Patent Application
20140262845
The present systems and methods relate to contact lens packaging and more particularly, to graphics and sequential artwork designs for contact lens packaging.
Soft disposable contact lenses are commonly contained in disposable packages. As packaging adds to the overall cost of the lens, the packaging preferably is made as economically as possible without compromising the requisite packaging criteria. The traditional blister pack packaging for disposable lenses consists of a polypropylene receptacle for the lens (herein after referred to as a “boat”), topped by a multi-layer film (e.g., a cover sheet) typically consisting of polyethylene, aluminum, a bonding agent and polypropylene. The boat is usually formed using injection molded plastic having a high stiffness. The boat is filled with a suitable storage solution, preferably saline, and receives a single lens in situ. The cover sheet is bonded to the boat and the blister pack packaging is then autoclaved using steam and pressure to terminal sterility. These blister packs are typically presented to the patient in boxes of individual packs or as multiple blister strips having a single row of boats connected together in series.
One common marketing objective is to present the contact lens to a patient in an aesthetically pleasing primary package that both satisfies the statutory requirements for sterility and stability, and allows the patient to remove the lens safely and easily. The primary packaging is used only once and is discarded after the lens is removed. The disposability of the primary packaging impacts the costs of the lens/package combination. In order to reduce the overall price of the lens to the patient, the cost of the packaging should be kept low. In addition, disposability of lens packaging necessitates conformity with ecological standards.
A variety of primary contact lens packages, particularly disposable contact lens packages including preformed blister packs, are taught in the prior art. As exemplified in the prior art, conventional wisdom in the contact lens industry has been to provide preformed stiff packaging which protects the lens from damage from applied load. Examples of typical prior art blister packs are shown in: U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,468; U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,569; U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,087; U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,088; U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,820; U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,327; U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,085; EP Publication No. 1092645 A1; EP Publication No. 1 092 645; and EP Publication No. 0 129 388.
There is a long felt need in the disposable contact lens industry to provide an economic, space-efficient, and functional, disposable contact lens package.
One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a contact lens package that includes a substrate, a cover sheet, and a graphic. The substrate has a plurality of lens receiving portions each sized to hold a single contact lens. The cover sheet is removably secured to the substrate and configured to seal the contact lenses within the plurality of lens receiving portions. The graphic is positioned on the cover sheet and spans the plurality of lens receiving portions. The graphic, when viewed as a whole, has a discernable meaning and is separable into a plurality of portions associated with the individual lens receiving portions. Each of the plurality of portions of the graphic has a separate discernable meaning from the whole.
Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a contact lens package that includes a plurality of individual lens packages and a graphic. The plurality of individual lens packages are releasably connected together. Each of the individual lens packages includes a substrate that defines a lens receiving portion sized to receive a contact lens, and a cover sheet releasably connected to the substrate to seal the contact lens within the lens receiving portion. The graphic spans at least two or more of the plurality of releasably connected individual lens packages. The graphic includes a plurality of separable portions having distinct, non-repeated meaning and that align with individual lens packages so that the individual lens packages, when separated, include a separable portion of the graphic with distinct meaning.
A further aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a method of providing graphics on a contact lens package. The method includes providing a contact lens package having a plurality of separable lens package portions each configured to releasably retain at least one contact lens, and a graphic carried by the contact lens package. The method further includes extending the graphic across the contact lens package, wherein the graphic includes a plurality of individual graphic portions aligned with the lens package portions. The graphic has a graphics pattern when the lens package portions are connected together, and the individual graphics each have individual meaning independent of the other individual graphics portions when the lens package portions are separated from each other.
Another method in accordance with the present disclosure is directed to displaying graphics using a contact lens package. The method includes providing a contact lens package having a plurality of separable lens package portions each configured to retain at least one contact lens, and a graphic display having a plurality of divisible graphic portions and a combination graphic inclusive of the plurality of graphic portions. The method also includes displaying the combination graphic on the contact lens package when the lens package portions are connected together. The method includes separating the lens package portions, and displaying at least one of the divisible graphic portions on each of the separated lens package portions. According to one embodiment, the divisible graphic portions may be non-repetitive.
The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments of the present system and method and are a part of the specification. The illustrated embodiments are merely examples of the present systems and methods and do not limit the scope thereof.
In the drawings, identical reference numbers identify similar elements or acts.
The present disclosure is directed to packages for contact lenses and methods for manufacturing and assembling the contact lens packaging. One aspect of the present disclosure relates to graphics such as text and images visible on a contact lens package. The graphics included on a contact lens package may have several purposes. One purpose may be to convey information to a user related to the contents of the package. For example, the graphic may include text explaining properties of the contact lens such as a right or left eye contact lens, the prescription of the contact lens, the recommended duration of use of the contact lens, instructions for using the contact lens, and recommended care for the contact lens. Other information may relate to, for example, the manufacturer, brand, product name, etc. At least some of this information may be conveyed in multiple languages.
Some of the information conveyed may be communicated with non-text graphics such as, for example, colors, images, art, a location of the graphic on the contact lens package, the size, shape or orientation of the graphic, and other visual indicators separable from the meaning of the text itself. Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to the use of both text and non-text graphics on a contact lens package to convey different types of information. In one example, a non-text graphic (e.g., an image, pattern or color scheme) may be used on a contact lens package to convey information about the contact lens such as, for example, that the contact lens is a right eye contact lens without using text to convey that information. In other examples, both text and non-text graphics may be used to convey similar information, wherein redundancy in conveying information may help ensure the user's understanding of that information. In other examples, a non-text image may include a certain pattern or type of image such as, for example, a flower petal pattern, a landscape pattern, a leaf pattern, an animal pattern, etc., wherein the non-text graphic conveys to the user that any package having that type of that pattern has a contact lens content of a certain type (e.g., a right or left eye contact lens, power, etc.).
Some of the example contact lens packages disclosed herein include multiple contact lens package portions that each include a receptacle (e.g., a contact lens receiving portion) configured to retain a contact lens. The contact lens package portions may, according to one exemplary embodiment, be separable from each other. When the contact lens package portions are connected, the graphic of the contact lens package may include a first portion that extends across all contact lens package portions, and a second portion that extends across only some of the contact lens package portions. Typically, those segments or portions of the graphic that are included on each individual contact lens package portion have meaning that is distinct and separate from the meaning of the graphics shown on each of the other contact lens package portions. For example, one of the graphic portions may include a plurality of words and each contact lens package portion includes at least one complete word in order to limit visual evidence of separation from the remaining contact lens package portions.
According to one exemplary embodiment, a portion of the graphic may span an entire width and/or entire length of a contact lens package that includes a plurality of contact lens package portions. Another portion of the graphic may span only some of the contact lens package portions. Another portion of the graphic may be isolated to a single one of the contact lens package portions. The graphic may be applied to a contact lens package at various locations such as, for example, along a bottom side of a substrate or along a top side of a cover sheet of the contact lens package.
The contact lens package may have different numbers of contact lens package portions. In one example, the contact lens package includes a three pack of contact lens package portions separable from each other along perforated lines defined in the contact lens package. Another example contact lens package includes multiple rows of contact lens package portions, wherein the rows are arranged side-by-side or opposite from each other. The graphic may span the multiple rows of contact lens package portions. In other arrangements, each row of contact lens package portions includes separate graphics with distinct features and/or meaning as compared to the graphics on another row of contact lens package portions.
In the following description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a more complete understanding of various embodiments of the present systems and methods. However, one skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the present exemplary systems and methods may be practiced without one or more of these specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures associated with manufacturing and assembly of contact lens packaging have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the present exemplary embodiments.
Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and the claims that follow, the word “comprise” and variations thereof, such as, “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed in an open, inclusive sense, that is, as “including, but not limited to.” Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearance of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.
Referring now to
The contact lens package 10 may include a width W extending between first and second ends 2, 4, and a length L extending between first and second sides 6, 8. Portions of the graphic 26 may extend various distances along the width W and length L as will be described in further detail below. The substrate 20 includes a contact lens receiving portion 30 (also referred to herein as a boat, contact lens receptacle, or recess). The substrate 20 may also comprise a laminate material with the contact lens receiving portion 30 preformed in the substrate 20. Further details concerning the laminates, foils and other features suitable for use in the contact lens package 10 are described in Singapore Patent Application filed on 18 Oct. 2011 and entitled “Packaging for Disposable Soft Contact Lenses Having Pre-Formed Multi-Layer Structural Laminate”, which patent application is incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.
As disclosed in the above-mentioned Singapore Patent Application entitled “Packaging for Disposable Soft Contact Lenses Having Pre-Formed Multi-Layer Structural Laminate”, the contact lens package 10 may relate to a package with a preformed laminate substrate. One layer of the laminate substrate is configured to provide sufficient structural rigidity to maintain a shape (e.g., a lens receiving portion) that is preformed in the substrate. In one example, the first layer includes a polymer material such as polypropylene. Another layer of the laminate substrate may include a second material that provides different properties from the first layer such as, for example, light-reflectivity, strength, and resistance to water/vapor permeability. The package also includes a cover sheet that is connected to the substrate and seals a contact lens within a lens receiving portion formed in the substrate. The cover sheet may also be a laminate having at least two layers. The first layer may comprise, for example, a polymer that assists in connecting the cover sheet to the substrate. Another layer of the cover sheet may include a material having different properties such as, for example, greater light-reflectivity, strength, or resistance to water/vapor permeability properties.
Alternatively, the contact lens package 10 may assume a foil on foil configuration wherein the entire package is formed of flexible laminate substrates. Particularly, the contact lens package 10 may assume any primary contact lens packaging configuration having at least one foil or cover sheet including, but in no way limited to, primary contact lens packaging disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,828,137, which patent is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
A further aspect related to the contact lens package 10 is directed to a single contact lens package that houses multiple contact lenses. The contact lens package may include a plurality of lens receiving portions (e.g., recesses, depressions or “boats”) formed in the substrate. The lens receiving portions may be arranged in multiple directions such as multiple rows, wherein each row includes at least one contact lens receiving portion. The rows may be arranged opposite each other or side-by-side. Some contact lens packages may provide for separation of at least one lens receiving portion from the other lens receiving portions. Other arrangements may include a plurality of lens receiving portions that are inseparable from each other once the contact lens package is assembled.
Some contact lens packages 10 may include layers of material for the cover sheet and substrate that are added during assembly of the contact lens package rather than being provided with the substrate and/or cover sheet as a laminate. In one example, at least one layer of light-reflective material or liquid/vapor impermeable material is added to the substrate or the cover sheet after sealing a contact lens within a lens receiving portion of the substrate.
The contact lens package 10 may include a spring disc or other internal member that engages the lens after positioning a contact lens within the lens receiving portion. The internal member may help compress the contact lens within the lens receiving portion to decrease a side profile (e.g., depth) of the contact lens from a sagittal depth to compressed depth or may alternatively aid in the return of the lens to its uncompressed state when released. The internal member may be held in place with the cover sheet, the substrate, or may be freely floating within the package. The internal member and portions of the substrate (e.g., lens receiving portion) may include a plurality of perforations that provide a more advantageous interface with some types of contact lenses. Compressing the contact lens within the contact lens package may make it possible to provide the contact lens package with a reduced overall thickness, which may provide a number of advantages related to packaging, storing, and shipping the contact lens package.
The contact lens package 10 may be created in a single manufacturing line. The substrate and sheet may comprise materials capable of maintaining a sterile environment within the package where the lens is disposed. The sterile environment may be created by heating the first material of the substrate. Light-sensitive materials disposed within the package may also be protected from light to limit degradation of the light-sensitive materials. The substrate and cover sheet may comprise materials that permit printing of graphics that minimize negative effects on the light-reflecting attributes or the sterile environment of the contact lens package. In some arrangements, the contact lens package may be configured for use as an insertion aid. The materials of the contact lens package may promote improved sealing between the substrate and cover sheet layers. For example, the laminate materials used for at least one of the substrate and cover sheet may include layers of material in the area where a seal is formed between the substrate and cover sheet that provide improved seals (e.g., releasable seals, permanent seals, hermetic seals, heat seals, etc.).
The graphic 26 includes first, second, third and fourth graphic portions 50, 52, 54, 56 when the contact lens package 10 is assembled together as shown in
Each of the first, second, third and fourth graphic portions 50, 52, 54, 56 may convey different types of information and have distinct meaning from each other. Further, each of the portions 50A-C may have distinct and independent meaning from each other when separated and carried on the contact lens package portions 12A-C. The portions 52A-B of the second graphic portion and the third graphic portion 54 may also have separate, independent, and distinct meaning from each other when the contact lens package portions 12A-C are separated.
In one example, the first graphic portion 50, when the contact lens package portions 12A-C are connected as shown in
In one example, the first graphic portion 50 extends across or along an entire length L of the contact lens package 10. The first graphic portion 50 may, according to one exemplary embodiment, include a pattern. A pattern may be non-repeatable along the length L. Any of the portions 50A-C may by itself include some feature that shows a tie or association with the other portions 50A-C, and can by itself stand alone having an individual meaning, artistic value, or convey information that does not require its connection to any other part of the contact lens package 10 in order to be understood. For example, the first graphic portion 50 typically does not include a single word that spans across one of the perforation lines 28 so that when the contact lens package portions 12A-C are separated from each other that the entire word can be understood if that contact lens package portion is connected to at least one other contact lens package portion 12A-C. Typically, the portions 50A-C do not include the exact same or repeated image or text on each of the contact lens package portions 12A-C. That is, the graphic portions 50A-C are typically unique visually on each of the contact lens package portions 12A-C.
The second graphic portion 52 may have different attributes or properties and convey different information as compared to the first graphic portion 50. In one example, the second graphic portion 52 includes text such as a plurality of words. Typically, none of the words in the second graphic portion 52 span one of the perforation lines 28 so that the contact lens package portions 12A-C can be separated from each other without losing the meaning of any one of the words. Typically, the words included in the second graphic portion 52 may, if isolated by themselves on one of the contact lens package portions 12A-C, have distinct and individual meaning that is not nonsensical.
In one example, the second graphic portion 52 includes the words “flat pack,” wherein the word “flat” is included on the contact lens package portion 12A and the word “pack” is included on the contact lens package portion 12B. The term “flat” and the term “pack” may individually have separate meaning when the contact lens package portions 12A-B are separated from each other, and have a different meaning when combined together as a phrase “flat pack” when the contact lens package portions 12A-B are connected to each other.
The third and fourth graphic portions 54, 56 may include yet further information having distinct value and meaning as compared to the first and second graphic portions 50, 52. In one example, the third graphic portion 54 may include information relevant to the entire contact lens package such as, for example, a phrase such as “daily disposable soft contact lens.” The phrase provided by the third graphic portion 54 may have relevance to the entire contact lens package 10 when the contact lens package portions 12A-C are connected, and still provide relevant information that has separate and distinct meaning when the contact lens package portion 12C is separated from the contact lens package portions 12A-B.
The fourth graphic portion 56 may include, for example, a symbol, logo, product name, or other indicator that has relevance and meaning whether the contact lens package portions 12A-C are connected or separated from each other.
In one example, a plurality of contact lens packages 10 are included together as a first assembly of contact lens packages, and a plurality of contact lens packages 10 are included together as a second assembly of contact lens packages. The graphic 26 on the contact lens packages of the first assembly may have some common information that associates those contact lens packages together as the first assembly. The graphic 26 of the second assembly may have at least one different feature as compared to the graphic 26 of the first assembly. For example, the first graphic portion 50 in the first assembly of contact lens packages 10 may include a common color scheme (pink and white) with different images (e.g., different flower patterns from different varieties of flowers). The color scheme and pattern may relate to, for example, right eye contact lenses for a given week or month. The second assembly may include graphics having a different color scheme with the same pattern, a different scheme and a different pattern, or the same color scheme and different pattern as compared to the first assembly. The differences in the first graphic portion for each of the assemblies of contact lens packages 10 may convey information to the user without the use of text and without a repeated identical graphic included on each contact lens package portions.
In other examples, each of the first, second, third, and fourth graphic portions 50, 52, 54, 56 of a graphic 26 may convey different information via, for example, text, color scheme, pattern, positioning/orientation, and other variables to distinguish one contact lens package 10 from another contact lens package 10. Such attributes and properties of the first, second, third and fourth graphic portions 50, 52, 54, 56 may also provide some correlation between the contact lens package portions 12A-C of a given contact lens package 10.
Referring now to
Each of the first and second graphic 126, 127 may include a plurality of graphic portions. Each of the graphic portions of the first and second graphic 126, 127 may provide various information for a user and/or provide general aesthetic appeal. Providing graphics on opposing sides of the contact lens package 100 may increase the surface area available for applying graphics to the contact lens package 100. The use of two graphics 126, 127 may provide additional options for conveying different types of information wherein, for example, information of a higher level of importance may be positioned on the cover sheet 112 and less vital information may be positioned on the bottom of the substrate 120.
Referring to
The second graphic 127 may be divided into first, second, third and fourth graphic portions 170, 172, 174, 176 as shown in
Those graphic portions and individual segments or segments shown with reference to
Referring now to
Each of the contact lens package portions 212A-F may include a substrate 220, a cover sheet 222, and a graphic 226 (see
The first graphic portion 250 may be divisible into portions or segments 250A-F, the second graphic portion 252 may be divisible into portions or segments 252A-B, and the fourth graphic portion 256 may be divided into portions or segments 256A-B (see
The portions of the graphic 226 may have the same or similar features, functionality and advantages as described above with reference to graphic 26 of contact lens package 10. The graphic 226 may convey information to a user about, for example, the contents of all of the contact lens package portions 212A-F or at least one of the first and second rows 211, 213 of contact lens package portions 212A-F.
The graphics 26, 126, 127, 226 described with reference to
The preceding description has been presented only to illustrate and describe exemplary embodiments of the system and process. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the system and process to any precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the system and process be defined by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201107633-8 | Oct 2011 | SG | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/SG2012/000391 | 10/18/2012 | WO | 00 | 4/15/2014 |
