Patent ID: 8362409

Claim:
An autofocus subsystem comprising: an autofocus light source; optical components that direct light from the autofocus light source into the optical path of an optical instrument: a focusing lens that focuses autofocus light returned to the autofocus system from the optical path of the optical instrument onto a photodetector; and an autofocus rotor interposed between the focusing lens and photodetector that implements an optical-axis scan to determine the focal point of the focusing lens for autofocus light back-reflected from a surface in the optical path of the optical instrument, wherein the autofocus rotor includes: a cylindrical rotor that is rotated about a central axis: a number of hollow, circularly disposed, cylindrical shafts that span the rotor in the direction of the central axis; and an opaque disk with a central pinhole mounted within each cylindrical shaft at a particular distance from the top of the rotor corresponding to an autofocus-subsystem optical-axis position z d from the focusing lens.