Colored contact lens based on amorphous images

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a colored contact lens including the steps of providing a transparent contact lens having a pupil section and an iris section, the iris section surrounding the pupil section and applying a colorant to the surface of the contact lens. The colorant is applied to the contact lens as an amorphous pattern and covers an effective amount of the iris section of the same. The amorphous pattern provides a lens capable of changing the apparent color of the iris of a person wearing the lens while imparting a very natural appearance.

1 . A method of making a transfigured amorphous simulated iris pattern for use with a colored contact lens comprising the steps of:
 opening or scanning an image file in a photo editing software application, said image file containing an amorphous image having at least one color;   reducing the opacity of the distorted image to create a translucent image;   modifying the size of the translucent image to create a sized image; and   using a cut-out filter to create a lens shape from the sized image, the lens shape being defined by a substantially circular outer diameter having a smaller substantially inner circle removed therefrom.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of selectively cropping the base image. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising the step of selectively modifying the base image's sharpness, contrast, and/or brightness. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of applying a cut out filter to the distorted image. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the cut out filter includes image settings of number of levels, edge simplicity, and/or edge fidelity. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of converting the distorted image into grayscale. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of converting the distorted image into at least three grayscale image files. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the amorphous image is a non-eye image. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the line screen ranges between 20 and 400 lines/inch. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the resolution of the image is modified to be greater than about 100 dots per inch. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of converting the sized image to a binary image. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the sized image is converted to a binary image through halftone, dithering, and/or diffusion error. 
     
     
         13 . A method of manufacturing a colored contact lens comprising the steps of:
 a) inking, with a color ink, at least one cliché having a transfigured amorphous patterns to be printed on a contact lens to form an inked image in the cliché;   b) transferring the inked image from the cliché to at least one surface of at least one contact lens forming mold by means of at least one transfer pad,   (c) at least partially curing the inked image transferred on the mold surface to form a colored film;   (d) dispensing a hydrogel lens-forming material into at least one lens-forming cavity of the mold; and   (e) curing the lens-forming material within the lens-forming cavity to form the contact lens, whereby the colored film detaches from the molding surface and becomes integral with the body of the contact lens.   
     
     
         14 . The method of manufacturing a colored contact lens of  claim 13 , wherein the transfigured amorphous simulated iris pattern is made by the method comprising the steps of:
 opening or scanning an image file in a photo editing software application, said image file containing an amorphous image having at least one color;   reducing the opacity of the distorted image to created a translucent image;   modifying the size of the translucent image to create a sized image; and   using a cut-out filter to create a lens shape from the sized image, the lens shape being defined by a substantially circular outer diameter having a smaller substantially inner circle removed therefrom.   
     
     
         15 . The method of manufacturing a colored contact lens of  claim 13 , wherein the colorant is applied as a ring or series of rings. 
     
     
         16 . The method of manufacturing a colored contact lens of  claim 14 , wherein the amorphous image is an eye-like image. 
     
     
         17 . A colored contact lens comprising:
 a non-opaque pupil section;   an iris section surrounding the pupil section; and   a colored transfigured amorphous pattern imprinted onto at least a portion of the iris section,   
       wherein the transfigured amorphous pattern is formed from the method of:
 opening an image file in a photo editing software application, said image file containing an amorphous image having at least two different colors; 
 distorting said base image with one or more filters to create a distorted image; 
 reducing the opacity of the distorted image to create a translucent image; 
 modifying the size of the translucent image to create a sized image; and 
 using a cut-out filter to create a lens shape from the sized image, the lens shape being defined by a substantially circular outer diameter having a smaller substantially inner circle removed therefrom. 
 
     
     
         18 . The colored contact lens of  claim 17 , wherein the lens looks natural to an ordinary observer viewing the lens from a distance of less than 16 inches. 
     
     
         19 . The colored contact lens of  claim 17 , wherein the transfigured amorphous image comprises any image that is a continuous-tone image without a discernable repeating pattern as viewed by an ordinary viewer. 
     
     
         20 . The colored contact lens of  claim 17 , wherein the amorphous image is a non-eye image.