Ophthalmic Lens Shaper with Digital Bezel Offset Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shaper devices for eyeglass lenses are expensive, time-consuming, and often result in mechanical interference or unsightly gaps due to their inability to accurately determine the relative positions of the front and rear margins of the bezel, especially in complex frame designs.
Innovation Solution
A shaper device with a blocking support, a movable shaper tool, and an electronic/computer unit that allows manual input of numerical values to generate a control setpoint for shaping the lens with a non-uniform engagement ridge, approximating height differences between bezel margins to avoid interference and gaps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If an optimized feeler and shaper device is used to form a non-uniform engagement ridge, then the profile of the ridge can be adapted to the shape of the bezel, but the device becomes expensive and time-consuming to use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a digital copy of the bezel shape obtained from a separate feeling operation. The feeler device captures the three-dimensional shape of the bezel, and this digital information is stored and reused during the shaping operation. This allows the engagement ridge profile to be adapted to the specific bezel shape without requiring the shaper device itself to be complex or expensive.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs the feeling operation beforehand to capture the bezel shape, and stores this information for later use during the shaping operation. By preparing the bezel shape data in advance, the actual shaping process can proceed efficiently without requiring complex real-time measurement capabilities in the shaper device.
2Manufacturing precision
If a feeler device is used to determine bezel shape, then the engagement ridge can be shaped to match, but the device does not enable determination of nose pad and temple positions, risking mechanical interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enhances the feeler device to perform multiple functions: it not only captures the bezel shape but also detects the positions of nose pads and temples. By making the feeling operation universal, the system obtains comprehensive frame geometry information in a single measurement process, enabling both precise engagement ridge profiling and reliable detection of other frame components to prevent mechanical interference.
3Device complexity
If manual input of offset values is required, then the device becomes simpler and more cost-effective, but the precision of offset determination depends on user input accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical measurement and input with an automated digital feeling system. The feeler device with sensors automatically measures the bezel shape and calculates offset values, eliminating the need for manual input. This substitution of mechanical/manual operations with automated sensing and computation maintains device simplicity while significantly improving measurement precision and eliminating user-dependent accuracy issues.
Data Source
AI summary
The shaper device for shaping an ophthalmic lens comprises a blocking support on a blocking axis, a shaper tool, an electronic or computer unit for controlling the position of said shaper tool, and a man/machine interface connected to said electronic or computer unit, and comprising a display screen (253) and input means for inputting numerical values. The electronic or computer unit is adapted to display on said display screen at least three so-called “offset” fields (301-304) for inputting numerical values via said input means, the fields being displayed simultaneously or in succession, then for generating a control setpoint for said shaper tool relative to said blocking support, for shaping the ophthalmic lens by forming an engagement ridge on its edge face, the ridge presenting, at each axial section of the ophthalmic lens, a profile having front and rear ends that present respective first and second distances from the blocking axis, with the difference between said distances being a so-called “offset” function that is not entirely uniform around the edge face of the ophthalmic lens, and that depends on the numerical values input in each of the offset fields.