JP2013039179A - Plastic optical fiber structure, illumination device and endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plastic optical fiber structure emitting light from an end part having a diverse shape to give out the light, and to provide an illumination device and an endoscope including the same.SOLUTION: This plastic optical fiber structure 1 is formed by arranging, inside a tubular resin body 3, a plurality of bare plastic optical fibers 2 along the long direction of the resin body 3 over the whole circumferential direction. In at least one end part 5A, 5B, 5C in the long direction of the resin body 3, the end faces 6 of the inward bare fibers 2 are inclined. For example, the end faces 6 are inclined in a shape wherein the inner circumference 1a side projects as compared to the outer circumference 1b side over the whole circumference of the end part 5A, the end faces 6 are inclined in a shape wherein the outer circumference 1b side projects as compared to the inner circumference 1a side over the whole circumference of the end part 5B, or the end faces 6 are obliquely inclined such that the whole end part 5C is along one plane.

Description

  The present invention relates to a plastic optical fiber structure that can be suitably used for an illumination device, an endoscope, and the like, and an illumination device and an endoscope including the plastic optical fiber structure.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a ride guide for transmitting illumination light in an illumination device such as an endoscope, an optical fiber (multicomponent fiber) made of multicomponent glass is known.
Further, in Patent Document 1, a plurality of plastic optical fiber bare wires are evenly arranged on the circumference and covered with a resin capable of transmitting light, thereby forming a round bar-like shape that emits light with less unevenness. A plastic optical fiber structure is described.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-288935

In a conventional ride guide using multicomponent fibers, a plurality of multicomponent fibers are fixed with an adhesive, and then the shape of the end portion is adjusted by polishing or the like. Since the multi-component fiber is hard and inferior in workability, it is difficult to form the end portion of the ride guide.
Since the plastic optical fiber structure described in Patent Document 1 aims at side light emission (light emission from a cylindrical outer peripheral surface), there is no description about emitting light from the end.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a plastic optical fiber structure capable of emitting light by emitting light from end portions having various shapes, and an illumination device including the plastic optical fiber structure, and It is an object to provide an endoscope.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is a plastic optical fiber structure in which a plurality of bare plastic optical fibers along the longitudinal direction of the resin body are arranged in a cylindrical resin body over the entire circumferential direction. Thus, a plastic optical fiber structure is provided in which the end face of the bare wire inside is inclined at at least one end in the longitudinal direction of the resin body.

In the plastic optical fiber structure of the present invention, it is possible to incline the end surface of the inner bare wire together with the surrounding resin body end surface at the end portion.
Moreover, it is also possible to make it the structure which made the outer peripheral side incline in the shape which protrudes rather than an inner peripheral side over the perimeter of the edge part of the said output side.
Moreover, it is also possible to make it the structure which made it incline in the shape where an inner peripheral side protrudes rather than an outer peripheral side over the perimeter of the edge part of the said output side.
Moreover, it is also possible to make it the structure which inclined diagonally so that the whole edge part of the said output side may follow a single plane.

Furthermore, the present invention provides an illuminating device provided with a light source at an end portion on the incident side of the plastic optical fiber structure.
Furthermore, the present invention provides an endoscope characterized in that the plastic optical fiber structure includes image transmission means for transmitting an image of an observation region facing the end on the emission side.
A configuration in which an image sensor is provided at the tip of the image transmission means is also possible.
The image transmission means may be an image fiber.

  According to the present invention, by forming the end on the emission side in various shapes, the emission range of the emitted light is condensed toward the center, or conversely, the irradiation range is expanded outward, or the plastic light It is possible to irradiate toward the side substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the fiber structure.

(A)-(c) is sectional drawing along the longitudinal direction of the plastic optical fiber structure which shows the shape of the edge part vicinity of the output side in the 1st-3rd form example of this invention, respectively. (A)-(c) is the longitudinal direction of a plastic optical fiber structure which shows the state which provided the front-end | tip part of the image transmission means in the vicinity of the edge part of an output side in the 1st-3rd form example of this invention, respectively. FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of a cross section perpendicular | vertical to the longitudinal direction of the plastic optical fiber structure of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the shape of the edge part vicinity of the incident side of the plastic optical fiber structure of this invention. It is sectional drawing in alignment with a longitudinal direction which shows an example of the plastic optical fiber structure before processing an edge part. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the state which provided the light source in the edge part of the incident side of a plastic optical fiber structure.

The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings.
FIGS. 1A to 1C show shapes in the vicinity of the end portion on the emission side in the plastic optical fiber structure 1 according to the first to third embodiments of the present invention, respectively.
The plastic optical fiber structure 1 of the present invention has a structure in which a plurality of bare plastic optical fibers along the longitudinal direction of the resin body 3 are arranged over the entire circumferential direction inside a cylindrical resin body 3.
As shown in FIG. 3, the plastic optical fiber structure 1 has a ring-shaped cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the plastic optical fiber structure 1, and the inside of the ring-shaped resin body 3 is hollow. It is part 4.

  In addition, a plurality of bare wires 2 are provided inside the ring-shaped resin body 3. These bare wires 2 extend along the longitudinal direction of the plastic optical fiber structure 1 (left-right direction in FIG. 1). The bare wire 2 is a plastic optical fiber (POF) in which a resin sheath made of a material having a lower refractive index than the core is provided around the core. Each bare wire 2 functions as an optical waveguide due to a difference in refractive index between the core and the resin sheath. Both the core and the resin sheath are made of a plastic capable of transmitting light transmitted by the plastic optical fiber structure 1.

  The plastic constituting the core of the bare wire 2 is not particularly limited, and a conventional plastic for optical fiber core can be used. Examples of the bare wire plastic include a homopolymer of methyl methacrylate (polymethyl methacrylate: PMMA), a copolymer of methyl methacrylate and an acrylate ester, a copolymer of methyl methacrylate and styrene, a polycarbonate, and a styrene series. Resin etc. are mentioned.

  The plastic constituting the resin sheath of the bare wire 2 is not particularly limited, and a conventional plastic for a resin sheath of a plastic optical fiber can be used. Examples of the plastic for the resin sheath include a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and tetrafluoroethylene, a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and hexafluoropropene, and a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride, tetrafluoroethylene and hexafluoropropene. And a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride, trifluoroethylene, and hexafluoroacetone, a fluoroalkyl methacrylate resin, and a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate.

  The resin constituting the resin body 3 includes polyethylene, a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate, a copolymer of ethylene and ethyl acrylate, polyvinyl chloride, a thermoplastic polyurethane, an elastomer made of a styrene / butadiene block copolymer, Alternatively, most of the double bonds of this copolymer are hydrogenated, a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and hexafluoropropene, a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoropropene and tetrafluoroethylene, vinylidene fluoride And a copolymer of chlorotrifluoroethylene, silicon resin and the like.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the plastic optical fiber structure 1, one end portion along the longitudinal direction is an end portion 7 on the incident side, and the other end portion on the opposite side is an end on the output side. Part 5. Both the bare wire 2 and the resin body 3 extend from the incident-side end 7 to the emission-side end 5 along the longitudinal direction of the plastic optical fiber structure 1. The hollow portion 4 also extends along the longitudinal direction of the plastic optical fiber structure 1 and opens at both end portions (that is, the incident-side end portion 7 and the emission-side end portion 5).
As shown in FIG. 6, when a light source 8 is provided at the end 7 on the incident side, light from the light source 8 can be transmitted along each bare wire 2 and emitted from the end 5 on the emission side. .

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the conventional plastic optical fiber structure, the emission-side end portion 5 is provided as a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 4) of the plastic optical fiber structure. In this case, the end face 6 of each bare wire 2 becomes a plane along the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the resin body 3, and ring-shaped illumination is obtained.

On the other hand, in the present invention, at least one end 5A, 5B, 5C in the longitudinal direction of the resin body 3 of the plastic optical fiber structure 1, the plurality of bare wires 2 all incline the end face 6 of the bare wire 2. The shape is Thereby, the light transmitted along each bare wire 2 can be directed and emitted in a direction corresponding to the inclination angle of the end face 6 of the bare wire 2. The inclination angle is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, 30 to 60 °.
In end part 5A, 5B, 5C, you may incline end surface 6 of the inside bare wire 2 with the resin body 3 end surface of the circumference | surroundings. In this case, since there is no step between the end face 6 of the bare wire 2 and the end face of the resin body 3, processing becomes easy.
The end surface of the resin body 3 may be appropriately rounded.

  In FIG. 1 (a), the outer periphery 1b side is inclined over the entire circumference of the end portion 5A of the plastic optical fiber structure 1 so as to protrude from the inner periphery 1a side. In the case of such a shape of the end portion 5B, the irradiation range of the emitted light L emitted from each of the plurality of bare wires 2 is condensed toward the inner circumference 1a side of the plastic optical fiber structure 1, that is, toward the center. be able to.

  In FIG.1 (b), it has the shape inclined in the shape where the inner peripheral 1a side protrudes rather than the outer peripheral 1b side over the perimeter of the edge part 5B of the plastic optical fiber structure 1. FIG. In the case of such a shape of the end portion 5A, the irradiation range of the emitted light L emitted from each of the plurality of bare wires 2 can be expanded toward the outer periphery 1b side of the plastic optical fiber structure 1.

  In FIG.1 (c), it has the shape inclined diagonally so that the whole edge part 5C of the plastic optical fiber structure 1 may follow one plane. In the case of such a shape of the end portion 5C, the outgoing light L emitted from each of the plurality of bare wires 2 is laterally orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the plastic optical fiber structure 1 (in FIG. 2C). (Downward) can be irradiated.

In the present embodiment, the method of processing the end portions 5A, 5B, 5C of the plastic optical fiber structure 1 is not particularly limited, and a method of cutting or polishing with a blade or the like, or an end of the plastic optical fiber structure 1 A method in which a mold having a shape complementary to the shape of the part is heated and pressed against the end of the plastic optical fiber structure 1, and the end of the plastic optical fiber structure 1 is thermally deformed along the surface shape of the mold Etc.
Since the plastic optical fiber structure 1 is made of plastic, processing using a blade is easy. In addition, a method using thermal deformation is preferable because it can be processed so as not to generate waste.

  As described above, the plastic optical fiber structure 1 of the present invention can be used as an illumination device by providing the light source 8 at the end 7 on the incident side. Here, the method of optically connecting the incident-side end 7 and the light source 8 is not particularly limited, and the incident-side end 7 is appropriately processed or processed without being processed. What is necessary is just to comprise so that the light from the light source 8 may inject into the bare wire 2 which faces the part 7. FIG.

  The plastic optical fiber structure 1 may incline the end face 6 of the bare wire 2 at both ends thereof. In this case, it is possible to use any end on the emission side. Further, by making the shapes of the respective end portions different, a preferable end portion can be appropriately selected and used on the emission side without preparing two plastic optical fiber structures. For example, one end can be shaped so that the irradiation range can be condensed like the end 5A in FIG. 1 (a), and the other end can be expanded like the end 5B in FIG. 1 (b). As an appropriate shape, which end part is used on the emission side can be selected at the time of use.

  The plastic optical fiber structure according to this embodiment is provided as an observation device such as an endoscope by providing an image transmission means for transmitting an image from the observation part when the emission-side end portion 5 is opposed to the observation part. It can also be applied. Since the lighting device 9 is configured using the plastic optical fiber structure 1, the light source 8 can be provided at the end 7 on the incident side as described above.

  According to the endoscope of this embodiment, the plastic optical fiber structure 1 has the hollow portion 4, and the end surface 6 of the bare wire 2 is ring-shaped around the hollow portion 4 at the end portion 5 on the emission side. By arranging the image transmission means inside the plastic optical fiber structure 1, the light is emitted from each bare wire 2 around the image transmission means to illuminate the observation site, and the obtained image is transmitted as an image. Since it can be transmitted to the operation side of the endoscope by means, it is preferable.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a configuration in which image transmission means is provided at the exit side ends 5A, 5B, 5C of the plastic optical fiber structure 1 shown in FIG.

In the example shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, an image acquisition unit 12 is provided at the tip of the image transmission unit 11, and the end face 13 of the image acquisition unit 12 is configured to face the observation site. .
These examples are suitable for the case of observing the extension direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the plastic optical fiber structure 1 such as a stomach wall (so-called “direct view”).

  In FIG. 2A, since the outer periphery 1b side is inclined so as to protrude from the inner periphery 1a side over the entire circumference of the output-side end portion 5A of the plastic optical fiber structure 1, a plurality of The emitted light L emitted from each of the bare wires 2 is condensed toward the center, and the observation site can be illuminated more brightly.

  In FIG. 2 (b), since the inner circumference 1a side is inclined so as to protrude from the outer circumference 1b side over the entire circumference of the output-side end portion 5B of the plastic optical fiber structure 1, a plurality of The irradiation range of the outgoing light L emitted from each of the bare wires 2 can be expanded outward, and the observation site can be illuminated more widely.

In the example shown in FIG. 2C, an image acquisition unit 12 is provided at the tip of the image transmission unit 11, and an observation direction conversion unit 14 is attached to the end surface 13 of the image acquisition unit 12. An end face 15 of the observation direction changing means directed perpendicular to the end face 13 is configured to face the observation site.
In the present embodiment, the prism 14 as the observation direction conversion member is formed in a substantially triangular cross section and is supported by the support member 16. The prism 14 and the support member 16 are, for example, adhesively bonded. When the prism 14 and the support member 16 are combined, the prism 14 and the support member 16 have a substantially rectangular cross section so that a sharp angle does not protrude from the tip of the prism 14.

In FIG.2 (c), since the end part 5C of the output side of the plastic optical fiber structure 1 is slanted so as to be along one plane, for example, the plastic optical fiber structure 1 is Even when the inner surface of the tube is observed through a thin tube such as a blood vessel, the emitted light L emitted from each of the plurality of bare wires 2 is directed to an observation site located on the side of the plastic optical fiber structure 1. Can be irradiated.
That is, this example is suitable for the case of observing the direction of the side surface with respect to the longitudinal direction of the plastic optical fiber structure 1 such as the inner wall of a blood vessel (so-called “side view”).

In the observation apparatus such as an endoscope of the present embodiment, if the configuration is such that the image acquisition unit 12 acquires an image of the observation site and the image transmission unit 11 transmits the image of the observation site, the specific example A general means can be employed without any particular limitation. For example, when the image transmission unit 11 is an image fiber, an objective lens can be used as the image acquisition unit 12. Further, when the image transmission means 11 is an electrical lead, an image sensor 12 such as a CCD can be provided at the tip to transmit an image as an electrical signal.
Furthermore, the plastic optical fiber structure 1 can be used for reaching various observation means such as injection means for injecting chemicals such as gas and liquid from the hollow portion 4 and mechanical means for operating the observation part. Is possible.

As mentioned above, although this invention has been demonstrated based on suitable embodiment, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned example, Various modifications are possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.
The plastic optical fiber structure 1 of the present invention can be used with the resin body 3 exposed to the outside. It is also possible to provide another coating or tube outside the plastic optical fiber structure 1.

L ... outgoing light, 1 ... plastic optical fiber structure, 1a ... inner circumference, 1b ... outer circumference, 2 ... bare wire of plastic optical fiber, 3 ... resin body, 4 ... hollow part, 5, 5A, 5B, 5C ... outgoing light Side end, 6 ... bare wire end face, 7 ... incident side end, 8 ... light source, 9 ... illumination device, 11 ... image transmission means (image fiber, electric wire, etc.), 12 ... image acquisition means (objective lens) Or imaging device), 14 ... observation direction changing means (prisms, mirrors, etc.), 16 ... support member.

Claims (9)

Inside the cylindrical resin body, a plastic optical fiber structure in which a plurality of bare plastic optical fibers along the resin body longitudinal direction are arranged over the entire circumferential direction,
A plastic optical fiber structure characterized in that an end face of the bare wire inside is inclined at at least one end in a resin body longitudinal direction.   2. The plastic optical fiber structure according to claim 1, wherein an end face of the bare wire inside is inclined together with an end face of a surrounding resin body at the end portion.   2. The plastic optical fiber structure according to claim 1, wherein the outer peripheral side is inclined so as to protrude from the inner peripheral side over the entire circumference of the end on the emission side.   2. The plastic optical fiber structure according to claim 1, wherein the inner peripheral side is inclined so as to protrude from the outer peripheral side over the entire circumference of the end portion on the emission side.   The plastic optical fiber structure according to claim 1, wherein the plastic optical fiber structure is inclined obliquely so that the entire end portion on the emission side is along one plane.   The illuminating device provided with the light source in the edge part of the said incident side of the plastic optical fiber structure as described in any one of Claims 1-5.   An image transmission means for transmitting an image of an observation site facing the end on the emission side is provided inside the plastic optical fiber structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5. Endoscope.   The endoscope according to claim 7, further comprising an image sensor at a tip of the image transmission unit.   The endoscope according to claim 7, wherein the image transmission means is an image fiber.

Images