[Back to the Laser Materials Processing Patent Collection]
| United States Patent |
6,424,670
|
|
Sukhman
, et al.
|
July 23, 2002
|
Apparatus and method for making laser sources and laser platforms
interchangeable and interfaceable
Abstract
The beam path [80] of a laser source [10] is first pre-aligned to a
predetermined reference, and then the optical axis [90] of the beam
delivery system [40, 50] of a laser material processing platform [20] is
pre-aligned to the pre-aligned beam path of the laser source such that the
two coincide. If the laser beam [80] is invisible, a laser simulator [72]
having a visible pre-aligned beam may be used instead. When every laser
source and every laser material processing platform [20] in a
predetermined population thereof are pre-aligned in this manner, then any
one of the laser sources and any one of the laser material processing
platforms in the population may be interchanged for any one of its kind in
the population and interfaced with any one of the other kind in the
population to form a laser material processing system without any
additional alignment requirement during or after the interfacing operation
and the laser beam paths [80] and beam delivery system optical axes [90]
will be automatically aligned with each other after any laser source in
the line is combined with any laser material processing platform in the
line.
| Inventors:
|
Sukhman; Yefim P. (Scottsdale, AZ);
Risser; Christian J. (Scottsdale, AZ);
Gorham; Edwin W. (Phoenix, AZ);
Noto; Stanfano J. (Mesa, AZ)
|
| Assignee:
|
Universal Laser Systems, Inc. (Scottsdale, AZ)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
506214 |
| Filed:
|
February 17, 2000 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
372/107; 219/121.67; 219/121.76; 219/121.6 |
| Intern'l Class: |
H01S 003/08; B23K 026/00; B23K 026/14 |
| Field of Search: |
372/107,108
219/121.67,121.76,121.78,121.6
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
| 4550240 | Oct., 1985 | Toida et al. | 219/121.
|
| 4985166 | Jan., 1991 | Morrow | 330/4.
|
| 4985780 | Jan., 1991 | Garnier et al.
| |
| H933 | Jul., 1991 | Buczek et al. | 356/5.
|
| 5168454 | Dec., 1992 | LaPlante et al. | 364/474.
|
| 5191447 | Mar., 1993 | Pinard | 358/497.
|
| 5260565 | Nov., 1993 | Rose et al. | 250/227.
|
| 5319528 | Jun., 1994 | Raven | 362/32.
|
| 6014206 | Jan., 2000 | Basting | 356/138.
|
| 6134050 | Oct., 2000 | Conemac | 359/618.
|
Primary Examiner: Ip; Paul
Assistant Examiner: Rodriquez; Armando
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Abelman, Frayne & Schwab
[Back to the Laser Materials Processing Patent Collection]