Optical apparatus

• US 5,933,279 A
• Filed: 02/24/1998
• Issued: 08/03/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Yamazaki, Shoichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Epps, Georgia
• Assistant Examiner(s): Spector, David N.
• Application Number:
  US09/028,884
• Time in Patent Office: 525 Days
• Field of Search: 359/630, 359/631, 359/633, 359/635, 359/638, 359/639, 359/640, 359/835, 345/7, 345/8, 348/115
• US Class Current: 359/630
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 17/0832 off-axis or unobscured systems in which not all of the mirrors share a common axis of rotational symmetry, e.g. at least one of the mirrors is warped, tilted or decentered with respect to the other elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 17/0848 off-axis or unobscured systems in which not all of the mirrors share a common axis of rotational symmetry, e.g. at least one of the mirrors is warped, tilted or decentered with respect to the other elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 17/086 wherein the system is made of a single block of optical material, e.g. solid catadioptric systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/011 comprising device for correcting geometrical aberrations, distortion
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/144 using partially transparent surfaces without spectral selectivity G02B27/147 takes precedence

Abstract

An optical apparatus includes a display for displaying image information, a display optical system having a plurality of reflection surfaces for guiding a light beam from the display to an eyeball of an observer, an image sensor, an image pickup optical system having a plurality of reflection surfaces for focusing a light beam from an external field to form an image on the image sensor, and an optical path separating surface for separating an optical path in the display optical system and an optical path in the image pickup optical system from each other in opposite directions. Thus, image information provided on the display can be viewed by the observer, and a scene in the external field can be taken in the image sensor.

Claims

1. An optical apparatus comprising:

display means for displaying image information;

a display optical system having a plurality of reflection surfaces for guiding a light beam from said display means to an eyeball of an observer;

an image sensor;

an image pickup optical system having a plurality of reflection surfaces for focusing a light beam from an external field to form an image on said image sensor; and

optical path separating means for separating an optical path in said display optical system and an optical path in said image pickup optical system from each other in opposite directions.

2. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an eyeball optical axis of a light beam incident on the eyeball of the observer in said display optical system, or a virtual eyeball optical axis obtained by extending the eyeball optical axis, substantially coincides with an external-field optical axis of a light beam incident from the external field on said image pickup optical system.

3. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said optical path separating means includes a surface having a transmitting function and a reflecting function, and the light beam from the external field is allowed to pass through a portion of said image pickup optical system, then pass through said optical path separating means, then pass through a portion of said display optical system and reach the eyeball of the observer, so that a see-through optical system for observing image information of the external field is constituted.

4. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of said display optical system and said image pickup optical system has a plurality of reflection surfaces decentered and having curvature.

5. An optical apparatus according to claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of decentered reflection surfaces has refractive powers which differ with azimuth angles about a vertex thereof.

6. An optical apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the light beam from the display means is reflected two or three times by the plurality of reflection surfaces in said display optical system and is guided to the eyeball of the observer without forming an image.

7. An optical apparatus according to claim 4, wherein each of said display optical system and said image pickup optical system comprises a prism body having three or more reflection surfaces including a total reflection surface which satisfies a critical angle condition.

8. An optical apparatus comprising:

display means for displaying image information;

a display optical system having a plurality of reflection surfaces for guiding a light beam from said display means to an eyeball of an observer;

an image sensor;

an image pickup optical system having a plurality of reflection surfaces for focusing a light beam from an external field to form an image on said image sensor; and

optical path separating means having reflection surfaces decentered and having curvature, for separating an optical path in said display optical system and an optical path in said image pickup optical system from each other in opposite directions,

wherein said display optical system contains one of the reflection surfaces of said optical path separating means and said image pickup optical system contains the other of the reflection surfaces of said optical path separating means.

9. An optical apparatus according to claim 8, wherein each of the decentered reflection surfaces of said optical path separating means has refractive powers which differ with azimuth angles about a vertex thereof.

10. An optical apparatus according to claim 8, wherein an eyeball optical axis of a light beam incident on the eyeball of the observer in said display optical system, or a virtual eyeball optical axis obtained by extending the eyeball optical axis, substantially coincides with an external-field optical axis of a light beam incident from the external field on said image pickup optical system.

11. An optical apparatus according to claim 8, wherein each of the reflection surfaces of said optical path separating means has a transmitting function and a reflecting function, and the light beam from the external field is allowed to pass through a portion of said image pickup optical system, then pass through said optical path separating means, then pass through a portion of said display optical system and reach the eyeball of the observer, so that a see-through optical system for observing image information of the external field is constituted.

12. An optical apparatus according to claim 8, wherein each of said display optical system and said image pickup optical system has a plurality of reflection surfaces decentered and having curvature.

13. An optical apparatus according to claim 12, wherein each of the decentered reflection surfaces has refractive powers which differ with azimuth angles about a vertex thereof.

14. An image pickup optical system for focusing a light beam from an external field to form an image on a surface of an image sensor, said image pickup optical system comprising:

a plurality of decentered reflection surfaces having curvature;

a diaphragm; and

an optical unit having a refractive element,

wherein the light beam from the external field is folded by said plurality of decentered reflection surfaces alternately to a direction toward the external field and a direction opposite thereto, and is then guided to the image sensor through said diaphragm and said optical unit.

15. An image pickup optical system according to claim 14, wherein each of said plurality of decentered reflection surfaces has refractive powers which differ with azimuth angles about a vertex thereof.

16. An image pickup optical system according to claim 14, wherein said plurality of decentered reflection surfaces constitute a prism body having at least three optical surfaces, and said diaphragm is disposed adjacent to a light exit surface of said prism body.

17. An image pickup optical system according to claim 14, wherein said optical unit is movable in a direction of an optical axis thereof to effect focusing.