Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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B~CKGROUND OF THE T.NVENTION
Field of The Invention
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The present invention relates -to the application of
eye drops, and, more particularly, to an eye drop
application aid for self-application of droplets of
opthalmic solution by an individual.
Description of The Prior Art
The use of eye drops for the care and txeatment of
the eyes is widespread. A wide variety of opthalmic
solutions, prescription and non-prescription, are
designed to be applied to the eyes in droplet form to
alleviate conditions ranging from simple eye strain to
various ~ye diseases such as glaucoma. Generally, eye
drops are supplied to the user either in a bottle with
a conventionaI medicine dropper type of cap or in a
soft-sided squeeze bottle having a nozzle with a dis-
charge opening. The opthalmic solution is introduced
into the eye by holding the end of the medicine dropper
or the bottle nozzle over the eye and squeezing the
medicine dropper bulb or squeeze bottle sides to discharge
droplets of the solution. Typically, the eye drops are
self-administered, which not only presents a challenge but
which invariably results in one or more problems. This is
especially true in the case of the infirmed and the elderly,
particularly when they live alone and have no choice but
to se]f-administer the eye drops. Improper application
can negate the desired effects of the opthalmic solution,
as well as waste large amounts of the solution which
can be costly in the case of expensive prescription solu-
tions. There is also the serious danger o~ accidental
physical contact of the bot-tle nozzle or medicirle dropper
end with the eye which can produce serious eye injury.
Because of the frequent problems with self-admini-
stration of eye drops, a wide variety of devices have
been developed over the years to facilitate the self-
administra-tion of eye drops. Structures ranging from
complex dispensers to a variety of dispenser alignment
supports have been proposed with varying degrees of
success. ~owever, to date, none has been entirely satis-
factory. Many of the devices are expensive and difficultto uset especially by the elderly. On the other hand,
the less costly and more simplified devices have not
resulted in consistent accuracy of the eye drop application
to warrant their use. While many of the prior art
devices successfully position the dispenser a pre-
determined distance from the eye, they do not accomplish
precise vertical alignment, which more often than not
results in a skewed application of the droplets, thus
failing to yield the desired uniform coating of the eye
surface.
~ nother problem with virtually all of the prior art
devices is that they result in the user staring at the
dispenser end and the impending droplet, too o~ten result-
ing in blinking of the eye before the droplet has contacted
the eye's surface, leading to a totally unsuccessful
application attempt.
Yet another problem with most of the prior art
devioes is that they are customi~ed to be useable only
with a particular type and size of dispenser and thus
3~ have no versatility for use with a variety of dispensers.
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Accordingly, an eye dropper app]ication aid which
would elimlnate the problems of the prior art devices
would be welcomed by all who are faced with self-
administering eye drops, especially the infirrned and the
elderly and those who must self-administer eye drops on
a regular and frequent basis.
SUM~IARY OF THE INVENTION
According -to the present invention, there is provided
an eye dropper application aid for self-application of
droplets of opthalmic solution by an individual which is
simple and inexpensive in construction and which is easy
to use with consistent accuracy and successful droplet
applica-tions. The application aid can be used with a
variety of dispenser conEigurations.
The unique eye drop application aid comprises a
housing having a topj side walls and an open bottom, with
the lower periphery of the side walls being contoured
to conform to the facial area surrounding the eye socket.
~n eye drop dispenser seat in the housing top has a
central droplet discharge aperture therethrough and
receives and supports the dispensing end of an eye drop
dispenser a predetermined distance dlrectly above the
center of the eye and permits droplets of opthalmic
solution to be applied to the eye. In the preferred
embodiment, the dispenser seat is removeably mounted
in the housing top to permit interchangeability of
differently configured dispenser seats to accommodate
dispensers of differing configurations.
The preferred embodiment also includes an alignment
indicator means mounted to the housing adjacent to the
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dispenser seat in view o:E the eye being treated to
permi-t ~ertical alignment of the eye drop dispenser end
by head movement before dispensing droplets of the
op-thalmic solution to insure accurate application of the
droplets to the eye. The preferred embodiment further
includes an eye distracting orifice in the housing
top adjacent to the dispenser seat in view of the eye
being treated which permits light to pass therethrough
to focus the eye's attention on the orifice, instead of
the dispenser end and the impending droplet of opthalmic
~ - solution, to avoid premature blinking before the droplet
has contacted the eye.
The vertical alignment indicator which is especially
preferred comprises an indicator element freely rotatably
mounted parallel to the housing side walI, preferably
interior of the housing on an axle pin which is perpen-
dicularly mounted to the housing side wall. The indicator
element has an indicator point at one end and a center of
gravity nearer the other end below the point of rotatable
mounting. The indicator point, which preferably is
perpendicular to the main body o~ the lndicator element
and extends toward the dispenser seat, passes by the
eye distracting orifice during rotation between the eye
and the orificeO The force of gravity causes the indicator
element to constantly seek a vertical orientation. Accor~
dingly, when the indicator point is positioned at the
orifice, the eye drop dispenser end will be ver-tically
aligned abo~e the eye to be treated.
BRIEF DESCRIPTI~N OF T~E DRAWII~GS
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the eye drop
applica-tion aid of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the application aid of
FIG. l;
FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the appli-
cation aid taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 and shown
in use in applying a droplet of opthalmic solution to
the user's eye;
FIG. 4 is an end cross-sectional view of the appli
cation aid taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;
FIGS. 5 and 6 are, respectively, side and front
views of an individual self-administering opthalmic
.
solution with the dispenser aid; and
FIGS. 7 and 8 are side cross-sectional elevational
views similar to FIG. 3 illustrating alternate embodi-
ments which accommodate dispensers of differing con-
figurations.
DESCRIPTION OF THF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings in greater detail, FIGS.
1-4 illustrate a preferred embodiment of eye drop appli-
cation aid 10. As shown, application aid 10 includes ahousing 11 having top 12, side walls 13 and an open
bottom. The lower periphery of side walls 13 are con-
toured to conform to the facial area surrounding the
eye socket, i.e., the nose, the cheek and the lower fore-
head, as shown in FIG. 3. Application aid 10 can beused for either eye by simply rotating the aid 180 to
conform to the contour of the other side of the face.
While housing 11 can be made from a variety of materials,
injection molded plastics are preferred based on cost,
structural rigidity, corrosion resistance and smoothness
of surEace texture.
~ n eye drop dispenser seat 1~ is provided in housing
top 12 and includes a central drop]et discharge aperture
15 to permi-t droplets of opthalmic solution 30 to pass
from the dispensing end 31 of medicine dropper 32 to the
eye. Dispenser seat 14 is configured to receive and
support dispensing end 31 of medicine dispenser 32 a pre-
determined distance directly above the center of the
eye. Thus, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the lower
portion of dispenser seat 14 is tapered inwardly to
prevent further downward travel of dispenser 32.
A unique feature of the preferred embodiment of
application aid 10 is the provision of eye distracting
orifice 16 in housing top 12 adjacent to dispenser
seat 14. A VQxing problem ~requently encountered in
self-administering eye drops, even when using virtually
any of the application aids currently available, is
that the eye's attention is Eocused on the end of the
dispenser and the impending droplet of opthalmic solu-
tion. All to often, the eye blinks as a reflex action,resulting in the droplet being distributed over the
exterior eyelid as opposed to the eye itself. Repeated
attempts are often required before success is finally
achieved, resulting in frustration and a waste of
medicine. Eye distracting orifi~e 16 solves this problem.
Being in view of the eye being treated and permitting
light to pass therethrough focuses the eye's attention
on the orifice, as shown by the sight line in FIG. 3,
instead of on the end of the dispenser and the impending
droplet. This v:irtually eliminates the problem of
premature blin]cing before -the droplet has contacted the
eye.
Ano-ther uni~ue fea-ture of the preferred embodiment
is the provision of a vertical alignment indicator in
view of the eye being treated which guides the individual
in moving his head backward or forward to achieve precise
vertical alignment of the eye drop dispenser end before
dispensing droplets of the opthalmic solution. This
avoids skewed or off center application of the droplets
and results in a uniform application of the solution to
-- the surface of the eye.
In the preferred embodiment shown, the vertical
alignment indicator includes an indicator element 20
which is freely rotatably mounted interior of housing
11 parallel to housing side wall 13 on axle pin 21,
which is perpendicularly mounted to housing side wall
13. Indicator element 20 includes an indicator point
22 at one end which is perpendicular to the main body
of indicator element 20 and extends toward dispenser
seat 14 so as to pass by orifice 16 between the eye and
orifice 16 during rotation of element 20. The center
of gravity of indicator element is located nearer the
end opposite the indicator point, below the point of
rotatable mounting on axle pin 21. This is accomplished
by providing an enlarged portion 23 or by any other
means of adding additional weight to that end of the
indicator element. Because of this structure, the force
of gravity will cause the indicator element to constantly
seek a vertical orientation with indicator ~oint 22 on
top. Thus, when indicator point 22 is positioned at
the cen-ter of oriEice 16, precise vertical alignment
of dispenser 32 i5 insured, as shown in FIGS. 2-4.
FIG. 4 illustrates in phantom the position of
lndicator needle 22 away from orifice 16 when ver-tical
alignment has not been achieved.
The ease of using application aid 10 is illustrated
in FIGS. 5 and 6. ~ledicine dropper 32, filled with the
desired optha]mic solution, is placed in dispenser seat
14. The user's head is then reclined, and application
aid 10 is placed over the eye to be treated and oriented
until comfortably seated on the facial area around the
eye. The eye is then focused on orifice 16, and slight
upward or downward movements of the head are made until
indicator point 22 is visible centered in orifice 16.
.
With vertical alig~ment thus insured and with the eye
being distracted by orifice 16 and indicator point 22,
dispenser 32 is actuated to dispense a droplet of the
opthalmic solution onto the surface of the eye.
Another unique feature of the application aid of
the present invention is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 in an
alternate preferred embodiment. To maximize the versa-
tility of using application aid 10, the dispenser seat
can be removably mounted in housing top 12 to permit
interchangeability of differently configured dispenser
seats to accommodate dispensers of differing configura-
tions. For example, in FIG. 7, a removable dispenser
seat element 40 is utilized, which has an internal con-
iguratlon to accornmodate medicine dropper 32 as shown.
Because application aid 10 is used in the vertical posi-
tion shown, a step down diameter dispenser seat receiving
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aperture ~2 and a corresponding mating external step
down conEiguration of insert 40 permits insert 40 to
be simply dropped into position where it wilL remain by
the force of gravity.
In FIG. 8, dispenser seat insert 41 is being
utilized, which has an internal configuration to accommo-
date the screw top nozzle end of a plastic squeeze bottle.
With the external configuration of insert 41 having the
same dimensions and configuration of insert 40, it is
quickly and easily interchangeable with insert 40 in
aperture 42. Accordingly, the variety of dispensers with
which application aid 10 may be used is only limited by
the variety of dispenser seat inserts available.
Thus, the present invention provides an eye drop
application aid for self-application of droplets of
opthalmic solution which is simple in construction and
virtually problem-free in use. Precise vertical align-
ment can be easily and consistently accomplished, insuring
accurate and uniform application of the opthalmic solution
droplets to the eye. Eye focus distraction eliminates --
premature blinking, and the dispenser end is captivated
at a pre-determined height above the eye, which eliminates
any chance of accidental contact and in~ury to the eye.
By a simple change of dispenser seat inserts, the device
may be used with a wide variety of configurations of eye
drop dispensers.
While the preferred embodiments of the present inven-
tion have been described and illustrated, it will be
obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes
and modiEications can be made without departing from the
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spi.ri-t of -the present invention. Accordingly, the scope
of -the present inven-tion is deemed to be limited only by
the appended claims.
