JPS6158803B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a light radiator that effectively diffuses and emits light transmitted through a light guide cable or the like. Concerning an optical radiator with grooves carved into it,
The light introduced into the light guide can be effectively emitted from the groove.

Recently, we have entered an era of energy conservation, and research and development on the effective use of solar energy has been actively conducted in various fields. , to use light energy as it is without converting it into other forms of energy such as electrical energy. From this point of view, the present applicant focused sunlight using a lens or the like, introduced it into a light guide cable, transmitted it to any desired location through the light guide cable, and set up the light guide at that location. Various proposals have already been made regarding the use of light emitted from cables for illumination. Therefore, when attempting to use solar energy for lighting as described above, the light propagating within the optical conductor cable has directionality.
When the end of a light conductor cable is cut and the light is emitted from the cut point, the emission angle is typically about 46
゜, and it is quite narrow, so when you want to use sunlight to illuminate the room uniformly, you can simply cut the end of the optical conductor cable like this and connect it from the cut point. If light is emitted, it is not possible to provide satisfactory illumination. Therefore, the present applicant has proposed various optical radiators that can effectively diffuse the light propagated within the optical conductor cable and uniformly illuminate a wide area. The present invention was made as part of this effort, and basically consists of a cylindrical light guide with a large number of grooves carved in a spiral pattern on the surface of the light guide to guide the light propagating inside the light guide. The present invention relates to a light radiator that emits light to the outside of a light guide through a groove.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a light radiator according to the present invention, in which ₁ is a cylindrical light guide;
~2 ₆ is a large number of grooves spirally carved on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical light guide 1, and the light L propagated within the light guide 1 is reflected by the grooves and emitted to the outside of the light guide. and used for lighting and other purposes.

_2A to _2C are enlarged views of section _A in FIG. As shown by the arrow in the figure, part of the light propagating parallel to the light guide is reflected by the groove and emitted outside the light guide, and the remaining part is propagated downward. In the same way, it is reflected at each groove and emitted to the outside of the light guide, but in reality, the light propagating inside the light guide is focused light, so it is effectively diffused in each direction from each groove and emitted. Ru. However, as you go downwards, the luminous flux density within the light guide decreases, and the amount of light emitted from the light guide gradually decreases, so if you want to emit light uniformly from the entire surface of the light guide, the The groove density may be increased or the groove depth may be increased along the direction of light propagation, as shown in FIG. Further, if it is not necessary to emit light from the lower end surface 1a of the light guide 1, a reflecting mirror may be provided on the lower end surface, and the light reflected by the reflecting mirror may also be emitted to the outside through the groove. , the light propagated within the light guide can be more effectively emitted to the outside of the light guide.

FIG _. 3 is a diagram for _explaining an example of manufacturing the above-described optical radiator.
number is shown. ), and while rotating the light guide 1 or the cut tools 3 ₁ to 3 ₆ , move the light guide 1 or the cut tools _{3 1 to 3 6 in} the axial direction of the light guide 1 to form a groove. It was designed so that
In FIG. 1, for example, groove 2 ₁ is a groove formed by cutting tool 3 ₁ , groove 2 ₂ is a groove formed by 3 ₂ , and similarly, groove 2 ₆ is formed by cutting tool 3 ₆ . This is the groove formed. In this way, by holding the light guide with a large number of cutting tools (at least three or more), it is possible to hold the center of the light guide approximately constant and carve a groove, so it is possible to cut a groove with a small diameter. Even flexible light guides can be grooved without problems and with high precision. In addition, in this case, if the light guide is disposed vertically and with tension, the center of the light guide can be held more stably. In addition, the figure shows an example in which a groove is carved while moving the light guide or the cutting tool only in one direction with respect to the axial direction of the light guide, but if the light guide or cutting tool is moved in both directions, that is, once back and forth, the groove is formed in a sash shape, and the light guide Light propagated within the body can be more effectively emitted to the outside of the light guide. In addition, the groove density can be changed by sequentially changing the rotational speed or the moving speed of the light guide or the cutting tool in the axial direction of the light guide, or the depth of the groove can be changed by moving the cutting tool in the radial direction of the light guide. Assuming that L is propagated from above within the light guide 1 as shown by the arrows, if the density of the lower grooves is gradually increased or the depth of the lower grooves is gradually deepened, then
Light can be emitted substantially uniformly from the entire outer peripheral surface of the light guide.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an optical radiator having a spiral groove with high manufacturing precision on the outer circumferential surface of a small-diameter, easy-to-flex light guide.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view for explaining an example of an optical radiator according to the present invention, FIGS. 2 a to c are enlarged views of part A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an optical radiator manufactured according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view for explaining an example of the method. 1... Light guide, 2 ₁ to 2 ₆ ... Groove, 3 ₁ to 3 ₆
……edged tool.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An optical radiator consisting of a cylindrical light guide having a large number of spiral grooves on its surface, in which light propagated within the light guide is reflected at the grooves and emitted to the outside of the light guide. The groove density of the spiral grooves increases sequentially along the light propagation direction, and the groove depth of the grooves gradually increases along the light propagation direction, and the light output end side of the light guide An optical radiator characterized in that the surface is formed as a reflective surface.