Light source device

• US 20050213180A1
• Filed: 03/15/2005
• Published: 09/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Francisco-Jose Lopez-Hernandez, Juan-Carlos Minano-Dominguez, Kazutoshi Hirohashi, Masahisa Sakai, Pablo Benitez-Gimenez
• Original Assignee: Francisco-Jose Lopez-Hernandez, Juan-Carlos Minano-Dominguez, Kazutoshi Hirohashi, Masahisa Sakai, Pablo Benitez-Gimenez
• Inventors: Hirohashi, Kazutoshi, Lopez-Hernandez, Francisco-Jose, Minano-Dominguez, Juan-Carlos, Benitez-Gimenez, Pablo, Sakai, Masahisa
• Application Number:
  US11/079,472
• Publication Number:
  US 20050213180A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/237
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/0278 used in transmission
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/0284 used in reflection
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/005 Optical devices external to the laser cavity, specially adapted for lasers, e.g. for homogenisation of the beam or for manipulating laser pulses, e.g. pulse shaping shaping laser beam for working metal or other materials B23K26/06; optical elements, systems or apparatus in general G02B
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/005 Optical components external to the laser cavity, specially adapted therefor, e.g. for homogenisation or merging of the beams or for manipulating laser pulses, e.g. pulse shaping H01S5/026, H01S5/18388 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/06825 Protecting the laser, e.g. during switch-on/off, detection of malfunctioning or degradation

Abstract

The present invention provides a light source device which is safe for human eyes and whose switching is performed at high speed.

The light source device comprising one or more laser light source 1 for monochromatically or polychromatically emitting, a diffuser 3 (transmissive, reflective or mixture) for diffusing the light bundle injected directly from the laser light source 1 or via the optical focusing system 2, and the optical system 4 which is referred to as a collimator for collimating the diffused light bundle emitted from the diffuser 3.

Claims

1. A light source device comprising:

a laser light source;

diffuser for diffusing a light emitted from said laser light source; and

a collimator for collimating a light diffused by said diffuser and emitting the light.

2. The light source device according to claim 1, including an optical focusing system for focusing a light emitted from said laser light and making said diffuser inject the light.

3. The light source device according to claim 1, wherein said diffuser is any one of a transmissive diffuser for transmitting and diffusing an incident light, a reflective diffuser for reflecting and diffusing an incident light, or a mixture diffuser which combines said transmissive diffuser and said reflective diffuser.

4. The light source device according to claim 1, wherein said diffuser is situated on a plane having normal having an incident light direction and an optional angle from said laser light source.

5. The light source device according to claim 2, wherein said diffuser, said collimator and said optical focusing system are constituted in an integrated manner.

6. The light source device according to claim 5, wherein one portion of one surface is coated by a mirror surface, and said diffuser is mounted on one portion of other surface.

7. The light source device according to claim 1, wherein said optical focusing system includes at least one optical system using a polyhedral body reflecting or refracting.

8. The light source device according to claim 1, including multiple laser light sources, wherein a light emitted from said multiple laser light source is injected into said diffuser.

9. The light source device according to claim 1, including a diaphragm for determining an acceptable emission limit of said collimator.

10. The light source device according to claim 9, wherein an aperture of said diaphragm is variable.

11. The light source device according to claim 1, wherein an incident surface of said diffuser is a concave surface.

12. The light source device according to claim 1, wherein a set of microlenses or micromirrors is used instead of said diffuser.

13. The light source device according to claim 12, wherein said microlens or micromirror attenuates a fraction of power which does not exceed 10% of a light emitted from said laser light source.