JPH0575092B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to eyeglasses, and more particularly to eyeglasses that can automatically adjust their focus.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, the purpose of wearing glasses has been to correct refractive power for myopia, farsightedness, presbyopia, etc., apart from fashion glasses such as sunglasses used for special purposes. However, these lenses have fixed focus positions such as single focus and double focus. Furthermore, even if a progressive multifocal lens is used, in which the power of the lens varies continuously depending on the location, it is no better than the single focus lens in terms of the predetermined position of the lens.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In general, as the human eye grows older, its accommodative power decreases and the focus becomes fixed, making it difficult to observe distant and near objects with good focus. In particular, when the crystalline lens has been removed due to cataract, the lens becomes essentially a single vision lens, so it is impossible to focus on both far and near objects with normal eyeglass correction. On the other hand, even in the case of correction using progressive multifocal lenses, it is impossible to adjust distance by fixing the line of sight because it relies on partial focal changes of the eyeglass lens, and it is also impossible to adjust the distance by shifting the line of sight. Inconveniences such as image distortion occur. In the case of eyes with accommodative power, it is possible to observe both far and near objects due to the accommodative power, but even in young people, if the degree of myopia increases with age, it is necessary to adjust the diopter of the eye. Even if your glasses are stiff, you will need to replace them every time you wear them.

It is an object of the present invention to provide autofocus eyeglasses that overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.

[Means for solving the problem] In order to solve the above problem, in the present invention,
A variable focus lens means provided for each of the left and right eyes, a distance measuring means for measuring the distance to a subject, an independent control means for operating the variable focus lens means independently for each of the left and right eyes, and a measuring means for the distance measuring means. A control means for operating the variable focus lens means for the left and right eyes together based on distance information, and an automatic control means for operating the variable focus lens means with the amount of adjustment by the unique control means taken into account. Be prepared.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a prerequisite example for promoting understanding of the first embodiment of the present invention, in which a light source attached to an eyeglass frame 1' is powered by a power source 2 attached to the other eyeglass frame 1. Emit infrared light flux. This light flux is reflected after hitting an object and is detected as a reflected light flux by the light receiving device 7 attached to the eyeglass frame 1.
The distance to the object is measured.

Figure 2 shows the distance measurement method described above.
The light beam from the object A is reflected by a point P on the object A, passes through a lens 8, and is received at a point P' on a position sensor 9 such as a two-dimensional CCD. On the other hand, when considering object B at a different distance from object A, the light is reflected at point Q and received at Q' on position sensor 9. The positions of both P'Q' are calculated as object distances by a processing section within the light receiving device 7. This object distance information drives the variable focus lenses 3, 3' installed in the eyeglass frame to form an appropriate lens focal length,
This allows automatic focusing.

FIG. 3 shows details of the variable focus lenses 3, 3'.

In the example shown in FIG. 3A, the variable focus lens is an electronic optical lens consisting of transparent dielectrics 3a, 3'a and transparent thin film electrodes 3b, 3'b, and electrodes M, L.
A predetermined DC voltage is applied to (M', L') to change the focus.

In the example shown in FIG. 3B, the variable focus lens has an interior made of silicone gel, etc., and pressers 5, 5' are continuously provided by applying a voltage to a coil around the electrode 4.
The focus can be changed by changing the distance between the two.
Further, both of the pressurizers may have an integral shape such as a cylindrical shape.

As shown in FIG. 4, if electrodes are provided intermittently in a plurality of meridian directions and a voltage is applied in a predetermined meridian direction, the refractive power will particularly change in that meridian direction.
Astigmatism of the eye to be examined can be corrected in advance.

FIG. 5 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, and compared to the above-mentioned example, a function for independently adjusting focus for the left and right eyes is added.

Switch 1 attached to eyeglass frames 1 and 1'
0 and 10' have a volume function in addition to the normal switch function, and when turned on, they independently control variable focus lenses 3 and 3', respectively, and when turned off, lenses 3 and 3' are fixed in place. do.

This allows the difference in refractive power between the left and right lenses and the reference position for each individual to be corrected in advance.

FIG. 6 is a second prerequisite example for promoting understanding of the second embodiment of the present invention, in which light from an object O is directed to a predetermined portion off the optical axis of a variable focus lens 3 attached to an eyeglass frame. 3a and is reflected by mirror 12. Thereafter, the light beam is projected onto the photoelectric detector 15 by the mirror 13 and the projection lens 14 . Here, the signal from the photoelectric detector 15 is passed through the preamplifier 16 and A/D converter 17 to the MPU as shown in FIG.
At step 18, the focus status is determined based on the imaging state of the light beam on the photoelectric detector 15. The output from the MPU 18 changes the power of the variable focus lens 3 via a D/A converter and control circuit 20. This variable focus information is detected by the position sensor 30 and added to the MPU 18 via the A/D converter 21. In addition
Memory 19 of appropriate format and capacity for MPU 18
It may also be possible to accompany the information so that information can be exchanged.

Although the variable focus lens for one eye has been described above, the same applies to the variable focus lens for the other eye.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a second embodiment, in which, unlike the example shown in FIG.
Detected via. In addition, an independent drive switch 40 is provided, which can be used for correction when the refractive power of the left and right eyes of the wearer is different, and can be shared even by farsighted or myopic eyes.
40' is added.

The light from the light source 26 is transmitted through the projection lens 25 and the mirror 2.
4 and reaches the beam splitter 13. Thereafter, the light is projected onto the object O via the mirror 12 and a predetermined portion 3a that is off the optical axis of the variable focus lens 3.
The light beam reflected by the object O passes through the predetermined portion 3a of the variable focus lens 3 and the mirror 12 again, reaches the beam splitter 13, is reflected there, and then reaches the photoelectric converter 15 through the projection lens 14.

Regarding signal processing, as described above,
In this embodiment, unique control switches 40, 4
0', and this control switch 40,4
By turning on and off 0', it is now possible to select focus control of the variable focus lenses 3, 3' independently without using distance measurement information, and focus control of the variable focus lenses 3, 3' based on distance measurement information. There is. If the control switches 40, 40' are used to adjust the amount of imbalance between the refractive powers of the left and right eyes or the amount to be corrected in advance, the subsequent focus mechanism will function taking these into account. In addition, this control switch 40, 4
It is convenient if 0' is a two-stage switch with directionality so that correction can be made on the far side and the near side.

It is clear that in the above embodiments, the power supply circuit and the light receiving element may be provided inside the eyeglass frame instead of on the surface thereof, that is, they may be built-in.

〔effect〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, even if the accommodation ability of the eyes is reduced or lost, by wearing the present glasses, it is possible to always accurately focus on a predetermined position. And this function is due to myopia,
It has the effect of being applicable to both cases of farsightedness.

In the case of eyes that have the ability to accommodate, the refractive power of the glasses according to the present invention is changed as the power of nearsightedness and farsightedness changes, reducing the strain on the eyes when focusing and increasing the range of accommodation. It can be increased.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to use common glasses regardless of the diopter of the eye to be examined, and it is no longer necessary to replace the entire eyeglass frame every few years.

Furthermore, it has a function that allows the left and right eyes to operate independently,
Adjustment based on distance measurement information takes into account the amount of adjustment for the left and right eyes, so that it can be used when the refractive powers of the left and right eyes are different or when the balance of the refractive powers of the left and right eyes changes. This also has the advantage that by making adjustments in advance for each eye, subsequent adjustments based on distance measurement information can always result in appropriate focusing for both the left and right eyes. Further, with the above configuration, if the adjustment is made in advance to suit each eye, the adjustment range for adjustment appropriate for each eye based on distance measurement information can be reduced, and high-speed adjustment can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a diagram of an example that is the premise of the first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram of the principle of the distance measuring system, Fig. 3 A and B are diagrams of each embodiment of the variable focus lens, and Fig. 4 Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram of a plurality of electrodes for astigmatism correction, Figure 5 is a diagram of the first embodiment equipped with a distance measuring system, and Figures 6 and 7 are examples of the prerequisites for the second embodiment. 8 and 9 are respectively an overview and a block diagram of the second embodiment. In the figures, 1 is an eyeglass frame, 2 is a power supply, 3 is a variable focus lens, 6 is a light source, and 7 is a light receiving device, and M and L are electrodes.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Variable focus lens means provided for each of the left and right eyes, and distance measuring means for measuring the distance to the subject;
an independent control means for operating the variable focus lens means independently for each of the left and right eyes, and a control means for operating the variable focus lens means for the left and right eyes together based on distance measurement information of the distance measurement means, automatic control means for operating the variable focus lens means while taking into account the amount of adjustment by the original control means. 2. The autofocus eyeglasses according to claim 1, wherein the distance measuring means, the independent control means, and the automatic control means are provided in the eyeglass frame. 3. The autofocus glasses according to claim 1, wherein the independent control means operates the variable focus lens means independently for each of the left and right eyes by means of two switch means respectively provided for the left and right eyes.