotates, the positions are interchanged, realizing rapid online mold transfer, improving the efficiency of corona-electrode operation, and further improving the overall quality of filling and mold closing operation.

[0078] In this embodiment, the transfer feeding unit 200 moves the mold closing carrier carrying the mold after corona treatment to the injection station 400, where the injection station 400 injects molding liquid into the lower mold to complete the filling operation. Specifically, the injection station (metering accuracy ±0.1mL) achieves a single mold injection volume deviation of <1%, which is 5 times more accurate than the traditional process.

[0079] In this embodiment, the mold-closing station 500 includes a mold-closing transport drive device 520, a mold-closing lifting drive device 510 driven by the execution end of the mold-closing transport drive device 520, and a mold pick-and-place assembly 530 driven by the execution end of the mold-closing lifting drive device 510; in S5, it also includes:

[0080] S51. The mold clamping carrier 800 moves the mold after liquid injection to the preset position of the mold clamping station, and the mold clamping transport drive device 520 drives the mold clamping lifting drive device 510 to move to the mold removal position.

[0081] S52. The mold closing and lifting drive device 510 drives the mold picking and placing assembly to descend, pick up the upper mold on the mold closing carrier, and then rises.

[0082] S53. The mold closing and transport drive device 520 drives the mold picking and placing component to move directly above the lower mold, and the mold closing and lifting drive device 510 drives the mold picking and placing component to descend, accurately placing the upper mold on the lower mold after liquid injection, thus completing the initial mold closing.

[0083] Specifically, the mold closing and transporting drive device 520 can be a linear motor module, the mold closing and lifting drive device 510 can be a lifting motor module, and the mold picking and placing component 530 can be a structure such as a suction cup or gripper that can pick up and place the mold. Under the coordinated action of the mold closing and transporting drive device 520 and the mold closing and lifting drive device 510, the mold picking and placing component 530 is driven to place the upper mold on the lower mold after liquid injection, completing a precise and stable upper and lower mold closing action. There is no need to focus on the pressing action with the mold, realizing a more efficient and faster mold assembly action and improving the overall operation efficiency.

[0084] In this embodiment, the molding station 600 includes a molding drive device 610 and a molding base plate 620 that is driven and connected to the execution end of the molding drive device 610; the transfer feeding unit 200 drives the mold closing carrier 800 carrying the mold after mold closing to the molding drive device 610, and the molding drive device 610 drives the molding base plate 620 to press down to press the upper mold and the lower mold together.

[0085] Specifically, the mold driving device 610 can be a lifting motor; the mold station 600 is equipped with three sets to perform multiple graded pressing of the upper mold, namely pre-press 0.2N, medium pressure 1.5N, and final pressure 5N, to ensure a mold closing accuracy of 0.01mm.

[0086] In this embodiment, the upper mold feeding mechanism 120 includes a material cylinder assembly 121 for placing the mold, a material handling assembly 123 for picking up and placing the mold, and a height adaptation assembly 122 for adjusting the mold feeding height. The material cylinder assembly 121 includes a rotating material cylinder 1212, a material cylinder drive 1211 for driving the rotating material cylinder 1212 to rotate, a push rod 1214 for pushing the mold inside the rotating material cylinder 1212, and a push rod module 1213 for driving the push rod 1214 to rise and fall. During the feeding action, the push rod module 1213 drives the push rod 1214 to extend into the rotating material cylinder 1212, pushing the mold to the handling position of the material handling assembly 123. The material handling assembly 123 then adsorbs the mold and places it on the height adaptation assembly 122. The height adaptation assembly 122 then adjusts the mold to a specified height, waiting for subsequent actions.

[0087] Specifically, during the feeding operation, the rotating material cylinder 1212 serves as a temporary storage mold for the feeding section. The push rod module 1213 can be a linear motor, used to drive the push rod 1214 to extend into the rotating material cylinder 1212, which can push the mold inside the rotating material cylinder 1212 to rise, so that the uppermost mold is always in the starting transport position of the material handling component 123. After the material handling component 123 picks up the mold from the rotating material cylinder 1212, it is transported to the height matching component 122, and the height matching component 122 moves the mold to a position that is compatible with the external production line or other turnover components. The high-performance design enhances overall material feeding efficiency and ensures adaptability to various equipment layouts during the feeding stage. The streamlined overall structure allows for functional differentiation to meet the feeding needs of different mold types. The cylindrical material storage system optimizes vertical space utilization, reduces equipment footprint, and improves overall loading and unloading efficiency, overcoming the industry bottleneck of frequent material replenishment required by traditional equipment and increasing production time after each replenishment. Furthermore, the highly adaptable component 122 accommodates and adapts to various material conveying structures, enhancing the overall adaptability of the loading and unloading mechanism.

[0088] Specifically, the lower mold feeding mechanism 130 and the upper mold feeding mechanism 120 have the same structural features, the only difference being that the material fed is the lower mold, which will not be elaborated further in this solution.

[0089] Specifically, the material handling component 123 can use a linear motor mechanism in conjunction with the mold suction component to realize the handling of the mold; the height adaptation component 122 can use a lifting motor component in conjunction with the mold fixture to realize the height adjustment of the mold; and realize the position adjustment of the mold in the material cylinder component 121 so that the mold can enter the mold closing carrier 800 more efficiently and quickly to complete the loading.

[0090] In this embodiment, the transfer and handling mechanism includes a transfer and handling drive device 910 mounted on a transfer support 960 above the transfer feeding unit 200. The execution end of the transfer and handling drive device 910 is connected to a transfer mounting plate 930. The transfer mounting plate 930 is movably suspended by a suction cup guide rod 940, and a transfer downward drive device 920 for driving the transfer suction cup group 950 is installed on the transfer mounting plate 930. During transfer and handling, the transfer and handling drive device 910 drives the transfer mounting plate 930 to move back and forth in the working area. After the transfer mounting plate 930 reaches the handling position, the transfer downward drive device 920 drives the transfer suction cup group 950 to descend and rise, completing the gripping and placement of the mold.

[0091] Specifically, both the upper mold feeding mechanism 120 and the lower mold feeding mechanism 130 are equipped with a transfer and conveying mechanism 900. The transfer and conveying drive device 910 is a linear motor. One end of the transfer mounting plate 930 is slidably mounted on the transfer bracket 960 using an auxiliary rail, and the other end is driven by the transfer and conveying drive device 910. Driven by the transfer and conveying drive device 910, the transfer mounting plate 930, carrying the transfer suction cup assembly 950, moves back and forth between the mold closing carrier 800 and the height matching component 122 on the transfer feeding unit 200 to complete the handling and feeding of the mold and improve the mold feeding speed.

[0092] In this embodiment, the receiving station 700 can employ a servo linear motor in conjunction with a four-axis robotic arm. The execution end of the four-axis robotic arm is equipped with an adsorption component for picking up the mold. The receiving station 700 removes the material that has been filled and closed from the mold-closing carrier 800, freeing up the mold-closing carrier 800 for loading molds in the next work cycle. Specifically, the four-axis robotic arm unloading robot integrates a flexible gripper and a force feedback system, achieving a grasping success rate of ≥99.9% and a trajectory repeatability accuracy of ±0.02mm.

[0093] The present invention also provides an automatic filling and molding system for contact lenses, for implementing the above-mentioned automatic filling and molding method for contact lenses, including a transfer feeding unit 200 that drives multiple molding carriers 800 to move. Along the moving path of the molding carriers 800, the transfer feeding unit 200 also includes a material loading inspection mechanism 110, a mold dust removal station 140, a corona treatment station 300, a liquid injection station 400, a molding station 500, a pressing station 600, and a receiving station 700.

[0094] This method and system innovatively construct a six-dimensional collaborative intelligent architecture, breaking through the traditional manual operation mode and achieving four core breakthroughs:

[0095] The upper mold feeding mechanism 120 and lower mold feeding mechanism 130 at the feeding station enable ultra-long continuous production: breaking through the industry bottleneck of traditional equipment requiring frequent material replenishment, a single material supply can support 4 hours of uninterrupted production, and production efficiency is increased by 200%;

[0096] The Corona Station 300 achieves dual quality assurance: integrating dual corona synchronous processing (processing accuracy ±0.5mm) and graded pressing technology (three-stage gradient pressing), enabling the shell material surface energy to reach over 42mN / m and the mold closing bubble rate to be <0.1%;

[0097] The 400 injection station achieves a precision liquid control system: a microfluidic injection unit (metering accuracy ±0.1mL) combined with a visual feedback system, achieving a single-mold injection volume deviation of <1%, which is 5 times more accurate than traditional processes.

[0098] The transfer and feeding unit 200 realizes an intelligent material transfer system: the high-speed and stable transfer of magnetic levitation track ensures the repeatability and positioning accuracy between each workstation, and the array-type substations effectively shorten the overall CT and ensure that each process can operate independently;

[0099] Through the coordinated operation of the feeding module, intermediate feeding module, corona treatment module, liquid injection module, mold closing module, and unloading module (cycle time matching degree > 95%), a single machine can achieve a daily production capacity of 100,000 filling and mold closing segments. Compared with traditional production lines, the labor requirement is reduced by 80%, the product yield is increased from the industry average of 85% to 98.5%, and the overall operating cost is reduced by 40%. It is suitable for the production of filling and mold closing segments for lenses made of various materials such as silicone hydrogel and hydrogel.

[0100] The specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative examples illustrating the spirit of the invention. Those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains may make various modifications or additions to the described specific embodiments or use similar methods to substitute them, without departing from the scope defined by the spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A method for automatic filling and molding of contact lenses, characterized in that, It includes a transfer feeding unit (200) that drives multiple mold clamping carriers (800) to move, a loading inspection mechanism (110) that is located along the moving path of the mold clamping carriers (800) and is disposed on the side of the transfer feeding unit (200), a mold dust removal station (140), a corona station (300), a liquid injection station (400), a mold clamping station (500), a pressing station (600), and a receiving station (700); Includes the following steps: S1. The transfer feeding unit (200) moves the mold clamping carrier (800) carrying the mold to the loading inspection mechanism (110) to inspect the appearance and position of the mold. S2. The transfer feeding unit (200) moves the mold closing carrier (800) carrying the mold after visual inspection to the mold dust removal station (140) to remove dust and impurities from the mold closing surface; S3. The transfer feeding unit (200) moves the mold closing carrier (800) carrying the dust-removed mold to the corona station (300) for corona treatment of the mold surface; there are at least two corona stations (300) that can continuously corona treat the upper mold and the lower mold. S4. The transfer feeding unit (200) moves the mold closing carrier (800) carrying the corona-treated mold to the liquid injection station (400) to quantitatively fill the molding liquid into the mold. S5. The transfer feeding unit (200) moves the mold closing carrier (800) carrying the mold after liquid injection to the mold closing station (500), and the mold closing station (500) transfers the upper mold to the lower mold to complete the mold closing; S6. After the initial mold closing, the mold passes through at least two molding stations (600) in sequence with the molding carrier (800). Each molding station (600) performs graded pressing of the mold according to a preset pressure gradient to achieve pre-pressing and final pressing of the mold. S7. The transfer feeding unit (200) moves the mold closing carrier (800) carrying the pressed mold to the receiving station (700) to complete the handling and unloading of the filled mold; the transfer feeding unit (200) moves the empty mold closing carrier (800) into the next work cycle; The corona station (300) includes a corona mechanism (310), a corona transfer mechanism (320), and a corona transfer mechanism (330); the corona transfer mechanism (330) includes a transfer rotary drive device (331), a transfer lifting drive device (332) driven by the execution end of the transfer rotary drive device (331), and at least two transfer pick-and-place components (333) driven by the execution end of the transfer lifting drive device (332).

2. The automatic filling and molding method for contact lenses according to claim 1, characterized in that, A loading station is reserved at the loading inspection mechanism (110), and the loading station is also equipped with an upper mold loading mechanism (120) and a lower mold loading mechanism (130); a transfer and handling mechanism (900) is provided at both the upper mold loading mechanism (120) and the lower mold loading mechanism (130); S1 also includes: S11. The transfer feeding unit (200) drives the unloaded mold closing carrier (800) to move, and the upper mold feeding mechanism (120) and the lower mold feeding mechanism (130) respectively move the upper mold and the lower mold to be closed to the transfer and handling mechanism (900); S12. When the transfer feeding unit (200) drives the unloaded mold closing carrier (800) to move past the upper mold feeding mechanism (120) and the lower mold feeding mechanism (130), the corresponding transfer and handling mechanism (900) transports the upper mold and lower mold to be closed to the designated position on the mold closing carrier (800). S13. The transfer feeding unit (200) moves the mold-carrying carrier (800) carrying the mold to the loading inspection mechanism (110) for mold inspection.

3. The automatic filling and molding method for contact lenses according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mold dust removal station (140) includes a pressing mold mechanism (141), a first air blowing assembly (143), and a second air blowing assembly (144), all mounted on a dust removal frame (142); the air outlet of the first air blowing assembly (143) faces the upper mold closing surface, and the air outlet of the second air blowing assembly (144) faces the lower mold closing surface. S2 also includes: S21. The transfer feeding unit (200) drives the mold closing carrier (800) carrying the upper mold and the lower mold to the dust removal frame (142), and the upper mold pressing mechanism (141) presses the upper mold tightly; S22. The first air blowing assembly (143) and the second air blowing assembly (144) perform air blowing dust removal on the mating surfaces of the upper and lower molds.

4. The automatic filling and molding method for contact lenses according to claim 1, characterized in that, S3 also includes: S31. The transfer feeding unit (200) moves the mold closing carrier (800) carrying the dust-removed mold to the corona transfer mechanism (330); S32. The corona transfer mechanism (330) transports the mold to be corona-electrode to the corona transfer mechanism (320), and the corona transfer mechanism (320) moves the mold to be corona-electrode to the corona mechanism (310) to complete the corona-electrode operation. S33. The corona transfer mechanism (320) sends the corona-treated mold to the corona transfer mechanism (330), which then transports the corona-treated mold back into the mold carrier (800).

5. The automatic filling and molding method for contact lenses according to claim 1, characterized in that, The transfer rotation drive device (331) and the transfer lifting drive device (332) drive the transfer pick-up and place assembly (333) to move so that the transfer pick-up and place assembly (333) picks up the mold on the mold clamping carrier (800) and the corona transfer mechanism (320) and rotates and places it.

6. The automatic filling and molding method for contact lenses according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mold-closing station (500) includes a mold-closing transport drive device (520), a mold-closing lifting drive device (510) driven by the execution end of the mold-closing transport drive device (520), and a mold picking and placing assembly (530) driven by the execution end of the mold-closing lifting drive device (510). S5 also includes: S51. The mold clamping carrier (800) moves the mold after liquid injection to the preset position of the mold clamping station, and the mold clamping transport drive device (520) drives the mold clamping lifting drive device (510) to move to the mold removal position; S52. Mold closing and lifting drive device (510) drives the mold picking and placing assembly to descend, picks up the upper mold on the mold closing carrier, and then rises; S53. The mold closing and transport drive device (520) drives the mold picking and placing assembly to move directly above the lower mold, and the mold closing and lifting drive device (510) drives the mold picking and placing assembly to descend, accurately placing the upper mold on the lower mold after liquid injection, thus completing the initial mold closing.

7. The automatic filling and molding method for contact lenses according to claim 1, characterized in that, The molding station (600) includes a molding drive device (610) and a molding base plate (620) that is driven and connected to the execution end of the molding drive device (610). The transfer feeding unit (200) drives the mold closing carrier (800) carrying the mold after mold closing to the mold pressing drive device (610). The mold pressing drive device (610) drives the mold pressing base plate (620) to press down to press the upper mold and the lower mold together.

8. The automatic filling and molding method for contact lenses according to claim 2, characterized in that, The upper mold feeding mechanism (120) includes a material cylinder assembly (121) for placing the mold, a material handling assembly (123) for picking up and placing the mold, and a height adaptation assembly (122) for adjusting the mold receiving and feeding height; the material cylinder assembly (121) includes a rotating material cylinder (1212), a material cylinder drive (1211) for driving the rotating material cylinder (1212) to rotate, a push rod (1214) for pushing the mold inside the rotating material cylinder (1212), and a push rod module (1213) for driving the push rod (1214) to rise and fall. During the feeding action, the push rod module (1213) drives the push rod (1214) to extend into the rotating cylinder (1212) and push the mold to the transport position of the material handling component (123). The material handling component (123) adsorbs the mold and places it on the height matching component (122). The height matching component (122) adjusts the mold to the specified height and waits for subsequent actions.

9. The automatic filling and molding method for contact lenses according to claim 2, characterized in that, The transfer and handling mechanism (900) includes a transfer and handling drive device (910) mounted on a transfer support (960) above the transfer feeding unit (200). The execution end of the transfer and handling drive device (910) is connected to a transfer mounting plate (930). The transfer mounting plate (930) is movably suspended by a suction cup guide rod (940) with a transfer suction cup assembly (950). A transfer downward drive device (920) for driving the transfer suction cup assembly (950) is installed on the transfer mounting plate (930). During the transfer and handling, the transfer and handling drive device (910) drives the transfer mounting plate (930) to move back and forth in the working area; when the transfer mounting plate (930) reaches the handling position, the transfer downward drive device (920) drives the transfer suction cup group (950) to move down and up to complete the gripping and placement of the mold.

10. An automatic filling and molding system for contact lenses, characterized in that, An automatic filling and molding method for contact lenses according to any one of claims 1-9 includes a transfer feeding unit (200) that drives multiple molding carriers (800) to move. Along the moving route of the molding carriers (800), a loading inspection mechanism (110), a mold dust removal station (140), a corona station (300), a liquid injection station (400), a molding station (500), a pressing station (600), and a receiving station (700) are also provided on the side of the transfer feeding unit (200). The transfer feeding unit (200) drives the molding carriers (800) to move so as to realize the automatic transfer of molds between the stations.

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