WO2019136832A1

WO2019136832A1 - Light source apparatus, light guide and method for manufacturing light guide

Info

Publication number: WO2019136832A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/080880
Authority: WO
Inventors: 胡飞; 徐梦梦; 许颜正
Original assignee: 深圳市绎立锐光科技开发有限公司
Priority date: 2018-01-10
Filing date: 2018-03-28
Publication date: 2019-07-18

Abstract

Disclosed are a light source apparatus, a light guide and a method for manufacturing a light guide. The light guide comprises a transparent tube (100) and a light guide medium (200) provided in the transparent tube (100). The light guide medium (200) comprises a binding material (210) and fluorescent powder (220), with the distance between the binding material (210) and the transparent tube (100) being less than 780 nm. By choosing a binding material (210) and a transparent tube (100) with similar refractive indexes, a slurry containing the fluorescent powder (220) and the binding material (210) is cured in the smooth transparent tube (100), such that, after an auxiliary light guide medium (200) is formed, the transparent tube (100) can still provide a smooth surface, an outer wall of the transparent tube (100) is used as a side face of the light guide, so there is no need to polish a surface of the light guide medium (200), thereby simplifying the process of manufacturing the light guide.

Description

Light source device, light guide and method of manufacturing light guide

Technical field

The invention relates to a light source device, a light guide and a method for manufacturing the light guide, and belongs to the technical field of optical transmission.

Background technique

Rod-shaped or linear illuminators are widely used in the fields of illumination, warning or decoration. According to the principle of illuminating, rod-shaped or linear illuminants can be classified into two types: chemiluminescence and electroluminescence. The chemical-based glow stick is activated by stimulating a luminescent chemical reaction within the assembly, typically by bending the flexible plastic tube thereby splitting the frangible separator within the tube and allowing various chemicals to react. Once the chemical reaction begins, it will not stop until the reaction is complete. Chemiluminescence-based glow bars can only be used once, cannot be repeatedly excited and de-excited, and are not suitable for use as illumination or illuminating signals. Bar-shaped or linear illuminators based on electroluminescence are generally made of glass tubes filled with electroluminescent gas, which illuminate brightly when current is applied, by changing the gas used and the fluorescent coating applied to the surface of the tube. , can emit different colors of light. Luminescent bars or illuminating lines based on electroluminescence can be activated and deactivated, are suitable for use as illuminating signals and are well placed in other devices such as automobiles. However, this form of rod or line illuminator generally requires a high voltage for excitation and is not well suited for use in small portable devices.

technical problem

Based on the long service life and power saving reasons, the use of light-emitting diodes as rod-shaped or linear illuminants for illumination, warning or decoration has become a common trend. A rod-shaped or linear illuminator in the form of a light-emitting diode usually has a plurality of diodes arranged in a line, and these linearly arranged diodes emit light under the control of the touch circuit to obtain a linear or rod-shaped light source. At present, a linear or rod-shaped light source in the form of a light-emitting diode is used as a brake light, a direction light, or a decorative light in a car, etc., but the efficiency of the light-emitting diode drops rapidly as the temperature rises, and the light-emitting diode is in the form of a light-emitting diode. Linear or rod-shaped illuminators require the use of multiple light-emitting diodes. The failure of a single LED illuminates the entire illuminator. In addition, this type of rod-shaped or linear light source has problems of low strength, uniformity and mildness.

Technical solution

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a light source device, a light guide and a method for manufacturing a light guide according to the deficiencies of the prior art, by selecting a bonding material and a transparent tube having similar refractive indexes, and then containing the phosphor and the bonding material. The slurry is solidified in a smooth transparent tube, so that the transparent tube can provide a smooth surface after the auxiliary light guiding medium is formed, and the outer wall of the transparent tube is used as the side of the light guide, and the surface of the light guiding medium is not polished, thereby simplifying The preparation process of the light guide.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is achieved by the following technical solutions:

The invention provides a light guide comprising a transparent tube and a light guiding medium disposed in the transparent tube, the light guiding medium comprising a bonding material and a phosphor, the distance between the bonding material and the transparent tube being less than 780 nm .

In order to achieve the total reflection effect, the roughness of the inner and outer walls of the transparent tube is less than 100 nm.

In order to match the transparent tube with the bonding material to avoid affecting the performance of the phosphor, the transparent tube is a transparent tube made of a material having a transmittance in the visible light region of more than 70%; the bonding material is transparent in the visible light region. The rate is greater than 70%.

Specifically, the material of the transparent tube is glass, sapphire, polymethyl methacrylate or polycarbonate; the bonding material is glass, silica gel or light curing glue.

Further, the transparent tube and the bonding material have a refractive index difference of less than 0.2.

In order to meet the luminous brightness requirements at different distances, the concentration distribution of the phosphor in the binding material is a uniform distribution or a gradient concentration.

In order to provide a light filtering function for the light guide, the material of the transparent tube is colored glass. Alternatively, the light directing medium further comprises a dye molecule.

In order to obtain a light guide of a specific wavelength, a tubular dichroic color film or a dichroic color film is disposed outside the transparent tube of the light guide.

In order to obtain a strip or strip of light guide, the transparent tube of the light guide is provided with a reflective element, and the reflective element is partially disposed around the transparent tube.

The present invention also provides a light source device comprising an excitation light source and a light guide, the light guide being a light guide as described above, the light guide comprising at least one incident surface, the excitation light source being disposed adjacent to the light introduction surface.

In order to further improve the uniformity of illumination, one end of the light guide is an incident surface, and one end of the light guide away from the incident surface is provided with a reflective layer; or both ends of the light guide are incident surfaces, and the number of excitation light sources is two. Set at both ends of the light guide.

The invention also provides a method for manufacturing a light guide, the manufacturing method comprising:

S10: mixing the phosphor and the bonding material to form a slurry;

S20: ultrasonically cleaning the transparent tube and drying it;

S30: filling the transparent tube with the slurry;

S40: Curing the slurry to form a light guide.

Beneficial effect

In summary, the present invention selects a bonding material having a similar refractive index and a transparent tube, and then solidifies the slurry containing the phosphor and the bonding material in a smooth transparent tube, so that the transparent tube is further formed after the auxiliary light guiding medium is formed. The smooth surface can be provided, and the outer wall of the transparent tube is used as the side surface of the light guide, and the surface of the light guiding medium is not required to be polished, thereby simplifying the preparation process of the light guide.

The technical solutions of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

DRAWINGS

1 is a schematic structural view of a light guide according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of Figure 1;

3 is a schematic structural view of a light guide according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of Figure 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a third light guide according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of Figure 5;

7 is a schematic structural view of a fourth light guide according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of Figure 7;

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural view of a light source device of the present invention.

Embodiments of the invention

The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a full understanding of the invention, but the invention may be practiced otherwise than as described herein. Limitations of the embodiments.

Embodiment 1

1 is a schematic structural view of a light guide according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the present invention provides a light guide comprising a transparent tube 100 and a light guiding medium 200 disposed in the transparent tube 100. The light guiding medium 200 includes a bonding material 210 and a phosphor 220, which is transparent. The tube 100 is preferably a transparent tube made of a material having a transmittance in the visible light region of more than 70%, such as glass, sapphire, PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate), and PC (polycarbonate), etc., the inner wall of the transparent tube 100 and The outer walls are of a smooth structure, specifically, the roughness is preferably less than 100 nm, thereby forming as a mold-assisted light guiding medium 200, and providing a smooth surface for achieving a total reflection effect. Considering that the transmittance of the visible light region of the transparent tube 100 is not 100%, preferably, the thickness of the transparent tube 100 and the ratio of the diameter of the light guiding medium 200 (ie, the thickness of the transparent tube 100 and the inner diameter of the transparent tube 100) are 1:30- 1:3, preferably 1:10.

The bonding material 210 functions to bond the phosphor 220 and achieve light conduction. In order to match the transparent tube 100 and prevent it from affecting the performance of the phosphor 220, the transmittance of the bonding material 210 in the visible light region is greater than 70%, preferably Further, the refractive index difference between the bonding material 210 and the transparent tube 100 is less than 0.2. Preferably, the refractive index difference between the bonding material 210 and the transparent tube 100 is less than 0.1, and the bonding material 210 and The distance between the transparent tubes 100 is less than 780 nm, and since the wavelength of visible light ranges from 380 nm to 780 nm, when the distance between the bonding material 210 and the transparent tube 100 is less than 780 nm, the bonding material 210 can be brought into close contact with the transparent tube 100. The optical contact is achieved, that is, the contact surface between the bonding material 210 and the transparent tube 100 does not affect the conduction of light. Preferably, the distance between the bonding material 210 and the transparent tube 100 is less than 380 nm. The phosphor 220 is preferably a phosphor particle that absorbs ultraviolet light or blue light and emits visible light.

It should be noted that, for the content and type selection of the bonding material 210 and the phosphor 220, those skilled in the art can adjust according to actual needs (such as the nature of the output light required), and the invention is not limited thereto. The present invention can also additionally add some scattering particles such as Al ₂ O ₃ , TiO _{2 ,} etc. at the position corresponding to the phosphor 220 to adapt to different illumination requirements. For example, a common phosphor YAG:Ce can be used, which can be excited by a blue excitation source to emit yellow light, and partially combines unconverted blue light to form white light. Of course, it can also be reduced or increased by adjusting the concentration of scattering particles and YAG:Ce. The amount of blue light is obtained to obtain yellowish or bluish light.

In addition, the concentration distribution of the phosphor 220 in the bonding material 210 can be set in various ways, such as uniform distribution or by gradient concentration. Specifically, in the case where the same type of phosphor emits light of the same color, the phosphor is subjected to a gradient concentration setting in the longitudinal direction of the line source to satisfy the luminance requirement at different distances. Of course, it is also possible to set phosphors of different colors and their corresponding concentrations and distributions at different distances as needed to meet the requirements for different colors of light and brightness at different distances. For example, when it is desired to obtain a uniform light-emitting rod-shaped light source, when an excitation light source is used to excite from one end face, the concentration of the phosphor 220 needs to gradually increase from the incident surface to the other surface.

The manufacturing method of the light guide in this embodiment is as follows:

S10: mixing the phosphor and the bonding material to form a slurry;

S20: ultrasonically cleaning the transparent tube and drying it;

S30: filling the transparent tube with the slurry;

S40: Curing the slurry to form a light guide.

In the S10, there are various ways of mixing. For example, when the bonding material 210 is made of silica gel, heat curing glue or light curing glue, the phosphor 220 needs to be uniformly mixed with the precursor of the silica gel, the heat curing or the light curing glue; When the bonding material 210 is made of glass, it is necessary to uniformly mix the glass powder containing the organic vehicle with the phosphor 220. The organic vehicle may be prepared by mixing and dissolving ethyl cellulose, terpineol, butyl carbitol, or butyl carbitol ester, or the organic vehicle may also be an acrylic resin. In the S30, the slurry is preferably filled with the transparent tube 100 by means of dispensing or injection molding. In the S40, there are various ways of curing, such as when the bonding material 210 is made of silica gel or a thermosetting glue, the slurry is cured by heating; when the bonding material 210 is made of a light curing glue, it is exposed. The method is to solidify the slurry; when the bonding material 210 is made of glass, the slurry is cured (vitrified) by heat treatment, and during the curing process, the process parameters such as temperature, time, etc. can be adjusted to ensure fluorescence after curing. The bonding material 210 of the powder 220 is in optical contact with the inner wall of the transparent tube.

Since the bonding material 210 of the light guide of the present invention is close to the refractive index of the transparent tube 100, and the bonding material 210 is in optical contact with the inner wall of the transparent tube 100, the outer wall of the transparent tube 100 can serve as the side of the entire light guide, and does not need to be adhered. The surface of the junction material 210 is polished to simplify the preparation process of the light guide.

Embodiment 2

3 is a schematic structural view of a light guide according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention; and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, compared with the first embodiment, the light guide has a filtering function.

Specifically, the light guiding medium 200 includes a dye molecule 230 in addition to the bonding material 210 and the phosphor 220, and the dye molecule 230 is added during the process of forming the slurry in S10 to form the dye molecule 230 and fluorescent. A slurry in which the powder 220 and the bonding material 210 are mixed. A person skilled in the art can obtain a linear or rod-shaped light guide of a specific wavelength by adjusting the kind and concentration of the dye molecule 230 and the phosphor 220. Wherein, the dye molecule 230 is a color selective absorbing material, which functions to absorb light of an unnecessary wavelength, leaving light of a desired wavelength, thereby achieving a filtering effect, such as a triarylmethane acid dye or the like.

Alternatively, a transparent tube 100 made of colored glass may be used to achieve a corresponding filter function.

Other structures of the light guide in this embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, and are not described herein again.

Embodiment 3

5 is a schematic structural view of a light guide according to a third embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, in this embodiment, a tubular dichroic color plate 300 (also called a band pass film) or a dichroic color film is disposed outside the transparent tube 100 of the light guide to obtain a linear or rod-shaped light guide of a specific wavelength. So that the light guide has a filtering function.

Specifically, a tubular dichroic color patch 300 may be directly disposed on the transparent tube 100. The transparent tube 100 and the tubular dichroic color patch 300 may be in close contact or may have a certain gap. In addition, the tubular dichroic color plate 300 and the transparent tube 100 may be integrated into one body, that is, the dichroic film is directly plated on the outer wall of the transparent tube 100 by vapor deposition or the like, thereby realizing filtering effect to obtain a line of a specific wavelength. Shape or rod light guide.

Since the tubular dichroic color patch 300 or the dichroic color film is added in the embodiment, the tubular dichroic color patch 300 is disposed around the transparent tube 100 such that the side surface of the transparent tube 100 is covered by the tubular dichroic color patch 300, thereby realizing The light emitted by the side of the illuminating light guide is filtered to obtain a linear or rod-shaped light guide of a specific wavelength.

In addition, due to the band-pass characteristics of the dichroic film or the dichroic film, a part of the untransmitted light is reflected back into the light guiding medium, and the phosphor is excited to generate visible light of a specific wavelength. The light conversion efficiency is improved to some extent.

Embodiment 4

7 is a schematic structural view of a light guide according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of FIG. 7. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in the present embodiment, a strip-shaped or strip-shaped light guide is obtained by providing a reflective member 400 outside the transparent tube 100 of the light guide.

In particular, the reflective element 400 is partially disposed around the transparent tube 100, i.e., the reflective element 400 does not wrap around the transparent tube 100 360° such that the transparent tube 100 has a portion that is not wrapped by the reflective element 400 along its length. Compared with the first embodiment, the light exit surface in the present embodiment is changed from the side of the entire light guide to the side of the light guide in a range corresponding to a certain central angle, whereby a strip or strip light guide can be obtained. Preferably, the reflective element 400 has a reflectance greater than 90%.

The other structure of the light guide in this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the reflective element is a prior art. As disclosed in the patent document WO 2009/004597 A2, a technical solution for defining the light surface by using a mirror has been disclosed, and no longer Narration.

Embodiment 5

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural view of a light source device of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the present invention provides a light source device including an excitation light source 500 and a light guide, the excitation light source 500 being disposed at an end of the light guide near the incident surface. Preferably, the light source device further includes a lens 600 disposed between the excitation light source 500 and the light guide.

The excitation light source 500 can be an LED light source or a laser light source. The light guide is the light guide described above.

When the laser light source is used as the excitation light source 500, and the light guide in the first embodiment is used as the light guide, the working process of the light source device in this embodiment is as follows:

An ultraviolet or blue laser light is emitted from the excitation light source 500, and coupled through the lens 600 to obtain an incident light beam L1. The incident light beam L1 enters the light guide from the incident surface 101. A part of the incident light beam L1 interacts with the phosphor 220. The interaction is divided into two types. The first one is the light beam L2 absorbed by the phosphor 220 and converted into another wavelength, and the second type is scattered by the phosphor 220 particles. The direction of the incident light is changed as indicated by the light beam L4. Another portion of the incident beam L1 does not interact with the phosphor 220 and propagates in the original direction of propagation until the next phosphor 220 is encountered, as indicated by the beam L3 in the figure.

Since the transparent tube 100 in the light guide is close to the refractive index of the light guiding medium 200 and maintains optical contact, the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 can reach the outer wall surface of the transparent tube 100, that is, the side surface 102 of the light emitting light guide. At the side surface 102, the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 The part that does not satisfy the total reflection condition escapes directly from the light guide side 102, and the portion that satisfies the total reflection condition continues to propagate along the length of the light guide under total reflection until it is scattered by the next phosphor 220 particle. By adjusting the parameters such as the concentration of the phosphor powder 220, a rod-shaped light source having a strong luminescence intensity and a uniform softness can be obtained.

In order to further improve the uniformity of illumination of the rod-shaped light source, a reflective layer may be disposed on an end surface 103 opposite to the incident surface 101, or another excitation light source 500 and a lens 600 may be disposed symmetrically with the excitation light source 500 and the lens 600 at the end surface 103. The end face 103 is used as another incident surface to obtain a uniformly soft rod-shaped light source.

In summary, the present invention provides a light source device, a light guide, and a method of manufacturing a light guide by using a bonding material having a similar refractive index and a transparent tube, and then curing the slurry containing the phosphor and the bonding material in a smooth transparent In the tube, the transparent tube can provide a smooth surface after the auxiliary light guiding medium is formed, and the outer wall of the transparent tube is used as the side surface of the light guide, and the surface of the light guiding medium is not required to be polished, thereby simplifying the preparation process of the light guide.

Claims

A light guide, characterized in that the light guide comprises a transparent tube (100) and a light guiding medium (200) disposed in the transparent tube, the light guiding medium comprising a bonding material (210) and a phosphor (220) The distance between the bonding material and the transparent tube is less than 780 nm.

2. A light guide according to claim 1 wherein the inner and outer walls of the transparent tube (100) have a roughness of less than 100 nm.

The light guide according to claim 1, wherein the transparent tube (100) is a transparent tube made of a material having a transmittance in the visible light region of more than 70%; and the bonding material (210) is in the visible light region. The transmission rate is greater than 70%.

The light guide according to claim 3, wherein the transparent tube (100) is made of glass, sapphire, polymethyl methacrylate or polycarbonate; and the bonding material (210) is glass. , silicone or light curing adhesive.

5. A light guide according to claim 4 wherein the transparent tube (100) and the bonding material (210) have a refractive index that differs by less than 0.2.

6. A light guide according to claim 1 wherein the concentration distribution of said phosphor (220) in the bonding material (210) is a uniform distribution or a gradient concentration.

7. A light guide according to claim 1 wherein the material of the transparent tube (100) is tinted glass; or the light directing medium (200) further comprises dye molecules (230).

8. A light guide according to claim 1 wherein the transparent tube (100) of the light guide is provided with a tubular dichroic color patch (300) or a dichroic color film.

9. A light guide as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the transparent tube (100) of the light guide is provided with a reflective element (400), the reflective element being arranged around the transparent tube.

A light source device, comprising: an excitation light source (500) and a light guide, the light guide being the light guide according to any one of claims 1-9, the light guide comprising at least one incident The excitation light source is disposed adjacent to the light introduction surface.

The light source device according to claim 10, wherein one end of the light guide is an incident surface, and one end of the light guide away from the incident surface is provided with a reflective layer;

Alternatively, both ends of the light guide are incident surfaces, and the number of excitation light sources is two, which are respectively disposed at two ends of the light guide.

12. A method of fabricating a light guide, characterized in that the method of manufacture comprises:

S10: mixing the phosphor and the bonding material to form a slurry;

S20: ultrasonically cleaning the transparent tube and drying it;

S30: filling the transparent tube with the slurry;

S40: Curing the slurry to form a light guide.