JP2015169818A - Lens unit and laser light source device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lens unit capable of holding a lens in a proper position by a lens holder, without using an adhesive.SOLUTION: In a lens unit 2, a lens holder 4 includes an outer cylinder part 41a and an inner cylinder part 42a which have a thermal expansion property and are fitted and fixed to each other and a plurality of holding parts 41b, 41c, and 42b which are projected inward in the radial direction from at least one of the outer cylinder part 41a and the inner cylinder part 42a, to hold lenses 3 and 3 in an axial direction and have a thermal expansion property. In the inner cylinder part 42a, a part of the lens 3 is arranged so as to support the lens 3 in the radial direction. The thermal expansion coefficient of the outer cylinder part 41a is smaller than the thermal expansion coefficient of the inner cylinder part 42a.

Description

  The present invention relates to a lens unit including a lens, and also relates to a laser light source device including the lens unit.

  Conventionally, as a laser light source device, a laser light source including a laser light source that emits laser light, a lens that receives laser light emitted from the laser light source, and a light guide that receives laser light emitted from the lens An apparatus is known (for example, Patent Document 1). And the lens is hold | maintained at the lens holder by adhere | attaching with an adhesive agent.

  By the way, as the device is used, the adhesive layer expands or contracts. Thereby, a lens will shift | deviate from the position with respect to a lens holder, ie, the appropriate position with respect to a laser light source and a light guide. As a result, the incident efficiency on the light guide (the efficiency with which the laser light emitted from the laser light source is incident on the light guide) decreases.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-204862

  Therefore, in view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a lens unit that can hold a lens at an appropriate position by a lens holder without using an adhesive.

  Moreover, this invention makes it a subject to provide the laser light source device which can suppress that the incident efficiency to a light guide falls.

  The lens unit according to the present invention includes at least one lens and a lens holder that holds the lens, and the lens holder has a thermal expansion property and is fixed to each other so as to fit with each other. A plurality of sandwiching portions projecting radially inward from at least one of the outer tubular portion and the inner tubular portion, and having thermal expansion properties, in order to sandwich the lens in the axial direction, and at least one inner tubular portion; And the inner cylinder portion includes at least a part of the lens so as to support the lens in the radial direction, and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the outer cylinder portion is the coefficient of thermal expansion of the inner cylinder portion. Smaller than.

  According to the lens unit of the present invention, the plurality of holding portions protrude radially inward from at least one of the outer cylinder portion and the inner cylinder portion fixed to each other, and hold the lens in the axial direction. And each clamping part which has thermal expansibility heat-expands in order to heat up with the light which permeate | transmits a lens. As a result, the plurality of clamping units can firmly clamp the lens in the axial direction when the temperature rises.

  Moreover, an inner cylinder part supports a lens by radial direction by arrange | positioning a lens inside. And since the outer cylinder part and inner cylinder part which have thermal expansibility heat up with the light which permeate | transmits a lens, they thermally expand. At this time, since the coefficient of thermal expansion of the outer cylinder part is smaller than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the inner cylinder part, it is possible to suppress the inner cylinder part fitting with the outer cylinder part from thermally expanding radially outward. Thereby, the inner cylinder part can support the lens arrange | positioned inside in a radial direction reliably, when it heats up.

  Thus, the lens holder clamps the lens in the axial direction and supports it in the radial direction, and firmly holds the lens in the axial direction and securely supports it in the radial direction when the temperature rises. . Therefore, the lens holder can hold the lens at an appropriate position without using an adhesive.

  Further, in the lens unit according to the present invention, one inner cylinder part is provided, and the plurality of clamping parts protrude from the inner cylinder part and the inner cylinder part is disposed therebetween. Two protruding from the outer cylinder part, and two lenses are provided, and are respectively held between a holding part protruding from the outer cylinder part and a holding part protruding from the inner cylinder part. It may be configured.

  Further, in the lens unit according to the present invention, one inner cylinder part is provided, the plurality of clamping parts protrude from the outer cylinder part and the inner cylinder part, respectively, and one lens is provided. The structure of being provided and clamped between the clamping part which protrudes from the said outer cylinder part, and the clamping part which protrudes from the said inner cylinder part may be sufficient.

  In the lens unit according to the present invention, a plurality of the inner cylindrical portions are provided, and are arranged in parallel in the axial direction in the outer cylindrical portion, and the plurality of clamping portions are respectively provided from the inner cylindrical portions. Two projecting parts from the outer cylinder part so as to arrange the plurality of inner cylinder parts arranged in parallel with each other, and three or more lenses are provided, and the clamping part is projected from the outer cylinder part And a sandwiching portion projecting from the inner cylinder portion, or a sandwiching portion projecting from the adjacent inner cylinder portion.

  The laser light source device according to the present invention includes a laser light source that emits laser light, the lens unit that receives the laser light emitted from the laser light source, and the laser light that is emitted from the lens unit. A light guide.

  According to the laser light source device according to the present invention, the laser light emitted from the laser light source enters the lens unit, and then the laser light emitted from the lens unit enters the light guide. And a lens is hold | maintained in an appropriate position with respect to a laser light source and a light guide by a lens holder, without using an adhesive agent. Therefore, it can suppress that the incident efficiency to a light guide falls.

  As described above, the lens unit according to the present invention has an excellent effect that the lens can be held at an appropriate position without using an adhesive.

  In addition, the laser light source device according to the present invention has an excellent effect that the incidence efficiency to the light guide can be suppressed from being lowered.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a laser light source device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is an overall cross-sectional view of the lens unit according to the embodiment. FIG. The whole exploded sectional view of the lens unit concerning the embodiment is shown. The whole lens front view which concerns on the embodiment is shown. The whole sectional view of the outer cylinder concerning the embodiment is shown. The whole lens unit sectional drawing which concerns on other embodiment of this invention is shown. The whole exploded sectional view of the lens unit concerning the embodiment is shown. The whole lens unit sectional view concerning other embodiments of the present invention is shown.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a laser light source device and a lens unit according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In each figure (the same applies to FIGS. 6 to 8), the dimensional ratio in the drawing does not necessarily match the actual dimensional ratio.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a laser light source device 1 according to this embodiment includes a laser light source (semiconductor laser) 11 that emits laser light and a lens unit 2 that receives laser light emitted from the laser light source 11. I have. The laser light source device 1 includes a light guide 12 on which laser light emitted from the lens unit 2 is incident, and a connection body 13 that connects the laser light source 11, the lens unit 2, and the light guide 12. .

  In the present embodiment, the light guide 12 is an optical fiber. The light guide 12 is inserted into the ferrule 14 and is connected to the connection body 13 by fixing the ferrule 14 and the connection body 13. The light guide body 12 may be configured not only as an optical fiber but also as a rod integrator, for example. In FIG. 1, a one-dot chain line A1 indicates the optical axis of the laser beam.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the lens unit 2 includes two lenses 3 and 3 and a lens holder 4 that holds the lenses 3 and 3. In the present embodiment, the lens 3 is a convex lens. Specifically, the lens 3 includes a base portion 31 formed in a plate shape and a convex portion 32 protruding from the base portion 31. The lens 3 is not limited to a convex lens, and may be a concave lens, for example.

  The lens holder 4 includes an outer cylinder 41 disposed on the outside and an inner cylinder 42 disposed on the inner side of the outer cylinder 41. The outer cylinder body 41 and the inner cylinder body 42 have a thermal expansion property, and the thermal expansion coefficient of the outer cylinder body 41 is smaller than the thermal expansion coefficient of the inner cylinder body 42. For example, the outer cylinder 41 is made of stainless steel, and the inner cylinder 42 is made of aluminum.

  The outer cylinder 41 includes an outer cylinder part 41a formed in a cylindrical shape, and two clamping parts 41b and 41c that project annularly inward in the radial direction from the outer cylinder part 41a so as to clamp the lens 3. Yes. And a pair of clamping parts 41b and 41c are arrange | positioned at each edge part of the outer cylinder part 41a so that the inner cylinder 42 may be arrange | positioned in between.

  The outer cylinder body 41 includes a main body portion 41d having an outer cylinder portion 41a and one clamping portion 41b, and a fixing portion 41e having another clamping portion 41c and fixed to the main body portion 41d. . And the main-body part 41d and the fixing | fixed part 41e are being fixed by screwing the inner peripheral part (female screw part) of the main-body part 41d, and the outer peripheral part (male-screw part) of the fixing | fixed part 41e. Note that the main body portion 41d and the fixing portion 41e are not only configured to be fixed by a screw mechanism provided therein, but may be configured to be fixed by, for example, a fastening member that is a separate member.

  The inner cylinder body 42 includes an inner cylinder portion 42a formed in a cylindrical shape. Further, the inner cylinder 42 includes a clamping part 42b that projects in an annular shape radially inward from the inner cylinder part 42a so as to clamp the lens 3.

  The outer cylinder part 41a and the inner cylinder part 42a are mutually fixed so that it may fit. Specifically, the outer cylinder part 41a and the inner cylinder part 42a are fixed so that the inner circumference part of the outer cylinder part 41a and the outer circumference part of the inner cylinder part 42a are in close contact with each other.

  And each clamping part 41b, 41c of the outer cylinder 41 and the clamping part 42b of the inner cylinder 42 clamp the lens 3 in the axial direction of each cylindrical part 41a, 42a (hereinafter, simply referred to as “axial direction”). doing. Further, the inner cylindrical portion 42a is configured such that each lens 3 (specifically, the outer peripheral portion of the base portion 31) is placed in each cylindrical portion 41a, by disposing a part of the lens 3 inside (in the radial direction). 42a is supported in the radial direction (hereinafter simply referred to as “radial direction”).

  Here, a method for assembling the lens unit 2 will be described below. First, the lenses 3 and 3 are placed inside the end portions of the inner cylindrical body 42 and inserted into the main body portion 41d. At this time, the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder part 42a is guided to the inner peripheral surface of the main body part 41d (outer cylinder part 41a).

  Then, the inner peripheral part (female screw) of the main body part 41d and the outer peripheral part (male screw) of the fixing part 41e are screwed together, so that the holding parts 41b, 41c of the outer cylindrical body 41 and the inner cylindrical body 42 are clamped. The part 42b sandwiches the lens 3 in the axial direction. In this way, the lens unit 2 is held by the lens holder 4 with the lenses 3 and 3 held in the axial direction and supported in the radial direction.

  As described above, according to the lens unit 2 according to the present embodiment, the plurality of sandwiching portions 41b, 41c, and 42b protrude radially inward from the outer cylindrical portion 41a and the inner cylindrical portion 42a that are fixed to each other, and are axially directed. In FIG. Then, each of the sandwiching portions 41b, 41c, and 42b having thermal expansibility is thermally expanded because the temperature is increased by the light transmitted through the lens 3. Thus, the plurality of sandwiching portions 41b, 41c, and 42b can firmly sandwich the lenses 3 and 3 in the axial direction when the temperature rises.

  The inner cylinder portion 42a supports the lenses 3 and 3 in the radial direction by disposing the lenses 3 and 3 therein. And since the outer cylinder part 41a and the inner cylinder part 42a which have thermal expansibility are heated up with the light which permeate | transmits the lenses 3 and 3, they thermally expand. At this time, since the coefficient of thermal expansion of the outer cylinder part 41a is smaller than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the inner cylinder part 42a, the inner cylinder part 42a fitted to the outer cylinder part 41a can be prevented from thermally expanding radially outward. Thereby, the inner cylinder part 42a can support the lens 3 and 3 arrange | positioned inside in a radial direction reliably, when it heats up.

  Thus, the lens holder 4 clamps the lenses 3 and 3 in the axial direction and supports them in the radial direction, and when the temperature rises, the lens holder 4 firmly clamps the lenses 3 and 3 in the axial direction and Securely support in the radial direction. Therefore, the lens holder 4 can hold the lenses 3 and 3 at an appropriate position without using an adhesive. As a result, according to the laser light source device 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress a decrease in incident efficiency to the light guide 12.

  Next, a second embodiment of the lens unit according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the parts denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 5 represent the same configurations or elements as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lens unit 20 according to the present embodiment includes one lens 3 and a lens holder 5 that holds the lens 3. The lens holder 5 includes an outer cylindrical body 51 disposed on the outer side, and an inner cylindrical body 52 disposed on the inner side of the outer cylindrical body 51 and having a thermal expansion coefficient larger than that of the outer cylindrical body 51. I have.

  The outer cylinder 51 includes an outer cylinder part 51a formed in a cylindrical shape and a clamping part 51b that protrudes radially inward from the outer cylinder part 51a so as to clamp the lens 3. And the clamping part 51b of the outer cylinder 51 is arrange | positioned at the edge part of the one side of the outer cylinder part 51a.

  The inner cylinder 52 includes an inner cylinder part 52a formed in a cylindrical shape and a holding part 52b protruding radially inward from the inner cylinder part 52a in order to hold the lens 3. And the clamping part 52b of the inner cylinder 52 is arrange | positioned at the edge part of the other side of the inner cylinder part 52a.

  The outer cylinder part 51a and the inner cylinder part 52a are mutually fixed so that it may fit. Specifically, the outer cylinder part 51a and the inner cylinder part 52a are engaged by the inner peripheral part (female screw part) of the outer cylinder part 51a and the outer peripheral part (male screw part) of the inner cylinder part 52a being screwed together. It has been fixed. Note that the outer cylinder portion 51a and the inner cylinder portion 52a are not only configured to be fixed by screw mechanisms respectively provided thereto, but may be configured to be fixed by a fastening member that is a separate member, for example.

  The clamping part 51b of the outer cylinder 51 and the clamping part 52b of the inner cylinder 52 clamp the lens 3 in the axial direction. The inner cylinder portion 52a supports the lens 3 (specifically, the outer peripheral portion of the base portion 31) in the radial direction by disposing a part of the lens 3 inside (inside in the radial direction). .

  As described above, according to the lens unit 20 according to the present embodiment, the lens holder 5 holds the lens 3 in the axial direction and supports it in the radial direction, like the lens unit 2 according to the first embodiment. Moreover, when the temperature rises, the lens 3 is firmly held in the axial direction and reliably supported in the radial direction. Therefore, the lens holder 5 can hold the lens 3 at an appropriate position without using an adhesive.

  Next, a third embodiment of the lens unit according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 8, the parts denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 5 represent the same configurations or elements as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the lens unit 21 includes three lenses 3, 3, 30 and a lens holder 6 that holds the lenses 3, 3, 30. The lenses 3 and 30 are not only provided with three lenses, but may be provided with four or more lenses. The lens holder 6 includes an outer cylinder 61 disposed on the outer side, and two inner cylinders 62 disposed on the inner side of the outer cylinder 61 and having a thermal expansion coefficient larger than that of the outer cylinder 61. , 63.

  The outer cylindrical body 61 includes an outer cylindrical portion 61a formed in a cylindrical shape and two clamping portions 61b and 61c protruding radially inward from the outer cylindrical portion 61a so as to clamp the lens 3. And a pair of clamping parts 61b and 61c are arrange | positioned at each edge part of the outer cylinder part 61a so that the inner cylinders 62 and 63 may be arrange | positioned in between.

  The outer cylindrical body 61 includes a main body portion 61d having an outer cylindrical portion 61a and one clamping portion 61b, and a fixing portion 61e having another clamping portion 61c and fixed to the main body portion 61d. . And the main-body part 61d and the fixing | fixed part 61e are being fixed by screwing together the inner peripheral part (female screw part) of the main-body part 61d, and the outer peripheral part (male-screw part) of the fixing | fixed part 61e. The main body portion 61d and the fixing portion 61e are not only configured to be fixed by a screw mechanism provided therein, but may be configured to be fixed by a fastening member that is a separate member, for example.

  Each of the inner cylinders 62 and 63 includes a cylindrical inner cylinder part 62a and 63a and a clamping part 62b that projects radially inward from the inner cylinder parts 62a and 63a in order to sandwich the lenses 3 and 30. 63b. The plurality of inner cylinders 62 and 63 are arranged in parallel along the axial direction in the outer cylinder 61. That is, the plurality of inner cylinder parts 62a and 63a are arranged in parallel along the axial direction in the outer cylinder part 61a.

  The outer cylinder portion 61a and the plurality of inner cylinder portions 62a and 63a are fixed to each other so as to fit with each other. And each clamping part 61b, 61c of the outer cylinder 61 and clamping part 62b, 63b of each inner cylinder 62, 63 clamp the lens 3 in an axial direction, and the clamping part of the adjacent inner cylinders 62, 63 62b and 63b also sandwich the lens 30 in the axial direction. In addition, the inner cylindrical portion 62a disposes the lenses 3 and 30 (specifically, the outer peripheral portion of the base portion 31) in the radial direction by disposing a part of the lenses 3 and 30 inside (in the radial direction). I support it.

  As described above, according to the lens unit 21 according to the present embodiment, the lens holder 6 holds the lenses 3 and 30 in the axial direction, similarly to the lens units 2 and 20 according to the first and second embodiments. In addition, it is supported in the radial direction, and when the temperature rises, the lenses 3 and 30 are firmly held in the axial direction and securely supported in the radial direction. Therefore, the lens holder 6 can hold the lenses 3 and 30 at an appropriate position without using an adhesive.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the structure of above-described embodiment, Moreover, it is not limited to an above-described effect. In addition, the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the configurations and methods of the plurality of embodiments described above may be arbitrarily adopted and combined (the configurations and methods according to one embodiment may be combined with the configurations and methods according to the other embodiments). Further, it is of course possible to arbitrarily select configurations, methods, and the like according to various modifications described below and adopt them in the configurations, methods, and the like according to the above-described embodiments.

  In the lens units 2, 20, and 21 according to the above embodiment, the outer cylinder portions 41 a, 51 a, 61 a and the inner cylinder portions 42 a, 52 a, 62 a, 63 a are each formed in a cylindrical shape. However, the lens unit according to the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, in the lens unit according to the present invention, the outer cylinder part and the inner cylinder part may each be formed in a rectangular cylinder shape, and the elliptical cross section may be a cylindrical shape or the cross section may be a polygonal shape. A configuration of a cylindrical shape may be used.

  Further, in the lens units 2, 20, and 21 according to the above-described embodiment, the plurality of sandwiching portions 41 b, 41 c, 42 b, 51 b, 52 b, 61 b, 61 c, 62 b, 63 b are the outer cylinder portions 41 a, 51 a, 61 a and the inner It is the structure of projecting from the cylinder parts 42a, 52a, 62a, 63a. However, the lens unit according to the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, in the lens unit according to the present invention, the plurality of sandwiching portions may be configured to protrude only from the outer cylindrical portion, or may be configured to protrude only from the inner cylindrical portion.

  In the lens units 2, 20, and 21 according to the above embodiment, the clamping portions 41 b, 41 c, 51 b, 61 b, and 61 c protruding from the outer tube portions 41 a, 51 a, and 61 a are connected to the outer tube portions 41 a, 51 a, and 61 a. It is the structure of being formed with the same material. However, the lens unit according to the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, in the lens unit according to the present invention, the sandwiching part protruding from the outer cylinder part may be formed of a material different from that of the outer cylinder part.

  In the lens units 2, 20, and 21 according to the above-described embodiment, the clamping portions 42 b, 52 b, 62 b, and 63 b protruding from the inner cylinder portions 42 a, 52 a, 62 a, and 63 a are the inner cylinder portions 42 a, 52 a, 62 a, and It is the structure of being formed with the same material as 63a. However, the lens unit according to the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, in the lens unit according to the present invention, the sandwiching portion protruding from the inner cylinder portion may be formed of a material different from that of the inner cylinder portion.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Laser light source device, 2 ... Lens unit, 3 ... Lens, 4 ... Lens holder, 5 ... Lens holder, 6 ... Lens holder, 11 ... Laser light source, 12 ... Light guide, 13 ... Connection body, 14 ... Ferrule, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Lens unit, 21 ... Lens unit, 30 ... Lens, 31 ... Base part, 32 ... Convex part, 41 ... Outer cylindrical body, 41a ... Outer cylinder part, 41b ... Clamping part, 41c ... Clamping part, 41d ... Main part , 41e ... fixed part, 42 ... inner cylinder, 42a ... inner cylinder part, 42b ... clamping part, 51 ... outer cylinder, 51a ... outer cylinder part, 51b ... clamping part, 52 ... inner cylinder, 52a ... inner cylinder , 52b ... clamping part, 61 ... outer cylinder, 61a ... outer cylinder part, 61b ... clamping part, 61c ... clamping part, 61d ... main body part, 61e ... fixing part, 62 ... inner cylinder, 62a ... inner cylinder part 62b ... clamping part, 63 ... inner cylinder, 63a ... inner cylinder part, 63b ... Sandwiching member

Claims (5)

Comprising at least one lens and a lens holder for holding the lens;
The lens holder has an outer cylinder part and at least one inner cylinder part that are thermally expandable and fixed to each other so as to fit together, and the outer cylinder part and the inner cylinder part so as to sandwich the lens in the axial direction. A plurality of sandwiching portions projecting radially inward from at least one of the cylindrical portions, and having thermal expansibility,
The inner cylinder portion has at least a part of the lens disposed therein so as to support the lens in the radial direction,
A lens unit in which a coefficient of thermal expansion of the outer cylinder part is smaller than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the inner cylinder part. The inner cylinder part is provided with one,
The plurality of sandwiching portions protrudes one from the inner tube portion, and protrudes two from the outer tube portion so as to arrange the inner tube portion therebetween,
2. The lens unit according to claim 1, wherein two lenses are provided and are respectively sandwiched between a sandwiching portion projecting from the outer tube portion and a sandwiching portion projecting from the inner tube portion. The inner cylinder part is provided with one,
Each of the plurality of sandwiching portions protrudes from the outer tube portion and the inner tube portion,
2. The lens unit according to claim 1, wherein one lens is provided and is sandwiched between a sandwiching portion projecting from the outer tube portion and a sandwiching portion projecting from the inner tube portion. A plurality of the inner cylindrical portions are provided, and are arranged in parallel along the axial direction in the outer cylindrical portion,
Each of the plurality of sandwiching portions protrudes from each of the inner tube portions and protrudes from the outer tube portion so that the plurality of parallel inner tube portions are arranged in between.
Three or more lenses are provided, and are sandwiched between a sandwiching portion projecting from the outer tube portion and a sandwiching portion projecting from the inner tube portion, or between a sandwiching portion projecting from the adjacent inner tube portion. The lens unit according to claim 1. A laser light source for emitting laser light;
The lens unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein laser light emitted from the laser light source is incident;
And a light guide to which laser light emitted from the lens unit is incident.

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