AUTOMATION APPARATUS FOR HYDRATING ONLY THE ONE SURFACE OF SOFT CONTACT LENS WITHIN PACKAGE CARRIER AND METHOD THEREFOR

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a high production speed in a hydration stage for soft contact lenses by providing the apparatus with robot assemblies which take contact lens molds out of a carrier and assemble the molds together with mold carriers and plural lens hydrating means, thereby forming the hydration carrier. SOLUTION: The first robot assembly within a dotted line enclosure 12 transfers the contact lens molds and contact lenses from the mold pallet on a production line conveyor 11 to the lens mold carrier of a staging region 24 by the movement in an X-axis direction and arranges the lens molds to the lens mold carrier plate by the stroke in a Z-axis direction. The first robot assembly in a dotted line enclosure 14 executes the return stroke in a Y-axis direction to arrange the upper chamber plate on the assembly of the lens molds and carrier plate, thereby forming the hydration assembly. Next, the hydration assembly advances into the extraction line of a dotted line enclosure 20 and washing and extraction are carried out while the assembly moves in the Z direction.