TTL Loupes Declination Angle via Carrier Lens Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Through-the-lens (TTL) loupes have a limited declination angle due to the size of the carrier lens, leading to neck strain in users who must bend their head downward, restricting ergonomic design.
Innovation Solution
Modifying eyeglass frames by creating holes in the carrier lenses with opposing pointed ends to accommodate ocular devices that extend below the lens edge, allowing for increased declination angle and stability through cementation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If the carrier lens size is increased to accommodate ocular devices, then the declination angle increases, but the lens becomes larger and more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier lens is segmented by removing the central portion to create a hole, allowing the ocular device to extend below the lens edge. This segmentation enables the ocular to achieve a greater declination angle without requiring the entire lens area to be increased, thus resolving the contradiction between increasing declination angle and maintaining lens size.
Solution Approach 2:
The ocular device is nested within the carrier lens structure, with the ocular body extending below the lens edge through the created hole. This nesting arrangement allows the ocular to utilize the space below the lens boundary, achieving increased declination angle without proportionally increasing the lens area.
2Ease of operation
If the ocular device is positioned lower to increase declination angle, then ergonomic posture improves, but the mounting stability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Holes are pre-formed in the carrier lens at positions that extend below the lens edge, and corresponding holes are pre-formed in the ocular device body. This preliminary preparation of mounting structures ensures that when the ocular is cemented into position, it achieves both the desired low position for ergonomic posture and stable mounting through the aligned hole connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The cement acts as an intermediary substance that fills the aligned holes between the carrier lens and ocular device, creating a stable bond. This intermediary material provides both the mechanical stability needed for secure mounting and the flexibility to accommodate the extended position of the ocular below the lens edge.
3Ease of manufacture
If a complete bore is formed through the lens, then ocular mounting is simplified, but lens structural integrity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of forming a complete bore through the lens, the invention segments the lens structure by creating a hole that extends below the lens edge without removing the entire lens thickness. This partial hole formation maintains lens structural integrity while still providing adequate space for ocular device mounting.
Solution Approach 2:
The hole is positioned and dimensioned to provide local access for the ocular device at the critical mounting region below the lens edge, while the rest of the lens maintains its full structural integrity. This localized modification approach ensures that lens strength is preserved where needed while still enabling effective ocular mounting.
Data Source
AI summary
Dental/medical/surgical loupes have an improved declination angle to reduce neck and back strain. Eyeglass frames are provided with carrier lenses having bottom edges. A hole is provided in each carrier lens, each hole having an outer periphery that extends below the bottom edge of the carrier lens, resulting in a pair of opposing pointed ends. A pair of ocular devices are cemented in a respective one of the holes, such that a portion of the ocular body also extends below the bottom edge of the carrier lens. Each ocular is then cemented or otherwise permanently affixed into position to achieve a desired declination angle. For added stability, a pair of holes may be formed into the body of each ocular, each pair of holes being physically aligned with the two opposing pointed ends of the carrier lens associated with that ocular.