JP2009231023A - Light irradiating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a light irradiating device 100 having a structure that is easy to manufacture, is kept compact, and has a heat dissipation property, the light irradiating device having a plurality of LEDs 1 arranged in circle around an axis C1 and lenses 2 arranged respectively in front of the LEDs 1 and being configured to cause beams of light emitted from respective LEDs 1 to travel forward in a direction of approaching each other toward the axis C1 or a direction of going away from the axis C1. <P>SOLUTION: The light irradiating device includes a front lens-holding member 31 and a back lens-holding member 32 which hold the lenses 2 from at the front and back of the lenses 2. A first recession 31a is formed on the back surface of the front lens-holding member 31 so that a front side corner 2a of the lens 2 cut by a virtual plane formed of the axis C1 and a lens optical axis C2 is fitted into the first recession without backlash, and a second recession 32a is formed on the front surface of the back lens-holding member 32 so that a backside corner 2b of the lens 2 cut by the virtual plane is fitted into the second recession without backlash. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a light irradiation device used for promoting healing of an affected area or causing deformation or alteration of an object by physical or chemical action by emitted light.

  To increase the output of LEDs (including semiconductor lasers) and diversify their wavelengths, not to illuminate LEDs, but to exert physical or chemical effects on the object to be irradiated by the intensity and energy of the light. The light irradiation apparatus used has been developed.

  For example, as shown in Patent Document 1, the affected part is irradiated with light from an LED to cure or improve stiff shoulders, low back pain, atopic dermatitis, etc., or the resin is irradiated with light and cured. The thing for promoting is known.

A feature of such a light irradiation device using LEDs is that it is very compact, can be used easily and safely even in ordinary households, and is inexpensive.
JP-A-9-201422

  By the way, in the case of a configuration using a single LED and lens, the central axis of the device, that is, the optical axis as a whole and the optical axis of the LED and lens can be arranged so as to be focused on the affected area. However, in order to increase the output, when using a plurality of LEDs and lenses, each LED and lens is tilted so that their optical axes are inclined with respect to the central axis of the device. The holding structure is likely to be complicated, and the problem of heat dissipation due to multiple LEDs also arises, and the above-mentioned compactness, ease of use, or cost advantages may be lost. is there.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a light irradiation device of this type having a plurality of LEDs and lenses, and can be easily manufactured and maintain compactness by devising the lens and LED holding structure, or a structure that allows easy consideration of heat dissipation. This is the intended task.

  That is, the light irradiation device according to the present invention includes a plurality of LEDs arranged in a ring around the central axis, and a lens arranged in front of each LED, and the optical axis of each lens is the central axis. The light emitted from each LED is configured to travel in a direction that is close to the central axis or away from the central axis.

  When a front lens holding member and a rear lens holding member that sandwich and hold the lens from the front and rear are provided, and the lens is cut on the front lens holding member by a virtual plane formed by the central axis and the lens optical axis A first recess for fitting the front corner of the lens or the peripheral edge thereof without play is formed on the rear surface thereof, and the rear corner of the lens when the lens is cut on the virtual plane on the rear lens holding member. A second recess is formed on the front surface for fitting the part or its peripheral part without play.

  If it is such, it will become possible to form any recessed part of a front lens holding member and a rear lens holding member without undercuts (surface which fell more than 90 degree | times seeing from the surface in which the recessed part was provided). Therefore, it becomes possible to easily mold each holding member, and to reduce the manufacturing cost. Further, since the lens can be held only by using a pair of lens holding members, the size is not increased.

  If an LED holding hole for positioning the lens held in front of the lens is inserted into the rear lens holding member without looseness, a dedicated LED holding mechanism becomes unnecessary, and further reduction of parts is promoted. Can do.

  In order to perform heat dissipation appropriately and to reduce the number of parts and assembly man-hours, it further includes an attachment member having a plurality of radially extending arms and a heat dissipation fin attached to the bottom surface of each LED, and the attachment It is preferable that the member and the rear lens holding member are fixed to the front lens holding member or the rear lens holding member so that the LED and the radiation fin are clamped and fixed between the arm and the rear lens holding member.

  In order to easily press and fix the lens holding members without screwing, the casing is formed into a cylindrical shape that can be divided into two vertically, and a circumferential groove is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the casing. The lens holding member may be pressed against each other so that the lens is fixed with a narrow pressure by fitting the peripheral edge portion of the front and rear lens holding member into the circumferential groove.

  Specific uses include phototherapy that promotes healing of the affected area by physical and chemical action of the emitted light, and uses that cause deformation or alteration of the object by the emitted light, such as resin processing. Can be mentioned.

  As described above, according to the present invention, since the lens is tilted and held by the concave portion for holding the lens, the concave portion can be formed without an undercut (a surface that is curled by 90 ° or more when viewed from the surface where the concave portion is provided). Thus, it becomes possible to easily mold each holding member, and to reduce the manufacturing cost. Further, since the lens can be held only by using a pair of lens holding members, the structure is not enlarged or complicated.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the light irradiation device 100 according to the present invention includes a substantially cylindrical casing 6 and a grip member 7 attached to a lower portion of the casing 6. Light is emitted from one end face opening of the housing 6 to irradiate the affected area and used for promoting healing.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the housing 6 accommodates a plurality (here, three) of LEDs 1 and lenses 2 arranged in a ring around the central axis C <b> 1 of the housing 6. A holding structure for holding the LED 1 and the lens 2 and a heat dissipation structure for releasing the heat from the LED 1 are further provided.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the LED 1 includes an LED element (not shown), an element mounting board 11 on which the LED element is mounted, and a shell formed on the element mounting board 11 to mold the LED element. The transparent mold body 12 of the mold is used, and here, a type that emits infrared light is used.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the lens 2 is, for example, a plano-convex lens having a disk shape, and the plane side thereof is arranged facing the LED 1. Further, a flange 21 for holding is formed on the peripheral edge of the lens 2. In addition, a concave lens or the like may be used as the lens.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the holding structure is such that the optical axis C2 of the LED 1 and the lens 2 corresponding to the LED 1 coincides with each other, and the optical axis C2 obliquely intersects the central axis C1 of the housing 6. The optical axis C2 of each LED 1 is configured to intersect at one point on the central axis C1. With this arrangement, the light emitted from each LED 1 travels in the direction close to the central axis C1 and is collected.

  This holding structure will be described more specifically. Each lens 2 is sandwiched and held from the front and rear by a single front lens holding member 31 and a rear lens holding member 32.

  The front lens holding member 31 has a substantially disk shape, and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, three circular through-holes 31h are formed rotationally symmetrically about its axis (which coincides with the central axis C1). It is. The axis of each through hole 31 h is set parallel to the axis of the front lens holding member 31, and its inner diameter is set slightly smaller than that of the lens 2. Furthermore, the peripheral portion of the lens 2 (on the periphery of the through hole 31 h on the rear surface of the front lens holding member 31, more specifically, on the outer peripheral portion of the through hole 31 h when viewed from the center of the front lens holding member 31). Here, a first recess 31a is formed in which a part of the flange 21) is inserted without play. The bottom surface and the side surface of the first recess 31a are inclined with respect to the axis of the front lens holding member 31, and when the lens 2 is fitted in the first recess 31a as set, the lens 2 is as described above. The optical axis is held obliquely so as to intersect with the axis of the front lens holding member 31 at an angle.

  The rear lens holding member 32 has a substantially disk shape with the same diameter as the front lens holding member 31, and, like the front lens holding member 31, three circular through holes 32h are formed rotationally symmetrically about its axis. It is. The axis of each through hole 32 h is set parallel to the axis of the front lens holding member 31, and its inner diameter is set smaller than that of the lens 2. Further, the peripheral portion of the lens 2 (in the peripheral portion of the through hole 32 h on the front surface of the rear lens holding member 32, more specifically, the inner peripheral portion of the through hole 32 h as viewed from the center of the rear lens holding member 32). Here, a second recess 32a is formed in which a part of the flange 21) is inserted without play. Then, when the lens 2 is fitted into the second recess 32a as prescribed, the lens 2 is held obliquely in the same posture as that fitted into the first recess 31a.

  By the way, in order to sandwich the lens 2 between the front lens holding member 31 and the rear lens holding member 32, it is necessary to have a structure in which the lens 2 holding members are not separated from each other. A circumferential groove 6b having a width substantially equal to the thickness when the lens 2 holding members are combined is provided on the inner peripheral surface. By fitting the front lens holding member 31 and the rear lens holding member 32 in the circumferential groove 6b, the front lens holding member 31 and the rear lens holding member 32 are held in close proximity or in close contact with each other, and the lens 2 is sandwiched therebetween. To be fixed. The housing 6 can be divided vertically into two, and the lens holding members 31 and 32 are fitted into the circumferential grooves 6 b while combining the divided housings 6. When the lens 2 in this state is cut along a virtual plane formed by the central axis C1 of the housing 6 and the optical axis of the lens 2, the front corner 2a of the lens 2 is fitted into the first recess 31a without looseness. Then, the rear corner 2b of the lens 2 is fitted into the second recess 32a without play, and the lens 2 appears to be held diagonally by the first recess 31a and the second recess 32a.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the LED holding hole 32b is formed by making the inner diameter of the rear opening in the through hole 32h of the rear lens holding member 32 substantially coincide with the outer diameter of the mold body 12 of the LED1. The LED 1 is formed in the LED holding hole 32b without looseness, and the LED 1 is positioned relative to the lens 2 held in front thereof, that is, the distance with the lens 2 and the optical axis coincide with each other. .

  As a heat radiating structure, a heat radiating fin 5 that is in close contact with the bottom surface (rear surface) of each LED 1 is provided, and a fan 8 is attached to the rear end of the housing 6 further behind the heat radiating fin 5. A plurality of outside air suction holes 6 a are provided in the side peripheral wall of the housing 6, and air is sucked into the fan 8 through the heat radiation fins 5 from the outside air suction holes 6 a and discharged from the rear end opening of the housing 6. The

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the heat radiating fin 5 is a metal composed of an attachment plate 51 attached to the bottom surface of the LED 1 and a pair of main body plates 52 that bend and rise from both side edges of the attachment plate 51. Made of copper (here copper). An attachment member 4 is used to attach the heat radiation fin 5 to the LED 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the mounting member 4 uses a mounting member 4 having a core member 42 and a plurality of (three) arms 41 extending radially from the core member 42. The mounting member 4 is attached to the rear lens holding member 32 by a single screw P penetrating the center, and by fastening the screw P, each arm 41 and the heat dissipating fin 5 together with the LED 1 are attached. The rear lens holding member 32 is pressed so that the LED 1 and the radiation fin 5 are clamped and fixed between the arm 41 and the rear lens holding member 32. As described above, the heat sink fin 5 has its mounting plate 51 directly attached to the bottom surface of the LED 1. Here, the heat sink fin 5 is electrically connected to other members without contact. And is electrically connected to the anode (or cathode) of the LED 1.

  Such a light irradiation device 100 is used by pressing the light emission side end face of the housing 6 against the affected part. Therefore, the condensing position is configured to substantially match the light emitting side end surface of the housing 6.

  If this is the case, the concave portions 31a and 32a of the front lens holding member 31 and the rear lens holding member 32 are both overcut (over 90 degrees when viewed from the surface on which the concave portions 31a and 32a are provided). Therefore, the holding members 31 and 32 can be easily molded, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Further, since the plurality of lenses 2 can be held only by using the pair of lens holding members 31 and 32, a large size is not increased while achieving high power. Furthermore, since the rear lens holding member 32 is configured to hold the LED 1 and perform positioning, a dedicated LED 1 holding mechanism is not required. In addition, since the LED 1 and the heat radiating fin 5 are simultaneously attached to the rear lens holding member 32 by the attachment member 4, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and the number of assembling steps as compared with the configuration in which these are individually attached. . Moreover, since the radiation fin 5 is directly attached to the bottom surface of the LED 1 by pressing, heat can be suitably radiated.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, three or more LEDs and lenses may be used, and this light irradiation device can also be used for resin curing applications (for example, dental applications for curing tooth fillings). In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The whole perspective view when the light irradiation apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is seen from the front. The whole perspective view when the light irradiation apparatus in the same embodiment is seen from back. The front view of the light irradiation apparatus in the embodiment. The side view of the light irradiation apparatus in the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a partially broken perspective view showing the internal structure of the light irradiation apparatus in the embodiment. The AA sectional view taken on the line of the light irradiation apparatus in the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

100 ... Light irradiation device C1 ... Center axis 1 ... LED
2 ... lens C2 ... lens optical axis 31 ... front lens holding member 32 ... rear lens holding member 2a ... front corner 31a ... first recess 2b ... rear corner 32a ... 2nd recessed part 32b ... LED holding hole 4 ... Mounting member 41 ... Arm 5 ... Radiation fin 6 ... Housing 6b ... Circumferential groove

Claims (6)

A plurality of LEDs arranged in a ring around the central axis and lenses arranged in front of the LEDs, and the lenses are arranged such that their optical axes are inclined with respect to the central axis. A light irradiation device configured so that light emitted from each LED travels in a direction close to the central axis or away from the central axis,
It further comprises a front lens holding member and a rear lens holding member that sandwich and hold the lens from the front and rear,
The front lens holding member has, on its rear surface, a first recess that fits the front corner of the lens or its peripheral edge without play when the lens is cut by a virtual plane formed by the center axis and the lens optical axis. Is,
The light, wherein the rear lens holding member has a second concave portion on the front surface for fitting the rear corner portion or the peripheral portion of the lens when the lens is cut on the imaginary plane without looseness. Irradiation device.   The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an LED is inserted into the rear lens holding member without play, and an LED holding hole for positioning the lens held in front of the LED is formed. A mounting member having a plurality of radially extending arms, and a heat dissipating fin attached to the bottom surface of each LED;
The LED and the radiation fin are clamped and fixed between the arm and the rear lens holding member by fixing the mounting member to the front lens holding member or the rear lens holding member. 2. The light irradiation apparatus according to 2. It has a cylindrical casing that can be divided into two vertically,
A circumferential groove is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the housing, and the lens holding member is brought close to or in close contact with the lens by fixing the peripheral edge of the front and rear lens holding member in the circumferential groove. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, configured as described above.   The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light irradiation apparatus is used in a phototherapy device that promotes healing of an affected area by physical and chemical action of emitted light.   The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein deformation or alteration of an object is caused by the emitted light.