JPS6125598Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to an image guide used in an atmosphere, and particularly relates to an improvement of an image guide used in a high-temperature atmosphere such as when observing the inside of a high-temperature furnace of 1000° C. or higher.

Recently, with the advent of quartz-based scopes, applications and methods of use that were unimaginable with conventional multi-component fiberscopes have come to be used as observation tools. An example of such a system is an image guide used in a high-temperature atmosphere to observe the wall of a high-temperature furnace. Image guides used in this high-temperature atmosphere include those using light guides and those using floodlights. An image guide that uses a light guide and is used in a high-temperature atmosphere is a quartz-based scope with an objective lens and optionally a mirror attached to the tip.The tip of the image guide is housed in a metal protective case and used for illumination. guiding light from a light source into the metal protective case through a light guide made of silica-based glass fiber;
This metal protective case is filled with cooling water. The object to be observed inside the high-temperature furnace is illuminated through a light guide through an observation window formed on the front of the metal protective case, and the reflected light is used as an image guide by a mirror at the tip of the image guide and an objective lens. It condenses light and forms an image on the end face, and guides the image to a television camera or the like installed at the other end of the image guide.

By the way, in order to observe the inside of a high-temperature furnace, consider the color temperature corresponding to the temperature inside the furnace and the brightness of the furnace wall surface, and use a light source with a higher color temperature to obtain a brightness that is higher than the brightness of the furnace wall surface. I need to light it up.
However, in the image guide using the above-mentioned ride guide, a tungsten halogen lamp or the like is used as a light source, but the silica-based glass fiber used in the light guide is as thin as about 100 μm. For this reason, the coupling efficiency between the light source and the fiber is poor, and the furnace wall cannot be illuminated with sufficient brightness. In order to increase the coupling efficiency between the light source and the fiber, a thick fiber may be used, but since silica-based glass fibers are generally expensive, there has been a problem in that the cost is high.

On the other hand, image guides used in high-temperature environments with floodlights do not use light guides made of expensive silica-based glass fibers, but instead use xenon lamps to direct the light from the lamps to the furnace walls under high temperatures. It emits light and extracts the reflected light to the outside using an image guide. Such a floodlight can be implemented economically since it does not use a light guide made of expensive silica-based glass fibers. However, since an open path is required for the light to pass from the light source to the furnace wall surface to be illuminated, it has been extremely difficult to illuminate any arbitrary location within the furnace. For this reason, it is inappropriate as a means for observing high-temperature furnaces.

Therefore, the main purpose of this invention is to provide an image guide that can efficiently illuminate any location within a high-temperature furnace and is suitable for observing the furnace wall surface in a high-temperature atmosphere. .

To summarize this idea, the tip of the image guide and the light source are housed in a metal protective case with a cooling passage through which cooling water circulates, and the light from the light source is directly projected onto the furnace wall, which is the object of observation. , the image of the object to be observed is formed on the end of the image guide, and the image is transmitted.

Fig. 1 is a cutaway view showing the main parts of an image guide used in a high temperature atmosphere according to an embodiment of this invention, and Fig. 2 shows the main parts of the image guide included in Fig. 1. It is a diagram.

As shown in FIG. 1, the metal protective case 1 includes a cooling pipe 11 as a cylindrical cooling passage, and
Metal storage part 1 formed in a fan shape at the tip of 1
2 and an observation window 13. The cooling pipe 11 and the metal storage portion 12 are made of heat-resistant metal such as stainless steel or titanium, and if necessary, a heat-resistant heat insulating layer such as ceramic is provided on the outer surface thereof. Moreover, quartz glass (not shown) is attached to the observation window 13.

The cooling pipe 11 includes a cylindrical water flow guide wall 111 for guiding the cooling water to the storage section 12, a cooling water supply port 112 for supplying the cooling water, and a cooling water discharge port for discharging the cooling water. 113 are formed.
A cavity portion 121 is formed in the housing portion 12, and a 300W tungsten halogen lamp 2 as a light source, for example, and an image guide body 3 are housed therein. The lamp 2 illuminates the wall surface of the high-temperature furnace to be observed through the observation window 13.

The image guide main body 3 is composed of a quartz-based image guide 31 and an objective section 32. As the quartz-based image guide 31, a flexible type or rigid type fiber is used, for example, which is a glass-based fiber for optical transmission, in particular, a large number of quartz glass-based wires arranged and bundled. The tip of the quartz-based image guide 31 is fixed to the storage section 12 by a mounting member 122, and the objective section 32 is further attached to the tip.

As shown in FIG. 2, the objective section 32 has an objective lens 321, a mirror 322, and a glass window 323 arranged at the tip of a quartz-based image guide 31. The mirror 322 guides the image of the furnace wall surface incident through the observation window 13 to the quartz-based image guide 31.

The power cable 21 of the lamp 2 and the quartz image guide 31 of the image guide body 3 are connected to the cooling pipe 1.
1, integrated with the holding member 14, and taken out to the outside via the bushing 15. Further, the integrated power cable 21 and quartz-based image guide 31 are covered with a flexible metal protection tube 4, and a branch portion 5 is attached to the other end. The branch part 5 branches the power cable 21 and the quartz image guide 31. A filter 6 and a lens system 7 are attached to the other end of the quartz-based image guide 31. The filter 6 is a color filter or the like used in general optical systems. Lens system 7 is attached to, for example, a television camera (not shown). Further, the connector 8 is connected to the other end of the power cable 21.

By constructing an image guide to be used in a high-temperature atmosphere as described above and connecting the connector 8 to the power source, it is possible to project light directly onto the furnace wall from the lamp 2 through the observation window 13 with extremely high illuminance. Then, an image of the furnace wall is formed on the end of the quartz image guide 31 by the objective section 32 through the observation window 13,
It can be observed from the outside through the filter 6 and the lens system 7. At this time, the cooling water supply port 11
If the cooling water from 2 is circulated through the cooling passage around the hollow part 121 of the storage section 12 and this cooling water is discharged from the cooling water outlet 113,
Even in a high-temperature furnace of 1000° C. or higher, the lamp 2 and image guide body 3 will not be damaged by heat.

As described above, according to this invention, the illumination light source and image guide are housed in a metal protective case that has a cooling passage, so the area to be observed inside the high-temperature furnace is illuminated with extremely high illuminance. It can project light and its image can be observed with an image guide. Therefore, compared to a conventional light guide using a light guide, it is possible to eliminate the need for an illumination fiber, and thus the cost can be reduced. Additionally, since the illumination light source is built into the metal protective case, it can be used in locations where observation is extremely difficult, without creating a path for light to pass through as with conventional floodlight systems. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cutaway view showing an embodiment of this invention with its main parts cut away. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the main part of the image guide included in FIG. 1. In the figure, 11 is a cooling pipe, 12 is a storage section, 1
3 is an observation window, 2 is a lamp, 3 is an image guide body, 31 is a quartz image guide, 32 is an objective section, 321 is an objective lens, 322 is a reflecting mirror,
6 is a filter, 7 is a lens, and 8 is a connector.

Claims (1)

[Utility Model Registration Claim] A metal protective case comprising a storage section and a cylindrical section provided at one end of the storage section, with an observation window made of a glass member formed at the other end of the storage section, and with cooling passages formed for circulating cooling water along the wall surfaces of the storage section and the cylindrical section excluding the observation window; an image guide comprising an optical fiber and an objective lens attached to at least one end of the optical fiber, the objective lens side being stored within the storage section and the other end of the optical fiber being led out to the outside via the cylindrical section; and an image guide for use in a high-temperature atmosphere, which is stored in the storage section and has a power cable led out to the outside via the cylindrical section, and is equipped with an illumination light source for illuminating the outside via the observation window.