A laser scanning device

Abstract

This invention discloses a laser scanning device, comprising: a fixed plate on which a laser is mounted; a laser reflecting component positioned along the laser emission direction of the laser; the laser reflecting component including a mirror support plate with a mirror mounted on the side of the mirror support plate closest to the laser; a rotation drive component on the fixed plate that drives the mirror support plate to rotate, thereby rotating the mirror; an encoder on the fixed plate for acquiring the angular velocity of the output shaft of the rotation drive component; and a control board on the fixed plate, with the encoder, laser, and rotation drive component all electrically connected to the control board. Compared to existing technologies, the laser scanning device of this invention offers advantages such as stable laser output, small overall size, large scanning range, and high laser control precision.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of laser scanning, and more specifically to a laser scanning device. Background Technology

[0002] The rapid development of robotics technology has expanded the application of robots from traditional fixed-target, high-precision, repetitive tasks to flexible tasks where the objects being manipulated are variable or their positions are changeable. Robots urgently need the assistance of machine vision to obtain three-dimensional information about the objects being manipulated.

[0003] For machine vision systems, a stable, compact, and highly precise self-scanning laser eye device is crucial. However, existing self-scanning laser eye devices have some shortcomings: (i) In the past, the laser oscillated during operation, which made the output wires at the back of the laser easily damaged, affecting the overall stability of the binocular vision system; (ii) In the past, the self-scanning laser eye device was too large to be installed inside the binocular vision system, resulting in an excessively large overall size of the binocular vision system; (iii) In the past, the self-scanning laser eye device had low control precision. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the above technical problems, the main objective of this invention is to provide a laser scanning device that uses a fixed laser and a laser reflection component to reflect the laser line, thus solving the problems of easy loosening of the laser tail wiring, unstable laser signal, excessively large scanning device size, and low control accuracy.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention employs the following technical solutions.

[0006] A laser scanning device includes: a fixed plate on which a laser is mounted; a laser reflecting component positioned along the laser emission direction of the laser; the laser reflecting component including a mirror support plate with a mirror mounted on the side of the mirror support plate near the laser; a rotation drive component on the fixed plate that drives the mirror support plate to rotate, thereby rotating the mirror; an encoder on the fixed plate for acquiring the angular velocity of the output shaft of the rotation drive component; and a control board on the fixed plate, with the encoder, laser, and rotation drive component all electrically connected to the control board.

[0007] Furthermore, the laser is a line laser, and the laser emission port of the line laser is parallel to the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly.

[0008] Furthermore, the laser emission direction of the laser is the positive X-axis direction, and the rotation range of the reflector is -63.75° to -26.25°.

[0009] Furthermore, the laser beam from the laser passes through the central axis of the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly, and the reflecting surface of the mirror passes through the central axis of the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly.

[0010] Furthermore, it also includes a swing arm, one end of which is connected to the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly, and the other end is connected to the side of the reflector plate away from the laser.

[0011] Furthermore, the encoder is an absolute encoder.

[0012] Furthermore, the rotary drive assembly includes a motor and a reducer; the reducer is fixed on a fixed plate, the output shaft of the motor is connected to the input shaft of the reducer, and the reducer drives the reflector support plate to rotate.

[0013] Furthermore, the motor is a stepper motor, the reducer is a gear reducer, the gear reducer is fixed on the fixed plate, the output shaft of the stepper motor is connected to the input shaft of the gear reducer, and the gear reducer drives the reflector support plate to rotate.

[0014] Furthermore, the motor is a brushless motor, and the reducer is a worm gear reducer. The worm gear reducer is fixed on the fixed plate, and the output shaft of the brushless motor is connected to the input shaft of the worm gear reducer. The worm gear reducer drives the reflector support plate to rotate.

[0015] Furthermore, it also includes a laser mount, which is fixedly connected to a mounting plate. The laser mount has laser mounting holes and fastening screw holes. The laser is inserted into the laser mounting holes and fastened by set screws.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the laser scanning device of the present invention has the advantages of stable laser output, small overall size, large scanning range, and high laser control precision. Attached Figure Description

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without creative effort.

[0018] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of an embodiment of the laser scanning device of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 This is an exploded view of one embodiment of the laser scanning device of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of another embodiment of the laser scanning device of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 This is an exploded view of another embodiment of the laser scanning device of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 5 This is the laser reflection path diagram when the reflector is in the left-handed termination position;

[0023] Figure 6 This is the laser reflection path when the reflected light is vertically downward;

[0024] Figure 7 This is the laser reflection path diagram when the reflector is in the right-handed termination position.

[0025] In the above diagram: 1. Fixing plate; 2. Laser; 3. Reflector support plate; 4. Reflector; 5. Swing arm; 6. Encoder; 7. Control board; 8. Stepper motor; 9. Gear reducer; 10. Brushless motor; 11. Worm gear reducer; 12. Laser holder; 1201. Laser mounting hole; 1202. Fastening screw hole. Detailed Implementation

[0026] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, the specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] Specific details are set forth in the following description to provide a full understanding of the invention. However, the invention can be practiced in many ways other than those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar extensions without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0028] refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 A laser scanning device includes: a fixed plate 1, on which a laser 2 is disposed; a laser reflection component is disposed in the laser emission direction of the laser 2; the laser reflection component includes a reflector support plate 3, and a reflector 4 is mounted on the side of the reflector support plate 3 near the laser 2.

[0029] The fixed plate 1 is provided with a rotation drive assembly, which drives the reflector support plate 3 to rotate, thereby causing the reflector 4 to rotate;

[0030] An encoder 6 is provided on the fixed plate 1, and the encoder 6 is used to obtain the angular velocity of the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly;

[0031] A control board 7 is provided on the fixed plate 1, and the encoder 6, laser 2, and rotary drive assembly are all electrically connected to the control board 7.

[0032] In existing technologies, most laser scanning devices employ laser rotation scanning. However, the wiring at the rear of the laser is prone to loosening, leading to unstable scanning signals. Furthermore, during laser rotation scanning, the laser rotation angle is equal to the scanning angle. Therefore, to scan a larger angle range, the laser's rotation range must also be large, consuming considerable space and making it unsuitable for applications with limited space. The laser scanning device provided by this invention features a fixed laser 2 that emits laser light in a fixed direction. A laser reflecting component mounted in front of the laser 2 rotates to reflect the laser light. This method of reflecting the laser light by rotating the laser reflecting component has the following advantages: First, the wiring at the rear of the laser 2 is stable, ensuring a stable laser output; second, due to the rotation of the laser reflecting component, according to the law of reflection, the incident light remains constant. A rotation of the plane mirror A° results in a 2A° rotation of the reflected light in the same direction. Therefore, at the same scanning angle, the rotation angle of the laser reflecting component using this invention is half that of the laser 2 rotation scheme. Consequently, the laser scanning device of this invention saves more space and, correspondingly, has a larger scanning range.

[0033] Furthermore, the laser 2 is a line laser, and the laser emission port of the line laser 2 is parallel to the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly. In the above embodiment, the laser is mainly used for scanning; therefore, the line laser 2 is preferred. In practice, other forms of lasers can also be used depending on actual needs.

[0034] Furthermore, the laser emission direction of the laser 2 is the positive X-axis direction, and the rotation range of the reflector 4 is -63.75° to -26.25°.

[0035] In this embodiment, a planar coordinate system is specifically used as an example. The laser emission direction of the laser is the positive X-axis direction, and the rotation range of the reflector is -63.75° to -26.25°.

[0036] refer to Figure 5 When mirror 4 is at -63.75°, the reflected light is at -127.5°.

[0037] refer to Figure 6 When mirror 4 is at -45°, the reflected light is at -90°.

[0038] refer to Figure 7 When mirror 4 is at -26.25°, the reflected light is at -52.5°.

[0039] The rotation range of mirror 4 is 37.5°, and the scanning range of the reflected light is 75°.

[0040] Further reference Figure 5 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 The laser beam from the laser 2 passes through the central axis of the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly, and the reflecting surface of the reflector 4 passes through the central axis of the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly.

[0041] In the above embodiments, the preferred solution is that the laser line passes through the central axis of the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly, and the reflecting surface of the mirror passes through the central axis of the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly. This solution has a simple structure and is the most convenient to operate.

[0042] In another embodiment of the present invention, a swing arm 5 is further included. One end of the swing arm 5 is connected to the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly, and the other end is connected to the side of the reflector support plate 3 away from the laser. In this embodiment, the swing arm 5 is provided between the reflector support plate 3 and the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly, and the reflector 4 is rotated by the swing arm 5.

[0043] Furthermore, the encoder 6 is an absolute encoder. An absolute encoder determines the encoding based on mechanical position; it requires no memory, no reference point, and doesn't need to constantly count. It reads the position only when needed. This type of encoder has high anti-interference characteristics and high data reliability.

[0044] Furthermore, the rotary drive assembly includes a motor and a reducer; the reducer is fixed on the fixed plate 1, the output shaft of the motor is connected to the input shaft of the reducer, and the reducer drives the reflector support plate 3 to rotate.

[0045] Preferred, Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 In this embodiment, the motor is a stepper motor 8, and the reducer is a gear reducer 9. The gear reducer 9 is fixed on the fixed plate 1, and the output shaft of the stepper motor 8 is connected to the input shaft of the gear reducer 9. The gear reducer 9 drives the reflector support plate 3 to rotate. The stepper motor 8 is an open-loop control motor that converts electrical pulse signals into angular or linear displacement. It is a major actuator in digital program control systems and has extremely wide applications. Under non-overload conditions, the speed and stopping position of the stepper motor depend only on the frequency and number of pulse signals, and are not affected by load changes. When the stepper driver receives a pulse signal, it drives the stepper motor to rotate a fixed angle in a set direction. Its rotation is done step by step at fixed angles. The angular displacement can be controlled by controlling the number of pulses, thereby achieving accurate positioning; at the same time, the speed and acceleration of the motor can be controlled by controlling the pulse frequency, thereby achieving speed regulation. Using a stepper motor can improve the control accuracy of the device.

[0046] refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4In another embodiment, the motor is a brushless motor 10, and the reducer is a worm gear reducer 11. The worm gear reducer 11 is fixed on the fixed plate 1, and the output shaft of the brushless motor 10 is connected to the input shaft of the worm gear reducer 11. The worm gear reducer 11 drives the reflector support plate 3 to rotate. Because the brushless DC motor operates in a self-controlled manner, it does not require an additional starting winding on the rotor like a synchronous motor that starts under heavy load with frequency conversion speed regulation, nor does it experience oscillation or loss of synchronization during sudden load changes.

[0047] In practice, appropriate motors and speed reducers can be selected according to requirements.

[0048] Furthermore, it also includes a laser mount 12, which is fixedly connected to the fixing plate 1. The laser mount 12 has a laser mounting hole 1201 and a fastening screw hole 1202. The laser 2 passes through the laser mounting hole 1201 and is fastened by a set screw. The laser mount 12 is made of a material with good thermal conductivity and heat dissipation properties, which serves to fix the laser 2 and facilitate the timely dissipation of heat generated by the laser 2.

[0049] Although the present invention has been described in detail in this specification with general description and specific embodiments, some modifications or improvements can be made to it, which will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, all such modifications or improvements made without departing from the present invention are within the scope of protection claimed by the present invention.

Claims

1. A laser scanning device, characterized in that, include: A fixed plate (1) is provided, on which a laser (2) is disposed; a laser reflection component is provided in the laser emission direction of the laser (2); the laser reflection component includes a reflector support plate (3), on which a reflector (4) is installed on the side of the reflector support plate (3) near the laser (2); it also includes a laser holder (12), which is fixedly connected to the fixed plate (1), and the laser holder (12) is provided with a laser mounting hole (1201) and a fastening screw hole (1202), and the laser (2) passes through the laser mounting hole (1201) and is fastened by a set screw; A rotary drive assembly is provided on the fixed plate (1). The rotary drive assembly drives the reflector support plate (3) to rotate, thereby driving the reflector (4) to rotate. The rotary drive assembly includes a motor and a reducer. The reducer is fixed on the fixed plate (1). The output shaft of the motor is connected to the input shaft of the reducer. The reducer drives the reflector support plate (3) to rotate. An encoder (6) is provided on the fixed plate (1), and the encoder (6) is used to obtain the angular velocity of the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly; A control board (7) is provided on the fixed plate (1), and the encoder (6), laser (2) and rotary drive assembly are all electrically connected to the control board (7); The laser (2) is a line laser, and the laser emission port of the line laser is parallel to the output axis of the rotary drive assembly; The laser emitted from the laser is in the positive X-axis direction, and the mirror rotates from -63.75° to -26.25°. The laser beam of the laser (2) passes through the central axis of the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly, and the reflecting surface of the mirror (4) passes through the central axis of the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly.

2. The laser scanning device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a swing arm (5), one end of which is connected to the output shaft of the rotary drive assembly, and the other end is connected to the side of the reflector plate (3) away from the laser (2).

3. The laser scanning device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The encoder (6) is an absolute encoder.

4. The laser scanning device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The motor is a stepper motor (8), the reducer is a gear reducer (9), the gear reducer (9) is fixed on the fixed plate (1), the output shaft of the stepper motor (8) is connected to the input shaft of the gear reducer (9), and the gear reducer (9) drives the reflector support plate (3) to rotate.

5. The laser scanning device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The motor is a brushless motor (10), and the reducer is a worm gear reducer (11). The worm gear reducer (11) is fixed on the fixed plate (1). The output shaft of the brushless motor (10) is connected to the input shaft of the worm gear reducer (11). The output shaft of the worm gear reducer (11) drives the reflector support plate (3) to rotate.

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