JPS59106168A - Laser oscillator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the stable laser oscillation by separating an oil tank of a gas circulating pump from a gas circulation system with a sealing member and further by providing an auxiliary pump for maintaining the oil tank under low pressure, thereby preventing oil in the oil tank from mixing into the gas circulation system if there is a deterioration or something wrong in the sealing material. CONSTITUTION:A pipe 15 is arranged from an oil tank 11 and an auxiliary pump 14 connected to the pipe 15 is operated constantly. Even if a cylinder 8 opens to the oil tank 11 because of the deterioration or something wrong of a sealing material to separate the cylinder 8 from the oil tank 11, the auxiliary pump 14 generates the flow of gas from the cylinder 8 to the auxiliary pump 14 through the oil tank 11. Thus various bad influences caused by inclusion of oil of the oil tank into the cylinder 8 can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas circulation type laser oscillator.

Structure of a conventional example and its problems FIG. 1 shows a gas circulation system of a conventional gas circulation type laser oscillator.

Laser oscillation is performed within an optical resonator including a laser tube 1. The medium gas flows in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and 2 is a heat exchanger that cools the medium gas heated by discharge excitation. 3 is a gas circulation pump, and 4 is a heat exchanger for removing compression heat generated by the gas circulation pump 3. The medium gas that has passed through the heat exchanger 4 is sent freely into the laser tube 1 through piping and the like. Reference numeral 6 denotes a vacuum pump, which functions to lower the pressure within the gas circulation system to a certain low pressure. After laser oscillation, the vacuum pump 6 releases a part of the medium gas to the outside, and fresh medium gas is supplied from the cylinder 7. Alternatively, a method is adopted in which the medium gas that has passed through the vacuum pump 6 is returned to the gas circulation system. The above is an overview of the gas circulation system, and the problem lies in the fact that it was not possible to prevent oil from the oil tank in the gas circulation pump 3 from entering the gas circulation system. The above description will be explained with reference to FIG.

FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) show that two cocoon-shaped rotors 9 are rotated in the direction of the arrow 10 in the cylinder 8, and the medium gas is
Indicates that it will be sent in the direction of.

The inside of the cylinder 8 where the rotor 9 rotates is the oil tank part 1.
1 and the seal 12, and are also isolated from the atmosphere. 13 is the axis of the rotor. In the above configuration, if the sealing material 12 deteriorates or becomes abnormal and the inside of the cylinder 8 and the oil tank section 11 become open, the oil tank section 1
If a larger amount of oil than 1 is mixed into the cylinder 8, it will have many adverse effects such as a decrease in output due to laser gas contamination and a deterioration in the life of optical components. However, the deterioration of the sealing material 12
The reality is that it is difficult to detect abnormalities in advance, and the only option available is to periodically replace them.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a laser oscillator that can perform stable laser oscillation even if the sealing material deteriorates or abnormalities occur. A tube, a gas circulation piping connected to the laser tube, and a gas circulation pump provided in a part of the gas circulation piping, and the gas circulation pump circulates the medium gas through the gas circulation piping. The oil tank part of the gas circulation pump is isolated from the gas circulation system by a sealing material, and an auxiliary pump is provided to maintain the oil tank part at low pressure with an auxiliary pump. Even after the oil tank and the gas circulation system are opened, the auxiliary pump prevents oil in the oil tank from entering the gas circulation system.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the same components as shown in FIG. 2 are designated by the same reference numerals and their explanations will be omitted. By providing a pipe 15 from the oil tank section 11 and constantly operating the auxiliary pump 14 connected to the pipe 16, the sealing material 12 that isolates the inside of the cylinder 8 and the oil tank section 11 deteriorates or becomes abnormal, resulting in poor sealing effectiveness. Even if the inside of the cylinder 8 and the oil tank section 11 are open, the auxiliary pump 14 creates a gas flow from inside the cylinder 8 to the oil tank section 11 and then to the auxiliary pump 14, so that the oil in the oil tank section 11 is drained. It is possible to prevent it from getting mixed into the cylinder 8 and causing various adverse effects.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, oil from the oil tank inside the gas circulation pump gets mixed into the cylinder due to deterioration or abnormality of the sealing material of the gas circulation pump, resulting in laser gas contamination and shortened lifespan of optical components. This has the excellent effect of preventing adverse effects that may lead to damage and allowing continued use as a stable laser oscillator.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a gas circulation system diagram of a conventional gas circulation type laser oscillator, Figures 2 (a) and (b) are a cross-sectional front view and an enlarged cross-sectional side view of a conventional gas circulation pump, and Figure 3 is the invention of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of a gas circulation pump of a laser oscillator in one embodiment. 1... Laser tube, 2... Heat exchanger, 3...
... Gas circulation pump, 4 ... Heat exchanger, 6 ... Piping, 6 ... Vacuum pump, 7
...Cylinder, 8...Cylinder, 9.
...Rotor, 1o...Rotor rotation direction, 1
1...Oil tank part, 12...Seal material, 1
3... Rotor shaft, 14... Auxiliary pump, 15... Piping. Name of agent Attorney d: Toshio Nakao and one other person Figure 1 Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] It is equipped with a laser tube, a gas circulation piping connected to the laser tube, and a gas circulation pump provided in a part of the gas circulation piping, and the gas circulation pump supplies the medium gas to the gas circulation piping. The oil tank of the gas circulation pump is isolated from the gas circulation system by a sole material, and an auxiliary pump is provided to maintain the oil tank at low pressure. A laser oscillator configured to prevent oil in the oil tank from entering the gas circulation system by the auxiliary pump even after the gas circulation system is in an open state.