Photoirradiation device and fiber rod

• US 20040228142A1
• Filed: 03/03/2004
• Published: 11/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GC Corporation (General Cannabis Corp.)
• Original Assignee: GC Corporation (General Cannabis Corp.), Stanley Electric Company Limited
• Inventors: Ohno, Masafumi, Omori, Shinya, Takada, Mitsuaki, Kobayashi, Aiichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,101,072 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/555
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 19/004 Hand-held apparatus, e.g. guns
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/0652 Arrays of diodes
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/143 for use with ultraviolet radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0006 Coupling light into the fibre in general G02B6/4298
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0008 the light being emitted at the end of the fibre
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/04 formed by bundles of fibres G02B6/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/80 Light emitting diode
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/804 Surgical or dental spotlight

Abstract

A photoirradiation device in which an optical system can be miniaturized and utilization efficiency of light can be improved in a manner that includes a first lens and a second lens, which share refraction of light to convert light beams emitted from a plurality of light sources into the light beams substantially parallel to an optical axis, and a third lens focusing the light beams from the second lens on an incident surface 20A of a lightguide 20. A fiber rod which can output uniform light beams in a manner that includes a first rod having a single fiber and a second rod having a plurality of fibers.

Claims

1. A photoirradiation device which outputs a light beam from an outgoing surface of a lightguide unit, the photoirradiation device comprising:

a plurality of point light sources;

the lightguide unit which has an incident surface and the outgoing surface, the lightguide unit guiding the light beam incident to the incident surface to the outgoing surface; and

an optical system which focuses the light beams emitted from the plurality of point light sources on the incident surface of the lightguide unit,

wherein the plurality of point light sources are arranged on a surface perpendicular to an optical axis of the optical system,

the optical system has a first lens, a second lens, and a third lens, which are arranged in order from the point light sources toward the incident surface of the lightguide unit,

an incident surfaces and an outgoing surfaces in the first lens and the second lens are formed so that the light beam emitted from the point light source arranged near the optical axis is converted into the light beam substantially parallel to the optical axis, and

an incident surface and an outgoing surface of the third lens are formed so that the light beams outgoing from the second lens are focused on the incident surface of the lightguide unit.

2. The photoirradiation device according to claim 1, wherein the incident surface of the first lens has a flat surface or a convex surface, and the outgoing surface of the first lens has the convex surface.

3. The photoirradiation device according to claim 1, wherein the incident surface of the second lens has the flat surface or a concave surface, and the outgoing surface of the second lens has the convex surface.

4. The photoirradiation device according to claim 1, wherein the incident surface of the third lens has the convex surface, and the outgoing surface of the third lens has the flat surface.

5. The photoirradiation device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of point light sources are arranged at a position which is inside a primary focus of the optical system, and the incident surface of the lightguide unit is arranged at a secondary focus of the optical system.

6. The photoirradiation device according to claim 1, wherein the point light source is a light-emitting diode.

10. The photoirradiation device according to claim 1, wherein the lightguide unit is a fiber rod which guides a light beam incident to an incident surface to output the light beam from an outgoing surface by using a fiber including a high-refractive index core and a low-refractive index clad, the high-refractive index core being coated with the low-refractive index clad, the fiber rod comprising:

a first rod which has a single fiber whose one end becomes the incident surface; and

a second rod which has the plurality of fibers, the second rod taking the light beam outgoing from another end of the first rod from one end of the second rod and outputting the light beam from the other end which becomes the outgoing surface.

11. A method of curing a photo-polymerization resin, characterized by using the photoirradiation device according to claim 1.

7. A fiber rod which guides a light beam incident to an incident surface to output the light beam from an outgoing surface by using a fiber including a high-refractive index core and a low-refractive index clad, the high-refractive index core being coated with the low-refractive index clad, the fiber rod comprising:

a first rod which has a single fiber whose one end becomes the incident surface; and

a second rod which has the plurality of fibers, the second rod taking the light beam outgoing from another end of the first rod from one end of the second rod and outputting the light beam from the other end which becomes the outgoing surface.

8. The fiber rod according to claim 7, wherein the first rod has a linear shape and the second rod has a bent portion.

9. A photoirradiation device comprising:

a plurality of light-emitting diodes;

the fiber rod according to claim 7;

and

an optical system which focuses light beams emitted from the plurality of light-emitting diodes on the incident surface.