Optical: systems and elements – Lens – With viewed object support
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-20
2003-04-22
Ben, Loha (Department: 2873)
Optical: systems and elements
Lens
With viewed object support
C359S894000, C359S645000, C359S367000, C359S369000, C359S436000, C356S600000, C358S473000, C348S063000, C324S096000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06552861
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an optical guide fixture for coupling visual information on a surface to an optical viewer. More particularly, the invention provides an apparatus having such an optical guide fixture for convenient viewing of visual information present on a surface.
A number of devices are known for assisting an individual having a visual impairment to view visual information, such as text and graphics, on a surface. Some such devices employ a scanner, such as a mouse-like device, having an optical receiver therein to obtain data corresponding to the visual information on the surface, and to transmit the data to a closed circuit television (CCTV) to be viewed on a television monitor. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,163 describes such a device. Such conventional devices are typically bulky, and hence are not easily portable. Further, an individual employing such a device can not easily determine which portion of the surface is being shown on the monitor because the scanner partially obstructs the surface. In addition, the scanner of such a device is typically bulky and hence is not suitable for scanning areas of the surface that are not easily accessible, such as the border areas between two adjacent pages of a book.
Another conventional system includes a head-mounted display unit coupled to a camera for viewing visual information on a surface. Such a system typically does not provide a mechanism for conveniently aiming the camera at a selected portion of the surface. This can lead to confusion, especially for a visually impaired patient, regarding which portion of the surface is being viewed. In addition, a person other than the viewer can not easily determine which portion of the surface is being viewed. This is particularly disadvantageous in an educational setting, for example, where an instructor is helping a patient read a book. In addition, such systems are typically heavy, and are cumbersome to wear.
Another conventional system, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,169, includes a scanning head coupled to a bundle of optical fibers. A visually impaired individual views a portion of a surface bearing visual information by looking through a telescope that is coupled to the optical fibers. The scanning head of this device has a relatively narrow field of view. Further, the field of view of the fibers and that of the scanning head are different. Further, the scanning head of this patent is rotationally symmetric, thereby rendering rotational alignment of the scanning head relative to the surface and/or guided translation of the scanning head along a selected direction over the surface difficult. Another defect of the system of the '169 patent is that the telescope does not follow the movements of the patient's head. Accordingly, the patient must keep the head stationary relative to the telescope in order not to lose the view of the surface. This can lead to fatigue and renders viewing of the surface over a long period inconvenient.
An optical scanning instrument designed to alleviate some of these concerns would be advantageous to many people with vision impairment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an optical guide fixture that is adapted for coupling visual information on a surface to an optical receiver having a field of view. An optical guide fixture may comprise a pedestal coupled to an optical output window and/or a mount for an optical receiver having an output window. The term “window” as used herein refers to both an optical opening and to an optical aperture having an optically transparent material. The pedestal may have a base configured for manual translation across a surface, such that the output window and/or mount is maintained at a substantially constant distance and angle with respect to the surface. The field of view preferably does not include any opaque portions of the pedestal.
In certain embodiments, the field of view is visible external to the optical fixture. In one such embodiment, for example, the pedestal may be formed, at least in part, of an optically transmissive material, such as clear plastic or glass. In a further illustrative embodiment, the pedestal may provide an opening or aperture that permits external viewing of the field of view. In yet another embodiment, the pedestal includes a substantially skeletal structure, such as a tripod, that does not substantially obstruct the field of view, and/or the field of view may be substantially adjacent to the pedestal.
In certain embodiments, the optical fixture may be configured such that an implement, such as a stylus or pointer, external to the optical fixture may be introduced into or removed from the field of view. For example, the field of view may lie substantially external to the pedestal. Alternatively, the field of view may lie substantially internal to the pedestal, and the pedestal may comprise an aperture, such as an opening or gap, or the pedestal may comprise a substantially skeletal structure, such as a tripod. In such embodiments, the user can interact with the input window, e.g., with a writing implement, pointer, or other object, while the device is in use.
The pedestal of the optical fixture may be of any of various shapes. One common shape is tubular, and can be of constant cross-section or of varying cross-section, as in a cone or funnel shape. Further, the pedestal may have manually engageable guide elements that are mounted with the pedestal and are adapted for disposing the pedestal of the optical fixture on the surface with the field of view in selected placement and selected rotational alignment on the surface. The manually engageable guide elements can form a single, integral unit with the pedestal, or alternatively can be formed as a separate structure for attachment to the pedestal.
According to another aspect, the manually engageable guide elements of the optical fixture may include a handle region on the outer surface of the pedestal of the fixture. The handle region can include a manually perceptible surface irregularity, such as a flat portion, for positioning the fixture with a selected rotational alignment on a surface bearing visual information, and for manually guided translation of the optical fixture in a selected direction on the surface.
In certain embodiments, the optical axis of the optical output window and/or optical receiver is substantially collinear with the central axis of the pedestal. For example, the pedestal may have opposed ends, where each end forms an optical window. The two windows of the optical guide fixture may be in optical communication with each other, and be spaced apart by a predetermined distance along an optical axis. An input window of the optical fixture may be adapted for manually guided translation along the surface on which the visual information resides, and an output window of the fixture may be adapted for coupling with an optical receiver so that the receiver can receive optical information present at the input window. In certain such embodiments, the pedestal of the optical guide fixture may be hollow to provide an optical path along the optical axis for optical communication between the input and the output windows of the fixture. In another such embodiment, the pedestal of the fixture can be solid, and can be formed of an optically transparent material, such as clear plastic or glass.
According to another aspect of the invention wherein the optical axis of the optical output window and/or optical receiver is substantially collinear with the central axis of the pedestal, at least a portion of the pedestal of the optical guide fixture may have a cross-section, transverse to the optical axis of the fixture, that progressively increases in size along the optical axis so that the input window is larger than the output window. In one embodiment of the optical guide fixture, this cross-section is circular and the portion of the fixture having this circular cross-section has a conical shape. In one embodiment, the pedestal of the optical fixture may hav
Arai Mikki
Hirose Tatuso
Ben Loha
Foley & Hoag LLP
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