JPH0121287Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to an optical modulator that modulates infrared rays emitted from an object to be measured and guides the modulated infrared rays to an infrared sensor.

<Prior art> Conventionally, this type of optical modulator is known to include a disc with a notch and a motor that rotates the disc. The sensor is placed between an object and an infrared sensor installed in the path of the infrared rays emitted from the object to be measured, and the motor rotates the disc, thereby detecting the infrared rays emitted from the object. The infrared rays are made to enter the infrared sensor intermittently at regular intervals, and the infrared sensor detects the infrared rays to obtain a predetermined detection signal.

By the way, in this case, a motor etc. for driving the disk is required, which increases the size and weight of the entire optical modulator, making the structure complex, and also requires the use of expensive parts such as motors. There are drawbacks such as high manufacturing costs.

Therefore, in order to improve this, for example, as shown in FIG. By erecting a movable slit plate 11 having a portion 11a and a light shielding portion 11b and vibrating the piezoelectric vibrator 5, the infrared rays γ emitted from the object to be measured 1 are made to enter the infrared sensor 2 intermittently. Proposed. In this case, it is possible to eliminate the mechanical rotating part as in the conventional example, and the structure can be simplified. However, the coupling structure between the movable slit plate 11 and the piezoelectric vibrator 5 is as follows. There are some points that require consideration, as described in .

<Problem to be solved by the invention> In other words, in the case of this improvement proposal, the movable slit plate 11 is constructed from a rectangular thin metal plate with a transparent portion 11a punched out, and the lower end of this thin metal plate is bent at a right angle. The bent portion 20 is attached and fixed to the free end of the piezoelectric vibrator 5 with adhesive or solder. However, in this case, when attaching and fixing the movable slit plate 11 to the piezoelectric vibrator 5, a jig (not shown) is required to maintain the mounting posture of the movable slit plate 11 during curing of the adhesive or soldering. However, a problem arises in that a separate structure for shooting driving electrodes (not shown) on both the upper and lower surfaces of the piezoelectric vibrator 5 must be provided.

In view of these conventional problems, the present invention uses a piezoelectric vibrator as described above to intermittent the infrared γ emitted from the object to be measured, thereby making it possible to reduce the weight of the device and the manufacturing cost. At the same time, the aim is to improve the assembly workability and simplify the structure by adding innovation to the coupling structure between the piezoelectric vibrator and the slit plate.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides an infrared sensor installed between an object to be measured and an infrared sensor installed on the path of infrared rays emitted from the object to be measured. An optical modulator arranged to modulate light incident on an infrared sensor and guide it to the infrared sensor, the light modulator comprising: a parallel bimorph piezoelectric vibrator; and a modulation means driven by the vibration of the piezoelectric vibrator. The modulation means is composed of a movable slit plate having a light-transmitting part and a light-blocking part, and the movable slit plate is integrally formed with a holding part for clamping, which is a part of the movable slit plate. A locking portion is inserted and fitted into one end of the piezoelectric vibrator to attach and fix the movable slit plate to one end of the piezoelectric vibrator, and the locking portion electrically connects the electrodes on both sides of the piezoelectric vibrator to each other. In addition, one input section of the drive power source is connected to one of the front and back drive electrodes at the other end of the piezoelectric vibrator.

<Example> Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an example shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing the whole of this embodiment. In FIG. 1, 1 is an object to be measured that emits infrared γ, and 2 is a pyroelectric infrared sensor, which is installed on the passage path of the infrared γ emitted from the object 1 to be measured. The optical modulator 3 of the embodiment is arranged between the infrared sensor 2 and the object to be measured 1.

The optical modulator 3 includes a modulating means 4 and a piezoelectric vibrator 5 for driving the modulating means 4. As this piezoelectric vibrator 5, for example, a so-called parallel bimorph vibrator, which is formed by laminating a pair of piezoelectric elements 6 and 7, is used. This piezoelectric vibrator 5 has its base end supported and fixed on a support member 8, and is driven to vibrate by a drive power source 9 such as an oscillator, and has driving electrodes 10, 10 on both upper and lower surfaces of the piezoelectric vibrator 5. The modulation means 4 is composed of a movable slit plate 11 made of a rectangular conductive thin metal plate. Movable slit plate 1
1 is attached to the free end of the piezoelectric vibrator 5.
It is erected at almost a right angle to the The movable slit plate 11 is formed by punching out a plurality of slit windows from the thin metal plate, and the slit windows are formed in the transparent part 1.
1a, and the remaining metal plate portion is the light shielding part 11.
Acts as b. As a result, the piezoelectric vibrator 5
Due to the vibration, the movable slit plate 11 is reciprocated up and down, and the infrared rays γ emitted from the object to be measured 1 are made to enter the infrared sensor 2 intermittently at regular intervals.

As shown in FIG. 2, the movable slit plate 11 includes, in addition to the above-mentioned configuration, a locking portion 12 formed integrally therewith. This locking portion 12 includes a pair of bent locking pieces 13, 13 provided on the left and right sides of the lower end of the movable slit plate 11, and a cut-up locking piece 14 provided between both bent locking pieces 13, 13.
It consists of This bent locking piece 13, 13
The cut and raised locking pieces 14 are arranged at an interval t approximately equal to the thickness of the piezoelectric vibrator 5 in the vertical direction. Now, when this movable slit plate 11 is coupled and fitted to the free end portion of the piezoelectric vibrator 5, adhesive is applied to the opposing surfaces of each of the locking pieces 13, 13, 14 of the locking portion 12, and then the The locking part 12 is inserted into and fitted into the free end of the piezoelectric vibrator 5 by holding the free end in its mouth. At this time, the movable slit plate 11
is positioned and held by the bent locking pieces 13, 13 of the locking portion 12 and the cut-up locking piece 14, so that the adhesive hardens over time and is attached and fixed to one end of the piezoelectric vibrator 5. . Further, in this state, the driving electrodes 10, 10 are connected to each locking piece 13,
13 and 14, and is shot by the movable slit plate 11. The intermediate electrode 10a of the piezoelectric vibrator 5 is connected to the movable slit plate 1.
The tip on the first side is not exposed and is configured not to come into contact with the movable slit plate 11.

In this case, after the locking part 12 is inserted and fitted into one end of the piezoelectric vibrator 5, the fitting part may be soldered.

<Effects of the invention> As described above, according to the invention, the modulation means is driven by the vibration of the piezoelectric vibrator, and the entire device can be made smaller and lighter than conventional devices, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Contributes to reduction. In addition, when attaching and fixing the movable slit plate to one end of the piezoelectric vibrator, a structure is adopted in which the locking part provided integrally on the movable slit plate is fitted to one end of the piezoelectric vibrator, so that both can be attached with one touch. After assembly, there is no need to use a holder to hold the assembly part, resulting in a marked improvement in assembly work efficiency.

In addition, in the present invention, since the ends of the parallel bimorph piezoelectric vibrator are sandwiched between the clamping parts of the movable slit plate, the driving electrodes on both the front and back sides of the piezoelectric vibrator can be connected by simply fitting the clamping parts. They can be electrically connected to each other. Therefore, the driving power source only needs to be connected to either one of the electrodes on both sides, which simplifies the electrical connection work.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention,
Fig. 1 is a schematic side view showing the entirety of this embodiment, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of essential parts showing a piezoelectric vibrator and a movable slit plate, and Fig. 3 is a schematic side view showing an example of an improvement over the conventional one. It is. 1 is an object to be measured, 2 is an infrared sensor, 3 is an optical modulator, 4 is a modulation means, 5 is a piezoelectric vibrator, 11 is a movable slit plate, 11a is a transparent part of the movable slit plate 11, and 11b is a movable slit plate 11 light shielding parts, 12
is the locking part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] An optical modulator that is placed between an object to be measured and an infrared sensor installed on the path of infrared radiation emitted from the object, modulates the light incident on the infrared sensor, and guides it to the infrared sensor. It comprises a parallel bimorph piezoelectric vibrator and a modulation means driven by the vibration of the piezoelectric vibrator,
The modulation means is composed of a movable slit plate having a light-transmitting part and a light-shielding part, and the movable slit plate is integrally formed with a clamping locking part made of a part of the movable slit plate. is inserted and fitted into one end of the piezoelectric vibrator to attach and fix the movable slit plate to one end of the piezoelectric vibrator, and electrically connects the electrodes on both sides of the piezoelectric vibrator to each other through the locking part,
and an optical modulator in which one input section of a drive power source is connected to one of the front and back drive electrodes on the other end side of the piezoelectric vibrator.