JPH03134621A - Laser light projecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To satisfactorily form an arbitrary drawing by diffusing the laser output light with a concave lens and receiving this diffused light by a crystal face and shielding or transmitting the light by each picture element to form an optical pattern on an irradiated face. CONSTITUTION:When a graphic to be projected is written in a pattern memory 26 from a computer 30 through an interface I/F 28, a liquid crystal drive circuit 24 successively reads out contents to draw the graphic on a liquid crystal face 18. Meanwhile, laser light is emitted from a laser light source 10 and is two- dimensionally diffused by a concave lens 16, and transmitted light is projected on a projection face 22 with the liquid crystal face 18 as the mask to form a drawing of the arbitrary graphic. Thus, a device superior in durability is obtained because a mobile part is not used, and flicker does not appear on the projection face because raster scanning is not performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Industrial Application Field The present invention is used in the field of optical devices and radiation therapy using lasers.

The present invention relates to a laser projector, and more particularly, to a laser projector that can scan a laser beam and draw a pattern on a patient's skin, for example, using an X-ray irradiation field.

(b) A prior art prior art design is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 63-58208. This publication discloses a laser light source, an X-axis mirror and a Y-axis mirror for scanning its output light, a rask scan drive means for both mirrors, a light projection pattern memory read out in synchronization with the drive means, and a laser light source. and a deflection means inserted between any of the mirrors, the laser beam is polarized or goes straight according to the data in the memory, and a projection pattern is drawn by the straight laser light. are doing. Its schematic block diagram is illustrated in FIG.

In other words, in this conventional example, the output light of a laser is separated using scanning mirrors independent of the X1 and Y axes, and at that time, the contents of a memory in which data is stored two-dimensionally are sequentially read out, and an arbitrary figure is scanned by raster scanning. It is something that projects.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention In such a conventional example, a mirror for scanning the X and Y axes is required, and the deflection means thereof consists of a movable part, which has a problem of poor durability. There is also the problem that the projected image flickers because it is rask scanning.

An object of the present invention is to provide a laser projector that does not require mask scanning using straight laser light and therefore does not require a movable part for mirror deflection.

Another object is to provide a similar laser projection device that can use a strong output light.

(d) Means for solving the problem The first objective described above is to provide a laser light source, a concave lens for diffusing its output light, a liquid crystal surface for receiving the diffused laser light, and a graphic pattern memory. , and a liquid crystal drive circuit that reads out this memory and outputs a light-shielding or light-transmitting signal for each pixel to the liquid crystal surface.A second purpose is to connect a laser light source and a concave lens with the same configuration. By isolating via fiber cable,
Each is achieved.

(e) Operation Laser output light is diffused by a concave lens, this diffused light is used to receive the light on a liquid crystal surface, and each pixel of the light is blocked or transmitted to form a light pattern on the projection surface. The light-blocking or light-transmitting signal at that time is generated by reading the pattern memory.

For the second purpose, since the liquid crystal itself is susceptible to heat when the liquid crystal surface receives light, an optical fiber cable is interposed to isolate the laser that generates heat to avoid the effect of heat.

(f) Example A preferred embodiment of the invention will be explained based on the drawings.

Incidentally, FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the configuration of the conventional example described above.

In this conventional example, the deflection mirror drive circuit 34 sequentially reads out the pattern memory 26 two-dimensionally and generates signals for independently controlling the X-axis and Y-axis deflection mirrors 34a and 34b. The laser light source 10 is polarized by two scanning mirrors 34a and 34b on the X and Y axes, and draws an arbitrary figure on the projection plane 32.

In contrast, one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated by the main configuration block diagram of FIG.

Interface (I/F) 2 from host computer 30
When a figure to be projected is written in the pattern memory 26 via the pattern memory 26, the liquid crystal drive circuit 24 sequentially reads out the contents and draws the figure on the liquid crystal surface 18.

On the other hand, laser light is generated from a laser light source 10 and is two-dimensionally diffused by a concave lens 16, and the liquid crystal surface 18 acts as a mask and the transmitted light is projected onto a projection surface 22, thereby forming a drawing of an arbitrary figure. Ru.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the main part of another embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, a laser light source or He/Ne gas laser generating section 10 and a liquid crystal section 18 that generates an irradiation shape are separately connected via an optical fiber cable 12 and a converting section 14 that causes the laser to travel straight.

The irradiation shape on the liquid crystal plate 18 is not shown in this embodiment, but as shown in FIG. 1, a computer 30 is used, and the image a information is stored in the pattern memory 26.
The information is then read out and similarly transferred to the liquid crystal panel 18 by a liquid crystal drive circuit 24 as shown in FIG. Based on the transferred information, the liquid crystal panel 18 displays, for example, 4
Light is blocked or transmitted for each pixel of the 00x600 matrix, and the transmitted laser light projects a bright spot on the projection surface 22, and the projection surface 22 corresponding to the light-shielded portion
Then, it is projected as a shadow and a projected image is generated.

In this embodiment, the (e/Ne gas laser generating section 10 is disposed at a position preliminarily separated from the liquid crystal panel 18 and takes in the laser light into the optical fiber cable 12.

The optical fiber cable 12 is led to a liquid crystal section 15, where the laser beam is converted into a linear laser beam, which is then diffused into a conical beam using a lens system 16, and is received by a liquid crystal plate 18.

When using such a high-output gas laser, taking into consideration that liquid crystals are particularly sensitive to heat, the laser should be separated from the heat-generating laser to maintain a stable light-shielding or light-transmitting function.

(g) Effects Compared to the conventional example, a highly durable device is obtained because no movable part is configured, and there is no flickering on the projection plane because rask scanning is not performed.

In the invention corresponding to claim 2, the liquid crystal used is protected from heat, and the use of the optical fiber cable makes the entire device compact, and maintenance of the laser light source becomes easier.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an essential part of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing another embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a diagram similar to FIG. 1 of a conventional example. 10 is a laser light source, 12 is an optical fiber cable, 16
is a lens, 18 is a liquid crystal surface or liquid crystal plate, 22 is a projection surface,
24 is a liquid crystal driver circuit, 26 is a pattern memory, 30
is a computer. 11i, 1 Figure 3 Figure 2 '8 side

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A laser light source, a concave lens for diffusing its output light, a liquid crystal surface for receiving the diffused laser light, a graphic pattern memory, and reading out this memory and applying light shielding or transmitting to the liquid crystal surface for each pixel. A laser projector comprising: a liquid crystal drive circuit that outputs a light signal.