AN IMPROVED EYE CUP, TO BE USED IN THE OPERATION OF DRY CUPPING THE EYE
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Fletcher, of 3, Guilden Terrace, Portfield,
near Chichester, in the County of Sussex, Minister, for the Inven-
tion of "AN IMPROVED EYE CUP, TO BE USED IN THE OPERATION OF DRY
CUPPING THE EYE."A communication from abroad by Dr. J. Ball, of
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PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Fletcher at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th July 1872.
I, JOSEPH FLETCHER, of 3, Guilden Terrace, Portfield, near Chichester,
5 in the County of Sussex, Minister, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "AN IMPROVED EYE CUP, TO BE USED IN THE OPERATION of
DRY CUPPING THE EYE," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is the construction of an improved instru-
ment to be used in the operation of dry cupping of the eye, which
O instrument consists of a cup made of ivory, lignum vitæ, or other
suitable material, connected with an air-tight hollow india-rubber ball.

page_text: Within the cup and attached to the inside thereof by a small spiral or
coiled spring of fine pliable wire is a concave button of wood or other
suitable material, which is termed the "myopic attachment."
The manner in which this improved eye cup is to be used is as follows:
-The india-rubber ball being pressed by the hand of the operator a
portion of the air within the ball is expelled, the cup is then to be placed
over the part to be dry cupped (the myopic attachment being placed
upon the eye), and on the pressure on the india-rubber ball being
removed a vacuum is formed within the cup sufficient to cause the
adhesion of the cup to the part, the myopic attachment pressing gently
on the cornea of the eye but not to such an extent as to cause pain to
the patient.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Fletcher in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 23rd January 1873.
•
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
FLETCHER, of 3, Guilden Terrace, Portfield, near Chichester, in the
County of Sussex, Minister, send greeting.
•
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto him, the said Joseph Fletcher, Her special licence that he,
the said Joseph Fletcher, his executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as he, the said Joseph Fletcher, his executors, administrators,
and assigns, should 'at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED EYE CUP," being a com-
munication to me from abroad, by Dr. J. Ball, of Ninety-one, Liberty
Street, New York, America, upon the condition (amongst others) that
he, the said Joseph Fletcher, his executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under his, or their, or one of their hands and.

page_text: seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office, within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent..
"
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Fletcher, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the annexed Drawings and
to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
The object of this Invention is the construction of an improved instru-
ment to be used in the operation of dry cupping of the 'eye, for the
purpose of inducing a perfect clrculation of the blood in that organ, and
thereby curing or ameliorating some of the defects in vision to which it
is liable.
The instrument consists of a cup made of ivory, lignum vitæ, or other
suitable material, connected with an air-tight hollow india-rubber ball.
Within the cup, and attached to the inside thereof by a small spiral or
coiled spring of fine pliable wire is a concave button of wood or other
suitable material, which is called the " myopic attachment," this
appellation being given to the same on account of the instrument being
especially applicable to the treatment of "myopia" or near sightedness.
The manner in which the instrument is used is as follows:―The
india-rubber ball being compressed by the hand of the operator a portion
of the air within the same is expelled. The cup is then placed over the
part to be dry cupped (the "myopic attachment" being placed upon the-
eye) and on the pressure on the india-rubber ball being removed a
vacuum is formed within the cup sufficient to cause the adhesion thereof
to the part to which it is applied, the "myopic attachment" pressing
gently in the cornea of the eye, but not to such an extent as to cause
pain to the patient.
The construction of the instrument which forms the subject of this
Invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the annexed
Drawings.
Figure 1 represents the instrument in elevation; and Figure 2 the
same in section. A is the hollow india-rubber ball; B, the cup; C, the
spiral spring; and D, the button or "myopic attachment."
'

page_text: Figure 3 is a front view of the cup, shewing the button or "myopic
attachment at D.
"
Having thus declared and ascertained the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I would observe in
conclusion that what I consider novel and original, and as constituting
the Invention secured by the said herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is, the construction of an improved eye cup, substantially as and
for the purposes herein-before described and set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Fletcher, have hereunto set
.
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by
the said Joseph Fletcher in
the presence of
R. G. RAPER,
of Chichester,
Solicitor.
JOSEPH FLETCHER. (L.S.)