Claims
- 1. A viewing apparatus comprising:
- (a) a flexible body having a reflective front surface for reflecting an image;
- (b) a first adjustment mechanism operatively engaged with the flexible body, the first adjustment mechanism varying the radius of curvature of the front surface of the flexible body such that the front surface is in the form of a partial sphere, thereby providing a spherical correction in the image;
- (c) a second adjustment mechanism, different from the first adjustment mechanism, operatively engaged with said flexible body, the second adjustment mechanism varying the curvature of the front surface of the flexible body such that the front surface is in the form of a partial cylinder, thereby providing a cylindrical correction in the image; and
- (d) a third adjustment mechanism operatively engaged with the flexible body rotating the flexible body about an axis extending through the flexible body to provide an axis correction in the image,
- wherein selective adjustments of the first, second, and third adjustment mechanisms provide one of either a spherical, cylindrical or toric correction in the image.
- 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the flexible body has an outer periphery which generally lies in a single plane when said reflective front surface is generally planar, the outer periphery defining opposite peripheral regions, the second adjustment mechanism applying force to the opposite peripheral regions in a direction generally perpendicular to the single plane.
- 3. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the flexible body has a center region, the first adjustment mechanism applying force against the center region of the flexible body.
- 4. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the flexible body has a midaxis extending through a center region of the flexible body generally perpendicularly with respect to the front reflecting surface when the front reflecting surface is generally planar and the third adjustment mechanism rotates the flexible body about the midaxis to provide an axis adjustment in the image.
- 5. A viewing apparatus comprising:
- (a) a flexible body having a reflective front surface for reflecting an image;
- (b) a first adjustment mechanism operatively engaged with the flexible body, the first adjustment mechanism comprising a flexible ring spaced from the flexible body and linked to the flexible body such that flexure of the ring results in flexure of the flexible body, the first adjustment mechanism varying the radius of curvature of the front surface of the flexible body such that the front surface is in the form of a partial sphere, thereby providing a spherical correction in the image; and
- (c) a second adjustment mechanism, different from the first adjustment mechanism, operatively engaged with said flexible body, the second adjustment mechanism varying the curvature of the front surface of the flexible body such that the front surface is in the form of a partial cylinder, thereby providing a cylindrical correction in the image,
- wherein selective adjustments of the first and second adjustment mechanisms provide one of either a spherical, cylindrical or toric correction in the image.
- 6. A viewing apparatus comprising:
- (a) a reflective body having a periphery, the reflective body comprising:
- (i) a flexible body portion,
- (ii) a flexible reflective front surface coupled to the flexible body portion for reflecting an image, and
- (iii) a plurality of wires embedded in the flexible body portion, the wires extending radially from a center region of the flexible body portion past the periphery of the of the reflective body, the wires terminating in ends;
- (b) a flexible ring spaced from and positioned radially outward of the reflective body and linked to the reflective front surface by a plurality of first biasing members, the flexible ring including a plurality of guide holes spaced around the ring, the wires extending through the guide holes;
- (c) a plurality of second biasing members extending radially from the wire ends;
- (d) a support ring spaced from and positioned radially outward of the flexible ring, the plurality of second biasing members extending between the wire ends and the support ring;
- (e) a frame having the support ring mounted thereto;
- (f) a spherical adjuster operatively engaged with the reflective body and the frame, the spherical adjuster applying force to the center region to move the center region with respect to the periphery of the reflective body, thereby varying the radius of curvature of the front surface of the flexible body such that the front surface is in the form of a partial sphere; and
- (g) a cylindrical adjuster operatively engaged with the flexible ring and the frame, the cylindrical adjuster applying force to diametrically opposed regions of the flexible ring to move the flexible ring with respect to the center region of the reflective body to cause flexure of the reflective body such that the front surface is in the form of a partial cylinder, whereby selective adjustments of the spherical and cylindrical adjusters provide one of either a spherical, cylindrical or toric correction in the image.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/116,169 filed Sep. 2, 1993, also entitled "VIEWING ASSEMBLY FOR PRODUCING AN OPTICALLY CORRECTED REFLECTED IMAGE," now U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,274.
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
116169 |
Sep 1993 |
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