Patent ID: 7078074

Claim:
A method for treating the surface of optical lenses, said method comprising the steps of: (A) providing a plasma coating system comprising a coating chamber including a pair of spaced apart electrodes disposed therein, an entry chamber upstream from the coating chamber, and an exit chamber downstream from the coating chamber, wherein the entry chamber includes an entry hold chamber adjacent to the coating chamber, wherein the exit chamber includes an exit hold chamber adjacent to the coating chamber, wherein each of the coating chamber, the entry hold chamber, and the exit hold chamber, independent of each other, is in communication both with a negative pressure source and with a source of a plasma gas; (B) preparing the coating chamber for coating the optical lenses, wherein the step of preparing the coating chamber comprises (i) filling the coating chamber with the plasma gas, (ii) constantly maintaining the plasma gas in the coating chamber at a process pressure by using the negative pressure and plasma gas sources of the coating chamber, and (iii) maintaining a predetermined electric potential at each said electrode so that a plasma cloud of said plasma gas is established between said electrodes; (C) moving a lens into said entry hold chamber; (D) sealing and vacuuming the entry hold chamber with the lens for a period of time; (E) bringing said entry hold chamber to said process pressure by filing it with said plasma gas; (F) bringing said entry hold chamber into communication with said coating chamber; (G) moving said first lens from said entry hold chamber into said coating chamber and through said plasma cloud; (H) introducing said plasma gas into said exit hold chamber until reaching said process pressure; (I) bring the exit hold chamber in communication with the coating chamber; (J) moving said first lens from said coating chamber to said exit hold chamber, (K) repeating the steps from step (C) to step (J) for each lens to be treated, wherein the method is characterized in that the coating chamber is not depressurized and pressurized repeatedly.