Coating system for coating an optical substrate, method thereof and coated optical substrate

{
  "publication_number": "US12103325B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Coating system for coating an optical substrate, method thereof and coated optical substrate",
  "abstract": "A coating system (10) for coating an optical substrate has an identification apparatus (40) configured for identifying an orientation of at least one mark on a surface of the optical substrate; a coating apparatus (30) configured to apply at least one coating material on at least a portion of the optical substrate in a predetermined pattern by a controlled deposition of the at least one coating material in an atomized droplet form; and a robotic placement arm (80) configured to move the optical substrate from the identification apparatus (40) to the coating apparatus (30) and position the optical substrate at a predetermined orientation relative to the coating apparatus (30) based on the orientation of the at least one mark. The coating system (10) may have a second coating apparatus, such as a spin coating apparatus.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A coating system for coating an optical substrate, the coating system comprising: an identification apparatus configured for identifying an orientation of at least one mark on a top surface or a bottom surface of an optical substrate; a first coating apparatus configured to apply at least one coating material on at least a portion of the top surface of the optical substrate in a predetermined pattern by a controlled deposition of the at least one coating material in an atomized droplet form; a second coating apparatus, wherein the second coating apparatus is a spin coating apparatus; and a placement arm configured to move the optical substrate from the identification apparatus to the first coating apparatus and position the optical substrate at a predetermined orientation relative to the first coating apparatus based on the orientation of the at least one mark, wherein the placement arm is further configured to move the optical substrate from the identification apparatus to a rotatable chuck of the second coating apparatus.",
    "2. The coating system of claim 1, wherein the identification apparatus comprises at least one sensor for determining the orientation of the at least one mark.",
    "3. The coating system of claim 2, wherein the at least one sensor is an optical sensor.",
    "4. The coating system of claim 1, wherein the identification apparatus comprises a backlit table.",
    "5. The coating system of claim 1, wherein the placement arm moves the optical substrate to the predetermined orientation.",
    "6. The coating system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the identification apparatus moves to assist in positioning the optical substrate to the predetermined orientation.",
    "7. The coating system of claim 1, wherein the first coating apparatus is a piezo-electric inkjet coating apparatus or a thermal inkjet printing apparatus.",
    "8. The coating system of claim 1, wherein the first coating apparatus comprises one or more cartridges filled with the at least one coating material.",
    "9. The coating system of claim 1, further comprising at least one curing station, where each curing station is independently configured to at least partially cure at least one coating material applied to the optical substrate.",
    "10. The coating system of claim 9, wherein each curing station independently comprises at least one of (i) a thermal curing station; (ii) a UV curing station; (iii) an IR curing station; and (iv) combinations of at least two of (i), (ii), and (iii).",
    "11. The coating system of claim 1, further comprising a washing and drying station, wherein the washing and drying station is configured to selectively wash and dry each optical substrate, and wherein the washing and drying station is accessible by the placement arm.",
    "12. The coating system of claim 1, further comprising a pre-treatment station, wherein the pre-treatment station is configured for raising wettability of the optical substrate to promote adhesion of the at least one coating material with the optical substrate, and wherein the pre-treatment station is accessible by the placement arm."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for coating an optical article. In particular, the present invention relates to an inkjet coater for applying a coating to the optical article and a method of using the inkjet coater to coat the optical article.\n\nInkjet coating processes and associated inkjet coating machines, generally called inkjet coaters, are typically used to provide a uniform coating on a substrate. Inkjet coating processes have been used to form coated substrates, such as lenses, including optical lenses. With certain optical lenses, special care must be taken with regard to the orientation of the optical lens relative to the coating machine. For example, when applying gradient coatings to progressive optical lenses having parts with different focal lengths or optical lenses having finished edges, the orientation of the lens relative to a direction in which the gradient coating is applied is important. The gradient coating effect provides a functional advantage in that the optical lens generally has a higher color density at the top of the lens for improved distance viewing with less color density at the bottom of the lens, and an aesthetic effect for fashion and style.\n\nIt would be desirable to develop a new coating system having an inkjet coating machine that can orient the optical lens in a predetermined position for applying a coating to the optical lens. It would be further desirable to develop a method of coating the optical lens using such a coating system.",
  "cpc": [
    "B41M 3/003",
    "B05D 1/005",
    "B05D 3/002",
    "B05D 3/0263",
    "B05D 3/067",
    "B05D 5/04",
    "B25J 11/0075",
    "B25J 18/00",
    "B29D 11/00317",
    "B29D 11/00432",
    "B29D 11/00865",
    "B29D 11/00884",
    "B29D 11/00923",
    "B29D 11/00951",
    "B41J 11/002",
    "B41J 11/00218",
    "B41J 2/01",
    "B41J 2/14016",
    "B41J 2/14201",
    "B41J 2203/01",
    "B41J 29/393",
    "B41J 3/407",
    "B41M 5/0047"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "B41J 11/00",
    "B41J 2/14",
    "B41J 29/393",
    "B41J 3/407",
    "B41M 3/00",
    "B41M 5/00"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Transitions Optical Ltd"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "II Jerry L. Koenig"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2017-09-07",
  "publication_date": "2024-10-01",
  "grant_date": "2024-10-01",
  "priority_date": "2017-09-07",
  "application_number": "US-201716644277-A",
  "family_id": "59846575",
  "cited_by_count": 0,
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}