Optical lens

Abstract

The invention relates to an optical lens, in particular a spectacle lens or semi-finished spectacle lens, having a photochromic carrier and a photochromic additional layer (20; 20A; 20B) connected to the carrier, wherein the carrier has a lens main body (10), wherein the lens main body is made of a photochromic material and / or the carrier has at least one photochromic molded-on layer (11) and / or at least one photochromic coating, and wherein the photochromic additional layer is made of a photochromic material. The invention also relates to spectacles, to a method for providing or producing an optical lens, and to a group of optical lenses.

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] Optical lens

[0003] The present invention relates to an optical lens, a group of optical lenses, spectacles with at least one optical lens and a method for providing or manufacturing at least one optical lens.

[0004] Photochromic optical lenses, which change color under the influence of appropriate electromagnetic radiation, are particularly well-known for use in eyeglasses.

[0005] An object of one embodiment of the present invention is to improve an optical lens, preferably its performance, preferably its photochromic performance, and / or the provision or manufacture of at least one optical lens.

[0006] This problem is solved in particular by an optical lens with the features of claim 1. Claims 12-15 protect spectacles with at least one optical lens described herein, a method for manufacturing at least one optical lens described herein, a group of optical lenses with one or more optical lenses described herein, and a method for providing at least one optical lens. Provisioning within the meaning of the present invention may in particular include manufacturing, storing and / or retrieving, positioning and / or shipping, or the like. The dependent claims relate to advantageous embodiments.

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present invention, an optical lens has a photochromic support and a photochromic additional layer connected to this support, preferably by material bonding and / or directly or indirectly, in particular via one or more further (intermediate) layers.

[0008] In one embodiment, the optical lens is an optical lens designed or intended for use as a spectacle lens, or used as a spectacle lens; in a further development, it is a Bri Heng lens of spectacles, or a

[0009] Spectacle lens blanks, in particular a spectacle lens blank or so-called blank.

[0010] The present invention is particularly suitable for this purpose, especially due to the requirements for eyeglasses (lenses), but is not limited to this.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the carrier has a lens base body, preferably a lens base body that is made entirely or partially of plastic, preferably thermoformed, and / or machined by material removal, and / or has a front side that is preferably object-side or environmental-side and / or at least partially concave or convex, and / or a back side that is preferably eye-side or ocular-side and / or at least partially concave or convex.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, this lens base body is made of a photochromic material.

[0013] A lens substrate already manufactured from a photochromic material can be particularly advantageously combined with the photochromic ie additive layer. Additionally or alternatively, existing lens substrates or substrates manufactured using previous methods can be advantageously used and modified as required.

[0014] Additionally or alternatively, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the carrier has at least one photochromic casting layer, preferably molded onto the lens base body, and preferably on the front surface of the lens base body. In one embodiment, the casting layer is produced by casting photochromic material onto the lens base body, which is either fully or partially manufactured, and in particular, at least partially solidified during primary forming, preferably in the (negative) mold used for primary forming the lens base body. The photochromic ie additional layer can also be particularly advantageously combined with such a casting layer made of a photochromic material.

[0015] In one embodiment, the photochromic sprue layer has a layer thickness of at least 150 pm, preferably at least 200 pm, and more preferably at least 250 pm, particularly a maximum, minimum, and / or average or mean thickness. Additionally or alternatively, in one embodiment, the photochromic sprue layer has a layer thickness of at most 900 pm, preferably at most 800 pm, and more preferably at most 700 pm. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the photochromic sprue layer has a layer thickness between 300 pm and 600 pm, particularly a maximum, minimum, and / or average or mean thickness.

[0016] In addition to or as an alternative to a photochromic lens substrate material and / or a photochromic casting layer, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the carrier has at least one photochromic coating, preferably of the lens substrate, which is preferably produced by means of a coating process, in a further development by means of a rotational coating process or dip coating process.

[0017] In one embodiment, the photochromic coating has a layer thickness of at least 1 pm, preferably at least 10 pm, and more preferably at least 20 pm, particularly a maximum, minimum, and / or average or mean thickness. Additionally or alternatively, in one embodiment, the photochromic coating has a layer thickness of at most 100 pm, preferably at most 75 pm, and more preferably at most 65 pm, particularly a maximum, minimum, and / or average or mean thickness. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the photochromic casting layer has a layer thickness of between 30 pm and 50 pm, particularly a maximum, minimum, and / or average or mean thickness.

[0018] Such a photochromic coating can be made particularly thin. In this case, this photochromic coating and the photochromic ie additional layer bonded to the substrate constitute two photochromic layers of the optical lens, connected directly or indirectly.

[0019] In one embodiment, the carrier consists of the lens base body and optionally the photochromic casting layer(s) and optionally the photochromic coating(s) of the lens base body and is or is connected with the photochromic ie additional layer.

[0020] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the photochromic layer is (also) made of a photochromic material, in a further embodiment of the same material as the lens base body and / or the same material as the sprue layer and / or the same material as the photochromic coating of the lens base body or substrate. This can particularly simplify manufacturing. In one embodiment, the photochromic layer is made of a photochromic material that differs from the photochromic lens base body material and / or the photochromic sprue material and / or the material of at least one photochromic coating of the lens base body or substrate. This allows the photochromic layer to be used particularly advantageously to realize different or a specific photochromic characteristic(s).

[0021] Thus, one embodiment of the present invention is based in particular on the idea of ​​combining an (already) photochromic substrate with at least one additional layer of a photochromic material, which modifies, preferably enhances, the photochromic performance of the substrate and is therefore referred to here as a photochromic ie additional layer.

[0022] In the present context, photochromism is understood to mean, in particular, the tinting, especially coloring and / or darkening, upon activation by electromagnetic radiation, especially visible light and / or UV radiation; a photochromic material or photochromic coating or characteristic is understood to mean, in particular, a material or coating that tints, especially darkens or colors, upon activation by electromagnetic radiation, especially UV radiation; or the characteristic, especially the intensity and / or speed and / or color and / or the progression of the tinting, especially darkening or coloring, depending on the activation by electromagnetic radiation, especially UV radiation.Accordingly, in one version, the photochromic ie additional layer can achieve a different color and / or deeper and / or faster darkening of the optical lens, compared to the (already) photochromic substrate alone or as such.

[0023] In one embodiment, the photochromic coating has a layer thickness of at least 1 pm, preferably at least 10 pm, and more preferably at least 20 pm, particularly a maximum, minimum, and / or average or mean thickness. Additionally or alternatively, in one embodiment, the photochromic coating has a layer thickness of at most 100 pm, preferably at most 75 pm, and more preferably at most 65 pm, particularly a maximum, minimum, and / or average or mean thickness. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the photochromic casting layer has a layer thickness of between 30 pm and 50 pm, particularly a maximum, minimum, and / or average or mean thickness.

[0024] In one version, the photochromic ie additive layer is produced using a coating process.

[0025] This allows the photochromic ie additive layer to be bonded particularly well to the substrate, especially directly to a lens base made of a photochromic material or directly to a photochromic casting layer, but also to another substrate-based layer which, in the finished state, is positioned between the photochromic ie additive layer and the substrate on a substrate-facing side of the photochromic ie additive layer. Accordingly, the photochromic ie additive layer is produced in one embodiment by means of a coating process directly onto a lens base made of a photochromic material, or directly onto a photochromic casting layer of the substrate, or onto another substrate-based layer which, in the finished state, is positioned between the photochromic ie additive layer and the substrate on a substrate-facing side of the photochromic ie additive layer.

[0026] In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the photochromic ie additive layer is produced by means of a spin coating process. In a particularly advantageous further development, it is applied directly to a lens substrate made of a photochromic material, or directly to a photochromic casting layer of the substrate, or to another substrate-bound layer which, in the finished state, is arranged between the photochromic ie additive layer and the substrate on a substrate-facing side of the photochromic ie additive layer. In one embodiment, the photochromic ie additive layer is produced or formed by means of spin coating on only one side of the substrate or the photochromic lens substrate, which can particularly improve manufacturing and / or handling.In one embodiment of the rotary coating process, the substrate is fixed on a rotary table ("chuck"). In a further development, the desired quantity of a photochromic solution is applied by means of vacuum suction on the underside and, in a further development, by means of a metering device located above the center of the substrate. This solution is preferably distributed uniformly over the substrate surface, with any excess material being flung off the substrate. Similarly, a photochromic solution can also be applied in a distributed manner, particularly by moving a disperser device over the substrate.

[0027] This allows the photochromic ie additive layer to be designed particularly advantageously and / or to be bonded particularly well to the substrate, especially directly to a lens base body made of a photochromic material or directly to a photochromic casting layer or on another substrate-resistant layer which, in the finished state, is arranged between the photochromic ie additive layer and the substrate on a substrate-facing side of the photochromic ie additive layer.

[0028] In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the photochromic ie additive layer is produced by means of a dip coating process. In a particularly advantageous further development, it is applied directly to a lens substrate made of a photochromic material, or directly to a photochromic casting layer of the substrate, or to another substrate-bound layer which, in the finished state, is arranged between the photochromic ie additive layer and the substrate on a substrate-facing side of the photochromic ie additive layer. In one embodiment, the substrate is immersed wholly or partially in a bath containing a solution of photochromic material. In another embodiment, the photochromic ie additive layer is applied at least initially to both sides by means of dip coating, preferably without additional post-processing. In particular, subsequent functionalization after surface fabrication can thus be advantageously implemented.

[0029] This allows the photochromic ie additive layer to be designed particularly advantageously and / or to be bonded particularly well to the substrate, especially directly to a lens base body made of a photochromic material or directly to a photochromic casting layer or on another substrate-resistant layer which, in the finished state, is arranged between the photochromic ie additive layer and the substrate on a substrate-facing side of the photochromic ie additive layer.

[0030] In one embodiment, the photochromic additive layer, particularly at at least one temperature and / or at least one specific activation irradiation, especially visible light and / or UV irradiation, has a different color than the substrate. This allows the photochromic additive layer to achieve a different color of the optical lens compared to the substrate alone. Additionally or alternatively, in one embodiment, the photochromic additive layer, particularly at at least one temperature and / or at least one specific activation irradiation, especially visible light and / or UV irradiation, has a different photochromic rate, particularly a slower or faster photochromic tinting or darkening or coloring, than the substrate. A higher photochromic rate or...A faster photochromic tinting, darkening, or coloring of the photochromic ie additive layer can advantageously result in a more rapid and visible reaction of the optical lens compared to the substrate alone. Conversely, a slower photochromic tinting, darkening, or coloring of the photochromic ie additive layer allows for simpler production.

[0031] Additionally or alternatively, in one embodiment, the photochromic additive layer exhibits a different maximum photochromic change, particularly at at least one temperature, than the substrate, specifically a weaker or stronger maximum photochromic tinting, darkening, or coloration. A stronger maximum photochromic change, tinting, darkening, or coloration of the photochromic additive layer advantageously allows for a particularly significant increase in the (maximum) photochromic response of the optical lens. Conversely, a weaker maximum photochromic change, tinting, darkening, or coloration of the photochromic additive layer advantageously allows for simpler and / or thinner fabrication of the photochromic additive layer.

[0032] In general, one embodiment includes a wall thickness of the photochromic coating at at least one location on the lens and / or a maximum, average, and / or minimum wall thickness of the photochromic coating that is smaller than the wall thickness of the lens support, in a further development of the lens body (alone) and / or the sprue (alone) at this location on the lens, and / or a maximum, average, and / or minimum wall thickness of the lens support, in a further development of the lens body and / or the sprue. Additionally or alternatively, one embodiment includes a wall thickness of the sprue at at least one location on the lens and / or a maximum, average, and / or minimum wall thickness of the sprue that is smaller than the wall thickness of the lens body at this location on the lens, and / or a maximum, average, and / or minimum wall thickness of the lens body.

[0033] In one embodiment, the photochromic ie additive layer is arranged, in particular directly, on a front surface of the substrate; in a further development, it is arranged directly on a lens base body made of a photochromic material or directly on a photochromic casting layer of the substrate. In one embodiment, a front surface is a side facing the object (in) or the environment in a typical or design viewing direction through the lens.

[0034] This allows the lens strength or thickness to be reduced and / or the photochromic ie coating to be better activated in one version.

[0035] In another embodiment, the photochromic ie additive layer is arranged, in particular directly, on the back side of the substrate; in a further development, directly on a lens base body made of a photochromic material or directly on a photochromic casting layer of the substrate. In one embodiment, the back side is the eye-side or ocular-side side in a typical or design viewing direction through the lens.

[0036] This also allows the lens strength or thickness to be reduced and / or the wearer to be advantageously activated in one version.

[0037] In one embodiment, one or more further layers are arranged between the photochromic additive layer and the substrate, which are arranged accordingly on a substrate-facing side of the photochromic additive layer; in a further development, one or more photochromic and / or finishing layers, in particular one or more care layers and / or one or more anti-reflective layers (AR layer(s)) and / or one or more anti-scratch or hard layers and / or one or more adhesion (promoting) layers and / or one or more buffer varnish layers and / or one or more anti-fog and / or anti-dirt layers.

[0038] This allows the bonding of the photochromic additional layer to the substrate to be improved and / or these additional layer(s) to be protected in one version.

[0039] In one embodiment, one or more further layers are arranged on a side of the photochromic ie additive layer facing away from the substrate; in a further development, one or more photochromic and / or finishing layers are arranged, in particular one or more care layers and / or one or more anti-reflective layers (AR layer(s)) and / or one or more anti-scratch or hard layers and / or one or more adhesion (promoting) layers and / or one or more buffer varnish layers and / or one or more anti-fog and / or anti-dirt layers.

[0040] This allows the performance of the optical lens to be improved and / or the photochromic ie additional layer to be protected in one version.

[0041] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method for manufacturing one or more optical lenses described herein comprises the following steps:

[0042] - Providing the photochromic substrate for the (respective) lens to be manufactured, in further training manufacturing and / or positioning the substrate, in particular in a corresponding production facility; and

[0043] - Forming the photochromic ie additional layer of this lens, preferably connected to this support, preferably by means of a coating process, wherein in a further development, preferably sequentially or in parallel, several identical supports are provided and connected with different photochromic ie additional layers, so that a group of optical lenses with identical supports and different photochromic additional layers and thus a group of optical lenses with different photochromic characteristics is provided.

[0044] In general, in a group of optical lenses according to an embodiment of the present invention, the optical lenses each have a support, wherein these supports are identical (to each other).

[0045] One or more of these optical lenses are each an optical lens as described here with a photochromic ie additional layer connected to the support of the respective lens, wherein - in the case of several lenses - these photochromic ie additional layers are identical to each other and these lens(es) with identical supports and identical photochromic ie additional layers form a first subgroup of the group.

[0046] In one embodiment, one or more other optical lenses of the group each form a different subgroup of the group, wherein these other lens(es) are also an optical lens described herein with a photochromic ie additional layer connected to the support of the respective lens, wherein, if the other subgroup comprises several lenses, the photochromic ie additional layers of the (other) optical lenses of the (respective) other subgroup are themselves identical to each other, wherein the photochromic additional layer(s) of the first subgroup and the photochromic additional layer(s) of the other subgroup(s) are different or distinct from each other.

[0047] Additionally or alternatively, one or more further optical lenses of the group each form a further subgroup of the group, wherein this further lens(es) each have no photochromic ie additional layer connected to its support.

[0048] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the optical lenses of the group are arranged according to their different photochromic characteristics, in a further embodiment they are sorted according to their different photochromic characteristics and / or stored in and / or removed according to their different photochromic characteristics; and / or

[0049] - identified according to their different photochromic characteristics, in a further training process each ID and photochromic characteristic are linked, for example, the lens is assigned an ID linked to a photochromic characteristic or an existing ID of a lens is linked to the photochromic characteristic of the lens; and / or

[0050] - provided based on different predefined photochromic characteristics, produced in a further training course.

[0051] As already explained, this allows for the advantageous provision, and in particular the production, of identical substrates, which can improve supply, for example, storage and / or manufacturing. These identical substrates are further processed into optical lenses with different photochromic characteristics by combining substrates with different photochromic coatings or, in some cases, without photochromic coatings. In this way, optical lenses with different photochromic characteristics can be provided and produced in a simple, rapid, reliable, and / or variable manner. Lenses with a predetermined photochromic characteristic can be provided by selecting them from the group, or by manufacturing them accordingly, particularly based on the classification or identification of the lenses within the group.

[0052] Thus, in a version for warmer application areas, for example as spectacle lenses (semi-finished products) for warmer countries, the slower photochromicity of the wearer due to the heat can be at least partially compensated by, if necessary, stronger photochromic additional layers, and / or conversely, for colder application areas, for example as spectacle lenses (semi-finished products) for colder countries, weaker photochromic additional layers can be used or these can be omitted due to the stronger photochromicity of the wearer due to the cold.

[0053] Accordingly, according to one embodiment of the present invention, one or more optical lenses are provided, manufactured in a further development, or selected from a group described herein, wherein, based on a predetermined photochromic characteristic of an optical lens to be provided, one or more lenses from the group of optical lenses according to the preceding claim are provided, wherein, in a further development, this provision may include manufacturing, in particular,In a further development, at least one first optical lens described herein with a photochromic support and a first photochromic ie additional layer connected to this support is provided for at least one first, preferably warmer, operating range, and at least one second optical lens with the same photochromic support is provided for at least one second, preferably colder, operating range, which is not connected to any photochromic ie additional layer or to a second photochromic additional layer which, under the same conditions, tints less than the first photochromic ie additional layer at least within one operating range.

[0054] Further advantages and features will become apparent from the dependent claims and the exemplary embodiments. These are shown, in part schematically:

[0055] Fig. 1: a step of a method for manufacturing an optical lens according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0056] Fig. 2: a further step of the process;

[0057] Fig. 3: a group of optical lenses according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0058] Fig. 4: a step of a method for manufacturing an optical lens according to a further embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 5: a further step of this method; and

[0059] Fig. 6: a group of optical lenses according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

[0060] Figs. 1 and 2 show steps of a method for manufacturing an optical lens according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0061] In a step illustrated in Fig. 1, a photochromic support for the lens to be produced is manufactured by forming a photochromic casting layer 11 (see Fig. 2) onto a lens base body 10.

[0062] In a step illustrated in Fig. 2, a photochromic ie additive layer 20, which is bonded to this carrier, is formed by means of a rotational coating process and is applied directly to this photochromic casting layer 11 (see Fig. 2).

[0063] In Fig. 2, an optional finishing layer 30 on a side of the photochromic ie additive layer 20 facing away from the substrate is indicated by dashed lines.

[0064] Fig. 3 shows a group of optical lenses according to an embodiment of the present invention, some of which may be manufactured according to the method described above with reference to Figs. 1, 2.

[0065] The optical lenses have the same photochromic supports 10, 11. However, the uppermost lens in Fig. 3 has no photochromic layer, and the two lower lenses in Fig. 3 have different photochromic layers 20A, 20B, in particular layers of different thicknesses.

[0066] Depending on the desired photochromic characteristics, one of the lenses is selected. In particular, for cold operating conditions, it can be advantageous to select the uppermost lens in Fig. 3 without a photochromic ie coating, since the photochromic casting layer 11 already provides the desired or sufficiently strong tint under cold conditions. For moderate, i.e., somewhat warmer, operating conditions, it can be advantageous to select the middle lens in Fig. 3 with a weaker photochromic ie coating, since the photochromic casting layer 11 alone does not provide the desired or sufficiently strong tint under warmer conditions. The photochromic ie coating 20A enhances the tint, so that the lens exhibits the desired or sufficiently strong tint even under these warmer operating conditions.

[0067] For warm, i.e., even warmer, operating conditions, it can be advantageous to select the lower lens in Fig. 3 with a stronger photochromic ie coating, since under warm operating conditions the photochromic casting layer 11 alone or in combination with the weaker photochromic coating 20A does not produce the desired or sufficiently strong tint. The photochromic coating 20B intensifies the tint accordingly, so that the lens exhibits the desired or sufficiently strong tint even under these warm operating conditions.

[0068] Figures 4-6 illustrate, analogously, a method for manufacturing an optical lens or a group of optical lenses or a method for providing at least one optical lens according to a further embodiment of the present invention. Corresponding features are designated by identical reference numerals, so that only differences will be discussed below.

[0069] In Fig. 4-6, the carrier has a lens base body 10 made of a photochromic material instead of the photochromic casting layer. The photochromic ie additive layer is applied to its object-side front surface by means of a spin coating, rotary coating, or dip coating process.

[0070] The mold for producing the carrier with or without a sprue layer is designated 100 and 110 in Figures 1 and 4. Following preferred methods for producing the carrier, this mold is also referred to as a casting mold. In the present disclosure, "has an X" generally does not imply an exhaustive list, but is a shorthand for "has at least one X" and also includes "has two or more X" as well as "has Y in addition to X". Although exemplary embodiments have been explained in the preceding description, it should be noted that a multitude of modifications are possible. Furthermore, it should be noted that the exemplary embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the scope of protection, the applications, or the design in any way.Rather, the preceding description provides the skilled person with a guide for implementing at least one exemplary embodiment, whereby various modifications, particularly with regard to the function and arrangement of the described components, can be made without leaving the scope of protection as defined by the claims and these equivalent combinations of features.

[0071] List of reference signs

[0072] 10 lens base bodies

[0073] 11 photochromic sprue layer 20; 20A; 20B Photochromic ie additive layer

[0074] 30 Refining - Second Layer

[0075] 100, 110 Form

Claims

Patent claims 1. Optical lens, in particular spectacle lens or spectacle lens semi-finished product, comprising: - a photochromic substrate; and - a photochromic ie add-on layer (20; 20A; 20B) connected to the support; wherein the support has a lens base body (10), wherein the lens base body is made of a photochromic material and / or the support has at least one photochromic casting layer (11) and / or at least one photochromic coating; and wherein the photochromic ie add-on layer is made of a photochromic material.

2. Optical lens according to claim 1, characterized in that the photochromic ie additional layer is produced by means of a coating process.

3. Optical lens according to claim 2, characterized in that the photochromic ie additional layer is produced by means of a rotational coating process.

4. Optical lens according to claim 2, characterized in that the photochromic ie additional layer is produced by means of a dip coating process.

5. Optical lens according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the photochromic additive layer has a different color and / or photochromic speed and / or maximum photochromic change than the substrate.

6. Optical lens according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the photochromic ie additional layer is arranged on a front side of the substrate.

7. Optical lens according to one of the preceding claims 1-5, characterized in that the photochromic ie additional layer is arranged on a back side of the substrate.

8. Optical lens according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one further layer (30) is arranged on a side of the photochrom ie additional layer facing away from the support and / or at least one further layer is arranged on a side of the photochrom ie additional layer facing the support.

9. Optical lens according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support has at least one photochromic casting layer, wherein this photochromic casting layer has a layer thickness of at least 150 pm and / or at most 900 pm.

10. Optical lens according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support has at least one photochromic coating, wherein this photochromic coating has a layer thickness of at least 1 pm and / or at most 100 pm.

11. Optical lens according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the photochromic ie additive layer has a layer thickness of at least 1 pm and / or at most 100 pm.

12. Eyeglasses with at least one optical lens according to one of the preceding claims.

13. Method for manufacturing at least one optical lens according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method comprises the steps: - Providing the photochromic substrate for the lens to be manufactured; and - Formation of the photochromic ie additional layer (20; 20A; 20B) of this lens associated with this carrier.

14. Group of optical lenses, characterized in that at least one of the optical lenses is an optical lens according to one of the preceding claims with a photochromic support (10) and a photochromic ie additional layer (20A) connected to this support, and at least one other of the optical lenses is an optical lens with the same photochromic support (10) and has no or a different photochromic ie additional layer (20B) connected to this support, wherein the optical lenses are arranged and / or identified according to their different photochromic characteristics and / or are provided on the basis of different predetermined photochromic characteristics.

15. Method for providing at least one optical lens, wherein, based on a predetermined photochromic characteristic of an optical lens to be provided, at least one lens from a group of optical lenses according to the preceding claim is provided.

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