Contact lens dispensing apparatus

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 61/677,194 entitled “A Novel Lamina Emergent Mechanism” and filed on 30 Jul. 2012 for Larry L. Howell, Spencer P. Magleby, Holly C. Greenberg and Samuel E. Wilding. The foregoing application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to contact lens storage and dispensing devices.

2. Description of the Related Art

Currently available contact lens dispensing devices typically require a user to touch the contact lens multiple times previous to placing the contact lens upon the eye. Each point and instance of contact with the user may transfer bacteria or germs from the epidermis of the user to the contact lens and thereby increase the risk of infection to the eye. What is needed is a low-cost device to dispense a contact lens that reduces the number of times that a user is required to touch a contact lens previous to placing the contact lens upon the eye.

The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available contact lens dispensing devices and methods. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to provide an apparatus for dispensing a contact lens that overcomes many of the shortcomings in the art.

As detailed below, a contact lens dispensing apparatus may include a container for storing a contact lens with a lid that removably seals the container. The apparatus may also include a cradle that cradles a contact lens and a lifting mechanism connected to the cradle and the lid. The lifting mechanism may lift the cradle from a storage position within the container to a dispensing position above the container in response to opening the lid of the container.

In one embodiment, the container is a bowl with a foil lid. The bowl and foil lid may collectively form a blister pack with a contact lens enclosed therein. The lid may protect the contact lens from foreign matter including bacteria while the contact lens is stored in the container.

The lifting mechanism may include a number of links and hinge points that facilitate translational movement of the cradle relative to the container. The hinge points may comprise living hinges made of the same material as the links connected thereto. The lifting mechanism and the cradle may collectively comprise a laminar emergent mechanism that is integrally formed from a planar sheet of material such as a sheet of plastic material.

The cradle may cradle a contact lens placed thereon and include a void that enables a user to slide the contact lens off of the cradle by contacting the lens through the void with an index finger, or the like, on the non-eye side of the lens when the cradle is in the dispensing position.

The present invention provides a variety of advantages. It should be noted that references to features, advantages, or similar language within this specification does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the invention.

The aforementioned features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.

To enable the advantages of the invention to be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 a and 1 b are cross-sectional side view illustrations depicting one embodiment of a contact lens dispensing apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view illustration of a laminar mechanism of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustration depicting one embodiment of a contact lens dispensing apparatus of the present invention.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

FIGS. 1 a and 1 b are cross-sectional side view illustrations depicting one embodiment of a contact lens dispensing apparatus 100 of the present invention. As depicted, the apparatus 100 includes a container 110 with a lid 120 , a cradle 130 , a lifting mechanism 140 , and a contact lens 150 . FIG. 1 a shows the lifting mechanism 140 in a storage position 140 a while FIG. 1 b shows the lifting mechanism in a dispensing position 140 b.

In the depicted embodiment, the container 110 is a bowl with a foil lid 120 that covers the bowl. The depicted bowl 110 and foil lid 120 collectively comprise a blister pack 160 . The lid 120 may removably seal the container 110 and protect the contact lens from foreign matter including bacteria. In the depicted embodiment, the blister pack 160 and the foil lid 120 comprise peeling tabs 122 and 162 that facilitate removal of the lid 120 .

The cradle 130 may cradle a contact lens placed thereon and enable a user to slide the contact lens off of the cradle with an index finger or the like (not shown) placed below the cradle 130 when the lifting mechanism 140 is in the dispensing position 140 b.

As shown in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b , the lifting mechanism 140 may include a number of links 142 and hinge points 144 that facilitate translational movement of the cradle relative to the container 110 . Furthermore, the lifting mechanism may be connected to the cradle and the lid in a manner that causes the lifting mechanism 140 to lift the cradle 130 from a storage position 130 a within the container 110 to a dispensing position 130 b above the container in response to opening the lid 120 of the container 110 . The lifting mechanism may be configured to provide a minimal clearance 170 a and a vertical clearance 170 b that is sufficient for most individuals to insert an index finger between the container 110 and the cradle 130 and/or the contact lens 150 . In one embodiment, the minimal clearance 170 a and the vertical clearance 170 b are greater than 12 mm.

In certain embodiments, the hinge points 144 comprise living hinges made of the same material as the links 142 connected thereto. In some embodiments, the links 142 have lengths that correspond to a dyad four-bar or a parallel four-bar. The lifting mechanism 140 and the cradle 130 may collectively comprise a laminar emergent mechanism that is integrally formed from a planar sheet of material such as a sheet of plastic material.

FIG. 2 is a top view illustration of one specific embodiment of a laminar mechanism 200 of the present invention. As depicted, the laminar mechanism 200 includes a cradle 130 , a lifting mechanism 210 , one or more attachment pads 220 , and a rim 230 . The laminar mechanism is an emergent mechanism that may be leveraged within the contact lens dispensing apparatus 100 .

The cradle 130 , the lifting mechanism 210 , the attachment pads 220 and the rim 230 may be integrally formed from a planar sheet of material such as a plastic. The cradle 130 may include a void 132 that enables a user to make contact with the non-eye (bottom) side of a lens placed on the cradle 130 . As depicted, the lifting mechanism 210 includes a number of links 142 with hinge points 144 that enable the mechanism 210 to move in response to movement of the attachment pads 220 (e.g. in an out of the page) relative to the rim 230 . The rim 230 may be attached to a container such as the container 110 . Movement of the attachment pads 220 can also cause the cradle 130 to move to a storage position or a dispensing position similar to what is shown in FIG. 1 .

In the depicted embodiment, the hinge points 144 comprise living hinges made of the same material as the links 142 connected thereto. In some embodiments, the links have lengths r that correspond to a dyad four-bar or a parallel four-bar.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustration depicting one specific embodiment of a contact lens dispensing apparatus 300 of the present invention. As depicted, the apparatus 300 includes a container 310 with a peeling tab 315 , a lid 320 with a peeling recess 325 , a cradle 330 with a void 332 , a lifting mechanism 340 and a rim 350 . The apparatus 300 is shown in a dispensed state where a user has peeled away the lid from the container 310 and moved the cradle 330 to a dispensing position via the lifting mechanism 340 .

In the depicted embodiment, the container 310 is a bowl with a lid 320 that covers the bowl when the apparatus is in a storage state (not shown). The lid 320 may comprise a foil. The container 310 and the lid 320 collectively comprise a blister pack 350 shown in an opened state. While the apparatus 300 is in the storage state the lid 320 may removably seal the container 310 and protect the contact lens from foreign matter including bacteria. In the depicted embodiment, the peeling tab 315 and peeling recess 325 facilitate peeling the lid 320 away from the container 310 .

As depicted, the lifting mechanism 340 may include a number of links 342 and hinge points 344 that facilitate translational movement of the cradle 330 relative to the container 310 . In the depicted embodiment, the hinge points 344 comprise living hinges made of the same material as the links 342 connected thereto. The links may have lengths that correspond to a dyad four-bar or a parallel four-bar.

The cradle 330 and the lifting mechanism 340 may be encompassed by a rim 350 . The rim 350 may be attached to the container 310 and provide a base for the lifting mechanism 340 . The depicted rim 350 , lifting mechanism 340 and cradle 330 collectively comprise a laminar emergent mechanism that is integrally formed from a planar sheet of material such as a sheet of plastic material.

In response to peeling the foil lid 320 away from the container 310 , the lifting mechanism 340 may complete the translation movement of the cradle 330 to the shown dispensing position. Once the cradle is in the dispensing position a user may remove a contact lens for placement upon an eye by touching the non-eye side of a lens through the void 332 and sliding the lens off of the cradle 330 .

The present invention provides a low-cost device to dispense a contact lens that reduces the number of times that a user is required to touch a contact lens previous to placing the contact lens upon the eye. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.