Package for hydrophilic contact lens

• US 4,691,820 A
• Filed: 12/11/1986
• Issued: 09/08/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Johnson & Johnson Vision Products, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Vistakon, Inc. (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Martinez, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Marcus, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): FIDEI, DAVID
• Application Number:
  US06/940,710
• Time in Patent Office: 271 Days
• Field of Search: 206/205, 206/5.1, 206/461, 206/467, 206/470, 206/471, 206/484, D 9/424-429, D 9/415
• US Class Current: 206/205
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2575/3245 by peeling off the non-rigid sheet
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2585/545 Contact lenses
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 75/326 and forming one compartment

Abstract

A molded blister package for storing and dispensing a hydrophilic contact lens comprises a base portion which includes a cavity surrounded by a outstanding flange, and a cover sheet sealed to the flange to enclose the cavity. A portion of the side wall of the cavity is inclined to form a ramp to the flange. The cover sheet may be stripped from the flange to expose the cavity and inclined side wall whereupon the lens is readily removed by sliding up and out of the cavity along the inclined surface.

Claims

1. A package for a hydrophilic contact lens maintained in a sterile aqueous solution comprising:

a molded base having a cavity for containing said contact lens and a flange extending outwardly about the periphery of said cavity,

said cavity being defined by a bottom surface and side wall surfaces extending between said bottom surface and said flange,

a portion of said side wall surface being inclined away from said bottom surface at an angle of from about 130 to 160 degrees, said inclined side wall surface forming a ramp between the bottom of the cavity and said flange, and

a flexible cover sheet releasably sealed to said flange around the perimeter of said cavity, said cover sheet and said flange adjacent the edge of said inclined side wall surface extending outwardly to beyond the area of said seal,

the unsealed edges of said cover sheet and said flange comprising gripping means for separating said cover sheet from said flange to expose said inclined side wall and said cavity;

said package being impermeable to bacteria to preserve sterility,

said package having negligible moisture vapor transmission rate to avoid loss of water; and

,

said package being sterilizable.

2. The package of claim 1 wherein the bottom surface of said cavity is a smooth planar surface.

3. The package of claim 1 wherein the inclined side wall surface is a smooth planar surface.

4. The package of claim 1 wherein the bottom surface of said cavity is concave.

5. The package of claim 1 wherein the inclined side wall surface is concave.

6. The package of claim 1 wherein said molded base is a thermoformable polypropylene polymer.

7. The package of claim 1 wherein said cover sheet is heat sealed to said flange.

8. The package of claim 7 wherein said cover sheet is an adhesive laminate of aluminum foil and polypropylene film.

9. The package of claim 7 wherein said heat seal has a chevron configuration adjacent said unsealed edges of said cover sheet and said flange.

10. The package of claim 1 wherein said cavity is rectangular and is defined by three upstanding side walls and one inclined side wall.

11. The package of claim 1 wherein said cavity is defined by a semicircular upstanding side wall merging into an inclined side wall.

12. The package of claim 1 wherein said negligible moisture vapor transmission rate is capable of maintaining said lens in its original condition for shelf-life period of up to four years.