Eyelid opener

• US 5,064,420 A
• Filed: 11/16/1990
• Issued: 11/12/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Gerald P. Clarke
• Original Assignee: KC Medical Industries Corporation
• Inventors: Clarke, Gerald P., Keen, Jean
• Primary Examiner(s): Green, Randall L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): REICHLE, KARIN M
• Application Number:
  US07/615,802
• Time in Patent Office: 361 Days
• Field of Search: 604/295, 604/306-362, 604/294, 604/296-299, 128/847, 128/858, 128/869
• US Class Current: 604/295
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/0026 Ophthalmic product dispenser attachments to facilitate positioning near the eye

Abstract

An eyelid opener is useful for opening a person'"'"'s eye in order to dispense an ophthalmic fluid into the eye. The eyelid opener comprises a collar having internal lobes arranged to enable the collar to be screwed onto the threads of an ophthalmic bottle. A shoulder extends across the collar and limits the engagement of the collar on the bottle threads. The bottle tip passes through a hole in the shoulder. To the collar are joined a pair of flexible wings. The two wings terminate in respective flanges sized and shaped to conform to substantially the length of the exteriors of the human eyelids. The wings can be squeezed together and placed on the eyelids. Releasing the wings causing them to return to their undeflected configurations and thereby open the eye. Then a drop of fluid in the bottle can be dispensed into the open eye.

Claims

1. An eyelid opener comprising:

a. a collar having a central axis defined by the intersection of first and second orthogonal planes and a thin annular wall of a predetermined diameter, the collar having an internal surface that is formed with a plurality of lobes arranged in an interrupted helix;

b. a shoulder extending across the collar, the shoulder defining an opening of predetermined size therethrough; and

c. first and second opposed wings generally symmetrical about the first and second orthogonal planes and having respective plates that have oppositely extending first ends and free ends, the plates being joined at their respective first ends to the collar, the free ends of the plates terminating in oppositely facing flanges that are normally spaced a predetermined distance apart in an open configuration, each wind plate having a generally arcuate cross section in a plane perpendicular to the central axis, the flanges having lengths and curvatures that conform to the size and contour of substantially the entire length of the exterior of the human eyelid, the winds being made of resilient material so that the wings are squeezable together to bring the flanges thereof adjacent each other to a closed configuration and returnable to the open configuration when the wings are released.

2. The eyelid opener of claim 1 wherein the wind flanges have arcuate lengths of approximately 1.06 inches, and wherein the wing flanges subtend respective angles of approximately 130 degrees about the central axis when the wings are in the open configuration.

3. The eyelid opener of claim 1 wherein each wing plate is partially defined by a pair of side edges that extend between the plate first end and free end and that are spaced apart a distance greater than the diameter of the collar, plate margins adjacent the respective side edges of the first plate at the first end thereof joining the associated plate margins adjacent the respective side edges of the second plate at the first end thereof to thereby create first and second opposed overhangs of the plate margins adjacent the collar.

4. The eyelid opener of claim 3 wherein the side edge of each plate converge toward the collar.

5. The eyelid opener of claim 1 wherein the shoulder is curved in the plane of the second orthogonal plane.

6. The eyelid opener of claim 1 wherein each plate is partially defined by a pair of side edges that extend between the plate first end and free end and are spaced apart at the first end of the plate a distance at least at great as the diameter of the collar.

7. In combination with an ophthalmic bottle having a fluid holding chamber;

a neck connected to the chamber and terminating in an end surface, the neck being threaded adjacent the end surface thereof; and

a tip extending from the neck end surface, the bottle having a central axis formed by the intersection of first and second orthogonal planes,

an eyelid opener comprising;

a. collar means having a predetermined diameter generally concentric with the bottle central axis for removably engaging the threads on the bottle neck; and

b. a pair of wings symmetrical about the first and second orthogonal planes and having widths greater than the diameter of the collar means, the wings having respective first ends joined to the collar means and respective second ends, the first ends of the wings being joined to each other in a shoulder that extends across the collar means and in opposed generally U-shaped overhangs that are coplanar with the shoulder, the shoulder defining a hole therethrough sized to receive the bottle tip, the second ends of the wings terminating in outturned flanges sized and shaped to conform to substantially the contour of the human eyelid.

8. The eyelid opener of claim 7 wherein the collar means comprises:

a. a thin annular wall having first and second ends and sized to received the bottle threads; and

b. a plurality of lobes formed on the annular so that the lobes enable the collar to be screwed on to the bottle threads.

9. The eyelid opener of claim 7 wherein the wings are bounded by respective side edges that converge in the direction of the collar means.