Abstract:
An eye dropper with spring loaded soft tipped arms that hold open the eyelid to facilitate applying fluid eye medication drops to the eye. Eye dropper has attachment device for a bottle of liquid with a means of controllably dropping liquids into the open eye. Adjustable protrusions set maximum opening of eye and concurrently squeeze the bottle to controllably extract the eye drops.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention is in the field of medical apparatus and in particular apparatus for applying fluids to eyes by holding the eyelids open a pre-set amount and dropping the required number of drops into the eye. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    It is well known that opticians, eye doctors and individuals have difficulty applying drops to open eyes. The instinct of a person is to close the eye lids when a foreign body is about to approach or enter the eye. This eyelid movement is known as a reflex reaction. The main movement is done by the upper eyelid as is lowers to meet the lower eyelid. The patient often finds it difficult or even impossible to open his eye when he knows a foreign body will enter his eye, even when he knows that the foreign body is a liquid. The person applying the drops or the patient has to manually hold the eye open in order to apply the drops. 
         [0003]    This problem is more acute when the patient is a child as children, generally, are more sensitive to such treatment. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description present embodiments of the invention and are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the invention as it is claimed. 
         [0005]    This invention includes apparatus that performs the dual operation of opening the eye lids and holding a bottle of liquid above the eye to facilitate the application of the liquid to the eye. Such application is usually by pressing the bottle or the holed teat to cause one drop at a time to exit the hole in the teat. In a preferred embodiment of this invention adjustable protrusions on handles of the device press against the bottle of drops to controllably dispense the drops into the eye. 
         [0006]    The eyelids are sensitive membranes that cover and protect the eyeball. The skin over the upper eyelids is one of the thinnest skins of the body. This invention takes these facts into account and provides for appropriately soft material like, for example, soft silicon pads to cover the endings of the arms that hold open the eyelids before and during the application of the drops. 
         [0007]    Even though the top eyelid is the main lid that is held open when applying drops to the eye, the apparatus of this invention also holds open the lower eyelid. The lower eyelid does not move with a muscle movement like the upper eyelid but when held open a space is revealed between the lower portion of the eyeball and the inner surface of the lower eyelid. This space acts like a vessel that catches excess liquid drops applied to the eyeball and enables a larger surface of the eyeball to be in contact with the said liquid drops. 
         [0008]    The apparatus of this invention comprises two arms where each arm has at one end a covering of a soft pad that is suitable material for contact with the eyelid. At the distal end of each arm is a handle that is pressed inward, relative to the center point of the bottle on the bottle&#39;s longitudinal axis, pivoted at the connection to the bottle. The pressing of the handles inward causes the soft pads move in an outward movement, relative to the same center point, because of the pivotal effect. This outward movement is the movement that opens the eye lids and holds the eyelids open. 
         [0009]    Both arms are pivotally attached with a spring mechanism to the eye drops bottle or bottle holder so that the inward pressing action at the handle end of the arm causes an outward movement of the soft pads at the other end of the arm. 
         [0010]    When the arm handles are not pressed the spring mechanism keeps the handles at their widest apart and the soft pads closest together. This enables the greatest degree of control when pressing the arm handles thereby separating the soft pads, which movement opens the eyelids. 
         [0011]    On each handle is a sliding adjustable protruding piece to pre-set the maximum distance moveable by the soft pads and therefore the maximum opening of the eyelids. These protruding pieces are also a safety device to prevent accidental excess opening of the eyelids. The adjustment is also to cater for the different sized eyes of adults and children. Children would require a smaller opening of the eye and so the adjustable protruding piece would be moved towards the open end of the bottle thereby enabling the soft pads to open the minimum amount. 
         [0012]    The eye drop apparatus of this invention, in the preferred embodiment, is an integral part of eye drop bottle. The eye drop bottle could be manufactured with the soft pads and handles ready attached to the bottle. Each bottle packed and dispensed with its eye opening equipment attached and ready to use. Alternatively, the eye drop bottle could be a re-useable bottle or a device to hold standard size eye drop bottles or an adjustable device to hold different sized bottles. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate various embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles and operations of the invention, by way of example only and not to limit the invention to these descriptions only. 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is a schematic depiction of the eyelid opener and dropper of this invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a schematic depiction of the eyelid opener and dropper of this invention being applied on a user. 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a schematic depiction of the eyelid opener and dropper with a screwing mechanism. 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a schematic depiction of the eyelid opener and dropper with a screwing mechanism and a built in lid. 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a schematic depiction of an upper eye lid soft pad. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0019]    As will be appreciated the present invention is capable of other and different embodiments than those discussed above and described in more detail below, and its several details are capable of modifications in various aspects, all without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description of the embodiments set forth below are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. 
         [0020]      FIG. 1  shows the bottle  100  that holds the fluid eye medication drops. The bottle has a neck that fits into a sleeve  102 . The sleeve  102  would be adjustable in circumference to fit different sized bottles. The fitting of the bottle in the sleeve  102  is tight so that the bottle  100  is held safely and steadily in place to ensure accurate positioning of the teat  104  over the eye. 
         [0021]    The handles  106  are pivoted at the point where they are attached to the springs  108 . The springs  108  are attached to the sleeve  102 . The springs  108  could be attached directly to the bottle  100  in the area of the bottle neck. At the distal end of the handles  106  are the soft pads. The soft pad  110  is for the upper eye-lid and is shaped to match approximately the shape of the upper lid. The upper-eye lid soft pad is used to hold open the upper lid of the eye. The lower eye lid is held a distance from the eye ball surface with the aid of the soft pad  112 . The soft pads  110  and  112  could be made of any soft material that is suitable for contact with the delicate lid of the eye for example, soft silicon. 
         [0022]    The sliding adjustable protruding piece  114  is for setting the maximum width between the soft pads  110  and  112 . This is also a safety device preventing the pads  110  and  112  from distancing one from the other farther than desirable. The protrusions  114  work by controllably sliding in a groove in the handle  106 . The protrusion  114  protrudes from the handle  106  in the direction of the bottle  100 . When the protrusion  114  is closer to the springs  108  the protrusion  114  prevents the handles  106  from being opened more than a given amount as the protrusion  114  comes in contact with the sides of the bottle  100 . 
         [0023]    In one embodiment the protrusions  114  coming in contact with the bottle  100  could a method of extracting drops from the bottle  100  where the sides of the bottle are flexible. The same movement of holding the eye lids open the required amount, causes the protrusions  114  to press against the side of the bottle  100  thereby causing at least one drop of liquid to be released from the teat  104 . This embodiment would enable the user to open the eyelids of the patient and controllably and simultaneously apply the drops with one hand, leaving the other hand free for other activity. 
         [0024]      FIG. 2  shows the eyelid opener and dropper of this invention as being explained in  FIG. 1  with the illustration of how the eyelid opener and dropper is being applied on a user. 
         [0025]      FIG. 3  shows an eyelid opener and dropper with a screwing mechanism. The neck of a battle that holds the fluid eye medication drops is screwed into a sleeve  102  by a screwing mechanism  120 . The screwing of the bottle in the sleeve  102  enable the bottle to be held safely and steadily in place to ensure accurate positioning of the teat over the eye. 
         [0026]      FIG. 4  shows an eyelid opener and dropper with a built in lid. The battle  100  that holds the fluid eye medication drops is screwed into a sleeve  102  by a screwing mechanism  120 . The built in lid  122  with a small portion  124  on top of the lid  122  that is removable, enable the user to screw the battle  100  to the eyelid opener and dropper only before the first use and leave the battle attached to the eyelid opener and dropper until the eye drops are finished or the user decide otherwise. The lid  122  is covering the teat  104  keeping it clean and hygienic for safe use. Before every use the user only needs to remove the removable portion  124  from the lid revealing the teat  104  of the battle  100 , and the eyelid opener and dropper is ready to be used. 
         [0027]      FIG. 5  shows a soft pad  110  from the cross sectional side view. The pad  110  is attached to the arm  106  on the attachment plate  130 . The pad  110  is shaped with a curvature  132  that will fit the curvature of the upper eye lid. There could be different sized soft pads for adults and children.