Lens molds with coating

Abstract

The present invention generally relates to a contact lens forming mold and to a method of producing contact lenses with higher production yield and improved quality. By coating a contact lens forming mold with a nano-structured fluorine-containing inorganic polycondensate coating solution the number of lens holes, such as voids or areas of non uniform thickness of a contact lens therein produced is substantially decreased.

1 .- 8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . A method to manufacture a contact lens comprising the steps of:
 introducing contact lens forming material in a mold, wherein the mold comprises a first mold half and a second mold half, wherein at least one of the first and second mold halves comprises a coating which decreases the wettability by a lens forming material introduced into the mold thereby retarding the spreading of the lens forming material towards the center of the mold; and   crosslinking the contact lens forming material in the mold by actinic or thermal radiation.   
     
     
         10 . A method of  claim 9  wherein the first mold and the second mold half, independent of each other, is a glass or quartz. 
     
     
         11 . A method of  claim 9 , further comprising opening the mold, transferring the contact lens in a packaging container and inspecting the lens for defects at any point during the lens manufacture. 
     
     
         12 . A method of  claim 11 , wherein the lens is manufactured in a contact lenses automated production plant. 
     
     
         13 . A method of  claim 9 , wherein the contact lens forming material is a modified polyvinyl alcohol prepolymer. 
     
     
         14 . A method of  claim 9 , wherein the coating is on the female mold half. 
     
     
         15 . A method of  claim 9 , wherein the coating is a nano-structured fluorine-containing inorganic polycondensates coating solution. 
     
     
         16 . A method of  claim 9 , wherein the coating comprises polycondensates of one or more compounds of elements M of the main groups III to V and the subgroups II to IV of the periodic system of elements, said compounds being capable of hydrolytic polycondensation, whereby in these polycondensates, at least one organic group G having at least 2 aliphatic carbon atoms to which at least one fluorine atom is bonded, is bonded to at least part of the central atoms M either directly via one of the carbon atoms or via a linking group A. 
     
     
         17 . A method of  claim 16 , wherein the element M is selected from the group consisting of silicon, aluminium, boron, tin, zirconium, titanium, vanadium and zinc. 
     
     
         18 . A method of  claim 17 , wherein the element M is silicon.