Contact lens case with indicia void indicators

Abstract

A contact lens case includes manually adjustable counters or time indicators on the left and/or right well caps utilizing voids, cut-outs or apertures to define indicia used to represent time intervals for lens replacement, maintenance, or other activities. A rotatable time indicator dial is connected to the top of the cap in a first embodiment, whereas a rotating indicia dial is confined under a windowed cover in a second embodiment. The dials are indexed by a paw or pin that seats into recesses in the disc and along the centerline of the indicia desired to be accented, windowed or illuminated. Accent of indicia voids by illumination can be by an exterior direct or diffused light source, or internally from chemical luminance or other means.

1 . A contact lens case comprising:
 a base defining a well to receive a contact lens and a quantity of liquid, the base having a threaded exterior wall around the well;   a cap having complementary threads to engage the threaded exterior wall of the base, the cap being selectively engaged with the base, the engagement of the cap having an open position that exposes and allows access to the well and a closed position that covers the well and establishes a fluid tight seal, the cap having a void defining a letter indicia that designates that the well is provided for a left or right contact lens;   a dial operatively disposed on the cap such that the dial rotates about an axis, the dial having a plurality of voids arranged around a perimeter of the dial that define a plurality of indicia, the dial being selectively rotatable such that any one of the indicia may be positioned at a first location; and   an illumination source positioned below the dial at the first location to highlight a particular one of the indicia at the first location, wherein the particular one of the indicia may be selected by rotation of the dial to provide information concerning a time period that the contact lens has been in use.   
     
     
         2 . The contact lens case of  claim 1 , wherein the illumination source directs external diffused light to pass through the voids that define the particular one of the indicia at the first location. 
     
     
         3 . The contact lens case of  claim 2 , wherein the illumination source comprises an accent tab secured to the cap at the first location. 
     
     
         4 . The contact lens case of  claim 2 , further comprising a cover attached to the cap over top of the dial, wherein the cover includes a window at the first location to allow the external diffused light passing through the voids of the particular one indicia to be viewed through the window, and wherein the cover further defines a notch to allow the dial to be selectively rotated underneath the cover so that any one of the indicia may be aligned with the window. 
     
     
         5 . The contact lens case of  claim 1 , wherein chemical properties of the illumination source provide luminescence to direct light through the voids that define the particular one of the indicia at the first location. 
     
     
         6 . The contact lens case of  claim 5 , wherein the illumination source comprises an accent tab secured to the cap at the first location. 
     
     
         7 . The contact lens case of  claim 5 , further comprising a cover attached to the cap over top of the dial, wherein the cover includes a window at the first location to allow the luminescence passing through the voids that define the particular one indicia to be viewed through the window, and wherein the cover further defines a notch to allow the dial to be selectively rotated underneath the cover so that any one of the indicia may be aligned with the window. 
     
     
         8 . A contact lens case comprising:
 a base defining at least a first well and a second well to each receive a contact lens and a quantity of liquid, the base having threaded exterior walls around the first well and the second well;   a first cap having complementary threads to engage the threaded exterior wall around the first well, the first cap being selectively engaged with the base, the engagement of the first cap having an open position that exposes and allows access to the first well and a closed position that covers the first well and establishes a fluid tight seal, the first cap having one or more voids that define a letter “L” indicia located proximate to a center of the first cap that designates that the first well is provided for a left contact lens;   a first position indicator disposed on the first cap, the first position indicator contrasting with the first cap to provide an accented area, the first position indicator being located between the “L” indicia and a perimeter of the first cap;   a first indexing pin mounted to the first cap and projecting upwards, the indexing pin being located at a spaced location between the “L” indicia and the perimeter of the first cap;   a first dial operatively connected to the first cap such that the first dial rotates about the “L” indicia and covers at least a portion of the first position indicator, the first dial having a plurality of voids arranged around a perimeter of the first dial that define a plurality of first indicia, each of the first indicia being approximately the size of the first position indicator, the first dial including a recess adjacent each one of the plurality of first indicia such that the first indexing pin is received in a recess to reduce non-deliberate rotation of the first dial, the first dial being selectively rotatable such that only a particular one of the first indicia is located over the first position indicator thereby accentuating the particular one of the first indicia with respect to the remaining first indicia;   a second cap having complementary threads to engage the threaded exterior wall around the second well, the second cap being selectively engaged with the base, the engagement of the second cap having an open position that exposes and allows access to the second well and a closed position that covers the second well and establishes a fluid tight seal, the second cap having one or more voids that define a letter “R” indicia located proximate to a center of the second cap that designates that the second well is provided for a right contact lens;   a second position indicator disposed on the second cap, the second position indicator contrasting with the second cap, the second position indicator being located between the “R” indicia and a perimeter of the second cap;   a second indexing pin mounted to the second cap and projecting upwards, the indexing pin being located at a spaced location between the “R” indicia and the perimeter of the second cap; and   a second dial operatively connected to the second cap such that the second dial rotates about the “R” indicia and covers at least a portion of the second position indicator, the second dial having a plurality of voids arranged around a perimeter of the second dial that define a plurality of second indicia, each of the second indicia being approximately the size of the second position indicator, the second dial further including a recess adjacent each one of the plurality of second indicia such that the second indexing pin is received in a recess to reduce non-deliberate rotation of the second dial, and the second dial being selectively rotatable such that only a particular one of the second indicia is located over the second position indicator thereby accentuating the particular one of the second indicia with respect to the remaining second indicia.   
     
     
         9 . The contact lens case of  claim 8 , wherein the first dial and second dial each include a plurality of recesses along a circumference of the respective dials to increase traction for manual rotation of the dials. 
     
     
         10 . The contact lens case of  claim 8 , wherein the first position indicator and the second position indicator allow external diffused light to pass through the voids that define the particular ones of the first and second indicia, respectively. 
     
     
         11 . The contact lens case of  claim 10 , wherein the first and second position indicators each include an accent tab positioned below the respective first and second dials to allow external light to reflect off the accent tabs and illuminate the voids that define the particular ones of the first and second indicia. 
     
     
         12 . The contact lens case of  claim 8  wherein the first and second position indicators include chemical properties that provide luminescence to illuminate the voids that define the particular ones of the respective first and second indicia. 
     
     
         13 . The contact lens case of  claim 8  wherein the plurality of indicia on one of the first and second dials includes four indicia numbers spaced around the dial perimeter that represent the tens digit of a month date, and the plurality of indicia on the other one of the first and second dials includes ten indicia numbers spaced around the dial perimeter that represent the singles digit of a month date. 
     
     
         14 . A contact lens case comprising:
 a base defining at least a first well and a second well to each receive a contact lens and a quantity of liquid, the base having threaded exterior walls around the first well and the second well;   a first cap having complementary threads to engage the threaded exterior wall around the first well, the first cap being selectively engaged with the base, the engagement of the first cap having an open position that exposes and allows access to the first well and a closed position that covers the first well and establishes a fluid tight seal;   a first indexing paw mounted to the first cap and projecting upwards;   a first dial rotatably disposed on the first cap, the first dial having a plurality of voids being arranged around a perimeter of the first dial that define a plurality of first indicia, the first dial including a recess adjacent each one of the plurality of first indicia such that the first indexing paw is received in a recess to reduce non-deliberate rotation of the first dial;   a first cover attached to the first cap and substantially overlaying the first dial, the first cover having one or more voids that define a letter “L” indicia located proximate to a center of the first cover that designates that the first well is provided for a left contact lens, the first cover defining a first window being approximately the size of one of the first indicia, and the first cover further defining a notch providing access to selectively rotate the first dial such that only a particular one of the first indicia is viewed through the first window thereby accentuating the particular one of the first indicia;   a second cap having complementary threads to engage the threaded exterior wall around the second well, the second cap being selectively engaged with the base, the engagement of the second cap having an open position that exposes and allows access to the second well and a closed position that covers the second well and establishes a fluid tight seal;   a second indexing paw mounted to the second cap and projecting upwards; and   a second dial rotatably disposed on the second cap, the second dial having a plurality of voids being arranged around the perimeter of the second dial that define a plurality of second indicia, the second dial including a recess adjacent each one of the plurality of second indicia such that the second indexing paw is received in a recess to reduce non-deliberate rotation of the second dial;   a second cover attached to the second cap and substantially overlaying the second dial, the second cover having one or more voids that define a letter “R” indicia located proximate to a center of the second cover that designates that the second well is provided for a right contact lens, said second cover defining a second window being approximately the size of one of the second indicia, and the second cover further defining a notch providing access to selectively rotate the second dial such that only a particular one of the second indicia is viewed through the second window thereby accentuating the particular one of the second indicia.   
     
     
         15 . The contact lens case of  claim 14  wherein the first dial and second dial each include a plurality of recesses along a circumference of the respective dials to increase traction for manual rotation of the dials. 
     
     
         16 . The contact lens case of  claim 14  wherein:
 the first cap includes a lighting surface that underlies the first rotatable dial to illuminate the voids that define the particular one of the first indicia within the first window; and 
 the second cap includes a lighting surface that underlies the second rotatable dial to illuminate the voids that define the particular one of the second indicia within the second window. 
 
     
     
         17 . The contact lens case of  claim 16  wherein the lighting surface of each of the first and second caps allows external diffused light to pass through the voids that define the particular ones of the first and second indicia, respectively. 
     
     
         18 . The contact lens case of  claim 16  wherein the lighting surface of each of the first and second caps includes chemical properties that provides luminescence to illuminate the voids that define the particular ones of the first and second indicia, respectively. 
     
     
         19 . The contact lens case of  claim 14  wherein the plurality of indicia on one of the first and second dials includes four indicia numbers spaced around the dial perimeter that represent the tens digit of a month date, and the plurality of indicia on the other one of the first and second dials includes ten indicia numbers spaced around the dial perimeter that represent the singles digit of a month date.