JPH05315673A - Gas laser oscillator of external mirror type - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the resistance against vibration and shock while preventing the variation in laser output and beam position due to an external force applied to a housing concerning a supporting structure on the housing of a ladder structure. CONSTITUTION:One end of a ladder structure 13 is supported by two spherical bearings 6 with the bearings opposed each other sandwiching the axis of a laser tube while the one end has a degree of freedom capable of sliding in the axial direction of the laser tube, and the oather end of the ladder structure 13 is supported by one spherical bearing. Accordingly, a laser output and a position of optical axis are stabilized, and the resistance to vibration and shock is improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an external mirror type gas laser oscillator having a ladder structure, and more particularly to a support structure for a ladder structure on a housing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 7, a support structure on a housing of a ladder structure is one spherical bearing 6 having no freedom so that an end plate at one end of the ladder structure 13 can slide in a spherical diameter direction. Supported,
The end plate 4 at the other end of the ladder structure 13 is
It was supported by the housing 8 via a leaf spring 14 which was elastically deformable in the axial direction of the laser tube.

[0003]

The conventional method of supporting the ladder structure on the housing is such that the leaf spring at one end elastically deforms and the spherical bearing at the other end responds to expansion and contraction of the housing or a bending moment applied to the housing. By holding it rotatably, this is absorbed and the bending of the ladder structure is suppressed.
However, as is apparent from the conceptual diagrams for explaining the operation shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the bending deformation of the leaf spring 14 at the other end causes a bending moment as a reaction force in the ladder structure 13 so that the ladder structure is generated. As a result, there is a drawback that the laser tube is bent and the output fluctuation and the beam position fluctuation increase. Moreover, if the plate thickness is reduced in order to reduce the elastic constant of the leaf spring in order to suppress the bending moment, there is a drawback that the vibration resistance and impact resistance such as buckling and breakage deteriorate.

[0004]

An external mirror type gas laser oscillator according to the present invention slides in a spherical diameter direction at one end of a ladder structure for accommodating a gas laser tube and holding a resonator length constant, and X. A pair of spherical bearings that rotate around the Y, Z axes are provided at opposite positions, and a spherical bearing that rotates around the X, Y, Z axes is provided at the other end.

[0005]

The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a ladder structure support structure of an external mirror type gas laser oscillator showing an embodiment of the present invention. 2 and 3 are respectively P-P of FIG.
It is an arrow view and a QQ arrow view. The outer diameter of the laser tube 1 is held by a plurality of plates 2 forming a ladder structure. A plurality of plates 2 are connected to each other by a plurality of rods 3 having a low coefficient of thermal expansion, such as Invar,
By fixing the end plates 4 and the end plates to both ends of the rod 3, a ladder type laser tube housing structure,
A so-called ladder structure 13 is configured. The outer ring of one spherical bearing 6 is fixed to the end plate 4 at one end of the ladder structure 13, and the inner ring is fixed to the housing 8 via the bracket 7. The outer rings of the two spherical bearings 9 are fixed to the end plate 5 at the other end. The inner ring of the spherical bearing 9 is slidably fitted to the shaft 11 via the sleeve 10 as shown in FIG. 4, and the shaft 11 is fixed to the housing 8 via the bracket 12.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are conceptual views for explaining the operation of FIG. 1. When an external force is applied to the housing or the housing expands or contracts, the housing 8 is bent and deformed from FIG. 5 to FIG. However, in the ladder structure 13 supported on this, the bending moment generated as a reaction force is canceled by the spherical bearing 6 and the spherical bearing 9 having the sleeve 10, and the sleeve 10 and the shaft 11 slide in the axial direction to expand and contract. Is cancelled, the optical axis position is stably maintained and the output fluctuation is suppressed. Although not shown in the drawing, the same effect is exerted on the swing deformation of the housing. Further, since no leaf spring is used, buckling and damage of the conventional leaf spring are eliminated, and vibration resistance and shock resistance are improved.

[0008]

As described above, according to the present invention, two spherical bearings having a degree of freedom that allows one end of a ladder structure for accommodating a laser tube to face each other with the laser tube axis interposed therebetween and to slide in the laser tube axis direction. By supporting the other end with one spherical bearing, the optical axis position and output are extremely stable, and vibration resistance and impact resistance are excellent.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a ladder structure support structure showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line P-P in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view on arrow Q-Q in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a detailed view around the spherical bearing 9 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a state before the housing of FIG. 1 is deformed.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the housing of FIG. 1 after deformation.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a ladder structure support structure showing a conventional example.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing a state before the housing of FIG. 7 is deformed.

9 is a conceptual diagram showing a state after the housing of FIG. 7 is deformed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Laser Tube 2 Plate 3 Rod 4 End Plate 5 End Plate 6 Spherical Bearing 7 Bracket 8 Housing 9 Spherical Bearing with Sleeve 10 Sleeve 11 Shaft 12 Bracket 13 Ladder Structure 14 Leaf Spring

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An external mirror type gas laser oscillator having a ladder structure for accommodating a gas laser tube and holding a resonator length constant, wherein one end of the ladder structure has a degree of freedom to slide in the axial direction of the laser tube. The external mirror type gas laser oscillator is also characterized in that it is supported by two spherical bearings that face each other with the laser tube axis interposed therebetween, and the other end is supported by one spherical bearing.