Patent ID: 7340131
Filing Date: 2008-03-04
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
1. A collimator adapted to convert divergent light beams outputted from an optical fiber bundle to parallel light beams, comprising: a collimator lens; a large diameter optical fiber disposed between an optical fiber bundle having a large number of multimode optical fibers serving as one optical transmission path and the collimator lens; wherein a transversal cross-section of a core of said large diameter optical fiber is circular and has a diameter equal to or larger than a diameter of a circle circumscribing transversal cross-sections of cores of said optical fibers of said optical fiber bundle arranged on a circumference of a transversal cross-section of said optical fiber bundle, and wherein said large diameter optical fiber is wound by (½) turn or more at a radius of curvature that is equal to or larger than an allowable bending radius; and a group of divergent light beams outputted from said optical fibers of said optical fiber bundle is converted by said large diameter optical fiber to one light beam.