Patent ID: 7833442

Claim:
A method for optically coating an injection molded thermoplastic lens that resides in an injection molding machine oriented to a horizontal parting line, comprising the steps of: injecting molten thermoplastic resin into an edge-gated lens-forming cavity of an injection molding machine held closed under a primary clamp force; opening the mold at a time when the lens is rigid enough to retain its shape; depositing an unpressurized full metered charge of liquid coating onto the center of the lens; and co-molding the coating by ramping up the clamp force from zero to a secondary clamp force not greater than the primary clamp force to compress the liquid coating into a uniformly thick, fringe-free layer within the same lens-forming cavity volume, wherein the liquid coating thermally cures from the heat of the solidifying lens and the injection mold to form an optically transparent coating.