JPH02124520A - Optical element and production thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the durability of a joined part and to easily change the vertex of the angle formed of two parallel plane plates by small driving power so that optical characteristics can be changed by constituting a connecting member of a high-polymer material which is deformable and moldable. CONSTITUTION:The optical element A is the optically transparent parallel plane plate 1 consists of glass, plastic materials, etc., and is formed of the two parallel plane plates 1 when there is no energizing force from the outside. The connecting member 2 which consists of a deformable V shape, U shape, etc., is formed by joining the two parallel plane plates 1 and consists of the flexible high-polymer material which can be molded by injection molding, compression molding, die molding, etc. Water, alcohol or the like which is an optically transparent material 3 is sealed therein. Supporting members 5 support the parallel plane plates 1 in the shape of enclosing the plates and consists of metals, plastic molding, etc., having high hardness. The angle formed of the two parallel plane plates is easily changed by the small driving force in this way and the deterioration in the properties of the material sealed in the inside arising from a change in external environment is prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention improves the optical performance of a passing light beam by changing the relative angle of two transparent parallel flat plates each containing an optically transparent substance. Regarding an optical element that can be arbitrarily changed and a method for manufacturing the same, for example, in a photographing system such as a photographic camera or a video camera, the optical element is placed in a part of the photographing system,
This is suitable for an anti-vibration optical system that corrects image blur caused by vibration of the photographing system.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, a variable apex angle prism body is formed by sealing an optically transparent substance such as a liquid or silicone rubber into two transparent parallel plane plates, and the angle between the two parallel plane plates is changed. Various optical elements have been proposed in which the optical performance of a passing light beam is arbitrarily changed by changing the parallelism (parallelism) by an external urging force.

16th. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of an optical element proposed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 41-11906. The optical element shown in the figure has two transparent parallel plane plates 201 arranged oppositely,
The periphery is held by a flexible connecting member 202, and a transparent liquid 203 is sealed therein. Then, the incident light beam is deflected by a predetermined angle and emitted.

18th. FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of an optical element proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 176017/1983. The optical element shown in the figure has two transparent parallel plane plates 221 arranged oppositely,
A transparent elastic body 204 is sandwiched therein. Similarly to FIG. 20, the incident light beam is deflected by a predetermined angle and emitted. Conventional optical elements are all shown in Figure 17 and Figure 1.
As shown in Fig. 9, a variable apex angle prism whose apex angle can be arbitrarily controlled by changing the angle of two parallel plane plates using an external biasing force is formed, and the incident light beam is deflected at a predetermined angle and then emitted. There is.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in conventional optical elements, the angle formed by two parallel plane plates is changed by expanding and contracting a connecting member made of a predetermined material, and generally the driving force at this time is large. For this reason, the drive source becomes large, and a portion of the connecting member may be damaged due to repeated deformation.

Furthermore, the substance sandwiched between the two parallel plane plates may pass through the connecting member or seep out through the bond between the connecting member and the parallel plane plates, and especially in the case of transparent elastic bodies, substances in the air may There were problems such as absorbing moisture and causing fluctuations in the refractive index.

There have been problems in that an external force is applied to the bonded portion between the low connection member and the parallel plane plate due to the driving of the optical element, causing the bonded portion to peel off and the substance inside to seep out.

In the present invention, when forming a variable apex angle prism body by arranging two transparent parallel plane plates facing each other, connecting them with a connecting member so as to create a space inside, and sandwiching a transparent substance sealed inside, By appropriately setting the material of the connecting member, the angle formed by the two parallel plane plates can be easily changed with a small driving force, and the deterioration of the substance sealed inside due to changes in the external environment can be prevented. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an optical element that provides good optical performance.

The purpose of the Ikemizu invention is to provide an optical element that has good adhesion durability even against repeated deformation by appropriately setting an adhesion method when connecting a parallel plane plate and a connecting member.

(Means for solving the problem) An optically transparent substance is held between a pair of transparent parallel plane plates using a deformable connecting member, and formed by the pair of parallel plane plates by an external urging force. In an optical element that obtains predetermined optical characteristics for a passing light beam by changing the angle at which the light beam passes through the optical element, the connecting member is made of a moldable polymeric material.

In this Ikemizu invention, an optical element can be transformed into a pair of transparent parallel plane plates or a support member supporting the pair of parallel plane plates. It is characterized in that it is manufactured through a process in which the polymer material is molded and airtightly bonded at the same time so that the polymer material is formed.

(Embodiment) Fig. 1 and Fig. 214 are a plan view and a sectional view of a main part of a first embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, A is an optical element, and l is an optically transparent parallel plane plate made of glass, polycarbonate, polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate, or other plastic material. The angles formed by the face plate 1 are substantially parallel as shown in FIG.

2 is a connecting member made of a deformable V-shape, U-shape, etc., which joins two parallel plane plates l, and is made by injection molding,
It is made of a flexible polymeric material that can be molded by compression molding, molding, etc.

3 is an optically transparent substance, such as water, alcohol, glycol, silicone oil, silicone gel, silicone rubber, organic oil, etc.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a supporting member, which is made of a highly hard material such as metal or plastic molding, and supports the parallel plane plate 1 in a shape that surrounds it.

Next, the operating state of this embodiment will be described.

As shown in Figure 2, when no urging force is applied to optical element A, the angles formed by the two parallel plane plates l are approximately parallel, and the incident light linearly moves toward optical element A. Pass through and eject.

Figure 3 shows that a biasing force is applied to a part of the outer periphery of optical element A using screws, cams, etc., piezo elements, electromagnets, ultrasonic motors, shape memory alloys using temperature changes, etc. FIG.

As shown in the figure, when a biasing force is applied, two parallel plane plates l
The angle thus formed has a predetermined size, and the optical element A functions as a kind of variable apex angle prism body. Therefore, the light beam passing through the optical element A is refracted, deflected, and emitted.

- Generally, for example, if the driving speed is not rapid, the urging force that deforms the liquid can be ignored as there is no resistance force of the liquid at all, so in practice, the deformation driving force of the optical element is the deformation of the connecting member 2. Determined by stress. Therefore, in this embodiment, by appropriately setting the material and shape of the connecting member 2, the deformation driving force of the optical element is made as small as possible.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion near the connecting member 2 in FIG. 2. FIG.

In the figure, 6 and 7 are adhesives, respectively. The adhesive 6 adheres the connecting member 2 and the support member 5, and the adhesive 7 adheres the parallel plane plate 1 and the support member 5. Reference numeral 8 denotes an injection port for a liquid or gel-like substance, which is provided in a part of the support member 5, and an optically transparent substance is sealed in the space formed by the two parallel plane plates 1, and the screw It's stopped.

The connecting member 2 according to this embodiment has a cross-sectional structure of V as described above.
It is made of polymeric material in the shape of a letter or U. With this configuration, the connecting member 2 is bent at a gentle angle as shown in No. 31; 5, so that the driving force for deforming the optical element A is reduced.

The material of the connecting member 2 in this embodiment may be any moldable polymeric material as long as it is flexible. For example, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, polyamide, polystyrene, polyisobutylene, polycarbonate, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl acetal, polymethyl methacrylate, polyacrylonitrile, polyimide, cellulose, fluororesins, epoxy, silicone resin, polyurethane, etc. It may also contain thermoplastic and thermosetting resins, copolymers thereof, plasticizers, or fillers. Or chloroprene rubber,
Rubbers such as styrene/butadiene rubber, nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, silicone rubber, butadiene rubber, fluorine rubber, urethane rubber, imprene rubber, and thermoplastic elastomers such as polyethylene, polystyrene, polyurethane, polyamide, and polyester are applicable. be.

Among these, relatively flexible rubbers and thermoplastic elastomers, for example, are preferable in terms of adhesiveness, liquid-tightness, and durability against expansion and contraction. Further, thermoplastic and thermosetting resins that are hard but flexible when molded into a thin wall are preferable because, in addition to the above-mentioned properties, if the shape is appropriately set, the deformation driving force can be reduced.

Among these, silicone rubber, fluororubber, or butyl rubber is the most effective, considering its properties such as well-established bonding methods, good adhesion, liquid resistance, strong expansion and contraction durability, and low deformation driving force. preferable.

Examples of the optically transparent substance 3 include alcohols such as ethyl alcohol and ethylene glycol, alkyl halides such as carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, and ethylene bromide, organic acids such as formic acid and acetic acid 2, methyl acetate, and acetic acid. Esters such as ethyl, other ethers, organic liquids such as low molecular weight polyethers, low molecular weight polyester aromatic compounds, solution systems in which solids are dissolved in the above liquids, mixed liquid systems between the above liquids, and liquid paraffin. , transparent viscous liquid such as silicone oil, etc. can be applied. Among these, silicone oils are the best, especially dimethyl silicone, methylphenyl silicone, diphenyl Silicone and fluorosilicone are preferred.

It is preferable to select each material of the above-mentioned connecting member 2 in consideration of the combination of the connecting member 2 and the substance 3 so as not to dissolve or swell due to the substance 3. For example, preferred combinations include fluorosilicone oil for silicone rubber and dimethyl silicone oil for fluororubber.

The supporting member 5 should be made of a material that easily adheres to the connecting member 2, and if it has a reference surface for positioning when incorporating the optical element into an optical device such as a camera, or has screw holes for fixing, etc., it will be easy to incorporate it. This is preferable because it is easy.

Further, when a glass material is used for the parallel plane plate 1, the glass plate 1 can be easily supported if it is formed into an L-shape as shown in FIG.

As for the material, aluminum is preferable since the connecting member 2 has a strong adhesive force and is easy to bond, and is lightweight when incorporated into an optical device.

Next, an embodiment of the method for manufacturing an optical element of the present invention will be described.

First, two support members 5 made of aluminic acid and precisely machined are prepared. A connecting member 2 made of silicone rubber manufactured by cast molding or transfer molding is bonded to this support member 5 in advance with an adhesive 6 as shown in FIG. The adhesive in this case is preferably made of the same material as the connecting member 2, such as a silicone adhesive. If necessary, the adhesion surface of the support member 5 may be treated with a brimer to strengthen the adhesion.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the mold 9 divided into multiple pieces allows
The support member 5 is held and supported at the same time as the connection member 2 is molded by pouring a rubber material, which is a liquid or high-temperature plasticized polymer material, before molding into the gap 10 created by the mold 9 through the gate 11. A method of adhering to the member 5 may also be used. At this time as well, it is desirable to apply and bake a brimer treatment agent such as a silane coupling agent containing a metal catalyst at a position corresponding to the adhesive 6 in advance, as shown in FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG.
are accurately fitted and adhered to the support member 5 with a slight clearance. Finally, a transparent liquid or gel-like substance 3 is poured into the liquid inlet 8 provided in the support member 5 in advance.
is injected, and then the injection port 8 is screwed.

In this embodiment, the optical element is manufactured as described above.

Next, main parts of other embodiments of the optical element of the present invention will be explained with reference to each drawing.

The optical element A shown in FIG. 6 is a case where the parallel plane plate 1 and the connecting member 2 are directly bonded. As shown in the figure, if the material of the parallel plane plate l and the connecting member 2 can be easily bonded, the supporting member 5 may be omitted, and in this case, the assembly process can be reduced.
This is preferable because the optical element can be simplified.

In this case, the connecting member 2 is formed in advance into the shape shown in FIG. 7, for example, by taking advantage of its moldability since it is made of a moldable material. If the parallel plane plate 1 and the connecting member 2 are difficult to adhere to each other, as shown in FIG. It is possible to obtain an optical element having the following properties.

Furthermore, if the connecting member 2 is shaped so that it can be deeply fitted into the parallel plane plate l as shown in FIG. 9, the bonding area will be expanded, and the bonding durability can be further improved.

15L, the connecting member 2 is connected to the V
The force is mainly concentrated at the bent part of the shape. For this reason, if it is driven for a long time or repeatedly, there is a risk that the bent portion will deteriorate and break. Therefore, depending on the material of the connecting member 2, if the cross-sectional shape is U-shaped as shown in FIG. It is particularly effective in improving durability.

When the connecting member 2 is easily swollen by the substance (liquid) 3 or when the substance 3
If the liquid oozes out, it is preferable to configure the connecting member 2 with a two-layer structure as shown in FIG. At this time, it is preferable to construct the connecting member 2 by laminating the polymer material 12 on a polymer material 13 having strong liquid resistance.

It is more effective to improve the adhesive durability if the supporting member 5 is configured in advance to fit into the connecting member 2 as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.

As shown in FIG. 14, two supporting members 14.15 are prepared, and the connecting member 2 is first joined to the parallel plane plate 1 by one supporting member 14 before being supported by the other supporting member 15. If the screw threads provided between the members 14 and 15 are used to tighten them, the parallel plane plate 1 and the connecting member 2 can be bonded more firmly.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15, a trapezoidal shape is formed in advance by cutting or plastic molding on the parallel plane plate 1,
If the parallel plane plate 1 and the connecting member 2 are configured so that they can be directly bonded to the connecting member 2, the supporting member 5 can be omitted and higher adhesive strength can be easily obtained.

Note that the bonding method in the configurations shown in FIGS. 6 to 15 may use an adhesive, a primer treatment agent, or the like, or may use a method of bonding at the same time as the connecting member 2 is molded.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, two transparent parallel plane plates are arranged facing each other, connected by a connecting member, and a transparent substance is sealed inside, so that an optical element such as a variable apex prism body can be connected. When forming the connecting member, as mentioned above, by constructing the connecting member from a deformable and moldable polymer material, the durability of the bonded part is good, and the angle formed by the two parallel plane plates can be controlled with a small driving force. The driving force of the six-pronged optical element can be reduced, so the drive source and power supply of the optical equipment to be incorporated can be miniaturized. The weight can be reduced, and the optical element can be incorporated into a product, such as a small general-purpose camera, for example, to which an anti-vibration optical system could not previously be applied.

Further, according to the present invention, by employing a method in which the connecting member is bonded at the same time as it is molded, it is possible to achieve an optical element that has features such as increasing the bonding reliability of the connecting member and simplifying the manufacturing process.

By using the support member 5 in addition to 1, it is possible to achieve an optical element having features such as accurate positioning and improved adhesive strength.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are a plan view and a cross-sectional view of the main part of the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part when a part of the optical element is displaced in FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the connecting member in FIG. 4, and FIG.
15 to 15 are schematic diagrams of main parts of another embodiment of the connecting member of an optical element of the present invention, and FIGS. 16 to 19 are schematic diagrams of main parts of a conventional optical element. In the figure, 1 is a parallel plane plate, 2 is a connecting member, 3 is a transparent material, and 5
is a support member, 6.7 is an adhesive, 8 is a liquid injection port, 9 is a mold, 10 is a space, 11 is a gate, and h is a light flux. Patent Applicant: Canon Co., Ltd. 1/- Ku1 Engineering = Engineering = Procedure Negotiation Device (spontaneous) March 17, 1989 2゜Name of Invention Optical Element and Method for Manufacturing the Same 3゜Amendment Case and Relationship Patent applicant address 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Name (100
) Canon Co., Ltd. Representative Ryuzo Kaku
Part 4゜5゜6゜

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An optically transparent substance is held between a pair of transparent parallel plane plates using a deformable connecting member, and the angle formed by the pair of parallel plane plates is changed by an external biasing force. What is claimed is: 1. An optical element that obtains predetermined optical characteristics for a passing light beam, characterized in that the connecting member is made of a moldable polymeric material. (2) It is characterized in that it is manufactured through a step of airtightly adhering to the plane-parallel plate or a support member that supports the plane-parallel plate at the same time as molding the polymer material.
A method of manufacturing the optical element described above.