Deformable molds and methods for their use in the manufacture of ophthalmic lenses

This application is a Divisional Application of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/881,773 filed on Jun. 29, 2004, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. No. 6,830,712 granted Aug. 28, 2000.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of ophthalmic lenses. In particular, the invention provides deformable molds and methods for manufacturing ophthalmic lenses using deformable molds.

The use of ophthalmic lenses, including spectacle lenses, contact lenses, intraocular lenses, and the like for the correction of ametropia is well known. Production of the lenses requires the use of molds that impart the desired corrective characteristics onto the lens surfaces. Typically, a large inventory of molds is required corresponding to each sphere, add, and cylinder power and combinations thereof desired for the finished lens. Production and maintenance costs for the mold inventory are high. Therefore, a need exists for a mold to produce ophthalmic lenses that permits reduction of mold inventory.