Electro-active ophthalmic device satisfying a prescription for 5 power correction(s), manufacturing method and use of a semi-finished hybrid lens

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12493201-B2
Application number	US-202218063770-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 9, 2022
Priority date	Dec 10, 2021
Publication date	Dec 9, 2025
Grant date	Dec 9, 2025

Abstract

An ophthalmic device satisfying a prescription for at least one power correction for a wearer, a method for manufacturing the ophthalmic device, and a method for applying a semi-finished hybrid ophthalmic lens. The ophthalmic device includes at least one electro-active cell which includes a rear shell and a front shell defining a backside surface and an opposite front surface, the shells being provided with transparent electrodes and delimiting a sealed cavity. The rear shell derives from a semi-finished hybrid ophthalmic lens including a front mineral part having a first mineral face proximal to the front shell and a second mineral face opposite to the first mineral face, and a rear plastic part attached to the front mineral part.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . An ophthalmic device intended for a wearer and satisfying a prescription for at least one power correction and astigmatism for the wearer, the ophthalmic device comprising:
at least one electro-active cell which comprises a rear shell and a front shell respectively defining for the ophthalmic device a backside surface proximal to at least one eye of the wearer and an opposite front surface, the rear shell and the front shell being provided with at least one pair of transparent electrodes and delimiting a sealed cavity, wherein the rear shell derives from a semi-finished hybrid ophthalmic lens comprising:
a front mineral part having a first mineral face proximal to the front shell and a second mineral face opposite to the first mineral face, and
a rear plastic part attached to the front mineral part, the rear plastic part having a front plastic face bonded to said second mineral face and an unsurfaced rear plastic face which defines said backside surface and is configured to impart said prescription to the ophthalmic device, after surfacing said semi-finished hybrid ophthalmic lens, and
wherein said rear plastic part comprises a thermoplastic transparent substrate which defines said front plastic face, said rear plastic part being attached to said front mineral part by being chemically bonded without adhesive therebetween, and said rear plastic part being injection molded directly over said front mineral part.

2 . The ophthalmic device according to claim 1 , wherein said front mineral part comprises a mineral glass substrate, and wherein said rear plastic part forms an ophthalmic lens blank comprises said thermoplastic transparent substrate which is based on at least one organic polymer selected from thermoplastic polymers.

3 . The ophthalmic device according to claim 2 , wherein said rear plastic part has said front plastic face which is unsurfaced.

4 . The ophthalmic device according to claim 1 , wherein
said thermoplastic transparent substrate is based on a thermoplastic polymer selected from (meth)acrylic (co)polymers, triacetate of cellulose (TAC), polyesters, copolyesters, polycarbonate (PC), cyclic olefin copolymers (COC), cyclic olefin polymers (COP), and multilayer films of at least one of these polymers, and/or of at least one of a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol (EVOH), a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), a polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE), a polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) and a polyamide (PA).

5 . The ophthalmic device according to claim 1 , wherein the rear shell is coated:
on said first mineral face, with an electrically conductive layer which forms an electrode of said at least one pair of transparent electrodes and is made of at least one of:
a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) deposited by sputtering selected from ATO (AlSnO), ATZO (AlSnZnO), AZO (AlZnO), FTO (FSnO), GZO (GaZnO), ITO (InSnO), ITZO (InSnZnO), IZO (InZnO) and mixtures thereof,
a deformable electrically conductive nanostructure comprising a metal and selected from nanomeshes, nanowires, nanotubes and nanogrids, and
a stack of a first insulator layer, a metal laver, and a second insulator layer, where the metal layer is silver, gold or copper and where the first insulator laver is equal to or different from the second insulator laver,
the second insulator layer in contact with the electrochromic composition comprising a TCO, and the first insulator layer comprising a TCO, or being a non-conductive layer configured to increase light transmission through the stack or to form a barrier layer, said electrically conductive layer comprising a high temperature ITO.

6 . The ophthalmic device according to claim 1 , wherein the front shell comprises a mineral glass substrate and has a mineral rear surface opposite to said front surface of the front shell,
wherein said mineral rear surface of the front shell which is concave and said first mineral face of the rear shell which is convex are curved with identical curvatures including at least one of a cylindrical, toric and spherical curvature, wherein the rear shell and the front shell are distant from each other by a distance of 10 μm to 400 μm, forming a gap defining said sealed cavity which is delimited at a periphery thereof by an adhesive seal.

7 . The ophthalmic device according to claim 6 , wherein the ophthalmic device forms at least one electro-active lens selected from variable-power lenses and electrochromic lenses, and includes augmented reality eyeglasses, virtual reality eyeglasses and electro-focus tunable lenses.

8 . The ophthalmic device according to claim 1 , wherein the rear shell is coated on said backside surface, with a hardcoat which is itself coated with an antireflective coating.

9 . The ophthalmic device according to claim 1 , wherein the front shell comprises a mineral glass substrate and has a mineral rear surface opposite to said front surface of the front shell,
wherein said mineral rear surface of the front shell which is concave and said first mineral face of the rear shell which is convex are curved with identical curvatures including at least one of a cylindrical, toric and spherical curvature, wherein the rear shell and the front shell are distant from each other by a distance of 20 to 250 μm, forming a gap defining said sealed cavity which is delimited at a periphery thereof by an adhesive seal.

10 . A method for manufacturing an ophthalmic device intended for a wearer and satisfying a prescription for at least one power correction and astigmatism for the wearer, the ophthalmic device comprising:
at least one electro-active cell which comprises a rear shell and a front shell respectively defining for the ophthalmic device a backside surface proximal to at least one eye of the wearer and an opposite front surface, the rear shell and the front shell being provided with at least one pair of transparent electrodes and delimiting a sealed cavity, wherein the rear shell derives from a semi-finished hybrid ophthalmic lens comprising:
a front mineral part having a first mineral face proximal to the front shell and a second mineral face opposite to the first mineral face, and
a rear plastic part attached to the front mineral part, the rear plastic part having a front plastic face bonded to said second mineral face and an unsurfaced rear plastic face which defines said backside surface and is configured to impart said prescription to the ophthalmic device, after surfacing said semi-finished hybrid ophthalmic lens, the method comprising:
a) manufacturing said semi-finished hybrid ophthalmic lens by attaching said rear plastic part having said unsurfaced rear plastic face to said front mineral part, wherein attaching said rear plastic part to said front mineral part is implemented by injection molding directly over said front mineral part, a thermoplastic transparent substrate of said rear plastic part; b) surfacing said semi-finished hybrid ophthalmic lens, to impart said prescription to said unsurfaced rear plastic face for obtaining said backside surface; and c) assembling said at least one electro-active cell by joining together the front shell and the rear shell comprising the semi-finished hybrid ophthalmic lens once surfaced.

11 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein
the thermoplastic transparent substrate of said rear plastic part is devoid of a polycarbonate.

12 . The method according to claim 10 , further comprising successively between steps b) and c):
b1) depositing a hardcoat, by spin spraying or inkjet coating, and an antireflective coating onto said backside surface, to obtain a surfaced and coated hybrid ophthalmic lens forming the

Assignees

• Essilor Int

Inventors

• Meynen Mathieu
• Uhalte Nogues Sira
• Monvoisin Antoine
• Habassi Chafik

Classifications

• G02C7/027

  considering wearer's parameters · CPC title

• G02B1/041

  Lenses · CPC title

• B29D11/00817

  Producing electro-active lenses or lenses with energy receptors, e.g. batteries or antennas · CPC title

• B29D11/00528

  Consisting of two mould halves joined by an annular gasket · CPC title

• B29D11/00413

  made by moulding between two mould parts which are not in direct contact with one another, e.g. comprising a seal between or on the edges (B29D11/00019 - B29D11/00355, B29D11/00423, B29D11/00432 take precedence) · CPC title