Liquid crystal lenses having a Fresnel lens

• US 4,904,063 A
• Filed: 05/27/1988
• Issued: 02/27/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Toda, Akitoshi, Okada, Takao, Sato, Susumu, Shimazu, Hisanari
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, Stanley D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Duong, Tai V.
• Application Number:
  US07/199,535
• Time in Patent Office: 641 Days
• Field of Search: 350/347 V, 350/347 R, 350/331, 350/342, 350/334, 350/336, 350/452, 350/347 E, 350/330, 340/784, 340/765
• US Class Current: 349/200
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133371 Cells with varying thickness of the liquid crystal layer
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133526 Lenses, e.g. microlenses or Fresnel lenses
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/29 for the control of the position or the direction of light beams, i.e. deflection
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/294 Variable focal length devices
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2203/28 focussing or defocussing

Abstract

A liquid crystal lens includes a liquid crystal cell formed by lens component members, at least one of the lens component members being formed of a Fresnel lens whose surface is formed by a number of annular ring-shaped Fresnel grooves with their crests leveled.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal lens including a cell formed by lens component members, each being uniformly coated with a transparent conductive layer, and in which a liquid crystal is charged, at least one of said lens component members having a Fresnel lens surface, characterized in that

a number of annular ring-shaped Fresnel grooves forming said Fresnel lens surface are formed by leveling their crests and troughs with a uniform depth.

2. A liquid crystal lens according to claim 1 wherein the lens portion surrounded by the center crest has a surface area greater than any of the remaining lens portions to enhance the response time of the center portion thereof.

3. A liquid crystal lens including a cell formed by lens component members which are uniformly coated with a transparent conductive layer, and in which a liquid crystal is charged, at least one of said lens component members having a Fresnel lens surface, characterized in that

a number of annular ring-shaped Fresnel grooves forming said Fresnel lens surface are of equal height, the height of said grooves being measured in the direction of the central axis of the Fresnel lens.

4. A liquid crystal lens including a cell formed by lens component members in which a liquid crystal is charged, at least one of said lens component members having a Fresnel lens surface, characterized in that

a number of annular ring-shaped Fresnel grooves forming said Fresnel lens surface are formed by leveling their crests, the crests in the Fresnel lens surface facing the liquid crystal lying in a common plane so that at least a center crest is closer to the surface of the remaining one of said lens component members than the other crests of the Fresnel lens to reduce the response time of the liquid crystal in the region of the center crest by a reduction amount at least as much as the response time of the liquid crystal in the regions of the crests moving toward the periphery of the lens.

5. A liquid crystal lens according to claim 4 in which the surfaces of the lens component members enclosing the liquid crystal are each provided with transparent conductive layers each uniformly coaxing said surfaces

insulating means arranged about the periphery of said lens component members and between said conductive layers and cooperating with said lens component members to enclose said liquid crystal.

6. A liquid crystal lens according to claim 5 further comprising an alternating current source coupled to said conductive layers.

7. A liquid crystal lens according to claim 4 wherein the Fresnel grooves are each defined by a plurality of cylindrical surfaces of increasing diameter, one end of each cylindrical surface being the crest of a groove and the opposite end of each cylindrical surface being the trough of a groove;

a curved surface extending from the trough of each cylindrical surface to the crest of the adjacent cylindrical surface, each curved surface having a different inclination, the center curved surface having the smallest inclination.

8. A liquid crystal lens according to claim 7 wherein the height of each curved surface increases in moving from the center of the Fresnel lens to the outer periphery.