JP2006173518A - Laser beam generator, line beam generating optical system, and laser marking device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a laser beam generator capable of prolonging the using time of a dry cell, a line beam generating optical system, and a laser marking device using the line beam generating optical system. <P>SOLUTION: The laser beam generator comprises: a semiconductor laser 115; a switching element 102 for driving the semiconductor laser 115; the dry cell (voltage supply means) 101 for supplying a voltage to the laser beam generator; and a microcomputer (duty ratio control means) 104 for detecting an output voltage from the dry cell (voltage supply means) 101 and controlling the time ratio of the light emission of the semiconductor laser 115 corresponding to a detected output voltage value. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser light generation device, a line light generation optical system, and a laser marking device equipped with the same.

  When laser light is used as display light for laser pointers, laser marking devices, etc., it is often driven by a dry cell, so there is a way to reduce the power consumption of the dry cell by switching the semiconductor laser at a speed that is not felt by the human eye. It is taken. The ratio of the time during which the semiconductor laser emits light is referred to as the ON duty ratio. When the ON duty ratio is increased, the average light amount of the semiconductor laser increases, so that the user can easily recognize the laser light, but the power consumption of the dry battery increases accordingly. Conversely, if the ON duty ratio is lowered, the power consumption of the dry battery can be reduced, but the average amount of light of the semiconductor laser is lowered, which makes it difficult for the user to recognize the location of the laser beam. Therefore, when using in a bright place, the ON duty ratio of the semiconductor laser is increased to make it easier to recognize the laser beam, and when used in a dark place, the ON duty ratio is lowered to reduce the power consumption of the dry cell. ing.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-093167

  However, even when the method of reducing the ON duty ratio as described above to suppress the power consumption of the dry battery is used, the power consumption of the dry battery is always constant regardless of the remaining capacity, so the remaining capacity of the dry battery is reduced. If the output voltage of the dry cell decreases, the output current value will increase by that amount, resulting in a vicious cycle of causing a decrease in the output voltage of the dry cell, and the capacity of the dry cell cannot be fully used. It was.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the intended process is to use a laser light generating device, a line light generating optical system, and the line light generating optical system capable of extending the use time of a dry battery. It is to provide a laser marking device.

  In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is directed to a semiconductor laser, a switching element for driving the semiconductor laser, voltage supply means for supplying a voltage to the laser light generator, and output from the voltage supply means. The laser light generator is configured to include duty ratio control means for detecting a voltage and controlling a time ratio of light emission of the semiconductor laser in accordance with the detected output voltage value.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the duty ratio control means is preset with a mode in which the selection means controls the time ratio of light emission of the semiconductor laser in accordance with the detected output voltage value. A mode in which the semiconductor laser emits light at a set time ratio can be freely selected.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, a line light is generated including a collimating lens that converts a light beam emitted from the laser light emitting device according to the first or second aspect into collimated light, and a rod lens that converts the collimated light into line light. An optical system is configured.

  The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that a laser marking device is configured by providing a support mechanism for supporting the line light generating optical system described in claim 3.

  According to the present invention, as the output voltage of the dry cell decreases, the ON duty ratio of the semiconductor laser is lowered to suppress the power consumption of the dry cell, so that the dry cell capacity can be fully used up to the end, and the use time of the dry cell is lengthened. can do. In addition, since the mode selection means is provided, the user can select the mode in which the ON duty ratio of the semiconductor laser is controlled (energy saving mode) and the mode in which the semiconductor laser emits light at a preset time ratio (normal mode). You can choose freely according to your needs.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a circuit configuration diagram of a laser beam generator according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, 101 is a dry battery that supplies a voltage to the laser beam generator, 102 is a switch, and 103 is a voltage converted from the dry cell 101. DC / DC converter that supplies a constant voltage to the semiconductor laser 115, the microcomputer 104, etc., 104 is a microcomputer, 105 is an ON duty ratio of the semiconductor laser 115 in a normal mode (ON duty ratio fixed) or an energy saving mode (ON duty ratio) Mode selection means for selecting (control), 106 is a transistor for turning on / off the semiconductor laser in response to a signal from the microcomputer 104, 107, 109, 110, 113 are resistors, and 108 is for setting the light quantity of the semiconductor laser 115 Variable resistor 112, operational amplifier 112, and semiconductor laser 115 drive Transistor, 115 is a semiconductor laser consisting of photodetector 115B is a laser diode 115A and the light quantity detecting means is a light emitting element.

  First, a method for controlling the semiconductor laser will be described.

  When the semiconductor laser 115 emits light, a current proportional to the amount of light is output from the built-in photodetector. This current value is converted into a voltage by the resistor 111 and input to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier 112. At the same time, the light amount setting voltage set by the resistor 107 and the variable resistor 108 is also input to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier 112. The operational amplifier 112 is an addition / subtraction amplifier that performs a comparison operation between the light amount setting value and the actual light amount (output from the photodetector), and performs addition / subtraction and amplification of the input signal according to the setting values of the resistors 109, 110, and 113. The result is input to the base terminal of the transistor 114, and the current is controlled so that the amount of light of the semiconductor laser 115 becomes a preset value.

  The switching operation of the semiconductor laser 115 is instructed from the microcomputer 104, and when the transistor 106 is turned on, the light amount set value set by the resistor 107 and the variable resistor 108 becomes 0, so the semiconductor laser 115 is turned off. When the transistor 106 is turned off, the semiconductor laser 115 can emit light with a light amount set in advance by the resistor 108 and the variable resistor 109.

  Next, the operation of the laser beam generator according to the present invention will be described with reference to the circuit diagram of FIG. 1 and the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when the switch 102 is turned on, a voltage is supplied from the dry battery 101 to the DC / DC converter 103, the voltage is converted by the DC / DC converter 103, and a constant voltage is supplied to the semiconductor laser 115, the microcomputer 104, and the like ( Step 201).

  Next, the microcomputer 104 determines whether the light emission mode selected by the mode selection means 105 is the normal mode (ON duty ratio fixed) or the energy saving mode (ON duty ratio control) (step 202). If the light emission mode selected at this time is the normal mode, the transistor 106 is switched so that the semiconductor laser 115 emits light with a fixed ON duty ratio, and the semiconductor laser 115 emits light (step 207).

  On the other hand, if the selected light emission mode is the energy saving mode, the microcomputer 104 measures the output voltage of the dry battery 101 (step 203), determines the ON duty ratio according to the measured voltage value (step 204), and then Then, the transistor 106 is switched at the determined ON duty ratio to cause the semiconductor laser 115 to emit light (step 205).

  Next, when the switch 102 continues to be in the ON state, the process returns to Step 202. If the selected light emission mode is the energy saving mode, the output voltage measurement of the dry battery 101 (Step 203), the ON duty ratio determination ( Step 204) The semiconductor laser 115 emits light (step 205) repeatedly with the determined ON duty ratio, and the ON duty ratio is gradually lowered as the output voltage of the dry battery 101 decreases.

  When the switch 102 is turned off, the voltage supply from the dry battery 101 is cut off and the semiconductor laser 116 is turned off (step 207).

  As described above, according to the laser light generator of the present invention, the capacity of the dry battery 101 is reduced in order to reduce the ON duty ratio of the semiconductor laser 115 and reduce the power consumption of the dry battery 101 as the output voltage of the dry battery 101 decreases. The battery can be used up to the end, and the usage time of the dry battery 101 can be extended.

  In addition, since the mode selection means 105 is provided, the user can select a mode for controlling the ON duty ratio of the semiconductor laser 115 (energy saving mode) and a mode for emitting the semiconductor laser 115 at a preset time ratio (normal mode). It can be freely selected according to the usage environment.

  By the way, a line light generating optical system can be configured including a collimating lens that converts a light beam emitted from the laser light emitting device according to the present invention into collimated light and a rod lens that converts collimated light into line light. Further, a laser marking device can be configured by providing a support mechanism for supporting the line light generating optical system. The embodiment will be described below.

  FIG. 3 is a top view and a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of a laser marking device for a vertical line. As shown in FIG. 3, a semiconductor laser 1 and a collimator lens 2 are attached to the laser marking device body 6. It has been. Here, the collimator lens 2 is attached to the tip of the emission port of the semiconductor laser 1, and the collimator lens 2 can obtain a circular collimator light.

  A rod lens 3 for producing line light is attached to a lens holder 7, and the lens holder 7 is attached to a laser marking device main body 6 by a bearing 5 via a support member 4.

  Thus, the line light passes through the window 13 provided in the laser marking device body 6 and is emitted to the outside.

  A laser driving circuit board 8 and a power source 9 are mounted on the laser marking device main body 6. Further, a bubble tube 10 for confirming the level of the apparatus at the time of designing the apparatus is attached to the upper part of the laser marking apparatus body 6 in the laser emission direction and a direction perpendicular thereto. A height adjusting leg 12 for adjusting the height is attached.

  FIG. 4 is a top view and a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of a laser marking device for horizontal lines. In the case of the horizontal line laser marking device, the arrangement of the rod lenses 3 is different, and the rod lenses 3 are mounted in the vertical direction. Other configurations are the same as those of the vertical line laser marking device shown in FIG.

  In addition, it is possible to employ | adopt a gimbal mechanism for the bearing 5 used in the said embodiment.

It is a block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the laser beam generator which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart for operation | movement description of the laser beam generator which concerns on this invention. It is the top view and longitudinal cross-sectional view which show one Embodiment of the laser marking device for vertical lines based on this invention. It is the upper side figure and longitudinal cross-sectional view which show one Embodiment of the laser marking device for horizontal lines concerning this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Semiconductor laser 2 Collimator lens 3 Rod lens 4 Support member 5 Bearing 6 Laser marking device main body 7 Lens holder 8 Laser drive circuit board 9 Power supply 10 Bubble tube 12 Height adjustment leg 13 Window 101 Dry cell 102 Switch 103 DC / DC converter 104 Microcomputer 105 Mode selection means 106 Transistor 107 Resistor 108 Variable resistor 109 Resistor 110 Resistor 111 Resistor 112 Operational amplifier 113 Resistor 114 Transistor 115 Semiconductor laser

Claims (4)

  A semiconductor laser, a switching element for driving the semiconductor laser, a voltage supply means for supplying a voltage to the laser light generator, an output voltage from the voltage supply means, and a semiconductor laser in accordance with the detected output voltage value A laser light generator characterized by comprising duty ratio control means for controlling the time ratio of light emission.   The duty ratio control means can freely select a mode for controlling a time ratio of the semiconductor laser to emit light according to the detected output voltage value and a mode for causing the semiconductor laser to emit light at a preset time ratio by the selection means. 2. The laser beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam generator is selectable.   A line light generating optical system comprising: a collimating lens that converts a light beam emitted from the laser light emitting device according to claim 1 into collimated light; and a rod lens that converts collimated light into line light. .   A laser marking device comprising a support mechanism for supporting the line light generating optical system according to claim 3.

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