EP0739598A1

EP0739598A1 - Storage device for contact lenses

Info

Publication number: EP0739598A1
Application number: EP96201177A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jan Gerber
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-04-27
Filing date: 1996-04-29
Publication date: 1996-10-30
Also published as: NL1000239C2

Abstract

Storage device (2) for contact lenses. This device comprises a holder (4) provided with a cover on both sides. A liquid-permeable, lens-bearing construction (7) is found at least at one side after the cover (8) has been swung open. This makes it possible to rinse the lens with water when it is in the storage device, without the risk of losing the lens.

The cover (8) bounding the liquid-permeable construction is preferably designed in such a way that when the storage device is closed a liquid-tight connection is obtained.

Description

The present invention relates to a storage device for contact lenses, comprising a holder which can be closed at one side with a top cover and is suitable for accommodating at least one contact lens, which holder is liquid-tight when closed and is provided with a bottom at the side opposite the cover.
Such a device is generally known in the prior art. All types of constructions have been used in the past for enclosing contact lenses inside holders.
In those cases, although there is a guarantee that the lens is accommodated perfectly inside the holder, which contains storage liquid, problems immediately arise as soon as the lens has to be taken out of the holder for placing in the eye concerned. Where hard contact lenses are used, they are received in storage liquid (usually at night), in order to maintain the quality of the lens. Before use, it is necessary to remove this stale storage liquid and then to rinse the lenses with, for example, water. It is then necessary to shake them dry and apply some storage liquid to the lens, the latter action being performed after replacing the lens in the box.
The lens is then removed from the box and placed in the eye.
It will be understood that this requires repeated handling of the lens, with a real risk of the lens being lost. There is also the problem that it is difficult to hold the lens while it is being rinsed and still ensure that it comes into contact with the rinsing liquid on all sides.
The object of the present invention is to avoid this disadvantage.
This object is achieved with a storage device described above in that the bottom comprises a liquid-permeable lens-bearing construction, and the bottom is provided with a bottom cover which closes in a liquid-tight manner.
The invention is based on the idea of providing the holder with two covers. One cover, the top cover, has the usual function where the lens is inserted or removed through it.
The second cover, the bottom cover, clears one or more outflow openings in the bottom, which openings are, on the one hand, dimensioned in such a way that a rinsing liquid can flow through the opening of the first cover onto the bottom without significant resistance but, on the other hand, the contact lens is prevented from falling out through them. In this case the lens-bearing construction is designed in such a way that the flushing liquid can reach the lens on all sides in the best possible way. All the user has to do is to open both covers and then allow the stale storage liquid to drain away. After that, the contact lens can be flushed with water. If the box is then shaken, the excess rinsing liquid is drained off. Finally, after the bottom has been closed, a small quantity of storage liquid can be applied to the lens, and only then need the lens actually be picked up by the user and placed in the eye. During the removal of the storage liquid, and the rinsing and putting in of a new quantity of storage liquid, there is no risk of the lenses being lost, while it is also ensured that the lenses are reached on all sides.
It must be understood that the terms "top cover" and "bottom cover" used above can, of course, be reversed and there is nothing to rule out the device according to the invention being used in any other position.
The bottom of the lens-bearing construction is preferably designed so that it bulges outwards. The contact lens can be placed in the bottom with the bulge in the same direction, in which case a certain centring of the contact lens towards the most bulging part of the bottom occurs automatically.
The covers can be connected to the holder in all ways known in the prior art. However, this connection is preferably hinged, in order to prevent loss of the covers when they are opened. This is extremely important because the user's eyesight can be considerably reduced during either removal or insertion of the contact lens.
The cover and the holder are preferably fixed in such a way that a liquid-tight construction is obtained. This can be obtained in a particularly effective way if the covers are snapped onto the part of the holder concerned.
According to another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the top cover can be constructed in two parts. It can consist of a construction which can be fixed to the holder, for example by means of screws, and is also provided with means for enclosing the contact lens and a cover part fitted thereon which can shut off the holder in the manner described above.
The lens can be inserted by removing the entire cover, for example by unscrewing, and this lens is accommodated inside the container by then replacing the cover. When the cover part is subsequently opened, the lens can no longer fall out, but there is still room for rinsing.
According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, with the use of a cover or cover part which interacts with a construction through which rinsing liquid can be passed, but through which the lens cannot pass, the cover part is provided with projections which project through openings in the construction concerned when it is closed and are of such height that they will bear the lens when the construction is closed. Moreover, the quantity of liquid to be used is limited through the fact that the openings are filled by the projections.
In this way optimum storage of the lens, immersed in storage liquid or otherwise, can be provided.
In order to avoid shocks to the eyelid when the contact lens is being put in, due to the lens temperature differing considerably from the body temperature, in another advantageous embodiment of the invention, temperature-indicating means are fitted in the device.
Moreover, it is possible to combine two such devices to form a storage assembly, and such devices are then preferably connected by a support.
The invention will be explained in greater detail below with reference to an exemplary embodiment shown in the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically in top view the storage assembly according to the invention;
Fig. 2 shows a part of the device according to Fig. 1 in cross-section when the various covers are open, and
Fig. 3 shows a detail of the top cover according to Figs. 1 and 2.

The assembly according to the invention is indicated in its entirety by 1 in Fig. 1. It consists of two storage devices 2 connected by a support 3. Each storage device consists of a holder 4 for the accommodation of a contact lens 5. Fitted on the holder is a top cover 6, the details of which emerge more clearly from Figs. 2 and 3. Top cover 6 consists of a cover frame 12, having fitted over the cross-section of holder 4 a liquid-permeable part 13 consisting of a plate provided with openings. Such openings are, however, smaller than the diameter of the lens to be stored, so that the lens cannot pass through said openings. The cover frame 12 is also provided with screw thread 15 which interacts with screw thread on the neck of the holder 4, as can be seen from Fig. 2. At the other side, the cover frame 12 is provided with a cover part 14, which is hingedly fixed thereto.
At the bottom side, each storage device is provided with a bottom cover 8, which is hingedly fixed and can be snapped onto the peripheral edge of the holder. After opening of cover 8, a liquid-permeable construction 7 provided with openings of such dimensions that lens 5 cannot pass through them appears. As shown in Fig. 2, the bottom cover 8 is provided with a lug 10, which can extend through a corresponding opening in construction 7 and is of such a height that it lifts the lens slightly relative to the bottom on closure thereof.
As can be seen from Fig. 1, a temperature meter 16 is fitted between the two storage devices, for recording the temperature of the liquid in the holder 4.
The device described above can be used in, for example, the following manner:
Starting from a position in which both cover part 14 and bottom cover 8 are closed on the holder, after use of his contact lens, a user can unscrew cover 6 from holder 4 and place contact lens 5 therein. Storage liquid may be added here if desired. Cover 6 can then be closed by screwing on, and a liquid-tight unit which is suitable for transportation and storage is obtained.
If the user wishes to place the lens in his eye again, he opens both cover part 14 and bottom part 8, in which case the storage liquid drains away. He then passes a rinsing liquid through the openings which have been cleared in this way. There is no risk here of the lens falling out of the holder. This is impossible.
The temperature meter 16 gives the user a good indication of the extent to which the temperature of the rinsing liquid used is such that the lens is at an optimum temperature for insertion.
After the rinsing has been completed and one of the covers has been closed, some storage liquid can be placed in the holder with the lens. The cover 6 can then be unscrewed from the container, and the lens removed and placed in the eye.
Although the invention has been described above with reference to a preferred embodiment, it must be understood that numerous modifications can be made thereto without going beyond the scope of the present invention.
For example, it is possible to fix the top cover to the holder part in ways other than by means of screw thread. It is also possible to design the storage devices as separate parts.
These and other obvious modifications are considered to lie within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

Storage device (2) for contact lenses, comprising a holder (4) which can be closed at one side with a top cover (6) and is suitable for accommodating at least one contact lens, which holder is liquid-tight when closed and is provided with a bottom at the side opposite the cover, characterized in that the bottom (7) comprises a liquid-permeable lens-bearing construction, and the bottom is provided with a bottom cover (8) which closes in a liquid-tight manner.
Device according to Claim 1, in which the bottom is designed so that it bulges outwards.
Device according to one of the preceding claims, in which at least one cover comprises a hinged cover.
Device according to one of the preceding claims, in which at least one cover is snapped onto the part of the holder concerned.
Device according to one of the preceding claims, in which the top cover comprises an assembly, consisting of a cover frame (12) which can be fixed on a holder and removed therefrom, and is liquid-permeable and confines the contact lens, and also comprises a cover part (14).
Device according to Claim 5, in which the cover part can be fitted in a liquid-tight manner relative to the frame.
Device according to one of the preceding claims, in which at least one cover or a cover part is provided with at least one raised part (10) which is of such height that when the cover or cover part is closed it projects through the lens-bearing construction or the cover frame and bounds a lug bearing the lens.
Device according to one of the preceding claims, comprising temperature-indicating means.
Storage assembly (1), comprising two devices according to Claims 1 - 7, connected by a support (3).