Patent Application
20190331939
This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119 to Patent Application P20180100487 entitled, “OPHTHALMIC LENS CENTERING ARRANGEMENT AND CENTERING METHOD,” filed in Argentina in the Argentina Patent Office (National Institute of Industrial Property) on Mar. 2, 2018, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes.
This invention is related to the field of devices, apparatuses and arrangements used in ophthalmology, preferably in the taking of measurements for the realization of ophthalmic lenses and, more particularly, it is related to an arrangement that allows to achieve a correct alignment and centering to carry out the taking of measurements for the later preparation of the ophthalmic lens in a much more practical, fast and easy way, thanks to the utilization of a set of alignment elements arranged in at least one photographic device and one opthalmic lens centering device.
It is well known in the field of art and by those experts in the matter that, the success in the adaptation of ophthalmic lenses in general, and progressive in particular, is strongly associated to a correct calibration of the devices used to carry out the respective measurements that will allow the creation of the ophthalmic lens. That is, the way in which the crystal is positioned in front of the pupil during daily use will determine if the lens is well positioned so as to not harm the patient's vision. All progressive lenses have a point called “PRL” which must coincide with the pupil center when the patient looks towards infinity. This is, in the absence of convergence.
In regards to the naso-pupillary distance for each eye, this can be measured in different ways. One of them, which is the most widely used nowadays, is to block the vision of the eye that will not be measured and place a dot with a permanent marker on the template of the frame centered on the pupil when the patient looks over the professional's shoulder. However, This method is not very precise since the professional must be attentive of the frame and the pupil of the eye of the patient to mark the exact point, so in practice the correct positioning of the lens is not always achieved correctly. Another method is through a centering device that measures the distance between the nose and the pupil, right or left, however, this device does not provide precise information, for example, about the vertical position of the pupil in relation to the frame.
Lastly, there are devices whose functioning principle is based on taking a digital photograph of the patient with the frame in use and measure the distances vertically and horizontally in relation to the pupils and the frame. Nevertheless, a critical point to obtain good accuracy and repetitiveness is to control the alignment and centering of the video camera or lens of the same with the reference device mounted on the frame. A small variation in the angle of capture can mean an incorrect measurement of the distances in question, and in consequence, a bad location of the lens can harm the person's vision.
In view of the current state of the technique available for the measuring devices or arrangements for ophthalmic lenses, it would be very convenient to have a new arrangement that is constituted and constructed in a structurally simple manner so as to notably facilitate the alignment and centering of the pupillary device to create a more adequate and optimum lens for the patient.
The objective of this new invention is to provide a new arrangement to carry out the correct alignment between a centering device and a photographic device in a much more practical, rapid and easy way.
Another objective of this invention is to provide an alignment arrangement for measurement taking in the creation of a much more optimal ophthalmic lens.
It is also another objective of this invention to provide an alignment arrangement for measurement taking in ophthalmic lenses, of the type used with a centering device and a photographic device, that comprises at least one reflection element arranged in a portion of the centering device; and at least one alignment indicating mark arranged close to a lens provided in that photographic device.
It is still another objective of this invention to provide a centering and alignment method between a centering device and a photographic device in accordance with the alignment arrangement which comprises the following steps: a) place the centering device in a frame of a patient's eyeglasses; b) turn the photographic device on; c) position the lens of the photographic device in alignment with the reflection element of the centering device; d) re-position the lens of the photographic device in such a way that the mark placed closely is reflected in the reflection element, reaching the totality of the mirror section and remaining on the same plane as the mirror; e) take at least one photograph; and f) take the corresponding measurements.
For further clarity and comprehension of the objective of this invention, it has been illustrated in various figures in which the invention has been represented in a preferred manner of execution, all of them as examples, where:
In reference to the figures we can see the invention consists of a new alignment arrangement for measurement taking in ophthalmic lenses, and an alignment method to align at least one centering device and one photographic device, in a much more practical, rapid and easy manner. We highlight that, a photographic device must be understood as a device capable of capturing an image, for example: photographic cameras, Smartphones, tablets or similar. Furthermore, even though in this description a centering device shall be referred to as a device to measure the corresponding distances for the location of the lens, this is not a limitation for the invention, since other related devices can also be used with this invention.
Then, and in accordance with
According to one of the objectives of this invention, the alignment arrangement comprises at least one reflection element 8 that can be a mirror or any type of object or material that allows a reflection. This reflection element or mirror 8 is placed in a central and upper section of the centering device 1, more particularly, it is placed between and on top of the eyes 9 of the patient 4. In order to facilitate the subsequent alignment tasks, the reflection element or mirror 8 can be pivoted to vary its up-down position or lateral position, and this is not limiting since it can also be kept in a fixed position.
On the other hand, the invention arrangement is also provided with an alignment indication mark 10 placed close to a lens 11 provided in a photographic device 12. The alignment indication mark 10 can be any type of image that can be reflected in the reflection element 8 and that facilitates the visualization to the professional for the further alignment. Image 10 can present a size similar to the size of the mirror 8 to facilitate the alignment of the photographic device 12.
This invention also provides an alignment method between the centering device 1 and the photographic device 12. For this, the centering device 1 must first be placed in the frame of the eyeglasses 3 of the patient 4, in such a way that it remains exactly as mentioned above. After this, the photographic device 12 is turned on and the lens 11 is positioned—marked 10 in approximate alignment with the reflection element 8 of the centering device 1.
Once located, the lens 11 of the photographic device is carefully re-positioned until the mark 10 placed closely is reflected in the reflection element 8, including the section of the mirror and on the same plane with the latter, so as to achieve the proper alignment. Then, the conventional way is followed taking at least one photograph to finally make the corresponding measurements.
In the case where the device is not correctly aligned,
On the contrary, when the device is properly aligned,
In this way, the alignment arrangement of this invention is constituted and constructed, which notably facilitates the alignment operations between the centering device and the photographic devices. We highlight that this invention is not limited solely to centering devices, but that other similar devices to carry out measurements, if available, can be considered as well and used with the arrangement of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| P20180100487 | Mar 2018 | AR | national |
