US Patent 7756174 Laser projector safety monitoring system

An apparatus and method for a laser light projector, including a laser beam generated by a laser light source; a scanner associated with the laser light source and having one or more moving mirrors capable of scanning the laser beam along X-Y coordinates; a power meter positioned for quantifying the laser beam's power in real time; a fault detector operably connected in the laser light projector to detect a fault condition and automatically generate a fault signal in response thereto; a modulator responsive to the fault signal for reducing power in the laser beam; and a fault shutter operably associated with the laser light source and responsive to the fault signal so as to shut off the laser beam.