JP2000039578A - Optical scanner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical scanner by which a dust-proof glass is not deviated in the case of maintenance. SOLUTION: As to this optical scanner which is provided with a light source, a rotating polygon mirror reflecting a light beam emitted from the light source and performing scanning in a scanning direction by the light beam, and an image formation optical system 13 performing image formation on an object to be scanned by the light beam made to scan by the rotating polygon mirror inside a housing 15, prevents dust etc., from entering inside the housing 15 by arranging the dust-proof glass 14 on the position of an aperture part 16 for making the light beam exit outside the housing; a rib 17 for controlling the movement of the glass 14 to an image formation optical system 13 side is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical scanning device used for a printer, a facsimile, a copying machine, and the like for performing optical writing, and more particularly, to an optical scanning device in consideration of cleanability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An optical writing apparatus for performing laser writing,
A so-called optical scanning device scans a modulated laser beam emitted from a light source by a rotating polygon mirror that rotates tens of thousands of times per minute in a main scanning direction, and further forms an image on a photosensitive member surface by an imaging optical system. Optical writing is being performed. that time,
If dust adheres to the rotating polygon mirror or the fθ lens that forms the imaging optical system, writing will not be performed well, so the housing containing these components is sealed,
Care is taken to prevent dust from entering.

[0003] In order to make this sealing and optical scanning possible, in a general optical scanning device, an opening is provided in a housing so that a laser beam can be emitted to the outside, and this opening is made of transparent dustproof glass. It has a closed structure.

[0004]

Incidentally, these printers, facsimile machines, copiers and the like often carry out regular maintenance. At that time, in the optical scanning device having the above-described structure, dust does not enter the inside, but dust and the like such as toner and paper dust are slightly dispersed inside the copying machine and the like, and in most cases, , A part of which adheres to the dust-proof glass. In such a case, the surface of the dust-proof glass has been blown off with a blower, and when the surface is very dirty, the surface has been wiped off with a cleaning liquid such as alcohol.

[0005] However, the dust-proof glass only needs to have a dust-proof function, so it is simply stopped with an adhesive.
It is not firmly fixed to the housing. for that reason,
If you wipe it with strong force, it may shift. If it is shifted from the opening, a gap is formed between the dust-proof glass and the inner edge of the opening, and the dust-proof function cannot be achieved. Also, as miniaturization has progressed recently, the distance between the dust-proof glass and optical components such as lenses that constitute the coupling optical system is also set to a very small value. It is conceivable that a problem may occur in the image.

Further, if a finger directly contacts the surface of the dust-proof glass even if the dust-proof glass is not displaced, the dust-proof glass becomes dirty, which may adversely affect optical writing.

[0007] As a related known technique, for example, an optical scanning device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-80342 is known.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and a first object of the present invention is to provide an optical scanning device in which dust-proof glass does not shift during maintenance.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide an optical scanning device that does not accidentally touch the dust-proof glass during maintenance to contaminate it.

[0010]

In order to achieve the first object, the first means comprises a light source and a rotary polygonal surface for reflecting the light beam emitted from the light source and scanning the light beam in the main scanning direction. A mirror, and an imaging optical system for imaging a light beam scanned by the rotating polygon mirror on an object to be scanned, provided in a housing, and a transparent member at an opening position for emitting the light beam out of the housing. And an optical scanning device configured to prevent intrusion of dust into the housing, comprising a regulating member that regulates movement of the transparent member toward the imaging optical system. .

According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, the regulating member comprises a rib formed integrally with the housing.

According to a third aspect, in the first aspect, the transparent member is attached to the housing by a double-sided tape.

In order to achieve the second object, the fourth means comprises a light source, a rotary polygon mirror for reflecting a light beam emitted from the light source and scanning the light beam in the main scanning direction, and a rotary polygon mirror. An image forming optical system for forming an image of a light beam scanned by the object to be scanned in a housing, and a transparent member is disposed at an opening position for emitting the light beam out of the housing. In an optical scanning device configured to prevent intrusion of dust into the transparent member, a ridge is provided outside the opening to prevent a finger from contacting the transparent member.

According to a fifth aspect, in the fourth aspect, an amount of projection of the ridge from the outer edge of the opening is 10 mm or more.

According to a sixth aspect, in the fourth or fifth aspect, the ridge is provided on both sides of an opening edge facing the opening in the longitudinal direction, and a distance between the two is 10 mm or less. Features.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment> FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an optical scanning device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows the internal structure of a unit of the optical scanning device. FIG. 2 is a perspective view, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a structure for restricting the position of dustproof glass.

In FIG. 1, an optical scanning device 1 includes a light source 10 composed of a semiconductor laser and a cylinder lens 11 for shaping a laser beam emitted from the light source 10 into a predetermined shape.
A rotating polygon mirror 12 for deflecting the laser beam transmitted through the cylinder lens 11 in the main scanning direction, and a laser beam deflected at a constant angular velocity in the main scanning direction by the rotating polygon mirror 12 into a constant velocity deflection, not shown. An imaging optical system 13 including an fθ lens that forms an image on the surface of the photoconductor is basically configured, and these components are arranged at predetermined positions in the housing 15. An opening 16 through which the laser beam passes is formed in a portion of the housing 15 corresponding to the optical path of the laser beam from the imaging optical system 13, and a dustproof glass molded as a transparent parallel flat plate inside the opening 16. 14 are provided. This dustproof glass 14 is
At the side 14 a that contacts the housing 5, it is adhered to the housing 15 via a double-sided adhesive tape 19. The surface of the dustproof glass 14 on the side of the imaging optical system 13 is restricted from moving toward the imaging optical system 13 by a rib 17 as a position regulating member. The rib 17 is provided at a position slightly larger than the thickness of the dustproof glass 14 along the longitudinal direction of the opening 16 formed in a rectangular shape, so that the dustproof glass 14 can be easily attached. , Imaging optical system 1 of dustproof glass 14
It is considered so that it cannot move to the 3 side.

The light source 10 has a known structure such as a laser beam generating element such as a semiconductor laser as a light source itself, a collimating lens, an aperture, and a driving circuit of the laser beam generating element.

With this configuration, even if a certain force is applied to the dust-proof glass 14 from the outside of the opening 16, the dust-proof glass 14 does not move to the imaging optical system 13 side. The optical system does not go out of contact with the dustproof glass 14. Further, the dustproof glass 14 is not separated from the housing 15 and the dustproof function is not hindered. Furthermore, behind the dustproof glass 14,
Since the position is regulated, the dust-proof glass 14 can be fixed to the housing 15 by a simple means such as the double-sided adhesive tape 19, and the assembling property can be improved.

In this embodiment, the position behind the dust-proof glass 14 is regulated by the ribs 17. However, if the position of the dust-proof glass 14 can be held at a fixed position to the housing 15, it may be a simple projection. Needless to say. However, when using projections, it is necessary to arrange a plurality of projections at predetermined intervals so as to prevent the dustproof glass 14 from moving when a force is applied between the projections.

<Second Embodiment> FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the optical scanning device 1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the opening 1
6, the optical scanning device itself is basically configured in the same manner as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. , Overlapping description will be omitted.

In this embodiment, as can be seen from FIG. 3, flanges 18a and 18b as ridges are provided on the upper and lower sides of the opening 16 in other words, on the outer edges of the opening 16 which are opposed in the longitudinal direction.
The protrusion amount is set to at least 10 mm or more, and the interval between the flanges 18a and 18b is set to at least 10 mm or less. Other parts that are not particularly described are configured in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

With such a configuration, the finger is connected to the flange 18a, 1
8b prevents the finger from accidentally touching the surface of the dustproof glass 14 during maintenance. For this reason,
The surface of the dust-proof glass 14 is not stained by contact with a finger.

In this embodiment, the flanges 18a and 18b are provided on both sides of the opening 16 in the longitudinal direction. However, providing the flanges only on one side is effective. In addition, it is also possible to provide a protrusion of the same function on a main body of a printer or the like on which the optical scanning device 1 is mounted with one of the flanges, thereby controlling the position of the finger.

When only the function of preventing contamination by fingers is required, needless to say, the ribs 17 shown by two-dot chain lines in FIG. 3 are unnecessary.

[0027]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the regulating member for regulating the movement of the transparent member having the dustproof function to the imaging optical system is provided, the external force is reduced to the opening side. Even if the transparent member is added, the transparent member does not come off or move, so that it is possible to prevent the imaging optical system from being damaged or the dustproof property from being impaired.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the regulating member is formed of a rib integrally formed with the housing, the effect of the first aspect of the present invention can be obtained without increasing the number of parts because the molding is simple. Can be.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the transparent member is attached to the housing by the double-sided tape.
Other components are not required for fixing, and assembly can be performed easily.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the projection is provided outside the opening to prevent the finger from contacting the transparent member, the finger can reach the transparent member inside the opening. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the transparent member from being stained by contact with a finger.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, since the protrusion of the ridge from the outer edge of the opening is set to 10 mm or more, the finger does not reach the transparent member.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the ridges are provided on both sides of the opening edge facing each other in the longitudinal direction of the opening, and the interval between them is set to 10 mm or less. Never reach.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of an optical scanning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a main part of the optical scanning device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a main part of an optical scanning device according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical scanning device 10 Light source 11 Cylinder lens 12 Rotating polygon mirror 13 Imaging optical system 14 Dustproof glass 15 Housing 16 Opening 17 Rib 18a, 18b Flange 19 Double-sided adhesive tape

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A light source, a rotating polygon mirror that reflects a light beam emitted from the light source and scans the light beam in the main scanning direction, and forms an image of the light beam scanned by the rotating polygon mirror on an object to be scanned. Optical scanning for providing an image forming optical system in a housing, and disposing a transparent member at an opening position for emitting the light beam to the outside of the housing to prevent dust from entering the housing. An optical scanning device, comprising: a regulating member that regulates movement of the transparent member toward the imaging optical system. 2. The optical scanning device according to claim 1, wherein the restricting member comprises a rib formed integrally with the housing. 3. The optical scanning device according to claim 1, wherein the transparent member is attached to the housing with a double-sided tape. 4. A light source, a rotating polygon mirror that reflects a light beam emitted from the light source and scans the light beam in the main scanning direction, and forms an image of the light beam scanned by the rotating polygon mirror on an object to be scanned. Optical scanning for providing an image forming optical system in a housing, and disposing a transparent member at an opening position for emitting the light beam to the outside of the housing to prevent dust from entering the housing. The optical scanning device according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion is provided outside the opening to prevent a finger from contacting the transparent member. 5. The optical scanning device according to claim 4, wherein an amount of protrusion of the protrusion from the outer edge of the opening is 10 mm or more. 6. The ridge is provided on both sides of a longitudinally opposite opening edge of the opening, and a distance between the two is 10 mm.
The optical scanning device according to claim 4, wherein: