JPH0519129B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a time-division distribution device for optical energy, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a time-division distribution device for optical energy, and more particularly, to a time-division distribution device for optical energy, which divides optical energy propagated within a single optical waveguide into multiple optical waveguides by time sharing. The purpose of this system is to distribute and supply light energy, thereby making effective use of light energy.

The applicant previously proposed that solar energy or artificial light energy is focused by a lens or the like, introduced into a light guide, and transmitted through the light guide to any desired location for illumination or other uses. Various proposals were made. Furthermore, various proposals have been made regarding the use of the light energy transmitted through the light guide as described above as a light source for photosynthesis reaction of chlorella, etc., or as a light source for forced cultivation of tomatoes, etc. Therefore, when culturing chlorella etc., 1
In the photosynthetic reaction process, light is required for approximately
This is an instant of 100 μs, and during the remaining period of approximately 10 ms, a dark reaction (thermochemical reaction) that does not require light proceeds, and during this remaining period, photosynthesis occurs more effectively in the absence of light. It is the applicant's understanding that the transfer of photosynthetic substances within the plant body is more effective when light energy is supplied at predetermined time intervals than when light energy is supplied continuously. Therefore, it has already been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 57-17238 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-134986),
Patent application No. 57-224150 (Japanese Patent Application No. 59-125822)). Also,
Regarding human vision, it is well known that even if the supply of light is cut off, the human senses an afterimage for a while, and therefore it is not necessarily necessary to continuously supply light energy. Considering these points, it is possible to sufficiently achieve the intended purpose even if the light energy is not continuously supplied, in other words, the light energy is supplied discontinuously, or, Although it may be possible to achieve the desired purpose more effectively by discontinuously supplying light energy, in particular, even if you try to continuously supply light energy with short discontinuous time intervals for a long time, the rise It is almost impossible to obtain a light source with a fast fall rate, and even if it were possible, there would be problems in terms of cost, lifespan, etc.
In addition, even in cases where light energy is repeatedly flashed with discontinuity on a time basis, such as in plant cultivation, when the lighting area is wide or there are multiple lighting areas, generally speaking, multiple light sources are used. Each light source must blink at a predetermined time interval, but doing so increases the number of light sources, increases costs, and requires difficult maintenance.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and in particular, enables the light energy propagated within a single light guide to be effectively time-divided and distributed to a plurality of locations. , which aims to use light energy more effectively.

Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram for explaining the operating principle of the present invention, in which Fig. A shows a side view (a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in Fig. B), and Fig. B shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B in Fig. A. , in the figure,
1 is a light guide cable, 2 is a cylindrical first light guide rod, 3a and 3b are light guide paths (light guide rods),
4 is a rotation or rotation guide member; 5 is a connecting member that connects the rotation or rotation guide member 4 and the first light guide rod 2; 6 is a drive means for rotating or rotating; A motor is used to perform the rotation, and a motor or a solenoid is used to perform rotation. A device for concentrating sunlight or artificial light is provided at the end (not shown) of the light guide cable 1, and the light energy focused by the device is applied to the light guide at the end. It is introduced into the cable 1 and transmitted through the light conductor cable 1. First light guide rod 2
is rotatably connected to the optical conductor cable 1 via optical oil or the like, and is rotated or rotated by a motor 6. Further, the lower end of the first light guide rod 2 is formed with an inclined reflective end face 2a, and the light energy L transmitted through the optical conductor cable 1 as described above is reflected by the inclined reflective end face. and is reflected in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the first light guide rod 2. light guide path 3a,
3b extends in a direction perpendicular to the rotational axis of the first light guide rod 2 at the position of the inclined reflective end face 2a, and the light energy L reflected at the inclined reflective end face 2a as described above is However, when the inclined reflective end face 2a faces the direction shown in the figure, optical energy is supplied only to the light guide path (light guide rod) 3a, and the light guide path (light guide rod)
No optical energy is supplied to 3b. but,
When the first light guide rod 2 is rotated by 180° by the drive means 6, light energy is now supplied only to the light guide rod 3b and not to the light guide rod 3a, so that the first light guide rod By rotating or rotating the rod 2 through 180° by means of the drive means 6, the light energy L supplied to the first light guide rod 2 can be transferred alternately or time-wise to the second light guide rods 3a and 3b. It can be distributed and supplied by shearing. At that time, by changing the rotational speed or switching period of the drive means 6,
Since the radiation period of the light energy emitted from the second light guide rods 3a and 3b can be arbitrarily changed, depending on the purpose of using the light energy emitted from the second light guide rods 3a and 3b, for example, The rotational speed or switching period of the driving means 6 may be set depending on whether the driving means 6 is used for culturing chlorella, for illumination, or for forced cultivation of plants. Second light guide rods 3a and 3b
The light-receiving ends 3a' and 3b' of the light guide rods 3a' and 3b' cooperate to form a hole through which the first light guide rod 2 is inserted, and in this way the second light guide rods 3a,
3b to form a hole through which the first light guide rod 2 is inserted, the first light guide rod within the hole can be rotated more stably, and light leakage loss can be minimized. I can do it. However, the inclined reflective end face 2a is connected to the second light guide rod 3a or 3b.
When facing in the direction, the light energy transmitted through the first light guide rod 2 can be efficiently transmitted to the second light guide rod 3a or 3b, but when facing in any other direction, Since the light leakage loss is large, it is suitable for forced cultivation of plants where the direction of the inclined reflective end face 2a is changed, for example, once every two hours, but the light energy supplied to the second light guide rods 3a and 3b is It is not suitable for use where the cells are changed frequently, such as for culturing chlorella.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, in which 7 is a donut-shaped light guide disk having a hole through which the first light guide rod 2 is inserted;
As shown in the enlarged view in Fig. C, a flat optical conductor cable is formed by laying a large number of optical fibers 8a into a flat plate shape, and the flat optical conductor cable 8 is vertically extended along the outer circumferential surface of the optical conductor disc 7. are arranged in The length and diameter of the hole in the light guide disk 7 are formed to be approximately equal to the diameter of the light guide rod 2, which allows for more stable rotation of the light guide rod within the hole. , to reduce light leakage. Therefore, according to the present invention, when the inclined reflective end face 2a of the light guide rod 2 is rotated, light energy is sequentially introduced into each light guide cable 8, so that the light energy output from each light guide cable is transferred to a chlorella culture device, etc. By setting the rotation speed of the inclined reflective end face to the desired value,
Chlorella can be cultured more effectively. Figures 2D to 2F are views showing other embodiments of the flat optical conductor cable, and Figure D shows a medium height flat cable 8 and an outer height flat cable 8' as shown in Figure C. An example of alternating arrangement, figure E, is
An example in which a flat optical fiber cable 8 is constructed by arranging optical fibers 8a in a row. Figure F shows an example in which a flat optical fiber rod 8 is used and the light receiving ends of a large number of optical fibers 9 are bonded to the light output end side. However, it is easy to understand that the present invention is not limited to these examples, and that various other modifications are possible. FIG. 2G shows the light guide disk 7.
As shown in the figure, this embodiment has an upper surface 7' and a lower surface 7'' that are tapered to increase the optical energy density. Alternatively, the light energy density may be reduced by forming the light energy density.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, optical energy can be supplied at high speed and efficiently in a time-sharing manner with a simple and inexpensive configuration. The length and diameter are
The diameter of the light guide rod 2 is approximately equal to that of the light guide rod 2, thereby making it possible to rotate the light guide rod within the hole more stably and to reduce light leakage. Light energy can be used effectively.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram for explaining the operating principle of the present invention. This is a configuration diagram for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, and Figure A is A of Figure B.
-A sectional view, B is a BB sectional view of A, C
Figures ~F are enlarged end views of the optical conductor cable 8, the second
FIG. G is a perspective view showing a modified embodiment of the toroidal light guide disk 7 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. 1, 1'... Optical conductor cable, 2, 2'... 1st
3a to 3f... light guide path (second light guide rod), 4... rotation guide member, 5... connecting member, 6... driving means, 7... donut-shaped light guide disk, 8, 8'...Flat optical conductor cable,
9...Optical fiber.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A light energy time-sharing distribution device for time-divisionally distributing light energy transmitted through a single light guide to a plurality of light guides, the device comprising an end face into which light energy is introduced, and an end face into which light energy is introduced; a cylindrical first light guide rod having an inclined reflective end face that reflects the light energy in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the light energy; and a driving means for rotating the first light guide rod. , a donut-shaped light guide disk having a hole through which the inclined reflective end face of the first light guide rod is inserted, and a light receiving surface of the light guide cable is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the light guide disk. A light energy time division distribution device characterized in that the length and diameter of the hole are approximately equal to the diameter of the first light guide rod.