Contact Lens Dipping Bath Transport with Reciprocating Containers

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for transporting contact lenses through dipping baths for treatments like rinsing, extraction, and coating fail to ensure uniform wetting and immersion, risking damage from excessive agitation and incomplete fluid contact.

Innovation Solution

An apparatus with containers for individual contact lenses and carriers that move reciprocally through dipping baths, ensuring continuous fluid flow and gentle agitation to maintain immersion, using lifters and conveyor belts to manage vertical and translational motion, with adjustable stroke and drive control for precise handling.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If contact lenses are transported through dipping baths using conventional containers, then the transport process can be automated, but the lenses may not be properly wetted and treated because portions may be shaded-off by container walls

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproper wetting and treatment of contact lensesVSAvoidcontainer design complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The container is divided into an upper container portion and a lower container portion that can move relative to each other. The upper portion is raised and lowered independently to create space for fluid flow, ensuring complete wetting of the contact lens without shading effects from container walls.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The container employs dynamic movement where the upper container portion is raised and lowered along the transport path. This dynamic adjustment creates varying fluid flow patterns that ensure complete immersion and wetting of the contact lens while maintaining automated transport.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Reliability

If the containers are agitated to ensure complete fluid contact, then all sides of the lens are wetted, but excessive agitation may damage the contact lenses

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecomplete fluid contact with contact lensesVSAvoiddamage from excessive agitation

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The upper container portion is periodically raised and lowered in a controlled manner. This periodic action creates gentle fluid flow that ensures complete wetting of the lens surfaces without causing excessive agitation or damage to the delicate contact lenses.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The system controls the velocity and幅度 of the upper container portion's movement to optimize fluid flow. By adjusting these parameters, the system achieves complete fluid contact while maintaining low enough streaming velocity to avoid excessive agitation and potential lens damage.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Reliability

If the treatment fluid flows quickly to ensure fresh fluid contact, then the lens is properly treated, but excessive flow velocity may cause damage to the contact lens

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefresh fluid contact with contact lensVSAvoiddamage from excessive flow velocity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts the fluid flow velocity by controlling the movement of the upper container portion. The fluid flow is generated through the raising and lowering motion rather than high-velocity pumping, ensuring fresh fluid contact while maintaining gentle flow velocity that prevents lens damage.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

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

Ensures all sides of contact lenses are properly wetted and treated with fresh fluid, minimizing risk of damage from agitation, while allowing for continuous and efficient processing in automated production environments.

Implementation Method 1

the treatment fluid is continuously streaming into and out of the container accommodating a lens

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectFluid flow:

Implementation Method 2

the contact lenses are constantly agitated by treatment fluid streaming into and out of the container

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectAgitation:

Implementation Method 3

lifters to automatically lower and raise the carriers in a reciprocating manner along a transport path through the dipping baths

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectMechanical motion:

Data Source

PatentUS9840047B2Apparatus and method for transporting contact lenses through dipping baths

Publication Date: 2017.12.12 ALCON INC

AI summary

There is described an apparatus and method for transporting contact lenses through dipping baths (2, 3, 4) for e.g. rinsing, extraction, coating or loading purposes. The lenses are individually accommodated in respective containers (5) which are capable of enabling a flow of treatment fluid (S) into and out of the container (5). During their automatic transport through the dipping baths (2, 3, 4) the containers (5) are held in carriers (6). Lifters (9) are provided for automatically lowering and raising the carriers (6) in a reciprocating manner along their travel through the dipping bath (2, 3, 4). The reciprocating lowering and raising of the containers (5) is accomplished such, that a portion of each container which accommodates a contact lens remains immersed in the treatment fluid (S) which is contained in the dipping bath (2, 3, 4) while the container (5) suspended from the carrier (6) is advanced through the dipping bath (2, 3, 4) from a starting end to a leaving end thereof.