US3857480A

US3857480A - Contact lens filing and reclassifying card

Info

Publication number: US3857480A
Application number: US00384394A
Authority: US
Inventors: F Mcclernon
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-07-31
Filing date: 1973-07-31
Publication date: 1974-12-31
Anticipated expiration: 1991-12-31

Abstract

A card or paper-like material for use in reclassifying contact lenses has regularly arranged thereon plurality of sets of the same indicia for recording at each set in writing several specifications of a contact lens. Associated with each indicia set is a circular aperture in the card of a diameter slightly smaller than that of a contact lens so that a lens can be supported convex side down in an aperture to inhibit displacement while its specifications are being recorded at the associated indicia set. Preferably, a set of identical cards are detachably arranged in a pad having a backing member provided with apertures of the same size as, and in registration with, those in the cards.

Description

1 States Patent [191 McClernon Dec. 31, 1974 (IONTACT LENS FILING AND RECLASSIFYING CARD [21] Appl. No.: 384,394

[52] US. Cl. 206/5.l, 206/459 Primary Examiner-William I. Price Assistant Examiner-Joseph Man- Fu Moy Attorney, Agent, or FirmCushman Darby & Cushman 5 7] ABSTRACT A card or paper-like material for use in reclassifying contact lenses has regularly arrangedthereon a plurality of sets of the same indicia for recording at each set in writing several specifications of a contact lens. Associated with each indicia set is a circular aperture in the card of a diameter slightly smaller than that of a contact lens so that a lens can be supported convex side down in an aperture to inhibit displacement while its specifications are being recorded at the associated indicia set. Preferably, a set of identical cards are detachably arranged in a pad having; a backing member provided with apertures 0f the same size as, and in registration with, those in the cards.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures F/A'ENTEU 3,8571%80 UNI/a (M0 0 0 O 0 CONTACT LENS FILING AND RECLASSIFYING CARD This invention relates to a simple and improved means for facilitating the reclassification and filing of contact lenses.

Contact lens practitioners usually maintain a large collection of contact lenses of different specifications for readily fitting patients. These lenses are stored in lens containers which are filed, in an appropriate filing cabinet, by one or more specifications, such as base curve, dioptric value or power, size or color. On many occasions contact lenses are fitted to a patient for a trial period, and subsequently replaced with lenses having different specifications at the end of the trial period. These replaced lenses frequently need to be remeasured before refiling the same, because of alterations or modifications made thereto during the trial period. For various other reasons, a contact lens practitioner may acquire a number of contact lenses which need to be remeasured prior to being refiled.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to pro vide an improved card for facilitating the reclassification of contact lenses.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved card of the type under consideration which greatly inhibits displacement of a contact lens while supported thereon.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved card of the type under consideration which accommodates lenses in a range of larger sizes and in a range of smaller sizes.

it is still another object of this invention to provide an improved pad containing detachable and disposable cards of the improved type under consideration.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an improved card embodying this invention to facilitate reclassifying contact lenses.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, with parts broken away to show details, of a pad of disposable cards of the type shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of a portion of the card shown in FIG. 1 illustrating the positioning and support of a contact lens thereon.

Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a generally rectangular card having a plurality of regularly arranged horizontal and vertical rows of sets 12 of the same contact lens indicia printed or otherwise inscribed thereon. Each set 12 comprises a number of vertically spaced horizontal lines, e.g., six, for recording thereon contact lens specifications. Printed at the lefthand edge of the first four lines are abbreviations, BC, for base curve, PR, for power or dioptric value, 52, for size, and CO, for color. No abbreviations are associated with the bottom two lines, and they can be used by a contact lens practitioner for recording any other specifications for a contact lens which he desires. Associated with each set 12 of the contact lens indicia is a circular aperture 14 in the card 10 of a size slightly smaller than a contact lens to be supported thereat. Preferably, the aperture 14 is located adjacent the top of its associated indicia set 12. In using the card 10, after a lens 16 has been measured, it is placed on an aperture l4, convex side down, as shown in FIG. 3, and

the specifications of the lens then recorded on the indicia set 12 therebelow.

The card 10 preferably is made of a relatively thick, and preferably waterproof paper-like material which will not become warped or otherwise acquire a roughened or wrinkled surface in the event drops of moisture are inadvertently or accidentally dropped upon the card while in use. The paperlike material, though preferably somewhat stiff, also is relatively soft and so will not scratch a contact lens, which normally is made of a hard plastic material, while the lens is supported by the edge of an aperture 14. It will be seen that because the convex side of a lens 16 depends into the aperture 14, as shown in FIG. 3, the lens is supported by the edge or rim of the aperture and such support minimizes shifting or displacement of the lens while supported on the card 10.

It also will be seen that the indicia sets 12 are spaced inwardly from the left and right-hand edges and from the bottom of the card 10 to provide indicia-

free margins

18, 20 and 22 therealong. Thus, the card 10 may be restrained against movement, while being written on, by the fingers of the nonwriting hand of the writer engaging the left 18, right 20 or lower margins 22 of the card. The card 10 normally will have a plurality of lenses 16 supported thereon while the latter are being reprocessed or reclassified preparatory to being stored and filed. Hence, the card 10 cannot be restrained against movement by the writing hand of the writer because the fingers or other portions of the writing hand would contact and displace the lenses.

As is known, most hard contact lenses vary in diameter from about? mm to about 10 mm. in order to achieve proper support for this range of sizes of lenses, it is preferable that a smaller aperture be used for a range of sizes of the smaller lenses, and a larger aperture be used for a range of sizes of the larger lenses. Such larger aperture also is satisfactory for supporting so-called soft or hydrophilic contact lenses which normally are even larger than the largest size hard contact lenses. For this purpose it further will be seen that the indicia sets 12 preferably are arranged in adjacent pairs, separated by a vertical line 24. For example, there are four such adjacent pairs in each horizontal row of the indicia sets 12. The two sets 12 of each adjacent pair preferably have associated therewith lens supporting apertures 14 of different size. The rim of the larger of the two apertures 14 will support contact lenses in a range of larger sizes, while the rim of the smaller of the two apertures will support lenses in a range of smaller sizes.

Referring now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, there is shown the preferred form of the invention which embodies a pad 26 of identical cards 10 of the type shown in FIG. 1. The pad 26 preferably has a cover 28, a backing member 30, and means securing the cover 28, cards 10 and backing member 30 together. The cards 10 are detachably secured to the pad 26 along their upper edges so as to be removable and disposable after use, although normally the cards will be used while still secured to the pad. Appropriate securement of the component parts of the pad 26 together may be had by ribbon-like means 32 which is folded over the upper marginal edge portions of the cover 28 and backing member 30 and has an adhesive on its inner side for detachably securing the upper edges of the cards 10 to the ribbon-like means.

It also will be seen that the backing member 30, which preferably is of ordinary relatively soft cardboard somewhat thicker than the thickness of the cards 10, is provided with apertures 34 of the same size as, and in registration with, the apertures 14 in the cards. The backing member 30, and the apertures 34 therein, serve two functions. First, when only two or three cards remain in the pad 26, the member 30 prevents the central portion of a lens 16, which depends through an aperture 14 in a card 10 below the lower surface of the latter, from contacting an underlying hard padsupporting surface, such as a desk or table, which possibly might scratch the lens. Second, the apertures 34 in the backing member 30 permit a lens to depend thereinto so as to be properly supported by the edges or rim of its aperture 14, without being displaced upwardly, by contact with an underlying unperforated backing membet, and thus subject to being more readily displaced.

It thus will be seen that the objects of this invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. It will be realized, however, that the specific embodiment shown and described is susceptible to modification without departure from the principles of invention. Hence, the invention encompasses all modifications within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An article for use in reclassifying contact lenses comprising:

a rectangular card containing at separate locations thereon a plurality of regularly arranged sets of the same indicia for recording at each set in writing several specifications of a concavo-convex contact lens; and

a circular aperture in said card adjacent each said indicia set, said aperture being of a diameter slightly smaller than that of a contact lens, whereby a lens being reclassified and to have its specifications recorded on said card at one of said indicia sets may be positioned, convex side down, in the aperture adjacent said one set to inhibit displacement of the lens while supported on said card.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the card is relatively stiff, relatively thick and made of paper material.

3. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the card is made of substantially waterproof paper-like material.

4. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the indicia sets and apertures are spaced inwardly of the side and bottom edges of the card to provide margins engageable by the fingers of a recorder to restrain the card against movement while writing thereon without interference with the indicia or lenses supported on the card.

5. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the apertures are of two different sizes for accommodating lenses in a range of larger diameters and lenses in a range of smaller diameters.

6. A pad comprising:

a stack of identical cards as defined in claim 1;

a card-like relatively thick backing member for said stack having apertures therein of the same size as, and aligned with, the apertures in said cards; and

means detachably securing said cards and backing member together along their top edges.

* l l l

Claims

1. An article for use in reclassifying contact lenses comprising: a rectangular card containing at separate locations thereon a plurality of regularly arranged sets of the same indicia for recording at each set in writing several specifications of a concavo-convex contact lens; and a circular aperture in said card adjacent each said indicia set, said aperture being of a diameter slightly smaller than that of a contact lens, whereby a lens being reclassified and to have its specifications recorded on said card at one of said indicia sets may be positioned, convex side down, in the aperture adjacent said one set to inhibit displacement of the lens while supported on said card.

6. A pad comprising: a stack of identical cards as defined in claim 1; a card-like relatively thick backing member for said stack having apertures therein of the same size as, and aligned with, the apertures in said cards; and means detachably securing said cards and backing member together along their top edges.