Fiber laser light projection system

A single fiber laser light projection system consists of 3 primary elements: (1) a secured fiber capable of generating specular reflections of laser light; (2) a laser beam whose beam diameter exceeds the cross-sectional diameter of said fiber; and (3) an intersection between the fiber and the laser beam at any angle through 90 degrees. Any angle of intersection less than 90 degrees will generate a cone of laser light. The directional tangent of the fiber at the point of intersection will define the cone's vortex, while the laser light will be distributed along the cone's perimeter. When the angle of intersection between the laser beam and the fiber is 90 degrees, a plane of laser light will be projected. A plurality of reflective fibers can be secured to a support structure for use with an incident laser beam. These multiple fibers can be arranged in an orderly fashion for aesthetic purposes, and to support ornamental items such as crystals. A laser beam can be directed into this multiple fiber projection system under the direction of an electromechanical mirrored scanner. Single and multiple fiber laser light projection systems can be used to resolve industrial, educational, military, and aesthetic laser scanning matters in an efficient, economical, and reliable manner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to the redistribution of laser beam photons into 
desired geometric projection patterns, specifically conic and linear laser 
light projection patterns, for industrial, educational, commercial, and 
aesthetic applications. 
Heretofore, laser light projection patterns have been generated by a method 
known as laser scanning. Laser scanning involves reflecting an incident 
laser beam off an electromechanically controlled mirror whose position 
changes with time. The mirror can be controlled to reflect the beam into a 
laser light pattern to suit the particular application. Scanning laser 
beams often work in conjunction with laser photodetectors. The presence or 
absence of the laser beam at the photodetector may be used to trigger some 
type of process decision making. 
Scanning mirrors are put into motion one of two ways. Mirrors can be 
rotated, or they can be translated backwards and forwards. There exists a 
variety of electromechanical means capable of rotating or translating a 
mirror to give the desired laser pattern. Rotating mirrors are typically 
connected to an electrical motor. A laser light beam is directed at the 
rotating mirror. As the mirror's position changes with time, so too does 
the angle at which the beam strikes the mirror. The laser light projection 
pattern can be controlled by varying the motor's rotational speed, 
changing the shape of the mirror, or adding other optical elements. 
In engineering practice, electrical motors with attached front surface 
mirrors are typically employed to create laser scanning projection 
patterns. These motors can vary in sophistication, depending upon the 
needs of the laser projection application. Free running AC or DC motors, 
with passive electrical regulation controls, may be all the hardware 
required to generate the necessary laser pattern. More sophisticated 
stepper motors, with precise incremental steps of two degrees or less, may 
be better suited for more demanding laser projection pattern requirements. 
Stepper motors with attached mirrors require additional drive electronics 
support hardware, adding significantly to the costs of generating laser 
patterns. 
A special type of rotary servo motor known as a galvanometer is often 
employed to create laser projection or scan patterns A galvanometer 
scanner consists of a limited rotary servo motor that is specifically 
designed for highly linear torque requirements, along with an attached 
mirror mounted to the motor. Galvanometer scanners can be designed with 
moving iron or moving coil elements, to which the front surface mirrors 
are attached. Certain galvanometer arrangements provide for translational 
backwards and forwards movement of their front surface mirrors. To obtain 
more complex laser light patterns, the above described motors can be 
programmed to generate raster or vector patterns. The desired laser light 
scanning projection pattern ultimately results from precisely controlling 
the current flowing through the coil of the chosen electromechanical 
system at any given moment in time. Laser scanning systems employing 
motors or galvo's are utilized in industry to resolve a variety of 
applications. Some of these applications include: bar code identification, 
vision systems, beam positioning systems, facsimile transmission, optical 
pointing, alignment and measurement systems, robotic positioning control, 
security systems, sales promotional, educational, and audio-visual 
aesthetic effects. 
All laser scanning implementation methods for generating laser light 
projection patterns have common inherent problems. The primary problems 
with traditional electromechanical laser scanning include the following: 
A) Laser scanning involves moving parts. Moving parts pose significant 
reliability risks. Moving parts are given a MTBF, or mean time between 
failure rating. As such, the mechanical support for the reflecting mirror 
is expected to fail over time. 
B) Laser scanning systems require the use of precision optics. Front 
surface mirrors with special protective coatings are required. Special 
polygon mirrors designs are manufactured to demanding tolerances for 
implementation in many laser scanning systems. Precision positioning is 
another requirement for these precision optical subcomponents. 
C) Laser scanning systems require large minimum package size. In addition 
to the laser and the mirror, a variety of support electronics and optics 
are employed to create the desired laser light projection pattern. 
D) Laser scanning systems have undesirable minimum power requirements. The 
support electronics to position the mirror(s) often requires more power 
than the scan system's laser beam. Power consumption creates its own heat 
dissipation problems, resulting in added design time and manufacturing 
costs. 
E) Laser scanning systems create noise while creating the desired laser 
light pattern. Noise is inherit with the above stated moving parts 
required to position the scanning mirrors. 
F) Laser scanning systems are expensive to design, build, and maintain. A 
typical electromechanical laser scanning system uses custom parts. These 
custom parts must be stocked as spare items, adding significant 
administrative costs to the overall system. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides single and multiple fiber laser light 
projection systems for generating conic and linear laser light patterns. 
The fiber laser projection systems are simpler, more reliable, and more 
cost effective than traditional electromechanical laser scanning 
projection systems. 
A single-fiber embodiment, for use in combination with a laser, comprises a 
cylindrical fiber having an exterior surface capable of generating 
specular reflections of incident light from the laser. The fiber is 
supported, preferably in a taut manner. 
A multiple-fiber embodiment includes a plurality of fibers held in a 
three-dimensional support structure. The fibers are in a sparse 
arrangement, by which is meant that while the fibers extend over a 
particular volume, they actually occupy a small fraction of the volume. 
This means that a viewer can see through the volume and a laser beam 
passing through the volume is unlikely to directly encounter more than one 
fiber. Note that a beam that strikes a fiber and is defocused will likely 
encounter other fibers. 
The advantages of the invention relate primarily to efficacy and 
efficiency. Inexpensive commercial fibers are used to redirect laser 
photons, as opposed to expensive precision optical components, and no 
moving parts are required to generate conic or linear laser light 
patterns. The fiber laser light projection system requires significantly 
less volume than the large subcomponents that are utilized in 
electromechanical laser scanning implementations. The fiber laser light 
projection system does not require power to redirect laser photons. As 
such, fiber laser projection systems do not have the heat dissipation 
issues designed around in many current laser scanning systems. The fiber 
laser light projection system does not generate any noise when redirecting 
laser light photons in conic or linear laser light projection patterns. 
The fiber laser light projection system requires fewer parts than the 
electromechanical laser scanning systems. In addition to less parts, the 
fiber projection employs simpler, non custom, commercially readily 
available parts. Simpler, less numerous parts results in easier 
maintainability, and overall system cost. 
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present 
invention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the 
specification and the drawings.