Amorphous Pattern Colored Contact Lens for Natural Iris Blending

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing colored contact lenses fail to achieve a natural appearance, especially at close distances, due to repetitive patterns and opaque designs that block the underlying iris, leading to an unnatural look.

Innovation Solution

The development of colored contact lenses with an amorphous image pattern that covers less than 40% of the iris section, using a method involving photo editing software to create a distorted, translucent, and sized image with irregular shapes and varying colors, allowing the underlying iris to show through, thereby blending naturally with the wearer's eye.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Illumination intensity

If opaque coloring is used to enhance eye color, then the lens provides strong color enhancement, but it imparts an unnatural appearance

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecolor enhancementVSAvoidnatural appearance
Core Design Contradiction:
Illumination intensityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The iris is divided into multiple color zones with different opacity levels. The lens incorporates a first color in a first zone and a second color in a second zone, allowing different portions of the iris to display different colors and opacities. This segmentation creates a more natural, heterogeneous appearance while maintaining strong color enhancement.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different regions of the lens are assigned different optical properties. The center zone has different color and opacity characteristics than the peripheral zones. This local differentiation allows the lens to simulate the natural variation found in human irises, where the center (iris pupil border) often has different pigmentation than the outer regions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Area of stationary object

If a continuous color pattern is used to cover the iris, then the lens provides complete coverage, but it blocks the underlying iris and looks unnatural

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveiris coverageVSAvoidnatural appearance
Core Design Contradiction:
Area of stationary objectVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of completely covering the iris with opaque material, the lens applies partial coverage with strategically positioned color zones. The first and second colors are applied to specific zones rather than uniformly across the entire iris area. This partial application allows sufficient coverage to enhance eye color while leaving enough of the natural iris visible to maintain realism.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Ease of manufacture

If repetitive dot patterns are used to simulate iris texture, then the lens is simple to produce, but it creates visible repetitive areas that look unnatural at close distances

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveproduction simplicityVSAvoidnatural appearance
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The lens employs asymmetric color distribution rather than symmetric repetitive patterns. The first color is positioned in a first zone and the second color in a second zone, creating an irregular, non-repeating appearance that mimics the natural asymmetry of human irises. This asymmetric arrangement eliminates the repetitive visual artifacts that plague symmetric dot patterns while remaining manufacturable through zone-based application.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #4Asymmetry

Data Source

PatentEP2480929B1Colored contact lens based on amorphous images
Publication Date: 2023.05.24 ALCON INC
  • EP2480929B1 patent drawingFigure 1~1c
  • EP2480929B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2480929B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A method of manufacturing a colored contact lens including the steps of providing a transparent contact lens having a pupil section and an iris section, the iris section surrounding the pupil section and applying a colorant to the surface of the contact lens. The colorant is applied to the contact lens as an amorphous pattern and covers an effective amount of the iris section of the same. The amorphous pattern provides a lens capable of changing the apparent color of the iris of a person wearing the lens while imparting a very natural appearance.