Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
136 words
A method of coalescing laser beams comprising the steps of: i) passing two or more laser beams through respective direction correction means for adjusting the direction of the laser beams, ii) merging the laser beams substantially into a single laser beam by an optical merging means, iii) extracting part of said merged laser beam and passing it through a lens having a positive power and causing it to impinge upon a pinhole positioned at the focal length of said lens, iv) detecting the amount of the laser beam passing through said pinhole by a photodetector, v) detecting the directions of the respective laser beams in which the amount of the laser beam passing through said pinhole becomes the maximum by operating said direction correction means, and vi) adjusting the laser beams respectively in said detected directions.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
136 words
A method of coalescing laser beams comprising the steps of: i) passing two or more laser beams through respective direction correction means for adjusting the direction of the laser beams, ii) merging the laser beams substantially into a single laser beam by an optical merging means, iii) extracting part of said merged laser beam and passing it through a lens having a positive power and causing it to impinge upon a pinhole positioned at the focal length of said lens, iv) detecting the amount of the laser beam passing through said pinhole by a photodetector, v) detecting the directions of the respective laser beams in which the amount of the laser beam passing through said pinhole becomes the maximum by operating said direction correction means, and vi) adjusting the laser beams respectively in said detected directions.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method as defined in Claim 1 wherein said optical merging means is selected from the group consisting of a polarization beam splitter, a diffraction grating, a semi-transparent mirror, and a Y-shaped optical fiber.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
36 words
A method as defined in Claim 1 or 2 wherein said direction correction means is selected from the group consisting of a moveable prism, moveable mirror, an acousto-optic modulator, an electro-optic device, and a magneto-optic device.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
45 words
A method as defined in Claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein two laser beams having substantially equal wavelengths are coalesced, and the directions of polarization of the laser beams are adjusted to be perpendicular before the laser beams are passed through said direction correction means.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
46 words
A method as defined in any preceding claim wherein said directions of the laser beams in which the amount of said merged laser beam passing through said pinhole becomes the maximum are detected by scanning a pinhole plate provided with said pinhole by said laser beams.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
49 words
A method as defined in Claim 5 wherein signals representing the positions of said direction correction means corresponding to said directions of the laser beams are stored in a memory, and said direction correction means are fixed at said positions by reading out said position signals from said memory.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
40 words
A method as defined in any of claims 1 to 4 wherein an output of said photodetector is fed back to said direction correction means and a servo mechanism is formed to automatically adjust the directions of the laser beams.