Production line control using shift registers for contact lens manufacture
US7366580B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 17, 2004 |
| Grant date | Apr 29, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 18, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02P90/02
- WIPO fieldControl
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method for controlling a production line for the manufacture and/or packaging of contact lenses which production line simultaneous by processes at least two lots, the method comprising dividing at least a portion of the production line into a series of cells through which the contact lens pass sequentially, and providing a control system comprising at least three shifts registers each containing information about each of said cells, including: (a) a location shift register which indicates whether a cell should be empty or occupied, (b) a lot data shift register which is a non-binary shift register and contains manufacturing and/or prescription data about the contact lens which should be in the cell and (c) a condition shift register which provides an indication of the condition of the product in the cell, and simultaneously indexing all of said shift registers as a lens passes down the production line from one cell to the next cell.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.