Programmable smooth junctions on lenses
US5650838A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 4, 1995 |
| Grant date | Jul 22, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 4, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02C7/047
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Programmable smooth junctions are provided for lenses and molds therefor, particularly for toric lens designs, which enable a numerically controlled (NC) machine to be programmed to machine smooth junctions or transitions between adjacent regions of a lens which have different thicknesses or radii of curvature. First and second mathematical functions f(a) and f(b) are defined which specify the curves of first and second segments of a lens surface. The slope dy/dx is derived of the first and second mathematical functions f(a) and f(b) at the transition between the first and second segments of the lens surface. A mathematical function is defined which describes a desired transition between the first and second segments of the lens. The first and second mathematical functions f(a) and f(b), the derived slopes dy/dx of the first and second mathematical functions f(a) and f(b), and the mathematical function describing the desired transition are then utilized to program a numerically controlled machine to machine the first and second segments of the lens surface and the desired transition between the first and second segments.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.