Gemstone Viewer Integrating Smartphone Camera for Inscription Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for viewing microscopic inscriptions on gemstones, such as diamonds, are cumbersome, expensive, and inaccessible to most retailers and consumers due to the need for specialized equipment and difficulty in achieving the proper viewing angle, especially with the translucent nature of gemstones.
Innovation Solution
A portable gemstone viewer that integrates a camera lens, an integral light source, mirrors, and a focusing glass or optically clear structure, allowing for proper focusing and illumination of the gemstone inscription, compatible with smartphones and tablets, enabling easy viewing and photography of inscriptions without the need for additional equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional high magnification lens and camera systems are used to view inscriptions, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the gemstone viewer with a personal communication device (smartphone or tablet), merging the viewing function with an existing portable electronic device. This integration eliminates the need for separate specialized viewing equipment while maintaining inscription viewing capability through the device's camera and display.
Solution Approach 2:
The system captures an optical image of the gemstone inscription and displays it on the electronic device's screen, creating a copy of the inscription view. This allows the inscription to be viewed, analyzed, and communicated without requiring direct optical magnification equipment at the point of inspection.
2Measurement precision
If conventional high magnification systems are used, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to cumbersome equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The gemstone viewer is integrated into a personal communication device that is already portable and familiar to users. This merging provides both the precision needed for inscription viewing and the convenience of using a common handheld device, eliminating the need to operate separate specialized equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
By capturing and displaying an image of the inscription on the electronic device's screen, the system allows users to view the inscription at their convenience without needing to maintain complex optical alignment or positioning requirements associated with direct magnification systems.
3Shape
If the gemstone surface is made translucent for aesthetic purposes, then appearance quality is improved, but difficulty of detecting and measuring increases due to light passing through the inscription area
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses color or spectral filtering in the optical path to enhance the contrast between the inscription and the surrounding gemstone surface. By selectively filtering certain wavelengths of light, the translucent nature of the gemstone is compensated for, making the inscription more detectable while preserving the gemstone's aesthetic transparency.
4Ease of operation
If a portable viewer with camera integration is used, then ease of operation and accessibility are improved, but measurement precision may deteriorate without proper focusing and illumination
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary focusing and illumination adjustments through the optical path design, ensuring that when the user positions the gemstone on the viewer, the inscription is automatically properly illuminated and focused for clear capture by the camera. This preliminary optimization maintains precision while preserving portability and ease of use.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a cost-effective, user-friendly method for viewing and capturing gemstone inscriptions, making it accessible to a broader audience and allowing for later recall, comparison, and remote communication of the information.
Implementation Method 1
The Engraved Gemstone Viewer is effective but lacks the convenience of being with the person at all times that engraving might be needed to be viewed... using the concept of illuminating the surface of the polished diamond in such a way as to create a spectral light reflection much like that of a mirror
Implementation Method 2
The one or more mirrors are arranged to direct light from the integral light source off the surface of the gemstone to the camera lens
Implementation Method 3
a viewer lens, and a focusing glass or other optically clear structure, with the viewer lens positioned between the optically clear structure and the camera lens
Data Source
AI summary
A gemstone viewer for personal communications devices for viewing a gemstone surface on which has been formed an image or inscription such as an identification number. In one embodiment, the viewer is mounted to employ the camera and LED light source of the personal communications device. The viewer directs the light from the light source as a light beam along a path incident to the surface of the gemstone containing the inscription. The gemstone spectrally reflects the light beam along a path back toward and through a magnifying lens to the camera lens of the personal communications device thereby enhancing the magnifying properties of the camera lens to produce a viewable light image that reveals the inscription on the viewing screen of the personal communications device. In another embodiment, the viewer is aligned to the front facing camera of the personal communications device, and includes its own light source.