Curved Contact Lens Packaging with Nested Sealed Stacks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing packaging methods for silicone hydrogel contact lenses fail to maintain their curvature, leading to suboptimal fit and optical correction, and previous solutions either dehydrate the lenses or require excessive packaging volume and material usage.
Innovation Solution
A stack of individually separable, sealed packages with a mechanical or adhesive connection that maintains the lenses in their naturally curved form, using a snap fit closure and minimal aqueous liquid to reduce 'dead' volume and prevent deformation, while ensuring sterility and easy separation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If contact lenses are stored flat in packaging, then packaging volume is reduced, but the lenses are stretched beyond their elastic limit and do not resume desired curvature
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging cup is designed with a curved, spherical bottom surface that matches the natural curvature of the contact lens. This allows the lens to be stored in its curved form without flattening, maintaining its optical properties and fit while still achieving compact packaging through the nested stack design.
2Shape
If packaging is designed to maintain lens curvature, then lens quality is improved, but packaging volume and material usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple packaging units are stacked and nested together, with each cup-shaped package containing a lens and fitting within the peripheral portion of adjacent packages. This nesting arrangement maintains the curved lens form while significantly reducing the overall packaging volume and eliminating dead space between packages.
3Reliability
If packages are joined with adhesive, then sealing is improved, but separation difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging system is divided into individually separable units that are joined by a separable connection. Each package can be easily separated from the stack by applying force to the peripheral portion, while the cup-shaped portion remains sealed to maintain lens hydration and sterility.
4Reliability
If packages are tightly sealed, then sterility is maintained, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cup-shaped portion and peripheral portion are merged into a single integrated package structure that can be easily sealed. Adjacent packages are joined by overlapping the peripheral portions, creating a sealed stack without requiring complex sealing mechanisms, while maintaining sterility through the separable connection design.
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 solution effectively keeps contact lenses hydrated and curved, reducing material waste and costs, while ensuring optimal fit and optical performance by minimizing deformation and maximizing the use of packaging space.
Implementation Method 1
a small amount of aqueous liquid (e.g. sterile saline solution) which is in contact with the contact lens and serves to keep it hydrated
Implementation Method 2
a small amount of aqueous liquid (e.g. sterile saline solution) which is in contact with the contact lens and serves to keep it hydrated
Implementation Method 3
at least part of each package is formed of a material with a degree of resilient deformability, which assists in the formation of a snap fit closure
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3~4C
AI summary
Disclosed is a stack of individually separable packages for a plurality of contact lenses, each individual lens being packaged between a first surface and a second surface, wherein the first surface is provided by a first one of the individually separable packages and the second surface is provided by a second one of the individually separable packages.