Colored Contact Lens Radial Gradient Dot Matrix Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing colored contact lenses often fail to achieve a strikingly natural appearance, especially for consumers with medium-dark eyes, and may not effectively change the eye color of those with dark eyes, as they can appear less vibrant compared to those with light eyes.
Innovation Solution
A colored contact lens design featuring an underlying annular layer of color ink with a radial gradient of opaque colored dots, combined with additional starburst patterns and a limbal ring, which enhances or changes the eye color while maintaining a natural appearance by increasing color intensity and vibrancy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If opaque colored lenses are used to change eye color, then the eye color can be effectively changed, but the appearance may not be strikingly natural and the underlying iris structure is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using different optical properties in different regions of the lens. The center zone uses translucent colors that allow the natural iris to show through, while the outer zone uses more opaque colors to mask the natural iris. This regional differentiation creates a natural appearance while still achieving effective eye color change.
Solution Approach 2:
The lens is divided into distinct zones: a central translucent zone and an outer opaque zone. This segmentation allows different portions of the lens to serve different functions - the center preserves natural iris visibility while the outer regions provide color masking, resolving the contradiction between natural appearance and effective color change.
2Ease of manufacture
If translucent enhancement colors are used, then the natural iris structure is maintained, but the ability to change dark brown iris to blue is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
Different optical densities are applied to different zones of the lens. The central zone uses translucent colors to maintain natural appearance, while the outer zone uses opaque colors to provide sufficient masking power for dark irises, enabling effective color change from dark brown to blue.
Solution Approach 2:
The lens is segmented into a central translucent region and an outer opaque region. This allows the center to preserve natural iris structure visibility while the outer regions provide the necessary opacity to mask dark natural iris colors, enabling effective transformation to lighter colors like blue.
3Reliability
If opaque colors are used for medium-dark eyes, then color modification is more evident, but the appearance is less natural compared to light-eyed consumers
Solution Approach 1:
The lens provides different levels of opacity in different zones to accommodate medium-dark iris colors. The outer opaque zone ensures sufficient color modification visibility for medium-dark eyes, while the central translucent zone maintains natural appearance by allowing the underlying iris structure to show through.
Data Source
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AI summary
A contact lens, comprising a preprint of a first shade and a main print of a second shade, wherein the preprint consisting of a first band of gradient dot matrix, wherein the main print consisting of a second band of evenly spaced circular voids, wherein the second band surrounds the starburst pattern, wherein the first band and the second band have a substantially identical outer diameter and the first band has a smaller inside diameter than the second band, wherein the first shade and the second shade are different, wherein the gradient dot matrix is characterized by dot coverage increases in a radial direction from the center too the peripheral edge or a position near the peripheral edge of the substantially-circular pattern.