Universal Transport Container for Eyeglass Lenses

The patent implements a universal base container design that can serve multiple manufacturing stages through interchangeable inserts. The base container maintains consistent dimensions and interface standards, while different inserts (e.g., for basic glass production, cleaning, coloring, hard coating) provide stage-specific functionality. This eliminates the need for multiple different container types, reducing container variability while meeting specific requirements for each manufacturing stage.

The container system is segmented into a standardized base container and interchangeable inserts. Each insert is designed for a specific manufacturing stage or function, allowing the system to adapt to different requirements without changing the entire container. This segmentation enables the base container to remain uniform while the inserts provide the necessary stage-specific characteristics.

The patent employs interchangeable inserts that can be dynamically swapped in the base container to change the axial dimension configuration. When working with basic glass processing machines, inserts with 130 mm axial dimension are used. When transitioning to control and packaging systems, inserts with 112.5 mm axial dimension are inserted. This dynamic reconfiguration allows the same base container to adapt to different axial dimension requirements without physical incompatibility.

The axial dimension parameter of the container system is made changeable through interchangeable inserts. The base container maintains a universal interface, while the inserts provide different axial dimensions (130 mm for basic glass processing, 112.5 mm for control and packaging systems) as needed. This parameter change capability resolves the incompatibility between different system requirements.

The patent extracts the contamination-prone elements into removable inserts that can be stage-specific. For example, inserts used during basic glass production (which involves mechanical processing) are separate from those used during cleaning or coloring stages. The inserts can be removed, cleaned, or replaced as needed, preventing cross-contamination between stages while allowing the base container to be reused. This extraction of contamination risk from the reusable base container maintains productivity while protecting against harmful residues.

The interchangeable inserts act as intermediaries between the base container and the manufacturing process. They protect the base container from direct contact with contaminants during mechanical processing stages. The inserts can be discarded or cleaned separately, serving as a barrier that enables base container reuse without contamination transfer to subsequent clean stages.

The patent merges multiple process-specific container functions into a single universal base container through the use of interchangeable inserts. Instead of physically moving between different specialized containers, the system combines them into one container that can be reconfigured by swapping inserts. This merging eliminates the time-consuming process of moving entire containers and reorienting them, while maintaining the process-specific optimization benefits through the specialized inserts.

The inserts are pre-configured for specific manufacturing stages with all necessary positioning features and geometries already in place. When transitioning between stages, the pre-prepared inserts are simply swapped in, eliminating the need for time-consuming reorientation and readjustment. The preliminary preparation of stage-specific inserts resolves the time loss associated with container transitions.