Portable vision testing apparatus

A vision testing apparatus comprising:

• a frame comprising two corresponding temple arms that are each connected to a face plate, wherein the face plate comprises two eye shields each having a viewing slot positioned in a viewing direction perpendicular to the face plate;
• two variable lens elements each comprising
• an outer rail and;
• multiple regions of varying diopter power having a width that is equal to or greater than the width of the viewing slot of the eye shield, and each of the regions has a height that is equal to or greater than the height of the viewing slot;
• and
• adjustable controls for independently moving each of the two variable lens elements in a direction perpendicularly to the viewing direction along a plane of the face plate, wherein the adjustable controls are mounted on the frame and comprise a mechanism to engage the outer rail of the at least one variable lens element and
• wherein the face plate further comprises both
• (a) at least one alignment groove that engages an inside rail of each of the two variable lens elements and
• (b) an alignment slot that meshes with teeth projecting from the outer rail of each of the two variable lens elements
• to move the at least one variable lens element perpendicularly to the viewing direction along the plane of the face plate.

A method of configuring a set of prescription eyeglasses suitable for a person comprising:

• measuring the vision of a person to determine a corrective diopter power for an eye by using a vision testing apparatus comprising:
• a frame comprising two corresponding temple arms that are each connected to a face plate, wherein the face plate comprises at least one eye shield having a viewing slot positioned in a viewing direction perpendicular to the face plate;
• at least one variable lens element comprising
• an outer rail and;
• multiple regions of varying power having a width that is equal to or greater than the width of the viewing slot of the eye shield, and each of the regions has a height that is equal to or greater than the height of the viewing slot;
• and
• adjustable controls for moving the at least one variable lens element in a direction perpendicularly to the viewing direction along a plane of the face plate, wherein the adjustable controls are mounted on the frame and comprise a mechanism to engage the outer rail of the at least one variable lens element;
• selecting a lens having a diopter power that corresponds to the corrective diopter power measured;
• assembling the set of prescription eyeglasses with at least the lens selected
• optionally performing the measuring, selecting, and assembling steps for a second eye and
• wherein the face plate further comprises both (a) at least one alignment groove that engages an inside rail of the at least one variable lens element and (b) an alignment slot that meshes with teeth projecting from the outer rail of the at least one variable lens element to move the at least one variable lens element perpendicularly to the viewing direction along the plane of the face plate.