Astigmatism testing apparatus and method of use

1 . An optical testing apparatus operated solely by a patient without intermediation of an optometry practitioner for the determination of the patient's corrective glass prescription, comprising:

a housing rotatably holding a first lens of a first cylindrical power with respect to the light propagating along a first optical axis and a second lens of a second cylindrical power with respect to the light propagating along a second optical axis, wherein said first optical axis and second optical axis are aligned so as to be colinear;

a first lens angular scale indicating the rotational position of said first lens when brought into viewing focus by said patient;

a second lens angular scale indicating the rotational position of said second lens when brought into viewing focus by said patient;

a first motor connected to said first lens to rotate said first lens about said first optical axis with a first direction and a first magnitude;

a second motor connected to said second lens to rotate said second lens about said second optical axis with a second direction and a second magnitude;

a manually controlled input device adapted to adjust or control a combined optical power of a combination of said first and second lenses by providing a first drive signal to said first motor and a second drive signal to said second motor to rotate said first lens and said second lens independently and simultaneously wherein said manual control input device has a tactile two-dimensional position sensor selected from the group of position sensors consisting of mice, trackpads, knobs with two degrees of freedom, trackpoints, trackballs, joysticks, touch screens, and any other tactile sensor devices capable of accepting human input in at least two independent degrees of freedom each with independent variable magnitudes and operating in real time;

wherein said rotational position of said first lens and said rotational position of said second lens.

2 . The optical testing apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first cylindrical power and said second cylindrical power may be identical, and wherein said first drive signal and said second drive signal may be provided simultaneously in absolute value but opposite in convergence and divergence.

3 . The optical testing apparatus of claim 2 , wherein said manual control input device further comprises:

a microprocessor with memory,

a software program operating on said microprocessor, with said software program algorithmically generating said first drive signal and said second drive signal provided to said first motor and said second motor simultaneously based on a two-dimensional position signal, or two-dimensional position change signal, of said tactile two-dimensional position sensor.

4 . The optical testing apparatus of claim 3 , further comprising:

a first rotary position sensor capable of acquiring a value of a first rotational angle position of said first lens of a first cylindrical power; and

a second rotary position sensor capable of acquiring a value of a second rotational angle position of said second lens of a second cylindrical power; and

wherein said value of a first rotational angle position and said value of a second rotational angle position are communicated to said microprocessor for the calculation of a value for corrective eye glass prescriptive optical power and cylinder axis orientation.

5 . The optical testing apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising a visual or machine-readable output device capable of presenting or communicating a value for a prescriptive optical power and cylinder axis orientation based on calculated values provided by said microprocessor.

6 . The optical testing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:

a front viewing orifice providing unobstructed view through said housing along said first optical axis and second optical axis; and

a rear viewing orifice providing unobstructed view through said housing along said first optical axis and second optical axis.

7 . The optical testing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:

a first rotational unit within said housing, said first rotational unit holding said first lens, said first rotational unit rotated in said first direction with said first magnitude by said first motor;

a second rotational unit within said housing, said second rotational unit holding said second lens, said second rotational unit rotated in said second direction with said second magnitude by said second motor.

8 . An optical testing apparatus for the determination of corrective prescriptions, comprising:

a housing with a front wall and a rear wall held in a spaced configuration by at least one side wall, each front wall and rear wall;

a first lens of a first cylindrical optical power;

a second lens of a second cylindrical optical power;

a first rotational unit with an angular scale indicating the rotary position of said first lens, said first rotational unit translationally fixed in said housing by a first set of stub axles that extend from said first rotational unit into hubs formed in said front wall and said rear wall;

a second rotational unit with an angular scale indicating the rotary position of said second lens, said second rotational unit translationally fixed in said housing by a second stub axle that extends from said second rotational unit into said hubs;

said first lens mechanically engaged with and constrained by said first rotational unit;

said second lens mechanically engaged with and constrained by said second rotational unit;

an optical axis passing through a center of said first lens along the direction of its cylindrical optical power and a center of said second lens along the direction of its cylindrical optical power wherein both said rotational units are independently motor driven and coaxially aligned about a common optical axis;

a front viewing orifice in said front wall and a rear viewing orifice in said rear wall providing unobstructed view through said housing along said optical axis;

a first rotational shaft operably connected to said first rotational unit to rotate said first lens;

a second rotational shaft operably connected to said second rotational unit to rotate said second lens;

a tactile input device capable of input in two degrees of freedom simultaneously, independently and with varying magnitude, said tactile input device providing a drive signal to a first motor coupled to said first rotational shaft for rotation, and providing a drive signal to a second motor coupled to said second rotational shaft for rotation;

wherein said tactile input device is adapted to adjust or control the optical power of a combination of said first and second lenses by providing a first drive signal to said first motor and a second drive signal to said second motor to rotate said first lens and said second lens independently and simultaneously with real time synchronization between the position or the tactile input device and the optical characteristics of the combined system of said first and second lenses;

wherein said rotary position indicated by said angular scale of said first lens and said rotary position indicated by said angular scale of said second lens when brought into focus by a patient, is convertible by said patient into an optical prescription.

9 . The optical testing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein said first lens is fixed in a first rotatable sun gear and said second lens is fixed in a second rotatable sun gear; and wherein said first rotational unit is a first set of gears arranged in a planetary configuration comprised of a first sun gear and first planet gears that are translationally fixed in said housing by a first set of stub axles that extend from each of said first planet gears into first hubs formed in said front wall and said rear wall; and

wherein said second rotational unit is a second set of gears arranged in a planetary configuration comprised of a second sun gear and second planet gears that are translationally fixed in said housing by a second set of stub axles that extend from each of said second planet gears into second hubs formed in said front wall and said rear wall; and

wherein said first sun gear is mechanically engaged with and constrained by said set of first planet gears; and

wherein said second sun gear is mechanically engaged with and constrained by said set of second planet gears.

10 . The optical testing apparatus of claim 9 wherein said first rotational shaft and said second rotational shaft are rotated based on control signal by a tactile input device capable of input in two-dimensional space, selected from the group of tactile input devices consisting of trackpads, trackballs, computer mice, knobs with two degrees of freedom, joysticks, trackpoints, and touch screens, said tactile input device providing a drive signal to a first motor coupled to said first rotational shaft, and providing a drive signal to a second motor coupled to said second rotational shaft.

11 . The optical testing apparatus of claim 10 further comprising:

a first rotary position sensor sensing the rotary position of said first optical element a providing a first position signal to said tactile input device;

a second rotary position sensor sensing the rotary position of said second lens a and providing a second position signal to said tactile input device;

a microprocessor in said tactile input device that interprets said first position signal and said second position signal and computes a total value for said corrective prescription.

12 . An optometric apparatus for the measurement of astigmatism characteristics, comprising:

a structural frame or support that has at least one rigid element;

a first optical lens with first optical axis and a first toric refractive optical power or Jackson cross-cylinder refractive optical power in the direction of said first optical axis;

a second optical lens with second optical axis and second toric refractive optical power or Jackson cross-cylinder refractive optical power in the direction of said second optical axis;

wherein said first optical lens and said second optical lens are supported by said structural frame so as to prevent their translational motion or rotational motion except allowing the rotational motion of said first optical lens in the plane perpendicular to said first optical axis and allowing rotational motion of said second lens in the plane perpendicular to said second optical axis; and

wherein said first optical lens and said second optical lens are spatially arranged so that there exists at least one straight line such that a light ray entering said optometric apparatus along that straight line would pass through both said first optical lens and said second optical lens and exit said optometric apparatus without being obstructed;

a first actuator controllable by a first electrical signal, with said first actuator being engaged with said first optical lens and being capable of causing and controlling its rotational motion in the plain perpendicular to said first optical axis;

a second actuator controllable by a second electrical signal, with said second actuator being engaged with said second optical lens and being capable of causing and controlling its rotational motion in the plain perpendicular to said second optical axis;

a tactile sensor adapted to be directly operated by said patient, capable of receiving input via human manipulation performed concurrently in two or more independent degrees of freedom, such as translational motion, rotational motion, or any combination thereof, and capable of simultaneously generating said two independent first and second control signals based on said input;

a microprocessor capable of receiving said control signals from said tactile sensor and sending electrical control signals to said first actuator and said second actuator simultaneously;

a software program operating on said microprocessor;

wherein said software program obtains said control signals from said tactile sensor, algorithmically processes said control signals, forms said first electrical signal and sends it to said first actuator, and forms said second electrical signal and sends it to said second actuator, simultaneously, independently of each other, and in real time, causing the combined optical characteristics of the system of said first and second lenses to be momentarily and continuously controlled by, and synchronized with, the position of the tactile sensor; and

wherein said software program acquires a value of first angular position of said first optical lens by algorithmically processing a history of rotation of said first optical lens and acquires a value of second angular position of said second optical lens by algorithmically processing a history of rotation of said second optical lens, and

wherein said software program algorithmically performs a calculation of optical parameters of the combined optical system comprised of said first optical lens and said second optical lens;

an output communication device capable of providing, in human-readable or machine-readable form, quantitative results of said calculation of optical parameters of the combined optical system.

13 . The optometric apparatus of claim 12 further comprising:

a first rotary position sensor capable of acquiring a value of a first rotational angle position of said first optical lens; and

a second rotary position sensor capable of acquiring a value of a second rotational angle position of said second optical lens;

wherein said software program is capable of receiving data of said first rotational angle position and said second rotational angle position and using said data to perform a calculation of optical parameters of the combined optical system comprised of said first optical lens and said second optical lens.