JP4062927B2 - Optical element cleaning jig - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an optical element cleaning jig, and more particularly, to an optical element cleaning jig having a planar portion such as a prism, a plane parallel plate, and a low-pass filter.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The optical element is generally cleaned after machining such as polishing, and is generally cleaned by an ultrasonic cleaning machine in order to perform cleaning effectively.
[0003]
For example, in the cleaning of a general prism such as a TV optical system, a cleaning jig 1 as shown in FIG. 4A is a front view, FIG. 4B is a plan view, and FIG. 4C is a side view. . The plurality of through holes 2, 2... Provided in the cleaning jig 1 are held by being fitted with prisms that are optical elements K. This state is shown in FIG. 5 (a) a plan view, (b) a front sectional view and a perspective view of FIG.
[0004]
However, when the optical element K has a small size, such as an endoscope optical system, the same result as described above is not obtained, and various problems occur. That is, when the cleaning jig 1 containing the optical element K is immersed in the cleaning liquid, the phenomenon that the optical element K rises due to surface tension and falls off the cleaning jig 1 is observed. Similarly, the phenomenon that the optical element K is lifted by ultrasonic vibration and falls off the cleaning jig 1 also occurs.
[0005]
A cleaning jig 3 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is used to cope with such a problem. In FIG. 7, the vertical frame material A, the vertical metal net B, the resin net C, and the holder plate D are laminated in this order from the bottom, and the optical element K is loosely inserted into the through holes 4, 4. Thereafter, the cleaning jig 3 is assembled by further laminating the resin net E and the upper frame material F in this order. An enlarged cross-sectional view of the assembled state is shown in FIG.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when ultrasonic cleaning is performed using such a cleaning jig 3, the ultrasonic wave does not easily reach the optical element K because it is blocked by the saddle-shaped wire net B, the resin net C, the resin net E, etc. There is a problem that cleaning becomes insufficient. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the portion of the optical element K that comes into contact with the resin net C or the like is liable to cause a liquid pool, resulting in poor cleaning of the cleaning liquid. As a result, the optical function surface of the optical element K is improved. It will cause burns and spots.
[0007]
On the other hand, there are known examples of cleaning jigs for optical elements that prevent the cleaning jig from falling off and that the cleaning liquid can be easily removed. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-158049 discloses a cleaning pallet, which explains that it can be used for cleaning optical elements such as lenses.
[0008]
However, any of these preceding examples can be suitably used for a standard-sized optical element such as a lens, but is an optical element having a planar portion such as a prism, a plane parallel plate, a low-pass filter, and the like. It is difficult to apply to a small prism, for example, a prism having a plane size of about 2 × 3 mm.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances. An optical element having a structure in which a small-sized optical element can be held without dropping, an ultrasonic wave can be sufficiently introduced, and the cleaning liquid is sufficiently drained. An object is to provide a cleaning jig.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cleaning jig for an optical element, wherein the cleaning jig is configured by laminating a base plate, a main body plate, and a cover plate having substantially the same plane size in this order. is, the base plate, the flat portion corresponding to each of the main plate and the cover plate has a plurality of through holes are bored through-hole of said body plate, said optical element within said through hole loosely fitted The through-hole of the base plate has a cross-sectional shape that expands from the narrowest portion of the hole diameter near the center in the plate thickness direction toward both surfaces, and the through-hole of the cover plate The surface on the main body plate side is substantially the same shape as the through hole on the surface of the main body plate, and has a cross-sectional shape that is reduced in diameter toward the opposite surface side. Cross-sectional shape that prevents the element from falling off the cleaning jig It provides cleaning jig of the optical element, characterized in that.
[0011]
According to the present invention, it is possible to reliably prevent the optical element from falling off the cleaning jig. Moreover, it is a jig having a three-layer structure, and ultrasonic waves can be sufficiently introduced, and the cleaning liquid can be satisfactorily discharged.
[0012]
In addition, according to the present invention, the through hole of the base plate has a cross-sectional shape in which the diameter increases toward both surfaces from the narrowest hole diameter portion near the center in the plate thickness direction. It is possible to hold the cleaning liquid well. Moreover, an ultrasonic wave can be satisfactorily introduced by the lower tapered portion.
[0013]
Further, according to the present invention, since the through hole of the cover plate has substantially the same shape as the through hole on the surface of the main body plate on the surface on the main body side, and has a cross-sectional shape that decreases in diameter toward the opposite surface side, the optical element dropping from the cleaning jig of Ru can be reliably prevented.
[0014]
Moreover, in this invention, it is preferable that any one or more of the said base board, a main body board, and a cover board is comprised with the metal plate. This is because if any one or more of the constituent parts of the cleaning jig is made of a metal plate, drying of the optical element and the cleaning jig can be promoted by the metal plate having high thermal conductivity.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an optical element cleaning jig according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an optical element cleaning jig 10 according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part showing the configuration of the cleaning jig 10, and FIG. In FIG. 1, which is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing the use state of the tool 10, the cleaning jig 10 is configured by laminating a base plate 12, a main body plate 14, and a cover plate 16 having substantially the same plane size from the bottom. Is done. Cylindrical members 12 </ b> H, which are internally threaded, are erected at the four corners of the base plate 12, and the cylindrical members 12 </ b> H are fitted into the corresponding portions of the four corners of the main body plate 14 and the cover plate 16. Possible through holes 14H and 16H are formed.
[0016]
Further, one of the cylindrical members 12Ha is formed to have a larger diameter than the other three cylindrical members 12H, and the corresponding main body plate 14 and cover plate 16 have a larger diameter than the other through holes 14H and 16H. Through holes 14Ha and 16Ha are formed. Thereby, it is possible to prevent an error in the mounting direction (front and back) of the main body plate 14 and the cover plate 16 with respect to the base plate 12.
[0017]
Therefore, after laminating the base plate 12, the main body plate 14, and the cover plate 16 in this order and fitting the cylindrical member 12H into the through holes 14H and 16H, the bolt member (wing screw) 90 is screwed into the female screw of the cylindrical member 12H. By doing so, the three members are integrated and the cleaning jig 10 is assembled. For fixing the base plate 12, the main body plate 14, and the cover plate 16 to each other, various means other than the above configuration, such as a one-touch type clamp, can be employed.
[0018]
A plurality of through holes 12A, 14A, and 16A are formed in corresponding portions on substantially the entire surface of the base plate 12, the main body plate 14, and the cover plate 16, respectively. The planar arrangement of the through holes 12A, 14A, and 16A can be arbitrarily designed according to the size of the cleaning jig 10, the size of the optical element H, and the like.
[0019]
2A and 2B are cross-sectional views of the main part showing the configuration of the cleaning jig 10, wherein FIG. 2A shows a state where the base plate 12, the main body plate 14 and the cover plate 16 are separated, and FIG. Shows an integrated state. By integrating the three members in this way, the cleaning space 20 is formed by the through holes 12A, 14A, and 16A of the base plate 12, the main body plate 14, and the cover plate 16.
[0020]
The through-hole 12A of the base plate 12 has a cross-sectional shape that expands toward the both surfaces from the narrowest hole diameter portion 12B near the center in the thickness direction. That is, a tapered portion 12D that expands downward from the narrowest hole diameter portion 12B is formed. The opening angle θ of the tapered portion 12D is preferably 60 to 90 degrees. This is because if the opening angle θ is too small, the ultrasonic waves hardly enter the cleaning space 20, and if the opening angle θ is too large, the ultrasonic waves are reflected by the tapered portion 12D, which is not preferable.
[0021]
A tapered portion 12C that expands from the narrowest hole diameter portion 12B is formed. The cross-sectional shape of the taper portion 12C is an arc shape, and is configured such that the optical element H is in point contact and the cleaning liquid can be retained with good liquid breakage. However, depending on the shape of the optical element H, the tapered portion 12C may be a linear taper or any other tapered shape.
[0022]
It should be noted that the narrowest hole diameter portion 12B of the through hole 12A needs to have a size that prevents the optical element H from falling off.
[0023]
The through hole 14A of the main body plate 14 is required to have a cross-sectional shape in which the optical element H can be loosely inserted into the through hole 14A. Further, in the illustrated configuration, the hole diameter of the lower surface of the through hole 14A is formed to be the same as the hole diameter of the upper surface of the through hole 12A of the base plate 12, and the through hole 14A slightly expands upward. It is formed in a taper shape that has a diameter. This is because the optical element H can be easily inserted into the cleaning space 20 (see FIG. 3A).
[0024]
The through-hole 16A of the cover plate 16 is substantially the same shape as the upper surface of the through-hole 14A of the main body plate 14 on the lower side (main body plate side), and the taper is reduced in diameter toward the opposite surface side (upper side). It has a cross-sectional shape. The reason for this is that the optical element H does not fall off (does not jump out from the upper part), and the ultrasonic waves can easily escape from the cleaning space 20.
[0025]
However, the cross-sectional shape of the through-hole 16A of the cover plate 16 is limited to the above configuration as long as the optical element H can be reliably prevented from falling off the cleaning jig 10 and the ultrasonic wave can be removed. Instead, various configurations can be employed.
[0026]
The material of the base plate 12, the body plate 14 and the cover plate 16 includes the size of the cleaning jig 10 (planar shape, plate thickness, diameter of the through hole, etc.), the shape of the optical element H, and the material of the optical element H (for example, , Glass material type), composition of cleaning liquid, and the like can be selected. For example, tetrafluoroethylene, polypropylene, polyacetal, etc. can be used as the resin material, and brass, aluminum, stainless steel, etc. can be used as the metal material.
[0027]
However, it is preferable that any one or more of the base plate 12, the main body plate 14, and the cover plate 16 is made of a metal plate. This is because if any one or more of the constituent parts of the cleaning jig is made of a metal plate, drying of the optical element and the cleaning jig itself can be promoted by a metal plate having good thermal conductivity.
[0028]
That is, in a precision cleaning apparatus mainly composed of ultrasonic cleaning, steam drying, for example, IPA (isopropyl alcohol) steam drying is often employed for finishing the cleaning process. If a metal plate with good thermal conductivity is used, the temperature of the cleaning jig is easily adjusted to the ambient temperature, and drying is performed quickly.
[0029]
The method of using the cleaning jig 10 configured as described above is as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 3A, in the cleaning jig 10 in which the base plate 12 and the main body plate 14 are laminated, the optical element H (in this case, a prism) is inserted into the through hole. The handling of the optical element H is performed by any means such as resin tweezers.
[0030]
At this time, the through hole 14A of the main body plate 14 serves as a guide to facilitate the insertion of the optical element H. Further, the insertion of the optical element H is further facilitated because the through hole 14A has a tapered shape whose diameter is increased upward.
[0031]
After all the optical elements H are inserted, as shown in FIG. 3B, the cover plate 16 is laminated, and the cleaning plate in which the base plate 12, the body plate 14 and the cover plate 16 are integrated. The tool 10 is assembled. Even if ultrasonic cleaning is performed in this state, the optical element H does not fall off the cleaning jig 10. Further, since the ultrasonic wave is introduced from the through hole 12A and is removed from the through hole 16A, the optical element H is sufficiently cleaned. Even during drying, since the optical element H is in contact with the cleaning jig 10 in the form of dots, liquid accumulation is less likely to occur, and as a result, burns and spots are unlikely to occur.
[0032]
After the cleaning is finished, the cover plate 16 and the main body plate 14 are removed as shown in FIG. Unlike the configuration shown in FIG. 3A, since the main body plate 14 is also removed, the handling (unloading) of the optical element H is very easy.
[0033]
As mentioned above, although the example of embodiment of the cleaning jig | tool of the optical element which concerns on this invention was demonstrated, this invention is not limited to the example of the said embodiment, Various aspects can be taken. For example, in the present embodiment, the through holes 12A, 14A, and 16A have been described as circular holes, but depending on the shape of the optical element H, a rectangular hole or a triangular hole may be used. You can also.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, an optical element having a structure that can hold an optical element having a small size without dropping, can sufficiently introduce ultrasonic waves, and has a structure in which the cleaning liquid is sufficiently drained. A cleaning jig can be provided. Thereby, it is possible to satisfactorily clean the small-sized optical element.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an overall configuration of an optical element cleaning jig according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a principal part showing a configuration of an optical element cleaning jig according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing a use state of a cleaning jig for an optical element according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a conventional cleaning jig.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a usage state of a conventional cleaning jig.
FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a usage state of a conventional cleaning jig.
FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the overall configuration of another conventional cleaning jig.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a usage state of another conventional cleaning jig.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Cleaning jig, 12 ... Base plate, 12A ... Through-hole, 14 ... Main body plate, 14A ... Through-hole, 16 ... Cover plate, 16A ... Through-hole, 20 ... Cleaning space, H ... Optical element

Claims (2)

An optical element cleaning jig,
The cleaning jig is configured by laminating a base plate, a main body plate and a cover plate of substantially the same plane size in this order,
The base plate, a plurality of through holes are drilled in the flat portion corresponding to each of the main plate and the cover plate,
The through hole of the main body plate has a cross-sectional shape in which the optical element can be loosely inserted into the through hole, and the through hole of the base plate is on both surface sides from the narrowest portion of the hole diameter near the center in the plate thickness direction. The through hole of the cover plate has substantially the same shape as the through hole on the surface of the main body plate on the surface on the main body plate side, and the diameter decreases toward the opposite surface side. A cleaning jig for an optical element, wherein the through hole of the base plate and the cover plate has a cross-sectional shape that can prevent the optical element from falling off the cleaning jig. The optical element cleaning jig according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the base plate, the main body plate, and the cover plate is formed of a metal plate.

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