Patent Application
20060114959
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas laser oscillator, more particularly relates to a gas laser oscillator used in a laser processing machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
A general gas laser oscillator, for example, the gas laser oscillator disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-221378, excites laser gas sealed in a discharge tube by the discharge energy between discharge electrodes so as to emit a laser beam of an oscillation wavelength corresponding to the amount of energy discharged when the gas ions in the excited state return to the base state or the normal state.
However, if stopping a gas laser oscillator for a long time, if the source (tank) of the laser gas supplied to the discharge tube is empty, if the inside of the gas laser oscillator is opened up to the atmosphere, etc., the lubrication oil of the blower used for circulating the laser gas in the discharge tube, that is, the turboblower, will be evaporated and will become mixed into the laser gas in the discharge tube. When the amount of the evaporated lubrication oil is large, sometimes part of the lubrication oil may stick to the inside walls of the discharge tube. In such a case, the laser gas will have impurity molecules, that is, molecules of the lubrication oil, mixed into it and therefore the laser gas will deteriorate. If operating a gas laser oscillator in the state with the laser gas deteriorated, the discharge will become hard to start and the discharge voltage at the time of start of discharge will rise greatly compared with when the laser gas is not deteriorated. This rise in the discharge voltage may cause insulation breakdown to occur outside of the discharge tube and the discharge tube to be damaged. In particular, in recent years, the outputs of laser oscillators have increased as a general tendency, so the possibility of discharge tubes being damaged has been rising.
Usually, when lubrication oil becomes mixed in the laser gas of a discharge tube, the laser gas is replaced so as to exhaust the impurity molecules, for example, the lubrication oil, from the inside of the discharge tube. The discharge tube is filled with only fresh laser gas and then a warmup operation is conducted. However, whether laser gas has deteriorated must be judged by the operator himself, so there is a large burden placed on the operator. Further, the time and effort required for the operator to replace the laser gas are also too great to be ignored.
Further, the gas laser oscillator disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-221378 judges that the discharge load, that is, the laser gas in the laser head, is abnormal when the start of discharge is not detected under predetermined conditions and when the start of discharge is detected outside of the predetermined conditions. In the laser oscillator disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-221378, abnormalities of the laser gas can be judged, but a high voltage is already being applied before an abnormality is judged, so it is difficult to prevent damage to the discharge tube which might occur before the start of discharge.
An object of the present invention is to provide a gas laser oscillator which can judge an abnormality in the laser gas before the start of discharge without any work on the part of the operator and thereby prevent the discharge tube from being damaged.
To realize this object, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a gas laser oscillator provided with voltage detecting means for detecting the voltage of each of a plurality of discharge tube segments of a discharge tube before start of discharge and a discharge tube segment start judging means for judging if each of the plurality of discharge tube segments has started based on the voltage of the discharge tube segment detected by the voltage detecting means, wherein the discharge tube segment start judging means allows all of the plurality of discharge tube segments to start only when the voltages of all of the discharge tube segments of the plurality of discharge tube segments are smaller than a predetermined voltage.
That is, in the first aspect of the invention, the voltages of the discharge tube segments before the start of discharge are used, so whether or not there is any abnormality in the laser gas can be judged before the start of discharge. Further, the discharge tube segments are started when the voltages of all of the discharge tube segments are smaller than the predetermined voltage, that is, all discharge tube segments are in states where no insulation breakdown will occur, so it is possible to prevent damage to the discharge tube due to insulation breakdown.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided the first aspect of the invention wherein the oscillator further comprises a laser gas purifying means for purifying the laser gas in the discharge tube by replacing it, wherein the discharge tube segment start judging means stops the start of all of the plurality of discharge tube segments and the laser gas purifying means purifies the laser gas in the discharge tube when the voltages of all of the discharge tube segments among the plurality of discharge tube segments are the predetermined voltage or more.
That is, in the second aspect of the invention, when the voltages of all of the discharge tube segments are a predetermined voltage or more, that is, when all discharge tube segments may suffer from insulation breakdown, the laser gas can be purified to eliminate impurity molecules from the laser gas.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided the first or second aspect of the invention wherein the discharge tube segment start judging means starts part of the discharge tube segments among the plurality of discharge tube segments for a warmup operation when the voltages of that part of the discharge tube segments are smaller than a predetermined voltage.
A plurality of discharge tube segments of a gas laser oscillator differs in discharge start characteristics due to variations in characteristics of the discharge tube and drive power supplies, so sometimes even when the laser gas has deteriorated, discharge starts by a voltage of the insulation breakdown voltage or less.
Therefore, according to the third aspect of the invention, when the voltages of part of the discharge tube segments are smaller than the predetermined voltage, that is, when part of the discharge tube segments will not suffer from insulation breakdown, a warmup operation may be performed to eliminate impurity molecules from the laser gas. When performing a warmup operation in this way, the impurity molecules can be eliminated in a shorter time than when replacing the laser gas.
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided the second or third aspect of the invention where after purifying the laser gas or after the warmup operation, the voltage detecting means again detect the voltages of the plurality of discharge tube segments and issue an alarm when the voltages of at least part of the discharge tube segments among the plurality of discharge tube segments is smaller than the predetermined voltage.
That is, in the fourth aspect of the invention, it is possible to issue an alarm so as to caution the operator. Further, by forcibly stopping the gas laser oscillator along with issuing an alarm, it is possible prevent damage to the discharge tube in advance.
According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided the third or fourth aspect of the invention wherein the laser gas pressure and discharge voltage in the discharge tube at the time of the warmup operation are made different from the laser gas pressure and discharge voltage at the time of normal operation of the gas laser oscillator.
That is, in the fifth aspect of the invention, by conducting a warmup operation by a laser gas pressure and discharge voltage different from those at the time of normal operation, the occurrence of insulation breakdown at the discharge tube segments is further prevented. Note that the laser gas pressure and discharge voltage at the time of warmup operation are preferably values smaller than the laser gas pressure and discharge voltage at the time of normal operation. This enables the warmup operation to be performed while avoiding insulation breakdown.
According to the above aspects of the invention, the effect is exhibited that the discharge tube can be prevented from being damaged by judging any abnormality in the laser gas before start of discharge without accompanying work of the operator.
Further, according to the second aspect of the invention, the effect is exhibited that impurity molecules of the laser gas can be exhausted.
Further, according to the third aspect of the invention, the effect is exhibited that performing the warmup operation enables the impurity molecules in the laser gas to be exhausted in a short time.
Further, according to the fourth aspect of the invention, the effect is exhibited that the operator can be cautioned.
Further, according to the fifth aspect of the invention, the effect is exhibited that occurrence of insulation breakdown in the discharge tube segments can be prevented.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become clearer from the following description of the preferred embodiments given with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:
a is a view of the relationship between an applied voltage and current at the time of start of discharge of a discharge tube;
b is a view of the relationship between an applied voltage and current at the time of start of discharge of a discharge tube;
Below, the attached drawings will be referred to so as to explain embodiments of the present invention. In the following drawings, the same members are assigned the same reference numerals. To facilitate understanding, these drawings are suitably changed in scale.
As shown in the drawing, in the optical resonance space between the rear mirror 7 and the output mirror 8, a plurality of discharge tube segments, in
The discharge tube segments 6a to 6d include pairs of discharge electrodes 5a to 5d arranged so as to sandwich the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d. These discharge electrodes 5a to 5d are the same in dimensions and are coated. As shown in
The CPU (microprocessor) 1 of the laser oscillator 10 is connected by a two-way bus to the power supply control circuit 2. The power supply control circuit 2 is provided with an A/D converter for converting the signal output from the CPU 1 and outputting it as a current instruction signal. Further, as shown in
As shown in
At the time of operation of the gas laser oscillator, the laser gas pressure control system 18 supplies laser gas to the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d. Next, the blower 14 circulates the laser gas through the circulation path formed by the blower piping 9. As shown by the arrows in
When the excitation power supplies 3a to 3d provide the discharge electrodes 5a to 5d of the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d with high frequency voltages of predetermined frequencies and voltages, for example, several hundred kHz to tens of MHz and several hundred volts to tens of kV, the discharge action causes the laser gas to be excited and thereby a laser beam to be generated. Using known principles, the laser beam is amplified in the optical resonance space and a laser beam is taken out through the output mirror 8. As will be understood from
a is a view of the relationship between the applied voltage and current when the discharge tube of the laser oscillator 10 starts discharge in a state with the laser gas normal. In
When the CPU 1 orders a discharge activation operation as shown in
On the other hand,
In the case shown in
The gas laser oscillator 10 of the present invention utilizes the relationship between the voltage and current shown in
At step 101 of the program 100, the laser gas pressure control system 18 is used to lower the laser gas pressure in the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d to a predetermined laser gas pressure P0. Next, the blower 14 is driven to cause the laser gas to circulate through the blower piping 9. At step 102, a high frequency current is supplied through the excitation power supplies 3a to 3d to the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d and the current I is gradually increased. Next, at step 103, the applied voltage detection circuits 4a to 4d detect the voltages of the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d. Below, in this specification, the voltage of the discharge tube segment 6a is called the voltage V1, the voltage of the discharge tube segment 6b the voltage V2, the voltage of the discharge tube segment 6c the voltage V3, and the voltage of the discharge tube segment 6d the voltage V4. Further, these voltages V1 to V4 will be referred on a representative basis as the voltage Vn.
Next, at step 104, it is judged if all of the voltages ∀Vn (=V1, V2, V3, V4) of the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d are smaller than a prescribed voltage Vb (see
At step 106, it is judged if the detection of the voltage Vn at step 103 was the second detection after activation of the gas laser oscillator 10. Further, if it is judged that it was the second detection, it is judged that the later explained laser gas replacement or warmup operation did not eliminate the abnormality in the laser gas, then the routine proceeds to step 107. At step 107, it is judged that an abnormality of the laser gas which cannot be easily resolved has occurred at one or more of the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d and an alarm 16 is issued. Due to this, the operator can be alerted. Next, the routine proceeds to step 108, where the gas laser oscillator 10 is automatically shut down and the processing ended to avoid insulation alerted. Note that at step 106, it is judged whether the voltage was detected twice, but it is possible to change this to three or more times. Further, to simplify the program 100, steps 106 to 108 may be omitted.
When it is judged at step 106 that the detection was not the second detection, the routine proceeds to step 109. At step 109, it is judged if all voltages ∀Vn of the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d are the prescribed voltage Vb or more. When it is judged that all of the voltages ∀Vn are the prescribed voltage Vb or more, the laser gas contains a considerably large amount of impurity molecules, so it is judged that the later explained warmup operation cannot be able to completely eliminate the abnormality of the laser gas and the routine proceeds to step 110. At step 110, the laser gas pressure control system 18 shown in
When it is judged at step 109 that not all of the voltages ∀Vn of the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d are the prescribed voltage Vb or more, that is, at least one voltage of the voltages V1 to V4 is smaller than the prescribed voltage Vb, the routine proceeds to step 111. At step 111, only the discharge tube segments having voltages satisfying the relationship of “Vn<Vb” among the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d are started.
Next, at step 112, the warmup operation of the gas laser oscillator 10 is started. For the warmup operation, the laser gas pressure P0 is reduced to the pressure P1 (P1<P0). Further, the discharge voltage Vz of the time of the warmup operation is made lower than the discharge voltage Ve of the time of normal operation (Vz<Ve). At step 112, the warmup operation is performed at a low pressure and low discharge voltage for a predetermined time, for example 15 minutes. Due to this, the impurity molecules which had been in existence at the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d are exhausted by the warmup operation. After this, at step 113, the warmup operation and discharge action are stopped.
The variation in characteristics of the plurality of discharge tube segments 6a to 6d and excitation power supplies 3a to 3d mean that the discharge starting characteristics at the discharge tube segments are not constant. Even when the laser gas deteriorates, the discharge sometimes starts by a voltage of the insulation breakdown voltage Va or less, for example, a voltage smaller than even the prescribed voltage Vb. Due to this, at the above-mentioned step 112, the warmup operation is conducted at a pressure and discharge voltage lower than that of the usual case so as to prevent insulation breakdown. Further, when performing the warmup operation, the impurity molecules can be exhausted in a shorter time than when replacing the laser gas.
When the discharge action is stopped at step 113 and the laser gas finishes being replaced at step 110, the routine proceeds to step 102, where the above-mentioned processing is again repeated. When again proceeding to step 102, since the warmup operation has caused some of the impurity molecules in the laser gas to be exhausted or replacement of the laser gas has caused all of the impurity molecules to be exhausted, the possibility rises of it being judged at step 102 that all of the voltages Vn of the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d are smaller than the prescribed voltage Vb. Further, when steps 106 to 108 are not provided, the processing is repeated until it is judged at step 104 that all voltages ∀Vn of the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d are smaller than the prescribed voltage Vb.
In this way, in the present invention, the voltages Vn of the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d before the start of discharge are referred to so as to judge, without accompanying work of the operator, if there is any abnormality in the laser gas in the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d before the start of discharge. Only when none of the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d has any abnormality, the discharges of all of the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d are started. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d from being damaged by insulation breakdown which can occur when the laser gas includes some abnormality, that is, when the laser gas includes impurity molecules.
Further, in the present invention, when one or more of the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d has some abnormality, either a warmup operation is conducted or the laser gas is replaced to eliminate the impurity molecules in the laser gas. Due to this, it is possible to eliminate conditions where insulation breakdown might occur. In particular, when only some of the discharge tube segments among the discharge tube segments 6a to 6d are abnormal, only the non abnormal discharge tube segments are started for a warmup operation to eliminate the impurity molecules. Due to this, it is possible to eliminate impurity molecules in a shorter time than when replacing the laser gas. Note that in
While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments chosen for purpose of illustration, it should be apparent that numerous modifications could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the basic concept and scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-343777 | Nov 2004 | JP | national |
