Patent ID: 8342710

Claim:
A loupe and lighting assembly for enhancing detection of particulate contaminants on a planar surface, said assembly comprising a power source, a main frame body, light emitting means carried by said main frame body and operatively connected to said power source and a loupe lens also carried by said main frame body, said light emitting means having means for generating a 3 dimensional effect over the particulate contaminants on the planar surface, wherein enhanced detection and characterization of the particulate contaminants is achieved; wherein said light emitting means consists of a number of light emitting diodes arrayed peripherally of said main frame body; wherein said means for generating the 3 dimensional effect consists in each light emitting diode being tilted with a small acute angle from an axis extending orthogonally through a plane of said main frame body, so that said light emitting diodes are focused at a common point in space ahead of said assembly; wherein said main frame body is of cylindroid shape and said light emitting diodes are peripherally and equidistantly disposed within said cylindroid body; wherein said light emitting diodes are disposed in first and second transversely spaced adjacent rows inside said cylindroid body, said light emitting diodes from said first row having a first acute angle and said light emitting diodes from said second row having a second acute angle different from said first acute angle; and wherein said first acute angle is about 30 degrees and said second acute angle is about 45 degrees.