RU2815361C1 - Assembly device for fitting sets of contact lenses and methods for automatic identification - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: ophthalmology.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the field of storing contact lenses. The claimed solution provides for stages in which a complete assembly device for fitting sets of lenses is obtained; when all lenses of a certain type are removed, the hinged drop-down door is automatically folded down in a certain position to display it and to provide an indication of the absence of a specified type of fitting contact lenses, and an image of the front part of the assembly device is also recorded.

EFFECT: ability to identify the absence of fitting contact lenses.

15 cl, 7 dwg

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] Over the years, the contact lens business has evolved in a variety of ways, leading to an industry standard way of providing new lenses to consumers. This is especially true for new contact lens users. That is, a consumer may be looking for contact lenses for the first time after wearing glasses exclusively, or the person may not have used corrective lenses at all. Alternatively, the client may need a new contact lens prescription, either due to a natural need for increased power or to address new emerging vision problems.

[0002] In any case, such a consumer will likely be provided with a “trial pack” of contact lenses at an eye care professional's office (OP). Thus, the consumer can leave the SOF establishment with a set of contact lenses that can be safely used for a short period, perhaps a week. If no problems arise after the initial trial period, the new consumer can order new lenses for daily or extended wear for a period well beyond the initial trial period. Of course, if problems arise, the new consumer can return to SOF to obtain different lens sizes and/or powers, or even alternative types and brands of contact lenses.

[0003] In the scenario described above, standard business practice for providing trial packs of contact lenses depends on the brands and types of trial packs that are available to SOF in the office. More specifically, it is likely that a qualified administrative member of the SOF staff will obtain a new contact lens prescription from the SOF during the consumer's visit and access the available set of trial packs. For example, different companies can provide SOF with an array of trial packages of various types, capacities, etc. The SOF or SOF Administrator can quickly scan through different arrays to determine which company brands have a trial pack available for a recently submitted prescription. The brand with the prescription trial kit available may be the brand that is provided to the customer. Depending on how the consumer's trial goes, the consumer's brand choice may be long-term or even permanent for years to come. The choice of a particular brand may be a matter of chance, or the chosen brand may be the last available sample set from any possible brands in the SOF office.

[0004] Of course, the administrator and SOF may wish to have a sufficient supply of trial packs of all types available from various supply companies. However, as a practical matter, there is currently no user-friendly way for the administrator to track available and unavailable trial packs of all types and recipes from all company brands that are supplied to the SOF office. In general, corporate brand trial packs are supplied to the SOF office free of charge. As any given type of trial pack from a particular company is used up, replenishment of the brand and type requires the administrator to notice the missing brand and type and manually place a new order of trial packs from the supplying company.

[0005] Often, re-ordering a particular brand and type of trial pack depends on how many other brands remain available for the desired recipe and type of trial pack. That is, if a given prescription for a trial pack of a certain type is available for all brands except one, it is likely that the administrator will prioritize other matters instead of restocking one brand that has been used up. Unfortunately, this means that the potential consumer's brand preferences and/or SOF generally take a backseat to admin task times and random circumstances.

[0006] Perhaps even more alarming is the fact that replenishment of any given recipe and type for all potential brands may be subject to the administrator's false sense of security. For example, an administrator might pull a trial pack for a given recipe and type from a given brand's inventory and notice that it is the last available trial pack for that brand of the designated type and recipe. However, the belief that other such trial packs are likely available in the arrays of other brands may be a factor in preventing an administrator from re-ordering trial packs from a brand that has been used up. It is bad when such faith turns out to be unjustified. This could happen because the administrator's memory failed, another brand's trial packs were used up by other administrators, or due to a variety of other human factors.

[0007] Alternatively, each sample pack array brand could be equipped with automated tracking sensors and other costly elements to automatically alert administrators of all sample pack inventory in real time. Of course, this may not be cost-effective given the relatively inexpensive cost of any given single-use trial package. Thus, as a practical matter, the consumer and SOF may be faced with the use of any trial packs that remain available, regardless of preference. In fact, in general there remains a real possibility that the consumer will leave the SOF without a trial package at all due to other priorities of the administrator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] A user-friendly system is provided for identifying the absence of any try-on contact lenses of a given type in a plurality of try-on lenses. The system includes a modular fitting kit assembly that has a plurality of separate compartment positions, each of which accommodates one of a given type of plurality of lenses. In addition, the system also contains a plurality of indicators, with one indicator at each compartment position. When activated, each indicator may automatically provide an indication of the absence of a given type of fitting lens in the corresponding positions when such absence occurs. The system also contains hardware to host a smartphone application. The application may generate an image of the visible front side of the modular try-on kit assembly to provide a user-friendly image of specified types of try-on lenses that are not included in the assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF GRAPHIC MATERIALS

[0009] In FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a modular fitting kit assembly with unique fitting kit indicator functionality.

[0010] In FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional side view of the fitting kit assembly compartment shown in FIG. 1, with the sample set removed.

[0011] In FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional side view of the compartment shown in FIG. 2A, after the try-on set has been removed and the visual indicator has been activated.

[0012] In FIG. 3A is a front view of an array of contact lens try-on kits for housing in the modular try-on kit assembly shown in FIG. 1.

[0013] In FIG. 3B is a perspective view of a trial contact lens removed from the packaging of the array try-in kit shown in FIG. 3A.

[0014] In FIG. 4 is a diagram that depicts mobile electronic devices with graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for generating images of the front of the assembly device when removing trial contact lenses.

[0015] In FIG. 5 is a block diagram summarizing an embodiment of the GUI shown in FIG. 4, to track and manage the replenishment of trial contact lenses from the array.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] The following description sets forth numerous details to provide an understanding of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the described embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In addition, numerous variations or modifications may be used and remain within the scope of the embodiments as specifically described.

[0017] Embodiments are described with reference to certain types of systems, with exemplified modular prefabricated fitting kit devices in the contact lens field. In particular, a three-tier modular system is illustrated that houses a variety of known try-on sets of lenses of known size, prescription, type and layout. Namely, a sample set of sixty units as shown in FIG. 1 is the industry standard design. As used herein, the terms “try-on kit,” “trial lenses,” and other similar language are used interchangeably and are not intended to imply any distinction between them. Additionally, a wide range of different designs can be used with the system, applicable to any number of different types of contact lens try-in kits, regardless of prescription ranges, sizes, type, brand, etc. That is, there is no need to apply industry standards in terms of design to adapt and benefit from the present system. If the assembly device uses a known circuit and includes automatic visual indicators of the resulting absence of any type of lens of the assembly device, then a significant advantage can be obtained.

[0018] Referring now to FIG. 1 illustrates a front perspective view of a modular fitting kit assembly 100. The assembly device 100 contains unique fitting set indicator capabilities. In the illustrated embodiment, these capabilities are provided by visual pop-up indicators 110. More specifically, assembly 100 is a housing constructed from various modular components 101, 105, 107. Each of these components houses an array of compartments 125. The compartments 125 may otherwise be empty slots, drawers, or other suitable locations for housing a given type of contact lens 301 (eg, see FIG. 3B). Regardless, each compartment 125 either contains a package of 175 lenses or does not.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, when a lens package 175 is present in any given compartment 125, it is visually noticeable. However, when packages 175 are no longer available at any given compartment position, a visual indicator 110 automatically appears to provide an immediate indication that the lens type at that compartment position is no longer available. In the illustrated embodiment, this automatically appearing indicator 110 may be a hinged or spring-loaded door that is not visible while any package 175 is present in the compartment position. However, after the packages 175 are consumed from compartment 125, the door indicator 110 may fall out and become visible as shown in FIG. 2A-2B.

[0020] Of course, the indicator 110 may be one of many types of indicators. That is, there is no requirement for the specific drop-down door described in this document. Once again, the term “visual” implies that the indicator is visual to the hardware and its applications, such as the camera function on smartphone 400, as depicted in FIG. 4. However, in other embodiments, the type of indicator may be visual relative to the camera function, but not necessarily visible to the application user. This may include indicators that alert by light, electronically or otherwise when an empty compartment appears. Once again, as an aid to the user, it may be noted that the recipe power is illustrated on the front of each drawer pull down indicator 110. However, the system can be fully applied without the need for such user-friendly visual aids. These can be provided simply for human double-checking. Additionally or alternatively, in lieu of such human visual cross-checking provided by numbers, an electronic cross-checking feature by an application in the form of a bar code, QR code or other visual indicia may be located on the face of the indicator 110.

[0021] Continuing with FIG. 1, it can be noted that upon delivery of the SOF, the assembly device 100 is composed of modules 101, 105, 107 of lens packages 175 located one above the other. They may be arranged such that each module 101, 105, 107 has a different fitting size and is positioned above the other in a predetermined order. Again, the collection device 100 itself may contain packages 175 that are unique to a specific brand and type (eg, trial lenses of a particular company's long-wear line). If the collection device 100 is correctly configured at the SOF and information about this predetermined layout is known, a user-friendly method for replenishing test packs can be implemented, as described in detail below.

[0022] It is also worth noting that, other than space availability, there is no specific requirement for the number of packages 175 that are initially available in each compartment 125. For example, all compartments 125 may contain one trial package 175. Alternatively, all compartments 125 may contain multiple packages 175 or only those that are used more often may be presented in multiple copies, depending on the recipe, size and other user history data. When provided in multiples, compartments 125 may be equipped with a spring slide or other suitable sliding aid to ensure that any package 175 is visible and manually accessible until compartment 125 is empty. In any case, a user-friendly system, described in detail below, is useful if a visual indicator of the absence of package 175 in any compartment position is automatically provided.

[0023] Referring now to FIG. 2A, illustrates a cross-sectional side view of compartment 125 of the fitting kit assembly device 100 shown in FIG. 1, with the try-on kit or pack of 175 trial lenses removed. In the illustrated embodiment, compartment 125 is one of the uppermost modules 101 shown in FIG. 1. In addition, attention should be paid to the arrow 275, which indicates the removal of the package 175 from the compartment 125, for example by the SOF personnel administrator.

[0024] Continuing with FIG. 2A, it should also be noted that the door-like indicator 110 is retained within the compartment 125 by the presence of the package 175 before it is removed. With further reference to FIG. 1, At this stage, no notice or indication of missing packaging will be provided in the compartment position. Rather, the package 175 will be visible in the detachable position, as seen in the top left position in the module shown in FIG. 1.

[0025] Referring now to FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional side view of the compartment 125 shown in FIG. 2A, with sample pack of 175 lenses removed. As a result, the door-style indicator 110 can pivot downwards on the hinge 250. Thus, the visual indicator of the absence of further packages 175 is now visible to anyone looking at the front of the collection device 100 shown in FIG. 1. That is, the appearance in the position of this compartment will now be the same as in the topmost row of the assembly device 100 shown in FIG. 1, in the second position from the left side (see the “-0.75” indicator on door 110 in this position). The embodiment shown in FIG. 2A and 2B, assumes one package 175 in compartment 125, which is removed, whereupon the door indicator 110 is displayed. However, as noted above, additional packages 175 of the same type of trial lenses may be found in the compartment 125, the ejection of which may even be assisted upon removal of the previous package 175, for example by spring-loading the compartment 175. In such a case, the door-like indicator 110 will be held in the position shown in Fig. 2A through these subsequent packages 175 until the last one is removed (eg, as shown in FIG. 2B).

[0026] It is worth noting that the visual indicator "-0.75" is convenient for the user, for example, for the administrator of the SOF who uses the collection device 100 shown in FIG. 1. However, as detailed below, the open position of the door itself, even in the absence of such user-friendly identification, may still serve as an indicator to a smartphone application that may distinguish the closed door 110 from the package 175.

[0027] As a brief aside, FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are provided to illustrate practical aspects of packages 175 and contact lenses 301 that are ultimately provided to the end user (see fingers 310). More specifically, in FIG. 3A is a front view of an array of contact lens trial kits (eg, package 175). The package 175 is shown arranged with other stacks such that they will be loaded into one of the modules 101, 105, 107 of the assembly device 100 shown in FIG. 1.

[0028] In FIG. 3B is a perspective view of a trial contact lens 301 that has been removed from the array try-on kit package 175 shown in FIG. 3A. It should be noted that this "array" of packages 175 is organized into known columns 325 and rows 350 such that each package 175 accommodates a lens 301 of a known predefined type for loading into module 101, 105, 107, as depicted in FIG. 1. Thus, as mentioned above, even in the absence of user-friendly signs, presenting the indicator 110 instead of the package 175 may be sufficient for the smartphone application to decipher which types of contact lenses are no longer available in the assembly device 100 shown in FIG. 1.

[0029] Referring now to FIG. 4, a diagram is illustrated that depicts a mobile electronic device 400 with a graphical user interface (GUI) 410 at various stages of operation of an application 401 with the system described in detail above. In particular, the application 401 is configured to obtain an image of the front portion of the assembly device 100 shown in FIG. 1, as packs 175 of trial contact lenses 301 are removed in the normal course of SOF's business. In particular, the application icon 401 of the smartphone 400 may be selected to start the application. Note the login screen 425, which is used to confirm information for a particular SOF. This means that while the application 401 is running, information regarding the assembly device 100, its specific layout, and the characteristics of the sample lens packs 175 and contact lenses 301 are known in advance (see FIG. 1, FIG. 3A, and FIG. 3B). That is, history data relating to such information may be stored either on the smartphone 400 itself, in the collection device contact supplier's database, or in both places. In any case, while the application 401 is running, any difference between the assembly device 100 as provided by the SOF and its current state can be immediately determined as described below.

[0030] Continuing with reference to FIG. 4 and with further reference to FIG. 1, upon login, application 401 may provide a variety of options, one of which is the ability to place an order 450 to replenish trial lenses 301 (see FIG. 3). In the illustrated embodiment, selecting this option may provide a camera type function to interface 410 (see screen 480). Note the angles of the image on the screen 480. These angles may help align the camera display of the front of the image assembly 100 by the application 401. Indeed, as illustrated in the screen 490, the image, or snapshot, of the front of the assembly 100 was captured by a smartphone. 400. In this regard, you should pay attention to the confirmation with a checkmark that the image was taken on screen 490.

[0031] Once an image of the front of the assembly device 100 is captured by the smartphone 400, an order can be placed, as confirmed by the appearance of a confirmation screen 495. It should be noted that the images of assembly 100 illustrated at 480 and 490 do not include reference to the sign on any pull-down door indicator 110. In these figures, this is only a result of the small exemplary display of the assembly device 100 shown in FIG. 1. However, it should also be appreciated that each compartment 125 is either still provided with a trial lens pack 175, or the pop-up door-like indicator 110 is already visible to both the user and the imaging functionality of the smartphone application 400, as described above. . Thus, even if any indicia is actually missing, conventional calculation can be applied, either in the telephone processor 400 or, perhaps more likely, at the supplier's end, to accurately identify both the compartments 125 in which the lenses are missing and the lenses themselves. This is possible due to stored information that relates to lenses 301 and packages 175, as noted above (see FIG. 3B). Thus, when a replenishment order is placed, the specific lenses 301 to be restocked are automatically known even without any specific features being specified by a member of the SOF administrative staff. Indeed, in an embodiment in which the signs are not provided (or even if they are provided), the staff member may never need to pay attention to them. The captured image itself is sufficient to obtain a lens replenishment without any additional action on the part of administrative personnel. Of course, in other embodiments, a member of staff may be given the opportunity to confirm the order before placing the order. In this case, the sign may be useful for a quick double check before placement.

[0032] Using the described methods for ordering replenishment of trial packages provides several advantages. For example, from a staff member's perspective, using an automated application to facilitate replenishment not only reduces the likelihood of human error when placing an order, but also significantly reduces the time it takes a staff member to place an order in the first place. As a result, a staff member's time can be better used on other tasks where such automation is not available. This may have several positive implications for commercial activity. For example, not only is a staff member's time better optimized, it also means that when there are multiple supplier brands, a supplier who implements the system as described herein is more likely to be able to keep the sample pack inventory fully filled. This can naturally lead to additional downstream commercial benefits for the supplier in the long term.

[0033] Referring now to FIG. 5, a block diagram is illustrated that summarizes an embodiment that applies the GUI shown in FIG. 4, to track and manage the replenishment of trial contact lenses from the collection device described above. Specifically, a fully filled collection device is provided as described above, as noted at 510. In the normal course of business, sample packages located in known compartment positions may be continuously consumed from the collection device (see 530). That is, each compartment is initially filled with, for example, trial packs of contact lenses of known sizes, types, prescriptions, etc.

[0034] Since compartment position and lens information is maintained for all positions, an indicator display can be provided whenever a given compartment position is emptied of all lenses in trial packs (see 550). Thus, recording all positions in the assembly device, as noted at 570, instantly provides a record of all filled and emptied compartment positions. For example, in the above-described embodiments, it may be sufficient to record an image of the front of the assembly with door-like indicators presented for the vacated compartments. That is, submitting this image to the supplier, as indicated at step 590, may be sufficient to automatically replenish the vacated compartments with trial packs of contact lenses.

[0035] It should be noted that the replenishment method described above can be implemented without the need for complex electronics or sensors. A simple image of the collection device and a commonly available smartphone may be sufficient to implement automated replenishment. Likewise, however, more complex benefits may be available. For example, a smartphone application or calculations performed by a supplier may take into account previous replenishment activity. This can be useful for the SOF and the supplier, for example in filling the collection unit initially, establishing replenishment forecasts, setting up future orders, informing the supply chain or any number of other additional benefits.

[0036] The embodiments described above include a system and methods for tracking the consumption of lenses in trial packs of SOF in a user-friendly manner. In addition, these methods do not require a complex, complex or expensive tracking system with sensors in the products that are consumed or left over. Instead, the system uses easily accessible visual surveillance, smartphones and messaging to minimize administrative work and obtain replenishment in an almost entirely automated manner.

[0037] The previous description has been presented with reference to currently preferred embodiments. However, other embodiments and/or features of the embodiments may be used, which are disclosed above, but not in detail. Moreover, those skilled in the art and technology to which these embodiments relate will understand that still other modifications and changes to the described designs and methods of operation can be implemented without significantly departing from the spirit and scope of these embodiments. Moreover, the foregoing description should not be construed as relating only to certain designs described and shown in the accompanying drawings, but rather should be construed as being consistent with and supporting the appended claims, which provide the fullest and most reasonable scope of protection.

Claims (26)

1. A method for identifying the absence of contact try-in lenses of a given type from a plurality of contact try-in lenses of various types, the method includes: obtaining a complete assembly device for fitting sets, containing a housing for delivery to an ophthalmologist; wherein the assembly device is configured to accommodate at least one package of lenses from each of the different types of contact try-on lenses in respective known positions of the housing compartments; wherein at least one package of lenses of a given type of contact try-on lenses in a corresponding known compartment position is adapted to hold the visual indicator, which is a hinged drop-down door, out of sight within the corresponding known compartment before automatically displaying it, removing from the corresponding known separation position of lens packages of a given type of contact try-in lenses; automatically folding down the hinged drop-down door to display it in a corresponding known position of the compartment, which is cleared of all lens packages of a given type of contact try-on lens due to removal, to provide an indication of the absence of a specified type of contact try-on lens, wherein display of the drop-down door opens the drop-down door at the front part the corresponding position of the department; And recording an image of the front portion of the assembly, the image including visual information of all compartment positions containing lens packs of various types of contact try-in lenses and all compartment positions with a displayed drop-down door indicating the absence of all lens packs of contact try-in lenses of the corresponding specified lens type . 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a recorded image of the front portion of the assembly device to a supplier of the assembly device. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the drop-down door includes a human-readable indicia, the method further comprising viewing by an administrator one of the front of the assembly device and an image of the front of the assembly device as a human cross-check before transmitting the recorded image. 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the recorded image is obtained using a smartphone and the step of transmitting the recorded image of the front of the assembly device includes sending a message to the supplier of the assembly device to automatically replenish contact try-on lenses for compartment positions with the drop-down door displayed. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein one of the smartphone and the supplier database is used to store history data that relates to automatic replenishment orders, the method further comprising setting up subsequent replenishment orders based on the history data. 6. Assembly device for fitting sets, containing: housing for delivery to an ophthalmologist; a plurality of housing compartment positions, wherein each compartment position is configured to receive at least one lens package of a corresponding known type of contact try-on lens from a plurality of different types of contact try-on lenses of the try-on kit; And a visual indicator that is a hinged drop-down door at each compartment position, wherein each drop-down door is configured to be held invisible with at least one package of lenses of a corresponding known type of contact try-on lens within the corresponding compartment when the at least one package is present therein lenses of a corresponding known type of contact try-in lens, each drop-down door being further configured to automatically swing down to visually display a corresponding vacated compartment position to provide an indication of the absence of a corresponding known type of contact try-in lens, thereby revealing a visual indicator in front of the corresponding compartment position; And wherein the front view of the try-on kit assembly provides one visual record of all compartments of the try-on kit assembly with said drop-down door displayed and being cleared of all associated lens packages of the corresponding known type of contact try-on lens. 7. The fitting assembly apparatus of claim 6, wherein the compartment positions and at least one lens package of the corresponding known contact fitting lenses have a predetermined pattern. 8. The fitting assembly apparatus of claim 6, wherein the visual record is in a format for electronic transmission to a fitting assembly supplier for ordering replenishment of lens packages. 9. The fitting kit assembly device of claim 8, wherein the drop-down door includes a sign that is one of human readable and electronically readable for confirmation before placing an order. 10. The fitting assembly apparatus of claim 6, wherein the housing is of a three-tier modular type to accommodate a total of sixty positions of lens compartments and packages. 11. A system for identifying the absence of contact try-in lenses of a given type from a plurality of contact try-in lenses of various types, comprising: assembly device for fitting sets according to claim 6; And hardware for recording an image of the front portion of the fitting device assembly, the image reflecting a complete picture of all removed lens packages from each respective known type of contact fitting lens for the assembly device based on the displayed drop-down doors. 12. The system according to claim 11, in which the hardware is the smartphone of the administrator of an ophthalmologist. 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the smartphone includes a graphical user interface with a replenishment order application for displaying the front portion of the fitting kit assembly. 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the application stores the eye care professional's login information to validate the fitting kit assembly design to ensure proper replenishment. 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the drop-down door includes a sign thereon to confirm to the administrator that lens packs of the corresponding known type of contact try-on lenses have been removed from the appropriate compartment to ensure proper replenishment.