US Patent 7380418 Continuous forming system for producing lenses

A continuous glass forming system includes a forming room and at least one forming unit which is advanced successively through a first loading/unloading station, a first heating station, a first forming station, and a first cooling station which are provided within the forming room. The forming unit includes lower and upper mold units, and a sleeve member removably assembled between the lower and upper mold units. The lower and upper mold units have respective first and second forming faces to form a glass blank into a lens. The sleeve member has support faces to support respectively the glass blank and lens. A transfer device moves into or out of the forming room to load or unload the sleeve member into or from the forming unit.