Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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OPTICAL OCCLUDER DEVICE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an optical occluder, and a method for
protecting a
damaged eye using such an occluder. In particular, the present invention
relates to a an optical
occluder for attachment to a user's eyeglasses.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is a common practice for patients who have eye conditions and those that
have
come out of medical surgery to use eye patches for healing purposes. For those
people who have
damaged eyeballs, particularly swollen or protuberant eye conditions, it is
generally impossible to
wear conventional eye-patches for medicinal purposes. In general, the problem
with such devices
is that they interfere with the protuberant eye ball; they are cosmetically
unattractive; and can cause
further discomfort to the user by, for example, allowing skin irritations to
develop through the use
1 S of adhesive patches.
United States Patent No. 2,125,650 to Ring teaches a device for protecting a
damaged
or injured eye. The device is a suction cup eye patch that affixes to the
interior face of an eyeglass
lens. This device, therefore, is unsuitable for protuberant eye conditions, as
it can contact the swollen
eyeball causing further damage and discomfort to the user.
In addition, there are numerous well-known clip-on sunglasses available, such
as
those described in Canadian Patent No.'s 315,543 and 2,114,344. However, such
flip-down and clip-
on sunglasses fail to provide the necessary shielding required for diseased or
damaged eye
conditions. Such prior art sunglasses merely reduce or filter the light
reaching the eye, and do not
shield the eyeball by blocking light therefrom.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide an optical occluder, and method of
using such a
device, that obviates or mitigates at least one disadvantage of the prior art.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally provides an optical occluder for users with
medical
eye conditions, such as protuberant eyeballs.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an
optical
occluder for shielding a damaged eye, particularly a protuberant eyeball. The
occluder comprises an
occluder frame for detachably mounting to a user's eyeglass frames. An opaque
member is mounted
in the occluder frame. The opaque member is substantially impervious to light,
and is typically
coated with a light impervious coating such as black paint. The opaque member
is positioned in front
of a damaged eyeball, and attached to the eyeglass frames such that it is
outside the user's eyeglass
frame. The occluder can be attached by clamps, magnets or a spring-loaded
clip.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
method for
protecting a damaged eye. The method is comprised of the steps of (i)
providing a detachable optical
occluder; and (ii) detachably mounting the occluder to the outside of a user's
eyeglass frames such
that a substantially light impervious opaque member is positioned in front of
the user's damaged
eyeball to shield it from light.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Presently preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be
described, by
way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, in which:
Fig. 1 is a rear view of a first embodiment of an optical occluder according
to the
present invention;
?5 Fig. 2 is a side view of the optical occluder of Fig. 1 shown attached to a
pair of
eyeglasses;
Fig. 3 is a rear view of an optical occluder according to a further embodiment
of the
present invention; and
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Fig. 4 is a rear view of an optical occluder according to a further embodiment
of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A first embodiment of the optical occluder of the present invention, generally
referenced at 10, is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 1 is a rear view of occluder
10, while Fig. 2 shows
occluder 10 attached to a user's eyeglass frames 12, shown in hatched outline.
Occluder 10 generally
consists of a frame 20 for detachably mounting to the frame of the user's
eyeglass frames 12, and
an opaque glass or plastic member 14 that is substantially impervious to light
and is of the general
proportions of an eyeglass lens. Opaque member 14 is conventionally mounted in
frame 20, as will
occur to those of skill in the art, in such a manner that, when attached to a
user's eyeglass frames 12,
it is positioned in front of the user's damaged eyeball. In a preferred
embodiment, the shape of
opaque member 14 is generally convex, with the convex side oriented towards
the user's damaged
eyeball. Optical occluder 10 can further include a transparent lens 22
positioned in front of the user's
other eyeball. In the alternative, the area covered by the transparent lens 22
can remain empty
without any form of lens at all or can include a corrective lens.
Opaque member 14 can be rendered opaque by any suitable means, as will occur
to
those of skill in the art. In a preferred embodiment, opaque member 14 is
coated with an opaque
coating, such as black paint, to make it substantially impervious to light
transmission.
For a severely damaged eye, particularly a severely protuberant eyeball,
eyeglass
frames 12 are modified to remove the lens that would be positioned in front of
the damaged eye. The
curvature of opaque member 14 can be modified as desired to ensure that member
14 is safely distant
from the damaged eyeball. Alternatively, the curvature of opaque member 14 can
be modified as
desired to provide a more or less convex member to selectively alter the
distance from a damaged
eyeball and to provide greater or lesser protection and shielding from
damaging light sources.
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In the illustrated embodiments, shown in Figure 1, 2, 3, and 4, the frame 20
of the
optical occluder 10 is shaped in the form of the user's eyeglass frames 12.
The frame 20 can be
attached to eyeglass frames 12 by a variety of attachment means, such as
clamps, magnets, or a
spring-loaded clip-on mechanism. For example, as shown in Fig. 2, optical
occluder 10 is securely
S attached to the frame of the user's eyeglass frames 12 by a pair of clamps
30 which are generally
protected by a rubber covering to prevent damage and to provide grip. Clamps
30 permit the optical
occluder 10 to be fitted over eyeglass frames 12. Further embodiments are
shown in Figs. 3 and 4,
respectively. In Fig. 3, optical occluder 10 is, attached to eyeglass frames
12 by a spring-loaded
attaching mechanism 40. In Fig. 4, occluder 10 is attached to eyeglass frames
12 by a series of
l 0 spaced magnets 42 that attach to metal eyeglass frames 12.
Referring to Fig. 2, clamps 30 are attached and evenly spaced at the right and
left
sides of frame 20. Clamps 30 extend inwardly to grip a user's eyeglass frames
12.
15 As illustrated in Figure 3, magnets 42, are attached and evenly spaced
around frame
20 of the optical occluder 10.
In the preferred embodiment, as illustrated in Figure 4, spring loaded
mechanism 40
consists of two pegs 44 that are connected to both transparent member 22 and
opaque member 14.
20 A spring 48 is activated by depressing a button 50 to lift two clips 52
which are then positioned over
the bridge of eyeglass frames 12. Releasing button 50 causes clips 52 to grip
the bridge portion of
eyeglass frames 12 and secures occluder 10 to eyeglass frames 12.
The optical occluder of the present invention has a number of advantages over
the
25 prior art. Particularly for those who suffer from medical conditions such
as protuberant eyeballs,
optical occluder 10 has the advantage ofbeing worn over a user's regular
eyeglass frames as opposed
to other devices designed to protect a damaged eyeball, which typically are
secured to the user's
face directly over the eyeball. Since optical occluder 10 is attached to the
outside of the user's
eyeglass frames, it alleviates discomfort by preventing rubbing or coming in
to contact with the
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user's swollen eye condition. Optical occluder 10 is also more cosmetically
attractive than
conventional medical devices, such as patches, designed to shield a damaged
eye. Optical occluder
can be made in different shapes, sizes. and colours to accommodate the many
forms and styles
of eyeglass frames that are available on the market.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing is by way
of example
only. Modifications, variations and alterations may be made to the described
embodiments without
departing from the scope of the invention which is defined solely in the
claims.
