JPH08138420A - Laser beam radiating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To improve visibility by providing an optical system to two- dimensionally deflect a laser beam source and a laser beam, and radiating the laser beam to a traffic-control sign or the like as a desired two-dimensional diagram. CONSTITUTION: A laser beam radiating device 1 is installed on a pillar on the road side end, and display on a road, for example, a stopping line 3 attached to a pedestrian, crossing 4 is irradiated with a laser beam 2. The laser beam radiating device 1 is provided with a laser beam source such as a gas laser and a semiconductor laser, and a red laser beam having a high luminosity factor is radiated, for example, as a laser beam of 5mm through a proper optical system such as a beam expander. An optical reflector such as a rotary mirror and a polyhedron rotary mirror is provided, and the laser beam is deflected in the desired direction in a waveform in a desired period over a desired angle amplitude range. For example, the laser beam is scanned along a length of the stopping line 3 by the polyhedron rotary mirror, and at the same time, the laser beam is reciprocatively deflected along a width of the stopping line 3 by the rotary mirror, and an irradiation afterimage having a saw-toothed waveform is drawn on the stopping line 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a laser light irradiation device capable of irradiating a traffic sign on a snowy road with a laser beam to identify and confirm the presence of the sign.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A white line or a yellow line on a road in a city, such as a car stop line, pedestrian crossing, or median line, makes it difficult to see the road surface with headlights during nighttime rain, and it is also difficult to see thick fog and snow. In case of, it is difficult to confirm its existence and identify it, and it is easy to induce a traffic accident. Especially, it is easy to cause a tragic accident if the pedestrian crossing for school children is difficult to identify. Also, poles are set up on the shoulders of mountain roads in the snowy area to clearly indicate the dangerous area, but there is no way to identify the shoulders of the road if the pole is covered with snow or the pole is broken.
The number of vehicle accidents caused by these events is endless. As a countermeasure, it is enough to bury a plate that reflects the headlights of the vehicle or a sign with a built-in light source on the stop line or the center separation line of the car on the road, and it is safe to identify the shoulder of the road until now. The reality is that little is done about the method.

[0003]

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and irradiates, for example, a traffic sign with a laser beam of low power and high visibility that does not affect the human body at all. By doing so, it is an object of the present invention to obtain a laser light irradiation device capable of identifying a traffic sign irradiated by a laser from a distance regardless of the weather, such as day and night, and regardless of the weather such as heavy fog or snow.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following laser light irradiation device. That is, a laser light source, a means for converting a laser beam from the laser light source into a parallel light flux, a rotating mirror for reflecting the parallel light flux from the means, and a light flux from the rotating mirror for irradiating an irradiated object. By controlling the rotation of the rotating mirror and the rotation of the polyhedral mirror, the irradiation target is irradiated with various patterns as an afterimage to identify and confirm the existence of the irradiation target. It is a laser light irradiation device characterized by being capable of performing. Further, it is possible to irradiate a long pattern as an afterimage on the irradiated object by making the mirror surface of the polyhedral mirror have a curved shape displayed by 1 / tan θ or by driving the polyhedral mirror to the curved shape displayed by 1 / tan θ. That is the feature.

[0005]

The polyhedron mirror for irradiating the object to be irradiated with the laser beam receives the parallel laser beam reflected by the turning mirror, and controls the turning of the turning mirror and the turning of the polyhedron mirror so that the object to be irradiated is irradiated. By irradiating various patterns as an afterimage, it is possible to identify and confirm the existence of an irradiation target such as a marker.

[0006]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
(1) is a laser light irradiation device according to the present invention attached to the tip of a pole standing on the road side edge, and (3) and (4) are vehicle stop lines and pedestrian crossings displayed on the road. .
(2) is a laser beam emitted from the laser beam irradiation device (1) on the stop line of the vehicle. Laser light is radiated on the stop line of the vehicle so that an arbitrary pattern, for example, a sawtooth pattern can be seen as an afterimage as described later. FIG.
3 and 4 are explanatory views showing a laser beam irradiation device, and FIG.
Example, FIG. 3 is a second example, and FIG. 4 is a third example.
First, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
(5) is a laser light source composed of, for example, a He-Ne gas laser of red laser having high visibility or a semiconductor laser. The laser beam emitted from the laser light source (5) is condensed by passing through a beam expander (6), or It becomes a parallel light flux of about 5 mm that does not cause diffusion. Reference numeral (7) is a reflection mirror, and the light flux is reflected by the reflection mirror (7) and is input to the rotating mirror (8). The rotating mirror (8) is shown in FIG. 5, in which (9) is a cylindrical rotating magnet, and (10) is a fixed magnet which is fixed around the rotating magnet (9). is there. At the center of the top of the rotating magnet (9), a column on which the rotating mirror (8) is fixed is provided. Fixed magnet (1
0) has a plurality of protrusions (10a). When a current flows through a pair of coils (11) (12), one end of the protrusion (10a) is magnetized to N and the other end is magnetized to S. Rotating magnet (9)
Is embedded with a magnet facing the protrusion (10a) of the fixed magnet (10). When an AC voltage is applied to the drive coils (11) (12), the protrusions of the fixed magnet (10) are N, S,
It changes from N to S, and accordingly the rotary magnet (9) attracts,
Repulsion is repeated alternately to rotate. By changing the frequency of the AC voltage, the swing angle of the rotating mirror (8) can be controlled.

In FIG. 2, the parallel light flux that is input from the reflecting mirror (7) to the turning mirror (8) is swung to the left and right in a fan shape by the turning of the turning mirror (8), and a concave mirror (13) is provided. Is converted into a parallel light flux. Concave mirror (1
The size in 3) in the width direction is arbitrarily determined according to the line width of the irradiation target to be irradiated with laser light. Reference numeral (14) is a polyhedral mirror which can be rotated clockwise by a motor (15). A polyhedral mirror (14) that rotates the parallel light flux converted by the concave mirror (13) clockwise at a predetermined speed.
When the polyhedron mirror (14) is rotated, the lower irradiation target is irradiated with a light beam having a predetermined width and length. That is, the turning angle of the turning mirror (8), the concave mirror (1
The width of the light flux to be irradiated to the irradiation target is determined by the mirror surface width of 3) and the mirror surface width of the polyhedral mirror (14).
Since the length of the luminous flux that irradiates the object to be irradiated is determined by the width of one surface of 4) and the height at which the irradiation device is installed, for example, as shown in the figure, the vehicle stop line is a saw-like afterimage on the road. When irradiating the light flux so that it can be seen, when the rotation mirror (8) is rotated to introduce the light flux into the mirror surface end of the concave mirror (13), the light flux is reflected by the polyhedral mirror (14) and Rotating mirror (8) to illuminate a and b above
The rotation of the mirror is controlled, and the light flux reflected near the mirror surface of the polyhedral mirror (14) and one of the bent parts of the mirror surface illuminates A on the road, and the other surface of the mirror surface and the mirror surface is bent as the polyhedral mirror (14) rotates. The number of surfaces of the polyhedral mirror (14) (360 / the number of surfaces of the polyhedron × 2 = irradiation angle of the polyhedral mirror (14)) and the polyhedral mirror (14) so that the light flux reflected in the vicinity of the part irradiates B on the road. The height at which the polyhedron mirror (14) is installed is set (actually, the height at which the polyhedron mirror (14) is installed is considered to be almost constant, so the shape of the polyhedron mirror (14) will be adjusted), and the rotating mirror This is possible by adjusting the rotation speed of (8) and the rotation speed of the polyhedral mirror (14).

FIG. 3 shows a laser beam irradiation apparatus of the second embodiment, in which members having the same function are designated by the same reference numeral. The second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment, except that the rotating mirror (8) of the first embodiment is a polyhedral mirror (16) standing upright in the vertical direction. (17) is a motor for rotating the polyhedral mirror (16) in one direction. Since the polyhedral mirror (16) is rotating in one direction, the light flux radiated on the road appears as a residual image as discontinuous diagonal lines at predetermined intervals as shown in the figure. Similarly, FIG. 4 shows the laser light irradiation apparatus of the third embodiment, in which the concave mirror (13) of the first embodiment is not provided, and the luminous flux is directly injected from the turning mirror (8) to the polyhedral mirror (14). The other points are the same as those in the first embodiment. Since it blocks the optical path through which the light flux is input / reflected, the drive source (1
8) is located above the turning mirror (8). Forward rotation
The light flux reflected by the rotating mirror (8) that repeats reversal is input to the rotating polyhedral mirror (14), is reflected by the mirror surface of the polyhedral mirror (14), and forms a tall saw-like pattern on the road as an afterimage. It is to irradiate. Therefore, in the first embodiment, a short saw-like pattern is formed on the road in the direction orthogonal to the road, and in the second embodiment, a discontinuous diagonal pattern is formed on the road in the direction orthogonal to the road. In the example, a tall saw-like pattern obtained by swinging the saw direction of the first embodiment by 90 ° on the road in a direction orthogonal to the road is visible as an afterimage.
However, since the laser light has a strong directivity and the spread of the light flux is small, it cannot be seen from the side. However, if there is a substance that scatters the laser light in the air, it can be seen from the side.
By increasing the scanning speed of the laser light to 30 times / second in this apparatus, it is possible to see the fluorescent light as if it were due to the afterimage effect.

In the first, second, and third embodiments, the laser light irradiating device for irradiating the light flux on the road in the direction orthogonal to the road has been described. For example, on the road for displaying the center separation line and the shoulder. FIG. 6, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 for a laser light irradiation device for irradiating a light flux that is long to a direction parallel to the road and does not deteriorate the brightness of the light flux at a distant destination.
Described in. FIG. 6 shows the principle of irradiating a polyhedron mirror (14) and a light beam on the road in a direction parallel to the road to a certain extent. The polyhedron of the laser light irradiation device is located on the road (A) at a height (h). The mirror (14) is installed,
The irradiation distance from (A) to (B) on the straight line is h × tan
Displayed as θ. The polyhedral mirror (14) is rotating at a constant speed. That is, if the polygonal mirror (14) moves 1 ° from point A directly below 4 m and moves to point A ′ while the angular velocity is constant, the moving distance is 4 m × tan θ = 0.0698. Becomes
Further, the moving distance from the position B at an angle of 80 ° from directly below to B ′ moved by 1 ° is 4 m × (tan θ ₂ −tan θ ₁ ) =
It is 2.599m. When the irradiation angle is increased as described above, the distance of the laser light that moves per unit time is different. As a result, the brightness is bright just below the irradiation device and becomes darker as the distance increases. As a means for solving this problem, the mirror surface of the polygon mirror (14) is set to 1 / tan θ as shown in (14a) of FIG.
A method of making a curved line as shown by or controlling the rotation speed of the polyhedral mirror can be considered. As shown in FIG. 6, the maximum scanning angle of the laser beam is θ, and the height of the laser irradiation device from the road is h. The maximum reach of the laser light is X = h × tan θ. When the scanning angle of the laser light reaches the maximum angle θ / n, the arrival distance x of the laser light
Becomes X / n, the change in the angular velocity and the change in the reach distance of the laser light are proportional, the distances AA ′ and BB ′ are equal, and the brightness is constant. The arrival distance of the laser light at the scanning angle θ / n is x = h × tan (θ / n).
Assuming that the coefficient for making the change of the scanning angular velocity of the laser light and the change of the reaching distance proportional to A, X / n = A × h × tan
It is sufficient that (θ / n) is established. If you ask for A, Therefore, by processing the surface of the polyhedral mirror with the curve A, the change of the scanning angle of the laser light and the change of the reaching distance are proportional to each other, and a line of the same brightness can be drawn on the road.

Further, the mirror surface of the polyhedral mirror (14) is 1 / t
Since it is difficult to process it into a curved shape as indicated by anθ, the polyhedral mirror (14) is 1 / tan shown in FIG.
The motor (1
5) is driven, which can be realized by changing the rotation speed of the motor (15) at that time, as in the coefficient A described above. Therefore, the polyhedral mirror (14) of the first embodiment (FIG. 2) is replaced with a polyhedral mirror (14a) having a mirror surface as shown in FIG. 7, or a motor for driving the polyhedral mirror of the first embodiment is used as shown in FIG. By storing so as to make a movement as shown in, it is possible to irradiate a short sawtooth long light flux with the same brightness on the road edge in parallel with the straight road. Then, if the rotation of the rotating mirror (8) of the first embodiment (FIG. 2) is stopped, it is possible to irradiate a linear light beam, and for example, for a road 15 m from the point where the laser light irradiation device is installed, When the polyhedron mirror (14a) is linearly bent, the polyhedron mirror (14a) is rotated, and when the light beam irradiates 15 m ahead, the polyhedron mirror (1
4a) is shaken at a predetermined angle in the horizontal direction with respect to the parallel light flux input to the polyhedral mirror, so that the light flux is emitted along the curved road following the straight road edge 15m. . That is, in FIG. 2, the polyhedral mirror (14) is replaced with a polyhedral mirror (14a) having a curved mirror surface as shown in FIG.
In addition to the motor (15) for driving a), a motor for swinging the polyhedron mirror (14a) in the horizontal direction with respect to the laser beam is separately provided, and the road from the tip of the straight road of 15 m to the right direction. If the road is bent, straight road 15m
As for the operation of the motor (15), the polygon mirror (1
4a) is rotated to irradiate the laser light, and when the laser light reaches 15 m ahead, another motor is operated to irradiate the laser light to the curved road shoulder continuously to the straight road shoulder. be able to. Also, by rotating the rotating mirror (8) without stopping it, the polygon mirror (14a) can be swung at a predetermined angle to irradiate a long light flux having a serrated shape to the road edge. A concrete device is shown in FIG.
Is shown in. In FIG. 9, (14a) is a polyhedral mirror having a mirror surface of tan θ, which is rotated by a motor (15). The motor (19) is a motor for rotating the whole body in the forward and reverse directions in the horizontal direction, and a rubber disk (20) is pivotally supported on its shaft. (21) is a polyhedral mirror (14a), a motor (1
5) A mount on which (19) is placed, (22) is a column of the mount (21), and (23) is a mount on which the entire device is mounted. The disk (20) is the mounting base (21)
Since the disk (20) rotates on the pedestal (23) when the motor (19) is actuated because it is located on the outer side of the pedestal (23) and the motor (19) is actuated, the mount (21) moves the support (22). As a center, it rotates forward / reverse in the horizontal direction.

The laser light irradiation apparatus according to the present invention is built in a closed box and installed on a pillar standing upright at the end of a road. As a power source, a commercial power source or a battery that withstands long-term use, such as a lithium battery, is used. Is used. Further, in order to irradiate the irradiated body with the light flux reflected by the polyhedral mirror, a glass or synthetic resin plate having a good light-transmitting property is attached to the window below the polyhedral mirror. In the present embodiment, a He-Ne gas laser, which is a red laser that is easy to identify and has low power, is used as the laser light source, but the present invention is not limited to this. By linking the laser light source and various driving sources with the traffic light on the road, it is possible to irradiate the laser light in synchronization with the display of the traffic light.
The design can be changed arbitrarily within the spirit of the present invention.

In any of the above, the present invention receives a parallel laser light flux reflected from a rotating mirror by a polyhedral mirror for irradiating an object to be irradiated with laser light, and rotates the rotating mirror and the polygon mirror. By controlling, it is possible to irradiate the irradiated body with various patterns as an afterimage to identify and confirm the existence of the irradiated body such as a sign, and the preferable first embodiment is as follows. A device for projecting laser light as a parallel light beam with a beam expander to a rotating mirror through a reflecting mirror, and a device for projecting the laser light from the rotating mirror to a concave mirror to the irradiated object from a polyhedral mirror to a predetermined width and length. A laser beam irradiating device including a device for irradiating a luminous flux of, and in a second embodiment, the rotating mirror is rotationally driven as a polyhedral mirror,
In a third embodiment, a laser beam is projected onto a rotating mirror as a parallel light beam by a beam expander, and the laser beam reflected from the rotating mirror is directly projected onto a polyhedral mirror to irradiate an irradiated object. It is an irradiation device. According to the above embodiment, by controlling the rotation of the rotating mirror and the rotation of the polyhedral mirror, it is possible to irradiate various patterns as an afterimage, and to obtain a laser light irradiation device in which the irradiation target can be easily confirmed. In addition to achieving the above, it is possible to determine the width of the luminous flux emitted by the irradiated object by the rotation angle of the rotating mirror and the mirror surface width of the polyhedral mirror, and the surface width of the polyhedral mirror and the irradiation device are installed. It is possible to achieve an object of obtaining a laser light irradiation device capable of determining the length of a light beam to be irradiated to an irradiation target according to the height. In addition, the mirror surface of the polyhedral mirror is 1 / tan
Irradiate a long light flux to the road edge parallel to the straight road by making it a curved mirror surface indicated by θ or rotating the polyhedral mirror by a driver to the curved shape indicated by 1 / tan θ. Can achieve the purpose of being able to. Further, by arranging the polyhedral mirror so that it can be horizontally swung by a predetermined angle in a state in which the rotation of the rotating mirror is stopped, a laser light irradiation apparatus capable of irradiating along a curved road following a straight road edge The purpose of gaining can be achieved.

[0013]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The laser light irradiating device according to the present invention uses red laser light having low power and high visibility to irradiate a traffic sign on a road during snow or a thick fog, or By illuminating the shoulders of the road during snow or heavy fog, it is possible to identify traffic signs and shoulders of the road from a distance regardless of day or night.In particular, laser light has a strong directivity and spreads the luminous flux. It is not visible from the side because there are few snowflakes, but when it is snowing or if it is smog, the laser light is reflected on the particles and looks like a surface, which can be effectively identified and prevent traffic accidents in advance. The irradiation method can be arbitrarily adopted according to the type of the sign, and since the laser light is irradiated from the upper side to the lower side, it does not directly enter the human retina, so there is no influence on the human body. It is effective not only for displaying traffic signs and road shoulders but also for displaying dangerous areas where dangerous materials are present.This device can be used not only on land but also in dangerous areas and routes such as water and sea signs. It can be used to a great extent, and its effect on each field is remarkable. According to the invention of claim 1, by controlling the rotation of the rotating mirror and the rotation of the polyhedral mirror in addition to the laser light irradiation system, it is possible to irradiate the irradiated object with various patterns as an afterimage. According to the second and third aspects of the invention, there is a feature that a light flux that is long to a certain extent in the direction parallel to the road and that does not change the brightness of the light flux at a far destination can be emitted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a usage state of a laser light irradiation apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a laser light irradiation device of the present invention according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a laser light irradiation device of the present invention according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a laser light irradiation device of the present invention according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a turning device for a turning mirror.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a principle of irradiating a polyhedral mirror and a light flux on the road in a direction parallel to the road to a certain length.

7 (a), (b), and (c) are explanatory views of a mirror surface of a polyhedral mirror and curve diagrams of tan θ and 1 / tan θ.

8 is a diagram showing the relationship between the rotation speed and the irradiation angle for driving the polyhedral mirror so that the same mirror surface irradiation as in FIG. 7 can be performed.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a device for irradiating a road consisting of a straight road and a curved road.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Laser light irradiation device 2 Laser light 3 Vehicle stop line displayed on the road 4 Crosswalk displayed on the road 5 Laser light source 6 Beam expander 7 Reflecting mirror 8 Rotating mirror 9 Rotating magnet 10 Fixed Magnet 11 Drive coil 12 Drive coil 13 Concave mirror 14 Polyhedron mirror 15 Motor 16 Polyhedron mirror 17 Motor 18 Motor 19 Motor 20 Disc 21 Mounting base 22 Strut 23 Mounting base

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A laser light source, means for converting a laser beam from the laser light source into a parallel light flux, a turning mirror for reflecting the parallel light flux from the means, and a light flux from the turning mirror to be irradiated. It is composed of a polyhedral mirror for irradiating the body, and by controlling the rotation of the rotating mirror and the rotation of the polyhedral mirror, the irradiation target is irradiated with various patterns as an afterimage to identify the existence of the irradiation target. The laser light irradiation device is characterized in that it can be confirmed. 2. A long pattern as an afterimage can be irradiated onto an object to be irradiated by making the mirror surface of the polyhedral mirror a curved mirror surface displayed by 1 / tan θ.
The laser light irradiation device described. 3. The laser light irradiation according to claim 1, wherein a long pattern as an afterimage can be irradiated on the object to be irradiated by rotationally driving the polygonal mirror by a driver in a curved line displayed at 1 / tan θ. apparatus.