KR20210048390A - Laser beam quality measuring device - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a laser beam quality measuring apparatus which is able to monitor a laser beam used for a laser welding head and to detect the presence or absence of damage to a laser output means or an optical system. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the laser beam quality measuring apparatus comprises: a light damping unit which has a light damping means for damping the laser beam of the laser output means, which only partly penetrates from a bending mirror placed in the laser welding head; an image sensor which acquires an image of the laser beam damped through the light damping unit; and a controller unit which stores, in a storage unit, a reference image of the laser beam and a detection image of the laser beam detected by the image sensor, and which includes an analysis means which compares the central value between the reference image and the detection image stored in the storage unit and management item values including at least the radius, eccentricity, detection cycle, and sensitivity of the laser beam, and which thereby detects and analyzes the presence or absence of damage of an optical system placed on a laser output means or the laser welding head. The present invention is able to provide a user with the laser beam quality measuring apparatus which is able to monitor a laser beam and detect the presence or absence of damage to a laser output means or an optical system without directly disassembling a laser welding head.

Description

Laser beam quality measuring device

The present invention relates to a laser beam quality measuring apparatus, and more particularly, to a laser beam quality measuring apparatus that monitors a laser beam used in a laser welding head and detects whether a laser output means or an optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged. About.

In the industrial field, laser beams, which have excellent effects in terms of cost reduction, factory automation, and quality improvement, are continuously adopted for cutting, welding, and heat treatment of metal materials. The laser beam energy distribution is uniform, the output control of the laser beam to maintain the heat treatment temperature, the optimal laser beam irradiation speed control that can satisfy productivity and quality, and the energy absorption rate are maximized.

That is, when the above targets are satisfied, it is possible to expect the effect of cost reduction and quality improvement in product development using a laser beam.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a laser welding head according to the prior art, showing a laser welding head in which a laser output means is applied as a fiber 10, and components include a fiber 10, a bending mirror 20, and an image sensor 30 ) And a scanner 40 are provided.

The fiber 10 is provided with a collimator 15 for making the output laser beam 1 parallel, and the laser beam 1 output from the fiber 10 is incident on the bending mirror 20, and the scanner 40 ) Through the final product. The scanner 40 moves the laser beam by reflecting data such as coordinates and speeds transmitted from the data transmission unit. The image sensor 30 acquires an image by converting a portion of the laser beam 1 transmitted from the bending mirror 20 into an electrical signal.

Conventionally, in the event of a process failure using a laser welding head, the operator directly disassembles the laser welding head and first specifies the intensity of the laser beam 1 at the target position to check whether the light output is lowered, and then output the laser secondly. It has been detected whether the optical system including at least the fiber 10 or the collimator 15 and the bending mirror 20 is damaged.

However, the conventional method of checking the defects of the laser welding head has a problem in that contaminants are introduced into the laser welding head as the operator directly disassembles the laser welding head, or damage or secondary contamination occurs due to the operator's carelessness.

In addition, since the conventional method for checking the defects of the laser welding head must be performed after the operation of the product production line is stopped, as the laser welding head is directly disassembled, there is a problem that it takes a lot of time in product production.

Accordingly, there is a need for a method capable of detecting whether the laser output means of the laser welding head or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged without directly disassembling the laser welding head.

Korean Registered Patent Publication No. 10-1116635 (optical head unit for laser welding) Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2017-0118445 (laser welding device) Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2015-0087389 (laser welding head and process)

The present invention was conceived to solve the above problems, and the conventional laser process process monitor is a device for checking the quality of a process in operation, but the present invention is a device for checking the quality of a laser beam for a process. As a result, an object of the present invention is to provide a laser beam quality measuring apparatus using a part of a laser beam passing through a bending mirror installed in an incident path of a laser beam.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a laser beam quality measuring apparatus that monitors a laser beam without directly disassembling the laser welding head and detects whether the laser output means or an optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged.

In addition, the present invention compares the detected image acquired and stored after attenuating the size and amount of light of a part of the laser beam passing through the bending mirror with a reference image previously stored in the storage unit, An object of the present invention is to provide a laser beam quality measuring apparatus provided with an analysis means for detecting and analyzing damage.

In addition, the present invention, when the analysis means detects whether the laser output means or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged, among the laser output means corresponding to the damage reason analyzed by the analysis means and the optical system provided in the laser welding head An object of the present invention is to provide a laser beam quality measuring apparatus provided with a display for outputting at least one inspection request message.

However, the technical problems to be achieved in the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems that are not mentioned are clearly to those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention belongs from the following description. It will be understandable.

As a technical means for achieving the above object, the laser beam quality measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention attenuates the laser beam of the laser output means that is partially transmitted from the bending mirror provided inside the laser welding head. A light attenuating unit provided with a light attenuating means for; An image sensor that acquires an image of the attenuated laser beam through the light attenuating unit; And the reference image of the laser beam and the detection image of the laser beam detected by the image sensor are stored in the storage unit, and the center value between the reference image and the detected image stored in the storage unit, the radius of the laser beam, the eccentricity, the detection period, and the sensitivity are at least It includes; a controller unit provided with an analysis means for detecting and analyzing whether the laser output means or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged through comparison of the values of the included management items.

And the light attenuating means, a focusing lens for attenuating the size of the laser beam by converging the laser beam partially transmitted through the bending mirror; A wedge mirror that reflects the laser beam whose size is attenuated by the focusing lens at least once or more so that the amount of light of the laser beam is attenuated by 0.1-4%; And an optical filter for additionally attenuating the amount of light of the laser beam in which the amount of light is attenuated by the wedge mirror.

In addition, the wedge mirror reflects only a part of the laser beam whose size is attenuated by the attenuation device in a first direction crossing the incident direction of the laser beam, so that the amount of light of the laser beam is primarily attenuated at a predetermined first angle. An inclined first wedge mirror; And only a part of the laser beam, in which the amount of light is primarily attenuated by the first wedge mirror, is reflected in a second direction orthogonal to the incident direction of the laser beam, so that the amount of light of the laser beam is secondarily attenuated. A second wedge mirror that is spaced apart from the first wedge mirror based on the incident direction of the laser beam reflected through the first wedge mirror so that the laser beam is incident on the optical filter and is inclined at a predetermined second angle; Can include.

In addition, the first and second wedge mirrors may be inclined at predetermined first and second angles so that ghost beams reflected from the rear surfaces of the first and second wedge mirrors are not reflected toward the image sensor, respectively.

In addition, the optical filter is operated when the amount of light of the laser beam reflected from the front surface of the wedge mirror exceeds 0.1 to 4%.

And the analysis means, when the laser output means is fiber, and whether the fiber or optical system is damaged is detected by comparing the management item value between the reference image and the detected image, the output of the fiber from which the laser beam is output is damaged, or in the air of the optical system. It is analyzed that the fiber or the optical system is damaged due to at least one of the reasons for damage to the optical system due to contamination and the heat of the laser beam output from the fiber.

In addition, the controller unit outputs the reference image and management item values of the reference image to the first area, the detection image and the management item value of the detection image to the second area, and when the analysis means analyzes whether the fiber or optical system is damaged, And a display further outputting a message requesting inspection of the fiber or optical system corresponding to the reason for damage analyzed by the analysis means, or a comparison result of the management item value of the reference image and the management item value of the detected image to the third area; .

In addition, the controller unit communicates with the image sensor through at least one of USB 3.0, GigE (Gigabit Ethernet), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ZigBee.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a laser beam quality measuring device that monitors a laser beam without directly disassembling the laser welding head and detects whether the laser output means or an optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged is provided to the user. I can.

And according to an embodiment of the present invention, a laser output means or laser welding by comparing the detected image acquired and stored after attenuating the size and amount of light of a part of the laser beam passing through the bending mirror with a reference image previously stored in the storage unit. It is possible to provide a user with a laser beam quality measuring apparatus provided with analysis means for detecting and analyzing whether the optical system provided in the head is damaged.

In addition, when the analysis means detects whether the laser output means or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged, at least one of the laser output means corresponding to the damage reason analyzed by the analysis means and the optical system provided in the laser welding head A laser beam quality measuring apparatus provided with a display for outputting a message requesting an inspection may be provided to a user.

However, the effects obtainable in the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the following description. I will be able to.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a laser welding head according to the prior art.
2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a laser welding head equipped with a laser beam quality measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a side view showing a laser beam quality measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4A and 4B are perspective views illustrating a laser beam quality measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a partially enlarged view schematically showing the effect of the wedge mirror according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a controller unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is an actual picture showing images stored in a storage unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is an actual photograph showing a display according to an embodiment of the present invention in which a detection image similar to a reference image is output.
9 is an actual photograph showing a display according to an embodiment of the present invention in which a detection image of fiber damage is output.
10 is an actual picture showing a display according to an embodiment of the present invention in which a message requesting inspection of a fiber is output.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art may easily implement the present invention. However, since the description of the present invention is merely an embodiment for structural or functional description, the rights of the present invention (the scope should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described in the text. That is, the embodiment is variously modified. Since this is possible and may have various forms, it should be understood that the scope of the present invention includes equivalents capable of realizing the technical idea. Since it does not mean that only such effects should be included, the scope of the present invention should not be understood as being limited thereto.

The meaning of the terms described in the present invention should be understood as follows.

Terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish one component from other components, and the scope of rights is not limited by these terms. For example, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component may be referred to as a first component. When a component is referred to as being "connected" to another component, it should be understood that although it may be directly connected to the other component, another component may exist in the middle. On the other hand, when a component is referred to as being "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in the middle. On the other hand, other expressions describing the relationship between components, that is, "between" and "just between" or "neighboring to" and "directly neighboring to" should be interpreted as well.

Singular expressions are to be understood as including plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, and terms such as "comprises" or "have" refer to the specified features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or these. It is to be understood that it is intended to designate that a combination exists and does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

All terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the field to which the present invention belongs, unless otherwise defined. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having meanings in the context of related technologies, and cannot be interpreted as having an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present invention.

Configuration of the embodiment

Hereinafter, a configuration of a preferred embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a cross-sectional view showing a laser welding head equipped with a laser beam quality measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is a side view showing a laser beam quality measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4a And FIG. 4B is a perspective view showing an apparatus for measuring laser beam quality according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view schematically showing the effect of a wedge mirror according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is a block diagram showing the configuration of the controller unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 7 is an actual picture showing images stored in the storage unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 8 is a detection image similar to a reference image is output Is an actual photo showing a display according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is an actual photo showing a display according to an embodiment of the present invention in which a detection image of fiber damage is output, and FIG. 10 is a request for inspection of the fiber This is an actual picture showing a display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in which the message to be outputted is displayed.

2 to 10, the laser beam quality measuring apparatus 100 of the present invention is a device mounted on a part of the laser welding head shown in FIG. 1, and includes a light attenuating unit 110, an image sensor 120, and a controller. It is configured to include the unit 130.

The laser beam quality measuring device 100 can check whether the laser is normally output or not, and whether the optical system on the output means and the beam path is contaminated or damaged by using an image sensor 120 that divides and receives a laser beam incident in the head. Thus, the above-described conventional problem can be solved.

2 to 3, the light attenuating unit 110 is a light attenuating means for attenuating the laser beam 1a of the laser output means that is partially transmitted from the bending mirror 20 provided inside the laser welding head. It is provided, and in order to attenuate the size and amount of light of the laser beam 1a, it will be preferable to be installed on the path of the laser beam 1a passing through the bending mirror 20.

Here, the laser output means may be a fiber 10 or a disk that outputs a high-power laser beam of several kW, but the laser output means in the present invention will be described with a fiber 10 as an example.

In addition, the light attenuating means of the light attenuating unit 110 includes a focusing lens 111, a wedge mirror 112, and an optical filter 113.

The focusing lens 111 converges the laser beam 1a partially transmitted through the bending mirror 20 so that the size of the laser beam 1a is attenuated. Here, it is preferable that the focusing lens 111 attenuates the size of the laser beam 1a so that the image sensor 120 can acquire the laser beam 1c.

Such a focusing lens 111 is disposed spaced apart from the bending mirror 20, and adjusts the amount of the laser beam 1a converging by adjusting the separation distance with the bending mirror 20 so that the size of the laser beam 1a is attenuated. do.

In this way, in order to adjust the separation distance from the bending mirror 20, the focusing lens 111 may be provided with a distance adjusting means (not shown) on one side, and the distance adjusting means (not shown) adopts a sliding movement method. It may be a moving rail (not shown) or a bellows member (not shown) capable of expanding or reducing an area.

On the other hand, the bending mirror 20 only played a role of reflecting the laser beam 1 output from the fiber 10 toward the scanner 40 in the prior art, but in the present invention, the bending mirror 20 The output laser beam 1 is reflected by the scanner 40, but a part 1a of the laser beam is transmitted to be incident on the focusing lens 111. That is, the bending mirror 20 used in the present invention may have a different role from that of the bending mirror 20 shown in FIG. 1.

The wedge mirror 112 reflects the laser beam 1a whose size is attenuated by the focusing lens 111 at least once, so that the amount of light of the laser beam 1a is attenuated.

In a specific embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the wedge mirror 112 is inclined at a predetermined angle and the amount of light of the laser beam 1a attenuated by the focusing lens 111 is 0.1 to 4%. (Preferably, 4%). In addition, the preset angle refers to an angle at which a ghost beam (not shown) reflected from the rear surface is not reflected toward the image sensor 120.

Unlike the above embodiment, the wedge mirror 112 of another embodiment has a first wedge mirror 112a and a second wedge mirror 112a to attenuate the amount of light of the laser beam 1a, as shown in FIGS. 4A to 5. It may be made of a wedge mirror (112b). However, since it is not essential that the wedge mirror 112 is composed of the first and second wedge mirrors 112a and 112b, some may be omitted or a separate wedge mirror may be additionally provided.

The first wedge mirror 112a reflects only a part of the attenuated laser beam 1a in a first direction crossing the incident direction of the laser beam 1a so that the amount of light of the laser beam 1a is primarily attenuated. can do. Here, a part of the laser beam 1a may mean a laser beam 1b. In addition, the size of the attenuated laser beam 1a may be attenuated so as to pass through the mounting hole 110a by an attenuation device (not shown) such as a focusing lens 110 or an objective lens. In addition, in order to attenuate the size of the laser beam 1a, the attenuating device may be mounted in a mounting hole 110a formed in an area where the laser beam 1a is incident or may be disposed at a front end of the light attenuating part 110.

The first wedge mirror 112a is disposed in the transmission direction of the laser beam 1a passing through the bending mirror 20 and may be inclined at a predetermined first angle.

Here, the predetermined first angle means that the first wedge mirror 112a reflects the laser beam 1b, which is a part of the laser beam 1a whose size is attenuated, so that the amount of light of the laser beam 1b is It may mean an angle at which the ghost beam 2a reflected from the rear surface is not reflected toward the image sensor 120 while being attenuated by 5 to 10% (preferably 10%) of ).

In this way, the first wedge mirror 112a prevents the ghost beam 2a from being reflected toward the image sensor 120, when the ghost beam 2a is reflected to the image sensor 120, the image sensor 120 ) Can affect the image acquired.

The second wedge mirror 112b reflects only a part of the laser beam 1b whose light quantity is primarily attenuated by the first wedge mirror 112a in a second direction orthogonal to the incident direction of the laser beam 1b While the amount of light of the beam 1b is secondarily attenuated, a part of the laser beam 1b, whose light amount is secondarily attenuated, may be incident on the optical filter 113. Here, a part of the laser beam 1b may mean the laser beam 1c.

These second wedge mirrors 112b are spaced apart from each other in parallel with the first wedge mirror 112a based on the incidence direction of the laser beam 1b reflected through the first wedge mirror 112a, and a predetermined second angle Can be tilted into In this case, the second wedge mirror 112b may be spaced apart from the first wedge mirror 112a for incidence and reflection of the laser beam 1b.

Here, the predetermined second angle means that the second wedge mirror 112b reflects the laser beam 1c, which is a part of the laser beam 1b reflected from the front surface of the first wedge mirror 112a, to reflect the laser beam ( The amount of light in 1c) is attenuated by 0.1 to 4% (preferably 4%) of the laser beam 1a, while preventing the ghost beam 2b reflected from the rear surface from being reflected toward the image sensor 120. It can mean an angle.

The second wedge mirror 112b prevents the ghost beam 2b from being reflected toward the image sensor 120, when the ghost beam 2b is reflected to the image sensor 120, the image sensor 120 is acquired. This is because it can affect the image you are doing.

The ghost beams 2a and 2b are generated by partially reflecting light (laser) from the surface of the transmissive optical component of the optical system, and mainly between two surfaces of the optical component itself or between the surfaces of adjacent optical components. It refers to a beam formed by the partially reflected light from the focal plane.

The optical filter 113 is provided to further attenuate the amount of light of the laser beam 1c whose light amount is attenuated by the wedge mirror 112.

Here, the optical filter 113 may be a neutral density filter or a neutral density/light amount attenuation filter that uniformly attenuates the amount of light over the entire wavelength range regardless of the color of the subject.

In addition, the optical filter 113 is operated when the amount of light of the laser beam 1c reflected from the front surface of the wedge mirror 112 exceeds 0.1 to 4% (preferably 4%). That is, the operation of the optical filter 113 may be omitted if the amount of light of the laser beam 1c reflected from the wedge mirror 112 falls within the above range.

Meanwhile, the light attenuating unit 110 measures the amount of light of the laser beam 1c reflected from the front surface of the wedge mirror 112 in order to determine the operation of the optical filter 113, and the measured laser beam 1c It would be desirable to have a light quantity measuring sensor (not shown) for transmitting the information of the optical filter 113 to the inside.

The image sensor 120 is an optical measuring device (or beam profiler) provided on one side of the optical filter 113, and a laser beam 1c reflected from the wedge mirror 112 or a laser passing through the optical filter 113 An image sensor for obtaining an image of the beam 1c is provided.

Here, the image sensor may be a Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) that reads electric charges generated by light (laser) energy and converts the electric charges into digital signals in each pixel. Such CMOS is useful in miniaturization and management through a one-chip circuit, and has the advantage of being usable with high integration and low power.

In addition, the image sensor may be a Charge-Coulped Device (CCD) of a method of obtaining an image by converting light into electric charges. At this time, the image sensor has advantages of fast processing speed and low power consumption.

The controller unit 130 is a computer (e.g., a small single board computer) to detect and analyze damage to an optical system provided in a laser welding head including at least a fiber 10 or a collimator 15 and a bending mirror 20 Use. Here, the small single board computer serves as a control unit, and has the advantage of being miniaturized and integrated with the controller unit 130.

The controller unit 130 includes a storage unit 131, an analysis unit 132, and a display 133.

The storage unit 131 preferentially stores a reference image 131a, which is an image of a normal laser beam 1c, which is detected after the laser beam quality measuring apparatus 100 of the present invention is installed on the laser welding head. Here, the reference image 131a stored in the storage unit 131 is an image of the laser beam 1c acquired by the image sensor 120 when the optical system provided in the fiber 10 and the laser welding head is in a normal state. , It serves as a reference image for detecting and analyzing whether the optical system provided in the laser welding head or the fiber 10 stored before the detection image is stored in the storage unit 131 is damaged.

However, the reference image 131a is not limited to being stored in the storage unit 131 when the optical system provided in the fiber 10 and the laser welding head is in a normal state. After setting by assigning a value according to the management item, it may be previously stored in the storage unit 131. Here, the management items for setting the reference image 131a may include a centroid, a laser beam radius, an eccentricity, a detection period, a sensitivity, etc., and the management item element is as described above. It is not limited, and elements of other management items may be added or omitted.

Hereinafter, it will be described that the reference image 131a is assigned a management item value through the controller unit 130.

In addition, after the reference image 131a is previously stored, the storage unit 131 stores one or more detected images through the image of the laser beam 1c transmitted from the image sensor 120.

The detected image is compared with the value of the management item of the reference image 131a, and the first detection image 131a' included in the error range and the value of the management item of the reference image 131a are compared with the value of the error range. 2 It refers to the detected images 131b and 131c.

The second detection images 131b and 131c include a fiber contamination image 131b detected by contamination of the output portion of the fiber 10 and an optical system damage image detected by heat of the laser beam 1 output from the fiber 10 ( 131c). Hereinafter, the fiber contamination image 131b will be described as a 2-1 detection image, and the optical system damage image 131c as a 2-2 detection image.

Furthermore, the 2-2 detection image 131c further includes an optical system contamination image detected by contamination in the air of the optical system.

That is, the second detection image (131b, 131c) is at least one of the contamination of the optical system air, contamination of the output of the fiber 10, and damage to the optical system caused by the heat of the laser beam 1 output from the fiber 10. For a reason, the value of the management item is an image that is larger or smaller than the error range compared to the reference image 131a.

On the other hand, the controller unit 130 is a communication method for transmitting the image of the laser beam 1c acquired by the image sensor 120 to the storage unit 131, USB 3.0, GigE (Gigabit Ethernet), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, At least one of Zigbee may be adopted. Through this, the controller unit 130 enables communication through a direct connection with the image sensor 120 or short-range or long-distance communication, so that the image of the laser beam 1c acquired by the image sensor 120 is stored in the storage unit 131. Can be saved.

The analysis means 132 detects and analyzes whether the fiber 10 or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged through comparison of the management item value between the reference image 131a stored in the storage unit 131 and the detection image. .

As a specific example, when the first detection image 131a' is stored in the storage unit 131, the analysis means 132 is the management item value of the first detection image 131a' and the management item of the reference image 131a. By comparing the values, it is detected that the management item value of the first detection image 131 ′ falls within the error range of the management item value of the reference image 131a, so that it is not damaged by the optical system provided in the fiber 10 or the laser welding head. Analyze it as not.

In contrast, when the 2-1 detection image 131b or the 2-2 detection image 131c is stored in the storage unit 131, the analysis means 132 manages the second detection images 131b and 131c. By comparing the item value and the management item value of the reference image 131a, the management item value of the 2-1 detection image 131b or the 2-2 detection image 131c is an error of the management item value of the reference image 131a It is detected as being larger or smaller than the range and analyzed as damage to the fiber 10 or the optical system provided in the laser welding head.

In addition, when it is analyzed whether the fiber 10 or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged, the analysis means 132 damages the output of the fiber 10, contamination in the air of the optical system, and output from the fiber 10. It is analyzed that the fiber 10 or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged due to at least one damage reason among the damage to the optical system caused by the heat of the laser beam 1.

At this time, the analysis means 132 analyzes that the fiber 10 is damaged through comparison of the management item values between the reference image 131a and the 2-1 detected image 131b, the output of the fiber 10 is damaged. Analyze it as.

In addition, when the analysis means 132 analyzes that the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged through comparison of the management item values between the reference image 131a and the 2-2 detection image 131c, the optical system is contaminated in the air. Alternatively, it is analyzed that it is damaged by the heat of the laser beam 1 output from the fiber 10.

In addition, after the reference image 131a is pre-stored in the storage unit 131, the analysis means 132 includes the first detection image 131a', the 2-1 detection image 131b, and the 2-2 detection image 131c. ) Whenever at least one of them is stored, it is possible to detect and analyze whether the optical system provided in the fiber 10 or the laser welding head is damaged, but preferably, a detection and analysis start button that is output on the display 133 by the operator After touching, the optical system provided in the fiber 10 or the laser welding head through at least one of the first detection image 131a', the 2-1 detection image 131b, and the 2-2 detection image 131c. It can detect and analyze whether or not is damaged.

In addition, the analysis means 132 may be pre-stored in a computer embedded with software that detects and analyzes whether the fiber 10 or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged.

The display 133 is a touch panel that outputs an image stored in the storage unit 131 and an analysis result of the analysis means 132, and outputs various information through visualization software previously stored in the computer. Here, the visualization software of the controller unit 130 includes Gaussian distribution analysis technology and curve fitting technology, full with half maximum (FWHM) and 1/e ² analysis technology, nonlinearity analysis technology, optimization filter, and Error correction algorithms and information visualization techniques are reflected, and other visualization techniques may be added or omitted.

The display 133 outputs the reference image 131a previously stored in the storage unit 131 and the management item value of the reference image 131a to the first area 133a, and stores the reference image 131a in the storage unit 131. 1 At least one of the detection image 131a', the 2-1 detection image 131b, and the 2-2 detection image 131c, and the management item value of the one detection image are output to the second area 133b. .

In addition, after the display 133 outputs the 2-1 detection image 131b or the 2-2 detection image 131c to the second area 133b, the analysis means 132 When analyzing that the fiber 10 or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged through (131b) or the 2-2 detection image (131c), the fiber 10 corresponding to the damage reason analyzed by the analysis means 132 ) And a message 1330 requesting an inspection of at least one of the optical systems provided in the laser welding head may be output to the third area 133c.

As a specific example, the message 1330 includes the fiber 10 ('laser beam' in FIG. 10) and the fiber 10 corresponding to the damage reason analyzed by the analysis means 132, as shown in FIG. The phrases for requesting inspection ('Warning' and'Please check' in FIG. 10) may be included.

Further, although the display 133 is not shown in the drawing, after the 2-1 detection image 131b or the 2-2 detection image 131c is output to the second area 133b, the analysis means 132 When analyzing that the optical system provided in the fiber 10 or the laser welding head is damaged through the 2-1 detection image 131b or the 2-2 detection image 131c, the management item value of the reference image 131a The comparison result of the management item values of the 2-1 detection image 131b or the 2-2 detection image 131c may be output to the third area 133c.

As a specific example, after the 2-1 detection image 131b and the management item values of the 2-1 detection image 131b are output in the second area 133b, the analysis means 132 When analyzing that the fiber 10 is damaged through the detection image 131b, the display 133 compares the management item value of the reference image 131a and the management item value of the 2-1 detection image 131b. It can be output to the third area 133c.

Furthermore, in the third area 133c, not only the comparison result of the management item value of the reference image 131a and the management item value of the 2-1 detection image 131b or the 2-2 detection image 131c, but also The management item value of the reference image 131 and the management item value of the 2-1 detection image 131b or the 2-2 detection image 131c may be output together.

Meanwhile, when the message 1330 or the comparison result of the management item value is output to the third area 133c, the controller unit 130 informs the operator whether to output the message 1330 or the comparison result of the management item value. A warning generating unit (not shown) for generating a warning sound may be provided. It is preferable that the warning generator (not shown) outputs the message 1330 or the comparison result of the management item value to the third area 133c and generates a warning sound at the same time.

Example operation

First, the laser beam quality measuring apparatus 100 of the present invention may be mounted on a part of a laser welding head. Preferably, it may be mounted at a position parallel to the bending mirror 20 based on the output direction of the laser beam 1 output from the fiber 10.

Furthermore, when the laser beam quality measuring apparatus 100 is mounted, the optical system provided in the fiber 10 and the laser welding head may be in a normal operating state.

After the laser beam quality measuring device 100 is mounted, the laser beam 1 is output from the fiber 10, and through this, the image sensor 120 is a laser whose size and amount of light are attenuated through the light attenuating unit 110. An image of the beam 1c may be obtained.

After the image sensor 120 acquires an image, the storage unit 131 may store the image of the laser beam 1c acquired by the image sensor 120 as a reference image 131a. However, the reference image 131a may be previously stored in the storage unit 131 through the setting of a management item regardless of whether the optical system provided in the fiber 10 and the laser welding head is normally operated. Here, the management item may include a centroid, a laser beam radius, an eccentricity, a detection period, a sensitivity, etc., as described above, and the management item element is not limited as described above. In addition, elements of other management items may be added or omitted.

After pre-storing the reference image 131a, the optical system provided in the fiber 10 or the laser welding head may be damaged by a repetitive process.

After the fiber 10 or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged, the laser beam 1 is output again from the fiber 10, and the image sensor 120 can acquire an image of the laser beam 1c. .

After acquiring the image of the laser beam 1c, the storage unit 131 may store the image of the laser beam 1c acquired by the image sensor 120 as a detection image. Here, the detection image may be at least one of the first detection image 131a', the 2-1 detection image 131b, and the 2-2 detection image 131c.

After storing at least one of the first detection image 131a', the 2-1 detection image 131b, and the 2-2 detection image 131c, the display 133 converts the reference image 131a into the first area 133a. ), and at least one of the first detection image 131a', the 2-1 detection image 131b, and the 2-2 detection image 131c can be output to the second region 133b. .

When the operator touches the detection and analysis start button of the display 133 after outputting at least one of the first detection image 131a', the 2-1 detection image 131b, and the 2-2 detection image 131c , The analysis means 132 may detect and analyze whether the fiber 10 or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged.

At this time, if the first detection image 131a' is stored in the storage unit 131 and is output to the second area 133b of the display 133, the analysis means 132 is a reference stored in the storage unit 131. After detecting the management item values of the image 131a and the first detection image 131a', it can be analyzed that the optical system provided in the fiber 10 or the laser welding head is not damaged through comparison of the management item values. . In this way, as the analysis means 132 determines that the fiber 10 or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is not damaged, the output of the message 1330 may be omitted on the display 133.

In contrast, if the 2-1 detected image 131b or the 2-2 detected image 131c is stored in the storage unit 131 and output to the second area 133b of the display 133, the analysis means 132 detects the management item values of the reference image 131a stored in the storage unit 131 and the 2-1 detection image 131b or the 2-2 detection image 131c, and then compares the management item values. Through this, it can be analyzed that the fiber 10 or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged. In this way, as the analysis means 132 determines that the fiber 10 or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged, the display 133 includes the fiber 10 corresponding to the damage reason analyzed by the analysis means 132. Alternatively, a message 1330 requesting an inspection of an optical system provided in the laser welding head may be output. Furthermore, the warning generator (not shown) may generate a warning sound at the same time as the message 1330 is output.

Meanwhile, in the display 133, instead of the message 1330, a comparison result of the management item value of the reference image 131a and the management item value of the 2-1 detection image 131b or the 2-2 detection image 131c is displayed. May be output, and the warning generator (not shown) is a comparison result of the management item value of the reference image 131a and the management item value of the 2-1 detection image 131b or the 2-2 detection image 131c. It can generate a warning sound at the same time as output.

Through this, there is an effect that the operator can check whether the fiber 10 or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged, without directly disassembling the laser welding head.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention can be implemented through various means. For example, embodiments of the present invention may be implemented by hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof.

In the case of implementation by hardware, the method according to embodiments of the present invention includes one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), and Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs). , Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, and the like.

In the case of implementation by firmware or software, the method according to the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in the form of a module, procedure, or function that performs the functions or operations described above. The software code may be stored in a memory unit and driven by a processor. The memory unit may be located inside or outside the processor, and may exchange data with the processor through various known means.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention disclosed as described above has been provided to enable those skilled in the art to implement and practice the present invention. Although the above has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, a person skilled in the art may use the components described in the above-described embodiments in a manner that combines with each other. Accordingly, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit and essential features of the present invention. Therefore, the detailed description above should not be construed as restrictive in all respects and should be considered as illustrative. The scope of the present invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the equivalent scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. The invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. In addition, the embodiments may be configured by combining claims that do not have an explicit citation relationship in the claims, or may be included as new claims by amendment after filing.

10: fiber,
15: collimator,
20: bending mirror,
30: image sensor,
35: tube lens,
40: scanner,
100: laser beam quality measuring device,
110: light attenuating part,
111: focusing lens,
112: wedge mirror,
112a: a first wedge mirror,
112b: second wedge mirror,
113: optical filter,
120: image sensor,
130: controller unit,
131: storage unit,
132: analysis means,
133: display.

Claims (8)

A light attenuating unit provided with a light attenuating means for attenuating the laser beam of the laser output means that is partially transmitted from the bending mirror provided inside the laser welding head;
An image sensor that acquires an image of the laser beam attenuated through the light attenuating unit; And
The reference image of the laser beam and the detection image of the laser beam detected by the image sensor are stored in a storage unit, and the center value between the reference image stored in the storage unit and the detected image, radius of the laser beam, eccentricity, detection period, sensitivity And a controller unit provided with an analysis unit for detecting and analyzing whether the laser output unit or the optical system provided in the laser welding head is damaged through comparison of the management item values including at least; Measuring device. The method of claim 1,
The light attenuating means,
A focusing lens configured to attenuate the size of the laser beam by converging the laser beam partially transmitted through the bending mirror;
A wedge mirror that reflects the laser beam whose size is attenuated by the focusing lens at least once or more so that the amount of light of the laser beam is attenuated by 0.1 to 4%; And
And an optical filter for additionally attenuating the amount of light of the laser beam whose light amount is attenuated by the wedge mirror. The method of claim 2,
The wedge mirror,
A first inclined at a predetermined first angle so that the amount of light of the laser beam is primarily attenuated by reflecting only a part of the laser beam whose size is attenuated by the attenuation device in a first direction crossing the incident direction of the laser beam. Wedge mirror; And
By reflecting only a part of the laser beam whose light amount is primarily attenuated by the first wedge mirror in a second direction orthogonal to the incident direction of the laser beam, the light amount of the laser beam is secondarily attenuated while the amount of light is 2 It is disposed parallel to the first wedge mirror and spaced apart from the first wedge mirror based on the incident direction of the laser beam reflected through the first wedge mirror so that the difference attenuated laser beam is incident to the optical filter, and inclined at a predetermined second angle. A laser beam quality measuring device comprising: a second wedge mirror. (The content that the first and second wedge mirrors attenuate the amount of light of the laser beam by 0.1-4% has been deleted -> Moved to claim 2.) The method of claim 3,
The first and second wedge mirrors,
The laser beam quality measuring apparatus, characterized in that the ghost beams reflected from the rear surfaces of the first and second wedge mirrors are respectively inclined at the predetermined first and second angles so that they are not reflected toward the image sensor, respectively. The method of claim 2,
The optical filter,
Laser beam quality measuring apparatus, characterized in that operated when the amount of light of the laser beam reflected from the front surface of the wedge mirror exceeds 0.1 to 4%. The method of claim 1,
The analysis means,
When the laser output means is a fiber, and whether the fiber or the optical system is damaged is detected through a comparison of management item values between the reference image and the detected image, the output of the fiber to which the laser beam is output is damaged, and the optical system The laser beam quality measuring apparatus, characterized in that analyzing that the fiber or the optical system is damaged due to at least one damage reason among air pollution and damage to the optical system due to heat of a laser beam output from the fiber. The method of claim 6,
The controller unit,
The reference image and management item values of the reference image are output to a first area, and management item values of the detected image and the detected image are output to a second area,
When the analysis means analyzes whether the fiber or optical system is damaged, a message requesting inspection of the fiber or optical system corresponding to the reason for the damage analyzed by the analysis means, or a management item value of the reference image and the detection image And a display further outputting the comparison result of the management item values of the third area. The method of claim 1,
The controller unit,
The laser beam quality measuring device, characterized in that the communication with the image sensor through at least one of USB 3.0, GigE (Gigabit Ethernet), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ZigBee.

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