JPH06186430A - Surface light emitter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a surface light emitter whose area can be easily made large and whose shape has the degree of freedom. CONSTITUTION:The light surface emitter is provided with a fiber tube 1 consisting of a light-leakage plastic optical fiber bundle and a transparent tube covering the optical fiber bundle a diffusing plate 3 provided on one surface side of the tube 1, a reflecting plate 4 provided on the other opposite surface side of the tube 1 and a light source device 2 optically connected to the incident end surface of the plastic optical fiber bundle. Besides, it is held by a supporting body 5 and housed inside the body 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a surface light emitter using a fiber tube in which a bundle of plastic optical fibers that leak light from all or desired portions of the side surfaces of the optical fiber are covered with a transparent tube.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a surface light emitter, light from a fluorescent lamp is made incident from the side surface of a light guide plate, and light propagating inside the light guide plate is emitted from the upper and lower surfaces of the light guide plate and irradiated through a reflecting surface and a diffuser plate. There are an edge light surface light source, a surface light emitter in which a fluorescent lamp is arranged directly below a diffusion plate, and the like. On the other hand, the illuminated plastic optical fibers that leak from the side surface are aggregated into a sheet shape, a bundle shape, a string shape, or the like by bundling a large number of illuminated plastic optical fibers or twisted after grouping. It is used for lighting, decoration, design, display, etc. by making light incident from a light source optically connected to the end.

[0003] Japanese Patent Publication No. 47-42 discloses a string-shaped, rope-shaped, or bundle-shaped illuminated plastic optical fiber.
No. 534, and the specification discloses a device in which a rope including an optical fiber in a fiber bundle is connected to a light source. In Japanese Utility Model No. 04-19578, a rope-shaped optical fiber is leaked by light of a different color for each fiber, and in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 63-14203, a rope-shaped optical fiber is leaked. An example is one in which the outer circumference is covered with a transparent tube. In the actual opening Sho 63-80504, the rope circumference is wrapped with an optical fiber, and in the actual opening 02-5704, an optical fiber is installed. It has been proposed to make a knitted light leak in a knitted pattern.

[0004]

However, the conventional surface light emitter is a surface light emitter having a small size and a small area, which is used for applications such as a liquid crystal backlight, and it is desired to make it a light emitter having a large surface. Is difficult On the other hand, the illumination device using the illuminated plastic optical fiber bundle that leaks light from the side surface has a degree of freedom in shape, but is only used as a linear light emitter.

The present invention has been made on the basis of the above background, and an object thereof is to provide a surface light emitter which can be easily made large in area and has a degree of freedom in shape. .

[0006]

The above-mentioned problems can be solved by the present invention. That is, the surface light emitter of the present invention is a fiber tube including a plastic optical fiber bundle in which light incident from the end face leaks from all or desired portions of the side surface and a transparent tube covering the optical fiber bundle,
A diffuser provided on one side of the fiber tube, a reflector provided on the other side of the fiber tube opposite to the diffuser side, and a light source optically connected to at least one incident end face of the plastic optical fiber bundle. It is characterized by having.

The optical fiber used in the present invention is a plastic type having a clad (sheath) and a core (core), and its structure is a step index type multimode light whose refractive index changes stepwise. There are a fiber, a step index type single mode optical fiber having a single mode in which the refractive index changes stepwise, and a graded index type multimode optical fiber that propagates different modes. As a material constituting the core material, polymethylmethacrylate resin (PMMA, including homopolymer and copolymer of methyl methacrylate in the present specification), deuterated PMMA, polystyrene-based polymer, poly- 4-Methylpentene-1, a silicon-based polymer or the like can be used.

The clad (sheath) material has a smaller refractive index than the core material, and is, for example, a fluoropolymer, for example, a vinylidene fluoride polymer (in the present specification,
Including a copolymer, for example, vinylidene fluoride-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer (for example, vinylidene fluoride 50 wt% or more, preferably 70 wt% or more 90 wt%
Included below), vinylidene fluoride-propylene hexafluoride copolymer, vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoroacetone copolymer, vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene copolymer, vinylidene fluoride ternary or more (Including copolymers), perfluoroalkyl methacrylate-based polymers, methacrylic acid ester-based polymers, and the like.

The optical fiber according to the present invention is an optical fiber in which the light incident from the end face leaks from all or desired portions of the side faces, and the side face light leak treatment can be performed on the optical fiber by various methods. For example, as its treatment, one that mechanically or thermally selectively destroys the total internal reflection of the optical fiber to leak light, one that disperses a transparent small piece inside the optical fiber, and one that is made of glass on the core of the optical fiber. Those that disperse translucent or opaque materials such as particles or diffusion materials such as bubbles, those that form cuts on the optical fiber surface with a blade, those that form rough surfaces and strains on the optical fiber surface by heat treatment, optical fibers Twisting or mechanically pressing to form a strain. In the present invention, the preferable side light leakage is carried out by using a specific combination of the core and the sheath of the optical fiber, particularly without the light leakage treatment.
As such a combination, a polymethylmethacrylate resin as a core material and a vinylidene fluoride-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer as a clad (sheath) material (for example, vinylidene fluoride is 50% by weight or more, preferably 70% by weight). And 90% by weight or less of the copolymer).

The optical fiber used in the present invention is used in the form of a bundle, and the term "bundle" means a state in which a plurality of optical fibers are simply assembled, a state in which they are twisted into a rope or a string. , A state in which sheets are aligned and rolled, a state in which the fiber aggregates are further collected and bundled, and a state in which they are twisted. The number of bundled optical fibers that can be used in the present invention is arbitrary and can be appropriately selected and changed according to the purpose. Specifically, for example, 5 to 30 bundles are included in one bundle. Optical fiber is used.

In the present invention, the plastic optical fiber bundle is not only a bundle of a plurality of bundles, but the total number is divided into a plurality of groups and these are twisted at a rate of 1 to 20 twists / m. But it's okay. By this microbending, the light leakage efficiency of the optical fiber can be further improved, and a high-brightness illumination device can be obtained. Further, it is possible to twist a plurality of optical fibers divided into groups in advance. This double twist can further enhance the microbending effect. The specific number of twists in a group is 5 to 50 twists / m.

The transparent tube used in the present invention is made of, for example, soft or flexible plastic and has transparency, and is colorless or colored. Specifically, there are vinyl chloride resin, acrylic resin, polycarbonate resin, polystyrene resin and the like. Sub-materials such as a plasticizer and an auxiliary agent can be added to these main components as appropriate. The tube covers the plastic optical fiber bundle to form a fiber tube.

The light source used in the present invention is optically connected to the end face of at least one end of the plastic optical fiber bundle. The preferred light source in this invention is a high capacity lamp. Specifically, it is a discharge lamp such as metahalide. It can be appropriately changed according to the purpose of use such as mounting of the reflecting mirror and lens, lamp shape, and power consumption. The surface light emitter according to the present invention has a brightness of several hundred cd / m2 to several tens cd / m2 from the tube light emitting part, and the brightness can be adjusted according to its application.

In the present invention, the fiber tube is
It is arranged in the space between the diffusion plate and the reflection plate. In order to fix these members, for example, a container, a box, a case, etc. may be used. In the present invention, the reflector and the diffuser are
The usual ones can be used.

[0015]

The surface light-emitting body of the present invention having the above-described structure operates and operates as follows. The light emitted from the light source is incident from both ends or one end of the plastic optical fiber, and the optical fiber propagating the light leaks a part of the propagating light from the entire side surface or a desired part. The leaked light overlaps with the light from another bundle of plastic optical fibers, passes through the transparent tube, and illuminates to the outside. Part of the illuminated light directly reaches the diffuser plate and is diffused, and is emitted as uniform light, and the other light is reflected by the reflector plate and reaches the diffuser plate and is diffused. Is emitted as.

[0016]

EXAMPLES The surface light emitter according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Examples. FIG. 1 shows a fiber tube 1 for use in the present invention, which comprises a leaking plastic optical fiber bundle and a transparent tube covering the plastic optical fiber bundle, and a light source optically connected to the incident end faces of both ends of the plastic optical fiber bundle. The schematic external view of the illumination device with the apparatus 2 is shown. By connecting both ends to the light source device in this way, it is possible to improve the light utilization efficiency and prevent un-leaked light from being emitted from the end when one end becomes free and adversely affecting the surroundings. it can.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic plan view of an embodiment of the surface light emitter according to the present invention in which the illumination device is incorporated. Further, FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view taken along the dotted line of this embodiment. The surface light emitter according to this embodiment is provided on one surface side of a fiber tube 1 including a plastic optical fiber bundle in which light incident from an end face leaks from all of the side surfaces and a transparent tube covering the plastic optical fiber bundle. A diffuser plate 3, a reflector plate 4 provided on the other surface side of the fiber tube opposite to the diffuser plate side, and a light source device 2 optically connected to the incident end surface of the plastic optical fiber bundle. Are held by the support 5 and housed therein.

The optical fiber used in this example is a plastic optical fiber composed of polymethylmethacrylate resin as a core material and vinylidene fluoride-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer as a clad material (trade name Esca CK-30 manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.). ) And soft PVC was used as the transparent tube. In this embodiment, a plurality of optical fibers divided into groups are pretwisted at a number of twists of 12.5 times in the group, the number of twists / m. Next, a plurality of groups were twisted at a rate of 5 twists / m.

A method of using the surface light emitter of the above embodiment will be described. The surface light emitter is installed at a predetermined position, the light source is turned on, and the light from this light source is incident on the optical fiber bundles at both ends. This plastic optical fiber leaks light from all of its side surfaces, and the leaked light overlaps with the light from another bundle of plastic optical fibers, passes through a transparent tube, and illuminates to the outside. A part of the illuminated light directly reaches the diffusion plate 3 and is diffused, and is emitted as uniform light.
The light is reflected by the reflection plate 4, reaches the diffusion plate 3, is diffused, and is similarly emitted as uniform light. Due to this illumination, uniform light is emitted from the diffuser plate surface. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications included in the technical idea disclosed in the present invention are also within the scope of the present invention.

[0020]

As will be concretely demonstrated in the above embodiments, the present invention makes it easy to increase the area,
A surface light emitter having a degree of freedom in shape can be used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic external view of an embodiment of an illumination device used in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a surface light emitter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Fiber tube 2 Light source device 3 Diffuser 4 Reflector 5 Support

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fiber tube comprising a plastic optical fiber bundle through which light incident from an end face leaks from all or a desired portion of the side surface and a transparent tube covering the plastic optical fiber bundle, and is provided on one surface side of the fiber tube. A diffusion plate, a reflection plate provided on the other surface side of the fiber tube opposite to the diffusion plate side, and a light source optically connected to at least one incident end surface of the plastic optical fiber bundle. Surface light emitter.