JP2021104513A - Laser processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve the efficiency of confirmation work to see whether or not processing setting is appropriate.SOLUTION: A laser processing device includes a processing block setting portion that disposes and sets a processing block 84 including a processing pattern to be processed on a surface of a workpiece W, on a processing setting surface displayed in a display portion 801 displaying the processing setting surface associated with a processing area secondary-scanned by a laser light output portion 2, a guide light emitting portion 36 that emits guide light for projecting the processing pattern included in the processing block 84, a guide light merging mechanism 31 that merges the guide light emitted from the guide light emitting portion 36 with an optical path of laser light, in the middle of the laser light emitted from the laser light output portion 2, and an imaging portion 6 that generates a processing pattern projection image by imaging the processing area including the processing pattern projected on the workpiece W through the guide light merging mechanism 31 and a laser light scanning portion 4. In the display portion 801, the processing pattern projection image generated by the imaging portion 6 is displayed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 27

Description

The present invention relates to a laser processing apparatus such as a laser marking apparatus that performs processing by irradiating a work piece with a laser beam.

A laser processing apparatus including an imaging unit such as a camera is known. For example, Patent Document 1 includes a laser light source that emits a processing laser beam, a scanning means that scans the processing laser light two-dimensionally, and an imaging means for imaging a workpiece (work). A laser processing device (laser marking device) is disclosed. The imaging means according to Patent Document 1 is positioned so that its imaging optical axis is coaxial with the processing laser beam. Specifically, the laser processing apparatus of Patent Document 1 includes an optical path branching means for branching an optical path between a laser light source and a scanning means. The imaging means is arranged so that the optical axis toward the scanning means via the optical path branching means coincides with the optical axis of the processing laser beam.

Patent Document 2 discloses a laser processing apparatus including a marker laser head that emits a processing laser beam for processing a workpiece (work) and an observation optical system that images the processed surface of the work. There is. The laser head disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes scanning means for scanning the laser beam on the machined surface of the work surface. The observation optical system is provided between the scanning means and the machined surface in the height direction. Specifically, the observation optical system of Patent Document 2 is arranged below the bottom surface of the laser head. This observation optical system is non-coaxial with the optical axis of the processing laser beam, and images the processed surface from diagonally above.

Patent Document 3 discloses a laser processing apparatus including a guide light source that emits a guide light of visible light. The guide light emitted from the guide light source is coaxialized in the middle of the optical path of the processing laser light and scanned by the galvano scanner. The guide light projects a guide pattern indicating the irradiation position of the processing laser beam onto the work. As a result, the user can visually confirm the irradiation position of the processing laser beam.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-148379 JP 2015-44212 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-227377

When the imaging means disclosed in Patent Document 1 is adopted, the size of the imaging field of view depends on the configuration of the scanning means. For example, when the scanning means is configured by a galvano mirror, the size of the imaging field of view in the imaging means is limited to the area of the galvano mirror.

It is conceivable that the imaging unit as the observation optical system disclosed in Patent Document 2 is arranged below the bottom surface of the laser head. When arranged in this way, the work piece can be imaged over a wide range, but the captured image is distorted because the image is taken from an oblique direction. In order to eliminate the distortion of the captured image, image processing such as distortion correction is required, which imposes a heavy load on the control system of the laser processing apparatus. The cameras that make up the imaging unit are effective in correcting the positional deviation of the workpieces that flow on the line one after another.

In the laser processing apparatus, settings related to processing are made when performing laser processing. Then, when this setting work is completed, it is necessary to confirm whether or not the setting is appropriate before executing the machining. At the time of this confirmation work, the guide light disclosed in Patent Document 3 is used. Specifically, after performing the setting work using, for example, a personal computer (PC), the user compares the setting screen on the PC with the guide light projected on the work surface to see if the setting is appropriate. Judge whether or not.

Since the focus of the guide light is the same as that of the laser beam for processing, for example, if the work is tilted or the height position of the work surface is deviated, the guide light projected on the work will expand, which is abnormal. Appears.

In the confirmation work using the guide light, the user needs to alternately compare the setting screen on the PC and the guide light on the work surface. Not only is this alternating contrast a factor that impairs work efficiency, but when the work to be laser machined is incorporated into the housing, for example, the housing becomes an obstacle and the guide light on the work is visually recognized. It may not be possible. In addition, since comparison is necessary, it is inevitably necessary to perform confirmation work in a place close to the work.

An object of the present invention is to provide a laser machining apparatus capable of increasing the efficiency of confirmation work of whether or not machining settings are appropriate.

The above technical problems are according to the present invention.
An excitation light generator that generates excitation light,
A laser light output unit that generates and outputs laser light based on the excitation light generated by the excitation light generation unit, and a laser light output unit.
A laser beam scanning unit that two-dimensionally scans the laser beam output from the laser beam output unit on the surface of the workpiece, and a laser beam scanning unit.
At least a housing containing the laser beam output unit and the laser beam scanning unit,
A display unit that displays a processing setting surface associated with a processing area that is two-dimensionally scanned by the laser beam output unit, and a display unit.
On the processing setting surface displayed on the display unit, a processing block setting unit that arranges and sets a processing block including a processing pattern to be processed on the surface of the workpiece, and a processing block setting unit.
A guide light emitting unit provided inside the housing and emitting a guide light for projecting the processing pattern included in the processing block set by the processing block setting unit, and a guide light emitting unit.
Inside the housing, a guide light merging mechanism that merges the guide light emitted from the guide light emitting unit into the optical path of the laser light in the middle of the laser light emitted from the laser light output unit.
It is provided with the guide light merging mechanism and an imaging unit that captures the processing region including the processing pattern projected onto the workpiece via the laser light scanning unit and generates a processing pattern projection image.
This is achieved by providing the display unit with a laser processing apparatus characterized in that the processed pattern projection image generated by the imaging unit is displayed.

The action and effect of the present invention, other purposes and its constitution, and the action and effect will be clarified from the detailed description of the following preferred embodiments.

It is a figure which illustrates the whole structure of a laser processing system. It is a block diagram which illustrates the schematic structure of the laser processing apparatus. It is a block diagram which illustrates the schematic structure of a marker head. It is a block diagram which illustrates the schematic structure of a marker head. It is a perspective view which illustrates the appearance of a marker head. It is a figure which illustrates the structure of the laser beam scanning part. It is a figure which illustrates the structure of the laser light guide part, the laser light scanning part, and the distance measuring unit. It is sectional drawing which illustrates the optical path which connects a laser beam guide part, a laser light scanning part, and a distance measuring unit. It is a perspective view which illustrates the optical path which connects a laser beam guide part, a laser light scanning part, and a distance measuring unit. It is a figure explaining the triangular distance measurement system. It is a figure explaining the processing reference plane. It is a bottom view which illustrates the structure of a transmission window and a wide area camera. It is a cross-sectional view which illustrates the structure of a transmission window and a wide area camera. It is a vertical cross-sectional view which illustrates the structure of a transmission window and a wide area camera. It is a flowchart which shows the usage method of a laser processing system. It is a flowchart which illustrates the procedure of making a print setting. It is a flowchart which illustrates the operation procedure of a laser processing apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the relationship between the processing area of a work, and the setting screen in a display part. It is a figure for demonstrating the generation of the partial image by the work image capture image. It is a figure for demonstrating the modification of the marker head, and is the figure corresponding to FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the procedure for confirming the appropriateness of a print setting and the subsequent print setting. It is a figure for demonstrating the display example of the display part of a PC, (I) is a figure about the print pattern set by the user, and (II) is the state which the imaged guide light projection locus deviates from the set print pattern. (III) is a diagram relating to a display example of the above, and FIG. 3 (III) is a diagram relating to a display example when the guide light projection locus and the set print pattern match. It is a figure regarding the display example of the print pattern set by the user. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the display mode of the imaged guide light projection locus. It is a figure for demonstrating the display mode which superimposes and displays the imaged guide light projection locus and the setting print pattern. It is a figure which explains an example of the display mode of the imaged guide light projection locus, and shows the example which can judge that the print setting is inappropriate. It is a figure which explains another example of the display mode of the image | imaged guide light projection locus, and shows the example which can judge that the print setting is inappropriate. It is a figure which explains another example of the display mode of the image | imaged guide light projection locus, and shows the example which can judge that the print setting is inappropriate. It is a figure for demonstrating the display state which can determine that the work is tilted and the print setting is inappropriate. It is a figure for demonstrating the display mode different from the display mode of FIG. 27 in relation to FIG. 27.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The following description is an example. That is, although the laser marker as an example of the laser processing apparatus will be described in the present specification, the technique disclosed herein can be generally applied to the laser application equipment regardless of the names of the laser processing apparatus and the laser marker. Further, in the present specification, printing processing will be described as a typical example of processing, but the present invention is not limited to printing processing, and can be used in all processing processing using laser light such as image marking.

<Overall configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the laser processing system S, and FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the laser processing apparatus L in the laser processing system S. The laser processing system S illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a laser processing device L, an operation terminal 800 connected to the laser processing device L, and an external device 900. Then, the laser machining apparatus L illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 irradiates the workpiece (work W) with the laser beam emitted from the marker head 1 and scans the work W three-dimensionally on the surface of the work W. Perform surface processing. The "three-dimensional scanning" here means a two-dimensional operation of scanning the irradiation destination of the laser beam on the surface of the work W (so-called "two-dimensional scanning") and adjusting the focal position of the laser beam. It refers to a concept that collectively refers to a combination of one-dimensional movement and.

In particular, the laser processing apparatus L according to the present embodiment can emit a laser beam having a wavelength in the vicinity of 1064 nm as a laser beam for processing the work W. This wavelength corresponds to the near infrared (NIR) wavelength range. Therefore, in the following description, the laser beam for processing the work W may be referred to as "near infrared laser beam" or "processing laser beam" to distinguish it from other laser beams. Of course, laser light having another wavelength may be used for processing the work W.

Further, the laser processing apparatus L according to the present embodiment measures the distance to the work W via the distance measuring unit 5 built in the marker head 1, and uses the measurement result to obtain a near-infrared laser beam, that is, a near-infrared laser beam. Adjust the focal position of the processing laser beam.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the laser processing apparatus L includes a marker head 1 that emits laser light and a marker controller 100 that controls the marker head 1. The marker head 1 and the marker controller 100 are separate bodies in this embodiment, are electrically connected via electrical wiring, and are optically connected via an optical fiber cable. As a modification, the marker head 1 and the marker controller 100 may be integrated.

The operation terminal 800 has, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory. The operation terminal 800 is connected to the marker controller 100. The user can set various processing conditions such as print settings by using the operation terminal 800. The processing conditions include, for example, character strings to be printed on the work W, contents of figures (marking pattern), output required for the laser beam (target output), and scanning speed of the laser beam on the work W (scan speed). Is done. Further, the operation terminal 800 functions as a terminal for providing the user with information related to laser processing, for example, information such as the operating status and processing conditions of the laser processing apparatus L. For example, the operation terminal 800 composed of a personal computer (PC) includes a display unit 801 for displaying information to the user, an operation unit 802 for receiving input by the user, and a storage device 803 for storing various information. And have.

The above-mentioned processing conditions include conditions and parameters related to the distance measuring unit 5 (hereinafter, this is also referred to as “distance measuring condition”). The distance measuring condition includes, for example, data for associating a signal indicating a detection result by the distance measuring unit 5 with the distance to the surface of the work W. The machining conditions set by the operation terminal 800 are output to the marker controller 100. It is stored in the condition setting storage unit 102 (FIG. 2) of the marker controller 100. If necessary, the storage device 803 of the operation terminal 800 may store the processing conditions.

The operation terminal 800 can be integrated by incorporating it into, for example, the marker controller 100. In this case, the name of the control unit or the like is used instead of the “operation terminal”, but at least in the present embodiment, the operation terminal 800 and the marker controller 100 are separate bodies from each other.

If necessary, the external device 900 is connected to the marker controller 100 of the laser processing device L. Typical examples of the external device 900 include an image recognition device 901 and a programmable logic controller (PLC) 902. The image recognition device 901 determines, for example, the type and position of the work W transported on the production line. As the image recognition device 901, for example, an image sensor can be used. The PLC902 controls the laser machining system S according to a predetermined sequence.

Hereinafter, the hardware configuration of the marker controller 100 and the marker head 1 and the configuration of the control system of the marker head 1 by the marker controller 100 will be described.
<Marker controller 100>
With reference to FIG. 2, the marker controller 100 includes a condition setting storage unit 102 that stores machining conditions, a control unit 101 that controls the marker head 1 based on the machining conditions stored in the condition setting storage unit 102, and the like. It includes an excitation light generation unit 110 that generates laser excitation light.

(Condition setting storage unit 102)
The condition setting storage unit 102 is configured to store the processing conditions set by the operation terminal 800 and output the stored processing conditions to the control unit 101. The condition setting storage unit 102 is composed of a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), and the like. When the operation terminal 800 is incorporated in the marker controller 100, the storage device 803 may be configured to also serve as the condition setting storage unit 102.

(Control unit 101)
The control unit 101 includes an excitation light generation unit 110 included in the marker controller 100, a laser light output unit 2 of the marker head 1, a laser light guide unit 3, and a laser light scan based on the processing conditions stored in the condition setting storage unit 102. The unit 4, the distance measuring unit 5, and the wide area camera 6 are controlled in an integrated manner to perform printing processing of the work W and the like. The control unit 101 has a CPU, a memory, and an input / output path, and is based on a signal indicating information input by the user via the operation terminal 800 and a signal indicating processing conditions read from the condition setting storage unit 102. Generate a control signal. The control unit 101 controls the printing process on the work W and the measurement of the distance to the work W.

(Excitation light generator 110)
The excitation light generation unit 110 is optically coupled to the excitation light source 111 that generates laser light according to the drive current, the excitation light source drive unit 112 that supplies the drive current to the excitation light source 111, and the excitation light source 111. It includes an excitation light condensing unit 113. The excitation light source drive unit 112 supplies a drive current to the excitation light source 111 based on the control signal output from the control unit 101. The excitation light source 111 is supplied with a drive current from the excitation light source drive unit 112, and oscillates a laser beam corresponding to the drive current. For example, the excitation light source 111 is composed of a laser diode (LD) or the like, and an LD array or LD bar in which a plurality of LD elements are linearly arranged can be used. When an LD array or LD bar is used as the excitation light source 111, the laser light oscillated from each element is output in a line shape and incident on the excitation light condensing unit 113. The excitation light condensing unit 113 collects the laser light output from the excitation light source 111 and outputs it as laser excitation light. For example, the excitation light condensing unit 113 is composed of a focusing lens or the like. The excitation light condensing unit 113 is optically coupled to the marker head 1 via an optical fiber cable. The excitation light emitted from the excitation light generation unit 110 (specifically, the laser excitation light output from the excitation light condensing unit 113) can be unpolarized. This is advantageous in terms of design because it is not necessary to consider changes in the polarization state. In particular, regarding the configuration around the excitation light source 111, the light obtained from each of the LD arrays in which dozens of LD elements are arranged is bundled with an optical fiber and output.

(Other components)
The marker controller 100 has a distance measuring unit 103 that measures the distance to the work W. The distance measuring unit 103 is electrically connected to the distance measuring unit 5, and transmits a signal related to the measurement result by the distance measuring unit 5 (at least a signal indicating a light receiving position of the distance measuring light in the distance measuring light receiving unit 5B). You can receive it. The laser processing apparatus L includes a narrow range camera 37 and a wide range camera 6 for photographing the surface of the work W. The control unit 101 of the marker controller 100 can perform processing based on the images captured by the narrow-range camera 37 and the wide-area camera 6. The marker controller 100 includes a setting unit 107 for setting information related to the marking pattern. The content set by the setting unit 107 is read and used by the control unit 101 as the scanning control unit. The distance measuring unit 103 and the setting unit 107 may be configured by the control unit 101. For example, the control unit 101 may also serve as the distance measurement unit 103.

<Marker head 1>
The marker head 1 has a laser light output unit 2 that amplifies and generates laser excitation light and outputs the laser light, and a laser light that irradiates the surface of the work W with the laser light output from the laser light output unit 2 to perform two-dimensional scanning. The work W is based on the scanning unit 4, the laser light guiding unit 3 that constitutes the optical path from the laser light output unit 2 to the laser light scanning unit 4, and the ranging light that is projected and received through the laser light scanning unit 4. It is provided with a distance measuring unit 5 for measuring the distance to the surface of the light. The laser light guide unit 3 not only constitutes an optical path, but also has a Z scanner (focus adjustment unit) 33 that adjusts the focal position of the laser light, a guide light source that emits guide light, and a narrow region that images the surface of the work W. It is configured by combining a plurality of members such as a camera 37.

The laser beam guide unit 3 has an upstream side merging mechanism 31 and a downstream side merging mechanism 35. The upstream side merging mechanism 31 merges the near-infrared laser light output from the laser light output unit 2 and the guide light emitted from the guide light source 36. The downstream merging mechanism 35 merges the laser beam guided to the laser beam scanning unit 4 and the ranging light projected from the ranging unit 5.

3A and 3B are block diagrams showing a schematic configuration of the marker head 1. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the marker head 1. Of FIGS. 3A and 3B, FIG. 3A shows processing of the work W using a near-infrared laser beam, and FIG. 3B shows measurement of the distance to the surface of the work W using the distance measuring unit 5.

With reference to FIGS. 3A and 4, the marker head 1 includes at least a housing 10 accommodating a laser beam output unit 2, a laser beam guide unit 3, a laser beam scanning unit 4, and a distance measuring unit 5. The housing 10 has a substantially rectangular outer contour as shown in FIG. The lower surface of the housing 10 is defined by a plate-shaped bottom plate 10a. The bottom plate 10a is provided with a transmission window 19 that constitutes a transmission window portion for emitting laser light. The transmission window 19 is composed of a transparent member 19b fitted into a through hole 19a of the bottom plate 10a, and the transparent member 19b can transmit near-infrared laser light, guide light, and ranging light.

Around the circular transparent member 19b, for example, four illumination windows (not shown) are preferably provided at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and each illumination is provided by the light emitted by the illumination member arranged inside the housing 10. It is better to illuminate the work surface through a window. Further, the housing 10 is provided with an illumination light control unit (not shown) that controls the amount of light of the four illumination members (light sources). When the machining pattern is projected onto the surface of the work by the guide light, the illumination light control unit automatically controls the amount of light of the illumination member so that the vicinity of the work becomes dark. As a result, when the image when the processing pattern is projected is displayed on the display unit, it becomes easy to visually recognize.

In the following description, the longitudinal direction of the housing 10 shown in FIG. 4 is simply referred to as the "longitudinal direction" or the "front-back direction", and the lateral direction of the housing 10 is simply referred to as the "minor direction" or "short direction". It may be called "left-right direction". Similarly, the height direction of the housing 10 shown in FIG. 4 may be simply referred to as "height direction" or "vertical direction".

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the laser beam scanning unit 4. Further, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the configurations of the laser beam guiding unit 3, the laser beam scanning unit 4, and the distance measuring unit 5. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an optical path connecting the laser beam guiding unit 3, the laser beam scanning unit 4, and the distance measuring unit 5. FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating an optical path connecting the laser beam guiding unit 3, the laser beam scanning unit 4, and the distance measuring unit 5.

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a partition portion 11 is provided inside the housing 10. The internal space of the housing 10 is partitioned into one side and the other side in the longitudinal direction by a partition portion 11. The space on the other side in the longitudinal direction in the housing 10 is referred to as "first space S1". On the other hand, the space on one side in the longitudinal direction is referred to as "second space S2". In the first space S1, a laser beam output unit 2, a part of components of the laser beam guide unit 3, a laser beam scanning unit 4, and a distance measuring unit 5 are arranged. The main parts of the laser beam guide unit 3 are arranged in the second space S2. Specifically, the first space S1 is divided into a first space on one side (left side in FIG. 4) and a second space on the other side (right side in FIG. 4) in the lateral direction by a substantially flat base plate 12. Has been done. In the first space, the parts constituting the laser beam output unit 2 are mainly arranged. As shown in FIG. 6, the distance measuring unit 5 is arranged in the second space on the other side in the lateral direction in the first space S1 like the heat sink 22 of the laser beam output unit 2. Most of the parts constituting the laser beam guide portion 3 are housed in a space surrounded by the partition portion 11 and the cover member 17 that defines the front surface of the housing 10.

(Laser beam output unit 2)
The laser light output unit 2 is configured to generate a near-infrared laser light for printing processing and output the near-infrared laser light, that is, a laser light for laser processing toward the laser light guide unit 3. .. The laser light output unit 2 generates a laser light having a predetermined wavelength based on the laser excitation light, amplifies the laser light, and emits a near-infrared laser light, and a near-laser oscillator 21a oscillated from the laser oscillator 21a. A beam sampler 21b for separating a part of the infrared laser beam and a power monitor 21c for incident the near-infrared laser beam separated by the beam sampler 21b are provided. The laser oscillator 21a was pulse-oscillated by a laser medium that performs induced emission corresponding to the laser excitation light and emits the laser light, a Q-switch for pulse-oscillating the laser light emitted from the laser medium, and a Q-switch. It has a mirror that resonates the laser beam. A rod-shaped Nd: YVO ₄ (yttrium panadite) is used as the laser medium. As a result, the laser oscillator 21a can emit laser light having a wavelength in the vicinity of 1064 nm.

Depending on the application of the laser processing apparatus L, for example, rare earth-doped YAG, YLF, GdVO4 or the like can be used as another laser medium. Further, the wavelength of the output laser light can be converted to an arbitrary wavelength by combining the solid-state laser medium with a wavelength conversion element. Further, a so-called fiber laser in which a fiber is used as an oscillator instead of the bulk may be used as the solid-state laser medium. Further, a solid-state laser medium such as Nd: YVO4 and a fiber may be combined to form a laser oscillator 21a. In that case, as in the case of using a solid-state laser medium, a laser with a short pulse width is emitted to suppress thermal damage to the work W, while high output is realized as in the case of using a fiber. It is possible to realize faster printing processing. The power monitor 21c detects the output of the near-infrared laser beam. The power monitor 21c is electrically connected to the marker controller 100, and outputs the detection signal to the control unit 101 or the like.

(Laser beam guide 3)
The laser light guide unit 3 generates an optical path P that guides the near-infrared laser light emitted from the laser light output unit 2 to the laser light scanning unit 4. The laser beam guide unit 3 includes a Z scanner (focus adjustment unit) 33, a guide light source (guide light emission unit) 36, a narrow range camera 37, and the like, in addition to the bend mirror 34 for forming the optical path P. The near-infrared laser light incident from the laser light output unit 2 is reflected by the bend mirror 34 and passes through the laser light guide unit 3. On the way to the bend mirror 34, a Z scanner 33 for adjusting the focal position of the near-infrared laser beam is arranged. The light that has passed through the Z scanner 33 and is reflected by the bend mirror 34 is incident on the laser light scanning unit 4.

The optical path P can be grasped by dividing it into two parts with the Z scanner 33 as the focus adjusting unit as a boundary. That is, the optical path P can be divided into an upstream optical path Pu from the laser beam output unit 2 to the Z scanner 33 and a downstream optical path Pd from the Z scanner 33 to the laser beam scanning unit 4. The upstream optical path Pu reaches the Z scanner 33 from the laser beam output unit 2 via the upstream merging mechanism 31. The downstream optical path Pd reaches the first scanner 41 of the laser light scanning unit 4 from the Z scanner 33 via the bend mirror 34 and the downstream merging mechanism 35.

Hereinafter, the configuration related to the laser beam guide unit 3 will be described.
-Guide light source 36-
The guide light source 36 emits a guide light for projecting a predetermined processing pattern onto the surface of the work W. The wavelength of this guide light is set so as to fall within the visible light range. The guide light is, for example, a red laser beam having a wavelength near 655 nm. The user can directly visually grasp the movement of the processing laser beam emitted from the marker head 1 by the guide light.

Specifically, the guide light source 36 is arranged at substantially the same height as the upstream side merging mechanism 31 in the second space S2, and emits visible light as a guide light toward the inside of the housing 10 in the lateral direction. .. The guide light source 36 is positioned so that the optical axis of the guide light emitted from the guide light source 36 intersects with the upstream merging mechanism 31. The "substantially the same height" here means that the height positions are substantially the same with respect to the bottom plate 10a constituting the lower surface of the housing 10. In other descriptions, it also refers to the height with respect to the bottom plate 10a.

For example, when the guide light is emitted from the guide light source 36 so that the user can visually recognize the processing pattern by the near-infrared laser light, the guide light reaches the upstream side merging mechanism 31. The upstream side merging mechanism 31 has a dichroic mirror (not shown) as an optical component. The dichroic mirror reflects near-infrared processing laser light while transmitting visible light as a guide light. As a result, the guide light transmitted through the dichroic mirror and the near-infrared laser light reflected by the dichroic mirror merge and become coaxial. By pointing to the irradiation position of the processing laser light using the guide light which is a visible auxiliary light, the irradiation position of the processing laser light can be visualized. The guide light source 36 is configured to emit guide light based on a control signal from the control unit 101.

-Upstream merging mechanism 31-
The upstream side merging mechanism 31 merges the visible light emitted from the guide light source 36 with the upstream side optical path Pu. The guide light and the near-infrared laser light for processing in the upstream optical path Pu travel coaxially by the upstream side merging mechanism 31.

The wavelength of the guide light is set to be different from the wavelength of the near-infrared processing laser light. Therefore, the upstream side merging mechanism 31 can be configured by using, for example, a dichroic mirror. The near-infrared laser light and the guide light coaxialized by the dichroic mirror propagate downward, pass through the Z scanner 33, and reach the bend mirror 34.

-Z Scanner 33-
The Z scanner 33 constituting the focus adjustment unit is arranged in the middle of the optical path generated by the laser light guide unit 3 and adjusts the focal position of the near-infrared laser light emitted from the laser light output unit 2. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the Z scanner 33 passes through the incident lens 33a that transmits the near-infrared laser light emitted from the laser light output unit 2 and the near-infrared laser light that has passed through the incident lens 33a. It has a collimating lens 33b to be made to pass, an emitting lens 33c to pass near infrared laser light passing through the incident lens 33a and the collimating lens 33b, and a casing 33e. The casing 33e houses a lens driving unit 33d for moving the incident lens 33a, an incident lens 33a, a collimating lens 33b, and an emitting lens 33c. The incident lens 33a is composed of a plano-concave lens. The collimating lens 33b and the emitting lens 33c are composed of a plano-convex lens. The incident lens 33a, the collimating lens 33b, and the emitting lens 33c are arranged so that their optical axes are coaxial with each other.

In the Z scanner 33, the lens driving unit 33d moves the incident lens 33a along the optical axis. As a result, the relative distance between the incident lens 33a and the emitted lens 33c is changed while keeping the optical axes of the incident lens 33a, the collimating lens 33b, and the emitting lens 33c coaxial with each other with respect to the near-infrared laser beam passing through the Z scanner 33. do. As a result, the focal position of the near-infrared laser beam applied to the work W changes.

Next, each part constituting the Z scanner 33 will be described. The casing 33e has a substantially cylindrical shape. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, openings 33f for passing near-infrared laser light are formed at both ends of the casing 33e. Inside the casing 33e, the incident lens 33a, the collimating lens 33b, and the emitting lens 33c are arranged in this order in the vertical direction. The collimating lens 33b and the emitting lens 33c are fixed inside the casing 33e, while the incident lens 33a is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The lens driving unit 33d has, for example, a motor, and moves the incident lens 33a in the vertical direction. As a result, the relative distance between the incident lens 33a and the outgoing lens 33c is changed. When the distance between the incident lens 33a and the emitting lens 33c is adjusted to be relatively short by the operation of the lens driving unit 33d, the focusing angle of the near-infrared laser light passing through the emitting lens 33c is relatively small. Therefore, the focal position of the near-infrared laser beam moves away from the transmission window 19 of the marker head 1. On the other hand, when the distance between the incident lens 33a and the emitting lens 33c is adjusted to be relatively long by the operation of the lens driving unit 33d, the focusing angle of the processing near-infrared laser light passing through the emitting lens 33c becomes large. Since it is relatively large, the focal position of the processing laser beam approaches the transmission window 19 of the marker head 1. In the Z scanner 33, of the incident lens 33a, the collimating lens 33b, and the emitting lens 33c, the incident lens 33a may be fixed inside the casing 33e so that the collimating lens 33b and the emitting lens 33c can be moved in the vertical direction. Alternatively, the incident lens 33a, the collimating lens 33b, and the emitting lens 33c may all be movable in the vertical direction.

The Z scanner 33 as the focus adjusting unit functions as a means for scanning the near-infrared laser beam in the vertical direction. Hereinafter, the scanning direction by the Z scanner 33 may be referred to as "Z direction". The near-infrared laser light passing through the Z scanner 33 is coaxial with the guide light emitted from the guide light source 36, as described above. Therefore, by operating the Z scanner 33, not only the near-infrared laser light but also the focal position of the guide light is adjusted. The lens driving unit 33d of the Z scanner 33, particularly the Z scanner 33, is controlled based on the signal output from the control unit 101.

-Narrow range camera 37-
The narrow range camera 37 is arranged at substantially the same height as the bend mirror 34, and receives the reflected light incident on the laser light guiding unit 3 from the laser light scanning unit 4. The narrow range camera 37 is configured such that the reflected light reflected at the printing point of the work W is incident on the bend mirror 34. The narrow range camera 37 captures an image of the surface of the work W by forming an image of the incident reflected light. The arrangement position of the narrow range camera 37 can be changed as appropriate. For example, the heights of the narrow range camera 37 and the bend mirror 34 may be different from each other.

The reflected light used by the narrow-range camera 37 for imaging propagates along the above-mentioned downstream optical path Pd. Therefore, the processing region R1 illustrated in FIG. 10 can be scanned by appropriately operating the laser light scanning unit 4. The narrow range camera 37 is controlled based on the signal output from the control unit 101, similarly to the guide light source 36 and the like.

-Bend mirror 34-
The bend mirror 34 is provided in the middle of the downstream optical path Pd, and bends the downstream optical path Pd to direct it rearward. As shown in FIG. 6, the bend mirror 34 is arranged at substantially the same height as the dichroic mirror 35a of the downstream merging mechanism 35, and reflects the near-infrared laser light and the guide light that have passed through the Z scanner 33. The near-infrared laser light and the guide light reflected by the bend mirror 34 travel rearward, pass through the downstream merging mechanism 35, and reach the laser light scanning unit 4 (specifically, the first scanner 41).

-Downstream side merging mechanism 35-
The downstream side merging mechanism 35 guides the distance measuring light emitted from the distance measuring light emitting unit 5A of the distance measuring unit 5 to the work W via the laser light scanning unit 4 by merging with the downstream side optical path Pd. In addition, the downstream side merging mechanism 35 guides the distance measuring light reflected by the work W and returning to the laser light scanning unit 4 and the downstream side optical path Pd in the order of the distance measuring light receiving unit 5B of the distance measuring unit 5. By providing the downstream side merging mechanism 35, the distance measuring light emitted from the distance measuring light emitting unit 5A and the near infrared laser light and the guide light of the downstream side optical path Pd are coaxially merged. In addition, by providing the downstream side merging mechanism 35, among the ranging light emitted from the marker head 1 and reflected by the work W, the ranging light incident on the marker head 1 is guided to the ranging light receiving unit 5B. ..

As described above, the wavelength of the ranging light is set to be different from the wavelength of the near-infrared laser light and the guide light. Therefore, the downstream side merging mechanism 35 can be configured by using, for example, a dichroic mirror, similarly to the upstream side merging mechanism 31. Specifically, the downstream merging mechanism 35 has a dichroic mirror 35a that transmits one of the ranging light and the guide light and reflects the other (see FIGS. 6 and 7). The dichroic mirror 35a is arranged at substantially the same height as the bend mirror 34 and behind the bend mirror 34. As shown in FIG. 6 and the like, the dichroic mirror 35a is positioned so that the mirror surface on one side thereof faces the bend mirror 34 and the mirror surface on the other side faces the base plate 12. Therefore, the near-infrared laser light and the guide light are incident on the mirror surface on one side of the dichroic mirror 35a. Distance measuring light is incident on the mirror surface on the other side of the dichroic mirror 35a. The dichroic mirror 35a reflects the ranging light and transmits the near-infrared laser light and the guide light. As a result, for example, when the distance measuring light emitted from the distance measuring unit 5 is incident on the dichroic mirror 35a, the distance measuring light is merged with the downstream optical path Pd and made coaxial with the near infrared laser light and the guide light. Can be done. The coaxialized near-infrared laser light, guide light, and distance measuring light reach the first scanner 41 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, while the distance measuring light reflected by the work W is the laser light scanning unit. By returning to 4, the downstream optical path Pd is reached. The ranging light returned to the downstream optical path Pd is reflected by the dichroic mirror 35a of the downstream merging mechanism 35 and reaches the ranging unit 5.

As shown in FIG. 7, the distance measuring light incident on the dichroic mirror 35a from the distance measuring unit 5 and the distance measuring light reflected by the dichroic mirror 35a and incident on the distance measuring unit 5 are both housings 10. Propagates along the left-right direction (the lateral direction of the housing 10) when viewed in a plan view.

(Laser beam scanning unit 4)
As shown in FIG. 3A, the laser light scanning unit 4 irradiates the work W with near-infrared laser light for processing emitted from the laser light output unit 2 and guided by the laser light guide unit 3, and the work. Two-dimensional scanning is performed on the surface of W. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the laser light scanning unit 4 is composed of a so-called biaxial galvano scanner. That is, the laser light scanning unit 4 includes a first scanner 41 for scanning the near-infrared laser light incident from the laser light guiding unit 3 in the first direction, and a near-infrared laser scanned by the first scanner 41. It has a second scanner 42 for scanning light in a second direction.

Here, the second direction means a direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction. Therefore, the second scanner 42 scans the near-infrared laser beam in a direction substantially orthogonal to the first scanner 41. In the present embodiment, the first direction is the front-rear direction (longitudinal direction of the housing 10), and the second direction is the left-right direction (short direction of the housing 10). Hereinafter, the first direction is referred to as "X direction", and the second direction is referred to as "Y direction". Both the X and Y directions are orthogonal to the Z direction described above.

The first scanner 41 has a first mirror 41a at its tip. The first mirror 41a is arranged at substantially the same height as the bend mirror 34 and the dichroic mirror 35a and behind the dichroic mirror 35a. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the bend mirror 34, the dichroic mirror 35a, and the first mirror 41a are arranged along the front-rear direction (longitudinal direction of the housing 10). The first mirror 41a is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown) built into the first scanner 41. This motor rotates the first mirror 41a around a rotation axis extending in the vertical direction. By adjusting the rotational posture of the first mirror 41a, the reflection angle of the near-infrared laser light by the first mirror 41a can be adjusted. The second scanner 42 has a second mirror 42a at its tip. The second mirror 42a is arranged at substantially the same height as the first mirror 41a of the first scanner 41 and to the right of the first mirror 41a. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the first mirror 41a and the second mirror 42a are arranged side by side along the left-right direction (the lateral direction of the housing 10). The second mirror 42a is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown) built in the second scanner 42. This motor rotates the second mirror 42a around a rotation axis extending in the front-rear direction. By adjusting the rotational posture of the second mirror 42a, the reflection angle of the near-infrared laser light by the second mirror 42a can be adjusted.

When the near-infrared laser light is incident on the laser light scanning unit 4 from the downstream side merging mechanism 35, the near-infrared laser light for processing is the first mirror 41a of the first scanner 41 and the second mirror of the second scanner 42. It is reflected in order by 42a and exits to the outside of the marker head 1 through the transmission window 19. At that time, by operating the motor of the first scanner 41 and adjusting the rotational posture of the first mirror 41a, it becomes possible to scan the near-infrared laser beam in the first direction on the surface of the work W. .. At the same time, by operating the motor of the second scanner 42 to adjust the rotational posture of the second mirror 42a, it is possible to scan the near-infrared processing laser beam in the second direction on the surface of the work W. become. As described above, the laser light scanning unit 4 is provided with not only the near-infrared laser light but also the guide light that has passed through the dichroic mirror 35a of the downstream merging mechanism 35 or the distance measuring light reflected by the dichroic mirror 35a. Will also be incident. The laser light scanning unit 4 can two-dimensionally scan the guide light or the ranging light by operating the first scanner 41 and the second scanner 42, respectively. The rotational posture that the first mirror 41a and the second mirror 42a can take is basically that when the near-infrared laser light is reflected by the second mirror 42a, the reflected light passes through the transmission window 19. It is set within such a range (see FIGS. 7 and 8). The laser light scanning unit 4 is electrically controlled by the control unit 101 as a scanning control unit to irradiate a predetermined processing region R1 with near-infrared processing laser light as illustrated in FIG. A predetermined processing pattern (marking pattern) is formed in the processing region R1.

(Distance measuring unit 5)
As shown in FIG. 3B, the distance measuring unit 5 projects the distance measuring light through the laser beam scanning unit 4 and irradiates the surface of the work W with the distance measuring light. The ranging unit 5 receives the ranging light reflected by the surface of the work W via the laser beam scanning unit 4. The ranging unit 5 is mainly classified into a module for projecting the ranging light and a module for receiving the ranging light. Specifically, the distance measuring unit 5 includes a distance measuring light emitting unit 5A. The ranging light emitting unit 5A emits ranging light for measuring the distance from the marker head 1 to the surface of the work W in the laser processing apparatus L toward the laser light scanning unit 4. The distance measuring unit 5 has a distance measuring light receiving unit 5B. The ranging light receiving unit 5B receives the ranging light emitted from the ranging light emitting unit 5A and reflected by the work W via the laser light scanning unit 4. Further, the distance measuring unit 5 includes a support base 50 that supports the distance measuring light emitting unit 5A and the distance measuring light receiving unit 5B from below, and is fixed to the inside of the housing 10 via the support base 50. There is. As shown in FIG. 7, the distance measuring unit 5 emits the distance measuring light forward along the longitudinal direction of the housing 10 and receives the ranging light propagating substantially rearward along the same longitudinal direction. Further, the distance measuring unit 5 is optically coupled to the laser beam guiding unit 3 via the above-mentioned dichroic mirror 35a. As described above, the distance measuring unit 5 projects the distance measuring light along the longitudinal direction of the housing 10. On the other hand, the dichroic mirror 35a is configured to reflect the ranging light propagating not in the longitudinal direction of the housing 10 but in the lateral direction thereof.

A bend mirror 59 is provided to form an optical path connecting the distance measuring unit 5 and the dichroic mirror 35a (see FIGS. 6 and 7). The ranging light incident on the bend mirror 59 from the ranging light emitting unit 5A is reflected by the bend mirror 59 and incident on the dichroic mirror 35a. Then, the distance measuring light reflected by the dichroic mirror 35a returning to the laser light scanning unit 4 is incident on the bend mirror 59, and is reflected by the bend mirror 59 and incident on the distance measuring light receiving unit 5B.

Hereinafter, the configuration of each part forming the ranging unit 5 will be described.
-Distance measuring light emitting part 5A-
The ranging light emitting unit 5A is provided inside the housing 10 and emits ranging light for measuring the distance from the marker head 1 of the laser processing apparatus L to the surface of the work W. The distance measuring light emitting unit 5A includes a distance measuring light source 51 and a light projecting lens 52, a casing 53 accommodating them, a pair of guide plates 54L and 54R for guiding the distance measuring light focused by the light projecting lens 52, and have. The distance measuring light source 51, the light projecting lens 52, and the guide plates 54L and 54R are positioned side by side in order from the rear side of the housing 10, and the arranging direction thereof is the longitudinal direction of the housing 10. The casing 53 has a tubular shape extending along the longitudinal direction of the casing 10 and the support base 50. A ranging light source 51 is attached to the rear side of the housing 10. A floodlight lens 52 is attached to the front side of the housing 10. The space between the distance measuring light source 51 and the light projecting lens 52 is sealed in a substantially airtight manner. The ranging light source 51 emits ranging light forward according to a signal from the control unit 101. The ranging light source 51 can emit a laser beam in the visible light region as the ranging light. The ranging light is, for example, a red laser beam having a wavelength near 690 nm.

The ranging light source 51 is positioned so that the optical axis Ao of the red laser beam of the ranging light extends along the longitudinal direction of the casing 53. The light projecting lens 52 is located between the pair of light receiving elements 56L and 56R of the ranging light receiving unit 5B and the light receiving lens 57 in the longitudinal direction of the support base 50. The projection lens 52 is positioned so that the optical axis Ao of the ranging light passes through. The floodlight lens 52 is composed of, for example, a plano-convex lens, and is positioned with a spherical convex surface facing the outside of the casing 53. The light projecting lens 52 collects the ranging light emitted from the ranging light source 51 and emits it to the outside of the casing 53. The ranging light emitted to the outside of the casing 53 reaches between the guide plates 54L and 54R.

The guide plates 54L and 54R are composed of a pair of members arranged in the lateral direction of the support base 50, and each is composed of a plate-like body extending in the longitudinal direction of the support base 50. A space for emitting ranging light is defined between one guide plate 54L and the other guide plate 54R. The ranging light emitted to the outside of the casing 53 passes through the partitioned space and is output. Therefore, the ranging light emitted from the ranging light source 51 passes through the space inside the casing 53, the central portion of the projection lens 52, and the space between the guide plates 54L and 54R, and goes to the outside of the ranging unit 5. It is output. The output ranging light is reflected by the bend mirror 59 and the dichroic mirror 35a of the downstream side merging mechanism 35, and is incident on the laser light scanning unit 4.

The ranging light incident on the laser beam scanning unit 4 is sequentially reflected by the first mirror 41a of the first scanner 41 and the second mirror 42a of the second scanner 42, and is reflected from the transmission window 19 to the outside of the marker head 1. It is emitted. By adjusting the rotational posture of the first mirror 41a of the first scanner 41, the ranging light can be scanned in the first direction on the surface of the work W. At the same time, by operating the motor of the second scanner 42 to adjust the rotational posture of the second mirror 42a, the ranging light can be scanned in the second direction on the surface of the work W. The scanned distance measuring light is reflected on the surface of the work W. A part of the reflected ranging light (hereinafter, also referred to as “reflected light”) is incident on the inside of the marker head 1 through the transmission window 19. The reflected light incident on the inside of the marker head 1 returns to the laser light guide unit 3 via the laser light scanning unit 4. Since the reflected light has the same wavelength as the ranging light, it is reflected by the dichroic mirror 35a of the downstream side merging mechanism 35 of the laser beam guiding unit 3 and is incident on the ranging unit 5 via the bend mirror 59.

-Distance measuring light receiver 5B-
The ranging light receiving unit 5B is provided inside the housing 10 and receives the ranging light (equivalent to the above-mentioned “reflected light”) emitted from the ranging light emitting unit 5A and reflected by the work W. It is configured to do. The ranging light receiving unit 5B has a pair of light receiving elements 56L and 56R and a light receiving lens 57. The pair of light receiving elements 56L and 56R are arranged at the rear end of the support base 50, respectively. The light receiving lens 57 is arranged at the front end of the support base 50. Therefore, the pair of light receiving elements 56L and 56R and the light receiving lens 57 are substantially arranged side by side along the longitudinal direction of the housing 10 and the support base 50.

The optical axes of the pair of light receiving elements 56L and 56R are arranged so as to sandwich the optical axis Ao of the ranging light of the ranging light emitting unit 5A inside the housing 10. The pair of light receiving elements 56L and 56R receive the reflected light returned to the laser light scanning unit 4, respectively. The pair of light receiving elements 56L and 56R are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis Ao of the ranging light emitting unit 5A. The arrangement direction of the pair of light receiving elements 56L and 56R is the lateral direction of the housing 10 and the support base 50, that is, the left-right direction. In the left-right direction, one light receiving element 56L is arranged on the left side of the distance measuring light source 51, and the other light receiving element 56R is arranged on the right side of the distance measuring light source 51. Each of the pair of light receiving elements 56L and 56R has a light receiving surface directed diagonally forward, detects a light receiving position of reflected light on each light receiving surface, and outputs a signal (detection signal) indicating the detection result. .. The detection signals output from the light receiving elements 56L and 56R are input to the marker controller 100 and reach the distance measuring unit 103.

Examples of the elements that can be used as the light receiving elements 56L and 56R include a CMOS image sensor made of complementary MOS (CMOS), a CCD image sensor made of a charge coupling element (CCD), an optical position sensor (PSD), and the like. can. In this embodiment, each of the light receiving elements 56L and 56R is composed of a CMOS image sensor. As a result, each of the light receiving elements 56L and 56R can detect not only the light receiving position of the reflected light but also the light receiving amount distribution (light receiving waveform) thereof. That is, when the light receiving elements 56L and 56R are configured by using the CMOS image sensor, the pixels are arranged at least in the left-right direction on each light receiving surface. In this case, each of the light receiving elements 56L and 56R can read a signal for each pixel, amplify it, and output it to the outside. The intensity of the signal in each pixel is determined based on the intensity of the reflected light of the spot when the reflected light forms a spot on the light receiving surface. When each light receiving element 56L, 56R is configured by using an element capable of detecting the light receiving amount distribution (light receiving waveform) such as a CMOS image sensor, the magnitude of the light receiving amount of each light receiving element 56L, 56R is measured. The intensity of the distance light, that is, the intensity of the distance measurement light emitted from the distance measurement light emitting unit 5A (hereinafter, this is also referred to as “projected light amount”) and the gain when amplifying the signal for each pixel (this is “received light”). It can also be adjusted using "gain"). In addition to the gain, the exposure time of each of the light receiving elements 56L and 56R can be used for adjustment.

The pair of light receiving elements 56L and 56R can detect at least the peak position indicating the light receiving position of the reflected light and the received amount of the reflected light. As an index indicating the received light amount, for example, the height of the peak of the received light amount distribution of the reflected light can be used. Instead of this, the total value, the average value, and the integrated value of the received light amount distribution may be used. Although the peak position of the light receiving amount distribution is used as an index indicating the light receiving position of the reflected light in this embodiment, the center of gravity position of the light receiving amount distribution may be used instead.

The light receiving lens 57 is arranged inside the housing 10 so that the optical axes of the pair of light receiving elements 56L and 56R pass through. The light receiving lens 57 is provided in the middle of the optical path connecting the downstream side merging mechanism 35 and the pair of light receiving elements 56L and 56R, and the reflected light passing through the downstream side merging mechanism 35 is collected by the pair of light receiving elements 56L and 56R. It can be focused on each light receiving surface. The light receiving lens 57 collects the reflected light returned to the laser light scanning unit 4 and forms a spot of the reflected light on the light receiving surface of each of the light receiving elements 56L and 56R. Each of the light receiving elements 56L and 56R outputs a signal indicating the peak position of the spot and the amount of light received to the distance measuring unit 103.

The laser processing apparatus L basically determines the distance to the surface of the work W based on the light receiving position of the reflected light on the light receiving surface of each of the light receiving elements 56L and 56R (the position of the peak of the spot in this embodiment). Can be measured. As a distance measurement method, a so-called triangular distance measurement method is used.

-About the distance measurement method-Fig. 9 is a diagram for explaining the triangular distance measurement method. Although only the ranging unit 5 is shown in FIG. 9, the following description is also applicable to the case where the ranging light is emitted via the laser beam scanning unit 4 as described above.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, when the distance measuring light is emitted from the distance measuring light source 51 of the distance measuring light emitting unit 5A, the distance measuring light is emitted to the surface of the work W. When reflected by the work W, the reflected light (particularly diffuse reflected light) propagates substantially isotropically if the influence of specular reflection is removed. Although the reflected light propagating in this way contains a component incident on the light receiving element 56L via the light receiving lens 57, the incident light is transmitted to the light receiving element 56L according to the distance between the marker head 1 and the work W. The angle of incidence will increase or decrease. When the angle of incidence on the light receiving element 56L increases or decreases, the light receiving position of the light receiving surface 56a is displaced. As described above, the distance between the marker head 1 and the work W and the light receiving position of the light receiving surface 56a are related to each other with a predetermined relationship. Therefore, the distance between the marker head 1 and the work W can be calculated from the light receiving position of the light receiving surface 56a by grasping the relationship in advance and storing it in the marker controller 100, for example. Such a calculation method is nothing but a method using a so-called triangular ranging method.

That is, the distance measuring unit 103 measures the distance from the laser processing device L to the surface of the work W by the triangular distance measuring method based on the light receiving position of the distance measuring light in the distance measuring light receiving unit 5B. Specifically, the above-mentioned condition setting storage unit 102 stores in advance the relationship between the light receiving position of the light receiving surface 56a and the distance from the marker head 1 to the surface of the work W. A signal indicating the light receiving position of the distance measuring light of the distance measuring light receiving unit 5B, that is, the position of the peak of the spot formed on the light receiving surface 56a by the reflected light is input to the distance measuring unit 103. The distance measuring unit 103 measures the distance to the surface of the work W based on the signal thus input and the relationship stored in the condition setting storage unit 102. The obtained measured value is input to, for example, the control unit 101 and used for controlling the Z scanner 33 and the like by the control unit 101. For example, the laser machining apparatus L automatically / manually determines a portion (printing point) to be machined by the marker head 1 on the surface of the work W. Subsequently, the laser processing apparatus L measures the distance to each printing point (more accurately, the distance measuring point set around the printing point) prior to executing the printing processing, and the focus corresponding to the distance is measured. The control parameter of the Z scanner 33 is determined so as to be the position. The laser processing apparatus L operates the Z scanner 33 based on the control parameters thus determined, and then prints the work W with the near-infrared processing laser beam.

-About the processing reference surface FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the processing reference surface Rb. As illustrated in FIGS. 3A, 3B and 10, the distance measuring light for measuring the distance to each printing point and the near-infrared processing laser light radiating to each printing point are all transmitted. It passes through the window 19 and reaches the work W. Here, each print point is provided in the processing region R1 set on the surface of the work W. For the setting of the machining area R1, by setting the machining area R1 executed by the control unit 101, it is possible to specify the portion to be machined in each work W.

However, when printing is performed on a plurality of workpieces W, the printing point and the location of the processing region R1 may be displaced for each workpiece W depending on the surface texture such as unevenness. Therefore, in order to accurately scan the ranging light and the near-infrared laser light, an index irrelevant to the surface state of the work W is required. Therefore, the laser processing apparatus L (particularly, the control unit 101 of the marker controller 100) according to the present embodiment has position information based on the processing reference surface Rb provided outside the housing 10 as illustrated in FIG. Based on the above, it is configured to scan the ranging light and the near-infrared laser light. The processing reference surface Rb is located on the opposite side of the laser beam scanning unit 4 with the transparent member 19b interposed therebetween. Specifically, the processing reference surface Rb is provided below the transparent member 19b, and is arranged at a position where the distance from the transparent member 19b is a predetermined value. By arranging in this way, the laser light scanning unit 4 faces the processing reference surface Rb through the transparent member 19b. Further, as will be described later, the transparent member 19b is composed of a flat member. Specifically, the central axis that intersects the transparent member 19b perpendicularly also intersects the machining reference plane Rb perpendicularly. As a result of this configuration, the machining reference plane Rb extends parallel to the transparent member 19b, as illustrated in FIG. The laser beam irradiated to the processing region R1 is controlled based on the position information based on the processing reference surface Rb, for example, the irradiation position of the near-infrared processing laser light and the ranging light on the processing reference surface Rb. It is possible.

The control unit 101 two-dimensionally scans the near-infrared processing laser beam and the ranging light along the direction parallel to the processing reference surface Rb based on the position information based on the processing reference surface Rb. By using the machining reference surface Rb, for example, a common machining pattern can be easily formed for a plurality of workpieces W having different heights. As a result, it is possible to suppress variations in printing accuracy, print quality, and the like among the plurality of workpieces W that are printed one after another. In the present embodiment, not only the laser light scanning unit 4 but also the wide area camera 6 is arranged so as to function through the transparent member 19b.

Next, the configurations of the transparent window 19 and the wide area camera 6 will be described.
(Transparent window 19)
11 is a bottom view showing the configuration of the transparent window 19 and the wide area camera 6, FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the transparent window 19 and the wide area camera 6, and FIG. 13 is a vertical cross section of the transparent window 19 and the wide area camera 6. It is a figure. The cross section shown in FIG. 12 corresponds to the AA cross section of FIG. The vertical cross section shown in FIG. 13 corresponds to the BB cross section of FIG. With reference to FIG. 11, the transmission window 19 is formed on the outer surface of the housing 10, and the near-infrared laser light two-dimensionally scanned by the laser light scanning unit 4 and the measurement emitted from the distance measuring unit 5. The distance light is emitted to the outside of the housing 10, respectively. The transmission window 19 has a through hole 19a provided on the outer surface of the housing 10 and a transparent member 19b attached to the through hole 19a. The through hole 19a is formed in a substantially circular shape and penetrates the bottom plate 10a of the housing 10 in the vertical direction. On the other hand, the transparent member 19b is fitted in the through hole 19a, and is configured so that the near-infrared laser beam and the ranging light emitted from the transmission window 19 are transmitted respectively. The transparent member 19b is made of a substantially circular glass plate. When the transparent member 19b is regarded as a perfect circle, the center thereof is positioned directly below the second mirror 42a as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. By fitting the transparent member 19b into the through hole 19a, the space inside the housing 10 can be hermetically sealed.

The transparent member 19b is preferably made of a flat member in order to intentionally suppress the lens effect. The radius of curvature of the transparent member 19b is set higher than that of a general fθ lens. By setting the radius of curvature high, the transparent member 19b can be regarded as a flat member having no lens effect or a low lens effect. The radius of curvature of the transparent member 19b may be set within the range of 10,000 mm or more and 100,000 mm or less. More preferably, the radius of curvature of the transparent member 19b is set within the range of 50,000 mm or more and 100,000 mm or less.

(Wide area camera 6)
The wide area camera 6 as an imaging unit for a wide area image is positioned so as to generate a work image Pw including at least a part of the processing region R1 by imaging the work W through the transmission window 19 (also in FIG. 18). reference). In the example shown in FIG. 10, the entire region that can be scanned by the laser light scanning unit 4 is defined as the processing region R1, but the present invention is not limited to this example. A part of the scannable area may be a processing area R1. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the wide area camera 6 is arranged in the housing 10 so that the imaging optical axis Ac and the processing reference plane Rb are orthogonal to each other. In the wide area camera 6, the optical lens 61 for imaging and the light captured through the optical lens 61 are imaged by the image sensor 62. The wide area camera 6 is installed with the optical lens 61 facing downward. The imaging optical axis Ac of the wide-area camera 6 is orthogonal to both the transparent member 19b and the processing reference plane Rb. As shown in FIG. 10, the optical axis Az of the near-infrared processing laser beam (hereinafter, also referred to as “laser optical axis”) extends downward from the second mirror 42a of the second scanner 42. There is. The imaging optical axis Ac is not coaxial with the laser optical axis Az, but is independent of each other. The imaging optical axis Ac is preferably parallel to the laser optical axis Az.

The imaging optical axis Ac is non-coaxial with the optical axis Az of the near-infrared processing laser beam passing through the transmission window 19. The light for generating the wide area work image is taken in from the optical lens 61 through an optical path independent of the near-infrared processing laser beam. As a result, the wide area camera 6 can be configured as a general camera that targets visible light such as exposure conditions.

In the wide area camera 6, it is preferable to appropriately set the separation distance between the imaging optical axis Ac and the laser optical axis Az. If the distance is excessive, the imaging field of view Fv of the wide-area camera 6 and the region processed by the near-infrared laser beam (processed region R1) will be displaced, and as a result, the usability of the laser processing apparatus L will be reduced. It may reduce it. The wide area camera 6 according to the present embodiment is positioned so that the imaging optical axis Ac and the laser optical axis Az are as close to each other as possible while the imaging optical axis Ac is not coaxial with the laser optical axis Az. .. The wide area camera 6 is arranged closer to the second scanner 42 than the first scanner 41. With this arrangement, the imaging optical axis Ac of the wide area camera 6 and the laser optical axis Az of the processing laser beam can be brought close to each other as much as possible. More specifically, the wide area camera 6 has a first along a direction orthogonal to an optical axis (specifically, an optical axis extending along the downstream optical path Pd) connecting the Z scanner 33 and the laser light scanning unit 4. The scanner 41, the second scanner 42, and the wide area camera 6 are arranged side by side in this order. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the downstream optical path Pd extends rearward. Therefore, in the laser processing apparatus L according to the present embodiment, the first scanner 41, the second scanner 42, and the wide area camera 6 are arranged in order from the right side of the paper in FIG. 12 (see also FIGS. 6 and 7).

Further, as shown by the broken lines in FIGS. 6 and 7, the wide area camera 6 is arranged in the front-rear direction behind the downstream side merging mechanism 35 and the bend mirror 59 and at the same position as the first scanner 41 and the second scanner 42. Has been done. By arranging in this way, it is possible to prevent the distance measuring light propagating between the downstream side merging mechanism 35 and the bend mirror 59 from being included in the imaging field of view Fv of the wide area camera 6. In the height direction, the wide area camera 6 has substantially the same height as the second mirror 42a. The imaging field of view Fv of the wide-area camera 6 is tapered from the optical lens 61 with the imaging optical axis Ac as the central axis.

As can be immediately seen from FIG. 10, the wide area camera 6 is arranged at a position where the laser light scanning unit 4 is not included in the imaging field of view Fv. Further, the wide area camera 6 includes a part of the edge of the transmission window 19, particularly a part of the peripheral edge of the through hole 19a (in FIG. 10, the left end of the paper surface of the transmission window 19) in the imaging field of view Fv. It is positioned. Therefore, the wide area work image Pw generated by the wide area camera 6 does not reflect the laser light scanning unit 4, but includes a part of the edge of the transmission window 19. Hereinafter, of the entire peripheral edge of the transparent window 19, the portion incorporated into the wide area work image Pw, which is a part thereof, is simply referred to as "a part of the edge in the transparent window 19" or "a part of the edge", and is referred to as this. The code "19c" is attached. See also the bottom view of FIG. 11 for a portion of the edge 19c. Further, the group of image pickup elements 62 constituting the wide area camera 6 has a rectangular contour extending in a predetermined direction. Therefore, the dimension of the imaging region R2 that crosses the imaging field of view Fv of the wide-area camera 6 and eventually the wide-area imaging field of view Fv in the direction orthogonal to the imaging optical axis Ac also becomes long in the predetermined direction. The wide area imaging region R2 is configured to include at least a part of the processed region R1. For example, the imaging region R2 exemplified in FIG. 10 includes the entire processing region R1.

The group of the image pickup elements 62 is arranged so that the longitudinal direction thereof is parallel to the alignment direction of the wide area camera 6 and the second scanner 42. By arranging in this way, the wide area camera 6 and the second scanner 42 are arranged side by side along the longitudinal direction of the imaging field of view Fv and the imaging region R2. As a result, as shown in the lower figure of FIG. 10, the central portion Oz of the region scantable by the laser light scanning unit 4 (processed region R1 in this example) is the central portion Oz of the imaging region R2 with respect to the central portion Occ of the imaging region R2. It will be offset in the longitudinal direction. Here, as shown in FIG. 10, the “central portion Oz of the scannable region” is the laser beam when the near-infrared laser beam is emitted in the direction in which the laser optical axis Az and the processing reference surface Rb are orthogonal to each other. The intersection of the axis Az and the processing region R1. Further, the “central portion Occ of the imaging region R2” refers to the intersection of the imaging optical axis Ac and the imaging region R2 when the imaging region R2 is set so as to be flush with the processing region R1.

With the above configuration, when a near-infrared processing laser beam is emitted so as to be orthogonal to the processing reference surface Rb, the position where the laser optical axis Az and the processing reference surface Rb intersect is processed with the imaging optical axis Ac. It will be offset with respect to the position where the reference plane Rb intersects. The wide area camera 6 generates an image corresponding to the imaging area R2 as a wide area work image Pw including at least a part of the processing area R1. As described above, not only the processing region R1 but also a part 19c of the peripheral edge of the transparent window 19 is reflected in the work image Pw (see also FIG. 18A). The wide area work image Pw generated by the wide area camera 6 is supplied to the control unit 101.

A specific method of using the laser processing system S will be described.
<How to use the laser processing system S>
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing how to use the laser processing system S. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for creating print settings. FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the laser processing apparatus L. FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the machining area R1 of the work W and the setting screen R4 of the display unit 801. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating the generation of the partial image Pp by the wide area work image Pw.

The laser processing system S including the laser processing apparatus L configured as a laser marker can be installed and operated on a production line of a factory, for example. In its operation, first, prior to the operation of the production line, the installation position of the work W that will flow through the line, and the condition setting (mark) such as the output of the laser light and the ranging light to irradiate the work W. C) is created (step S1). The print setting created in step S1 is transferred to and stored in the marker controller 100 and / or the operation terminal 800 or the like, or is read by the marker controller 100 immediately after creation (step S2).

Then, when the production line is operated, the marker controller 100 refers to the print settings that are stored in advance or read immediately after the creation. The laser processing apparatus L is operated based on the referenced print setting. Then, printing processing is executed for each work W flowing on the line (step S3).

(Creating print settings)
The laser machining system S including the operation terminal 800 includes a machining block setting unit for arranging and setting a print block including a print pattern to be machined on the surface of the work W. FIG. 15 illustrates the specific process of step S1 of FIG. First, in step S11, in step S11a, the wide area camera 6 generates a wide area work image Pw corresponding to the entire area of the imaging region R2 (see FIG. 18A). A part 19c of the edge of the transparent window 19 is reflected in the wide area work image Pw. Then, in step S11b in step S11, the control unit 101 generates a partial image Pp excluding a part 19c of the edge from the wide area work image Pw (see FIG. 18B). This partial image Pp is generated as an image obtained by capturing at least a part of the processed region R1. The partial image Pp generated by the control unit 101 is output to the operation terminal 800. Then, the display unit 801 of the operation terminal 800 displays the setting screen R4 corresponding to the processing area R1 and displays the partial image Pp on the setting screen R4 (see FIG. 18C). Thereby, the coordinates on the processing area R1, that is, the coordinates on the surface of the work W and the coordinates on the setting screen R4 can be associated with each other.

In the following step S12, the installation position of the work W is corrected based on the partial image Pp captured in step S11. Although details are omitted, this step corrects the inclination of the surface of the work W with respect to the XY plane (the plane formed by the X direction and the Y direction described above) and the Z axis of this surface (the Z direction described above). The rotation around the axis (θ rotation) extending along the axis is manually / automatically corrected. In the following step S13, the setting unit 107 sets the machining conditions. The setting unit 107 sets the processing conditions by reading the stored contents of the condition setting storage unit 102 and the like, and reading the operation input and the like via the operation terminal 800. The processing conditions include a print pattern (marking pattern) indicating the print content and the like, and a print block including the print pattern. The print block can be used for adjusting the layout, size, rotation posture, etc. of the print pattern.

In the example shown in FIG. 18C, a print pattern P composed of the character "A" and a rectangular print block B including the print pattern P are laid out on the surface of the work W, and the setting screen R4 is displayed. It is displayed through. The print block B is set on the setting screen R4 so as to overlap with the partial image Pp. The setting unit 107 executes the setting of the print block B.

The print pattern is an example of a "processed pattern", and the print block is an example of a "processed block". When it is applied to laser processing other than printing processing, the name corresponding to the application target may be used. Instead of the example shown in FIG. 18C, a plurality of work Ws may be displayed on the setting screen R4. Further, a plurality of print blocks may be provided for each work W. As the print pattern, for example, a character string such as "ABC" may be used, or a pattern other than the character string such as a QR code (registered trademark) may be used. As described above, the setting unit 107 exemplifies the "machining block setting unit" in that the print block as the machining block can be set on the setting screen R4.

The processing conditions also include laser conditions. These laser conditions include the target output (laser power) of the near-infrared processing laser beam, the repetition frequency of the processing laser beam, and the scanning speed (scan speed) of the near-infrared laser beam by the laser beam scanning unit 4. At least one of them is included. When laser oscillation is performed using a Q switch as in the laser processing device L, the repetition frequency substantially matches the Q switch frequency. In the following step S14, the coordinates (local coordinates) of the print block on the setting screen R4 for laying out the print block are stored in the condition setting storage unit 102 or the like.

In general, each of the conveyed workpieces W, which will be sequentially processed when the production line is operated, is usually displaced in the X direction and the Y direction (XY direction), respectively. The laser processing apparatus L can correct such a positional deviation by using various methods. Therefore, in step S15, the condition setting for correcting the positional deviation in the XY direction is performed. As a method for correcting the displacement in the XY direction, for example, a pattern search can be used. In that case, in this step S15, the model image for the pattern search is determined as the condition (search condition) related to the pattern search. Each work W conveyed one after another includes a positional deviation in the Z direction. Positional deviation in the Z direction is not desirable because it causes deviation of the focal position of the processing laser beam and deteriorates print quality. Since the laser processing device L includes the distance measuring unit 5, it is possible to detect the positional deviation in the Z direction based on the distance to the surface of the work W. As a result, it is possible to correct the displacement in the Z direction and, by extension, the displacement of the focal position. In step S16, conditions are set for correcting the positional deviation in the Z direction.

In step S16, the condition (distance measuring condition) related to the distance measuring unit 5 is determined. The setting unit 107 determines, as a distance measuring condition, a distance measuring point set in at least a partial area for generating a print pattern (a partial area corresponding to a print block including the print pattern) in the processing area R1. This AF point indicates the coordinates at which the distance from the laser machining apparatus L is measured.

The partial region referred to here may be the entire surface of the work W, may be a part of the surface of the work W, or may be deviated from the surface of the work W. The partial area may be at least an area associated with the print pattern to be generated. In the following step S17, the marker controller 100 completes the creation of the print setting.

(Execution of printing process)
Before executing the printing process, it is confirmed whether the printing settings are appropriate. This confirmation will be described later. The printing process is performed according to the following procedure. FIG. 16 illustrates the specific process of step S3 of FIG. That is, the processes shown in FIG. 16 are sequentially executed for each work W that flows when the production line is operated. First, in step S31, the marker controller 100 reads the print setting indicating the details of the print block and the like. Then, in step S32, in step S32a, the wide area camera 6 captures the imaging region R2 indicating at least a part of the processing region R1 to generate a wide area work image Pw corresponding to the imaging region R2 (FIG. 18). See (a)). A part 19c of the edge of the transparent window 19 is reflected in the wide area work image Pw. Then, in step S32b in step S32, the control unit 101 generates a partial image Pp obtained by removing a part 19c of the edge from the work image Pw (see FIG. 18B). The partial image Pp is generated as an image obtained by capturing at least a part of the processed region R1.

The partial image Pp generated by the control unit 101 is supplied to the operation terminal 800. Then, the display unit 801 of the operation terminal 800 displays the setting screen R4 corresponding to the processing area R1 and displays the partial image Pp on the setting screen R4 (see FIG. 18C). In the following step S33, the marker controller 100 reads the search condition set in step S15 of FIG. Subsequently, in step S34, the marker controller 100 performs a pattern search based on the search conditions read in step S33 to detect the positional deviation of the work W in the XY directions. In the following step S35, the marker controller 100 reads the ranging condition set in step S16 of FIG. Subsequently, in step S36, the distance measuring unit 103 of the marker controller 100 measures the distance to the distance measuring point set as the distance measuring condition, and detects the positional deviation of the work W in the Z direction based on the measurement result. do. In the following step S37, the marker controller 100 corrects the misalignment of the work W in the XY directions. Specifically, the setting unit 107 of the marker controller 100 determines the position of the print block on the setting screen R4 based on the partial image Pp on the setting screen R4, specifically, the coordinates of the print block on the setting screen R4 (local). Coordinates) is corrected. In the following step S38, the marker controller 100 corrects the misalignment of the work W in the Z direction. Specifically, the Z scanner 33 of the marker controller 100 adjusts the focal position for each print block based on the measurement result in step S36. In the following step S39, the marker controller 100 outputs an excitation laser beam to the marker head 1, and performs printing processing using the near-infrared laser beam generated based on the excitation laser beam.

(About the layout of the wide area camera 6)
As illustrated in FIG. 10, the wide area camera 6 as the wide area imaging unit is arranged in the housing 10 in a posture in which the imaging optical axis Ac and the processing reference plane Rb are orthogonal to each other. By arranging in this way, the work W can be imaged not from diagonally above but from directly above. As a result, the distortion of the work image Pw as the wide area captured image is eliminated. Further, since the coaxialization of the imaging optical axis Ac and the near-infrared laser beam for processing is not essential, it is possible to expand the imaging field of view Fv of the wide-area camera 6.

The wide area camera 6 images the work W through the transparent member 19b. In connection with this, there is a concern that the transparent member 19b may cause distortion of the wide area work image Pw. To deal with this, it is preferable to intentionally use a flat member having no lens effect or a low lens effect as the transparent member 19b. By using the transparent member 19b that has no lens effect or has a low lens effect, distortion of the work image Pw due to the transparent member 19b can be suppressed. As a result, the load on the control system including the control unit 101 can be suppressed.

The imaging optical axis Ac of the wide-area camera 6 is non-coaxial with the laser optical axis Az. By non-coaxial, not only can a general camera for visible light be adopted, but also the relationship between the size of the imaging field of view Fv and the configuration of the laser light scanning unit 4 can be eliminated. This means that it is advantageous in expanding the imaging field of view Fv. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 10, by configuring the imaging field of view Fv so that the laser light scanning unit 4 is not included, the presence of the laser light scanning unit 4 does not interfere with the generation of the work image Pw. ..

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 18, the usability of the laser processing apparatus L can be improved by displaying the partial image Pp excluding a part 19c of the edge from the wide area work image Pw on the setting screen R4. Further, as illustrated in step S37 of FIG. 16, the position of the print block can be adjusted based on the partial image Pp. This makes it possible to realize more precise laser machining.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 12, by arranging the wide area camera 6 closer to the second scanner 42 than the first scanner 41, the imaging field of view Fv of the wide area camera 6 and the laser beam for processing can be obtained. It is possible to suppress the deviation from the area actually irradiated. This is effective in setting the machining area R1 more appropriately.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 7 and the like, by arranging the first scanner 41, the second scanner 42, and the wide area camera 6 in this order along the direction orthogonal to the downstream optical path Pd, the Z scanner 33 can be used. The wide-area camera 6 and the second scanner 42 can be brought close to each other while the near-infrared laser light propagating to the laser light scanning unit 4 and the wide-area camera 6 are separated as much as possible. This makes it possible to suppress the deviation between the imaging field of view Fv of the wide-area camera 6 and the region actually irradiated with the processing laser beam, and to more appropriately set the processing region R1 and the like.

(Modification example of marker head 1)
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a modified example of the marker head 1, and is a diagram corresponding to FIG. Hereinafter, a modification of the marker head 1 is designated by a reference numeral "1'", which is simply referred to as "marker head 1'". With reference to FIG. 19, the transparent member 19b of the marker head 1'is made of a flat member having no lens effect or a low lens effect. The wide-area camera 6 shown in FIG. 19 is arranged in the housing 10 in a posture in which the imaging optical axis Ac and the processing reference plane Rb are orthogonal to each other. It is provided at a position where the optical scanning unit 4 (particularly the second scanner 42) is included. Therefore, the laser light scanning unit 4 (particularly the second scanner 42) is reflected in the work image Pw generated by the wide area camera 6.

The marker head 1'can execute processing suitable for such a layout. The display unit 801 generates a partial image Pp excluding the laser light scanning unit 4 from the wide area work image Pw, and displays this on the setting screen R4. Then, the setting unit 107 can correct the position of the print block on the setting screen R4 based on the partial image Pp.

By generating the partial image Pp excluding the laser light scanning unit 4 in this way, the usability of the laser processing apparatus L can be improved. Further, by adjusting the position of the print block based on the partial image Pp, more precise laser processing can be realized.

In the laser processing apparatus L, the guide light source 36 (FIG. 3A) is used to indicate the irradiation position of the processing laser light with visible light as described above. As a result, the user can visually confirm the processing pattern by the processing laser beam. The focus of the guide light is the same as that of the processing laser light. The position and posture of the work W flowing one after another are deviated. For example, when the height of the surface of the work W is deviated, the thickness of the guide light projected on the surface of the work W changes or becomes blurred due to the mismatch between the processed surface of the work W and the focal point of the guide light. .. This guide light is visible light. On the other hand, as described above, the wide-area camera 6 has an imaging optical axis Ac that is not coaxial with the optical axis of the near-infrared processing laser beam, and a general camera that targets visible light can be adopted. Then, the guide light projection locus can be photographed by using the wide area camera 6.

In the laser processing apparatus L of the embodiment, a GUI editing and GUI control program is incorporated in the operation terminal (PC) 800, and the wide area camera 6 that captures the guide light by using the combination of the wide area camera 6 and the guide light. The captured image of the above can be displayed on the display unit 801 (FIG. 1) of the operation terminal 800 (PC). The user can confirm and judge whether or not the print setting is appropriate by looking at the image of the display unit 801 without looking at the work W. The laser processing apparatus L has already stored the print setting information set by the user. The operation terminal 800 (PC) can also display a substantial difference value by comparing the print setting and the captured image by internal processing.

The display mode of the GUI displayed on the display unit 801 may be designed to enhance convenience for user confirmation. A specific example is as follows.
(1) A mode for displaying the guide light projection locus taken by the wide area camera 6.
(2) A mode in which the set print pattern and the guide light projection locus are superimposed and displayed.
(3) A mode in which the print pattern set at a predetermined position of the work W and the work W including the outer contour of the entire circumference and including the guide light projection locus are superimposed and displayed.
(4) A mode in which the set print pattern, at least a part of the print block surrounding the set print pattern, and the guide light projection locus are displayed at the same time.
(5) A mode in which at least a part of the print block and the guide light projection locus are displayed at the same time.

The following is an example of the advantage of being able to confirm whether or not the print setting is appropriate only with the image of the display unit 801 compared to the conventional confirmation method, that is, comparing the guide light projected on the work W with the setting screen. It is a street.
(I) Confirmation work can be performed at a place away from the work W.
(Ii) Even if the work W is incorporated in the housing, for example, the confirmation work can be performed.
(Iii) By superimposing and displaying the set print pattern and the guide light projection locus, the relationship between the print setting and the actual print position, for example, the deviation of the print position can be immediately grasped.

(Iv) By saving the image, you can leave evidence that the settings were correct.
(V) Since the wide area camera 6 can capture the print area, that is, the processing area R1 (FIG. 10), in the case of a relatively small work W, the entire work W including the outer contour and the guide light projection locus is copied to the captured image. By inserting it, the position and state of each print block can be confirmed at once by taking a bird's-eye view of the entire work W and the print area R1. For example, when there is a height difference on the surface of the work W, there is a great advantage that this bird's-eye view can be confirmed.
(Vi) You can check the detailed part by enlarging the image.
(Vii) Since the print setting work and the subsequent confirmation work can be continuously performed using the display screen of the display unit 801 of the same PC, the work W and the display screen on the PC are alternately alternated as in the conventional case. Compared to comparing and confirming, it is possible to improve the efficiency of a series of operations from printing setting to confirmation of suitability and printing execution.

The print setting and the subsequent confirmation procedure will be described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. Steps S40 to S44 show each work process related to the print setting. Since steps S40 to S44 are substantially the same as steps S13 to S17 of FIG. 15 described above, detailed description thereof will be omitted. The order of steps S41 to S43 is arbitrary. When the creation of the print setting is completed in step S44, the process proceeds to step S45, and the confirmation work by the user is performed using the display unit 801 of the terminal (PC) 800.

FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining an example of a display image of the display unit 801. FIG. 21 (I) shows a print pattern 80 created and set by the user on the display unit 801. In the illustrated example, a print pattern 80 composed of four characters of "ABCD" is set. FIG. 21 (II) shows an image in which the guide light source 36 is controlled based on the print conditions including the print pattern 80 set by the user to project the guide light onto the work W, and the locus 82 is captured by the wide area camera 6. A display example in which the print pattern and the print pattern set by the user are superimposed and displayed is shown, and the guide light projection locus is indicated by reference numeral 82. Looking at FIG. 21 (II), it can be immediately seen that the guide light projection locus 82 is offset from the set print pattern 80. The cause is that the height position of the surface of the work W is deviated. In such a case, the process proceeds to step S47 (FIG. 20), the process returns to the print setting edit mode, and the setting is corrected.

FIG. 21 (III) shows a guide light projection locus 82 based on the corrected print setting. Looking at the display image shown in FIG. 21 (III), it can be seen that the projection locus 82 matches the set print pattern 80. In this case, since it means that the settings have been made properly, the process proceeds to step S48 (FIG. 20) to save the corrected settings, and the print mode (print mode (based on the corrected settings)). Shift to FIG. 16).

The facial expression of the guide light projection locus 82 changes, for example, depending on the shutter timing of the wide-area camera 6, the position shift of the work W, the inclination of the work W, and the like. From this, the judgment of the suitability of the setting depends on the experience value of the user. FIG. 22 schematically shows a print pattern 80 set by the user. The print pattern 80 is "ABCD" as described above. Reference numeral 84 indicates a print block which is a frame surrounding the print pattern 80. Whether or not to display the print block 84 depends on the user's choice.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a display mode in which the guide light projection locus 82 captured by the wide area camera 6 is displayed on the display unit 801. Although not shown, it should be understood that the print pattern 80 set by the user is displayed on the display unit 801 at the same time. The user can perform the following evaluation by looking at the display of the display unit 801. First, the set print pattern 80 and the guide light projection locus 82 completely match in size and position. Second, all four characters included in the print pattern 80 are not distorted. Therefore, it can be determined that the print setting is appropriate.

As seen in FIG. 23, the check box 88 may be displayed on the display unit 801 and the check box 88 may be used to select the display mode including the print block 84 (FIG. 22).

FIG. 24 shows a display mode in which the print pattern 80 set by the user and the guide light projection locus 82 imaged by the wide area camera 6 are superimposed and displayed on the display unit 801. The following evaluation is possible for this display image. First, the set print pattern 80 and the guide light projection locus 82 completely match in size and position. Second, the two characters "A" and "B" in the print pattern 80 of "ABCD" appear to be slightly thicker than the next "CD". Regarding this second point, depending on the printing position, the guide light may be strongly scattered even if the printing is the same. Since it can be determined that this display example corresponds to this, it can be determined that the print setting is appropriate.

FIG. 25 shows a display mode in which the guide light projection locus 82 captured by the wide area camera 6 is displayed on the display unit 801. It should be understood that the print pattern 80 set by the user is displayed on the display unit 801 at the same time. The following evaluation is possible for this display. First, all the characters of "ABCD" included in the guide light projection locus 82 of "ABCD" are blurred. Second, the guide light projection locus 82 "ABCD" is smaller than the set print pattern 80. When the surface of the work W is higher than the set position, since the work W is above the working distance, the focus of the guide light becomes out of focus and the guide light projection locus 82 “ABCD” is reduced. Since it can be determined that this display example corresponds to this, it can be determined that the print setting is inappropriate.

FIG. 26 shows a display mode in which the print pattern 80 set by the user and the guide light projection locus 82 imaged by the wide area camera 6 are superimposed and displayed on the display unit 801. The following evaluation is possible for this display. First, all the characters of "ABCD" included in the guide light projection locus 82 of "ABCD" are blurred. Second, the guide light projection locus 82 "ABCD" is smaller than the set print pattern 80. Third, the print position is displaced. This display example can be said to be a typical example when the surface of the work W is at a position higher than the set position. That is, this is an example in which the height of the work W is not set correctly in the print setting. Of course, it can be determined that this print setting is inappropriate.

FIG. 27 schematically shows a display mode in which a captured image of the work W including the outer contour of the entire circumference captured by the wide area camera 6 and including the guide light projection locus 82 is displayed on the display unit 801. In this display image, the upper and lower horizontal frame lines 84 (1) and 84 (2) of the print block 84 set by the user are displayed in a manner emphasized by thick lines. This display mode can be displayed by the user's selection. Of course, it is preferable that the thickness and display color of the horizontal frame lines 84 (1) and 84 (2) can also be selected by the user. The following evaluation is possible for the display image of FIG. 27. First, looking at the overall outline of the work W, the work W, which should be originally rectangular, is smaller on the left side in the figure. Second, the right side portion of the guide light projection locus 82 of the "ABCD" is separated from the upper horizontal frame line 84 (1). Third, the left side portion of the guide light projection locus 82 of the "ABCD" is separated from the lower horizontal frame line 84 (2). This display example is a typical example when the work W is tilted in the left-right direction in the drawing, the left side is low, and the right side is high, and it can be determined that the print setting is inappropriate.

In FIG. 28, contrary to the display example of FIG. 27, first, when the overall outline of the work W is viewed, the work W, which should be originally rectangular, is smaller on the right side in the drawing. Second, the left side portion of the guide light projection locus 82 of the "ABCD" is separated from the upper horizontal frame line 84 (1). Thirdly, the right side portion of the guide light projection locus 82 of the "ABCD" is separated from the lower horizontal frame line 84 (2). This display example is a typical example when the work W is tilted in the left-right direction in the drawing, the right side is low, and the left side is high, and it can be determined that the print setting is inappropriate.

FIG. 29 shows (i) an captured image including the outer contour of the entire circumference captured by the wide area camera 6 and including a guide light projection locus 82, and (ii) upper and lower horizontal borders 84 (1), 84 (2), (i). iii) The display mode in which the setting print pattern 80 is superimposed and displayed is shown. Similar to the description with reference to FIG. 27, the display example is a typical example when the work W is tilted in the left-right direction in the drawing, the left side is low, and the right side is high. Further, by superimposing and displaying the set print pattern 80, the user can clearly recognize the difference such as the difference in position and the difference in size of the guide light projection locus 82.

23 to 29 show captured images including various display modes and facial expressions of the guide light projection locus 82. It goes without saying that this is just an example. The user needs experience to accurately judge the suitability of the setting from the captured image. For this reason, it is preferable to incorporate the function of artificial intelligence into the laser processing apparatus L. By learning from the laser processing device L, the laser processing device L can make a judgment without leaving the judgment of the appropriateness of the setting to the user.

L Laser processing device 2 Laser light output unit 4 Laser light scanning unit 6 Wide area camera 10 Housing 19 Transmission window 800 Operation terminal (PC)
801 Display unit of operation terminal 31 Upstream side merging mechanism 36 Guide light source 80 Print pattern 82 Guide light projection locus 84 Print block W Work piece (workpiece)
Ac imaging optical axis

Claims (7)

An excitation light generator that generates excitation light,
A laser light output unit that generates and outputs laser light based on the excitation light generated by the excitation light generation unit, and a laser light output unit.
A laser beam scanning unit that two-dimensionally scans the laser beam output from the laser beam output unit on the surface of the workpiece, and a laser beam scanning unit.
At least a housing containing the laser beam output unit and the laser beam scanning unit,
A display unit that displays a processing setting surface associated with a processing area that is two-dimensionally scanned by the laser beam output unit, and a display unit.
On the processing setting surface displayed on the display unit, a processing block setting unit that arranges and sets a processing block including a processing pattern to be processed on the surface of the workpiece, and a processing block setting unit.
A guide light emitting unit provided inside the housing and emitting a guide light for projecting the processing pattern included in the processing block set by the processing block setting unit, and a guide light emitting unit.
Inside the housing, a guide light merging mechanism that merges the guide light emitted from the guide light emitting unit into the optical path of the laser light in the middle of the laser light emitted from the laser light output unit.
It is provided with the guide light merging mechanism and an imaging unit that captures the processing region including the processing pattern projected onto the workpiece via the laser light scanning unit and generates a processing pattern projection image.
A laser processing apparatus characterized in that the processing pattern projection image generated by the imaging unit is displayed on the display unit. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing pattern set by the processing block setting unit and the processing pattern projection image are simultaneously displayed on the display unit. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the processing pattern set by the processing block setting unit and the processing pattern projection image are superimposed and displayed on the display unit. The laser machining apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a first display mode for displaying the machining pattern and a second display mode for displaying the machining block together with the machining pattern can be selected. The laser processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the imaging optical axis of the imaging unit is non-coaxial with the optical axis of the laser light emitted from the laser light scanning unit. The laser according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the imaging unit is positioned so that its imaging optical axis is orthogonal to the processing plane scanned in two dimensions by the laser light scanning unit. Processing equipment. The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the housing has a transmission window, and the laser light output from the laser light output unit and the imaging light axis of the imaging unit pass through the transmission window. Laser processing equipment.

Images