Chroma-Enhancing Eyewear Lenses With Selective Spectral Filtering

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing eyewear lenses fail to enhance the vividness and clarity of colors perceived by the human eye, leading to reduced visual acuity and diminished colorfulness in various environments.

Innovation Solution

Incorporating a chroma-enhancing optical filter in eyewear lenses that selectively attenuates or transmits light in specific spectral regions to increase chroma values, enhancing colorfulness and clarity by aligning with the peak sensitivities of cone photoreceptor cells in the human eye.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Illumination intensity

If a dark film or coating is used to attenuate visible light, then luminous transmittance is significantly decreased, but chroma enhancement and colorfulness are not improved

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveluminous transmittanceVSAvoidchroma and colorfulness
Core Design Contradiction:
Illumination intensityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The optical filter is designed with non-uniform spectral characteristics, providing different transmittance properties at different wavelengths. The filter selectively attenuates light in specific wavelength bands while transmitting other bands, creating local quality variations in the spectral domain to enhance chroma without uniformly reducing luminous transmittance

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the spectral transmittance parameters of the lens by incorporating an optical filter with specific absorptance peaks at defined wavelength bands. This modifies the light transmission characteristics to align with cone photoreceptor sensitivities, thereby improving perceived chroma and colorfulness while maintaining acceptable overall transmittance

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Object-affected harmful factors

If light is attenuated across the visible spectrum, then visual comfort is improved, but visual acuity and color perception are diminished

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevisual comfortVSAvoidvisual acuity
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The optical filter provides localized attenuation at specific wavelength bands corresponding to potential harmful or less useful spectrum regions, while maintaining high transmittance in bands that contribute most to visual acuity and color perception. This selective local quality approach protects against harmful light without compromising visual performance

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces uniform mechanical attenuation (dark coating) with a spectrally selective optical filter system that uses wavelength-dependent absorption characteristics. This substitution allows differential treatment of different wavelength components, preserving visual acuity while providing comfort protection

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Illumination intensity

If a neutral density filter is used to reduce light intensity, then glare is reduced, but chroma enhancement is not achieved

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvelight intensityVSAvoidchroma values
Core Design Contradiction:
Illumination intensityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The optical filter creates local quality differences across the spectrum by providing selective attenuation at specific wavelength bands rather than uniform attenuation. This allows the filter to reduce overall light intensity while simultaneously enhancing chroma through differential transmission of color-critical wavelength regions

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the spectral distribution parameters of transmitted light by using a filter with specific absorptance characteristics. This transforms the neutral density filtering approach into a chroma-enhancing filter that modifies light parameters to align with human visual system sensitivities

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The chroma-enhancing optical filter significantly improves the perceived clarity and vividness of colors, increasing visual acuity and providing high-definition color perception by optimizing the spectral transmittance profile of the lenses.

Implementation Method 1

a lens that absorbs a significant portion of light in the visible spectrum

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectOptical absorption: Absorption (EM radiation)

Implementation Method 2

chroma-enhancing optical filter that selectively attenuates or transmits light in specific spectral regions

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectOptical transmission: Filter (optical)

Data Source

PatentEP2561321B1Eyewear with chroma enhancement
Publication Date: 2026.02.18 OAKLEY INC
  • EP2561321B1 patent drawingFigure 1A~1B
  • EP2561321B1 patent drawingFigure 2A~2B
  • EP2561321B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4A

AI summary

Some embodiments provide a lens including a lens body and an optical filter configured to attenuate visible light in a plurality of spectral bands. Each of the plurality of spectral bands can include an absorptance peak with a spectral bandwidth, a maximum absorptance, and an integrated absorptance peak area within the spectral bandwidth. An attenuation factor obtained by dividing the integrated absorptance peak area within the spectral bandwidth by the spectral bandwidth of the absorptance peak can be greater than or equal to about 0.8 for the absorptance peak in each of the plurality of spectral bands.