Light source device

• US 6,867,929 B2
• Filed: 05/14/2002
• Issued: 03/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JVC Kenwood Corporation
• Original Assignee: Victor Company of Japan Limited (JVC Kenwood Corporation), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
• Inventors: Sakai, Masahisa, Hirohashi, Kazutoshi, Min̅ano-Dominguez, Juan-Carlos, López-Hernández, Francisco-José, Benitez-Giménez, Pablo
• Primary Examiner(s): SCHWARTZ, JORDAN MARC
• Application Number:
  US10/143,923
• Publication Number:
  US 20030026002A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,036 Days
• Field of Search: 359/641, 359/599, 359/707, 359754-756, 359726-727, 250/493.1, 250/503.1, 398/106, 398/118, 372/9, 372/23
• US Class Current: 359/726
• 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 that is safe for human eyes and whose switching is performed at high speed. The light source device comprises one or more laser light sources (1) for emitting a monochromatic or polychromatic light beam, a diffuser (3), which may be transmissive, reflective, or a mixture thereof, for diffusing the light beam received directly from the laser light source or via an optical focusing system (2), and an optical collimator (4), which collimates the diffused light bundle emitted from the diffuser (3).

Claims

1. A light source device comprising:

a laser light source;

a diffuser that is at least partially reflective and arranged to have incident thereon light emitted from said laser light source;

a collimator for collimating a light that has been reflected and diffused by said diffuser and emitting the collimated light, and

an optical focusing system arranged to focus the light emitted from said laser onto said diffuser, wherein said diffuser, said collimator and said optical focusing system are formed on a single solid piece.

2. The light source device according to claim 1, wherein one portion of one surface of the single solid piece is coated by a mirror surface, and said diffuser is mounted on another portion of said surface.

3. A light source device comprising:

a laser light source;

a diffuser arranged to diffuse light emitted from said laser light source;

an optical focusing system arranged to focus light emitted by said laser onto said diffuser, and

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

wherein said diffuser, said collimator and said optical focusing system are formed on a single solid piece, one portion of a contoured surface of said single solid piece is coated by a mirror surface, and said diffuser is mounted on another portion of said contoured surface.

4. A light source device comprising:

a laser light source;

a diffuser arranged to diffuse light emitted from said laser light source;

an optical focusing system arranged to focus light emitted by said laser onto said diffuser; and

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

wherein said diffuser, said collimator and said optical focusing system are formed on a single solid piece.