Patent ID: 7873093

Claim:
A method for carrying out a laser operation, wherein a laser source is provided, wherein lasing gas is supplied from at least one lasing gas source to the laser source for the formation of a laser beam, wherein, with the aid of the laser beam, an operation is carried out, such as for instance a welding, a drilling, a cutting or a lighting operation, characterized in that the lasing gas which comes from the at least one lasing gas source is fed through at least one lasing gas filter before the gas is supplied to the laser source, the lasing gas filter comprising a quick-change filter which can manually be fastened on a base, and wherein, for the purpose of changing the quick-change filter, the quick-change filter is removed from the base, wherein, by the removal of the quick-change filter from the base, a gas supply port and a gas discharge port in the base for connecting to the quick-change filter are closed off automatically and a bypass pipe containing no filtration element is automatically opened in the base, in such a manner that an uninterrupted gas supply to the laser source takes place, the closing off of the gas supply port and the gas discharge port and the opening of the bypass pipe being effected mechanically and passively by the removal of the quick-change filter from the base, and wherein, by placement of a new gas filter on the base, the bypass pipe is closed off automatically, the gas supply port and gas discharge port are opened automatically and the gas is fed through the filter, the opening of the gas supply port and the gas discharge port and the closing of the bypass pipe being effected mechanically and passively by the placement of the new filter on the base, the base comprising a first and second valve seat and a moveable element that is moveable between a first and a second position within the base and is provided with first and second sealing elements, wherein when the quick-change filter is removed from the base, the moveable element is biased to move to the first position such that the first sealing element is pressed against the first valve seat to form a block in a fluid connection between the lasing gas source and the gas supply port in the base while a fluid connection is opened between the lasing gas source and the by-pass pipe, and wherein the placement of a quick-change filter onto the base forces the moveable element to move to the second position so that the second sealing element is pressed against the second valve seat to form a block in a fluid connection between lasing gas source and the by-pass pipe while a fluid connection is opened between the lasing gas source and the gas supply port in the base, wherein the first and second sealing elements do not form sealing contact with the base over at least a portion of the range of motion of the moveable element as the moveable element moves between the first position and the second position.