Abstract: A sun visor includes an annular band for securement of the sun visor about an individual's uppermost head portion, wherein the sun visor includes an eyeglass assembly mounted rotatably to a concave portion of the sun visor, wherein a photocell in cooperation with a battery and solenoid drive is arranged to effect rotation of the eyeglass assembly to a lowered second position from a raised first position that is in adjacency to the sun visor concave surface in response to available sunlight.

Abstract: An image of an object embedded in a diffusing medium is formed by propagating a coherent or equivalent light pulse through the diffusing medium and applying a reference pulse so as to gate precisely the first emerging light transmitted through the diffusing medium. An ultra-short pulse, having a duration on the order of 150 fs, insures that only the first emerging light is used to form a hologram. Instability in the diffusing medium, which may be inherent therein, as is the case with living tissue, or artificially induced therein, such as by vibrating the specimen, ensures that a subsequent hologram has a different background noise and speckle pattern. Integration of such holograms causes the background noise to average out, but time-invariant features, such as the object being imaged, become increasingly more visible as more holograms are integrated.

Abstract: The present invention provides a zoom lens system which comprises nine or less constituent lenses in all, has a short total length and a small front lens, is reduced in terms of size, weight and cost, has a high zoom ratio and a large aperture ratio, and is best suited for use with handy camcorders, and which comprises a first lens unit G1 having a positive refracting power, a second lens unit G2 having a negative refracting power and movable horizontally along the optical axis during zooming, a third lens unit G3 constantly remaining fixed and consisting of a positive lens in which the object-side surface has a stronger curvature and at least the object-side surface takes an aspherical configuration and a negative meniscus lens in which the image-side surface has a stronger curvature, two lenses in all, said third lens unit G3 having a positive refracting power as a whole, and a fourth lens unit G4 movable horizontally along the optical axis for focus regulation during zooming and moving the object point and

Abstract: A system for enhancing the resolution of an image comprising a plurality of phase affecting light transmitting objects, preferably plates, disposed in a stack in the light path of the light energy defining an image, each plate having a thickness and being spaced a distance apart from others of the plates. Preferably, a source of radiant energy is provided for irradiating the plates and spaces between the plates in the stack and optionally the image itself to enhance resolution further by creating standing waves that interfere with the light in the light path defining the image. The plates are preferably edge illuminated, and the radiant energy may be visible light, ultraviolet energy or infrared energy, individually or intermixed. The system has application both for enhancing existing images as well as enhancing images during the image storage process.

Abstract: Methods for creating a plurality of holographic diffraction grating patterns in a raster scan fashion. In accordance with the method, the desired pattern is made up of a large plurality of individual spots, each spot comprising a holographic diffraction grating of a predetermined grating spacing and angular orientation for that spot. Variation of the angular orientation and/or grating spacing between spots and/or groups of spots provide the desired holographic effect. The spot locations may vary as desired, including locations drawing out a desired pattern, and two-dimensional orthogonal matrices in which a pattern is drawn by variations between spots or group of spots as in a raster scan type image. Various embodiments and methods for creating the same are disclosed.

Abstract: A hologram exposure apparatus for and method of obtaining a hologram using a photoresist for an in-line type interferometer wherein a photoresist substrate is detachably mounted on a substrate rotating device. A concentric pattern of a hologram from a source of light is projected onto the photoresist on the substrate mounted on the substrate rotating device while rotating the substrate and moving a projecting device in a direction at right angles with the rotary shaft of the photoresist substrate.

Abstract: This invention provides embodiments of etalons (10, 14, 18, 22) that eliminate or minimize a falloff of relative radiation modulation as a function of wavelength or FOV. A first embodiment employs a dispersive coating, such as a rugate (12a, 12b, 16), to correct for the phase shift across an etalon step. A second embodiment employs a dispersive coating, such as a rugate (20a, 20b, 24), that provides a stepless etalon in which the phase shifts are generated by the coating. It is shown that in a rugate the phase shift on reflection is directly related to the phase of a sinusoidal index of refraction profile within the rugate, while the frequency of the sinusoidal index of refraction profile determines the wavelength at which the phase shift occurs. By changing the phase of the sinusoidal index of refraction variation as the period of the sinusoidal index of refraction variation is changed, a phase shift of incident radiation is produced that is a function of the wavelength of the incident radiation.

Abstract: A re-imaging optical system (10) has a ref lective objective (12) providing an intermediate image of the object being viewed and a relay (14) including refractive (32, 62) and diffractive (34, 72) optical elements. The system is capable of re-imaging the intermediate image onto an image plane (16) with the characteristic advantages of reflective and refractive systems while eliminating their deficiencies.

Abstract: Holographic apparatus and methods are provided for generating high resolution telescopic images using low cost, small aperture lenses. Holographic media, such as photorefractive crystals, are used in conjunction with multiple and/or synthetic aperture techniques. In a multiple aperture system, a thin nonlinear holographic medium is used with a plurality of small optical lenses to compensate for the inherent piston and tilt errors of the lenses, thereby providing higher resolution. In another embodiment, synthetic aperture techniques are accomplished by illuminating a far field object with coherent light, deriving a reference beam from the coherent light, and changing the position of the reference beam in accordance with a computational formula. A hologram is formed from a sequence of image exposures in the holographic media, each made at different positions with respect to the image.

Abstract: The improved zoom lens system includes, in order from the object side, a first lens group having a positive power, a second and a third lens group each having a negative power and a fourth lens group having an overall positive power, the fourth lens group being composed of a first sub-group 4a and a second sub-group 4b, which zoom lens system performs zooming by moving the second lens group relative to the overall system, the third lens group being moved relative to the overall system in operative association with the zooming so as to correct the shifting of the image plane due to the zooming which zoom lens system satisfies specific conditions.

Abstract: An ophthalmic dial advancement system for vision testing apparatuses, such as ophthalmic refractors of the type which utilize a single dial sphere control for advancing the lens power of at least one of the lenses positioned within the lens housing. A rotation element is positioned adjacent a portion of the engagement surface of the single dial sphere control so as to facilitate a controlled and sensitive advancement of the single dial sphere control and, in turn, the lenses which are being rotated thereby. A rotation disengagement member is operably attached to a portion of the lens rotation element so as to enable alternatively engaged and disengaged advancement of the single dial sphere control.

Abstract: Transparent optically variable device comprising a symmetric three-layer coating. The three-layer coating has first and second partially transmitting absorber layers and a dielectric spacer layer disposed between the first and second absorber layers.

Abstract: An array of optical microelements is produced by press molding, at a high temperature, a transparent glass with a press mold which has a molding surface formed into a shape corresponding to the optical microelement array and coated with a chemically stable thin film.

Abstract: A diamondlike carbon thin film protected hologram comprises an organic film deposited on a substrate and recorded to form a hologram, and a diamondlike carbon thin film deposited on the hologram, or first and second substrates having a diamondlike carbon thin film deposited thereon and an organic film having a holographic pattern recorded therein and sandwiched between the diamondlike carbon thin films of the first and second substrates. A method of fabricating a diamondlike carbon thin film protected hologram comprises forming a layer of dichromated gelatin on a substrate, recording the dichromated gelatin to form a hologram, and depositing on the hologram a diamondlike carbon thin film at room temperature, or depositing a diamondlike carbon thin film on first and second substrates, forming a layer of dichromated gelatin on the thin film of one of the substrates, recording the layer to form a hologram, and adhering the thin film of the second substrate to the hologram.

Abstract: A zoom lens system includes from one side to the other side: a first lens unit of a negative power having a negative lens element concave to the one side; a second lens unit of a positive power having a positive meniscus lens element convex to the one side, a biconcave lens element whose one side surface has a larger radius of curvature and a biconvex lens element; and a third lens unit of a negative power having a negative meniscus lens element concave to the other side. In order to perform zooming, the distance between the first lens unit and the second lens unit and the distance between the second lens unit and the third lens unit are varied, and the entire zoom lens system is moved along the optical axis.

Abstract: The invention relates to an objective-with-a-corrector-ring for microscopes that is of about 40 magnifications and has an NA of 0.93 with well-corrected aberrations over an ultra-wide field range, and is less likely to degrade in performance due to a thickness variation of the cover glass. This objective comprises a first lens group G1 that includes a positive meniscus lens concave on the object side and has positive refracting power as a whole, a second lens group G2 that is movable along the optical axis and has small refracting power, a third lens group G3 that is of positive refracting power and converts an exit luminous flux leaving the object and passing through said first and second lens groups to a converging flux, and a fourth lens group G4 that includes two lens surfaces opposite on the concave surfaces to each other through an air separation. The second lens group is movable relative to the first and third lens groups depending on a thickness change of the cover glass.

Abstract: A zoom lens comprising, from front to rear, a first lens unit of negative power, a second lens unit of positive power and a third lens unit of negative power, the second and third lens units being moved to effect zooming, and the third lens unit having its focal length f.sub.3 laid in the following range:0.5 f.sub.W <.vertline.f.sub.3 .vertline.<4 f.sub.Twhere f.sub.W and f.sub.T are the shortest and longest focal lengths of the entire system.

Abstract: A lens system comprising, in order from the object side, a first lens component having a positive refractive power, a second lens component having a negative refractive power and a thrid lens component having a positive refractive power; the first lens component or the third lens component being a radial type graded refractive index lens component. The lens system is composed of the lens component in a number as small as three and has favorable optical performance.

Abstract: A zoom lens includes sequentially from an object side toward an image surface side a fixed first lens group, a movable second lens group, a fixed third lens group, and a movable fourth lens group. The fixed first lens group is constituted by a first concave lens, a first convexo-convex lens, a second concave lens, a second convexo-convex lens and a meniscus convex lens. The movable second lens group is constituted by a meniscus concave lens, a concavo-concave lens and a convex lens. The fixed third lens group is constituted by a single lens having at least one aspherical surface. The movable fourth lens group is constituted by a concave lens and a convex lens, at least one of which has at least one aspherical surface.

Abstract: The present invention provides an optical interference film, made of multiple layers of polymers, which reflects wavelengths of light in the infrared region of the spectrum while being substantially transparent to wavelengths of light in the visible spectrum. The optical interference film includes multiple alternating layers of at least first, second, and third diverse, substantially transparent polymeric materials A, B, and C, with the layers being of an optical thickness of between about 0.09 and 0.45 micrometers. Each of the polymeric materials has a different index of refraction, n.sub.i, and the refractive index of the second polymeric material is intermediate the respective refractive indices of the first and third polymeric materials.