JP5742580B2 - Laser processing head - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser processing head capable of performing laser cutting and laser welding, and more particularly, refracts the optical axis of a laser beam in order to expand the beam width of the laser beam when performing laser welding. The present invention relates to a laser processing head provided with an inclined glass for eccentricity so as to be rotatable.

  When laser welding is performed using a laser processing head that can perform laser cutting, the tilted glass is rotated to refract the optical axis of the laser beam to expand the beam width of the laser beam applied to the workpiece. It is provided freely and this inclined glass is rotated (for example, refer patent document 1).

JP 2002-137083 A

  The laser processing head described in Patent Document 1 has the configuration shown in FIG. That is, the laser processing head 1 is attached to the tip of a robot arm 3 in an industrial robot (not shown) via a bracket 5 having an appropriate configuration. The laser processing head 1 includes a cylindrical processing head main body 7 attached to the bracket 5. An optical fiber 9 having one end connected to a laser oscillator (not shown) is connected to the upper portion of the processing head main body 7. An optical fiber holder 11 holding the other end is attached.

  The processing head body 7 is provided with a collimating lens 13 for converting the laser beam LB emitted from the other end side (emission end) of the optical fiber 7 into a parallel beam. A condensing lens 15 that condenses the laser beam LB and irradiates the workpiece W is provided at a position below the collimating lens 13, and a laser nozzle 17 that ejects assist gas to the laser processing position of the workpiece. It has been.

  Between the exit end of the optical fiber 9 and the collimating lens 13, a cylindrical glass holder 21 having an inclined glass 19 inclined with respect to the optical axis LA of the laser beam LB is rotatable in the gear holder case 23. In addition, it is provided in an arc-shaped long hole 23H (see FIG. 4) formed in the gear holder case 23 so as to be reciprocally movable. The inclined glass 19 functions to refract and decenter the optical axis LA of the laser beam LB. Accordingly, by rotating the glass holder 21, the optical axis (optical path) LA of the laser beam LB can be eccentrically rotated, and the beam width when performing laser welding can be expanded.

  In order to rotate the glass holder 21, a gear 21G is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the glass holder 21, and a driving gear 27 rotated by a motor 25 attached to the gear holder case 23 is provided on the gear 21G. Meshed. That is, the glass holder 21 and the motor 25 are always linked and connected. The glass holder 21 is provided so as to freely enter and exit the optical path of the laser beam LB, that is, the optical axis LA, by reciprocating in the long hole 23H (see FIG. 4).

  In order to reciprocate the glass holder 21 in the long hole 23H, the gear holder case 23 is provided with a central portion of an arcuate swinging gear 29 that can be meshed with and disengaged from the gear 21G via a hinge pin 31. It is swingably supported. In order to oscillate the oscillating gear 29, a reciprocating actuator 33 such as a fluid pressure cylinder is attached to the gear holder case 23, and a piston provided in the reciprocating actuator 33 so as to freely reciprocate. The tip of a reciprocating rod 33R such as a rod is pivotally connected via a pin. That is, when the glass holder 21 is positioned in the optical path of the laser light (when positioned on one end side of the long hole 23H as shown in FIG. 4A), the swinging from the gear 21G. The free end side of the moving gear 29 is configured to be detachable.

  In the above configuration, when the rocking gear 29 and the gear 21G of the glass holder 21 are in mesh with each other, the motor 25 rotates the drive gear 27 in the forward and reverse directions so that the glass holder 21 is It reciprocates in the long hole 23H along the rocking gear 29. Therefore, the glass holder 21 can be moved and positioned in the optical path of the laser beam LB as shown in FIG. 4A or out of the optical path of the laser beam LB as shown in FIG. 4C. it can.

  When the glass holder 21 is positioned in the optical path of the laser beam LB, the reciprocating actuator 33 is operated to disengage the swinging gear 29 from the gear 21G of the glass holder 21, and thereafter By rotating the drive gear 27, the glass holder 21 can be rotated in the optical path of the laser beam LB. Therefore, the optical axis LA of the laser beam LB can be rotated in a state where it is refracted and the beam width of the laser beam LB can be expanded.

  As already understood, in the conventional configuration, the swinging gear 29 is swung to engage and disengage the gear 21G of the glass holder 21, so that the configuration is relatively complicated, When the rocking gear 29 is meshed with the gear 21G, further improvements are desired, such as sometimes the gear crests and the crests fail to engage smoothly.

  The present invention has been made in view of the conventional problems as described above, and is a laser processing head provided with a condensing lens for condensing the laser beam emitted from the emission end of the optical fiber and irradiating the workpiece. In addition, a refraction unit storage portion is provided between the output end of the optical fiber and the condenser lens, and laser light can be transmitted to the front end side of the rotation arm provided rotatably in the refraction unit storage portion. A glass holder provided with an inclined glass is provided rotatably, and the glass holder is provided so as to freely enter and exit the optical path of the laser beam, and the axis of the rotation support shaft that supports the rotation arm and the glass holder And an axis of a drive rotator for rotating the drive shaft on the same axis.

  In the laser processing head, a first abutting positioning member for abutting and positioning the rotating arm when the glass holder enters the optical path of the laser beam, and the glass holder from the optical path The refraction unit storage portion is provided with a second contact positioning member for contacting and positioning the rotating arm when the arm is retracted.

  According to the present invention, the glass holder provided with the inclined glass is rotatably provided on the distal end side of the rotation arm provided rotatably in the refraction unit storage portion, and the rotation supports the rotation arm. Since the shaft center of the support shaft and the shaft center of the driving rotating body for rotating the glass holder are provided on the same axis, the reciprocating rotation of the rotating arm allows the optical path of the laser beam to be Glass holder can be moved in and out. At this time, the drive rotator and the glass holder are always in a state of being able to rotate in conjunction with each other.

  That is, the glass holder can rotate simultaneously when positioned in the optical path of the laser beam. Therefore, when the glass holder is rotated, for example, operations such as engagement and disengagement of gears and the like are not required, so that workability can be improved and the conventional problems as described above can be solved.

It is a section explanatory view showing the composition of the principal part of the laser processing head concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is plane sectional explanatory drawing which shows the action state of the principal part of a laser processing head same as the above. It is sectional explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the conventional laser processing head. It is plane sectional explanatory drawing which shows the action state of the principal part in the conventional laser processing head.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are given to components having the same functions as those of the above-described conventional configuration, and redundant description will be omitted. The laser processing head 1A according to the embodiment of the present invention is obtained by improving a portion corresponding to the gear holder case 23 in the laser processing head 1 described above.

  Referring to FIG. 1, the refraction unit storage unit 35 corresponding to the gear holder case 23 includes a box-shaped storage unit body 37. Appropriately shaped wall members 41A and 41B (see FIG. 2) are erected near the periphery of the base plate 39 in the storage body 37, and the upper plate 43 is detachably attached to the wall members 41A and 41B. is there. The optical fiber holder 11 is provided on the upper plate 43, and the collimating lens 13 is provided below the base plate 39 and on the same axis as the axis of the optical fiber holder 11. Therefore, the base plate 39 is provided with a transmission hole 45 (see FIG. 2B) through which the laser beam LB emitted from the emission end of the optical fiber 9 (not shown in FIG. 1) can pass.

  As already understood, the refraction unit storage unit 35 includes a storage chamber 47 defined by a base plate 39, wall members 41 </ b> A and 41 </ b> B of the storage unit body 37, and the upper plate 43. In the storage chamber 47, the glass holder 21 provided with the inclined glass 19 in an inclined state with respect to the optical axis LA is provided so as to be rotatable and freely movable in and out of the optical axis (optical path) LA of the laser beam LB. It has been.

  More specifically, a rotary actuator 49 such as a motor is mounted on the lower surface of the base plate 39. The rotary support shaft 51 of the rotary actuator 49 is provided in parallel with the optical axis LA of the laser beam LB and protrudes into the storage chamber 47. The rotation support shaft 51 is integrally attached to the proximal end portion of the rotation arm 53 with an appropriate fixing tool such as a bolt. Accordingly, when the rotary support shaft 51 is reciprocally rotated by the rotary actuator 49, the rotary arm 53 is reciprocally rotated (oscillated) in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis LA. .

  The glass holder 21 is rotatably supported via a bearing at a position crossing the optical axis LA on the distal end side of the rotating arm 53. Therefore, by rotating the rotary actuator 49 back and forth to rotate the rotating arm 53, the tilted glass 19 rotatably supported by the rotating arm 53 is moved to the optical axis (optical path) of the laser beam LB. ) It can be positioned at a position corresponding to LA and a position away from the optical axis LA.

  As described above, in order to position the inclined glass 19 at a position corresponding to the optical axis LA of the laser beam LB, that is, a position corresponding to the transmission hole 45, one of the wall members 41B includes the rotating arm. The other wall member 41A is positioned at a position away from the optical axis LA, that is, a position away from the transmission hole 45. A contact positioning portion 55A for performing the above is provided. Therefore, by positioning the rotating arm 53 in contact with the contact positioning portions 55B and 55A, the position of the inclined glass 19 corresponding to the optical axis LA of the laser beam LB and a position away from the optical axis LA. It can be positioned easily.

  A drive gear 27 as a drive rotator for rotating the glass holder 21 is provided concentrically with the axis of the rotation support shaft 51, and a motor 25 for rotating the drive gear 27. Is mounted on the upper plate 43.

  With the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the rotating arm 53 is abutted and positioned on the abutting positioning portion 55A and the inclined glass 19 is retracted from the optical path of the laser beam LB, the rotary actuator 49 is activated. Then, when the turning arm 53 is turned counterclockwise in FIG. 2B and comes into contact with the contact positioning portion 55B, the inclined glass 19 is irradiated with laser light as shown in FIG. It will be positioned in the optical path of LB.

  At this time, since the glass holder 21 provided with the inclined glass 19 and the drive gear 27 are always linked and connected, the glass holder 21 can be immediately rotated by the motor 25. Then, by rotating the rotating arm 53 in the clockwise direction from the state shown in FIG. 2 (A), it is possible to immediately return to the original position shown in FIG. 2 (B).

  As already understood, the tilting glass 19 can be moved in and out of the optical path of the laser beam LB by rotating the rotating arm 53 in the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction, and corresponds to the optical path. The inclined glass 19 can be easily positioned to the position where it has been moved and the position where it has left the optical path. And after positioning the glass holder 21 in the position corresponding to the optical axis LA, the special operation for rotating the said glass holder 21 is unnecessary. Therefore, the configuration can be simplified.

  Further, in the above configuration, since the rotating arm 53 and the like are stored in the storage chamber 47, the storage chamber 47 can be easily sealed and the dust-proof effect of the storage chamber 47 can be easily achieved. It is a thing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1A Laser processing head 7 Processing head main body 9 Optical fiber 11 Optical fiber holder 13 Collimating lens 15 Condensing lens 19 Inclined glass 21 Glass holder 25 Motor 27 Drive gear 35 Refraction unit storage part 41A, 41B Wall member 43 Upper plate 45 Transmission hole 47 Storage chamber 49 Rotary actuator 51 Rotating support shaft 53 Rotating arm 55A, 55B Contact positioning part

Claims (2)

  A laser processing head having a condensing lens for condensing laser light emitted from an output end of an optical fiber and irradiating the workpiece, and refracting between the output end of the optical fiber and the condensing lens A glass holder provided with a tilted glass capable of transmitting laser light is rotatably provided on the distal end side of a rotary arm provided with a unit storage and rotatably provided in the refraction unit storage. The shaft of the rotation support shaft that supports the rotation arm and the axis of the drive rotator for rotating the glass holder are provided coaxially so as to be able to enter and exit the optical path of the laser beam. A laser processing head characterized by comprising:   2. The laser processing head according to claim 1, wherein a first abutment positioning member for abutting and positioning the rotating arm when the glass holder enters the optical path of the laser beam; A laser processing head, comprising: a second abutting positioning member for abutting and positioning the rotating arm when the glass holder is retracted, in the refraction unit storage portion.