Laser oscillation device having laser medium circulating tube

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9882339-B2
Application number	US-201715422684-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 2, 2017
Priority date	Feb 8, 2016
Publication date	Jan 30, 2018
Grant date	Jan 30, 2018

Abstract

A laser oscillation device can prevent a laser medium-circulating pipe from expanding. The laser oscillation device includes a resonator part, which has an introduction port, through which a laser medium is introduced, and a discharge port, from which the laser medium is discharged, and which generates a laser beam, a laser medium-circulating pipe having one end connected to the introduction port, and the other end connected to the discharge port, a blower arranged in the laser medium-circulating pipe, to circulate the laser medium so that the laser medium is introduced from the introduction port to the resonator part, and the laser medium introduced to the resonator part is discharged from the discharge port, and a heat-insulating mechanism which is provided in the laser medium-circulating pipe, to block heat conduction between the laser medium flowing through the laser medium-circulating pipe and the laser medium-circulating pipe.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A laser oscillation device comprising:
a resonator part including an introduction port, through which a laser medium is introduced, and a discharge port, from which the laser medium is discharged, the resonator part generating a laser beam;
a laser medium-circulating pipe, one end of which is connected to the introduction port, and the other end of which is connected to the discharge port;
a blower arranged in the laser medium-circulating pipe, and configured to flow the laser medium so that the laser medium is introduced into the resonator part through the introduction port and that the laser medium introduced into the resonator part is discharged from the discharge port; and
a heat-insulating mechanism provided in the laser medium-circulating pipe, and configure to block heat conduction between the laser medium flowing through the laser medium-circulating pipe and the laser medium-circulating pipe.

2. The laser oscillation device according to claim 1 , wherein the heat-insulating mechanism is provided over a section between the other end of the laser medium-circulating pipe and a position in the laser medium-circulating pipe downstream of the other end of the laser medium-circulating pipe.

3. The laser oscillation device according to claim 1 , wherein the heat-insulating mechanism includes a heat-insulating material attached to an inner surface of the laser medium-circulating pipe.

4. The laser oscillation device according to claim 1 , wherein the heat-insulating mechanism includes a heat-insulating pipe arranged so as to be separate inward from an inner surface of the laser medium-circulating pipe, the heat-insulating pipe extending along the laser medium-circulating pipe,
wherein the laser medium discharged from the discharge port flows into the heat-insulating pipe, whereas the laser medium does not flow into a gap between the laser medium-circulating pipe and the heat-insulating pipe.

5. The laser oscillation device according to claim 4 , wherein the heat-insulating pipe is supported by the laser medium-circulating pipe at an upstream end or a downstream end of the heat-insulating pipe.

6. A laser oscillation device according to claim 1 , wherein the heat-insulating mechanism includes a rectification mechanism configured to rectify a flow of the laser medium in the laser medium-circulating pipe.

7. The laser oscillation device according to claim 6 , wherein the rectification mechanism includes a partition wall configured to divide a cross-sectional area of an inside of the laser medium-circulating pipe along a plane intersecting with a longitudinal direction of the laser medium-circulating pipe, into a plurality of sections.

8. The laser oscillation device according to claim 6 , wherein the rectification mechanism includes a protrusion formed so as to project from an inner surface of the laser medium-circulating pipe.

9. A laser oscillation device according to claim 1 , wherein the laser medium-circulating pipe includes a curved part smoothly and seamlessly extending to curve.

10. A laser oscillation device according to claim 1 , wherein the laser medium-circulating pipe includes a straight tube part straightly extending from the other end of the laser medium-circulating pipe toward downstream side,
wherein the straight tube part has a length three or more times larger than the equivalent diameter of the straight tube part.

11. A laser oscillation device according to claim 1 , wherein the laser medium-circulating pipe includes a corrugated part provided so as to be adjacent to the other end of the laser medium-circulating pipe.

12. The laser oscillation device according to claim 1 , further comprising a heat exchanger arranged between the blower and the discharge port so as to remove heat from the laser medium flowing through the laser medium-circulating pipe,
wherein the heat-insulating mechanism is provided over a section between the other end of the laser medium-circulating pipe and the heat exchanger.

Assignees

• Fanuc Corp

Inventors

• Takazane Tetsuhisa

Classifications

• H01S3/134

  in gas lasers · CPC title

• H01S3/1317

  by controlling the temperature · CPC title

• H01S3/041 Primary

  for gas lasers {(H01S3/0401 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• H01S3/097

  by gas discharge of a gas laser · CPC title

• H01S3/22

  Gases · CPC title