Laser apparatus
AssigneeFanuc Corporation
InventorsHiroshi Takigawa, Ryusuke Miyata
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A laser apparatus calculates a temperature of a temperature increase portion that is raised in temperature by reflection light, and determines and outputs an emergency optical output command with the aim of ensuring that the calculated temperature does not exceed a first predetermined temperature, which is set at a lower temperature than an upper limit heat resistance temperature, and if necessary, controlling the temperature to or below a second predetermined temperature set at a lower temperature than the first predetermined temperature. When the emergency optical output command is to be output, a control unit switches an optical output command output thereby to the emergency optical output command and outputs the emergency optical output command.
Claims16
A laser apparatus, comprising:
- at least one laser oscillator;
- a power supply unit for supplying a driving current to the laser oscillator;
- a laser optical system that includes a machining head for irradiating a workpiece serving as a laser machining subject with laser light emitted from the laser oscillator through an optical fiber;
- at least one light detecting unit capable of detecting the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator and reflection light propagating in a substantially opposite direction to the laser light;
- and
- a control unit that outputs an optical output command and a current output command corresponding to the optical output command to the power supply unit,
- the laser apparatus further comprising:
- a temperature calculation unit that is provided either inside the laser apparatus or outside the laser apparatus and uses a detection result acquired by the light detecting unit to calculate the temperature of at least one of respective temperature increase portions of the laser apparatus, which increase in temperature in response to the reflection light;
- and
- an emergency command determination unit that refers to the calculated temperature of the temperature increase portion, calculated by the temperature calculation unit, and to ensure that the temperature of the temperature increase portion does not exceed a first predetermined temperature, which is an allowable upper limit temperature of the temperature increase portion and is set at a lower temperature than an upper limit heat resistance temperature of the temperature increase portion using the upper limit heat resistance temperature as a reference, determines and outputs, as required, an emergency optical output command with the aim of controlling the temperature of the temperature increase portion either to a second predetermined temperature, which is a control target temperature of the temperature increase portion and is set at a lower temperature than the first predetermined temperature, or to a lower temperature than the second predetermined temperature,
- wherein, when the emergency optical output command is output, the control unit switches the optical output command output thereby to the emergency optical output command and outputs the emergency optical output command.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.