Fiber-Optic Scanner Vibration Damping Member Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fiber-optic scanners face challenges in achieving uniform vibration of optical fibers due to attenuation by elastic adhesive agents, leading to variations in vibration direction and difficulty in drawing smooth scan trajectories.
Innovation Solution
A fiber-optic scanner design featuring vibration generating units circumferentially disposed on the optical fiber base end and a vibration damping member with a uniform rotating shape around the optical fiber axis, which attenuates vibrational phases uniformly, allowing for stable two-dimensional scanning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If adhesive agent is used to fix the optical fiber to the piezoelectric device, then the optical fiber can be mounted, but the flexural vibration is attenuated before being transferred to the optical fiber
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the adhesive agent from the system entirely. Instead of using adhesive to fix the optical fiber to the piezoelectric device, the optical fiber is directly contact-fixed to the device, eliminating the elastic body that caused vibration attenuation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite structure where the optical fiber is directly coupled to the piezoelectric device without intermediate materials. This direct contact creates a rigid connection that efficiently transfers flexural vibration while maintaining proper mounting.
2Ease of manufacture
If the shape of the adhesive agent is non-uniform, then mounting is simplified, but the degree of attenuation of vibration varies depending on the direction of vibration
Solution Approach 1:
By removing the adhesive agent completely, the patent eliminates the problem of non-uniform shapes causing directional vibration attenuation variations. The direct contact fixation provides uniform vibration transfer in all directions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves homogeneous vibration characteristics by eliminating the non-uniform adhesive agent. The direct contact between the optical fiber and piezoelectric device ensures uniform vibration transfer regardless of vibration direction.
3Reliability
If adhesive agent is used to transfer vibration, then vibration can be transferred to the optical fiber, but it is difficult to vibrate the leading end to draw smooth helicoidally-shaped trajectory
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the adhesive agent that caused vibration attenuation and trajectory irregularities. Direct contact fixation enables smooth helicoidally-shaped trajectories by efficiently transferring vibration without the dampening effects of elastic materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The direct contact composite structure between the optical fiber and piezoelectric device enables efficient vibration transfer that produces smooth scan trajectories, eliminating the trajectory distortion caused by adhesive agents.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enables uniform vibration of the optical fiber emission end, ensuring a desired scan trajectory with reduced phase variation, resulting in distortion-free images and improved observational accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
a column-shaped piezoelectric device (PZT tube) the emission end of which is made to penetrate through the optical fiber
Implementation Method 2
a vibration damping member disposed at least in a position between base end-side edges of the vibration generating units and the emission end of the optical fiber
Data Source
AI summary
A fiber-optic scanner equipped with a light-guiding optical fiber; the fiber-optic scanner including a plurality of vibration generating units disposed circumferentially at equal intervals on an outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber located on a base end side thereof at a predetermined distance from the emission end of the optical fiber to vibrate an emission end of the optical fiber in a plurality of directions; and a vibration damping member disposed at least in a position between base end-side edges of the vibration generating units and the emission end of the optical fiber, wherein the vibration damping member has a uniform shape of a rotating body rotated around the axis line of the optical fiber.