METHOD FOR PACKAGING A SPECTACLE LENS

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for packaging an optical lens including two faces and a peripheral edge, at least one of the faces having a convexity marked by a peak point, the method including the following steps: a step of depositing a protective strip made from a rigid material at least partially along the edge, the width of the strip extending beyond the peak point of the convex face of the lens; a step of inserting the lens into an envelope delimited by a wall; a step of positioning the lens in the envelope, such that the protective strip acts as a spacer in order to maintain a distance between the wall of the envelope and the convex face of the lens and thus preventing any contact between the wall and the face.

Claims

1. A method of packaging an optical lens (1) including two faces (3, 5) and a peripheral edge (2), at least one face (3) of said faces having a convexity marked by a peak point (4), said method comprising the following steps, a step of depositing a rigid material protective strip (6) at least partially along said edge (2), the width of the strip (6) extending beyond the peak point (4) of the convex face (3) of the lens (1), a step of inserting the lens (1) in an envelope (10) delimited by a wall (11, 12), a step of placing said lens (1) in said envelope (10) so that the protective strip (6) serves as a spacer in order to maintain a distance between the wall (11, 12) of the envelope (10) and the convex face (3) of said lens (1) and thus to prevent any contact between said wall (11, 12) and said face (3).

2. The packaging method as claimed in claim 1, in which the lens (1) is a finished lens that can be mounted on a spectacle frame with no transformation other than machining the contour.

3. The packaging method as claimed in claim 1, in which the lens (1) includes on its convex face (3) a layer sensitive to abrasion such as a hydrophobic coating, an oleophobic coating, a protective layer for a coating of this kind or a non-permanent ink marking, said marking being intended to be removable by rubbing.

4. The packaging method as claimed in claim 1, in which the width of the protective strip (6) in contact with the peripheral edge (2) is less than 7 mm.

5. The packaging method as claimed in claim 4, in which the lens (1) is either a semi-finished lens to be reworked by machining its concave face (5) in order to impart a predetermined prescription and to form a finished lens or a finished lens having a peripheral edge thicker than 5 mm or even 7 mm in which the protective strip (6) is not in contact with all the width of the peripheral edge (2).

6. The packaging method as claimed in claim 1, in which the protective strip (6) extends over at least of the total length of the peripheral edge (2) without extending over the totality of the total length of the peripheral edge (2).

7. The packaging method as claimed in claim 1, in which the protective strip (6) extends over the totality of the length of the peripheral edge (2).

8. The packaging method as claimed in claim 7, in which the two ends of the protective strip (6) overlap forming an overlap over at least 1 cm, increasing the mechanical strength of said strip (6).

9. The packaging method as claimed in claim 8, in which the protective strip (6) includes before deposition a support film including an adhesive face and a second face covered with a layer able to be peeled off and weakly adhering to the adhesive face, the protective strip (6) being deposited by application of the adhesive face to the lens (1), said layer able to be peeled off being removed at the time of deposition so that the overlap occurs directly between a portion of the adhesive face and the second face of the support film.

10. The packaging method as claimed in claim 8, in which the protective strip (6) is at least partially elastic and is tensioned when it is deposited around the peripheral edge (2) of the lens (1), the two ends of said strip (6) being fixed the one to the other by any means while the strip is tensioned around the edge of the lens.

11. The packaging method as claimed in claim 1, in which the protective strip (6) extends beyond the peak point (4) by a distance (h) of at least 1 mm.

12. The packaging method as claimed in claim 1, comprising a step of marking the protective strip (6, 8), the marking including information serving to characterize the lens.

13. The packaging method as claimed in claim 1, in which the envelope (10) has two plane faces (11, 12) between which the lens (1) is inserted so that each of said faces (11, 12) is located facing a face (3, 5) of said lens (1), the arrangement between the protective strip (6) and the lens (1) preventing the face (11) of the envelope (10) located facing the convex face (3) of the lens (1) from coming into contact with said convex face (3) of the lens (1), even if a pressure of at least 500 g or at least 1 kg is applied to the face (11) of the envelope (10).

14. The packaging method as claimed in claim 1, in which the combination of the protective strip (6) and its arrangement around the lens (1) is chosen so that the resulting structure is capable of resisting a load of at least 1 kg.

15. An assembly constituted by a lens (1) and a protective strip (6, 8) for carrying out a packaging method as claimed in claim 1.

16. The assembly as claimed in claim 15, in which the lens (1) is finished and of small thickness or is semi-finished and of greater thickness, said lens (1) having a convex face (3), and the protective strip (6, 8) is deposited on the totality of the width of the peripheral edge (2) of the lens (1) if the lens is finished or on only a portion of the peripheral edge (2) of the lens (1) situated on the same side as said convex face (3) if the lens is semi-finished so as to extend from the same side as the convex face (3) and beyond the peak point (4) of that face (3).

17. The packaging method as claimed in claim 2, in which the lens (1) includes on its convex face (3) a layer sensitive to abrasion such as a hydrophobic coating, an oleophobic coating, a protective layer for a coating of this kind or a non-permanent ink marking, said marking being intended to be removable by rubbing.

18. The packaging method as claimed in claim 1, in which the width of the protective strip (6) in contact with the peripheral edge (2) is less than 5 mm.

19. The packaging method as claimed in claim 7, in which the two ends of the protective strip (6) overlap forming an overlap over at least 2 cm, increasing the mechanical strength of said strip (6).

20. The packaging method as claimed in claim 1, in which the protective strip (6) extends beyond the peak point (4) by a distance (h) between 2 mm and 5 mm inclusive.

Description

[0061] A detailed description of one embodiment of a method in accordance with the invention of packaging a lens is given hereinafter with reference to the following figures:

[0062] FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view of a lens and a protective strip for the production of an assembly according to the invention,

[0063] FIG. 2 is a simplified side view of an assembly according to a first embodiment of the invention consisting of a semi-finished lens and a protective strip,

[0064] FIG. 3 is a simplified side view of an assembly according to a second embodiment of the invention consisting of a finished lens and a protective strip,

[0065] FIG. 4 is a simplified side view of an assembly according to a third embodiment of the invention consisting of a finished lens and a protective strip comprising a plurality of segments,

[0066] FIG. 5 is a simplified side view of an assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the invention consisting of a lens and a foam protective strip,

[0067] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an assembly consisting of a lens and a protective strip during introduction into a flexible packaging sachet and illustrating one step of a packaging method according to the invention,

[0068] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the sachet from FIG. 6 enclosing an assembly according to the invention, consisting of a lens and a protective strip.

[0069] In the following detailed description, it is assumed that a protective strip is fixed to an optical lens by gluing it on. Actually, a fixing technique of this kind is particularly suited to a packaging method according to the invention.

[0070] It is moreover understood that the term lens employed in the present description must be understood according to the following definition: the lens referred to here corresponds to an optical article of the ophthalmic lens type, an ocular visor, and optical viewing systems. In particular an ophthalmic lens is a lens that is designed to fit a spectacle frame in order to protect the eye and/or to correct the vision and may be a non-correcting ophthalmic lens (also termed a plano or an afocal lens) or corrective. A corrective lens may be a unifocal, bifocal, trifocal or progressive lens. The ophthalmic lens may be a finished lens or a semi-finished lens, intended to be reworked by machining one of its principal faces in order to impart a predetermined prescription, or an edged finished lens already embodying said predetermined prescription and having a contour with a shape adapted to be positioned in a frame.

[0071] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, an optical lens 1 is of circular shape and delimited by: [0072] a peripheral edge 2, [0073] a convex face 3 having a central peak point 4, and [0074] a plane or concave face 5, said peripheral edge 2 connecting said convex face 3 to said plane or concave face 5.

[0075] Referring to FIG. 2, the optical lens 1 may be semi-finished. It is a lens 1 that leaves the manufacturer with a peripheral edge 2 of large width. A lens 1 of this kind is intended to be machined with more refinement to impart a predetermined prescription and to become a finished lens in particular having a peripheral edge 2 of reduced width, as FIG. 3 shows. For information only, the finished lens 1 already embodies a predetermined prescription and is able to be mounted on a spectacle frame with no transformation other than machining the contour. The width of the peripheral edge 2 of the lens 1 is its dimension considered along the axis of revolution of said lens 1. Whether for a finished or semi-finished lens 1, this peripheral edge 2 has a cylindrical external surface. For a semi-finished lens 1 the width of the peripheral edge 2 may for example be of the order of 7 mm to 20 mm. In a finished lens 1 it is less than or equal to 7 mm or even to 5 mm.

[0076] A particular embodiment of the invention is intended for a lens 1 that includes on its convex face 3 a layer sensitive to abrasion such as a hydrophobic or oleophobic coating, a protective layer for a coating of that kind or a non-permanent ink marking, said marking being intended to be removable by rubbing. These layers are easily deteriorated during storage and transportation of packaged lenses if specific precautions are not taken; the method according to the invention advantageously makes it possible to protect such layers and to prevent them from deteriorating during storage or transportation of the lens.

[0077] Referring to FIG. 1, a packaging method according to a first embodiment of the invention comprises a step of gluing a protective strip 6 to all of the length of the peripheral edge 2 of the finished or semi-finished lens 1. This protective strip 6 is made from a cellulose-based material, for example paper or cardboard, only one face of which is adhesive, comprising for example a layer of adhesive material. In another embodiment, the protective strip 6 consists of a plastic film, such as a thermoplastic material film. Before being applied against the lens 1, this strip 6 is wound around a spool to form a roll. The face of the protective strip 6 that is not adhesive is covered here by a polymer film that may be transparent or not. This protective strip 6 advantageously includes a marking directly related to the lens 1 to which it adheres. This marking may for example represent a logo representing the company that manufactures the lens 1 or give the name of that company directly. It may equally give information relating to the lens 1, such as for example its source, its dimensions, its optical and dimensional characteristics, its date and place of manufacture, its batch number, etc. This marking may equally appear in the form of a bar code or a QR code (two-dimensional code), embodying all the above information. Applying an electronic reader to these various codes then makes it possible to have access to all this information. The protective strip must be light compared to the total weight of the lens 1 and it must be possible to manipulate it easily without using a tool and without particular precautions.

[0078] A packaging method according to the invention comprises a step of unwinding the roll of protective strip 6 and a simultaneous step of application of the adhesive face of said strip 6 against the peripheral edge 2 of the lens 1. This protective strip 6 has some rigidity, which renders it undeformable under the usual manual loads, such as for example picking it up or a slight accidental impact against a wall. On the other hand, this protective strip is not necessarily sized to resist high loads, as could for example a metal or carbon fiber protective strip. In particular, when the protective strip 6 is present on all of the perimeter of the lens 1, thus forming a cylinder, the rigidity of the structure formed in this way is increased relative to the inherent rigidity of the protective strip 6. Accordingly, in this case, the protective strip 6 requires only a rigidity such that the pseudo-cylindrical structure has a rigidity that is able to withstand a load of at least 1 kg evaluated in accordance with the method described below. It is therefore not necessary that the protective strip 6 alone have the rigidity necessary to withstand a load of at least 1 kg.

[0079] In other words, the combination of the protective strip 6 and its arrangement around the lens 1 is chosen so that the resulting structure is capable of resisting a load of at least 1 kg. That resistance is measured by means of a calibrated test, the principal characteristics of which are specified hereinafter.

[0080] The protective strip is placed on the periphery of the lens. The structure formed by the lens and the protective strip is then placed on a rigid horizontal support and covered with a rigid plate enabling a load placed on the plate to be distributed across the totality of the circumference of the protective strip. A load of 800 g is placed at the center of the plate.

[0081] The behavior of the protective strip vis--vis this 800 g load is then observed, in particular to see if it is deformed and if the plate comes into contact with the convex surface of the lens.

[0082] A load that the structure can withstand can therefore be determined if the protective strip is not deformed and if the plate does not come into contact with the convex surface of the lens.

[0083] The load is then increased by increments of 200 g.

[0084] The structure according to the invention is therefore such that the load it can withstand is at least approximately 1 kg, preferably greater than or equal to 2 kg, for example between 2 kg and 10 kg inclusive.

[0085] In all embodiments of the invention this protective strip 6 is such that, once stuck to the peripheral edge 2 of the lens 1, the width of said strip 6 is sufficient to be able to extend beyond the peak point 4 of the convex face 3 of the lens 1. Ideally, the protective strip 6 must extend beyond the peak point 4 of said convex face 3 by a distance h between 1 and 10 mm inclusive, preferably between 2 and 5 mm.

[0086] Referring to FIG. 3, if the lens 1 is finished and has a peripheral edge 2 of narrow width, for example less than 5 mm, the protective strip 6 is glued to all of the width of said edge 2. In other words, said strip 6 extends over all the width of the peripheral edge 2, becoming flush with the side of said edge 2 from which the plane face 5 or concave face of the lens 1 begins. This complete coverage of the peripheral edge 2 of the lens 1 by the protective strip 6 enables improvement of the conditions of contact between these two elements 2, 6 and some stability of the positioning of said strip 6 on said lens 1. Bad positioning of the protective strip 6 on the lens 1 could compromise the protective function of the strip 6 vis--vis the lens 1.

[0087] Referring to FIG. 2, if the lens is semi-finished, or if the finished lens has a high negative power (for example 6.00 D), and has a peripheral edge 2 of large width, for example of the order of 5 to 20 mm or 7 to 20 mm, it is not forcibly necessary that the protective strip 6 cover said peripheral edge 2 over the whole of its width. It suffices that the gluing surface between said strip 6 and said edge 2 has a width of at least 2 to 5 mm to ensure good stability of the positioning of the strip 6 on the lens 1. The portion of the peripheral edge 2 situated on the same side as the plane face 5 or the concave face therefore need not be covered by the protective strip 6, without this commensurately weakening the conditions of contact between the protective strip 6 and said peripheral edge 2.

[0088] Actually, the peripheral edge 2 of the lens 1, whether it is finished or semi-finished, having no optical function, thus need not forcibly receive any particular protection.

[0089] In the two examples shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the protective strip 6 surrounds the lens 1 completely over all its periphery, in other words over 360. It is possible for the two ends of this strip 6 to overlap to ensure 360 coverage of the lens 1. This overlap zone will have the benefit of a double thickness of strip 6 and will locally reinforce the rigidity of the protective strip 6 around the lens 1. Moreover, this overlap makes it possible to increase the overall rigidity of the protective strip by maintaining a closed cylindrical shape. To be fully effective, the protective strip must surround the lens 1 over at least of the total periphery of said lens 1.

[0090] The overlap is then generally over at least 1 cm. For example the overlap may have a length between 1 cm and 5 cm inclusive, for example between 2 cm and 3 cm.

[0091] In accordance with one embodiment, the protective strip includes, before being used in the packaging method, a support film including an adhesive face and a second face covered with a layer able to be peeled off and weakly adherent to the adhesive face. The protective strip is then deposited by application of the adhesive face to the lens, said layer able to be peeled off being removed at the time of deposition so that the overlap occurs directly between a portion of the adhesive face and the second face of the support film.

[0092] According to one embodiment, the protective strip used is an adhesive strip of Bluedge type and an adhesive strip of Advantedge type distributed by Dac Vision. In the case of the Bluedge type protective strip, the structure of said protective strip is identical to that of the Bluedge consumable product used in the ophthalmic industry for edging lenses.

[0093] The protective strip is applied around the lens without overlap or with an overlap less than 1 mm.

[0094] The assembly comprising the protective strip and the lens is then inserted into a flexible paper envelope.

[0095] In another embodiment, the protective strip includes a support film and a film able to be peeled off. The support film is partially elastic, with a tension force greater than 20 kN/m and a length before rupture greater than 100% of elongation in tension. The support film is a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film 175 m thick. The film able to be peeled off is a 32 m PET film. The support film includes on the face not covered by the film able to be peeled off a layer of acrylic-based adhesive.

[0096] The protective strip has a width of 18 or 20 mm.

[0097] The lenses are finished lenses less than 7 mm thick. In particular, at least one lens 3.1 mm thick and one lens 0.5 mm thick.

[0098] During the deposition of the protective strip around the lens, the face including the adhesive is applied to the edge of the lens and a mechanical aid may be applied for the retention on the edge of the lens. The film able to be peeled off is removed during deposition. On application of the film around the lens, a tension of approximately 10 kN is applied and application continues around the lens until one end of the protective strip overlaps the other end by approximately 2 cm to 3 cm.

[0099] In the case of lenses of thickness close to 0.5 mm, the adhesive strip is positioned so that at least 1 mm of the adhesive strip projects from the concave side of the lens. Moreover, the tension applied both during deposition and maintained by the overlap following deposition enables the lens to be retained well in the packaging formed by the protective strip.

[0100] In the case of lenses 3.1 mm thick, the tension in the protective strip during deposition is not necessary to ensure retention of the lens but may nevertheless be applied.

[0101] Referring to FIG. 4, in accordance with another embodiment of a packaging method according to the invention, the protective strip 6 may take the form of a plurality of separate segments 7 distributed around the peripheral edge 2 of the lens 1. These segments 7 are preferably equally distributed around the lens 1 so as not to leave too large a space between two successive segments 7. The total length of all the segments 7 preferably exceeds of the total length of the peripheral edge 2 of the lens 1. In the example considered, the protective strip 6 comprises three segments 7 of equal length, distributed in a homogeneous manner around the lens 1. The maximum number of segments 7 is preferably less than eight to avoid complicating the step of gluing the protective strip 6 to the peripheral edge 2 of the lens 1.

[0102] Referring to FIG. 5, in accordance with another embodiment of a packaging method according to the invention, the protective strip 6 may take the form of a more or less dense polymer foam 8. For this configuration, the foam 8 is applied against the peripheral edge 2 of the lens 1 and includes a plane extension 20 positioned against a peripheral zone 9 of the plane face 5 or the concave face of the lens 1. The plane extension 20 is an integral part of the foam protective strip. In this way the foam 8 is glued both to the peripheral edge 2 of the lens 1 and against the plane face 5 or the concave face of said lens 1. This foam 8 may also be made from an elastomer material, in order to confer on it elastic deformation properties. Moreover, in some embodiments there may be no adhesive material applied against the peripheral zone 9, the peripheral zone 9 being in contact only with a foam support 8 formed by the plane extension 20. The presence of the plane extension makes it possible for example to protect the sharp edge of the concave face against impact and/or to assist with the placement of the protective strip 6 around the lens.

[0103] Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a method of packaging the lens 1 comprises the following steps: [0104] a step of manipulation of the lens 1 with the protective strip 6 attached by means of said strip 6. In this way, a person manipulating the lens 1 by means of the protective strip 6 is not liable to leave fingerprints on said lens 1 that could affect possible surface treatment of said lens 1. [0105] a step of insertion of the lens 1 in an envelope 10 delimited by two faces 11, 12 joined to one another by a flexible connecting wall 13. These two faces 11, 12 can pivot one relative to the other by at least a few degrees around the connecting wall 13 to go from a closed position in which they are in contact with one another to a maximum open position in which they form between them a maximum angle of 30. This envelope 10 is preferably made from a cellulose-based material such as for example paper or cardboard, said envelope 10 being partially covered by a plastic reinforcing film. This insertion of the lens 1 is effected between the two faces 11, 12 of the envelope 10 so that each of said faces 11, 12 is located facing a face 3, 5 of the lens 1. At the moment of this insertion, the two faces 11, 12 of the envelope are spread apart. In an alternative embodiment, the connecting wall 13 may feature pleats and be like a bellows able to be deployed to increase its thickness. [0106] a step of placing said lens 1 in said envelope 10 so that the protective strip 6 prevents any contact between the flexible face 11 of the envelope 10 situated facing the convex face 3 of the lens 1 and said convex face 3. The protective strip 6 plays the role of a spacer physically separating the convex face 3 of the lens 1 and the flexible wall 11 of the envelope 10 so as to prevent any direct contact between these two elements. [0107] a step of closing the envelope 10 enclosing the assembly consisting of the lens 1 and the protective strip 6 fastened to said lens 1. Actually, one wall 11 of said walls 11, 12 of the envelope 10 is extended relative to the other wall 12 so that it can be folded over the latter in order to close the envelope 10 enclosing the lens 1. It is to be noted that the two faces 11, 12 of the envelope can also have some flexibility and be slightly deformable.

[0108] For other envelopes, the walls 11, 12 may be adapted to move away from or toward one another by means other than rotation, for example by translation.

[0109] On completion of this packaging method, the lens 1 is placed under optimum transportation conditions.