Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
148 words
A fiber optical plate which is unitedly formed by a plurality of optical fibers bundled together, said fiber optical plate comprising: an input end surface which is inclined with respect to a center axis of said plurality of optical fibers by an angle at which incident light from within air is prevented from being totally reflected by an interface between a core portion and a clad portion of said plurality of optical fibers; an output end surface which outputs, of light incident on said input end surface from an object in contact with said input end surface, a light component arriving there after being transmitted through said plurality of optical fibers; and a curved section for adjusting a positional relationship between said input end surface and said output end surface, said curved section being formed as a center axis of said optical fibers is curved like an arc.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
55 words
A fiber optical plate according to claim 1, wherein said curved portion renders a curvature, which corresponds to the angle of inclination of said input end surface, to the center axis of said plurality of optical fibers such that said input end surface and said output end surface are positioned substantially orthogonal to each other.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
94 words
A fiber optical plate according to claim 1, wherein the angle of inclination of said input end surface is set such that a light-receiving angle 0° is generated for said plurality of optical fibers based on a critical angle of reflection at which light incident on said clad portion from said core portion within said plurality of optical fibers is subjected to total reflection and a critical angle of refraction generated by light incident on said core portion of said plurality of optical fibers from within the air at an incident angle of 90°.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
41 words
A fiber optical plate according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of optical fibers include an optical absorber which covers an outer periphery of said clad portion and is made of a material for absorbing light leaking from said clad portion.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
62 words
A fiber optical plate according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of optical fibers are formed by a plurality of units successively fixed along a light advancing direction and wherein said plurality of units include a slant unit constituting said input end surface and a curved unit which is optically coupled to said slant unit so as to constitute said curved section.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
56 words
A fiber optical plate according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of optical fibers are formed by a plurality of channels arranged and fixed along a direction perpendicular to a light advancing direction and wherein said plurality of channels respectively have input end surfaces which are arranged so as to shift in parallel to each other.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
41 words
A fiber optical plate according to claim 1, further comprising a contracted section which is formed between said curved section and said output end surface and has a diameter which becomes smaller from said curved portion toward said output end surface.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
80 words
A fiber optical plate according to claim 7, wherein said plurality of optical fibers are formed by a plurality of units successively fixed along a light advancing direction and wherein said plurality of units include a slant unit constituting said input end surface, a curved unit which is optically coupled to said slant unit so as to constitute said curved section, and a tapered unit which is optically coupled to said curved unit so as to constitute said contracted section.