THERMOFORMED LIQUID CRYSTAL POLARIZED WAFERS AND METHODS OF PRODUCING

Abstract

Described herein are improved thermoformed liquid crystal polarized wafers and methods of creating, and more specifically the utilization of an improved printed polarized crystal technology and wafer adhesion technology which enables the production of a polarized wafer capable of being thermoformed without a loss of alignment precision.

Claims

1. A method for creating a transformable flat sheet wafer capable of being thermoformed into a curved sheet comprising: a. a first top flat sheet of plastic material, a second bottom sheet of plastic material; b. a printed polarized liquid crystal film coating; c. wherein the printed polarized film coating is adhered to either a bottom surface of the first top flat sheet or the top surface of the second bottom sheet of plastic material; d. wherein the polarized crystal coating is sandwiched between the first top flat sheet and the second bottom sheet; resulting in a polarized wafer; e. wherein the polarized wafer is thermoformed on a curved mandrel to produce a desired wafer curvature.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising placing the wafer inside a mold to create a fusion of the first and second plastic materials to create a single lens blank and wherein said blank is cleaned and all moisture is removed from between the first and second plastic sheets.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the process includes applying adhesion agents for securely attaching the polarized crystals to the flat sheets of plastic material which are solvent based or water based.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the process includes the application of water based adhesion agents.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the process includes either the thermotropic or lyotropic application of polarized crystals.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the process includes a lyotropic application of polarized crystals.

7. A curved polarized lens wafer comprising: a. a first top flat sheet of plastic material, a second bottom sheet of plastic material; b. a printed polarized liquid crystal film coating; c. wherein the printed polarized film coating is adhered to either a bottom surface of the first top flat sheet or the top surface of the second bottom sheet of plastic material; d. wherein the polarized crystal coating is sandwiched between the first top flat sheet and the second bottom sheet; resulting in a polarized wafer; and e. wherein the polarized wafer is thermoformed on a curved mandrel to produce a desired wafer curvature.

8. The curved polarized lens wafer of claim 7 further comprising a lyotropic polarized crystal coating.

9. The curved polarized lens wafer of claim 8 further which has been fused and processed into a lens blank for either plano or corrective lenses.

10. A curved polarized lens wafer consisting of: a. a first top flat sheet of plastic material, a second bottom sheet of plastic material; b. a printed polarized liquid crystal lyotropic film coating; c. wherein the printed polarized film coating is adhered to either a bottom surface of the first top flat sheet or the top surface of the second bottom sheet of plastic material; d. wherein the polarized crystal coating is sandwiched between the first top flat sheet and the second bottom sheet; resulting in a polarized wafer; e. wherein the polarized wafer is thermoformed on a curved mandrel to produce a desired wafer curvature; and f. wherein the curved wafer has been fused and processed into a lens blank for either plano or corrective lenses.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The principles of the present invention will be apparent with reference to the following drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like components:

[0020] FIG. 1 consists of FIGS. 1A-1F which are line drawings depicting the wafers and the embodied process of producing the wafers of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] Generally, the embodiments of the present invention comprise of better processes for creating an improved and more cost efficient polarized wafer. More specifically, starting with transparent film material and coating a layer of liquid crystals that align, creating a polarizing light. These two films are sandwiched together with the liquid crystal aligned in between the two sheets. This now creates a stack and is ready to be cut to size and then thermoformed with heat. This starts as a flat sheet and then is formed into a predetermined shape such as toric, spherical, cylinder or other optical curvatures that are known for viewing through sunglass frames.

[0022] The film is formed using a mandrel or tool to make a new shape other than flat. The wafer is then processed for injection molding such as drying to make sure there is no water inside the wafer. This is very important to make sure all moisture is free from the wafer before it can be injection molded.

[0023] The embodiments utilize a combination of liquid crystals of aligned onto sheet material. The process in includes a flat sheet material used as the substrate that will receive the liquid crystals. The polarized crystals are aligned onto the substrate which may be a plastic material such as TAC, Polycarbonate, Nylon or other forms of plastic film material. Crystals are applied to make a polarized film in colors such as grey, blue, green, yellow and other colors. These colors vary in light transmission and light spectrum.

[0024] FIG. 1A shows that the process of making a better polarized wafer begins with a first flat sheet 10 and a second flat sheet 30 of transparent plastic such as Lexan, Polycarbonate, TAC, Tri-Acetate, Polyamide, Polyurethane, Nylon, or a material alike and coating it with a Nano chemistry technology such as Lyotropic Liquid crystal 20 to create a polarizer for sun lenses. The first flat sheet 10 has a bottom surface 15 which may be coated with the liquid polarizer coating 20 and the second flat sheet 30 has a top surface 25 which may also be coated with the liquid polarizer coating 20. The polarizer liquid crystal coating 20 has a light transmission between the range of 9% to 84%. The polarizer to be used in Sunglasses, Optical Glasses for sun, Safety Glasses used in the sun and other human eye related products for polarized vision.

[0025] FIG. 1B shows the Liquid Crystal polarizer layer 20 incased between the two sheets; top sheet 10 and a bottom sheet 30 of plastic protecting the inside polarized coating 20 from damage such as scratching and other elements that could harm the optics. One side of the plastic is coated and the other sheet is laminated onto the other surface, which the coating is adhered to, which creates a sandwich or also called a wafer 40.

[0026] FIG. 1C shows an embodied wafer 40 that can be cut to any shape for left and right lens once it is laminated and protected from debris. The average shape would be rectangular or radius edges and left to right measure about 3 inches wide and 2 inches tall. This shape can vary in size due to many different sizes of eyewear plus or minus 1 inch in either direction. The top layer is plastic sheet 10 and on the back side of the sheet 15 is the liquid crystal coating or called the middle 20. No specific order is needed other than the coating 20 is protected with a top 10 and bottom 30 sheet and the coating 20 is between the two. The three parts create a bond with adhesive and become one piece of film/wafer 40 with a range of thickness between 003 thousandths to 0.090 thousandths. The assembled wafer 40 consists of a top 10 and bottom layer 30 of plastic with a liquid crystal coating 20 in the middle held together by adhesive or glue.

[0027] FIGS. 1D and 1E show the next steps in the process to shape the wafer 40 into spheric, toric, cylinder, aspheric, ellipsoid, or any shape other than the flat original shape using heat. This process is called thermoforming and uses heat to change the shape of the plastic. The plastic is brought to a certain temperature which softens and allows the wafer laminate 40 to take shape of the mandrel 50 the wafer 40 is resting on. This creates a shape other than flat or its as coated condition being flat. The embodied to bending by thermoforming a liquid crystal polarizer from a flat surface to a curved surface other than flat allows for the wafer 40 to be produced at a higher quality and in a more efficient or cost effective manner.

[0028] The resulting curve-shaped wafer 60 shown in FIG. 1F can now be used for sunglass depending on the thickness. The finalized wafer or blank can also be used in a co-injection process (not shown), wherein the thermoformed wafer is placed inside a mold and bonded with other plastic through a thermal liquid process or injection molding. This allows for the ordered polarized blank to be adapted and injection molded with other proprietary or non-proprietary lens brands to produce a finale plano or prescription lens. The curved wafer is placed into a mold that matches the wafers shape substantially. This allows the liquid plastic to bond to the back surface of the wafer. When looking through the sunglass lens, the wafer would be on the exterior and the plastic injection material would be on the back side.

[0029] Although the invention has been described with reference to the above examples, it will be understood that modifications and variations are encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is limited only by the following claims.