Abstract:
An optical scanning unit includes a light source, an optical deflector that includes a light transmission window disposed on a light path from the light source and a rotatable mirror that includes a reflecting surface to reflect light that goes through the light transmission window into the light transmission window and to deflect the light from the light source toward a surface, and a light shield disposed on a light path of reflected light of the light from the light source reflected by a surface of the light transmission window.
Abstract:
An optical scanning apparatus for scanning a target surface using a plurality of light beams simultaneously along a first direction of the target surface. The apparatus has a light source having a plurality of light emitting elements; an optical deflector to deflect the plurality of light beams coming from the light source; and a scanning optical system to guide the plurality of light beams deflected by the optical deflector to the target surface. The scanning optical system includes a lens, disposed after the optical deflector, having the strongest power in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. A plurality of scan lines, corresponding to the plurality of light beams deflected by the optical deflector, intersect or contact each other at an optical face of the lens.
Abstract:
An optical scanner includes a light source, a deflector and a scanning optical system. The scanning optical system includes a first optical system including at least one resin scanning lens, and a second optical system between the target surface and one resin scanning lens. The second optical system includes at least one of a folding mirror(s) and a glass sheet(s), wherein m1+g2=m2+g1 is satisfied wherein m1 and g1 are respectively number of the folding mirror(s) and number of the glass sheet(s) to which the first ray has a shorter optical path than the second ray does, m2 and g2 are respectively number of the folding mirror(s) and number of the glass sheet(s) to which the first ray has a longer optical path than the second ray does.
Abstract:
A first optical system couples a light beam from a light source, including a first lens made of glass with a positive power and a second lens made of plastic with a negative power. A second optical system focuses the light beam from the first optical system onto a scanning surface and moves a light spot on the scanning surface in a main-scanning direction. One of an incidence plane and an output plane of the first lens is spherical while the other is spherical or flat. A cross-sectional plane of the second lens along one of the main-scanning direction and a sub-scanning direction has a non-arc shape on at least one of the incidence plane and the output plane.
Abstract:
A surface-emission laser array comprises a plurality of surface-emission laser diode elements arranged in the form of a two-dimensional array, wherein a plurality of straight lines drawn perpendicularly to a straight line extending in a first direction from respective centers of the plurality of surface emission laser diode elements aligned in a second direction crossing the first direction, are formed with generally equal interval in the first direction.
Abstract:
An optical scanning device includes a first optical system for guiding light beams emitted from a plurality of light emitting units to an optical deflector, and a second optical system for focusing the light beams to optically scan a surface to be scanned. At least one of the first optical system and the second optical system includes a resin lens having a diffractive surface. The diffractive surface includes a diffractive portion and a refractive portion. A power of the diffractive portion and a power of the refractive portion cancel each other.
Abstract:
An optical scanning device includes a coupling optical system, a light source including a plurality of light emitting units for emitting light beams, and a deflector including a deflecting surface for deflecting the light beams. The coupling optical system is arranged on an optical path between the light source and the deflector so that the light beams enter the deflector at an angle with respect to a normal direction of the deflecting surface in a sub-scanning direction. The light emitting units are arranged two-dimensionally, and a distance between two light emitting units at opposite ends in a main scanning direction is smaller than a distance between two light emitting units at opposite ends in the sub-scanning direction.
Abstract:
An optical axis of at least one surface of a resin-made diffracting lens is shifted in a main scanning direction with respect to an incident beam. A synchronous detection can cancel a problem of a misalignment in the main scanning direction due to a temperature variation. A light reflected from a second surface of the resin-made diffractive lens condenses on a position that is displaced in an optical axis direction from an optical beam outgoing point of a semiconductor laser, and thereby the light reflected again from the semiconductor laser does not form an image on a scanned surface and an impact on the image becomes low.
Abstract:
An optical scanning device includes a first optical element that converts a cross-section shape of a light beam from a semiconductor laser to a desired shape; a second optical element that guides the light beam output from the first optical element to an optical deflector that deflects the light beam; and a third optical element that gathers the light beam deflected by the optical deflector onto a surface to be scanned to form a light spot thereby optically scanning the surface. At least one of the first optical element, the second optical element, and the third optical element includes a resin-made lens, at least one of the resin-made lenses has a power diffracting surface, and a surface shape of at least one of power diffracting surfaces is formed so that a power of a diffracting portion and a power of a refractive portion are cancelled out.
Abstract:
A light-amount detecting device includes: a light source which emits a light beam; a branching optical element which divides the light beam emitted from the light source into a first light beam traveling in a predetermined direction and a second light beam traveling in a direction different to the predetermined direction; a light-condensing element which condenses the second light beam; a light-receiving element having a light-receiving surface which receives the second light beam condensed by the light-condensing element; and a detector which detects a light-amount of the second light beam received by the light-receiving element, and at least one of a direction of reflected light of the second light beam reflected from the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving element and spread of the reflected light of the second light beam reflected from the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving element is adjusted to control a light-amount of the reflected light of the second light beam returning to the light source.