Philips 的新型变焦透镜

在今年CeBIT展览上, Philips展示了一种独特的没有移动机械部件的变焦系统. 这一系统在光学成象应用领域有着广泛的应用, 象数字相机, 可视电话, 内窥镜, 家用保安系统, 以及光存储设备等. Philips的FluidFocus系统使用液体透镜来仿真人眼的行为, 它利用改变形状来改变焦长. 这一透镜很利于批量生产, 能够克服当今许多使用固定焦点的低成本成象系统的不足. 详细介绍见下面的连接.


http://www.china.philips.com/InformationCenter/NO/FNewPressRelease.asp?lArticleId=2986lNodeId

图片在这

这张是实物

不过他们遇上了知识产权上的麻烦！

Liquid lens rivals begin legal action 23 March 2004

Varioptic of France believes Philips’ recently announced liquid lens infringes its patents.

Varioptic, the French start-up that is developing variable focus liquid-lenses, has reacted swiftly to the news that Philips Electronics is commercializing a similar technology.

Shortly after Philips went public with its plans to mass-produce its FluidFocus lenses (see related story) Varioptic announced that it believes that the Dutch firm’s technology infringes its patents and that it will take legal action.

“Our lawyers are convinced that the technology incorporated in the Philip’s demonstration product is covered by the scope of protection of Varioptic’s patents and that any of Philip’s products incorporating such technology will infringe Varioptic’s patents,” said the Lyon-based start-up in a statement last Wednesday.

“The decision to enforce our patents follows a written request to Gerard Kleisterlee the CEO of Philips Electronics requesting the basis on which Philips intends to produce products using our patented technology without a license or other agreement. The response to this letter made clear that Varioptic will have to take the necessary legal actions to enforce its patents.”

Varioptic says that it patented its electro-wetting lens technology in Europe, US and Asia in 1997 and 1999.

As to the differences between the competing designs Stein Kuiper, a researcher from Philips, told Optics.org two weeks ago that the Philips approach relies on a self-centerd liquid meniscus in a tube while Varioptic centers a liquid drop in a conical recess.

Both Philips and Varioptic were demonstrating prototype liquid lenses at CeBIT show in Hannover last week and are clearly chasing after the same kinds of application -- chiefly the use of liquid zoom lenses for tiny cameras in mobile phones and PDAs.

In fact, Varioptic appears to have made good progress in this area and has just signed a joint development agreement with Samsung Electro-Mechanics (SEMCO) for developing such cameras. At CeBIT, SEMCO was showing an auto-focus camera module based on a liquid lens at its booth.

Author Oliver Graydon is editor of Optics.org and Opto Laser Europe magazine.

这是Philips网站上的视频演示.

[mp=500,350]mms://Ntstream2.ddns.ehv.campus.philips.com/efi/86090/fluid_focus/fluidfocus_01.wmv[/mp]

Another one: Video showing fast focus switching between two persons, one at 30 cm from the FluidFocus camera and the other at 5 m from the camera.

[mp=500,350]mms://Ntstream2.ddns.ehv.campus.philips.com/efi/86090/fluid_focus/fluidfocus_02.wmv[/mp]

楼上的视频不能看啊！

好象要求Windows Media Vedio v7. 我在Windows XP下可以看. 或者直接去http://www.philips.com/InformationCenter/Global/FNewPressRelease.asp?lArticleId=3066lNodeId看吧.

目前聽說只適用於變焦鏡頭....不知道正式量產了沒

cool