US4887019A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Device for the generation of a laser beam spot of adjustable size
Assignee: G Rodenstock Instrumente GmbH
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Filing: 1986-09-11
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Granted: 1989-12-12
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Expires: 2006-09-11
Abstract
Abstract A device for the generation of a laser beam spot of adjustable size on an object, in particular in the human eye so as to enable laser surgery of the eye. The device includes a focusing device which projects the laser beam onto the eye with a small focusing spot and a large aperture cone and a deflector device which moves the focusing spot over the desired beam spot area in a predetermined scanning pattern. In this way, it is possible, for example, also to realize large treatment areas of any desired shape on the fundus without any injury to the frontal eye sections.
Inventors
- 👤 Werner Reis
- 👤 Werner Bisle
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 06:35
CPC Classifications
B; B23; B23K; B23K26/00; B23K26/02; A; A61; A61F; A61F9/00; A61F9/007; A61F9/008; A61F9/00821; B23K26/035; A61B; A61B18/00; A61B18/18; A61B18/20; A61B2018/2035; A61B2018/20351; A61B2018/20355; A61B2018/20359; A61B18/22; A61B2018/2205; A61B2018/2211; A61F2009/00861; A61F2009/00863; A61F2009/00897
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 33
Claim 1
Independent Claim
117 words
A device for generating a circular laser beam spot of adjustable size in the human eye for laser treatment of the eye, comprising: focusing means for imaging a laser beam to provide a small focusing spot with a large aperture angle on a portion of the eye; deflector means for moving the focusing spot over a desired beam spot area of the eye in accordance with a predetermined scanning pattern so as to enable laser surgery of the eye with the circular laser beam spot of adjustable size and large aperture angle; and control means for controlling the deposited energy of the laser beam over the scanned area of the laser beam spot to be substantially constant.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
117 words
A device for generating a circular laser beam spot of adjustable size in the human eye for laser treatment of the eye, comprising: focusing means for imaging a laser beam to provide a small focusing spot with a large aperture angle on a portion of the eye; deflector means for moving the focusing spot over a desired beam spot area of the eye in accordance with a predetermined scanning pattern so as to enable laser surgery of the eye with the circular laser beam spot of adjustable size and large aperture angle; and control means for controlling the deposited energy of the laser beam over the scanned area of the laser beam spot to be substantially constant.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
25 words
A device according to claim 1, wherein the deflector means moves the focusing spot of the laser beam linearly over the desired beam spot area.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
A device according to claim 1, wherein the deflector means moves the focusing spot of the laser beam over the desired beam spot area in a circular ring path.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
44 words
A device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the control means includes means for varying the power of the laser beam in dependence on local variations so as to enable generation of a predetermined power density profile over the scanned beam spot area.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
30 words
A device according to claim 4, wherein the means for varying the power of the laser beam increases the power of the laser beam with an increasing circular ring diameter.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
36 words
A device according to claim 4, wherein the control means further controls the deflector means to decrease revolutions of the circular movement of the focusing spot of the laser beam with an increasing circular ring diameter.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
46 words
A device according to claim 1, wherein the deflector means includes a least one movable optical part in a beam path of the laser beam for enabling movement of the focusing spot of the laser beam over the beam spot area in the predetermined scanning pattern.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
15 words
A device according to claim 7, wherein the deflector means includes a tumbling unit means.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
26 words
A device according to claim 8, wherein the tumbling unit means enables rotational movement about a first axis and a tilting movement about a second axis.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
43 words
A device according to claim 7, wherein the optical part includes two swivel plano plates positioned one above the other and having swivel axes thereof forming a predetermined angle, the plano plates being swivelled out-of-phase about the swivel axes by a drive means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
38 words
A device according to claim 10, wherein the swivel axes of the two plano plates form an angle of 90°, and the drive means include two angle engines controlled with sinusoidal signals in phase quadrature to each other.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
13 words
A device according to claim 7, wherein the optical part includes a mirror.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
14 words
A device according to claim 7, wherein the optical part includes a plano plate.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
19 words
A device according to claim 7, wherein the optical part is mounted for swiveling movement about two swivel axes.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
23 words
A device according to claim 7, further comprising drive engine means with revolution control for rotating the optical part about one swivel axis.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
24 words
A device according to claim 15, further comprising another drive engine means for enabling tilting movement of the optical part about another swivel axis.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
19 words
A device according to claim 15, further comprising means for manually tilting the optical part about another swivel axis.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
48 words
A device according to claim 7, wherein the optical part includes two mirrors having swivel axes thereof forming an angle of 90° for enabling one of linear scanning of the beam spot area and oscillation in the direction of the laser beam for enabling a circular, ring-shaped scanning.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
17 words
A device according to claim 7, further comprising magnetic means for enabling movement of the optical path.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
58 words
A device according to claim 19, wherein the magnetic means includes means for holding the optical part and including a first magnet arrangement, a second magnet arrangement having stationary single magnetic element means for cooperating with the first magnet arrangement, the single magnetic element means cyclically attracting and repulsing for generating a tumbling motion of the optical part.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
27 words
A device according to claim 20, further comprising a third stationary magnet arrangement disposed in opposition to the second magnet arrangement for repelling the first magnet arrangement.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
29 words
A device according to claim 21, wherein the first and third magnet arrangements comprise permanent magnets and the single magnetic element means of the second magnet arrangement comprise coils.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
27 words
A device according to claim 22, wherein the number of coils is at least three and the coils are impressed with a current out-of-phase to one another.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
26 words
A device according to claim 1, further comprising means for providing a target light beam for movement on a path surrounding the spot to be processed.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
49 words
A device according to claim 24, wherein when the laser beam spot is provided by a laser emitting light in the non-visible part of the spectrum, the means for providing the target light beam is an additional target laser utilized as the light source for the target light beam.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
13 words
A device according to claim 25, wherein the laser is a helium-neon laser.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
33 words
A device according to claim 24, wherein the target light beam means guides the beam of the target light on a circular ring path which surrounds the circular spot to be processed concentrically.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
34 words
A device according to claim 25, wherein the focusing means focuses a laser beam of one of an EXIMER laser, a Neodym-YAG laser and a laser with a radiation wavelength of approximately 3 μm.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
21 words
A device according to claim 24, further comprising high speed optical means in the optical beam path of the laser beam.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
28 words
A device according to claim 1, wherein the large aperture angle is a predetermined angle which is constant independent of the size of the circular laser beam spot.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
76 words
A device according to claim 1, wherein the control means includes at least one of means for varying the energy of the laser beam in accordance with the location of the laser beam spot on the eye and means for varying the speed at which the laser beam spot moves over the scanned area of the eye so as to control the deposited energy of the laser beam over the scanned area to be substantially constant.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
21 words
A device according to claim 31, wherein the control means includes both the energy varying means and the speed varying means.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1992-12-11 | 1993-06-12 | 1993-12-12 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1996-12-11 | 1997-06-12 | 1997-12-12 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2000-12-11 | 2001-06-12 | 2001-12-12 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |