Contact lens disinfector unit

A contact lens disinfector unit (10) includes a housing having a top wall (15), a heating block (27) within the housing for heating the contact lens case (25) and the lenses therein, and a lens case receiving compartment (26) between the heating block and the top wall (15) having an opening in a side wall (18) of the housing for slidingly receiving the contact lens case. A lens case ejector (28) is slidingly mounted on the housing top wall (15) and includes an elongate member (57) extending into the lens case receiving compartment to provide a key for positioning the lens case base against the heating block. The ejector also forms a pusher (56) to engage the lens case. A barrier wall (27a) isolates the lens case compartment from a cavity (48a) in the housing that contains electrical circuitry. Springs (50) press the lens case against the heating block.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to an improved contact lens disinfector 
unit. 
Contact lenses, both of the hard and soft type, often must be disinfected 
before they are suitable for use. To this end, each contact lens of a pair 
is inserted into a separate container or receptacle for holding the right 
and left lenses spaced apart so that they do not become confused. A 
quantity of fluid is then administered to the containers and then the lens 
case comprised of the separate container is placed in a disinfector unit. 
The lens case is in direct contact with the heating block of the unit and 
the fluid within the containers is in direct contact with the lenses. 
After the disinfecting temperature has been reached and maintained for a 
sufficient period of time, the lens case and the contact lenses contained 
therein are permitted to cool before removal from the disinfector unit. 
Prior contact lens disinfector units have relied upon gravitational forces 
for assuring that the contact lens cases are in contact with the 
disinfector unit heating block. While heat transfer from the heating 
blocks to the contact lens cases in these prior disinfector units has been 
adequate, increased heat transfer efficiency between the heating blocks 
and the contact lens cases would, of course, be desirable. 
Furthermore, disinfector units of the prior art have generally included a 
hinged cover and a lens case recess having a bottom surface formed by the 
heating block. In order to place a lens case into such a disinfector unit, 
it is first necessary to lift the hinged cover to expose the recess, place 
the lens case in the recess so that the bottom of the case engages the 
surface of the heating block, and then close the hinged cover. For 
removing the lens case from the disinfector unit, it is necessary to lift 
the hinged cover, manually grab the lens case and then reclose the hinged 
cover. While disinfector units of this variety have proved to be generally 
successful, the hinged cover arrangement of these disinfector units have 
not maximized the convenience of using such units. Furthermore after the 
disinfection of the lenses has been completed, the lens case may still be 
hot to the touch. Obviously, should the user grab the contact lens case 
before it has cooled sufficiently, injury to the operator may result. 
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a new 
and improved contact lens disinfector unit which assures increased heat 
transfer efficiency between the heating block and the contact lens case. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and 
improved contact lens disinfector unit wherein the contact lens case may 
be received within the disinfector unit against the heating block with 
greater ease. 
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a contact 
lens disinfector unit which includes an improved ejector mechanism for 
removing the contact lens case from the disinfector unit without requiring 
the operation to touch the lens case as it is ejected from the disinfector 
unit. 
The device embodying the invention includes a housing, a heating block 
within the housing for heating a lens case and the contact lenses therein, 
a lens case receiving compartment within the housing adjacent to the 
heating block and having an opening permitting sliding insertion of the 
lens case into the compartment for surface contact with the heating block, 
and ejector means actuable externally of the housing and including pusher 
means for causing the lens case to slide out of the compartment through 
the opening. 
The present invention further provides such a disinfector unit which 
includes biasing means within the contact lens case receiving compartment 
for urging the lens case against the heating block to increase heat 
transfer efficiency from the heating block to the contact lens case. 
The invention further provides a barrier wall between the lens case 
compartment and the region of the housing that contains electrical 
circuitry that reduces the possibility of electric shock and aids in 
heating the lens case.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to FIG. 1, a disinfector unit 10 includes a housing comprised 
of a top cover section 11, a bottom section 12, with an opening 13 
provided in said cover section 11. In the opening 13 there is an activator 
button 14 mechanically coupled to a thermocouple switch (not shown). When 
the button 14 is depressed, a disinfecting cycle is initiated as a result 
of known circuitry. Beneath the button 14 there is a light bulb which 
lights up when the thermocouple switch is closed, thus indicating that the 
unit 10 is in the heating mode. The light bulb beneath the button 14 is 
shut off when the thermocouple switch opens at which time the unit 10 has 
reached the disinfecting temperature. The top cover section 11 further 
includes a top wall 15 and a plurality of side walls 16, 17, 18 and 19. 
The bottom section 12 correspondingly includes a plurality of side walls 
20, 21, 22 and 23. The side walls of the top section 11 and the side walls 
of the bottom section 12 are arranged to interfit together as best seen in 
FIGS. 3 and 4 so as to form the housing of the disinfector unit 10. 
Within the side wall 17 there is a rectangular opening 24 which is 
dimensioned to receive the contact lens case 25. The opening 24 provides 
access to a contact lens case receiving compartment 26. The compartment 26 
is located between a heating block 27 and the top wall 15 of the unit 10. 
The heating block 27 is heated by an electric resistance (not shown) in a 
conventional manner. 
Within the top wall 15 there is disposed a contact lens case ejector 28 of 
resilient plastic. The ejector 28 is mounted on the top wall for sliding 
movement from a position shown in full lines to a position shown in 
phantom lines (FIG. 1) for ejecting the lens case 25 from the disinfector 
unit compartment 26 in a manner to be described in greater detail 
hereinafter. 
The lens case 25 is of the type which includes a base 30 and a pair of 
spaced apart cylindrical lens receiving receptacles 31, 31. The 
receptacles 31 each include a hollowed out portion 32 for receiving a 
respective one of the contact lenses and an external thread 33. The 
external thread 33 mates with an internal thread 34 carried by receptacle 
caps 35. The caps may be marked R and L to designate the receptacles for 
right and left eye lenses of the user. 
In use, when it is desired to disinfect a pair of contact lenses, the user 
places each lens in a respective one of the receptacles 31 and then 
administers an amount of fluid to the receptacles. Thereafter, the caps 35 
are mounted in place to enclose the contact lenses and the fluid. The lens 
case 25 is then slid into the compartment 26 through the opening 24 
whereupon the base 30 makes direct surface contact with the heating block 
27. The ejector 28, as will be more fully described hereinafter, is 
structured to permit the lens case 25 to be received by the compartment 26 
only in the orientation shown in FIG. 1 so that it is assured that the 
base portion 30 will be in direct surface contact with the heating block 
27. Once the lens case 25 has been inserted into the compartment 26, the 
button 14 is depressed to initiate a disinfecting cycle. Because the 
heating block 27 is in direct surface contact with the base 30. The lens 
case 25 and fluid therein will be heated to an elevated temperature. To 
assure sufficient heat transfer between the heating block 27 and the 
contact lens case 25 the disinfector unit 10 further includes leaf springs 
50, 50 secured to the under surface of the top wall 15 and arranged to 
bias or urge the contact lens case 25 downwardly against the heating block 
27 in a manner to be more fully described hereinafter. 
After the disinfecting cycle has been completed and the lens case has been 
cooled, it is now time to remove the contact lens case 25 from the 
compartment 26. To that end the ejector 28 is displaced in the direction 
of the arrow 40 to the phantom line position shown in FIG. 1. The ejector 
28 includes a pusher 56 within the compartment 26 which engages the 
contact lens case 25 for pushing the lens case and causing the case to 
slide out of the compartment 26 through the opening 24. An internal stop 
48 for the ejector 28 causes the pusher to terminate its pushing force 
upon the lens case 25 at a point when the lens case 25 is approximately 
half way through the opening 24. At this point, the lens case rests on the 
edge of wall 21, which is lower edge of the opening 24. The lens case may 
then be manually removed from the disinfector unit housing. 
Referring now to FIG. 2, the disinfector unit 10 is there shown with its 
top section 11 removed from the bottom section 12 so as to render visible 
the interior of the disinfector unit 10. Basically, the disinfector unit 
10 includes the aforementioned heating block 27 which includes a recessed 
portion 41 for receiving, in part, the contact lens case 25. A 
conventional power supply circuit which includes a resistive heating 
element (not shown) is adapted to be connected to an electric power source 
by a known type of connector 43. The power supply circuit and resistive 
heating element combine to heat the heating block 27 to a temperature 
which is sufficient to cause the contact lenses to be disinfected. The 
heating block 27 includes a surface portion 42 which engages the under 
surface of the lens case base 30 during the heating of the contact lenses. 
As shown in FIG. 2, the top section 11 includes an inner wall structure 45 
which, when the top section 11 and bottom section 12 are brought together 
as illustrated by the arrow 46, coacts with the recess 41 to form the 
contact lens case receiving compartment 26. These sections 11, 12 are held 
together by screws (not shown) that pass through bosses 46a. Secured to 
the under surface of the top wall 15 are a pair of leaf springs 50. The 
leaf springs 50 project into the compartment 26 and are arranged to engage 
a respective one of the caps 35 of the lens case 25. As a result, the leaf 
springs 50 serve to bias or urge the base 30 of the case 25 against the 
heating block 27 despite variations in the heights of the cups 35. This 
arrangement insures efficient heat transfer from the heating block 27 to 
the case 25. In FIG. 4, the leaf springs 50 are shown in an operative 
position in which they are engaged with the caps 35 of the lens case 25 so 
as to urge the base portion 30 of the case against the heating block 27. 
The wall structure 45 coacts with the adjacent surface 27a of the heating 
block to form a barrier between the compartment 26 and the rear cavity 48a 
of the section 12 below the button 14, it being noted that the cavity 48a 
contains electrical wiring and circuit components. Thus, the cavity 48a is 
isolated to reduce electric shock possibilities. Also, the surface 27a is 
at a margin of the heater block 27 and extends substantially to the 
opening 24 whereby the barrier wall substantially surrounds the lens case 
except at the opening 24. Thus, the barrier helps to compensate for heat 
losses through the opening 24. 
Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, it can be seen that the ejector 28 
includes a first member 55, a second member 56, and a third elongate 
member 57. The first member 55 and third member 57 form a bifurcated 
structure. The second member 56 is carried by the third member 57 and is 
disposed substantially perpendicular to the third member 57. The second 
member 56 includes an extension 58 which projects upwardly towards the 
first member 55. 
As best seen in FIG. 3, the top wall 15 includes a first recess 46 which is 
arranged to receive the first member 55. The first member 55 has a knurled 
surface 59 which projects beyond the top wall 15. The first recess 46 is 
dimensioned in correspondence to the width dimension of the first member 
55 to guide the sliding movement of the ejector. Additionally, a second 
recess 47 is provided in the under surface of the top wall 15 for 
receiving the extension 58 of the second member 56. By virtue of the 
bifurcated structure of the first and third members 55 and 57, the 
resiliency of the connection therebetween and because of the spacing 
between the first member 55 and second member extension 58, the ejector 28 
is arranged to snap fit between the top wall 15 within the recesses 46 and 
47 so as to mount the ejector for sliding movement on the top wall 15 of 
the unit 10. 
Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, it can there be seen that the third member 
57 is substantially perpendicular to the first member 55 and extends into 
the contact lens receiving compartment 26. More specifically, the third 
member 57 extends partially into the compartment 26 between the contact 
lens receptacles 31 of the lens case 25. As will be noted in FIG. 4, the 
third member 57 provides a key by which the lens case 25 can only be slid 
into the compartment 26 in the manner shown with its base portion 30 
against the heating block 27. Thus, the third member 57 not only provides 
a key for guiding the movement of the lens case 25 into the compartment 
26, but also limits the use of the disinfector unit 10 to those lens cases 
which are of the proper geometry and which, in turn, may be those lens 
cases that can withstand the elevated temperatures of the heating block 
27. 
The third member 57 also performs additional functions in that it defines a 
partition wall between the contact lens receptacles 31 and coacts with the 
base portion 30 of the lens case 25 to form substantially closed half 
sections of the compartment 26. The partition wall defined by the third 
member 57 therefore may to some degree limit the ingress of external air 
into the compartment 26 which would otherwise reduce the effectiveness of 
the heating of the contact lens case 25. 
As will be noted in FIG. 3, the second member 56 is in engagement with the 
contact lens receptacles 31. As the ejector 28 is caused to be displaced 
from its solid line position as shown in FIG. 1 to its phantom line 
position, the second member 56 serves as a pusher to push the contact lens 
case 25 out of the compartment 26 through the opening 24. The recess 47 
includes the stop surface 48 that engages the extension 58 when the 
ejector is at its fully displaced position as shown in phantom in FIG. 1. 
The surface 48 and extension 58 engage at a point where the lens case 24 
is partially ejected through the opening 24 where it may rest in a 
position disposed for complete manual removal.