JP4133157B2 - Contact lens container and contact lens extraction method using the same - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a contact lens container and a method of taking out a contact lens using the same, and more particularly, a container suitably used for distributing a disposable contact lens and a contact lens easily taken out from the container. It is about the method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Hydrous or soft contact lenses are more comfortable to wear than hard contact lenses and are easier to use for those who use contact lenses for the first time, and care for hydrous contact lenses has been simplified by the introduction of cold disinfection. As a result, the proportion of hydrous contact lens wearers in the contact lens wearer population is increasing. Among hydrous contact lenses, what has been rapidly growing in recent years is a so-called disposable lens that is disposable for one to two weeks or every day. This type of lens generally contains 50 to 70% water and exhibits flexibility, but in order to maintain this water content, during the process of storage, shipment, and in-store display, sterile saline, etc. Soaked in. As a storage container for such a lens, a plastic packaging means having a hemispherical lens housing portion called a blister case is used. The blister case covers the storage part with a flexible sheet material that can be peeled off from the package to take out the lens, and the sheet material is attached to the flange surface extending from the periphery of the storage part to the outside by general bonding means (for example, heat For example, welding or ultrasonic welding). The blister case, which is such a simple package, is a container for not only disposable lenses but also water-containing contact lenses in general. As mainstream.
[0003]
The shape of the lens housing portion of the blister case generally has a curvature that is close to the curvature of the lens so as to prevent deformation of the lens during long-term storage and to avoid stress on the lens. When taking out the lens from this case, the patient will take out the lens immersed in the preservation solution by sliding the inner wall of the storage part with the fingertip. However, because the strength of the lens material is low, For those with long nails, there was a risk of being easily scratched or torn even if they were carefully removed. Several proposals have been made in consideration of the ease of taking out such a so-called contact lens. For example, in (a) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-313928, a convex portion for receiving a concave portion of a lens is provided in a lens housing portion. (B) Special table 2000-504968 has a lens housing portion formed so as to be reversible, and the lens is pushed out from the preservation solution, and (c) Special table 2001-513470 has a lens housing. A second cavity part communicating with the part (expressed as the first cavity part), and the storage solution is discarded from the second cavity part, and the lens is taken out, or (d) JP 2002-142838 discloses a lens housing Some have a curvature different from that of the lens on the bottom.
[0004]
Each of the above proposals has the advantages of solving the easiness of taking out the target contact lens and the following problems. Regarding (a), there is a possibility that the lens is biased in one direction of the convex surface during transportation / transportation. Regarding (b), paying attention to the outflow of the lens when discarding the preservative, (c) Although the storage solution can be easily discarded and the lens can be easily recognized, the lens remains attached to the lens housing, so be careful not to scratch the lens when picking it up from the recess. (D) is convenient for the patient because the storage solution overflows when the finger is put into the lens housing and the other part gets wet, and the lens can be removed without damaging the lens. The supply of such a blister case is desired.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention provides a blister case packaging means including a contact lens, in particular, a storage part for storing a contact lens, a resin cover for covering the storage part, and a seal for sealing the storage part from above the cover. To provide a container having a mechanism capable of easily removing a contact lens from a contact lens container made of a stop sheet without damaging the lens, and a method for taking out the lens using the container. Objective.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a blister case according to the present invention is characterized by the following configuration. That is, a case for storing a contact lens, comprising: (a) a contact lens and a storage portion that can receive a solution for storing the contact lens; A container body including (b) a resin cover that abuts the periphery of the opening end of the storage portion and covers the storage portion; and (c) is attached so as to be removable from the container, and the storage portion is sealed from above the cover. And (d) a lens housing space constituted by these having a portion where two or more through-holes are formed when the contact lens is taken out. The gist of the container is a contact lens container.
[0007]
That is, according to the present invention, a flat resin cover is interposed between a conventional lens housing main body and a sheet for sealing the housing, and the lens is selectively attached to the cover when the storage solution is discarded. At the same time, the cover was opened to make it easier to remove the lens. Thus, in order to selectively attach the lens to the resin cover, it is necessary that at least a hole for discharging the storage solution is formed in the cover. In addition, since it is necessary for the hole to be of a size that prevents the lens from flowing out, it is difficult for the content liquid to be discharged with only one hole due to the surface tension of the storage liquid, etc. The gist is that two or more holes are provided. As described above, at least one hole is formed in the cover, but the other hole may be formed in the cover or the housing wall.
[0008]
The lens is stored in a sealed space by a storage unit, a resin cover and a sealing sheet, and is maintained in a sterile state until it reaches the user. And a sealing sheet is peeled off just before lens wearing, and a hole is formed in a cover with it. And when discharging | emitting a preservation | save liquid, it is preferable to implement in the following procedures. First, the cover formed in the cover is gripped so that the hole is on the bottom, the central portion of the storage section wall is broken to form a second hole to be a vent hole to the storage space, and the stored storage solution In addition, the lens is attached to a resin cover, and the cover is removed to take out the contact lens attached to the inner surface of the cover. According to this method, there is no risk of the lens flowing out when discarding the content liquid, and it adheres to the inner surface of the cover, which is a flat surface, as compared with the conventional operation of taking out the hemispherical lens remaining on the hemispherical surface of the storage portion. The lens can be handled easily.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A contact lens container according to the present invention comprises a molded plastic substrate having a hemispherical lens housing, and is generally made of, for example, polypropylene, polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate, polystyrene, nylon, etc. by injection molding or heat compression molding. It is composed of a thermoplastic resin. A flat flange is provided around the lens housing portion, and the position of the lens housing portion is generally shifted toward one end of the flange. This is overlapped in a second packaging container (carton) with a specific number of containers as a group, so that the upper and lower lens housing parts are arranged so as to be positioned on each other's flange, and the minimum volume is obtained. It is so shifted. Alternatively, the flat flange portions may be triangular, and the cases may be arranged in opposite directions to support the storage portions in a nested manner. Furthermore, even if the storage portion is configured to be located in the center with respect to the flange, there is no problem in the present invention.
[0010]
A feature of the present invention resides in that a resin cover is provided so as to contact the periphery of the opening end portion of the lens housing portion and cover the opening portion. In a general blister case, the lens housing portion is directly sealed with a flexible sheet, so that the lens housing portion is exposed as soon as the sheet is peeled off. Therefore, when the storage solution is discarded as it is, the lens may be discarded together. In the present invention, when the sheet is peeled off, at least one through hole (first hole) is formed in the cover so that the storage solution can be discarded while the resin cover is left, and stored through this hole. Drain the liquid. Since the lens remains on the cover together with the flow of the preservative solution, the lens is not damaged when taken out. Here, since it is a condition that the lens does not pass through this hole, it is impossible to open a hole having a very large diameter, and if it is too small, it is difficult to discard the storage solution from the hole. It is set to a range of 8 mm, preferably 3 to 6 mm. Needless to say, when a net-like outflow prevention structure is formed in the hole, the size of each mesh may be within the above range. Further, since the storage solution cannot be discharged if the lens is attached to the first hole and completely covers the hole, for example, a radial groove is formed around the hole on the inner surface of the storage unit side cover. Or you may make it the structure which forms an unevenness | corrugation and is sealed with a lens. The shape of the hole is not limited to a circle, and may be a polygon such as a triangle or a square.
[0011]
The first through hole is provided in the cover in order to allow the lens to adhere to the cover when discharging the storage liquid, but it is difficult to discharge the storage liquid simply by forming only one hole. Therefore, in the present invention, one or more (two or more in combination with the above) through-holes are formed. The second through hole may be formed in any of the cover peripheral part or the lens storage part. Since it is formed at the same time as the first through-hole when the sealing sheet is peeled off at the periphery of the cover, it is preferable in terms of operation, but the lens adheres to the inner wall of the storage portion and does not necessarily adhere to the cover when discharging the storage liquid. There may be cases. On the other hand, if the second through hole can be formed in the lens housing part, particularly the central part of the housing bottom surface, the lens is located at the center of the housing part in the stored state, so that air is blown from the bottom. The lens is pushed and moves to the cover, which is a drainage port, and selectively adheres. Since the second hole is merely a hole for venting into the storage space, the size of the second hole only needs to be small, and a diameter of about 1 mm is sufficient. In addition, the holes formed in the wall surface of the storage portion are naturally closed at the distribution stage, but it is preferable to have a structure that is thin and connected so as to be ruptured.
[0012]
The material of the resin cover may be the same as or different from the material of the container body. For example, a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin such as polypropylene or polyethylene can be used. The cover is flat and touches the periphery of the lens storage opening, covers it just like a manhole cover, places a sealing sheet on it, and adheres the sheet to the container body to seal the lens storage space. Be maintained. The cover may be formed with a through-hole from the beginning, or may be formed by breaking a predetermined portion of the cover during the operation of peeling the sheet or after the sheet has been peeled off. Since the cover does not have special confidentiality, forming the through hole from the beginning has an operational advantage of simultaneously forming the through hole by the operation of peeling off the sheet.
[0013]
After storing the lens and the preservative in the container main body storage section and covering with the cover, the contact lens container of the present invention is a sealing sheet (for example, a laminate of an appropriate plastic and aluminum foil, or a barrier having a plastic layer). Covered with a single flexible sheet of silicon oxide that forms the material, etc.) and heat sealed and sealed to a flange that extends around the housing. About the method of taking out a lens from this container, a case where two holes are formed in a cover and a case where a 2nd through-hole is formed in a storage part wall differ a little. When two holes are formed in the cover, after completely removing the seal, one hole (for example, formed in the periphery) is closed with a fingertip, and the other hole (at the center of the cover) Hold the container so that it is down and release the hole to discharge the storage solution and attach the lens to the cover before taking it out, or peel the sheet so that the cover side is down. A method is used in which the storage solution is discharged with the two through holes appearing, and the sheet attached to the cover is removed by peeling off the sheet. On the other hand, in the case where the second through hole is formed in the storage wall, the seal is peeled off until the hole formed in the cover is exposed, and the container is gripped so that the hole is positioned downward. A second hole is formed by breaking the weakened portion of the wall, and the storage liquid is discharged using the hole as a vent, and at the same time, the lens is attached to the cover and taken out. In any of the above methods, the lens is attached to the flat cover without being left in the storage portion, and thus can be worn without damaging the lens in handling. However, when the lens curved surface and the storage unit curved surface are very similar, when the drain is provided with two through holes in the cover, the lens may not move from the storage unit curved surface to the cover side, It is recommended to add an operation of shaking the container before opening to separate the lens from the curved surface of the storage unit.
[0014]
【Example】
A preferred embodiment of a contact lens container constructed according to the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0015]
FIG. 1 is a view showing a state before assembling a container body 1 having a contact lens housing portion 13 of the present invention, a resin cover 2 and a sealing sheet 4. As can be seen from the figure, the container body 1 includes a planar essentially square flange 12 having a peripheral wall portion 11 that hangs down integrally on its four sides, and a lens housing portion 13 at a substantially central portion of the flange 12. In general, the storage portion 13 which is essentially hemispherical with a curvature larger than the curvature of the contact lens 3 immersed in sterile physiological saline is located at the center of the flange in this example. It may be configured to be eccentric to one end side. The depth of the storage unit 13 is conveyed and stored in a state where the contact lens is stored. If the lens is allowed to move freely, the lens may be reversed and promote the deformation of the lens. The diameter of the lens to be stored is set shallower. Further, the height of the peripheral wall portion 11 depending from the flat flange 12 from the balance surface when the container is placed is approximately equal to the height of the storage portion 13.
[0016]
The cover 2 has a disk shape, and has a first through hole 21 at the center and a second through hole 22 at the periphery. In this example, the cover in which each through-hole is formed in advance is illustrated, but each through-hole may be laid so as to be breakable, and the second through-hole may not be formed in the cover, As described above, it may be formed on the wall surface of the storage portion 13 so as to be breakable. By using the cover in which the through holes are formed in advance, it is excellent in that the through holes can be easily formed simply by peeling off the sealing sheet.
[0017]
The contact lens 3 is accommodated in the lens accommodating portion 13 and the cover 2 is covered with a contact lens storage solution. Further, the sealing sheet 4 is adhered to an appropriate region of the surface of the flange 12 facing the sheet by an adhesive means such as heat or ultrasonic waves so as to cover the cover 2 and contains the contact lens 3 immersed in a storage solution. Seal and store the storage area. Normally, the periphery of the opening of the storage portion 13 is an adhesive region, so that the cover 2 is covered with the storage portion 13 so that the surface height of the cover 2 is equal to the surface height of the flange 12 and a transition surface having no step is formed. It is preferable. This is because if the step 2 is higher in this portion, the adhesion between the sealing sheet and the flange surface is not good, or the sheet is wavy and the appearance is not good.
[0018]
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II in FIG. 1 with the contact lens sealed. In the figure, it can be seen that the through holes 21 and 22 of the cover 2 are sealed by the sealing sheet 4. FIG. 3 shows how the storage solution is discharged from the container and the lens adheres to the cover. In a state where the sealing sheet is peeled off until two through holes appear, the container is tilted with the through hole down, and the upper through hole acts as a vent and the lower through hole acts as a storage liquid outlet. To do. In this figure, since the through-hole in the peripheral portion acts as a discharge port, the lens adheres to the cover peripheral portion. Since the lens has a hemispherical shape, if it is attached to the curved surface of the storage section, the contact area tends to be large, and it is difficult to take out with the fingertip. Since it is hemispherical, the contact area is small and it is easy to take out with a fingertip. In this example, the through-hole in the center of the cover is a vent, but if you hold it upside down in the figure, the through-hole in the periphery will serve as a vent and the center will serve as a storage liquid outlet Works. In that case, up to half of the preserving solution is discharged, but the container is gradually tilted for more than that, so that the cover side is finally directly below the container. As a result, the lens easily adheres to the central portion of the cover, so that the lens is not accidentally sandwiched between the cover and the container storage opening end.
[0019]
FIG. 4 shows an example in which one through hole is provided in the center of the cover, and the other through hole is formed by pushing the notch 14 on the lens housing wall. First, when the sealing sheet is peeled off by half, the container is gripped so that the cover side is directly below (FIG. 4A). In this state, there is one through hole 21 and the internal preservation solution is not discharged because of the size (diameter: about 5 mm). Next, the second through hole 23 is formed in the lens housing portion wall surface so as to push down the notch 14 in the direction of the arrow with the fingertip (FIG. 4B). The through hole may be a small hole that acts as a vent. This allows the lens to be forcibly moved by the inflow of air from the air vent, even if the container is turned upside down (the cover side is directly below), even if the lens is not in contact with the inner surface of the storage portion. it can. In particular, when the curvature of the inner surface of the lens storage unit is close to the curvature of the lens, the lens is thin and light, so that it is resisted by the liquid content, and the lens of the storage unit is only rotated by reversing the container or appropriately shaking the container. Cannot be moved. However, since the lens is directly pushed down by introducing air into the inside through the second through hole, the lens can be easily moved to the cover portion.
[0020]
FIG. 5 shows the structure of the cover. FIG. 5 (a) shows that one of the through holes (second through hole 24) is laid on the cover in a state where it can be broken. Is also open. By using such a structure, the cover is used as a lid at the time of hydration treatment as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2002-221696 and 2002-228993 filed earlier by the present inventor. It is effective for. FIG. 5B shows a groove 26 formed on the inner surface of the cover so that the lens does not adhere to the lid so as to block the through hole and prevent the storage liquid from being discharged. Even if the lens completely covers the central first through hole 21, the storage liquid is secured by the groove 26 formed between the lens and the cover, and the lens is attached to the cover. It was possible to remove it easily. Incidentally, the circumferential groove 27 shown in the figure is a thing that takes into consideration the engagement with the periphery of the opening when the cover of the lens housing portion is covered.
[0021]
The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described with reference to the above specific drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, the circumferential groove shown in FIG. 5 is not necessarily provided. As long as it does not depart from the spirit of the present invention, such as setting a large number of through holes of 2 or more, or providing unevenness around the through holes so that the through holes are not blocked by the lens, It will be understood that various changes, modifications, improvements, and the like can be made based on the knowledge of the vendor.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the contact lens container according to the present invention, the storage solution can be easily discarded while preventing the lens from flowing out when the lens is taken out. The lens can be attached to the lens housing cover and taken out. Accordingly, the lens can be easily handled and there is no worry of damaging the lens with a nail or the like, and therefore a lens container that can be used with peace of mind for the user can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the container of the present invention before assembly.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the container.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the method of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the method of the present invention. (A) shows the state which peeled the sheet | seat and hold | gripped the container upside down, (b) shows the state which opens a 2nd through-hole and discharge | releases preservation | save liquid.
FIG. 5 is a plan view seen from above showing another example of a cover used in the present invention. (A) shows the structure of another through-hole, and (b) shows the shape of the inner surface of the cover.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container 2 Cover 3 Contact lens 4 Sealing sheet 12 Flange 13 Lens accommodating part 14 Notch 21 First through-hole 22, 23, 24 Second through-hole 26 Groove 27 Circumferential groove

Claims (1)

A container for storing contact lenses,
(A) a container body including a contact lens and a housing portion that can receive a solution for storing the contact lens, and a flange extending outward in the periphery thereof;
(B) a resin cover that contacts the periphery of the opening end of the storage portion and covers the storage portion;
(C) It is attached so that it can be removed from the container, and the storage part is sealed from above the cover, and consists of a sealing sheet that does not substantially transmit liquid,
(D) The lens housing space constituted by these has a portion where two or more through holes are formed when the contact lens is taken out,
One of the through-holes is formed by breaking a thin-walled connecting portion provided to be breakable at a central portion of the resin cover and the other one at a central portion of the storage portion. Container.

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