Surgery – Means for introducing or removing material from body for... – Treating material applied to or removed from external...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-19
2002-10-01
Lewis, Kim M. (Department: 3761)
Surgery
Means for introducing or removing material from body for...
Treating material applied to or removed from external...
C604S294000, C604S300000, C604S301000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06458108
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the maintenance and hygiene of the eye, specifically washing proteins, eyelash and foreign objects from the eye.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Nature made eyes self-cleaning and lubricating. Sometimes due to unexplainable reasons or with aging it ceases to provide adequate tear flow which in turn causes the eyes to feel crusty and tired. A satisfactory hygienic apparatus for eye washing is not readily available in the marketplace at the present time. There are numerous apparatuses existing, which can wash proteins from contact lenses for the eyes, but there is nothing currently available to wash the proteins from the actual eyes. The few eyecups, which do exist in the marketplace, are quite ineffective. U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,237 issued to Mr. Herman Sacks is relevant. In this patent Mr. Sacks tried to achieve an effective eye washer design but the design is inadequate. Starting with his eyecup, it does not cover enough of the area around the eye and it may be expensive to make. There are unfavorable possibilities of focusing the eyewash liquid towards the eye improperly and damage to the eyeball from the pressure build up in chamber 3 if filter 8 is clogged. Further disadvantages, such as eyewash liquid contamination, high quantity of eyewash liquid utilization due to separate sump for the eyewash liquid and a pump, exist. Unlike Mr. Sacks's device, the present invention covers all of the eye and area around the eye. It is very inexpensive to make, it is adaptable due to its size, and there are no known flaws and no liquid lines from the pump. Also, there is no sump, sump pump, nor filter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In this invention, an eyecup has a stirring mechanism to stir the eyewash liquid inside. The eyecup has an appropriate opening with an appropriate width rim contoured to fit the eye orbital and ample room for the eyelids and eyeball movement. Its rim is wider to accommodate the orbital variation and to get a better seal and comfort around the eye. Further, an optional soft-liner may be added to the rim. The stirring mechanism consists of an agitator and a driver for the agitator. The agitator is inside and the driver and its operating necessities are outside the eyecup. This device has a universal rim but because the contour of the left and right eyes is different, it may be made contoured to the left and right eye individually or jointly for both eyes. This is not shown in the diagrams because it is self-explanatory, and may be achieved with no problem. To make the present invention compact, components of the Handheld Eye Washing Apparatus may be laid out differently and an eyewash liquid warmer may be added to this apparatus.
The object of this invention is to provide a handy, portable and an inexpensive hygiene-aiding apparatus for the eye. It provides an effective flow of eyewash liquid to flush out the proteins and foreign objects from the eye and it is a boon for contact lens wearers.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4531944 (1985-07-01), Bechtle
patent: 4616783 (1986-10-01), Weber et al.
patent: 4641384 (1987-02-01), Landsberger et al.
patent: 4685906 (1987-08-01), Murphy
patent: 4758237 (1988-07-01), Sacks
patent: 4792334 (1988-12-01), Py
patent: 5020526 (1991-06-01), Epstein
patent: 5152435 (1992-10-01), Stand et al.
patent: 5201726 (1993-04-01), Kirkham
patent: 5346132 (1994-09-01), Hahn et al.
patent: 5401259 (1995-03-01), Py
patent: 5588564 (1996-12-01), Hutson et al.
patent: 5607410 (1997-03-01), Branch
patent: 5893515 (1999-04-01), Hahn et al.
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