Optical apparatus

• US 6,301,064 B1
• Filed: 08/27/1997
• Issued: 10/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Tsunefumi, Nanba, Norihiro, Saruwatari, Hiroshi, Kimura, Kenichi, Akiyama, Takeshi, Sekita, Makoto, Araki, Keisuke
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THONG Q
• Application Number:
  US08/917,889
• Time in Patent Office: 1,504 Days
• Field of Search: 359/362-366, 359/385, 359/399, 359/402-403, 359/421-422, 359/432, 359/676, 359/618, 359/625-636, 359/850-860
• US Class Current: 359/834
• 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 17/0896 with variable magnification or multiple imaging planes, including multispectral systems systems with only refractive elements G02B15/14

Abstract

An optical apparatus includes an optical unit including a light entrance surface, light reflecting surfaces and a light exit surface all of which are integrally formed of transparent material, and the optical unit has in its interior an internal refracting surface for refracting light. Since a light beam passes through the optical unit from the light entrance surface to the light exit surface via the internal refracting surface and the light reflecting surfaces along a bent optical path, the optical apparatus is reduced in size and improved in optical performance, particularly, well corrected in chromatic aberration. Another disclosed optical apparatus is arranged to achieve zooming by using a plurality of optical units each of which is similar to the aforesaid optical unit.

Claims

1. An image forming optical apparatus for forming an image on an image pickup surface of an image pickup element comprising:

an optical unit composed of cemented transparent material having a light entrance surface, a light exit surface and a light reflecting surface which is an aspherical surface having not more than one plane of symmetry, and the light entering the light entrance surface propagates through said cemented transparent material, is reflected by said light reflecting surface and exits from said light exit surface; and

said image pickup element, positioned so that its image pickup surface receives light exiting from said light exit surface.

2. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said optical unit has a portion having a refractive power differing from another portion thereof.

3. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said light reflecting surface has a curvature varying according to an azimuth angle.

4. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said light entrance surface is a curved surface having a shape of rotational symmetry.

5. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said light exit surface is a curved surface having a shape of rotational symmetry.

6. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cemented transparent material has an internal refracting surface positioned immediately behind said light entrance surface.

7. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cemented transparent materials has an internal refracting surface positioned immediately before said light exit surface.

8. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cemented transparent material has an internal refracting surface having a spherical shape of rotational symmetry.

9. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a stop member is provided in front of said light entrance surface.

10. An image forming optical apparatus comprising:

an optical unit composed of cemented transparent material, wherein said cemented transparent material has a light entrance surface, a light exit surface and a light reflecting surface which is an aspherical surface having not more than one plane of symmetry, and the light entering the light entrance surface propagates through the inside of said cemented transparent material, is reflected by said light reflecting surface and exits from said light exit surface; and

a second optical unit which shares an optical path with said optical unit and includes a second cemented transparent material having a second light entrance surface, a second light exit surface and a second light reflecting surface which is an aspherical surface having not more than one plane of symmetry, and the light entering the second light entrance surface propagates through the inside of said second cemented transparent material, is reflected by said second light reflecting surface and exits from said second light exit surface.

11. An optical apparatus according to claim 10, wherein variation of magnification is performed by varying a relative distance between said optical unit and said second optical unit.

12. An optical apparatus according to claim 10, wherein focusing is performed by varying a relative distance between said optical unit and said second optical unit.

13. An optical apparatus according to claim 10, wherein light which exits from said light exit surface of said second optical unit forms an image at a position where an image pickup member is disposed.