JP2767336B2 - Cooling device for laser oscillator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for cooling a laser oscillator with cooling water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a solid-state laser oscillator such as a YAG laser, the oscillation efficiency is increased and the oscillation operation is stabilized.
The laser rod and the excitation lamp are forcibly cooled with cooling water. Normally, a laser rod and an excitation lamp are respectively placed in glass tubes, and cooling water is caused to flow through the glass tubes. Since the cooling water passes through the electrode of the excitation lamp, if the electric conductivity of the water is high, there is a possibility that discharge, electrolysis, plating phenomenon or the like may occur. Therefore,
Pure water is used for the cooling water, and the pure water level is always maintained.

FIG. 5 shows the overall structure of a conventional cooling device for a solid-state laser oscillator. In this cooling device, cooling water is supplied to the tank 100, the filter 104, the laser
6. It circulates between the heat exchanger 108 and the ion exchange resin body 110. In the laser oscillator 106,
Cooling water flows in a glass tube containing a laser rod and an excitation lamp, and in a predetermined water passage provided in the oscillator block.

[0004] The cooling water discharged from the laser oscillator 106 is cooled in a heat exchanger 108 and then collected in a tank 100. Of the cooling water pumped from the tank 100 by the pump 102, most is supplied to the laser oscillator 106 via the filter 104, but a part is sent to the ion exchange resin body 110, where ions are removed. After the purity is raised, the tank returns to the tank 100. The reason why the ion exchange resin body 110 is connected in parallel to the laser oscillator 106 and only a part of the cooling water pumped by the pump 102 is sent to the ion exchange resin body 110 is that the ion exchange resin body 110 is a cartridge. This is because the maximum flow rate is limited because of the type.

[0005] Flow control valves 112 and 114 are connected in parallel and in series with the ion exchange resin body 110. Further, between the pump 102 and the laser oscillator 106, a temperature sensor 116 for detecting the temperature, pressure, and electric conductivity of the cooling water before being supplied to the laser oscillator 106,
A pressure sensor 118 and a conductivity sensor 120 are provided. In addition, 122 is a pump drive motor, 124 is a flow switch, 126 is a tank drain, and 128 is a solenoid valve.

[0006]

In the conventional cooling device for a laser oscillator as described above, the laser oscillator 106
Tank 100, which is indispensable for supplying cooling water to
Pump 102 and motor 122, and heat exchanger 10
Even if it is unavoidable, the filter 104 and the ion-exchange resin body 110 additionally provided to maintain the purity of the cooling water take a relatively large volume and space, and the entire apparatus becomes large. Further, the piping and joints are complicated due to the filter 104 and the ion exchange resin body 110, which increases the cost and increases the number of connection points, thereby causing water leakage.

Also, since the ion exchange resin body 110 is of a cartridge type and the maximum flow rate is limited, the pump 1
A part of the cooling water sent from 06 is diverted and supplied to the ion exchange resin body 110, and the ion exchange is performed little by little. Therefore, the ion exchange efficiency is low. Therefore, in order to increase the ion exchange efficiency, a plurality of ion exchange resin bodies are connected in parallel, but more ion exchange resin bodies and pipes and joints are used, resulting in cost and water consumption. There was a problem that the problem of leakage became more prominent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has a laser oscillator cooling device which realizes cost reduction and improved reliability by reducing the size of the device and greatly reducing piping and joints. The purpose is to provide.

[0009]

To achieve the above object, a laser oscillator cooling device according to the present invention cools the laser oscillator by circulating cooling water between an ion exchanger, a filter and the laser oscillator. In the laser oscillator cooling device described above, the ion exchanger and the filter are built in a tank for storing cooling water to be supplied to the laser oscillator.

The tank is made of a transparent material so that the water level in the tank and the state of the ion exchanger can be visually detected from the outside.

[0011]

The cooling water returned to the tank enters the ion exchanger directly from the inlet of the tank, where unnecessary ions are removed to restore the purity. The cooling water discharged from the ion exchanger temporarily stays in the tank and then enters the filter directly, that is, without passing through piping, etc., and is filtered there, and is then pumped out through the filter outlet, that is, the tank outlet. Are supplied to the laser oscillator.

In the present invention, the tank functions as a common housing for the ion exchanger and the filter, the inlet of the tank functions as the inlet of the ion exchanger, and the outlet of the tank functions as the outlet of the filter. This eliminates the need for a housing for the ion exchanger and the filter, installation space, piping and joints.

Further, by forming the tank with a transparent body, the water level in the tank and the degree of discoloration or deterioration of the ion exchanger can be visually detected from the outside. There is no need to watch the situation.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a laser oscillator cooling device according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this cooling device, in a tank 10 for storing cooling water to be supplied to a laser oscillator 20, an ion exchange resin body 12 and a filter 14 are arranged in a state submerged in the cooling water. The inlet 12a of the ion exchange resin body 12 is
The outlet 14b of the filter 14 is connected to the outlet 16b of the pump 16 as the outlet 10b of the tank 10 as a.

The cooling water flowing out of the outlet 16b of the pump 16 has a water temperature of, for example, 28 ° C. to 30 ° C.
It is supplied to the laser oscillator 20 via the variable flow control valve 18. In the laser oscillator 20, the cooling water flows in a glass tube containing a laser rod and an excitation lamp, respectively, and in a predetermined water passage provided in the oscillator block.

The cooling water that has flowed out of the laser oscillator 20 has risen, for example, by several degrees Celsius, and has a secondary inlet 2 of the heat exchanger 22.
2a. The cooling water entering the heat exchanger 22 is deprived of heat there by heat exchange with the primary-side cooling water, and is cooled to, for example, 25 ° C. The cooling water flowing out of the secondary outlet 22b of the heat exchanger 22 is sent to the inlet 10a of the tank 10, that is, the inlet 12a of the ion exchange resin body 12.

The cooling water entering the ion exchange resin body 12 is
Then, unnecessary ions are removed by ion exchange resin,
Restore pure water. The cooling water discharged from the ion-exchange resin body 12 is removed (filtered) through the filter 14 in the tank 10 and then pumped out to the pump 16 side, and is again supplied to the laser oscillator 20. I have.

Between the pump 16 and the laser oscillator 20, the temperature of the cooling water before being supplied to the laser oscillator 20,
A temperature sensor 24, a pressure sensor 26, and a conductivity sensor 28 for detecting pressure and electrical conductivity, respectively, are provided. In addition, 30 is a motor for driving the pump 16, and 32 is primary cooling water (city water) for the heat exchanger 22.
An electromagnetic valve for controlling the supply of water, a flow switch 34 for detecting a flow rate, and a drain 36 for discharging cooling water from the tank 10.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a main part of the cooling device. The tank 10, the pump 16, and the motor 30 are installed on a substrate 40 fixed to the bottom of the device.

The tank 10 is made of a transparent resin, and the inside water level and the state of the ion exchange resin body 12, the filter 14, and the like can be visually observed from the outside.

The upper surface of the ion-exchange resin body 12 is open, so that cooling water having a pure water level has flowed out from inside. In the ion exchange resin body 12, an ion exchange resin 12c is packed in a cloth bag made of permeable, for example, mesh nylon, so that the resin does not jump out. As described above, since the ion exchange resin body 12 in the present cooling device is not a cartridge type using a dedicated housing as in the related art, but uses the tank 10 having a much larger capacity than the dedicated housing as a housing, the laser oscillator 20 is used. The ion exchange can be performed efficiently at the same flow rate as the flow rate flowing through the flow passage.

The filter 14 exposes a cylindrical filtering material, for example, polypropylene / cotton 14c, without putting it in a casing. The cooling water that has flowed out of the ion exchange resin body 12 and stayed in the tank 10 penetrates from the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical filter material 14c into the inside water supply (center groove) inside the inner peripheral surface, and this water supply Exit 14 from
It comes out to the b side. As described above, unlike the conventional cartridge type, the filter 14 in the present cooling device does not use a dedicated housing, and is therefore inexpensive. It should be noted that in FIG.
J5 is a pipe, which is simply indicated by a chain line.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are a sectional view and a top view, respectively, showing the structure inside the tank 10 more specifically. A perforated plate 42 is arranged near the upper surface opening of the ion exchange resin body 12, and the ion exchange resin 12 is removed from the ion exchange resin body 12.
Even when the mesh bag containing c is to fly out, the mesh plate 42 is stopped. An arbitrary holding structure other than the perforated plate structure is possible. At the bottom of the tank 10, a heater 46 for keeping the cooling water in the tank at an appropriate temperature, for example, 30 ° C., and a thermometer 48 for measuring the temperature of the cooling water in the tank are provided.

As described above, in the cooling device according to the present embodiment, unnecessary ions and organic substances are respectively removed from the cooling water supplied to the laser oscillator 20 to reduce the purity of the cooling water (the degree of insulation) and the cleanliness. An ion exchange resin body 12 and a filter 14 for maintenance are housed together in a cooling water tank 10, and the tank 10 is used as a housing for the ion exchange resin body 12 and the filter 14, respectively.
a was used as the inlet of the ion exchange resin body 12, and the outlet 10b of the tank 10 was used as the outlet 14b of the filter 14.

As described above, since the ion exchange resin body 12 and the filter 14 are built in the tank 10, a special installation space for the ion exchange resin body 12 and the filter 14 is not required, and the entire apparatus can be greatly reduced. It is possible to reduce the size.

The tank 10 is made of an ion-exchange resin body 12.
By functioning as a housing for each of the filters 14 and 14, a dedicated housing for the ion-exchange resin body 12 and the filter 14 is not required, and the cost is reduced accordingly. Further, the ion-exchange resin body 12 is housed in the dedicated housing. It is possible to flow the cooling water at a flow rate larger than that required, and the ion exchange capacity is improved.

In the tank 10, the ion-exchange resin
The cooling water flowing out of the filter 2 goes through the filter 1 without passing through piping.
4, the piping on the outlet side of the ion exchange resin body 12
There is no need for any fittings or piping and fittings on the inlet side of the filter 14, and the inlet 12a of the ion exchange resin body 12
And the outlet 14b of the filter 14 is the inlet 1 of the tank 10.
Since it functions as 0a and the outlet 10b, piping and fittings are halved in this case. As described above, the cost is significantly reduced by drastically reducing the number of pipes and joints, and the possibility of water leakage is eliminated, thereby improving reliability.

Further, since the tank 10 is made of a transparent resin, the water level in the tank and the degree of discoloration or deterioration of the ion exchange resin can be visually detected from the outside, and the tank lid 44 does not have to be opened frequently. .

In the above-described embodiment, an ion exchange resin is used as the ion exchanger. However, another ion exchange material such as an ion exchange membrane or an ion exchange cellulose may be used. . Although the above-described embodiment relates to a cooling device for a solid-state laser oscillator, the present invention is also applicable to cooling devices for other types of laser oscillators.

[0030]

As described above, according to the cooling device for a laser oscillator of the present invention, the ion exchanger and the filter are built in the tank for storing the cooling water to be supplied to the laser oscillator. Function as a common housing for the ion exchanger and the filter, the inlet of the tank functions as the inlet of the ion exchanger, and the outlet of the tank functions as the outlet of the filter. In addition, the need for piping and joints is eliminated, and miniaturization of the apparatus, cost reduction, and improvement in reliability can be realized at the same time. Also,
By configuring the tank with a transparent body, it is possible to visually detect the water level in the tank and the degree of discoloration, that is, the degree of deterioration of the ion exchanger, and to reduce the labor of monitoring by maintenance personnel.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a cooling device for a solid-state laser oscillator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a main part of the cooling device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view specifically showing a structure inside a tank in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a top view specifically showing a structure inside a tank in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a conventional cooling device for a laser oscillator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Tank 12 Ion exchange resin body 14 Filter 20 Laser oscillator 22 Heat exchanger

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A laser oscillator cooling device in which cooling water is circulated between an ion exchanger, a filter, and a laser oscillator to cool the laser oscillator, wherein cooling water to be supplied to the laser oscillator is stored. A cooling device for a laser oscillator, wherein the ion exchanger and the filter are built in a tank. 2. The laser oscillator cooling device according to claim 1, wherein said tank is made of a transparent material.