Magnifying apparatus and method

Claim 2

A magnifying apparatus comprising: a non-erecting reflecting prism having an emergent face, a substantially flat bottom for resting on a substantially horizontal surface, and a substantially straight leading edge for alignment with a line of print on a page resting on the horizontal surface, the emergent face of said reflecting prism angled at an angle of from about 40° to about 60° when said reflecting prism rests on the horizontal surface; a magnifying lens; and means for mounting said magnifying lens over a portion of the emergent face of said reflecting prism, whereby the image of the leading edge of said reflecting prism and the image of the line of print are reflected within said reflecting prism and then transmitted at an angle of from about 40° to about 60° with respect to the horizontal surface on which said reflecting prism rests, through said magnifying lens for viewing as magnified images, and the image of the line of print is transmitted without being reflected through another portion of the emergent face for viewing as an image of actual size to facilitate the reading of the line of print.

Claim 3

The magnifying apparatus of claim 1 wherein said prism comprises a Pechan prism.

Claim 4

The magnifying apparatus of claim 1 wherein the image of the line of print is transmitted and reflected at approximately a 45° angle with respect to the horizontal surface.

Claim 5

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said mounting means comprises a housing for holding said magnifying lens in spaced relationship to said reflecting prism adjacent the emergent face thereof.

Claim 6

The magnifying apparatus of claim 1 wherein the image of the line of print is transmitted and reflected at an angle of between about 45° and about 50° with respect to the horizontal surface.

Claim 7

A magnifying apparatus comprising: a non-erecting reflecting prism having an emergent face and a bottom face, the bottom face being substantially flat for resting on a printed material placed on a substantially horizontal surface, and a substantially straight leading edge formed between the emergent face and the bottom face of said reflecting prism for alignment with a line of print on the printed material on the horizontal surface; a magnifying lens; and means for mounting said magnifying lens over a portion of the emergent face of said reflecting prism, whereby the image of the line of print is both (1) reflected within said reflecting prism and then transmitted at an angle with respect to the horizontal surface on which said reflecting prism rests, through said magnifying lens for viewing as magnified image, and (2) transmitted without being reflected through another portion of the emergent face, for viewing as an image of actual size, and the image of the leading edge is reflected within said reflecting prism and then transmitted through said magnifying lens to facilitate alignment of the magnified image of the line of print with the magnified image of the leading edge for reading the line of print.

Claim 8

A magnifying apparatus comprising: a non-erecting reflecting prism having an emergent face and a bottom face, the bottom face being substantially flat for resting on a printed material placed on a substantially horizontal surface, and a substantially straight leading edge formed between the emergent face and the bottom face of said reflecting prism for alignment with a line of print on the printed material on the horizontal surface; a magnifying lens; and means for mounting said magnifying lens over a portion of the emergent face of said reflecting prism, whereby the image of the line of print is both (1) reflected within said reflecting prism and then transmitted at an angle with respect to the horizontal surface on which said reflecting prism rests, through said magnifying lens for viewing as magnified image, and (2) transmitted without being reflected through another portion of the emergent face, for viewing as an image of actual size, and the image of the leading edge is reflected within said reflecting prism and then transmitted through said magnifying lens to facilitate alignment of the magnified image of the line of print with the magnified image of the leading edge for reading the line of print.

Claim 9

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said mounting means comprises a housing.

Claim 10

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said housing is provided with a flange having serrations therein for releasably receiving magnifying lenses of different powers.

Claim 11

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said reflecting prism comprises a Pechan prism.

Claim 12

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the images of the line of print and the leading edge are reflected at an angle of from about 45° to about 50° with respect to the horizontal surface.

Claim 13

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the angle between the emergent face and the bottom face of said reflecting prism is 45°.

Claim 14

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said mounting means holds said magnifying lens in spaced relationship to said reflecting prism adjacent the emergent face of said reflecting prism.

Claim 17

The method of claim 13 additionally comprising aligning the magnified image of the line of print with the magnified image of the straight edge of the prism to facilitate reading the line of print.