Claims
- 1. A viewing apparatus, comprising:
- a formable body which is flexible throughout;
- a plurality of flexible members disposed within said formable body, said plurality of flexible members extending through the formable body, each of said flexible members being configured to have a predetermined curvature within said formable body;
- a force adjustment device applying a force to a selected number of said flexible members, thereby altering the predetermined curvature of the selected number of said flexible members and changing the shape of the formable body by flection; and
- a reflective surface coupled to said formable body, whereby said reflective surface changes in shape with said formable body and produces an optical correction in a reflected image viewed from said reflective surface.
- 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said reflective surface is disposed on said formable body in corresponding facing engagement therewith.
- 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said reflective surface is a sheet of flexible material pulled taut against said formable body.
- 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:
- an elastic member coupled to said sheet of flexible material, said elastic member pulling said sheet of flexible material taut over said formable body.
- 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of flexible members extend through said formable body along differently oriented paths such that a force can be applied to a selected number of said flexible members by said force adjustment device to alter the shape of the selected number of said flexible members and said formable body.
- 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said force adjustment device includes a separate controller for adjusting the force applied to each of said plurality of flexible members.
- 7. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the force adjustment device is mechanically linked to the flexible members and mechanically applies a force thereto.
- 8. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the plurality of flexible members include a first set of flexible members which follow a spherical curvature and a second set of flexible members which follow a cylindrical curvature, wherein applying a force to at least one flexible member from the first set and at least one flexible member from the second set provides a toric optical correction in the reflected image viewed from the reflective surface.
- 9. A viewing apparatus comprising:
- a flexible material having a front surface and a back surface, said front surface being reflective;
- a support structure having a first surface receiving said back surface of said flexible material in corresponding facing engagement, said first surface having a contour;
- a tensioning device pulling said flexible material taut over said first surface of said support structure, wherein said flexible material conforms to the contour of said first surface; and
- an adjustment mechanism selectively adjusting said contour of said first surface, thereby altering the shape to which said flexible material conforms and creating a desired optical correction in an image reflected from said flexible material.
- 10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said flexible material has a peripheral edge and said tensioning device includes an elastic member coupled to said peripheral edge, whereby said elastic member biases said flexible material against said support structure and symmetrically pulls said flexible material taut over said support structure.
- 11. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said support structure is a body of formable material and said adjustment mechanism includes a plurality of members selectively stressing said formable body, thereby selectively altering the contour of said formable body.
- 12. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said support structure is a body of formable material having a plurality of flexible members disposed therein, wherein each of said plurality of flexible members follows a predetermined curvature within said formable body and said adjustment mechanism further includes a force adjustment device applying a force to a selected number of said flexible members, thereby altering the predetermined curvature of the selected number of said flexible members and causing changes in the contour of said body of formable material.
- 13. The apparatus according to claim 12 wherein the body of formable material is an elastomeric material.
- 14. A viewing apparatus comprising:
- a flexible formable body constructed of an elastomeric material;
- a plurality of flexible members disposed within said formable body, each of said flexible members being configured to have a predetermined curvature within said formable body;
- a force adjustment device applying a force to a selected number of said flexible members, thereby altering the predetermined curvature of the selected number of said flexible members and changing the shape of the formable body; and
- a reflective surface coupled to said formable body, whereby said reflective surface changes in shape with said formable body and produces an optical correction in a reflected image viewed from said reflective surface.
- 15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said reflective surface is disposed on said formable body in corresponding facing engagement therewith.
- 16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said reflective surface is a sheet of flexible material pulled taut against said formable body.
- 17. The apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising:
- an elastic member coupled to said sheet of flexible material, said elastic member pulling said sheet of flexible material taut over said formable body.
- 18. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein each of said plurality of flexible members extend through said formable body along differently oriented paths such that a force can be applied to a selected number of said flexible members by said force adjustment device to alter the shape of the selected number of said flexible members and said formable body.
- 19. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said force adjustment device includes a separate controller for adjusting the force applied to each of said plurality of flexible members.
- 20. A viewing apparatus comprising:
- a flexible material having a front surface, a back surface and a periphery, said front surface being reflective;
- a support structure having a first surface receiving said back surface of said flexible material in corresponding facing engagement, said first surface having a contour;
- a tensioning device pulling said flexible material taut over said first surface of said support structure by pulling around the periphery of the flexible material, wherein said flexible material conforms to the contour of said first surface; and
- an adjustment mechanism selectively adjusting said contour of said first surface, thereby altering the shape to which said flexible material conforms and creating a desired optical correction in an image reflected from said flexible material.
- 21. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said support structure is a body of formable material and said adjustment mechanism includes a plurality of members selectively stressing said formable body, thereby selectively altering the contour of said formable body.
- 22. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said support structure is a body of formable material having a plurality of flexible members disposed therein, wherein each of said plurality of flexible members follows a predetermined curvature within said formable body and said adjustment mechanism further includes a force adjustment device applying a force to a selected number of said flexible members, thereby altering the predetermined curvature of the selected number of said flexible members and causing changes in the contour of said body of formable material.
- 23. The apparatus according to claim 22 wherein the body of formable material is an elastomeric material.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/116,169, filed Sep. 2, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,274.
US Referenced Citations (31)
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Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
116169 |
Sep 1993 |
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