Optical system and optical apparatus

• US 6,014,261 A
• Filed: 09/08/1998
• Issued: 01/11/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Koichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Epps, Georgia
• Assistant Examiner(s): MACK, RICKY LEVERN
• Application Number:
  US09/149,182
• Time in Patent Office: 490 Days
• Field of Search: 359/630, 359/631, 359/633, 359/638, 359/640
• US Class Current: 359/633
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 17/0816 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 2027/0132 comprising binocular systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features

Abstract

An image display apparatus which enables observation of a clear image at a wide field angle, and which is extremely small in size and light in weight and hence unlikely to cause the observer to be fatigued. The image display apparatus has an image display device (7) and an ocular optical system for projecting the image of the image display device and leading the projected image to an observer'"'"'s eyeball (1) The ocular optical system has, in the order of backward ray tracing, a first surface (3) which is a refracting surface, a second surface (4) which is a decentered reflecting surface of positive power, a third surface (5) which is a decentered reflecting surface, and a fourth surface (6) which is a refracting surface. At least two of the four surfaces have a finite curvature radius. A space formed by the first to fourth surfaces (3 to 6) is filled with a medium having a refractive index larger than 1. The two reflecting surfaces are disposed such that the principal ray extending from the observer'"'"'s eyeball (1) to the image display device (7) does not intersect its own path in the ocular optical system. Thus, the first-order image of the image display device (7) is formed on the retina of the observer'"'"'s eyeball.

Claims

1. An image-forming optical system which forms an image of an object,

said image-forming optical system comprising:

at least one prism member,

wherein said prism member has a first surface, a second surface, a third surface, and a fourth surface,

wherein said first, second, third and fourth surfaces face each other across a prism medium, so that light from an object side of said prism member enters said prism member by passing through said first surface and is reflected by said second surface and further reflected by said third surface, and the reflected light exits from said prism member by passing through said fourth surface, and

wherein at least one of said second surface and said third surface has a surface configuration formed from a rotationally asymmetric curved surface.

2. An image-forming optical system according to claim 1, wherein said second surface of said prism member is formed from a rotationally asymmetric curved surface, and said third surface of said prism member has a curved surface configuration which gives a power to a bundle of light rays.

3. An image-forming optical system according to claim 1, wherein said third surface of said prism member is formed from a rotationally asymmetric curved surface, and said second surface of said prism member has a curved surface configuration which gives a power to a bundle of light rays.

4. An image-forming optical system according to claim 1, wherein both said second surface and third surface of said prism member have a curved surface configuration which gives a power to a bundle of light rays, and said curved surface configuration is a rotationally asymmetric curved surface.

5. An image-forming optical system according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein said rotationally asymmetric curved surface has a configuration having an aberration correcting action to correct decentration aberrations caused by reflection in said prism member.

6. An image-forming optical system according to claim 5, wherein said first surface is formed from a rotationally asymmetric curved surface.

7. An image-forming optical system according to claim 5, wherein said first surface is formed from a spherical surface.

8. An image-forming optical system according to claim 5, wherein said fourth surface is formed from a rotationally asymmetric curved surface.

9. An image-forming optical system according to claim 5, wherein said fourth surface is formed from a spherical surface.

10. An image-forming optical system according to claim 5, wherein said third surface has a configuration having a convex surface directed toward said second surface.

11. An image-forming optical system according to claim 5, wherein said second surface has a configuration having a concave surface directed toward said medium.

12. An image-forming optical system according to claim 5, further comprising a lens disposed closer to said object than said prism member.

13. An image-forming optical system according to claim 12, wherein said lens has a negative lens.

14. An image-forming optical system according to claim 13, wherein said negative lens is cemented to said first surface of said prism member.

15. An image-forming optical system according to claim 12, wherein said lens has a positive lens and a negative lens.

16. An image-forming optical system according to claim 15, wherein said positive lens and said negative lens are in the form of a cemented lens.

17. An image-forming optical system according to claim 12, wherein said lens has a positive lens.

18. An image-forming optical system according to claim 17, wherein said positive lens is cemented to said first surface of said prism member.

19. An image-forming optical system according to claim 5, further comprising a lens disposed closer to said image than said prism member.

20. An image-forming optical system according to claim 19, wherein said lens has a negative lens.

21. An image-forming optical system according to claim 20, wherein said negative lens is cemented to said fourth surface of said prism member.

22. An image-forming optical system according to claim 5, further comprising an aperture stop,

wherein said prism member is disposed between said aperture stop and said object image.

23. An image-forming optical system according to claim 5, wherein a field angle in a horizontal direction of said prism member is different from a field angle in a vertical direction thereof.

24. An image-forming optical system according to claim 23, wherein the field angle in the horizontal direction of said prism member is larger than the field angle in the vertical direction thereof.

25. A camera apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said image-forming optical system is disposed to perform image formation.

26. A camera apparatus according to claim 25, wherein a photographic optical system and a finder optical system are disposed separately from each other.

27. A camera apparatus according to claim 26, wherein said image-forming optical system is disposed in said finder optical system.

28. A camera apparatus according to claim 27, wherein said finder optical system includes, in order from an object side thereof, said image-forming optical system;

an image erecting optical system for erecting the object image formed by said image-forming optical system; and

an ocular optical system for observing said object image.

29. An ocular optical system arranged to lead an image formed on an image plane to an observer'"'"'s eyeball,

said ocular optical system comprising at least one prism member,

wherein said prism member has a first surface, a second surface, a third surface, and a fourth surface,

wherein said first, second, third and fourth surfaces face each other across a prism medium, so that light from the image enters said prism member by passing through said fourth surface and is reflected by said third surface and further reflected by said second surface, and the reflected light exits from said prism member by passing through said first surface,

wherein at least one of said second surface and said third surface is formed from a rotationally asymmetric curved surface.

30. An ocular optical system according to claim 29, wherein said second surface of said prism member is formed from a rotationally asymmetric curved surface, and said third surface of said prism member has a curved surface configuration which gives a power to a bundle of light rays.

31. An ocular optical system according to claim 29, wherein said third surface of said prism member is formed from a rotationally asymmetric curved surface, and said second surface of said prism member has a curved surface configuration which gives a power to a bundle of light rays.

32. An ocular optical system according to claim 29, wherein both said second surface and third surface of said prism member have a curved surface configuration which gives a power to a bundle of light rays, and said curved surface configuration is a rotationally asymmetric curved surface.

33. An ocular optical system according to claim 29, 30, 31 or 32, wherein said rotationally asymmetric curved surface has a configuration having an aberration correcting action to correct decentration aberrations caused by reflection in said prism member.

34. An ocular optical system according to claim 33, wherein said first surface is formed from a rotationally asymmetric curved surface.

35. An ocular optical system according to claim 33, wherein said first surface is formed from a spherical surface.

36. An ocular optical system according to claim 33, wherein said fourth surface is formed from a rotationally asymmetric curved surface.

37. An ocular optical system according to claim 33, wherein said fourth surface is formed from a spherical surface.

38. An ocular optical system according to claim 33, wherein said third surface has a configuration having a convex surface directed toward said second surface.

39. An ocular optical system according to claim 33, wherein said second surface has a configuration having a concave surface directed toward said medium.

40. An ocular optical system according to claim 33, further comprising a lens disposed closer to the observer'"'"'s eyeball than said prism member.

41. An ocular optical system according to claim 40, wherein said lens has a negative lens.

42. An ocular optical system according to claim 41, wherein said negative lens is cemented to said first surface of said prism member.

43. An ocular optical system according to claim 40, wherein said lens has a positive lens and a negative lens.

44. An ocular optical system according to claim 43, wherein said positive lens and said negative lens are in the form of a cemented lens.

45. An ocular optical system according to claim 40, wherein said lens has a positive lens.

46. An ocular optical system according to claim 45, wherein said positive lens is cemented to said first surface of said prism member.

47. An ocular optical system according to claim 33, further comprising a lens disposed closer to said image than said prism member.

48. An ocular optical system according to claim 47, wherein said lens has a negative lens.

49. An ocular optical system according to claim 48, wherein said negative lens is cemented to said fourth surface of said prism member.

50. An ocular optical system according to claim 33, wherein a field angle in a horizontal direction of said ocular optical system is different from a field angle in a vertical direction thereof.

51. An ocular optical system according to claim 50, wherein the field angle in the horizontal direction of said ocular optical system is larger than the field angle in the vertical direction thereof.

52. A finder optical system comprising:

an objective optical system for forming an object image;

an image erecting optical system for erecting said object image;

an ocular optical system for observing said object image; and

at least one prism member, wherein said prism member has four surfaces including;

two reflecting surfaces having an action by which the image is reflected in said prism member;

an entrance surface having a light-transmitting action; and

an exit surface having a light-transmitting action; and

wherein at least one of said two reflecting surfaces has a curved surface configuration which gives a power to a bundle of light rays, and said curved surface configuration is a rotationally asymmetric curved surface.

53. A finder optical system according to claim 52, wherein both said two reflecting surfaces have a curved surface configuration which gives a power to a bundle of light rays, and said curved surface configuration is a rotationally asymmetric curved surface.

54. A finder optical system according to claim 52, wherein said entrance surface has a curved surface configuration which gives a power to a bundle of light rays.

55. A finder optical system according to claim 52, wherein said exit surface has a curved surface configuration which gives a power to a bundle of light rays.

56. A camera apparatus according to claim 52, 53, 54 or 55, which has said finder optical system.

57. A camera apparatus according to claim 56, which has a photographic optical system provided separately from said finder optical system.