JP2011015836A - Contact lens case - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contact lens case capable of being more easily and properly air-dried.SOLUTION: The contact lens case comprises a case body 1, which possesses two lens storage concavities 14, and case caps 2. Each case cap 2 is linked through a hinge 26 at a location on the outside of each of the two lens storage concavities 14 of the case body 1, and is constituted to be displaced, using the linking part as a fulcrum, to a position closing the lens storage concavity 14, and to a position expanded from this position outward in the alignment direction in which the lens storage concavity 14 is open. The contact lens case is thus constituted to be able to stand alone with the case caps 2 as feet with the case body 1 supported in the air when the case caps 2 are set down in an attitude with both lens storage concavities 14 open and the case body (10) turned upside-down with these lens storage concavities 14 facing downward.

Description

  The present invention relates to a contact lens case for housing and storing contact lenses.

  Contact lenses must always be kept clean to protect the eye tissue from eye diseases caused by bacterial infections. In general, contact lens cases are washed and disinfected with a lens care agent (liquid) before going to bed, etc., and the lens is immersed in the lens care agent until the next morning. (Hereinafter abbreviated as “lens case”).

  In addition, the lens case also needs to be kept clean like the lens to prevent the propagation of germs and the transfer of germs to the lens. Keep it until next use.

  A conventional lens case is composed of a case body having two lens storage portions for storing the left and right lenses, and a case cap for closing each lens storage portion. In general, in preparation for the next use, the case main body and the case cap are separated and placed directly on a wash basin or the like for natural drying. However, in this case, there are many cases where water hardly remains between the mouth portion of the lens housing portion or the mouth portion of the case cap and the mounting surface, and drying does not easily proceed. Thus, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an auxiliary tool (case holder) that is convenient for drying such a lens case.

  This case holder is used for natural drying with the case body and cap placed face down (that is, the case body is in a state where the lens housing part is facing down, and the cap is in a state where the inner top surface is facing down). It is a stand, and is configured to be used by being attached to a mirror of a washstand using a suction cup provided in the case holder.

Registered Utility Model Publication No. 3112552

  The above case holder is convenient for cleanly drying the lens case. However, in consideration of daily use, it is complicated to prepare a lens case and a lens care agent and further to a case holder.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to allow a lens case to be naturally dried more easily and appropriately.

  The present invention for solving the above problems is a lens case including a case main body having a pair of storage recesses in which contact lenses are respectively stored, and a pair of case caps for closing the storage recesses. The pair of storage recesses open in the same direction and are provided side by side, and the pair of case caps are respectively located at positions outside the storage recesses in the direction in which the storage recesses are arranged. And is configured to be displaceable from a position that closes the storage recess using the connection portion as a fulcrum to a position where the storage recess extends from the position to the outside in the alignment direction and opens the storage recess. When each case cap is grounded with the back of the case body facing down with the storage recess open and the storage recess facing downward, the case cap Become the case body and is what is the case body and case cap so as to self-supporting in a state of being supported by the air are formed.

  More specifically, the case body has a cylindrical lens storage portion having the storage recesses on the inside, and the case cap is connected to the case body and closes the storage recess. A main body portion including an outer wall portion formed so as to be positioned on the outer peripheral surface of the lens storage portion, and a position on the opposite side of the connection portion in the arrangement direction of the storage recesses around the main body portion A contact lens case so that the contact lens case is self-supported in a state where at least one side of the outer wall portion and the flange portion of the main body portion is grounded. It is configured.

  According to such a contact lens case, the contact lens case can be made to stand by itself while being supported in the air with each storage recess for storing the contact lens facing downward, so that it is easy to use without using a dedicated case holder or the like. In addition, the contact lens case can be naturally dried satisfactorily while preventing foreign matter from entering the storage recess.

  In the above configuration, it is preferable that the contact lens case is configured to be self-supporting in a state where both the outer wall portion and the flange portion of the main body portion of the case cap are grounded.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to secure a larger ground contact area of each case cap, and it is possible to improve the self-supporting stability of the contact lens case.

  In addition, a substantially flat ground surface is formed on a portion of each case cap that is grounded when the contact lens case is self-supporting, and the ground surface of each case cap is predetermined to make the contact lens case self-supporting. It is preferable that the case caps are formed so as to be positioned on the same plane when the case caps are deployed to a predetermined deployment position.

  According to such a configuration, the contact lens case can be made self-supporting via the substantially flat ground surface, so that the self-supporting stability of the contact lens case can be further enhanced.

  In the above-described configuration, it is preferable that the portion of each case cap that is grounded when the contact lens case is self-supported is subjected to anti-slip processing.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to avoid inconveniences such as the loss of balance of the contact lens case that is self-supported due to the displacement of the case cap, and it is possible to further improve the self-supporting stability of the contact lens.

  As described above, according to the contact lens case of the present invention, the contact lens case can be made to stand by itself while being supported in the air with each storage recess for storing the contact lens facing downward. It is possible to naturally dry the contact lens case appropriately without using a case holder or the like and while preventing foreign matter from entering the recesses for storage.

1 is a plan view showing a contact lens case according to a first embodiment of the present invention (in a state where a housing recess is closed). It is a side view which shows a contact lens case (state which closed the recessed part for accommodation). It is a top view which shows a contact lens case (state which opened the recessed part for accommodation). It is sectional drawing which shows a contact lens case (state which opened the recessed part for accommodation). It is a side view which shows the use condition at the time of contact lens case drying. It is A arrow directional view of FIG. 5 which shows the use condition at the time of drying a contact lens case. It is a top view (state which closed the recessed part for storage) which shows the contact lens case concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows a contact lens case (state which opened the recessed part for accommodation). It is sectional drawing which shows the use condition at the time of contact lens case drying.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 to 4 show a first embodiment of a contact lens case according to the present invention. This contact lens case (hereinafter abbreviated as “lens case”) is for storing and storing a contact lens (hereinafter abbreviated as “lens”), not shown, together with a lens care agent. The lens care agent is a liquid agent for cleaning and disinfecting the lens.

  The lens case is formed symmetrically (symmetrical in FIGS. 1 to 4, etc.) and includes a case body 1 and a case cap 2. The case body 1 and the case cap 2 are connected to each other via a hinge 26, which will be described later. In this example, the entire lens case, that is, the case body 1, the case cap 2, and the hinge 26 are integrally formed of a resin material such as PP. Has been.

  The case body 1 includes two lens storage portions 12 arranged side by side to store the lens, and a base portion 10 that connects them. Each lens storage portion 12 has a bottomed cylindrical shape with a lens storage recess 14 that opens in the same direction. Each of the lens housing recesses 14 has a substantially spherical inner bottom surface, and is formed so that one lens can be housed together with a lens care agent that can be immersed therein.

  Each case cap 2 is connected to a position outside both lens housing portions 12 in the arrangement direction of the lens housing portions 12 in the case body 1 (the left-right direction in FIGS. 1 to 4) via hinges 26. Yes. These case caps 2 are closed to the lens housing recess 14 with the connecting portion as a fulcrum (the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), and are deployed from the position toward the outside in the alignment direction to store the lens. It is configured to be displaceable to an open position (for example, the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) for opening the concave portion 14 for use. That is, each case cap 2 is connected to the case body 1 so as to be rotatable about a virtual axis orthogonal to the direction in which the lens storage portions 12 are arranged, and opens and closes the lens storage recesses 14 in a double-spread manner. To do.

  Each case cap 2 has a flat bottomed cylindrical shape, and is fitted into the lens storage portion 12 so as to close the lens storage recess 14. Specifically, each case cap 2 is formed with a pair of inner and outer annular protrusions 20 and 22 (an inner annular protrusion 20 and an outer annular protrusion 22) corresponding to the opening edge of the lens housing recess 14 respectively. In the closed position, the inner annular convex portion 20 is fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the lens housing concave portion 14 to close the lens housing concave portion 14, and each case cap 2 is fixed to the lens housing portion 12 by the fitting. Furthermore, the outer annular convex portion 22 is configured to be positioned on the outer peripheral surface of the lens storage portion 12 (opening edge portion). In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, a latching convex part exists in the surrounding surface of one side among the internal peripheral surface of the outer side annular convex part 22, and the outer peripheral surface of the lens storage part 12, and a locking groove is formed in the peripheral surface of the other side. When the case cap 2 is closed, the locking projections can be fitted into the locking grooves to obtain a strong click feeling. Also, the locking projections and the locking grooves can be obtained. And the caps are engaged with each other, so that the cap closed state is reliably maintained. In addition, although the outer side annular convex part 22 is the continuous thing provided over the perimeter of the inner side annular convex part 20 in this example, it does not necessarily need to be continuous.

  Each case cap 2 is integrally provided with a flange 24 on the tip portion thereof, that is, on the outer peripheral surface of the outer annular convex portion 22 and at a position opposite to the hinge 26 in the arrangement direction of the lens storage portion 12. . As a result, when the lens storage portion 12 is opened, each case cap 2 fitted to the lens storage portion 12 can be easily removed by placing the fingertip on the collar 24 and pulling the case cap 2. In the present embodiment, the portion other than the flange portion 24 of the case cap 2 corresponds to the main body portion of the present invention, and the outer annular convex portion 22 corresponds to the outer wall portion of the present invention.

  Here, the tip portion of each case cap 2, that is, the portion of the case cap 2 on the side opposite to the hinge 26 opens the lens housing recess 14 and the back of the case body 1 with the lens housing recess 14 facing downward. When each case cap 2 is grounded at the tip portion in a facing orientation, the case body 1 has a shape capable of maintaining a self-supporting posture in which the case main body 1 is supported in the air with each case cap 2 as a leg. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, it has a linear shape along a direction (vertical direction in the figure) orthogonal to the direction in which the lens housing recesses 14 are arranged. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the end of the flange 24 and a part of the side surface of the outer annular convex portion 22 are formed in a linear shape. As a result, each case cap 2 is unfolded to open each lens housing recess 14 and the tip of each case cap 2 is grounded with the case body 1 facing downward with the lens housing recess 14 facing downward. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the lens case can stand by itself while supporting the case main body 1 in the air with both case caps 2 as legs.

  The method of using the lens case as described above is as follows. First, when storing the lens, each lens housing recess 14 is filled with a lens care agent, and the lens is immersed in this lens care agent and stored in each lens storage recess 14. In this state, each lens storage portion 12 is stored. The case cap 2 is fixed to and left for several hours. This cleans and disinfects the lens.

  When the lens is attached, the lens care agent in the lens case is discarded, and the lens case is thoroughly washed. Then, the lens case is turned over, and as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the lens case is allowed to stand on a washstand or the like, and the lens case is naturally dried in this state. This prepares for the next use.

  According to the lens case of the first embodiment as described above, the foreign matter in the storage recess 14 can be easily made without using a dedicated case holder or the like as in the prior art, with the lens storage recess 14 facing downward. The lens case can be naturally dried appropriately while preventing intrusion and the like.

  Although not mentioned in the above description, the deployment angle θ (shown in FIG. 4) of each case cap 2 is set to 180 ° with the closing position being 0 °. When the lens case is made self-supporting, only the collar portion 24 of the case cap 2 is grounded when the deployment angle θ is 90 ° or less, and only the collar portion 24 is within a predetermined angle range where the deployment angle θ exceeds 90 °. Alternatively, only the outer annular convex portion 22 or both the flange portion 24 and the outer annular convex portion 22 are grounded, and only the outer annular convex portion 22 can be grounded when the development angle θ exceeds the predetermined angle range. Has been. Note that, within a predetermined angle range in which the development angle θ exceeds 90 °, the grounding is caused by the shape of the flange 24 and the height of the outer annular protrusion 22 (the dimension of the outer annular protrusion 22 in the thickness direction of the case cap 2). With regards to, it can vary which member dominates. 5 and 6 show a state in which the case cap 2 is self-supported with the unfolded angle θ set to approximately 135 °. In this state, as shown in FIG. The lens case is self-supporting with only the portion 22 grounded. Although illustration is omitted, if the deployment angle θ is made smaller (for example, about 120 °) and is self-supporting, both the front end portion of the flange portion 24 and the outer annular convex portion 22 of each case cap 2 are grounded. When both the outer annular convex portion 22 and the flange portion 24 are grounded as described above, it is possible to secure a large grounding area and to make the lens case stand in a more stable state. .

  Next, a second embodiment of the contact lens case according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The basic configuration of the lens case according to the second embodiment is common to the lens case of the first embodiment. The difference is in the shape of the flange 24 at the tip of each case cap. That is, in the lens case according to the second embodiment, the flange portion 24 of each case cap 2 is greatly extended toward the tip end of the cap as compared with the first embodiment. Therefore, as shown in FIG. When the lens case is self-supported, the lens case is self-supported by grounding only the front end portion of the flange 24 (without grounding the outer annular convex portion 22). Moreover, the edge part of the collar part 24 becomes the shape where the center part of the width direction (FIG. 7 up-down direction) was dented in the left-right direction.

  According to the lens case of the second embodiment, the lens case is self-supported and dried in a state where only the collar portion 24 of the case cap 2 is grounded and the outer annular convex portion 22 is disposed in the air without grounding. Therefore, the outer annular convex portion 22 can be effectively dried.

  In the second embodiment, as described above, the tip of the collar portion 24 has a shape recessed at the center in the width direction. However, since the tip has a shape symmetrical in the width direction, the lens case is There is no problem in making it independent.

  Incidentally, the lens case described above is an example of a preferred embodiment of the contact lens case according to the present invention, and the specific configuration thereof can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, in order to improve the self-supporting stability of the lens case, the shape of the collar portion 24 may be devised, or the tip portion (the collar portion 24) of the case cap 2 may be subjected to anti-slip processing. Specifically, a serrated anti-slip may be formed at the tip of the flange 24, or an anti-slip member such as an elastomer sheet may be attached to the tip of the flange 24. In addition, the tip of the collar portion 24 may have a shape that is symmetrical in the width direction as described above, or the shape of the collar portion 24 may be asymmetric in the width direction. In other words, the shape of the collar portion 24 can be changed as appropriate as long as each lens cap 2 can be balanced to allow the lens case to stand on its own. For example, even if the collar portion 24 has an asymmetric shape in the width direction, the lens case can be made independent if the shape is symmetrical in the diagonal direction. Therefore, such a shape can also be adopted.

  Further, the deployment angle θ when the lens case is self-supported is determined in advance, and the case cap 2 has a substantially flat ground surface that is located on the same plane when the case caps 2 are at the deployment angle θ. You may make it form in the front-end | tip part (The collar part 24 and the outer side annular convex part 22). According to this configuration, it becomes possible to make the lens case stand more stably through the flat ground surface. In this case, it is possible to secure a wide grounding surface as the grounding surface by giving the tip portion of the case cap 2 a thickness. Further, if the deployment angle θ when the lens case is made to be independent is set to the maximum deployment angle of the case cap 2 (for example, a specific angle of 130 ° to 150 °), the case cap 2 is deployed to the maximum deployment angle. The lens case can easily be made independent by simply placing the lens on a table or the like. Therefore, it becomes possible to make the lens case independent more quickly.

Claims (5)

A lens case including a case main body having a pair of storage recesses each storing a contact lens, and a pair of case caps for closing the storage recesses,
The pair of storage recesses open in the same direction and are provided side by side,
The pair of case caps are connected to the case main body at positions outside the two storage recesses in the direction in which the storage recesses are arranged, and from the position where the storage recesses are blocked using the connection portion as a fulcrum. It is configured to be displaceable to a position where the housing recesses are opened outward from each other in the arrangement direction,
When each case cap is grounded with the housing recess opened and the housing recess facing downward, the case body is grounded, the case body becomes a leg and the case body is supported in the air. A contact lens case, wherein the case main body and the case cap are configured so that they can stand by themselves in a state. The contact lens case according to claim 1,
The case body has a cylindrical lens storage portion having the storage recesses on the inside,
The case cap is connected to the case main body and has a main body portion including an outer wall portion formed so as to be positioned on an outer peripheral surface of the lens storage portion in a state where the storage recess is closed, and a periphery of the main body portion. And having a collar for unfolding the cap formed at a position opposite to the connecting portion in the direction in which the recesses for storage are arranged,
A contact lens case, wherein the contact lens case is configured to be self-supporting in a state where at least one side of the outer wall portion and the flange portion of the main body portion of the case cap is grounded. The contact lens case according to claim 2,
A contact lens case, wherein the contact lens case is configured to be self-supporting in a state where both the outer wall portion and the flange portion of the main body portion of the case cap are grounded. In the contact lens case according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A substantially flat ground surface is formed on a portion of each case cap that is grounded when the contact lens case is self-supporting, and the ground surface of each case cap is predetermined to make the contact lens case self-supporting. A contact lens case, wherein the case caps are formed so as to be positioned on the same plane when the case caps are deployed to a predetermined deployment position. In the contact lens case according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An anti-slip process is applied to a portion of each case cap that is grounded when the contact lens case is self-supporting.

Images