JP2010205561A - Led and light guide plate positioning structure, and light irradiation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply and easily position a light emission center C of each LED 22 and the center of a light incidence surface of a light guide plate 3 while minimizing manufacturing cost for the light guide plate 3 and a LED substrate 2. <P>SOLUTION: This LED and light guide plate positioning structure includes the LED substrate 2 having the plurality of LEDs 22 aligned in a row, the light guide plate 3 provided along the aligning direction of the LEDs 22 and having a light incidence end face 3a extending in the aligning direction, a first abutting element for abutting on the light incidence side end of one side face 3c perpendicular to the light incidence end face 3a of the light guide plate 3, a second abutting element for abutting on the light incidence side end of the other side face 3d perpendicular to the light incidence end face 3a of the light guide plate 3 at a position different from the abutting position of the first abutting element in the aligning direction of the LEDs 22, and a holding mechanism 5 for holding the first abutting element and the second abutting element in the state that the first abutting element and the second abutting element abut on the light guide plate 3 and a center line L of the light incidence end face 3a approximately corresponds to the light emission center C of each LED 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a positioning structure for positioning a light guide plate with respect to LEDs arranged in a row, and a light irradiation apparatus using the positioning structure.

  Conventionally, as a method of positioning a light guide plate with respect to an LED substrate having LEDs arranged in a row, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, a step (step) extending in the longitudinal direction to one of the light guide plate or the LED substrate And the other corner of the light guide plate or LED substrate is fitted to the step.

  However, even if the step portion and the corner portion are fitted together, due to a processing error when forming the step portion, a gap is generated between the step portion and the corner portion, and the light emission center of the LED arranged on the LED substrate And the center of the light incident surface of the light guide plate are shifted. Therefore, it is difficult to irradiate uniform light with the positioning structure in which the step portion and the corner portion are fitted. In addition, there is a problem that extra manufacturing cost is required by processing the light guide plate or the LED substrate.

JP 2007-179751 A

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems all at once, while reducing the manufacturing cost of the light guide plate and the LED substrate as much as possible, and the light emission center of the LED and the light incident surface of the light guide plate. The main intended task is to make the positioning of the center of the head simple and easy.

That is, the light irradiation apparatus according to the present invention includes the following (1) to (5).
(1) An LED substrate having a plurality of LEDs arranged in a row.
(2) A light guide plate having a light incident end surface provided along the arrangement direction of the LEDs and extending in the arrangement direction.
(3) The 1st contactor which contacts one side surface orthogonal to the light-incidence end surface of the said light-guide plate.
(4) A second contactor that contacts the other side surface orthogonal to the light incident end surface of the light guide plate at a position different from the contact position of the first contactor in the arrangement direction of the LEDs.
(5) The first contact and the second contact are in contact with the light guide plate, and the first contact is made in a state where the center line of the light incident end surface substantially coincides with the light emission center of each LED. A holding mechanism for holding the child and the second contact piece.

  In such a case, the first contact and the second contact are brought into contact with both side surfaces of the light guide plate, and the center line of the light incident surface and the light emission center of each LED are fixed so as to substantially coincide with each other. Therefore, the processing to the light guide plate and the LED substrate can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, since it is only necessary to bring the first contact and the second contact into contact with the light guide plate, positioning of the light emission center of the LED and the center of the light incident surface of the light guide plate can be easily and easily performed. Uniform light can be emitted from the light guide plate. Furthermore, even if there is a tolerance in the deflection of the light guide plate or variations in the mounting accuracy of the LED to the LED substrate, the light guide plate is curved along the arrangement direction by the first contact piece and the second contact piece. The center line of the light incident surface and the line connecting the light emission centers of the respective LEDs can be substantially matched.

  In order to more easily and easily match the center line of the light incident end face with the light emission center of the LED, the first contact and the second contact are on the line connecting the light emission centers of the LEDs. Or it is desirable to rotate around the rotation axis set in the vicinity thereof. More specifically, it is desirable that the first contact piece and the second contact piece rotate and move symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis.

  In order to reduce the number of parts and to simplify the configuration of the first contact piece and the second contact piece, it is desirable to form the first contact piece and the second contact piece integrally. A rotation member provided between adjacent LEDs and having a space member having a substantially U-shape straddling the light incident side end of the light guide plate, and set on or near a line connecting the light emission centers of the LEDs. It is desirable that the first abutment element and the second abutment element are constituted by side wall portions facing each other so as to be rotatable about an axis.

In addition, the first contact and the second contact may be provided as separate bodies. At this time, the light is emitted from the light guide plate between the adjacent LEDs and interposed between the LED substrate and the light guide plate. A plurality of space members having a substantially L-shape having an upright portion that stands up toward the incident side end portion side,
The space member is configured to be rotatable around a rotation axis set on or near a line connecting the light emission centers of the LEDs, and the first contactor or the second contactor is formed by an upright portion of the space member. Is preferably configured.

  In order to introduce almost all of the light emitted from the LED into the light emitting surface while simplifying the device configuration and reducing the number of parts, the bottom wall of the space member is connected to the light emitting surface of the LED. It is desirable to define a distance from the light incident end face of the light guide plate.

In addition, the LED and light guide plate positioning structure according to the present invention includes an LED substrate having a plurality of LEDs arranged in a row, and a light incident end face that extends along the arrangement direction of the LEDs and extends in the arrangement direction. The light guide plate positioning structure includes the following (6) to (8).
(6) The 1st contactor which contacts one side surface orthogonal to the light-incidence end surface of the said light-guide plate.
(7) A second contactor that contacts the other side surface orthogonal to the light incident end surface of the light guide plate at a position different from the contact position of the first contactor in the arrangement direction of the LEDs.
(8) The first contactor is in a state where the first contactor and the second contactor are in contact with the light guide plate, and the center line of the light incident end face and the light emission center of each LED substantially coincide with each other. And a holding mechanism for holding the second contact piece.

  According to the present invention configured as above, positioning of the light emission center of the LED and the center of the light incident surface of the light guide plate can be easily and easily performed while reducing the manufacturing cost of the light guide plate and the LED substrate as much as possible. can do.

It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the light irradiation apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the internal configuration of the same embodiment. It is a top view which shows the LED board and space member of the embodiment. It is a perspective view of the space member of the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the positioning by a 1st contactor, a 2nd contactor, and a fixing mechanism. It is a disassembled perspective view of a LED board, a space member, and a light-guide plate. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of a space member. It is a top view which shows the modification of a fixing mechanism.

  An embodiment of a light irradiation apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<Device configuration>
The light irradiation apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment irradiates, for example, a predetermined irradiation region of a test object (work) with line-shaped light, and is obtained by photographing the predetermined irradiation region with an imaging device (not shown). It is used in a product inspection system or the like that takes in image data with an image processing apparatus (not shown) and performs automatic surface inspection for the presence or absence of scratches or the like.

  Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the LED substrate 2, the light guide plate 3 provided in front of the light emission side of the LED substrate 2, and the LED substrate 2 and the light guide plate 3 are disposed between the LED substrate 2 and the light guide plate 3. A space member 4 provided in an intervening manner and a holding mechanism 5 for fixing the space member 4 are provided. These members are accommodated in a casing (not shown).

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 3, the LED substrate 2 is a device in which a plurality of LEDs 22 are mechanically mounted on a surface of a belt-like printed wiring board 21 in a substantially straight line at regular intervals with the optical axis aligned in a certain direction. It is. The LED 22 of the present embodiment is of a surface mount type in which an LED element is disposed at the center of a thin rectangular plate package.

  The light guide plate 3 has a substantially rectangular plate shape in plan view (see FIG. 1), is provided along the arrangement direction of the LEDs 22, and emits line-shaped light. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, a light incident end surface 3a extending in the arrangement direction of the LEDs 22, a light emitting end surface 3b opposite to the light incident end surface 3a, and adjacent to the longitudinal direction of the light incident end surface 3a. And two side surfaces 3c and 3d orthogonal to the light incident end surface 3a. The light incident side end of the light guide plate 3 is positioned and fixed by the space member 4.

  The space member 4 is provided between the adjacent LEDs 22 and has a substantially U-shape straddling the light incident side end of the light guide plate 3. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 and the like, two space members 4 are provided on one LED substrate 2. Each space member 4 has the same shape, and includes a bottom wall portion 41 and a pair of side wall portions 42 and 43 formed upright from both ends of the bottom wall portion 41 as shown in FIG. Yes.

  The space member 4 is arranged so that its central axis P is on or near the line connecting the light emission centers C of the LEDs 22, and is configured to be rotatable around the central axis P. Specifically, a protrusion 411 is provided at the center of the bottom surface of the space member 4, that is, at the center of the bottom surface of the bottom wall 41, and the protrusion 411 is inserted into a fitting hole (not shown) formed in the LED substrate 2. Thus, it is configured to be rotatable about the central axis P as a rotation axis. The fitting hole is formed on or near the line connecting the light emission centers C of the LEDs 22 between the LEDs 22 on the LED substrate 2.

  The bottom surface 41a of the bottom wall portion 41 is provided in contact with the top surface of the LED substrate 2, and the top surface 41b of the bottom wall portion 41 is in contact with the light incident end surface 3a of the light guide plate 3 (see FIG. 4). At this time, the thickness of the bottom wall portion 41 is substantially the same as or slightly larger than that of the LED 22, and the LED substrate 2 and the light incident end surface 3a are provided in contact with the bottom wall portion 41, whereby the light incident end surface 3a. Is positioned substantially in contact with or slightly away from the light emission surface of the LED 22. As described above, the distance between the LED 22 and the light emission end face 3b is defined by the thickness of the bottom wall portion 41.

  The rotation direction side end portions 42x and 43x on the opposing surfaces (inner surfaces) of the opposing side wall portions 42 and 43 are formed to be axially symmetric with respect to the rotation axis P as shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. In addition, the distance between the side wall portions 42 and 43 is formed to be slightly larger than the thickness of the light guide plate 3, and the light incident side end portion of the light guide plate 3 is inserted.

  The side wall portions 42 and 43 are formed so as to be axially symmetric with respect to the central axis P. That is, the side walls 42 and 43 are provided at equal distances from the central axis P, and their shapes are axially symmetric with respect to the central axis P. As a result, the side walls 42 and 43 having the same shape rotate around the same axis around the central axis P.

  Further, the outer surfaces of the side wall portions 42 and 43 are formed so as to be inclined in a plan view with respect to the inner surfaces of the side wall portions 42 and 43, and conversion for converting a pressing force of the pressing body 51 described later into a rotational motion. Make up structure. In the present embodiment, as shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 3, the contour of the space member 4 in plan view is configured to be a substantially parallelogram. With this configuration, when the pressing body 51 of the holding mechanism 5 to be described later contacts the outer surfaces of the side wall portions 42 and 43, the space member 4 rotates, and the inner surfaces of the side wall portions 42 and 43 are the side surfaces 3 c of the light guide plate 3. Touch 3d.

In such a space member 4, one of the side wall parts 42 and 43 (specifically, the rotational direction side end parts 42 x and 43 x) constitutes a first abutment element, and the other constitutes a second abutment element. . That is, one of the side wall portions 42 and 43 is in contact with one side surface 3c orthogonal to the light incident end surface 3a of the light guide plate 3, and the other of the side wall portions 42 and 43 is the first contactor in the arrangement direction of the LEDs 22. At the position different from the contact position, it comes into contact with the other side surface 3d orthogonal to the light incident end surface 3a of the light guide plate 3. Here, the “position different from the contact position of the first contact” in the present embodiment is a position that is axially symmetric with respect to the central axis P of the contact position of the first contact.
As described above, the space member 4 is integrally provided with the first contact and the second contact.

  The holding mechanism 5 holds the first contact piece and the second contact piece. In the present embodiment, the holding mechanism 5 holds the space member 4 fixed to the LED substrate 2. Specifically, the holding mechanism 5 contacts the outer surfaces of the side wall portions 42 and 43 of the space member 4, rotates the space member 4 around the central axis P, and the inner surfaces of the side wall portions 42 and 43 contact the light guide plate 3. In this state, the space member 4 is held. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the holding mechanism 5 fixes a pressing body 51 that presses the outer surfaces of the side wall portions 42 and 43 of the space member 4, and the pressing body 51 to the LED substrate 2. The pressing body fixing mechanism 52 is provided.

  The pressing body 51 of the present embodiment has a generally rectangular shape in plan view that simultaneously presses all the one side wall portions 42 of a plurality (specifically, two) of space members 4 provided on the LED substrate 2. . In addition, a fixing hole 51 h for fixing by the pressing body fixing mechanism 52 is formed at the base end portion of the pressing body 51. In the present embodiment, a pressing body 51 that presses one side wall portion 42 and a pressing body 51 that presses the other side wall portion 43 are provided. When these pressing bodies 51 come into contact with the outer surfaces of the side wall portions 42 and 43, the space member 4 rotates around the central axis P as shown in FIG. The center line L of the light incident end face 3a of the light guide plate 3 substantially coincides with the rotation axis P and substantially coincides with the light emission center C. As described above, since the single pressing body 51 is configured to contact the plurality of side wall portions 42 and 43 and rotate the plurality of space members 4, the structure of the holding mechanism 5 is simplified and the light guide plate 3 can be easily fixed.

  The pressing body fixing mechanism 52 fixes the pressing body 51 to the LED substrate 2 with screws. As shown in FIG. 2, a female screw portion 521 provided in the LED substrate 2 and a fixing hole 51 h of the pressing body 51 are provided. And a male screw portion 522 that is screwed into the female screw portion 521. The pressing body 51 is fixed by the pressing body fixing mechanism 52 in a state where the pressing body 51 presses the outer surfaces of the side wall portions 42 and 43 and the inner surfaces of the side wall portions 42 and 43 are in contact with the light guide plate 3.

  Next, a method for assembling the light irradiation apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to an exploded perspective view of FIG.

  First, the protrusion 411 of the space member 4 is fitted into the fitting hole of the LED substrate 2. At this time, the inner surfaces of the side walls 42 and 43 of the space member 4 are set to be substantially parallel to the arrangement direction of the LEDs 22. Further, the outer surfaces of the side walls 42 and 43 are inclined with respect to the arrangement direction of the LEDs 22. Thereafter, the light incident side end portion of the light guide plate 3 is inserted between the side wall portions 42 and 43 of the space member 4. As a result, the light guide plate 3 is provided along the arrangement direction of the LEDs 22, and the center line L of the light incident end surface 3 a of the light guide plate 3 is temporarily positioned at the light emission center C of the LED 22.

  Next, by pressing the pressing body 51 against the outer surfaces of the side wall portions 42 and 43, the space member 4 rotates, and the inner surfaces of the side wall portions 42 and 43 move in contact with the light guide plate 3. Then, the pressing body 51 is fixed by the pressing body fixing mechanism 52 in a state where both the side wall portions 42 and 43 are in contact with the light guide plate 3. In a state where the inner surfaces of both the side wall portions 42 and 43 are in contact with the light guide plate 3, rattling of the light guide plate 3 is eliminated, and the center line L of the light incident end surface 3 a of the light guide plate 3 is the rotation axis of the space member 4. Will be almost identical. That is, the center line L of the light incident end face 3a of the light guide plate 3 and the light emission center C of each LED 22 are substantially aligned and fixed.

  At this time, by increasing the pressing force by the pressing body 51, torque is applied to the light guide plate 3 from the first contact piece and the second contact piece, and the light guide plate 3 is bent along the arrangement direction. The center line L of the light incident end face and the light emission center C of each LED 22 are substantially matched even if there is a tolerance such as bending of the light guide plate 3 or variation in the mounting accuracy of the LED 22 with respect to the LED substrate 2. be able to.

<Effect of this embodiment>
According to the light irradiation device 100 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, the first contact and the second contact are brought into contact with the both side surfaces 3c and 3d of the light guide plate 3, and the center line of the light incident surface. Since L and the light emission center C of each LED 22 are fixed so as to substantially coincide with each other, the processing of the light guide plate 3 and the LED substrate 2 can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Further, since the first contactor (one side wall part 42) and the second contactor (the other side wall part 43) need only be brought into contact with the light guide plate 3, the light emission center C of the LED 22 and the light of the light guide plate 3 are used. Positioning with respect to the center line L of the incident end face 3a can be made simple and easy, and uniform light can be emitted from the light guide plate 3.

<Other modified embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  For example, the space member 4 of the above embodiment has a substantially U-shape, and the side wall portions 42 and 43 opposed to each other are a first contact member and a second contact member, respectively, but as shown in FIG. The LED 22 is provided between the LED 22 and the light guide plate 3 between the adjacent LEDs 22 and has an upright portion 4a that rises toward the light incident side end of the light guide plate 3, and has its upright shape. The part 4a may be a first contactor or a second contactor. In this case, it is necessary to provide a space member 401 that contacts one side surface 3c of the light guide plate 3 and a space member 402 that contacts the other side surface 3d.

  In addition, the rotational axis of the space member of the embodiment is set to the central axis of the space member, but may be provided eccentric from the central axis of the space member, or the rotational axis of the space member may be the light emission center. You may provide it eccentrically from the connecting line.

  Furthermore, in the LED substrate of the embodiment, the LEDs are provided in a line in a substantially straight line, but may be provided in a substantially curved line. In this case, the light guide plate is bent in accordance with the curvature of the LED array. At this time, a flat light guide plate can be used, or a light guide plate curved corresponding to the curvature of the LED array can be used. In order to make the line connecting the light emission centers of the LEDs and the center line of the light incident surface easier to match, it is desirable to use a curved light guide plate. Further, when the flat light guide plate is bent by the space member, the rotation axis of the space member may be provided on the opposite side to the curve direction with respect to the line connecting the light emission centers of the LEDs. desirable.

  Furthermore, although the first contact piece and the second contact piece of the above-described embodiment rotate around the rotation axis, they are configured to slide linearly in a direction perpendicular to the side surface of the light guide plate. May be.

  In addition, the holding mechanism of the embodiment fixes the first contact piece and the second contact piece by pressing the base end portions of the first contact piece and the second contact piece toward the light guide plate. However, as shown in FIG. 8, the space member 4 may be fixed to the LED substrate 2 by screwing. Specifically, a female screw hole may be provided on the lower surface side of the bottom wall portion 41 of the space member 4 so as to be screwed from the back surface side of the LED substrate 2.

  In addition, in the embodiment, two space members are provided, but three or more space members may be provided. That is, three or more pairs of the first contact and the second contact may be provided. Moreover, you may make it provide a space member between each LED.

  In addition, the space members of the embodiment have the same shape and rotate in the same direction with respect to the rotation axis, but may be configured to rotate in opposite directions. .

  In addition, some or all of the above-described embodiments and modified embodiments may be combined as appropriate, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Light irradiation apparatus 2 ... LED board 22 ... LED
3 ... Light guide plate 3a ... Light incident end face 3b ... Light exit end face 3c ... One side face 3d ... The other side face 4 ... Space member 42 ... First contact ( One side wall)
43 ... 2nd contact (other side wall part)
5 ・ ・ ・ Holding mechanism P ・ ・ ・ Rotational axis L ・ ・ ・ Center line C of light incident end face C ・ ・ ・ LED emission center

Claims (6)

An LED substrate having a plurality of LEDs arranged in a row;
A light guide plate provided along the arrangement direction of the LEDs and having a light incident end face extending in the arrangement direction;
A first contactor that contacts a light incident side end of one side surface orthogonal to the light incident end surface of the light guide plate;
A second abutting element that contacts the light incident side end of the other side surface orthogonal to the light incident end surface of the light guide plate at a position different from the contact position of the first abutting element in the arrangement direction of the LEDs;
The first contactor and the second contactor are in contact with the light guide plate, and the center line of the light incident end face and the light emission center of each LED substantially coincide with each other. A light irradiation device comprising: a holding mechanism that holds the contact piece.   The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first contact and the second contact rotate around a rotation axis set on or near a line connecting the light emission centers of the LEDs. A space member that is provided between the LED substrate and the light guide plate between adjacent LEDs and has a substantially U-shape across the light incident side end of the light guide plate,
The space member is configured to be rotatable about a rotation axis set on or near a line connecting the light emission centers of the LEDs, and the first abutment member and the second contact member are formed by opposing side wall portions of the space member. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact element is configured. A plurality of space members having a substantially L shape having an upright portion that is provided between adjacent LEDs and is interposed between the LED substrate and the light guide plate and rises toward the light incident side end of the light guide plate. Have
The space member is configured to be rotatable about a rotation axis set on or near a line connecting the light emission centers of the LEDs, and the first contactor or the second contactor is formed by an upright portion of the space member. The light irradiation apparatus of Claim 1 or 2 by which is comprised.   The light emitting device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein a bottom wall of the space member defines a distance between a light emitting surface of the LED and a light incident end surface of the light guide plate. An LED substrate having a plurality of LEDs provided in a row, and a light guide plate positioning structure provided along an arrangement direction of the LEDs and having a light incident end face extending in the arrangement direction,
A first contactor that contacts one side surface orthogonal to the light incident end surface of the light guide plate;
A second contact that contacts the other side surface orthogonal to the light incident end surface of the light guide plate at a position different from the contact position of the first contact in the arrangement direction of the LEDs;
The first contactor and the second contactor are in contact with the light guide plate, and the center line of the light incident end face and the light emission center of each LED substantially coincide with each other. And a holding mechanism that holds the contact element.