Decoupled mount for optical element and stacked annuli assembly
US5428482A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 18, 1993 |
| Grant date | Jun 27, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 18, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG03F7/70825
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A mounting seat for an optical element is decoupled from a surrounding annulus that fixes the mount in place in an optical system. The annulus can be one of a plurality of annuli that are interconnected to surround and enclose a coaxial array of optical elements. The decoupling is accomplished by three flexible fingers extending inward from the annulus to a seat for the optical element, which can be mounted either directly on the flexible fingers or on a concentric seating ring supported by the fingers. The flexible elements can be formed integrally with an annulus by cutting slots in its inner perimeter. The flexible elements are structured relative to the lens elements they support so that natural frequencies of vibration of the lens elements are higher than the frequencies of external vibration. The decoupling provided by the flexible fingers absorbs a substantial portion of whatever deforming strain occurs in holding the annulus in place so that such strain does not deform the optical surface of the mounted element.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.