JP6614441B2 - Spatial optical communication device and spatial optical communication system using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a spatial optical communication apparatus that transmits and receives light on which a communication signal is superimposed, and a spatial optical communication system using the same.

  Patent Document 1 describes that an optical space communication device capable of facilitating the adjustment of the communication beam path and reducing the communication beam path can be provided. The optical space communication device of Patent Document 1 includes an optical space communication having two optical communication devices each including a communication circuit, a light emitting element and a light receiving element connected to the communication circuit, a light projecting lens, and a condenser lens. In this apparatus, the light projecting lens is disposed behind the condenser lens, and the optical axes of both lenses are the same.

JP-A-9-153864

  Furthermore, there is a need for a compact and highly sensitive optical communication device.

  The spatial optical communication apparatus for transmitting and receiving light on which a communication signal is superimposed according to the present invention is a concave first reflecting surface including a first rotating curved surface facing forward, and the central axis of the first rotating curved surface A first reflecting surface having an opening on the upper surface and a second reflecting surface having a convex shape including a second rotating curved surface disposed on the central axis in front of the opening and facing the opening, The second reflecting surface has a diameter larger than that of the opening, and a light receiving portion disposed at a position retracted from the opening.

  The condensing system of this spatial light communication device has a first reflecting surface and a second reflecting surface arranged so as to face each other on the central axis, and the concave first reflecting surface moves forward. By folding the reflected light at the convex second reflecting surface, the optical path of the condensing system can be folded to shorten the total length of the condensing system. At the same time, the focal length is extended by the convex second reflecting surface, the focal point is set to the position retracted from the first reflecting surface, and the light receiving unit is set to the position retracted from the first reflecting surface, that is, retracted from the light collecting system. Can be placed at the position. As a result, the condensing system can be made compact, and the light receiving unit can be separated not into the condensing system but into a retracted position, increasing the degree of freedom of configuration and arrangement of the light receiving unit, and a compact and highly sensitive spatial optical communication device. Can provide.

  In this spatial optical communication device, an opening is provided on the central axis of the first reflecting surface, a second reflecting surface having a diameter larger than the aperture diameter is disposed on the central axis in front of the opening, and these reflections are made. By avoiding light rays that directly enter the light receiving part without passing through a surface, the influence of light that becomes noise on the light receiving part is reduced.

The perspective view which shows the external appearance of a space optical communication apparatus. Sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of a spatial optical communication apparatus. The expanded view which shows the structure of the light-receiving / emitting part of a spatial light communication apparatus. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of a different space optical communication apparatus.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a spatial light communication device. A spatial optical communication system is provided by providing two of the spatial optical communication apparatuses. This spatial optical communication system includes two handy light type spatial optical communication devices 1, and signals mounted (superposed) on the light 65 by facing the front (light emitting side) of both spatial optical communication devices 1. 66 can be exchanged (transmitted / received). An example of the signal 66 is an audio signal, and these spatial optical communication devices 1 include an interface 5 for connecting a microphone and an earphone, and voice information can be exchanged at a long distance via these spatial optical communication devices 1. . The spatial light communication device may be hereinafter referred to as a communication device.

  FIG. 2 shows a schematic structure of the communication device 1 in a sectional view. FIG. 3 shows an expanded configuration of the light emitting / receiving unit of the communication device 1. The communication device 1 is a spatial light communication device that transmits and receives light on which a communication signal is superimposed via a space. This communication device 1 is a concave first reflecting surface 21 including a first rotating curved surface 21a facing forward 61, and an opening 24 is provided on a central axis 29 of the first rotating curved surface 21a. A first reflecting surface 21 and a convex second reflecting surface 22 disposed on a central axis 29 in front of the opening 24 and including a second rotating curved surface 22a facing the opening 24; The reflection surface 22 has a second reflection surface 22 in which the diameter D2 of the reflection surface 22 is larger than the diameter D1 of the opening 24, and a light receiving unit 28 disposed at a position retracted from the opening 24.

  Further, the communication device 1 is arranged in front of the second reflecting surface 22 on the central axis 29 and includes a concave third reflecting surface 31 including a third rotating curved surface 31a facing the front 61, And a light emitting unit 32 that outputs light 65 b on which a communication signal is superimposed toward the third reflecting surface 31.

  Specifically, the communication device 1 receives a signal from the handy light type housing 3, the light emitting / receiving unit 10 provided in the front 61 of the housing 3, and the received light 65 a received by the light emitting / receiving unit (light emitting / receiving unit) 10. And a control board 4 including a function of superimposing a signal on transmission light 65b transmitted from the light emitting / receiving unit 10, a battery 8, and an interface (connector) 5 for connecting an input / output device such as a microphone, and communication And a handle 9 for holding the device 1 by hand.

  The light receiving / emitting unit 10 is a receiving light (received light) 65 a on which a communication signal 66 is superimposed, collects the received light 65 a coming from the front 61, and the inside of the housing 3 behind the light receiving / emitting unit 10. And a light projecting system 30 that outputs a transmission light (transmission light) 65 b on which a communication signal 66 is superimposed to the front 61.

  The condensing system 20 includes a concave first reflecting surface 21 facing the front 61 and a convex second reflecting surface 22 facing the opposite side. The first reflecting surface 21 includes a rotating curved surface (first rotating curved surface) 21 a that reflects the received light 65 a so as to be condensed toward the second reflecting surface 22. Examples of the rotating curved surface include an elliptic paraboloid and a hyperboloid. A circular opening (hole, hole) 24 is provided on the central axis 29 of the first reflecting surface 21, and the light receiving unit 28 is disposed inside the housing 3 behind the opening.

  The second reflecting surface 22 is disposed on the central axis 29 in front of the opening 24, faces the opening 24, reflects (folds back) the received light 65 a reflected by the first reflecting surface 21, and opens the opening 24. A second rotating curved surface 22a that condenses toward the light receiving portion 28 at the rear. The diameter D2 of the second reflecting surface 22 is larger than the diameter D1 of the opening 24, and when viewed from the front 61, the opening 24 is covered with the second reflecting surface 22.

  The light projecting system 30 includes a concave third reflecting surface 31 that is disposed in front of the second reflecting surface 22 on the central axis 29 and faces the front 61. The third reflecting surface 31 rotates the transmission light 65 b emitted backward from the light emitting unit 32 disposed in the front 61 toward the third reflecting surface 31 toward the front 61 as a substantially parallel light beam. A curved surface (third rotational curved surface) 31a is included. In this example, an LED is employed as the light emitting unit 32.

  More specifically, the light emitting / receiving unit 10 is a parabolic type attached to the front 61 of the cylindrical housing 3, and is a first reflecting member provided with a first reflecting surface 21 on the front 61 front surface. 12 and a parabolic type having a diameter smaller than that of the first reflecting member 12, the third reflecting surface 31 is provided on the front 61 surface, and the second reflecting surface 22 is provided on the reverse rear surface. Two reflective members 13, a transparent acrylic disc-like cover 15 covering the front 61 of the first reflective member 12 and the second reflective member 13, the cover 15, the second reflective member 13 and the first reflective member 13. The ring-shaped frame 11 for sandwiching and attaching the reflecting member 12 to the housing 3 in order from the front 61.

  The light emitting / receiving unit 10 further has a rod shape that connects a part of the outer edge portion 13 a of the parabolic second reflecting member 13 and the outer edge portion 12 a of the first reflecting member 12 constituting the first reflecting surface 21. Or it has the thin plate-shaped fixing member 14. The light emitting / receiving unit 10 further includes a member 16 that extends the fixing member 14 to the vicinity of the central axis 29, and an LED 32 that is a light emitting unit is attached to the tip of the fixing member 14 in a state in which the fixing member 14 extends to the vicinity of the central axis 29 It has been. Therefore, by fixing the first reflecting member 12, the fixing member 14, and the cover 15 to the front 61 of the housing 3 so as to be sandwiched between the frames 11, the second reflecting is made in front of the first reflecting member 12. The member 13 and the LED 32 can be incorporated. Moreover, the path | route which makes heat escape to the housing 3 can be formed via the extension member 16 and the fixing member 14, heat dissipation can be promoted from LED32, and it can suppress that LED32 overheats. The extension member 16 and the fixing member 14 are preferably made of metal or metal-coated members in consideration of heat transfer for heat dissipation.

  In this communication device 1, the condensing system 20 that condenses the received light 65 a has a first reflecting surface 21 and a second reflecting surface 22 arranged so as to face the central axis 29. The received light 65 a reflected forward by the first reflecting surface 21 is folded back by the second reflecting surface 22. Therefore, the optical path for condensing the received light 65a is folded, the overall length of the light condensing system 20 can be shortened, and the light receiving / emitting section 10 can be gathered compactly.

  Furthermore, the focal length of the light collecting system 20 can be extended by turning back the optical path of the light collecting system 20 with the second reflecting surface 22, and the focal point can be set at a position inside the housing 3 that is retracted from the first reflecting surface 21. . The light receiving unit 28 for detecting the received light 65a is preferably disposed in the vicinity of the focal point of the light collecting system 20. For this reason, the light receiving unit 28 can be disposed at a position retracted from the first reflecting surface 21, and It is not necessary to install the light receiving unit 28 inside, and the light receiving unit 28 can be arranged separately from the light collecting system 20. For this reason, the freedom degree of the structure of the light-receiving part 28 increases, and the structure with the high detection sensitivity of the received light 65a is employable.

  In this example, the light receiving unit 28 has a configuration in which a plurality of photodiodes 28a are arranged in a plane, and a diffusion plate 26 is disposed in front of the photodiode 28a. Therefore, the received light 65a collected by the light collecting system 20 can be detected by the plurality of photodiodes 28a, and the receiving sensitivity can be improved.

  In addition, by adopting a convex surface as the second reflecting surface 22 and extending the focal distance, the light receiving unit 28 is arranged inside the housing 3, and the arrangement position of the second reflecting surface 22 is changed to the first reflecting surface 22. There is also an advantage that the effective area of the surface 21 can be arranged at the largest position and the incident amount can be maximized. In this example, an arrangement is adopted in which the edge 22b of the front 61 of the second reflecting surface 22 and the edge 21b of the front 61 of the first reflecting surface 21 substantially coincide with each other in the direction of the central axis 29. By adopting this arrangement, the second reflecting surface 22 can be accommodated in the space of the first reflecting surface 21, and a compact condensing system 20 can be provided as a whole. At the same time, the received light 65a reflected near the front edge 21b of the first reflecting surface 21 can be condensed in the direction of the opening 24 near the front edge 22b of the second reflecting surface 22. The reception sensitivity of the communication device 1 can be improved by maximizing the effective area of the first reflection surface 21 and increasing the light collecting ability of the reception light 65a.

  Further, by utilizing the fact that the light receiving unit 28 can be arranged behind the first reflecting surface 21, an opening 24 through which the received light 65a passes is provided in the first reflecting surface 21, and light from the outside not related to optical communication is provided. Is less likely to enter the rear from the opening 24, thereby reducing the noise component. That is, the target received light 65a is light that enters the condensing system 20 from the front 61, and light that enters the condensing system 20 from a direction deviating from the front 61 may not easily enter the rear through the opening 24. it can. Specifically, a cylindrical cavity (hole, hole) 25 recessed rearward is provided in a portion along the central axis 29 of the first reflecting member 12 constituting the first reflecting surface 21, and a plurality of holes are provided on the bottom surface. The photodiode 28a is arranged.

  Further, by making the diameter D2 of the second reflecting surface 22 arranged in front of the opening 24 larger than the diameter D1 of the opening 24, the light receiving unit 28 directly from the front that may cause the highest noise. The light that enters the second reflection surface 22, specifically, the second reflection member 13 that constitutes the second reflection surface 22 can be excluded. For this reason, the receiving light 65a guided by the first reflecting surface 21 and the second reflecting surface 22 constituting the light collecting system 20 is condensed on the light receiving unit 28, and the influence of other light on the light receiving unit 28 is affected. Since it can suppress, the communication apparatus 1 with high receiving sensitivity can be provided.

  Further, in the communication device 1, the third reflecting surface 31 of the light projecting system 30 is provided on the front surface of the second reflecting member 13 provided with the second reflecting surface 22 on the rear surface, and the second reflecting member 13. Is shared by the light condensing system 20 and the light projecting system 30. For this reason, it becomes possible to integrate the light projection system 30 in the space of the condensing system 20, and the communication apparatus 1 provided with the compact light emitting / receiving part 10 can be provided. Furthermore, by sharing the second reflecting member 13 for the light condensing system 20 and the light projecting system 30, the number of parts constituting the light emitting / receiving unit 10 can be reduced, and the economical communication device 1 can be provided.

  The third reflecting surface 31 provided on the front surface of the second reflecting member 13 is a concave mirror, and is directed from the LED 32 which is a light emitting portion disposed in front 61 of the third reflecting surface 31 toward the third reflecting surface 31. Then, the transmission light 65b emitted backward is reflected so as to be substantially parallel rays. On the other hand, the second reflecting surface 22 provided on the rear surface of the second reflecting member 13 is a convex mirror and constitutes a part of the condensing system 20. For this reason, the radius of curvature r3 of the rotating curved surface (third rotating curved surface) 31a of the third reflecting surface 31 and the radius of curvature r2 of the rotating curved surface (second rotating curved surface) 22a of the second reflecting surface 22 are different. The radius of curvature r2 is larger than the radius of curvature r3. That is, the third reflecting surface 31 has a large curvature (the curvature radius r3 is small) in order to make the transmission light 65b from the LED 32 disposed nearby parallel light, whereas the second reflecting surface 22 Since the main purpose is to extend the focal length of the light collecting system 20, the curvature tends to be small (the radius of curvature r2 is large).

  FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration of a different communication device 1 using a cross section with the light emitting / receiving unit 10 as the center. The light emitting / receiving unit 10 of the communication device 1 includes a condensing system 20 and a light projecting system 30 having the same configuration as described above. The light receiving unit 28 that detects the received light 65a collected by the light collecting system 20 includes one photodiode 28a disposed on the bottom surface of the cavity 25 at a position retracted from the first reflecting surface 21, and the photodiode 28a. And the aperture plate 24, and a diaphragm member 27 having a tapered reflecting surface disposed between the diffuser plate 26 and the photodiode 28a. The received light 65a collected by the condensing system 20 and guided to the opening 24 is diffused by the diffusion plate 26 and then guided to the photodiode 28a by the diaphragm member 27.

  By disposing the diffusion plate 26 behind the opening 24, the light condensing property (focusing) behind the diffusion plate 26 can be broadened by the light emitting and receiving unit 10 led to the opening 24. For this reason, the range of the received light 65a captured by the light condensing system 20 can be expanded to a direction shifted by a predetermined angle range from the direction of the central axis 29 of the light emitting / receiving unit 10, and the angular range in which the communication device 1 can transmit and receive. Spread. In the communication apparatus 1, the received light 65a diffused by the diffusion plate 26 is collected on the photodiode 28a by the reflecting surface of the tapered diaphragm member 27 narrowed in the direction of the photodiode 28a. Therefore, the received light 65a in a relatively wide angle range can be detected with a few photodiodes 28a.

  In the above description, the present invention has been described by taking the handy type spatial optical communication device 1 including one light emitting / receiving section (light emitting / receiving unit) 10 as an example. However, a plurality of light receiving / emitting light directed in the same direction or different directions. The spatial optical communication device 1 including the unit 10 may be used. It is also possible to configure a spatial optical communication system including two or more spatial optical communication apparatuses 1 by using the spatial optical communication apparatus 1 including a plurality of light receiving and emitting units 10 facing different directions. The light transmitted and received by the spatial light communication device 1 may be in the visible light region, or may be in the ultraviolet or infrared invisible light region. In the above-described handy-type spatial optical communication device 1, by using visible light as the received light 65a and the transmitted light 65b, the spatial optical communication device 1 having a function as a handy light can be provided. It is possible to provide a device that combines communication and lighting, which is useful in an emergency.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Spatial optical communication apparatus 10 Light receiving / emitting part, 12 1st reflection member, 13 2nd reflection member 20 Condensing system, 21 1st reflection surface, 22 2nd reflection surface 30 Light projection system, 31 3rd Reflective surface

Claims (12)

A spatial optical communication device that transmits and receives light on which a communication signal is superimposed,
A concave first reflecting surface including a first rotating curved surface facing forward, wherein the first reflecting surface is provided with an opening on a central axis of the first rotating curved surface;
A convex second reflecting surface disposed on the central axis in front of the opening and including a second rotating curved surface facing the opening, wherein the diameter of the second reflecting surface is the opening. A second reflecting surface larger than the diameter of
A light receiving portion disposed at a position retracted from the opening;
A spatial light communication device comprising: a diffusion plate that diffuses light disposed between the light receiving unit and the opening . In claim 1,
A spatial optical communication device having a tapered diaphragm member disposed between the diffusion plate and the light receiving unit and narrowing in the direction of the light receiving unit. In claim 1 or 2 ,
A concave third reflecting surface disposed in front of the second reflecting surface on the central axis and including a third rotating curved surface facing forward;
A spatial light communication apparatus, comprising: a light emitting unit that is disposed in front of the third reflecting surface and outputs light in which a communication signal is superimposed toward the third reflecting surface. In claim 3 ,
A spatial optical communication device comprising a reflective member provided with the second reflective surface at the rear and the third reflective surface at the front. In claim 3 or 4 ,
The spatial optical communication device, wherein a curvature radius of the second rotating curved surface is different from a curvature radius of the third rotating curved surface. In claim 5 ,
The spatial optical communication device, wherein a radius of curvature of the second rotating curved surface is larger than a radius of curvature of the third rotating curved surface. In claim 4 ,
A spatial optical communication apparatus, comprising: a fixing member that connects a part of an outer edge portion of the reflecting member and an outer edge portion of a first member constituting the first reflecting surface. A spatial optical communication device that transmits and receives light on which a communication signal is superimposed,
A concave first reflecting surface including a first rotating curved surface facing forward, wherein the first reflecting surface is provided with an opening on a central axis of the first rotating curved surface;
A convex second reflecting surface disposed on the central axis in front of the opening and including a second rotating curved surface facing the opening, wherein the diameter of the second reflecting surface is the opening. A second reflecting surface larger than the diameter of
A light receiving portion disposed at a position retracted from the opening;
A concave third reflecting surface disposed in front of the second reflecting surface on the central axis and including a third rotating curved surface facing forward;
A light emitting unit that is disposed in front of the third reflecting surface and outputs light in which a communication signal is superimposed toward the third reflecting surface;
A reflective member provided with the second reflective surface at the rear and the third reflective surface at the front;
A spatial optical communication apparatus, comprising: a fixing member that connects a part of an outer edge portion of the reflecting member and an outer edge portion of a first member constituting the first reflecting surface. In claim 7 or 8 ,
The spatial light communication apparatus, wherein the light emitting unit is attached in a state where the fixing member extends to the vicinity of the central axis. In any one of Claim 1 thru | or 9 ,
The spatial light communication device, wherein the light receiving unit includes a plurality of light receiving elements arranged at positions retracted from the opening. A spatial optical communication device that transmits and receives light on which a communication signal is superimposed,
A concave first reflecting surface including a first rotating curved surface facing forward, wherein the first reflecting surface is provided with an opening on a central axis of the first rotating curved surface;
A convex second reflecting surface disposed on the central axis in front of the opening and including a second rotating curved surface facing the opening, wherein the diameter of the second reflecting surface is the opening. A second reflecting surface larger than the diameter of
A light receiving portion disposed at a position retracted from the opening,
The spatial light communication device, wherein the light receiving unit includes a plurality of light receiving elements arranged at positions retracted from the opening. Multiple having space optical communication system space optical communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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