JP2003315716A - Optical scanner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical scanner in which a harness is prevented from being sandwiched and electronic components, etc., are kept dustproof without making the scanner constitution complicated. <P>SOLUTION: A control device 60R is confined in a storage chamber 160 consisting of a lower case 1V and an upper case 2V by mounting an upper cover on an optical base and fixing a control circuit board 60 so that the control circuit board is sandwiched between a lower case 1V provided in the optical base and an upper case 2V provided in an upper cover from both sides, and a connector 60C is exposed to outside a housing through a connector lead-out opening 1U. After the control circuit board 60 is stored in the storage chamber 160, a connector cable 161 (connector 161C) can be connected to the connector 60C, and thus when the connector cable 161 is connected to the connector 60C, the harness 161H is not sandwiched between the optical base 1 and upper cover 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

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 mounted on an optical device such as a full color laser printer having a light beam scanning mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of digital technology, various image forming apparatuses have been used as image data output apparatuses. Among them, the full color laser printer is
For example, it is excellent in that the image quality performance is high and the output time is short.

In a laser printer, for example, an optical system unit for image formation, that is, an optical scanning device is mounted inside the printer body, and a desired image according to image data is formed by the optical scanning device. The optical scanning device mainly has various optical components housed in a housing including a mounting base (optical base) and a cover (lid) covering the optical base. In optical scanning devices,
When laser light is emitted from the light source while the rotating polygon mirror (polygon mirror) is rotating at a constant speed, the laser light is reflected by the polygon mirror and is sequentially deflected.
The photosensitive drum is repeatedly scanned by the deflected laser light. Then, the electrostatic latent image formed by scanning with the laser light is developed using toner, and this developed image is transferred to the recording paper. As a result, an image corresponding to the image data is formed on the recording paper. In full-color laser printers, for example, Yell
ow (Y; yellow), Magenta (M; magenta), Cyan
Four light sources corresponding to four colors (C; cyan) and Black (B; black) are mounted on the optical scanning device, and electrostatic latent images are utilized by using four photosensitive drums corresponding to these four light sources. An image is formed.

[0004]

By the way, an optical scanning device is equipped with, for example, the above-mentioned light source and polygon mirror, and a control circuit board for controlling these light source and polygon mirror inside the housing. There is. This control circuit board is provided with, for example, a connector for external connection, and by connecting the connector for external connection and the control unit on the printer body side with a connector cable,
Image data can be transmitted from the control unit on the printer body side to the control circuit board.

However, in the conventional optical scanning device, for example, when the control circuit board having the connector cable connected to the connector for external connection is mounted on the optical base and then the cover is mounted on the optical base, the optical base and the cover are attached. There was a problem that the harness of the connector cable might be sandwiched between and. If the harness is caught, the possibility of internal disconnection of the connector cable or the like increases, which may cause a failure.

Further, since various electronic parts and precision parts are mounted on the control circuit board, dust-proof measures are necessary to prevent dust such as toner from adhering to these electronic parts and precision parts. Is.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to prevent the harness from being pinched and to ensure the dustproof property of electronic parts without complicating the device structure. An object is to provide an optical scanning device.

[0008]

An optical scanning device according to the present invention is an optical system including a light source for emitting a light beam for scanning a surface to be scanned and an optical deflector for deflecting the light beam emitted from the light source. , A control board including at least a control component for controlling the light source and the optical deflector, and a connector for electrically connecting the control component to the outside, a housing portion for housing the control substrate, an optical system and a housing portion And a housing for accommodating the control board, wherein the housing portion is composed of a first portion and a second portion, and the control board is fixed so as to be sandwiched by the first portion and the second portion from both sides. As a result, the control component is enclosed in the housing portion and the connector is exposed to the outside of the housing.

In the optical scanning device according to the present invention, the control board is fixed so as to be sandwiched from both sides by the first portion and the second portion, so that the control substrate is accommodated by the first portion and the second portion. The control component is enclosed in the inside of the unit, is isolated from the internal space of the housing, and the connector is exposed to the outside of the housing.

In the optical scanning device according to the present invention, at least one of the first portion and the second portion may be integrated with the housing.

In the optical scanning device according to the present invention, the first
The portion or the second portion may be provided with a support portion for supporting the connector against external force.

In the optical scanning device according to the present invention, the first
The part may support the control board, and the second part may cover the control board supported by the first part.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the structure of an optical scanning device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 shows an external perspective configuration of the optical scanning device, and FIGS. 2 to 5 show a planar configuration of each part of the optical scanning device. Here, FIG. 2 is a lower surface side of the upper cover 2, FIG. 3 is a lower surface side of the lower cover 3,
4 shows the upper surface side of the optical base 1, and FIG. 5 shows the lower surface side of the optical base 1. The “upper surface” means the upper surface in the Z-axis direction in FIG. 1, and the “lower surface” means the lower surface.

The optical scanning device according to the present embodiment has a light beam scanning mechanism, and is mounted on an optical device (image forming device) such as a full-color laser printer. As shown in FIG. 1, this optical scanning device includes, for example, a series of later-described inside a housing including an optical base 1 and two covers (upper cover 2 and lower cover 3) covering the optical base 1. The constituent elements (optical parts) are stored.

The optical base 1 is a double-sided mounting type base which is the basis of the optical scanning device. The optical base 1 includes, for example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a honeycomb-shaped reinforcing rib structure 1RG including a plurality of ribs 1R forming polygonal, for example, substantially triangular openings. The reinforcing rib structure 1RG is mainly for ensuring the mechanical strength of the optical base 1, and forms a large number of non-penetrating cells 1C on both surfaces (upper surface side and lower surface side) of the optical base 1. is doing.

On the upper surface of the optical base 1, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a reinforcing rib structure 1R is provided over a predetermined range.
A plurality of mounting spaces 1S configured by removing G are provided, and one of the mounting spaces 1S is provided with a lower case 1V for housing a control circuit board 60 described later. Also, optical base 1
The side surface of the lower case 1 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
A portion corresponding to the disposition position of V is partially recessed, and a connector guide for exposing a connector 60C described later to the outside of the housing (optical base 1, upper cover 2, lower cover 3) in this recess. An exit 1U is provided. The detailed configuration of the lower case 1V will be described later (FIGS. 6 to 8).
reference).

The upper cover 2 covers the optical base 1 from above. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper cover 2 is for accommodating the control circuit board 60 at a position corresponding to the position where the lower case 1V provided on the optical base 1 is disposed, like the lower case 1V. An upper case 2V is provided. The detailed configuration of the upper case 2V will be described later (see FIGS. 6 to 8).

The lower cover 3 covers the optical base 1 from below. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower cover 3 has a cylindrical mirror 90 (90A, 90A) described later.
B, 90C, 90D; see FIG. 5), four light outlets 3K (3KA, 3KB, 3KC, 3KD) for guiding laser light to the outside of the optical scanning device are provided, respectively. Each of the light exits 3KA to 3KD has four dust-proof cover glasses 100 (100A, 100A).
B, 100C, 100D) are arranged respectively.

In the mounting space 1S provided on the upper surface side of the optical base 1, as shown in FIG. 4, mainly the light source device 10 and the reflection mirror 20 provided corresponding to the light source device 10 are provided. , Polygon mirror 30, and fθ lens 40
A reflection mirror 50 provided corresponding to the fθ lens 40 and a control circuit board 60 are provided.

The light source device 10 emits a laser beam (light beam) for scanning, and the emitting direction is the reflection mirror 2.
It is arranged so as to correspond to the arrangement position of 0. This light source device 10 is, for example, a laser diode (LD;
r (diode), etc., four light sources corresponding to four colors of Yellow (Y; yellow), Magenta (M; magenta), Cyan (C; cyan), and Black (B; black) are integrated. It was done. The light source device 10
Corresponds to, for example, four light sources, and includes four combinations of a collimator lens, a diaphragm, and a cylindrical lens (not shown). Here, the light source device 10 corresponds to a specific example of "a light source" in the invention.

The reflection mirror 20 is for reflecting the laser light emitted from the light source device 10 toward the polygon mirror 30.

The polygon mirror 30 has six reflecting surfaces 30.
It is a substantially hexagonal structure having M, and is rotatable about the rotation axis 31 in the direction of the arrow (clockwise) in the figure. As the polygon mirror 30 rotates,
At each reflecting surface 30M, the laser light is reflected and deflected toward the reflecting mirror 50. Here, the polygon mirror 30 corresponds to one specific example of the "optical deflector" in the present invention, and the assembly of the light source device 10 and the polygon mirror 30 corresponds to one specific example of the "optical system" in the present invention.

The fθ lens 40 condenses the laser light in a direction corresponding to the main scanning direction, and at the same time, a plurality of fθ lenses 40 are provided for equalizing the scanning speed in the main scanning direction on the photosensitive drum 110 (see FIG. 10) described later. Lens group of, for example, two lenses 41, 4 arranged along the optical path of the laser beam.
It is configured to include 2. The “main scanning direction” means the direction in which the laser light is reflected and deflected according to the rotation of the polygon mirror 30, that is, the direction in which the laser light scans the photosensitive drum 110.

The reflection mirror 50 serves to guide the laser light to the lower surface side of the optical base 1 through the opening 1K provided in the optical base 1 by reflecting the laser light downward, and for example, two Reflection mirror 50X, 5
It is configured to include 0Y. These reflective mirrors 50
X and 50Y are, for example, arranged at different height positions in the height direction (Z-axis direction in the drawing) (see FIG. 10 described later).

The control circuit board 60 is mainly used for the light source device 10.
And for controlling the polygon mirror 30, and can be connected to a control unit (not shown) on the printer body side by using the connector cable 161. The control circuit board 60 is connected to, for example, the light source device 10 via a connector cable 162, and is also connected to a circuit board (not shown) for the polygon mirror 30 via a connector cable 163. . The detailed configuration of the control circuit board 60 will be described later (see FIG. 6). Here, the control circuit board 60 is the “control board” in the present invention.
It corresponds to a specific example.

As shown in FIG. 5, on the lower surface of the optical base 1, for example, a reflection mirror 70 provided corresponding to the reflection mirror 50, and a reflection mirror 80 provided corresponding to the reflection mirror 70. And a cylindrical mirror 90 are provided.

The reflection mirrors 70 and 80 are the reflection mirror 50.
This is for reflecting the laser light guided to the lower surface side of the optical base 1 toward the cylindrical mirror 90. The reflection mirror 70 includes, for example, the reflection mirror 50X,
It is configured to include two reflection mirrors 70X and 70Y arranged corresponding to the arrangement position of 50Y, and the reflection mirror 80 includes, for example, two reflection mirrors 70X and 70Y arranged corresponding to the reflection mirrors 70X and 70Y. The reflection mirrors 80X and 80Y are included.

The cylindrical mirror 90 is for reflecting the laser light toward the photosensitive drum 110 (see FIG. 10) while condensing it in the direction corresponding to the sub-scanning direction. The cylindrical mirror 90 is configured to include, for example, four cylindrical mirrors 90A, 90B, 90C and 90D which are arranged to be spaced apart from each other corresponding to the respective photosensitive drums 110A, 110B, 110C and 110D. The “sub-scanning direction” means a direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction on the photosensitive drum 110, that is, a direction in which the surface to be scanned on the photosensitive drum 110 moves when the laser beam is scanned.

Next, referring to FIGS. 2, 4 and 6,
A detailed configuration of the control circuit board 60 and its peripheral portion will be described. FIG. 6 shows an enlarged perspective view of the control circuit board 60 and its peripheral portion. Note that FIG.
Here, the optical base 1 and the upper cover 2 are not shown, and the lower case 1V, the upper case 2V, the control circuit board 60, and the connector cable 161 are shown separated from each other.

As shown in FIG. 6, the control circuit board 60 is mounted with a control device 60R including, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) and the connector cable 16 is provided.
It has a substantially T-shaped planar configuration including a main body portion 60M to which 2, 163 are connected and an extension portion 60N provided with a connector 60C for external connection. The connector 60C is
A portion of the connector cable 161 that is connected to the connector 161C, which includes the control device 60R and the connector 60C.
Are mounted on the upper surface of the main body portion 60M, for example.
Here, the control device 60R corresponds to one specific example of the "control component" in the present invention, and the connector 60C corresponds to one specific example of the "connector" in the present invention.

Lower case 1V provided on the optical base 1
Together with the upper case 2V provided on the upper cover 2, a housing chamber 160 described later for housing the control circuit board 60.
(See FIG. 8). This lower case 1
The V is integrated with the optical base 1 and has a box-like structure in which the side facing the upper cover 2 is opened. The lower case 1V is provided therein with a step (supporting step) 1VD for supporting the control circuit board 60 (main body portion 60M), and is mainly for supporting the control circuit board 60. . In the lower case 1V, for example, a cutout 1V is provided at a position corresponding to the expanded portion 60N of the control circuit board 60.
KA is provided. Further, the lower case 1V is provided, for example, for supporting the expansion portion 60N at a position corresponding to the expansion portion 60N in a state where the control circuit board 60 is supported by the support stage 1VD, that is, at a position corresponding to the cutout 1VKA. Two support ribs 1VJ are provided. Here, the lower case 1V corresponds to one specific example of the "first portion" in the present invention, and the support rib 1VJ corresponds to one specific example of the "support portion" in the present invention.

Upper case 2V provided on the upper cover 2
Has, for example, a box-like structure that is integrated with the upper cover 2 and has an opening on the side corresponding to the optical base 1.
The upper case 2V covers, for example, the control circuit board 60 supported by the lower case 1V. In the upper case 2V, for example, two protrusions 2VT are provided at both corners on the opposite side to the side corresponding to the cutout 1VKA provided in the lower case 1V, and the control circuit board 6 is provided.
Connector cable 16 connected to body part 60M of 0
Notch 2VKB, 2VK at locations corresponding to 2,163
C is provided for each. Here, the upper case 2V
Corresponds to a specific example of “second part” in the invention.

Next, the procedure for accommodating the control device 60R will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 4, and 6-8. 7 and 8 are for explaining the procedure for accommodating the control device 60R, and FIG. 7 is a perspective enlarged configuration, FIG.
Shows a partial sectional structure taken along the line AA in FIG. 7, respectively.

When the control device 60R is housed, the optical base 1 (lower case 1V) and the upper cover 2 (upper case 2V) are separated from each other (see FIGS. 2, 4 and 6). First, the control circuit board 60 is placed in the lower case 1V, and the main body portion 60M is supported by the support step 1VD. When the control circuit board 60 is placed, the expanded portion 60N of the control circuit board 60 corresponds to the cutout 1VKA. Both ends of the expanded portion 60N provided with the connector 60C are supported from below by the two support ribs 1VJ.

Subsequently, the upper cover 2 is attached to the optical base 1, and the control circuit board 60 is sandwiched between the lower case 1V provided on the optical base 1 and the upper case 2V provided on the upper cover 2 to As shown in FIG. 8, the storage chamber 1 in which the lower case 1V and the upper case 2V face each other
Form 60. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the control circuit board 60 is accommodated in the accommodating chamber 160, and the control device 60R provided in the main body portion 60M is enclosed in the accommodating chamber 160, and
The connector 60C provided in the expansion portion 60N has a cutout 1
It is led out to the outside of the accommodation chamber 160 through the opening portion made of VKA, and is further exposed to the outside of the housing (optical base 1, upper cover 2, lower cover 3) through the connector lead-out port 1U as shown in FIG. It Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the connector cable 16 connected to the main body portion 60M
2 is led out to the outside of the accommodation chamber 160 through the opening portion formed by the notch 2VKB, and the connector cable 1
Similarly, 63 is led out to the outside of the accommodation chamber 160 through the opening made of the notch 2VKC. In the control circuit board 60 housed in the housing chamber 160, the main body portion 60M is sandwiched by the lower case 1V and the protrusion 2VT of the upper case 2V, and the expanded portion 60N is formed by the lower case 1V and the upper case 2V in the cutout 1VKA. It is fixed by sandwiching. Here, the accommodation chamber 160 corresponds to a specific example of the "accommodation portion" in the present invention.

When the control device 60R is accommodated in the accommodating chamber 160, the connector 60C is exposed from the connector outlet 1U to the outside of the housing, so that the connector cable 161 can be connected to the connector 60C.

Next, the operation of the optical scanning device will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 show the optical path of the laser beam when the optical scanning device is in operation. FIG. 9 shows the optical path viewed from above, and FIG. 10 shows the optical path viewed from the side. Note that FIG. 9 and FIG.
In FIG. 0, among the series of constituent elements shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, only the main constituent elements related to the laser light scanning mechanism are shown.

In this optical scanning device, the polygon mirror 30 is used.
Is rotated at a constant speed, first, from the light source device 10 arranged on the upper surface side of the optical base 1, Y, M, C,
Four laser beams LA to LD corresponding to the four colors of B are emitted. Then, the laser light L emitted from the light source device 10
A to LD are reflected by the reflection mirror 20 and guided to the polygon mirror 30, and then each reflection surface 3 of the polygon mirror 30.
It is sequentially reflected and deflected at 0M. Subsequently, the laser beams LA to LD deflected by the polygon mirror 30 are fθ
The light passes through the lens 40 (41, 42).

Laser light LA transmitted through the fθ lens 40
Of the LDs, the laser beams LB and LD are reflected by the reflection mirror 50X.
Is reflected by the optical base 1 through the opening 1K.
After being guided to the lower surface side of, the light is further reflected by the reflection mirror 70X. Laser light L reflected by the reflection mirror 70X
Of B and LD, the laser light LB is reflected by the cylindrical mirror 90B and then passes through the cover glass 100B to scan on the photosensitive drum 110B, while the laser light LD is reflected by the reflection mirror 80X and the cylindrical mirror 90D. After being sequentially reflected by, the photosensitive drum 110D is scanned by passing through the cover glass 100D.

The laser beams LA and LC transmitted through the fθ lens 40 are reflected by the reflection mirror 50Y to be guided to the lower surface side of the optical base 1 through the opening 1K, and then further reflected by the reflection mirror 70Y. It Of the laser light LA and LC reflected by the reflection mirror 70Y, the laser light LA is sequentially reflected by the reflection mirror 80Y and the cylindrical mirror 90A, and then the cover glass 100.
The photosensitive drum 110A is scanned by passing through A, while the laser light LC is reflected by the cylindrical mirror 90A.
After being reflected by C, the photosensitive drum 110C is scanned by passing through the cover glass 100C.

Based on the series of scanning mechanisms described above, the four laser beams LA to LD emitted from the light source device 10 are used to scan the four photosensitive drums 110A and 110A.
The surfaces to be scanned on 10B, 110C and 110D are scanned respectively.

In the optical scanning device according to the present embodiment, the housing chamber 160 for housing the control device 60R is composed of the lower case 1V provided on the optical base 1 and the upper case 2V provided on the upper cover 2. Then, the control circuit board 60 is fixed so that the control circuit board 60 is sandwiched by the lower case 1V and the upper case 2V from both sides.
While containing the control device 60R inside the 60,
The connector 60C is exposed to the outside of the housing (optical base 1, upper cover 2, lower cover 3) through the connector outlet 1U. In this case, the control device 60R is housed in the housing chamber 160 by mounting the upper cover 2 on the optical base 1, and then the connector cable 161 (connector 161C) is connected to the connector 60C led out from the connector outlet 1U. Because it will be possible
When connecting the connector cable 161 to the connector 60C, the harness 161 is provided between the optical base 1 and the upper cover 2.
H is not caught. Moreover, this harness 161
The prevention of the trapping of H can be realized by a simple structural change in which only the expanded portion 60N of the control circuit board 60 provided with the connector 60C is led out to the outside of the housing. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the harness 161H from being pinched without complicating the device configuration, and thereby to prevent the internal disconnection of the connector cable 161 and the like from occurring.

Further, in this embodiment, since the connector cable 161 can be connected to the connector 60C outside the housing, compared to the case where the connector cable 161 is connected to the connector 60C inside the housing. It is also possible to prevent the wiring of the harness portion 161 from becoming complicated.

Further, in the present embodiment, the lower case 1V
Since the control device 60R is housed in the housing chamber 160 formed by the upper case 2V and the upper case 2V, the housing chamber 160 encloses electronic components such as the ROM, which constitute the control device 60R, and isolates it from the surroundings. It Therefore, it becomes possible to prevent dust such as toner in the printer body from adhering to the control device 60R, and it is possible to secure the dustproof property of the control device 60R.

Further, in this embodiment, the lower case 1V is used.
Is integrated with the optical base 1 and the upper case 2V
Is integrated with the upper cover 2, the lower case 1V is separated from the optical base 1 and the upper case 2
The number of components of the optical scanning device can be reduced as compared with the case where the V is provided separately from the upper cover 2. Moreover, only by mounting the upper cover 2 on the optical base 1, the lower chamber 1V provided on the optical base 1 and the upper case 2V provided on the upper cover 2 form a storage chamber 160, and the storage chamber 160 is formed. Since the control device 60R is housed in 160, the dustproof mechanism of the control device 60R by the housing chamber 160 can be easily realized. Furthermore, the accommodation room 1
By using the dustproof mechanism of 60, it is possible to use an inexpensive control device 60R that does not have a dustproof structure, so that the cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the lower case 1V
When the control circuit board 60 is housed in the housing chamber 160 composed of the upper case 2V and the lower case 1V,
The control circuit board 60 is vertically sandwiched by V (protrusion 2VT). Therefore, the control circuit board 60 can be easily fixed without using a component such as a screw.

Further, in the present embodiment, the lower case 1V
Since the two supporting ribs 1VJ are provided in the housing, when the control circuit board 60 is housed in the housing chamber 160, these
Both ends of the expanded portion 60N provided with the connector 60C are supported from below by one support rib 1VJ. As a result, a problem that may occur when the support rib 1VJ is not provided, that is, the connector cable 16 is connected to the connector 60C.
When 1 is connected, it is possible to prevent the control circuit board 60 from being broken and damaged due to an external force applied downward to the expansion portion 60N.

In the present embodiment, the lower case 1V constituting the accommodation chamber 160 is integrated with the optical base 1, and the upper case 2V is integrated with the upper cover 2, but the present invention is not limited to this. However, for example, only one of the lower case 1V and the upper case 2V may be integrated. Also in this case, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

Further, in the present embodiment, the lower case 1V
Although the two support ribs 1VJ are provided in the above, the present invention is not limited to this, and one or three or more support ribs may be provided. Further, the support rib 1VJ may be provided along the edge of the expanded portion 60N.
In these cases, the control ribs 1VJ can support the control circuit board 60 (extended portion 60N) more stably, so that the control circuit board 60 can be more effectively prevented from being damaged.

Further, in this embodiment, the control circuit board 6 is used.
Connector 60 provided on the upper surface of 0 (extended portion 60N)
In order to support C, a supporting rib 1VJ is attached to the lower case 1V.
However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the connector 60 is provided on the lower surface of the expansion portion 60N.
When C is provided, it may be provided in the upper case 2V instead of the lower case 1V. Also in this case, the expansion portion 60N provided with the connector 60C
Since both ends of the connector are supported from above by the support ribs 1VJ, the connector cable 161 is connected to the connector 60C.
It is possible to prevent the control circuit board 60 from being damaged due to an external force applied to the expanded portion 60N in an upward direction when the connection is made.

Further, in this embodiment, the control circuit board 6 is used.
By providing the extension portion 60N on the 0, only the connector 60C provided on the extension portion 60N is accommodated in the accommodation chamber 160.
However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the connector cable 162 can be provided by newly providing expansion portions at locations corresponding to the connector cables 162 and 163 in the main body portion 60M. , 163 are also accommodated in the accommodating chamber 160.
May be led out of the. In this case,
As with the connector 60C, the connector cable 16
It is possible to prevent the harnesses 2 and 163 from being caught.

The present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made. Specifically, for example, in the above embodiment, the case where the optical scanning device of the present invention is applied to a “full color laser printer” has been described, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and a single laser beam is used. It is also applicable to a monochrome laser printer of a single-beam system using a multi-beam system using a plurality of laser beams. Further, the present invention may be applied to a printer other than a laser printer capable of forming an image using a light beam scanning mechanism, or may be applied to an optical device other than the printer. Specific examples of the "other optical device" include, for example, a facsimile, a copying machine or a composite machine of these.

[0054]

As described above, according to the optical scanning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the optical scanning device is controlled so as to be sandwiched from both sides by the first portion and the second portion. By fixing the substrate, the control component can be enclosed inside the accommodating portion including the first portion and the second portion, and the connector can be exposed to the outside of the housing. After accommodating the control parts and ensuring the dustproof property, it becomes possible to perform the connection work with the outside using the connector. As a result, when connecting wiring for connection such as a connector cable to the connector,
It is possible to prevent the connection wiring from being sandwiched between the first portion and the second portion. Moreover, the prevention of the connection wiring from being caught can be realized by a simple structural change in which only the connector of the control board is exposed to the outside of the housing.
The device configuration does not become complicated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the connection wiring (harness) from being pinched without complicating the device configuration and to ensure the dustproof property of the control component.

Particularly, according to the optical scanning device of the second aspect, at least one of the first portion and the second portion is made integral with the housing, so that the first portion and the second portion are formed.
The number of components can be reduced as compared with the case where both of the parts are separate from the housing. Also, for example, if the housing is
When a mounting base and a cover (cover) for covering the base are included, if the first portion is integrated with the base and the second portion is integrated with the cover, the base is covered. Simply by mounting the housing, the first portion provided on the base and the second portion provided on the cover form a housing portion, and the housing also houses the control component. The dustproof mechanism of the control part can be easily realized.

Further, according to the optical scanning device of the third aspect, the first portion or the second portion is provided with the support portion for supporting the connector against external force.
When the control board is stored in the storage section, the control board provided with the connector is supported by the support section. As a result, a problem that may occur when the support portion is not provided, that is, when the connection wiring such as a connector cable is connected to the connector, the control board is broken and damaged due to an external force applied to the control board. Can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a planar configuration of an upper cover in the optical scanning device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a planar configuration of a lower cover in the optical scanning device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view showing a top surface configuration of an optical base in the optical scanning device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view showing a bottom surface configuration of an optical base in the optical scanning device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view showing a detailed perspective configuration of the control circuit board and its peripheral portion shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view showing a perspective configuration of a control circuit board and its peripheral portion in order to explain a procedure for accommodating a control device.

8 is a cross-sectional view showing a partial cross-sectional configuration along the line AA in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state where the optical path of the laser beam is viewed from above during operation of the optical scanning device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which the optical path of the laser beam is viewed from the side during operation of the optical scanning device according to the embodiment of the invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Optical base, 1C ... Cell, 1R ... Rib, 1RG ... Reinforcing rib structure, 1S ... Mounting space, 1U ... Connector outlet, 1V ... Lower case, 1VD ... Support stage, 1VJ ... Support rib, 1VKA, 2VKB, 2VKC ... notches, 2 ...
Upper cover, 2V ... Upper case, 2VT ... Projection part, 3 ... Lower cover, 3K (3KA to 3KD) ... Light outlet, 10 ... Light source device, 20, 50 (50X, 50Y), 70 (70)
X, 70Y), 80 (80X, 80Y) ... Reflective mirror,
30 ... Polygon mirror, 31 ... Rotation axis, 30M ... Reflecting surface, 40 (41, 42) ... f.theta. Lens, 60 ... Control circuit board, 60C, 161 ... Connector, 60M ... Main body part,
60N ... Expansion part, 60R ... Control device, 90 (90
A-9D) ... Cylindrical mirror, 100 (100A
~ 100D) ... Cover glass, 110 (110A ~ 11)
0D) ... Photosensitive drum, 160 ... Housing chamber, 162 ... Harness, LA to LD ... Laser light.

Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2C362 DA04 DA12 DA41                 2H045 DA04 DA41                 5C051 AA02 CA07 DB06 DB35 DC07                       EA01 EA08                 5C072 AA03 DA02 DA04 HA02 HA09                       XA05

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An optical system including a light source for emitting a light beam for scanning a surface to be scanned and an optical deflector for deflecting the light beam emitted from the light source, and for controlling at least the light source and the optical deflector. Control board including a control component and a connector for electrically connecting the control component to the outside, a housing portion that houses the control board, and a housing that houses the optical system and the housing portion. The optical scanning device according to claim 1, wherein the accommodating portion includes a first portion and a second portion, and the control board is fixed by being sandwiched by the first portion and the second portion from both sides. Thus, the optical scanning device is characterized in that the control component is enclosed in the housing portion and the connector is exposed to the outside of the housing. 2. The optical scanning device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first portion and the second portion is integrated with the housing. 3. The support according to claim 1, wherein the first portion or the second portion is provided with a supporting portion for supporting the connector against an external force. Optical scanning device. 4. The first part supports the control board, and the second part covers the control board supported by the first part. Claim 1
The optical scanning device according to claim 3.