JP2002162670A - Illumination unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily exchange a light emitting diode in an illumination unit used for an optical device. SOLUTION: The illumination unit 10 has a mounting case 11 having an irradiation port 12 at its front end, a holder section 13 which is disposed in the mounting case 11, a through-hole 14 which is disposed in the holder section 13 and the light emitting diode 15 which is freely attachably and detachably mounted in the through-hole 14. The mounting case 11 is formed to a divided type so as to make the light emitting diode 15 attachable and detachable into and from the through-hole 14 from an axial direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an illumination unit to be attached to an optical device such as a camera, and more particularly to an illumination unit having a light emitting diode detachably attached so as to be adaptable to an illumination object having various properties.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the manufacturing process of precision instruments and the like, C
The position of an object is measured using an optical device having a photographing unit such as a CD camera, and operations such as automatic positioning are performed. An illumination unit for illuminating the object is attached to the optical device, and the reflected light from the object illuminated by the illumination unit is photographed by a CCD camera to measure the position of the object. The illumination system of the optical device includes coaxial epi-illumination using a half mirror and diffuse illumination. Coaxial epi-illumination is more frequently used due to downsizing and the like.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining an example of an optical device using coaxial epi-illumination conventionally employed. The optical device 1 includes a T-shaped cylindrical main body 2, an imaging unit 3 mounted on one end of the main body 2, an illumination unit 4 mounted on the side of the main body, and a half mirror 5 provided inside the main body 2.
It has. Light from an illumination unit 4 containing a light source such as a halogen lamp is introduced into the main body 2 from a light guide 6 composed of an optical fiber bundle, reflected by a half mirror 5 and irradiated on an object 7. The reflected light from the object 7 passes through the half mirror 5 and enters the imaging unit 3, where a position mark or the like is detected. Reference numeral 8 denotes a power cable.

However, since it is difficult to reduce the size and weight of a lighting unit using a halogen lamp or a light guide, a lighting unit using a light emitting diode as shown in FIG. The lighting unit 4 containing the light emitting diodes is directly attached to the side of the T-shaped main body 2 with a fixing tool. The light of the light emitting diode is reflected by the half mirror 5 and irradiates the object 7, and the reflected light passes through the half mirror 5 and enters the imaging unit 3. As described above, the device using the light emitting diode makes it easy to reduce the size and weight of the device.

An illumination unit 4 indicated by a dotted line on the left side of FIG. 6 is used for diffuse illumination, and is provided instead of the illumination unit 4 on the right side of the drawing. Light from the illumination unit 4 containing the light emitting diode is diffused by the diffusion lens 9, and the diffused light is irradiated on the object 7. The reflected light from the object 7 passes through the half mirror 5 and passes through the photographing unit 3.
Incident on. Such diffuse illumination has a limit in making the apparatus compact as compared with coaxial incident illumination, but is effective when the surface of the object 7 is a rough surface or a surface having irregularities.

However, the illumination unit 4 used for coaxial epi-illumination as shown in FIG. 6 needs to be replaced with one having a different specification depending on the object. For example, when the position mark of the object to be photographed is reddish, it is difficult to detect the position mark with a light emitting diode having a reddish wavelength. Therefore, in such a case, it is necessary to replace the illumination unit 4 with a light-emitting diode having another wavelength capable of detecting the red-based position mark with good contrast.

If the object to be photographed is a neutral color, it is necessary to use an illumination unit 4 containing a plurality of light emitting diodes having different wavelengths in order to conform to the object. Then, by individually adjusting the voltage to be supplied to the plurality of light emitting diodes, the irradiation light having the optimum wavelength distribution for detecting the intermediate color of the photographing target is synthesized. Further, depending on the object to be photographed, the light emission intensity of the light emitting diode may need to be increased. In such a case, it is necessary to use a commercially available lighting unit 4 containing a plurality of light emitting diodes having the same wavelength and having a standard light emitting intensity. Further, when the light emitting diode deteriorates, the lighting unit 4 must be replaced. Further, the size of the mounting portion of the illumination unit 4 in the main body 2 may be different depending on the optical device.

However, in the conventional lighting unit 4 shown in FIG. 6, the light emitting diode is integrally fixed and accommodated in a case by a resin mold or the like. When deteriorated, the entire lighting unit 4 had to be removed from the main body 2 of the optical device 1 and replaced with another intended lighting unit 4. When lighting units 4 having different wavelengths and light emission intensities are required, it is necessary to prepare such various lighting units in advance. Further, when the mounting dimensions of the main body 2 are different for each optical device 1,
It was necessary to prepare various lighting units 4 that fit the dimensions.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve such a problem in the conventional lighting unit. Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide an illumination unit that can easily replace only a light emitting diode when illuminating an imaging target whose wavelength needs to be changed or when a light emitting diode is deteriorated. . Further, a second object of the present invention is to provide an illumination unit that can support optical devices having different mounting dimensions.
Further, a third object of the present invention is to provide a lighting unit that can easily add a light emitting diode or mount a plurality of light emitting diodes when irradiating light with a change in emission intensity or a combination of a plurality of wavelengths. is there.

[0010]

That is, the present invention relates to an illumination unit to be mounted on an optical device, comprising a mounting case having an irradiation port at the tip, a holder provided in the mounting case, and a holder provided in the holder. And a light emitting diode detachably attached to the through hole. The mounting case is of a split type so that the light emitting diode can be attached to and detached from the through hole in the axial direction (claim 1). In the lighting unit, the diameter of the mounting case can be reduced stepwise toward the front end.

In any one of the above lighting units, a plurality of through holes can be provided (claim 3). In this lighting unit, a plurality of light emitting diodes having different wavelengths can be attached to the plurality of through holes, respectively. In any of the above lighting units,
There is provided a diffuser for diffusing irradiation light of the light emitting diode, and the diffuser can be detachably attached to the irradiation port side of the mounting case.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of a lighting unit according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the internal structure thereof. In these figures, 10 is a lighting unit, 11 is a mounting case, 12 is an irradiation port, 13 is a holder, 14 is a through hole, 15 is a light emitting diode, 16 is a connection part, and 17 is a first part.
, 18 is a second step, 19 is a condenser lens, 2
Reference numeral 0 denotes a diffusion unit, 21 denotes a connector, 22 denotes a terminal, 23 denotes a power cable, 24 denotes a front cylinder, 25 denotes a rear cylinder, 26 denotes an insertion hole, and 27 denotes a fixture.

The mounting case 11 is made of hard plastic or metal or the like, and has a first stepped portion 17 and a second stepped portion 18 in the middle, a front cylindrical body 24 having the irradiation port 12 formed at the end, and a bottom portion. It is constituted by a bottomed rear cylinder 25 having an insertion hole 26 through which the power cable 23 is inserted. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the terminals 22 of the respective light emitting diodes 15 are inserted into a plurality of sockets provided at the end of the power cable 23 inserted into the insertion holes 26, and are connected with one touch. . The connecting portion 14 is formed between the rear end of the front cylinder 24 and the front end of the rear cylinder 25, and the front end is inserted into the rear end to fix the fixture 27 such as a set screw.
To connect the front cylinder 24 and the rear cylinder 25. By providing the connection portion 14, the mounting case can be divided into two parts in the left and right directions in the figure.

The holder 13 is made of the same material as the mounting case 11, and is provided in the front cylindrical body 24 by integral molding, bonding, welding or the like. The holder portion 13 is provided with three through holes 15 in the circumferential direction, for example, at an interval of 120 degrees, and the light emitting diodes 15 having different wavelengths, for example, red, blue and yellow light emitting diodes 15 are provided in each through hole 14 in the axial direction. Attached to. The axis of each through hole 14 corresponds to the optical axis of the mounted light emitting diode 15.
9 is converged. Each light emitting diode 1
The irradiation light of No. 5 is condensed by the condensing lens 18, further diffused by the diffusing portion 20 formed of a diffusing plate, and radiated to the outside from the irradiation port 12 which is an optical opening.

The irradiation lights having different wavelengths from the respective light emitting diodes 15 are diffused by the diffusion section 20 in this manner, and become uniform white light. Therefore, this example is applied to a case where the object to be photographed can be detected favorably by white light. However, by changing the voltage of each light emitting diode 15 and the like, irradiation light suitable for various intermediate colors can be synthesized. When the object to be imaged can be detected with a single wavelength, the light-emitting diode 15 having a wavelength suitable for only one of the three through holes 14 in the holder 13 can be used. In addition, although it is possible to detect the imaging target with a single wavelength,
When a higher light emission intensity is required, two or three light emitting diodes 15 having the same wavelength can be mounted and used.

The number of through holes 14 provided in the holder 13 is not particularly limited, and only one may be provided according to the purpose.
Four or more can also be provided. When only one through-hole 14 is provided, the condenser lens 19 can be omitted.

In order to mount the light emitting diode 15 on the holder 13 from the axial direction, first, the fixing member 27 is loosened and the rear cylinder 25 is detached from the front cylinder 24, and then the light emitting diode 15 to be used is removed. After being inserted into the through hole 14 from the tip, the terminal 22 is inserted into the socket of the power cable 23 and connected. Then, the rear cylinder 25 is inserted into the front cylinder 24 again, and the two are fastened by the fixture 27. When the light emitting diode 15 is replaced, the terminal 21 of the light emitting diode 15 to be replaced is removed from the socket of the power cable 23, pulled out and removed from the through hole 14, and another light emitting diode 15 is inserted into the through hole 14. What is necessary is just to connect to the said socket of the power cable 23.

In the example of FIG. 1, since the first step 17 and the second step 18 are provided in the mounting case 11 (specifically, the front cylindrical body 25), the illumination of the main body in the optical device is performed. Even when the mounting portions of the units are different, it is possible to cope with three types of mounting portions having different diameters. That is, the first step 17 and the second step 18 are located behind the first step 17.
And a mounting portion having a diameter suitable for the respective outer diameters of the intermediate portion and the front portion of the second stepped portion 18. However, depending on the case, only one of the first step portion 17 and the second step portion 18 may be provided in the mounting case 11, and conversely, the step portion may be provided in three or more stages. Further, there may be a case where no step is provided. The illumination unit 10 can be suitably used for an optical device using coaxial incident illumination shown in FIG.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a diffuser used when the diffused illumination shown by the dotted line in FIG. 6 is adopted. FIG. 3A is a sectional view, and FIG. 3B is a right side view thereof. FIG. 4 is a front view of the lighting unit 10 equipped with the diffuser. The diffuser 28 includes a cylindrical body 29 and a diffusing lens 30 mounted inside the cylindrical body 29.
The size of the step portion 18 is adapted to the front outside diameter. Then, by inserting or removing the front portion of the second step portion 18 from / to the cylindrical body 29, the diffuser 28 can be attached / detached to / from the irradiation port 12 side of the illumination unit 10. Note that an inner thread portion may be formed in the cylindrical body 29, and an outer thread portion may be formed on the outer diameter of the front portion of the second step portion 18, and both may be screwed together.

[0020]

As described above, the lighting unit of the present invention has the following features.
A mounting case having an irradiation port at the tip, a holder provided in the mounting case, a through hole provided in the holder, and a light emitting diode removably mounted in the through hole, the mounting case emits light. The diode is of a split type so that it can be attached to and detached from the through hole in the axial direction. Therefore, when illuminating the imaging target whose wavelength needs to be changed, or when the light emitting diode is deteriorated, the light emitting diode can be easily replaced while the illumination unit is attached to the optical device. Therefore, the number of types of lighting units can be reduced, and the time and labor for use and maintenance are simplified.

In the above-mentioned lighting unit, the diameter of the mounting case can be reduced stepwise toward the front end, whereby the lighting units of the same mounting case can be used for optical devices having different mounting dimensions. There is no need to prepare. In any one of the above lighting units, a plurality of through holes can be provided. Thereby, irradiation lights having different wavelength distributions can be easily combined and irradiated, and the emission intensity can be easily adjusted. Further, in any one of the above lighting units, the lighting unit further includes a diffuser for diffusing irradiation light of the light emitting diode,
The diffuser can be detachably attached to the irradiation port side of the attachment case. Thereby, the lighting unit of the present invention can be used in a diffuse lighting system.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of a lighting unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a diffuser used in the lighting unit of the present invention and a right side view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing, as a partial cross section, a state in which the diffuser of FIG. 3 is mounted on the lighting unit of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conventional optical device using coaxial epi-illumination.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another example of an optical device using conventional coaxial incident illumination.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical device 2 Main body 3 Imaging part 4 Illumination unit 5 Half mirror 6 Light conductor 7 Target object 8 Power cable 9 Diffusion lens 10 Illumination unit 11 Mounting case 12 Illumination port 13 Holder part 14 Through hole 15 Light emitting diode 16 Connection part 17th 1 stepped portion 18 second stepped portion 19 condensing lens 20 diffuser 21 connector 22 terminal 23 power cable 24 front cylinder 25 rear cylinder 26 insertion hole 27 fixing tool 28 diffuser 29 cylinder 30 diffusion lens

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An illumination unit 10 attached to an optical device, wherein the attachment case 1 has an irradiation port 12 at a tip.
1 and a holder 1 provided in the mounting case 11 thereof.
3, a through hole 14 provided in the holder portion 13, and a light emitting diode 15 removably attached to the through hole 14.
Wherein the mounting case 11 is of a split type so that the light emitting diode 15 can be attached to and detached from the through hole 14 in the axial direction. 2. The lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein the diameter of the mounting case is reduced stepwise toward the tip. 3. The lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of through holes are provided. 4. The lighting unit according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of light emitting diodes having different wavelengths are attached to the plurality of through holes. 5. The light-emitting device according to claim 1, further comprising a diffuser for diffusing light emitted from the light-emitting diode, wherein the diffuser is removably attached to the irradiation port of the mounting case. The lighting unit as described.