JP2000267730A - Inclination controller for member and optical scanning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make highly precisely adjustable the inclination of a member to be controlled, and to prevent the change of the inclination of the member to be controlled to the most even when it is affected by any outer force. SOLUTION: Two projecting parts 15 are fixed to the upper face part of an upper base 13, and a supporting stand 16 is arranged so as to be movable up and down. A motor 20 equipped with an abutting pin 21 is fixed on the supporting stand 16. A mirror 25 is supported at three points by a protrusion 15 and the abutting pin 21, and pressurized to the protrusion 15 and the abutting pin 21 by a plate spring 26. A lower base 12 is provided with an inclined face 22, and a motor 23 equipped with an abutting pin 24 is fixed to the inclined face 22. When the motor 20 is driven, and the butting pin 21 is displaced, the mirror 25 is shaken, and the inclination is changed. Also, when the abutting pin 24 is displaced by the driving of the motor 23, the top end part is moved up and down, and the supporting stand 16 is moved up and down. Thus, the abutting pin 21 is moved up and down, and the mirror 25 is shaken, and its inclination is changed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tilt control device for adjusting the tilt of a member to be controlled and an optical scanning device incorporated in an optical scanning recording device, a scanning reading device, or the like.

[0002]

For example, in an optical scanning device of a laser printer, an image to be recorded is formed as a set of dots on the photosensitive member by horizontally scanning the photosensitive member with a light beam emitted from a laser light source. It is formed. In recent years, in order to increase the recording speed, a multi-beam optical scanning device that scans a plurality of light beams simultaneously has been put to practical use.

In the multi-beam type optical scanning device, light beams emitted from a plurality of semiconductor lasers are collimated by a collimator lens, reflected by a mirror, and then focused by a focusing lens. The light beam spot is scanned on the photoconductor. In this case, a plurality of light beam spots scanned on the photoconductor are:
It is necessary to arrange at predetermined intervals and perpendicular to the scanning direction. Therefore, the mirror is configured such that its inclination is adjustable, and is configured such that the direction of reflection of the light beam by the mirror can be adjusted.

[0004] One of the tilt adjusting devices for adjusting the tilt of the mirror is, for example, a device disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,610,752. In this apparatus, as shown in FIG. 6, a magnet 3 having a mirror 2 is rotatably supported on a holder 1 and an outer periphery of the magnet 3 is surrounded by a coil 4 and a yoke 5 made of a magnetic material. It has a configuration.
In the above-described device, in an initial state in which the coil 4 is not energized, the mirror 2 is, for example, at a position orthogonal to each side of the yoke 5 due to the attractive force acting between the magnet 3 and the yoke 5. On the other hand, when the coil 4 is energized,
A magnetic field is generated in the coil 4 and the magnet 3 rotates.
Therefore, the inclination of the mirror 2 can be controlled by controlling the energization of the coil 4 and controlling the direction and strength of the magnetic field generated in the coil 4.

[0005] However, in the case of the above-mentioned device, if the power supply to the coil 4 is stopped, the mirror 2 returns to the initial position.
Therefore, it was necessary to continue energizing the coil 4 in order to maintain the mirror 2 at a predetermined inclination. Moreover, even when the coil 4 is energized, the magnet 3 rotates freely, so that when the external force such as vibration is applied, the magnet 3 rotates and the inclination of the mirror 2 is reduced. There was a risk of change.

[0006] On the other hand, although not shown, another example of the tilt adjusting device is a device using a stepping motor as a drive source. In the tilt control device, a gear reduction mechanism including a worm and a worm gear is provided between an output shaft of the stepping motor and a shaft on which a mirror is mounted. Therefore, the tilt (angle) of the mirror can be adjusted by controlling the number of pulses supplied to the stepping motor (that is, the number of rotations of the stepping motor) and the direction of rotation. Further, since the output of the stepping motor is transmitted to the mirror via the gear reduction mechanism, the resolution of the rotation angle of the mirror is increased, and the inclination of the mirror can be adjusted with high accuracy.

However, in the above-described gear reduction mechanism, backlash is inevitable between the worm gear and the worm. For this reason, there is a possibility that the adjustment accuracy of the tilt angle may be impaired due to the rattling of the mirror.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to adjust the inclination of a controlled member with high precision, and to change the inclination of the controlled member even when subjected to an external force. It is an object of the present invention to provide a member inclination control device and an optical scanning device that can minimize the occurrence of the above.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for controlling the inclination of a member, comprising a fixed portion, a controlled member, and a holding member provided on the fixed portion for holding the controlled member in a swingable manner. Means, a contact member that contacts a portion of the controlled member that is distant from the center of swing, a first displacement unit that changes a tilt of the controlled member by displacing the contact member, A second displacing means provided on the fixed portion and displacing the first displacing means to indirectly displace the contact member to change the inclination of the controlled member. Have.

According to the above configuration, the inclination of the controlled member can be changed by displacing the contact member by one or both of the first displacement means and the second displacement means. At this time, the controlled member is held by the holding means at an inclination determined by the positional relationship between the swing center and the contact member, so that the coil is continuously energized in order to maintain the inclination of the controlled member as in the related art. No need.

In a case where a swing shaft is provided at the swing center of the controlled member and the tilt of the controlled member is changed by rotating the swing shaft, the amount of rotation of the swing shaft remains unchanged. This is the amount of change in inclination of the controlled member. On the other hand, according to the above-described configuration, the inclination of the controlled member is changed by the displacement of the contacting member that comes into contact with a portion of the controlled member that is distant from the swing center. The ratio of the amount of change in the tilt of the controlled member to the amount of displacement of the member is reduced, and the accuracy of adjusting the tilt of the controlled member can be improved. In addition, by appropriately adjusting the portion where the contact member contacts the controlled member, the ratio of the amount of change in the tilt of the controlled member to the amount of displacement of the contact member can be varied.

Further, the contact member is displaced by the first displacement means and the second displacement means. Therefore,
The range of displacement of the contact member can be widened, and the direction of displacement can be diversified, so that the inclination adjustment width of the controlled member can be widened.

[0013] In this case, it is preferable that the holding means comprises supporting means for supporting the controlled member, and pressing means for pressing the controlled member against the contact member (the invention of claim 2). According to the above configuration, since the controlled member is constantly pressed against the contact member by the pressing means, it is possible to reliably prevent a problem that the posture of the controlled member changes due to the application of an external force.

Further, the supporting means comprises a projection provided on the fixed portion, and the controlled member is swingably supported at the tip of the projection, and the portion at which the tip abuts is swung. A central configuration is a good configuration (the invention of claim 3). For example, if the controlled member is configured to be swingably supported on a fixed portion via a bearing, the configuration becomes complicated and the size increases due to the bearing. According to the above configuration, the controlled member is supported by the distal end of the projection, and the portion where the distal end abuts is centered on the swing, so that the configuration can be simplified and the size can be reduced. be able to.

Further, the pressing means may be constituted by an elastic member such as rubber or a spring (the invention of claim 4), or may be constituted such that the controlled member is pressed against the contact member by magnetic attraction ( This is a good configuration.

Further, the contact member is provided on a first displacement means, and is constituted by a contact pin which is in contact with a controlled member at a distal end thereof, and the first displacement means is configured to swing the controlled member. A configuration in which the contact pin is moved so that the distance from the center of motion to the contact pin changes,
The second displacement means may be configured to displace the first displacement means in a direction different from the direction of movement of the contact pin by the first displacement means (claim 6).

According to the above arrangement, the direction in which the contact pin is displaced by the first displacement means is different from the direction in which the contact pin is displaced by the second displacement means. Spreads.

In this case, the movable table having the first displacement means is supported by the fixed portion so as to be able to linearly move, and the second displacement means is provided with a contact projection which contacts the movable table and the contact protrusion. It is preferable to include a displacement mechanism that moves the movable table by displacing the projection (the invention of claim 7). When the movable table is pressed against the contact protrusion by the movable table pressing means, the position of the movable table, that is, the position of the first displacement means does not change even when an external force is applied. (Invention of claim 8).

Further, a swing table having a first displacement means is swingably supported by the fixed portion, and a second displacement means is applied to a portion of the swing table which is distant from the swing center. It is also a good configuration to comprise an abutting protruding portion and a displacement mechanism for changing the inclination of the rocking table by displacing the abutting protruding portion (the invention of claim 9). In this case, when the swing table is configured to be pressed against the contact protrusion by the swing table pressing means, the posture of the swing table even when an external force is applied,
That is, the attitude of the first displacement means does not change (the invention of claim 10).

The optical scanning device according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention includes a fixing section, a light beam source, an optical member for reflecting a light beam emitted from the light beam source, and the optical member provided on the fixing section. Holding means for swingably holding the optical member,
A contact member that comes into contact with a portion of the optical member that is distant from the center of oscillation, a first displacement unit that changes the inclination of the optical member by displacing the contact member, and the fixing unit. A second displacement unit that indirectly displaces the contact member by displacing the first displacement unit to change a tilt of the optical member, and scans a light beam reflected by the optical member. And a polygon mirror for the purpose.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to several embodiments in which the present invention is applied to a tilt control device for an optical member incorporated in a multi-beam optical scanning device such as a semiconductor laser printer. Although not shown, the multi-beam optical scanning device includes a light source including a plurality of semiconductor laser elements and a plurality of collimator lenses for converting a laser beam emitted from the light source into convergent light or parallel light, as is well known. , And a plurality of optical members for guiding the plurality of laser beams converted into convergent light or parallel light to the polygon mirror. The tilt control device according to the present embodiment adjusts the tilt of the optical member.

FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention. The first embodiment is applied to an apparatus for controlling the inclination of a reflection mirror as an optical member.
First, FIG. 1 shows a side view of the tilt control device. still,
In FIG. 1, the left side indicates the rear side, and the right side indicates the front side. FIG.
In the above, the housing 11 as a fixing portion is
2, an upper base 13 fixed to an upper portion of the lower base 12, and a rear wall portion 14 integrally provided upright on a rear portion of the lower base 13. The upper base 1
At the rear of 3, two projections 15 as support means are fixed to be separated from each other in the left and right directions (only one projection 15 is shown in FIG. 1). The tip portions of these projections 15 are spherical.

In the vicinity of the center of the upper base 13, a support 16 serving as a movable base is provided with three guide pins 1 for example.
7 so as to be able to move up and down. In particular,
The support base 16 includes a disk portion 16a and a projection 16b having a circular cross section provided at the center of the lower surface of the disk portion 16a. Three holes 16c are provided in the peripheral portion of the disc 16a, and the shaft 17a of the guide pin 17 is inserted into these holes 16c. A compression coil spring 18 serving as a moving table pressing means is inserted through a portion of the shaft portion 17a of the guide pin 17 located between the support base 16 and the head 17b of the guide pin 17.

On the other hand, a circular guide hole 19 slightly larger in diameter than the convex portion 16b is provided in a portion of the upper base 13 corresponding to the convex portion 16b. The protrusion 16b is inserted slidably in the up-down direction. Therefore, the moving direction of the support 16 is regulated by the guide pins 17 and the guide holes 19.

Also, the first surface of the support 16 is provided with a first
In this case, a rotary type actuator as a displacement means, in this case, a rotary type motor 20 composed of a piezoelectric element motor (ultrasonic motor) is fixed. As is well known, the piezoelectric element motor rotates the rotor by high frequency vibration generated by applying a voltage to the piezoelectric element, and can control the rotation of the rotor with high accuracy. In the present embodiment, the disk-shaped upper surface portion 20a of the motor 20 is configured to function as a rotor.

Further, a contact pin 21, which is a contact member, is fixed to the upper surface portion 20a at a position different from the center of rotation. Therefore, when the motor 20 is driven to rotate, the contact pin 21 is configured to displace on a predetermined circumference. The contact pin 21 has a spherical end portion. The distance from the upper base 13 to the upper end of the contact pin 21 is different from the upper base 13 by the protrusion 15.
Is set so as to be smaller than the distance to the upper end.

On the other hand, a portion of the lower base 12 corresponding to the guide hole 19 is provided with an inclined surface 22, on which a rotary motor 23 composed of a rotary actuator is provided. Fixed. This motor 23 is also constituted by a piezoelectric element motor (ultrasonic motor) like the motor 20. A contact pin 24, which is a contact protrusion, is fixed at a position different from the rotation center in the upper surface portion 23a, which is the rotor of the rotary motor 23. The tip of the contact pin 24 has a spherical shape.

Therefore, when the motor 23 is driven,
The contact pin 24 is displaced on a predetermined circumference. At this time, since the motor 23 is disposed on the inclined surface 22, when the contact pin 24 is displaced, the tip of the contact pin 24 moves closer to or away from the protrusion 15 and moves up and down. Move. And, regardless of the position of the contact pin 24, the tip of the contact pin 24 is configured to contact the lower surface of the protrusion 16b of the support base 16.

That is, when the contact pin 24 is displaced upward, the support base 16 is pushed up against the spring force of the compression coil spring 18, and when the contact pin 24 is displaced downward, the compression coil is disengaged. The support 16 is pushed down by the spring force of the spring 18. Therefore, the support 16
The motor 23 moves up and down as the contact pin 24 is displaced by the motor 23.
Functions as a displacement mechanism, and the motor 23 and the contact pin 24 constitute a second displacement means. Also,
The support 16 is always pressed against the contact pin 24 by the compression coil spring 18.

In the upper part of the upper base 13,
A mirror 25 as a controlled member is supported at three points by the two protrusions 15 and the contact pins 21. The mirror 25 having a rectangular plate shape is formed by polishing a metal to form a mirror surface 25a. In FIG. 1, the mirror 25 is arranged so that an upper surface portion thereof is a mirror surface 25a. In the present embodiment, the mirror 2 with which the protrusion 15 and the upper end of the contact pin 21 abut.
The back surface 25b of 5 is also formed into a smooth surface by polishing the metal.

Further, an elastic member serving as a pressing means, in this case, a leaf spring 26 is, for example, adhered and fixed to a rear portion (left portion in FIG. 1) of the mirror surface 25a of the mirror 25. Therefore, in this embodiment, the mirror surface 2 of the mirror 25 is used.
The portion of 5a that is not covered by the leaf spring 26 functions as a reflection surface. The rear end of the leaf spring 26 protrudes rearward from the mirror 25, and that portion is fixed to an upper portion of the rear wall 14 by screws 27.

With the above configuration, the mirror 25 is attached to the housing 11. The mirror 25
Is configured to be pressed by the leaf spring 26 against the upper end of the protrusion 15 and the upper end of the contact pin 21. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the holding means is constituted by the projection 15 and the leaf spring 26.

At this time, since the tip of the contact pin 21 has a spherical shape,
5b is configured to have a smooth surface, so that the contact pin 21 can be smoothly displaced even if the mirror 25 is pressed by the projection 15 and the contact pin 21 by the leaf spring 26. I have.

The operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams schematically showing the tilt control device. FIG. 2 is a top view, and FIG. 3 is a side view. As described above, the mirror 25 is supported at three points by the two projections 15 and the contact pins 21, and
Of the mirror surface (reflection surface) 25a of the
Of the motor 20 with respect to the upper base 13 (the upper surface 20a of the motor 20) is determined by the positional relationship between the protrusion 15 and the contact pin 21. In the present embodiment, the contact pin 21 is displaced by driving the motor 20 and moving the support base 16 up and down, as described later. On the other hand, the protrusion 15 is fixed to the upper base 13.
Therefore, the mirror 25 has two projections 15
5 swings around a straight line (indicated by S in FIG. 2) connecting the portions supporting 5. That is, the straight line S is the swing center.

First, the contact pin 2 driven by the motor 20
The change in the tilt of the mirror 25 with the displacement of 1 will be described. In addition, regardless of the position of the support base 16, the contact pin 21
Since the displacement is similarly caused by the driving of the motor 20, the case where the support base 16 is located at the lowest position (the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 3) will be described as a representative. At this time, the contact pin 24 is at a position shown by a solid line in FIG. In the initial state, assuming that the contact pin 21 is at a position shown by a solid line in FIG. 3 (a position shown by a broken line in FIG. 2), the mirror 25 is tilted by a solid line in FIG. 21 supported. When the motor 20 is rotated in the direction of arrow A, the contact pin 21 at the initial position is displaced in a direction away from the swing center S.

Then, the tip of the contact pin 21 projects upward relative to the initial position of the rear surface 25b of the mirror 25.
Is pushed upward against the spring force of As a result, the inclination of the mirror 25 gradually decreases. And the contact pin 2
When 1 is displaced to a position farthest from the swing center S,
The tilt of the mirror 25 is minimized (the state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3). When the motor 20 further rotates in the direction of arrow A, the contact pin 21 approaches the swing center S again.

On the other hand, when the motor 20 is rotated in the direction of arrow B, the contact pin 21 at the initial position is displaced in a direction approaching the swing center S. Then, the tip of the contact pin 21 is relatively immersed below the initial position (the position indicated by the solid line) of the back surface 15b of the mirror 25, and the displacement of the contact pin 21 is caused by the spring force of the leaf spring 26. At the same time, the right part of the mirror 25 is pressed downward. As a result, the inclination of the mirror 25 gradually increases. When the contact pin 21 is displaced to a position closest to the swing center S,
The inclination of the mirror 25 is the largest (the state shown by the dashed line in FIG. 3). When the motor 20 further rotates, the contact pin 21 moves away from the swing center S again.

On the other hand, when the motor 23 is driven,
Since the contact pin 24 is displaced on a plane parallel to the inclined surface 22, the tip end of the contact pin 24 moves up and down. As a result, the support base 16 moves up and down, and the contact pin 21 moves up and down together with the motor 20, that is, displaces in the direction shown by the arrow C. for that reason,
The mirror 25 swings and the inclination of the mirror 25 changes.

For example, when the contact pin 21 is at the position farthest from the swing center S, the contact pin 21 is moved from the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. Displace to the indicated position. When the support base 16 is located at the uppermost position (that is, when the contact pin 24 is in the state closest to the swing center S, the state shown by the broken line in FIG. 3), the contact pin 21 is also at the uppermost position. Since it is located, the inclination of the mirror 25 is minimized.

According to the present embodiment having such a structure, the contact pin 21 for contacting the portion of the mirror 25 distant from the swing center S is provided on the upper surface portion 20a of the motor 20, and the motors 20 and 23 are driven. By displacing the contact pin 21, the inclination of the mirror 25 is changed. Therefore, unlike the conventional configuration in which the mirror 2 returns to the initial state when the energization of the coil 3 is stopped, the position of the contact pin 21 is maintained without energizing the motors 20 and 23 and the mirror is maintained. 25 inclinations can be maintained.

By the way, it is conceivable to provide a swing axis at the swing center S of the mirror 25 and change the tilt of the mirror 25 by rotating the swing axis by a motor. However, in this case, the rotation amount of the motor is directly
The amount of change in inclination of
The adjustment accuracy of the tilt of the mirror 25 is determined. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the swing center S of the mirror 25 is set.
The contact pin 21 is brought into contact with a part away from the contact pin 21, and the contact pin 21 is displaced by the motors 20 and 23, and the inclination of the mirror 25 is adjusted based on the displacement of the contact pin 21. Configured. Therefore, the resolution of the amount of change in the tilt of the mirror 25 is increased, and the accuracy of the tilt adjustment of the mirror 25 can be improved.

Further, as shown in FIG.
1 is displaced only by the drive of the motor 20, the variation width of the inclination of the mirror 25 is θ1, but when the contact pin 21 is displaced by the motors 20 and 23, the variation width of the inclination of the mirror 25 is θ2. As is clear from FIG. 3, θ1 <θ2. That is, in the present embodiment, the contact pin 21 is directly displaced by the driving of the motor 20 and indirectly displaced in response to the motor 20 being moved up and down by the driving of the motor 23. So that the adjustment width of the inclination of the mirror 25 (variation width)
Can be expanded. In particular, in this embodiment, the motor 20
The contact pin 21 is displaced in the front-rear direction by the driving of the motor, and the contact pin 21 is displaced in the vertical direction by the driving of the motor 23. That is, the directions in which the contact pins 21 are displaced by the two motors 20 and 23 are made different. Therefore, the displacement range of the contact pin 21 is expanded, and the mirror 25 is moved.
Can be further widened.

By way of example, if the motor 20 is arranged on an inclined surface and the contact pin 21 moves away from or near the swing center S and moves up and down by driving the motor 20, the contact pin 21 Is displaced only by the motor 20, the variation range of the tilt of the mirror 25 can be widened. However, in this case,
Mirror 25 for drive amount (rotation amount) of motor 20
The amount of change in the inclination of is increased. On the other hand, according to the above configuration, since the contact pin 21 is displaced by the two motors 20 and 23, the mirror 25 can be moved without increasing the amount of change in the inclination of the mirror 25 with respect to the driving amount of the motor 20. The variation range of the inclination of 25 can be widened. Therefore, the adjustment accuracy of the mirror 25 is improved.

In this embodiment, the mirror 25 is configured to be pressed against the projection 15 and the contact pin 21 to be supported. Therefore, the configuration of the bearing and the like can be omitted, and the configuration can be simplified and downsized.

Further, the mirror 25 is configured to be constantly pressed by the contact pin 21 and the projection 15 by the leaf spring 26, and the support base 16 for supporting the motor 20 is provided.
Is pressed against the contact pin 24 by the compression coil spring 18. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the inclination of the mirror 25 from being changed even when an external force is applied.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. Differences from the first embodiment will be described. The same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. FIG. 4 is a view schematically showing a device for controlling the inclination of a member according to the present embodiment, in which a mirror 25 and contact pins 21 and 2 are provided.
4 is shown.

That is, in front of the projection 15 on the upper surface of the upper base 13 of the housing 11 (to the right in FIG. 4).
, Two protrusions 31 are provided left and right apart (only one is shown in FIG. 4). The protrusion 31 is configured to be shorter than the protrusion 15, and the upper end thereof has a spherical shape.

An inclined table 32 is fixed to a portion of the upper surface of the lower base 12 which is located forward of the upper base 13. On the upper surface of the inclined table 32,
An inclined surface 32a that is inclined upward from the rear to the front is provided, and the motor 23 is fixed on the inclined surface 32a. As described in the first embodiment, the contact pin 24 is fixed on the upper surface 23a of the motor 23. Therefore, in this embodiment, the motor 23
When the contact pin 24 is displaced on the upper surface 23a by the driving of the mirror 25 and approaches the swing center S (see FIG. 3) of the mirror 25, the contact pin 24 moves downward and moves away from the swing center S. The contact pin 24 moves upward.

On the other hand, the upper base 13 and the mirror 2
5, between the two projections 31 and the contact pins 24.
Table 33 as a rectangular plate-shaped swing table supported by three points
Are arranged. A permanent magnet 34 is fixed to the lower surface of the support 33 by, for example, an adhesive, and a ferromagnetic material 35 such as iron is provided on a portion of the upper surface of the upper base 13 facing the permanent magnet 34. Are adhesively fixed. For this reason, the support table 33 is
By the magnetic attraction force acting between the
It is pressed by the protrusion 31 and the contact pin 24. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the permanent magnet 34 and the ferromagnetic material 35
The rocking table pressing means is constituted from. Further, in the present embodiment, the opposing surfaces of the permanent magnet 34 and the ferromagnetic body 35 are configured to have substantially the same size. Therefore, the support 33 is held at a position where the permanent magnet 34 and the ferromagnetic body 35 face each other.

In the above configuration, when the contact pin 24 displaces the upper surface 23a by the driving of the motor 23, and the tip end of the contact pin 24 moves up and down, the support table 33 moves along with the protrusion. It swings around a straight line connecting the tips of the portions 31. As a result, the motor 20 swings together with the support 33, and the inclination of the upper surface 20a changes. Therefore, the contact pin 21 is inclined and its tip is displaced. Therefore, the contact pin 21 with respect to the tip of the protrusion 15
The position of the tip of the mirror 25 changes, and the inclination of the mirror 25 changes.

For example, when the contact pin 21 is located at the position farthest from the swing center S, the state of displacement of the contact pin 21 and the change in the inclination of the mirror 25 due to the swing of the support table 33. Is as shown by the solid line and the two-dot chain line in FIG. That is, the position where the contact pin 24 is at the highest position (FIG. 4)
(The position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 3), the tip of the contact pin 21 is also at the highest position. On the other hand, the contact pin 24
Is displaced to the lowest position, the tip of the contact pin 21 is also displaced downward, and the inclination of the mirror 25 is increased (the state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4).

Regardless of the position of the contact pin 21 on the upper surface 20a of the motor 20, the displacement of the contact pin 21 caused by the vertical movement of the contact pin 24 is as follows. The description is omitted because it is substantially the same. Since the configuration other than the above is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same operation and effect as those of the first embodiment can be obtained in the second embodiment.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings. For example, the following expansion or modification is possible. The pressing means for pressing the mirror 25 against the contact pin 21 is not limited to a leaf spring, but may be an elastic member such as rubber or a coil spring, or a permanent magnet and a ferromagnetic material. Further, the pressing means for pressing the support bases 16 and 33 against the contact pins 24 may be constituted by a leaf spring.

Further, the number of the projections 15, 31 is not limited to two, but may be three or more. Further, the supporting means may be constituted by a single rod-like member stretched between a pair of supporting members, or the supporting means may be constituted by a ridge.

The first displacement means for displacing the contact pin 21 is, for example, a linear actuator, for example, a linear piezoelectric actuator as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. You may comprise from the actuator 41. In this case, the upper surface 4 of the piezoelectric actuator 41
The contact pin 21 provided at 1a moves linearly in the direction indicated by the arrow D in FIG.

Further, it is possible to use a linear actuator instead of the rotary motor 23 for displacing the contact pin 24. Further, the motors 20 and 23 are not limited to the piezoelectric element motors, but may be constituted by other motors, and may be provided with a reduction gear or the like to increase the resolution.

In each of the above embodiments, the motor 23 for displacing the contact pin 24 is disposed on the inclined surface 22, 32a, and the tip of the contact pin 24 is moved up and down with the displacement of the contact pin 24. Thus, the support bases 16 and 33 are configured to be moved up and down or rocked. Alternatively, the support bases 16 and 33 may be configured as follows. That is, the lower surfaces of the support bases 16 and 33 are formed in, for example, an inclined surface inclined upward from the swing center S side toward the front side, and the contact pin 24 is simply moved to the swing center S.
May be displaced so as to approach or move away from the swing center S. Even in such a configuration, the support bases 16 and 33 can be vertically moved or rocked.

The contact pin 2 for swinging the mirror 25
1 may be disposed on the inclined surface. Further, the rear surface 25b of the mirror 25 may be configured to be inclined with respect to the mirror surface 25a. Also in these configurations, the mirror 25 can be swung by displacing the contact pin 21.

Further, the amount of change in the inclination of the controlled member based on the displacement of the contact member by the first displacement means and the controlled member based on the displacement of the contact member by the second displacement means. And the amount of change in the slope of the first
One of the second displacement unit and the second displacement unit may be a unit for finely adjusting the inclination of the controlled member, and the other may be a unit for coarsely adjusting the inclination of the controlled member.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the leaf spring 26
As a result, the mirrors 25 are pressed against the contact pins 21, so that the support bases 16 and 33 provided with the contact pins 21 are also indirectly pressed against the contact pins 24 by the leaf spring 26. Therefore, the plate spring 26, the permanent magnet 34, and the ferromagnetic body 35 for pressing the support bases 16 and 33 against the contact pins 24 can be omitted. In this case, the leaf spring 26 functions as a moving table pressing means or a rocking table pressing means.

Furthermore, the controlled member may be an optical member other than a mirror, for example, a half mirror, a prism, a planar diffraction grating, a dichroic mirror, or various members other than the optical member.

[0062]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the tilt control apparatus for the member of the present invention, the holding means for holding the controlled member in a swingable manner is provided on the fixed portion, A contact member is provided for contacting a portion distant from the swing center, and the contact member is displaced by a first displacement means to change the inclination of the controlled member, or by a second displacement means. Since the first displacement means is displaced and the contact member is indirectly displaced to change the inclination of the controlled member, the contact member is appropriately changed by the first or second displacement means. By displacing, the inclination of the controlled member can be adjusted with high accuracy. In particular, since the contact member is configured to be displaced by the first displacement means and the second displacement means, the displacement range can be widened and the displacement direction can be diversified, and the inclination adjustment width of the controlled member can be increased. Can be expanded. In addition, since the tilt of the controlled member determined by the positional relationship between the swing center and the contact member is configured to be held by the holding means, the tilt of the controlled member may change even when an external force is applied. Can be prevented as much as possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a tilt control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view schematically showing a relationship between a mirror, a protrusion, and a contact pin.

FIG. 3 is a side view schematically showing a relationship between a mirror, a protrusion, a contact pin, and a contact protrusion.

FIG. 4 is a side view schematically showing a tilt control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2, showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a mirror tilt control device showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the figure, 11 is a housing (fixed portion), 15 is a protrusion (support means), 16 is a support base (moving base), 18 is a compression coil spring (moving base pressing means), and 20 is a rotary motor (first motor). , 21 is a contact pin (contact member), 23 is a motor (displacement mechanism, second displacement means), 24 is a contact pin (contact protrusion, second displacement means), and 25 is Mirror (optical member,
Controlled members), 26 are leaf springs (pressing means), 33 is a support table (oscillating table), 34 is a permanent magnet (oscillating table pressing means), 3
Reference numeral 5 denotes a ferromagnetic material (oscillating table pressing means), and reference numeral 41 denotes a linear piezoelectric actuator (first displacement means).

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Claims (11)

[Claims] A fixed member, a controlled member, holding means provided on the fixed portion for swingably holding the controlled member, and a contact portion of the controlled member distant from a swing center. A contact member that contacts, a first displacement unit that changes the inclination of the controlled member by displacing the contact member, and a first displacement unit that is provided on the fixed unit and displaces the first displacement unit. And a second displacement means for indirectly displacing the contact member to change the inclination of the controlled member. 2. The member inclination control device according to claim 1, wherein the holding means comprises a support means for supporting the controlled member and a pressing means for pressing the controlled member against the contact member. . 3. The supporting means comprises a projection provided on a fixed portion, the controlled member is swingably supported by a tip of the projection, and a portion contacted by the tip is defined as a swing center. The member inclination control device according to claim 2, wherein 4. The device according to claim 2, wherein the pressing means is formed of an elastic member. 5. The device according to claim 2, wherein the pressing means is configured to press the controlled member against the contact member by magnetic attraction. 6. The contact member is provided on a first displacement means, and is constituted by a contact pin which comes into contact with a controlled member at a tip end thereof, wherein the first displacement means is configured to swing the controlled member. The contact pin is moved so that the distance from the center of movement to the contact pin changes, and the second displacement means moves the contact pin by the first displacement means. The member inclination control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first displacement unit is displaced in a direction different from the direction. 7. The first portion is supported by the fixed portion so as to be able to move linearly.
A moving table having a displacement means, wherein the second displacement means has an abutting projection that contacts the moving table;
The inclination control device for a member according to claim 6, further comprising a displacement mechanism that moves the movable table by displacing the contact protrusion. 8. The member tilt control device according to claim 7, further comprising a moving table pressing means for pressing the moving table against the contact protrusion. 9. A swing table which is swingably supported by a fixed portion and has a first displacement means, wherein the second displacement means contacts a portion of the swing table which is distant from a swing center. 7. The member inclination control device according to claim 6, further comprising: a contact projection that comes into contact with the contact projection; and a displacement mechanism that changes the inclination of the rocking table by displacing the contact projection. 10. The member tilt control device according to claim 9, further comprising a rocking table pressing means for pressing the rocking table against the contact protrusion. 11. A fixing part, a light beam source, an optical member for reflecting a light beam emitted from the light beam source, and a holding means provided on the fixing part for holding the optical member in a swingable manner. A contact member that contacts a portion of the optical member that is distant from the center of swing; a first displacement unit that changes the inclination of the optical member by displacing the contact member; A second displacement unit that indirectly displaces the contact member by displacing the first displacement unit to change a tilt of the optical member; and scans a light beam reflected by the optical member. An optical scanning device comprising: a polygon mirror for performing scanning.