deformable membrane unit, and, article for the eyes

专利摘要:
DEFORMABLE MEMBRANE UNIT, EYE ARTICLE, AND, SUNGLASSES A deformable membrane unit comprises an envelope filled with at least partially flexible fluid, a wall of which is formed by an elastic membrane that is held around its edge by a resiliently foldable support ring, a support fixed to the envelope and means that can be operated selectively to cause relative movement between the support ring and the support to adjust the fluid pressure in the envelope, in this way to make the membrane to deform. The bending stiffness of the ring varies around the ring such that through the deformation of the membrane the ring bends in a variable manner to control the shape of the membrane to a predefined shape. The mobile means comprises a plurality of ring engagement members which are arranged to apply a force to the ring at spaced control points. There are at least three control points, and there is a control point at each point or close to each point on the ring where the ring profile is needed to produce the predefined shape through deformation (...).
公开号:BR112014024036B1
申请号:R112014024036-1
申请日:2012-06-20
公开日:2020-12-01
发明作者:Robert Edward Stevens；Alex Edgington；Benjamin Tristram Holland；Daniel Paul Rhodes；Dijon Pietropinto；Derek Paul Forbes Bean；Roger Brian Minchin Clarke；Peter Lee Crossley；Richard Leefe Douglas Murray；Edwin James Stone
申请人:Adlens Limited；
IPC主号:

专利说明:

[0001] The present invention provides improvements in or referring to deformable non-rounded membrane units in which the shape of a membrane is controllably adjustable by changing the pressure of the fluid in the membrane. The invention has particular reference to the units in which the membrane is selectively deformable spherically or according to another Zernike polynomial. In some embodiments the unit may be a fluid filled lens with variable optical power in which the membrane is transparent and forms an optical surface of the lens which curvature can be adjusted substantially over the entire lens with minimal optical distortion that can otherwise be caused by the non-round character of the lens. In other embodiments, the membrane may be mirrored and / or opaque. Other applications of the membrane unit include acoustic transducers and the like.
[0002] Lenses filled with variable focus fluid are known in the art. Such lenses in general comprise a transparent envelope filled with fluid, the opposite optical surfaces of the lens which are formed by two opposite walls spaced from the envelope, at least one of the walls which comprises a flexible transparent membrane. For example, US 1269422 discloses a lens with spaced opposite walls of arcuate formation that are fused together at their circumferential edges and that can be adjusted towards each other or away from each other, and a liquid body between the walls. The pressure of the fluid inside the envelope is adjustable to change the degree of curvature of the membrane, thereby adjusting the power of the lens. In some examples, the volume of the envelope can be adjusted, as in US 1269422 or WO 99/061940 A1. Alternatively the amount of fluid inside the envelope can be adjusted, as in US 2576581, US 3161718 and US 3614215, In any case, an increase in fluid pressure within the envelope causes deformation of the flexible membrane,
[0003] While several applications of adjustable lenses are possible - for example, in cameras and other optical equipment -, one use is for the eye. An adjustable lens is particularly useful for correcting presbyopia - a condition in which the eye is less and less able to focus on nearby objects with age. An adjustable lens is advantageous since the user can obtain correct vision over a range of distances from long distance to close vision. This is more ergonomic than bifocal lenses in which close vision correction is provided in a bottom region of the lens. lens, thus only allowing the user to see close objects in focus when looking down,
[0004] A disadvantage of fluid-filled lenses disclosed by the documents mentioned above is that they need to be circular, or at least substantially circular, with a rigid boundary, in order to maintain the spherical membrane; otherwise unwanted optical distortion occurs. However, circular is not a preferred shape for certain applications, including eye wear, as it is not considered to be aesthetically appealing for these applications. Round lenses may also be inappropriate or impractical for certain applications, such as optical instruments.
[0005] It is therefore desirable to provide an adjustable non-round lens, in which the lens is not distorted when the optical power of the lens is increased.
[0006] US 5371629 discloses the non-circular variable focal length lens that includes a rigid lens to provide user distance correction, and a fluid filled lens attached by an elastomeric membrane that can be stretched to provide a variable next addition. The liquid, which has a fixed volume, is stored in the field of view between the elastic membrane and the rigid lens. The variation in the optical power of the fluid-filled lens is achieved by displacing the membrane support to which the outer periphery of the stretched elastomeric membrane is attached. US 5371629 claims that the shape of the distended membrane is substantially spherical, although the circumference of the membrane is not circular, allowing the membrane support to bend in a predetermined controlled manner when it is moved.
[0007] Specifically, the thickness of the membrane support varies around the circumference of the membrane support, US 5371629 states that by providing the appropriate moment of inertia of the section of the membrane support around its circumference, the shape of the support of the membrane. The membrane, when deflected, can be made to result in a substantially spherical membrane, despite the fact that the shape of the free membrane is non-circular. The configuration of the membrane support required to result in the desired deformation for any particular lens can be calculated using the finite element analysis method or in other ways. However, the US 5371629 liquid-filled lens is not practical for several reasons and has never been marketed. In particular, despite its teachings, US 5371629 fails to disclose a lens filled with fluid that prevents unwanted distortion when the membrane is distended, and the degree of distortion found in the liquid-filled lens of US 5371629 makes the lens useless.
[0008] WO 95/27912 A1 proposes an alternative solution which comprises the use of a non-round membrane ring holder having a circular central opening, but this does not provide a real non-round lens and is a complicated arrangement that is also great for from an aesthetic point of view.
[0009] Similarly, it is desirable to be able to controllably adjust the shape of a membrane for other non-optical applications. For example, a controllably variable spheric surface or some other Zernike polynomial can be useful in the field of acoustics for the creation of non-round transducers, such as speakers, many products can benefit from non-round drivers due to restrictions spacing and the typical geometry of the product, for example, televisions, mobile phones. Maintaining the sphericity of a variable curvature membrane can be beneficial in the production of actuators, as the spherical deformation can guarantee that the emitted waves behave as if they had originated from a point source, thus avoiding the patterns of interference in the emitted pressure waves. However, the unmodified deformed shape of a non-round membrane that is maintained at its edges is not spherical. Thus providing a selectively adjustable non-round surface, it may be desirable to improve the performance of non-round drives for acoustic use.
[00010] In one aspect of the present invention, therefore, a deformable membrane unit according to claim 1 below is provided.
[00011] The present inventors have realized that in a deformable membrane unit, for example, such as a fluid filled lens in which the flexible envelope contains a fixed volume of fluid and the membrane is stretched to adopt a predefined shape by adjusting the volume of the envelope, to change the fluid pressure in the same, the control points where the force is applied to the membrane support ring to adjust the volume of the envelope must be positioned carefully. By carefully controlling the control points where the force is applied to the membrane support ring and allowing a membrane support ring to bend freely between the control points, semi-active control over the shape of the membrane is achieved. The bending stiffness of the support ring varies around the ring so that when actuated the ring conforms to the desired profile to produce a membrane shape in the predefined way. Suitably the bending stiffness can be varied around the ring by varying the second moment of the ring area.
[00012] The means for causing relative movement between the support ring and the support for the envelope to adjust the volume of the envelope can comprise means for moving the support ring or support. Said means of movement can be configured to compress the envelope to reduce its volume, in this way to increase the pressure of the fluid inside the envelope and to cause the membrane to extend outwardly with respect to the envelope in a convex manner. Thus, in some embodiments, the moving medium can be configured to compress the envelope in a first direction against the support to increase the pressure of the fluid in it to cause the membrane to extend outwards in a second opposite direction.
[00013] In another aspect of the present invention, therefore, a deformable membrane unit according to claim 6 below is provided.
[00014] Alternatively the means for moving the support ring or the support to adjust the volume of the envelope can be configured to expand the envelope to increase its volume, in this way to reduce the pressure of the fluid inside the envelope and to make the membrane to distend inwardly in a concave manner.
[00015] The means for moving the support ring or the support to adjust the volume of the envelope accordingly can comprise a device that can be operated selectively comprising one or more components arranged to act between a membrane support ring and the support to move the support ring and / or the support, relative to each other, to adjust the volume of the envelope,
[00016] Suitably the flexible envelope may comprise a wall defined by the membrane and another opposite rear wall which is joined with the edge of the membrane in such a way as to close and seal the envelope. In some embodiments, the opposite walls can be joined directly together. Alternatively, the envelope may comprise a peripheral side wall intermediate the two opposite walls. The side wall can be flexible to allow the opposite walls to be moved close to or away from each other by adjusting the envelope volume. The rear wall can be rigid or substantially rigid or can be supported in a stable manner at least around the peripheral edge.
[00017] The means for moving the support ring or the support can be configured to act between a membrane support ring and the back wall, in some embodiments, the back wall can form part of the support for the envelope, in which the rear wall can provide a stable part for the adjustment means to react against.
[00018] The invention is especially applicable to non-round membranes where the edge of the membrane is planar in the non-actuated state and deviates from planar when the unit is actuated. However, the invention is also applicable to round membranes where, by virtue of the shape of the predefined shape, the edge of the membrane similarly deviates from planar when the unit is actuated. In particular, the invention is also concerned with round membranes where the predefined shape is non-spherical.
[00019] To produce the predefined membrane shape when actuated, the support ring must adopt an actuated profile in which one or more regions of the ring are displaced in a direction away from a planar reference defined by the ring in the non-actuated state and / or one or more regions must be displaced from the planar reference in another opposite direction. To achieve the desired actuated profile, a force is applied to the support ring at each control point. The inventors realized that there must be at least one control point within each sector of the support ring, by which the "sector" is meant a portion of the ring that lies between two adjacent points of inflection or points of minimum in the profile, the said minimum points which are local minimums of the displacement of the ring in the direction of the force applied at the control point, for example, in the first direction inward with respect to the envelope, when the membrane is deformed. Since a minimum point is defined as a local minimum instead of a global minimum in the direction of the applied force at adjacent control points (and thus a local maximum instead of a global maximum in the direction opposite to the direction of the applied force, for example, in the second direction outward with respect to the envelope) it will be understood that at these points the ring can actually be moved in any direction, or not even be moved, from a planar reference. In general, the ring can at all points move in any direction from a planar reference, or remain stationary in a planar reference, depending on the shape of the perimeter, the surface profile and the required performance, in some modalities where forces having opposite directions are applied at adjacent points of control to achieve a desired ring profile when the membrane is deformed, a control point can be positioned between two inflection points in the support ring profile. However the forces applied at the control points will usually be in the same direction, such that a sector of the ring is defined between adjacent local minimums as described above.
[00020] In some embodiments, the ring may be non-round and the predefined shape may have a center. In such modalities, the points of minimum displacement can also be points of minimum in the sense that the distance between the support ring and the center of the predefined shape of the membrane when stretched is a local minimum, it will be understood that the position of the center will depend on the shape of the predefined shape, in some embodiments the center may be at or near the geometric center of the membrane. Alternatively, the center of the predefined shape can be at a different location from the geometric center of the membrane. Typically, when deformed, the membrane will have a vertex (that is, a point of maximum global displacement) and the center can be located at the vertex. This is particularly easy in optical applications where the membrane forms an optical surface of the lens. In general, the center of the defined shape will be positioned somewhere within the membrane body away from the support ring.
[00021] In practice, depending on the shape of the membrane, some regions of the ring can be supported to reduce the flexibility of the ring in those regions. Appropriately, the inventors realized that there must be at least one control point within the ring sector between unsupported minimum points. It will be realized that the number of such minimum points will depend on the shape of the ring. In some embodiments, the number of minimum points can be determined by the number of ring corners. For example, a quadrilateral ring with four corners has four points of minimum generally equidistant between the corners where the center of the predefined shape of the membrane is at or towards the geometric center of the quadrilateral. In practice, the center can be positioned asymmetrically between opposite sides, and such an arrangement may be particularly suitable for a rectangular optical lens. In some embodiments, in a ring shaped like a quadrilateral, the center of the defined shape can generally be positioned symmetrically between a pair of opposite sides and asymmetrically between another pair of opposite sides.
[00022] In a generally rectangular ring with two long sides and two short sides there will normally be four such points of minimum where displacement of the ring from a planar reference in the opposite direction to the direction of the force applied to the support ring at adjacent points of control is a local maximum, one on each side between two adjacent corners, but in some embodiments, especially where the short sides are substantially shorter than the long sides, the short sides of the ring can be reinforced to reduce its flexibility , so that in practice the ring along each short side does not fold substantially while the membrane is stretched, in which case there are only two unsupported minimum points along the two long sides. In such a rectangular ring, for optical applications, the center of the defined shape can be additionally positioned from one short side than from the other.
[00023] The inventors also realized that there must be at least three control points, regardless of the number of minimum points and sectors in order to define the membrane plane.
[00024] Additionally, the inventors realized that within each sector, a control point must be positioned at or near a maximum point where the displacement of the ring in the actuated state away from a planar reference in the direction of the applied force at the control point by the fact that the sector is a local maximum, for example, in the first direction inward with respect to the envelope to achieve compression of the envelope. It will be understood that where the rest of the ring within a given sector is displaced in the opposite direction when acted, for example, in the second direction outwards with respect to the envelope, the maximum point within which the region can be a point at which the ring is stationary, that is, it is subjected to no or substantially no displacement away from a planar reference. In addition, a maximum point can be a point where the ring is actually displaced in the opposite direction from a planar reference, for example, outwardly with respect to the envelope, less far than the rest of the ring within the same sector. In other words, a local maximum displacement point in the direction of the force applied at the control point is equivalent to a local minimum displacement point from a planar reference in the opposite direction.
[00025] In the modalities where the ring is not rounded and the predefined shape has a center, a point of maximum can be a point in the ring between adjacent points of minimum or inflection where the distance between the ring and the center of the predefined shape of the membrane when stretched is a maximum. If this is not the case then within a sector there may be a portion of the rim that was further away from the center than the control points within the sector and that can therefore be uncontrolled, potentially leading to unwanted distortion and the shape of the membrane when distended.
[00026] In some embodiments, one or more of said control points can be actuation points, where the ring engagement members are actively configured to displace the support ring with respect to the support. Said support ring can be formed with a protruding flap at the actuation points or at least one of the actuation points for engaging the ring with the ring engaging element.
[00027] The membrane can be continuously adjustable between an unactivated state and a fully extended state. The support ring can be planar when not actuated.
[00028] In each position between the unactivated and fully extended states the support ring can be moved at the actuation point or at each actuation point by the distance necessary to reach the profile necessary to produce the predefined membrane shape. This is important so that in each position between the states not acted and completely extended, the ring is positioned at the actuation point or at each actuation point in its desired location within the desired global profile of the ring, it will be understood that if the point actuation should be kept in a different position by the ring engagement member at that point so local distortion in the desired ring profile can occur at that point potentially leading to unwanted distortion in the shape of the membrane.
[00029] In some embodiments, one or more of said control points can be articulation points, where the ring engagement members are configured to retain the stationary support ring with respect to the support. The support ring is necessary to remain stationary at the pivot point or at each pivot point to achieve the actuated ring profile necessary to produce the predefined shape of the membrane at each position between the unactivated and fully extended states. Thus, like the actuation points, the ring must be maintained at each point of articulation by the ring engaging member at that point in a position that corresponds to the desired overall profile of the ring in each state of the ring between the unacted states and completely stretched. Since the ring is not moved at each point of articulation, it follows that the position of the ring at each point of articulation must be the same for each state of the ring between the unacted and fully extended states. Where the predefined shape has a center, there may be a plurality of points of articulation that are substantially equidistant from the center of the predefined shape.
[00030] In some embodiments, two adjacent points of articulation can define an inclination axis, in which case there is suitably at least one actuation point where the ring engagement member is actively configured to displace the support ring with respect to the support for tilting the ring with respect to the support around said tilt axis in the first direction to compress or the second direction to expand the envelope.
[00031] For some applications, the support ring can generally be rectangular, having two short sides and two long sides. In such cases, at least one actuation point can be located on one short side, and two adjacent points of articulation can be located on the other short side or close to the other short side. The predefined shape can have a center that can be located offset from the center with respect to the membrane, which is closer to another short side than to the other short side. The short side can generally follow the arc of a circle that is centered in the center of the defined shape. The at least one actuation point can be located substantially centrally on said short side.
[00032] The support ring must be free to passively bend in relation to the intermediate support to the control points. However, in some embodiments it may be desirable to control the folding of the ring by means of stiffening elements to stiffen one or more regions of the support ring.
[00033] Advantageously the support ring can comprise two or more ring elements, and the membrane can be sandwiched between two adjacent ring elements.
[00034] According to another aspect of the present invention, therefore, a deformable membrane unit according to claim 18 below is provided.
[00035] Suitably, the membrane can be pre-tensioned in a membrane support ring. The inventors have realized that by sandwiching the membrane between two adjacent ring elements, the torsional forces applied by the membrane to the ring can be balanced which results in no torsional force or substantially no torsional force. It will be realized that it is desirable to avoid torsional forces on the ring which can lead to unwanted distortion in the shape of the ring and thus in the shape of the membrane when distended. Thus, in some embodiments, a membrane support ring can consist of two ring elements. In some embodiments, more than two ring elements may be provided. However, the arrangement must be such that when the membrane is pre-stressed between the two adjacent ring elements, the torsional forces on the ring elements above and below the membrane cancel out or substantially cancel out.
[00036] The means for adjusting the pressure within the envelope may comprise a device that can be operated selectively comprising one or more components arranged to adjust the pressure of the fluid in the envelope. In some embodiments, the means for adjusting the pressure of a fixed volume of fluid within the membrane may comprise means for compressing or expanding the envelope as mentioned above. Suitably, a fixed support can be provided, and means can be provided to compress or expand the envelope against the support to increase or decrease the pressure of the fluid therein.
[00037] Suitably the support ring can have a substantially uniform depth and a variable width to control the second moment of area around the ring and thus the bending rigidity of the ring. Typically the support ring can be narrower where it is necessary to bend most of it to reach the predefined shape when the membrane is stretched.
[00038] In some embodiments, the predefined membrane shape may be spherical or otherwise defined by one or more Zernike polynomials. These have the general formula Zn ± m. Various forms, as defined by the Zernike functions or combinations of more than such a function, are possible using the lens unit of the present invention. A priority for ophthalmic applications, for example, is being able to achieve vision correction with a linear overlap of Z2 ± 2 (astigmatism) and Z20 (sphere for distance correction). Ophthalmologists typically prescribe lenses based on these formulas. Higher order surfaces with additional components Zj ± j are also possible if additional control points are provided at the edge of the membrane, where j scales of magnitude similar to the number of control points. Higher order surfaces with components Zj ± k (k <j) may also be possible where the shape of the membrane edge allows.
[00039] In addition, several linear overlays of Zernike polynomials scaled in the form Zj ± m are possible: Z ^, Z%, zf, Zf * (k <J)
[00040] In general, except on its periphery, surfaces reachable through the deformation of a membrane under pressure may have one or more local maximums or one or more local minimums, but not both, in addition to the saddle points. The shapes that are achievable are necessarily limited by the shape of the periphery, which is stable in use.
[00041] Suitably, the necessary bending stiffness around the ring can be determined by finite element analysis (FEA). In particular, FEA can be used to calculate the necessary variation in bending stiffness around the ring for the ring to adopt the desired profile when acted to produce a membrane shape in the predefined way. For quasi-static or low-frequency optical applications and other applications, static FEA must be used appropriately.
[00042] However, where the surface is intended for acoustic applications, dynamic FEA may be appropriate. FEA - whether static or dynamic - involves several changes made using a computer with the input of selected parameters to calculate the shape of the membrane that can result in practice with an increasing force applied at the control points. The shape of the element can be selected to suit the calculation being performed. Parameters selected to be entered may include the support ring geometry, membrane geometry, membrane module, ring module, including how the ring module varies around the ring (which can be defined empirically or by means of an appropriate formula), the amount of pre-tension in any of the parts, the temperature and other environmental factors. The FEA program can define how the pressure applied to the membrane increases while the load is applied to the rings at the control points.
[00043] Within each iteration of the FEA the calculated shape of the membrane is compared to the predefined shape, and any deviation between the calculated shape and the predefined shape used to adjust the bending stiffness around one membrane support ring for the next iteration. The folding stiffness of the support ring is progressively adjusted so that the calculated shape of the membrane converges with the desired predefined shape.
[00044] A reinforcement diaphragm can be provided that is attached to the support ring, which diaphragm has greater rigidity in the plane of the ring than in the folding direction of the ring.
[00045] In a further aspect of the present invention, therefore, a deformable membrane unit according to claim 28 below is provided.
[00046] As mentioned above, the membrane is suitably pre-tensioned in a membrane support ring. The reinforcement diaphragm serves to stiffen the ring on the membrane plane in the unactivated state against the additional loading that is created by the pre-tension inside the membrane, while allowing the ring to bend freely in the normal direction to the ring. Alternatively, the support ring itself may have greater folding stiffness in the plane of the membrane in the unactivated state than outside the plane of the membrane.
[00047] Suitably, the reinforcement diaphragm can be fixed to the support ring evenly around the ring so that the tension in the membrane is uniformly transmitted to the diaphragm.
[00048] In some embodiments, in the plane of the ring, the membrane may be larger in one dimension than it is in the other dimension. In such facilities, the reinforcement diaphragm may have less stiffness in one dimension than it has in the other dimension. Alternatively, the geometry of the unit itself can be used to compensate for the consequent differential deformation in the membrane.
[00049] The means for adjusting the pressure within the envelope may comprise a device that can be operated selectively comprising one or more components arranged to increase or decrease the pressure of the fluid in the envelope. Typically means for adjusting the pressure within the fluid filled envelope, which may contain a fixed volume of fluid, may comprise means for compressing or expanding the envelope. The fluid-filled compressible envelope may comprise an at least partially rigid rear wall that is spaced from the stretchable membrane and a flexible side wall between the membrane and the rear wall.
[00050] In some embodiments, the membrane, the back wall and the fluid are transparent such that the membrane and the back wall form an adjustable optical lens. Where provided, the reinforcement diaphragm can also be transparent.
[00051] Suitably said rear wall can be shaped to provide a fixed lens.
[00052] The unit may additionally comprise a rigid protective front cover over the membrane. The front cover can be transparent. Suitably the front cover can be shaped to provide a fixed lens.
[00053] Thus, in some modalities, the front cover and / or the rear cover can provide a fixed optical power for the correction of refractive errors such as myopia and hyperopia. The adjustable optical lens of the invention can be used to provide additive (or diminishing) optical power for the fixed optical power of the front or rear lens for presbyopia correction. Suitably the front and / or rear lenses can be shaped for the correction of astigmatism, and similarly the predefined shape of the distended membrane of the adjustable optical lens of the invention can be adapted for the correction of astigmatism.
[00054] In some embodiments, the envelope can be housed within a retaining ring.
[00055] In yet another aspect of the present invention, an eye article comprising a deformable membrane unit according to the invention is provided.
[00056] Said article for the eyes can typically comprise a frame with a rim portion; the deformable membrane unit can be mounted within the rim portion.
[00057] Following is a description by way of example only with reference to the attached drawings of the modalities of the present invention.
[00058] In the drawings:
[00059] FIG. 1 is a perspective view from above the front of a pair of glasses comprising a frame that is fitted with the first two lens units according to the invention;
[00060] FIG. 2 is a perspective view from above and to the left of the left side of the glasses of FIG. 1 showing how one of the first lens units is fitted to the frame;
[00061] FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the first lens unit according to the invention in the unactivated state;
[00062] FIG. 4 is a cross section of the first lens unit along line IV-IV of FIG. 3;
[00063] FIG. 5 is a cross section of the first lens unit along the line V-V of FIG. 3;
[00064] FIG. 6 is a cross section of the first lens unit along line VI-VI of FIG. 3;
[00065] FIG. 7 is a perspective view from below and to the left of the front of the first lens unit of the invention which is shown cut along the line VI-VI of FIG. 3;
[00066] FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the first lens unit showing parts of the unit;
[00067] FIG. 9 is a front elevation of the flexible membrane and membrane support rings of the first lens unit in the unactivated state, showing how the width of the rings varies around the periphery of the membrane to control the second moment of the ring area;
[00068] FIG. 10 shows the membrane and rings of FIG. 9 in an actuated state and designed for a sphere of imaginary radius R;
[00069] FIG. 11 is a cross section of the first lens unit that corresponds to FIG. 4 but shows the unit in an actuated state;
[00070] FIG. 12 is a cross section of the first lens unit that corresponds to FIG. 5 but shows the unit in an actuated state;
[00071] FIG. 13 shows the displacement of the membrane of the first lens unit in an actuated state, as calculated by static finite element analysis (FEA);
[00072] FIG. 14 shows the uniformity of the optical power of the first lens unit in an actuated state, as calculated by FEA;
[00073] FIG. 15 shows the variation of the pre-tension in the membrane as calculated by FEA of a lens unit in the non-actuated state which is similar to the first lens unit but omits the reinforcement diaphragm;
[00074] FIG. 16 shows the variation of pre-tension in the membrane as calculated by FEA of the first lens unit of the invention in the unactivated state;
[00075] FIG. 17 shows the variation in optical power as calculated by FEA of a lens unit in an actuated state that is similar to the first lens unit but omits the reinforcement diaphragm;
[00076] FIG. 18 shows the variation in optical power as calculated by FEA of the first lens unit of the invention;
[00077] FIGS. 19A-C show schematically in the cross section the first lens unit of the invention in the unacted state (FIG. 19A), an acted state (FIG. 19B) and an unacted state (FIG. 19C);
[00078] FIGS. 20A-C schematically show the front elevation of the first lens unit of the invention in the unacted state (FIG. 20A), an acted state (FIG. 2GB) and an unacted state (FIG. 20C);
[00079] FIGS. 21A-C schematically show in the cross section a second square lens unit of the invention in an unactivated state (FIG. 21 A), an acted state (FIG. 21B) and an unactivated state (FIG. 21C);
[00080] FIGS. 22A-C schematically show the front elevation of the second lens unit of the invention in the unacted state (FIG. 22A), an acted state (FIG. 22B) and an unacted state (FIG. 22C);
[00081] FIG. 23 shows how the distance between the optical center and the membrane support rings varies on the first lens unit;
[00082] FIG. 24 shows how the distance between, the optical center and the membrane support rings varies in the second lens unit of FIGS. 21A-C and FIGS. 22A-C.
[00083] FIG. 25 shows schematically in the cross section a flexible membrane and a single support ring according to the invention; and
[00084] FIG. 26 shows schematically in the cross section the flexible membrane and support rings of the first lens unit according to the invention.
[00085] With reference to FIG. 1, a pair of glasses 90 comprise a frame 92 having two rim portions 93 and two temple arms 94. The rim portions 93 are joined together by a bridge 95, and each is shaped and dimensioned to carry a respective first unit lens 1 according to the present invention. One of the first lens units 1 is used for the right side of the glasses, and the other is used for the left side. As can be seen from FIG. 1 the right and left side lens units 1 are mirror images of each other, but their construction is otherwise identical, and therefore only the left side is described in detail below, but it will be realized that the construction and operation on the right side is the same.
[00086] As best seen in FIG. 3, the first lens unit 1 has a generally rectangular shape with two opposing long sides 3, 5 and two short sides 7, 9 and is designed to fit with the frame 92, but it will be realized that the shape of the first lens unit shown is just an example of a suitable shape, and a lens unit according to the invention can be given any shape that is desired. The invention is especially suitable for non-rounded shapes, such as that shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, but the teachings of the invention can also be applied to round lenses. In round lenses, the invention can be used, for example, for the correction of aberrations in an optical system that require more than the frontal correction of spherical wave.
[00087] As well as glasses, the lens unit of the present invention is also quite applicable to other lens applications, such as goggles, helmets and optical and scientific instruments of various types. In the lens unit 1 the optical parts as described below are transparent, but the invention also comprises other types of deformable membrane units that are interpreted and operate in a similar manner to provide an adjustable surface that can be controlled, and so such units of membranes according to the invention can also find application in non-optical fields, such as acoustics where a surface with selectively and a controlled adjustable shape may be required.
[00088] The first lens unit 1 is especially suitable for use in correcting presbyopia. In use, the first lens unit 1 can be adjusted to bring objects of focus over a distance range from long distance to close distance. In this mode there is no correction provided for a long distance, but despite this, the first lens unit 1 allows a user to smoothly adjust the focus from a distant object to a nearby object, a reading distance object.
[00089] The first lens unit 1 comprises a pair of membrane support rings 2, 10 of uniform thickness but variable width. The design of these rings is explained in more detail below. A retaining ring 6 holds the parts of the first lens unit 1 together, in FIG. 8, the component parts of the first lens unit 1 can be seen in the exploded view. The front of the first lens unit 1 is shown on the right at the top of the figure, and the rear of the unit (which in use may be closer to the wearer's eye) is at the bottom, although it is noticed that all other parts fit into the retaining ring 6, which forms a housing for said other parts.
[00090] In front of the first lens unit 1 is a transparent front cover plate 4, made of glass or a suitable polymeric material, in the first lens unit the front cover plate is about 1.5 mm thick, but this can be varied as mentioned below. Additionally, in some embodiments, as described below, the front cover plate 4 may comprise a lens with fixed focal powers, for example, a single vision element (single power), multifocal (two or more powers), progressive (graduated power) ) or even an adjustable element. As shown in FIG. 4 for example, in the present embodiment, the front cover plate 4 is flat - convex.
[00091] Behind the front cover plate 4 are provided two stiffening ribs 3a, 3b, which provide extra rigidity on the short sides 7, 9 of the first lens unit 1, as described in greater detail below ,. The following is a front of a pair of support rings resiliently foldable 2. The rings can be made of stainless steel and, in the first unit, are about 0.3 mm thick, but other suitable materials can be used and the thickness adjusted appropriately to provide the desired stiffness as discussed below. The following is a transparent non-porous elastic membrane 8. In the first unit, membrane 8 is made of Mylar® and is about 50 microns thick, but other materials with a suitable elastic modulus can be used instead. Behind the membrane 8 is a rear of the pair of support rings that can be folded 10 with substantially the same geometry as the front support ring 2. The flexible membrane 8 is pre-stressed as described below and attached to and sandwiched between the front and rear support rings 2, 10, such that it is stably supported around its edge, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 7 in which the first lens unit 1 is shown in its assembled condition. The membrane 8 forms a fluid-tight seal with at least the rear support ring 10.
[00092] The rear surface of the second support ring 10 is sealed to a transparent reinforcement diaphragm 24. In the first embodiment, the reinforcement diaphragm 24 may comprise a polycarbonate blade, but alternative materials that are suitable to provide the necessary properties as described below can be used instead. Behind said diaphragm is a disc shaped part 12 having a flexible side wall 18, a rear wall 19 and a forward sealing flange 20. In the first unit the disc shaped part 12 is made of transparent DuPont® boPET and is made of about 6 microns thick, but other materials suitable for the disk shaped part can be used and the thickness adjusted accordingly. The forward sealing flange 20 of the disk-shaped part 12 is sealingly adhered to the rear surface of the diaphragm 24 with a suitable adhesive, for example, such as Loctite 3555.
[00093] A layer of a suitable transparent pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA), for example, such as 3M® 8211 (not shown) adheres to the rear wall 19 of the disk-shaped part 12 to a front face 17 of a plate transparent rear cover 16 having a rear face 14. In the first lens unit 1 described here the PSA Saver is about 25 microns thick, but this can be varied as necessary. The rear cover plate 16 can be made of glass or polymer and in the first unit I it is about 1.5 mm thick, but again it can be varied as desired. The rear cover plate 16 remains as the backmost layer within the retaining ring 6. As with the front cover plate 4, in some embodiments, the rear cover plate 16 can form a lens of a fixed focal power. In the present embodiment, as seen in FIG. 4 for example, the rear cover plate 16 is a meniscus lens.
[00094] The retaining ring 6 comprises a forward-extending side wall 13 having an inner surface 23, a side wall 13 which ends at a front edge 15. The front cover plate 4 is on and is connected to the front edge 15 of the retaining ring 6 so that the lens unit constitutes a closed unit. As best seen in FIGS. 4, 5, 11 and 12, the cover plate 4 is spaced in front of the front support of the membrane ring 2 to provide a space within which the membrane 8 can extend forward in use as described below without interfering with the front cover.
[00095] The disk-shaped part 12, the membrane 8, the second support ring 10 and the diaphragm 24 thus define an inner sealing cavity 22 to retain a transparent fluid, For optical applications, such as the first lens unit 1 described here, the membrane 8 and the rear face 14 of the rear cover plate 16 form the opposite optical surfaces of an adjustable lens. As described above, the rear cover plate 16 is a meniscus lens. In an unactivated state, the membrane is planar, so the lens has the fixed optical power provided by the rear cover plate 16, with zero addition of the membrane 8. However, when acted as described below, the membrane 8 is inflated to be protruding forward in a convex configuration and thus add positive optical power to the fixed meniscus lens. In some embodiments, the membrane may extend inward in a concave configuration such that in combination with the rear face 14 of the rear cover plate 16, the lens 1 is biconcave. The greater the curvature of the membrane 8, the greater the additional optical power provided by the membrane 8. For non-optical applications the fluid, together with the other parts of the unit, does not need to be transparent.
[00096] The side wall 18 of the disk-shaped part 12 provides a flexible seal between the rear wall 19 and the diaphragm 24, thus forming the sides of the cavity 22, the flexible seal is provided so that there can be relative movement between the rings bracket 2, 10 and the rear cover plate 16 when the first lens unit 1 is actuated to adjust the lens power. The deformable membrane 8 is adhered to the first 2 and the second 10 support rings, for example, by Loctite® 3555.
[00097] Cavity 22 is filled during manufacture with a transparent oil 11 (see FIG. 7), for example, such as Dow Corning DC705, which is chosen to have a refractive index as close as possible to that of the plate. rear cover 16. Oil 11 is also chosen so as not to be dangerous to a user's eye in the event of a leak.
[00098] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the first lens unit 1 can be received and seated comfortably on a rear rim part 93b that is shaped and sized to correspond with a front rim part 93a as shown in FIG. 2 to form a rim portion 93 of the frame 92 of the glasses 90. The front and rear rim portions 93a, 93b can be attached by any suitable means available to the person skilled in the art. For example, the front and rear rim parts can be formed with corresponding screw holes 97 which are adapted to receive small fixing screws to securely hold the two rim parts together and to retain the lens unit 1 between them. In some embodiments, the rear rim portion 93b may be integrally formed with the retaining ring 6.
[00099] In some embodiments, the reinforcement diaphragm 24 can be omitted, in which case the sealing flange 20 of the disc shaped part 12 can be attached directly to the rear surface of the rear support ring 10.
[000100] It will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to the particular dimensions and materials given above, which are given by way of example only. Different types of materials can be used appropriately for the disk shaped part 12 which are optically clear, have low overall rigidity compared to support rings 2, 10 and can be attached to diaphragm 24 or rear support ring 10.
[000101] Several different materials can suitably be used for support rings 2, 10 provided that they meet the criteria of: having module high enough to be able to be made thin with respect to the overall depth of the first lens unit 1 (this is, on the order of 0.3 mm thick); that can be joined to adjacent components; having low fluency (to continue to perform for multiple uses); and that it is elastically deformable. Other possibilities are titanium, glass and sapphire. By "that can be joined" is meant by adhesive, crimping, laser welding or ultrasonic drilling or any other means that it can be apparent and available to those skilled in the art.
[000102] Different adhesives suitably can be chosen that are capable of joining the parts of the unit in a durable way, are resistant to creep, are of a suitable viscosity to be applied when the lens unit is built and remain inert in the presence of the fluid in the lens. Particular adhesives can be chosen depending on the materials selected for the various parts.
[000103] There are several other suitable materials that allow sufficient flexion of the membrane 8, and several colorless oils can be used, particularly in the family of siloxane oils with high refractive index for which there are a number of manufacturers. The materials chosen for the various components need to be such that they provide stability around the actuation and articulation points (described below with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10).
[000104] The first lens unit 1 provides an adjustable lens having a focal power that can be adjusted by controlling the pressure of the fluid 11 inside the cavity 22 and the shape of the support rings that can be bent 2, 10, in this way controlling the deformation of the elastic membrane 8 in the desired profile. As mentioned above, the membrane 8 forms one of the optical surfaces of the lens, the other being the rear face 14 of the rear cover plate 16. The deformation of the membrane 8 increases the curvature of the optical surface provided by the membrane and changes the optical thickness of the lens. between the surfaces, thereby increasing the additional optical power provided by the membrane 8. Details of this operation are given below.
[000105] As best seen in FIG. 9 the width of the support rings 2, 10 in the x - y plane normal to the z axis from the front to the back of the lens unit 1 varies in a predetermined manner around the periphery of the unit 1. This is to provide the desired deformation of the support rings. support 2, 10 which in turn controls the deformation of the flexible membrane 8 and thus the power of the lens, as explained in more detail below.
[000106] It can be seen from FIG. 8 that each of the support ribs 3a, 3b, the support rings 2, 10 and the reinforcement diaphragm 24 has a protruding flap 26 of similar size and shape that protrudes out of the first lens unit 1 from on one of the short sides 7 of the unit 1, When mounted, the flaps 26 on these parts are aligned with each other, and each is formed with one or more closely adjacent holes 28a, 28b which align with the corresponding holes on the other parts. These holes 28a, 28b define an actuation point ® for attaching an actuation device to the lens unit 1 to cause it to be compressed in use. Compression of lens I is described in more detail below. The actuating device can be housed in the adjacent temple arm 94 of the frame 92. In some embodiments the lens unit can be expanded in a similar manner to reduce fluid pressure 11 within cavity 22.
[000107] Adjacent to the protruding flap 26 on the short side 7 of the unit, the inner edge of each of the support rings 2, thus deviating outward as is best shown in FIG. 9 to form a generally semicircular recess 30. The side wall 18 of the disc-shaped part 12 has a similar corresponding recess 30 which aligns with the recesses 30 of the support rings 2, 10 when the lens is mounted. The membrane 8 includes a corresponding semicircular protruding portion 31 which aligns with the recesses 30 to ensure the closure of the seal provided by the membrane. The reinforcement diaphragm 24 is cut at 32a, which also aligns with the flaps 26. This allows the filling of the reservoir 22 after all parts have been mounted in protrusion in addition to the front and rear cover plates 4, 16. Alternatively as shown in FIG. 10 a separate orifice 31 'through the support rings 2, 10 can be provided instead of said semicircular recess 30.
[000108] The reinforcement diaphragm 24 provides significant improvements over the lens filled with anterior fluid by virtue of its function to stiffen the support rings 2, 10 in the plane defined by the rings in the unactivated state. It is desirable to pre-tension the membrane 8 when assembling the parts, otherwise unwanted wrinkles or gap may appear on the membrane due to the temperature and the gravitational or inertial effects on the fluid pressure and the like. One way to minimize the risk of such wrinkles or gap may be to support the flexible membrane 8 on a non-flexible support ring, but this may be incompatible with the need for the support rings 2, 10 to bend in use. The reinforcement diaphragm 24, which reinforces the support rings 2, 10 in the plane of the membrane 8 to resist bending, but does not significantly add to the stiffness of the transverse rings the membrane (z axis), provides a solution to this problem.
[000109] In the first lens unit 1 described here, in which the distance between the long sides 3, 5 is less than the distance between the short sides 7, 9 - making the first unit generally rectangular. The lens is thus wider in the E-W direction between the short sides 7, 9 as shown in FIG. 9 than it is in the N-S direction between the long sides 3, 5. The support rings 2, 10 are configured to bend more along the long sides. It will be noticed that, when actuated, the membrane 8 is stretched more in the E-W direction than it is in the N-S direction. as the diaphragm 24 can only bend and not stretch, it can only be bent in one direction, so it bends along the E-W axis of the lens. Bending a beam brings the two ends of the beam slightly closer together, and this compensates for the differential deformation in the membrane 24.
[000110] In some embodiments, diaphragm 24 can be made more rigid in the E-W direction than in the N-S direction, and this directional stiffness of diaphragm 24 can be used to compensate for the differential deformation mentioned above in the membrane 8.
[000111] In the first lens unit 1, the reinforcement diaphragm 24 is made from a transparent material that is indexed with the membrane 8 and the fluid 11 inside the cavity 22. It comprises a flat blade that is positioned inside the lens fluid between the sealing flange 20 of the disk-shaped part 12 and the rear support ring 10, so that it is behind the flexible membrane 8 on the mounted lens i, as best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. Diaphragm 24 is shaped similarly to the other parts of the lens unit 1, and in the first unit it is 0.55 mm thick, although this thickness can be varied as desired. Since the diaphragm 24 is attached to the disk shaped part 12 and the rear support ring 10 around its edge, the stiffness of the support rings 2, 10 must be adjusted appropriately such that they are still capable of bending as is necessary in the z direction across the plane of the membrane 8.
[000112] Reinforcement diaphragm 24, according to the invention, has been found to work better than, for example, localized support of support rings 2, 10. In one embodiment, the size of the support ring and the stiffness can be reduced by approximately 25% compared to the size and stiffness of similar support rings 2, 10 which are rigid enough on their own to prevent wrinkles without an associated diaphragm 24. The required capacity of support rings 2, 10 for flexing to control the deformation of the flexible membrane 8 is not impaired. A suitable material for support disc 24 is polycarbonate, but other materials can be used accordingly. The reinforcement diaphragm 24 of the invention is equally suitable for use in round lenses as it is for non-round lenses, but in such other embodiments the diaphragm does not necessarily need to have differential stiffness in the different axes.
[000113] The design of the reinforcement diaphragm 24 is such that its main effect is to increase the rigidity of the support rings 2, 10 in the direction normal to the plane for the front - rear axis of the unit (xy plane in FIG. 10), but it has only a small effect on the folding stiffness in the z direction (ie normal to the rear wall 19). This effect in the z direction is taken into account for the design of the support rings 2, 10. Thus the rigidity of the unit 1 is increased for the purpose of maintaining tension in the flexible membrane 8, but the support rings 2, 10 can still fold in the z direction in use. This can be achieved by choosing, for example, a fiber material that has stiffness in the x - y plane but little stiffness in the z direction due to the orientation of the fibers. Diaphragm 24 is formed with a plurality of openings 32a, 32b; in the first lens unit 1 described here there are two - one adjacent to the aforementioned flap 26, and the other in a corner of the other opposite short edge 9 of the unit. The material surrounding the openings 32a, 32b provides rigidity, but the openings 32a, 32b allow the fluid to pass through and thus have little or no effect on the deformation of the flexible membrane 8. The precise number, size and arrangement of the openings 32a, 32b can be varied as desired - for example, a plurality of smaller openings spaced by the diaphragm 24 can be provided. Diaphragm 24 does not deform with flexible membrane 8, and the holder provides that membrane 8 is not required when the lens is in an actuated state with the membrane extended as described below. In the first lens unit 1 the reinforcement diaphragm 24 comprises a continuous blade that is formed with a number of apertures 32a, 32b as described above, but in other embodiments, the diaphragm may comprise a cross-linked blade or mesh or the like, provided that is joined to the support rings 2, 10 substantially around its entire length in order to provide the desired stiffness in the plane. The diaphragm can be connected with rings 2, 10 substantially continuously or in locations spaced around its periphery provided that the load is evenly distributed without causing any significant local distortion of the rings or membrane 8. In non-optical applications, no there is a need for the diaphragm to be transparent.
[000114] As best seen in FIG. 6 the inner surface 23 of the retaining ring 6 is formed with two circumferentially spaced shelves 34, 36; a rear shelf 34 and a front shelf 36. The rear shelf 34 is arranged close to the rear of the retaining ring 6; the rear cover plate 16 is supported on said rear shelf. The front shelf 36 is arranged intermediate to the front edge 15 of the retaining ring 6 and serves to support the diaphragm 24 and the front and rear support rings 2, 10. The side wall 18 of the disc-shaped part 12 is dimensioned such that its flange front seal plate 20 is supported on the front shelf 36 when the lens is mounted.
[000115] On said other short side 9 of the first lens unit 1, the retaining ring 6 defines two points of articulation ®1, ®2 - see FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the stacked parts 2, 3b, 8, 10, 12, 24 are held in place inside the retaining ring 6 by means of formations 39 formed integrally with the retaining ring 6 at the joint points ®1, ®2, as which remain stable when the lens is actuated as described below.
[000116] The support rib 3b provides additional rigidity for the support rings 2, 10 in the region of the joint points ®1, ®2 and between them. In the first lens unit 1, the pivot points ®1, ®2 and the region of the support rings 2, 10 between them are approximately equidistant from the optical center OC of the lens when actuated (see FIG. 10), and so the rings 2, 10 intermediate to the joint points ®1, ®2 are not necessary to bend too much or need to bend. The other support rib 3a similarly provides additional rigidity for the support rings 2, 10 at the actuation point ® mentioned above so that the deformation of the membrane 8 is appropriately controlled, as explained in more detail below. In some embodiments, the support rib 3a, 3b can be omitted; in general they are useful for regions of the support rings 2, 10 that are not necessary to deform significantly during the operation of the unit.
[000117] The shape of the first lens unit 1 is suitable for the glasses 90 in terms of their aesthetic appearance. However, a non-round lens creates the problem of non-uniform, or unwanted, deviation from the desired shape of membrane deformation, which can occur in the absence of a solution to the problem. The means by which the present invention addresses and solves this problem are explained below.
[000118] FIG. 10 illustrates how a surface of the desired shape is achieved using a membrane unit of the invention. In FIG. 10, the desired shape is spherical, but as described in more detail below the unit of the invention can be used to form other shapes; for example, shapes defined by a Zernike polynomial or a combination of Zernike polynomials. For non-optical applications, different shapes may be required. The lens unit 1 in an actuated state is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.
[000119] FIG. 10 thus shows the membrane 8 of the first non-rounded lens unit 1 in an actuated state designed for an imaginary ray sphere R to provide positive focal power. The actuation point ® and articulation points ®1, ®2 are shown. A force F can be applied to the actuation point ® by means of an actuation device connected through the holes 28a, 28b.
[000120] The lower half of FIG. 10 shows a section of line b-b of the upper half through the optical center OC at the apex of the membrane 8 in the actuated state. The direction of application of the force is shown (down in FIG. 10). The membrane 8 is stretched in a substantially partially spherical configuration, and the edge of the membrane 8 defined by the support rings 2, 10 has a profile that substantially follows the surface contours of the sphere. In the non-actuated state the membrane 8 is flat, and the edge of the membrane (and thus the support rings 2, 10) is also flat - represented by the line L in the lower half of FIG. 10. In the actuated state, the membrane 8 substantially follows the surface of the sphere, and its edge in the largest is in a plane (as it would be if the lens were circular and the shape of the membrane were a spherical cap). This can be seen by comparing the edge of the membrane with the line L. In the actuated state the membrane 8 is displaced at the actuation point ® below the line L, representing the plane of the membrane 8 in the non-actuated state, but where the long sides 3, 5 of the membrane deviate (inward) in a rounded shape, they are displaced above the line L, so that a larger portion of the membrane edge can fit contiguously against the surface of a sphere of radius R.
[000121] In FIG. 10 the optical center OC is located, according to ophthalmological convention, at a predetermined distance from the center of bridge 94 of glasses 94. This distance is half the centering distance, which is the distance between the optical centers of the two lenses I of the glasses 90, which in turn is the optimal distance for a user of the glasses. With the shape of the lens illustrated, the OC point is approximately central between the long sides 3, 5 of the lens unit, but is positioned to the left of the visually observed geometric center on the axis between the short sides (that is, from the eye to the nose when used).
[000122] The lens unit of the present invention is adapted to provide a lens power continuously adjustable by a desired number of D diopters, typically 0 to + 4D, which is additive with any tension power provided by the front cover plate 4 and / or rear cover plate 16. In general, the power of a D lens is given by the product of the difference in the refractive index of the material lens and its environment, and the curvature of the interface. So the formula is: D = (n-1) (1 / R) (I)
[000123] Where n is the index of refraction, I is taken as the index of refraction of air and R is the radius of the sphere of which the lens forms part (as illustrated in FIG. 3b).
[000124] In the lower half of FIG. 10, the edge of the membrane 8 is displaced at most at the actuation point ® in the direction of the application of force F. The pivot points ®1, ®2 coincide with points on the edge of the membrane 8 (as defined by the support rings 2, 10 in the first lens unit I) which involve substantially no displacement through the deformation of the membrane 8. It can be seen that these points in the acted position have not moved from and are approximately on the L line. (Note that they are outside the plane section shown in the bottom half of FIG. 10). In order to optimally control the deformation of the membrane 8, the points of articulation (8) ®1, ®2 must be located where minimal movement or movement of the edge of the membrane 8 is necessary, otherwise the profile of the edge of the membrane membrane can deviate at the points of articulation ®1, ®2 from the desired spherical shape (or other), which results in unwanted distortion of the membrane. Suitably the points of articulation ®1, ®2 can in general be equidistant from the optical center OC as mentioned above, so that they are in the same circular contour of the displacement when the lens is actuated, that is, a contour of in the displacement. However, depending on the shape and other parameters of the lens unit 1 this may not be possible, and some difference in distances between the respective points of articulation ®1, ®2 and the optical center OC can be tolerated, despite the resulting distortion that will occur in the vicinity of one or both points of articulation ®1, ®2. In FIG. 10, it can be seen that one pivot point © 1 is located further from the OC center than the other pivot point © 2, which leads to some distortion of the membrane at the corners of the lens adjacent to the pivot points ®1, ® 2, but this can be tolerated, provided that there is a larger zone around the OC center where little or no distortion occurs. This is best shown in FIG. 13.
[000125] It will be noticed that the maximum displacement of the membrane 8 occurs at the actuation point ®, which must always be in the desired location of the displacement of the membrane edge to define a spherical fitting profile between the positions of unactivated and maximum focal power. Since the edge of the membrane 8 on the short side 7 of the lens, which includes the actuation point ®, is actually substantially circular, it must follow a circular contour of the displacement when actuated, but again some circular deviation can be tolerated. The actuation point must therefore be located on the short side 7 at the point furthest from the optical center OC. If the particular shape considered here was not such that a segment of its perimeter formed a circular arc around the optical center, additional actuation points (active or passive) may be necessary to maintain the fidelity of the surface, it will be seen from FIG . 10 that in the first lens unit 1, the points furthest away from the center OC are at the corners of the membrane 8, between the long sides 3, 5 and the short side 7 - identified as the positions ® and © in FIG . 10. However, the actuation point ® is close to these points and the stiffening rib 3a serves to distribute the load applied to the actuation point ® along the short side 7 of the membrane 8 with an acceptable degree of distortion of the shape of the membrane.
[000126] Those skilled in the art will understand that the optical power of the first lens unit 1 can be varied effectively by varying the radius R of the sphere, which varies the curvature of the optical surface provided by the flexible membrane 8 and thus adjusts the power of the lens. As R is reduced, the optical power of the lens increases as the curvature of the membrane is more pronounced. This is achieved by greater deformation of the membrane 8, which in turn is carried out by increasing the displacement of the support rings 2, 10 at the actuation point ® back to the rear cover plate 16, which results in greater fluid pressure in the cavity and greater distension to the front of the membrane.
[000127] The way in which this variable deformation is achieved for the first lens unit 1 according to the invention is described in more detail below.
[000128] FIGS. 3 to 5 show the first lens unit 1 is its unactivated state, and FIGS. 11 and 12 show an exemplary acted state. In practice, the first lens unit 1 is continuously adjustable between the unactivated state and its maximum deformation; the acted position of FIGS. 11 and 12 is just a deformed position which is provided as an example of all deformed positions. As described above, the width of the support rings 2, 10 varies around their degree, while their thickness in the z direction remains substantially constant.
[000129] Specifically the rings 2, 10 are wider on the short sides 7, 9 of the unit 1 and progressively become narrower for those short sides towards the means of the long sides 3,5 as best seen in FIG. 9. They are thinner at points © and on the larger intermediate sides to the short sides 7, 9 (see FIG. 10). Note that the finer points are not necessarily symmetrical as between the two long sides; they are thinner in this region because of where their folding needs to be greater, as can be understood with reference to FIG. 10 described above.
[000130] In operation, in order to increase the focal power of the lens unit 1, an actuation force F is applied, directly or indirectly, to the support rings 2, 10 at point ® on the short side 7 of the unit to move the support rings 2, 10, and the cushioned membrane 8 between them, back to the rear cover plate 16. The force is applied around the half of the cushion along the short side 7 and the actuation device must be arranged to react against the retaining ring 6 which is held within the rim 93 of the frame 92 which thus serves as a support.
[000131] There are several means by which the acting force can be applied that will be apparent to those skilled in the art; some modalities are disclosed below. The force should be applied in a direction that is substantially normal to the plane of the support rings 2, 10. As described above, the support rings 2, 10 are articulated at the two points ®1, ®2 on another short side 9 of the unit 1, the pivot points are designed to remain stable during the actuation of the lens unit 1 by means of the formations 39 inside the retaining ring 6: when the lens unit 1 is mounted, the rear cover plate 16, with the disk-shaped part 12 attached to it, diaphragm 24 and support rings 2, 10 with the membrane 8 held between them are pre-assembled as a stack and then inserted into the retaining ring 6 and slide under the formations 39 at the points articulation ®1, ®2, The side wall 18 of the disc-shaped part 12 allows a small amount of movement, so that the support rings 2, 10 can move close together to the bottom wall 19 of the shaped part disc 18 to increase fluid pressure within the cavity, which in turn causes the membrane 8 to stretch forward towards the front cover plate 4, adopting a spherical (or other) shape as shown in FIG. 12, in this way to increase the focal power of the lens, as described above. Even if the membrane is not round, it is able to adopt the desired spherical shape (or other shape) due to the construction of the support rings 2, 10.
[000132] The force applied to the short side 7 of the support rings 2, 10 at the actuation point ®, in combination with the hydrostatic pressure applied to the membrane by the fluid inside the cavity, causes the support rings 2, 10 to double. FIG. 11 shows the support rings 2, 30 which exhibit a degree of bending through the application of the actuation force F, the support rings 2, 10 remain substantially stationary at the joint points ®1, ®2 (although there is a degree of local inclination of rings 2, 10 at these points). However, towards the means of the long sides 3,5 of the unit including the points © and ®, the rings flex forward as described above, in a direction opposite to the force F, so that the support rings 2, 10 adopt a profile that can conform to the surface of a sphere (or otherwise) having the same shape as the membrane 8. If the support rings 2, 10 were circular, they can remain flat when the membrane deforms spherically , but the non-rounded shape of rings 2, 10 implies that they do not remain flat when the membrane is distended.
[000133] The ability of the support rings 2, 10 to flex in this way and thus control the deformation of the membrane 8 to avoid unwanted distortions of the spherical shape or otherwise is made possible by the predetermined variation in the width of the support rings 2, 10 around their grade, and in particular in view of the fact that they are made narrower at the points where they are needed to bend the majority to adopt the desired profile. The predetermined variation in the width of the support rings 2, 10 produces a corresponding variation in the cross sectional area of the support rings 2, 10 and thus a corresponding predetermined variation in the second moment of area of the support rings, in particular the width of the rings support bracket 2, 10 is continuously adjusted around the rings and reaches a minimum to the middle of the long sides 3, 5 where the folding is thus greatest. In the absence of significant variation in other parameters, a difference in the second area moment results in a difference in bending stiffness.
[000134] As shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, the flexible membrane 8 is made to protrude forward in a direction opposite to that of the actuation force F. When the support rings 2, 10 are moved closer to the rear of the cavity at the actuation point ® , the liquid 11, which is essentially incompressible, is forced to occupy a more central region of the cavity 22, due to the elasticity of the membrane 8, thus increasing the curvature of the optical surface defined by the membrane 8 and the optical thickness of the cavity between the membrane 8 and the rear support plate 16 in the optical center OC of the unit, thus producing greater lens power. Specifically, the deformation of the flexible membrane 8 is centered at the OC point as shown in FIG. 10 which thus forms the apex of the lens.
[000135] In the fluid filled lens of the prior art, in order to guarantee the spherical protrusion of the membrane, the membrane is maintained through a support structure that is rigid and circular, so that only a circular portion of the membrane is not restricted and may be protruding forward by increasing fluid pressure. In some lenses (see, for example, GB 2353606 A) this is achieved by making the entire lens unit circular in shape. In other lenses, for example, such as those disclosed in WO 95/27912, the support structure comprises the rigid boundary around a central circular opening where the membrane can be protruding forward. In WO 95/27912 the border is wide and bulky in places, which is aesthetically undesirable. In contrast to the present invention, while the short sides 7, 9 of the support rings 2, 10 are somewhat wider than the long sides 3, 5, as can be seen from FIG. 9, they are still relatively narrow compared to the lens area. Thus, from the aesthetic point of view, spherical (or other) deformation of the membrane 8 is achieved without any adverse impact on the appearance of the lens unit 1, which has a non-circular shape and relatively thin edges.
[000136] Through actuation, when the flexible membrane 8 protrudes forward as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the amount of fluid 11 maintained in cavity 22 remains constant, but as the membrane 8 changes in shape from a relatively flat profile to the shown extended profile, some of the clear oil is displaced into the central area of the lens. The displacement of the oil causes the membrane to adopt the actuated shape, thus increasing the power of the lens. The fluid 11 is sealed within the cavity 22 by the membrane 8. the diaphragm 24 and the disk shaped part 12.
[000137] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the spherical deformation of the support rings 2, 10 and the flexible membrane 8 which is represented in FIGS. 10 is provided by way of example only to illustrate the change in shape of various parts of the unit 1, and that the deformation provided by the unit of the invention may vary from that shown, in particular for a given lens unit 1, the membrane 8 is continuously deformable between its unacted position, in which it is planar, and a fully extended position, as determined by the acting configuration and the properties of the materials used for unit 1. In each position between the unacted position which provides no optical power and the position completely extended, the pivot points ®1, ®2 on the support rings 2, 10 remain essentially stationary and at least a larger portion or portions of the support rings 2, 10, including the pivot points ®1, ®2, adopt a spherical profile (or otherwise).
[000138] The actual variation in the width of the support rings 2, 10 that is necessary to obtain the predetermined variation in the moment of bending around the rings, as described above, can be calculated by finite element analysis (FEA). For quasi-static or low-frequency optical applications and other applications, static FEA must be used appropriately. However, where the surface is intended for acoustic applications, dynamic FEA is appropriate. As experts in the art are aware, FEA - whether static or dynamic - involves several changes made using a computer with the input of selected parameters to calculate the shape of the membrane that can result in practice with an increasing force F applied at the point of action ( s). The shape of the element is selected to suit the calculation being performed. For the design of rings 2, 10 of the present invention, a form of tetrahedral element has been found to be suitable. Parameters selected to be entered include support ring geometry 2, 10, membrane geometry 8, membrane module 8, ring module 2, 10, including how the ring module varies around the rings (which can be defined empirically or using an appropriate formula), the amount of pre-tension in any of the parts, the temperature and other environmental factors. The FEA program defines how the pressure applied to the membrane 8 increases while the load is applied to the rings at the actuation point ®.
[000139] An example of FEA analysis output for a support ring is shown in FIG. 13. The gray scale shows the degree of displacement of the membrane 8 away from its planar unactivated configuration; offset outlines are superimposed on the gray scale. The membrane shows the maximum forward deformation in its central region and maximum backward deformation (in the direction of the applied force F) at the actuation point ®, with circular contours that essentially provide spherical deformation. This figure shows the deformation in two dimensions; it will be understood however that this corresponds to the three-dimensional spherical deformation in practice. The first lens unit 1 of the invention achieves a substantially undistorted spherical lens, centered at the OC point. It can be seen from FIG. 13 that the OC point is different from the observed geometric center of lens 1, which is shown by the point where the vertical and horizontal lines intersect. This FEA exit is referred to as the "first FEA exit" below.
[000140] In order to precisely design rings 2, 10 for optical use, the output of an FEA analysis can be approximated to the desired shape of the membrane as defined through a polynomial function. In general terms, the shape of an optical surface can be described by one or more Zernike polynomial functions. These have the general formula Zn ± m. Various forms, as defined by the Zernike functions or combinations of more than such a function, are possible using the present invention. An explanation of the various Zernike polynomials can be found in “Principles of Optics1”.
[000141] A priority for ophthalmic applications, for example, is to be able to achieve vision correction with a linear overlap of Z2 ± 2 (astigmatism) and Z20 (sphere for distance correction). Ophthalmologists typically prescribe lenses based on these formulas. Higher order surfaces with additional components Zj ± are also possible according to the present invention if additional control points (as described below) are provided at the edge of the membrane, where scales of magnitude similar to the number of control points. Higher order surfaces with components Zj ± k (k <j) may also be possible where the shape of the membrane edge allows.
[000142] Variants of the first lens unit 1 of the invention are capable of producing static membrane shapes that correspond with any polynomial for which j = k. Several complex surfaces are known to be possible and useful for certain applications. For example, laser vision correction surgery generally works for certain higher order functions, and thus alternative embodiments of the lens unit of the invention can be used as an alternative to laser surgery. Several linear overlays of scaled Zernike polynomials of the form Zn ± m are possible: z , zl zp, z / * [k
[000143] In general, except at its periphery, the surfaces reachable through the deformation of a membrane under pressure may have one or more local maximums or one or more local minimums, but not both, in addition to the saddle points. The shapes that are achievable are necessarily limited by the shape of the periphery, which is stable in use. ^ Principles of Optics "M. Born and E. Wolf, 7aEd, C.U.P, (1999). ISBN 0-521-64222-1
[000144] In some embodiments of the lens unit of the present invention, a spherical Zernike function can be used, but larger spherical functions can also be used if desired, by creating a shape that is the sum of a number of Zernike Polynomials.
[000145] The first FEA exit is then correlated with the desired Zernike function on the membrane ("second polynomial exit") to observe how well the first FEA exit approaches the desired shape as defined by the chosen Zernike function. Depending on how well the first and second FEA polynomial outputs correlate with each other, the relevant lens parameters can be adjusted to achieve a better fit in the next iteration. In other words, by observing how well the simulated deformation of the membrane 8, as calculated by FEA, approaches the desired surface shape as described by the selected Zernike polynomial function, one can observe how much the parameters of the chosen support ring 2, 10 work, it is possible to determine which regions of the support rings 2, 10 need to be adjusted (or which other parameters must be adjusted) to improve the correlation of the first and second outputs.
[000146] The iterative process described above is performed by a number of different lens powers so that a lens whose power varies continuously with the deformation of the support rings 2, 10 (and the applied force F) can be projected. This iterative process was carried out to achieve a number of working modalities of the support rings 2, 10 according to the invention. Thus the support rings 2, 10 are designed to bend in a variable way around their degree and with respect to the adjustment in the required lens power. The variation in the width of the support rings 2, 10 in the x - y plane, perpendicular to the Optical z axis of the lens, around its degree can also be adjusted for different lens shapes, taking into account the locations of the articulation points ®1, ®2 and actuation point ® in relation to the desired optical center QC.
[000147] Since the shape of the membrane 8 has been calculated by FEA as described above, the optical properties of the membrane as an optical lens surface can be determined using suitable optical ray trace software (for example, Zemax ™ optical software available from Radiant Zemax, LLC of Redmond, Washington) using the calculated membrane form. By way of example, FIG. 14 shows how the power of the spherical lens varies in the membrane 8 of the first lens unit 1 when stretched, the stretched shape that is calculated by static FEA. The darker areas show the greatest lens power, and as can be seen from FIG. 14, the inflated membrane 8 produces a lens surface that has a satisfactorily uniform spherical lens power.
[000148] In view of the fact that the degree of deformation of the flexible membrane 8 can be smoothly adjusted through a band, the lens unit of the invention represents a significant improvement over conventional bifocal lenses, where the user wants to look down to see through the close view lens. Through the use of lens unit 1 of the present invention, the power of the lens can be adjusted on demand for near vision and occurs in an optimal region of the lens, namely in the region of the optical center. The lens unit is thus useful for observing a nearby object without the need to adjust the position of the head or the direction of the look.
[000149] FIGS. 15 and 16 show sample FEA outlets from the diaphragm reinforcement diaphragm design 24. FIG. 5 shows the pretension by the flexible membrane calculated by the FEA in a lens unit according to the invention which is similar to the first lens unit 1 described above, but which omits diaphragm 24, with the membrane not actuated. The gray scale reveals the significant variation in the pre-tension in the membrane, with several regions of relatively higher stress and several regions of relatively lower stress; the membrane tension is remarkably uneven.
[000150] FIG. 16 shows the corresponding FEA outlet for the first lens unit 1 that includes diaphragm 24. In this unit 1, membrane 8 exhibits significantly less variation in pretension when not actuated than one in FIG. 15. Over its area, the membrane of FIG. 15 exhibits a 30% variation in pre-tension while the membrane of FIG. 16 has only a variation of 8%.
[000151] FIGS. 17 and 18 show the spherical lens powers calculated for the first lens unit 1 and for the similar lens unit in which diaphragm 24 is omitted. Again, it can be seen that the variation in optical spherical power is much less in FIG. 18; the gray scale shows much greater uniformity.
[000152] The reinforcement diaphragm 24 thus provides significant benefits in improving the uniformity of the pre-tension in the membrane when not actuated and the optical spherical power of the membrane when extended, that is, actuated, which are independent of the shape of the membrane. Effectively, diaphragm 24 increases the stiffness of the support rings 2, 10 in the x - y plane defined by them without significantly affecting the stiffness of the rings transversal to the plane on the z axis. As noted above, the reinforcement diaphragm 24 of the invention can be advantageously used for this purpose in any fluid-filled unit with a pre-stressed flexible membrane in a form that can be controlled that forms a cavity wall, such as an optical surface. of a fluid-filled lens, regardless of the shape of the membrane outline. The diaphragm 24 therefore can also be used on the round fluid filled lens, for example, FIGS. 19 and 20 show in a schematic manner the actuation of the first lens unit 1. The lens unit 1 is actuated by “angled compression". The front and rear plates 4, 16, the retaining ring 6, the diaphragm 24 and other detailed features are omitted for clarity.
[000153] FIGS. 19A and 20A show the lens unit 1 In its unactivated state, in this condition, the membrane 8 is flat.
[000154] In FIGS. 19B and 20B, the lens unit 1 is actuated to increase its optical power by applying a force F applied to one side 7 of the support rings 2, 10 at the actuation point ® in one direction to propel the support rings 2 , 10 for the rear wall 19 of the disk shaped part 12. The rear wall 19 of the disk shaped part is kept stationary and thus supported by the rear cover plate 16 and retaining ring 6 (not shown in FIG. 19B). this causes the one side 7 of the support rings 2, 10 to move closer to the rear wall 19 of the disc shaped part 12. The other short side 9 of the support rings 2, 10 is anchored at the points of articulation ® 1, ®2 by formations 39. The support rings 2, 10 thus tilt backwards under the influence of the force F to subtend an acute angle with the rear wall 19. This tilting movement which is exaggerated in FIG. 19B, is accommodated by the flexible seal formed by the side wall 18 of the disc-shaped part 12. As a result of this tightening close to the support rings 2, 10 and the rear wall 19 of the part 12, the hydrostatic pressure inside the cavity increases, making with the membrane 8 becoming distended, flexing out convexly as shown.
[000155] In FIGS. 19C and 20C, the actuation force is removed which allows the support rings 2, 10 to return to their relaxed, un-acted state as a result of their intrinsic resilience. The side wall 18 of the disk shaped part 12 is thus caused by or allowed to decompress, relieving the hydrostatic pressure within the cavity. In turn, membrane 8 is allowed to return to its unstretched, unstretched position.
[000156] The lens unit 1 described hereinafter operates by tilting the rings 2, 10 onto the rear wall 19 of the disk shaped member 12 to reduce the volume of the cavity 22 and thereby to increase the pressure of the fluid 11, causing the membrane 8 to extend outward.
[000157] However, those skilled in the art will realize that the same principles can be applied to a membrane unit in which the membrane support rings are angled or otherwise moved away from the rear wall to increase the volume of the membrane. cavity and thereby reduce the pressure of the fluid, which results in the membrane digging inward. The shape of such a concave membrane can be controlled in a similar manner by providing a ring or rings having a second variable moment of area such that through the deformation of the membrane the ring or rings adopt the necessary profile to produce the desired predefined shape in the membrane.
[000158] FIGS. 21 and 22 show a second lens unit 101 according to the invention. Each of FIGS. 21A-C shows a cross-sectional view of the second lens unit 101 in a different actuation state, and FIGS. 22A-C show corresponding frontal elevations.
[000159] The construction of the second lens unit 101 is similar to that of the lens unit 1; parts of the second lens unit 101 which are the same as or similar to those of the first lens unit I are not described again below, but are referred to by reference as numerals which are the same as the reference numerals for the corresponding parts of the first lens unit 1 but increased by 1.00.
[000160] The second lens unit 101 has a square shape. While the first lens unit 1 uses "angled compression" of the fluid cavity 22 for actuation, the second lens unit 101 uses "cushion" (or uniform) compression as described below.
[000161] FIGS. 21A and 22A show the unactivated state of the second lens unit 101 according to the invention.
[000162] In FIGS. 21B and 22B, the second lens unit 101 is shown in an actuated state to increase its optical power. However, instead of tilting the support rings with respect to the rear wall of the disk-shaped part 112 by applying force to one side of the unit to tilt the rings around the pivot points on an opposite side, the rings support 102, 110 of the second lens unit 101 are pushed in a plurality of actuation points ® that are spaced around the rings, so that at each actuation point the rings are displaced with respect to the support provided by the frame 92 in towards the rear wall 119 by a predetermined distance according to the desired membrane shape. That is, at each actuation point, the rings 102, 110 are displaced according to the desired location of the displacement of the rings at these points to achieve the desired membrane shape. The precise location of the actuation points and the amount of their displacement will depend on the contour shape of the membrane 108, but in general according to the invention an actuation point must be located at each point in the rings where the displacement is a local maximum. Thus in the second lens unit 101, an actuation point ® is located at each corner 121 of the membrane 108, and each actuation point ® is shifted by the same amount that unit 101 is acted on as the other points.
[000163] Intermediaries at the corners 121 of the membrane 108, the square contour shape of the membrane means that it deviates into a rounded configuration. This means that when the membrane is spherically distended, the sides 103, 105, 107, 109 of the membrane must be moved in the z direction by a smaller amount than the corners 121, so that the sides arch forward between the corners 121, and can even be moved forward with respect to the unacted position to the center of each side in points ©, ©, © and © to produce the necessary spherical profile.
[000164] In an alternative embodiment, the rings 102, 110 can be kept stationary in the corners 121, for example, by the formations of the type used in the first lens unit 1 for the points of articulation ®1, ®2, and a force of actuation F applied uniformly to the rear cover plate 116 in the z direction, as shown in FIG. 21B, a reaction force can then be applied to the rings at the substitute ® pivot points in the corners 121 where the rings are held.
[000165] Through the actuation of the second lens unit 101 as described above, the flexible side wall 118 of the disk-shaped part 112 is compressed uniformly, increasing the pressure of the fluid 111 within the cavity 122. This causes the membrane 108 inflate and protrude outward in a convex manner. Despite the square shape of the membrane, the width and thus the folding module of the rings 102, 110 is varied around the membrane such that they deform in a controlled manner, as calculated by FEA for example, to maintain a spherical profile (or other pre-selected), such that the membrane is caused to deform spherically (or according to another pre-selected profile). Specifically, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, rings 102, 110 are thicker at corners 121 than they are between corners, which allow the intermediate rings at the corners to flex forward with respect to the corners in the manner described above.
[000166] Due to the same movement of the support rings 102, 110 towards the rear cover plate 116, a smaller total displacement of the support rings 102, 110 may be necessary to inflate the membrane 108 completely compared to a similarly unit dimensioned "angled compression". Thus, the thickness of the second lens unit 101 can be minimized.
[000167] In order to return the second lens unit 101 to the unactivated state, the actuation force is removed from the actuation points ® (or from the applicable back cover plate) and the rings are allowed to return to the unactivated start position as shown in FIGS. 21 C and 22C. In some embodiments, the resilience of the disk-shaped portion 112 may be sufficient to restore the rings to an unactivated state when the actuation force is removed. However, in a variant, the unit can be actively returned to the unactivated position by activating rings 102, 110 at the actuation points in the opposite direction or retaining rings 102, 110 and applying a reverse force - F ( see FIG. 21C) for the rear cover plate 116 to push the plate away from the rings. The pressure of fluid 111 within cavity 122 is thus relieved, allowing the membrane and rings to return to their planar configuration.
[000168] The first and second lens units 1, 101 are similar to each other in that both require the application of a force to compress the unit. The difference between them lies primarily in the number of actuation points ® and points of articulation ®. in the first lens unit 1 there is an actuation point ® on a short side 7 of the unit and two points of articulation ®1, ®2 on another short side 9 which defines an inclination axis. The long sides 3, 5 are unrestricted and are free to arch forward the cavities 22 is compressed. In the second lens unit 101, there are at the points of articulation, but actuation points ® are provided at each corner 121 where the maximum compression of the cavity 122 it is necessary to achieve the desired membrane shape.
[000169] In general, the membrane unit of the present invention uses semi-active control of the shape of the support rings 2, 10; 102, 110 actively controlling the position of the rings at a plurality of control points at locations spaced around the rings, control points which can be articulation points or actuation points, and which allow rings 2, 10 ; 102, 110 flex freely between the control points. An actuation point is a point where the displacement of the rings is both actively controlled to achieve compression of the cavity 22; 122, when the displacement of the rings is modified by a passive element, a spring for example. A pivot point is a point where rings are held in a fixed position, but the rings are allowed to tilt if necessary to allow the cavity to be compressed by "angled compression", for example, as in the first lens unit 1. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the region of rings 2, 10; 102, 110 that is affected by a control point should be as small (localized) as possible, and adjacent control points should not, in general, be rigidly connected, to allow the rings to flex along the rings as it is necessary to achieve the desired shape. In general, there should be at least three control points (pivot points or actuation points) in order to define the membrane reference plane in a stable manner 8.
[000170] There must be at least one control point within the sector of rings 2, 10; 102, 110. By a "sector" is meant a region of the rings between two adjacent minimum points not supported on rings 2, 10; 102, 110 where the rings approach locally closer to the defined center of the membrane 8; 108. At these minimum points, the displacement of rings 2, 10; 102, 110 towards the rear wall 19 when actuated is a local minimum. In fact, in the described modalities, rings 2, 10; 102, 110 are actually moved forward, away from the rear wall 19 when actuated, and so in these modalities the minimum points are actually points of the local maximum forward displacement with respect to the unit.
[000171] The "center" is the predefined center of the desired stretched form of the membrane. In the case of a lens unit, the center can be the optical center OC at the apex of the inflated membrane. Within each sector, the control point must be positioned at or near the maximum point at which rings 2, 10; 102, 110 are arranged locally further from the center; in other words where displacement of rings 2, 10; 102 towards the rear wall 19 is a local maximum in the actuated state. Rings 2, 10; 102, 110 must be unrestricted at intermediate points to the control points, where the desired ring displacement 2, 10; 102, 110 towards the rear wall 19 is less than at the neighboring control points, so that the membrane edge 8; 108 can arch forward with respect to positions may have been adopted if the rings were inflexible, except for short ring lengths 2, 10; 102, 110 can be supported, for example, stiffening ribs such as stiffening ribs 3a, 3b, if the supported region of the rings 2, 10; 102, 110 does not deviate significantly from a circular location with respect to the OC optical center. However, the support for the rings should still allow for some bending of the rings, including in the direction along the rings to avoid unwanted distortion.
[000172] FIG. 23 shows how the distance between the optical center OC and rings 2, 10 varies in the first lens unit 1 around rings 2, 10. The units in FIG. 23 are arbitrary, it will be noticed that if the membrane were round, then the graph line can be flat. As shown in FIG. 10, the membrane 8 of the first lens unit 1 defines two main sectors - S1, S2. Each of sectors S1 and S2 is defined between two adjacent unsupported minimum points © and ® which, as described above, are arranged approximately halfway along the two long sides 3, 5 of the membrane 8. Sector S1 it includes the said other short side 9 and the maximum point ®1, while sector S2 includes the short side 7 and the maximum points ® and ©. The actuation point ® is arranged intermediate to the maximum points ® and ©. In a perfect membrane the unit according to the invention, an actuation point can be provided in each of the maximum points ® and © with the point ® which technically is a point of local minimum, but for convenience and practicality, a only action is provided at the point ® between points ® and ©. As best seen in FIG. 23, the distance from rings 2, 10 to the OC optical center of the membrane in general is constant between the maximum points ® and ©, and as an actuation point ® it is technically a minimum point (a local minimum turning point) , the displacement of the rings at the ® point is still positive (® is additionally from the optical center than the points of articulation ®1 and ®2) and, as a minimum point, is insignificant compared to the main turning points ® and ©, and the stiffening rib 3a serves to support the rings 2, 10 between adjacent points of maximum ® and © by the point of minimum in ® and to distribute the load applied at the actuation point ® along the short side 7 of the unit.
[000173] Sector S1 also includes the pivot point ®2, which is not arranged in a maximum or minimum point, but helps to define the membrane plane for which at least three control points are needed, in the case of a membrane unit operating in the "angled compression" mode described above, for example, the first lens unit 1 of the invention, a pivot point can be used at any control point on the membrane support rings 2, 10 where the rings do not move (or do not move substantially) during the actuation of the lens. The pivot points ®1, ®2 of the first lens unit 1 are thus arranged within the same sector and define an inclination axis T (see FIG. 10) which is bisected substantially perpendicularly through an axis between the axis slope T and the actuation point ®. The tilt axis T is also generally parallel to the short sides 7, 9 of the unit. The optical center OC is located between the tilting axis T and the actuation point ®. In some modalities, adjacent points of articulation may be located adjacent to the sectors if there is a minimum point between them.
[000174] FIG. 24 shows how the distance between the optical center OC and rings 102, 110 varies in the second lens unit 101 around rings 102, 110. As can be seen there are four unsupported minimum points ©, ©, © and ©, where rings 102, 110 are arranged locally closer to the OC center. The corners 121 of the unit are further away from the OC center, and thus these comprise points of maximum. An actuation point ® is positioned at each corner 121, and sides 103, 105, 107, 109 are left unrestricted. The four minimum points ©, ©, © and © define four sectors S1 to S4, and a respective of the performance points ® is arranged within each sector. In the alternative embodiment where an actuation force F is applied uniformly to the rear cover plate 116 in the z direction, as shown in FIG. 21B, a pivot point ® can be positioned at each corner 121, and this is possible because the effective displacement of rings 102, 110 at each corner 121 is the same, so the effective displacement at each pivot point ® is the same.
[000175] It will be understood that the more control points are provided, the more accurate the deformation of the membrane can be controlled. In addition, additional actuation points facilitate improved control of the membrane surface and a wider range of possible lens shapes.
[000176] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that lens units 1; 101 of the type described here are used in a pair of glasses, such as glasses 90 of FIGS. 1 and 2, a selectively operable actuation mechanism must be provided to provide the necessary compression of the cavity 22, 122 and the adjustment of the fluid pressure to operate the lens, both directly and indirectly. Such an actuation mechanism can conveniently be provided either on the bridge 94 or on one or both temple arms 93. In some embodiments a separate actuation mechanism for each lens unit 1; 101 can be provided in each arm 93, and the mechanisms connected electronically to provide simultaneous operation of the two units 1; 101. The actuation mechanism is not described here, but in general terms they can be mechanical, electronic, magnetic, automatic with movement of the eye or head, or involve the use of a phase-altering material, such as memory memory alloy. shape (SMA), wax, or an electroactive polymer, in the event that some passive control of the lens unit 1; 101 is directed, the fluid pressure can be adjusted with a pump.
[000177] It will be noticed that the use of separate front and rear support rings 2, 10; 102, 110 is not essential to achieve the basic functionality of lens unit 1; 101 of the present invention, and in some variants the membrane 8; 108 can be supported by a single flexible ring. However, it has been found that the use of two or more support rings is advantageous to control, for example, the torsion rate in the support rings 2, 10, and particularly during the manufacture of the unit.
[000178] FIG. 25 illustrates the attachment of a flexible membrane 208 to a single support of the membrane ring 210 using an annular layer 254 of adhesive. It has been found that when a membrane 208 is attached to a single ring 210 with adhesive in this way, the tension that is transmitted to the membrane 208 causes the membrane 208 to exert a moment around the support ring 210 and pull on one face of the support ring 210 thus tending to tilt the support ring 210 locally to the center of the lens, as shown in the dotted lines in exaggerated form. This is undesirable since it means that ring 210 does not sit square with the other components of the unit and makes it more difficult to control the folding of ring 210. Such unwanted twisting on ring 210 also causes edge effects on the lens and the introduction of optical aberrations as a function of lens power.
[000179] The present invention provides a solution to this problem through the use of two support rings 2, 10; 102, 110; 302, 310 (see FIG. 26). FIG. 26 shows an improved unit method in which a flexible membrane 308 is held between the front and rear support rings 302, 310. In this improved method, membrane 308 is pre-stressed as before, but also by applying a layer of adhesive 354 to a front face of a back support ring 310, a layer of adhesive 356 is also applied to a back face of a front support ring 302. This can be done simultaneously or sequentially. The two support rings 302, 310 are then brought together simultaneously on any face of the membrane 308 as shown to sandwich the membrane 308 between them. As the flexible membrane 308 is never maintained in just one of the rings, the additional support provided by both rings 302, 310 as it balances any local torsional forces that may otherwise occur, thus providing balanced support. The adhesive is then cured. Thus a substantially sandwiched planar structure that retains the pre-tension in the membrane 308 is formed. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that more than two support rings can be employed if desired, provided that the membrane is sandwiched between support rings in such a way that the tension in the membrane is applied equally to the rings on each side of the membrane to avoid unwanted torsional forces. Thus, for example, two or more support rings can be provided on each side of the membrane.
[000180] Various modalities and aspects of the present invention are described above, all of which provide controlled deformation of the flexible membrane 8, 108. In particular, described modalities show how the substantially spherical deformation, or the deformation according to one or more polynomials Zernike or similar surface expansions of the elastic membrane 8, 108 can be achieved. Optical distortion is minimized and the lens can be used to provide a smooth transition from long distance to short distance focus. Such controlled deformation was not achieved by any lens filled with anterior non-round fluid. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that deformation according to a Zernike polynomial is not essential, and the present invention can be used to control the deformation of an elastic membrane 8, 108 to other desired shapes. The lens unit of the invention can be used to correct for various optical aberrations that may arise depending on the application. This can be achieved by the project based on combinations of different Zernike functions.
[000181] In the first and second lens units 1; 101 described above, the variation in the stiffness of the membrane support rings 2, 10; 102, 110 around its degrees is achieved by varying the width and thus the second moment of area of the support rings around the rings, while the depth of the rings in the z direction remains substantially constant. This stiffness can be adjusted in different ways: for example, instead of varying the width of the rings in the x - y plane, the depth of the rings in the z direction can be adjusted. In another alternative, the ring or rings may comprise a multi-segment ring unit, each part being formed from a material of selected rigidity and the parts being joined end to end to form the ring. The use of different materials for different segments of the ring thus can allow the stiffness of the ring to be adjusted as desired around the ring. The ring segments can have the same or different lengths as needed; for example, shorter ring segments can be used in regions of the ring where stiffness is needed to vary more with distance, in yet another alternative, chemical or heat treatment of selected regions of the ring or rings can be used to alter their material properties. Another alternative may be to use a composite material for the ring or rings and to vary the material properties at selected locations around the rings by changing the material structure, for example, by changing the orientation of the reinforcement fibers.
[000182] The first and second lens units 1; 101 can be suitably installed in a pair of glasses 90 such that the flexible membrane 8, 108 protrudes forward away from the user's eyes when actuated. This may be preferred for security reasons, but it will be appreciated that lens units 1; 101 can also be installed well in glasses so that the membrane is protruding into the eyes of the user.
[000183] In the first and second lens units 1; 101 to cavity 22; 122 is defined in part by the disk-shaped part 32; 112, the rear wall 19; 119 to which it is attached with the rear cover plate 16; 116. In a variant, the disk-shaped part 12; 112 can be omitted and replaced with a flexible sealing ring (not shown) which is similar to side wall 18; 118 alone from the disk shaped part and forms a seal between the rear cover plate 16; 116 and the rear support ring 10; 110 (or the reinforcement diaphragm 24 if included).
[000184] It should be noted that a fixed prescription lens (for near or distance vision) may be included in lens unit 1; 101 of the invention. This can be achieved through the use of a fixed power lens as the front cover plate 4; 104 and / or as the rear cover plate 16; 116. Such a fixed power lens should have an optical center that is closely aligned with the optical center of the adjustable OC lens when actuated.
[000185] The adjustable lens unit 1; 101 of the present invention as described hereinafter is able to provide a variation in optical power from -8 to +4 diopters, if a negative lens power is required, the flexible membrane 8; 108 must be arranged to flex inward to achieve this.
[000186] The present invention can also be used to control the deformation of a surface in other fields, for example, such as acoustics. Through the rapid oscillation of the applied force, F, oscillating pressure waves can be generated in a fluid positioned in contact with the membrane. Since the deformation of the membrane can be controlled to be spherical according to the invention, such pressure waves appear to have originated from a point source. This ensures that the waves do not exhibit undesirable interference patterns, while allowing a speaker (for example) that incorporates the membrane as the transducer to be non-round in shape, thus allowing it to be packaged within a confined space, for example , on a television or mobile phone, in general terms, the principles described above can be applied to any application where the geometry of a surface needs to be varied in a controllable manner.

权利要求:
Claims (32)
[0001]
1. Deformable membrane unit (1) comprising an envelope filled with at least partially flexible fluid, a wall of which is formed by an elastic membrane (8) which is held around its edge by a non-round folding support ring resiliently (2, 10), a fixed support (6) for the envelope and moving medium that can be selectively operated to cause the relative movement between the support ring (2, 10) and the support (6) to adjust the fluid pressure in the envelope, in this way to make the membrane (8) deform; where the bending stiffness of the ring (2, 10) varies around the ring (2, 10) such that through the deformation of the membrane (8) the ring (2, 10) bends in a variable way to control the shape of the membrane (8) to a predefined shape, which is defined by one or more Zernike polynomials Zj ± k (k <j), and the moving medium comprises a plurality of ring engagement members that are arranged to apply a force to the ring (2, 10) at spaced control points; characterized by the fact that there are at least three control points, and there is a control point at each point or close to each point on the ring (2, 10) where the ring profile (2, 10) that is needed to produce the shape predefined by the deformation of the membrane (8) it shows a turning point in the direction of the applied force at the control point between two adjacent points where the ring profile shows an inflection point or a turning point in the opposite direction.
[0002]
2. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the moving medium applies a force to the ring (2, 10) at each control point in the same direction.
[0003]
Deformable membrane unit (1) according to either of claims 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that the moving medium are configured to compress the envelope.
[0004]
4. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to either of claims 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that the moving means are configured to expand the envelope.
[0005]
5. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to claim 3, characterized by the fact that a control point is arranged at or near each point on the ring (2, 10) where the ring profile when actuated shows a maximum local displacement in the inward direction with respect to the two adjacent intermediate points of the envelope in the ring where the ring profile in the direction exhibits a minimum local displacement in the inward direction.
[0006]
6. Deformable membrane unit (1) comprising a compressible envelope filled with fluid, a wall of which is formed by a stretchable membrane (8) which is held around its edge by a support ring non-round resiliently foldable (2, 10), a fixed support (6) for the envelope and means that can be selectively operated to compress the envelope in a first direction against the support (6) to increase the fluid pressure in it to cause the membrane (8) to deform outwardly in a second opposite direction; where the bending stiffness of the ring (2, 10) varies around the ring (2, 10) such that by distending the membrane (8) the ring (2, 10) bends in a variable way to control the shape of the membrane (8) to a predefined shape that is defined by one or more Zernike polynomials Zj ± k (k <j), and a plurality of ring engagement members are arranged to engage the ring (2, 10) at the points of control spaced selected to apply the compressive force between the ring (2, 10) and the support (6); characterized by the fact that there are at least three control points, and there is a control point at or near each point on the ring (2, 10) where the displacement of the ring (2, 10) in the first direction are two adjacent points intermediates from a local maximum in the ring (2, 10) where the displacement of the ring (2, 10) in the second opposite direction is a local maximum.
[0007]
7. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by the fact that one or more of the control points are actuation points, where the ring engagement members are actively configured to move the support ring (2, 10) with respect to the support (6).
[0008]
8. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to claim 7, characterized by the fact that the membrane (8) is continuously adjustable between an unactivated and completely deformed state, and in each position between the unacted and completely deformed states the support ring (2, 10) is moved at the actuation point or at each actuation point by the distance necessary to reach the pre-defined shape of the membrane (8).
[0009]
9. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by the fact that one or more of the control points are articulation points, where the ring engagement members are configured to retain the ring. support (2, 10) stationary with respect to support (6).
[0010]
10. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to claim 9, characterized by the fact that the membrane (8) is continuously adjustable between an unactivated state and a completely deformed state, and the support ring (2, 10) is necessary to remain stationary at the pivot point or at each pivot point to reach the predefined shape of the membrane (8) at each position between the unacted and completely deformed states.
[0011]
Deformable membrane unit (1) according to either of claims 9 or 10, characterized by the fact that two adjacent points of articulation define an inclination axis, and there is at least one actuation point where the ring engaging member it is actively configured to move the support ring (2, 10) with respect to the support (6) to tilt the ring with respect to the support around the tilt axis to adjust the volume of the envelope.
[0012]
Deformable membrane unit (1) according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized by the fact that the predefined shape has a center and there are a plurality of points of articulation that are substantially equidistant from the center of the predefined shape.
[0013]
Deformable membrane unit (1) according to either of claims 11 or 12, characterized by the fact that the support ring (2, 10) is generally rectangular, having two short sides and two long sides; the at least one actuation point is located on one of the short sides, the two adjacent points of articulation are located on the other short side or close to the other short side.
[0014]
14. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to claim 13, characterized by the fact that the predefined shape has a center, the short side generally follows the arc of a circle that is centered in the center of the predefined shape, and the at least one actuation point is located substantially centrally on the short side.
[0015]
15. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized by the fact that the support ring (2, 10) is free to passively bend with respect to the support (6) between the control points.
[0016]
Deformable membrane unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized by the fact that stiffening elements are provided to stiffen one or more regions of the support ring (2, 10).
[0017]
17. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized by the fact that the support ring (2, 10) comprises two or more ring elements, and the membrane (8) is sandwiched between two adjacent ring elements.
[0018]
18. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized by the fact that the support ring (2, 10) is made from a substantially uniform and homogeneous material and has a second variable moment area to control folding stiffness around the ring.
[0019]
19. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to claim 18, characterized by the fact that the support ring (2, 10) has a substantially uniform depth and a variable width to control the second area moment around the ring.
[0020]
20. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to claim 19, characterized by the fact that the support ring (2, 10) is narrower where it is necessary to bend most of it to reach the predefined shape when the membrane (8) is deformed.
[0021]
21. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to any one of claims 7, 8 or 11, 13 or 14, characterized by the fact that the support ring (2, 10) is formed with a protruding flap at the actuation points or at least one of the actuation points for engaging the ring with the ring engaging element.
[0022]
22. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 21, characterized by the fact that the support ring is planar when not actuated and the membrane (8) is pre-tensioned in the ring (2, 10) .
[0023]
23. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to claim 22, characterized by the fact that a reinforcement diaphragm is provided that is fixed to the support ring (2, 10), a diaphragm which has greater rigidity in the plane of the ring than in the folding direction of the ring.
[0024]
24. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to claim 23, characterized by the fact that the reinforcement diaphragm is fixed to the support ring (2, 10) uniformly around the ring so that the tension in the membrane ( 8) is transmitted uniformly to the diaphragm.
[0025]
25. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to either of claims 23 or 24, characterized by the fact that within the plane of the ring, the membrane (8) is larger in one dimension than it is in the other dimension, and the diaphragm reinforcement has less rigidity in one dimension than it has in the other dimension.
[0026]
26. Deformable membrane unit according to any one of claims 1 to 25, characterized in that the fluid-filled envelope comprises an inflexible rear wall that is spaced from the membrane (8) and a flexible side wall between the membrane (8) and the rear wall.
[0027]
27. Deformable membrane unit according to claim 26, characterized by the fact that the membrane (8), the rear wall and the fluid are transparent such that the membrane (8) and the rear wall form an adjustable optical lens.
[0028]
28. Deformable membrane unit according to claim 27, characterized by the fact that the rear wall is shaped to provide a fixed lens.
[0029]
29. Deformable membrane unit according to either of claims 27 or 28, characterized by the fact that it additionally comprises a rigid transparent front cover over the membrane (8), a front cover to which it is optionally shaped to provide a fixed lens.
[0030]
30. Deformable membrane unit (1) according to any of claims 27 to 29, characterized by the fact that the envelope is housed within a retaining ring.
[0031]
31. Article for the eyes, characterized by the fact that it comprises a deformable membrane unit (1) as defined in any one of claims 27 to 30.
[0032]
32. An eye article according to claim 31, characterized by the fact that it comprises a frame with a rim portion; wherein the deformable membrane unit (1) is mounted within the rim portion

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法律状态:
2018-12-11| B06F| Objections, documents and/or translations needed after an examination request according [chapter 6.6 patent gazette]|

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2020-04-07| B06U| Preliminary requirement: requests with searches performed by other patent offices: procedure suspended [chapter 6.21 patent gazette]|

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2020-08-25| B09A| Decision: intention to grant [chapter 9.1 patent gazette]|

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2020-12-01| B16A| Patent or certificate of addition of invention granted|Free format text: PRAZO DE VALIDADE: 20 (VINTE) ANOS CONTADOS A PARTIR DE 20/06/2012, OBSERVADAS AS CONDICOES LEGAIS. |

优先权:

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申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题

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GB1205394.8|2012-03-27|

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GBGB1205394.8A|GB201205394D0|2012-03-27|2012-03-27|Improvements in or relating to deformable non-round membrane assemblies|

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PCT/GB2012/051426|WO2013144533A1|2012-03-27|2012-06-20|Improvements in or relating to deformable non-round membrane assemblies|

---