Abstract:
In one general aspect, an apparatus can include a container for storing a contact lens where the container comprises a sealed removable lid configured to retain liquid within the container previous to unsealing and opening the sealed removable lid. The apparatus can also include a contact lens cradle configured to cradle a contact lens placed thereon and a lifting mechanism connected to the contact lens cradle and the sealed removable lid that lifts the contact lens cradle from a storage position within the container to a dispensing position above the container in response to opening the sealed removable lid of the container.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 61/677,194 entitled “A Novel Lamina Emergent Mechanism” and filed on 30 Jul. 2012 for Larry L. Howell, Spencer P. Magleby, Holly C. Greenberg and Samuel E. Wilding. The foregoing application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to contact lens storage and dispensing devices. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Currently available contact lens dispensing devices typically require a user to touch the contact lens multiple times previous to placing the contact lens upon the eye. Each point and instance of contact with the user may transfer bacteria or germs from the epidermis of the user to the contact lens and thereby increase the risk of infection to the eye. What is needed is a low-cost device to dispense a contact lens that reduces the number of times that a user is required to touch a contact lens previous to placing the contact lens upon the eye. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available contact lens dispensing devices and methods. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to provide an apparatus for dispensing a contact lens that overcomes many of the shortcomings in the art. 
     As detailed below, a contact lens dispensing apparatus may include a container for storing a contact lens with a lid that removably seals the container. The apparatus may also include a cradle that cradles a contact lens and a lifting mechanism connected to the cradle and the lid. The lifting mechanism may lift the cradle from a storage position within the container to a dispensing position above the container in response to opening the lid of the container. 
     In one embodiment, the container is a bowl with a foil lid. The bowl and foil lid may collectively form a blister pack with a contact lens enclosed therein. The lid may protect the contact lens from foreign matter including bacteria while the contact lens is stored in the container. 
     The lifting mechanism may include a number of links and hinge points that facilitate translational movement of the cradle relative to the container. The hinge points may comprise living hinges made of the same material as the links connected thereto. The lifting mechanism and the cradle may collectively comprise a laminar emergent mechanism that is integrally formed from a planar sheet of material such as a sheet of plastic material. 
     The cradle may cradle a contact lens placed thereon and include a void that enables a user to slide the contact lens off of the cradle by contacting the lens through the void with an index finger, or the like, on the non-eye side of the lens when the cradle is in the dispensing position. 
     The present invention provides a variety of advantages. It should be noted that references to features, advantages, or similar language within this specification does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment. 
     Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the invention. 
     The aforementioned features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       To enable the advantages of the invention to be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b  are cross-sectional side view illustrations depicting one embodiment of a contact lens dispensing apparatus of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a top view illustration of a laminar mechanism of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustration depicting one embodiment of a contact lens dispensing apparatus of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. 
       FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b  are cross-sectional side view illustrations depicting one embodiment of a contact lens dispensing apparatus  100  of the present invention. As depicted, the apparatus  100  includes a container  110  with a lid  120 , a cradle  130 , a lifting mechanism  140 , and a contact lens  150 .  FIG. 1   a  shows the lifting mechanism  140  in a storage position  140   a  while  FIG. 1   b  shows the lifting mechanism in a dispensing position  140   b.    
     In the depicted embodiment, the container  110  is a bowl with a foil lid  120  that covers the bowl. The depicted bowl  110  and foil lid  120  collectively comprise a blister pack  160 . The lid  120  may removably seal the container  110  and protect the contact lens from foreign matter including bacteria. In the depicted embodiment, the blister pack  160  and the foil lid  120  comprise peeling tabs  122  and  162  that facilitate removal of the lid  120 . 
     The cradle  130  may cradle a contact lens placed thereon and enable a user to slide the contact lens off of the cradle with an index finger or the like (not shown) placed below the cradle  130  when the lifting mechanism  140  is in the dispensing position  140   b.    
     As shown in  FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b , the lifting mechanism  140  may include a number of links  142  and hinge points  144  that facilitate translational movement of the cradle relative to the container  110 . Furthermore, the lifting mechanism may be connected to the cradle and the lid in a manner that causes the lifting mechanism  140  to lift the cradle  130  from a storage position  130   a  within the container  110  to a dispensing position  130   b  above the container in response to opening the lid  120  of the container  110 . The lifting mechanism may be configured to provide a minimal clearance  170   a  and a vertical clearance  170   b  that is sufficient for most individuals to insert an index finger between the container  110  and the cradle  130  and/or the contact lens  150 . In one embodiment, the minimal clearance  170   a  and the vertical clearance  170   b  are greater than 12 mm. 
     In certain embodiments, the hinge points  144  comprise living hinges made of the same material as the links  142  connected thereto. In some embodiments, the links  142  have lengths that correspond to a dyad four-bar or a parallel four-bar. The lifting mechanism  140  and the cradle  130  may collectively comprise a laminar emergent mechanism that is integrally formed from a planar sheet of material such as a sheet of plastic material. 
       FIG. 2  is a top view illustration of one specific embodiment of a laminar mechanism  200  of the present invention. As depicted, the laminar mechanism  200  includes a cradle  130 , a lifting mechanism  210 , one or more attachment pads  220 , and a rim  230 . The laminar mechanism is an emergent mechanism that may be leveraged within the contact lens dispensing apparatus  100 . 
     The cradle  130 , the lifting mechanism  210 , the attachment pads  220  and the rim  230  may be integrally formed from a planar sheet of material such as a plastic. The cradle  130  may include a void  132  that enables a user to make contact with the non-eye (bottom) side of a lens placed on the cradle  130 . As depicted, the lifting mechanism  210  includes a number of links  142  with hinge points  144  that enable the mechanism  210  to move in response to movement of the attachment pads  220  (e.g. in an out of the page) relative to the rim  230 . The rim  230  may be attached to a container such as the container  110 . Movement of the attachment pads  220  can also cause the cradle  130  to move to a storage position or a dispensing position similar to what is shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     In the depicted embodiment, the hinge points  144  comprise living hinges made of the same material as the links  142  connected thereto. In some embodiments, the links have lengths r that correspond to a dyad four-bar or a parallel four-bar. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustration depicting one specific embodiment of a contact lens dispensing apparatus  300  of the present invention. As depicted, the apparatus  300  includes a container  310  with a peeling tab  315 , a lid  320  with a peeling recess  325 , a cradle  330  with a void  332 , a lifting mechanism  340  and a rim  350 . The apparatus  300  is shown in a dispensed state where a user has peeled away the lid from the container  310  and moved the cradle  330  to a dispensing position via the lifting mechanism  340 . 
     In the depicted embodiment, the container  310  is a bowl with a lid  320  that covers the bowl when the apparatus is in a storage state (not shown). The lid  320  may comprise a foil. The container  310  and the lid  320  collectively comprise a blister pack  350  shown in an opened state. While the apparatus  300  is in the storage state the lid  320  may removably seal the container  310  and protect the contact lens from foreign matter including bacteria. In the depicted embodiment, the peeling tab  315  and peeling recess  325  facilitate peeling the lid  320  away from the container  310 . 
     As depicted, the lifting mechanism  340  may include a number of links  342  and hinge points  344  that facilitate translational movement of the cradle  330  relative to the container  310 . In the depicted embodiment, the hinge points  344  comprise living hinges made of the same material as the links  342  connected thereto. The links may have lengths that correspond to a dyad four-bar or a parallel four-bar. 
     The cradle  330  and the lifting mechanism  340  may be encompassed by a rim  350 . The rim  350  may be attached to the container  310  and provide a base for the lifting mechanism  340 . The depicted rim  350 , lifting mechanism  340  and cradle  330  collectively comprise a laminar emergent mechanism that is integrally formed from a planar sheet of material such as a sheet of plastic material. 
     In response to peeling the foil lid  320  away from the container  310 , the lifting mechanism  340  may complete the translation movement of the cradle  330  to the shown dispensing position. Once the cradle is in the dispensing position a user may remove a contact lens for placement upon an eye by touching the non-eye side of a lens through the void  332  and sliding the lens off of the cradle  330 . 
     The present invention provides a low-cost device to dispense a contact lens that reduces the number of times that a user is required to touch a contact lens previous to placing the contact lens upon the eye. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.