Ball Separator Structure for Ophthalmic Lens Adhesion Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lens holding devices, such as vacuum cups, fail to adequately compensate for the undesired surface adhesion between ophthalmic lenses, leading to difficulty in separating or translating them during processes like gluing a prescription on an electrochromic lens or manufacturing a hybrid organic-mineral lens.
Innovation Solution
A separator device with a housing comprising top and bottom plates and freely rotating balls between apertures, providing limited contact points to counteract surface adhesion, and a manipulating device with holders and vacuum elements for precise lens positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If vacuum cups are used to hold lenses, then lens gripping capability is improved, but surface adhesion between lenses cannot be compensated
Solution Approach 1:
The separator device divides the contact interface into multiple discrete point contacts through several balls distributed across the lens surface. This segmentation prevents continuous surface adhesion while maintaining sufficient gripping force through cumulative point contacts.
Solution Approach 2:
The balls act as intermediary elements between the separator device housing and the lens surfaces. These spherical intermediaries create localized point contacts that penetrate through the suction effect, enabling force transmission without creating large-area adhesion zones.
2Stability of the object's composition
If continuous surface contact is used between separator device and lenses, then stability is improved, but surface adhesion effect increases
Solution Approach 1:
The contact surface is segmented into discrete point contacts through multiple balls. This segmentation maintains positional stability through distributed support points while eliminating continuous surface adhesion that would occur with flat contact surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
Spherical balls are used instead of flat contact surfaces. The curved geometry of the balls ensures point contact with the lens surfaces, concentrating force at specific locations and preventing the formation of large-area adhesive bonds while maintaining stability through geometric constraint.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The separator device effectively minimizes lens warpage and ensures precise alignment by reducing surface adhesion, enabling accurate positioning and translation of ophthalmic lenses for bonding processes.
Implementation Method 1
at least one holder of the plurality of holders being provided with a vacuum propagating element enabling the at least one holder to grip that face of one of the two ophthalmic lenses
Implementation Method 2
each ball protruding from the top and bottom plates through the apertures and being able to rotate freely in the apertures thanks to a predetermined clearance between each ball and the edge of the apertures accommodating the ball
Data Source
AI summary
A separator device adapted to be positioned between two ophthalmic lenses having a housing having a top plate and a bottom plate parallel to the top plate. The top plate has at least three circular apertures and the bottom plate has the same number of circular apertures as the top plate and at the same locations. The separator device further includes, at each of these locations, a ball accommodated between the top and bottom plates in a pair of the apertures, the diameter of each aperture being smaller than the diameter of each ball, each ball protruding from the top and bottom plates through the apertures and being able to rotate freely in the apertures thanks to a predetermined clearance between each ball and the edge of the apertures accommodating the ball.