Optical path dustproof device and reflection type laser processing equipment

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of optical path dustproof device and reflective laser processing equipment, optical path dustproof device includes: light gas path guide seat, sealing ring and flexible dust cover, the inside of light gas path guide seat has light gas path channel, and first light path opening and second light path opening are formed respectively at the both ends of light gas path channel;Light gas path guide seat is annularly equidistantly provided with several gas guide holes, and the one end of several gas guide holes is communicated to light gas path channel, and is inclinedly arranged towards second light path opening;Light gas path channel has airflow guide section, airflow guide section gradually reduces in diameter into conical shape from the one end close to gas guide hole towards its other end;Sealing ring is fixed on light gas path guide seat, and annular airflow groove is formed between the both, and the other end of several gas guide holes is communicated with annular airflow groove;Flexible dust cover is sleeved at the second light path opening of light gas path guide seat.The application is simple in structure, small in size, low in cost, can effectively isolate dust, prevent pollution lens.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of laser processing equipment technology, and in particular to an optical path dustproof device and a reflective laser processing equipment. Background Technology

[0002] There are many laser processing methods at present. The most common method is to build a flying optical path, that is, the laser beam is reflected by multiple 45° mirrors and then enters the focusing lens in the laser processing head (such as the cutting head). After focusing, it reaches the processing position to form a light spot and processes the material.

[0003] Laser processing is generally a thermal process, which generates dust after material processing. This dust easily adheres to the machine surface, especially contaminating reflective lenses. If contaminated lenses are not cleaned promptly, they can not only affect the laser output power but also damage the lenses, causing the equipment to malfunction. To avoid these issues, existing technologies typically employ the following three methods:

[0004] 1. Design a sealed cavity for installing a reflective lens, and install a protective lens at the entrance and exit of the reflected light path to form a sealed space. Although this method can effectively prevent dust from entering, the beam passing through the protective lens will cause energy loss in the laser output power, and the protective lens is also expensive.

[0005] 2. Adding an air blowing device to the reflective lens to ensure that dust does not easily fall onto the lens. The disadvantage of this method is that the blown gas must be dry and pure gas without water or oil, otherwise it is easy to contaminate the lens. The gas purification cost is high, which increases the cost of use.

[0006] 3. Using an accordion-style dust cover to seal the reflected light path has the following drawbacks: it is complex in structure, bulky, difficult to install and maintain, and the dust cover needs to be cleaned and replaced regularly. Summary of the Invention

[0007] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides an optical path dustproof device and a reflective laser processing equipment, which has a simple structure, small size, low cost, and is easy to maintain. It can effectively isolate dust, will not contaminate the lens, and will not cause energy loss of laser output power.

[0008] The technical solution adopted by this invention to solve its technical problem is: an optical path dustproof device, comprising:

[0009] A phosgene path guide seat has a phosgene path channel inside, and a first optical path opening and a second optical path opening are formed at both ends of the phosgene path channel, respectively; a plurality of air guide holes are arranged in a ring at equal intervals on the phosgene path guide seat, one end of each of the plurality of air guide holes is connected to the phosgene path channel, and all of them are inclined toward the second optical path opening; the phosgene path channel has an airflow guiding section between the air guide holes and the second optical path opening, and the airflow guiding section gradually narrows in diameter into a cone shape from one end near the air guide hole toward the other end;

[0010] A sealing ring is fixed on the phosgene path guide seat and forms an annular airflow groove between the two. The other end of each of the plurality of air guide holes is connected to the annular airflow groove.

[0011] And a flexible dust cover that can deform, the flexible dust cover being fitted onto the second optical path opening of the phosgene guide seat; in its natural state, the flexible dust cover hangs down under gravity to block the second optical path opening; when compressed gas is introduced into the annular airflow groove, the compressed gas enters the phosgene channel through several of the air guide holes and flows out from the second optical path opening, expanding the flexible dust cover and forming a dustproof air curtain at the second optical path opening.

[0012] As a further improvement of the present invention, the light-gas path guide seat is provided with a first section, a second section, and a tapered section connected between the first section and the second section, a plurality of air guide holes are provided on the first section, the second light path opening is located at the end of the second section, and the airflow guide section is formed in the tapered section.

[0013] As a further improvement of the present invention, a plurality of the air guide holes are arranged parallel to the inner conical surface of the conical section.

[0014] As a further improvement of the present invention, one end of each of the plurality of air guide holes is connected to the tapered section.

[0015] As a further improvement of the present invention, the second section is provided with a plurality of flow-expanding grooves that correspond one-to-one with the plurality of air guide holes in a ring along the inner wall, and the plurality of flow-expanding grooves are arranged at one end of the second optical path opening in a radially outward manner along the second section, thereby making the plurality of flow-expanding grooves form a trumpet shape.

[0016] As a further improvement of the present invention, one end of the flexible dust cover is fitted onto the second section, the second section is provided with an annular groove along its outer wall, and an O-ring for pressing and fixing the flexible dust cover is installed in the annular groove.

[0017] As a further improvement of the present invention, the sealing ring is fitted onto the first section, the annular airflow groove is formed by the sealing ring being recessed along its inner wall, and sealing rings are installed between the sealing ring and the first section and on both sides of the annular airflow groove.

[0018] As a further improvement of the present invention, a gas source connector is installed on the sealing ring for introducing compressed gas into the annular airflow groove.

[0019] As a further improvement of the present invention, one end of the sealing ring extends radially inward to form a flange portion, which is fixed to one end face of the phosgene guide seat by bolts.

[0020] The present invention also provides a reflective laser processing device, comprising: a laser processing head, a sealed cavity, and a laser, a beam expander, and at least one reflector disposed within the sealed cavity; the aforementioned optical path dustproof device is installed on the sealed cavity corresponding to the position of the reflector.

[0021] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0022] 1) This invention provides an optical path dustproof device and a reflective laser processing equipment, which is provided with an optical gas path guide seat, and a flexible dustproof sleeve is fitted at the second optical path opening of the optical gas path guide seat. When the equipment is not working, the flexible dustproof sleeve deforms and hangs down under its own weight in a natural state to block the second optical path opening to prevent dust from entering. When the equipment is working, compressed gas is introduced into the optical gas path guide seat to expand the flexible dustproof sleeve, so that the second optical path opening is exposed for the beam to pass through. The compressed gas forms a dustproof air curtain at the second optical path opening to isolate external dust and prevent contamination of the lens, which greatly extends the maintenance cycle and service life of the lens, while not causing energy loss of laser output power.

[0023] 2) The special structure of the phospho-gas path guide seat, namely the airflow guiding section, and the orientation of the air guide holes on its first section, form a positive pressure output, which makes the compressed gas entering the phospho-gas path guide seat flow out only towards the second optical path, while no gas flows out from the first optical path of the phospho-gas path guide seat. This ensures that the compressed gas will not flow back into the equipment from the first optical path and contaminate the lens, thus eliminating the need to purify the compressed gas and reducing the cost of use.

[0024] 3) By providing a flow-expanding groove on the inner wall of the second section of the phosgene guide seat, and the flow-expanding grooves are all outward, the compressed gas flowing out from the second optical path outlet along the flow-expanding groove has an outward diffusion tendency, thereby making the expansion of the flexible dust cover more sufficient and avoiding laser damage due to incomplete expansion or unstable expansion.

[0025] 4) This invention can be used continuously simply by periodically replacing the external flexible dust cover, and replacement and maintenance are very convenient;

[0026] 5) This invention adopts a modular design, which is simple in structure, small in size, and ingenious in design. It can be directly assembled at the optical path exit or inlet of each reflector. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the optical path dustproof device of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 This is an exploded view of the optical path dustproof device of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the optical path dustproof device of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a half-sectional perspective view of the optical path guide seat in the optical path dustproof device of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the reflective laser processing equipment of the present invention.

[0032] Referring to the accompanying drawings, the following explanations are provided:

[0033] 1. Phosgene path guide seat; 101. Phosgene path channel; 1011. Airflow guiding section;

[0034] 102. First optical path; 103. Second optical path; 104. Air guide hole; 105. First section; 106. Second section; 107. Conical section; 108. Flow expansion groove; 109. Annular groove; 2. Sealing ring; 201. Annular airflow groove; 202. Flange; 3. Flexible dust cover; 4. O-ring; 5. Sealing ring; 6. Air source connector; 7. Laser processing head; 8. Sealed cavity; 9. Laser; 10. Beam expander; 11. Reflector. Detailed Implementation

[0035] The preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0036] See Figures 1 to 4 This invention provides an optical path dustproof device, comprising: an optical-gas path guide seat 1, a sealing ring 2, and a flexible dustproof sleeve 3 capable of deformation. The optical-gas path guide seat 1 is a hollow tubular component with openings at both ends, and has an optical-gas path channel 101 inside for the passage of light beams and gas. A first optical path port 102 and a second optical path port 103 are formed at both ends of the optical-gas path channel 101. Depending on the installation method of the optical path dustproof device on the laser processing equipment, both the first optical path port 102 and the second optical path port 103 can serve as beam inlets, while the other serves as a beam outlet.

[0037] See Figure 3 and Figure 4 A plurality of air guide holes 104 are arranged in a ring at equal intervals on the phosgene path guide seat 1. One end of each air guide hole 104 is connected to the phosgene path channel 101, and all are inclined toward the second optical path opening 103. The middle part of the phosgene path channel 101 has an airflow guiding section 1011, which is located between the air guide holes 104 and the second optical path opening 103. The airflow guiding section 1011 gradually narrows in diameter from one end near the air guide hole 104 toward the other end into a cone shape without sharp corners.

[0038] Specifically, the phosgene path guide seat 1 is provided with a first section 105, a second section 106, and a conical section 107 connecting the first section 105 and the second section 106. Both the first section 105 and the second section 106 are annular, with the diameter of the first section 105 being larger than the diameter of the second section 106. The conical section 107 is a hollow frustum shape, with the first section 105 connected to the end of the conical section 107 with the larger diameter, and the second section 106 connected to the end of the conical section 107 with the smaller diameter. A plurality of air guide holes 104 are arranged annularly and equally spaced on the first section 105, the second phosgene path opening 103 is located at the right end of the second section 106, and the airflow guide section 1011 is formed within the conical section 107.

[0039] Furthermore, the sealing ring 2 is fixed to the phosgene guide seat 1, forming an annular airflow groove 201 between them. The other ends of several air guide holes 104 are all directly opposite and connected to this annular airflow groove 201. Specifically, the sealing ring 2 is fitted onto the first section 105. The annular airflow groove 201 is formed by the sealing ring 2 being recessed along its inner wall. Sealing rings 5 ​​are installed between the sealing ring 2 and the first section 105, and on both sides of the annular airflow groove 201, to prevent air leakage. An air source connector 6 is installed on the sealing ring 2, which is connected to an air compressor for introducing compressed gas into the annular airflow groove 201.

[0040] See Figure 3 and Figure 5 The left end of the optical path guide seat 1 is also provided with an annular third section, which is used to connect to the sealed cavity 8 of the laser processing equipment. The first optical path port 102 is located at the left end of the third section. The third section is connected to the first section 105, and the diameter of the third section is smaller than the diameter of the first section 105, thus forming an end face between the third section and the first section 105. A flange 202 is formed by extending radially inward around the left end of the sealing ring 2, and the flange 202 is fixed to the end face with bolts.

[0041] The flexible dust cover 3 is a soft sleeve with openings at both ends. One end is fitted onto the second optical path opening 103 of the optical path guide seat 1, while the other end is in a free state. In its natural state, i.e., when the laser processing equipment is not working, no compressed gas is introduced into the optical path guide seat 1. The other end of the flexible dust cover 3 hangs down under its own weight to block the second optical path opening 103, preventing dust from entering the equipment through the first optical path opening 102 and contaminating the lens. When the laser processing equipment is working, compressed gas is introduced into the annular airflow groove 201 through the gas source connector 6. The compressed gas enters the optical path channel 101 through several air guide holes 104, flows along the airflow guide section 1011, and flows out from the second optical path opening 103, opening the flexible dust cover 3 and exposing the second optical path opening 103 for the beam to pass through. The compressed gas forms a dustproof air curtain at the second optical path opening 103, which can effectively isolate external dust, prevent contamination of the lens, and greatly extend the maintenance cycle and service life of the lens.

[0042] It is worth mentioning that, since the airflow guiding section 1011 inside the phosgene guide seat 1 is set in a conical shape, that is, the left port of the airflow guiding section 1011 is larger than the right port, according to the gas flow formula Q=V·S (Q represents the volumetric flow rate of the gas, V represents the gas velocity, and S represents the cross-sectional area of ​​the channel) and Bernoulli's principle, it can be known that the compressed gas entering the airflow guiding section 1011 through the several air guide holes 104 has a lower velocity and higher pressure on the left side of the airflow guiding section 1011, while it has a higher velocity and lower pressure on the right side of the airflow guiding section 1011. Therefore, due to the pressure difference and the orientation of the air guide holes 104, the compressed gas entering the phosgene guide seat 1 through the several air guide holes 104 can only flow out in the direction of the second optical path 103, so that no gas flows out of the first optical path 102 of the phosgene guide seat 1. This ensures that the compressed gas will not flow back into the equipment from the first optical path 102 and contaminate the lens, thus eliminating the need to purify the compressed gas and reducing the operating cost.

[0043] Optionally, the flexible dust cover 3 can be made of materials such as silicone, rubber, or PI film, as long as it can be expanded by the compressed gas flowing out of the second light path 103 and hangs down in its natural state to block the second light path 103. The diameter and length of the flexible dust cover 3 can be configured according to the size of the opening of the second light path 103.

[0044] Continue reading Figure 3 and Figure 4 Preferably, in this application, a plurality of air guide holes 104 are inclinedly arranged parallel to the inner conical surface of the conical section 107, and one end of each of the plurality of air guide holes 104 is connected to the conical section 107, so that the compressed gas leading to the interior of the light gas path guide seat 1 can flow along the inner conical surface of the conical section 107, with better flow directionality, more stable airflow, and no turbulence.

[0045] In addition, this application also provides a plurality of expansion grooves 108 arranged in a ring along the inner wall of the second section 106, each corresponding to a plurality of air guide holes 104. Compressed gas entering the optical gas path channel 101 through the plurality of air guide holes 104 flows out from the second optical path opening 103 along the expansion grooves 108. The plurality of expansion grooves 108 are arranged radially outward at one end of the second optical path opening 103, thereby forming a trumpet shape. Since the right ends of the plurality of expansion grooves 108 are all outwardly expanding, the compressed gas flowing out from the second optical path opening 103 along the expansion grooves 108 has an outward diffusion tendency, thereby making the expansion of the flexible dust cover 3 more complete and avoiding laser damage due to incomplete expansion or unstable expansion.

[0046] In this application, since one end of the flexible dust cover 3 is directly fitted onto the second section 106, to prevent compressed gas from blowing the flexible dust cover 3 off the phosgene guide seat 1, an annular groove 109 is provided along the outer wall of the second section 106, and an O-ring 4 is installed in the annular groove 109. The O-ring 4 is used to press and fix one end of the flexible dust cover 3 fitted onto the second section 106. Of course, clamps, cable ties, or other methods can also be used to fix the flexible dust cover 3. With this structure, this application only needs to replace the external flexible dust cover 3 periodically for continuous use, making replacement and maintenance very convenient.

[0047] See Figures 1 to 5 The present invention also provides a reflective laser processing device, comprising: a laser processing head 7, a sealed cavity 8, a laser 9, a beam expander 10, at least one reflector 11, and the aforementioned optical path dustproof device. The number of optical path dustproof devices can be configured according to the number of reflectors 11.

[0048] In this embodiment, two reflectors 11 are used for explanation. There are also two sealed cavities 8. The laser 9, the beam expander 10, and one of the reflectors 11 are set in one of the sealed cavities 8, and the remaining reflector 11 is set in the other sealed cavity 8. Optical path dustproof devices are installed in both sealed cavities 8 opposite to their respective reflectors 11. Thus, the optical path dustproof device's optical gas path channel 101 is the only channel through which gas, laser, and dust can enter the reflector 11.

[0049] See Figure 5The laser beam emitted by laser 9 is amplified by beam expander 10, reflected by a left-side reflector 11, and then passes through two optical path dustproof devices on the left and right sides before entering a right-side reflector 11. After reflection, it enters the laser processing head 7. It can be understood that for the left-side optical path dustproof device, the beam enters through its first optical path port 102 and exits through its second optical path port 103; while for the right-side optical path dustproof device, the beam enters through its second optical path port 103 and exits through its first optical path port 102. During the optical path conduction process, all reflector 11 positions are equipped with optical path dustproof devices, and these devices are in a ventilated state. This allows externally generated dust to be blocked by a dustproof air curtain, preventing it from entering the reflectors 11 within the sealed cavity 8, thus achieving dust prevention.

[0050] The air supply to the optical path dustproof device is controlled by a pneumatic two-way valve. When the laser processing equipment is working, the pneumatic two-way valve is first opened to allow the flexible dustproof cover 3 to open, and then the laser 9 is started to avoid laser damage to the flexible dustproof cover 3.

[0051] In this application, the laser processing equipment can be a laser cutting machine, a laser welding machine, a laser marking machine, etc.

[0052] It should be noted that although this application provides a specific embodiment of the optical path dustproof device applied to laser processing equipment, the optical path dustproof device of this application can be applied to any equipment that works through the reflector 11 and has dustproof requirements for the optical path, in addition to laser processing equipment. This application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0053] Many specific details have been set forth in the foregoing description to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed above. Furthermore, any person skilled in the art can make many possible variations and modifications to the technical solutions of the present invention, or modify them into equivalent embodiments, using the methods and techniques disclosed above, without departing from the scope of the present invention. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes, and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention, without departing from the content of the present invention, shall still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A dustproof optical path device, characterized in that, include: A phosgene path guide seat (1) has a phosgene path channel (101) inside, and a first optical path opening (102) and a second optical path opening (103) are formed at both ends of the phosgene path channel (101); a plurality of air guide holes (104) are arranged in a ring at equal intervals on the phosgene path guide seat (1), and one end of each of the plurality of air guide holes (104) is connected to the phosgene path channel (101), and they are all inclined toward the second optical path opening (103); the phosgene path channel (101) has an airflow guiding section (1011) between the air guide hole (104) and the second optical path opening (103), and the airflow guiding section (1011) gradually narrows in diameter into a cone shape from one end close to the air guide hole (104) toward the other end; A sealing ring (2) is fixed on the phosgene guide seat (1) and forms an annular airflow groove (201) between the two. The other end of each of the plurality of air guide holes (104) is connected to the annular airflow groove (201). And a flexible dust cover (3) that can deform, the flexible dust cover (3) is fitted on the second optical path opening (103) of the phosgene guide seat (1); in the natural state, the flexible dust cover (3) hangs down under gravity to block the second optical path opening (103); when compressed gas is introduced into the annular airflow groove (201), the compressed gas enters the phosgene channel (101) through a plurality of the air guide holes (104) and flows out from the second optical path opening (103), which expands the flexible dust cover (3) and forms a dustproof air curtain at the second optical path opening (103).

2. The optical path dustproof device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The phosgene guide seat (1) is provided with a first section (105), a second section (106), and a tapered section (107) connecting the first section (105) and the second section (106). A plurality of air guide holes (104) are provided on the first section (105), the second phosgene port (103) is located at the end of the second section (106), and the airflow guide section (1011) is formed in the tapered section (107).

3. The optical path dustproof device according to claim 2, characterized in that: Several of the air guide holes (104) are arranged parallel to the inner conical surface of the conical section (107).

4. The optical path dustproof device according to claim 2, characterized in that: One end of each of the several air guide holes (104) is connected to the tapered section (107).

5. The optical path dustproof device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The second section (106) is provided with a plurality of flow-expanding grooves (108) that correspond one-to-one with the plurality of air guide holes (104) along the inner wall, and the plurality of flow-expanding grooves (108) are arranged at one end of the second optical path (103) and inclined outward along the radial direction of the second section (106), thereby making the plurality of flow-expanding grooves (108) form a trumpet shape.

6. The optical path dustproof device according to claim 2, characterized in that: One end of the flexible dust cover (3) is fitted onto the second section (106). The second section (106) has an annular groove (109) along its outer wall, and an O-ring (4) for pressing and fixing the flexible dust cover (3) is installed in the annular groove (109).

7. The optical path dustproof device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The sealing ring (2) is fitted onto the first section (105), and the annular airflow groove (201) is formed by the sealing ring (2) being recessed along its inner wall. Sealing rings (5) are installed between the sealing ring (2) and the first section (105) and on both sides of the annular airflow groove (201).

8. The optical path dustproof device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sealing ring (2) is equipped with a gas source connector (6) for introducing compressed gas into the annular airflow groove (201).

9. The optical path dustproof device according to claim 1, characterized in that: One end of the sealing ring (2) extends radially inward to form a flange (202), which is fixed to one end face of the phosgene guide seat (1) by bolts.

10. A reflective laser processing device, comprising a laser processing head (7), a sealed cavity (8), and a laser (9), a beam expander (10), and at least one reflector (11) disposed within the sealed cavity (8); characterized in that: The sealed cavity (8) is equipped with a light path dustproof device as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, corresponding to the position of the reflector (11).

Images