JP2009186936A - Condensing optical system and optical processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a new optical processing device and a condensing optical system used for the optical processing device. <P>SOLUTION: The condensing optical system for condensing diverged luminous flux emitted from a minute light emission part into two or more dots and/or one or more lines includes: a lens group 12 having a function for condensing the diverged luminous flux emitted from the minute light emission part 01; a luminous flux converting optical element 10 arranged between the minute light emission part 01 and the lens group 12 to convert the diverged luminance light from the minute light emission part 01 into one or more luminance fluxes intersecting the optical axis of the lens group 12; and a luminous flux bending means 14 arranged between the lens group 12 and a luminous flux condensing position condensed by the lens group 12 to bend one or more luminous fluxes condensed by the lens group 12. At least either one of the lens group 12 and the luminous flux bending means 14 and the luminance flux converting optical element 10 can be mutually independently displaced in the optical axis direction of the lens group 12 so as to vary the direction of condensed luminous flux emitted from the luminance flux bending means 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a condensing optical system and an optical processing apparatus.

  Various types of optical processing apparatuses that perform processing using optical energy (optical processing) have been known (Patent Document 1, etc.). Among these, the light from the laser light source is guided by an optical fiber, and the laser light emitted from the exit end of the optical fiber is divided into two optical paths by a condensing optical system and two wedge prisms. The two wedge prisms are tilted with respect to the light beam optical axis by the “tilting mechanism” as a light spot, and the “tilting angle”, which is the tilt, adjusts the “distance between two light spots”. What is adjusted is described in Patent Document 1.

  By doing so, optical processing can be performed simultaneously at two points on the workpiece, and the interval between the two points to be processed can be adjusted, so that the degree of freedom with respect to the type of workpiece is great. However, in the optical processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the “tilting mechanism” is likely to be complicated, and only two points can be optically processed at the same time.

  In addition, when performing optical processing simultaneously with two or more points, it is possible to adjust the irradiation angle of the condensed light beam focused on the processing portion without tilting the optical processing device with respect to the workpiece. The number of types of workpieces to be processed can be increased, the machining work can be facilitated, and the work efficiency can be improved. Conventionally, optical processing is performed simultaneously at two or more points or “one or more linear regions”, and the angle of irradiation of the condensed light beam that is focused on the processing portion without tilting the optical processing device with respect to the workpiece. There is no known optical processing device that can be adjusted.

Japanese Patent No. 3317290

  In the present invention, the light collecting part for optical processing is set to two or more dots or one or more lines, and the interval between two or more “dot-like light collecting parts” or a linear light collecting part. Can be adjusted, and at the same time, optical processing is performed at two or more or one or more linear regions, and the condensed light beam is focused on the processing portion without tilting the optical processing device with respect to the workpiece An object of the present invention is to realize an optical processing apparatus that can adjust the irradiation angle of the light beam and a condensing optical system used in the optical processing apparatus.

The condensing optical system of the present invention is a “condensing optical system that condenses a divergent light beam emitted from a minute light emitting portion into two or more points and / or one or more lines”, and includes a lens group. And a light beam converting optical element and a light beam bending means.
The “lens group” is a lens system having a function of collecting a divergent light beam from a minute light emitting portion. The lens group is composed of one or more lenses, preferably a plurality of lenses.
The lens group “has a function of converging a divergent light beam from a minute light emitting part” means that the lens group is a minute light emitting part in a state where the light beam conversion element and the light beam bending means are not used. As a point, it means having a function of forming an image of the object point by a condensing function.
Basically, the “microscopic light emitting portion” is set in a positional relationship with the lens group so as to be positioned on or near the common optical axis of a plurality of lenses constituting the lens group. By making the minute light emitting portion “adjustable in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis of the lens group” and / or “tilt in the tilt direction with respect to the optical axis of the lens group”, for example, the above two or more point-like It is also possible to adjust the distribution of light energy to the condensing unit.

The “light flux converting optical element” is disposed between the minute light emitting portion and the lens group in terms of position, and functionally, the divergent light beam from the minute light emitting portion is used as the optical axis of the lens group. One or more luminous fluxes intersecting with each other.
The “light beam bending means” is positioned “between the lens group and the light collecting position of the light beam by the lens group”, and functionally “one or more light beams condensed by the lens group. Bend ".

  “At least one of the lens group and the light beam bending means” and the light beam converting optical element can be displaced independently of each other in the optical axis direction of the lens group, and the direction of the condensed light beam emitted from the light beam bending means is It is variable.

  The “light beam converting optical element” in the condensing optical system according to claim 1 has two or more planar optical surfaces on the object side and / or image side that are inclined with respect to a surface orthogonal to the optical axis of the lens group. In this case, the light beam bending means may be “condensed by the lens group”, wherein the divergent light beam from the light emitting portion may be two or more light beams intersecting the optical axis of the lens group. A light beam bending member having one or more optical surfaces that refract and / or reflect and bend the light beam. The “light beam bending member” in the condensing optical system according to claim 3 may be a single structure (claim 4), or “the light beam collected by the lens group is bent by being refracted and / or reflected. It may be configured to have two or more light beam bending elements having one or more optical surfaces.

  A condensing optical system according to a third aspect of the present invention also includes a light beam bending member configured by combining a plurality of light beam bending members having a single structure according to the fourth aspect and / or two or more light beam bending elements according to the fifth aspect. Means may be included (claim 6).

  In the condensing optical system according to any one of claims 2 to 6, the divergent light beam emitted from the minute light emitting portion is divided into two or more light beams by the light beam converting optical element. The two or more divided light beams travel so as to cross the optical axis of the lens group and enter the lens group. This means that the “minute light emitting portion” is separated into two or more object points (light sources) with respect to the lens group. As described above, when the object point with respect to the lens group becomes 2 or more, the condensing function of the lens group acts individually on these object points to condense the condensed light flux into two or more points.

  The “light beam converting optical element” in the condensing optical system according to claim 1 can be a transparent body having a conical optical surface on the object side and / or the image side (claim 7). In this case, the conical axis of the conical optical surface is substantially matched with the “optical axis of the lens group”. In this case, the “minute light emitting portion” is converted into a “ring-shaped object (light source)” for the lens group by the light beam conversion optical element.

The “light beam bending means” in the condensing optical system according to claim 7 may include a light beam bending member having one or more optical surfaces that refract and / or reflect the light beam condensed by the lens group. (Claim 8) A light beam bending means having a structure in which a plurality of light beam bending members according to claim 8 are combined may be provided (claim 9).
In the condensing optical system according to any one of claims 7 to 9, since the “micro light emitting portion” is converted into a “ring-shaped object” for the lens group by the light beam converting optical element, it is condensed by the condensing optical system. The image is basically ring-shaped, but depending on the form of the light beam bending means, the ring-shaped light condensing part may be a “two or more linear light condensing part” in which the ring is divided.

  In the condensing optical system of the present invention, “at least one of the lens group and the light beam bending means” and the light beam conversion optical element can be displaced independently of each other in the direction of the optical axis of the lens group. By moving the optical element in the optical axis direction of the lens group, the “distance from the optical axis of two or more object points (light source) separated from the lens group” and the “radius of the ring-shaped object (light source)” Since it can be changed, the distance from the optical axis of the “two or more point-shaped condensing portions” and the size of the ring-shaped condensing portion can be adjusted.

  The “light beam bending member having one or more optical surfaces that refract and / or reflect and bend the light beam condensed by the lens group” according to claims 2 and 8 may be constituted by, for example, one or more lenses. When the light beam bending member is composed of one or more lenses, the “lens group and the light beam bending member constitute an imaging system”, so that the object of the light beam converted by the light beam conversion optical element (the aforementioned ring). The object formed with the light beam and the image obtained by the light collection must be in an imaging relationship (conjugate relationship).

  Therefore, in this case, the light beam bending means and / or the lens group is displaced in the optical axis direction to realize the conjugate relationship. At this time, the distance between the minute light emitting portion and the surface for condensing the light beam (the object point / conjugate surface for the object) is adjusted as necessary. By this adjustment, the imaging magnification in the imaging relationship can be changed.

  Further, the direction (irradiation angle) of the condensed light beam emitted from the light beam bending means can be adjusted by “adjusting the conjugate relationship by displacing the light beam bending means and / or the lens group in the optical axis direction”.

The surface shape of the “one or more optical surfaces that refract and / or reflect and reflect the light beam condensed by the lens group” in the light beam bending member is z in the optical axis direction coordinate and r in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis. (> 0), a well-known aspherical shape represented by a depth in the Z-axis direction as h, R as a radius of curvature, R as a conical coefficient, k as a coefficient, r ₀ and A _{1 to} An:
h = (1 / R) (r−r ₀ ) ² / [1 + √ {1− (1 + k) (1 / R) ² (r−r ₀ ) ² }]
+ A ₁ (r−r ₀ ) + A ₂ (r−r ₀ ) ² + A ₃ (r−r ₀ ) ³ + ·· + _An (r−r ₀ ) ⁿ
Aspherical surfaces may be used as appropriate for the lens surfaces in the lens group.
Thus, by using the aspherical surface and optimizing the optical function of the condensing optical system, the “two or more point-like and / or one or more linear condensing states” can be made extremely good.

The optical processing apparatus according to the present invention “radiates a divergent light beam from a minute light radiating portion, and condenses it into two or more dots and / or one or more lines on a desired processing surface by a condensing optical system. An optical processing apparatus that performs optical processing ”, wherein the condensing optical system according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is used as the condensing optical system.
"A minute light emitting part that emits a divergent light beam" may be a "substantial light source having a minute light emitting part such as an LD or LED", or a light beam is emitted from an appropriate light source, and this light beam is condensed optically. It is also possible to use a light beam that diverges from the condensing part after being condensed by the system, and the condensing part is a minute light emitting part.

That is, in the optical processing device according to claim 10, the “micro light emitting portion” is an end portion of the light guide path, and “emits processing light guided from the laser light source through the light guide path from the end portion”. Alternatively, it may be a light emitting part of a light emitting element such as an LD or an LED (claim 12).
As the “light guide”, an optical fiber can be preferably used, but in addition to that, an integrator, a waveguide, a waveguide, or the like can be used. Can be a part.

  The optical processing device according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein "optical processing is performed for optical welding between resin components", and the other resin component is pressed against one resin component. And a pressing means having a light guiding function for guiding a focused light beam as welding light toward the welding portion (claim 13). In this case, the pressing means is closest to the pressing means. The light beam bending member having a single structure can be integrated (claim 14).

The optical processing device according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein a transparent parallel plate is provided between a minute light emitting portion and a light beam converting optical element, "2 of three axes including the optical axis and orthogonal to each other. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which it is swingable around the axis.
Examples of the resin components that are optically welded to each other by the optical processing apparatus include a “resin lens and a resin barrel” described later. As optical processing by the optical processing apparatus, welding, solder melting, welding / cutting processing, fixing, sealing, and the like are possible.

  As described above, the optical processing apparatus according to the present invention uses the condensing optical system of the present invention to set the condensing unit for performing optical processing to two or more dots or one or more lines. It is also possible to adjust the distance between the dot-shaped light collecting portions and the size of the linear light collecting portions, and the “irradiation angle size” of the condensed light flux can be adjusted.

Embodiments of the invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing one embodiment of a condensing optical system.
In FIG. 1A, reference numeral 0 denotes an “optical fiber” that is a light guide, reference numeral 10 denotes a light beam converting optical element, reference numeral 12 denotes a lens group, reference numeral 14 denotes light beam bending means, and reference numeral 16 denotes a displacement means. .

  The optical fiber 10 guides laser light from a laser light source (not shown) as “processing light” and radiates it as a divergent light beam from the minute end face 01. That is, the minute end face 01 is a “minute light emitting portion”, and is hereinafter referred to as “a minute light emitting portion 01 or a light emitting portion 01”.

In this embodiment, the light beam conversion optical element 10 has a shape in which the incident-side surface is a flat surface, and the exit-side surface is a combination of two planar optical surfaces 101 and 102 in a roof shape. The ridge lines where the surfaces 101 and 102 intersect are parallel to the plane on the incident side in a direction perpendicular to the drawing. The ridge angle (intersection angle) formed by the planes 101 and 102 is preferably in the range of 120 to 240 degrees.
In this embodiment, the lens group 12 includes two positive lenses 121 and 122 that are rotationally symmetric with respect to the optical axis, and “the optical axes are arranged in common”. The relative position with respect to the light emitting portion 01 is determined so as to match the principal ray of the divergent light beam emitted from the light beam.

The light bending member 14 constituting the light beam bending means is a “optical axis rotationally symmetric lens having a positive power (a plano-convex lens with the incident side as a flat lens surface)” in this embodiment, and the optical axis is a lens group. It is arranged so as to match the 12 optical axes. That is, the optical axis of the lens group 12 and the optical axis of the light beam bending member 14 match, and the ridgelines of the planes 101 and 102 in the light beam converting optical element 10 are located on the optical axis.
The light beam conversion optical element 10, the lens group 12, and the light beam bending member 14 can be displaced independently in the optical axis direction of the lens group 12 by the displacement means 16.

  The divergent light beam radiated from the minute light emitting unit 01 enters the light beam conversion optical element 10 and is converted by the light beam conversion optical element 10 into two light beams LF1 and LF2 that intersect the optical axis of the lens group 12. These two light beams LF1 and LF2 are transmitted through the lens group 12, and further transmitted through the light beam bending member 14, and are condensed on the imaging surface S as point-shaped condensing points PI1 and PI2, respectively.

  When viewed from the lens group 12, the light beam LF 1 is apparently “a divergent light beam from the object point LS 1”, and this divergent light beam is condensed on the imaging surface S by the image forming action of the lens group 12 and the light beam bending member 14. An image is formed as a point PI1. The light beam LF2 is apparently a “divergent light beam from the object point LS2” when viewed from the lens group 12, and this divergent light beam is condensed on the imaging surface S by the image forming action of the lens group 12 and the light beam bending member 14. An image is formed as a point PI2. That is, the apparent object point LS1 and the condensing point PI1, and the object point LS2 and the condensing point PI2 are connected in a “conjugate relationship” by the imaging system including the lens group 12 and the light beam bending member 14, respectively.

As described above, the light beam conversion optical element 10, the lens group 12, and the light beam bending member 14 can be independently displaced in the direction of the optical axis of the lens group 12 by the displacing means 16.
Here, in the state shown in FIG. 1A, when only the light beam conversion optical element 10 is displaced in the optical axis direction of the lens group 12, the light beam conversion optical element 10 does not have an imaging function. Even if this is displaced in the direction of the optical axis, the properties of the two light beams LF1 and LF2 do not change.

  When only the light beam converting optical element 10 is displaced in the optical axis direction, the apparent distance between the object points LS1 and LS2 of the two light beams LF1 and LF2 changes. That is, when the light beam conversion optical element 10 is displaced downward (or upward) in FIG. 1A, the interval between the object points LS1 and LS2 becomes large (or small). In this case, only the light beam conversion optical element 10 is displaced, the lens system 12 and the light beam bending means 14 are not displaced, and the position of the plane (object plane) sharing the object points LS1 and LS2 is not displaced. When the interval of LS2 is increased (or decreased), the interval DP between the focal points PI1 and PI2, which are the image points, is also increased (or decreased).

That is, the distance between the condensing points PI1 and PI2 can be adjusted by displacing only the light beam conversion optical element 10 in the optical axis direction of the lens system 12.
The angle β shown in FIG. 1A is the above-mentioned “irradiation angle”, and the principal rays of the converged light beams LF1 and LF2 that are condensed toward the condensing points PI1 and PI2, and a perpendicular line that stands on the imaging surface S. Is the angle between

  Here, assuming that there is no light beam bending member 14 and “the apparent object points LS1 and LS2 and the condensing points PI1 and PI2 are conjugated only by the lens group 12”, the position of the imaging plane S is generally Is different from the position in FIG. 1 (a), and the imaging light beams LF1 and LF2 by the lens group 12 proceed “without being bent by the light beam bending member 14” than in FIG. 1 (a). The light is condensed on the imaging surface S at a “large irradiation angle”.

  As apparent from comparison with this case, in the embodiment of FIG. 1A, the imaging light beams LF1 and LF2 are bent in the optical path by the light beam bending member 14, and the irradiation angle β and the interval DP are small. It has become. By adjusting the position of the light beam bending member 14 on the optical axis of the lens group 12, the irradiation angle: β can be adjusted. For example, when the irradiation angle: β = 0, the imaging light beams LF1, LF2 are applied to the imaging surface S. It can be made to enter perpendicularly, or as shown in FIG. 1B, the irradiation angle of the imaging light beams LF1 and LF2 is increased and orthogonal to the imaging surfaces S1 and S2 that intersect at an angle. It can also be made incident.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, as described above, the apparent object points LS1 and LS2 and the condensing points PI1 and PI2 are in a conjugate relationship by the lens system 12 and the light beam bending means 14, and therefore the light beam bending is performed. If only the member 14 is displaced, the positions of the image forming planes on which the condensing points PI1 and PI2 are condensed are also displaced. At this time, the lens group 12 as well as the light beam bending member 14 can be displaced in the optical axis direction, and the position of the image plane S can be kept unchanged. However, in this case, since the restriction of maintaining the conjugate relationship of the image formation between the lens group 12 and the light beam bending member 14 is added, the adjustment of the irradiation angle: β is also affected by the displacement of the lens group 12.
When the lens group 12 is displaced in the optical axis direction, the imaging magnification in the conjugate relationship changes, so that the “magnified image size” at the condensing points PI1 and PI2 can be adjusted.

  The condensing optical system shown in FIG. 1 is a condensing optical system that condenses the divergent light beam emitted from the minute light emitting unit 01 into two points, and is a minute light emitting unit. The lens group 12 having a function of converging the divergent light beam from 01 and the minute light emitting unit 01 and the lens group 12, and the divergent light beam from the minute light emitting unit 01 is converted into the lens group 12. 2 is arranged between the light beam converting optical element 10 which makes two light beams LF1 and LF2 intersecting the optical axis of the lens, the lens group 12, and the light collecting position of the light beam by the lens group, and is condensed by the lens group 12. A light beam bending means 14 that bends the two light beams LF1 and LF2, and the lens group 12, the light beam bending means 14, and the light beam converting optical element 10 can be displaced independently of each other in the direction of the optical axis of the lens group 12. Thus, the condensed light beam LF1 emitted from the light beam bending means 14 LF2 the orientation of which is obtained by a variable (claim 1).

  The light beam conversion optical element 10 has two or more planar optical surfaces 101 and 102 that are inclined with respect to a surface orthogonal to the optical axis on the object side, and the divergent light beam from the light emitting unit 01 is converted into the light of the lens group 12. A transparent body having two light beams LF1 and LF2 intersecting with the axes.

  The light beam bending means 14 is a light beam bending member having at least one optical surface (incident surface / exit surface) that refracts and bends the light beams LF1 and LF2 collected by the lens group 12 (Claim 3). (Claim 4).

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing one embodiment of the optical processing apparatus. In order to avoid complications, the same symbols as in FIG. Therefore, the explanation about FIG. 1 is used for the same reference numerals as those in FIG.
The optical processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is an apparatus that performs optical welding between the resin lens LN and the resin lens barrel 400 as “optical processing”.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the lens LN is dropped into the “receiving portion” of the lens barrel 400, and the planar portion around the lens and the “bottom portion of the receiving portion” of the lens barrel 400 are in close contact with each other. 401 (imaging plane S in FIG. 1).

FIG. 2B shows the state of engagement between the lens barrel 400 and the lens LN in FIG. 2A viewed from the optical axis direction of the lens LN. The innermost “dashed circle” is the lens. The contour of the surface LN1 (lower lens surface in FIG. 2 (a)), the outer circle is the contour of the lens surface LN2 (upper lens surface in FIG. 2 (a)), and reference numeral 401 designates the “welded surface”. Show.
Symbols P11 to P14 in FIG. 2B indicate “welding portions (welding spots)”. That is, the lens LN is optically welded to the lens barrel 400 at the four welded portions P11 to P14. The lens LN, of course, transmits laser light for processing, but the lens barrel 400 is made of “resin that absorbs laser light”. Such a “resin that absorbs laser light for processing” can be a colored resin such as black or “resin colored in black”, but a color paint that easily absorbs laser light for processing. May be “a configuration in which the surface of a resin that transmits light of the wavelength of the laser beam is applied”.

  When the welding laser beam is condensed on the welding parts P11 to P14, the optical energy of the collected laser beam is absorbed by the welding part of the resin barrel 400, and the barrel 400 is locally heated to be melted. . The generated heat also melts the resin lens LN, and the melted lens barrel portion and the lens portion are fused together and firmly bonded to each other.

In FIG. 2A, a light beam conversion optical element is indicated by reference numeral 10A.
The light beam converting optical element 10A in the condensing optical system of FIG. 1 has a shape in which the plane on the incident side is planar and the plane on the exit side is a combination of two planar optical surfaces 101 and 102 in a roof shape. The intersecting ridges of the upper optical surfaces 101 and 102 are light beam converting optical elements that are orthogonal to the drawing and parallel to the plane on the incident side. Since there are two light spots (PI1, PI2), if the welding points P11 to P14 are welded to the optical processing apparatus in FIG. The converging point interval between the light spots PI1 and PI2: The position of the light beam conversion optical element 10 is adjusted so that DP is equal to the interval between the welding points P11 and P12, and the “two welding points P11 in FIG. , P12 "to collect the light and perform welding, and then, the lens barrel 400 and the light The positional relationship of the apparatus is rotated around a relatively 90 degrees to the optical axis, two converging point may be performed welding so as to conform to the "welding point P13, P14".

  When four welding points P11 to P14 are sequentially welded, four welding processes are required. However, by performing welding at two points, only two welding processes are required, and the work efficiency of welding is improved. .

  In the case where the “tube length is large” of the lens barrel 400 and the lens LN is welded to the “deep portion” of the lens barrel 400, the irradiation angle: β is decreased while maintaining the focusing point interval: DP. Thus, the lens LN can be favorably welded to the lens barrel 400 by eliminating the “kicking” of the light beam by the lens barrel.

In order to “welve four welding points P11 to P14 simultaneously” in the optical processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2, a divergent light beam emitted from the minute light emitting unit 01 is used as a “lens group” as the light beam conversion optical element 10A. What is necessary is just to isolate | separate into four light fluxes which cross | intersect 12 optical axes. FIG. 3 shows three examples of such a light beam conversion optical element.
The light beam converting optical element 10A1 shown in FIG. 3A is “a combination of optical surfaces on two planes in a roof shape” on both sides (object side and image side) in the optical axis direction. The ridge angle (referred to as θ1) on one side and the ridge angle (referred to as θ2) on the other side. These ridge angles: θ1 and θ2 are also preferably in the range of 120 degrees to 240 degrees.
By using such a light beam conversion optical element 10A1, the four condensing points P11 to P14 can be set as shown in FIG. 2B by adjusting the ridge angles θ1 and θ2. In this case, when the light beam conversion optical element 10A1 is displaced in the optical axis direction, the condensing points P11 to P14 are “similarly displaced while maintaining the arrangement pattern”. Further, the light beam bending member 14 or “the light beam bending member 14 and the lens group 12” can be displaced to change the irradiation angle, or to adjust the size of the focal point.

  The light beam converting optical element 10A2 shown in FIG. 3B has a single plane on the incident side and a combination of optical surfaces on the four planes in a “regular quadrangular pyramid” on the exit side. The divergent light beam from the radiating section can be divided into four light beams intersecting in the optical axis direction of the lens group 12, and by using this, as shown in FIG. 2B, “four condensing points P11 on the same circumference”. To P14 ". The “inclination angle with respect to the optical axis” of the optical surface forming a regular quadrangular pyramid surface is preferably in the range of 60 ° to 120 °.

  In the light beam conversion optical element 10A3 shown in FIG. 3C, the light source side or the light condensing side surface is a flat surface, and the other side is formed on four optical surfaces as optical path dividing surfaces. It is a shape that is equally inclined with respect to the plane (the inclination angle is preferably within a range of ± 30 degrees) and the direction of the inclination is equalized. Can be divided into four light beams intersecting in the optical axis direction of the lens group 12 and condensed on “four condensing points P11 to P14 on the same circumference” shown in FIG. .

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a light beam conversion optical element that divides a divergent light beam from a minute light emitting portion into four light beams inclined with respect to the optical axis of the lens system. For example, a pyramid in FIG. By dividing the incident light beam into three or five or more light beams by setting the number of surfaces to three or five or more, or setting the number of optical path dividing surfaces in FIG. It becomes possible to perform simultaneous welding of 5 points or more.

  In the embodiment described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the light beam bending member 14 constituting the light beam bending means is a plano-convex lens, and optically refracts the light beam collected by the lens group 12 to bend the light beam. Although it has a surface (convex lens surface on the exit side), the light beam bending means may be one that bends the optical path of the light beam by reflection.

An example is shown in FIG. The light beam bending member 14A shown in FIG. 4 has a four-sided pyramid shape on the incident side, and the four pyramid surfaces (optical surfaces) are configured as “reflecting surfaces”. This light beam bending member 14A can be used as a “single light beam bending means” as shown in FIG. 5, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 are the same as those in FIG. 1, and the description of FIG.
The light beam conversion optical element 10A2 in FIG. 5 is as shown in FIG. 3B, and divides the divergent light beam emitted from the minute light emitting unit 01 into four light beams inclined with respect to the optical axis of the lens group 12. To do. The divided four light beams are converted into four condensed light beams by the lens group 12.

  The single light beam bending member 14A that forms the light beam bending means has four reflecting surfaces (optical surfaces) forming a quadrangular pyramid surface directed toward the lens group 12, and the axis of the quadrangular pyramid formed by the reflecting surface is the optical axis of the lens group 12. And the positions of the ridgelines of the reflecting surfaces are adjusted so as to correspond to the ridgelines of the four pyramid surfaces of the light beam conversion optical element 10A2.

  Accordingly, the four light beams collected by the lens group 12 are reflected and bent by the respective reflecting surfaces of the light beam bending member 14A. In the state shown in FIG. 5, each condensed light beam bent along the optical path is condensed by bending the optical path so as to be “substantially orthogonal to the optical axis of the lens group 12”. In this embodiment, the light beam bending member 14A bends the optical path of the light beam by reflection. Therefore, even if only the light beam bending member 14A is displaced in the optical axis direction of the lens group 14A in the state of FIG. The angle of the optical path bending is unchanged, the position of the condensed light beam bent along the optical path changes in the vertical direction in the figure, and the distance from the optical axis of the condensing point of each condensed light beam changes.

  Further, by displacing the light beam conversion optical element 10A2 and / or the lens group 12 in the optical axis direction, the “tilt with respect to the optical axis” of each condensed light beam collected by the lens group 12 changes, and the light beam bending member 14A. Since the incident angle to the reflecting surface of the light beam changes, the “irradiation angle” can be changed and adjusted accordingly.

  The light beam bending member 14B shown in FIG. 6 is a single unit in which one surface of a quadrangular prism-shaped transparent body is formed on an optical surface having a quadrangular quadruple-like shape, and a plane that faces the truncated quadrangular pyramid surface is an incident surface. The light beam bending means. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, this light beam bending member is used in place of the light beam bending means 14 </ b> A in FIG. 5, so that four condensed light beams are incident from the incident surface, and each reflecting surface of the truncated quadrangular pyramid is “ By “internal reflection”, the optical path of the light beam can be bent to realize “oblique light irradiation”. Also in this case, the irradiation angle can be adjusted by displacing the light beam conversion optical element 10A2 and / or the lens group 12 in the optical axis direction, and the light beam bending member 14B can be condensed by displacing the light beam bending member 14B in the optical axis direction. The position of the point can be changed.

  The light beam bending member 14A shown in FIG. 4 is configured as a single member by combining four reflecting surfaces (optical surfaces) into a quadrangular pyramid shape, but the same light beam bending effect is as shown in FIG. It can also be implemented by using one piece 14A1 to 14A4 to bend the optical path of one condensed light beam on the reflection surface of each piece. The four pieces 14A1 to 14A4 are “light beam bending elements constituting a light beam bending member” (Claim 5).

  Alternatively, in the case of “light beam bending member by a combination of four pieces 14A1 to 14A4” as shown in FIG. 8, these pieces are made of a transparent body and arranged as shown in FIG. 9 to bend the optical path by total internal reflection. May be performed. The pieces 14A2 and 14A4 not shown in FIG. 9 are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the drawing.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the light beam bending member 14A shown in FIG. 4 and the four pieces 14A1 to 14A4 shown in FIG. 8 (only the pieces 14A1 and 14A3 are shown in the drawing) are combined. By configuring the bending means and appropriately determining the inclination angle of each reflecting surface, “light irradiation can be performed by adjusting the irradiation angle and the irradiation interval. In this case, the light beam bending member 14A includes the four light beam bending members 14A shown in FIG. Together with the pieces (light beam bending elements) 14A1 to 14A4, a light beam bending means is configured as a whole (Claim 6).

  When a member that “bends the optical path by reflection” is used as the light beam bending member, the shape of the reflecting surface is not limited to a flat surface. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, it is possible to give power by using the reflecting surfaces of the pieces 14A1 to 14A4 as curved surfaces. FIG. 11 shows an example, and shows a piece 14A11 that is one of four pieces. This piece 14A11 has a reflective spherical surface S14.

  By combining four pieces 14A11 to 14A14 similar to the piece 14A11 with a light beam bending member 14A as shown in FIG. 12 (only the pieces 14A11 and 14A13 are shown in the figure), the collected light flux is controlled. In addition, the magnification can be made smaller than in the case of FIG. 10, and a “smaller focal point” can be realized. Of course, the reflecting surface S14 may be an aspherical surface.

  As described above, as the light beam conversion optical element, the divergent light beam from the minute light emitting portion is described as “a plurality of light beams intersecting the optical axis of the lens group (in the example, two light beams or four light beams)”. The light beam conversion optical element has a function of “a divergent light beam from a minute light emitting portion is set to one or more light beams intersecting the optical axis of the lens group”, and the converted light beam is a “single light beam”. There can also be. Various light beam conversion optical elements for converting into such a single light beam can be used. For example, the light beam conversion optical element 10B shown in FIG. The surface is a flat surface and the optical surface on the exit side is a conical surface. The conical axis is arranged so as to coincide with the optical axis of the lens group.

  When such a light beam conversion optical element 10B is used in place of the light beam conversion optical element 10A in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the converted light beam is formed on the condensing surface by the lens group 12 and the light beam bending member 14. It will be easily understood that the light is collected as a “ring-shaped light collecting portion”. Therefore, in this case, it is possible to simultaneously weld the “ring-shaped condensing part having the welding parts P11 to P14 shown in FIG. 2B on the same circumference”.

  That is, the light beam conversion optical element 10B shown in FIG. 13 is “a transparent body having a conical optical surface on the image side (exit side)”, and this is used in place of the light beam conversion optical element 10A in FIG. An embodiment of the condensing optical system according to claim 7 is formed.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 5, instead of the light beam conversion optical element 10A2, a “light beam conversion optical element 10B that performs optical path bending with a conical surface as a reflection surface” shown in FIG. 13 is used, and instead of the light beam bending member 14A, FIG. By using a “single light beam bending member 14D having a conical reflecting surface” as shown in FIG. 4, the ring-shaped condensed light beam is bent in a direction substantially perpendicular to the optical axis of the lens group 12. Irradiation of a “ring-shaped condensing part” becomes possible.

  A light beam bending member 14E shown in FIG. 15 is formed by forming one end of a transparent cylinder as a plane incident surface and the other end in a truncated cone shape. In place of the light beam conversion optical element 10A2 in the embodiment of FIG. 7, the light beam conversion optical element 10B of FIG. 13 is used, the light beam bending member 14E is used instead of the light beam bending member 14B, and the conical portion of the light beam bending member 14E. By bending the optical path by total internal reflection at, it is possible to adjust the irradiation angle and irradiate the ring-shaped condensing part from an oblique direction.

  FIG. 16 shows the light beam bending member 14D2. The light beam bending member 14D2 has a “hollow cylinder shape”, and an inner peripheral surface thereof is tapered to form a prefix conical reflection surface. The light beam bending member 14D shown in FIG. 16 is combined with the light beam bending member 14D of FIG. 14 by “sharing the conical axis”, and the light beam bending members 14D and 14D2 constitute “light beam bending means”. The cross section including the optical axis is combined as shown in FIG. 10, combined with the light beam conversion optical element 10B of FIG. 13, and the apex angle of each conical surface is appropriately determined to adjust the irradiation angle and the irradiation interval appropriately. Then, the ring-shaped condensing part can be irradiated.

  By making the refracting or reflecting surface of the light beam bending member a “spherical or aspherical surface” instead of a conical surface, it is possible to correct aberrations generated by the light beam converting optical element or the lens group. Further, by appropriately setting “magnification of the entire system by the lens group”, it is possible to control the condensed light flux and perform accurate welding.

For example, when the optical surface (reflecting surface) of the optical path bending member 14D2 in FIG. 16 is a “concave aspheric surface”, an optical path similar to that of the embodiment in FIG. 12 is possible, and the reflecting surface is a conical surface. In comparison, the magnification can be reduced, and a thinner ring-shaped condensing part can be realized.
The aspherical shape optimizes each parameter of the aspherical expression described above so that the aberration of the condensed light beam can be removed.

  Although the embodiment of the optical processing apparatus is shown as a basic form in FIG. 2, the embodiment embodied as shown in FIG.

  The objects of welding are the lens LN and the lens barrel 400, both of which are made of resin. The lens barrel 400 is drawn more simply than in FIG.

  As the condensing optical system, as shown in FIG. 17, the exit end of the optical fiber 0 is a minute light emitting unit 01, and the light beam converting optical element is a light beam converting optical element 10B as shown in FIG. As the bending means, a light beam bending member 14 using a lens shown in FIG. 2 is used. Therefore, the condensing part is ring-shaped, and the lens LN and the lens barrel 400 are welded with a “ring-shaped welding part”. In FIG. 17, symbol H denotes a “housing” that houses the condensing optical system and the displacement means.

  The embodiment of FIG. 17 shows a state in which welding is performed in a state in which the housing H and the “lens LN and the object to be welded by the lens barrel 400” are separated from each other, but when the lens LN and the lens barrel 400 are welded. If welding is performed by “pressing and contacting the welding surface with an appropriate force”, the welding process becomes easier. The pressure contact may be a method of “suctioning and fixing the lens LN with air”, but as shown in FIG. 18, the lens LN to be welded is pressed by a transparent pressing means 200, so Pressurization becomes possible and welding can be performed more efficiently.

  As shown in FIG. 19, when the lens LN is pressed against the lens barrel 400, the holding means 200 has a pressing surface shape that is a “shape that fits well” with the lens LN, thereby collecting light flux that is welding light. Can be provided with the function of a light guide that “guides light accurately to the welding surface where the lens LN and the lens barrel 400 are welded” (claim 13).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 20, the pressing means is integrated with “a light beam bending member which is a light beam bending member having a unit structure closest to this” (the integrated light beam is indicated by reference numeral 140). The number of parts can be effectively reduced (claim 14).

  The optical processing apparatus shown in FIG. 19 can “repeatedly perform lens welding” by setting light irradiation conditions for welding. The light irradiation condition is a condition for appropriately setting “the irradiation diameter of the ring-shaped condensing part, the light amount balance of the ring-shaped condensing part, and the irradiation position”, and has an adjustment function that enables this setting. “Adjusting the irradiation diameter” of the ring-shaped condensing part is based on displacement in the optical axis direction of the light beam converting optical element 10D, and “Adjusting the light quantity balance” of the ring-shaped condensing part is the optical axis of the light beam converting optical element 10D. Due to the two-dimensional displacement in the orthogonal direction, “adjustment of the ring-shaped condensing position” is performed by displacing the pressing means 200 independently in three dimensions in the optical axis direction and the optical axis orthogonal direction. ing. When the light beam is bent by reflection, total reflection may be used as described above, but it goes without saying that a reflection film may be formed on the optical surface.

It is a figure for demonstrating one Embodiment of a condensing optical system. It is a figure for demonstrating one example of implementation of an optical processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows three examples of the form of a light beam conversion optical element. It is a figure which shows 1 form of a light beam bending member. It is a figure for demonstrating another example of implementation of a condensing optical system. It is a figure which shows 1 form of a light beam bending member. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of the condensing optical system using the light beam bending | flexion member of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of the light beam bending element which comprises a light beam bending means. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of the condensing optical system using the light beam bending element of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating another example of a condensing optical system. It is a figure for demonstrating a light beam bending element. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of the condensing optical system using the light beam bending element of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating another form of a light beam conversion optical element. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of a light beam bending member. It is a figure for demonstrating another example of a light beam bending member. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of a light beam bending member. It is a figure for demonstrating one example of an optical processing apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the modification of an optical processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the state at the time of the light welding of the optical processing apparatus of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating another form of an optical processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

01 Optical fiber exit end (small light emitting part)
10 Light beam conversion optical element
12 Lens groups
14 Light beam bending means
S Image plane
PI1, PI2 Focusing point β Irradiation angle

Claims (14)

A condensing optical system that condenses a divergent light beam emitted from a minute light emitting portion into two or more points and / or one or more lines,
A lens group having a function of collecting a divergent light beam from a minute light emitting unit;
A light beam converting optical element that is disposed between the minute light emitting portion and the lens group, and converts a divergent light beam from the minute light emitting portion into one or more light beams intersecting an optical axis of the lens group;
A light beam bending means disposed between the lens group and a light collecting position of the light beam by the lens group and bending one or more light beams condensed by the lens group;
At least one of the lens group and the light beam bending means and the light beam converting optical element can be displaced independently from each other in the direction of the optical axis of the lens group, and the condensed light beam emitted from the light beam bending means A condensing optical system characterized in that the orientation of the lens is variable. In the condensing optical system according to claim 1,
The light beam converting optical element has two or more planar optical surfaces that are inclined with respect to a surface orthogonal to the optical axis on the object side and / or the image side, and the divergent light beam from the light emitting unit is used as the optical axis of the lens group. A condensing optical system, characterized in that the condensing optical system is a transparent body having two or more intersecting light beams. In the condensing optical system according to claim 2,
A condensing optical system characterized in that the light beam bending means has a light beam bending member having one or more optical surfaces that refract and / or reflect the light beam condensed by the lens group. In the condensing optical system according to claim 3,
A condensing optical system, wherein the light beam bending member has a single structure. In the condensing optical system according to claim 3,
A condensing optical system, wherein the light beam bending member has two or more light beam bending elements having one or more optical surfaces that refract and / or reflect the light beam condensed by the lens group. In the condensing optical system according to claim 3,
5. A condensing optical system comprising: a light beam bending member having a single structure according to claim 4 and / or a light beam bending means having a combination of a plurality of light beam bending members by two or more light beam bending elements according to claim 5. . In the condensing optical system according to claim 1,
A condensing optical system, wherein the light beam conversion optical element is a transparent body having a conical optical surface on the object side and / or the image side. In the condensing optical system according to claim 7,
A condensing optical system characterized in that the light beam bending means has a light beam bending member having one or more optical surfaces that refract and / or reflect the light beam condensed by the lens group. In the condensing optical system according to claim 7,
9. A condensing optical system comprising light beam bending means having a configuration in which a plurality of light beam bending members according to claim 8 are combined. An optical processing apparatus that radiates a divergent light beam from a minute light emitting unit and collects the light into two or more points and / or one or more lines on a desired processing surface by a condensing optical system to perform optical processing Because
An optical processing apparatus using the condensing optical system according to any one of claims 1 to 9 as the condensing optical system. The optical processing apparatus according to claim 10,
An optical processing apparatus, wherein a minute light emitting portion is an end portion of a light guide path, and processing light guided by the light guide path from a laser light source is emitted from the end portion. The optical processing apparatus according to claim 10,
An optical processing apparatus, wherein the minute light emitting portion is a light emitting portion of a light emitting element such as an LD or an LED. The optical processing apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 12,
As optical processing, optical welding is performed between resin components, the other resin component is pressed against one resin component, and a focused light beam as welding light is guided toward the welded portion. An optical processing apparatus comprising a pressing means having a light guiding function. The optical processing apparatus according to claim 13.
An optical processing apparatus comprising a pressing unit and a light beam bending member having a unit structure closest to the pressing unit.

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