Stereo imager
AssigneeOlympus Corporation
InventorMasahito Ohashi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention relates to a stereo imager that is reduced in the number of members, favorable in view of cost and less susceptible to variations from optical system to optical system. The stereo imager comprises a single image pickup device 4 and a stereo imaging optical system including bending member 21L, 21R, 22L and 22R for bending parallactic light beams from a subject and adapted to form on the single image pickup device 4 at least two parallactic images having mutual parallaxes. The stereo imaging optical system comprises at least one optical member 3 located in front of the single image pickup device 4 and adapted to receive light beams forming at least two parallactic images and have the same optical action or function with respect to each light beam.
Claims11
A stereo imager comprising a single image pickup device and a stereo imaging optical system including a bending member for bending a parallactic light beam from a subject and adapted to form on said single image pickup device at least two, mutually parallactic images in a left-and-right direction, wherein:
- said stereo imaging optical system includes left and right objective lenses having an identical shape and corresponding to said two parallactic images, and a single optical member located in front of said single image pickup device,
- wherein said optical member receives concurrently incident light beams from the same subject forming said at least two parallactic images via said left and right objective lenses, and has an identical optical action or function on each light beam, and
- a chief light ray of light beams incident from the same subject on said optical member via said left and right objective lenses are incident on said left and right objective lenses in such a way as to form an angle with respect to each of the respective optical axes of said left and right objective lenses, and each of said light beams enters said optical member and leaves said optical member for projection onto the upper and lower halves of a rectangular imaging plane, forming a parallactic image.
A stereo imager comprising a single image pickup device and a stereo imaging optical system adapted to form on said single image pickup device at least two, mutually parallactic images in a left-and-right direction, wherein:
- said stereo imaging optical system includes left and right objective lenses having an identical shape and corresponding to said two parallactic images, and a single optical member located in front of said single image pickup device;
- wherein said optical member receives concurrently incident light beams from the same subject forming said at least two parallactic images via said left and right objective lenses, and has an identical optical action or function on each light beam, so that state changes are induced in said imaging optical system by the same optical action or function, and
- a chief light ray of light beams incident from the same subject on said optical member via said left and right objective lenses are incident on said left and right objective lenses in such a way as to form an angle with respect to each of the respective optical axes of said left and right objective lenses, and each of said light beams enters said optical member and leaves said optical member for projection onto the upper and lower halves of a rectangular imaging plane, forming a parallactic image.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.