Laser head for irradiation and removal of material from a surface of a structure
First Claim
1. A laser head for irradiating an interaction region of a structure with laser light to remove material from the structure, the laser head comprising:
- a housing;
an anchoring mechanism reversably coupled to the housing and releasably affixed to the structure by vacuum pressure, the anchoring mechanism releasably holding the laser head at a selected position in relation to the structure;
a connector coupled to the housing and optically coupled to a laser generator, the connector transmitting laser light from the laser generator;
a plurality of optical elements contained in the housing and optically coupled to the connector to receive laser light from the connector; and
a containment plenum coupled to the housing, the containment plenum optically coupled to the plurality of optical elements to receive the laser light from the plurality of optical elements, the containment plenum confining the material and removing the material from the interaction region resulting from irradiating the structure with the laser light.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A laser head for irradiating an interaction region of a structure with laser light to remove material from the structure. The laser head includes a housing, an anchoring mechanism, and a connector coupled to the housing and optically coupled to a laser generator. The anchoring mechanism is reversably coupled to the housing and releasably affixed to the structure by vacuum pressure. The anchoring mechanism releasably holds the laser head at a selected position in relation to the structure. The connector transmits laser light from the laser generator. The laser head further includes a plurality of optical elements contained in the housing. The laser head further includes a containment plenum coupled to the housing. The containment plenum is optically coupled to the plurality of optical elements to receive the laser light. The containment plenum confines the material and removes the material from the interaction region resulting from irradiating the structure with the laser light.
63 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A laser head for irradiating an interaction region of a structure with laser light to remove material from the structure, the laser head comprising:
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a housing;
an anchoring mechanism reversably coupled to the housing and releasably affixed to the structure by vacuum pressure, the anchoring mechanism releasably holding the laser head at a selected position in relation to the structure;
a connector coupled to the housing and optically coupled to a laser generator, the connector transmitting laser light from the laser generator;
a plurality of optical elements contained in the housing and optically coupled to the connector to receive laser light from the connector; and
a containment plenum coupled to the housing, the containment plenum optically coupled to the plurality of optical elements to receive the laser light from the plurality of optical elements, the containment plenum confining the material and removing the material from the interaction region resulting from irradiating the structure with the laser light. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A laser head for irradiating an interaction region of a structure with laser light to remove material from the structure, the laser head comprising:
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means for connecting the laser head to a laser generator;
means for releasably affixing the laser head to the structure by vacuum pressure;
means for receiving the laser light from the laser generator;
means for directing the laser light to the interaction region; and
means for confining the material and removing the material from the interaction region.
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20. A method of irradiating an interaction region of a structure with laser light to remove material from the structure, the method comprising:
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connecting a laser head to a laser generator;
releasably affixing the laser head to the structure;
positioning the laser head in a drilling position relative to the interaction region;
receiving the laser light from the laser generator;
directing the laser light to the interaction region of the structure; and
confining the material and removing the material from the interaction region.
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Specification