Special receptacle or package – For eyeglass or spectacle – Contact lens
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-17
2001-11-20
Bui, Luan K. (Department: 3728)
Special receptacle or package
For eyeglass or spectacle
Contact lens
C206S038000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06318548
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention is in the field of contact lens storage cases.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
People who use contact lens, whether of the rigid or soft variety, always need something handy in which to store them. The reasons vary: unexpected overnight stays away from home; travel; activities where there is a need or likelihood for frequent contact lens removal and replacement. This storage device must hold fluid to keep the lens lubricated and must be sealed so as not to allow bacteria to enter. Without fluid the lenses can become damaged or destroyed.
Quite often, a contact lens wearer will get a foreign object in the eye (e.g., an eyelash or dirt particle) that causes irritation. In such cases, the contact lens must be removed from the eye and cleaned, and then re-inserted into the eye or stored in suitable fluid. Should this type of minor emergency happen when a contact lens case is not readily available, a frantic search begins for some sort of alternate moist storage container, such as a cup of water. However, this is not a sanitary solution on either a short or long term basis. Another known solution for such emergency storage is to lubricate the lens with saliva after taking it out, and then to re-insert it into the eye. This is probably the worst solution, as saliva is acidic and damaging to the eye.
While most contact lens storage devices are relatively small and easy transportable, their necessity is often forgotten until an emergency arises. There is currently no simple, effective way to ensure that a case will always be available. Some keep extra cases in their glove compartments. Some carry cases in purses or backpacks. However, despite their efforts, contact lens wearers still frequently find themselves without their contact lens cases.
A few portable lens case devices do exist for facilitating storage of the case on one's person. U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,726 shows a pendant for storing contact lens, hung from a chain around the neck. U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,918 discloses a wristwatch capable of storing contact lens. U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,179 shows a fluid-storing lens case resembling a pen.
Yet even with such known portable lens cases, having a contact lens case alone is not a complete solution to the aforementioned problem of temporary or emergency lens storage. Most contact lenses require special fluids for cleaning, disinfecting and storing them. The bottles containing these fluids are much larger than lens cases, and therefore reduce the portability of any complete lens care kit. To resolve this, some people are known to keep soaking solution in the lens compartments of a standard lens case. Unfortunately, the stored fluid tends to leak out if the top of the case is not closed tightly enough, and ultimately evaporates. Additionally, if the fluid-filled case leaks, bacteria has the ability to get inside and contaminate the fluid in which the contact lenses will eventually be stored.
Attempts have been made to solve the fluid storage problem. U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,699 shows a contact lens case with a rubber ‘O’-ring around the rim of the storage area to prevent leakage of fluid stored in the lens compartments. U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,416 shows a disposable contact lens storage unit with a sealed top to prevent air or fluid from entering or escaping.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention solves the foregoing problems in two complementary ways. First, a conventional lens case is provided with a quick-detachable key ring or key chain attachment releasably locked to a specially formed horizontal portion of the lens case. For example, conventional lens cases generally comprise two cylindrical, cap-sealed cups located on either end of a relatively flat, horizontal, web portion. In a first form of the present invention, one or more portions of the cup-connecting web is provided with a groove or recess adapted to lockingly receive matingly contoured spring lock arms of the key ring attachment. In a preferred form the recess for the lock arms is formed in the edge of the horizontal web, such that the key ring attachment is mated with the lens case in a horizontal, parallel plane which allows the case to be rested on a flat surface.
In a further preferred form the key ring attachment device is formed from a single piece of spring wire, with a closed loop on one end for attachment to a key chain, and two integral, opposed spring lock arms with a contour and spacing adapted to snap over and around the portion of the lens case web in a friction fit, preferably further enhanced by the recessing of the lock arms into the groove in the edge of the web, and even further by knobs or tabs on the end of the lock arm which mate with detents in the groove.
The key ring attachment remains securely locked to the case until its spring lock arms are forced apart, allowing the case to be quickly and easily separated from the key chain so that it can be laid flat on a narrow surface such as the edge of a sink.
In a most preferred form of the invention, the cup-connecting web of the lens case is provided with one-half of a resilient locking finger mechanism of the type disclosed by Tracy, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,464. These resilient locking finger connectors typically comprise a female finger-receiving receptacle, and a male finger connector adapted to be inserted into the female receptacle and releasably locked thereto by the resilient engagement of one or more fingers with portions of the receptacle. A well-known version of this type of resilient locking finger connector is sold commercially under the brand name “Fastex®”. Many variations on this basic finger/receptacle connector structure are known and commercially available, and can be adapted for use with the present invention.
In the preferred form of the invention, a first half of the connector (e.g., the female receptacle) is formed on the lens case, preferably on one end thereof, as an integral extension of the cup-connecting web portion of the lens case. The other half of the connector (e.g., a male half) has a loop, clip, or other convenient keychain type attachment so that the lens case with the connector halves mated can be attached to a key ring, a key chain, or a similar object worn or carried about a person.
With the portability and availability of the lens storage case itself solved by the key ring attachment feature above, the fluid storage problem is solved by way of novel fluid-holding cup inserts which fit precisely into the lens cups in the lens case. The fluid-holding inserts of the present invention comprise in one preferred form disposable plastic blisters or bubbles of sterile, sealed lens fluid with removable plastic or foil tops. The inserts drop into the lens cups and are secured with the standard lens cup caps without the need for external sealing structure on the case such as lens cup O-rings. The fluid inserts are designed to hold just enough fluid to fill their respective lens cups and still allow a contact lens to be placed in the fluid inside the cup for storage, soaking or cleaning.
In the event that a contact lens needs to be removed from the eye and temporarily stored or cleaned in the case, the user simply unscrews the cap from a lens cup, removes the fluid insert, peels back its top, pours the fluid back into the lens cup, and places the contact lens in the now fluid-filled cup until ready for use.
These and other features of the present invention will be better understood upon reading the following specification with reference to the drawings.
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patent: 5467871 (1995-11
Bui Luan K.
Young and Basile, P.C.
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