TWI847392B - Fly eye lens, light emitting device including same, and method of manufacturing fly eye lens - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a fly eye lens which can be easily adjusted to provide uniform and consistent illumination for a wide exposure area compared with the related art. The fly eye lens (10) is formed by arranging multiple lens segments (20) along a first direction. Each of the lens segments (20) is formed by arranging multiple lenses (24) along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. Front and back surfaces the lens segments (20) have mutually different optical properties, the front surface of the lens segment (20) constitutes a part of the front surface of the fly eye lens (10), and the back surface of the lens segment (20) constitutes the remaining parts.

Description

Compound eye lens, light irradiation device having the same, and method for manufacturing compound eye lens

The present invention relates to a compound eye lens that makes the illumination distribution in the light irradiation area uniform, a light irradiation device having the compound eye lens, and a method for manufacturing the compound eye lens.

A light irradiation device is used as a light source of an exposure device, etc. For example, as shown in FIG8 , the light irradiation device is composed of a lamp 1 , a reflection mirror 2 , a shutter plate 3 , a compound eye lens 4 , and a collimator 5 .

The light emitted from the lamp 1 is reflected by the reflector 2 and changes its direction, and then passes through the shutter 3 and enters the compound eye lens 4.

The compound eye lens 4 has the function of making the illumination distribution of the incident light on the exposure surface 6 uniform.

The light emitted from the compound eye lens 4 is reflected by the collimator 5 to become parallel light, and is irradiated onto the exposure surface 6 .

The compound eye lens disclosed in Patent Document 1 is composed of a plurality of long lens segments formed by butting and welding rectangular lenses in one direction, and is formed by arranging the lens segments in a direction orthogonal to the one direction.

Thus, it is difficult for gaps to be generated on the connecting surfaces between adjacent lenses in each lens segment, and even if dirt or damage occurs on one lens, the lens unit including the lens can be easily replaced.

Prior art literature

Patent Literature

Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-9611

In view of this, we, the inventors, have devoted ourselves to further research on compound eye lenses and have started to conduct research and development and improvement in order to find a better invention to solve the above problems. After continuous testing and modification, the present invention was finally invented.

Problem to be solved by the invention

However, in recent years, as the size of liquid crystal panels has increased, the exposure area has also increased, and the overall size of the compound eye lens has also increased. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly difficult to adjust the compound eye lens to uniformly match the illumination in a wide exposure area.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a compound eye lens that can more easily adjust the illumination of a wide exposure area to be uniform and consistent than before, a light irradiation device having the same, and a method for manufacturing the compound eye lens.

Technical solutions to solve problems

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a compound eye lens, which is formed by arranging a plurality of lens segments in a first direction, wherein:

Each lens segment is formed by arranging a plurality of lenses in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.

The front and back surfaces of each lens segment have mutually different optical properties,

A portion of the surface of the compound eye lens is constituted by the surface of the lens segment, and the remaining portion is constituted by the back surface of the lens segment.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a light irradiation device having the above-mentioned compound eye lens is provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a compound eye lens is provided, which is a method for preparing a plurality of lens segments which are composed of a plurality of lenses arranged in a second direction orthogonal to a first direction and have mutually different optical properties on the front and back surfaces, and arranging a plurality of the lens segments in the first direction to manufacture the compound eye lens, wherein:

When a plurality of the lens segments are arranged, the light focusing degree of the compound eye lens is adjusted by selecting which of the surface and the back surface of the lens segment is to be arranged on the surface of the compound eye lens.

Invention Effect

According to the compound eye lens of the present invention, by using lens segments having front and back surfaces with different optical characteristics, the illumination of the exposure area can be adjusted by using the front surface or the back surface of each lens segment on the surface of the compound eye lens. Therefore, according to the compound eye lens of the present invention, it is easy to adjust the illumination of a wide exposure area uniformly.

Regarding the technical means of our inventors, several preferred embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the drawings so that you can have a deeper understanding and recognize the present invention.

(Structure of compound eye lens 10)

The following is a description of a compound eye lens 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG1 , the compound eye lens 10 generally includes a pair of lens units 12 and a housing 14 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , each lens unit 12 includes a plurality of lens segments 20 and a holder 22 that holds the lens segments 20 arranged in a first direction (left-right direction in the figure).

Each lens segment 20 is formed by arranging a plurality of lenses 24 in a second direction (a direction perpendicular to the first direction: a vertical direction in the figure). In addition, holding portions 26 held by the bracket 22 are formed at both ends of each lens segment 20 .

Each lens 24 is formed to have different optical properties on its front and back sides, and each lens segment 20 formed by arranging these lenses 24 has different optical properties on its front and back sides. In addition, as a material for the lens 24, quartz (synthetic/fused), borosilicate glass, resin, etc. can be considered.

The so-called different optical properties include, for example, a lens with one side convex and the other side flat (plano-convex lens), a lens with both sides convex but different diameters (degrees of curvature) (biconvex lens), etc. For example, the degree of curvature of the surface (front surface) near the front side of the lens 24 in FIG. 2 is relatively steep, and the degree of curvature of the surface (back surface) on the opposite side is relatively gentle.

In addition, the lenses 24 may be connected and arranged in the second direction by bonding, or a plurality of lenses 24 may be arranged in the second direction by stamping or bonding using low-melting-point glass.

3 , the thickness of the holding portion 26 may be thinner (a) or thicker (b) than the thickness of the lens 24. Alternatively, the thickness of the holding portion 26 may be the same as that of the lens 24.

2 , the bracket 22 is a component for holding a plurality of lens segments 20 arranged in the first direction as described above, and is formed into a quadrilateral shape by a pair of longitudinal holding frames 30, an upper transverse holding frame 32, and a lower transverse holding frame 34. In addition, as a material for the bracket 22, aluminum, stainless steel, brass, etc. can be considered.

The vertical holding frame 30 is a member disposed on the left and right sides of the bracket 22 in the longitudinal direction, and is formed to have a thickness slightly thicker than the maximum thickness of the lens 24 constituting the lens segment 20 .

The upper side transverse holding frame 32 is a member disposed on the transverse upper side of the bracket 22 , and the lower side transverse holding frame 34 is a member disposed on the transverse lower side of the bracket 22 .

In addition, the upper lateral holding frame 32 and the lower lateral holding frame 34 are formed with holding grooves 42 directed inward by forming their cross sections into L-shapes, respectively, and the holding portions 26 of the lens segments 20 can be placed in the holding grooves 42 .

Furthermore, a first pressing member 46 is provided in the holding groove 42 of at least one of the upper transverse holding frame 32 and the lower transverse holding frame 34 (the upper transverse holding frame 32 in the present embodiment), and the first pressing member 46 presses the mounted lens segment 20 toward the other of the upper transverse holding frame 32 and the lower transverse holding frame 34 (the lower transverse holding frame 34 in the present embodiment). The first pressing member 46 of the present embodiment uses a leaf spring, but the first pressing member 46 is not limited to a leaf spring, and may be any elastic member having the above-mentioned function.

In addition, a second pressing member 48 is provided on one of the pair of vertical holding frames 30 (the vertical holding frame 30 on the right side in the figure in the present embodiment), and the second pressing member 48 presses the mounted lens segment 20 toward the other vertical holding frame 30 (the vertical holding frame 30 on the left side in the figure in the present embodiment). The second pressing member 48 of the present embodiment also uses a leaf spring, but the second pressing member 48 is not limited to a leaf spring, and may be any elastic member having the above-mentioned function.

When the required number of lens segments 20 are arranged on the bracket 22, the lens segment 20 is pressed toward a corner (the lower left corner in the figure in the present embodiment) by the pressing force of the first pressing parts 46 and the second pressing parts 48, so that the corner becomes a reference position (reference plane), which enables the lens segment 20 to be arranged in the correct position.

In addition, the bracket 22 has a pair of clamping plates 44 respectively placed in a stacked manner so as to abut against the holding portion 26 of the lens segment 20 placed in the holding groove 42 of the upper horizontal holding frame 32 and the lower horizontal holding frame 34. In addition, the clamping plates 44 may be simply plates or may be made of an elastic material (e.g., a leaf spring) that presses the holding portion 26 of the lens segment 20 toward the holding groove 42.

As a result, the upper retaining portion 26 of each lens segment 20 subjected to the pressing force from the first pressing component 46 is clamped between the clamping plate 44 and the retaining groove 42 (refer to FIG. 4 ), and the lower retaining portion 26 is also clamped between the clamping plate 44 and the retaining groove 42, thereby preventing each lens segment 20 from floating from the bracket 22.

The housing 14 can accommodate two lens units 12, and as shown in FIG1(b), each lens unit 12 is arranged in a relative state with a given interval. In addition, aluminum, stainless steel, brass, etc. can be considered as the material of the housing 14. Regardless of which material is selected, it is preferred that the material of the bracket 22 is consistent with the material of the housing 14.

(Assembly and adjustment method of compound eye lens 10)

Next, a method of assembling the above-mentioned compound eye lens 10 will be briefly described, and then a method of adjusting the illumination of the exposure area using the compound eye lens 10 will be described.

Both ends (holding portions 26) of the prepared plurality of lens segments 20 are placed in the upper and lower holding grooves 42, and the lens segments 20 are arranged in the first direction. When all lens segments 20 are arranged, each lens segment 20 is correctly positioned relative to a reference position (the lower left corner in this embodiment) by the first pressing member 46 and the second pressing member 48.

Then, by mounting a pair of clamping plates 44 on the upper horizontal retaining frame 32 and the lower horizontal retaining frame 34, the lens unit 12 is completed. Then, by assembling the two lens units 12 on the housing 14, the compound eye lens 10 is completed. In addition, when assembling the two lens units 12, it is preferred to set the reference position in each lens unit 12 to be substantially on the same axis with the optical axis direction of the compound eye lens 10 as the basic axis.

When adjusting the illumination distribution of the exposure area of the compound eye lens 10, it is performed by turning over some (at least one) of the plurality of lens segments 20 constituting the lens unit 12. That is, when arranging the plurality of lens segments 20, it is selected whether to arrange the surface of the compound eye lens 10, the front surface or the back surface of the lens segment 20. As a result, in the compound eye lens 10 in the adjusted state, a part is constituted by the front surface of the lens segment 20, and the remaining part is constituted by the back surface of the lens segment 20.

The adjustment of the illumination distribution of the exposure area is described in more detail. Generally, when the lens 24 is configured with the convex surface (the surface in the present embodiment) on the outside, the outer shape of the illumination range of the illumination surface becomes a "pillow shape" (refer to FIG. 5), and when the convex surface is configured on the inside (that is, when the back surface is configured on the outside in the present embodiment), the outer shape of the illumination range of the illumination surface becomes a "barrel shape" (refer to FIG. 6). Moreover, in the "pillow shape", the illumination of the four corners in the illumination range is relatively low, and conversely, in the "barrel shape", the illumination of the four corners in the illumination range is relatively high.

By utilizing such characteristics, the outer shape and illumination distribution of the irradiation range can be changed by inverting a portion of the lens segment 20 constituting each lens unit 12.

Of course, it is also possible to adjust which of the front surface/back surface faces outward for each lens segment 20, and it is also possible to collectively adjust the directions of multiple lens segments 20. Furthermore, it is also possible to adjust which surface faces outward for each lens unit 12.

Furthermore, the degree of influence of the adjustment on the irradiation state varies depending on where the adjusted lens segment 20 is located in the lens unit 12. Generally, the illuminance distribution of the light irradiated from the lamp in the light irradiation device relative to the compound eye lens 10 is highest near the center of the compound eye lens 10, and decreases concentrically from the center. Therefore, when the lens segment 20 disposed near the center of the lens unit 12 is adjusted, the change in the illuminance distribution on the irradiation surface also increases.

In addition, by changing the interval between a pair of lens units 12, the illumination distribution can also be adjusted.

(Characteristics of Compound Eye Lens 10)

According to the compound eye lens 10 involved in the present embodiment, by using the lens segments 20 having front and back surfaces with different optical characteristics, the illumination of the exposure area can be adjusted by using the front surface or the back surface of each lens segment 20 on the surface of the compound eye lens 10. Therefore, according to the compound eye lens 10 involved in the present invention, it is easy to adjust the illumination of a wide exposure area uniformly.

In addition, the compound eye lens 10 involved in the present embodiment uses the lens unit 12 in groups of two, and the center axes of the lenses 24 of one group relative to each other need to be aligned parallel to the center axes of the lenses 24 of other groups. However, since the configuration position can be adjusted based on the lens segment 20 in one lens unit 12, these center axes can also be easily adjusted.

Moreover, as described above, as the glass or liquid crystal panel serving as the substrate becomes larger, the compound eye lens also becomes larger, so the weight and size of the compound eye lens itself become larger, making it difficult to operate. However, in the compound eye lens 10 involved in the present embodiment, since it is assembled in units of lens segments 20, it is easy to install it on the bracket 22.

In addition, in the case of a single lens unit 12 as in the past, if any one of them is defective, the entire lens unit 12 becomes useless. However, in the case of the compound-eye lens 10 involved in the present embodiment, only the lens segment 20 including the defective lens 24 needs to be replaced, thereby improving the yield of the lens unit 12 (compound-eye lens 10).

(Variant 1)

In the above-mentioned embodiment, each lens segment 20 is formed by arranging a plurality of lenses 24 in a second direction (the up-down direction in the figure), and aligning the plurality of lens segments 20 in a first direction (the left-right direction in the figure) to form a lens unit 12. However, the first direction and the second direction may be opposite, and a plurality of lenses 24 may be arranged in the second direction (the left-right direction) to form a lens segment 20, and a plurality of lens segments 20 may be aligned in the first direction (the up-down direction) to form a lens unit 12.

(Variant 2)

The structure of the bracket 22 is not limited to the above structure. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 , a pair of longitudinal retaining frames 30, an upper transverse retaining frame 32, and a lower transverse retaining frame 34 may be formed separately and assembled to form a quadrilateral bracket 22.

The vertical holding frame 30 is a component arranged on the left and right sides in the vertical direction when the bracket 22 is assembled, and has a holding frame holding portion 36 formed at both ends, which has the same thickness as the holding portion 26 of the lens segment 20. In addition, the thickness of the main body portion other than the holding frame holding portion 36 is formed to be slightly thicker than the maximum thickness of the lens 24 constituting the lens segment 20.

The upper horizontal holding frame 32 is a member disposed laterally upward when the bracket 22 is assembled, and has an upper groove 38 extending in the longitudinal direction formed on its lower surface. The holding portion 26 of the lens segment 20 and the holding frame holding portion 36 of the vertical holding frame 30 are fitted into the upper groove 38.

The lower horizontal holding frame 34 is a member disposed laterally downward when the bracket 22 is assembled, and has a lower groove 40 extending in the longitudinal direction formed on its upper surface. The holding portion 26 of the lens segment 20 and the holding frame holding portion 36 of the vertical holding frame 30 are fitted into the lower groove 40.

When the compound eye lens 10 is assembled using the holder 22 according to the second modification, after the prepared plurality of lens segments 20 are arranged in the first direction, the vertical holding frames 30 of the holder 22 are arranged at both left and right ends. Thus, the holding portions 26 of each lens segment 20 and the holding frame holding portions 36 of a pair of vertical holding frames 30 are arranged in one direction.

Then, the upper side horizontal holding frame 32 is installed so that the holding portion 26 and the holding frame holding portion 36 are fitted into the upper side groove 38 of the upper side horizontal holding frame 32. Similarly, the lower side horizontal holding frame 34 is installed from the lower side.

The lens unit 12 is now completed. The completed pair of lens units 12 is housed in the housing 14, thereby completing the compound eye lens 10.

In summary, the technical means disclosed in this invention can effectively solve the problems of knowledge and achieve the expected purpose and effect. Moreover, it has not been seen in publications and has not been publicly used before the application, and it has long-term progress. It is indeed an invention as referred to in the Patent Law. Therefore, I have filed an application in accordance with the law and sincerely pray that the Supreme Court will give a detailed review and grant the invention patent. I will be very grateful.

However, the above are only several preferred embodiments of the present invention, and should not be used to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. In other words, all equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application of the present invention and the contents of the invention specification should still fall within the scope of the present invention patent.

[The present invention] 10: Compound eye lens 12: Lens unit 14: Housing 20: Lens section 22: Bracket 24: Lens 26: Holding portion 30: Vertical holding frame 32: Upper horizontal holding frame 34: Lower horizontal holding frame 36: Holding frame holding portion 38: Upper groove 40: Lower groove 42: Holding groove 44: Clamping plate 46: First pressing member 48: Second pressing member

[FIG. 1] is a perspective view (a) and a cross-sectional view (b) showing a compound eye lens 10 involved in an embodiment of the present invention: [FIG. 2] is an exploded perspective view showing a lens unit 12: [FIG. 3] is a view showing the thickness of the lens 24 in the lens segment 20 and the thickness of the holding portion 26: [FIG. 4] is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state where the lens segment 20 is mounted on the bracket 22: [FIG. 5] is a view showing an example where the outer shape of the irradiation range in the irradiation surface is a "pillow shape": [FIG. 6] is a view showing an example where the outer shape of the irradiation range in the irradiation surface is a "barrel shape": [FIG. 7] is an exploded perspective view showing a modified example of the bracket 22: [FIG. 8] is a view showing an example of a light irradiation device used as a light source for an exposure device, etc.

12: Lens unit

20: Lens section

22: Bracket

24: Lens

26: Maintaining Department

30: Vertical holding frame

32: Upper horizontal retaining frame

34: Lower horizontal retaining frame

42: Holding slot

44: Clamping plate

46: First pressing part

48: Second pressing part

Claims (3)

A compound eye lens is formed by arranging a plurality of lens segments in a first direction, each of the lens segments is formed by arranging a plurality of lenses in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the surface and back surface of each of the lens segments have mutually different optical characteristics, a part of the surface of the compound eye lens is formed by the surface of the lens segment, and the remaining part is formed by the back surface of the lens segment, and the light focusing degree of the compound eye lens is adjusted by configuring the surface and back surface of the lens segment on the surface of the compound eye lens. A light irradiation device, comprising the compound eye lens described in claim 1. A method for manufacturing a compound eye lens, which is to prepare a plurality of lens segments which are composed of a plurality of lenses arranged in a second direction orthogonal to a first direction and have different optical properties on the front and back surfaces, and to arrange the plurality of lens segments in the first direction to manufacture the compound eye lens. In the method for manufacturing the compound eye lens, when arranging the plurality of lens segments, the surface and the back surface of the lens segment are selected to be arranged on the surface of the compound eye lens to adjust the light focusing degree of the compound eye lens.

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