JPH0376441B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an optical axis adjustment device for conveying and outputting an incident laser beam in a predetermined direction via a mirror, prism, lens, etc. built into a cylinder.

Conventionally, there has been a device of this type as shown in FIG. In the figure, 1 is a movable cylinder, and 2 is a mirror that is an optical axis control member built into the movable cylinder 1. The movable cylinder 1 and mirror 2 transport and output a laser beam 3 in a predetermined direction. Form a modifier. Further, 4 is a cylinder driver for driving the movable cylinder 1, and 5 is a mirror (optical axis control member) driver for driving the mirror 2, which adjusts the optical axis of the optical path changer by driving these. be. Furthermore, 6
acrylic plates a and 6b respectively detect the position of the incident laser beam on the cylinder 1 or the position of the emitted laser beam, and the driving of the drivers 4 and 5 described above is controlled based on the detected values thereof. In addition, 7
Inert gases a and 7b are blown onto the acrylic plates 6a and 6b in order to ensure that the acrylic plates 6a and 6b can detect the irradiation position of the laser beam 3.

Next, the operation of adjusting the optical axis of the optical path changer using the conventional optical axis adjusting device having the above configuration will be described.

First, an acrylic plate 6a is placed at the entrance of the movable cylinder 1, and the acrylic plate 6a is irradiated with the laser beam 3 while being blown with an inert gas 7a, thereby controlling the incidence of the laser beam on the movable cylinder 1. Check the optical axis position. Next, based on this optical axis position, the position of the movable cylinder 1 is determined so that the laser beam 3 is conveyed to the mirror 2, and the cylinder driver 4 moves the movable cylinder 1 to that position. Next, the acrylic plate 6a and the inert gas 7a are removed, another acrylic plate 6b is placed at the exit port of the movable cylinder 1, and the laser beam 3 is blown onto the acrylic plate 6b while the inert gas 7b is blown onto the acrylic plate 6b. Check the optical axis position of the beam reflected by mirror 2. Finally, the appropriate position of the mirror 2 is determined based on the optical axis position of this reflected beam, and the mirror driver 5 is used to move the mirror 2.
change the position of With such adjustment, the laser beam 8 can be conveyed to a desired location by the optical path changer made up of the movable cylinder 1 and the mirror 2, and can be used for laser processing or the like.

However, the conventional optical axis adjustment device is constructed as described above, and has the disadvantage that it requires a new acrylic plate every time the optical axis position of the laser beam is detected, which requires a lot of time and effort, and is uneconomical. The series of operations such as checking the position of the optical axis on the acrylic plate and driving the driver was not automated, resulting in a lack of accuracy and speed.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical axis adjustment device that can perform optical axis adjustment easily, quickly, and accurately.
In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides an entrance side cylinder and an output side cylinder which are removably provided on the laser beam entrance side and the output side of a movable cylinder, respectively, and the entrance side cylinder and the output side cylinder are connected to each other. A pair of beam position detectors each having a passage hole smaller than the laser beam diameter and receiving a portion of the laser beam to detect the optical axis position are fixed to each inner wall of the laser beam along the traveling direction of the beam. In addition, a controller is provided which provides drive-side control signals to the optical axis control member driver and cylinder driver based on the input of the detected values of each of the beam position detectors, and the controller controls each beam position of the incident-side cylinder. A drive control signal is sent to the barrel driver based on the detection value of the detector, and the optical axis control member driver is sent based on the detection values of each beam position detector of both the entrance side barrel and the exit side barrel. The structure is such that a drive control signal is sent to the driver.

An embodiment of the present invention having such a configuration is shown in FIG. 2, with the same reference numerals assigned to parts that are the same or have the same effect as those in FIG. 1. In the figure, reference numerals 8 and 9 denote an entrance side cylinder and an output side cylinder which are detachably provided on the laser beam incidence side and output side of the movable cylinder 1, respectively. A pair of beam position detectors 10a, 10b or 11a, 11b each having a passage hole smaller than the laser beam diameter and receiving a part of the laser beam 3 to detect its optical axis position are provided on each inner wall of the laser beam 3. It is fixed along the traveling direction of the beam. Further, 12 calculates the amount of movement and rotation of the cylinder driver 4 and mirror driver 5 based on the detected values of the beam position detectors 10a, 10b, 11a, and 11b, and outputs them as drive control signals. The controller 12 sends a drive control signal to the cylinder driver 4 based on the detection values of the beam position detectors 10a and 10b of the entrance cylinder 8, and also sends a drive control signal to the cylinder driver 4, and controls both the entrance cylinder 8 and the exit cylinder 9. Beam position detectors 10a, 10b, 11a, 1
A drive control signal is sent to the mirror driver 5 based on the detected value of 1b. Furthermore, 13
- 15 are respectively a cylinder detachably provided on the emission side cylinder 9, a mirror built in the cylinder 13, and a mirror at one end of the cylinder 13 to absorb the laser beam reflected by the mirror 14. The cylinder body 13, the mirror 14, and the absorption plate 15 constitute a beam energy absorption device that finally absorbs and processes the laser beam 3 used for optical axis adjustment, thereby ensuring safety. It is for.

3A and 3B are specific configuration diagrams of the above-mentioned beam position detectors 10a, 10b, 11a, and 11b, and FIG. 3A shows the optical axis O _L of the laser beam 3 and the beam position detector FIG. 3B shows a case where the optical axis O _L of the laser _beam 3 and the central axis O _M of the detector do not match, respectively.
In the figure, 16a to 16d are plates of the same shape (the one in the figure is fan-shaped) that have a notch in a part and are made of a material with high heat absorption and heat conductivity. 16a to 16d are arranged so that the cylindrical bodies 8 and 9 have a center hole in the center of the cross section through which the laser beam 3 passes. That is, these plate bodies 16
The notches a to 16d form a path for the laser beam 3. In addition, 17a to 17d are each plate body 16
The thermocouples have one of their joints fixed on the light receiving surfaces of a to 16d, and are used to send electrical signals by the controller 12 described above. Therefore, the beam position detector shown in FIG. 3 is constructed by dividing and arranging four power meters each consisting of plates 16a to 16d and thermocouples 17a to 17d so as to have a hole through which the laser beam 3 passes. It is.

Next, an optical axis adjustment operation of an optical path changer using an optical axis adjustment device according to an embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3A and 3B.

First, to explain the positioning operation of the movable cylinder 1, first, the optical axis position O _L of the incident laser beam 3 at that point is determined by the beam position detector 10a provided on the incidence side of the incidence side cylinder 8. . That is, each plate 16a to 1 of the beam position detector 10a
6d receives and absorbs a part of the laser beam 3, changes the temperature according to the light receiving area Sa to Sd, and sends electric signals corresponding to the temperature from the thermocouples 17a to 17d to the controller 12, respectively. The controller 12 receives this and calculates the beam position O _L of the laser beam 3 from these four electrical signals.
If the calculated beam position O _L does not match the central axis O _M of the beam position detector 10a as shown in FIG. 3B, the beam position O L will change as shown in FIG. 3A.
The controller 12 calculates the amount of movement and rotation of the movable cylinder 1 so that O _L coincides with the central axis O _M , that is, so that the light receiving areas Sa to Sd of the plates 16a to 16d are equal. Then, a drive control signal corresponding to this amount is output to the barrel driver 4 to drive the movable barrel 1, and the beam position O _L and the central axis O _M of the detector 10a are determined at the beam position detector 10a. match. Next, the same operation as described above is performed based on the detected value of the other beam position detector 10b of the incident side cylinder 8. That is, each of the plates 16a to 16d in the beam position detector 10b of the laser beam 3
Thermocouple 1 transmits an electric signal according to the light receiving area Sa to Sd of
7a to 17d send to the controller 12, and the controller 12 calculates the amount of movement and rotation of the movable cylinder 1, that is, the amount of drive to make the distance O _M to O _L zero, based on these electrical signals, and performs drive control. The signal is sent to the barrel driver 4, and the barrel driver 4 drives the movable barrel 1 while keeping the already adjusted optical axis position of the beam position detector 10a unchanged. Through the above operations, the position of the movable cylinder 1 is determined, and the laser beam 3 is conveyed straight to the mirror 2 without any hindrance.

Next, the positioning of the mirror 2 will be explained. This case is also similar to the positioning operation of the movable cylinder 1. That is, first, the optical axis position of the laser beam 3 reflected by the mirror 2 is detected as an electrical signal by the first beam position detector 11a of the emission side cylinder 9 and sent to the controller 12, and then this electrical signal is detected as an electrical signal. Based on this, the controller 12 determines the amount of movement and rotation of the mirror 2, and outputs it to the mirror driver 5 to move and rotate the mirror 2. Furthermore, next, the output side cylinder 9
This operation is repeated based on the electrical signals from the other beam position detectors 11b to rotate the mirror 2 again and finally fix the position of the mirror 2. Note that when the controller 12 determines the amount of movement and rotation of the mirror 2 as described above, the position of the movable cylinder 1,
That is, a pair of beam position detectors 10 on the incident side cylinder 8
Of course, the signals from the beam position detectors 10a and 10b are taken into consideration, and when the movement of the mirror 2 is limited to either parallel movement or rotational movement, the signals from the beam position detectors 10a and 10b mentioned above are used. As a result, the beam position detector 11a or 11b on either one of the emission-side cylinders 9 becomes unnecessary.

Furthermore, to explain the processing operation of the beam laser 3 itself used for the optical axis adjustment operation, first, the laser beam 3 that has passed through the emission side cylinder 9 is transferred to the processing cylinder 1.
3, the mirror 14 reflects it and conveys it to the absorption plate 15, and the absorption plate 15 absorbs the laser beam energy. Thus, safety can be ensured.

Through the above operations, the positions of the movable cylinder 1 and the mirror 2 are determined so that the laser beam 3 can be safely transported and output to a predetermined position, and the movable cylinder 1
This means that the optical axis of the optical path changer consisting of mirror 2 and mirror 2 has been adjusted. After this adjustment, the above-mentioned entrance side cylinder 8, exit side cylinder 9 and processing cylinder 13 are
is removed from the movable cylindrical body 1, and the laser beam 3 is ready to be used for laser processing or the like.

In the above embodiment, the beam position detectors 10a, 10b, 11a, and 11b are configured with four power meters, but the number is not limited to this, and the optical axis position of the beam can be reliably determined. In order to grasp this, it is sufficient to use at least three power meters, and the same effect as the above embodiment is expected. Further, in the above embodiment, no mention was made of the material of the light-receiving surfaces of the plates 16a to 16d constituting the power meter, but it is preferable that the light-receiving surfaces be made of a material with a high heat absorption rate. For example, if carbon with good heat absorption rate is attached to the light receiving surface, the absorption rate of the beam will be improved, and the conversion efficiency of the thermocouples 17a to 17d into electrical signals will also be improved, making it possible to clarify the optical axis position of the beam. This is expected to have the effect of making it easier to understand.

As described above, according to the optical axis adjustment device of the present invention, the incidence side cylinder and the main incidence side cylinder are removably provided on the laser beam incidence side and the laser beam output side of the movable cylinder, respectively, and the incidence side cylinder is removably provided. and on each inner wall of the output side cylinder,
has a passage hole smaller than the laser beam diameter, and
A pair of beam position detectors for receiving a portion of the laser beam and detecting the optical axis position are each fixed along the traveling direction of the beam, and the light is The controller includes a controller that provides a drive control signal to a shaft control member driver and a cylinder driver, and the controller sends a drive control signal to the cylinder driver based on the detection value of each beam position detector of the incident side cylinder. At the same time,
Since the configuration is such that a drive control signal is sent to the optical axis control member driver based on the detected values of each beam position detector of both the entrance side cylinder and the output side cylinder, optical axis adjustment is easier than in conventional devices. This has the advantage that it can be done quickly and accurately.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional optical axis adjustment device, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an optical axis adjustment device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the configuration of an embodiment of a beam position detector and showing the state of laser beam irradiation. 1, 8, 9: Cylindrical body, 2: Optical axis control member (mirror), 3: Laser beam, 4: Cylindrical body driver, 5:
Optical axis control member driver (mirror driver), 10a,
10b, 11a, 11b: Beam position detector, 1
2: Controller, 16a-16d: Plate, 17
a to 17d: Thermocouples. In the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An optical axis control member such as a mirror or a lens and a movable cylinder housing the optical axis control member are driven and controlled by an optical axis control member driver and a cylinder driver, respectively, and the movable cylinder In an optical axis adjustment device that transports and outputs a laser beam incident on a laser beam in a predetermined direction, an entrance side cylinder and an output side cylinder are removably provided on the laser beam entrance side and the output side of the movable cylinder, respectively, to adjust the incidence of the laser beam. Each inner wall of the side cylinder and the output side cylinder has a passage hole smaller than the diameter of the laser beam, and is equipped with a beam position detector that receives a part of the laser beam and detects the optical axis position of the beam. A controller is provided, which is fixed in pairs along the traveling direction of the beam, and provides a drive control signal to the optical axis control member driver and the cylinder driver based on the input of the detection value of each of the beam position detectors, The controller sends a drive control signal to the cylinder driver based on the detected value of each beam position detector of the entrance side cylinder, and also sends a drive control signal to each beam position detector of both the incidence side cylinder and the exit side cylinder. An optical axis adjustment device characterized in that the optical axis adjustment device is configured to send a drive control signal to the optical axis control member driver based on the detected value. 2 The beam position detector is composed of at least three power meters that are dividedly arranged on a circumferential line equidistant from the center point of the cross section of the cylindrical body to form a passage hole for the laser beam. 2. The optical axis adjustment device according to claim 1, wherein the optical axis adjustment device absorbs the laser beam and detects the optical axis position of the laser beam based on a detection value of each power meter corresponding to the absorbed heat. 3. The power meter is characterized in that carbon is attached to the light receiving and absorbing surface of the laser beam to absorb the heat of the laser beam, and the absorbed thermal energy is converted into an electrical signal by a thermocouple. An optical axis adjustment device according to claim 2.