Abstract: A reflector includes one closed end, one open end and highly reflecting curving walls. The walls are symmetrical about at least one axis of symmetry. The walls include a first segment and other segments. Briefly described, according to one aspect of the present invention, a camera flash unit for illumination of an associated target area has a light source providing light defined as light rays, a reflector directing the light rays from the light source towards the associated target surface and a refractive lens component. The reflector includes one closed end, one open end and highly reflecting curving walls. The walls are symmetrical about at least one axis of symmetry. The refractive lens component is located at the open end of the reflector. It has two surfaces--a back side surface facing said light source and a front side surface. One of the surfaces has a cylindrical shape, the other of the two surfaces has a toroidal shape.

Abstract: A retroreflective lens includes: a single positive power lens element with an index of refraction N.sub.1 and thickness T.sub.1 ; a single negative power lens element with an index of refraction N.sub.2 and thickness T.sub.2, the negative power lens element being spaced from the positive power lens element by a distance S.sub.1 ; and a reflective surface intercepting light propagating from the negative lens element and reflecting this light toward the negative lens element. The lens elements in combination with the reflective surface provide the retroreflective lens with an F-number between F/3 and F/6. According to one embodiment N2>1.6 and N1-N2>0.15. According to another embodiment of the present invention the single negative power lens element has an integral reflecting surface and the retroreflective lens satisfies the following inequalities: N2>1.6, N2-N1>0.12. According to one embodiment of the present invention T1+T2+S1<0.15 F, where F is the focal length of the retroreflective lens.

Abstract: A shutter mechanism for a camera having an integrally molded plastic frame is provided. The shutter mechanism includes a high energy lever (HEL) having an arm rotatably mounted to the camera frame, and a finger projecting from an end of the arm that moves across an arcuate path when the lever arm rotates; a shutter blade pivotally mounted on the frame having a lever portion for pivoting a masking portion into an exposure position when struck by the finger of the HEL, and a retainer including a wall that is integrally connected to the camera frame for retaining the finger of the lever in a shutter-striking arcuate path when the arm rotates. The length of the lever arm is relatively short relative to the length of the projecting finger that strikes the shutter blade in order to eliminate unwanted flexing of the high energy lever during an exposure operation.

Abstract: The zoom lens according to the present invention comprises three lens units. More specifically, there is a front lens unit of positive refractive power, a middle lens unit of positive refractive power, and a rear lens unit of negative refractive power. The front lens unit has a positive lens element and a negative lens element airspaced from the positive lens element. During zooming from a wide-angle to a telephoto position, the front and the rear lens units simultaneously move the toward an object side. The middle lens unit also moves toward the object side, but by a shorter net axial distance than the distance traveled by the front and rear lens units. The "net axial distance" refers to the axial distance between one zoom and another zoom position of a lens unit. The lens elements have sufficient optical powers, spacings and radii of curvature to provide for a large zoom ratio ZR and to maintain an overall compactness so that L.sub.v /f.sub.t <0.9 and ZR =f.sub.t /f.sub.w >2.5, where L.sub.

Abstract: A lens tray includes a support panel having an array of sockets. Each of the sockets has a first wall defining a first opening and a second wall defining a second opening, a retaining wall adjacent to the first wall and a flange having a first surface forming a lens seat. The first surface is located adjacent to the retaining wall. At least one of the openings has an inner aperture and an outer aperture. The outer aperture is greater in size than the inner aperture.

Abstract: A zoom lens comprises a plurality of lens elements arranged in at least two zooming lens units. The zoom lens is characterized in that at least one of the zooming lens units moves in a first direction, then reverses the direction of the movement to move in a second direction and then reverses the direction again to move in the first direction.

Abstract: A Bravais lens includes a front, positive power lens group and a rear, negative power lens group. These lens groups, in combination, provide the Bravais lens with a negative focal length and a negative power. The front, positive power lens group includes a positive power lens element and a negative power lens element. The rear, negative power lens group includes another negative power lens element and another positive power lens element.

Abstract: A zoom lens comprises a plurality of lens elements arranged into three zooming lens units. These zooming lens units are spaced from one another by axial distances that vary during zooming. The lens units are a negative power front lens unit, a positive power middle lens unit and a negative power rear lens unit. At least one of the lens units continually moves away from the image plane, as the zoom lens zooms from a wide angle position toward a telephoto position so that the distance from this lens unit to the image plane varies in sigmoidal relation with respect to the focal length of the zoom lens.

Abstract: A flash device includes a micro-optic array for concentrating light from the flash lamp on a radiation-absorbing dye carrier, thereby sublimating or vaporizing the dye from the radiation-absorbing dye carrier onto a receiver element, e.g. a glass plate or the like.

Abstract: A reflector includes one closed end, one open end and highly reflecting curving walls. The walls are symmetrical about at least one axis of symmetry. The walls include a first segment and other segments. The first segment has a curved shape and is located at the closed end of the reflector. The first of segment directs most of the light rays incident on it across the axis of symmetry at crossover points, prior to the rays striking the associated target surface. Most of the light rays striking the walls of the first segment near the closed end of the reflector are having crossover points near the light source. Most of the light rays striking the walls of the first segment progressively further away from the closed end of the reflector are having crossover points located progressively closer to the associated target surface. The other segments direct nearly all of light rays incident on the walls of the other segments towards a portion of the associated surface.

Abstract: According to the present invention the magnifier lens comprises two lens elements. More specifically, from a front, eye side to a rear, object side there is a front, positive lens element, and a rear, meniscus lens element. The front, positive power lens element has at least one aspheric surface and an Abbe V-number V.sub.1. The rear, meniscus lens element has an Abbe V-number V.sub.2. The front and the rear lens elements, in combination, contain at least one diffractive surface. The rear, meniscus lens element has front and rear refractive surfaces, both of which are concave toward the object side. The rear refractive surface is positionable within 5 mm of an associated object to be viewed from the eye side. This rear surface is an aspheric surface of negative refractive power. The Abbe V-numbers satisfy the following inequalities 50.4<V.sub.1 <65, 25.4<V.sub.2 <40, and V.sub.1 -V.sub.2 >25.

Abstract: A photoflash unit includes a housing with an internal chamber containing a charge material. The housing's base has an opening. A primer is placed over or proximate to this opening. An anvil is placed over the material and a burn-away sheet is placed over the anvil. The burn-away sheet is sealed to the base and holds the anvil in place. When the anvil is struck percussively through the burn-away sheet, the primer ignites combustible material through the opening in the back wall. The burn-away sheet burns away, allowing the photoflash unit to vent to the rear.

Abstract: A magnifier lens comprises three lens elements. More specifically, from a front, eye side to a rear, object side there are a front positive lens element, a middle, negative power lens element and a rear, meniscus lens element. The front, positive power lens element has at least one aspheric surface. The front and the middle lens elements, in combination, contain at least one diffractive surface. The rear, meniscus lens element has front and rear refractive surfaces, both of which are concave toward the object side. The rear surface is positioned within 5 mm of an object to be viewed from the eye side. This rear surface is an aspheric surface of negative power that corrects field curvature.

Abstract: The zoom lens according to the present invention comprises three lens units. More specifically, there is a front lens unit of positive refractive power consisting of a positive lens element and a negative lens element, a middle lens unit of positive refractive power, and a rear lens unit of negative refractive power. During zooming from a wide-angle to a telephoto position, the front lens unit and the rear lens unit simultaneously movable towards an object side during zooming from a wide angle to a telephoto position. The middle lens unit moves towards the object side at a relatively slower speed than that at which the front and the rear lens units are moved. The lens elements have sufficient optical powers, spacings and radii of curvature to provide for a large zoom ratio ZR and to maintain an overall compactness so that L.sub.v /f.sub.t <0.9 and ZR=f.sub.t /f.sub.w >2.3, where L.sub.v is the distance from the front vertex of the lens system to the film plane in the telephoto position, f.sub.

Abstract: A camera flash comprises a flash light source providing light, a and a condenser lens element. The reflector is located adjacent to one side of the flash light source and has a trough with a reflective surface oriented towards the flash light source. The reflective surface partially encloses the flash light source and extends no more than 2 millimeters beyond the flash light source towards the target surface.

Abstract: Variable focal length lens system comprises two adjacent lens units, one stationary, the other movable. These lens units are in order from an object side towards an image side(i) A first lens unit possessing divergent refractive power. The first lens unit is the front most lens unit. It consists of a single negative lens component.(ii) A second lens unit possessing convergent refractive power. The second lens unit, includes at least two positive power lens components and an aperture stop.

Abstract: A glass preform, including a core glass adversely affected by interaction with a molding tool, is provided with a thin surface layer of glass components that are inert to the tool and have an index of refraction that matches the core glass. More specifically, the thin layer comprises glass components having respective indexes of refraction above and below the core index of refraction, in an amorphous mixture that matches the core index. According to certain features, the core glass is flint glass including greater than five percent by weight of titania, and the glass components include mixtures of silica or indium and tin oxide applied in a layer having a thickness between one hundred and one thousand angstroms. Other features of the invention provide a method for making the glass preform and a method for molding a precision optical element using the preform.

Abstract: A printer system includes (a) an f-.theta. lens producing lateral color aberration; (b) three laser light sources, each producing a light beam for use with said f-.theta. lens; and (c) modulators modulating these laser light beams at different data rates from one another. The ratio of the different data rates is being used to compensate for the lateral color aberration produced by the f-.theta. lens.

Abstract: An f-.theta. lens is disclosed which is particularly suitable for use with a color laser printer in which beams of different wavelengths are combined into a single light beam. The combined light beam is scanned by a rotating polygon onto a receiving medium. The f-.theta. is adapted to operate with 1.) beam shaping optics for shaping the beam in a scan direction prior to the polygon, and 2.) a cylindrical element located behind the f-.theta. lens, to image the light beam in a cross-scan direction onto the receiving medium. The f-.theta. lens includes a plurality of lens components. The lens components cooperate to(a) focus a received combination beam of three different wavelengths onto an image surface, the received combination beam having different vergences and different waist locations in the page and line directions, the vergences and the waist locations being substantially the same in each of the three wavelengths; and(b) compensate for chromatic aberration. This compensation renders the f-.theta.

Abstract: A zoom lens comprises a plurality of lens elements arranged into three lens units. More specifically, there is a first lens unit of positive refractive power, a second lens unit of negative refractive power, and a third lens unit of positive refractive power. The third lens unit is located between the first and the second lens units. The plurality of lens elements provide: (i) a zoom ratio greater than 1.5, (ii) an F/number in the telephoto position of less than F/5 and an F/number in the wide angle position of less than F/3.6, (iii) and an overall compactness ratio L.sub.v /f.sub.t <1.0, where L.sub.v is the distance from a front vertex of the zoom lens to the image plane in a telephoto position, and f.sub.t is the focal length of the zoom lens in the telephoto position.