360 degree/forward view integral imaging system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A panoramic imaging element comprising:
- a conic mirror reflective on an outer surface thereof, and substantially symmetric about a central axis of symmetry passing therethrough, comprising an apex and a wide region thereof along said central axis of symmetry; and
a focusing element secured proximate a bored-out center at said apex of said conic mirror, also substantially symmetric about said central axis of symmetry;
whereinlight from a panoramic view field is reflected off of the reflective outer surface of said conic mirror and onto an imaging plane substantially perpendicular to said central axis of symmetry, thereby forming a substantially donut-shaped image with a substantially round center hole on said imaging plane; and
light from a forward view field passes through the wide region and an interior of said conic mirror, through said focusing element, and onto said imaging plane, thereby forming a substantially round-shaped image on said imaging plane, substantially within said center hole of said donut-shaped image.
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Abstract
A 360 Degree Forward View Integral Imaging System comprises a panoramic imaging element capable of imaging a full 360 degree panoramic image and a forward image onto a single plane. This system can be integrated with a variety of image capture systems such as a CCD camera, a film based camera, or a fiber optic bundle coupled to a CCD camera for remote imaging. The applications of such a system include but are not limited to pipe inspection, bore hole inspection and remote imaging.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A panoramic imaging element comprising:
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a conic mirror reflective on an outer surface thereof, and substantially symmetric about a central axis of symmetry passing therethrough, comprising an apex and a wide region thereof along said central axis of symmetry; and a focusing element secured proximate a bored-out center at said apex of said conic mirror, also substantially symmetric about said central axis of symmetry;
whereinlight from a panoramic view field is reflected off of the reflective outer surface of said conic mirror and onto an imaging plane substantially perpendicular to said central axis of symmetry, thereby forming a substantially donut-shaped image with a substantially round center hole on said imaging plane; and light from a forward view field passes through the wide region and an interior of said conic mirror, through said focusing element, and onto said imaging plane, thereby forming a substantially round-shaped image on said imaging plane, substantially within said center hole of said donut-shaped image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of forming an imaging plane substantially perpendicular to a central axis of symmetry passing through a conic mirror substantially symmetric about said central axis of symmetry, said image plane comprising both panoramic view field and forward view field images, comprising the steps of:
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forming said panoramic view field image by reflecting light from said panoramic view field off of a reflective outer surface of said conic mirror and onto said imaging plane, thereby forming a substantially donut-shaped image with a substantially round center hole on said imaging plane; and forming said forward view field image by passing light from said forward view field through a wide region and an interior of said conic mirror, through a focusing element proximate a bored-out center at an apex of said conic mirror, said focusing element also substantially symmetric about said central axis of symmetry, and onto said imaging plane, thereby forming a substantially round-shaped image on said imaging plane, substantially within said center hole of said donut-shaped image. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification