Abstract: A photographic stop with two apertures is disposed at a position substantially conjugate to the anterior ocular segment of the eye being examined and at a position on the object-side focal surface of an image-forming lens. An eye fundus image is guided via a lattice barrier disposed on the image-side focal surface of the image-forming lens to an imaging CCD. The photographic stop, image-forming lens, lattice barrier and CCD are moved as a unit for focus adjustment. With such a configuration, the photographic stop is always positioned upon the object-side focal surface of the image-forming lens with the optical system kept telecentric even when the focus is adjusted to compensate for differences in diopter of the eye. This eliminates the phenomenon of a stereoscopic view that becomes more concave or convex the nearer to the periphery of the screen and provides good images of the fundus for stereoscopic viewing without any crosstalk of the left and right fundus images upon the image pickup surface.

Abstract: A grid formed with apertures of a predetermined shape is illuminated with light from a lamp and projected onto a tear meniscus accumulated on the lower eyelid. The aperture image projected on the tear film is imaged by a CCD camera. The tear meniscus functions as a concave mirror, so that the magnification factor depends on the radius of meniscus curvature. A processor calculates the magnitude of the grid image and evaluates the radius of meniscus curvature. Since the volume of lacrimal fluid varies depending upon the radius of meniscus curvature, the latter is used as a value representing the lacrimal fluid volume for dry eye diagnose purposes.

Abstract: Exciting light from a strobe light source is projected onto the fundus of the subject eye to excite a fluorescence substance in a subject eye fundus. Natural fluorescence exited in the fundus is received by a photodiode via a stop located at a position that is conjugate with the fundus. An XY stage is used to move the stop perpendicularly to the optical axis to change the measurement location. The output of the photodiode is used to calculate the intensity of the fluorescence from the measurement location. Since the measurement location can be changed with ease, it is possible to accurately and easily measure natural fluorescence from a desired part of the fundus.

Abstract: An ophthalmic photographic apparatus includes an illumination optical system for illuminating an eye fundus and a photographing optical system for photographing an image of the illuminated eye fundus. The ophthalmic photographic apparatus includes a first aperture stop, a second aperture stop having an outside diameter that is smaller than that of the first aperture stop, a third aperture stop that transmits more light than the first aperture stop, and means for selectively inserting the first to third aperture stops into the optical path of the illumination optical system. The ophthalmic photographic apparatus does not have a complicated structure, but can be readily used in the various photographing modes.

Abstract: An image forming device includes: a toner image forming unit that forms a toner image onto a recording medium; a controlling unit that controls the toner image forming unit such that a test image is formed on the recording medium; a sheet transfer unit that transfers the recording medium having the toner image formed thereon by the toner image forming unit; a fixing unit that fixes the toner image formed by the toner image forming unit onto the recording medium; an image detecting unit, disposed downstream from the image fixing unit along the sheet transfer unit, that detects the test image formed on the recording medium; and a calibration unit that performs a color calibration process based upon the test image detected by the image detecting unit.

Abstract: An imaging system is provided that is capable of controlling a photographic operation to provide favorable images of a fundus of an eye to be examined. When a normal photographic mode is selected, a single operation of a shutter button causes a single trigger signal to be generated. On the other hand, when a stereo photographic mode is selected, a single operation of a shutter button causes two trigger signals to be generated in succession. The generated trigger signal triggers a switching device so that a position of a photographic stop is automatically switched to a position predetermined for the photographic mode, and the photographic light source is caused to emit light a number of times that corresponds to the selected photographic mode. In such a configuration, fundus images are automatically produced a set number of times by a single operation of the shutter. Therefore, a high-quality fundus image can be obtained without concerns that an appropriate moment to capture an image will be missed.

Abstract: A left parallax image and a right parallax image for a fundus of the same eye being examined are captured and recorded, and at least one of the two images is displayed. An image in a prescribed area is clipped from the displayed image, and an image in an area that corresponds to the area of the clipped image is clipped from the other image. The two clipped images are then enlarged and displayed on a stereo monitor in a left-right alignment. In such a configuration, when an area to be displayed at a high-magnification is specified for one of the images, clipping and high magnification processes may be performed also for the other image. This allows stereoscopic observations of an eye fundus at high magnification to readily be performed.

Abstract: There is provided a technique in which alignment can easily be performed, a period for which the alignment adjustment is completed is shortened, and operability is improved. Alignment is performed using the apex of cornea as a reference by optical structures different from those of the light projection system and the light receiving system. An intersection point of optical axes of the light projection system and the light receiving system in the eye is set to a biological property measurement point in the eye which is shifted by a predetermined distance from the apex of cornea.

Abstract: According to the breaking detection processing, it is determined that (A) iu of AC current (absolute value) supplied to a motor is less than 0.5 amperes or iv thereof is less 0.5 amperes or iw thereof is less than 0.5 amperes, (B) the angular velocity of the motor is 1 rad/s or more and (C) at least any one of the current instruction values id*, iq* is 5 amperes or more in a step and then, a period in which all these three conditions (A)–(C) are satisfied at the same time is determined in another step. Consequently, it is determined that any one of the power supply lines in the motor is broken and a breaking detection flag is set to ON so as to detect the breaking.

Abstract: An image forming device includes: a toner image forming unit that forms a toner image onto a recording medium; a controlling unit that controls the toner image forming unit such that a test image is formed on the recording medium; a sheet transfer unit that transfers the recording medium having the toner image formed thereon by the toner image forming unit; a fixing unit that fixes the toner image formed by the toner image forming unit onto the recording medium; an image detecting unit, disposed downstream from the image fixing unit along the sheet transfer unit, that detects the test image formed on the recording medium; and a calibration unit that performs a color calibration process based upon the test image detected by the image detecting unit.

Abstract: Shift lever apparatus includes: a shift lever adapted to be shifted in a longitudinal direction to select one of ranges in an automatic mode and to be inclined in a lateral direction to select a range in a manual mode; a frame member; a longitudinal slide plate slidable in the frame member in the longitudinal direction together with the shift lever; and a lateral slide plate slidable in the lateral direction relative to the longitudinal slide plate in accordance with a shift operation of the shift lever. The lateral slide plate includes a current shift position indicator to indicate a current shift position of the shift lever. The lateral slide plate further includes a buffer portion to mitigate impact at an end of a stroke of the lateral slide plate in the lateral direction.

Abstract: A CCD camera captures an image of the lachrymal fluid layer in a prescribed position of a subject's eye to which a target substance is administered. Images are selected from a plurality of images captured, and the positions of the target substance in the selected images and the capturing times thereof are used to compute the movement speed of the target substance. The computed movement speed of the target substance is then outputted as the movement speed of the lachrymal fluid of the subject's eye. This arrangement allows the movement speed of lachrymal fluid to be reliably measured, assuring quantitative diagnosis even of severe dry eye.

Abstract: Exciting light from a strobe light source is projected onto the fundus of the subject eye to excite a fluorescence substance in a subject eye fundus. Natural fluorescence exited in the fundus is received by a photodiode via a stop located at a position that is conjugate with the fundus. An XY stage is used to move the stop perpendicularly to the optical axis to change the measurement location. The output of the photodiode is used to calculate the intensity of the fluorescence from the measurement location. Since the measurement location can be changed with ease, it is possible to accurately and easily measure natural fluorescence from a desired part of the fundus.

Abstract: A mask that determines an imaging range of an ocular fundus is disposed in the optical system at the position conjugate to the fundus. The size of the mask on the ocular fundus is calculated in accordance with the optical imaging parameters of the optical system and the diopter of a subject eye and the eye axial length thereof. Two points are specified on the image on the display screen. The actual distance between the specified points on the ocular fundus is calculated based on the calculated mask size on the ocular fundus, a coordinate distance of the mask on the display screen and a coordinate distance between the two specified points on the display screen. With such a constitution, the actual distance on the ocular fundus is derived from the optical imaging parameters in the optical system and the subject eye parameters, which affect the imaging magnification. This assures the precise measurement of the actual distance on the ocular fundus from the image on the display screen.

Abstract: A photographic stop with two apertures is disposed at a position substantially conjugate to the anterior ocular segment of the eye being examined and at a position on the object-side focal surface of an image-forming lens. An eye fundus image is guided via a lattice barrier disposed on the image-side focal surface of the image-forming lens to an imaging CCD. The photographic stop, image-forming lens, lattice barrier and CCD are moved as a unit for focus adjustment. With such a configuration, the photographic stop is always positioned upon the object-side focal surface of the image-forming lens with the optical system kept telecentric even when the focus is adjusted to compensate for differences in diopter of the eye. This eliminates the phenomenon of a stereoscopic view that becomes more concave or convex the nearer to the periphery of the screen and provides good images of the fundus for stereoscopic viewing without any crosstalk of the left and right fundus images upon the image pickup surface.

Abstract: Teeth of a first core sub-part and teeth of a second core sub-part are alternately arranged in a circumferential direction. Each tooth has a tooth main body, which may include two tilted portions at two opposed circumferential ends, respectively, of the tooth main body. Each tilted portion is angled relative to a corresponding direction parallel to the axial direction of the core. Each one of the first and second core sub-parts may have fitting recesses and fitting projections, which are engaged with the fitting projections and the fitting recesses of the other one of the first and second core sub-parts. Each tapered wall surface of each fitting recess is angled relative to a corresponding direction parallel to the axial direction. Similarly, each tapered wall surface of each fitting projection is angled relative to a corresponding direction parallel to the axial direction.

Abstract: An image forming device includes an image forming unit that forms an image including at least one of a user-requested image and a test image onto a recording medium, a controller that controls the image forming unit to form a test image including a mixed color on the recording medium, a transporting path that transports the recording medium on which the test image is formed by the image forming unit, an image detecting unit disposed at the transporting path that detects the test image formed on the recording medium, and a calibration unit that performs a color calibration process based upon the test image detected by the image detecting unit.

Abstract: An image forming device includes: a toner image forming unit that forms a toner image onto a recording medium; a controlling unit that controls the toner image forming unit such that a test image is formed on the recording medium; a sheet transfer unit that transfers the recording medium having the toner image formed thereon by the toner image forming unit; a fixing unit that fixes the toner image formed by the toner image forming unit onto the recording medium; an image detecting unit, disposed downstream from the image fixing unit along the sheet transfer unit, that detects the test image formed on the recording medium; and a calibration unit that performs a color calibration process based upon the test image detected by the image detecting unit.

Abstract: In an apparatus that measures an optical property of an eye to be examined (A) to irradiate laser beam and to receive scattered light of a laser beam by a measurement unit (3). In the apparatus, the position of the measurement unit (3) with respect to the eye (A) is adjusted relatively based on images of the eye (A), photographed from front and oblique direction, and displayed on a monitor fixed the back of the measurement unit (3). According to the apparatus, the optical properties of the anterior ocular segment can be measured with high reproducibility, and alignment is east to perform.

Abstract: Teeth of a first core sub-part and teeth of a second core sub-part are alternately arranged in a circumferential direction. Each tooth has a tooth main body, which may include two tilted portions at two opposed circumferential ends, respectively, of the tooth main body. Each tilted portion is angled relative to a corresponding direction parallel to the axial direction of the core. Each one of the first and second core sub-parts may have fitting recesses and fitting projections, which are engaged with the fitting projections and the fitting recesses of the other one of the first and second core sub-parts. Each tapered wall surface of each fitting recess is angled relative to a corresponding direction parallel to the axial direction. Similarly, each tapered wall surface of each fitting projection is angled relative to a corresponding direction parallel to the axial direction.