LIGHTING APPARATUS

• US 20080055897A1
• Filed: 09/04/2007
• Published: 03/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Moritex Corporation (Cognex Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Moritex Corporation (Cognex Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoshida, Hitoshi, Shimizu, Masayuki, Kusuhara, Takashi
• Application Number:
  US11/849,557
• Publication Number:
  US 20080055897A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/231
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/8806 Specially adapted optical and illumination features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0021 for housing at least a part of the light source, e.g. by forming holes or recesses
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0038 Linear indentations or grooves, e.g. arc-shaped grooves or meandering grooves, extending over the full length or width of the light guide
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0061 to provide homogeneous light output intensity
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0068 Arrangements of plural sources, e.g. multi-colour light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0073 Light emitting diode [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0076 Stacked arrangements of multiple light guides of the same or different cross-sectional area
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0081 Mechanical or electrical aspects of the light guide and light source in the lighting device peculiar to the adaptation to planar light guides, e.g. concerning packaging

Abstract

In a lighting apparatus for conducting product inspection by irradiation of LED light at an improved inspection accuracy, an LED light source device for scattering lights of a plurality types of LEDs of different emission wavelengths by a light guiding member and irradiating them from a light emitting surface in the direction of the lighting optical axis is attached to a casing having a light transmitting imaging section through which an imaging optical axis extends, the light guiding member has a plurality of light guiding plates with the light emitting surface being directed to the lighting optical axis, each of the light guiding plates is mounted with LEDs at a predetermined pitch on the plane perpendicular to the light emitting surface, such that the combination of the emission wavelengths is identical for each of the rows in the direction of the lighting optical axis.

Claims

1. A lighting apparatus for irradiating a light to an object to be taken by an imaging device, wherein an LED light source device for scattering lights of a plurality types of LEDs of different emission wavelengths by a light guiding member and irradiating them from a light emitting surface in the direction of the lighting optical axis is attached to a casing having an imaging light transmitting section through which an imaging optical axis extends from the imaging device to the object, in which

the light guiding member has a plurality of light guiding plates which are stacked with each light emitting surface being directed to the lighting optical axis,

each of the light guiding plates is mounted with LEDs at a predetermined pitch on the plane perpendicular to the light emitting surface, and

the LEDs are arranged such that the combination of the emission wavelengths is identical for each of the rows in the direction of the lighting optical axis.

2. A lighting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lighting optical axis of the LED light source device attached to the casing intersects the imaging optical axis at a predetermined angle, and a beam splitter for reflecting the light to the object is disposed at the point of intersection.

3. A lighting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the casing is formed into a ring-like annular shape surrounding the imaging optical axis, the LED light source device is disposed to irradiate the light from the bottom side thereof, and the light guiding member is formed by stacking a plurality of ring-like annular transparent light guiding plates with the outer circumferential surface thereof being as an LED mounting surface and the surface opposite thereto being as a light emitting surface.

4. A lighting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the casing is formed into a ring-like polygonal shape surrounding the imaging optical axis, the LED light source device is disposed to irradiate the light from the bottom side thereof, and the light guiding member is formed by stacking a plurality of transparent light guiding plates on every side of the ring-like polygonal shape with the outer circumferential side thereof being formed as an LED mounting surface and the surface opposite thereto being formed as a light emitting surface.

5. A lighting apparatus according to claim 1, having a driving circuit for lighting up/lighting off, or controlling the light of LEDs on every emission wavelength.

6. A lighting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light guiding member is formed by stacking the light guiding plates by the number corresponding to the number of the types of LEDs.

7. A lighting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein LEDs of an identical emission wavelength are mounted on every light guiding plate.

8. A lighting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light guiding member is formed by stacking three layers of transparent light guiding plates mounted with LEDs for respective RGB colors.

9. A lighting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a concave scattering portion for scattering the light incident from the LED is formed to the surface opposite to the light emitting surface of each of the light guiding plates.

10. A lighting apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the concave scattering portion is formed linearly or concentrically in parallel with the LED mounting surface and formed such that the pitch is narrowed as receding from the LED mounting surface.

11. A lighting apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the linear concave scattering portion comprises dot-like pits formed continuously in the longitudinal direction thereof.

12. A lighting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surfaces other than the light emitting surface and the LED mounting surface of the light guiding member is surrounded with a light scattering/reflection plate.

13. A lighting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a light scattering/transmitting plate is stacked to the light emitting surface of the light guiding member.