EYEWEAR LENS PRODUCTION BY ADDITIVE TECHNIQUES

摘要

A method that adds material selectively to a lens substrate and is used to produce a customized eyewear lens with optical power that is discernibly different from the optical power of the lens substrate. The method involves obtaining the lens substrate, calculating and generating an added material design to convert the lens substrate's optical power to a desired optical power for the customized eyewear lens, contacting the lens substrate with a bulk source of flowable radiation-polymerizable material, and irradiating the material with radiation that is controlled for wavelength range, energy and spatial distribution to polymerize the radiation-polymerizable material only in a selected area according to the added material design. The method does not require the use of external shaping structures to form the customized lens on the lens substrate, and the added material is integrally bonded to the substrate.

主权项

1. A method of producing a customized eyewear lens comprising:
a) obtaining a lens substrate comprising a first surface that will be nearest the eye when worn and a second surface that will be farthest from the eye when worn; b) calculating and generating an added material design to convert the lens substrate's optical power to a desired optical power for the customized eyewear lens, wherein the desired optical power of the customized eyewear lens is discernibly different to the unaided eye from the lens substrate's optical power; c) contacting at least a portion of at least one of the first and second surfaces of the lens substrate with a bulk source of a flowable radiation-polymerizable material; and d) irradiating the flowable radiation-polymerizable material with radiation from an irradiation assembly comprising at least one irradiating beam that is controlled for wavelength range, energy and spatial distribution to polymerize the flowable radiation-polymerizable material only in a selected area according to the added material design to form added material on the lens substrate, wherein the area of irradiation is controlled for spatial position relative to the lens substrate's surface, and wherein the added material is integrally bonded to the lens substrate; and wherein external shaping structures are not used during the steps of contacting and irradiating the flowable radiation-polymerizable material.