Directing light into an optical fiber
AssigneeIntuitive Surgical Operations, Inc.
InventorsDawn K. Gifford, Mark E. Froggatt, Eric E. Sanborn, Brooks Childers
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system can direct light into an optical fiber. Imaging optics can form an image of an end of an optical fiber. An actuatable optical element can be configured to define an optical path that extends to the actuatable optical element and further extends to the end of the optical fiber. A processor can determine a location in the image of a specified feature in the image. The processor can cause, based on the location of the specified feature in the image, the actuatable optical element to actuate to align the optical path to a core of the optical fiber. A light source can direct a light beam along the optical path to couple into the core of the optical fiber.
Claims20
A system for directing light emitted by first optical cores of a first light source into second optical cores of an optical fiber sensor, the system comprising:
- a first objective element and a second objective element for directing the light from the first optical cores along respective optical paths;
- an actuatable optical element disposed between the first objective element and the second objective element;
- a second light source configured to direct illumination toward an end of the optical fiber sensor, such that the illumination reflects or scatters from the end as reflected or scattered illumination, wherein the illumination has an illumination wavelength differing from a wavelength of the light emitted by the first optical cores;
- a focusing element and an imaging array configured to form, from the reflected or scattered illumination, an image of the end;
- and
- a control system comprising one or more processors, the control system configured to perform operations comprising:
- determining a location of a specified feature in the image, and
- causing, based on the location, an actuation of the actuatable optical element to align the optical paths with the respective second optical cores.
A system for directing light emitted by first optical cores of a multicore optical fiber into second optical cores of an optical fiber sensor, the system comprising:
- a first objective element and a second objective element for directing the light from the first optical cores along respective optical paths;
- an actuatable optical element disposed between the first objective element and the second objective element;
- a second light source configured to direct illumination toward an end of the optical fiber sensor, such that the illumination reflects or scatters from the end of the optical fiber sensor, propagates along the optical path, and is collimated by the second object objective element into collimated reflected or scattered illumination, wherein the illumination has an illumination wavelength differing from a wavelength of the light emitted by the first optical cores;
- a dichroic mirror disposed in the optical paths between the first objective element and the second objective element and configured to redirect the collimated reflected or scattered illumination away from the optical paths as redirected reflected or scattered illumination;
- a focusing element and an imaging array located in a path of the redirected reflected or scattered illumination and configured to form, from the redirected reflected or scattered illumination, an image of the end of the optical fiber sensor;
- and
- a control system comprising one or more processors, the control system configured to perform operations comprising:
- determining a location of a specified feature in the image, and
- causing, based on the location, an actuation of the actuatable optical element to align the optical paths with the respective second optical cores.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.