Abstract: The technology generally relates to a binocular having two tubes, which are connected to one another by means of a hinged bridge pivotable about a hinge axis for adjusting the interpupillary distance. Within each of the two tubes a beam path is formed with a first optical axis of an objective lens, with a second optical axis of an eyepiece and with a prism erecting system, characterized in that the first optical axis of the objective lens and the second optical axis of the eyepiece are offset parallel to each other by a distance.

Abstract: A reflecting prism has an input surface, an output surface, a first reflection surface, a second reflection surface, and a third reflection surface. The reflecting prism has a first refractive index, such that the first, second, and third reflection surfaces interface with an external medium having a second refractive index less than the first refractive index. This interface defines a critical angle for total internal reflection for each of the first, second, and third reflection surfaces. Light is received at the input surface of a prism body of a reflecting prism and is transmitted along a first internal optical path segment of an optical path to the first reflection surface. The angle of incidence of the first internal optical path segment with respect to the first reflection surface is greater than the critical angle for the first reflection surface, thereby causing the light to be reflected via total internal reflection.

Abstract: An imaging system comprising an image capture apparatus, arranged to capture a stereoscopic image of an operator work site, in communication with a display system; the display system arranged to receive and display said stereoscopic image on a display screen to said operator; wherein said display system is arranged such that the display screen is placed intermediate the operator's eyes and the work site.

Abstract: An aspect of the disclosed subject matter includes a method of reducing the laser absorption of a beam reverser prism consisting of at least one of the following: increasing a first distance between a first incident point and a chamfered corner, wherein the first incident point is on a first reflective surface of the prism and the chamfered corner is formed between the first reflective surface and a second reflective surface of the prism, wherein the chamfered corner has a chamfered surface; increasing a second distance between a second incident point and the chamfered corner, wherein the second incident point is on the second reflective surface of the prism; and increasing a reflectivity of the chamfered surface of the chamfered corner of the prism. A method of determining a prime cut for an optical component is also disclosed. A laser including at least one prime cut optical component is also disclosed.

Abstract: The invention pertains to a Porro prism of the second type, with at least two interconnected reversing prisms that each provide two reflective inclined surfaces for a beam path between an entry surface and an exit surface, wherein the exit surface of one reversing prism and the entry surface of the other reversing prism form their respective connecting surface, and wherein the inventive Porro prism is characterized in that the connecting surface lies oblique to the optical axes of those sections of the beam path that penetrate the exposed entry and exit surfaces of the reversing prisms.

Abstract: A system for varying a delay of an optical beam has a rotatable wheel and a set of one or more prisms mounted about a circumference of the rotatable wheel. The set of one or more prisms are positioned to retroreflect the optical beam that passes approximately tangent to the rotatable wheel to cause a delay or phase shift to the beam as the rotatable wheel rotates.

Abstract: An aspect of the disclosed subject matter includes a method of reducing the laser absorption of a beam reverser prism consisting of at least one of the following: increasing a first distance between a first incident point and a chamfered corner, wherein the first incident point is on a first reflective surface of the prism and the chamfered corner is formed between the first reflective surface and a second reflective surface of the prism, wherein the chamfered corner has a chamfered surface; increasing a second distance between a second incident point and the chamfered corner, wherein the second incident point is on the second reflective surface of the prism; and increasing a reflectivity of the chamfered surface of the chamfered corner of the prism. A method of determining a prime cut for an optical component is also disclosed. A laser including at least one prime cut optical component is also disclosed.

Abstract: The invention pertains to a Porro prism of the second type, with at least two interconnected reversing prisms that each provide two reflective inclined surfaces for a beam path between an entry surface and an exit surface, wherein the exit surface of one reversing prism and the entry surface of the other reversing prism form their respective connecting surface, and wherein the inventive Porro prism is characterized in that the connecting surface lies oblique to the optical axes of those sections of the beam path that penetrate the exposed entry and exit surfaces of the reversing prisms.

Abstract: The present invention relates to optical apparatus. The optical apparatus (10) comprises: a support configured for location and use of the optical apparatus near an eye of a user of the optical apparatus; and an optical device (12) supported by the support such that, in use, the optical device (12) is within a visual field of the eye of the user, the optical device being configured to reverse a field of view of the user's eye through the optical device (12) laterally with respect to the user's eyes.

Abstract: An optical switch element (1) for switching an optical path (2) comprises a fixed reflection element (4), which requires strict preciseness in positioning and angle-setting, and a movable optical path parallel displacement element (3A), which permits relaxed preciseness in positioning and angle-setting. When the movable optical path parallel displacement element is not present in the optical path, light goes straight, and when the optical path displacement element is inserted into the optical path, light running in the optical path is displaced in parallel, inputted into the fixed reflection element, and bent by the fixed reflection element.

Abstract: A method for forming a metallic mirror surface on a receiving surface is shown. The method comprises the steps of: cleaning the underlay surface; spraying on the receiving surface an activating treatment agent solution wherein the activating treatment agent solution contains a hydrochloric acid solution including about 10 cc to about 44 cc of hydrochloric acid, about 1.5 g to about 5 g of stannous chloride and about 0.001 g to about 0.005 g of a precious metal salt of at least one of a silver nitrate, palladium chloride, gold chloride and platinum chloride per 1 liter of water for use as an activating treatment agent for forming a metallic mirror surface on a receiving surface which is treated with the hydrochloric acid solution as an activating treatment agent solution; and separately spraying concurrently on the underlay surface a reacting metal salt and a reducing agent to form the metallic mirror surface.

Abstract: Interleavers are a useful tool in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) to separate a signal with closely spaced channels into two signals, e.g. odd and even ITU channels, each with twice the channel spacing. Alternatively, two signals with a large channel spacing can be combined into a single beam with half the channel spacing. The invention relates to an optical interferometer using rhomb prisms as resonant cavities, which, when properly designed, provide the necessary phase shifts for interleaving or de-interleaving sets of optical wavelength channels. The present invention utilizes the differential phase shift between orthogonally polarized components induced by total internal reflection (TIR) off the surfaces of the rhomb prisms. Dispersion reducing techniques are also disclosed, including multiple rhomb interleavers and multi-pass rhomb interleavers.

Abstract: A first surface of an optical component has a lens function of converging the transmission light from a light source. A second surface reflects the transmission light, converged by the lens function of the first surface, towards an end face of an optical transmission medium as the destination of transmission. The light reflected by the second surface is radaited from a coupling surface. Since the light beam from the light source is directed towards the optical transmission medium by exploiting the total reflection of light, a high-reflection multi-layer film or a polarization beam splitter film, required in a conventional apparatus employing a polarization beam splitter, is unneeded, with the result that the film forming cost or the cost in bonding two prisms used for fabricating the polarization beam splitter may be dispensed with. In this manner, the production cost or size of the apparatus can be reduced without lowering the transmission/reception performance.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide a real image viewfinder optical system with high optical performance and compactness, whose dimension of a whole optical system including an image inverter optical system is small in the thickness direction, and whose dimension to an object side of an eyepiece lens system is small in the thickness direction. A real image viewfinder optical system comprises, in order from an object side, an objective lens system having a positive refractive power as a whole, an eyepiece lens system for observing a real image formed by the objective lens system and having a positive refractive power, and an image inverter optical system for erecting the image to be observed and arranged to an exit pupil side of a lens located to the most object side of the objective lens system and also to the object side of a lens located to the most exit pupil side of the eyepiece lens system. Conditional expressions are satisfied.

Abstract: A projection type display device constructed so that light source beams via a polarization beam splitter are separated of colors by a color separating/synthesizing optical system and enter light valves disposed for every color light, the light beams exiting from the respective light valves are synthesized by the color separating/synthesizing optical system, the synthesized light beams exit, the polarization beam splitter analyzes the synthesized light beams and takes out the analyzed light beams, and the analyzed light beams are projected on a screen through a projection lens. A normal line of an outgoing surface of the polarization beam splitter with respect to the light source beams exiting toward the color separating/synthesizing optical system from the polarization beam splitter, has a predetermined angle larger than zero degree with respect to an optical axis of the light source beams.

Abstract: Disclosed is a prism having a light incident surface, a light emerging surface, and at least one light reflection surface. The light incident on the light incident surface is reflected, inside the prism, by the light reflection surface, and emerged from the light emerging surface. At least one light reflection surface has a reflecting surface which does not satisfy a total reflection condition. A reflection area is formed on the at-least-one light reflection surface by applying light reflecting material. The reflection-area corresponds to a portion on which a normal light is incident. Further, a portion of the-at least-one reflection surface other than the reflection area is formed to be a low-reflection area-which has a lower reflectance index than the reflection area.

Abstract: A device for eliminating decentration error due to parallax during ophthalmic laser surgery comprises a stereo microscope having a first ocular and a second ocular and an objective lens for viewing a patient's eye, a laser for projecting a laser beam at a patient's eye during ophthalmic laser surgery; and structure for aligning the objective lens relative to the first ocular to center the laser beam with a patient's eye. The device for eliminating decentration error due to parallax also comprises prism positioned between either the first ocular and the objective lens or the objective lens and the laser beam.

Abstract: A light interception structure for an automatic focus detection surveying instrument includes a telescopic optical system having an objective optical system and an ocular optical system, a beam splitting optical element which splits object light transmitted through the objective optical system from the telescopic optical system, and a focus detector having a light receiver which receives the object light split by the beam splitting optical element. One surface of the beam splitting optical element upon which external light entering the telescopic optical system through the ocular optical system is first made incident after the external light passes through or is reflected by a beam splitting surface of the beam splitting optical element is subject to an anti-reflection treatment.

Abstract: A viewing optical instrument has a roof prism which is provided with a pair of reflection surfaces intersecting at a nominal face angle of 90°, wherein the pupil is split by an edge line of the reflection surfaces of the roof prism. The reflection surfaces are provided with a multiple-layer coating which does not absorb visible light. A change in the phase difference produced between light incident on one of reflection surfaces located on opposite sides of an edge line of the roof prism and emitted from the other reflection surface, and light incident on the right reflection surface and emitted from the left reflection surface is restricted to reduce wavefront aberrations to thereby improve the quality of an image to be viewed. A roof prism used in the optical instrument is also disclosed.

Abstract: In a real-image finder optical system, at least two reflection surfaces are utilized for diopter adjustment, and wherein first and second diopter-adjusting reflection surfaces form a right angle therebetween; an optical axis from the objective optical system to the first diopter-adjusting reflection surface and an optical axis from the second diopter-adjusting reflection surface are parallel with each other; the two optical axes are perpendicular to the optical axis being incident from the object to the objective optical system; diopter adjustment is performed by integrally moving the first and second diopter-adjusting reflection surfaces so that the optical path length from the image forming plane of the objective optical system to the eyepiece optical system is varied; and the following condition is satisfied: 0.1<L1/L2<0.

Abstract: A convergence tube for stereomicroscopes in which both observation beam paths are inclined relative to one another at an angle of convergence &agr; and image inversion elements are provided in both observation beam paths. Four planar reflectors R1 to R4 are provided in each of the two beam paths and are arranged relative to one another in such a way that the axis beams incident on and emergent from the reflectors R1, R2 lie in a common plane E1,2, the axis beams incident on and emergent from the reflector R3 describe a plane E3 that forms an angle &bgr;=90°+&agr;/4 with the plane E1,2, and the axis beams incident on and emergent from the reflector R4 describe a plane E4 that forms an angle &bgr;2=&agr;/2 with plane E3.

Abstract: A method is designed to adjust the distance between the central axes of two ocular lenses of an optical instrument. The method involves the use of a link mechanism to actuate two movable prisms and the two ocular lenses of the optical instrument to move respectively along a base surface such that the optical axes of effective diameters of the two movable prisms are coaxial with the optical axes of the corresponding ocular lenses.

Abstract: A Porro prism and a light polarizer are combined in a single optical element termed a Hendrix Prism. The design provides retro-reflection of incoming light of a predetermined polarization in a direction anti-parallel to the direction of light incidence, while reflecting undesired light, i.e., that having a polarization orthogonal to the predetermined polarization, from the surface of the light polarizer. The undesired light is reflected in a direction that does not interfere with the intended operation of the device in which the Hendrix Prism is installed yet provides feedback to the system in which it is used.

Abstract: Polarization preserving optical systems for use in deviating plane polarized beams through preselected angles without changing their linear state of polarization. The optical systems have a variety of applications and are particularly suitable for use in the field of distance measuring interferometry (DMI) to enhance measurement accuracy by reducing undesirable polarization effects that can introduce errors associated with an otherwise present undesirable polarization rotation found in classical retroreflectors. Prismatic optical elements are preferably used to construct assemblies which can include polarization beam splitting coating arrangements and/or birefringent materials to enhance the extinction ratio between orthogonally polarized beams propagating through such systems.

Abstract: A binocular is provided with a pair of telescopic optical systems. Each of the pair of telescopic optical systems has an objective lens, a pair of positive and negative compensation lenses, an erecting system, and an observing optical system. The negative compensation lens of the right telescopic optical system and the positive compensation lens of the left telescopic optical system are held by a rotatable first frame. The positive compensation lens of the right telescopic optical system and the negative compensation lens of the left telescopic optical system are held by a rotatable second frame. The first and second frames are driven in the opposite directions to each other such that the vibration of the image can be compensated.

Abstract: A prism is provided having a surface on which light is made incident, surfaces at which light is reflected and a surface from which light is emitted. The prism includes an uneven surface portion provided on at least one of the incident, reflecting or emitting surfaces and located outside a light transmission area through which effective light of an associated optical system, in which the prism is to be incorporated, can be transmitted. The disclosure is also directed to a real image type view finder having such a prism.

Abstract: A double Porro prism having an incident surface, an exit surface, and a plurality of reflecting surfaces for internally reflecting light rays from the incident surface to the exit surface. The plurality of reflecting surfaces having a final reflecting surface that is positioned near the exit surface. The double Porro prism also has a ghost preventing surface that is formed between a ridge of the final reflecting surface and a ridge of the exit surface.

Abstract: A real image type viewfinder optical system configured so as to allow observation, through an eyepiece, of an image of an object which is formed by an objective, and inverted by image inverting optical members in both a vertical direction and a horizontal direction. This viewfinder optical system uses an objective which is formed as a member integrated with a prism having a first reflecting surface of the image inverting optical members and an eyepiece which is formed as a member integrated with a prism having a final reflecting surface of the image inverting optical members.

Abstract: A non-deviating prism system (40) and method provides continuously variable dispersion of light with limited deviation. Light is dispersed in a prism arrangement which includes a selected liquid filled in the spaces between adjacent prism elements (41, 51). The indices of refraction and the apex angles of the prisms (41, 51) and the intervening liquid are set to limited deviation according to predetermined relationship. The prisms are mounted near the edges of mutually insertable tubes (62, 64) and a refractive liquid is secured in a containment space bounded by the prism elements (41, 51).

Abstract: A prismatic telescope optical system is available to include one of a plurality of optical systems different in magnification from one another, each having an objective system, an image erecting prism system, and an eyepiece system. Each of plurality of optical systems is constructed so that its respective overall length is are made practically equal by varying the refractive indices of an included image erecting prism system.

Abstract: A stereoscopic microscope system is adapted for vitrectomy eye surgery. A conformer lens positions the eye being operated upon and an aspherical lens system, adjacent the conformer lens, produces an inverted image. That image is reinverted by a prism system having two pairs of prisms, each pair being an Abbe's Modification of Porro prism system. Each prism of the prism system has the same size and shape and the prisms are cemented together to form a unitary prism cluster.

Abstract: A laser block beam splitter system for microscopes comprising a main body housing, a laser safety filter, two optical trains, a pair of beam splitters, and three viewing stations. The beam splitters provide an image along both an axial beam path and a transverse beam path relative to the main body housing. The laser safety filter is disposed at the distal portion of both optical trains before the pair of beam splitters to protect the viewing stations from laser radiation. The three viewing stations of the laser block beam splitter system are thereby continually protected from laser radiation by the laser safety filter.

Abstract: A real image mode finder optical system includes an objective lens, an image inverting optical member for erecting an object image formed by the objective lens, and an eyepiece for observing the object image. The objective lens has a reflecting surface and satisfies a condition:0.1<D/f<0.4where D is the distance between the exit surface of the objective lens and the entrance surface of the image inverting optical member and f is the focal length of the objective lens. Thus, the real image mode finder optical system are constructed with a small number of parts and compact design.

Abstract: Pseudoscopic, dual-path optical systems employing plane mirror arrangements for cross coupling the optical paths to reverse the left and right perspectives of object space are provided. Advantageously, the cross coupled path arrangements permit the systems to be manufactured inexpensively because low-cost reflective components can be used and assembled with alignment requirements that are significantly relaxed compared with customary requirements found in uncoupled systems utilizing high-cost prisms or mirror arrangements for similar purposes.

Abstract: An optical stereoscopic microscope system is adapted for eye surgery and includes a conformer lens which fits over the eyeball being operated upon. A wide-angle aspherical lens system includes two convex-concave lenses and magnifies the image from the conformer lens to produce an inverted image. A beam splitter splits the inverted image into separated left and right inverted images each of which are reinverted by a pair of prisms, each prism pair being a pair of an Abbe Modification of Porro Prisms.

Abstract: An optical low pass filter including a phase grating for obtaining useful picture image characteristics by provision of preferable low pass effects for each of wave form zones about the spatial frequency components beyond Nyquist limit which are required to be removed as the picture images are discretely sampled in nature in an optical system of a single tube color television camera having a color separating filter, a color video camera using solid state imaging elements, and so on, which is easier in construction to be constructed.

Abstract: A beam distributor apparatus employing an eccentrically mounted retroreflector prism is driven to revolve about a central axis by a motor/encoder to direct an input beam to a plurality of optical fibers in sequence. The retroreflector prism possesses the property of reflecting a beam in a directional parallel to the incident beam but displaced laterally therefrom. In one arrangement, a synchronously triggered laser is used as the light source. In a second embodiment, a non-laser light source is employed with a shutter coupled to be triggered in synchronism with the position of the rotating prism relative to the output optical fibers.

Abstract: A switchover mirror system for a periscope has an even number of reflection surfaces for enabling an observer to view a first scene in a first sight direction forward of the observer and an uneven number of reflection surfaces for enabling the observer to view a second scene in a second sight direction rearward of the observer. One of the reflection surfaces is disposed on a member which is pivoted about a pivot axis arranged eccentrically with respect to the member. With a simple construction and a reduced number of movable elements, the image during switchover of the sight direction remains upright and similar fields of view are obtained at the same periscopic elevation as for mirrors which are not switched over.

Abstract: A real image viewfinder with an objective having movable focusing lens(es) and a field lens at the end thereof furtherest from the field of view, an eyepiece lens and image inverting optics, preferably in the form of a Type II Porro prism wherein the real image is focused to fall on a surface of the field lens, which is desirably a plano surface facing the inverting optics. This field lens surface is also at the focus of the eye piece lens. A pattern (a reticle) is located on the field lens surface. Since the objective forms a focus at the location of the reticle, observation of the reticle indicates when the objective is focused. A camera picture taking lens may be coupled to a movable lens in the objective for focusing the taking lens.