Contact lens case having a lid with soft gripping surface

Abstract

A contact case is provided with a lid that allows for easy gripping and opening of a contact lens case. The lid includes two surfaces, a soft gripping outer surface and an inner surface. The soft gripping outer surface provides friction between the user's fingers and the lid, thus allowing a contact lens case to be easily grasped and opened. Preferably, the inner surface is a hard polypropylene and the soft gripping outer surface is a thermoplastic elastomer that covers the entire inner surface. The invention also provides a method of making the above described lid.

1 . A contact lens case comprising a base and a lid, wherein said lid comprises a soft gripping surface.  
   
   
       2 . The case of  claim 1  wherein said lid further comprises an inner surface and an outer surface and wherein said outer surface provides said soft gripping surface.  
   
   
       3 . The case of  claim 2  wherein said soft gripping surface completely covers said inner surface.  
   
   
       4 . The case of  claim 3  wherein said soft gripping outer surface and said inner surface are comprised of different materials.  
   
   
       5 . The case of  claim 4  wherein said inner surface comprises polypropylene.  
   
   
       6 . The case of  claim 4  wherein said soft gripping outer surface comprises a material selected from the group consisting of styrenic thermoplastic elastomers and styrene-butylene-ethylene-styrene derived thermoplastic elastomers and styrene-butadiene copolymers.  
   
   
       7 . A contact lens case comprising a base and at least one lid wherein said lid comprises an inner surface and a soft gripping outer surface, wherein said inner surface is composed of a first material and said soft gripping outer surface is composed of a second material, and wherein said first material is different from said second material.  
   
   
       8 . The case of  claim 7  wherein said outer soft gripping surface completely covers said inner surface.  
   
   
       9 . The case of  claim 8  wherein said soft gripping outer surface is a different color from said inner surface.  
   
   
       10 . The case of  claim 7  wherein said soft gripping outer surface comprises a material selected from the group consisting of styrenic thermoplastic elastomers and styrene-butylene-ethylene-styrene derived thermoplastic elastomers and styrene-butadiene copolymers.  
   
   
       11 . The case of  claim 7  further comprising two wells and two of said lids and wherein lids sealingly engage said wells.  
   
   
       12 . A contact lens case comprising two lids and a base, wherein said base comprises two wells and a bridge connecting said wells and wherein each of said lids comprises a soft gripping outer surface and an inner surface, wherein said soft gripping outer surface is composed of a first material and said inner surface is composed of a second material, and wherein said first material is different from said second material, and wherein said soft gripping outer surface completely covers said inner surface.  
   
   
       13 . A method of making a contact lens case comprising: 
 a) injecting a first material into a first mold to form a pre-lid;    b) removing said pre-lid from said first mold;    c) placing said pre-lid into a second mold;    d) injecting a second material over said pre-lid to form a lid, and    e) providing a base;    wherein said second material completely covers said pre-lid and wherein said lid sealingly engages said base.    
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 14  wherein said first material is polypropylene.  
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 13  wherein said second material is a thermoplastic elastomer.  
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein said second material is selected from the group consisting of styrenic thermoplastic elastomers and styrene-butylene-ethylene-styrene derived thermoplastic elastomers and styrene-butadiene copolymers.  
   
   
       17 . A method of making a contact lens shipping and storage case comprising: 
 a) injecting a first material into a first mold to make a pre-lid;    b) removing said pre-lid from said first mold;    c) placing said pre-lid into a second mold;    d) injecting a second material over said pre-lid to form a lid;    e) providing a contact lens shipping and storage case base with at least one well;    f) inserting a contact lens and a hydration medium into said well; and    g) closing said well by placing said lid on said base.    
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein said first material is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 17  wherein said second material is selected from the group consisting of styrenic thermoplastic elastomers and styrene-butylene-ethylene-styrene derived thermoplastic elastomers and styrene-butadiene copolymers.  
   
   
       20 . An improved contact lens case having two lids and a base, said base having two wells connected by a bridge, said two wells being cylindrically shaped with top regions that are threaded and which taper down to a bottom, said lids of said contact lens case being threaded on an inner wall surface to engage the threads on the cylindrical wells, wherein the improvement comprises: 
 the lids each having a soft gripping outer surface.    
   
   
       21 . The improved contact lens case of  claim 20  wherein said inner surface of the lids comprise polypropylene and said soft gripping outer surface comprises a thermoplastic elastomer.  
   
   
       22 . The improved contact lens case of  claim 20  wherein said inner surface of the lid is completely covered by said soft gripping outer surface.