Optics: eye examining – vision testing and correcting – Spectacles and eyeglasses – Ophthalmic lenses or blanks
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-14
2001-01-16
Epps, Georgia (Department: 2873)
Optics: eye examining, vision testing and correcting
Spectacles and eyeglasses
Ophthalmic lenses or blanks
C351S041000, CD16S315000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06174059
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to eyeglasses and a method of viewing objects. More particularly, the present invention relates to eyeglasses particularly intended to be worn by individuals having myopia who do not need correction to view nearby objects. The eyeglasses comprise a frame carrying two lenses, each having a left lens and a right lens which, when worn, are in optical registry with the left and right eyes, respectively. The lenses typically have a straight bottom edge which is horizontal. The bottom edge of the lenses aligns substantially with the lower portion of the eye in the area in the vicinity of the bottom edge of the cornea, enabling the wearer to view distant objects by looking through the lenses and to view nearby objects, without re-positioning the frame, by looking below the bottom edge of the lenses.
This invention also relates, in particular, to a method of using the eyeglasses by individuals having myopia and presbyopia to enable them to see objects both close up and at a distance without repositioning the frame.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Myopia, also termed “nearsightedness,” afflicts more than 70 million people in North America. The condition is characterized by the ability to see nearby objects clearly while distant objects appear blurry. Myopia starts to occur in people between the ages of eight and twelve and almost always before the age of twenty. It typically stabilizes in adulthood.
Presbyopia, a condition that occurs naturally in the aging process, is characterized by the lenses of the human eye losing their elasticity and consequently their ability to focus or accommodate for focused vision of objects located relatively close to the eye, such as reading a newspaper or a computer screen, for example. However, typically, myopic persons are able to view close objects in focus without the need for corrective lenses. Presbyopia usually occurs between ages forty and fifty.
Usually worn after the onset of presbyopia as people approach their mid-forties, bifocal lenses are one means for correcting the vision of people having myopia and presbyopia. In the bifocal lens eyeglasses, the top portion corrects the vision to allow for clear viewing at a distance and the bottom portion corrects vision to provide viewing of objects that are nearby. However, bifocal lenses are relatively expensive and require a user to view close objects through the lens.
Consequently, there exists a need for specialized eyeglasses for individuals who suffer from myopia and presbyopia that readily permit viewing of distant and close objects without the necessity of bifocal eyeglasses and the inherent limitations of such eyeglasses.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention provides a pair of eyeglasses to be worn by individuals having myopia and presbyopia but not needing eyesight correction for viewing close objects (e.g., typically in the range of from about 2-30 inches, for example). The inventive eyeglasses comprise a frame carrying two “upper-half” lenses to provide a substantial upper vertical field of vision that enable the wearer to look through the lenses for viewing objects at a distance and below the bottom edge of the lenses to provide a substantial lower vertical field of vision for viewing nearby objects. Typically, the lenses have a straight or substantially straight bottom edge which is horizontal or substantially horizontal when carried by the frame and worn by a person in a normal wearing position.
As used herein, “substantial vertical field of vision” means a vertical field of vision angle of at least about 40 degrees. The eyeglasses comprise a left lens, a right lens, a frame, including a central mounting structure to which the lenses are mounted, a central bridge portion and typically two temple bars attached to the frame for supporting the eyeglasses on a person's ears when worn. When the eyeglasses are positioned in the normal intended wearing position with the bridge over the upper bridge of the wearer's nose, the left lens is in optical registry with the wearer's left eye and the right lens is in optical registry with the wearer's right eye to provide a substantial uncorrected lower vertical field of vision, without adjusting the position of the eyeglasses on the wearer and a substantial upper vertical field of vision through the lenses for viewing objects at a distance.
The bottom edges of the lenses are substantially horizontal or horizontal and preferably unobstructed by the frame so that when the eyeglasses are worn, the bottom edges of the lenses are substantially vertically aligned with about the bottom of each of the person's eyes, generally with a horizontal line from between about 3 mm (millimeters) below the center of the wearer's pupil to about 3 mm below the bottom edge of the wearer's cornea, when the wearer's head is in a normal upright position, such as when standing or sitting erect and alternatively in that position the bottom edges of the lenses are located in the range of about 3 to 10 mm below the center of the wearer's pupil.
Alternatively, as another point of reference, the bottom edges of the lenses are in vertical alignment in the range of about 3 mm above to about 3 mm below the top edge of the wearer's bottom eyelid when the eye is in a normally open position. The horizontal distance from the wearer's eyes is typical for eyeglasses, usually in the range of about 5 to 30 mm from the central outer corneal surface. Such positioning creates a substantial lower vertical field of vision below the bottom edge for viewing objects close-up without repositioning the frame. Generally, the lenses will have a height to provide an upper vertical field of vision in the range of about 55°-90° and a lower uncorrected vertical field of vision in the range of about 40°-80°, without any repositioning of the eyeglasses on the wearer.
The inventive eyeglasses, which may comprise a specialized frame, enable the wearer to clearly view objects both at a distance and close-up without repositioning the frame and provide substantial upper (corrected) and lower (uncorrected) vertical fields of vision. The substantially horizontal (straight) bottom edge, preferably being unobstructed by the frame and aligned with the wearer's eyes as previously described, provides a substantial corrected upper vertical field of vision for clearly viewing distant objects through the lenses and a substantially uncorrected lower vertical field of vision for viewing close-up objects by looking below the bottom edge of the lens and without repositioning the frame on the wearer. The upper field for viewing distant objects is typically in a ratio of about 0.68:1 to 2.25:1, and more typically about 1.1 to about 1.8, relative to the lower field of vision for viewing close-up objects, depending on where the bottom edge of the lenses align with respect to the wearer's eyes.
Preferably, the bottom lens edge is straight or generally straight and is horizontal or substantially horizontal when the wearer's head is in a normal upright position, such as in
FIG. 8
, for example. As used herein throughout, the terms “horizontal” and “vertical” assume the wearer's head is in the aforementioned position, unless otherwise stated herein or indicated by the context. The bottom edge aligns with the bottom edge of the wearer's cornea, or the lowermost top edge of the wearer's bottom eyelid, when the eye is in a normally open position, providing an upper vertical viewing angle for viewing distant objects in the range of about 70-90 degrees wide and a lower vertical viewing angle for viewing close-up objects is in the range of about 45 to 65 degrees.
In another aspect of the present invention, the aforedescribed, inventive eyeglasses comprise a specialized frame including a right lens support structure, a left lens support structure, and a bridge connecting the right and left lens support structures. The left and right frame structures, in which the left and right len
Epps Georgia
Ryndak & Schwartz
Schwartz Jordan M.
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