Contact Lens Case Hinged Dome and Remote Latch
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Solution Overview
Problem
Contact lens cases face challenges in preventing contamination from external pressures and in efficiently designing lens-receiving structures that allow full immersion of lenses without excessive fluid volume, while also avoiding lens damage during closure and ensuring precise molding of dome shapes.
Innovation Solution
The contact lens case features cylindrically curved hinged members with lens-receiving structures on the hinged members rather than the stem, allowing for a larger diameter cage without increasing fluid volume, a remote latching mechanism to prevent lens damage, and an integrally molded vent mechanism with a sealing gasket and elastomeric cap surface for pressure relief.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the dome feature is placed on the hinged member to improve user accessibility and lens delivery, then user convenience is improved, but the cup diameter must be increased which requires more than 10 cc of solution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional layout by placing the dome feature on the hinged member (cage) rather than on the stem, and positions the cage on the stem rather than the dome on the stem. This reversal allows the dome to be accessible on the moving hinged member while maintaining compact overall dimensions that fit within 10 cc solution volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent repositions components along different spatial dimensions - the cage is mounted on the stem along the longitudinal axis, while the dome is positioned on the hinged member extending radially outward, optimizing space utilization within the cup volume constraint.
2Device complexity
If the latching mechanism engages the bottom surface of the stem to secure the hinged member, then structural simplicity is improved, but lenses may be cut when the hinged member is closed
Solution Approach 1:
The latch arm is extracted from the hinged member and repositioned on the stem, engaging a lateral surface rather than the bottom surface. This separates the latch engagement point from the dome-cage assembly, preventing the latch from interfering with lens placement while maintaining secure closure.
Solution Approach 2:
The latch mechanism acts as an intermediary between the stem and hinged member, using a cam action that engages a lateral surface of the stem to indirectly secure the hinged member without direct contact between the latch and the dome-cage assembly where lenses are positioned.
3Strength
If thick plastic sections are used in the stem assembly to provide structural support, then structural strength is improved, but molding time increases and sink defects occur
Solution Approach 1:
The stem assembly uses varying wall thicknesses optimized for local functional requirements - thicker sections where structural support is needed and thinner sections where it is not - allowing efficient heat removal during molding while maintaining necessary strength. The cage and dome use thin-walled designs with rib reinforcement rather than uniformly thick sections.
Solution Approach 2:
The dome feature uses a smooth curved surface optimized for lens retention and easy delivery, with continuous curvature that facilitates efficient molding and cooling without sharp corners or thick sections that would cause sink defects or slow production.
4Quantity of substance
If the cage diameter is reduced to fit within 10 cc solution volume, then solution volume constraint is satisfied, but user dexterity requirements increase making lens placement difficult
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the conventional design and placing the dome on the hinged member rather than the stem, the patent creates a larger effective lens-receiving surface area on the movable cage assembly, making lens placement easier while maintaining compact overall dimensions that fit within 10 cc solution volume.
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
This design ensures full lens immersion with 10 cc of solution, prevents lens damage during closure, and effectively manages pressure to prevent contamination, while allowing for precise and efficient molding of lens-receiving structures.
Implementation Method 1
a diaphragm sealed between the cap and the stem
Implementation Method 2
an integrally molded vent mechanism with a sealing gasket and elastomeric cap surface for pressure relief
Data Source
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AI summary
A contact lens case which includes domes that are provided on hinged members. Preferably, the contact lens case is configured to efficiently utilize space and volume such that no more than 10 cc's of contact lens solution are required to disinfect contact lenses in the case. The hinged members are preferably non-planer which allows the domes to be provided on the hinged members, and allows the use of deep larger diameter, back-to-back cages on the stem, without having to resort to using more than 10 cc's of fluid to immerse contact lenses that are disposed on the domes, between each of the domes and a respective cage. Each of the hinged members has a cylindrically-curved shell form in which the axis of its curve is approximately parallel to the central axis of the central planar stem member.