KR20190011893A - Laser cleaning device having a function of checking cleaning quality and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a laser cleaning device having a function of checking work quality and a method thereof. The laser cleaning device comprises: a body which moves using a wheel mounted at the lower part; a laser processing unit which projects a laser beam to a work area in a predetermined size; a camera unit which generates a video image by filming the work area to which a laser beam is projected in real time or by a predetermined cycle; a video analysis unit which produces analysis information with respect to flame within the video image; and a controller which controls motion and halt of the body such that a laser beam is projected to the work area, and which determines work quality with respect to the work area to which a laser beam is projected, by comparing the analysis information and a pre-stored assessment criterion information.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a laser cleaning apparatus,

The present invention relates to a laser cleaning apparatus having a work quality inspection function and a method thereof.

The laser machining apparatus cuts a workpiece to a predetermined size by using a laser beam, welds a plurality of workpieces, etches a part of the workpiece, or removes rust (patina) generated by corrosion of a metal surface And so on.

A laser cleaning apparatus, which is a type of laser processing apparatus, is a device for removing a rust generated by contaminating a contaminant, for example, a metal surface, by irradiating a laser beam onto a surface (work surface) of a work.

The laser cleaning device can selectively remove only the contaminated layer without damaging the workpiece, and can precisely remove the contamination layer by using a short laser pulse. Since it is a non-contact type, it does not cause contact wear, It also provides a surface disinfection effect to eradicate organic matter.

1, a conventional laser cleaning apparatus 100 includes a body 110, a wheel 115 provided below the body 110 to move the body 110 in a predetermined direction, And a laser processing unit 120 mounted on one side of the body 110 to irradiate the laser beam LB through an irradiation aperture for rust removal (i.e., laser cleaning) of the surface.

The laser processing unit 120 is operated to irradiate the laser beam LB generated by the laser oscillator on the work surface with a predetermined beam characteristic (e.g., output value, pulse frequency, wavelength, pulse interval, etc.) .

The laser oscillator may be provided inside the body 110 or independently, and may be connected to the laser processing unit 120 by transmission means (not shown) for transferring the laser beam. The transmission means may include an optical fiber, for example, to have a high transmission precision of the laser beam and to enable precise movement of the laser cleaning apparatus 100.

The laser cleaning apparatus 100 operates to remove rust formed on the work surface by irradiating a laser beam on the work surface while the laser processing unit 120 is moved by the driving of the wheel 115. [

However, the laser cleaning apparatus 100 according to the related art has a limitation in that it is impossible to adjust the working speed for laser cleaning and the quality of work for the laser cleaning process on the work surface can not be confirmed while the laser cleaning is being performed.

The above-described background technology is technical information that the inventor holds for the derivation of the present invention or acquired in the process of deriving the present invention, and can not necessarily be a known technology disclosed to the general public prior to the filing of the present invention.

Korean Patent No. 10-0455059 Korean Patent No. 10-1089188

The present invention can be used not only to remove rust on the surface of a workpiece using a laser beam output from one laser processing unit but also to check work quality of the rust-removed work surface, thereby providing a work quality inspection function And to provide a laser cleaning apparatus and method therefor.

The present invention provides a laser cleaning apparatus having a work quality inspection function capable of automatically controlling a moving speed and a working speed of a laser cleaning apparatus so as to correspond to a rust removal quality of a work surface, and a method thereof.

Other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following description.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a driving apparatus comprising: a body that moves using a wheel mounted on a lower portion; A laser processing unit for irradiating a laser beam to a work area of a predetermined size; A camera unit for generating a video image obtained by photographing the work area irradiated with the laser beam in real time or at a predetermined period; An image analyzer for generating analysis information on a flame in the image; And a control unit for controlling movement and stop of the body to irradiate the laser beam on the work area and comparing the analysis information with previously stored evaluation reference information to determine a work quality for the work area to be irradiated with the laser beam, Wherein the laser processing section irradiates the laser beam such that the spot position of the laser beam passes all over the working area by repeating several times with respect to the working area.

The controller compares the analysis information with the evaluation reference information, and when the controller determines that the work quality of the work area is good, the controller moves the body to a position where the laser beam is irradiated to another work area adjacent to the work area So that it can be controlled to stop.

The laser processing unit may irradiate the laser beam having an output value relatively smaller than the complete rust removal output value to the work area so as to have a spot position moving speed relatively fast compared to the complete rust removal speed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a laser processing apparatus, comprising: controlling a laser processing unit such that a spot position of a laser beam for a work area of a predetermined size causes the laser beam to pass over the work area one or more times; Controlling the camera unit so that the controller generates a video image of the work area photographed in real time or at a predetermined period; Controlling the image analyzing unit such that the controller generates analysis information on a spark in the image; And a computer program stored in the medium for causing the controller to execute a step of comparing the analysis information with previously stored evaluation reference information to determine a work quality for the work area to which the laser beam is irradiated.

Other aspects, features, and advantages will become apparent from the following drawings, claims, and detailed description of the invention.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to inspect not only the rust removal on the surface of the workpiece but also the work quality of the rust-removed work surface by using the laser beam outputted from one laser processor, .

Also, there is an effect that the moving speed and the working speed of the laser cleaning device are automatically adjusted so as to correspond to the quality of the rust removal on the work surface.

1 illustrates a conventional laser cleaning apparatus;
FIG. 2 illustrates a laser cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
3 is a block diagram of a laser cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view for explaining a process of a laser cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining work quality of a work surface according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of inspecting an operation quality of a laser cleaning apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, the terms "comprises" or "having" and the like refer to the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

In addition, the terms "part," "unit," "module," "device," and the like described in the specification mean units for processing at least one function or operation, Lt; / RTI >

It is to be understood that the components of the embodiments described with reference to the drawings are not limited to the embodiments and may be embodied in other embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is to be understood that although the description is omitted, multiple embodiments may be implemented again as an alternative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a laser cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a laser cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a progress of a laser cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a view for explaining work quality of a work surface according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the laser cleaning apparatus 200 may include a body 110, a wheel 115, a laser processing unit 120, and a camera unit 210. The body 110 may include a wheel drive unit 310, an image analysis unit 320, a storage unit 330, and a controller 340.

The body 110 is moved in the corresponding direction by the rotation of the wheel 115 provided at the lower part.

The wheel 115 is rotated in the direction and at the speed corresponding to the operation of the wheel driving unit 310 under the control of the controller 340. The wheel 115 may be configured to be rotated by a predetermined angle about a vertical axis as well as a linear direction of rotation driving.

The controller 340 may control the wheel driving unit 310 to repeat the operation of stopping the wheel 115 by a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction.

4, in a state where the laser cleaning apparatus 200 is stopped at a specific position, the laser cleaning apparatus 200 performs rust removal on a first work area (area 1) of a predetermined size ( That is, laser cleaning processing is performed (see Fig. 4 (a)).

Then, when the rust removal for the first working area (area 1) is completed, the laser cleaning apparatus 200 stops the laser beam irradiation and then stops the second working area (area 2) adjacent to the first working area (area 1) (See Fig. 4 (b)). In this case, as shown in Fig. 4 illustrates a case where the laser cleaning apparatus 200 moves in a direction opposite to the direction in which the laser beam is irradiated. However, it is needless to say that the moving direction of the laser cleaning apparatus 200 is not limited thereto.

Thereafter, the laser cleaning apparatus 200 performs rust removal on the second working area (area 2) (see FIG. 4 (c)).

The above-described process is repeatedly performed until the rust removal on the predetermined work surface is completed.

Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 3, the laser processing unit 120 transmits the laser beam LB generated by the laser oscillator to a work object (for example, an output value, a pulse frequency, a wavelength, a pulse interval, Plane.

At this time, under the control of the controller 340, the laser processing unit 120 moves the current working area (for example, area 1 in FIG. 4 (a)) while moving the spot position of the laser beam in a zig- All of which are controlled to pass. In addition, the controller 340 controls the operation of the laser processing unit 120 so that the rust removal using the laser beam is repeatedly performed for the current working area several times.

In this manner, the rust removal process is repeated several times for the work area of the predetermined size. Therefore, the output value of the laser beam irradiated by the laser processing unit 120 can be set to be relatively lower than an output value (referred to as a complete rust removal output value) at which complete rust removal is performed by one spot position shift. And the spot position shifting process may be performed at a relatively higher speed than the spot position shifting speed (referred to as the full rust removal speed) of the laser beam for complete rust removal by one spot position shift.

The laser oscillator for generating the laser beam may be provided inside the body 110 or independently, and may be connected to the laser processing unit 120 through a transfer means for transferring the laser beam. The transmission means may include an optical fiber, for example, to have a high transmission precision of the laser beam and to enable precise movement of the laser cleaning apparatus 200.

The laser processing unit 120 may include a laser beam inlet and a laser beam transmitting unit.

The laser beam inflow section is operated to introduce or interrupt the laser beam transmitted through the connected transmission means into the laser processing section under the control of the controller 340.

The laser beam transmission unit includes a reflection mirror for refracting the laser beam introduced into the laser processing unit and irradiating the laser beam to the outside through the irradiation port so that the laser beam reaches the work area of a predetermined size and can perform rust removal And an actuator for rotating the reflection mirror about the X axis and the Y axis to change the spot position of the laser beam irradiated to the work surface through the irradiation aperture. The actuator may be operatively controlled by the controller 340, for example.

The camera unit 210 photographs the current working area where the laser beam is irradiated and the rust removal is performed, in real time or at predetermined time intervals to generate a video image.

The image analyzing unit 320 analyzes and processes the flame information (for example, whether or not there is a flame and the amount of generated flame) in the image image generated by the camera unit 210.

If rust is present in the current working area, a large amount of flame (see region 510 of FIG. 5 (a)) is generated together with the intense light generated as the laser beam reaches the work surface, as well as the rust. At this time, the more the rust is present on the work surface, the more the flame is generated relatively.

In contrast, when the laser beam is irradiated on the surface of the base material before the rust is formed or the surface of the workpiece which is completed with excellent quality of laser cleaning, strong light is generated in a certain shape, but no flame is generated (see ).

Accordingly, the state of the work surface can be easily grasped by analyzing the spark information in the image image of the current work area irradiated with the laser beam.

For example, in the case where the laser beam is repeatedly irradiated to the current working area to perform rust removal, in the image image photographed in real time or at a predefined period, compared to the case of the first laser beam irradiation, A relatively small amount of flame generation can be interpreted. If it is interpreted that no flame is generated in the entire working area during the fifth laser beam irradiation, it can be recognized that the rust removal for the current working area is completed with good quality, and for the rust removal of adjacent adjacent work areas The laser cleaning apparatus 200 may be controlled to move.

A method of analyzing the flame information by a method such as, for example, detection of an outline in a video image of a current work area photographed by the image analyzing unit 320 will be obvious to those skilled in the art, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In the storage unit 330, evaluation reference information (for example, the amount of generation of flames per job quality level) may be stored in advance.

The controller 340 can recognize the work quality of the current work area where the laser cleaning processing is performed by referring to the evaluation reference information stored in advance and the analysis information on the image image provided by the image analyzer 320. [

If it is determined that the rust removal quality of the current work area is good (for example, the spark is detected or detected below the reference amount) in comparison with the analysis information and the previously stored evaluation reference information, the controller 340 controls the laser processing unit 120 Controls the operation of the wheel driving unit 310 so that the laser cleaning apparatus 200 is moved to stop the laser beam irradiation on the current working area and to remove the rust in the succeeding working area adjacent to the current working area.

However, if it is determined that the rust removal quality of the current work area is poor compared with the analysis information and the previously stored evaluation reference information, the controller 340 controls the laser processing unit 120 to control the laser beam irradiation on the current work area do.

Of course, in the case where the area where the flame is detected by the analysis information is recognized as being limited to a certain area of the current working area, the controller 340 controls the laser processing part 120 such that the laser beam is irradiated only to the corresponding area, It is also possible to control the operation.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of inspecting a work quality of a laser cleaning apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the laser cleaning apparatus 200 irradiates a laser beam to a first work area (see an area 1 in FIG. 4 (a)) of a predetermined size for rust removal (step 610). The laser beam is irradiated such that the spot position of the laser beam is moved, for example, in a staggered manner, so as to pass through the first work area, and laser cleaning processing is repeatedly performed for the first work area several times.

The laser cleaning apparatus 200 analyzes the image of the first work area generated in real time or at a predetermined period in the laser beam irradiation process in step 610 to determine whether a flame is detected (step 620).

As described above, if there is rust on the work surface, a large amount of flame is generated in the rust removal process using the laser beam. However, even if the laser beam reaches the work surface completed with excellent quality of laser cleaning, There is a difference that only the flame of the flame is generated.

The analysis information is compared with the previously stored evaluation criterion information, and if the spark over the reference amount is detected, the process goes back to step 610 to further perform the laser cleaning process.

However, if the flame is not detected or a flame below the reference amount is detected, since the rust removal for the first working area is completed with excellent quality, in step 630, the laser cleaning apparatus 200 determines that the rust removal Is completed.

If the rust removal is completed for the entire predetermined work surface, the step for the laser cleaning processing is ended.

However, if there is an area in which the rust removal has not yet been completed, the laser cleaning apparatus 200 determines in step 640 that the first working area (see area 1 in FIG. 4 (a)) and the next succeeding second working area 4 (b) (see the area (2)).

Thereafter, the process goes back to step 610 for removing rust in the second work area, and the above-described process is repeated until the rust removal for the entire predetermined work surface is completed.

As described above, in the laser cleaning apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment, the rust removal on the surface of the workpiece and the work quality of the rust removed work surface are performed simultaneously using the laser beam output from one laser processing unit 120 It is possible to secure a high-quality work product, and the moving speed and the working speed of the laser cleaning apparatus can be automatically adjusted so as to correspond to the rust removal quality of the work surface.

In addition, it is a matter of course that the above-described method of inspecting the operation quality of the laser cleaning apparatus may be performed in an automated procedure in a time-series sequence by a software program embedded in a digital processing apparatus such as a laser cleaning apparatus, a computer or the like. The codes and code segments that make up the program can be easily deduced by a computer programmer in the field. In addition, the program is stored in a computer readable medium, readable and executed by a computer, thereby implementing the method. The information storage medium includes a magnetic recording medium, an optical recording medium, and the like.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the following claims And changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

100, 200: laser cleaning device 110: body
115: wheel 120: laser processing unit
210: camera unit 310: wheel drive unit
320: Image analysis unit 330:
340: controller

Claims (4)

A body moving using a wheel mounted on the lower portion;
A laser processing unit for irradiating a laser beam to a work area of a predetermined size;
A camera unit for generating a video image obtained by photographing the work area irradiated with the laser beam in real time or at a predetermined period;
An image analyzer for generating analysis information on a flame in the image; And
A controller for controlling movement and stop of the body to irradiate the laser beam to the work area and comparing the analysis information with previously stored evaluation reference information to determine a work quality for the work area to which the laser beam is irradiated Including,
Wherein the laser processing unit repeats a plurality of times with respect to the working area to irradiate the laser beam so that the spot position of the laser beam passes all over the working area. The method according to claim 1,
The controller compares the analysis information with the evaluation reference information, and when the controller determines that the work quality of the work area is good, the controller moves the body to a position where the laser beam is irradiated to another work area adjacent to the work area So as to stop the laser beam. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the laser processing unit irradiates the laser beam having an output value relatively smaller than the complete rust removal output value to the work area so as to have a spot position movement speed relatively fast compared to the complete rust removal speed. Controlling the laser processing unit so that the controller irradiates the laser beam such that the spot position of the laser beam for the work area of the predetermined size passes all over the work area one or more times;
Controlling the camera unit so that the controller generates a video image of the work area photographed in real time or at a predetermined period;
Controlling the image analyzing unit such that the controller generates analysis information on a spark in the image; And
The controller compares the analysis information with previously stored evaluation reference information to determine a work quality for the work area to which the laser beam is irradiated.

Images