JP2005352370A - Optical scanner and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical scanner and an image forming apparatus which are low in noise, high in reliability, small in size and low in cost. <P>SOLUTION: The optical scanner 200 is composed of: a deflector comprising a light source 201, a photonic crystal 202 made of a ferroelectric material and a voltage controlling unit 205 to control a voltage to be applied on the photonic crystal 202 made of the ferroelectric material; a deflection angle expander comprising a photonic crystal 206 made of a ferroelectric or dielectric material; and detectors 207a, 207b to detect the scanning position. As the scanning position detected by the detectors is used as feedback to the voltage controlling unit 205 for the deflector to scan with light, this easily realizes an optical scanner having no mechanical driving unit, no fluctuation in the light quantity and requiring no special laser. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical scanning device and an image forming apparatus using the optical scanning device.

As one of the image forming apparatuses, there are various types of printers that are widely used at present, and one of them is an optical writing method that performs optical writing. A representative example of the optical writing method is an electrophotographic method.
As a typical self-coloring type in the optical writing method, there is a silver salt method. In the silver salt system, light is directly written on a photographic printing paper as a recording medium, and the color of the irradiated light is developed after development. R (red), G (green), B (blue) ) Can be printed using the three colors of light.

  Further, among self-coloring types that have recently attracted attention are those using photochromic materials. A photochromic material is a material whose color changes reversibly by light, and the part irradiated with light changes to the color of the light. Since it can be returned, it is expected to be a full-color rewritable paper that can be repeatedly written and erased by light.

  On the other hand, as a conventional optical scanning device used for the above-described optical writing method, there is a polygon mirror (rotating polygonal mirror) type optical scanning device that is currently most employed in an electrophotographic printer or the like. In the polygon mirror system, as shown in FIG. 7, the polygon mirror 2 having a plurality of reflecting surfaces is rotated at high speed, and light from the light source 51 is applied to the reflecting surfaces to perform deflection scanning. , 55 can be condensed on the scanned surface 27 to scan the light (for example, see Patent Document 1).

As another method of the conventional optical scanning device, there is one in which light emitting elements such as LEDs (light emitting diodes) and organic EL (electroluminescence) elements are arranged in an array. An example is shown in FIG. The conventional optical scanning device shown in FIG. 8 has organic EL elements 12 arranged in an array, and can scan light by controlling and lighting any organic EL element (see Patent Document 2). ).
In addition, there is a photonic crystal using a large wavelength dispersion characteristic. In this conventional optical scanning device, as shown in FIG. 9, the photonic crystal 130 and the wavelength tunable laser 110 are used to control the wavelength of light. By doing so, light can be scanned (see Patent Document 3).

  Furthermore, in the prior art described in Patent Document 4, a laser scanning system is configured with a wavelength tunable laser and a photonic crystal, and laser light is scanned by changing the wavelength continuously. In addition, an optical position sensor, or a start position sensor and an end point position sensor are provided, and information from the sensors is fed back to correct the laser wavelength. However, this conventional technique uses a special laser called a wavelength tunable laser, which makes the apparatus expensive.

  Further, in the prior art described in Patent Document 5, an optical scanning device is configured with a wavelength-variable distributed Bragg reflection (DBR) semiconductor laser, a photonic crystal, and a coupling lens that causes laser light to enter the photonic crystal. The wavelength-variable DBR semiconductor laser is a passive waveguide heating type semiconductor laser that is equipped with a heater that locally heats the waveguide and varies the refractive index. Scanning light. However, in this prior art, a special laser is used as in Patent Document 4, and the apparatus becomes expensive.

JP 2003-202510 A JP-A-9-226172 JP 2001-13439 A JP 2001-75040 A JP 2003-149419 A JP-A-11-70695 JP 2003-54030 A JP 2003-1864 A H. Kosaka et al., Rhys. Rev. B 58, R10096 (1998) D. Scrymgeour, N. Malkova, S. Kim and V. Gopalan, Appl. Phys. Lett., 82, 3176 (2003)

  Among the above-described prior arts, the polygon mirror system as shown in FIG. 7 requires a mechanical drive unit that mechanically rotates the polygon mirror 2, so that there is a problem in terms of reliability that mechanical wear occurs. There is also a problem that noise is generated. Furthermore, there is a problem that the printer occupies a relatively large space and becomes large.

  On the other hand, an optical scanning device in which light emitting elements such as LEDs and organic ELs are arranged in an array illuminates an arbitrary light emitting element by arranging the light emitting elements, so there is no mechanical drive and no mechanical wear or noise is generated. Also, the space occupied by the printer device is relatively small, and the printer device can be downsized.

  However, in an optical scanning device in which LEDs are arranged in an array as light emitting elements, it is very difficult to produce a very long LED array chip, so it is necessary to mount a plurality of LED array chips side by side. Since accuracy greatly affects the print quality, it is necessary to implement with high accuracy, leading to an increase in cost. Further, the LED array has a problem of light emission variation that greatly affects the print quality. For light emission variations, as in the prior art described in Patent Document 6, there is a means for adjusting a bit for each bit by cutting a part of the electrode with a laser beam, but the number of processes increases and the cost increases. Leads to.

  In the optical scanning device (Patent Document 2) in which organic EL elements are arranged in an array as shown in FIG. 8 as a light emitting element, long ones can be manufactured in a lump, so there is no mounting process and the cost is reduced. In addition, there is relatively little variation in light emission. However, the organic EL element has a problem that the lifetime is shorter than that of the LED, and the luminance gradually decreases as the cumulative lighting time becomes longer. For this problem, as in the prior art described in Patent Document 7, the light emission intensity per unit area is reduced in structure to extend the life, or as in the prior art described in Patent Document 8, It is possible to arrange multiple lines of organic EL arrays, and switch to another line when the line in use reaches the end of its life, which will substantially extend the life. However, the structure becomes complicated and the cost of organic EL is low. In addition, there is a problem that the advantage of downsizing is impaired. Furthermore, the organic EL array has a short lifetime and is not a fundamental solution to the problem of gradually decreasing brightness.

  In addition, the optical scanning device composed of a photonic crystal and a wavelength tunable laser as described in Patent Documents 4 and 5 does not have a mechanical drive unit, generates no noise, and can downsize the printer device. it can. However, it is necessary to use a special laser called a wavelength tunable laser, which causes a problem that the apparatus becomes expensive.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the present inventors formed a photonic crystal with a ferroelectric material and controlled a voltage applied to the photonic crystal, so that a special laser such as a wavelength tunable laser was formed. There has been proposed an optical scanning device that can be configured inexpensively without being used.
That is, the present inventors have a light source, a photonic crystal formed of a ferroelectric, a voltage control unit that controls a voltage applied to the photonic crystal formed of a ferroelectric, and a detection that detects a scanning position. The optical scanning device is configured by the unit, and the voltage applied to the photonic crystal is controlled by feeding back the scanning position detected by the detection unit to the voltage control unit that controls the voltage applied to the photonic crystal. , Scanning light. However, this optical scanning device has a problem that the deflection angle by the photonic crystal is small and the optical path length of the scanning system is long (the optical scanning device is large).

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a scanning system that controls deflection by a voltage applied to a photonic crystal, and deflection that expands a deflection angle of light deflected using the photonic crystal. By constituting with the angle expander, the deflection angle can be increased and the optical scanning device can be reduced.

That is, according to the present invention, the scanning system includes a deflector that controls deflection by a voltage applied to the photonic crystal and a deflection angle expander that expands the deflection angle of light deflected using the photonic crystal. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical scanning device with low noise, high reliability, small size, and low cost.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical scanning device capable of high-speed scanning in addition to the above object.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical scanning device used in a multicolor printer in addition to the above object.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an optical scanning device used for a full-color printer in addition to the above object.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus with low noise, high reliability, small size, and low cost.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a color image forming apparatus that is low in noise, highly reliable, small in size, and inexpensive.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus for rewritable paper that has low noise, high reliability, small size, and low cost.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following means.
According to a first means of the present invention, in an optical scanning device that scans light, a light source, a deflector that deflects light from the light source, and a deflection angle expansion that expands a deflection angle of the light deflected by the deflector. And a detector for detecting the scanning position of the light. The deflector controls a photonic crystal formed of a ferroelectric material and a voltage applied to the photonic crystal formed of the ferroelectric material. It comprises a voltage control unit, and the deflection angle expander comprises a photonic crystal formed of a ferroelectric or a dielectric (claim 1).
In the optical scanning device of the first means, the second means applies a voltage applied to the photonic crystal formed of a ferroelectric substance of the deflector, with the scanning position detected by the detector for detecting the scanning position. The light is fed back to the voltage control unit for controlling the light to scan the light (claim 2).

The optical scanning device of the third means is characterized in that at least two or more optical scanning devices of the first or second means are arranged side by side in the main scanning direction.
The optical scanning device of the fourth means is characterized in that at least two optical scanning devices of the first or second means are arranged side by side in the sub-scanning direction.
Further, the fifth means is characterized in that, in the optical scanning device of the fourth means, the light source wavelengths of the two or more optical scanning devices arranged in the sub-scanning direction are at least two or more. ).

The optical scanning device of the sixth means is characterized in that at least three optical scanning devices of the first or second means are arranged side by side in the sub-scanning direction, and there are at least three light source wavelengths ( Claim 6).
According to a seventh means, in the optical scanning device of any one of the first to sixth means, the ferroelectric material forming the photonic crystal is PLZT (plomb lanthanum zirconate titanate). (Claim 7).

  An image forming apparatus of an eighth means includes an optical scanning device of any one of the first to fourth means, an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed by light from the optical scanning device, and the image A developing device that develops and visualizes the electrostatic latent image on the carrier, a transfer device that transfers the visualized image to a transfer material, and a fixing device that fixes the image transferred to the transfer material; (Claim 8).

An image forming apparatus according to a ninth means fixes the developed image by an optical scanning device as the sixth means, a developing device for developing an image formed on the recording medium by light from the optical scanning device, and And a fixing device (claim 9).
The tenth means is characterized in that, in the image forming apparatus of the ninth means, a silver salt paper or a color film is used as the recording medium.

The image forming apparatus of the eleventh means includes the optical scanning devices of the first to seventh means and an ultraviolet light source, and forms an image on a recording medium by the light from the optical scanning apparatus, and the ultraviolet light The image on the recording medium is erased with a light source (claim 11).
The twelfth means is characterized in that, in the image forming apparatus of the eleventh means, rewritable paper made of a photochromic material is used as the recording medium.

In the optical scanning device of the first and second means, a light source, a photonic crystal formed of a ferroelectric material, and a voltage control unit for controlling a voltage applied to the photonic crystal formed of the ferroelectric material The optical scanner is composed of a deflector, a deflection angle magnifier made of a ferroelectric material or a photonic crystal formed of a dielectric, and a detector for detecting a scanning position, and the scanning position detected by the detector is determined. Since the light is scanned by feeding back to the voltage control unit of the deflector, it is possible to easily manufacture an optical scanning device that does not have a mechanical driving unit, does not vary in light quantity, and does not require a special laser. it can.
Therefore, an optical scanning device with low noise, high reliability, small size, and low cost can be easily realized.

In the optical scanning device of the third and fourth means, two or more optical scanning devices of the first or second means are arranged side by side in the main scanning direction or the sub-scanning direction, so there is no mechanical drive unit. Thus, an optical scanning device that does not vary in light quantity, does not require a special laser, and has a high effective scanning speed can be easily manufactured.
Therefore, it is possible to easily realize an optical scanning device with low noise, high reliability, small size, low cost, and capable of high-speed scanning.

In the fifth means, in the optical scanning device of the fourth means, two or more optical scanning devices having different light source wavelengths are arranged side by side in the sub-scanning direction. In addition, it is possible to easily manufacture an optical scanning device that does not require a special laser and can scan light of different wavelengths.
Therefore, it is possible to easily realize an optical scanning device used in a multi-color image forming apparatus with low noise, high reliability, small size, and low cost.

In the optical scanning device of the sixth means, at least three or more types of optical scanning devices of the first or second means having different light source wavelengths are arranged side by side in the sub-scanning direction. Therefore, it is possible to easily manufacture an optical scanning device that can scan three or more different wavelengths of light without any variation in the amount of light, without requiring a special laser.
Therefore, it is possible to easily realize an optical scanning device that is used in a full-color image forming apparatus with low noise, high reliability, small size, and low cost.

In the seventh means, since the photonic crystal of the optical scanning device of any one of the first to sixth means is formed by PLZT, there is no mechanical drive unit, no variation in light quantity, and a special laser Therefore, an optical scanning device that can scan light in the visible light region can be easily manufactured.
Therefore, it is possible to easily realize an optical scanning device that is low in noise, highly reliable, small in size, inexpensive, and usable with light in the visible light region.

  The image forming apparatus of the eighth means comprises the optical scanning device of any one of the first to fourth means, the image carrier, the developing device, the transfer device, and the fixing device. An image forming apparatus that is noisy, reliable, small, and inexpensive can be easily manufactured. Therefore, a high quality image forming apparatus can be realized at low cost.

  The ninth and tenth image forming apparatuses are composed of the optical scanning device of the sixth means, the developing device, and the fixing device. Therefore, an image using silver salt paper or a color film as a recording medium. It is possible to easily realize a silver salt type image forming apparatus that can be formed, has low noise, is highly reliable, is small, and is inexpensive. Therefore, a high-quality color image forming apparatus can be realized at low cost.

  Since the image forming apparatus of the eleventh and twelfth means comprises the optical scanning device of any one of the first to seventh means and the ultraviolet light source, the rewritable paper made of a photochromic material as the recording medium Therefore, an image forming apparatus with low noise, high reliability, small size, and low cost can be easily realized. Therefore, a high-quality rewritable paper image forming apparatus can be realized at low cost.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

[Example 1]
First, an optical scanning device will be described as a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration example of the optical scanning device according to the first embodiment. An optical scanning device 200 shown in FIG. 1 is formed of a light source (for example, a semiconductor laser) 201 that emits laser light L, a first photonic crystal 202 formed of a ferroelectric (PLZT), and the ferroelectric. Deflection of light deflected by the deflector comprising the voltage control unit 205 for controlling the voltage applied to the first photonic crystal formed, and the second photonic crystal 206 formed of a dielectric. It comprises a deflection angle expander that expands the angle and optical scanning position detectors (photodiodes, etc.) 207a and 207b that detect the scanning position of the light. Electrodes 203 and 204 are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the first photonic crystal 202 formed of ferroelectric (PLZT), and the electrodes 203 and 204 are connected to the voltage control unit 205, and the ferroelectric (PLZT) The voltage can be controlled and applied to the first photonic crystal 202 formed in (1). FIG. 2 shows a top view of the deflector and deflection angle expander of the optical scanning device shown in FIG. Although not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the laser beam L emitted from the semiconductor laser 201 is substantially parallel to the optical path between the semiconductor laser 201 and the first photonic crystal 202 as necessary. A lens such as a collimating lens (or a coupling lens) is provided.

  A structure in which transparent materials having different refractive indexes are periodically arranged in a multidimensional manner is called a photonic crystal, and is known to have characteristics such as a photonic band gap, anisotropy, and high dispersibility. It has been reported that the high dispersibility of photonic crystals is a property that the refraction angle changes greatly only by slightly changing the wavelength of light, and that the refraction angle can be changed greatly even if the incident angle is changed slightly. (See Non-Patent Document 1). On the other hand, in the case of a photonic crystal formed of a ferroelectric material, the refraction angle can be changed greatly by changing the voltage applied to the photonic crystal even if the wavelength and incident angle of light are fixed. Has been reported (see Non-Patent Document 2).

  In the optical scanning device 200 of the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first photonic crystal 202 is formed of a ferroelectric (PLZT), and the second photonic crystal 206 is formed of a dielectric. Since the voltage control unit 205 is connected to the electrodes 203 and 204 formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the first photonic crystal 202, the laser emitted from the semiconductor laser 201 and incident on the first photonic crystal 202 The light L can be deflected in an arbitrary direction by controlling the voltage applied to the first photonic crystal 202, and can further be incident on the second photonic crystal 206 to expand the deflection angle. . Therefore, the voltage control unit 205 can control the voltage to deflect the laser light L and scan the image carrier (for example, the photosensitive drum) 208. Although the photonic crystal has high wavelength dispersion as described above, the scanning start position and the scanning end position are detected by the optical scanning position detectors (photodiodes or the like) 207a and 207b and fed back to the voltage control unit 205. As a result, even if the emission wavelength of the semiconductor laser 201 slightly varies due to a change in environmental temperature or the like, the laser light L can be normally scanned.

  The two-dimensional photonic crystal of PLZT which is the first photonic crystal 202 is obtained by pattern-exposing a gel-like photosensitive PLZT film with ultraviolet light and dissolving an unirradiated portion of ultraviolet light with an acidic aqueous solution, and then at 400 ° C. It can be produced by baking with.

  In this embodiment, PLZT is used as the ferroelectric material for forming the first photonic crystal. However, any ferroelectric material that is transparent to the light source wavelength may be used. However, PLZT is transparent in the visible light region and has very excellent electro-optical characteristics, and is optimal as a photonic crystal material constituting the optical scanning device of the present invention. Further, the material forming the second photonic crystal 206 may be a ferroelectric material, and the second photonic crystal 206 and the first photonic crystal 202 may be integrally formed.

In this embodiment, the scanning start position and the scanning end position are detected by the optical scanning position detectors (photodiodes and the like) 207a and 207b and fed back to the voltage control unit 205, but the optical scanning position is detected. The location may be other than the scan start position and the scan end position. As shown in the configuration of FIG. 3, the laser light L emitted from the second photonic crystal 206 is branched by the beam splitter 209 and the photodiodes are arranged in an array. Alternatively, the position may always be detected by the scanning position detector (for example, line sensor) 207 and fed back to the voltage control unit 205.
Furthermore, a plurality of optical scanning devices according to the present embodiment may be arranged in the main scanning direction or the sub-scanning direction. With the arrangement in which a plurality of optical scanning devices are arranged, the effective scanning speed can be increased and light capable of high-speed scanning can be obtained. A scanning device can be realized. Further, by arranging a plurality of optical scanning devices in the main scanning direction, scanning with a wide scanning width can be performed.

[Example 2]
Next, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (for example, a printer) will be described as a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the electrophotographic printer of this embodiment. The printer shown in FIG. 4 includes a light source 201 made of a semiconductor laser, a lens (for example, a collimating lens) 210, a first photonic crystal 202 formed of a ferroelectric, as described in the first embodiment, The optical scanning device 200 includes a second photonic crystal 206 formed of a dielectric or a ferroelectric, a voltage controller 205, and an optical scanning position detector 207, and an image carrier (photosensitive drum). ) 208, a charger 212 for charging the image carrier (photosensitive drum) 208, and a laser beam L from the optical scanning device 200 is applied to the charged image carrier (photosensitive drum) 208 to form an electrostatic latent image. An exposure unit 211 to be formed, a developing unit 213 that develops and visualizes an electrostatic latent image on an image carrier (photosensitive drum) 208, and a visualized image on a transfer material (for example, transfer paper) 217. Transcription A vessel 214, and a fixing unit 215 for fixing the image transferred to the transfer sheet 217, the image bearing member after image transfer cleaner 216 for cleaning the surface of the (photosensitive drum) 211.

  In the electrophotographic printer shown in FIG. 4, first, the image carrier (photosensitive drum) 208 is charged by the charger 212, and the optical scanning device 200 scans the laser light L whose intensity is modulated according to the image data. The area of the image carrier (photosensitive drum) 208 irradiated with the laser light L has a reduced charge amount, and the charge amount is related to the reciprocal of the laser light L irradiation amount. An electrostatic latent image is formed. Next, the developer 213 adsorbs a developer (for example, toner) to a charged portion on the image carrier (photosensitive drum) 208 to make a visible image, and the transfer device 214 forms the image on the image carrier (photosensitive drum) 208. The toner image is transferred onto the transfer paper 217, and then the image carrier (photosensitive drum) 208 is cleaned by the cleaner 216, and the same process is repeated again. Therefore, these steps are sequentially repeated, and finally the toner image on the paper surface of the transfer paper 217 is fixed on the paper surface by the fixing device 215, whereby an image can be formed on the paper surface of the transfer paper 217.

[Example 3]
Next, a silver salt type image forming apparatus (for example, a printer) using the optical scanning apparatus of the present invention will be described as a third embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration example of the silver salt printer of this embodiment. The printer shown in FIG. 5 includes three optical scanning devices 200 having the configuration described in the first embodiment, conveyance rollers 219, 220, and 222 that convey silver salt paper 218 that is a recording medium, a developer 221, and the like. And a fixing device 223. In the three optical scanning devices 200, the wavelengths of the laser beams L emitted from the light source 201 are different from each other, and are red (R), green (G), and blue (B). The three optical scanning devices 200 are arranged side by side in the sub-scanning direction, which is the transport direction of the silver salt paper 218.

  In the printer having the configuration shown in FIG. 5, three colors of light L (R), L (G), and L (B) that are intensity-modulated according to image data by the three optical scanning devices 200 on the silver salt paper 218. Are sequentially scanned to expose the silver salt paper 218. Therefore, after that, it is possible to print on the silver salt paper 218 by developing with the developing device 221, fixing with the fixing device 223, and drying.

In this embodiment, the three optical scanning devices 200 each having light source wavelengths of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) are used. However, two or more optical scanning devices 200 are used. As a result, multicolor printing is possible. However, full-color printing is possible by using three or more optical scanning devices having different light source wavelengths. In this case, it is necessary to select light source wavelengths suitable for full-color printing such as red (R), green (G), and blue (B). In addition, the structure of the photonic crystal needs to be changed according to the wavelength of the light source.
In this embodiment, printing is performed on the silver salt paper 218, but it is also possible to print on a color film or other color recording medium in the same manner.

[Example 4]
Next, an image forming apparatus (for example, a printer) using a rewritable paper (photochromic paper) made of a photochromic material using the optical scanning device of the present invention will be described as a fourth embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration example of a printer using the rewritable paper of this embodiment. The printer shown in FIG. 6 includes three optical scanning devices 200 having the configuration described in the first embodiment, and conveyance rollers 225 and 227 that convey a rewritable paper (photochromic paper) 224 made of a photochromic material that is a recording medium. 228 and an ultraviolet light source (for example, an ultraviolet lamp) 226. In the three optical scanning devices 200, the wavelengths of the laser beams L emitted from the light source 201 are different from each other, and are red (R), green (G), and blue (B). The three optical scanning devices 200 are arranged side by side in the sub-scanning direction, which is the conveyance direction of the rewritable paper (photochromic paper) 224.

  Here, the photochromic material is the color of the irradiated light when irradiated with a certain color of light, and it can be erased when irradiated with ultraviolet light. Can be used.

  In the printer shown in FIG. 6, first, rewritable paper (photochromic paper) 224 made of a photochromic material is irradiated with ultraviolet light by an ultraviolet light source (for example, an ultraviolet lamp) 226 to erase an already formed image. Next, the erased rewritable paper (photochromic paper) 224 is printed on the rewritable paper (photochromic paper) 224 by sequentially scanning light of three colors intensity-modulated according to image data by the three optical scanning devices 200. be able to.

  In this embodiment, the three optical scanning devices 200 each having light source wavelengths of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) are used. However, two or more optical scanning devices 200 are used. As a result, multicolor printing is possible. However, full-color printing is possible by using three or more optical scanning devices having different light source wavelengths. In this case, it is necessary to select wavelengths suitable for full color printing such as red (R), green (G), and blue (B). In addition, the structure of the photonic crystal needs to be changed according to the wavelength of the light source.

  As described above, according to the present invention, an optical scanning device with high reliability, small size, and low cost can be realized. By using this optical scanning device, low noise, high reliability, A small and inexpensive image forming apparatus can be realized. The image forming apparatus using the optical scanning device of the present invention includes electrophotographic printers, plotters, copiers, facsimiles, printers using silver salt paper or color film as a recording medium, photochromic papers, etc. Printers using rewritable paper, and the like can be applied to various types of image forming apparatuses. The optical scanning device of the present invention includes an image forming device such as a printer, an optical scanning image display device, a measuring device that measures the distance to an object or a structure, a measuring device that measures the shape of the object, and the like. Can also be used.

It is a schematic perspective view which shows the structural example of the optical scanner which concerns on this invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of a deflector and a deflection angle expander of the optical scanning device shown in FIG. 1. It is a schematic perspective view which shows another structural example of the optical scanning device concerning this invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a configuration example of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (printer) according to the present invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a configuration example of a silver salt image forming apparatus (printer) according to the present invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming apparatus (printer) using a rewritable paper according to the present invention. It is structure explanatory drawing of the optical scanning device which shows an example of a prior art. It is a schematic plan view of the optical scanning device which shows another example of a prior art. It is structure explanatory drawing of the optical scanning device which shows another example of a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

200: Optical scanning device 201, 201 (R), 201 (G), 201 (B): Light source (semiconductor laser)
202: First photonic crystal 203, 204: Electrode 205: Voltage controller 206: Second photonic crystal 207, 207a, 207b: Optical scanning position detector 208: Image carrier (photosensitive drum)
209: Beam splitter 210: Lens 211: Exposure unit 212: Charger 213: Developer 214: Transfer device 215: Fixing device 216: Cleaner 217: Transfer paper 218: Silver salt paper 219, 220, 222: Transport roller 221: Development 223: Fixing device 224: Rewritable paper (photochromic paper)
225, 227, 228: Conveying roller 226: Ultraviolet light source (ultraviolet lamp)

Claims (12)

In an optical scanning device that scans light,
A light source, a deflector that deflects light from the light source, a deflection angle expander that expands the deflection angle of the light deflected by the deflector, and a detector that detects the scanning position of the light,
The deflector includes a photonic crystal formed of a ferroelectric and a voltage control unit that controls a voltage applied to the photonic crystal formed of the ferroelectric.
2. The optical scanning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deflection angle expander is made of a photonic crystal made of a ferroelectric material or a dielectric material. The optical scanning device according to claim 1,
The scanning position detected by the detector that detects the scanning position is fed back to a voltage control unit that controls the voltage applied to the photonic crystal formed of the ferroelectric material of the deflector, and the light is scanned. Optical scanning device.   An optical scanning device comprising at least two optical scanning devices according to claim 1 or 2 arranged side by side in the main scanning direction.   An optical scanning device comprising at least two optical scanning devices according to claim 1 or 2 arranged in the sub-scanning direction. The optical scanning device according to claim 4.
An optical scanning device, wherein two or more optical scanning devices arranged in the sub-scanning direction have at least two light source wavelengths.   3. An optical scanning device according to claim 1, wherein at least three optical scanning devices according to claim 1 are arranged side by side in the sub-scanning direction, and at least three light source wavelengths are provided. In the optical scanning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An optical scanning device, wherein the ferroelectric material forming the photonic crystal is PLZT.   5. The optical scanning device according to claim 1, an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed by light from the optical scanning device, and an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier. An image comprising: a developing device that develops and visualizes, a transfer device that transfers the visualized image to a transfer material, and a fixing device that fixes the image transferred to the transfer material. Forming equipment.   7. An optical scanning device according to claim 6, a developing device for developing an image formed on a recording medium by light from the optical scanning device, and a fixing device for fixing the developed image. Image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9.
An image forming apparatus using silver salt paper as the recording medium.   8. An optical scanning device according to claim 1 and an ultraviolet light source, wherein an image is formed on a recording medium by light from the optical scanning device, and an image on the recording medium is erased by the ultraviolet light source. An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11.
An image forming apparatus using rewritable paper made of a photochromic material as the recording medium.

Images