JP2000182420A - Optical fiber lighting system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical fiber lighting system allowing a large quantity of light to exit and allow free control of irradiation range of light. SOLUTION: An optical fiber 4, whose cladding is formed of either a silica aerogel made of a porous skeleton of silica or air, is connected at its light entrance end 5 to a light source box 7 having a lamp 6 built therein. A convex lens 9 is provided at the light emitting end 8 of the optical fiber 4. The optical fiber 4 using the silica aerogel or air with low refractivity as its cladding has a light receiving angle of 180 deg. at its light entrance end 5, whereby a large quantity of light from the lamp 6 can be made to enter the optical fiber 4 from the light entrance end 5. Moreover, light emitting from the emitting end 8 of the optical fiber 4 can be collected by the convex lens 9 and irradiated, whereby the irradiation range of the light can be controlled freely.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an end light illuminating device in which a light source section and an irradiating section are separated by using an optical fiber. The present invention relates to a lighting device used in a museum and a lighting device used in underwater lighting and high-altitude lighting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an optical fiber used in a lighting device, a glass fiber such as quartz glass or multi-component glass, or an acrylic fiber or styrene plastic such as methyl methacrylate is used. The light receiving angle at the light incident end of the optical fiber is determined by the refractive index of the core and the clad, and the light receiving angle of these optical fibers is generally about 30 to 80 °. Here, since the exit angle at the light exit end of the optical fiber is the same as the incident angle, 30
It is about 80 °, and the illumination by the light emitted from the light emitting end of the optical fiber can be performed by spot light.

However, in such a conventional illuminating device using an optical fiber, since the light receiving angle of the optical fiber is small, the light condensing efficiency of the light from the lamp at the light incident end of the optical fiber is low, and the light from the lamp is low. There is a problem that a large amount of light cannot be transmitted through an optical fiber, and the amount of light emitted from the light emitting end cannot be increased to perform illumination with high illuminance.

On the other hand, the present applicant has disclosed an optical fiber having a silica airgel cladding in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-156958 and an optical fiber having an air cladding in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-2960.
No. 58053, respectively. Since these claddings have a very small refractive index of about 1.00 to 1.18, the light receiving angle at the light incident end of the optical fiber is 180 °.
And the light collection efficiency of the light from the lamp increases. Accordingly, a large amount of light from the lamp can be transmitted from the light emitting end by transmitting a large amount of light from the lamp through the optical fiber, and illumination can be performed with high illuminance.

[0005]

As described above, an optical fiber having silica airgel or air as a clad has a light receiving angle of 180 °, and it is possible to illuminate with high illuminance by increasing the amount of light emitted from the light emitting end. Although it is possible to illuminate with high illuminance, the emission angle from the light emitting end is also 180 °, so that the light emitted from the light emitting end of the optical fiber is also 180 °.
There is a problem in that the light spreads over degrees and the irradiation range cannot be controlled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide an optical fiber illuminating apparatus which can output a large amount of light and can freely control a light irradiation range. is there.

[0007]

An optical fiber illuminating device according to the present invention comprises: a light incident end 5 of an optical fiber 4 in which a cladding material 1 is formed of silica airgel 2 or air 3 having a porous skeleton of silica; It is characterized in that it is connected to a light source box 7 having a built-in lamp 6 and is provided with a convex lens 9 at a light emitting end 8 of the optical fiber 4.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the distance between the light emitting end 8 of the optical fiber 4 and the convex lens 9 is formed so as to be adjustable.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that a convex lens 10 is arranged between the light incident end 5 of the optical fiber 4 and the lamp 6.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the optical fiber 4 is made of a core material 11 made of a transparent soft resin, a cladding material 1 made of silica airgel 2 or air 3 on the outer periphery thereof, and a soft material covering the outer periphery of the cladding material 1. , And fixed to the core material 11 by caulking both ends of the coating tube 12.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the optical fiber 4 is attached to the light source box 7 so as to be rotatable around its axis.

The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that a heat shut-off means 13 for absorbing or reflecting the heat rays of the lamp 6 is provided between the light incident end 5 of the optical fiber 4 and the lamp 6. .

The invention according to claim 7 is a light source box 7
In addition, a temperature lowering means 14 for lowering the temperature of the outer surface of the light source box 7 is provided.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the optical fiber 4 used in the present invention.
And a coating tube 12 made of

Here, as the core material 11, a material made of a transparent soft resin is used. Any material which is generally used as a soft core in an optical fiber can be used without any particular limitation. For example, an acrylic or styrene-based transparent soft resin such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) can be used.

The cladding material 1 is formed of a silica airgel 2 having a porous skeleton of silica. The silica airgel 2 can be obtained by subjecting a gel compound of a silicate ester-containing solution such as alkoxysilane or sodium silicate to a hydrophobic treatment and supercritical drying. That is, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,402,827 and 443,
Hydrolysis of alkoxysilane (also referred to as silicon alkoxide or alkyl silicate) as provided in JP 2956, JP 4610863A and the like,
Manufactured by drying a wet gel compound comprising a silica skeleton obtained by a polymerization reaction in a supercritical state above the critical point of this solvent in the presence of a solvent (dispersion medium) such as alcohol or carbon dioxide. can do. In addition, US Pat.
As provided in US Pat. No. 24,364, sodium silicate can be similarly used as a raw material. Here, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-279011, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-138
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 375, it is preferable to impart hydrophobicity to the silica airgel 2 by subjecting the above gel-like compound obtained by hydrolysis and polymerization of alkoxysilane to a hydrophobic treatment. This hydrophobizing step can be performed before or during supercritical drying of the gelled compound. The hydrophobic silica airgel 2 imparted with hydrophobicity in this way makes it difficult for moisture, water, and the like to infiltrate, and hardly deteriorates in performance such as refractive index and light transmittance. Although the refractive index of the silica airgel 2 can be freely changed depending on the mixing ratio of the raw materials,
In order to set a large difference in the refractive index from the core material 11 and to ensure the performance such as the transparency of the silica airgel 2, 1.
It is preferable to use a material whose refractive index is adjusted in the range of 008 to 1.18. The shape of the silica airgel 2 used in the present invention is not particularly limited, but is preferably used in the form of a powder having a particle size of about several μm to several hundred μm.

Further, as the coating tube 12, a tube formed of a flexible soft resin tube is used, and a plasticizer or a vulcanizing agent exhibiting volatility or migration is used as the core material 11 or the silica airgel 2. It is preferable to use a material that does not include these in order to deteriorate. For example, a tube made of polyethylene, non-plasticized vinyl chloride resin, polyurethane resin, fluororesin, or the like can be used. The thickness of the coating tube 12 is not particularly limited as long as the flexibility is not impaired, but is preferably 2 mm or less.

Then, a powder of silica airgel 2 is adhered to the outer periphery of the core material 11 by static electricity or the like, and the core material 11 to which the powder of silica airgel 2 is adhered is covered with the coating tube 1.
2, the silica airgel 2 powder is held on the outer circumference of the core material 11 by the coating tube 12, and the layer of the silica airgel 2 is used as the cladding material 1 for the optical fiber 4.
Can be produced.

Here, the coating tube 12 on the core material 11
It is preferable that both ends of the covering tube 12 be fixed by crimping both ends of the core material 11. Regarding the caulking of both ends, the caulking sleeve 20 is put on the outer periphery of both ends of the coating tube 12, and a part of the caulking sleeve 20 is caulked inward over the entire circumference using a caulking tool such as a crimper. A part of the coating tube 12 is deformed so as to protrude inward over the entire circumference by the protrusion 21 protruding inward by caulking deformation, and the protrusion 22 of the coating tube 12 protruding inward is formed into a core material. This can be performed by pressing the entire circumference of the outer circumference of the eleventh part 11. The material and the shape of the caulking sleeve 20 for caulking are not particularly limited as long as the material can be deformed by caulking and press the coated tube 12 against the core material 11 to be integrated. And those made of resin can be used. Also,
At the caulking portion, deformation occurs in the core material 11 and light loss occurs at that portion. Therefore, as a caulking tool, a tool that can reduce the area for deforming the caulking sleeve 20 as much as possible is used. It is preferable that the width of the protrusion 21 of the caulking sleeve 20 be 2 mm or less.

Further, when the light emitting end 8 of the core material 11 is deformed by caulking, when the light emitted from the light emitting end 8 is condensed by the convex lens 9 as described later, the core material 11 is deformed. An image may be formed and fringes may be generated in the irradiation light. In this case, the caulking position is shifted by a distance L from the light emitting end 8 as shown in FIG.
Of the light emitting end 8 can be prevented, and the occurrence of stripes in the irradiation light can be prevented. The distance L is appropriately selected depending on the diameter of the core material 11 and the type of the convex lens 9, but is generally about 5 mm to 50 mm.

FIG. 4 shows another example of the optical fiber 4 used in the present invention. The optical fiber 4 is formed of a core material 11, a clad material 1 made of air 3, and a coating tube 12.

The same core material 1 and coating tube 12 as described above can be used. Then, the core material 11 is inserted into one end of the coating tube 12 into the coating tube 12 having both ends opened, and the core material 11 is disposed in the coating tube 12. The caulking sleeve 20 that has been fitted is caulked,
By crimping and fixing both ends of the coating tube 12 to both ends of the core material 11, an optical fiber having air 3 as a cladding between the outer periphery of the core material 11 and the inner periphery of the coating tube 12 can be manufactured. It is.

In the silica airgel 2 or the optical fiber 4 having the air 3 as the cladding material 1, the refractive index of the silica airgel 2 is 1.008.
Since the air 3 has a very small refractive index of 1.00, the light receiving angle at the light incident end 5 of the optical fiber 4 is 180 °.
become. Further, the core material 11 is formed of a soft resin, and the both ends of the soft material covering tube 12 are fixed by caulking to both ends of the core material 11, so that the core material 11 and the covering tube 12 can be freely bent. The optical fiber 4 can be used in a freely bent state.

FIG. 1 shows an example of an illuminating device using the optical fiber 4 formed as described above. An elliptical reflecting mirror 25 is provided in a light source box 7 which is sealed so as not to leak light. Lamp 6 is provided. The lamp 6 is disposed in the elliptical reflecting mirror 25. An opening is provided on the upper surface of the light source box 7, and a ring-shaped mounting bracket 26 is fixedly mounted on the upper surface of the light source box 7 around the opening. A sleeve-shaped incident end fitting 27 is attached to the outer periphery of the optical fiber 4 on the light incident end 5 side.
By fixing the incident end fitting 27 to the inner periphery of the mounting fitting 26 by screwing, bonding, or the like, the light incident end 5 at the base end is fixed.
The optical fiber 4 is attached to the light source box 7 so that the optical fiber 4 faces the inside of the light source box 7 through the opening.
The optical fiber 4 is attached to the light source box 7 so that the light incident end 5 is located at the focal point of the elliptical reflecting mirror 25.

The optical fiber 4 is bent in a reverse J-shape, and a convex lens 9 is provided at the light emitting end 8 at the tip of the optical fiber 4. The convex lens 9 is attached to the optical fiber 4 by a lens fixture 28 so as to be located in front of the light emitting end 8. The convex lens 9 is not particularly limited as long as it is a spherical or aspherical condenser lens, and its shape can be appropriately selected according to a desired irradiation spot diameter. In order to increase the light-collecting efficiency by the convex lens 9, it is preferable to use a lens having a short back focus that can minimize the distance between the light emitting end 8 of the optical fiber 4 and the convex lens 9. Convex lens 9
Although there is no particular limitation on the material, glass, acrylic resin, polycarbonate, or the like can be used.

In the optical fiber illuminating apparatus according to the present invention, the light of the lamp 6 is condensed by the elliptical reflecting mirror 25 and applied to the light incident end 5 of the optical fiber 4. Since the optical fiber 4 in which the clad material 1 is formed of the silica airgel 2 or the air 3 has a light receiving angle of 180 ° at the light incident end 5 as described above, a large amount of light is incident on the optical fiber 4 from the lamp 6. End 5
, And a large amount of light can be transmitted and emitted from the light emitting end 8, and illumination can be performed with high illuminance. And optical fiber 4
If the light receiving angle is 180 °, the emission angle from the light emitting end 8 is also 180 °, and light is irradiated from the light emitting end 8 at a wide angle, but the light emitting end 8 is provided with a convex lens 9. Therefore, the light emitted from the light emitting end 8 is condensed by the convex lens 9 and can be illuminated with irradiation light whose irradiation range is narrowed to an arbitrary spot diameter.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment in which the distance between the light emitting end 8 of the optical fiber 4 and the convex lens 9 can be adjusted. The lens fixture 28 comprises a fixed body 29, a movable body 30 and It is formed with. The fixing body 29 is formed by recessing an adjusting recess 31 which is opened at the front end surface of the cylindrical body at the distal end surface, and a female screw 32 is provided on the inner periphery of the adjusting recess 31.
Further, the movable body 30 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a large-diameter hole 35 at the front end and a small-diameter hole 34 at the rear part provided with the adjusting projection 33 at the rear and communicating therewith. An external thread 36 is provided. The convex lens 9 is attached and fixed in the large-diameter hole 35. The fixed body 29 is fixedly attached to the outer periphery of the distal end of the optical fiber 4 so that the light emitting end 8 projects into the adjusting recess 31.
In a state where the light emitting end 8 of the optical fiber 4 is inserted into the female screw 4, the male screw 3 of the adjusting projection 33 is inserted into the female screw 32 of the adjusting recess 31.
The movable body 30 is mounted on the fixed body 29 by screwing the 6.

In this case, when the movable body 30 is turned to increase the screwing depth of the male screw 36 of the adjusting projection 33 with respect to the female screw 32 of the adjusting recess 31, the optical fiber 4 is turned on as shown in FIG. The distance between the light emitting end 8 and the convex lens 9 becomes shorter, and the movable body 30 is turned to adjust the concave portion 31 for adjustment.
When the screwing depth of the male screw 36 of the adjusting projection 33 with respect to the female screw 32 is reduced, the distance between the light emitting end 8 of the optical fiber 4 and the convex lens 9 increases as shown in FIG. Thus, the light emitting end 8 of the optical fiber 4 and the convex lens 9
By adjusting the distance between them, the spot diameter of illumination can be freely adjusted by changing the degree of condensing the light emitted from the light emitting end 8 by the convex lens 9. The adjustment of the distance between the convex lens 9 and the light emitting end 8 of the optical fiber 4 varies depending on the shape and the focal length of the convex lens 9 used, but may be appropriately selected. Generally, when the convex lens 9 is in contact with the light emitting end 8 of the optical fiber 4, the light emitted through the convex lens 9 has an emission angle of 180 °. When the distance is gradually increased, the irradiation angle of the emitted light can be reduced to reduce the irradiation spot diameter.

Here, as described above, the lamp 4 has the elliptical reflecting mirror 25, and the light incident end 5 of the optical fiber 4 is disposed at the focal point of the elliptical reflecting mirror 25, as shown in FIG. As shown by the broken line, the light from the lamp 4 is designed to be able to enter the optical fiber 4 at an angle within the light receiving angle of the optical fiber 4, but the light coming off the light incident end 5 of the optical fiber 4 is Since the light cannot be incident on the fiber 4, it is impossible to make maximum use of the light from the lamp 4.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6B, a convex lens 10 is arranged between the light incident end 5 of the optical fiber 4 and the lamp 6. As the convex lens 10,
A fisheye lens or other spherical or aspherical condenser lens can be used. By arranging the convex lens 10 between the light incident end 5 of the optical fiber 4 and the lamp 6 in this manner, as shown by a broken line in FIG. The light that has deviated from the light incident end 5 can be refracted by the convex lens 10 and condensed and radiated to the light incident end 5 of the core material 11 at a large angle. Since the light receiving angle of the optical fiber 4 is 180 °, all the light condensed and irradiated on the light incident end 5 is incident on the optical fiber 4 and transmitted, and more light is The light is transmitted through the fiber 4 and emitted from the light emitting end 8,
A lot of light can be used for lighting.

Further, when the optical fiber 4 is fixed to the light source box 7, a torsional stress is generated when the optical fiber 4 is moved, and the core material 11 is deformed, so that the light transmission performance may be reduced. . Therefore, in the embodiment of FIG. 7, the optical fiber 4 is attached to the light source box 7 so as to be rotatable around its axis without moving the position of the light incident end 5 of the optical fiber 4. That is, as described above, the mounting bracket 26 is provided around the opening on the upper surface of the light source box 7.
Are fixedly mounted, and the light incident end 5 of the optical fiber 4
The optical fiber 4 is attached to the light source box 7 by fixing the incident end fitting 27 attached to the outer periphery of the end on the side to the inner periphery of the attachment fitting 26. The optical fiber 4 is attached to the light incident end 5 side. Is not fixed to the incident end fitting 27 and is rotatable around an axis. The swaging sleeve 20 is located below the incident end fitting 27 and is locked to the lower end of the incident end fitting 27, and a covering member 38 attached to the outer periphery of the coating tube 12 of the optical fiber 4 is located above the incident end fitting 27. The optical fiber 4 is locked at the upper end of the incident end fitting 27 so that the optical fiber 4 does not move up and down.
Accordingly, the direction of the light emitting end 8 can be changed by freely rotating the optical fiber 4 without moving the light incident end 5, so that the optical fiber 4 is subjected to a torsional stress and the light transmission performance is reduced. It is possible to freely change the direction of illumination without any problem.

The lamp 6 generates heat, and the heat acts on the optical fiber 4.
Is formed of a transparent soft resin, it is necessary to suppress a rise in the temperature of the light incident end 5 of the optical fiber 4 from the viewpoint of its heat resistance temperature. Therefore, in this case, as shown in FIG. 8, between the lamp 6 and the light incident end 5 of the optical fiber 4 (the convex lens 10).
Between the lamp 6 and the convex lens 10).
Is provided with a heat shut-off means 13 for absorbing or reflecting the heat rays from the lamp 6. Glass having a function of absorbing or reflecting heat rays or general heat-resistant glass can be used as the heat blocking means. The type, the number, the thickness, and the like of the glass to be used are not particularly limited as long as the temperature of the light incident end 5 of the core material 11 of the optical fiber 4 is lower than the heat-resistant temperature.

Further, in the above-mentioned optical fiber illuminating apparatus, when the place where the light source box 7 is installed is, for example, on a carpet or a place where the light source box 7 can be directly touched by a hand, the surface of the light source box 7 is If the temperature is high, problems such as fire and burns may occur. Therefore, in this case, means for lowering the temperature of the surface of the light source box 7 is provided. FIG. 9 shows an example of the embodiment, in which the upper surface and the side surface of the light source box 7 have a double structure, and an air layer 39 opening at the lower end of the light source box 7 is formed. 3
9, a temperature lowering means 14 for lowering the temperature of the surface of the light source box 7 is formed. The temperature lowering means 14 may be formed by providing a cooling fan on the side surface of the light source box 7 or by providing a radiation fin on the side surface of the light source box 7.

[0035]

The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to examples.

Example 1 A core material 11 made of a transparent soft acrylic resin having a diameter of 6 mm and a length of 2 m (refractive index: 1.49) was mixed with silica airgel 2 powder (refractive index: 1.0
3, through a tank containing an average particle size of 250 μm)
A powder of silica airgel 2 was electrostatically attached to the outer peripheral surface of No. 1. Next, the core material 11 to which the powder of the silica airgel 2 was adhered was inserted into a coated tube 12 formed of transparent FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene resin) having an inner diameter of 7 mm, an outer diameter of 8 mm, and a length of 2 m. Thereafter, an incident end fitting 27 having an inner diameter of 8 mm, an outer diameter of 28 mm, and a length of 15 mm is extrapolated to the outer periphery of the coating tube 12 at the incident side end, and then an aluminum caulking sleeve having an inner diameter of 9 mm, an outer diameter of 10 mm, and a length of 10 mm. 20 is attached to the outer periphery of the incident side end of the coated tube 12, and the caulked portion is caulked using a circular crimper having a width of 1 mm, and the incident end of the coated tube 12 is fixed to the incident side end of the core material 11. did. Then
An aluminum caulking sleeve 20 having an inner diameter of 9 mm, an outer diameter of 10 mm, and a length of 40 mm was attached to the outer periphery of the emission side end of the coating tube 12, and was caulked with a crimper at a position 35 mm from the light emission end 8. The emission end was fixed to the emission-side end of the core material 11. Thus, an optical fiber 4 having the silica airgel 2 as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, an aspherical hemispherical convex lens 9 having a diameter of 10 mm is mounted on a lens mount 28 composed of a fixed body 29 and a movable body 30 shown in FIG. 9 was attached. The position of the lens mount 28 can be adjusted within a range of 5 mm from the position where the convex lens 9 contacts the light emitting end 8 by rotating the movable body 30.

Inside the light source box 7, a 20W halogen lamp 6 (JCR12V20W) with an elliptical reflecting mirror 25,
Heat shielding means 1 made of 1 mm thick heat ray absorbing glass
4 and a convex lens 10 formed of a hemispherical lens having a diameter of 15 mm. The optical fiber 4 was attached to the light source box 7 as shown in FIG.

In the optical fiber lighting device manufactured as described above, the convex lens 9 is connected to the light emitting end 8 of the optical fiber 4.
From the state in contact with, the light was separated by 1 mm up to a maximum of 5 mm, and the illuminance and irradiation diameter of the emitted light immediately below 30 cm were measured. Table 1 shows the results.

[0040]

[Table 1] Example 2 A core material 11 made of a transparent soft acrylic resin (refractive index: 1.49) having a diameter of 6 mm and a length of 2 m is coated with a transparent FEP having an inner diameter of 7 mm, an outer diameter of 8 mm and a length of 2 m. It was inserted into the tube 12. Thereafter, the inner diameter is 8 mm and the outer diameter is
The incident end fitting 27 having a length of 8 mm and a length of 15 mm is extrapolated, and then an aluminum caulking sleeve 20 having an inner diameter of 9 mm, an outer diameter of 10 mm, and a length of 10 mm is attached to the outer periphery of the incident side end of the coating tube 12. The incident end of the coating tube 12 was fixed to the incident end of the core material 11 using a circular crimper having a width of 1 mm. Next, an aluminum caulking sleeve 20 having an inner diameter of 9 mm, an outer diameter of 10 mm, and a length of 40 mm was attached to the outer periphery of the emission side end of the coating tube 12, and caulked with a crimper at a position 35 mm from the light emission end 8, The emission end of the core 12 was fixed to the emission-side end of the core material 11. Thus, an optical fiber 4 using the air 3 as the cladding material 1 as shown in FIG. 4 was produced.

Thereafter, in the same manner as in Example 1, the convex lens 9 was attached to the optical fiber 4 and the optical fiber 4 was attached to the light source box 7, thereby producing an optical fiber lighting device.

In the optical fiber lighting device manufactured as described above, the convex lens 9 is connected to the light emitting end 8 of the optical fiber 4.
From the state in contact with, the light was separated by 1 mm up to a maximum of 5 mm, and the illuminance and irradiation diameter of the emitted light immediately below 30 cm were measured. Table 2 shows the results.

[0043]

[Table 2] (Comparative example) Example 1 except that the outer periphery of the core material 11 was coated with a 20 μm-thick fluororesin having a refractive index of 1.40 instead of silica airgel as the clad material 1.
In the same manner as in Example 1, an optical fiber 4 was produced, and in the same manner as in Example 1, a convex lens 9 was attached to the optical fiber 4 and the optical fiber 4 was attached to the light source box 7 to produce an optical fiber lighting device.

In this comparative example, before the convex lens 9 was attached, the illuminance immediately below 30 cm was 750 lux, and the irradiation diameter was 350 mm. Next, the convex lens 9
Was mounted and moved in the same manner as in Example 1, but the irradiation diameter was 3
It could not be spread over 50 cm.

As can be seen from the results of the first and second embodiments and the comparative example, the first and second embodiments have a large amount of emitted light, so that the illuminance immediately below is high, and the irradiation by moving the position of the convex lens 9 is performed. It is confirmed that the range can be freely controlled.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention, the light incident end of an optical fiber formed of silica airgel or air in which the clad material is made of a porous skeleton of silica is connected to a light source box containing a lamp. Since a convex lens is provided at the light exit end of the fiber, the light receiving angle at the light entrance end of the optical fiber made of silica aerogel or air with a low refractive index is 180 °, and a large amount of light from the lamp is transmitted from the light entrance end. The optical fiber can be made to enter the optical fiber and transmit a large amount of light to be emitted from the light emitting end.
°, the emitted light can be condensed by a convex lens and irradiated, and the light irradiation range can be freely controlled.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the distance between the light emitting end of the optical fiber and the convex lens is adjustable, the light is emitted from the light emitting end by adjusting the distance between the light emitting end of the optical fiber and the convex lens. Change the degree of light collection
In the invention according to claim 3, the convex lens is arranged between the light incident end of the optical fiber and the lamp, so that the light from the lamp is refracted by the convex lens. The light can be condensed and made incident on the light incident end of the core material, and more light can be transmitted through an optical fiber and emitted from the light emitting end, so that more light can be used for illumination. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the optical fiber is formed of a core material made of a transparent soft resin, a clad material made of silica airgel or air around the core material, and a soft coated tube covering the outer periphery of the clad material. Since both ends of the covering tube are caulked and fixed to the core material, the core material and the covering tube can be freely bent, and the optical fiber can be used in a state of being freely bent.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the optical fiber is rotatably mounted on the light source box around its axis, the optical fiber can be freely rotated, and the optical fiber is subjected to a torsional stress to transmit light. The direction of illumination can be freely changed without deteriorating performance.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, since the heat blocking means for absorbing or reflecting the heat rays of the lamp is provided between the light incident end of the optical fiber and the lamp, the lamp is provided on the core material made of a transparent soft resin. Of the core material can be reduced, and thermal deterioration of the core material can be suppressed.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the light source box,
The provision of a temperature lowering means for lowering the temperature of the outer surface of the light source box prevents the surface of the light source box from becoming hot due to the heat of the lamp, thereby preventing fires and burns from occurring. Is what you can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show an example of the optical fiber used in the above, wherein FIG. 2A is a side sectional view and FIG. 2B is a front sectional view.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of the optical fiber.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show another example of the optical fiber used in the above, in which FIG. 4A is a side sectional view and FIG. 4B is a front sectional view.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show end portions on the light emitting end side of the optical fiber, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are front sectional views, respectively.

FIG. 6 shows each example of the above embodiment,
(A), (b) is a schematic sectional view, respectively.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an example of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cladding material 2 Silica airgel 3 Air 4 Optical fiber 5 Light incidence end 6 Lamp 7 Light source box 8 Light emission end 9 Convex lens 10 Convex lens 11 Core material 12 Coated tube 13 Heat insulation means 14 Temperature reduction means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Mikio Kiyo 1048 Kadoma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. 72) Inventor Nobuaki Yabunouchi 1048 Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Pref. Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. (72) Inventor Kenji Sonoda 1048 Kadoma, Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Pref. AA54 BA45 2H050 AB04Y AB43X AB45X AC03 AC86 AC90 BB08Q BB09Q BB10Q BB14Q

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A light incident end of an optical fiber formed of silica airgel or air whose cladding material is made of a porous skeleton of silica is connected to a light source box containing a lamp,
An optical fiber illuminating device comprising a convex lens at a light emitting end of an optical fiber. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the light emitting end of the optical fiber and the convex lens is adjustable.
The optical fiber lighting device according to claim 1. 3. A lens according to claim 1, wherein a convex lens is arranged between the light incident end of the optical fiber and the lamp.
The optical fiber lighting device according to claim 1. 4. An optical fiber comprising: a transparent soft resin core material;
2. A cladding material comprising silica airgel or air on the outer periphery thereof, and a soft covering tube for covering the outer periphery of the cladding material, wherein both ends of the covering tube are caulked and fixed to the core material. The optical fiber lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The light source box according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber is rotatably attached to the light source box around its axis.
The optical fiber lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The optical fiber illumination according to claim 1, further comprising a heat blocking means for absorbing or reflecting a heat ray of the lamp between the light incident end of the optical fiber and the lamp. apparatus. 7. The optical fiber illuminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light source box is provided with a temperature lowering means for lowering the temperature of the outer surface of the light source box.