Disclosure of Invention
Therefore, it is necessary to provide an optical fiber bundle fixing device, a laser catheter and an optical fiber coupling system thereof, which are used to fix a plurality of optical fibers mechanically and avoid the problems caused by gluing and fixing, in order to solve the problem in the prior art that an optical fiber bundle composed of multiple optical fibers is difficult to fix.
The invention discloses an optical fiber bundling and fixing device, which comprises an optical fiber fixing piece and a restraining sleeve, wherein the restraining sleeve is provided with a taper hole which is communicated along the axial direction; the optical fiber fixing piece is arranged in the taper hole, the outer diameter of the optical fiber fixing piece is continuously increased along the axial direction, a through hole penetrating the optical fiber fixing piece in the axial direction is formed in the optical fiber fixing piece, the through hole is used for penetrating through a plurality of optical fibers, the optical fiber fixing piece is provided with an expansion joint, and the expansion joint is communicated with the through hole and is used for changing the size of the through hole.
In one embodiment, the expansion joint is at least arranged at two axial ends of the optical fiber fixing member.
In one embodiment, the width of the expansion joint is smaller than the diameter of the optical fiber.
In one embodiment, the through hole is coaxial with both the fiber holder and the constraining sleeve.
In one embodiment, the optical fiber bundle fixing device further includes a limiting member disposed at one end or both ends of the restraining sleeve, and the limiting member limits the optical fiber fixing member within the restraining sleeve.
In one embodiment, the limiting member is a limiting sleeve, the limiting sleeve is sleeved on the large-diameter end of the restraining sleeve, and the limiting sleeve is provided with a limiting structure for stopping the optical fiber fixing member.
In one embodiment, the inner wall of the optical fiber fixing piece is provided with a first avoidance groove extending axially, the first avoidance groove is arranged along part of the circumferential direction of the through hole or is arranged along the whole circumferential direction of the through hole, and the first avoidance groove is communicated with the through hole; and/or a second avoidance groove is arranged on the outer wall of the optical fiber fixing piece.
In one embodiment, the optical fiber bundle holding device further comprises a connection sleeve connected to an end of the restraining sleeve.
The invention discloses a laser catheter, wherein the connecting end of the laser catheter is provided with any one of the optical fiber bundle fixing devices.
The invention discloses an optical fiber coupling system in a third aspect, which comprises a laser device and the laser guide pipe, wherein the laser device comprises a laser and a coupling system, the laser is connected with the coupling system, and the coupling system is connected with the connecting end of the laser guide pipe.
Advantageous effects
The optical fiber bundling fixing device is designed with a fixing device for mechanically fixing the bundled optical fibers, and various problems caused by the use of an adhesive in the prior art are avoided. The optical fiber bundling and fixing device can be used as a special tool for grinding and can also be directly used as a connector, so that the preparation step of producing the laser guide tube by carrying out secondary clamping on the optical fiber in the prior art can be omitted, the problem of optical fiber breakage caused by the secondary clamping step is prevented, and the production efficiency and the yield are improved. The optical fiber bundling and fixing device is simple in structure, additional tools are not needed for assembling all components, the assembling process is simplified, and the risk of breaking optical fibers in the assembling process is reduced.
The laser catheter of the invention uses the optical fiber bundling and fixing device as a connector, can be conveniently connected with a coupling system, and because the optical fibers in the laser catheter are not bundled and fixed by adopting an adhesive, the laser catheter can transmit pulse laser with higher peak power and shorter pulse width, is used for ablating and cutting tissues with higher hardness, has lower thermal influence on human tissues around a treatment part, and has smaller damage.
Compared with the prior art, the optical fiber coupling system has better effect and is more convenient to process and assemble.
Detailed Description
In order to make the aforementioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.
In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "central," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," "counterclockwise," "axial," "radial," "circumferential," and the like are used in the orientations and positional relationships indicated in the drawings for convenience in describing the invention and to simplify the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the referenced device or element must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and are not to be considered limiting of the invention.
Furthermore, the terms "first", "second" and "first" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means at least two, e.g., two, three, etc., unless specifically limited otherwise.
In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," "secured," and the like are to be construed broadly and can, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally formed; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be directly connected or indirectly connected through intervening media, or they may be connected internally or in any other suitable relationship, unless expressly stated otherwise. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those skilled in the art according to specific situations.
In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, the first feature "on" or "under" the second feature may be directly contacting the first and second features or indirectly contacting the first and second features through an intermediate. Also, a first feature "on," "over," and "above" a second feature may be directly or diagonally above the second feature, or may simply indicate that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. A first feature being "under," "below," and "beneath" a second feature may be directly under or obliquely under the first feature, or may simply mean that the first feature is at a lesser elevation than the second feature.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "secured to" or "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," and the like as used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not denote a unique embodiment.
Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a rotation of an optical fiber bundle holding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 2 is a schematic view of the optical fiber bundle holding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from an end portion thereof. In this embodiment, the optical fiber bundle fixing device includes an optical fiber fixing member 2 and a constraint sleeve 3, the constraint sleeve 3 has a tapered hole that penetrates in the axial direction, one end with a large inner diameter of the tapered hole is referred to as a large diameter end, and one end with a small inner diameter of the tapered hole is referred to as a small diameter end. The optical fiber fixing piece 2 is an axial component, the radius of the optical fiber fixing piece 2 is continuously increased along the axial direction, the optical fiber fixing piece 2 is arranged in a taper hole of the restraint sleeve 3, a through hole 20 penetrating through the optical fiber fixing piece 2 in the axial direction is arranged in the optical fiber fixing piece 2, and a plurality of optical fibers 1 can penetrate through the through hole 20 so as to realize bundling and fixing of the optical fibers 1. The optical fiber fixing member 2 further comprises an expansion joint 21 arranged along the length direction of the optical fiber fixing member, and the expansion joint 21 penetrates through the outer wall of the optical fiber fixing member from the through hole 20, so that the through hole 20 is communicated with the outside of the optical fiber fixing member 2. The appearance shape of optical fiber mounting member 2 matches with above-mentioned taper hole in this embodiment to insert optical fiber mounting member 2 in the taper hole and realize the change of through-hole size in the taper hole, and then hold the many optic fibres of wearing to establish in the through-hole tightly.
When the optical fiber bundling and fixing device is used, firstly, a plurality of optical fibers 1 are penetrated into the through holes 20, and the optical fibers 1 are led out of the optical fiber fixing piece 2. Because the optical fiber fixing member 2 is provided with the expansion joint 21, the size of the through hole 20 has certain variation capacity: when the expansion joint 21 is not compressed, the aperture of the through hole 20 is relatively large, the plurality of optical fibers 1 can be easily inserted into the through hole 20 of the optical fiber fixing member 2, and the plurality of optical fibers 1 are restrained by the through hole 20 to a certain extent to form a bundling state; when the expansion joint 21 narrows, the aperture of the through hole 20 becomes relatively smaller, and the plurality of optical fibers 1 originally loosely arranged in the through hole 20 are in close contact with the wall of the through hole 20, so as to realize close fit between all the optical fibers 1 and between the optical fiber bundle and the through hole 20. Because of the characteristics, the optical fiber fixing member 2 is gradually inserted into the tapered hole of the restraining sleeve 3, and the cross-sectional dimension of the optical fiber fixing member 2 is continuously increased along the axial direction, which results in that the optical fiber fixing member 2 is continuously restrained by the restraining sleeve 3, the originally loose expansion joint 21 is continuously narrowed, and the dimension of the through hole 20 is also continuously reduced, and the optical fiber fixing member 2 grips a plurality of optical fibers 1 to form an optical fiber bundle and is firmly fixed by the optical fiber fixing member 2. The optical fiber bundling and fixing device provided by the invention can firmly and reliably bundle and fix a plurality of optical fibers 1 in a complete mechanical mode, and various defects of a gluing and fixing mode in the prior art are avoided.
Furthermore, the coupling end needs to be polished to ensure flatness and smoothness before use. In the prior art, other special tools are usually needed to fix the optical fiber in advance, the coupling end of the optical fiber is ground, the processed optical fiber needs to be taken out after the grinding is finished, and the optical fiber is clamped and fixed for the second time by using a connector, so that the subsequent connection with a coupling system is facilitated. In this process, there is a risk that the optical fiber is broken by an external force. The optical fiber bundling fixing device can be used as a special tool and a connector, so that the optical fiber can be directly connected with a coupling system after being ground by using the same device (namely the optical fiber bundling fixing device), and the optical fiber is prevented from being clamped and fixed for the second time.
Specifically, when the optical fiber bundle fixing device of the present invention is used for polishing, a plurality of optical fibers 1 are fixed to form an optical fiber bundle by using the optical fiber fixing member 2 and the restraining sleeve 3, and a gap between the optical fiber bundle and the restraining sleeve 3 is filled with wax, so that the restraining sleeve 3 and the optical fiber bundle are pre-fixed. Grinding the coupling end face of the optical fiber bundle in the state, and melting and cleaning the wax after grinding; the restraining sleeve 3 is regular in shape, can be a regular cylinder and can be matched with a conventional laser connecting flange. Therefore, the optical fiber bundling and fixing device can be used as a pre-fixing component for grinding the end face of the optical fiber bundle during grinding and can also be used as a connector of a laser guide pipe during connection with a coupling system. By using the optical fiber bundling and fixing device, the processing steps of an optical fiber coupling system can be reduced, the production efficiency is improved, and the yield can be effectively ensured.
It can be understood that, in some embodiments, in the optical fiber bundling and fixing device of the present invention, the expansion joints 21 may be only disposed at two ends of the optical fiber fixing member 2, so as to effectively reduce the complexity of processing on the premise of ensuring a good bundling and fixing effect on the optical fibers. In another embodiment, the expansion joint 21 may also be disposed in the length direction of the whole optical fiber bundling fixing member 2, and at this time, the whole optical fiber bundling fixing member 2 can fix the optical fibers penetrating through it, so that the optical fibers can obtain a better bundling and fixing effect.
It should be noted that, the expansion joint 21 is used to provide a reserved space for the contraction of the optical fiber fixing member 2, and therefore, the specific form of the optical fiber bundle fixing device of the present invention is not limited. In some embodiments, the expansion joint 21 is a straight groove in the radial direction of the through hole. In other embodiments, the expansion joint 21 may also be an arc-shaped groove or a chute extending from the through hole 20. The expansion joint 21 may also have various arrangement forms in the length direction of the optical fiber fixing member 2, and may be an opening extending linearly in the axial direction on the outer wall of the optical fiber fixing member 2, or may be an opening extending spirally in the axial direction on the outer wall of the optical fiber fixing member 2. The arrangement mode of the expansion joint 21 does not affect the fixing and bundling effect of the optical fiber fixing member 2 on the optical fiber.
It is easy to understand that the number of the expansion joints 21 may obviously be more than one. For example, in the partial embodiment shown in fig. 1 and fig. 2, the expansion joint 21 is disposed on the entire length of the optical fiber fixing member 2, so that there is only one expansion joint 21. In other embodiments, the expansion joint 21 is not disposed on the entire length of the optical fiber fixing member 2, but is disposed on the end of the optical fiber fixing member 2, and in this case, the number of the expansion joints 21 may be several. Preferably, the plurality of expansion joints 21 are uniformly arranged in the circumferential direction of the end of the optical fiber fixing member 2. So set up, work as optic fibre mounting 2 inserts in the restraint sleeve pipe 3, restraint sleeve pipe 3 is to the effort of optic fibre mounting 2 is by a plurality of expansion joint 21 homodisperse for optic fibre 1 in the optic fibre mounting 2 can be atress uniformly, effectively guarantees the fixed effect of gathering a bundle of a plurality of optic fibre 1.
Preferably, the width of the expansion joint 21 should be smaller than the diameter of a single optical fiber 1. With the arrangement, when a plurality of optical fibers 1 penetrate into the optical fiber fixing member 2, even if the optical fiber fixing member 2 is not inserted into and constrained by the constraining sleeve 3, the optical fibers 1 cannot fall from the expansion joint 21, thereby ensuring the reliable installation of the optical fibers 1.
As can be understood from the description of the above embodiments, the optical fiber bundle holding device of the present invention is not particularly limited with respect to the position of the through hole 20. Preferably, however, in some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, the through hole 20 is coaxial with both the fiber mount 2 and the constraining sheath 3. By arranging the through hole 20 at the axis position of the optical fiber fixing member 2, the optical fiber bundle formed by the plurality of optical fibers 1 is also positioned at the axis position of the restraining sleeve 3, so that when the optical fiber bundling fixing device is connected with a coupling system, the coaxiality of the emitted light and the optical fiber bundle is ensured, the optical fiber bundle is more easily coupled with the coupling system, the convenience of assembly work is improved, and the coupling effect can be ensured.
In some embodiments, it is preferable that the optical fiber bundle fixing device of the present invention further includes a limiting member 4, and the limiting member 4 can limit the optical fiber fixing member 2 to be always located in the restraining sleeve 3, so as to prevent the optical fiber fixing member 2 from falling off. Specifically, in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the limiting member 4 is disposed corresponding to the large diameter end, and after the optical fiber fixing member 2 is inserted into the restraining sleeve 3, the limiting member 4 can limit the large diameter end from being withdrawn from the restraining sleeve 3.
It will be appreciated that the stop 4 has a variety of implementations. For example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, the limiting member 4 is a buckle member, the buckle member is pivotally connected to the outer wall of the restraining sleeve 3, and after the optical fiber fixing member 2 is inserted into the restraining sleeve 3, the buckle member is rotated to be located on the exit path of the optical fiber fixing member 2, so that the optical fiber fixing member 2 can be located in the restraining sleeve 3. Still alternatively, in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the limiting member 4 is a limiting sleeve, the limiting sleeve is sleeved on the large-diameter end of the restraining sleeve 3, a limiting structure 41 smaller than the inner diameter of the large-diameter end is arranged in the limiting sleeve, and the limiting structure 41 is located on the exit path of the optical fiber fixing member 2. Specifically, in some embodiments, an external thread is disposed at an end portion of the constraining sleeve 3 corresponding to the large-diameter end, a counter bore is disposed at one end of the limiting sleeve, an internal thread matched with the external thread is disposed in the counter bore, and the limiting sleeve is in threaded connection with the constraining sleeve 3; in order to better position the optical fiber fixing member in the tapered hole, the limiting structure 41 may extend into the tapered hole along with the screw connection between the limiting sleeve and the constraining sleeve 3, so as to push the optical fiber fixing member to move towards the small-diameter end of the constraining sleeve 3, thereby realizing the tight fit between the optical fiber fixing member and the constraining sleeve 3, and further fastening the optical fiber bundle. In other embodiments, the limiting sleeve is fixed to the end of the constraining sleeve 3 in an interference fit connection.
It will be appreciated that the stop formation 41 may take a variety of forms. For example, the limiting structure 41 is one or more independent limiting blocks arranged on the same radial plane in the limiting sleeve. Preferably, the limiting structure 41 is a limiting ring, and the inner diameter of the limiting ring is smaller than the outer diameter of the large-diameter end. By arranging the limiting structure 41 in this way, the part of the optical fiber bundle consisting of a plurality of optical fibers, which is located outside the optical fiber fixing member 2, can be protected by the limiting member 4, so that the extended optical fiber bundle is prevented from being broken by external force impact, and can be limited by the limiting structure 41, so that the extended optical fiber bundle is no longer in a suspended state, and the situation that the optical fiber bundle is broken due to excessive bending caused by improper operation in the use process of the optical fiber bundle is prevented.
In the above embodiments, the limiting member 4 is described as corresponding to the large diameter end of the optical fiber fixing member 2 with a relatively large size. This does not mean that the retaining member 4 can only be provided at the large diameter end. When the optical fiber fixing member 2 is made of a soft material, the small diameter end with a relatively small size may protrude from the restraining sleeve 3, and therefore, the limiting member 4 may also be disposed corresponding to the small diameter end.
Specifically, the optical fiber bundle fixing device further comprises a connecting sleeve 5, wherein the connecting sleeve 5 is connected to one end of the restraining sleeve, and the connecting sleeve 5 is sleeved outside the optical fiber 1 extending from the optical fiber fixing member 2. The connection sleeve 5 is used to connect the device body with a coupling system. In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 1 and 3, the connecting sleeve 5 is disposed at the small diameter end of the restraining sleeve and is used for protecting the optical fiber bundle extending from the restraining sleeve 3. The connecting sleeve 5 of the optical fiber bundling fixing device surrounds the optical fiber bundle, protects the suspended optical fiber bundle and avoids the suspended optical fiber bundle from being broken before being used. In the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the outer wall of the small diameter end of the constraining sheath 3 is provided with an annular step on which the connecting sheath 5 is sleeved. The design of the annular step can limit the axial displacement of the connecting sleeve 5, and the connecting sleeve 5 is prevented from sliding when the optical fiber bundling fixing device is connected with a coupling system.
In addition, the connection sleeve 5 can be provided so that the amount of wax used in polishing can be controlled, and only the gap between the connection sleeve and the optical fiber bundle is required. In addition, the arrangement of the connecting sleeve 5 can control the suspended length of the optical fiber protruding out of the whole optical fiber bundling and fixing device in a very small range, thereby controlling the variation range of the laser coupling efficiency.
As shown in fig. 5, the inner wall of the optical fiber fixing member 2 of the optical fiber bundle fixing device of the present invention may further be provided with a first avoiding groove 22 extending in the axial direction, the first avoiding groove 22 is disposed along a part of the circumferential direction of the through hole 20 or disposed along the entire circumferential direction, and the first avoiding groove 22 is communicated with the through hole 20. So set up, work as optic fibre mounting 2 inserts make a plurality of in the restraint sleeve pipe 3 optic fibre 1 is retrained when fixed, first groove 22 of dodging can provide optic fibre 1 and take place the space of deformation displacement, prevents that optic fibre 1 from taking place the rupture.
As shown in fig. 5, the optical fiber fixing member 2 of the optical fiber bundle fixing device of the present invention may further have a second avoiding groove 23 formed on an outer wall between both ends thereof. By forming the second avoiding groove 23, the area of the optical fiber fixing member 2 contacting the constraining sleeve 3 can be reduced to reduce the resistance to inserting the optical fiber fixing member 2 into the constraining sleeve 3.
In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1, 3 and 4, the first avoidance groove 22 is communicated with the second avoidance groove 23 to form a complete slot. The grooving processing method is simple, and can simultaneously play a role in providing a deformation displacement space for the optical fiber and reducing the resistance between the optical fiber fixing piece 2 and the constraint sleeve 3.
In summary, the optical fiber bundling fixing device of the present invention is designed with a fixing device for mechanically fixing the bundled optical fibers, thereby avoiding various problems caused by the use of adhesives in the prior art. The optical fiber bundling and fixing device can be used as a special tool for grinding and can also be used as a connector, so that the preparation step of carrying out secondary clamping on the optical fiber in the prior art can be omitted, the problem of optical fiber breakage caused by the secondary clamping step is prevented, and the production efficiency and the yield are improved. The optical fiber bundling and fixing device is simple in structure, additional tools are not needed for assembling all components, the assembling process is simplified, and the risk of breaking optical fibers in the assembling process is reduced.
As shown in FIG. 6, another aspect of the present invention discloses a laser catheter 6, wherein the connection end of the laser catheter 6 is provided with any one of the optical fiber bundle fixing devices 7. The laser catheter of the invention uses the optical fiber bundling and fixing device as a connector, can be conveniently connected with a laser device, and because the optical fibers in the laser catheter are not bundled and fixed by adopting an adhesive, the laser catheter can transmit pulse laser with higher peak power and shorter pulse width, is used for ablating and cutting tissues with higher hardness, has lower thermal influence on human tissues around a treatment part, and has smaller damage.
As shown in fig. 7, in another aspect of the present invention, an optical fiber coupling system is disclosed, which includes a laser device and the aforementioned laser catheter 6, the laser device includes a laser 8 and a coupling system 9, the laser 8 is connected to the coupling system 9, and the coupling system 9 is connected to the optical fiber bundle fixing device 7 of the laser catheter. Compared with the prior art, the optical fiber coupling system has better effect and is more convenient to process and assemble.
The technical features of the embodiments described above may be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the embodiments described above are not described, but should be considered as being within the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.
The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concept, which falls within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.