EP2601550A1 - Variable-magnification optical loupe - Google Patents
Variable-magnification optical loupeInfo
- Publication number
- EP2601550A1 EP2601550A1 EP11815167.9A EP11815167A EP2601550A1 EP 2601550 A1 EP2601550 A1 EP 2601550A1 EP 11815167 A EP11815167 A EP 11815167A EP 2601550 A1 EP2601550 A1 EP 2601550A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- loupe
- lens
- magnification
- optical
- optical loupe
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B25/00—Eyepieces; Magnifying glasses
- G02B25/002—Magnifying glasses
- G02B25/005—Magnifying glasses with means for adjusting the magnifying glass or the object viewed
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B25/00—Eyepieces; Magnifying glasses
- G02B25/002—Magnifying glasses
- G02B25/004—Magnifying glasses having binocular arrangement
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B27/00—Optical systems or apparatus not provided for by any of the groups G02B1/00 - G02B26/00, G02B30/00
- G02B27/01—Head-up displays
- G02B27/017—Head mounted
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B27/00—Optical systems or apparatus not provided for by any of the groups G02B1/00 - G02B26/00, G02B30/00
- G02B27/01—Head-up displays
- G02B27/017—Head mounted
- G02B27/0172—Head mounted characterised by optical features
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B27/00—Optical systems or apparatus not provided for by any of the groups G02B1/00 - G02B26/00, G02B30/00
- G02B27/01—Head-up displays
- G02B27/017—Head mounted
- G02B27/0176—Head mounted characterised by mechanical features
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B3/00—Simple or compound lenses
- G02B3/12—Fluid-filled or evacuated lenses
- G02B3/14—Fluid-filled or evacuated lenses of variable focal length
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B7/00—Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements
- G02B7/002—Mounting on the human body
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B7/00—Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements
- G02B7/02—Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements for lenses
- G02B7/04—Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements for lenses with mechanism for focusing or varying magnification
- G02B7/10—Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements for lenses with mechanism for focusing or varying magnification by relative axial movement of several lenses, e.g. of varifocal objective lens
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B7/00—Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements
- G02B7/02—Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements for lenses
- G02B7/04—Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements for lenses with mechanism for focusing or varying magnification
- G02B7/10—Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements for lenses with mechanism for focusing or varying magnification by relative axial movement of several lenses, e.g. of varifocal objective lens
- G02B7/102—Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements for lenses with mechanism for focusing or varying magnification by relative axial movement of several lenses, e.g. of varifocal objective lens controlled by a microcomputer
Definitions
- the present invention relates generally to magnifying devices, and more particularly to an optical loupe having variable magnification capability.
- Magnification viewers including, but not limited to, pairs of
- magnification loupes are worn by dentists and surgeons for extended periods of time during clinical procedures. These viewers are worn to provide clarity of view while avoiding a hunched-over position that can, over time, result in debilitating neck and back strain and can also have an adverse effect on the success of the procedure being performed.
- Magnification viewers allow a practitioner to operate at a greater working distance from a patient than without the viewers. Higher magnification viewers also reduce the practitioner's exposure to aerosols and other substances.
- the optical loupes of a magnification viewer have a fixed magnification power. If a user desires to view an object at a greater or lesser magnification, a different optical loupe must be used, or lens elements must be changed to provide the desired magnification. A need exists for a magnification viewer that is capable of providing variable magnification without the need to change lens elements.
- an optical loupe includes an electromechanical apparatus for varying the magnification of objects viewed through the loupe.
- an optical loupe may include a manually actuatable mechanism that allows a user to selectively vary the magnification of objects viewed through the loupe.
- an optical loupe includes one or more liquid lenses for varying the magnification of objects viewed through the loupe.
- an optical loupe includes at least one liquid crystal lens that facilitates varying the magnification of objects viewed through the loupe by varying a voltage applied to the lens.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an exemplary optical loupe assembly utilizing an electromechanical apparatus to vary the magnification of objects in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
- FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of an exemplary optical loupe assembly utilizing liquid lens assemblies to vary the magnification of objects in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
- an electronically controlled, mechanical apparatus is incorporated into an optical loupe so that the internal loupe lens configuration can be manipulated to effect a change in magnification (zoom optical loupe).
- the concept may include using so-called miniature control motors and gears, or equivalent devices, on the scale of a small digital camera (e.g. digital camera zoom optics).
- the concept includes the capability to electronically and mechanically manipulate the convergence of two such zoom loupes to effect a change in working distance (the distance from the eye to the viewing target).
- Electronic control may be implemented by various methods and/or structure, such as radio frequency (RF), foot pedal, direct controls on the loupe frames, or various other structure and methods suitable for controlling the magnification and/or working distance of a loupe or pair of loupes.
- RF radio frequency
- FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary optical loupe assembly including an electromechanical zoom apparatus for varying the magnification of the loupe assembly.
- the optical loupe includes an eyepiece lens assembly and an objective lens assembly aligned along an optical axis to provide a magnified image of an object viewed through the loupe.
- the eyepiece lens assembly and the objective lens assembly may each comprise single or multiple lens elements.
- the optical loupe may further include a prism assembly aligned with the eyepiece lens assembly and the objective lens assembly, and cooperating with the eyepiece lens assembly and objective lens assembly to provide a magnified image of the object.
- the prism assembly may include a single prism element, or may include plural prism elements, as may be required.
- the lens and prism elements of the optical loupe may be similar to the lens and prism elements generally described in U.S. Patent No. 6,704,142, assigned to Kerr Corporation and incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
- the electromechanical zoom apparatus may directly or indirectly vary the distance between lens elements to thereby vary the magnification of the lens system.
- the electromechanical zoom apparatus may also vary the distance between lens elements to vary the working distance of the optical loupe.
- the optical loupe assembly may also be configured for automatic focusing of the image of an object viewed through the loupe.
- the optical loupe may also be configured for automatic convergence adjustment, to accommodate viewing objects located at different working distances. Accordingly, as the eye moves toward or away from the target object, the optical loupe may also be configured for automatic convergence adjustment, to accommodate viewing objects located at different working distances. Accordingly, as the eye moves toward or away from the target object, the optical loupe may also be configured for automatic convergence adjustment, to accommodate viewing objects located at different working distances. Accordingly, as the eye moves toward or away from the target object, the
- the loupe assembly includes range-finding components to determine the distance to the object, such as by ultrasound, infrared, or any other suitable method. Signals from the range-finding components may be communicated to a controller that controls operation of the electromechanical apparatus to focus the image of the object and to adjust the convergence, as may be desired.
- an optical loupe may be configured to facilitate manual adjustment of the magnification of objects viewed through the loupe.
- a mechanical mechanism is provided to move one or more lens elements relative to other ones of the lens elements so that magnification can be selectively adjusted by the user.
- a mechanical mechanism may be provided to facilitate slidably moving one or more of the lens elements relative to other ones of the lens elements.
- the mechanism may include a control, such as a lever or dial, that can be manually manipulated by a user to move the one or more lens elements and thereby vary the magnification.
- the mechanical mechanism may include a rack gear to which one or more lens elements are coupled for movement relative to other ones of the lens elements.
- a pinion gear is operatively engaged with the rack gear and can be turned by a user, such as by turning a knob or dial coupled with the rack gear, to thereby move the one or more lens elements relative to the other lens elements. It will be appreciated that various other mechanical mechanisms may be provided to permit manual adjustment of the magnification by a user.
- variable magnification may be provided by a liquid lens assembly comprising one or more liquid lens systems.
- Liquid lens systems utilize one or more liquid materials to change the path of light passing through the lens system and thereby vary magnification without the need for motors or other moving mechanical components.
- U.S. Patent No. 7,680,406 to Jung and U.S. Patent No. 7,791 ,814 to Liogier D'ardhuy et al. disclose liquid lens assemblies that use electro-wetting to change the shape of a meniscus between two non-miscible liquids, thereby varying the magnification of the lens assemblies.
- U.S. Patent No. 7,680,406 and U.S. Patent No. 7,791 ,814 are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
- FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary optical loupe assembly including multiple solid lenses and two liquid lens assemblies.
- An optical loupe system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure may utilize one liquid lens assembly for varying magnification and another liquid lens assembly for adjusting zoom, focus, or the working distance of the optical loupe.
- the optical loupe assembly may be configured for automatic adjustment of focus and/or working distance, as discussed above. While an optical loupe having two liquid lens assemblies is shown and described herein, it will be appreciated that an optical loupe in accordance with the principles of the present invention may alternatively use only a single liquid lens assembly, or may use more than two liquid lens assemblies, as may be desired to achieve a particular optical performance.
- an optical loupe may include one or more liquid crystal lens elements that facilitate varying the magnification of objects viewed through the loupe by varying a voltage applied to the liquid crystal lens.
- the liquid crystal lens elements include a layer of liquid crystals whose orientation can be changed by varying the voltage applied to the lens, thereby changing the refraction through the lens and affecting magnification and focus without the need for motors or other moving mechanical components.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US37106110P | 2010-08-05 | 2010-08-05 | |
US37812910P | 2010-08-30 | 2010-08-30 | |
PCT/US2011/046225 WO2012018784A1 (en) | 2010-08-05 | 2011-08-02 | Variable-magnification optical loupe |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP2601550A1 true EP2601550A1 (en) | 2013-06-12 |
EP2601550A4 EP2601550A4 (en) | 2015-01-28 |
Family
ID=45559787
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP11815167.9A Withdrawn EP2601550A4 (en) | 2010-08-05 | 2011-08-02 | Variable-magnification optical loupe |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP2601550A4 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2013537648A (en) |
CN (1) | CN103210335A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2012018784A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US9690119B2 (en) | 2015-05-15 | 2017-06-27 | Vertical Optics, LLC | Wearable vision redirecting devices |
IL244255A (en) | 2016-02-23 | 2017-04-30 | Vertical Optics Llc | Wearable vision redirecting devices |
DE102017214790A1 (en) * | 2017-08-24 | 2019-02-28 | Carl Zeiss Meditec Ag | Device for the motorized adjustment of the magnification levels of a magnification changer |
IT201900005110A1 (en) * | 2019-04-04 | 2020-10-04 | Eye Tech Lab S R L | MONOCULAR DIGITAL MAGNIFIER AND RELATED GLASSES. |
Citations (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4057318A (en) * | 1973-03-02 | 1977-11-08 | C. Reichert Optische Werke | Microscope eye piece focusing apparatus for use in producing sharp photographs |
US5078469A (en) * | 1989-10-11 | 1992-01-07 | Luxtec Corporation | Optical system which allows coincident viewing, illuminating and photographing |
US6704142B2 (en) * | 1997-12-15 | 2004-03-09 | Kerr Corporation | Magnification viewer |
US7286287B1 (en) * | 1999-11-24 | 2007-10-23 | Life Optics Gmbh | Visual aid in the form of telescopic spectacles with an automated focusing device |
WO2009074161A1 (en) * | 2007-12-10 | 2009-06-18 | Carl Zeiss Surgical Gmbh | Head-mountable loupe |
US20090168166A1 (en) * | 2005-06-29 | 2009-07-02 | Carl Zeiss Surgical Gmbh | Stereoscopic Optical System And Method For Production Of A Stereoscopic Optical System |
Family Cites Families (12)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPS6177820A (en) * | 1984-09-25 | 1986-04-21 | Canon Inc | Inverted galilean finder |
JPS6360418A (en) * | 1986-08-30 | 1988-03-16 | Canon Inc | Stereomicroscope |
JPH0816765B2 (en) * | 1989-07-10 | 1996-02-21 | オリンパス光学工業株式会社 | Variable viewfinder optical system |
US5479293A (en) * | 1994-05-26 | 1995-12-26 | Reed; Theodore P. | Portable magnification apparatus for conducting medical examinations |
AT401582B (en) * | 1994-09-22 | 1996-10-25 | Olympus Austria Gmbh | MAGNIFYING GLASSES WITH VARIABLE FOCUS, VARIABLE MAGNIFICATION FACTOR AND AUTOMATIC PARALLAX COMPENSATION |
JPH09171143A (en) * | 1995-08-24 | 1997-06-30 | Asahi Optical Co Ltd | Lens frame for binoculars |
CN2319824Y (en) * | 1997-08-21 | 1999-05-19 | 西安仪表机床厂 | Multifunctional wide-angle magnifier |
US6870669B2 (en) * | 2002-09-25 | 2005-03-22 | Kamakura Koki Co., Ltd. | Variable-powered binoculars |
CN1325944C (en) * | 2002-12-03 | 2007-07-11 | 皇家飞利浦电子股份有限公司 | Apparatus for forming variable fluid meniscus configurations |
JP4384481B2 (en) * | 2003-10-27 | 2009-12-16 | 日東光学株式会社 | Binocular magnifier |
US6898021B1 (en) * | 2003-12-18 | 2005-05-24 | Yin S. Tang | Motionless zoom lens |
JP2009098570A (en) * | 2007-10-19 | 2009-05-07 | Mitaka Koki Co Ltd | Head-mount type binocular loupe device |
-
2011
- 2011-08-02 JP JP2013523264A patent/JP2013537648A/en active Pending
- 2011-08-02 WO PCT/US2011/046225 patent/WO2012018784A1/en active Application Filing
- 2011-08-02 CN CN2011800387413A patent/CN103210335A/en active Pending
- 2011-08-02 EP EP11815167.9A patent/EP2601550A4/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4057318A (en) * | 1973-03-02 | 1977-11-08 | C. Reichert Optische Werke | Microscope eye piece focusing apparatus for use in producing sharp photographs |
US5078469A (en) * | 1989-10-11 | 1992-01-07 | Luxtec Corporation | Optical system which allows coincident viewing, illuminating and photographing |
US6704142B2 (en) * | 1997-12-15 | 2004-03-09 | Kerr Corporation | Magnification viewer |
US7286287B1 (en) * | 1999-11-24 | 2007-10-23 | Life Optics Gmbh | Visual aid in the form of telescopic spectacles with an automated focusing device |
US20090168166A1 (en) * | 2005-06-29 | 2009-07-02 | Carl Zeiss Surgical Gmbh | Stereoscopic Optical System And Method For Production Of A Stereoscopic Optical System |
WO2009074161A1 (en) * | 2007-12-10 | 2009-06-18 | Carl Zeiss Surgical Gmbh | Head-mountable loupe |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
---|
See also references of WO2012018784A1 * |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP2601550A4 (en) | 2015-01-28 |
JP2013537648A (en) | 2013-10-03 |
CN103210335A (en) | 2013-07-17 |
WO2012018784A1 (en) | 2012-02-09 |
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Legal Events
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PUAI | Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase |
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17P | Request for examination filed |
Effective date: 20130221 |
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DAX | Request for extension of the european patent (deleted) | ||
A4 | Supplementary search report drawn up and despatched |
Effective date: 20150109 |
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RIC1 | Information provided on ipc code assigned before grant |
Ipc: G02B 25/00 20060101ALI20141223BHEP Ipc: G02B 7/00 20060101ALI20141223BHEP Ipc: G02B 7/10 20060101ALI20141223BHEP Ipc: G02B 27/01 20060101ALI20141223BHEP Ipc: G02B 3/14 20060101AFI20141223BHEP |
|
STAA | Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent |
Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION IS DEEMED TO BE WITHDRAWN |
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18D | Application deemed to be withdrawn |
Effective date: 20150807 |