Single fold optical magnifier for use in image manifestation apparatus
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A single fold optical magnifier comprising:
- a light inlet and a light outlet directed at an angle to the inlet;
a reflecting surface optically positioned between the inlet and the outlet so as to direct light from the inlet to the outlet;
a plurality of optical elements positioned between the inlet and the outlet and including at least one aspheric surface for aberration correction;
the plurality of optical elements defining a light path from the light inlet to the light outlet with a total average optical length in the range of approximately 15 to 30 millimeters;
at least one diffractive optical element positioned in the light path so as to provide further aberration correction; and
the plurality of optical elements being constructed to angularly magnify an image source at the light inlet of the first optical element by greater than ten.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A single fold optical magnifier including a plurality of optical elements having an aspheric field flattening light inlet with a light outlet directed at an angle to the inlet and a reflecting surface positioned to direct light from the inlet to the outlet. The optical elements define a light path from the inlet to the outlet with a total average optical length of approximately 15 to 35 millimeters. At least one aspheric surface and one diffractive optical element are positioned in the light path to provide aberration correction, and the optical elements are constructed to angularly magnify images by at least a power of ten.
17 Citations
43 Claims
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1. A single fold optical magnifier comprising:
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a light inlet and a light outlet directed at an angle to the inlet; a reflecting surface optically positioned between the inlet and the outlet so as to direct light from the inlet to the outlet; a plurality of optical elements positioned between the inlet and the outlet and including at least one aspheric surface for aberration correction; the plurality of optical elements defining a light path from the light inlet to the light outlet with a total average optical length in the range of approximately 15 to 30 millimeters; at least one diffractive optical element positioned in the light path so as to provide further aberration correction; and the plurality of optical elements being constructed to angularly magnify an image source at the light inlet of the first optical element by greater than ten. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A single fold optical magnifier comprising:
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a first optical element having an aspheric field flattening light inlet, a light outlet directed at an angle to the inlet and a reflecting surface optically positioned between the inlet and the outlet so as to direct light from the inlet to the outlet; an optical lens having a light inlet, positioned adjacent the light outlet of the first optical element, and a light outlet; the first optical element and the optical lens defining a light path from the light inlet of the first optical element to the light outlet of the optical lens with a total average optical length in the range of approximately 15 to 30 millimeters and angularly magnifying an image source at the light inlet of the first optical element by greater than ten; and at least one aspherical surface on one of the first optical element and the optical lens and in the light path so as to provide aberration correction. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A single fold optical magnifier comprising:
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a first optical element having an aspheric field flattening light inlet, an aspheric light outlet directed at an angle to the inlet and a reflecting surface optically positioned between the inlet and the outlet so as to direct light from the inlet to the outlet; a biaspheric optical lens having an aspheric light inlet, positioned adjacent the light outlet of the first optical element, and an aspheric light outlet, the aspheric field flattening light inlet, the aspheric light outlet of the first optical element, and the aspheric light inlet and outlet of the biaspheric optical lens providing aberration correction; the first optical element and the biaspheric optical lens defining a light path from the light inlet of the first optical element to the light outlet of the biaspheric optical lens with a total average optical length in the range of approximately 15 to 30 millimeters and angularly magnifying an image source at the light inlet of the first optical element by greater than ten; and at least one diffractive optical element positioned on one of the biaspheric optical lens light inlet, the biaspheric optical lens light outlet, or the light outlet of the first optical element and in the light path so as to provide further aberration correction. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of manufacturing a single fold optical magnifier comprising the steps of:
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forming a first optical element including an optical prism having a light inlet formed in a first surface, a second surface formed as a light outlet and directed at an angle to the light inlet, and a reflecting surface optically positioned between the inlet and the outlet and joining the first and second surfaces so as to direct light from the inlet to the outlet; forming an aspheric field flattening concave surface in the first surface of the first optical element as the light inlet; forming an optical lens having a light inlet, positioned adjacent the light outlet of the first optical element, and an opposed light outlet; and mounting the first optical element and the optical lens to define a light path from the light inlet of the first optical element to the light outlet of the outlet optical element, the steps of forming further including forming at least one aspherical surface on one of the first optical element and the optical lens, the aspherical surface being positioned in the light path to correct for aberration. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. Image manifestation apparatus comprising;
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an image generator including a two dimensional array of light emitting devices formed on a single substrate and driver circuits coupled to the light emitting devices and including a data input terminal, the light emitting devices being individually addressable by the driver circuits so as to generate a real image including one of a plurality of lines of alpha-numerics and graphics from data received at the data input; and a single fold optical magnifier having an image inlet positioned adjacent the image generator so as to receive the real image generated by the image generator, the magnifier including a plurality of optical elements having a light inlet defining the image inlet of the single fold optical magnifier and a light outlet directed at an angle to the light inlet, with a reflecting surface optically positioned between the light inlet and the light outlet so as to direct light from the light inlet to the night outlet, the light outlet defining a viewing aperture and the plurality of optical elements producing a virtual image, viewable at the viewing aperture, from the real image, the light inlet of the plurality of optical elements including an aspheric field flattening optical surface; the plurality of optical elements defining a light path from the light inlet to the light outlet with a total average optical length in the range of approximately 15 to 30 millimeters, at least one aspherical surface on one of the first optical element and the optical lens and positioned in the light path to correct for aberration; and at least one diffractive optical element positioned in the light path so as to provide additional aberration correction; and the plurality of optical elements being constructed to angularly magnify the real image generated by the image generator into a virtual image greater than ten times larger than the real image. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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Specification