JP2005347409A - Light projector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cool a light emitting diode and, simultaneously, to prevent light quantity decline due to adhesion of outgas-carried foreign matters. <P>SOLUTION: The light projector main body 10 comprises a lens holder 11 and a receptacle holder 12. A cooling gas is introduced through a pipe joint 14 into the main body 10 at an introducing section 13 provided in the receptacle holder 12. The cooling gas after passing through gaps between the lens holder 11 and the first lens 3A, the second lens 3B, or a spacer 4B flows out of an opening at the end of the lens holder 11. Light quantity decline due to stains on the second lens 3B is prevented because foreign matters carried aboard the outgas produced during the photosetting process using the light emitting diode 2 are blown away by the cooling gas flowing out of the opening for preventing the foreign matters from adhering to the second lens 3B. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a light irradiation apparatus using a light emitting diode as a light source, and more particularly to a light irradiation apparatus suitable for use in an ultraviolet curing apparatus that irradiates ultraviolet rays to cure a photocurable resin.

  Conventionally, in an ultraviolet curing device that irradiates and cures light such as ultraviolet rays to a photocurable resin, a light irradiation device using a discharge lamp or a laser oscillator as a light source has been used, but recently, a light emitting diode is used as a light source. Light irradiation devices are becoming widespread. When the light emitting diode is used as the light source, the most serious problem is heat generated from the light emitting diode. That is, the light emitting diode has a higher light emission efficiency at a low temperature, and the light emission efficiency decreases as the temperature increases, and the energy of the irradiated light also decreases.

On the other hand, the present applicant sealed a plurality of light emitting diodes mounted on a substrate in a container made of a material having translucency, and the light emitting diodes were filled with a liquid such as water or alcohol filled in the container. A light irradiation device (illumination device) that suppresses a decrease in luminous efficiency by cooling has already been proposed (see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-11-163410

  By the way, when the photocurable resin is cured, a phenomenon in which the liquid component contained in the photocurable resin is volatilized, that is, so-called outgas may be generated. Or a condensing lens, etc.) causing a problem such as a decrease in the amount of light.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a light irradiation apparatus capable of cooling a light emitting diode and at the same time preventing a decrease in the amount of light due to adhesion of foreign matter generated by outgas.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a light irradiation device that irradiates a photocurable resin with light for curing, and emits light using one or more light emitting diodes as a light source. A light emitting portion, and a main body formed in a cylindrical shape and containing the light emitting portion in the vicinity of the inner tip, the main body including an introduction portion for introducing a cooling gas into the interior, and a cooling gas introduced from the introduction portion And a flow channel for flowing the gas flowing in the flow channel toward the surface of the light-emitting unit exposed from the tip of the main body or the front region thereof.

  According to the present invention, the light emitting diode is cooled by the gas introduced into the main body from the outside, and at the same time, the cooling gas is caused to flow out toward the surface of the light emitting part or the front region thereof by the outflow means, thereby being generated by outgas. Thus, it is possible to prevent the foreign matter from adhering to the surface of the light emitting part and to prevent the light quantity from decreasing.

  The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, the light emitting section has one or more lenses for condensing the light of the light emitting diode.

  According to the present invention, when the light emitting unit has a lens, the gas flowing out from the outflow means can prevent foreign matter from adhering to the lens and prevent the light quantity from decreasing.

  The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1 or 2, the light-emitting diode is made of a good heat conductor and fixed at the tip, and a support member is provided in the flow path of the main body. To do.

  According to the present invention, since the support member that supports the light emitting diode is formed of a good heat conductor, heat dissipation of the heat generated by the light emitting diode can be promoted.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second, or third aspect of the present invention, the main body causes the part of the gas flowing in the flow path to flow out to a portion other than the surface of the light emitting portion and the front region thereof. It is characterized by having.

  According to this invention, the flow rate of the gas flowing out from the outflow means can be adjusted according to the flow rate of the gas flowing out from the second outflow means.

  According to the present invention, the light emitting diode is cooled with the gas introduced into the main body from the outside, and at the same time, the cooling gas is caused to flow out toward the surface of the light emitting part or the front region thereof by the outflow means, thereby being generated by outgas. This prevents the foreign matter from adhering to the surface of the light emitting part and prevents the light quantity from decreasing.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a light irradiation apparatus of this embodiment. The light irradiation device includes a light emitting unit 1 that emits light using one light emitting diode 2 as a light source, and a main body 10 that is formed in a cylindrical shape and accommodates the light emitting unit 1 near the inner tip.

  The light emitting unit 1 includes first and second lenses 3A and 3B and first and second spacers 4A and 4B in addition to the surface-mounted light emitting diode 2. The first and second lenses 3A and 3B are the same, and are made of plano-convex lenses as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the first spacer 4 </ b> A is formed in a cylindrical shape by a metal material, and has one end surface in the axial direction in contact with the tip surface of the LED holder 5 described later, and the other end surface in the axial direction is the first It arrange | positions so that it may contact | abut to the plane of the lens 3A, and it has the role which keeps the distance of the light emitting diode 2 and the 1st lens 3A constant. The second spacer 4B is formed of a metal material in a cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. 4 and has an axial length shorter than that of the first spacer 4A. The first and second lenses 3A are in contact with the spherical surface of the first lens 3A and the other end surface in the axial direction is in contact with the spherical surface of the second lens 3B. It plays the role of keeping the distance between the lenses 3A and 3B constant.

  On the other hand, the main body 10 includes a lens holder 11 and a receptacle holder 12. As shown in FIG. 5, the lens holder 11 is formed in a cylindrical shape having both ends opened by a metal material, and an inner flange 11a is provided at the opening on the front end side, and an internal thread 11b is provided on the inner peripheral surface on the rear end side. It has been. As shown in FIG. 6, the receptacle holder 12 has a cylindrical thread portion 12a formed with a male thread on the outer peripheral surface and having an outer diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the lens holder 11, and a cylindrical shape concentric with the thread portion 12a. Is made of a metal material having a barrel portion 12b substantially equal to the outer diameter of the lens holder 11, and a cylindrical portion concentric with the screw portion 12a and the barrel portion 12b and having an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the barrel portion 12b. Are integrally formed. However, the inner diameters of the screw portion 12a, the body portion 12b, and the large diameter portion 12c are the same.

  A female screw 12d is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the rear end side of the large-diameter portion 12c. The receptacle 21 is detachably attached to the rear end of the large diameter portion 12c. The other end of the two lead wires 30 each having one end connected to the anode and cathode of the light emitting diode 2 is soldered to a terminal (not shown) provided on the rear end side of the male threaded portion 21a of the receptacle 21. Connected by A plug 22 (for example, HR10A-7P-4S manufactured by Hirose Electric Co., Ltd.) is detachably attached to the receptacle 21, and DC power is supplied to the light emitting diode 2 through the connector 20 including the plug 22 and the receptacle 21.

  The large-diameter portion 12c is provided with an introduction portion 13 having a hole penetrating inward and outward in the radial direction and having an internal thread formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof, and a cooling gas is introduced through the pipe joint 14 into the introduction portion. 13 is introduced into the receptacle holder 12. The pipe joint 14 is a conventionally known one (for example, a speed controller AS1211F-M3-04S with one-touch pipe fitting manufactured by SMC Corporation) equipped with an adjustment mechanism (so-called “speed controller”) for adjusting the flow rate of gas flowing in from the outside. Then, the male screw part 14a provided on the outflow side is screwed into the introduction part 13 of the large diameter part 12c, and is attached to the receptacle holder 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the LED holder 5 as a support member is formed in a cylindrical shape entirely by a metal (for example, aluminum) which is a good conductor of heat, and a recess 5 a for fitting the light emitting diode 2 is an axis. It is provided on the bottom surface at one end in the direction. Further, lateral grooves 5b and 5c are provided on the bottom surface of the recess 5a at positions facing the anode and cathode terminals of the light emitting diode 2, respectively, and the LED holder 5 has a circumferential surface on the other end side along the axial direction. The vertical grooves 5d and 5e reaching the bottom surface are provided at positions symmetrical with respect to the central axis, and the horizontal groove 5b and the vertical groove 5d and the horizontal groove 5c and the vertical groove 5e are communicated with each other. That is, the lead wires 30 soldered to the anode and cathode terminals provided on the back side of the light emitting diode 2 are respectively accommodated in the horizontal groove 5b and the vertical groove 5d, and the horizontal groove 5c and the vertical groove 5e, respectively. (See FIG. 1).

  Thus, the light irradiation apparatus of this embodiment is assembled in the following procedure. First, the light emitting section 1 is inserted into the lens holder 11 in the order of the second lens 3B, the second spacer 4B, the first lens 3A, and the first spacer 4A, and the light emitting diode to which the lead wire 30 is further connected. The LED holder 5 in which 2 is fitted in the recess 5a is inserted in such a direction that the bottom surface on the recess 5a side comes into contact with the first spacer 4A. Next, as shown in FIG. 9, a cylindrical fixing screw 6 having a male screw on the outer peripheral surface is screwed into a female screw 11 b of the lens holder 11, and a pair of fitting grooves 6 a formed on the periphery of the fixing screw 6. A light tool 1 is held between the inner collar 11a of the lens holder 11 and the fixing screw 6 by fitting a tool into the screw and screwing the fixing screw 6 toward the tip of the lens holder 11 using this tool. To fix (see FIG. 1). Subsequently, the two lead wires 30 are inserted into the receptacle holder 12, and the screw portion 12 a is screwed into the female screw 11 b of the lens holder 11 to couple the receptacle holder 12 to the lens holder 11. Then, the other end of the lead wire 30 is soldered to the terminal of the receptacle 21, and the male screw portion 21 a of the receptacle 21 is screwed to the female screw 12 d of the receptacle holder 12 to couple them together. Finally, when the male threaded portion 14a of the pipe joint 14 is screwed into the introduction portion 13 of the receptacle holder 12 and coupled, the light irradiation device is completed. In actual use, a plug 22 is connected to the receptacle 21 to pass a direct current through the light emitting diode 2 and a cooling gas is introduced into the main body 10 through a pipe connected to the pipe joint 14.

  The heat generated from the light emitting diode 2 by energization is transferred to the LED holder 5, and further transferred from the LED holder 5 to the lens holder 11 formed of a metal material such as aluminum and radiated outside the main body 10. Then, a cooling gas is introduced into the main body 10 via the pipe joint 14, and the longitudinal grooves 5 d and 5 e formed on the peripheral surface of the LED holder 5, the peripheral surface of the LED holder 5, and the inner periphery of the lens holder 11. A gap generated between the surfaces serves as a flow path, and the cooling gas reaches the light emitting unit 1, and the light emitting diode 2, the LED holder 5, and the lens holder 11 are cooled by the gas. Heat dissipation through the holder 11 is promoted.

  Here, the cooling gas passing through the flow path passes through the gap between the first and second lenses 3A and 3B, the second spacer 4B and the lens holder 11, and flows out from the opening at the tip of the lens holder 11. become. At this time, the gas is caused to flow out toward the surface of the light emitting unit 1 or the front region thereof by the inner flange 11a provided in the lens holder 11. That is, the gap between the first and second lenses 3A and 3B or the second spacer 4B and the lens holder 11 and the inner collar 11a provided in the lens holder 11 supply the cooling gas to the front surface of the light emitting unit 1 or the front region thereof. It becomes the outflow means to make it flow toward. The flow rate of the gas flowing through the flow path and the amount of gas flowing out from the outflow means can be adjusted by the flow rate adjusting mechanism of the pipe joint 14.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the light emitting diode 2 is cooled by the gas introduced into the main body 10 from the outside, and at the same time, the cooling gas flows out toward the front surface of the light emitting unit 1 or the front area thereof by the outflow means. Thus, when the light-emitting diode 2 is cured by light, the foreign matter generated by the outgas of the photocurable resin is blown off by the gas that has flowed out to prevent the foreign matter from adhering to the second lens 3B. It is possible to prevent a decrease in light amount due to dirt. The gas flowing out from the outflow means may be blown directly onto the surface of the light emitting unit 1 (second lens 3B) exposed to the outside from the opening at the front end of the main body 10, or may flow out to the front region of the second lens 3B. In this case, a so-called air curtain may be formed, and in which direction the air curtain is allowed to flow out can be set by the shape of the inner flange 11a, for example. Here, the cooling gas introduced into the main body 10 may be compressed air, air that is sufficiently low in temperature compared to room temperature, or air that includes air ions generated by a static elimination blower or the like. There is also an advantage that the object to be irradiated with light can be neutralized to prevent dust and dust from adhering due to static electricity.

  In addition, when it is not desirable to blow gas strongly on the object irradiated with light, as shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of through-holes 11c are provided in the peripheral wall of the lens holder 11 facing the first spacer 4A, If a part of the gas that has flowed to the outside flows out toward the surface of the light emitting unit 1 and other than the front region thereof (side of the main body 10 in the illustrated example), the gas flows out from the second outflow means including the through hole 11c. The flow rate of the gas flowing out from the outflow means can be adjusted according to the flow rate.

It is sectional drawing of this embodiment. The 1st and 2nd lens in the same is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a left view. The 1st spacer in the same is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a left sectional view. The 2nd spacer in the same is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a left sectional view. The lens holder in the above is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a right sectional view. The receptacle holder in the same as above is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a right sectional view, and (c) is a rear view. The LED holder in the same as above is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a right side view, and (c) is a rear view. It is a perspective view of the LED holder in the same as the above. The fixing screw in the above is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a left side view. It is sectional drawing which shows the other structure of the lens holder in the same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Light emission part 2 Light emitting diode 3 Lens 5 LED holder 10 Main body 11 Lens holder 12 Receptacle holder 12c Large diameter part 13 Introduction part 14 Pipe joint

Claims (4)

  A light irradiation device that irradiates a photocurable resin with light for curing, a light emitting unit that emits light using one or more light emitting diodes as a light source, and a light emitting unit that is formed in a cylindrical shape and emits light in the vicinity of an inner tip. And a main body, the main body includes an introduction portion that introduces a cooling gas into the interior, a flow passage that allows the cooling gas introduced from the introduction portion to flow to the light emitting portion, and a gas that flows through the flow passage A light emitting device characterized by having an outflow means for flowing out toward a surface of the light emitting portion exposed from the front end of the main body or a front region thereof.   The light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit includes one or more lenses that collect light from the light emitting diode.   3. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a support member made of a good heat conductor and having a light emitting diode fixed at a tip portion and disposed in a flow path of the main body.   4. The light irradiation according to claim 1, wherein the main body has second outflow means for allowing a part of the gas flowing in the flow path to flow out to a portion other than the surface of the light emitting portion and the front region thereof. apparatus.

Images