Adjustable laser beam expanding lighting device

Abstract

A laser beam expanding lighting device comprises an incident laser adjusting module, an adjustable base module and a beam expanding lens set module, a parallel light beam injection port and a plane mirror are installed in the incident laser adjusting module, and after collimation, a laser mirror is transmitted to a beam expanding lens set after being reflected by the two adjustable plane mirrors; the beam expanding lens group realizes the adjustment of the beam expanding angle and the beam expanding multiple by combining different beam expanding lenses and adjusting the distance between the beam expanding lenses; the beam expanding lens set is installed on the adjustable base, the adjustable base achieves deviation of the axis of the beam expanding lens set in two directions relative to the axis of laser through an ejector pin-spring linkage mechanism, the irradiation position of the laser on the beam expanding lens is changed, and adjustment of a laser illumination area is achieved while beam expanding is conducted. The parallel light beam injection port and the beam expanding lens group of the device can be arranged in a non-coaxial mode, the application range is wide, the overall structure is compact, operation is convenient, and various adjusting adaptability is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of optical design, and in particular relates to an adjustable laser beam expansion lighting device. Background Art

[0002] Lasers, with their advantages of high coherence, strong directionality, and excellent monochromaticity, have found widespread application in a variety of fields, including military, industrial, and medical. While laser beam diameters are typically in the millimeter range, wide laser beams are required for high-precision or long-distance applications such as laser ranging, laser interferometry, laser communications, and radar tracking. In applications such as laser communication satellites and airborne laser equipment, the size, weight, and installation location of laser systems are significantly limited, creating an urgent need for compact, functionally integrated laser beam expanders.

[0003] Laser beam expansion is usually accomplished using a beam expander, which can expand the diameter of the collimated input laser beam and output it to meet the needs of laser light sources in different scenarios. Currently, the diameter of the expanded laser beam is controlled by adjusting the relative position of beam expander I and beam expander II in the laser beam expander. However, it is necessary to ensure the coaxiality of the laser beam output from the collimator and the beam expander group, which places high demands on the processing accuracy of the beam expander. In addition, existing laser beam expanders mostly use external mechanical structures to adjust the illumination area, manually adjusting the direction of the beam expander to change the illumination area of ​​the outgoing laser beam, resulting in low integration and poor adjustment accuracy. Some beam expanders integrate the beam expander group with the adjustment mechanism, and use a knob to change the offset degree of the beam expander group to achieve illumination area adjustment. However, due to its large size, its applicability is greatly limited for devices with strict requirements on spatial dimensions. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to solve the problems existing in the above-mentioned prior art, the present invention provides a miniaturized, high-precision adjustable laser beam expansion lighting device, which reduces the processing accuracy requirements through non-coaxial optical path design, and uses a modular adjustment mechanism to achieve fast and stable two-dimensional plane adjustment to meet diverse application needs.

[0005] The device is divided into three parts: an incident laser adjustment module, an adjustable base, and a beam expander group. Two parallel adjustable reflectors are arranged between the parallel beam injection port and the adjustable base. The incident laser can be coaxial with the center of the beam expander group, and enters the beam expander assembly through two reflections after collimation; the beam expander group is integrated with the adjustment mechanism, and the beam expander group is installed on the top of the adjustable base with the help of an adapter ring. The base is designed with an X and Y direction moving mechanism. The moving mechanism is driven by two rotating pins to drive the adapter to move in two directions, thereby changing the irradiation position of the incident laser beam on the beam expander I and realizing the adjustment of the output laser angle; the beam expander group adopts an adjustable modular structure, and the beam expansion ratio is adjusted by changing the distance between the beam expander I and the beam expander II, and the output laser divergence angle is adjusted by replacing different beam expanders II.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0007] An adjustable laser beam expansion lighting device is characterized in that it includes an incident laser adjustment module, an adjustable base and a beam expansion lens assembly;

[0008] The incident laser adjustment module includes a parallel beam injection port, a reflector fixing frame, and at least two adjustable plane reflectors arranged in parallel in the reflector fixing frame, and is used to guide the laser beam collimated by the parallel beam injection port into the beam expansion lens assembly non-coaxially after two reflections;

[0009] The adjustable base includes an upper adjustment module and a lower adjustment module arranged in layers. The upper adjustment module and the lower adjustment module respectively realize independent movement in the X-axis and Y-axis directions through their respective guide rail slider mechanisms, and the movement stroke and reset are controlled by the ejector-spring linkage mechanism;

[0010] A beam expander assembly includes a beam expander I and a beam expander II connected by threads. The spacing between the beam expander I and the beam expander II is changed by adjusting the screwing length of the threads to achieve beam expansion ratio adjustment. The beam expander II is replaceable to achieve output laser divergence angle adjustment.

[0011] Among them, the incident laser adjustment module is connected to the adjustable base, and the beam expander group is installed on the top of the adjustable base. By adjusting the upper adjustment module and the lower adjustment module, the position of the beam expander group in the plane is changed to adjust the irradiation area of ​​the outgoing laser.

[0012] Furthermore, the incident laser adjustment module also includes a light shielding tube I and a light shielding tube II, the parallel light beam injection port is fixed to one end of the light shielding tube I through a thread, and the other end of the light shielding tube I is bolted to the reflector fixing frame, and the reflector fixing frame is connected to the adjustable base through the light shielding tube II.

[0013] Furthermore, the lengths of the light shielding tubes I and II are adjustable to shield ambient stray light and adapt to different optical path distances.

[0014] Furthermore, the adjustable base further comprises:

[0015] The housing encapsulates the upper and lower adjustment modules, and has a reserved hole on the top for inserting the adapter ring, and reserved holes on the upper and lower sides for inserting the upper and lower adjustment pins respectively;

[0016] An adapter ring is provided at the top of the housing, one end of which extends into the housing through a reserved hole at the top of the housing and is connected to the upper adjustment module, and the other end of which is connected to the beam expander assembly;

[0017] A bottom plate is provided at the bottom of the housing and is connected to the incident laser adjustment module via the light shielding tube II;

[0018] The centers of the upper adjustment module, the lower adjustment module, the bottom plate, and the outer shell are all provided with through holes to ensure that the axial optical path direction of the beam expander group is not blocked.

[0019] Furthermore, the upper adjustment module includes an upper guide rail, an upper slider, an upper ejector plate, an upper adjustment ejector, an upper return spring, and an upper spring hook; the lower adjustment module includes a lower adjustment ejector, a lower ejector plate, a lower slider fixing plate, a lower slider, a lower guide rail, a lower spring hook I, a lower return spring, and a lower spring hook II;

[0020] The lower ejector plate and the lower slider fixing plate, the lower slider fixing plate and the lower slider, and the upper ejector plate and the upper slider are all rigidly connected by bolts to form a rigid structure;

[0021] The upper guide rail is fixed to the lower ejector action plate, the lower guide rail is fixed to the bottom plate, and the upper guide rail and the lower guide rail are perpendicular to each other, the upper slider slides in the upper guide rail, the lower slider slides in the lower guide rail, and the lower ejector action plate and the lower slider are connected via the lower slider fixing plate;

[0022] The upper adjustment ejector pin and the lower adjustment ejector pin are in contact with sapphire gaskets mounted on the upper ejector pin action plate and the lower ejector pin action plate, respectively, and the ejection direction is the same as the movement direction of the corresponding slider;

[0023] The two ends of the upper return spring are respectively installed through the right-angle spring hook and the upper spring hook, and the lower return spring is installed between the lower slider fixing plate and the bottom plate through the lower spring hook I and the lower spring hook II. The rotational motion of the adjusting pin is converted into linear displacement by pressing the sapphire gasket, and combined with the return spring, stepless adjustment and automatic reset are realized.

[0024] Furthermore, the beam expander II is installed in a lens barrel, and the outer wall of the lens barrel is provided with a standardized interface to facilitate rapid docking with beam expanders II of different specifications.

[0025] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0026] 1. The adjustable laser beam expansion lighting device of the present invention utilizes two adjustable plane mirrors to reflect the collimated incident laser beam twice and transmit it to the beam expansion mirror group to achieve beam expansion. Traditional beam expansion lighting requires that the incident laser and the beam expansion laser be coaxial. The present invention utilizes two mirrors to adjust the incident laser. Normal beam expansion lighting can be achieved when the incident laser and the beam expansion laser are not coaxial. Beam expansion of incident lasers at different incident positions and incident angles can be achieved, solving the problem of ineffective beam expansion lighting under spatial conditions. The adjustability of the plane mirror can compensate for the machining errors of the beam expansion lighting device, reduce the requirements for machining accuracy, and reduce processing costs. A light shielding tube is installed between the parallel beam injection port and the mirror fixing frame to prevent laser leakage from interfering with the normal operation of other devices.

[0027] 2. With traditional beam expansion methods, laser beam expansion output can only be along the original direction of the incident laser. The irradiation position on the beam expander cannot be adjusted, and the irradiation area relies on manual operation of external mechanisms. The adjustable base of the present invention uses guide rails and sliders to achieve displacement adjustment. Two sets of guide rails and sliders with mutually perpendicular movement directions are designed to track the irradiated object through two-dimensional adjustment. The sliders are pushed by a screw ejector, converting circular motion into linear motion. The self-locking function enables fast, high-precision, and highly stable stepless adjustment of the illumination area.

[0028] 3. The beam expander lens group adopts a modular quick-release design. Each lens is fixed in a standard lens barrel, and the lens barrels are connected by threads. By adding lens barrels of different widths, the distance between beam expander I and beam expander II can be quickly adjusted to adjust the beam expansion factor. The standard lens barrel can be used to quickly replace lenses with different parameters to adjust the laser divergence angle, so that the illumination field of view matches the imaging field of view.

[0029] 4. Compared to existing adjustment methods, the adjustment mechanism of the beam-expanding illumination device of the present invention is integrated within the beam-expanding assembly, simplifying the external mechanical structure. The adjustable base, with external dimensions of only 4cm*4cm*3cm, incorporates adjustment mechanisms for X and Y movement. The compact structure and standardized lens interface enable rapid interchange of imaging lenses of varying focal lengths. The incident laser adjustment module, adjustable base, and beam-expanding lens assembly can be used as separate modules for a variety of applications requiring laser beam expansion, including laser rangefinders, medical laser equipment, precision machining, and optical communications. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of an adjustable laser beam expansion device of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the beam expander assembly in the present invention;

[0032] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the external structure of the adjustable base in the present invention;

[0033] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the internal structure of the adjustable base of the present invention, wherein (a) is a left view and (b) is a right view;

[0034] Figure 5 is a top view of the incident laser adjustment module of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of adjusting the optical path of the illumination area of ​​the laser beam expansion device of the present invention, wherein (a) is a schematic diagram of the optical path before adjustment, and (b) is a schematic diagram of the optical path after adjustment.

[0036] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the positions of the springs in the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The technical solution of the present invention is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments, but this should not limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0038] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an embodiment of an adjustable laser beam expansion device of the present invention. As shown in the figure, an adjustable laser beam expansion device includes a beam expansion lens group 1, an adjustable base 2 and an incident laser adjustment module 3.

[0039] Incident laser adjustment module 3, such as Figure 5 Shown, including:

[0040] The parallel beam injection port 3-3 is used for parallel laser beam injection.

[0041] The light shielding tube I 3-2 is connected between the parallel beam injection port 3-3 and the reflector fixing frame 3-1 to prevent laser overflow from affecting the normal operation of other devices. Its length is adjustable to adapt to different optical path distances.

[0042] Shading tube II3-5, the reflector fixing frame is connected to the adjustment base through the shading tube II,

[0043] Adjustable plane mirrors I3-4 and II3-6 are arranged in parallel in the mirror fixing frame, and guide the collimated laser into the beam expander group non-coaxially through two reflections; the mirror angles are adjustable to compensate for the incident deviation caused by machining and assembly errors.

[0044] Initially, two plane mirrors are placed parallel to each other. After collimation, the incident laser is reflected twice before entering the beam expander. Adjusting the angles of the two plane mirrors compensates for the effect of machining and assembly errors on the laser's incident angle, reducing the requirements for machining accuracy. The incident laser beam is not coaxial with the expanded laser beam, so two adjustable plane mirrors ensure that the collimated laser is directed to the correct position.

[0045] Adjustable base 2, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, a layered adjustment module design achieves two-dimensional (X and Y) movement, comprising an upper adjustment module and a lower adjustment module enclosed within a housing 2-3. An adapter ring 2-1 is provided at the top of the housing 2-3. One end of the adapter ring 2-1 is threadedly connected to the beam expander assembly 1, and the other end is threadedly connected to the upper adjustment module. A base plate 2-5 is provided at the bottom of the housing 2-3, connecting to the incident laser adjustment module 3 via a light shielding tube II 3-5.

[0046] Upper adjustment module: includes upper adjustment ejector pin 2-2, upper ejector action plate 2-6, upper slider 2-7, upper guide rail 2-8, right-angle spring hook 2-9, upper return spring 2-10, and upper spring hook 2-11.

[0047] The upper ejector plate 2-6 and upper slider 2-7 are bolted together to form a rigid upper adjustment module. The upper guide rail 2-8 and lower ejector plate 2-12 are secured with connecting bolts. The upper adjustment module can move relative to the lower adjustment module along the upper guide rail's mounting direction, which is perpendicular to the lower guide rail's mounting direction. The upper adjustment ejector pin 2-2 is mounted on the housing and contacts a sapphire gasket mounted on the upper ejector plate. Its ejection direction is the same as the upper slider's.

[0048] The lower adjustment module includes a lower adjustment ejector pin 2-4, a lower ejector pin action plate 2-12, a lower slider fixing plate 2-13, a lower slider 2-14, a lower guide rail 2-15, a lower spring hook I 2-16, a lower return spring 2-17, and a lower spring hook II 2-18.

[0049] The lower ejector action plate 2-12 and the lower slider fixing plate 2-13, as well as the lower slider fixing plate 2-13 and the lower slider 2-14, are rigidly connected via bolts to form a rigid lower adjustment module. The lower guide rail 2-15 is fixed to the base plate 2-5 via bolts, and the lower adjustment module can move relative to the base plate along the installation direction of the lower guide rail. The lower adjustment ejector 2-4 is mounted on the housing and contacts the sapphire gasket mounted on the lower ejector action plate 2-12. Its ejection direction is the same as the movement direction of the lower slider 2-14. The lower slider fixing plate 2-13 has reserved holes for installing the lower spring hook I 2-16, and the base plate 2-5 has reserved holes for installing the lower spring hook II 2-18. The two hooks are used to install the reset spring. In the initial state, the upper adjustment module moves under the action of the reset spring until the upper adjustment ejector contacts the sapphire gasket. The upper ejector plate 2-6 is fitted with a right-angle spring hook 2-11. The lower slider fixing plate 2-13 has additional holes reserved for the upper spring hook I 2-11. These two hooks are used to install the return spring. Initially, the lower adjustment module moves under the action of the return spring until the lower rotating ejector contacts the sapphire gasket.

[0050] The upper adjustment module is bolted to the lower ejector plate 2-6. Rotating the lower adjustment pins causes the lower slider to move along the lower guide rail, overcoming the return spring force, and thus driving the upper adjustment module and the beam expander assembly in the X direction. Rotating the upper adjustment pins causes the upper slider to move along the upper guide rail, overcoming the return spring force, and thus driving the beam expander assembly in the Y direction. The upper and lower adjustment pins work together to achieve movement of the beam expander assembly in the X and Y directions.

[0051] Through holes are designed in the center of the upper adjustment module, the lower adjustment module, the bottom plate, and the outer shell to ensure that the light path in the axial direction of the beam expander lens is not blocked.

[0052] The beam expander assembly 1 is fixed to the adapter ring 2-1 of the adjustable base 2 through threads, supporting quick disassembly and maintenance. Figure 5 As shown in the figure, the beam expander group adopts a detachable design. The beam expander I and the beam expander II are connected by threads. Different beam expander lenses can be replaced according to actual needs to adjust the divergence angle of the output laser; by changing the screwing length of the thread, the distance between the beam expander I and the beam expander II can be adjusted to adjust the laser beam expansion multiple.

[0053] The shell is provided with reserved holes for installing the adjusting ejector pins, and the shell is fixed to the base plate by bolts.

[0054] Schematic diagram of the optical path for adjusting the illumination area of ​​the laser beam expansion lighting device is as follows Figure 6 As shown, by rotating the adjustment pin to drive the upper and lower sliders in the adjustment base to move, the axis of the incident parallel light beam and the axis of the beam expander are offset, and the irradiation area is adjusted based on the principle of light refraction.

[0055] The installation method of this embodiment is as follows:

[0056] 1.Incident laser adjustment module installation:

[0057] The parallel light beam injection port 3-3 is screwed into one end of the light shielding tube I 3-2, and the other end of the light shielding tube I is connected to the reflector fixing frame 3-1 through a bolt.

[0058] Install adjustable plane reflectors I3-4 and II3-6 in the reflector fixing frame, ensure that the two reflectors are parallel, and connect them to the adjustable base through the light shielding tube II3-5.

[0059] 2. Adjustable base assembly:

[0060] Lower adjustment module: fix the lower guide rail slider 2-14 to the bottom plate 2-5, connect the lower ejector action plate 2-12 to the lower slider fixing plate 2-13 through bolts, and the reset spring 2-17 provides reset tension through the spring hooks 2-16 and 2-18.

[0061] Upper adjustment module: The upper guide rail slider 2-7 is arranged vertically with the lower ejector action plate, the upper ejector action plate 2-6 is fixed to the upper slider by bolts, and the return spring 2-10 is connected by a right-angle spring hook 2-9.

[0062] 3. Beam expander configuration:

[0063] Install beam expander I and beam expander II into lens barrel III1-3 and lens barrel I1-1, connect different lens barrels through threads, and adjust the screw-on length to achieve the target beam expansion ratio.

[0064] Fix the beam expander assembly to the upper adjustment module through the adapter ring 2-1, ensuring that the optical path axis is aligned with the through hole.

[0065] 4. Adjustment:

[0066] Adjust the irradiation area: Rotate the lower adjustment pin 2-4 to drive the X-direction displacement, and rotate the upper adjustment pin 2-2 to drive the Y-direction displacement to achieve precise adjustment of the laser irradiation area.

[0067] Replace the lens: remove the adapter ring and replace the standard lens barrel with a beam expander II of different focal lengths to quickly adapt to the divergence angle requirements.

[0068] This invention has broad applications in laser ranging, medical laser equipment, precision machining, and optical communications, and is particularly well-suited for applications requiring high device size, adjustment accuracy, and flexibility. Its modular design and low cost make it highly valuable for industrialization and promotion.

Claims

1. An adjustable laser beam expansion lighting device, characterized in that: Includes incident laser adjustment module, adjustable base and beam expander lens set; The incident laser adjustment module includes a parallel beam injection port, a reflector fixing frame, and at least two adjustable plane reflectors arranged in parallel in the reflector fixing frame, and is used to guide the laser beam collimated by the parallel beam injection port into the beam expansion lens assembly non-coaxially after two reflections; The adjustable base includes an upper adjustment module and a lower adjustment module arranged in layers. The upper adjustment module and the lower adjustment module respectively realize independent movement in the X-axis and Y-axis directions through their respective guide rail slider mechanisms, and the movement stroke and reset are controlled by the ejector-spring linkage mechanism; A beam expander assembly includes a beam expander I and a beam expander II connected by threads. The spacing between the beam expander I and the beam expander II is changed by adjusting the screwing length of the threads to achieve beam expansion ratio adjustment. The beam expander II is replaceable to achieve output laser divergence angle adjustment. Among them, the incident laser adjustment module is connected to the adjustable base, and the beam expander group is installed on the top of the adjustable base. By adjusting the upper adjustment module and the lower adjustment module, the position of the beam expander group in the plane is changed to adjust the irradiation area of ​​the outgoing laser.

2. The adjustable laser beam expansion lighting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The incident laser adjustment module also includes a light shielding tube I and a light shielding tube II. The parallel light beam injection port is fixed to one end of the light shielding tube I through a thread. The other end of the light shielding tube I is bolted to the reflector fixing frame, and the reflector fixing frame is connected to the adjustable base through the light shielding tube II.

3. The adjustable laser beam expansion lighting device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The lengths of the light shielding tube I and the light shielding tube II are adjustable to shield ambient stray light and adapt to different optical path distances.

4. The adjustable laser beam expansion lighting device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The adjustable base further comprises: The housing encapsulates the upper and lower adjustment modules, and has a reserved hole on the top for inserting the adapter ring, and reserved holes on the upper and lower sides for inserting the upper and lower adjustment pins respectively; An adapter ring is provided at the top of the housing, one end of which extends into the housing through a reserved hole at the top of the housing and is connected to the upper adjustment module, and the other end of which is connected to the beam expander assembly; A bottom plate is provided at the bottom of the housing and is connected to the incident laser adjustment module via the light shielding tube II; The centers of the upper adjustment module, the lower adjustment module, the bottom plate, and the outer shell are all provided with through holes to ensure that the axial optical path direction of the beam expander group is not blocked.

5. The adjustable laser beam expansion lighting device according to claim 1 or 4, characterized in that: The upper adjustment module includes an upper guide rail, an upper slider, an upper ejector plate, an upper adjustment ejector, an upper return spring, and an upper spring hook; the lower adjustment module includes a lower adjustment ejector, a lower ejector plate, a lower slider fixing plate, a lower slider, a lower guide rail, a lower spring hook I, a lower return spring, and a lower spring hook II; The lower ejector plate and the lower slider fixing plate, the lower slider fixing plate and the lower slider, and the upper ejector plate and the upper slider are all rigidly connected by bolts to form a rigid structure; The upper guide rail is fixed to the lower ejector action plate, the lower guide rail is fixed to the bottom plate, and the upper guide rail and the lower guide rail are perpendicular to each other, the upper slider slides in the upper guide rail, the lower slider slides in the lower guide rail, and the lower ejector action plate and the lower slider are connected via the lower slider fixing plate; The upper adjustment ejector pin and the lower adjustment ejector pin are in contact with sapphire gaskets mounted on the upper ejector pin action plate and the lower ejector pin action plate, respectively, and the ejection direction is the same as the movement direction of the corresponding slider; The two ends of the upper return spring are respectively installed through the right-angle spring hook and the upper spring hook, and the lower return spring is installed between the lower slider fixing plate and the bottom plate through the lower spring hook I and the lower spring hook II. The rotational motion of the adjusting pin is converted into linear displacement by pressing the sapphire gasket, and combined with the return spring, stepless adjustment and automatic reset are realized.

6. The adjustable laser beam expansion lighting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The beam expander II is installed in a lens barrel, and the outer wall of the lens barrel is provided with a standardized interface to facilitate rapid docking with beam expanders II of different specifications.

Images