Cooled mirror and method of cooling same particularly useful in lasers
First Claim
1. A cooled mirror particularly useful in lasers, comprising a reflector member, a rigid base, a plurality of spaced supporting elements joined to the underface of said reflector member and to said base such as to reduce bending of said reflector member by thermal deformation, and cooling means for cooling said reflector member;
- characterized in that said cooling means comprises an inlet for a cooling fluid, an outlet for the cooling fluid, and fluid-conducting means constraining the cooling fluid to flow from said inlet, through the spaces between said plurality of spaced supporting elements along a plurality of paths which are in parallel between said inlet and outlet, and then through said outlet to impinge on the underface of said reflector member at a plurality of discrete points thereon each located in one of said parallel paths.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A cooled mirror particularly useful in lasers conducts a cooling fluid through a plurality of parallel paths to impinge on the underface of the reflector member at a plurality of discrete points thereon. The velocity of the cooling fluid is increased such that it issues in the form of a high-velocity jet at each of the discrete impingement points on the underface of the reflector member. The reflector member is thin and flexible and is supported from a rigid base by a plurality of spaced supporting elements in such manner so as to reduce bending of the reflector member by thermal deformation.
13 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A cooled mirror particularly useful in lasers, comprising a reflector member, a rigid base, a plurality of spaced supporting elements joined to the underface of said reflector member and to said base such as to reduce bending of said reflector member by thermal deformation, and cooling means for cooling said reflector member;
- characterized in that said cooling means comprises an inlet for a cooling fluid, an outlet for the cooling fluid, and fluid-conducting means constraining the cooling fluid to flow from said inlet, through the spaces between said plurality of spaced supporting elements along a plurality of paths which are in parallel between said inlet and outlet, and then through said outlet to impinge on the underface of said reflector member at a plurality of discrete points thereon each located in one of said parallel paths.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A cooled mirror particularly useful in lasers including a reflector member, a rigid base, a plurality of spaced supporting elements joining said reflector member to said base such as to provide high resistance to thermal deformation tending to produce bending of the reflector member;
- heat-conductor bars extending from said reflector member between and spaced from said supporting elements; and
means for feeding a cooling fluid through the spaces between said supporting elements and said heat-conductor bars;
said supporting elements being hollow tubes formed with holes through their walls at their ends adjacent to said reflector member, the opposite ends of said hollow tubes leading to an inlet chamber for said cooling fluid such that the cooling fluid flows from said inlet chamber through the interiors of said hollow tubes in parallel, then through the openings in the walls of the hollow tubes at their ends adjacent to said reflector member, and then through the spaces between the hollow tubes and said heat-conductor bars. - View Dependent Claims (13)
- heat-conductor bars extending from said reflector member between and spaced from said supporting elements; and
- 14. A method of cooling a mirror including a reflector, a rigid base, and a plurality of spaced supporting elements joining discrete points on the underface of the reflector with said base such as to reduce bending by defomation of the reflector, characterized in directing a cooling fluid to flow through a plurality of spaced parallel paths to impinge on a face of said reflector at a plurality of discrete points thereon, and increasing the velocity of said fluid in each of said plurality of parallel paths such that the fluid takes the form of high-velocity jets when impinging on the underface of said mirror at said plurality of discrete points thereon.
Specification