JPH02254416A - Contact lens processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively clean a contact lens by steeping the lens in a cleaning liquid in a processing chamber, stirring the liquid and cleaning the lens, and subsequently, eliminating the cleaning liquid stuck to the lens by a rinse processing process. CONSTITUTION:A cleaning device is constituted of a housing 1, a liquid processing container 2 for housing a contact lens W, a stirring part 3 for generating a water flow being a liquid current, a heater part 4 for boiling disinfection, a supplying part 5 for supplying separately cleaning water, rinsing water and reserving water, and a discharging part 6 for discharging separately each water. In this state, in the cleaning processing system, by stirring the cleaning water in a cleaning chamber 10, the turbulent water flow at the high speed is hit against the contact lens W and cleans it. Subsequently, in the rinse processing process, the liquid in the cleaning chamber 10 is stirred and the lens W is rinsed by the turbulent flow. In such a manner, by executing the cleaning and rinsing of the lens W with the high speed water flow which becomes a turbulent flow, the elimination of contamination and rinsing can be attained more efficiently than a conventional cleaning method based on an ultrasonic system and a frictional system.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a method for treating contact lenses.

(Prior art) To treat contact lenses when wearing them: - Support the contact lens inside the shell, which has been removed from the naked eye, with the palm of your hand or your fingertips, drop cleaning water onto the surface of the contact lens, and then touch the contact lens with your fingertips. The lens is scrubbed and cleaned to remove dirt, especially fat contained in tears, that has adhered to the surface of the contact lens. After cleaning with the fingertips in this manner, the contact lenses are rinsed with rinsing water such as distilled water.

After rinsing, using a disinfection device equipped with a heater section, the contact lenses are stored in the processing chamber of the disinfection device along with storage water such as physiological saline, and the heater section is heated to heat the storage water, thereby disinfecting the contact lenses. Contact lenses are sterilized by boiling in storage water, and the boiled contact lenses are stored in storage water such as physiological saline until the next use.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The present invention has been developed by further advancing the conventional contact lens processing method described above, in which a liquid flow is formed by stirring the liquid used for processing such as contact lens cleaning. For example, it was developed based on the idea that contact lenses can be processed well, and the common element in items 1, 2, and 3 is that the liquid in the processing chamber is stirred by a stirring section. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a contact lens processing method that allows cleaning, rinsing, and disinfection of contact lenses to be performed effectively by stirring the liquid in the processing chamber in a stirring section.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The contact lens processing method of the present invention according to item 1 uses a processing chamber for storing contact lenses and a stirring section for stirring the liquid in the processing chamber. , a cleaning process in which cleaning solution is supplied to the processing chamber and contact lenses are stored, and the cleaning solution in the processing chamber is stirred by a stirring unit to clean the contacts 1 - lenses, and the cleaning solution adhering to the contact lenses is removed from the contacts 1 - A rinsing process for removing the liquid from the lens is carried out in sequence. As the cleaning liquid, water or soapy water can be used.

The contact lenses may be of soft type or hard type. In the cleaning process, a contact lens is housed in a container with a through hole, and the container is placed in a processing chamber, and the cleaning liquid supplied to the treatment chamber is stirred to remove the turbulent flow through the through hole. This can be done by supplying it into a container. The direction in which the liquid flow generated by stirring is applied to the contact lens may be such that when the contact lens is placed with the contact surface with the naked eye above or below, it may be applied laterally to the contact lens, or, The liquid flow may be applied in a direction transverse to the surface of the contact lens. The temperature of the cleaning liquid can be selected as appropriate, but in consideration of cleaning performance, it can be set to room temperature or higher.

The contact lens processing method of the present invention according to item 2 uses a processing chamber for storing contact lenses and a stirring section for stirring the liquid in the processing chamber, and includes a cleaning process for cleaning the contact lenses, and a cleaning process for cleaning the contact lenses, and a cleaning process for cleaning the contact lenses; A rinsing treatment step of supplying the rinsing liquid and rinsing the contact lenses by agitating the rinsing liquid in the processing chamber using the agitation unit with the contact lenses stored is performed in sequence. Water can be used as the rinsing liquid.

The temperature of the rinsing liquid can be selected as appropriate, but it can be set to room temperature or higher in consideration of the tininess. Also in paragraph 2,
As for the direction in which the liquid flow generated by stirring is applied to the contact lens 1 to the lens, if the contact surface of the contact lens 1 to the lens is arranged upward or downward, it may be applied to the contact lens laterally, Alternatively, the liquid flow may be applied in a direction transverse to the surface of the contact lens.

The contact lens treatment method of the present invention according to item 3 uses a treatment chamber for storing contact lenses, a stirring section for stirring the liquid in the treatment chamber, and a heater section for heating the liquid in the treatment chamber. When the solution is supplied to the processing chamber and the contact lens is stored, the heater section heats the solution to the disinfection temperature range, and the surrounding stirring section stirs the solution continuously or temporarily. This aims to equalize the temperature. In heating, it is preferable to immerse the heater part in the liquid so that the heater part and the liquid come into direct contact with each other from the viewpoint of rapid heating. The number of heater parts can be selected as appropriate. The heater section can be provided at a position where it does not interfere with the stirring section. The stirring time can be selected in consideration of uniform heating of the liquid, but it may be continuously stirred, or it may be stirred only occasionally or momentarily. The stirring speed can be selected in consideration of uniform heating of the liquid.

In all of the first, second, and third terms, the processing chamber can be made large enough to accommodate a liquid processing container having a through hole. In this case, the contact lens is stored inside the liquid processing container. The stirring section stirs the liquid within the processing chamber.

The stirring unit may, for example, rotate a stirring blade placed in the processing chamber and stir the liquid in the processing chamber with the stirring blade, or
The liquid in the processing chamber may be stirred by rotating a liquid processing container for storing contact lenses placed in the processing chamber, or the liquid may be stirred by liquid jetted from a nozzle placed in the processing chamber. . In the case of a stirring method using a stirring blade, the rotational speed of the stirring blade can be selected as appropriate depending on the volume of the processing chamber, the type of liquid, etc.
0rl)m. Note that the number and position of the stirring sections can be selected as appropriate.

(Function) In the contact lens processing method of the present invention according to item 1, the liquid in the processing chamber is stirred during the cleaning process to generate a turbulent liquid flow, so that the liquid flow and the contact lens The contact lens is cleaned by contact with the contact lens.

In the contact lens processing method of the present invention according to item 2, the liquid in the processing chamber is stirred during the rinsing process to generate a turbulent liquid flow, so that the liquid flow and the contact lens come into contact with each other. The contact lenses are then rinsed.

In the contact lens processing method of the present invention according to item 3, the liquid heated by the heater part is stirred during the disinfection process, so the high temperature liquid and the low temperature liquid in the processing chamber mix.

(Example) An embodiment of the processing method of the present invention will be described below.

The processing method of this embodiment sequentially performs cleaning, rinsing, disinfection, and storage of soft contact lenses. For convenience of explanation, the configuration of the apparatus used to implement the processing method of this embodiment will be explained first.

(Device configuration) A cross-sectional view of the main parts of the device is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, this device includes a housing 1, a liquid processing container 2 that accommodates a contact lens W, an agitation section 3 that generates a water stream as a liquid stream, and a heater section 4 for boiling sterilization.
, a supply section 5 that separately supplies cleaning water, rinsing water, and storage water as contact lens handling liquids, and a discharge section 6 that separately discharges the cleaning water, rinsing water, and storage water. Further explanation will be added below for each component.

The housing 1 will be explained. As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 1 has a cleaning chamber 1 as a processing chamber that is open at the top.
M to close the housing body 11 with 0 and the cleaning chamber 10
12.

The cleaning chamber 10 is comprised of a container chamber 100 located at the upper part for accommodating the liquid processing container 2, and a stirring chamber 101 located at the lower part for generating a water flow. As shown in FIG. 2, which is a plan view of the container chamber 100, three arcuate spaces are integrally connected. Container chamber 1
An appropriate number of vertical grooves 110 are formed in a distributed manner on the inner wall portion that partitions the 00. As shown in FIG. 1, the vertical groove 110 is formed in the vertical direction and communicates with the stirring chamber 101 and the container chamber 100. Hole 101 in stirring chamber 101 of cleaning chamber 10
In a, a spacer member 50 is formed with a conical tapered surface 112 that is inclined upward toward the outer edge thereof, and has ring-shaped horizontal surfaces 112a and 112b.
0 is charged. Furthermore, a stepped portion 113 is formed on the inner wall portion that partitions the cleaning chamber 10, and the stepped portion 113
A tapered surface 133 is formed between and the tapered surface 112. Furthermore, a supply hole 114 communicating with the cleaning chamber 10 is formed in the housing 1, and a communication passage 115 communicating with the stirring chamber 101 is formed in the middle of the supply hole 114 in the vertical direction. Further, the housing 1 is formed with a discharge hole 116 that communicates with the bottom of the cleaning chamber 10, and a communication passage 117 that communicates with the middle part of the discharge hole 116 and the stirring chamber 1Ol is formed in the vertical direction. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, a seal groove 118 is formed in the upper part of the housing body 11 and is located around the cleaning chamber 10, and a ring-shaped seal member 119 is attached to the seal groove 118.

In the m12 that closes the cleaning chamber 10, there is an air layer 1 on the inner surface side.
20 is formed. Here m
12 is removably attached to the housing body 11, thereby closing the upper part of the cleaning chamber 10. In this case, the sealing member 119 makes the space between m12 and the housing body 11 watertight to prevent water from leaking.

In this embodiment, cleaning is performed as shown in FIG. A heater chamber 13 is formed in communication with the heater chamber 10, and an open hole is formed through a vertical path 130a in a communication passage 130 formed in a shallow bottom shape on the upper surface of the housing body 11 so as to communicate with the heater chamber 13. 131 is formed, and the open hole 131 is connected to a discharge tank 62, which will be described later, via a discharge passage 131a, and an on-off valve 132 is provided in the discharge passage 131a. Further, a vertical passage 13 is formed in a shallow communication passage 134 on the upper surface of the housing body 11 so as to communicate with the heater chamber 13.
An open hole 135 is formed through 4a, and the open hole 135 is connected to a discharge tank 62, which will be described later, via a discharge passage 135a, and a pressure-responsive relief valve 136 is connected to the discharge passage 135a. . Furthermore, open hole 131.13
5 is opened at the upper end side of the cleaning chamber 10;
It has the function of discharging the air inside. Further, a finger hole 137 is formed in the upper surface of the housing body 11 on the side opposite to the heater chamber 13 so as to communicate with the cleaning chamber 10 . Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning chamber 10 is closed m12.
The inner surface has a large volume bulge 123 and a small volume finger hole 1.
A bulge 124 located at 37 is formed. The bulging portions 123 and 124 have the function of reducing the volume of the cleaning chamber 10 as much as possible to save water.

Next, the liquid processing container 2 will be explained. The liquid processing container 2 is a removable type, and is connected from the housing body 11 to m12.
The housing 1 is removably inserted into the cleaning chamber 10 of the housing 1 with the housing 1 removed.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 9, the liquid processing container 2 includes a container body 21 having two lens storage chambers 20 each having a flat top opening for storing contact lenses W;
m25 is attached to the upper opening of the lens storage chamber 20 and covers the lens storage chamber 20. Container body 21
are shown in FIGS. 5-7. A large number of small circular water holes 211 as through holes are formed in the bottom surface 210 of the lens storage chamber 20 of the container body 21 and penetrate in the vertical direction.
In the side wall portion 212 that partitions the lens storage chamber 20, a large number of slit-shaped water holes 213 serving as through holes are formed in the radial direction so as to penetrate laterally.

At the center of the container body 21, a long rod-shaped protrusion 214 is formed upward, which also serves as a legitimate child to be grasped with the fingertips.

Furthermore, a protrusion 215 is formed at the edge of the lower surface of the bottom surface 210 of the container body 21, and a bulge 216 is formed at the center of the lower surface of the container body 21 at a position opposite to the protrusion 214. This bulging portion 216 has the function of reducing the volume of the cleaning chamber 10 as much as possible to save water. Furthermore, the container body 21
A relief hole 217 is formed in the.

On the other hand, the bottom view of m25 of the liquid processing container 2 is shown in FIG.
A cross-sectional view of 5 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 8, two IN fitting parts 250 are formed in the lid 25 in a bulging manner, and each fitting part 250 is formed in a lens storage chamber having a circular cross section in the container body 21. The planar shape is formed into a circular shape so as to fit inside the housing 20. In addition, the fitting portion 250
The bottom surface 250a is a convex spherical surface to match the shape of the contact lens W. A regulating protrusion 252 is integrally formed in the center of each fitting portion 250 so as to protrude from the center. When m25 is closed in the container body 21 as shown in FIG. 4, a minute gap is formed between the tip of the regulating protrusion 252 and the bottom surface 210 of the container body 21. Furthermore, a large number of circular water holes 251 are formed as through holes in the fitting portion 250. Further, a cylindrical portion 253 having an insertion hole 254 is formed in the center of m25 of the liquid processing container 2. The insertion hole 254 is fitted into the protrusion 214 of the container body 21 .

Here, as is clear from FIG. 4, in order to operate the entire liquid processing container 2, pinch the tip @214a of the protrusion 214,
When removing the M25 from the container body 21, the cylindrical portion 253 can be pinched. Note that the lid 25 and the container body 21 are made of polysulfone resin in consideration of prevention of damage to the contact lenses W, chemical resistance, and the like. here,
As shown in FIG. 1, by locking the protrusion 215 of the liquid processing container 2 to the stepped portion 113 of the housing body 11,
The liquid processing container 2 is positioned and set in the cleaning chamber 10. When the liquid processing container 2 is set in the cleaning chamber 10 in this way, a gap 125 is formed between the liquid processing container 2 and the back surface of the lid 12, as shown in FIG.
There is a gap 126 between the inner wall surface of the liquid processing container 2 and the outer wall surface of the liquid processing container 2.
is formed.

The stirring section 3 shown in FIG. 1 has the function of cleaning the contact lenses W within the cleaning chamber 10.

The stirring section 3 includes a motor 30 and a motor shaft 31 of the motor 30.
Rotation ¥11132 press-fitted into the passageway 32a to form the passage 32a;
It is formed of a stirring blade 34 for water flow generation fixed to the upper end of a rotating shaft 32 with a fixing screw 33. Here, the motor 30 is fixed upward to the housing body 11 with screws. A sealing member 35 is interposed between the outer circumference of the rotating shaft 32 and the shaft hole 11a of the housing body 11,
This prevents water from entering the motor 30 side.

As shown in FIG.
It is installed in the heater chamber 13 by a stopper 41 via a mounting piece 40.

The heater section 4 is formed of a heater tube 42 made of stainless steel and a heating wire that is housed inside the heater tube 42 together with powder. A communication path 1 that communicates the cleaning chamber 10 and the heater chamber 13
The heater tube 42 of the heater section 4 is positioned so as to face the heater tube 38. The heater section 4 is immersed in water in a heater chamber 13 communicating with the cleaning chamber 10. Therefore, since the heater section 4 is in direct contact with water, the water in the cleaning chamber 10 can be effectively heated.

The supply unit 5 will be explained with reference to FIG.

The supply unit 5 is attached to the housing 1, and includes a wash water tank 50 for storing washing water such as soap water, a rinsing water tank 51 for storing rinsing water such as distilled water, and a storage water such as physiological saline. A storage water tank 52 for storing water, and each tank 50.
51 and 52, and each first supply path 53 and the supply hole 11 of the housing body 11.
4, and opening/closing valves 55, 56, and 57 arranged in each first supply path 53. The bottom of each tank 50, 51, 52 is located above the upper surface of the liquid processing container 2 set in the cleaning chamber 10 so that water is supplied into the cleaning chamber 10 by the water head pressure within the tank.

Next, the discharge section 6 will be explained with reference to FIG. The discharge section 6 is for individually discharging washing water, rinsing water, and storage water in the washing chamber 10. The discharge part 6 is formed by a discharge passage 60 communicating with the discharge hole 116 of the housing body 11, an on-off valve 61 disposed in the discharge passage 60, and a discharge tank 62 that stores the waste water discharged from the discharge passage 60. ing.

Note that the housing 1 is provided with a control circuit having a microcomputer. This control circuit controls the motor 30, the on-off valves 55, 56, 57, the on-off valves 132, and the relief valve 1.
36, the heater section 4 is controlled.

(Processing method according to the embodiment) Next, the processing method according to the present embodiment will be explained separately in (A) and (D).

(A> Preparation process First, fill the wash water tank 50 with wash water, rinse water tank 5
Rinse water is stored in 1 and storage water is stored in a storage water tank 52 separately. At the same time, one soft type contact lens W is stored horizontally in each lens storage chamber 20 of the liquid processing container 2 removed from the cleaning chamber 10. In this case, the usual storage method is to have the arc convex surface (the surface that does not adhere to the naked eye) of the contact lens W face the bottom surface 210 of the lens storage chamber 20. Then, the lid 25 is attached to the container body 21. Then, the regulating protrusion 252 faces the arcuate concave surface (the surface that comes into contact with the naked eye) of the contact lens W. As described above, the protrusion 215 of the liquid processing container 2 in which the contact lens W is housed is engaged with the stepped portion 113 of the housing body 11 for positioning, thereby moving the liquid processing container 2 into the cleaning chamber. Set within 10. Thereafter, the lid 12 is attached to the housing body 11 to close the cleaning chamber 10.

(B) Cleaning Process When the circuit switch is operated in the above-described state, the cleaning opening/closing valve 55 is opened. A time chart of the subsequent steps is shown in FIG. 10, and will be explained with reference to the time chart of FIG. The valve 55 is set to time T by a timer.
It is turned on and opened from 1 to T20. Then, the cleaning water in the cleaning water tank 50 passes through the first supply path 53 and the second supply path 54 due to the pressure in the cleaning water tank 50, and enters the supply hole 11.
4 into the cleaning chamber 10. And time T
1 to T2, the cleaning chamber 10 is almost filled with cleaning water. At this time, the on-off valve 132 is turned on and opened, so the air in the cleaning chamber 10 is released from the open hole 131 and the discharge path 131a, and the water overflowing from the cleaning chamber 10 is discharged from the open hole 131 and the discharge path 131a. is drained, so that the water level in the wash WIO is always kept constant. Furthermore, since the on-off valve 61 of the discharge section 6 is closed, the cleaning water that has flowed into the cleaning chamber 10 is not discharged from the discharge passage 60.

When the cleaning chamber 10 is filled with cleaning water as described above, the cleaning water flows into the lens storage chamber 20 from the water holes 211, 213, 251, etc. of the liquid processing container 2, and
The contact lens W inside is immersed in cleaning water.

In FIG. 10, from time T2 to time T3, the motor 30 rotates, the motor shaft 31 and the rotating shaft 32 rotate, and the stirring blade 3
4 rotates at a high speed of about aooorpm in the cleaning chamber 10.

As a result, the cleaning water in the cleaning chamber 10 is splashed up and becomes a high-velocity water flow. The high-speed water flow flows outward due to centrifugal force, is guided mainly by the tapered surfaces 112 and 133 shown in FIG. The liquid flows into 20 as a turbulent flow. At this time, in this embodiment, since the vertical groove 110 is formed to communicate the container chamber 100 of the cleaning chamber 10 and the stirring chamber 101, the flow of water into the stirring chamber 101 is promoted. Then, dirt adhering to the surface of the contact lens W in the lens storage chamber 20 of the liquid processing container 2 is removed by the turbulent high-speed water flow.

By the way, the water flow that has flowed into the lens storage chamber 20 of the liquid processing container 2 mainly flows through the stirring blade 34 of the liquid processing container 2.
It is thought that the water flows out of the container through the side water hole 213 and returns to the stirring chamber 101 through the escape hole 217. This is because the rotation of the stirring blade 34 causes water above the stirring blade 34 to be sucked into the stirring blade 34 side.

In this way, the water flow circulates around the contact lens W at high speed while the motor 30 is being driven. In this embodiment, which employs the water flow method as described above, since minute air bubbles are included in the water flow, dirt on the contact lens W can be effectively removed.

Now, at time T3, the rotation of the motor 30 is stopped.

The valve 61 is opened and closed by a timer between time T3 and time T4.
, the on-off valve 132 is turned on and opened.

As a result, the cleaning water in the cleaning chamber 10 is discharged to the discharge tank 62 via the discharge hole 116 and the discharge path 60, and the cleaning process is completed. At this time, the cleaning water flows down along the tapered surface 112 of the cleaning chamber 10 and is discharged.

(C) From time T4 to time T5 in the rinsing process, a rinsing opening/closing valve 56;
Furthermore, since the on-off valve 132 is turned on and opened, the rinsing water in the rinsing water tank 51 falls under its own weight and is supplied into the cleaning chamber 10 via the first supply path 53 and the second supply path 54. 10 is filled with rinsing water.

Between time T5 and time T6, the motor 30 rotates, which causes the stirring blade 34 to rotate in the same manner as described above, generating a turbulent, high-speed water flow of rinsing water in the cleaning chamber 10. The water flow passes through the water holes 213 and the like of the liquid processing container 2 and flows into the lens storage chamber 20 of the liquid processing container 2 in the same manner as described above, whereby the contact lenses W are rinsed with the turbulent water flow.

Between time T6 and time T7, the on-off valve 6 of the discharge section 6
1 Furthermore, the on-off valve 132 is turned on and opened. Therefore, the rinsing water in the cleaning chamber 10 flows through the drain hole 116 and the drain path 6.
0 to the discharge tank 62, thereby completing the rinsing process.

(D) Disinfection process From time T7 to time T8, the on-off valve 57 for stored water and the on-off valve 132 are turned on and opened, so that the stored water in the stored water tank 52 is supplied to the first supply path 53 and the second supply path 54.
The stored water is supplied to the cleaning chamber 10 through the cleaning chamber 10, and the inside of the cleaning chamber 10 is filled with stored water.

At time T8, the timer turns on the heater section 4. Therefore, the heat of the heater section 4 is transferred to the stored water in the heater chamber 13, and the water in the heater chamber 13 is heated. The heated hot water rises and flows into the cleaning chamber 10 through the passage 127 between the bulging part 123 and the heater part 4, as understood from FIG. It is considered that nearby low temperature water flows into the heater chamber 13 via the communication path 138. As a result, the stored water in the cleaning chamber 10 is heated and boiled, and the contact lenses W are sterilized by boiling.

In this embodiment, from time T8 on the time chart in FIG.
As shown between time T9, when heating the stored water in the cleaning chamber 10, the stirring blade 34 is used to stir the stored water intermittently at predetermined time intervals to uniformly heat the stored water in the cleaning chamber 10.

By the way, during the disinfection process, the supply hole 114 of the housing 1
The water remaining in the drain hole 116 is not effectively heated and remains cold, which may result in insufficient sterilization of the water and contact lenses. This point communication path 115.
In this embodiment, the hot water that is heated and accumulated in the upper part of the tank 110 by convection is transferred to the supply hole 1.
14 and the discharge hole 116 and the remaining water is pushed out to the cleaning chamber 10, and the effect of uniformly and effectively heating the water metal body in the cleaning chamber 10 to the boiling temperature can be expected.

The boiling disinfection described above is continued until time T9 shown in FIG. After the boiling disinfection is completed, the contact lens W is generally kept in the liquid processing container 2 until the next use.

In addition, when using a contact lens W, it is sufficient to remove the lid 12 of the housing 1 and take out the liquid processing container 2 from the cleaning chamber 10, and then remove the lid 25 from the container body 21 and take out the contact lens W inside. . When the liquid processing container 2 is taken out from the cleaning chamber 10, the water in the liquid processing container 2 is naturally drained from the water holes 211.213.251.

(Effects of Example) As explained above, in the treatment method of this example, the cleaning water in the cleaning chamber 10 is stirred during the cleaning process to generate a turbulent high-velocity water flow. The turbulent water flow can effectively clean contact lenses. In addition, in the treatment method of this embodiment, the cleaning chamber 1
Since the liquid inside the contact lens is stirred and a water stream is generated, the contact lens is rinsed with the turbulent water stream. As mentioned above, cleaning and rinsing of contacts 1 to lens W is performed using a turbulent, high-speed water stream, so an ultrasonic cleaning system,
Compared to conventional cleaning equipment that uses an elastic pad to scrub and clean, it is more efficient at cleaning dirt adhering to the surface of the contact lens W and removing only a portion of the cleaning water adhering to the surface of the contact lens. It can be carried out.

Furthermore, in the treatment method of this embodiment, the cleaning chamber 1 is
Since the stored water in the cleaning chamber 10 is stirred, the high-temperature liquid and the low-temperature liquid in the cleaning chamber 10 are mixed efficiently, and the water metal body in the cleaning chamber 10 can be evenly heated to the boiling temperature.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when sterilizing by boiling, there is a risk that the pressure in the space above the water in the cleaning chamber 10 will increase due to water evaporation during heating. When the air pressure above the water surface exceeds a predetermined range, the valve part of the pressure-responsive relief valve 136 automatically opens against the spring, so that the air above the water surface in the cleaning chamber 10 can be handled and the pressure reduced. Excessive increase can be suppressed, and damage to the housing 1 and further its internal mechanism can be prevented.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, a communication passage 115 that communicates between the cleaning chamber 10 and the discharge hole 116 and a communication passage 117 that communicates between the cleaning chamber 10 and the supply hole 114 are formed. The hot water that has accumulated in the upper part of the cleaning chamber 10 flows into the supply hole 114 and the discharge hole 116 and pushes out the remaining water there into the cleaning chamber 10, effectively distributing the entire water in the cleaning chamber 10 evenly. The effect of heating to boiling temperature can be expected.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when cleaning the contact lenses W, the supply unit 5 can individually supply cleaning water, rinsing water, and storage water to the cleaning chamber 10 and discharge them individually, so that − number of cleanings can be performed. Cleaning, rinsing, and disinfection in room 10 only.
Four types of preservation steps can be performed automatically. Therefore, unlike conventional ultrasonic cleaners and elastic pad type cleaners that only have a cleaning function, the contact lens W can be held in the hand and transferred to the central device or other location for rinsing or storage. There's no need. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the problem of the contact lens W becoming dirty with fingers during transfer, which occurs in conventional ultrasonic cleaning type cleaning machines and cleaning machines using an elastic pad cleaning type.

Further, in this embodiment using the liquid processing container 2 in which the regulating protrusion 252 is formed, the movement of the contact lens W within the lens storage chamber 20 can be regulated by the regulating protrusion 252 . Therefore, it is advantageous to prevent the contact lens W from shifting during liquid processing such as cleaning, rinsing, and disinfection. In particular, in the case of a soft type contact lens W, there is a risk that the contact lens W may be rolled up into a circle during liquid treatment due to its softness and swelling property. , which is advantageous in preventing the contact lens W from being rolled up. Furthermore, it is advantageous in preventing deformation, scratches, etc. of the contact lens W caused by movement of the contact lens W within the lens storage chamber 20 of the liquid processing container 2, and thus prolonging the life of the contact lens W. advantageous to

In particular, in the processing method of this embodiment using the liquid processing container 2 in which water holes 213 are formed in the container body 21 in the radial direction, the first
As shown in the figure, the cross current can be effectively applied to the contact lens W placed horizontally in the lens storage chamber 20, and therefore the degree of cleaning of the contact lens W is extremely high.

Moreover, in the liquid processing container 2 used in this embodiment, the water hole 251 is located above the contact lens W, the water hole 211 is located below the contact lens W, and the water hole 251 is located above the contact lens W, and the water hole 211 is located below the contact lens W. Due to the inflowing water, the contact lens W is pushed from both the upper and lower directions, and the contact lens W is pushed into the lens storage chamber 20.
Therefore, the contact lens W does not come into close contact with the bottom surface 210 of the lens storage chamber 20 or the bottom surface 250a of the fitting part 250 of the lid 25, and the cleaning treatment effect can be ensured.

(Other Embodiments) Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. In the processing method of this example, instead of the liquid processing container 2, a carrying case 5 without a through hole is used. This carrying case 5 does not have a through hole and is composed of a case body 50 and an i51 having a lens storage chamber. Then, the contact lens W, which has been cleaned with a fingertip or the like in the conventional manner, is stored in the lens storage chamber of the case body 50 together with the stored water, covered with N51, and sealed. In that state, move the carrying case 5 to the cleaning room 10.
The heater unit 4 generates heat, thereby boiling and sterilizing the contact lens W together with the water in the cleaning chamber 10. In the case of boiling sterilization, the stirring blade 34 is rotated to heat the entire water in the cleaning chamber 10 to the boiling temperature in the same manner as described above.

[Effects of the Invention] In the contact lens processing method of the present invention according to item 1, the liquid in the processing chamber is agitated to generate a liquid flow during the cleaning process, so the liquid flow effectively cleans the contact lenses. Can be washed.

In the contact lens processing method of the present invention according to item 2, the liquid in the processing chamber is stirred to generate a liquid stream during the rinsing process, so that the contact lens can be effectively rinsed with the liquid stream.

In the contact lens processing method of the present invention according to item 3, the liquid in the processing chamber is stirred during the disinfection process, so the high-temperature liquid and the low-temperature liquid in the processing chamber mix. Therefore, the entire liquid in the processing chamber can be heated to boiling temperature.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the main parts of the device used in this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the main parts of the device with the lid removed, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the liquid processing container, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the main body of the liquid processing container, and FIG. 6 is a VI of FIG. 5.
- A cross-sectional view along the VI line, FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the container body, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the lid of the liquid processing container, FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the lid of the liquid processing container, and FIG. 10 is each process FIG. FIG. 11 is a plan view of the main parts of the apparatus with the liquid processing container removed. FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of the present invention and is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1. In the figure, 1 is a housing, 10 is a cleaning chamber (processing chamber), and 12
0 is an air layer, 136 is a relief valve, 2 is a liquid processing container, 2
0 is a lens storage chamber, 3 is a stirring section, 30 is a motor, 34 is a stirring blade, 4 is a heater section, 5 is a supply section, 50 is a washing water tank, 51 is a rinsing water tank, 52 is a storage water tank, 5
5, 56, and 57 are on-off valves, 6 is a discharge section, 60 is a discharge path, and 61 is an on-off valve. Patent applicant Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) Using a processing chamber that accommodates contact lenses and a stirring section that stirs the liquid in the processing chamber, the cleaning solution is supplied to the processing chamber, and when the contact lenses are accommodated, the stirring section causes the cleaning solution to flow into the processing chamber. A method for treating contact lenses, comprising sequentially carrying out a cleaning step of stirring the cleaning solution to clean the contact lens, and a rinsing step of removing the cleaning solution adhering to the contact lens from the contact lens. (2) A cleaning treatment step of cleaning the contact lenses using a treatment chamber that stores the contact lenses and a stirring section that stirs the liquid in the treatment chamber; supplying a rinsing liquid to the treatment chamber and cleaning the contact lenses; A method for treating contact lenses, characterized in that a rinsing treatment step of rinsing the contact lenses by stirring a rinsing liquid in the treatment chamber by the agitation unit in the stored state is carried out in order. (3) Using a processing chamber that stores contact lenses, a stirring section that stirs the liquid in the processing chamber, and a heater section that heats the liquid in the processing chamber, supplying the liquid to the processing chamber and handling the contact lenses. A method for processing contact lenses, in which the solution is heated to a disinfection temperature range by the heater section while the solution is continuously or temporarily stirred by the stirring section in the stored state, thereby uniformizing the temperature of the solution in the processing chamber.