TREATMENT CONTAINER FOR ACCOMMODATING AN OPHTHALMIC LENS AND CONTAINER PLATE

Abstract

A treatment container (1) for accommodating an ophthalmic lens (2) comprises a bottom (3), a side wall (4) surrounding the bottom (3) and together with the bottom (3) forming a cavity (5) for accommodating the ophthalmic lens, a container opening (6) arranged opposite to the bottom (3), and a fluid opening (7) arranged in the bottom (3) or in the side wall (4) of the treatment container (1). The fluid opening (7) is in fluid communication with the cavity (5). The treatment container (1) further comprises a fluid conveyance channel (8) and a supply connector (9). The fluid conveyance channel (8) is connected to the fluid opening (7) so as to be in fluid communication with the fluid opening (7). The fluid conveyance channel (8) is further connected to the supply connector (9) so as to be in fluid communication with the supply connector (9), to allow for introducing a liquid into the cavity (5) or for removing a treatment liquid from the cavity (5) through the supply connector (9), the conveyance channel (8) and the fluid opening (7).

Claims

1. Treatment container (1) for accommodating an ophthalmic lens (2), in particular a contact lens such as a hard or soft contact lens, or an intraocular lens, the treatment container (1) comprising a bottom (3), a side wall (4) surrounding the bottom (3) and together with the bottom (3) forming a cavity (5) for accommodating the ophthalmic lens (2), a container opening (6) arranged opposite to the bottom (3), and a fluid opening (7) arranged in the bottom (3) or in the side wall (4) of the treatment container (1), the fluid opening (7) being in fluid communication with the cavity (5), the treatment container (1) further comprising a fluid conveyance channel (8) and a supply connector (9), wherein the fluid conveyance channel (8) is connected to the fluid opening (7) so as to be in fluid communication with the fluid opening (7), and wherein the fluid conveyance channel (8) is further connected to the supply connector (9) so as to be in fluid communication with the supply connector (9), to allow for introducing a treatment liquid into the cavity (5) or for removing a treatment liquid from the cavity (5) through the supply connector (9), the conveyance channel (8) and the fluid opening (7).

2. Treatment container (1) according to claim 1, wherein a surface of the bottom (3) that faces towards the cavity (5) is concavely shaped.

3. Treatment container (1) according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the treatment container (1) has a rim (10) at one end of the side wall (4) arranged at the container opening (6), the rim (10) being arranged in a plane and surrounding the container opening (6), and wherein the fluid opening (7) is arranged, at least in part, in the bottom (3) of the container at a location in the cavity (5) which is arranged most distally from the plane in which the rim (10) surrounding the container opening (6) is arranged.

4. Treatment container (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a surface of the bottom (3) that faces towards the cavity (5) comprises a structure (9) facing the interior of the cavity (5), to allow for uniform wetting of the ophthalmic lens (2).

5. Treatment container (1) according to claim 4, wherein the structure comprises one or more grooves (11) arranged in the bottom surface, in particular four grooves arranged at 90 or eight grooves arranged at 45 relative to one another when viewed in a circumferential direction of the container, and meeting at an intersection (12) located centrally in the bottom surface.

6. Treatment container (1) according to claim 5, wherein the fluid opening (7) is connected, at least in part, to one of the one or more grooves (11) arranged in the bottom surface so as to be in fluid communication with the one of the one or more grooves (11), to allow for introduction and/or removal of the treatment liquid.

7. Container plate (13) comprising a plurality of treatment containers (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. Container plate (13) according to claim 7, wherein the supply connectors (9) of two or more treatment containers (1) of the plurality of treatment containers (1) together form a common supply connector (9), and wherein the fluid openings (7) of the two or more treatment containers (1) are in fluid communication with the common supply connector (9) via the conveyance channels (8) of the two or more treatment containers (1), for concurrently introducing a treatment liquid into or concurrently removing a treatment liquid from the two or more treatment containers (1) which are in fluid communication with the common supply connector (9).

9. Container plate (13) according to claim 8, wherein the common supply connector (9) is configured to receive a supply pipe, in particular a suction pipe (14) from a liquid aspirator.

10. Container plate (13) according to claim 9, wherein the container plate (13) has a plate bottom (15) and a plate top surface (16), and wherein each of the supply connectors (9) has a supply pipe receiving opening (17) which is arranged at the plate top surface (16) opposite to the plate bottom (15).

11. Container plate (13) according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the plurality of treatment containers (1) are integrally formed with the container plate (13), so that the container plate (13) including the plurality of treatment containers (1) is made from one piece, thus forming a monolithic container plate.

12. Container plate (13) according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of treatment containers (1), the liquid conveyance channels (8) and the supply connectors (9) are formed during injection molding of the monolithic container plate (13), by a deep drawing process or by milling a bulk plate.

13. Container tray (18) comprising a container plate (13) according to any one of claims 7 to 12, and a container plate frame (19) holding the container plate (13) and having fixtures adapted to cooperate with corresponding fixtures of a production facility.

14. Method for treatment of an ophthalmic lens (2), in particular a contact lens such as a hard or soft contact lens, or an intraocular lens, with a treatment liquid, the method comprising the steps of: providing a container plate (13) according to any one of claims 7 to 13, introducing ophthalmic lenses (2) into the cavities (5) of the treatment containers (1) of the container plate (13), filling the treatment containers (1) with a treatment liquid either through the container openings (6) or through the fluid openings (7), removing the treatment liquid through the fluid openings (7), either after a predetermined time during which the ophthalmic lenses (2) are exposed to the treatment liquid or during filling the treatment containers (1) with the treatment liquid, optionally repeating the steps of filling the treatment containers (1) with the treatment liquid and removing the treatment liquid in accordance with a predetermined treatment scheme to complete a treatment cycle, and removing the ophthalmic lenses (2) from the cavities (5) of the treatment containers (1).

15. Method according to claim 14, wherein the treatment containers (1) are rinsed with a rinsing liquid between two subsequent treatment cycles.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0068] Further details and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments of the invention with the aid of the drawings, in which:

[0069] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a single treatment container according to the invention;

[0070] FIG. 2 shows a portion of an embodiment of the container plate according to the invention;

[0071] FIG. 3 shows the embodiment of the container plate of FIG. 2 immediately prior to the step of removing a liquid from a treatment container of the container plate using a suction pipe;

[0072] FIG. 4 shows a partially sectional view of the container plate of FIG. 3 during removal of the liquid with the aid of the suction pipe; and

[0073] FIG. 5 shows a container tray according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] As used in this specification, the term treatment liquid or treatment liquids comprises any type of liquid to which the ophthalmic lens, in particular a contact lens such as a soft contact lens or an intraocular lens, may be exposed during a contact lens manufacturing process, and include in particular liquids influencing the physical or chemical properties of the lens. Without being exhaustive, such treatment liquids may comprise extraction liquids, rinsing liquids, coating liquids or any other type of liquid, and in particular also may comprise water.

[0075] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a single treatment container 1 of the present invention accommodating a contact lens 2. For the following description, a contact lens 2 is an example of and represents the ophthalmic lens. The treatment container 1 may be cylindrical and has a bottom 3 on the surface of which the contact lens 2 rests, as well as a side wall 4 whichtogether with the bottom 3forms a cavity 5 of the treatment container 1. The treatment container 1 has a container opening 6 arranged at the upper end of the container opposite to the bottom 3 of the treatment container 1 which is surrounded by a rim 10 formed at the upper end of the side wall 4. The contact lens 2 can be introduced or removed through the container opening 6, for example with the aid of a gripper.

[0076] The treatment container 1 additionally comprises a fluid opening 7, a fluid conveyance channel 8 and a supply connector 9 for introducing a liquid into or removing a liquid from the cavity 5. The fluid opening 7 is in fluid communication with the lowest point of the cavity 5 and with the fluid conveyance channel 8. The fluid conveyance channel 8 is connected to the supply connector 9 to which a supply pipe from the facility may be connected for supplying treatment liquid to the treatment container 1, or for supplying vacuum to remove the treatment liquid from the treatment container 1.

[0077] In the bottom surface of the treatment container 1, a star-shaped structure is embedded in the bottom surface for enhancing the uniform wetting of the contact lens 2. The individual elements of the star-shaped structure meet at a centrally located intersection 12 in the bottom surface.

[0078] Lenses can be introduced into and removed from the treatment container 1 with the aid of a conventional gripper (not shown). For introduction of a lens into the treatment container 1, the gripper with the lens attached thereto is moved downwardly into the cavity 5 of the treatment container 1 and towards the bottom 3 of the treatment container 1. Once the gripper has released the lens and has been retracted, the treatment steps may start.

[0079] Similarly, for removal of the lens from the containment element, the lens can be gripped by the gripper and can then be removed from the treatment container 1.

[0080] FIG. 2 shows a portion of an embodiment of a container plate 13 having a plurality of treatment containers 1. The bottom surfaces are convex and the cavities 5 of the treatment containers 1 are cup-shaped for optimal accommodation of the contact lens. The structure in the bottom surface of the treatment container 1 comprises eight grooves 11 which are arranged at 45 relative to one another. One of these grooves 11 is connected via the fluid conveyance channel 8 to the supply connector 9.

[0081] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the monolithic container plate is made from a bulk PTFE block by a milling process. In particular the cup-shaped treatment containers 1 (concave bottom), the eight grooves 11, the fluid conveying channels 8 and the supply connector 9 of each of the treatment containers 1 are formed in the PTFE block during the milling process. The eight grooves 11 are connected to the fluid opening 7 of the respective treatment container 1 at the lowermost location of the treatment container (i.e. the fluid opening 7 is arranged a location most distally from the plane in which the rim 10 surrounding the respective container opening 6 is arranged).

[0082] The supply connector 9 has a cylindrical shape and is arranged vertically between a plate bottom 15 and a plate top surface 16 of the container plate 13. The walls of the supply connector 9 comprise two vertically arranged slots extending from the plate bottom 15 to the plate top surface 16 where a supply pipe receiving opening 17 is arranged. These slots connect the supply connector 9 with the conveyance channels 8 and with a groove 11 of each of the two adjacently arranged treatment containers 1, so that supply connector 9 forms a common supply connector for the two adjacently arranged treatment containers 1. The connection of two adjacently arranged treatment containers 1 to the common supply connector 9 allows for the concurrent supply of treatment liquid to the two adjacently arranged treatment containers 1, as well as for concurrent vacuum removal of the treatment liquid from these two containers 1.

[0083] This connection of two adjacently arranged treatment containers 1 to a common supply connector 9 can be seen best when glancing at FIG. 4. One groove 11 of each of the two adjacently arranged treatment containers 1 is in fluid communication with the common supply connector 9 via the corresponding fluid conveyance channel 8. The respective groove 11 of each treatment container 1 extends through the wall of and into the vertical common supply connector 9 and serves as the fluid opening 7 of the treatment containers 1. The extension of the groove 11 through the wall and into the common supply connector 9 forms the fluid conveyance channel 8.

[0084] The set-up of the grooves and their respective extension into a supply connector may of course also be used when one treatment container is connected to only one supply connector (i.e. each container has its own supply connector). However, it may also be used in case more than two treatment containers 1 are connected to a common supply connector.

[0085] In the present embodiment, the pair-wise arrangement of treatment containers 1 connected to a common supply connector 9 is repeated over the whole container plate 13 having a total of forty treatment containers 1, so that twenty pairs of treatment containers 1 are pair-wise in fluid communication and connected to twenty common supply connectors 9. Hence, the treatment liquids may be individually composed for up to 20 pairs of contact lenses simultaneously in the corresponding treatment containers 1.

[0086] In FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the common supply connector 9 is shown in the liquid removal mode, i.e. when a suction pipe 14 (a supply pipe supplying vacuum) from the facility is connected or about to be connected to the common supply connector 9 through the supply pipe receiving opening 17. The suction pipe 14 (see FIG. 3) is inserted through the supply pipe receiving opening 17 into the supply connector 9 until its pipe opening is located a short distance above the plate bottom 15 which also forms the bottom of the common supply connector 9 (see FIG. 4). Upon applying vacuum, the treatment liquid contained in the cavities 5 of the treatment containers 1 is allowed to flow out of the two adjacently arranged treatment containers 1 into the suction pipe 14. In this arrangement, up to twenty suction pipes 14 may be inserted into the corresponding twenty supply connectors 9 for concurrent removal of treatment liquids.

[0087] FIG. 5 shows a container tray 18 in which a container plate 13 comprising twenty pairs of treatment containers 1 (similar to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4) is framed by a container plate frame 19. The container plate frame 19 comprises fixtures which allow the container tray to cooperate with corresponding fixtures on the production facility.

[0088] In one embodiment, the method for treatment of a contact lens 2 (representing an ophthalmic lens) is as follows:

[0089] The contact lens 2 is introduced into the cavity 5 (i.e. into the container 1) by a gripper that transports the ophthalmic lens 2 from a production line to the treatment station comprising a container plate 13. Generally, a plurality of grippers simultaneously transports a plurality of ophthalmic lenses from the production line to the treatment station. For constructional design reasons, it may be advantageous to place a contact lens only into every second treatment container 1 in a first step, and to place a contact lens into the remaining (empty) treatment containers 1 in a second step. Once a contact lens has been placed into all desired treatment containers 1 the treatment cycle may start.

[0090] For this purpose, treatment liquid is introduced, with the aid of a precision dosing system, into each treatment container 1 as desired from above the container plate 13, for example through the corresponding container opening 6. The dosing system is brought in alignment with the container plate and the dosing step of the treatment liquids may proceed. Alternatively, the container plate 13 may be moved to a dosing station for the same purpose.

[0091] After a predetermined treatment time, the treatment liquid is removed through the application of suction. To this end, a plurality of suction pipes 14 connected to a liquid aspirator are moved over the container plate 13, and the individual suction pipes 14 are introduced into the corresponding supply connectors 9 of the container plate 13 through the supply pipe receiving openings 17. Alternatively, the container plate 13 may be moved to a suction station for the same purpose. The vacuum may be applied before the suction pipes 14 are introduced into the supply connectors 9, while being introduced into the supply connectors 9, or after being introduced into the supply connectors 9.

[0092] The steps of introducing treatment liquids, the treatment time and the removal of the treatment liquid may be repeated, if necessary, according to a predefined treatment scheme. In case only one treatment step is required, the treatment cycle may be completed after only one treatment step.

[0093] After the treatment cycle is completed, the grippers remove the contact lenses 2 from the cavities 5 of the treatment containers 1 in the container plate 13 and transport the contact lenses 2 to the next station in the manufacturing line. For example, the next step may be the inspection of the contact lenses 2. The container plate 13 may be inspected between two treatment cycles in order to check whether all treatment containers 1 in the container plate 13 are empty so that the container plate 13 is ready for the next cycle.

[0094] In order to achieve a constant high quality, each treatment container 1 of the container plate 13 may be rinsed with deionized water between two treatment cycles.

[0095] The treatment container according to the invention can be used in a fully automated production processes for ophthalmic lenses, in particular lenses such as (soft) contact lenses or intraocular lenses. The treatment container is simple in construction and capable of being reproducibly manufactured in mass production processes, for example by injection molding, by a deep drawing process or by a process of milling a block.

[0096] While embodiments of the invention have been described with the aid of the drawings, various changes, modifications, and alternatives are conceivable without departing from the teaching underlying the invention. Therefore, the invention is not intended to be limited to the described embodiments but rather is defined by the scope of the appended claims.