JPH0990278A - Method for assembling stereoscopic-viewing optical member - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for assembling a stereoscopic-viewing optical member which is easily produced and has a high yield, excellent productivity, high accuracy and high strength by providing this method with a sticking stage for sticking a polarization filter and a phase difference plate, a removing stage for removing only the stuck phase difference plate to an arbitrary shape and a packing stage for packing a transparent member into the removed part. SOLUTION: Columnar lenses 107 are set on the stage of a laser beam machine and the polarization filter 108 and the phase difference plate 109 are adhered to the top end faces of these lenses 107. Next, the modulated images of the end face images of the lenses 107 are inputted to a shape variable mask, by which part of the phase difference plate 109 is subjected to blanking with the laser to a semicircular shape in compliance with the end face shapes of the lenses 107 existing in the arbitrary position on the stage. Next, the transparent member 110 made of resin, etc., which is approximately equal in optical constants, such as refractive index and transmittance, to the phase difference plate 109 is packed into the blanked parts. The polarization filter 108, the phase difference plate 109 and the transmission member 110 are then cut off to meet the end face shape of the lenses 107.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of assembling a stereoscopic optical member having a polarizing optical member in the lens intermediate portion, which is used for stereoscopic viewing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the conventional fiberscope image, it is difficult to operate while viewing the image due to lack of depth information such as relative distance between objects. Has been done. Various structures have been proposed, but most of the structures proposed so far capture images for the right eye and the left eye by a binocular observation optical system and transmit them to an observer or a stereo image display device. Was there. Since these binocular stereo fiberscopes require two series of optical systems, it is difficult to reduce the diameter, and it is difficult to adjust the vergence angle of the left and right eyes. Met. Therefore, the present applicant is, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 6-269914.
We have proposed a stereo fiberscope capable of stereoscopic viewing with a single eye as shown in No.

[0003]

In this monocular stereo fiberscope, a polarization filter whose polarization azimuth angles are approximately orthogonal is arranged near the effective center of the observation lens. The polarization filter has an effective area divided into left and right halves, and the polarization azimuth of the polarization filter forming the left area and the polarization azimuth of the polarization filter forming the right area are orthogonal to each other. Has been done. Conventionally, such an observation lens for stereoscopic vision is provided on the end surface of the lens member,
Two types of polarizing filters, which are punched by adjusting the angles so that the polarization azimuth angles are orthogonal to each other, are attached to each other, and a lens member is placed thereon to assemble. However, with this method,
It is difficult to bond the two types of polarizing filters on the lens end face, and particularly when a lens with a small diameter is used, this process requires a lot of time, and the accuracy of the assembled stereoscopic lens is not sufficient. It was difficult to support mass production without it.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to assemble an optical member for stereoscopic vision which is excellent in productivity such as easy manufacture and high yield, and which is highly accurate and strong. Is to provide a method.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and to achieve the object, a method of assembling a stereoscopic optical member according to the present invention comprises a laminating step of laminating a polarizing filter and a retardation plate. , A removing step of removing only the retardation plate of the laminated polarizing filter and the retardation plate into an arbitrary shape, and an optical constant substantially equal to that of the retardation plate in the removed retardation plate portion. And a filling step of filling the transparent member.

In the method for assembling the stereoscopic optical member according to the present invention, the removing step is performed by laser processing.

Further, in the method for assembling a stereoscopic optical member according to the present invention, the retardation plate is a λ / 2 plate.

Further, in the method of assembling the stereoscopic optical member according to the present invention, cylindrical lenses are bonded to both sides of the polarizing filter and the retardation plate.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of a laser processing apparatus used in an assembling method of an optical member for stereoscopic vision according to one embodiment.

In FIG. 1, a laser processing apparatus 50 includes a laser oscillator 10 that oscillates a laser beam and a laser oscillator 1.
The beam expander 12 made of a convex lens for expanding the laser light emitted from 0, the spatial filter 14 for removing scattered light of the light emitted from the beam expander 12, and the beam expander 12 are expanded. A collimator lens 16 for returning the laser light to parallel light, and a shape variable mask 18 for shaping the shape of the collimated laser light into a desired shape necessary for processing the workpiece 22.
And a condenser lens 20 for condensing the laser light that has passed through the variable shape mask 18. Further, a half mirror 24 for guiding the laser light reflected on the surface of the workpiece 22 to the television camera 26 is provided between the variable shape mask 18 and the condenser lens 20. A control device 28 is connected to the television camera 26, and controls the variable shape mask 18 based on an image captured by the television camera 26. Further, a television monitor 30 is connected to the control device 28 so that the operator can observe the video imaged by the television camera 26.

The laser processing apparatus configured as described above is
It works as follows.

That is, the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 10 is expanded by the beam expander 12, collimated by the collimator lens 16, and then reaches the surface of the workpiece 22 by the irradiation optical system 32. Irradiation optical system 32
The laser beam that has passed through the variable shape mask 18 installed at is focused on the surface of the workpiece 22 by the condenser lens 20 to perform laser processing that matches the shape of the mask 18. At this time, the half mirror 24 takes out the reflected light from the surface of the workpiece 22 from the irradiation optical system 32 and guides it to the television camera 26 so that the state of the surface of the workpiece 22 can be observed. The image of the surface of the workpiece 22 captured by the television camera 26 is input to the variable shape mask 18 as a modulated image after the arithmetic processing by the controller 28. Thereby, the mask shape of the variable shape mask 18 is changed, the light-shielding portion is adjusted, and the laser processing shape on the surface of the workpiece 22 is controlled. That is, when the surface shape of the workpiece 22 and the irradiation shape of the laser beam on the surface taken by the television camera 26 are not suitable for the shape to be processed on the workpiece 22, the light of the shape variable mask 18 is changed. The transmission state is changed and the irradiation shape and irradiation intensity of the laser light are controlled to be suitable for processing. At this time, the TV monitor 30
By connecting to, the image of the surface of the workpiece 22 and the modulation image input to the variable shape mask 18 are observed. The position, size and shape of each constituent member are arbitrary as long as they do not violate the gist of the present invention. Further, in the laser processing apparatus according to the present invention, the wavelength of the laser used for oscillation and processing is arbitrary, and the laser irradiation optical system and the imaging optical system do not necessarily have the same wavelength.

Next, FIGS. 2 and 3 show examples of the configuration of the variable shape mask 18 capable of changing the shape of the laser light shielding portion by inputting a modulation image.

As shown in FIG. 2, between the pair of transparent electrodes 40 and the pair of polarizing plates 42 whose polarization azimuth angles are orthogonal to each other, a light-transmissive ferroelectric fine film capable of changing the polarization characteristic of transmitted light. Ceramics such as PLZT [(Pb,
La) (Zr, Ti) O3] or the TN liquid crystal 44 is sandwiched to form the optical element 46. This optical element 46
Form one pixel of the variable shape mask 18. That is,
The optical elements 46 are arranged in a matrix as shown in FIG. 3, and the modulated image of the image of the surface of the workpiece 22 is input to each optical element 46 to control the laser transmission position and the light shielding position and the transmission ratio. And the variable shape mask 18 is formed. The position, size, and shape of the main body of the variable shape mask and each component are arbitrary as long as they do not violate the gist of the present invention.

In addition to the optical element for controlling the transmitted light by using the polarized light as in the above embodiment, the variable shape mask may be constructed by using an optical element utilizing the transmission and scattering characteristics. As shown in FIG. 4, a medium 62 in which a medium 60 such as a liquid crystal having a refractive index anisotropy is appropriately dispersed is sandwiched between two transparent electrodes 64, and the transmission and scattering of irradiated light is controlled by an electric field. The elements are arranged in a matrix. A condenser lens 66, an aperture 68, and a lens 70 for collimating the light passing through the aperture 68 again are arranged behind this matrix. Then, by inputting the modulated image of the image of the surface of the workpiece 22 to each of the above-mentioned optical elements, the shape variable mask is obtained. The position, size, and shape of the main body of the variable shape mask and each component are arbitrary as long as they do not violate the gist of the present invention.

Next, the manufacturing process of the optical member for stereoscopic vision (lens for stereoscopic vision) of this embodiment will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, a cylindrical lens 10 is placed at an arbitrary position on the stage of the laser processing apparatus shown in FIG.
7 is set, and the polarization filter 108 and the phase difference plate 109 are bonded to the upper end surface of the lens 107. Here, the retardation plate 109 is a λ / 2 plate. From the observation optical system 34, the retardation plate 109 and the polarization filter 108 as shown in FIG.
The end face image of the lens 107 is captured by the television camera 26 via. . Next, the lens 107 as shown in FIG.
By inputting the modulated image of the end face image of the phase difference mask 18 to the variable shape mask 18, a part of the retardation film 109 is adjusted to half as shown in FIG. 7 according to the end face shape of the lens 107 existing at an arbitrary position on the stage. Punching is done by laser into a circular shape.
FIG. 9 is an observation view from directly above after laser processing.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10, a laser-punched portion of the retardation plate 109 is filled with a transparent member 110 such as a resin having an optical constant approximately equal to that of the retardation plate 109 such as refractive index and transmittance.

Next, a modulated image of the end face image of the lens 107 as shown in FIG. 12 is input to the variable shape mask 18, and the polarization filter 108 and the phase difference as shown in FIG. 11 are matched with the end face shape of the lens 107. Plate 109 and transparent member 110
Are cut out with a laser. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view after laser processing, and FIG. 14 is an observation view from directly above. On the polarization filter 108, the phase difference plate 109 remains in a semicircular shape,
In this way, the changing filter 108 and the phase difference plate (λ / 2 plate)
In the left side portion where 109 is overlapped, the polarization azimuth angle of the transmitted light is rotated by 90 degrees with respect to the polarization azimuth angle of the light transmitted through only the right side portion of the polarization filter 109. Therefore, an optical element for stereoscopic viewing can be configured.

Next, as shown in FIG. 15, the transparent member 110.
By assembling the lens 111 on the above, a stereoscopic lens was assembled in which two optical members having two kinds of polarization characteristics whose polarization azimuth angles are orthogonal to each other were separately arranged near the lens effective center.

With such a method of assembling the stereoscopic lens, the labor of adjusting the polarization azimuth angles of the two types of polarization filters and the alignment on the lens end face for the filter pair construction can be reduced, and the manufacturing process can be simplified. Can be converted. In addition, a high yield can be realized by directly processing the optical member having the dual polarization characteristic with the laser.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and the types, shapes, dimensions, processing shapes of each member and the laser wavelength used for processing, which constitute the stereoscopic lens, are It is optional. The laser irradiation optical system and the workpiece surface imaging system do not necessarily have to have the same wavelength of light.

[0024]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, there is provided a method of assembling a stereoscopic optical member having a simple manufacturing process and a high yield.

[0025]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a laser processing apparatus used in a method for assembling a stereoscopic optical member according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an optical element that controls transmitted light using polarized light.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a variable shape filter.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an optical element that utilizes transmission and scattering characteristics.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a stereoscopic lens assembling process of one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a top view showing a stereoscopic lens assembling process of one embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a stereoscopic lens assembling process of one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a modulation image of the surface of the workpiece input to the variable shape mask of the laser processing apparatus in the stereoscopic lens assembling process of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a top view showing a stereoscopic lens assembling process of one embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a stereoscopic lens assembling process of one embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a stereoscopic lens assembling process of one embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a modulation image of the surface of the workpiece input to the processing mask of the laser processing apparatus in the stereoscopic lens assembling process of the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a stereoscopic lens assembling process of one embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a top view showing a stereoscopic lens assembling process of one embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing a stereoscopic lens assembling process of one embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Laser Oscillator 12 Beam Expander 14 Spatial Filter 16 Collimating Lens 18 Variable Shape Filter 20 Condensing Lens 22 Workpiece 24 Half Mirror 26 Television Camera 28 Control Device 30 Television Monitor 32 Irradiation Optical System 40 Transparent Electrode 42 Polarizing Plate 44 Transmitted Light Material capable of changing polarization characteristics 46 Optical element 50 Laser processing device 60,62 Medium 64 Transparent electrode 66 Condensing lens 68 Aperture 107 Lens 108 Polarizing plate 109 Phase difference plate 110 Transparent member 111 Lens

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A bonding step of bonding a polarization filter and a retardation plate together, a removal step of removing only the phase difference plate of the bonded polarization filter and retardation plate into an arbitrary shape, and the removal step. The method for assembling a stereoscopic optical member, comprising: a filling step of filling a transparent member having an optical constant substantially equal to that of the retardation plate thus formed. 2. The method for assembling a stereoscopic optical member according to claim 1, wherein the removing step is performed by laser processing. 3. The method for assembling a stereoscopic optical member, wherein the retardation plate is a λ / 2 plate. 4. A method for assembling a stereoscopic optical member, characterized in that cylindrical lenses are bonded to both sides of the polarization filter and the retardation plate.