JPH0566365A - Switching mechanism for laser beam - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten the switching time and automate the switching by eliminating the need for adjusting operation accompanying the switching of the optical path of a laser beam. CONSTITUTION:A half-wavelength plate 1 is disposed halfway in the laser beam 8 emitted by a laser device 5. This half-wavelength plate 1 is driven by a half- wavelength plate driving mechanism 2 and put in and off the optical path of the laser beam 8. A laser beam 9 transmitted through the half-wavelength plate 1 is transmitted through a polarizing element 3 aligned with the laser device 5 and reaches a 1st laser application device 6. A total reflecting mirror 4 is installed nearby the polarizing element 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a laser beam switching mechanism used in a laser system or a laser application device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when switching the optical paths of a laser beam emitted from a laser generator (hereinafter referred to as a laser device) and guiding and supplying the same to a plurality of laser application devices, the first conventional example shown in FIGS. As shown in, the laser beam 8 from the laser device 5 is switched and supplied to the first laser application device 6 and the second laser application device 7 which are the two supply sources. For example, when the laser beam 10 is supplied to the first laser application device 6 as shown in FIG. 6, the laser beam 8 emitted from the laser device 5 is allowed to pass through as it is, and the laser beam 10 for incidence is used as the first laser application device 10. Supply to the device 6. In the figure, reference numeral 4 is a total reflection mirror, which is arranged so as to face the second laser application device 7. When switching to the second laser application device 7, another total reflection mirror 33 is arranged in the optical path of the laser beam 8 as shown in FIG. 7, and the laser beam 8 emitted from the laser device 5 is changed to the other total reflection mirror 33. A laser beam 11 which is guided to the total reflection mirror 4 by being reflected by the reflection mirror 33 is reflected by the total reflection mirror 4 and guided as an incident laser beam 12, which is supplied to the second laser application device 7. ..

When a laser application apparatus using a laser beam requires continuous stable operation for a long time, a single laser apparatus cannot secure stable operation. Therefore, a plurality of laser apparatuses are arranged and the laser apparatus is arranged. It is necessary to switch the laser device to operate in case of failure or maintenance.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a second conventional example for switching laser beams in such an application. In FIG. 8, the second laser device 14 is stopped or put on standby while the first laser device 13 is in operation, and the laser beam 8 emitted from the first laser device 13 passes through as it is as a laser beam 10, Supply to the application device 34. A total reflection mirror 4 is installed in the optical path of the second laser device 14 in the figure. Second laser device 14
In the case of switching to, the first laser device 13 is stopped and the second laser device 14 is operated as shown in FIG. 9, and the emitted laser beam 8 is guided to the total reflection mirror 4 and reflected at a right angle. The laser beam 35 is changed in direction by another total reflection mirror 33 installed in the middle of the optical path to be an incident laser beam 10 which is supplied to a laser application device 34.

[0005]

The first conventional example has an advantage that the optical system is simple, but another total reflection mirror 33.
Since the setting position and the direction of the optical system are changed, the change takes time, and the optical path of the laser beam is sensitive to the position and angle deviation of the optical system. Therefore, in order to adjust the optical path of the laser beam with high accuracy, it is necessary to adjust the installation position, the arrangement angle, etc. of the optical system with high accuracy, and there is a problem that a great deal of effort and time are required for the adjustment.

In the second conventional example, as in the first conventional example shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, it is necessary to change the installation position and direction of the optical system such as a mirror when switching, and the optical path of the laser beam is slightly changed. There is a problem that it takes a lot of time and labor including adjustment and causes a large operation loss.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and in an optical system laser beam switching mechanism in a laser system and its application device, shortens the switching time between the laser beam incident direction and the laser beam emitting direction and makes no adjustment. It is an object of the present invention to provide a laser beam switching mechanism that can achieve high efficiency.

[0008]

The present invention is directed to a laser device, a half-wave plate disposed on the laser beam emitting side of the laser device for rotating the polarization direction of a polarized laser beam by approximately 90 °, and the half-wave plate. And a laser application device for injecting a laser beam polarized by the polarizing element, and a total reflection mirror provided in the vicinity of the polarizing element. ..

[0009]

[Operation] The half-wave plate is moved by the half-wave plate drive mechanism,
Straight line change When a half-wave plate is inserted in the optical path of the laser beam, the polarization angle of the laser beam rotates by 90 °. By changing the polarization angle of the laser beam, the incident direction or the emission direction of the laser beam, that is, the optical path of the laser beam accompanying the polarizing element is changed. A characteristic of changing the optical path of the laser beam by the switching mechanism of the laser beam is that only the half-wave plate is required for the optical element that moves the position and the angle. Since the influence of the deviation on the optical path and the polarization angle of the emitted laser beam is slight, the allowable range of deviation of the position angle of the half-wave plate can be sufficiently wide. Therefore, the state of the half-wave plate is changed by using the half-wave plate drive mechanism, which is a simple mechanism that uses existing solenoids and stepping motors, and the laser beam incident direction or emission direction is maintained with high accuracy without the adjustment mechanism. You can switch while you are doing.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the laser beam switching mechanism of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

This embodiment shows an application example in which the laser beam 8 from one laser device 5 is switched and supplied to the first and second laser application devices 6 and 7. FIG. FIG. 2 shows a state in which an incident laser beam 10 is being supplied to the first laser application device 6, and FIG.
It shows a state in which an incident laser beam 12 is being supplied to the laser application device 7 of FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 5 is a laser device for generating a linearly polarized laser beam. Reference numeral 8 is a laser beam emitted from the laser device 5,
Reference numeral 1 is a half-wave plate, reference numeral 2 is a half-wave plate driving mechanism for moving the half-wave plate 1 to a state of being inserted or not inserted in the optical path of the laser beam 8, and reference numeral 9 is a half-wave plate. It is a laser beam that passes or does not pass. In FIG. 1, the half-wave plate 1 is not inserted in the optical path by the half-wave plate driving mechanism 2, and the polarization angle of the laser beam 9 is the same as that of the laser beam 8. Reference numeral 3 is a polarizing element such as a polarizing prism having a property that the emission direction of the laser beam changes depending on the polarization direction of the incident laser beam. In this embodiment, when the half-wave plate 1 is not inserted, the incident laser beam is transmitted as it is. It is arranged to. Therefore, in FIG. 1, the laser beam 8 emitted from the laser device 5 is transmitted through the polarization element 3 and travels as the laser beam 10 to be supplied to the first laser application device 6. A total reflection mirror 4 is arranged immediately below the polarizing element 3.

In FIG. 2, the half-wave plate 1 is moved by the action of the half-wave plate driving mechanism 2 into a state of being inserted in the optical path of the laser beam 8, and the polarization angle of the laser beam 9 is that of the laser beam 8. Compared to that, it is rotated by about 90 °. Therefore, in FIG. 2, the direction of the laser beam emitted from the polarizing element 3 changes due to the nature of the polarizing element 3, and the laser beam 11 becomes the emitted laser beam. The laser beam 11 is reflected by the total reflection mirror 4 to become an incident laser beam 12 and is supplied to the second laser application device 7. In this embodiment, the half-wave plate drive mechanism 2 can be configured by a simple drive mechanism such as a solenoid or a stepping motor. Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

The second embodiment is a laser light application device that requires continuous stable operation for a long time, and a spare laser device is provided in addition to the minimum required number of laser devices so that the laser device can be used when the laser device fails or is maintained. This is an example of application to a redundant laser device in which interruption of laser beam supply is reduced by switching and operating the device.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 13 is a first laser device constituting a redundant laser device, and reference numeral 14 is a second laser device.
Laser device, and reference numeral 15 is likewise a third laser device. In FIG. 3, the first laser device 13 and the second laser device 14 are in operation, and the laser beam 24 from the first laser device 13 is the second laser device.
A laser beam 25 is emitted from 14. The first polarizing element indicated by the reference numeral 20 and the second polarizing element indicated by the reference numeral 21 are set so that the laser beam in the polarization direction as it is emitted from the laser devices 13 and 14 is transmitted as it is. In FIG. 3, the incident laser beam 24 and laser beam 25 are transmitted as they are to become laser beam 26 and laser beam 27, respectively, which are a first laser application device indicated by reference numeral 22 and a second laser application indicated by reference numeral 23, respectively. Supplied to the device. At this time, the third laser device indicated by the reference numeral 15 is on standby.

FIG. 4 shows the case where the second laser device 14 is stopped for the purpose of repair and maintenance, and the laser beam 28 emitted from the third laser device 15 which has started operation is a total reflection mirror. It is reflected at 4 and changes its direction to become a laser beam 29. By inserting the second half-wave plate shown by the reference numeral 17 in the optical path by the action of the second half-wave plate driving mechanism shown by the reference numeral 19, the polarization direction of the laser beam 29 is rotated by about 90 ° and the laser beam 30 is rotated. Becomes The laser beam 27 is reflected by the second polarizing element indicated by reference numeral 21 and is supplied to the second laser application apparatus indicated by reference numeral 23.

Further, FIG. 5 shows the case where the first laser device 13 is stopped for the purpose of repair and maintenance, and the laser beam 28 emitted from the third laser device 15 which has started operation is a total reflection mirror. The laser beam 29 is reflected at 4 and changes its direction to become a laser beam 29. Since the second half-wave plate 17 is not inserted, it becomes the laser beam 30 for incidence on the second polarizing element 21 as it is. Since the polarization angle (direction) has not changed, the second polarizing element 21 is also transmitted as it is, and becomes the laser beam 31 for incidence on the first half-wave plate 16. Due to the action of the first half-wave plate drive mechanism 18, the first half-wave plate 16 is provided in the middle of the optical path.
Is inserted, whereby the polarization direction of the laser beam 31 is rotated by about 90 ° and the laser beam for incidence on the first polarization element 20 is inserted.
32. This laser beam 32 is reflected by the first polarizing element 20 to become an incident laser beam 26, which is denoted by reference numeral 22.
Is supplied to the first laser application device indicated by. The laser beam 25 emitted from the second laser device 14 passes through the second polarizing element 21, and the passed laser beam 27 is supplied to the second laser application device 23. In the first and second embodiments, the number of laser devices and the number of laser application devices can be changed to increase the scale.

[0018]

According to the present invention, since the setting accuracy of the position and angle of the half-wave plate has almost no influence on the accuracy of the optical path of the laser beam, the arrangement change of the optical element, which has conventionally required a great deal of time and labor. No need for fine adjustment of the optical path. In addition, the optical path of the laser beam can be switched almost instantly, and when the laser device is shared by multiple laser application devices, the laser beam supply destination can be changed, and the laser device can be stopped for failure or maintenance. It is possible to provide a redundant laser system suitable for a continuous operation laser application device that is not operated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first laser beam switching mechanism according to the present invention.
FIG.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a switching state by a laser beam switching mechanism in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a second laser beam switching mechanism according to the present invention.
FIG.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a switching state by a laser beam switching mechanism in FIG.

5 is a configuration diagram showing another switching state by the laser beam switching mechanism in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a first example of a conventional laser beam switching mechanism.

7 is a configuration diagram showing a switching state by a laser beam switching mechanism in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing a second example of a conventional laser beam switching mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram showing a switching state by a laser beam switching mechanism in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Half-wave plate, 2 ... Half-wave plate driving mechanism, 3 ... Polarizing element,
4 ... Total reflection mirror, 5 ... Laser device, 6 ... First laser application device, 7 ... Second laser application device, 8-12 ...
Laser beam, 13 ... First laser device, 14 ... Second laser device, 15 ... Third laser device, 16 ... First half-wave plate, 17 ... Second half-wave plate, 18 ... First Half-wave plate driving mechanism, 19 ... Second half-wave plate driving mechanism, 20 ... First polarizing element, 21 ... Second polarizing element, 22 ... First laser application device, 23 ... Second laser application device , 24-32 ... laser beam, 33 ... other total reflection mirror, 34 ... laser application device,
35 ... laser beam.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A laser device, a half-wave plate disposed on the laser beam emission side of the laser device for rotating the polarization direction of the polarized laser beam by approximately 90 °, and a laser beam transmitted through the half-wave plate is incident. A switching mechanism of a laser beam, comprising: a polarizing element, a laser application device for injecting a laser beam polarized by the polarizing element, and a total reflection mirror provided in the vicinity of the polarizing element.