JP3056459B2 - Optical sensor device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical sensor device for irradiating an object with light and detecting the reflected light, and more particularly to a light emitting section for irradiating the object with light and a reflected light reflected on the object. The present invention relates to an optical sensor device having a light receiving unit for receiving light.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a photosensor device, for example, a portable refractometer for measuring a sugar content of a fruit or vegetable such as an apple as an object will be described with reference to FIG. A device of the so-called light diffusion reflection type according to (1) is known (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-89767). As shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, this optical sensor device includes a sensor body 2 that is brought into contact with or close to an object S to be inspected, such as an apple, A light emitting unit 3 provided on the sensor main body 2 and irradiating the object S with light, and reflected light emitted from the light emitting unit 3 provided on the sensor main body 2 and exposed from the sensor body 2 and reflected on the object S And a light receiving unit 4 for receiving the light. The light emitting unit 3 and the light receiving unit 4 are, for example, 100 to 3
It is composed of one end surface of a light emitting fiber bundle 3a and a light receiving fiber bundle 4a in which as many as 00 optical fibers are converged. In the case 1 of the optical sensor device, the light emitting fiber bundle 3a is provided on the other end side of the light emitting fiber bundle 3a, generates light including a wavelength in the near infrared region, and supplies light to the light emitting fiber bundle 3a to emit light. A light source unit 5 composed of, for example, a halogen lamp for irradiating light from the unit 3; a spectroscope 6 having a photoelectric converter 7 by spectrally processing light received by the light receiving unit 4 of the light receiving fiber bundle 4a; A data processing unit 8 for calculating the sugar content based on the converted electric signal and a display unit (not shown) for displaying the sugar content calculated by the data processing unit 8 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 18, the spectroscope 6 includes a light receiving fiber bundle 4a as a constituent element, and is provided in a housing formed of a light shielding material and having a substantially dark room inside, and the other end surface of the light receiving fiber bundle 4a. Oppose each other and the light receiving fiber bundle 4a
Slit 6a having a width of about 0.5 mm for transmitting the light transmitted from the optical disc, a reflecting mirror 6b for reflecting the light passing through the incident slit 6a at an appropriate angle, and dispersing the reflected light reflected by the reflecting mirror. Diffraction grating 6c, a photoelectric converter 7 including a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements for converting light spectrally processed by the concave diffraction grating 6c into an electric signal, and photoelectrically converting light dispersed by the concave diffraction grating 6c. And another reflecting mirror 6d for reflecting the light toward the vessel 7. The size of the concave diffraction grating 6 is about 30 × 30 mm.

[0004]

By the way, in this conventional optical sensor device, as shown in FIG.
Since the light receiving section 4 is constituted by one end surface of the light receiving fiber bundle 4a in which a large number of optical fibers exceeding 100 are converged, when the shape of the object S is a curved surface such as an apple. In this case, the positional relationship between the object surface and one end face of each optical fiber becomes non-uniform, and as a result, an optical fiber that does not receive or receives insufficient reflected light occurs, and the reflected light is reliably captured. Otherwise, there is a problem that the measurement accuracy may be deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and prevents the occurrence of an optical fiber that does not receive reflected light or insufficiently receives reflected light, so that the reflected light can be reliably captured. It is another object of the present invention to provide an optical sensor device with improved measurement accuracy.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems The technical means of the present invention for solving such a problem is to provide a sensor main body which is brought into contact with or in proximity to an object and is opposed to the object, and which is provided on the sensor main body and is attached to the object. A light emitting unit for irradiating light to the
A light receiving unit provided on the sensor main body for receiving reflected light emitted from the light emitting unit and reflected on the object, wherein the light receiving unit is constituted by one end surface of an optical fiber . The development process of the present invention, first, using several optical fibers constituting the light-receiving portion, also the configuration in which disposed in the vicinity of the light emitting portion by separating the one end face of the optical fiber
Thought of. I to this lever, since the received light at each end face separated several optical fibers, as in the prior art, 10
Compared to the case of receiving light with a large number of optical fiber bundles exceeding zero, the area is small, and the occurrence of optical fibers that do not receive reflected light or receive light insufficiently is prevented. Since the reflected light is surely captured, the measurement accuracy is improved.

The present invention is directed to an object
A sensor body having an opposing portion, and a sensor body provided on the sensor body.
A light emitting unit for irradiating the object with light, and the sensor unit
It is provided on the body and is radiated from the light emitting unit and reflected on the object.
And a light receiving unit for receiving the reflected light.
In an optical sensor device constituted by one end surface of an optical fiber,
The opposing portion is constituted by a metal cylindrical block,
Light emission consisting of a white light emitting lamp in the center hole of the pillar block
Part, and the light receiving part is constructed outside the cylindrical block.
A groove for arranging one end faces of a plurality of optical fibers in a line
, In the axial direction of the cylindrical block and centered on the light-emitting part
Form two or more symmetrically around it, and arrange optical fibers in this groove
And hold down the optical fibers arranged in a row with the holding body fitted in the groove.
One end face of multiple optical fibers around the light emitting section
Two or more rows are arranged symmetrically.
As a result, one end faces of the optical fibers are arranged in a line, and the light is received by the light receiving portions arranged in a line.
Compared with the case where light is received by a large number of optical fiber bundles exceeding 00, the area is small, and the occurrence of an optical fiber bundle that does not receive reflected light or insufficient light reception is prevented, and , Because the reflected light is definitely captured,
Measurement accuracy is improved.

In the development process of the present invention, a plurality of optical fibers constituting the light receiving portion are used, and an aggregate is formed by setting one end face of each optical fiber to less than 100, and the aggregate is formed by the light emitting device. A configuration in which one or two or more components are arranged in the vicinity of the portion was also considered. According to this, since the light is received by the aggregate of the light receiving units less than 100, the area is smaller than that in the conventional case where the light is received by a large number of optical fiber bundles exceeding 100. The occurrence of optical fibers that do not receive or receive insufficient reflected light is prevented,
Therefore, the reflected light is surely captured, and the measurement accuracy is improved.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An optical sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Optical sensor device according to the embodiment of the present invention, like the above, the vegetables and fruits such as apples and object, and is a portable light sugar content meter for measuring the sugar content. First, according to the embodiment of the present invention,
Optical sensor with a sensor body considered during the development process of Ming
The device will be described. As shown in FIGS.
The optical sensor device described above is configured by connecting a hollow cylindrical sensor body 20 that can be similarly gripped to a case body 10 that can be gripped. The sensor body 20 has an opposing portion 21 which is brought into contact with or in proximity to the object S at one end thereof.
have. The facing portion 21 is constituted by a concave reflecting mirror 22. The sensor body 20 includes a light emitting unit 23 exposed from the facing unit 21 and irradiating the object S with light, and a light emitting unit 23 exposed from the facing unit 21 and irradiated from the light emitting unit 23 and reflected by the concave reflecting mirror 22. And a light receiving unit 24 that receives the light reflected by the object S afterwards.

The light emitting section 23 is composed of a white light emitting lamp for directly irradiating the object S with light, and irradiates a light ray including a near-infrared ray region, specifically, a light ray having a wavelength in the near-infrared ray region of 2500 nm or less. . As a white light emitting lamp,
For example, a halogen lamp, a xenon lamp, or an argon lamp is used, and the output is set to an extremely small output of, for example, about 2 W or less. Preferably, 1W
Or less, more preferably 0.8 W or less. Reference numeral 25 denotes a holder for holding the light emitting unit 23 and supplying current thereto, and is attached to the center of the concave reflecting mirror 22. 26 is a holder 25
These are electric wires for supplying electricity to the light-emitting unit 23 through the, and are connected to the battery 11 provided in the case body 10. The light-emitting unit 23 operates when the battery 1
Power is supplied from the power supply 1 and the light is turned on for a predetermined time.

The light receiving section 24 is provided at one end face Fa of the optical fiber F.
It is composed of The other end face Fb of the optical fiber F is configured as a light emitting section 27. In the embodiment, two optical fibers F are used, and one end face Fa of each optical fiber F is symmetrically arranged near the light emitting unit 23 around the light emitting unit 23 as shown in FIG. Have been. As shown in FIG. 2, each optical fiber F is inserted into a rod-shaped tube 30, one end face Fa is exposed from the tube 30, and is fixed to the tube 30. Each tube 30
Is inserted through an insertion hole 31 formed in the concave reflecting mirror 22, and is supported movably in the axial direction by a pair of thrust bearing portions 32 provided in front of and behind the concave reflecting mirror 22. 33 is a fixed body before and after fixing the thrust bearing part 32 to the sensor main body 20. Thus, the light receiving unit 24 is provided on the sensor main body 20 so as to be able to advance and retreat between an advanced position A that has advanced from the facing unit 21 and a retracted position B that has retracted from the advanced position A toward the facing unit 21.

Each of the tubes 30 is connected by a connecting member 34 between the front and rear fixed members 33.
Reference numeral 4 abuts against the fixed body 33 on the front side and is stopped to position the light receiving unit 24 at the advance position A. In addition, this connecting body 3
A coil spring 35 as a biasing means in a compressed state is interposed between the fourth fixed member 33 and the fixed member 33 on the rear side.
Is biased to the side. Accordingly, the light receiving unit 24 can receive light in a state where the light receiving unit 24 is brought into contact with the object S and moved against the urging force of the coil spring 35. Further, the sensor main body 20 is provided with a start signal transmitting means 36 for transmitting a start signal for measuring the received light when the light receiving section 24 is located at the retreat position B side for a predetermined length. The start signal sending means 36 is provided at a required position of the sensor body 20 and a bridge body 37 bridged between the rear ends of the tubes 30, and when the light receiving section 24 is located at the retreat position B side by a predetermined length. A limit switch 38 which is pushed by a button of the erection body 37 and turned on to transmit a start signal. The light emitting unit 23 is turned on by the start signal, and the power to the light emitting unit 23 is cut off after a lapse of a predetermined time by a timer (not shown).

On the other hand, the case body 10 is provided with a spectroscope 40 as shown in FIG. The spectroscope 40 includes a housing 41 formed of a light-shielding material and having a substantially dark room inside, and a light emitting unit attached to the housing 41 and serving as the other end face Fb of each optical fiber F. Fiber holding section 42 for holding the light receiving section 27;
And a plurality of photoelectric conversion devices attached to the housing 41 and configured to convert the light spectrally processed by the concave diffraction grating 43 into electric signals. Photoelectric converter 44 composed of a conversion element
It is comprised including.

As shown in FIG. 4, the fiber holding section 42 forms a light emitting section row 28 in which the light emitting sections 27 of a plurality of optical fibers F are arranged in a line, and holds this optical fiber F. A metal holding plate 45 made of a brass or the like formed in a disk shape, and a fitting insertion hole 46 into which the plurality of optical fibers F are inserted so as to form the light emitting unit row 28 formed on the holding plate 45. And an adhesive 47 for fixing the optical fiber F inserted in the insertion hole 46 to the insertion hole 46. Also,
The fiber holding unit 42 directs the light emitting unit array 28 directly to the concave diffraction grating 43, and emits light linearly from the light emitting unit array 28 so as to be incident on the concave diffraction grating 43. F is held. The other end face Fb of each optical fiber F
The light emitting portion 27 is exposed and optically polished after being held by the fiber holding portion 42. The shape of the storage plate 45 is not limited to a disk shape, but may be any shape such as a rectangular shape.

The concave diffraction grating 43 has, for example, a wavelength range of 8
Small ones having a size of 00 to 1000 nm and an outer dimension of 15 × 15 mm or less are used. In addition, the concave diffraction grating 43 is installed on a position fine adjustment stage 48 that enables optical axis alignment. For example, a well-known slide type two-axis stage is used. More specifically, in the present embodiment, unlike the related art, a slit and a reflecting mirror are not provided in front of the concave diffraction grating 43, and a reflecting mirror is not provided in the rear of the concave diffraction grating 43. That is, the received light is emitted from the light emitting section array 28 in a substantially point-like or linear shape, so that good convergence and resolution can be provided without using a slit or a reflecting mirror. . As a result, slits and reflectors become unnecessary,
As a result, the size of the device can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 5, the optical fiber F has a light receiving portion 24 for receiving light at one end face Fa as described above.
And a light-receiving side fiber section FF and a light-emitting section 27 on the light-receiving section 24 side as light-emitting sections 27 for emitting light received at the other end face Fb.
And the light emitting side fiber part FR on the side. Then, the numerical aperture (NA _R ) of the light emitting side fiber part FR is smaller than the numerical aperture (NA _F ) of the light receiving side fiber part FF (N _F ).
A _F > NA _R ) is set. That is, the radiation angle of the light emitting fiber portion FR having the other end surface Fb is set smaller than the incident angle of the light receiving fiber portion FF on the light receiving section 24 side having the one end surface Fa. More specifically, an optical fiber having a large numerical aperture and an optical fiber having a small numerical aperture are connected by well-known means, and the numerical apertures on the left and right are made different. Thereby, when taking in the reflected light from the object S, it is possible to take in the light at a large incident angle, and it is possible to reliably take in the reflected light, so that the measurement accuracy is improved and the concave diffraction grating 43 When the light is emitted at a small emission angle, the spread of the light is reduced,
As a result, the concave diffraction grating 43 can be made smaller, so that downsizing can be achieved. The photoelectric converter 44 is attached to the housing 41, and includes a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements that convert light spectrally processed by the concave diffraction grating 43 into an electric signal. For example, as the photoelectric converter 44, one having 256 photoelectric conversion elements and an element interval of 50 μm is used.

The case body 10 includes a photoelectric converter 44.
And a display unit 51 for displaying the sugar content calculated by the data processing unit 50. Data processing unit 50
6 calculates the sugar content based on the electric signal provided in the case body 10 and converted by the photoelectric converter 44.
As shown in the figure, the function is realized by a function of, for example, a microprocessor or the like, and functions when the start signal from the limit switch 38 is transmitted.
An absorbance calculator 52 for calculating the absorbance of the wavelength attributed to the sugar and the absorbance of the wavelength not to be attributed to the sugar by the electric signal from, a second derivative calculator 53 for calculating the second derivative thereof, The object S is calculated using the calculated second derivative.
And a sugar content calculating unit 54 for calculating the sugar content of. Note that the above wavelength may be appropriately selected. The battery 11 also functions as a power source for the data processing unit 50. Further, as shown in FIG.
(Main switch), a switch such as a reset switch 56, and the like.

[0018] Therefore, when measuring the sugar content using the optical sensor device This, for example, referring to the example of apple (inspected) as the object S, carried out as follows. In this case, the concave diffraction grating 43 is provided with the position fine adjustment stage 4.
The position is adjusted in advance by 8 so that the light dispersed by the concave diffraction grating 43 is focused on the photoelectric converter 44. Therefore, light of all wavelengths can be detected at the same time without rotating the concave diffraction grating 43, and the measurement can be speeded up.
It is not necessary to provide a drive device for rotating the
As a result, the size can be reduced.

In this state, after the power switch 55 is turned on, the opposing portion 21 of the sensor main body 20 is directed toward the object S, and the light receiving portion 24 is pressed against the object S. As a result, the light receiving unit 24 comes into contact with the object S and retreats to the retreat position B side against the urging force of the coil spring 35, and the light receiving unit 24
To be hit by Then, when the light receiving section 24 is located at the retreat position B side for a predetermined length and the erection body 37 of the tube 30 presses the limit switch 38, a start signal is sent out, whereby the light emitting section 23 emits light and the object S Irradiated.
In addition, the light reflected by the concave reflecting mirror 22 is also applied to the object S. In this case, since the object S is directly irradiated with light from the light emitting unit 23, a required light amount is secured even if the output of the light emitting unit 23 is reduced. Further, since the light reflected by the concave reflecting mirror 22 is also radiated to the object S, the intensity of the radiated light increases accordingly. Therefore, as the output can be reduced, the influence of heat on other members is reduced, the durability is improved, the power consumption is reduced, power is saved, and the device is downsized. In addition, since the intensity of the irradiation light from the concave reflecting mirror 22 is increased, the required light amount is secured even if the output of the light emitting unit 23 is reduced. In this respect, the output can be reduced, so that the power consumption is further reduced. As a result, labor saving is achieved and the size of the device is reduced. Further, the light receiving unit 24
Is located on the retreat position B side for a predetermined length, the light emitting section 23 is made to emit light, so that there is no waste, and also in this respect, labor saving is achieved.

The light illuminated on the object S enters the surface and inside of the object S and is reflected. The light reflected inside the object S is reflected by the light receiving portion 24 on one end face Fa of the optical fiber F. Is received at. In this case, since the light receiving section 24 resiliently contacts, the reflected light reflected inside the object S can be measured, and the position of the light receiving section 24 does not shift back and forth. And the measurement accuracy is improved accordingly.
Further, by the ON operation of the limit switch 38, the measurement can be started in a state where the light receiving unit 24 is in elastic contact with the object S, so that the measurement is not performed in a state away from the object S. The measurement can be performed in a place with good conditions, and the measurement accuracy can be improved accordingly. Furthermore, since one end face Fa of the optical fiber F is separated and light is received at each end face Fa, as compared with the conventional case where light is received by a large number of optical fiber bundles,
The area is reduced, and the occurrence of an optical fiber that does not receive or does not receive the reflected light is prevented. Therefore, the reflected light is surely captured, so that the measurement accuracy is also improved in this respect.

The light received by the light receiving section 24 passes through the optical fiber F and is the other end face Fb of the optical fiber F held by the fiber holding section 42 as shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5. The light is emitted from the light emitting unit 27 and is incident on the concave diffraction grating 43, and thereafter, is separated by the concave diffraction grating 43, and the split light is focused on the surface of each photoelectric conversion element of the photoelectric converter 44, Thereby, all wavelengths are measured simultaneously. The value measured by the photoelectric converter 44 is sent to the data processing unit 50. In this case, since the light from the light emitting section row 28 is made substantially point-like or linear and is directly incident on the concave diffraction grating 43, the light is interposed between the conventional light emitting section 27 and the concave diffraction grating 43. This eliminates the need for slits and reflecting mirrors, thereby reducing the size. In the optical fiber F,
As shown in FIG. 5, the numerical aperture of the light emitting side fiber part FR is:
Since it is set smaller than the numerical aperture of the light receiving side fiber portion FF, when taking in the reflected light from the object S, it can be taken in at a large incident angle, and the taken in of the reflected light is surely performed. The accuracy is improved, and when the light is emitted to the concave diffraction grating 43, the light is emitted at a small radiation angle. Therefore, the spread of the emitted light is reduced, and the concave diffraction grating 43 can be reduced accordingly. , Miniaturization is achieved.

In the data processing unit 50, as shown in FIG. 6, the absorbance calculation unit 52 uses the electric signal from the photoelectric converter 44 to determine the absorbance of the light having the wavelength belonging to the sugar and the light having the wavelength not considered to belong to the sugar. Are calculated by the second derivative calculator 53, and the sugar content calculator 54 calculates the sugar content using the calculated second derivative values. The calculation result of the sugar content is digitally displayed on the display unit 51. In this case, the absorbance at the wavelength belonging to the sugar and the absorbance at the wavelength not attributed to the sugar are measured, the second derivative of these absorbances is calculated, and the sugar content is calculated based on the calculation result. Since the second derivative is used, compared to the case where the original spectrum is used as data, it is possible to use data in which noise due to the background is eliminated, and the accuracy of estimation of the sugar content can be improved accordingly. Further, since the absorbance at the wavelength belonging to the sugar and the absorbance at the wavelength not attributed to the sugar will be used, a fixed calibration curve of two variables that are linearly independent from each other can be created, As a result, a highly accurate sugar content can be calculated.

[0023] Next, a description will be given of an example of providing the way of the light-receiving portion 24. This is because, as shown in FIG. 7, the light receiving section 24 is formed of one end face Fa of the optical fiber F, and a plurality of optical fibers F are used to arrange the one end faces Fa of the plurality of optical fibers F in a line. A body 60 is formed, and one or more of the row-arranged bodies 60 are arranged near the periphery of the light emitting section 23. The number of the optical fibers F is desirably a plurality of less than 100 in total, and is set to, for example, 12 or 24.
As shown in FIG. 8, these optical fibers F are converged to form a light emitting section row 28 in which the light emitting sections 27 of the optical fibers F are arranged in a line in the same fiber holding section 42 as described above. And are held. The optical fiber F shown in FIG.
Has selected any core diameter in the range of 100 to 200 μm.

In the example shown in FIG. 7 (a), the light receiving sections 24 each composed of three or six optical fibers F are arranged in a row, and
0, and four of the row members 60 are arranged symmetrically on a square side centered on the light emitting portion 23. In the example illustrated in FIG. 7B, the light receiving units 24 including four or eight optical fibers F are arranged in a row to form an arrayed body 60.
The three row members 60 are used, and these are arranged symmetrically on the side of an equilateral triangle with the light emitting portion 23 as the center. In the example shown in FIG. 7 (c), the light receiving sections 24 composed of two or four optical fibers F are arranged in a row to form an arrayed body 60,
Six of the row members 60 are used, and these are arranged symmetrically on a regular hexagonal side centered on the light emitting portion 23. In the example shown in FIG. 7D, the light receiving sections 24 each including six or twelve optical fibers F are arranged in a row to form a row body 60, and two of the row bodies 60 are used to emit light. It is symmetrically arranged in parallel on both sides about the portion 23. In the example shown in FIG. 7 (e), the light receiving units 24 composed of three or six optical fibers F are arranged in an arc to form a row body 60, and four row bodies 60 are used. The light emitting unit 2
3 are arranged symmetrically on a circle.

[0025] Therefore, according to indicate to the optical sensor device in FIG. 7, the end face Fa of the optical fiber F and arrayed in a row, since the received column設体60 of the light receiving section 24 arranged in the striatum, Compared to the conventional case where light is received by a large number of optical fiber bundles as large as 100 or more, the area is reduced, and the occurrence of an optical fiber F that does not receive reflected light or receives insufficient light is prevented, , Because the reflected light is definitely captured,
Measurement accuracy is improved.

Next, another example of the method of providing the light receiving unit 24 considered in the development process of the present invention will be described for reference. This is because, as shown in FIG. 9, the light receiving section 24 is constituted by one end face Fa of the optical fiber F, and the end faces Fa of the plurality of optical fibers F are assembled using a plurality of optical fibers F of less than 100. An aggregate 61 is formed, and the aggregate 61 is
Are arranged in the vicinity of one or two or more. Also,
As shown in FIG. 10, one assembly 61 is arranged at the center of the facing portion 21, and a plurality of light emitting units 23 are arranged around the assembly 61. The optical fiber F is, for example, 12
It is set to books or 24 books. The optical fiber F shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 has a core diameter of 100 to 200.
Any one in the range of μm is selected. Aggregation 6
In No. 1, nine cores having a core diameter of 175 μm and twelve cores having a core diameter of 100 μm are mixed. These optical fibers F
8 is converged as shown in FIG. 8 in the same manner as described above, and the light emitting section 2 of the optical fiber F is stored in the fiber holding section 42 similar to the above.
A light emitting section row 28 in which 7 are arranged in a row is formed and held.

In the example shown in FIG.
These are symmetrically arranged with an equal distance and an equal angle relationship with respect to the light emitting section 23. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9B, three aggregates 61 are used, and these are symmetrically arranged with the same distance and the same angle relationship with respect to the light emitting unit 23. In the example shown in FIG. 9C, two aggregates 61 are used, and these are symmetrically arranged with the light emitting unit 23 at the center and in an equidistant and equiangular relationship. In the example shown in FIG. 10A, the aggregate 61 is arranged at the center of the facing unit 21, and four light emitting units 23 are used. These are symmetrically arranged with the equidistant and equiangular relationship around the aggregate 61. ing. In the example shown in FIG. 10B, the aggregate 61 is arranged at the center of the facing portion 21, and three light emitting portions 23 are used. These are symmetrically arranged around the aggregate 61 in an equidistant and equiangular relationship. ing. In the example shown in FIG. 11C, the aggregate 61 is arranged at the center of the facing portion 21 and two light emitting portions 23 are used. These are symmetrically arranged around the aggregate 61 in an equidistant and equiangular relationship. ing.

[0028] Therefore, according to indicate to the optical sensor device in FIGS. 9 and 10, since is received by collection 61 of the light receiving portion 24 of less than 100, as in the prior art, received by a large number of optical fiber bundles of over 100 In comparison with the case where the optical fiber F does not receive the reflected light or does not receive the reflected light sufficiently, the occurrence of the optical fiber F is prevented, so that the reflected light is surely captured, thereby improving the measurement accuracy. Let me do.

FIG. 11 shows a sensor main body 20 of the sensor device according to the embodiment of the present invention . This pair <br/> direction 21, without using the concave reflector, constituted by metallic cylinder made of the block 62, the hole center of the cylinder block 62 of 6
3 exposing the light emitting portion 23 composed of a white light emitting lamp,
The light receiving section 24 is fixed around the periphery. Specifically, an axial groove 64 is formed outside the cylindrical block 62, the optical fibers F are arranged in the groove 64, and the arranged optical fibers are pressed by a pressing body 65 fitted in the groove 64, An array body 6 in which one end faces Fa of a plurality of optical fibers F are arranged in a line.
0 is formed. The light receiving section 24 shown in FIG.
The arrangement was the same as in (a). In addition, the light-receiving unit 24,
The structure shown in FIGS. 7B, 7C, 7D, and 7E may be used.
No.

[0030]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Example 1 Example 1 is a development process of the present invention similar to that shown in FIG.
The optical sensor device includes the sensor body 20 considered in (1) , except that the optical fiber F has a single numerical aperture (NA =
0.2), with a core diameter of 100 μm and a clad diameter of 1
The thing of 25 micrometers was used. One xenon lamp was used for the light emitting part 23, and a bowl-shaped concave reflector 22 having a diameter of 19 mm was used. Further, the spectroscope 4 of the case body 10
0 denotes a wavelength range from 800 nm to
Those having a size of 1000 nm, external dimensions of 15 × 15 mm, and spectral effective dimensions of 12 mm × 12 mm were used. In addition, the case body 10 includes a photoelectric converter 44 (linear image sensor), a data processing unit 50 including a microcomputer system, a data display unit 51, a power switch 55, a power source for a light emitting light source, and a power source for driving a microcomputer system. A battery 11 also serving as a power supply was provided.

Then, for the apparatus of Example 1 and the apparatus according to the conventional method, the sugar content of apples was measured, and a comparison test of the pickup intensity of reflected light was performed. The apparatus according to the conventional method uses a 30 W halogen lamp to transmit light using a bundle of optical fibers, and one end of the bundle of optical fibers is used as a light emitting unit. The optical fiber for receiving light (optical fiber for pickup) is 100 μm in both the conventional method and the first embodiment.
m, numerical aperture (NA) 0.2, cladding diameter 125 μm 2
Used this book. In the first embodiment, the output of the xenon lamp of the light emitting unit 23 is set to 0.75 W (light emitting unit 1) and to 1.2
The test was performed in the case of 5 W (light emitting section 2). In the test, the distance between the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit was changed, and the pickup power (dBm) of the optical fiber was measured at each distance. FIG. 12 shows the measurement results.

According to the first embodiment, even when a 0.75 W light source (intensity of 1/40 of the conventional light source) is used, it is possible to pick up 16 times light. In addition, since there is no slit or reflecting mirror, the number of man-hours for production can be reduced to 1/3 or less, and the price can be reduced to about 1/5 to 1/10 compared to the conventional product. FIG. 13 shows the result of comparing the number of units adjusted per unit time between the case where the conventional slit and the reflecting mirror are provided and the first embodiment. Further, as shown in FIG. 14, the correlation coefficient value and the standard error were considerably better than those of the conventional method, and the reliability was high.

Next, Examples 2 to 9 will be described. In this case, the sensor main body 20 has the structure shown in FIG.
The arrangement shown in (b) was adopted, and the fiber holding section 42 had the structure shown in FIG. Example 2 a. Sensor body This is made by inserting four grooves with a depth of 2.95 mm and a width of 1 mm at 90-degree intervals in the axial direction in a brass rod (length: 20 mm) with a diameter of 10 mm, and optical fibers are arranged in this groove. , Width 0.1
A row body having a length of 30 mm and a length of 1 mm was prepared. Six optical fibers were used in each groove, and a total of 24 optical fibers were used. The light emitting part was fixed to the center of the brass rod. An optical fiber arrayed in the groove is pressed into a 1 mm-thick holding body (length 15 mm, height 2.8 m).
m brass plate), and an optical adhesive was used for fixing.
The optical fiber used had a core diameter of 114 μm and a cladding diameter of 120 μm. The material of the optical fiber is a material of a quartz-based ultraviolet region and has a large light absorption around 930 nm. The numerical aperture (NA) is 0.2,
A single one was used. After fixing the optical fiber, the end face was optically polished to align the tips of the optical fiber and to prevent light loss. The final finish of the polishing was puff polishing using 0.02 μm abrasive grains. b. Fiber holding portion Two brass plates were used, and a slit having a length of 3 mm and a width of 0.125 mm was formed in one of the brass plates so that a hole was formed when the two brass plates were overlapped. And width 10
mm, a length of 20 mm, and a thickness of 6 mm. Next, the light emitting part of the optical fiber is lined up in a row on a brass plate with a slit, another brass plate is overlapped and pressed, and temporarily fixed with screws,
It was fixed using an optical adhesive. After fixing the optical fiber, the end face was optically polished to align the tips of the optical fiber and to prevent light loss. Polishing finish is 0.02
Puff polishing using a μm abrasive was performed.

Embodiment 3 a. The sensor body consists of three 10 mm diameter brass rods (length 20 mm) at 120 degree intervals in the axial direction, depth 2.95 mm, width 1.2.
A groove of 5 mm was formed, and eight optical fibers were inserted into the groove (2 in total).
4) are arranged in a row, and the optical fibers are arranged in a thickness of 1.25 m.
m, length 15 mm, height 2.8 mm brass holding body, fixed using optical adhesive, width 0.130,
A row body having a length of 1.25 mm was prepared. The optical fiber used has a core diameter of 114 μm and a cladding diameter of 120 μm. The material of the optical fiber is a silica-based optical fiber for an ultraviolet region, and has a large light absorption around 930 nm. The numerical aperture (NA) is 0.2. After fixing,
In order to align the ends of the optical fiber and to prevent light loss,
The end face was optically polished. At the end of polishing, buff polishing using 0.02 μm abrasive grains was performed. b. Fiber holding part was prepared in the same manner as in Example 2 .

[Embodiment 4] With the same configuration as in Embodiment 2,
An optical fiber having a numerical aperture of 0.26 was used. Example 5 An optical fiber having the same configuration as that of Example 3 and a numerical aperture of 0.26 was used. Example 6 An optical fiber having the same configuration as that of Example 2 and a core diameter of 170 μm was used. Example 7 An optical fiber having a configuration similar to that of Example 3 and a core diameter of 170 μm was used. Example 8 An optical fiber having a configuration similar to that of Example 4 and having a core diameter of 170 μm was used. Example 9 An optical fiber having a configuration similar to that of Example 5 and a core diameter of 170 μm was used.

A comparative test was performed with these Examples 2 to 9 and the apparatus according to the conventional method. An apparatus according to a conventional method has a structure in which four end bodies of an optical fiber bundle are provided as a light emitting portion and light is transmitted from a halogen lamp of 30 W to this optical fiber bundle in a device provided with four rows as shown in FIG. Configured. In each embodiment, the light emitting portion is 0.6 W (outer diameter 3.2 mm).
Xenon lamp was used. Then, the pickup power (dBm), full width at half maximum (nm), correlation coefficient (R), and standard error were measured. The full width at half maximum was measured by irradiating the concave diffraction grating with the pickup light and irradiating the pickup light with a fiber having a core diameter of 100 μm in each of the conventional method and each of the examples, and analyzed with an optical spectrum analyzer. FIG. 15 shows the results. From the results, in the example, both the pickup power and the full width at half maximum were superior to the conventional method, and good values were obtained in the point of the correlation coefficient and the standard error. A high-performance and inexpensive measuring device was created.

Next, Examples 10 to 14 will be described. In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the light receiving side fiber part and the light emitting side fiber part of the optical fiber
The numerical aperture was changed. [Embodiment 10] Emitting fiber section NA = 0.13 Receiving fiber section NA = 0.20 [Embodiment 11] Emitting fiber section NA = 0.13 Receiving fiber section NA = 0.26 [Example] Example 12: Emitting fiber section NA = 0.13 Receiving fiber section NA = 0.35 Example 13 Emitting fiber section NA = 0.20 Receiving fiber section NA = 0.26 Example 14 ] Emitting fiber section NA = 0.20 Receiving fiber section NA = 0.35

The apparatus according to Examples 10 to 14 and the above-described conventional method have the same pickup power (dBm) and full width at half maximum (nm) together with the apparatus according to the conventional method having a single numerical aperture used in comparison with Example 2. ) Was measured. The optical fiber used had a core diameter of 100 μm, and the distance to the concave diffraction grating (grating) was set to about 10 cm. In Examples 10 to 14, the size of the concave diffraction grating based on the output (power) of the device according to the conventional method is shown in comparison with the size of the concave diffraction grating of the device according to the conventional method. FIG. 16 shows the results. The numerical aperture (radiation angle) is small (NA = 0.13 (approximately 14 degrees), NA = 0.20 (approximately 2) in the light emitting side fiber portion (concave diffraction grating side).
3)), the diffraction grating can be made small, and the cost can be greatly reduced. Also, by using an optical fiber having a larger numerical aperture (NA) than the light emitting side fiber part for the light receiving side fiber part (pickup side), it is possible to obtain internal information of the subject over a wide range,
A characteristically stable device has become possible. The numerical aperture is 0.
The pickable angle at 13 is about 14 degrees, and the range is about 41 degrees when the numerical aperture is 0.35. When a diffraction grating of the same size is used, according to the present method, the light source can be made much smaller than the conventional one.

[0039]

[0040]

[0041]

As described above, the optical sensor of the present invention
According to the device , a plurality of optical fibers constituting a light receiving unit are used, and a row body in which one end faces of the plurality of optical fibers are lined up in a line is formed. Since the optical fibers are arranged as described above, the end faces of the optical fibers are arranged in a line, and the light is received by the light receiving portions arranged in a line. The area is smaller than that of, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of optical fibers that do not receive or receive insufficient reflected light, so that reflected light can be reliably captured and measurement accuracy can be greatly improved. Can be improved.

[0042]

[Brief description of the drawings]

[1] In the development process of the embodiment of the engagement Ri invention to the precise form of the present invention
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an optical sensor device including a conceivable sensor body .

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a sensor body considered in a development process of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a configuration of a sensor body considered in a development process of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a fiber holding unit considered in a development process of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of an optical fiber of the optical sensor device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a data processing unit of the optical sensor device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a front view showing the configuration of the sensor body of the optical sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention ((a) (b) ( c) (d) (e)).

8 is a diagram showing the configuration of the fiber holding portion of the sensor main body of the optical sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing another configuration ((a), (b), and (c)) of the sensor body considered in the course of developing the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing still another configuration ((a), (b), and (c)) of the sensor body considered in the course of developing the present invention.

11 is a perspective view showing a cell <br/> capacitors of the body structure of an optical sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 shows a sensor body considered in the development process of the present invention.
It is a table | surface figure which shows the comparison test result of Example 1 and the conventional apparatus which provided the optical sensor apparatus.

FIG. 13 shows a sensor body considered in the development process of the present invention.
It is a table | surface figure which shows the comparison test result of Example 1 and the conventional apparatus which provided the optical sensor apparatus.

FIG. 14 shows a sensor body considered in the development process of the present invention.
It is a table | surface figure which shows the comparison test result of Example 1 and the conventional apparatus which provided the optical sensor apparatus.

FIG. 15 is a view showing a second embodiment to a ninth embodiment of the optical sensor device according to the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a table showing the results of a comparison test between a conventional apparatus and a conventional apparatus.

FIG. 16 is a table showing comparison test results between Examples 10 to 14 relating to the optical sensor device of the present invention and a conventional device.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conventional optical sensor device.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a spectroscope of a conventional optical sensor device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 S Object 10 Case body 20 Sensor main body 21 Opposing part 22 Concave reflector 23 Light emitting part 24 Light receiving part F Optical fiber Fa One end face Fb Other end face FF Light receiving fiber part FR Light emitting fiber part 27 Light emitting part 30 Tube A Advance position B Retreat position 35 Coil spring (biasing means) 36 Start signal sending means 40 Spectroscope 41 Housing 42 Fiber holding unit 43 Concave diffraction grating 44 Photoelectric converter 50 Data processing unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shunichi Mikami 5-1, Oji Metal Town, Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture Towa Denki Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideyoshi Takai 101-10 Hitotani, Goshogawara City, Aomori Prefecture (72) Inventor Takeshi Ama 268-77, Akasaka, Toyama, Aomori, Aomori, Aomori (72) Inventor, Norimitsu Hanamatsu, 135-11, Kitahira, Sanbongi, Towada, Aomori (56) References JP 9-318529 (JP, A) JP-A-5-288674 (JP, A) JP-A-63-148145 (JP, A) JP-A-1-165936 (JP, A) JP-A 8-292147 (JP, A) JP-A-9 -133633 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01N 21/00-21/61 G01N 21/84-21/85 G01N 33/02

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] A sensor body provided with a facing portion facing the object; a light emitting portion provided on the sensor body for irradiating the object with light; and a light emitting portion provided on the sensor body. and a light receiving portion for receiving the reflected light reflected on the illuminated the object from the light emitting unit, an optical sensor device constitutes a light receiving portion in one end surface of the plurality of optical fibers, the opposed portion, a cylinder made of metal blocks Composed of this circle
Light emission consisting of a white light emitting lamp in the center hole of the pillar block
Part, and the light receiving part is constructed outside the cylindrical block.
A groove for arranging one end faces of a plurality of optical fibers in a line
, In the axial direction of the cylindrical block and centered on the light-emitting part
Form two or more symmetrically around it, and arrange optical fibers in this groove
And hold down the optical fibers arranged in a row with the holding body fitted in the groove.
One end face of multiple optical fibers around the light emitting section
An optical sensor device , wherein two or more lined bodies are symmetrically arranged . 2. A light emitting unit using four of the row members.
The feature is that it is symmetrically arranged on a square side centered on
The optical sensor device according to claim 1. 3. A light emitting unit using three of the row members.
And symmetrically arranged on an equilateral triangle centered on
The optical sensor device according to claim 1. 4. A light emitting unit using six of the row members.
And symmetrically arranged on a regular hexagonal side centered on
The optical sensor device according to claim 1. 5. A light emitting unit using two of the row members.
Symmetrically arranged in parallel on both sides around the center
The optical sensor device according to claim 1. 6. A light receiving section comprising a plurality of optical fibers.
Arranged in an arc to form a row body, and use four row bodies
They should be symmetrically arranged on a circle centered on the light emitting part.
The optical sensor device according to claim 1, wherein: