Camera optical element having tactile indicator
An apparatus including a camera optical element and a tactile indicator associated with the camera optical element for indicating a property of the camera optical element.
1. An apparatus comprising a camera optical element, wherein the camera optical element comprises:
an optical body and a side edge surface extending around the optical body, wherein the edge surface is part of the optical body or part of a frame extending along the optical element; and
a tactile indicator that is part the optical element and positioned along the side surface for indicating a fixed property of the camera optical element.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the camera optical element is a filter or a lens or a combination thereof.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the tactile indicator includes at least one surface feature.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the camera optical element includes a front surface, a rear surface, and a plurality of the side surfaces, and the at least one surface feature is positioned on at least one of the plurality of side surfaces.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the at least one surface feature is positioned on one of the plurality of side surfaces proximate an edge of the camera optical element.
6. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the at least one surface feature is a plurality of surface features that are spaced apart from each other in a manner indicating the fixed property of the camera optical element.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein each of the plurality of surface features is substantially equally sized.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the camera optical element tactile indicator is part of the frame.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the frame extends in an axial direction further than the optical body.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the tactile indicator comprises a plurality of surface features spaced a distance apart from each other.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the quantity of surface features indicates the fixed property of the camera optical element.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the fixed property of the camera optical element is an amount of light transmission of the camera optical element.
13. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the at least one surface feature is a protrusion, or cavity, or combinations thereof.
14. The apparatus of claim 13 , further comprising a visual indicator disposed adjacent to or within the surface feature.
15. An apparatus comprising:
a frame for a camera optical body; and
a tactile indicator that is part of the frame, wherein the tactile indicator is disposed along an outside surface of the frame for indicating a fixed property of the camera optical body.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the frame is made of a rigid material selected from the group consisting of metal, plastic, and combinations thereof.
17. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the frame has a rectangular shape, or a circular shape, or combinations thereof.
18. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the frame is a multi-piece frame.
19. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the frame forms an edge, and the tactile indicator includes at least one surface feature positioned proximate the edge.
20. A system comprising:
a plurality of camera optical elements each having a fixed optical property; and
a plurality of tactile indicators each part of a respective one of the plurality of camera optical elements and indicating the fixed optical property of the respective camera optical element.
21. The system of claim 20 , wherein the optical property of each of the camera optical elements differs from the optical property of the other camera optical elements.
22. The system of claim 20 , wherein each of the plurality of tactile indicators differs from the other tactile indicators.
23. The system of claim 20 , wherein each of the plurality of tactile indicators includes one or more surface features, and each of the plurality of camera optical elements has a different quantity of the surface features than the other camera optical elements.
24. The system of claim 23 , wherein the quantity of surface features coupled to the respective camera optical element indicates the optical property of the respective camera optical element.
25. The system of claim 20 , further comprising a camera having a housing for receiving one of the plurality of camera optical elements.
26. A method for determining a fixed optical property of an optical element comprising the steps of:
feeling a tactile indicator that is part of a camera optical element and that is positioned along a side surface of the camera optical element; and
selecting the camera optical element based on a fixed property of the camera optical element as conveyed by the tactile indicator.
27. The method of claim 26 , further comprising coupling the selected camera optical element to a camera housing.
28. The method of claim 26 , wherein the step of feeling includes determining a quantity of surface features of the tactile indicator.
29. The method of claim 26 , wherein the fixed optical property of the camera optical element is conveyed by the tactile indicator through one or more surface features and/or the shape of the one or more surface features of the tactile indicator.