摘要:
An apparatus is provided for removing and transporting articles, such as contact lens sections from a manufacturing line to inspection and packaging stations. The lenses are deposited in a transparent plastic primary package which carries the lenses through the inspection station and becomes part of the primary package when a cover is sealed thereto. The invention includes various assemblies, including lens transfer assemblies, deionized water filling and removal assemblies, a water degassing assembly, a lens inspection assembly, and a lens package sealing assembly. The lenses are removed from pallets at a post hydration station, transported and spatially redistributed, and deposited in the primary packages disposed on a second set of pallets. The packages on the second set of pallets are filled with degassed deionized water. The contact lenses and packages are then transported to an inspection station. After inspection, the lenses and packages are transported to a water removal assembly, and then to another transfer assembly. This transfer assembly separates those lenses which passed inspection from those which did not, and places those that did in a consolidating assembly. The lenses and packages are then filled with saline solution and a foil label is then sealed thereto to form the primary package.
摘要:
An automated apparatus for controlling the automatic packaging of contact lenses in a contact lens fabrication facility includes: a first robotic transfer device for periodically transferring a first predetermined amount of individual packages from an inspection station to an intermediate consolidation buffer and depositing the packages on the consolidation buffer; a control device for tracking and identifying each individual contact lens conveyed from the inspection station to the consolidation buffer and including memory and logic circuits for storing the identity of individual packages containing contact lenses that have been previously determined at the inspection station as being out of specification, and, generating a signal to enable the first robotic device to discard any individual package identified as out of specification; and, a second robotic assembly for periodically transferring a second predetermined amount of individual packages from the consolidation buffer to a second processing station, the control device enabling the first robotic device to provide a sufficient amount of individual packages to the consolidation buffer to enable the second robotic assembly to continuously transfer the second predetermined amount of packages to the second processing station in every period.
摘要:
An automated apparatus for controlling the automatic packaging of contact lenses in a contact lens fabrication facility includes: a first robotic transfer device for periodically transferring a first predetermined amount of individual packages from an inspection station to an intermediate consolidation buffer and depositing the packages on the consolidation buffer; a control device for tracking and identifying each individual contact lens conveyed from the inspection station to the consolidation buffer and including memory and logic circuits for storing the identity of individual packages containing contact lenses that have been previously determined at the inspection station as being out of specification, and, generating a signal to enable the first robotic device to discard any individual package identified as out of specification; and; a second robotic assembly for periodically transferring a second predetermined amount of individual packages from the consolidation buffer to a second processing station, the control device enabling the first robotic device to provide a sufficient amount of individual packages to the consolidation buffer to enable the second robotic assembly to continuously transfer the second predetermined amount of packages to the second processing station in every period.
摘要:
An automated apparatus for controlling the automatic packaging of contact lenses in a contact lens fabrication facility includes: a first robotic transfer device for periodically transferring a first predetermined amount of individual packages from an inspection station to an intermediate consolidation buffer and depositing the packages on the consolidation buffer; a control device for tracking and identifying each individual contact lens conveyed from the inspection station to the consolidation buffer and including memory and logic circuits for storing the identity of individual packages containing contact lenses that have been previously determined at the inspection station as being out of specification, and, generating a signal to enable the first robotic device to discard any individual package identified as out of specification; and, a second robotic assembly for periodically transferring a second predetermined amount of individual packages from the consolidation buffer to a second processing station, the control device enabling the first robotic device to provide a sufficient amount of individual packages to the consolidation buffer to enable the second robotic assembly to continuously transfer the second predetermined amount of packages to the second processing station in every period.
摘要:
An interactive control system for controlling the automatic packaging of contact lenses in a contact lens fabrication facility, the interactive control system consisting of a first robot device for periodically transferring individual arrays of a first predetermined amount of discrete contact lens packages each containing a contact lens therein from a first station to an intermediate conveyor where the individual arrays are conveyed to a second station, and a controller for initiating a time stamp for each individual array transferred from the first station and determining elapsed time data for each individual array and for generating position status data indicating a good array or a bad array of defective lenses for each individual array as it is conveyed to the second station, the controller shifting the elapsed time data and position status data for each individual array as it is conveyed on the intermediate conveyor for transfer to the second station.
摘要:
A computer control system for optimizing process parameters in an automated production line for producing contact lenses. The system comprises a plurality of process controllers for controlling one or more process stations of the production line, each of the controllers regulating a plurality of process control devices that each control specific production parameters used in the automated manufacture of contact lenses at the process station(s). An automated lens inspection device automatically evaluates each contact lens produced and generates inspection data for each contact lens, and a polling device polls each of the process controllers on a frequent basis to acquire process control data for each period. Further included is a correlating device for correlating the inspection data to the process control data and the contact lens data to optimize process parameters used in the production of contact lenses. A relational database is also provided for storing the process control data, the contact lens data and the inspection data received from the correlating device.
摘要:
A production line tracking and quality control system and method thereof comprises a series of pallets for carrying one or more first contact lens mold halves or one or more complementary second contact lens mold halves throughout a contact lens fabrication facility. Each pallet of the series is transported on a conveyor device throughout the fabrication facility, and each pallet includes a unique identifying code. The fabrication facility includes one or more process stations and a control device provides real time monitoring of contact lens fabrication processes at the one or more process stations. The control device further includes a tracking device for identifying the unique code of each of the pallets at one or more process stations while continually receiving monitored process condition values at each station. For each identified pallet, the control device generates process status information for memory storage in the form of a reject flag, when the process conditions are out of predetermined limits, or, an acceptance flag indicating that process conditions are within predetermined limits. The process status information is updated when the pallets are identified and the status of each pallet is checked when entering or exiting a process station.