JP2006142362A - Laser beam machining apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow each semiconductor laser light emitting device generating laser excitation light to suitably emit in a laser beam machining apparatus where a controller unit is separated from a laser output section, and the controller unit and a head unit are connected by an optical fiber cable. <P>SOLUTION: The laser beam machining apparatus is provided with: a controller unit 2 of outputting laser excitation light; an optical fiber cable 3a of transmitting the laser excitation light; and a head unit 4 having a resonator 41 composed of laser crystals 43 and emitting laser output light generated by the resonator 41 based on the laser excitation light fed via the optical fiber cable 3a to a work A. The controller unit 2 is composed of: each semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 of generating laser excitation light; a nonvolatile variation information storing section 56 of storing information about variation per semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 obtained by measurement; and a driving control section 55 of driving each semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 based on the information about variation and controlling emitted light quantity. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser processing apparatus, and more specifically, a controller unit that generates laser excitation light and laser output light generated by a resonator made of a laser crystal based on the laser excitation light to a workpiece. The present invention relates to an improvement of a laser processing apparatus in which an irradiation head unit is connected by an optical fiber cable.

  There is a laser marking device as a laser processing device that irradiates a workpiece (work) with a laser beam to print characters on a workpiece surface or imprint a figure. In recent years, a solid laser using a crystal (laser crystal) such as YAG or YVO4 as a laser medium has been widely used as a laser marking device because high laser output can be obtained and condensing to a small spot is easy.

  In general, such a laser processing apparatus includes a resonator including a laser crystal and a pair of resonance mirrors, and a semiconductor laser light emitting element such as a laser diode (LD) that generates laser excitation light used for optical pumping of the laser crystal; And a control circuit for controlling the output of the resonator and a power supply circuit for supplying power to the semiconductor laser light emitting element. When the laser crystal is irradiated with laser excitation light, each atom constituting the laser crystal is excited, and when a population inversion with respect to the energy level is formed in the laser crystal, laser output light from the resonator is output by induced radiation. The

  Recently, from the viewpoint of facilitating installation on a production line or the like, there is a demand for downsizing a laser output unit that irradiates a workpiece with laser output light. Therefore, a laser processing apparatus has been proposed in which a semiconductor laser light emitting element, a control circuit, and a power supply circuit are separately arranged from a laser output unit (for example, Patent Document 1).

  The laser processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a head unit as a laser output unit that irradiates a workpiece with laser output light, an optical fiber cable that transmits laser excitation light to the head unit, and laser excitation light to the optical fiber cable. Consists of a controller unit to supply. The head unit includes a resonator, a scanning system composed of a pair of galvanometer mirrors for two-dimensional scanning of laser output light from the resonator, and a housing in which the resonator and the scanning system are arranged (hereinafter referred to as a head housing). )have. The controller unit has a semiconductor laser light emitting element, a control circuit, a power supply circuit, and a casing in which these are arranged (hereinafter referred to as a controller casing).

In this way, by separating the controller unit from the laser output unit and connecting them with the optical fiber cable, the housing size of the head unit can be reduced. Usually, such a laser processing apparatus can switch the intensity of the laser output light applied to the workpiece as required. That is, the user can select the laser output according to the material, surface state, and processing amount of the workpiece. Since the intensity of the laser output light is determined by the intensity of the laser excitation light supplied to the resonator, the intensity of the laser output light is switched by controlling the current supplied to the semiconductor laser light emitting element.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-153476

  In general, semiconductor laser light emitting elements that generate laser excitation light have individual variations that vary from device to device with respect to the rated current as the upper limit value of the current that can be supplied and the lower limit value of the current required for light emission. In a conventional laser processing apparatus, a range of current to be supplied to a semiconductor laser light emitting element is determined so that individual variations for each device can be absorbed. For this reason, there is a problem that the range of current supplied to the semiconductor laser light emitting element is narrower than the range of current that can actually be supplied, and the range of output intensity is narrowed. In addition, the laser processing apparatus that can switch the intensity of the laser output has a problem that the intensity of the laser output light that is actually output differs greatly from the output intensity specified by the user depending on the semiconductor laser light emitting element. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a laser processing apparatus in which a controller unit is separated from a laser output unit and connected by an optical fiber cable, a semiconductor laser light emitting element that generates laser excitation light is appropriately used. The purpose is to emit light. In particular, an object is to provide a laser processing apparatus in which the output range of laser excitation light is expanded. It is another object of the present invention to provide a laser processing apparatus in which the intensity of laser output light is suppressed from deviating from an output intensity specified based on a user operation input.

  A laser processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a controller unit that outputs laser excitation light, an optical fiber cable that transmits laser excitation light supplied from the controller unit, and a resonator made of a laser crystal, and is supplied via the optical fiber cable. A head unit that irradiates a workpiece with a laser output light generated by a resonator based on the laser excitation light, and the controller unit generates a semiconductor laser light emitting element that generates the laser excitation light; Non-volatile variation information storage means for storing variation information for each semiconductor laser light emitting element obtained by measurement, and drive control means for driving the semiconductor laser light emitting element based on the variation information and adjusting the light emission amount. Configured to have.

  With such a configuration, the semiconductor laser light emitting element is driven by the drive control means. At that time, variation information for each semiconductor laser light-emitting element obtained by measurement is stored, and the amount of light emission is adjusted based on the variation information. For this reason, it is not necessary to narrow the intensity range of the laser output in order to absorb the individual variation of the semiconductor laser light emitting element, and the semiconductor laser light emitting element can always emit light appropriately.

  Specifically, the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the current supplied to the semiconductor laser light emitting element and the offset information for offsetting the current supplied to the semiconductor laser light emitting element based on the laser output of the resonator are stored as variation information.

  In addition to the above-described configuration, the laser processing apparatus according to the present invention further includes control information storage means in which the controller unit stores, in a rewritable manner, output control information related to the light emission amount of the semiconductor laser light-emitting element specified based on a user operation input And the drive control means is configured to drive the semiconductor laser light emitting element based on the output control information. According to such a configuration, the drive control of the semiconductor laser light emitting element is performed by the drive control means based on the variation information and the output control information specified by the user's operation input, so that the intensity of the laser output light is specified by the user. It is possible to suppress deviation from the output intensity of the semiconductor laser light emitting element due to individual variations.

  Further, in the laser processing apparatus according to the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the controller unit supplies power to the electronic cooling element that cools the semiconductor laser light emitting element, and the temperature of the semiconductor laser light emitting element. A light emitting element temperature adjusting unit that performs adjustment, and the light emitting element temperature adjusting unit is configured to perform temperature adjustment based on a light emitting element target temperature that is stored as variation information by the variation information storage unit.

  In the laser processing apparatus according to the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the controller unit includes a unit main body and an excitation light source module that is detachably attached to the unit main body, and the unit main body performs output control of the resonator. A control circuit; a power supply circuit that supplies power to the head unit and the excitation light source module; and a main body housing that houses the control circuit and the power supply circuit. The excitation light source module includes the optical fiber cable. Is attached to the power source circuit and detachably connected to the power source circuit, and is input from the power source circuit. And a connection terminal for outputting supplied power to the drive control means.

  According to such a configuration, the excitation light source module can be removed from the unit main body, so that when the head unit or the excitation light source module malfunctions, the transportability when transporting the head unit or the like to the maintenance shop is improved. Can be made. At this time, since the variation information is stored in the excitation light source module connected to the head unit via the optical fiber cable, it is possible to emit light with an appropriate output intensity even if the semiconductor laser light emitting element is replaced.

  In the laser processing apparatus according to the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the excitation light source module has a cooling fan that exhausts heat generated in the module housing, and the unit body supplies power to the cooling fan. The variation information storage means includes an in-chassis temperature adjusting means for adjusting the temperature inside the module housing based on the target temperature in the housing stored as the variation information.

  According to the laser processing apparatus of the present invention, variation information for each semiconductor laser light emitting element obtained by measurement is stored, and the amount of light emission is adjusted based on this variation information. Light can be emitted, and the output range of laser excitation light can be expanded. Further, since drive control of the semiconductor laser light emitting element is performed based on the variation information and the output control information, it is possible to suppress the intensity of the laser output light from being shifted from the output intensity specified by the user due to the individual variation of the semiconductor laser light emitting element. it can.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an example of a schematic configuration of a laser processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and irradiates a workpiece (processing object) A with laser output light to process printing, marking, and the like. A laser marking device for performing is shown. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the details of the main part in the laser processing apparatus of FIG. 1, and shows a state where the excitation light source module 5 is removed from the unit main body 30 as viewed from the back side of the unit main body 30. Yes.

  The laser processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a controller unit 2 that outputs laser excitation light, a cable tube 3 that contains an optical fiber cable that transmits laser excitation light, and laser output light based on the transmitted laser excitation light. The head unit 4 that outputs The controller unit 2 includes a unit main body 30 and an excitation light source module 5 that is detachably attached to the unit main body 30.

  The head unit 4 includes a head casing 4a that houses a resonator that generates laser output light from laser excitation light. The head housing 4 a has a horizontally long rectangular parallelepiped shape and is disposed horizontally with respect to the workpiece A. The head casing 4a has a connection portion 16 to which the cable tube 3 is connected at one end surface thereof, a connection terminal 18 to which the power cable 15 is detachably connected, and a connection to which the signal transmission cable 14 is detachably connected. A terminal 17 is provided.

  The cable tube 3 accommodates an optical fiber cable for transmitting laser excitation light supplied from the excitation light source module 5 and a signal transmission cable for transmitting a control signal for a Q switch in the resonator. Laser excitation light is supplied from the controller unit 2 to the resonator via the optical fiber cable, and laser output light is emitted vertically from the bottom surface of the head casing 4 a of the head unit 4.

  The power cable 15 is a cable that transmits electric power supplied from the unit main body 30, and is connected to the connection terminal 18 via the connector 9. The signal transmission cable 14 is a cable that transmits a control signal from the unit main body 30, and is connected to the connection terminal 17 via the connector 8.

  The excitation light source module 5 includes a module housing 5a that houses an excitation light generator that outputs laser excitation light. The module housing 5a has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a connection portion 11, various connection terminals 31 to 33, a cooling fan 12, and a handle 13 to which the cable tube 3 is connected are provided on the back surface thereof.

  The connection terminal 31 is detachably connected to the unit main body 30 via the connector 21, and a Q switch control signal is input from the unit main body 30. The connection terminal 32 is detachably connected to the unit main body 30 via the connector 22 and receives a control signal for the excitation light generator. The connection terminal 33 is detachably connected to the unit main body 30 via the connector 23, and power is supplied from the unit main body 30.

  The cooling fan 12 is a cooling means for discharging heat generated in the module housing 5a, and the temperature in the module housing 5a is kept constant by exchanging air in the housing. The handle 13 is a handle used when the excitation light source module 5 is attached to or detached from the unit main body 30 or when the excitation light source module 5 is transported. By pulling the handle 13 along the connection direction of the cable tube 3, the excitation light source module 5 can be pulled out from the unit body 30. That is, the head unit 4 can be separated from the unit main body 30 in a state where the head unit 4 to which one end of the cable tube 3 is connected and the excitation light source module 5 are connected by the cable tube 3. Therefore, even when the head unit 4 and the excitation light source module 5 are detached from the unit main body 30 when a problem occurs in the head unit 4 or the excitation light source module 5, the optical axis when the excitation light source module 5 is attached to the unit main body 30. No adjustment is required. In particular, since the head unit 4 can be detached from the unit main body 30 that houses the power supply circuit, it is possible to improve transportability when the head unit 4 is transported to a maintenance shop.

  The unit main body 30 includes a main body housing 2 a that houses a control circuit that controls the operation of the head unit 4 and the excitation light source module 5 and a power supply circuit that supplies power to the head unit 4 and the excitation light source module 5. The main body housing 2a has a rectangular shape, and the rear panel 2b is provided with an opening 2c into which the excitation light source module 5 is inserted, connection terminals 24 and 25, a terminal block 6 and a cooling fan 7. .

  The opening 2c is disposed above the cooling fan 7 in the back panel 2b, and a terminal portion and a terminal lid 10 from which the connectors 21 to 23 are provided are provided at the lower end of the rectangular opening surface. The terminal lid 10 is provided in the main body housing 2a so as to be openable and closable. When the excitation light source module 5 is inserted into the opening 2c and the module housing 5a is accommodated in the main body housing 2a, the terminal lid 10 And the connection terminals 31 to 33 of the excitation light source module 5 can be covered.

  The cooling fan 7 is a cooling means for discharging heat generated in the main body housing 2a, and is disposed below the opening 2c in the back panel 2b. The signal transmission cable 14 is detachably connected to the connection terminal 24 via the connector 8, and the power cable 15 is detachably connected to the connection terminal 25 via the connector 9. The terminal block 6 includes a large number of connection terminals and is detachably attached to the main body housing 2a. The terminal block 6 can be detached from the main body housing 2a while maintaining the connection state for each connection terminal with respect to the external device.

<Head unit 4>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the details of the main part in the laser processing apparatus of FIG. 1, and shows the inside of the head unit 4 that outputs laser output light based on laser excitation light. The head unit 4 includes a laser oscillator 41 that generates laser output light, a scanning system 46 that two-dimensionally scans the generated laser output light, a communication port 47, a scanning control unit 48, and a memory 49. The laser oscillator 41 includes a resonator 42 and a Q switch 44 disposed in the resonator 42. An optical fiber cable 3a and a signal transmission cable 3b are connected to the connection portion 16 of the head casing 4a.

  The resonator 42 includes a laser crystal 43 made of a rod-shaped laser medium, and a pair of resonance mirrors 42 a and 42 b arranged with the laser crystal 43 interposed therebetween. Each of the resonance mirrors 42a and 42b is disposed perpendicular to the axial direction of the laser crystal 43, and is fixed to the head housing 4a with the reflecting surfaces facing each other. Here, it is assumed that a so-called end pumping method in which laser excitation light supplied via the optical fiber cable 3a is incident on the end face of the laser crystal 43 is employed. That is, the laser excitation light is input to the laser crystal 43 along the optical axis of the resonator 41.

  The resonance mirror 42a disposed on the input side of the laser excitation light is a total reflection type reflection mirror. The resonance mirror 42b arranged on the output side is a transflective mirror, and a part of the laser light induced and emitted from the laser crystal 43 excited by absorbing the laser excitation light is used as the laser output light. Can be output.

  The laser crystal 43 is a crystal solid capable of forming an inversion distribution related to the energy level by optical pumping by absorption of laser excitation light, and is a crystal solid that emits laser light by transition between energy levels. Specifically, YAG (garnet crystal made of yttrium and aluminum) doped with neodymium (Nd) ions or YVO 4 (yttrium vanadate) is used as the laser crystal 43. The laser light emitted from the laser crystal 43 is reflected by the resonance mirrors 42a and 42b, and is amplified by reciprocating between the resonance mirrors.

  The Q switch 44 is a device that determines the output timing of the laser output light, and is disposed between the laser crystal 43 and the resonance mirror 42b on the output side. Here, an acousto-optic element (AO element) that is turned on / off based on a control signal input from the unit main body 30 via the signal transmission cable 3b is used as the Q switch 44. Specifically, it is composed of a transparent member arranged on the optical axis of the resonator 41 and an ultrasonic generator that generates an ultrasonic wave by inputting an RF signal as a control signal, and is transparent in the propagation direction of the ultrasonic wave. The laser output is turned on and off by changing the refractive index. By turning on / off the Q switch 44 at an appropriate timing, it is possible to obtain a pulsed laser output having an extremely high peak power compared to continuous radiation.

  As the Q switch 44, an electro-optic element whose refractive index changes with application of voltage may be used instead of the AO element.

  The laser output light generated by the resonator 42 has its optical path bent at a right angle by the mirror 45 and is input to the scanning system 46. The scanning system 46 includes a mirror for two-dimensionally scanning laser output light, a drive unit, and an output lens. Here, it is assumed that a pair of galvanometer mirrors and a driving motor are used.

  Each galvanometer mirror is attached to a rotation shaft orthogonal to the drive motor, and can rotate the laser output light two-dimensionally by rotating independently of each other. The output lens is a scanning optical lens disposed on the output side in the scanning system 46, and an fθ lens that keeps the scanning speed constant is used. Power is supplied to the scanning system 46 from the unit main body 30 via the connection terminal 18.

  The communication port 47 is an interface for performing control signal input / output control, and control signals are transmitted to and received from the unit main body 30 via the connection terminal 17. The scanning control unit 48 performs drive control of the scanning system 46, and two-dimensional scanning is performed based on the scanning control information in the memory 49 and the control signal from the unit body 30.

  The memory 49 is a rewritable nonvolatile semiconductor memory element such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) and stores various types of scanning control information. For example, the accumulated laser lighting time, laser on / off timing data, and optical system distortion correction data are stored.

  The accumulated laser lighting time is an accumulated value of the time when the laser oscillation is performed by the resonator 42 and is data unique to the head unit 4 for determining the aging deterioration of the laser crystal 43 and the scanning system 46. This accumulated laser lighting time is read by the unit main body 30 when the power is turned on, and is updated by the unit main body 30 when the power is turned off.

  The laser on / off timing data includes the time from the start of laser excitation light supply to the start of laser output light output (on timing), and the time from laser excitation light supply stop to laser output light output stop ( This is data specific to the resonator 42 consisting of (off timing). The optical system distortion correction data is data unique to the scanning system 46 for correcting distortion of the fθ lens in the scanning system 46. The laser on / off timing data and distortion correction data are measured when the head unit 4 is manufactured, and data obtained by the measurement is stored in the memory 49.

<Optical fiber cable 3a>
The optical fiber cable 3a is a transmission path for transmitting laser excitation light to the resonator 42 of the head unit 4, and is made of a linear transparent member such as quartz glass. The optical fiber cable 3a is a transmission path with extremely small energy loss by propagating the light incident on the end face while reflecting it internally. The optical fiber cable 3 a has one end connected to the head housing 4 a and the other end connected to the module housing 5 a of the excitation light source module 5.

  The optical axis of the optical fiber cable 3a, the head casing 4a, and the module casing 5a is adjusted after connection, and the end of the optical fiber cable 3a is fixed to each casing so that the optical axis is not shifted.

<Excitation light source module 5>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the details of the main part of the laser processing apparatus of FIG. 1, showing the inside of the excitation light source module 5 having the excitation light generator 51 that outputs laser excitation light. The excitation light source module 5 includes an excitation light generator 51 that outputs laser excitation light, a communication port 54, a drive control unit 55, a variation information storage unit 56, a Peltier element 57, and the cooling fan 12. An optical fiber cable 3a and a signal transmission cable 3b are connected to the connection portion 11 of the module housing 5a, and the signal transmission cable 3b is connected to the connection terminal 31 in the module housing 5a.

  The excitation light generator 51 includes a semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 such as a laser diode (LD) that generates laser excitation light, and a condensing lens 53 that condenses the generated laser excitation light. The semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 is fixed in the module housing 5a with the light emitting surface facing the end surface of the optical fiber cable 3a.

  The drive control unit 55 is a light emitting element driving circuit that drives the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52, and includes a control signal input from the unit body 30 via the connection terminal 32 and the communication port 54, and a variation in the variation information storage unit 56. Based on the information, the output of laser excitation light is controlled.

  The variation information storage unit 56 is a rewritable nonvolatile semiconductor storage unit such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), and stores various types of variation information. The variation information is data unique to the semiconductor laser light-emitting element 52 obtained by measurement, and is different for each semiconductor laser light-emitting element 52. Specifically, the upper limit value and lower limit value of the current supplied to the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52, the light emitting element target temperature, and the in-casing target temperature are stored as variation information.

  The upper limit value of the current supplied to the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 is a so-called rated current, which is the maximum value of the current that can be supplied. Further, the lower limit value of the current supplied to the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 is the minimum value of the current necessary for light emission. The drive control unit 55 adjusts the light emission amount based on the current value information. Thereby, it is not necessary to narrow the intensity range of the laser output in order to absorb the individual variation of the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52, and the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 can always emit light appropriately, so the output range of the laser excitation light Can be enlarged.

  The light emitting element target temperature is the optimum temperature of the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52, and the temperature at which the light emission efficiency is maximized is stored as temperature adjustment data by the Peltier element 57. The target temperature in the casing is the optimum temperature in the module casing 5a and is stored as data for temperature adjustment by the cooling fan 12.

  The variation information storage unit 56 also stores data unique to the head unit 4 as variation information. For example, offset information of current supplied to the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 is stored as variation information. The offset information is correction data for offsetting the current supplied to the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 based on the laser output of the resonator 42.

  In general, the intensity of laser output light output from the resonator 42 with respect to constant laser excitation light varies for each head unit 4. An offset value for eliminating this individual variation is stored as offset information. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the laser output from varying for each head unit 4.

  The Peltier device 57 is an electronic cooling device that cools the semiconductor laser light emitting device 52, and is operated by electric power supplied from the unit main body 30 via the connection terminal 33. The Peltier element 57 is a device that uses the Peltier effect in which heat is transferred between metals by causing a current to flow through a joint surface between different metals. By operating the Peltier device 57, the semiconductor laser light emitting device 52 is suppressed from being heated to high temperature due to the heat generated by the generation of the laser excitation light, and temperature control is performed to keep the periphery of the excitation light generator 51 at a constant temperature. Is called.

<Unit body 30>
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the details of the main part of the laser processing apparatus of FIG. 1, and a unit body having a control circuit for controlling the operation of the head unit 4 and the excitation light source module 5 and a power supply circuit for supplying power. The state in 30 is shown. The unit body 30 includes a main control unit 60, a communication port 61, a power circuit 62, a lid sensor 63, a cooling fan 7, an input / output interface 64, an LD output control unit 65, a control information storage unit 66, an LD temperature adjustment unit 67, a connection The state monitoring unit 68, the in-casing temperature adjustment unit 69, and the head control unit are included.

  The communication port 61 is an interface that performs control signal input / output control. A Q switch control signal is output to the excitation light source module 5 via the connector 21, and laser excitation light output control is performed via the connector 22. Control signal is output. The communication port 61 performs an operation of transmitting and receiving a control signal for two-dimensional scanning to the head unit 4 via the connection terminal 24.

  The connection state monitoring unit 68 performs an operation of monitoring whether or not each of the connectors 21 to 23 is connected to the connection terminals 31 to 33 of the excitation light source module 5. Specifically, it is possible to identify attachment / detachment at the connection terminal 31 for the Q switch based on a reflected wave from the transmission path end of the RF signal to be transmitted. In addition, it is possible to identify attachment / detachment at the connection terminals 32 and 33 from a change in voltage level.

  The lid sensor 63 performs an operation of detecting whether or not the terminal lid 10 provided in the main body housing 2a so as to be openable and closable is closed. Specifically, the opening / closing of the terminal lid 10 can be detected using a switch that is turned on when the terminal lid 10 is closed. The terminal lid 10 covers the connection terminals 31 to 33 in a closed state so that the user cannot touch the connection terminals 31 to 33 and the connectors 21 to 23. This prevents the connectors 21 to 23 from being unintentionally disconnected from the connection terminals 31 to 33 during laser oscillation.

  The power supply circuit 62 supplies power to the head unit 4 and the excitation light source module 5 based on the identification result of the attachment / detachment state regarding the connection terminals 31 to 33 and the detection result of the open / close state regarding the terminal lid 10. Specifically, the logical product of the identification result and the detection result is obtained, and when all the connection terminals 31 to 33 are connected and the terminal lid 10 is closed, power supply is permitted.

  Since the power supply circuit 62 supplies power based on the identification result of the attachment / detachment state with respect to the connection terminals 31 to 33, it is possible to prevent the laser light from being inadvertently output and to improve safety. In particular, even though the connection terminal 31 for the Q switch is not connected to the connector 21, power supply from the power supply circuit 62 to the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 of the excitation light source module 5 through the connection terminal 33 is prevented. can do.

  The input / output interface 64 is connected to an external device via the terminal block 6 and performs control to transmit / receive communication data to / from the external device. As an external device to be connected, a display device that displays the operating state of the laser processing apparatus 1 on the screen, an operation input device that inputs control information of laser output, a personal computer, and the like are conceivable.

  The head control unit 70 performs output control on the resonator 42 and the scanning system 46 of the head unit 4 based on an operation input by a user and a control program. Specifically, control for two-dimensional scanning with laser output light is performed. Further, control for turning on and off the Q switch 44 of the resonator 42 is performed. A control signal for the Q switch 44 is temporarily input to the excitation light source module 5 from the unit body 30 via the connector 21 and the connection terminal 31, and is transmitted from the excitation light source module 5 to the head unit 4 via the signal transmission cable 3b. .

  The control information storage unit 66 is a semiconductor storage means such as SRAM (Static RAM) that stores rewritable output control information related to the light emission amount of the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 and scanner control information related to angle information of the scanning system (scanner) 46. is there. The output control information is intensity designation data that designates the output intensity of the laser excitation light, and is designated based on a user operation input. The LD output control unit 65 performs output control on the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 of the excitation light source module 5. The output control related to the laser excitation light is performed based on the output control information. On / off of the current supplied to the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 and the current corresponding to the output intensity specified by the user are supplied to the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52. Is done. That is, the user can switch the intensity of the laser output light as necessary by designating the output intensity of the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52.

  The LD temperature adjusting unit 67 adjusts the temperature of the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52. Specifically, the temperature adjustment is performed by controlling the power supply to the Peltier element 57 of the excitation light source module 5. That is, the temperature around the excitation light generator 51 is kept constant based on the detection data by a temperature sensor such as a thermocouple (not shown) and the light emitting element target temperature as the variation information in the variation information storage unit 56.

  The in-casing temperature adjustment unit 69 performs temperature adjustment in the module housing 5a and the main body housing 2a. Specifically, the temperature adjustment is performed by controlling power supply to the cooling fan 12 of the excitation light source module 5 and the cooling fan 7 of the unit body 30. That is, the temperature in each housing is kept constant based on detection data from a temperature sensor such as a thermocouple (not shown) and the target temperature in the housing as variation information in the variation information storage unit 56.

  According to the present embodiment, variation information for each semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 obtained by measurement is stored, and the amount of light emission is adjusted based on this variation information, so that individual variations in the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 are absorbed. Therefore, it is not necessary to narrow the intensity range of the laser output, and the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 can always emit light appropriately. In particular, since output control of the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 is performed based on variation information and output control information specified by a user operation input, the intensity of the laser output light is changed from the user specified output intensity to the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52. It can suppress that it shifts | deviates by individual variation.

  Moreover, since the head unit 4 can be separated from the unit main body 30 in a state where the head unit 4 and the excitation light source module 5 are connected by the optical fiber cable 3a, even if the head unit 4 and the excitation light source module 5 are detached from the unit main body 30, Since it is not necessary to adjust the optical axis when the excitation light source module 5 is attached to the unit main body 30, the maintainability can be improved. In particular, since the head unit 4 can be removed from the unit main body 30 that houses the power supply circuit 62, the transportability when the head unit 4 is transported to a maintenance shop can be improved. At this time, since the variation information is stored in the excitation light source module 5 connected to the head unit 4 via the cable tube 3, even if the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52 is replaced, an appropriate output intensity is obtained according to the semiconductor laser light emitting element 52. Can emit light.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which excitation is performed by an end pumping method in which laser excitation light is input to the end face of the laser crystal 43 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the laser crystal 43 may be excited by a so-called side pumping method in which laser excitation light is input to the laser crystal 43 from a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the resonator 42.

It is the external appearance perspective view which showed an example of schematic structure of the laser processing apparatus by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is the figure which showed the principal part detail in the laser processing apparatus of FIG. 1, and the state which removed the excitation light source module 5 from the unit main body 30 is shown. It is the block diagram which showed an example of the principal part detail in the laser processing apparatus of FIG. 1, and the mode in the head unit 4 which outputs a laser output light is shown. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of details of a main part in the laser processing apparatus of FIG. 1, and shows a state in an excitation light source module 5 having an excitation light generator 51. It is the block diagram which showed an example of the principal part detail in the laser processing apparatus of FIG. 1, and the mode inside the unit main body 30 which has a control circuit and a power supply circuit is shown.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Laser processing apparatus 2 Controller unit 2a Main body housing | casing 2b Rear panel 2c Opening part 3 Cable tube 3a Optical fiber cable 3b, 14 Signal transmission cable 4 Head unit 4a Head housing 5 Excitation light source module 5a Module housing 6 Terminal blocks 7, 12 Cooling fan 8, 9 Connector 10 Terminal lid 11, 16 Connection part 13 Handle 15 Power cable 17, 18 Connection terminal 21-23 Connector 24, 25, 31-33 Connection terminal 30 Unit body 41 Laser oscillator 42 Resonator 42a, 42b Resonance Mirror 43 laser crystal 44 Q switch 45 mirror 46 scanning system 47 communication port 48 scanning control unit 49 memory 51 excitation light generator 52 semiconductor laser light emitting element 53 condensing lens 54 communication port 55 drive control unit 56 variation information storage unit 57 Peltier Element 61 Communication port 62 Power supply circuit 63 Cover sensor 64 Input / output interface 65 LD output control unit 66 Control information storage unit 67 LD temperature adjustment unit 68 Connection state monitoring unit 69 In-case temperature adjustment unit 70 Head control unit

Claims (7)

A controller unit for outputting laser excitation light, an optical fiber cable for transmitting laser excitation light supplied from the controller unit, and a resonator made of a laser crystal, based on the laser excitation light supplied via the optical fiber cable A head unit that irradiates a workpiece with laser output light generated by a resonator;
The controller unit includes a semiconductor laser light emitting element that generates the laser excitation light,
Non-volatile variation information storage means for storing variation information for each semiconductor laser light emitting element obtained by measurement;
A laser processing apparatus comprising: drive control means for driving the semiconductor laser light emitting element based on the variation information and adjusting a light emission amount. The controller unit has control information storage means for storing rewritable output control information related to the light emission amount of the semiconductor laser light emitting element specified based on a user operation input,
2. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive control means drives the semiconductor laser light emitting element based on the output control information.   The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the variation information storage unit stores an upper limit value and a lower limit value of a current supplied to the semiconductor laser light emitting element as variation information.   2. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the variation information storage means stores offset information for offsetting a current supplied to the semiconductor laser light emitting element based on a laser output of the resonator as variation information. . The controller unit includes an electronic cooling element that cools the semiconductor laser light emitting element;
A light emitting element temperature adjusting means for supplying electric power to the electronic cooling element and adjusting the temperature of the semiconductor laser light emitting element;
2. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting element temperature adjusting unit adjusts the temperature based on a light emitting element target temperature stored as variation information by the variation information storing unit. The controller unit includes a unit main body and an excitation light source module that is detachably attached to the unit main body.
The unit body includes a control circuit that controls the output of the resonator, a power supply circuit that supplies power to the head unit and the excitation light source module, and a main body housing that houses the control circuit and the power supply circuit. Have
2. The module according to claim 1, wherein the excitation light source module includes a module housing to which an end of the optical fiber cable is attached and which houses the semiconductor laser light emitting element, the variation information storage unit, and the drive control unit. Laser processing equipment. The excitation light source module has a cooling fan that exhausts heat generated in the module housing,
The unit main body includes an in-chassis temperature adjusting unit that supplies electric power to the cooling fan and adjusts the temperature in the module housing based on a target temperature in the housing that is stored as variation information by the variation information storage unit. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 6.

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