Catadioptric optical systems for cameras and the like

Claim 1

A CAMERA OR THE LIKE HAVING RELATIVELY HIGH-SPEED OPTICAL MEANS FOR FORMING AN IMAGE OF AN OBJECT FIELD UPON PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM WITHIN SAID CAMERA, SAID OPTICAL MEANS COMPRISING A PAIR OF CATADIOPTRIC OPTICAL SYSTEMS EACH HAVING A CONCAVELY CURVED SPHERICAL MIRROR AND AN ASPHERIC CORRECTOR PLATE IN OPTICAL ALIGNMENT AND PREDETERMINED SPACED RELATION RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER, THE CORRECTOR PLATE AND SPHERICAL MIRROR OF EACH OF SAID OPTICAL SYSTEMS BEING ARRANGED TO RECEIVE LIGHT RAYS FROM A SINGLE OBJECT FIELD SPACED THEREFROM AND TO FOCUS SAID LIGHT RAYS AS A PAIR OF REAL IMAGES HAVING APPRECIABLE CURVATURE OF FIELD AT A PAIR OF CURVED IMAGE PLANES WITHIN SAID SYSTEMS, RESPECTIVELY, AND OPTICALLY DISPOSED BETWEEN THE MIRRORS AND THE CORRECTOR PLATES THEREOF, A PAIR OF ELONGATED FIBER OPTICAL IMAGE-TRANSFER BUNDLES HAVING THEIR INNER ENDS OF PREDETERMINED SIZE AND OF PREDETERMINED CONVEXLY CURVED SHAPE AND SO DISPOSED WITHIN SAID SYSTEMS, RESPECTIVELY, AS TO BE IN SUBSTANTIAL COINCIDENCE WITH SAID CURVED IMAGE PLANES OF SAID SYSTEMS, SAID ELONGATED FIBER OPTICAL BUNDLES EXTENDING OUTWARDLY OF SAID SYSTEMS AND HAVING THEIR OUTER END SURFACES SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT AND SO DISPOSED AS TO CONTACT OPPOSITE SIDES OF A PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM AT A PREDETERMINED FILM EXPOSURE POSITION IN SAID CAMERA, AND PLANE MIRROR MEANS DISPOSED IN THE PATH OF THE LIGHT RAYS OF ONE OF SAID SYSTEMS SO AS TO INTERCEPT SAID LAST MENTIONED LIGHT RAYS AND CAUSE A MIRROR IMAGE REVERSAL THEREOF BEFORE REACHING THE CONCAVE MIRROR ASSOCIATED THEREWITH, WHEREBY THE LIGHT RAYS OF BOTH SYSTEMS WILL FORM A PAIR OF REAL IMAGES IN MATCHING RELATION UPON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM AT SAID EXPOSURE POSITION.