JPS6057986A - Gas laser generating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance the vibration-resisting property as well as to improve the laser output power of the titled device by a method wherein a blower is arranged in the direction in which it is orthogonally intersecting with the longitudinal direction of a discharge tube, and the blower and the discharge tube are interconnected. CONSTITUTION:The lower end face of a discharge part main body 5 is brought comes in contact with a sliding roller 3, and the expansion and contraction of the discharge part main body 5 in longitudinal direction generated by the thermal stress are absorbed. An upper discharge tube 6 and a lower discharge tube 7 are arranged in the discharge part main body, mixed gas 16 flows from the cathode 13 to the anode 14 located in both discharge tubes and it is circulated between the discharge tubes 6 and 7 and a cooling path 20. The cooling path 20 is composed of vertical cooling tubes 21A-21C and the horizontal cooling tubes 22A-22C which are extending in the orthogonal direction and interconnecting with said horizontal cooling tubes, and the left and right cooling tubes 22A, 22B and one end of the center horizontal cooling tube 22C are interconnected to a heat exchager 24 and a blower 25 through the intermediary of a bellows 23. A centrifugal blower is used in the blower 25, and the blower 25 is connected to a driving motor 28 through the intermediary of a shaft 27. When the driving motor 28 is driven, the mixed gas 16 is circulated between the discharge tubes 6 and 7 and the cooling path 20 along the direction shown by the arrows in the diagram.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a gas laser generator with improved arrangement of a discharge section and a cooling path.

[Background of the invention]

Generally, an axial flow gas laser device has a blower, such as a centrifugal blower or a roots blower, placed directly below the discharge tube. Both ends and the center of the discharge tube are provided with a cooling path that communicates with the exhaust pipe and supply pipe of the blower. When a glow discharge is generated between the electrodes in the discharge tube, a mixed gas such as carbon dioxide gas, nitrogen gas, helium gas, etc. is excited, and laser light is generated. The laser beam resonates between mirrors provided at both ends of the discharge tube.

Therefore, the temperature inside the discharge tube is high due to the glow discharge and laser light. Therefore, the blower is turned on to circulate the mixed gas between the cooling path and the discharge tube to reduce the degree of condensation within the discharge tube.

As described above, according to the conventional configuration described above, the feeder is disposed directly below the discharge tube. For this reason, the blower must be taken out from underneath the discharge tube during assembly, repair, maintenance, and inspection.
Otherwise, when installing the discharge tube directly below the discharge tube from outside, the worker's head will hit the discharge tube, making it difficult to work.

In addition, since the blower is placed directly below the discharge tube, the height is high and it is unstable against vibrations in the left and right directions.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to provide a gas laser generator with improved earthquake resistance and improved laser light output.

[Summary of the invention]

In the gas laser generator of the present invention, if the blower is placed separately in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the discharge tube and the blower and the discharge tube are communicated with each other through a cooling path, only the height of the discharge tube or the blower is required. Stable against left and right vibrations and has good earthquake resistance.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below using a gas laser generator 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

A sliding table 3 is attached to the upper surface of the support base 2, and a sliding roller 4 that slides on the sliding table has a discharge section main body 5 disposed on the upper surface. The lower end surface of the discharging section main body 5 contacts the sliding roller 3 and absorbs expansion and contraction of the discharging section main body 5 in the longitudinal direction due to thermal stress. An upper discharge tube 6 and a lower discharge tube 7 are arranged within the discharge section main body. Both electric tubes 6.7 are bellows 8
Although the insulating tube 9 and the communicating tube 10 are attached as one body, the insulating tube 9 and the communicating tube 10 may be integrated. Output mirror 11
The reflector 12 is attached to one end of the double tube 6.7. A folding mirror 13 is attached to the other end of the double electric tube 6°7, and is arranged corresponding to the output @11 and the reflecting mirror 12. A cathode 13 and an anode 14 are placed inside the discharge tube via an insulating tube 9, and a DC power source 15 is connected between the two electrodes. The mixed gas 16 flows from the cathode 13 to the anode 14 in both discharge tubes, and circulates between both discharge tubes 6.7 and the cooling path 20.

The cooling path 20 is composed of vertical cooling pipes 21A, 21B, and 21C and horizontal cooling pipes 22A to 22C that communicate with the vertical cooling pipes 21A to 21C and extend in a right angle direction. The left and right vertical cooling tubes 21x and 21a21C are connected to both ends and the center between the upper discharge tube 6 and the lower discharge tube 7.

One end of the left and right horizontal cooling pipes 22A, 22B communicates with the vertical cooling pipes 21A, 22B near the lower discharge tube 7 below the center @0, and one end of the central horizontal cooling pipe 22C is connected to the center line @0. , communicates with the vertical cooling pipe 2IC near the upper discharge tube 7 on the upper side. In other words, the communication ports 22D and 2 between the vertical cooling pipe and the horizontal cooling pipe
2E is formed in a vertical cooling pipe in which the mixed gas rises and is close to the upper and lower plate parts. Left and right horizontal cooling pipes 22A.

22B and the other end of the central horizontal cooling pipe 22C are connected to the bellows 2.
3 to a heat exchanger 24 and a blower 25. Although the insulating tube 26 is provided in a part of the central horizontal cooling pipe 22C, it may be provided in a part of the left and right horizontal cooling pipes. Heat exchanger 24 is in communication with blower 25 . The blower 25 uses a centrifugal blower, has rotating blades (not shown) inside, and is connected to a drive motor 28 via a shaft 27. When the drive motor 28 is driven, the mixed gas 16 circulates between each discharge tube 6.7 and the cooling path 20 in the direction of the arrow.

According to this configuration, the blower 25 and the drive motor 28 are separately arranged on one side perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the discharge tube main body 5. Therefore, since the height dimension H is the same as the height of the discharge tube body 5, the center of gravity of the discharge tube body 5 is lower compared to the conventional height dimension in which the discharge tube is placed on a drive motor and a blower. It is stable even when subjected to horizontal vibrations, so it has good earthquake resistance in the horizontal direction. Also, blower 2
5. Since the drive motor 28 etc. are separated from the discharge tube body 5, vibrations during operation of the blower etc. are not transmitted to the discharge tube body 5. Since the laser optical axis is less likely to go awry even if the attached adjustment bolts etc. become loose, the laser light output is stable and the laser light output can be improved. Furthermore, since the discharge tube 6.7 and the blower 25 are arranged separately from each other, the work space is wide and assembly is easy.

On the other hand, the central horizontal cooling pipe 22C is a vertical cooling pipe 21C close to the upper discharge tube side, and the left and right horizontal cooling pipes 22A.

22B is a vertical cooling pipe 21A near the lower discharge tube side.

21B, and the mixed gas 16 descends with less energy when the mixed gas 16 rises;
By evenly distributing the flow rate of the rising mixed gas, it is possible to prevent arc discharge due to local overheating in each tube.

In the above embodiment, the blower 25 uses a centrifugal blower, but a roots blower may also be used. When using a roots blower, for example, assuming that the blower 25 in FIG. 1 is a roots blower, an exhaust horizontal cooling pipe and two supply horizontal cooling pipes are installed on the upper and lower surfaces of the roots blower,
The exhaust pipe and the supply pipe may communicate with the central vertical cooling pipe and the left and right vertical cooling pipes. Further, the centrifugal blower and the roots blower may be rotated in opposite directions to flow the mixed gas in opposite directions. In this case, the supply pipe and exhaust pipe are reversed. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be used in a configuration in which a plurality of discharge tubes are arranged in a straight line.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the gas laser generator of the present invention has earthquake resistance that is stable against vibrations in the left and right directions, and can stabilize the 17-the light, thereby improving the laser light output.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gas laser generator shown as an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of FIG. 1. 5...Discharge tube body, 6.7...Discharge tube, 11, 12
゜13...Mirror, 16...Mixed gas, 20...Cooling path, 21...Vertical cooling pipe, 22...Horizontal cooling pipe, 25...
··Blower. Agent Patent Attorney Akio Takahashi

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A discharge part that resonates with the laser beam and has a mixed gas, a cooling path that communicates with both ends and an intermediate part of the discharge part, and a cooling path that connects the mixed gas between the discharge part and the cooling path. and a circulating blower, characterized in that the blower is provided as a separate device in the lateral direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the discharge part, and the blower and the discharge part are connected by a cooling path. Gas laser generator. 2 At least two discharge parts are disposed above and below, each discharge part is connected by at least three vertical cooling passages, and a horizontal cooling passage is connected to these vertical cooling passages and extends from the vertical cooling passage in the direction of the blower. The connection port that connects the cooling path, vertical cooling path, and horizontal cooling path is
Claim 1, characterized in that the mixed gas rises in the vertical cooling path and is provided in the vertical cooling path close to the discharge part.
The gas laser generator described in Section 1.