Patent ID: 7906047

Claim:
A method of injection molding a functionally enhanced coated thermoplastic optical lens in an injection molding machine having a horizontally oriented parting line with a metal concave insert disposed in the lower stationary mold half, wherein the insert has a base curve C and is heated to a temperature T below a thermoplastic glass transition temperature T G , comprising the steps of: depositing an unpressurized liquid coating drop onto the concave insert while the mold is open; placing a functional ophthalmic wafer having a concave side and a convex base curve C side onto the coating drop, wherein the liquid coating has a sufficiently low viscosity so that the convex base curve C side of the wafer spreads the coating in the absence of back pressure across the entire base curve C surface of the insert under the weight of the wafer; closing the mold to heat and pre-cure the coating; injecting thermoplastic resin via an edge gate onto the concave side of the wafer; and integrally forming a functionally enhanced coated optical lens by allowing the resin to cool towards T, whereby the coating is intimately bonded to the convex base curve C side of the wafer.