JP2006242735A - Laser line unit and laser marking apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a laser line unit and a laser marking apparatus allowing to increase an degree of freedom of the external shape of the laser line unit itself and a degree of freedom of the mounting shape of the laser line unit to an apparatus by allowing adjustment in biaxial direction only by a rod lens holder. <P>SOLUTION: The laser line unit comprises a light source holder 25 holding a semiconductor laser 23, the rod lens 21 allowing laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 23 to diffuse in only one direction, and a rod lens holder 26 which holds the rod lens 21 and is in contact with the light source holder 25 to be fixed. The contact surface between the light source holder 25 and the rod lens holder 26 is a spherical surface, along which the rod lens holder 26 can move. Through the movement of the rod lens holder 26, the curvature adjustment and inclination adjustment of a laser line can be performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser line unit that generates line light by a laser beam and a laser marking device using the same, and more particularly to an adjustment mechanism around a rod lens used in the laser line unit.

  Laser light emitted from a semiconductor laser is diffused light, which can be made into a nearly parallel light beam by a collimating lens, and diffused in only one direction by transmitting this parallel light beam through a cylindrical rod lens. Can do. Precisely, by making the laser beam incident in a direction orthogonal to the central axis of the rod lens, the laser beam can be diffused in a fan shape in a plane orthogonal to the central axis. By irradiating this diffused light toward the wall surface, ceiling surface, floor surface, etc. of a building or the like, a line of laser light can be displayed on the wall surface, ceiling surface, floor surface, etc. A unit that generates such line light is a laser line unit.

  A laser marking device is a laser marking unit in which the above-mentioned laser line unit is mounted on a pendulum and the pendulum can take a vertical posture by a gimbal mechanism or the like. If the rod lens that constitutes the laser line unit of the laser marking device is arranged with the center axis oriented vertically, the laser beam is diffused only in the horizontal direction and irradiated in the horizontal direction. Can do. If the rod lens is arranged with the central axis oriented in the horizontal direction, the laser beam can be diffused only in the vertical direction and irradiated with the laser line light in the vertical direction.

  When the laser line unit is attached to the pendulum or the like of the laser marking device, the laser pendulum is attached so that the relative positional relationship between the pendulum and the laser line unit is a predetermined positional relationship. However, various adjustments after assembly are essential. In particular, the rod lens of the laser line unit may cause tilting or bending of the laser line light depending on its position and posture. Therefore, in order to eliminate the tilting or bending of the laser line light, the rod lens is adjusted in the biaxial direction. There is a need to. FIG. 4 shows an outline of the biaxial adjustment.

  In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a rod lens, 2 denotes a collimating lens, and 3 denotes a semiconductor laser (laser diode) as a light source. Laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 3 is divergent light, and the divergent light is converted into a parallel light flux by the collimator lens 2. When this parallel light beam is incident on the rod lens 1 in a direction perpendicular to the central axis thereof, the laser light is refracted at the interface of the rod lens 1 and diffused in a fan shape in a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the rod lens 1. Is done. FIG. 4A shows the case of adjusting the tilt of the laser line. The rod lens 1 is a plane including its central axis, and is in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the laser light incident on the rod lens 1. It is designed to adjust while rotating. FIG. 4B shows a case of adjusting the curvature of the laser line. The rod lens 1 is a surface including the central axis thereof, and the in-plane including the optical axis of the laser light incident on the rod lens 1. It is designed to adjust while rotating.

  FIG. 5 specifically shows a conventional example of the biaxial adjustment mechanism. In FIG. 5A, the semiconductor laser 3 as a light source is fitted on one end side of the light source holder 5. A collimator lens 2 is fitted to the other end of the light source holder 5 and is configured to emit the divergent light of the laser emitted from the semiconductor laser 3 as a parallel light beam and emit it outward. A lens holder 6 holding the rod lens 1 is disposed outside the other end of the light source holder 5, and the lens holder 6 is attached to the light source holder 5 by an adjusting screw 8. However, a cylindrical shaft 7 is interposed between the other end surface of the light source holder 5 and the lens holder 6, and a gap 9 is generated between the other end surface of the light source holder 5 and the lens holder 6. A part of the shaft 7 is positioned by being dropped into a groove having a V-shaped cross section formed on the other end surface side of the light source holder 5. The adjusting screw 8 penetrates the lens holder 6 on the outer side in the longitudinal direction of the rod lens 1 and is screwed into the light source holder 5. In this way, the lens holder 6 is pressed from both sides toward the light source holder 5 with the adjusting screw 8, and the end surface of the lens holder 6 hits the shaft 7, so that the light source holder 5 and the lens holder 6 are The lens holder 6 is fixed with a gap 9 formed between them.

  In the laser line unit shown in FIG. 5A, the lens holder 6 can be rotated with the shaft 7 as a fulcrum by loosening one of the pair of adjusting screws 8 and tightening the other. Can be adjusted. Further, there is a spatial margin, that is, a gap between each adjustment screw 8 and the hole of the lens holder 6 through which these adjustment screws 8 pass, and the lens holder 6 as shown in FIG. Can be rotated. As described with reference to FIG. 4A, this rotation is a rotation in a plane including the central axis of the rod lens 1 and perpendicular to the optical axis of the laser light incident on the rod lens 1. Thus, the tilt adjustment of the laser line can be adjusted.

  The laser line unit shown in FIG. 5B also has a configuration similar to the laser line unit shown in FIG. 5A, but the shape and mounting structure of the lens holder that holds the rod lens is different. That is, the lens holder 10 is plate-shaped, and one end of the plate-shaped lens holder 10 is placed on the protrusion formed on one side of the upper end surface of the light source holder 5 and the adjustment screw 8 is tightened. The lens holder 10 is fixed to the holder 5 in a cantilever manner. Accordingly, a gap 11 is formed between the light source holder 5 and the lens holder 10 except for the cantilevered fixing portion by the protrusion. An adjustment screw 8 A that is paired with an adjustment screw 8 that cantileverly fixes the lens holder 10 to the light source holder 5 is passed through the tip of the lens holder 10, and the adjustment screw 8 A is screwed into the light source holder 5.

  In the example of the laser line unit shown in FIG. 5 (b), the lens holder 10 is urged by its elasticity so that the tip part is separated from the holder 5, and the adjusting screw 8A penetrating the tip part of the lens holder 10 is attached as described above. The separation of the lens holder 10 by the force is regulated. Therefore, by adjusting the adjustment screw 8A, the lens holder 10 can swing around the cantilevered fixing portion, and the curve of the laser line can be adjusted. Also in this example, there is a gap between the adjustment screws 8 and 8A and the hole of the lens holder 11 through which these adjustment screws 8 and 8A pass, and the lens holder as shown in FIG. 6 can be rotated. As described above, this rotation is a rotation in a plane including the central axis of the rod lens 1 and in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the laser light incident on the rod lens 1. Tilt adjustment can be adjusted.

  According to the example of the conventional laser line unit shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 described above, a gap is generated between the lens holder and the light source holder 5 and is unstable. May tilt and is unreliable. In addition, it is difficult to independently adjust the curve and tilt of the laser line, and there is a problem that the adjustment position of the other is shifted by performing one of the adjustments.

  Therefore, a lens barrel that holds the semiconductor laser and the collimating lens, a rod lens that diffuses the semiconductor laser in a fan shape, and a lens holder that holds the rod lens and is attached to the front surface of the lens barrel, the lens holder of the lens barrel. The mounting surface is a partially cylindrical convex curved surface that bends in a direction parallel to the central axis of the rod lens, and the contact surface of the lens holder with the lens barrel is the central axis of the rod lens having the same curvature as the convex curved surface A laser line unit having a partially cylindrical concave curved surface that bends continuously in a direction is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a laser line unit based on substantially the same idea as the laser line unit described in Patent Document 1. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 1 is a rod lens, 2 is a collimating lens, 3 is a semiconductor laser as a light source, 5 is a light source holder corresponding to a lens barrel, 8 is an adjusting screw, and 12 is a lens holder for holding the rod lens. Show. This conventional example is different from the conventional example shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 in that the light source holder 5 and the lens holder 12 are in close contact with each other. The contact surface 13 between the light source holder 5 and the lens holder 12 has a partially cylindrical shape that bends continuously in the central axis direction of the rod lens 1, and has a convex surface on the light source holder 5 side and a concave surface on the lens holder 12 side. Moreover, the curvature of these convex surfaces and concave surfaces is the same. The lens holder 12 has a through hole for the adjustment screw 8 on both outer sides of the rod lens 1. The adjustment screw 8 passed through the through hole is screwed into the light source holder 5, so that the lens holder 12 is attached to the light source holder 5. Fixed. There is a gap between each adjusting screw 8 and the through hole, and the relative position of the lens holder 12, and hence the rod lens 1, with respect to the light source holder 5 can be adjusted within this gap.

  According to the example shown in FIG. 7 configured as described above, the lens holder 12 is moved along the contact surface 13 between the light source holder 5 and the lens holder 12 that form a partial cylindrical surface, whereby the central axis of the rod lens 1 is obtained. The posture of the rod lens 1 can be adjusted in a plane including the optical axis center of the laser light incident on the rod lens 1. This adjustment is a laser line curvature adjustment. In this example, there is no gap between the lens holder 12 and the light source holder 5, and even if there is a change over time or a change in environmental conditions, it is relatively stable and highly reliable.

  However, according to the example shown in FIG. 7, it is easy to adjust the curve of the laser line, but there is a problem that the laser line tilt cannot be adjusted by the laser line unit alone. Therefore, when adjusting the tilt of the laser line, for example, when the laser line unit is incorporated in the laser marking unit, the entire laser line unit must be rotated while the laser line unit is incorporated in the pendulum of the laser marking unit. I don't get it. Such adjustment is extremely troublesome, and in order to rotate the entire laser line unit, the outer shape of the unit must be cylindrical, and there is a problem that the mounting shape or mounting structure of the unit is limited.

JP 2004-301755 A

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and by allowing adjustment in the biaxial direction only with the rod lens holder, the degree of freedom of the outer shape of the laser line unit itself, It is another object of the present invention to provide a laser line unit and a laser marking device that can expand the degree of freedom of the mounting structure or the mounting shape of the laser line unit to equipment.
Another object of the present invention is to obtain a highly reliable laser line unit and laser marking device in which the rod lens holder is stably held by the light source holder and the adjustment position does not vary with time.

  The present invention includes a light source holder that holds a semiconductor laser as a light source, a rod lens that diffuses laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser in only one direction, a rod lens that holds the rod lens and is fixed in contact with the light source holder. A rod lens holder, and the contact surface between the light source holder and the rod lens holder is a spherical surface, and the rod lens holder is movable along the spherical surface. The main feature is that the curve and tilt of the laser line can be adjusted by movement.

  Both the curve adjustment and the inclination adjustment of the laser line are performed using the spherical surface as a guide in a state where the spherical surface constituting the receiving surface of the light source holder and the spherical surface constituting the contact surface of the rod lens holder are in close contact with each other. Since the contact state between the spherical surfaces is maintained even after the adjustment, the position variation of the rod lens with time after the adjustment can be eliminated. Laser line curve adjustment and tilt adjustment, that is, biaxial adjustment can also be performed.

Embodiments of a laser line unit and a laser marking device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
1 to 3, reference numeral 25 denotes a light source holder. The light source holder 25 has a cylindrical shape at the rear (upper right part in FIG. 1), and a semiconductor laser 23 as a light source is fitted into the cylindrical part. The light source holder 25 is fitted with a lens holder 34 holding the collimating lens 22 on the front side of the cylindrical portion. The divergent light emitted from the semiconductor laser 23 is converted into a parallel light beam by the collimator lens 22. The front end portion of the light source holder 25 is a rod lens holder mounting portion having four protrusions 35 protruding forward in a square shape. As shown in FIG. 3, when the light source holder 25 is viewed from the front, two of the four protrusions 35 are on the right side and face each other with an interval in the vertical direction, and the other two protrusions are on the left side and vertically. Opposite with a gap. A front end surface of the light source holder 25 surrounded by these four protrusions 35 is a receiving surface 31 of the rod lens holder 26. The receiving surface 31 is a concave spherical surface. A hole is formed in the light source holder 25 along the central axis, and the light source holder 25 is formed in a cylindrical shape so as not to interfere with the emission of the laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 23 toward the outside.

  A rod lens holder 26 is fitted on the receiving surface 31, and the rod lens holder 26 is fixed to the light source holder 25 by a pair of set screws 28. The light source holder 25 has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the front side, and has set screw insertion holes at both ends in the length direction. The set screw 28 is inserted into the set screw insertion hole from the front side of the light source holder 25, and the set screw 28 is screwed into the light source holder 25 and tightened, whereby the light source holder 25 is fixed to the light source holder 25. The rear end surface 32 of the rod lens holder 26 is a contact surface with the light source holder 25. The rear end surface 32 of the rod lens holder 26 is a convex spherical surface having the same curvature as the receiving surface 31 of the light source holder 25 and the rear end surface 32 of the rod lens holder 26. Therefore, the receiving surface 31 of the light source holder 25 and the rear end surface 32 of the rod lens holder 26 can be in close contact with each other along the spherical surface. The rod lens holder 26 is formed with a window-shaped hole along its length direction, and the rod lens 21 is fitted and held in this hole. The center of the concave spherical surface and the convex spherical surface is preferably the center in the length direction of the rod lens 21 and on the central axis of the rod lens 21.

  There is a gap between the set screw insertion hole at both ends in the length direction of the rod lens holder 26 and the set screw 28 passing through the set screw insertion hole, and the rod lens holder is within this gap. 26 can be moved with respect to the light source holder 25. Further, the rod lens holder 26 is sandwiched between the four protrusions 35 of the light source holder 25 with the rod lens holder 26 attached to the light source holder 25. There is also a gap between the rod lens holder 26 and the four protrusions 35, and the posture of the rod lens holder 26 can be changed within the range of the gap.

The four protrusions 35 are formed with screw holes penetrating these protrusions 35 in the vertical direction, and a rod lens adjusting screw 33 is screwed into each screw hole. However, when the light source holder 25 is viewed from the front side, a rod lens adjustment screw 33 is screwed into the upper protrusion 35 from above, and a rod lens adjustment screw 33 is screwed into the lower protrusion 35 from below. The tips of the upper two rod lens adjustment screws 33 are in contact with the upper surfaces of both ends in the length direction of the rod lens holder 26, and the tips of the lower two rod lens adjustment screws 33 are in the length direction of the rod lens holder 26. It is in contact with the lower surface of both ends.
The rear end face of the semiconductor laser 23 is fixed to the circuit board 36, and the electrode pins protruding from the rear end of the semiconductor laser 23 penetrate the circuit board 36 and are electrically connected to a predetermined circuit pattern formed on the circuit board 36. Has been.

  According to the embodiment described above, it is possible to easily adjust the curve and tilt of the laser line light. The adjustment procedure will be described below. Whether the laser line light is curved or tilted, the rod lens holder 26 can be moved, and the receiving surface 31 of the light source holder 25 and the rear end surface 32 of the rod lens holder 26 are along a spherical surface. The pair of set screws 28 are loosened to such an extent that the contact state is maintained. When adjusting the curvature of the laser line light, the rod lens holder 26 is moved along the spherical surface in a plane parallel to the paper surface in FIG. The rod lens 21 together with the rod lens holder 26 draws an arc in a plane including its central axis and the optical axis of the laser light incident on the rod lens 21, and the central axis of the rod lens 21 with respect to the incident optical axis of the laser light It is possible to adjust the curve of the laser line light by moving while changing the angle formed by.

  When adjusting the inclination of the laser line light, four rod lens adjusting screws 33 are used as shown in FIG. That is, the pair of rod lens adjustment screws 33 located diagonally when the light source holder 25 is viewed from the front is loosened, and the other pair of rod lens adjustment screws 33 located diagonally are tightened, whereby the rod lens holder 26 is removed. Together with the rod lens 21, it can be rotated about the incident optical axis of the laser light to adjust the tilt of the rod lens 21, thereby adjusting the tilt of the laser line light. Also in this adjustment, the posture of the rod lens holder 26 changes along the spherical surface. After these adjustments, the pair of set screws 28 are tightened to fix the rod lens holder 26 to the light source holder 25.

  In any of the above adjustments, the spherical surface constituting the receiving surface 31 of the light source holder 25 and the spherical surface constituting the rear end surface 32 of the rod lens holder 26 are in close contact with each other, and the spherical surface on the light source holder 25 side is used as a guide. Is called. The contact state between the spherical surfaces is maintained even after being fixed with the set screw 28 after adjustment, and is not different from the state during adjustment. Therefore, the rod lens 21 is fixed by fixing the rod lens holder 26 with the set screw 28. Misalignment can be reduced. Further, since the light source holder 25 and the rod lens holder 26 are in close contact with each other by a spherical surface, it is possible to eliminate the positional fluctuation of the rod lens 21 with time after adjustment.

  If the spherical surface on the light source holder 25 side and the center of the spherical surface on the rod lens holder 26 side that is in close contact with the spherical surface are set to be the center in the length direction of the rod lens 21 and on the central axis of the rod lens 21, The rod lens 21 does not tilt when adjusting the curvature of the laser line light, and the rod lens 21 arcs within a plane including the central axis of the laser line light and the optical axis of the laser light incident on the rod lens 21 when adjusting the tilt of the laser line light. It does not move while drawing. Therefore, there is an advantage that the curve adjustment and the inclination adjustment of the laser line light can be performed independently, and the adjustment becomes easy.

  The laser line unit according to the embodiment of the present invention described above can be applied to a laser marking device. In other words, the laser marking device suspends the pendulum holding the laser line unit by a gimbal mechanism or the like, and the pendulum always keeps the vertical posture so that the fan-shaped laser line light emitted from the laser line unit is emitted. However, it is irradiated as horizontal line light or vertical line light on the wall surface, ceiling surface, floor surface, etc. of buildings. The laser line unit according to the above embodiment can adjust the curve and tilt of the laser line light in the unit, so that it is not necessary to have a shape or structure that can rotate the entire laser line unit. There is an advantage that the degree of freedom in design is increased.

  One of the spherical surface on the light source holder 25 side and the spherical surface on the rod lens holder 26 side that is in close contact with the spherical surface may be convex and the other may be concave. Therefore, contrary to the illustrated embodiment, the spherical surface on the light source holder 25 side may be a concave surface and the spherical surface on the rod lens holder 26 side may be a convex surface.

  The laser line unit according to the present invention is applicable to any device that irradiates a laser line. As a device to which the laser line unit according to the present invention can be applied, there is a laser marking device.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the Example of the laser line unit which concerns on this invention. It is plane sectional drawing of the said Example. It is a front view of the said Example. An optical arrangement example of a general laser line unit and adjustment of a laser line will be described, in which (a) is a front view, (b) is a plan view, and (c) is a side view. It is a plane sectional view showing two examples of the conventional laser line unit. It is a front view of the said conventional laser line unit. It is a plane sectional view showing another example of the conventional laser line unit.

Explanation of symbols

21 Rod lens 22 Collimating lens 23 Semiconductor laser as light source 25 Light source holder 26 Rod lens holder 28 Set screw 31 Rod lens holder receiving surface 32 Rear end surface of rod lens holder 33 Adjustment screw 35 Projection

Claims (8)

A light source holder for holding a semiconductor laser as a light source;
A rod lens that diffuses laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser only in one direction;
A rod lens holder that holds the rod lens and is fixed in contact with the light source holder,
The contact surface between the light source holder and the rod lens holder is a spherical surface, and the rod lens holder can be moved along this spherical surface. A laser line unit characterized by that.   2. The laser line unit according to claim 1, wherein the rod lens holder is fixed to the light source holder by a set screw in a state where the spherical contact surface is in contact with the spherical light receiving surface of the light source holder.   There is a gap between the set screw and the hole of the rod lens holder into which the set screw is inserted, and the rod lens holder can move within the range of the gap, and the rod lens holder can move within the movable range. The laser line unit according to claim 2, wherein the laser line can be bent and tilted.   The light source holder has a plurality of protrusions on the fixed side of the rod lens holder, and adjustment screws are screwed into these protrusions, and the tip of each adjustment screw is in contact with the rod lens holder. The laser line unit according to claim 1, wherein the inclination of the lens holder can be adjusted to adjust the inclination of the laser line.   There are four protrusions, and the rod lens holder is sandwiched by these protrusions, and there is a gap between each protrusion and the rod lens holder, and the inclination of the rod lens holder is adjusted by the adjustment screw screwed into each protrusion. The laser line unit according to claim 4, wherein the laser line unit is adjustable.   2. The laser line unit according to claim 1, wherein the spherical surface constituting the receiving surface of the rod lens holder and the spherical surface constituting the contact surface of the rod lens holder that contacts the spherical surface have the same curvature.   The spherical surface constituting the receiving surface of the rod lens holder and the spherical surface constituting the abutting surface of the rod lens holder that abuts on this spherical surface are centered in the longitudinal direction of the rod lens and on the central axis of the rod lens The laser line unit according to claim 6, wherein the laser line unit is set so as to be positioned at the position. A laser marking unit in which a laser line unit is held by a pendulum that is held so as to maintain a vertical posture, wherein the laser line unit according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is used as the laser line unit. Laser marking device characterized by being.

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