Endoscope objective
US6635010B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 18, 2000 |
| Grant date | Oct 21, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 18, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B23/243
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Endoscope objective having a viewing direction including an angle< >0° relative to the longitudinal axis of the endoscope, comprising a lens system imaging the object field into a single image plane disposed orthogonally on the longitudinal axis, and a prism unit disposed downstream of the distal window of the endoscope along the imaging path, in which the beam is reflected on two boundary surfaces such that the beam will be deflected in the prism unit from the desired viewing direction into the longitudinal axis of the endoscope, wherein a coating is applied on at least one surface on the prism unit, which comprises a thin layer having a refractive index smaller than the refractive index of the material which said prism unit is made of, so that total reflection against the layer occurs. The invention is characterized by the provision that the coating is applied to that surface of the prism unit which faces the glass cover of the endoscope.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.