JP2604020B2 - Laser diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a laser diagnostic apparatus applied to a plant or the like using a plurality of laser apparatuses, and particularly to a short diagnostic for performance confirmation after maintenance. The present invention relates to a laser diagnostic apparatus that can perform efficiently in a short time.

(Prior Art) Laser devices are used in a wide range of fields such as material cutting, optical communication, medical technology, and the nuclear power industry. In the nuclear industry in particular, the core of the uranium isotope enrichment technology by a laser method that selectively excites and separates a specific isotope from a plurality of uranium isotope mixtures.

As a metal vapor laser device used for enrichment of uranium isotopes, a copper vapor laser device capable of obtaining a laser with high efficiency and the highest output is generally adopted.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the structure of this type of metal vapor laser device. A furnace tube 2 as a heat-resistant discharge tube is housed in the center of the laser tube body 1. This core tube 2
A positive electrode 3 and a negative electrode 4 are disposed opposite to each other at both ends, and these electrodes 3 and 4 are connected to electrode support flanges 5 and 6 respectively.
And a discharge space 7 formed between the electrodes.
, A pulse bipolar discharge is performed. A metal vapor source 8 that generates metal vapor, such as copper particles, for example, is arranged on the inner bottom of the furnace tube 2.

A heat insulating layer 9 made of a material such as alumina fiber is formed on the outer periphery of the furnace tube 2. A protective tube 10 made of quartz or the like is used to fix and protect the heat insulating layer 9 at a predetermined position. Is provided on the outer periphery. A vacuum insulation chamber 12 is provided between the protection tube 10 and an external vacuum container 11 disposed outside the protection tube 10.
Is formed. The vacuum insulation chamber 12 and the discharge space 7 in the furnace tube 2 are connected to an exhaust device 13 so that the inside is maintained in a vacuum state.

In order to insulate the positive electrode 3 and the negative electrode 4 and obtain a good discharge, a break tube 14 made of an insulating material such as ceramic or glass is provided between the external vacuum vessel 11 and the electrode support flange 6. It is interposed.

When oscillating laser light, first, the exhaust device 13 is operated to exhaust the inside of the vacuum adiabatic chamber 12 and the discharge space 7, and then a buffer gas such as Ne is introduced into the discharge space 7 from the buffer gas supply source 15. And maintain the inside at a constant pressure.

When the high voltage power supply 16, the pulse circuit 17, and the pulse drive power supply 18 are activated in this state, a pulsed high voltage is applied between the positive electrode 3 and the negative electrode 4, and discharge plasma is generated in the discharge space 7. The floating metal vapor collides with free electrons in the discharge plasma to excite the metal vapor, and a laser beam of a predetermined wavelength is generated when the excited metal vapor transitions to a low energy order. The laser light generated in the discharge space 7 passes through Brewster windows 19 and 20, and further forms an output mirror 22 and a total reflection mirror 23 constituting a laser light resonator 21.
The amplitude increases while the light is reflected by the mirror, and oscillates from the output mirror 22.

By the way, the above-mentioned metal vapor laser device is, for example, a fourth type.
As shown in the figure, the laser tube main body 1, the high-voltage power supply 16, the pulse circuit 17 and the high-voltage power supply 16 are assembled on a base 25 as a single laser unit 24. In a large plant or the like, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of laser single units 24 are continuously used via an optical system 26 to obtain a large output of 100 W or the like.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the above-described metal vapor laser device, after a certain period of use, replenishment of the metal vapor source 8, heat insulating material 9, furnace tube 2, Brewster windows 19 and 20, or elements in the pulse circuit 17 Maintenance, such as replacement of the battery, is performed. In this case, conventionally, each laser unit 24 is fixedly installed in the arrangement shown in FIG. Therefore, at the time of maintenance, it is necessary to temporarily stop the entire system, perform disassembly and replacement work on the spot, and then check the necessary instruments to confirm that there is no obstacle to re-operation. Therefore, there is a problem that the entire system must be stopped to repair a part of the failure.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a laser capable of automating a work flow until performance confirmation after maintenance, shortening time, and effectively simplifying management and operation of equipment. It is an object to provide a diagnostic device.

[Configuration of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) A laser diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention includes: a laser device cartridge integrally including a laser tube main body, a pulse drive power supply, and a pulse circuit; and a mount for detachably holding the laser device cartridge. A measuring head provided on the mount for taking in diagnostic data from the laser device cartridge, a diagnostic unit for performing various functional diagnoses of the laser device cartridge based on the diagnostic data taken in by the measuring head, A control unit for automatically and continuously performing the diagnosis by the diagnosis unit is provided.

(Operation) Since maintenance of the laser device involves an operation of disassembling the laser device, air is mixed into the furnace tube, which has an adverse effect on the discharge operation upon restarting after maintenance. For this reason, as a startup operation method at the time of restart, it is different from the normal mode, the discharge is temporarily stopped, and an operation method such as degassing by temporarily exhausting all the discharge buffer gas is required. I can't get it.

According to the present invention, the diagnosis operation is performed in a sequence by the control unit while using the laser device cartridge, thereby making it possible to perform diagnosis very accurately and in a minimum time. In addition, by diagnosing whether the internal device of the laser device that has started up to the normal mode is functioning normally, and checking the faulty points and the like with a predetermined diagnostic program, the reliability of the diagnosis is increased, and the possibility of an artificial diagnosis error is increased. The re-failure can be prevented.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG.

In this embodiment, a laser device cartridge 31 is provided. The laser device cartridge 31 includes a laser tube main body 31a.
In addition, a pulse drive power supply and a pulse circuit are integrally included, and are detachable from a laser device (not shown). The diagnostic device section includes a gantry 32 that detachably holds the laser device cartridge 31, a measurement head 32a provided on the gantry 32, and that captures diagnostic data from the laser device cartridge 31, and a diagnostic head 32a that is fetched by the measurement head 32a. Laser device cartridge based on diagnostic data
A diagnostic unit 33 for performing various functional diagnoses 31 and a control unit 34 for automatically and continuously performing diagnostics by the diagnostic unit 33 are provided.

The diagnostic data captured by the measurement head 32a is, for example, a voltage, a current, a gas pressure, a laser output, and the like used during operation of the laser device.

The diagnostic unit 33 includes a power supply 35, a leak detector 36, a vacuum gas controller 37, a cooler 38, and the like in order to put the laser device cartridge 31 into a simulated operation state. Photo isolator, A / D converter 39 for conversion to digital signal,
The configuration includes a measuring instrument 40 for measuring laser output and the like, a diagnostic computer 41 for performing function diagnosis based on the measured values, an interface, and the like.

Further, the control unit 34 includes an automatic operation computer 42 for performing the start-up operation of the laser device cartridge 31.

The diagnostic unit 33 and the control unit 34 are connected to a large-sized computer 43 so that a backup of the diagnostic analysis can be performed.
45, which enables data output.

 Next, the operation will be described.

First, the laser device cartridge 31 is taken out of the line of the laser system as shown in FIG. 5, transported by a trailer or the like, and mounted on the gantry 32. Then, a data signal is transmitted from the measuring head 32a to the measuring device 40 in the diagnostic unit 33, and further converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 39 and transmitted to the diagnostic computer 41. The diagnostic operation starts with a leak check by the leak detector 36, and causes the diagnostic computer 41 in the diagnostic unit 33 to diagnose the soundness of the device when the laser output is actually rated.

If it is necessary to find a defect from the obtained data, a detailed analysis is performed by the large-sized computer 43, and the storage of the data is accumulated and managed by the magnetic disk device 44, the printer 45 and the like.

According to the above-described embodiment, in a laser amplification system or a plant including a plurality of laser devices, at the time of maintenance or troubleshooting, by automating test operation and performing performance confirmation by a diagnostic computer, A great effect is achieved in reducing labor and time, and it is also possible to effectively prevent re-failure due to a human error, thereby increasing the operating rates of systems and plants and contributing to simplified management and operation.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, effects such as automation of a work flow until performance confirmation after maintenance of a laser device, reduction of time, and simplification of device management and operation can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of a laser device, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a main part of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a laser amplification system. 31 ... Laser unit cartridge, 32 ... Stand, 32a ...
Measuring head, 33 ... Diagnosis unit, 34 ... Control unit.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A laser device cartridge integrally including a laser tube main body, a pulse drive power supply, and a pulse circuit;
A pedestal for detachably holding the laser device cartridge, a measuring head provided on the pedestal for taking diagnostic data from the laser device cartridge, and a laser device based on the diagnostic data taken by the measuring head A laser diagnostic apparatus comprising: a diagnostic unit for performing various functions of a cartridge; and a control unit for automatically and continuously performing a diagnosis by the diagnostic unit.