KR101340605B1 - Optical transmission apparatus using optical fiberfor - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical transmission apparatus, and in particular, after condensing light from a light source or light reflected by a concave mirror through a condensing lens, the light is transmitted through the connecting portion to the optical fiber and radiated at the end of the optical fiber. It is a technical object to provide an apparatus. To this end, the optical transmission device using the optical fiber according to the present invention, a light source including an LED or LD or OLED; A concave mirror surrounding the light source and configured to reflect light output from the light source and convert the light into parallel light; A light collecting unit for collecting the parallel light emitted from the light source or the parallel light reflected by the concave mirror, and then passing the collected light through a connecting portion filled with a medium capable of passing the light to emit the light; And an optical fiber for receiving the light emitted through the condenser from one end and transmitting the light emitted to the other end.

Description

Optical transmission device using optical fiber {OPTICAL TRANSMISSION APPARATUS USING OPTICAL FIBERFOR}

The present invention relates to an optical transmission apparatus using an optical fiber, and more particularly, to an optical transmission apparatus using an optical fiber, which is used as various types of lighting or optical communication modules.

The optical transmission device refers to a device used in various fields such as general lighting, endoscope lighting, or optical communication module. Such an optical transmission device is generally equipped with a light collecting system for collecting light. In general, the intensity of light emitted vertically from the surface of the light source is strong, but since the lens of the light converging system applied to the conventional optical transmission device is designed to have a curvature of directly condensing outgoing light, the light emitted in parallel is completely It is not utilized. In addition, since the intensity of light output is proportional to the intensity of the light source, a high power light source has to be used in the conventional optical transmission device. Therefore, the conventional optical transmission device is bulky, heavy, and high power, because it has to be provided with auxiliary devices such as a cooling device or a power supply.

The general endoscope manufactured using the LED, which is an example of the optical transmission device as described above, has at least one LED with the camera module in the endoscope frontal head, and thus the frontal head becomes wider, and thus can be used in minute places. In addition, its use is limited because of its loss of water resistance and loss of light at high wavelengths. In addition, the endoscope, which utilizes a form of condensing and transmitting light to an optical fiber or directly attaching a light source to the optical fiber and immediately inserting the endoscope, has lost the loss of the medium from the medium and the air back into the optical fiber, which is the main source of light loss. The principle of loss at the time of application is applied, the loss is large, it does not concentrate the diffused light, so the efficiency is low, the amount of light transmitted is low, and the difficulty of manufacturing and the robustness in vibration and movement are inferior.

In other words, the endoscope using the conventional LED light, because the front head of the endoscope must be provided with at least one LED together with the digital camera module, the front head is widened, due to the volume of the power line connected to the LED, and to support the front head In addition, the cables also had to be thick. In addition, due to the organic nature of LED, it was weak against water, moisture, heat, and high-wavelength light, so it had to be treated specially. In addition, an endoscope using a conventional LED light has a low light quantity and a wide radiation angle, and thus has low efficiency. The illumination that was used as the illumination by injecting the optical fiber end into the lens to the endoscope camera and used as the illumination is the loss of the air from the medium, which is the main cause of the loss of light when condensing and entering the light of the light source from the lens. The loss of air from the air into the fiber caused a low efficiency and could not catch the light out of focus as it was emitted from the light source. Moisture or dust is adsorbed because both sides are exposed to air, reducing efficiency and making it more inconvenient in manufacturing, and having low rigidity in vibration and movement.

In the optical communication module, which is another example of the optical transmission device as described above, since the principle of optical loss in the endoscope (lighting) as described above is applied, the loss rate is high, the amount of light is low, difficulty in manufacturing and vibration It is inferior to the firmness in movement.

As described above, the conventional optical transmission device has a problem in that its utility is inferior due to the lack of a technique for injecting light output from a light source in parallel to an optical fiber.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and after condensing the parallel light from the light source or the light reflected in the concave mirror and radiated in parallel through the condenser lens, the light is incident on the optical fiber through the connecting portion to be radiated from the end of the optical fiber. It is a technical problem to provide an optical transmission device using an optical fiber.

Optical transmission device using an optical fiber according to the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, the light source including an LED or LD or OLED; A concave mirror surrounding the light source and reflecting light output from the light source in a predetermined direction; A light condenser for condensing the light output from the light source or the light reflected by the concave mirror, and then passing the condensed light through a connection portion filled with a medium through which light can pass; And an optical fiber for receiving the light emitted through the condenser from one end and transmitting the light emitted to the other end.

The present invention provides the following effects by condensing the parallel light emitted from the light source or the light reflected in the concave mirror and radiated in parallel through the condenser lens, and then incident to the optical fiber through the connection portion to radiate at the end of the optical fiber.

First, the present invention can emit a strong light at the end of the optical fiber by injecting the maximum light to the optical fiber.

Second, the present invention can implement a head and a cable having a small area and thickness while emitting a strong light.

Third, since the present invention includes rare earths, the phases of light can be aligned to increase the light collection efficiency and state, and the characteristics of the laser can be improved, the light emission efficiency can be further increased, and the amount of incident light can be increased. It can also be used as a laser device.

1 is an exemplary view of a product to which an optical transmission device using an optical fiber according to the present invention is applied.
2 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an optical transmission apparatus using an optical fiber according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is an exemplary view showing a cross section of the connecting portion applied to the optical transmission device using the optical fiber according to the present invention.
Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a connection applied to the optical transmission device using an optical fiber according to the present invention.
5 is an exemplary view showing a cross section of an optical fiber applied to the optical transmission device using the optical fiber according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an exemplary view of a product to which an optical transmission device using an optical fiber according to the present invention is applied. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an optical transmission apparatus using an optical fiber according to the present invention. 3 is an exemplary view showing a cross section of a connection part applied to an optical transmission device using an optical fiber according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a connection part applied to an optical transmission device using an optical fiber according to the present invention. 5 is an exemplary view showing a cross section of an optical fiber applied to the optical transmission device using the optical fiber according to the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the optical transmission device 100 using the optical fiber according to the present invention is output from the light source 105 or the light emitted from the light source 105 and then reflected by the concave mirror 101. As a device for condensing light emitted in parallel in one direction of the condensing unit 110, and then incident to the optical fiber 104, transmitted through the optical fiber, and then emitted from the terminal 120 of the optical fiber 104 The present invention 100 may be applied to the high power micro illumination device 300, the endoscope 300, or the optical communication module 300. The micro-illumination device 300, the endoscope 300, or the optical communication module 300 as described above to which the present invention is applied, together with the optical transmission device 100 using the optical fiber according to the present invention, perform a specific function of each device. It may include a control device 200 for.

When the present invention 100 is applied to the micro-illumination device 300 or the endoscope 300, the present invention 100 may be connected to a control device 200 composed of various types of input / output devices or camera modules, the present invention End 120 of the optical fiber 104 is connected may be provided with lenses for outputting light.

In addition, when the present invention 100 is applied to the optical communication module 300, the present invention 100 may be connected to the control device 200 composed of a separate transmitting device (or receiving device) for optical communication, The terminal 120 of the optical fiber 104 connected to the invention includes a control device 200 composed of a receiving device (or a transmitting device) corresponding to the transmitting device (or receiving device) 200 as described above, and the present invention ( Another optical communication module 300 composed of 100 may be connected.

That is, the optical transmission device 100 using the optical fiber according to the present invention may be used as a component such as the fine lighting device 300, the endoscope 300 or the optical communication module 300. The configuration of the control device 200 constituting the micro illumination device, the endoscope, or the optical communication module 300 together with the present invention 100 depends on the type and function of the micro illumination device, the endoscope, or the optical communication module to which the present invention is applied. It can be variously changed, the configuration of such a control device 200 can be applied to a control device that is generally applied in the above devices (fine lighting device, endoscope, optical communication module), the detailed description thereof It is omitted.

As described above, the present invention 100 applied to a micro illumination device, an endoscope, or an optical communication module, as shown in FIG. 2, has a structure that maximizes the parallel light emitted vertically from the light source 105, By constructing a light source 105 including light emitting diodes (LEDs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), laser diodes (LDs), etc. in a form in which surface light can be output (hereinafter, simply referred to as a 'plane light source'). In addition, the amount of light incident on the optical fiber 104 can be maximized, the light amount can be easily increased, and light having a desired wavelength band can be easily incident on the optical fiber. In addition, the present invention has the feature that the size and weight can be reduced and low power can be implemented.

In the optical transmission apparatus using the optical fiber according to the present invention having the features as described above, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the light source 105, the concave mirror 101, the light collecting unit (110 (102, 103)) And an optical fiber 104.

First, the light source 105 may be configured using at least one of LED, LD or OLED. In particular, in the present invention, the LED, LD, OLED, etc. constituting the light source may be configured in a plane form so that the light source 105 can output the surface light. In addition, according to the present invention, the light source 105 may be configured using a plurality of LEDs in the form of chips or LDs in the form of chips or OLEDs in the form of chips.

Next, the concave mirror 101 is configured to surround the light source 105 to perform a function of reflecting light output from the light source 105. The light output from the light source by the concave mirror 101 may proceed in a state of forming parallel rays in the direction of the collection unit 110. To this end, the concave mirror 101 is configured to have a constant curvature.

The manufacturing formula of the reflective concave mirror 101 is the same as [Equation 1].

[Equation 1]

1 / a + 1 / b = -2 / R = 1 / f

In Equation 1, a is a position of an object or a light source, b is a position of an image, R is a curvature, and f represents a focal length. That is, the concave mirror 101 performs a function of reflecting the light output from the light source 105 so that the light output from the light source 105 can be guided in the direction of the light collecting unit 110 in a state of forming a horizontal light. .

In order to reflect the light output from the light source 105 more efficiently, the surface of the concave mirror 101 is coated or attached with a reflector formed of a material having a high reflectance, for example, silver having a reflectance of about 95%. There may be.

The heat dissipation plate 106 or the heat dissipation fin may be formed on the outer surface of the concave mirror 101 for heat dissipation.

Next, the light collecting unit 110 collects the light transmitted in the parallel light form from the light source 105 or the concave mirror 101 and transmits the light to the optical fiber 104.

The light collecting unit 110 may be configured in various forms.

As a first example, as shown in FIG. 2, the light collecting unit 110 collects light transmitted from the light source direction and refracts the light toward the optical fiber 104, and one side thereof is connected to the light collecting lens. The other side may be connected to the optical fiber 104 and may include a connecting portion 103 for guiding the light incident from the condenser lens 102 toward the optical fiber 104.

The condenser lens 102 is for condensing light as described above, and may be configured as a convex lens.

&Quot; (2) "

1 / f = (n-1) / r

In Equation 2, f is the focal length, n is the refractive index, r represents the radius of curvature. Various types of lenses described below are also configured to satisfy Equation 2.

The inner surface of the connection 103 may be coated with materials that can reflect light well. The heat dissipation plate 107 or the heat dissipation fin may be formed on the outer surface of the connection unit 103 for heat dissipation.

That is, the present invention collects the light incident from the light source 105 through the condensing lens 102, while allowing the light incident 105 to be incident directly from the medium of the connecting portion 103 to the optical fiber 104 medium, thereby causing a large light loss through the air. Compared with the conventional optical transmission device, the light loss can be minimized.

To this end, the interior of the connecting portion 103 is filled with a medium capable of transmitting light. In particular, the medium constituting the interior of the connecting portion 103 may be composed of a medium similar to the medium constituting the condenser lens 102, for example, transparent glass or transparent synthetic resin.

As a second example, as shown in FIG. 3, the light collecting unit 110 is mounted inside the light collecting lens 102, the connecting unit 103, and the connecting unit 103 to collect light collected from the collecting lens 102 in parallel light. It may be configured to include a conversion lens 108 to convert to.

Here, the function and configuration of the condensing lens 102 and the connecting portion 103 is the same as in the first example, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

That is, the second example, the conversion lens 108 is provided inside the connecting portion 103, the conversion lens 108 having a curvature capable of converting the light collected from the condensing lens 102 mounted on the input end of the connecting portion 103 into parallel light It contains more. As described above, the conversion lens 108 may convert the light incident through the condenser lens 102 into parallel light and output the parallel light to the optical fiber 104. Through this, the present invention can increase the transmission distance of the optical fiber by injecting the light into the optical fiber 104 with a minimum loss rate of the light.

As described above, the conversion lens 108 may be formed inside the connecting portion 102 at a predetermined distance from the optical fiber 103 as shown in FIG. 3, or may be formed at an end connected to the optical fiber 104. . That is, the conversion lens 108 is preferably formed to have a diameter similar to the size of the inner diameter of the optical fiber 104 formed of one strand of the optical fiber 104 or the optical fiber bundle. In particular, since the light converted into parallel light by the conversion lens 108 must be introduced into the optical fiber 104 through the cross section of the optical fiber end, the diameter of the conversion lens 108 is smaller than the inner diameter of the optical fiber 104 or It is preferable to form the same.

As a third example, the light collecting unit 110 may be configured in the form of a single lens having a conical shape, as shown in FIG. 4. That is, one side adjacent to the light source of the condenser 110 configured as the conical lens performs a function of condensing lens to condense light, and the inner surface of the condenser 110 minimizes light loss. It is filled with a medium for forming a lens for the purpose, the other side of the light collecting portion 110 is connected or adjacent to the optical fiber 104.

Lastly, the optical fiber 104 is to transmit the light introduced through the light collecting unit 110, and the optical fiber currently used generally may be applied as it is. However, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the optical fiber 104 applied to the present invention may not only be formed by one optical fiber strand but also may be configured by using a plurality of optical fiber bundles.

In addition, one end 109 of the optical fiber 104, which is connected to the light collecting unit 110, as shown in FIG. 5 so that light transmitted from the light collecting unit 110 can be introduced into the optical fiber more efficiently. Likewise, it may be formed concave in the inner direction of the optical fiber.

In addition, at least one of the condensing lens 102, the conversion lens 108, the connecting portion 103, or the optical fiber 104 of the present invention has a feature that a rare earth material is included. The rare earth may be any one of erbium yag or praseodymium or neodymium (molecular symbols Er, Nd, and Pr), and these material components align light phase to increase light condensing efficiency and state and have characteristics of a laser to improve luminous efficiency. Since it can be made much higher and the incident amount of light can be increased, it can be used also as a laser apparatus.

The features of the present invention as described above can be summarized as follows.

First, in the light input method of the present invention, the light output from the light source 105 is removed by configuring the light source 105 as a surface light source, in which the output is output from the optical fiber terminal in direct proportion to the output degree of the light source. The principle of mining a large amount of light from the output is used. Therefore, the present invention can output more light than the light output from the conventional optical transmission device while using the same number of light sources.

Second, the present invention allows the light output from the light source 105 to be focused through the condenser lens 102 formed on one side of the connecting portion 103, while the light collected through the condenser lens 102 is connected to the connecting portion ( 103) Loss on exit from the medium to air, one of the largest loss of light in a conventional optical transmission device that penetrates the air through a lens and then enters the optical fiber by allowing it to enter the optical fiber 104 through the interior. The loss at the time of entering the optical fiber in the air and in the air can be completely blocked, thereby reducing the loss. In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the light is reflected on the inner wall surface of the connecting portion 103, all the light is incident on the optical fiber 104 can be improved efficiency.

Third, the present invention allows light other than the parallel light emitted from the light source 105 to enter the condensing lens 102 in a state where the light is reflected through the concave mirror 101 to form the parallel light, thereby making Even in the case of the small light source 105, light is incident on the area of the condenser lens 102 so that the light utilization rate can be increased.

Fourth, the present invention is provided with a heat sink (106, 107) or a heat radiation fin in the concave mirror 101 and the connecting portion 103, thereby allowing cooling without a separate cooling device, the lens (102, 108) and the light source 105 And it has a feature that can protect the optical fiber 104 and the connecting portion 103.

Fifth, when the light collecting part 110 is formed in the shape as described in FIGS. 2 and 3, by applying a reflective material to the inner surface of the connecting part 103, the optical reflectance of the connecting part 103 is increased to increase the optical reflectivity. It is characterized in that the amount of light incident on 104) can be increased.

Sixth, the present invention is the light collected from the condenser lens 102 through the conversion lens 108 provided at the connecting portion 103 or the conversion lens 108 provided at the connection between the optical fiber 104 and the connecting portion 103 By converting the light into parallel light and entering the optical fiber 104, the transmission preservation rate of the light can be increased and the transmission distance can be increased.

Seventh, the present invention is characterized in that at least one of the condenser lens 102, the conversion lens 108, the connecting portion 103, or the optical fiber 104 includes a rare earth material. The rare earth may be any one of erbium yag or praseodymium or neodymium (molecular symbols Er, Nd, and Pr), and these material components align light phase to increase light condensing efficiency and state and have characteristics of a laser to improve luminous efficiency. It will be much higher.

The effects of the present invention as described above are summarized as follows.

First, the present invention 100 may inject a maximum amount of light into the optical fiber, thereby emitting strong light to the optical fiber 104 terminal 120 extending to the front head of the endoscope 300.

Second, the present invention 100 is formed by the smallest area in the front head of the endoscope 300 while emitting a strong light, it is possible to implement a small area and thickness of the head and cable. The present invention can increase the transmission length in proportion to the increased amount of light in the optical communication module in which the transmission length increases in proportion to the incident light.

Third, the present invention collects the light from the condenser lens 102 after being output from the light source and then proceeds from the focus of the light source 105, while the collected light is incident directly from the medium called the connecting portion 103 into the optical fiber medium. Through this, it is possible to prevent the existing loss which is a large optical loss and to minimize the loss. In addition, the present invention includes a conversion lens 108 having a curvature capable of converting light condensed at the condenser lens 102 in parallel in the connection part 103, or at an end of the optical fiber (the connection part 103 and the optical fiber). By connecting to the connection portion 104, light can be incident on the optical fiber 104 in a state where light loss is minimized, thereby increasing the transmission distance of the light.

Fourth, the present invention constitutes a connection portion 102 between the condenser lens 103 and the optical fiber 104 by a medium through which light can be transmitted, thereby preventing dust from being trapped between the condenser lens 102 and the optical fiber 102. Water vapor can be minimized. Here, the medium of the connection portion may be made of transparent glass or transparent synthetic resin constituting the condenser lens 102 or the conversion lens 108.

Fifth, since the condenser lens 103 and the connecting portion 102 can be manufactured integrally, the present invention can increase the convenience of manufacturing.

Sixth, the present invention can be manufactured integrally with the condenser lens 103 and the connecting portion 102, and because the light source 105 and the concave mirror 101 can also be manufactured integrally, even higher vibration, shock and movement Can have

Seventh, the present invention is a light source smaller than the condenser lens 102 by allowing light other than the parallel light emitted from the light source 105 to be reflected through the concave mirror 101 and incident on the condenser lens 102 in the form of parallel light. Even if the light is incident on the area of the condenser lens 102, the light utilization rate can be increased.

Eighth, the present invention is characterized in that at least one or more of the condensing lens 102, the conversion lens 108, the connecting portion 103, or the optical fiber 104 includes a rare earth material. The rare earth may be any one of erbium yag or praseodymium or neodymium (molecular symbols Er, Nd, and Pr), and these material components align light phase to increase light condensing efficiency and state and have characteristics of a laser to improve luminous efficiency. Since it can be made much higher and the incident amount of light can be increased, it can be used also as a laser apparatus.

Ninth, the present invention is possible to launch a miniaturized and lightweight product, it can be developed as a personal medical product.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the detailed description and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included within the scope of the present invention do.

105: light source 101: concave mirror
110: condenser 102: condenser lens
103: connecting portion 104: optical fiber
106, 107: heat sink 108: conversion lens

Claims (13)

A light source comprising an LED or LD or OLED;
A concave mirror surrounding the light source and reflecting light output from the light source in a predetermined direction;
A condenser for condensing the light output from the light source or the light reflected by the concave mirror and passing the condensed light through a connection portion filled with a medium capable of passing the light; And
Receives the light emitted through the condensing part from one side end, and transmits to the other end, the one end is formed concave and includes an optical fiber with improved light transmission efficiency,
The condenser is a condenser lens for refracting the light transmitted from the light source direction to focus in the optical fiber direction, and one side is connected to the condenser lens and the other side is connected to the optical fiber to condense the light condensed by the condenser lens. A connecting part which is guided in the direction of the optical fiber and filled with a medium capable of passing light therein, and a conversion lens which converts the light collected by the condensing lens and passed through the connecting part into parallel light and enters the optical fiber. Optical transmission device using an optical fiber. The method of claim 1,
The light source is an optical transmission device using an optical fiber, characterized in that configured to output the surface light. The method of claim 1,
Reflecting plate is coated or attached to the surface of the concave mirror facing the light source,
An optical transmission device using an optical fiber, characterized in that the heat sink or the heat radiation fin is formed on the outer surface of the concave mirror. delete The method of claim 1,
The optical transmission device using an optical fiber, characterized in that the surface of the connection portion is coated with a material that can reflect light. delete The method of claim 1,
The diameter of the conversion lens is less than or equal to the inner diameter of the optical fiber optical transmission device using an optical fiber. The method of claim 1,
The light-
And the condenser lens and the connecting portion are integrated into one lens having a conical shape. The method of claim 1,
An optical transmission device using an optical fiber, characterized in that the heat sink or the heat radiation fin is formed on the outer surface of the connection portion. The method of claim 1,
The optical fiber includes:
An optical transmission device using an optical fiber, which is formed of only one optical fiber strand or is formed of a plurality of optical fiber bundles. The method of claim 1,
The other end of the optical fiber is provided with a lens for outputting light, the light source is an optical transmission device using an optical fiber, characterized in that connected to the input / output device or the camera module. The method of claim 1,
The other end of the optical fiber is connected to an optical communication module including a receiving device for receiving and transmitting the light transmitted through the optical fiber, the light source is connected to a transmitting device for communicating with the receiving device Optical transmission device using an optical fiber, characterized in that there is. The method of claim 1,
At least one of the condenser lens, the conversion lens, the connecting portion, and the optical fiber includes a rare earth material.

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