JP2016145938A - Image processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce speckle noise effectively at a low cost in an image processing device for forming an image by scanning with a laser beam.SOLUTION: The image processing device comprises: a laser source; scanning means for scanning with a laser beam emitted from the laser source; division means for dividing the scanning beam emitted from the scanning means into a plurality of divided beams mutually different in emission angle; refraction means for refracting the plurality of divided beams to condense them in one point at a conjugate point on the image side; and a screen placed at the conjugate point, on which an image by the emitted beam from the refraction means is formed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a head-up display device and other image processing devices that form a virtual image in front of a windshield of a vehicle using laser light.

  In the head-up display described in Patent Document 1, a movable MEMS mirror is irradiated with laser light, and a display image is formed on a screen by the operation of the MEMS mirror. This screen includes light dispersion elements such as a microlens array on both sides. In such a configuration, light incident on the screen can be dispersed, thereby enabling speckle noise to be removed and pixel bright spots to be suppressed.

JP 2012-226304 A

  However, in a device that scans laser light with a MEMS mirror, such as the head-up display described in Patent Document 1, since the display time of one pixel is very short, only by dispersing incident light with a microlens array. However, it is difficult to change the speckle pattern generated in large numbers, and it is difficult to sufficiently remove speckle noise.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that speckle noise can be reduced effectively and at low cost in an image processing apparatus that scans laser light to form an image.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention has a laser light source, a scanning unit that scans laser light emitted from the laser light source, and a scanning light emitted from the scanning unit having different emission angles. A splitting means for splitting into a plurality of split lights, a refracting means for refracting a plurality of split lights and condensing them at one point at a conjugate point on the image side, and an image formed by light emitted from the refracting means are formed at the conjugate point And a screen to be provided.

  In this configuration, the laser beam scanned by the scanning unit is converted into a large number of divided beams having different emission angles by the dividing unit, and these divided beams are collected at one point. At the condensing point, light having many different emission angles is superimposed to generate a complicated interference pattern, so that the image formed on the screen has spatially high frequency components. Interference patterns that have changed due to minute beam spot position fluctuations due to scanning by the scanning means are patterns that have a low correlation with each other, so in human vision they are integrated over time, so speckle noise is reduced. Perceived images.

  In the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the dividing means is a diffracting means for diffracting the scanning light, and the plurality of divided lights are obtained by making the scanning light incident on the diffracting means, and are a plurality of emission angles and phases different from each other. It is preferably diffracted light.

  As a result, the light is converted into a large number of divided light beams having complex wavefronts and angles by the diffraction means, so that light having a large number of different phases and angles is superimposed on the light condensing point by the refraction means. Interference pattern occurs. Therefore, since the image formed on the screen has a spatially higher frequency component, an image in which speckle noise is further reduced can be generated.

  In the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the diffractive means is preferably a diffraction grating, a random phase plate, a diffusion plate, a lenticular lens, or a microlens array.

  In the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the refracting means is preferably a lens having a positive refractive power.

  In the image processing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the dividing unit is disposed at a conjugate point on the object side of the refracting unit.

  Thereby, since a condensing degree can further be raised by a refracting means, it becomes possible to provide a high-definition image.

  In the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the first lens is disposed between the scanning unit and the dividing unit, and the first lens divides the scanning light emitted from the scanning unit as light parallel to the optical axis of the dividing unit. It is preferable to emit to the side.

  By emitting parallel light, the influence of the difference in the incident angle from the scanning means can be suppressed, and the characteristics of the divided light can be maintained regardless of the position on the dividing means, thereby improving the quality of the image generated on the screen. Can be increased.

  In the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the second lens is disposed between the refracting means and the screen, and the second lens emits the light emitted from the refracting means to the screen side as light parallel to the optical axis of the screen. Is preferred.

  By emitting the parallel light, it is possible to suppress the influence of the difference in incident angle from the refracting means, and to improve the quality of the image generated regardless of the position on the screen.

  In the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the laser light source preferably emits amplitude-modulated light.

  In the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the screen is preferably a diffusing unit that diffuses incident light from the refracting unit.

  The image processing apparatus of the present invention preferably includes a projection optical system that is installed in a vehicle and generates a projection image on a windshield based on an image formed on a screen.

  In the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the dividing means is a microlens array that divides and collects scanning light, and the plurality of divided lights are obtained by making the scanning light incident on the microlens array. Are preferably a plurality of split lights.

  According to the present invention, speckle noise can be reduced effectively and at low cost even in an image processing apparatus that has a short display time of one pixel for forming an image by scanning with laser light.

1 is a side view showing a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the laser light source shown in FIG. (A) is a top view which shows the structure of the random phase plate shown in FIG. 1, (B) is sectional drawing in the IVB-IVB line | wire of (A). It is an image which shows the experimental result using the Example of the image processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment. 6 is a graph showing amplitude characteristics of light intensity (luminance) along the line A-A ′ in FIG. 5. (A) is a top view which shows the structure of the micro lens array as a division | segmentation means in 3rd Embodiment, (B) is a side view of the micro lens array shown to (A).

  Hereinafter, an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
The first embodiment is an embodiment in which the image processing device of the present invention is applied to a vehicle head-up display device. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a configuration of an image processing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the image processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of the laser light source 20 shown in FIG. 4A is a plan view showing the configuration of the random phase plate 42, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line IVB-IVB in FIG. 4A. In each figure, XYZ coordinates are shown as reference coordinates. The Z direction is along the optical axis direction of the first lens 41, the random phase plate 42, the positive lens 43, the second lens 44, and the screen 45, and the XY plane is a plane orthogonal to the Z direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, the image processing apparatus 10 includes a laser light source 20, a scanner 30 as a scanning unit, a first lens 41, a random phase plate 42 as a dividing unit, and a positive unit as a refracting unit. A lens 43, a second lens 44, a screen 45 as a diffusing unit, a projection mirror 51 as a projection optical system, a laser driver 21, a scanner driver 31, a control unit 70, and a memory 71 are provided. Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the first lens 41, the random phase plate 42, the positive lens 43, the second lens 44, and the screen 45 are arranged so that the extension lines of the optical axes overlap each other along the Z direction. They are arranged in order from the scanner 30 side to the projection mirror 51 side.

  The laser light source 20 is a light source that emits amplitude-modulated visible region laser light as parallel light, and emits light having an intensity corresponding to the amount of current supplied from the laser driver 21. This light has a point-like cross section perpendicular to the traveling direction, and the amplitude modulation and the amount of current supplied from the laser driver 21 are controlled by the control unit 70.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the laser light source 20 includes three laser diodes 22a, 23a, and 24a, three collimator lenses 22b, 23b, and 24b, a mirror 22c, and two dichroic prisms 23c and 24c.

  The laser diode 22a is a laser diode that emits red laser light. The laser light emitted from the laser diode 22a is collimated by the collimator lens 22b and reflected by the mirror 22c toward the dichroic prism 23c.

  The laser diode 23a is a laser diode that emits green laser light. The laser light emitted from the laser diode 23a is collimated by the collimator lens 23b and reflected by the dichroic prism 23c toward the dichroic prism 24c. The dichroic prism 23c reflects the green light emitted from the collimator lens 23b and transmits the red light reflected by the mirror 22c to the dichroic prism 24c side.

The laser diode 24a is a laser diode that emits blue laser light. The laser light emitted from the laser diode 24a is collimated by the collimator lens 24b and reflected to the scanner 30 side by the dichroic prism 24c. The dichroic prism 24c reflects the blue light emitted from the collimator lens 24b and transmits the combined light of the red light and the green light emitted from the dichroic prism 23c to the scanner 30 side.
The laser light source 20 may be composed of a monochromatic laser diode.

  The scanner 30 is, for example, a galvanometer mirror, and as a two-dimensional scanner, the reflection surface 33 is rotated about two rotation axes by the scanner driver 31. The laser light emitted from the laser light source 20 is emitted as scanning light by being reflected by the rotating reflecting surface 33. In this scanning, first, light for one line is irradiated onto the first lens 41 by rotation about a first rotation axis (not shown) along the Y direction. Next, after a predetermined amount of rotation about the second rotation axis 32 along the X direction, the rotation for the next one line is performed by rotating about the first rotation axis. Is irradiated downward in the Y direction, and light of one frame is irradiated onto the first lens 41 by repeating these steps. The rotation direction and rotation speed of the scanner 30 are controlled by the control unit 70, and the scanner driver 31 rotates the scanner 30 in accordance with a control signal from the control unit 70. The second rotation shaft 32 of the scanner 30 is disposed on an extension line of the optical axis 42 x of the random phase plate 42.

  The first lens 41 is a lens having a positive refractive power and emits the reflected light from the scanner 30 to the random phase plate 42 side in parallel with the optical axis 42x of the random phase plate 42.

  The random phase plate 42 diffracts incident light from the first lens 41 and emits a plurality of diffracted lights having different emission angles and phases. The random phase plate 42 is formed by resin molding, for example. For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, the random phase plate 42 is divided into small square cells S, and the thickness of each cell S in the Z direction is changed. Further, the phase of transmitted light is set to be different by approximately π / 2 between adjacent cells. The plane area of the cell S (area on the XY plane) is set smaller than the beam diameter of the irradiated light.

  In the random phase plate 42, eight line patterns 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, and 428 are formed from the upper side in the Y direction so as to correspond to the lines irradiated by the scanner 30. Each line pattern is composed of eight cells S. As illustrated in FIG. 4B, these line patterns include a plurality of convex portions 42c (lenslets) on the incident surface 42a out of two surfaces (incident surface 42a and output surface 42b) facing each other in the Z direction. It is formed, and this changes the thickness. These protrusions 42c protrude in a direction orthogonal to the plane (Z direction), and are arranged so that the distribution of the protrusion amount of the protrusions is irregular, and four types of protrusions 42c0 with protrusion amounts, 42c1, 42c2, and 42c3 are set. With such a configuration, the random phase plate 42 can generate high-order diffracted light such as zero-order light, first-order light, second-order light,. Accordingly, since the incident light can be divided to generate diffracted light having many different exit angles and phases, the spatial regularity of the incident scanning light can be disturbed.

  Here, the convex portion 42c may be provided on the exit surface 42b, or may be provided on both the entrance surface 42a and the exit surface 42b. In addition to the random phase plate, a diffraction grating, a diffusion plate, a lenticular lens, or a microlens array can be used as the dividing means. Further, the splitting means may be an element that forms a plurality of split lights that differ only in the emission angle of the scanning light. Furthermore, even if the first lens 41 is omitted and the emitted light from the scanner 30 is directly incident on the random phase plate 42, a plurality of divided lights can be obtained.

  The positive lens 43 is a biconvex positive lens, and condenses the diffracted light emitted from each point (each pixel) of the random phase plate 42 at one point at the conjugate point f2 on the image side for each emission point. Let The surface shape of the positive lens 43 is designed based on the surface shape of the random phase plate 42 so that the light divided by the random phase plate 42 is condensed at one point at the conjugate point f2. At the conjugate point f2 of the positive lens 43, interference fringes are generated by a plurality of lights divided by the random phase plate 42 and having different phases from the emission angles, and an image is formed by condensing. As the refracting means, instead of the positive lens 43, a single lens having a positive refractive power of another shape, a concave mirror, or an optical system having a positive refractive power as a whole may be configured by a plurality of lenses. Good.

  The second lens 44 is a lens having a positive refractive power, and emits light incident from the positive lens 43 to the screen 45 side as light parallel to the optical axis 45 c of the screen 45. The screen 45 is, for example, a diffuser that emits incident light from the second lens 44 to the projection mirror 51 side as diffused light having a divergence angle.

  At the incident point of the screen 45, a large number of lights having different phases and emission angles are superimposed, and a large number of interference patterns are spatially superimposed, so that a complicated interference pattern is generated. For this reason, the light incident on the screen 45 has a spatially high frequency component, and the interference pattern changes greatly due to a slight change in the beam spot position accompanying the scanning by the scanner 30. To change. When such a light is seen by a human, a large number of interference patterns having low correlation are recognized in a temporally integrated form, and thus are perceived as an image with reduced speckle noise.

  Here, the random phase plate 42 is disposed at the conjugate point f 1 on the object side of the positive lens 43, and the second lens 44 is disposed at the conjugate point f 2 on the image side of the positive lens 43. As a result, the light having the random phase plate 42 as the emission point is focused on one point on the second lens 44 with high accuracy, so that a high-definition image can be obtained.

  Further, the second lens 44 may be omitted, and the screen 45 may be disposed at the conjugate point f2 on the image side of the positive lens 43. In this case, the plurality of lights emitted from the respective points of the random phase plate 42 and refracted by the positive lens 43 are condensed at one point on the screen 45 for each emission point.

  The projection mirror 51 is a concave mirror (magnifying mirror) having a reflecting surface 51a. Projection light including an image formed on the screen 45 is magnified and reflected by the projection mirror 51. This reflected light is projected onto the display area of the windshield 61 of the vehicle. Since this display area functions as a semi-reflective surface, the incident image light is reflected toward the driver and a virtual image is formed at the front position P1 of the windshield. By visually observing the virtual image in front of the windshield 61, it appears to the driver's eyes E that various types of information are displayed in front of the steering wheel. Here, a configuration in which the reflected light from the projection mirror 51 is incident on another projection mirror and further magnified and reflected by this mirror is also possible.

  FIG. 5 is an image showing an experimental result using an example of the image processing apparatus 10 of the first embodiment, and FIG. 6 shows an amplitude characteristic of light intensity (luminance) along the line AA ′ in FIG. It is a graph. FIG. 5 is a photograph taken of the vicinity of the center in the Y direction among the images formed on the screen 45. The horizontal axis in FIG. 6 corresponds to the coordinates in the X direction. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a circular through hole is provided in the center of the XY plane of the random phase plate 42. Further, the light applied to the random phase plate 42 is uniform in both the light intensity and the wavelength within the plane.

  As shown in FIG. 5, speckles having high light intensity appear in a substantially circular region C at the center in the X direction corresponding to the through hole. In FIG. 6, pixels in the range corresponding to the through hole (on the horizontal axis) It is understood that a high light intensity of 200 or more appears at about 150 to 300), and speckles having a large peak-to-peak value are generated. On the other hand, the light intensity is suppressed low except in the central portion in the X direction (region C in FIG. 5), and it can be confirmed that the speckle is greatly reduced by the configuration shown in FIG. Moreover, 0.11 to 0.15 was measured as speckle contrast between the region C in FIG. 5 and the other regions. This measurement result shows that the speckle is at a level that is hardly worried subjectively.

  With the configuration as described above, the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment has the following effects.

  In a display using a laser light source, speckles as interference patterns are perceived as noise. In a display using a two-dimensional spatial light modulator, by changing the speckle pattern in a frame period (for example, 1/60 seconds = 16.7 ms), the integrated image is perceived by the user's eyes, thereby causing an afterimage. The speckle noise can be greatly reduced by using the effect. However, in a display that forms an image using a two-dimensional scanner, such as the image processing apparatus 10 of the first embodiment, the display period of one pixel is only tens of ns. Therefore, many speckle patterns are changed during this period. It is difficult to reduce speckle noise to the extent that it is not perceived by the user. On the other hand, although a method for changing the speckle pattern at high speed using an electro-optic effect element has been proposed, there is a problem that the cost increases.

  In order to deal with such a problem, in the image processing apparatus 10 of the first embodiment, the laser light scanned by the scanner 30 has a large number of complex wavefronts and angles with a random phase plate 42 as a dividing unit. The light is converted into light, and further condensed using a positive lens 43 to form an image on the screen 45. At this imaging point, a large number of lights having different phases and angles are superimposed to generate a complicated interference pattern. For this reason, since the image formed on the screen 45 has a spatially high frequency component, the interference pattern greatly changes due to a minute change in the beam spot position accompanying the scanning by the scanner 30. Since the interference pattern thus changed is a pattern with low correlation, it is integrated over time in human vision, so that an image with reduced speckle noise is perceived.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a laser light source having a one-dimensional spatial light modulator (SLM) and a one-dimensional scanner are used instead of the laser light source 20 and the scanner 30 of the first embodiment. . Since the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same members as those of the first embodiment will be described using the same reference numerals.

  In the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment, the one-dimensional scanner is irradiated with laser light modulated by a one-dimensional spatial modulator and having a linear cross section in the traveling direction, and the first lens 41 receives scanning light from the one-dimensional scanner. Is irradiated. The light applied to the first lens 41 corresponds to pixels of one line (line along the X direction) in one frame image to be formed. The one-dimensional scanner includes a rotation shaft having the same configuration and arrangement as the second rotation shaft 32 of the scanner 30 of the first embodiment. In the scanning by the one-dimensional scanner, one line along the X direction is irradiated onto the first lens 41 by one irradiation from the laser light source, and the next one line is moved in the Y direction by the rotation of the one-dimensional scanner. The light is irradiated to the lower side, and light for one frame is irradiated by repeating this. The rotation direction and rotation speed of the one-dimensional scanner are controlled by the control unit 70 as in the scanner 30 of the first embodiment, and the scanner driver 31 rotates the scanner 30 according to the control signal from the control unit 70. Let

  The first lens 41 emits light parallel to the optical axis 42x of the random phase plate 42, similarly to the first embodiment, regardless of the scanning position by the one-dimensional scanner. Light emitted from the first lens 41 enters the random phase plate 42 and is emitted as a plurality of diffracted lights having different emission angles and phases. The plurality of diffracted lights are imaged on the second lens 44 by the positive lens 43 so as to correspond to the emission points on the random phase plate 42. The second lens 44 emits the light incident from the positive lens 43 to the screen 45 side as light parallel to the optical axis 45 c of the screen 45. At the incident point of the screen 45, as in the first embodiment, a large number of lights having different phases and angles are superimposed, a large number of spatial interference patterns are superimposed, and a complicated interference pattern is generated. For this reason, the light incident on the screen 45 has a spatially high frequency component, and the interference pattern changes greatly with the scanning by the one-dimensional scanner. When such a light is seen by a human, a large number of interference patterns having low correlation are recognized in a temporally integrated form, and thus are perceived as an image with reduced speckle noise. The screen 45 emits incident light with an appropriate divergence angle as a diffusing means.

The image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment scans laser light having a linear cross section with a one-dimensional scanner. However, even in such an image processing apparatus, since the display period of one line is short, speckle has been conventionally used. It was difficult to reduce noise. On the other hand, in the image processing apparatus of the second embodiment, the laser light scanned by the one-dimensional scanner is converted into a large number of lights having complicated wavefronts and angles by the random phase plate 42, and further, a positive lens 43 is condensed to form an image on the screen 45. For this reason, a large number of light beams having different phases and angles are superimposed on the image formation point on the screen 45 to generate a complicated interference pattern, and the image formed on the screen 45 has a spatially high frequency component. Will have. The interference pattern changes greatly due to the minute fluctuations in the beam spot position associated with scanning by a one-dimensional scanner, and the interference pattern thus changed is a pattern with low correlation. Thus, an image with reduced speckle noise is perceived.
Other configurations, operations, and effects are the same as those in the first embodiment.

<Third Embodiment>
In the third embodiment, instead of the random phase plate 42 of the first and second embodiments, a microlens array is used as a dividing unit. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

  FIG. 7A is a plan view showing a configuration of a microlens array 142 as a dividing unit in the third embodiment, and FIG. 7B is a side view of the microlens array 142 shown in FIG. 7A. The microlens array 142 is provided with a plurality of minute convex lenses 142a protruding in the Z direction at regular intervals in the X direction and the Y direction. The microlens array 142 is arranged so that the convex lens 142a faces the first lens 41 so that the optical axis thereof is along the Z direction.

  The light emitted from the first lens 41 travels parallel to the Z direction and enters the convex lens 142a at the corresponding position. The light incident on each convex lens 142 a is emitted as divided light, and is condensed according to the refractive power of the convex lens 142 a, and enters the positive lens 43. In this way, the plurality of split lights emitted from the microlens array 142 have different emission positions on the emission surface 142b of the microlens array 142. Here, if the shape of each convex lens 142a is different, the light emitted from each convex lens becomes light having different emission angles. Further, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the light emitted from the scanner 30 is directly incident on the microlens array 142 without providing the first lens 41. In this case, light having different emission angles is emitted from each convex lens. To do.

In this way, by emitting a plurality of divided lights having different emission angles and emission positions from the microlens array 142, the laser light scanned by the scanner 30 becomes a large number of lights having complex wavefronts and angles. Since it is converted, the speckle noise can be reduced effectively and at a low cost, as in the first embodiment or the second embodiment.
Other configurations, operations, and effects are the same as those in the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

  Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be improved or changed within the scope of the purpose of the improvement or the idea of the present invention.

  As described above, the image processing apparatus according to the present invention is useful for an image processing apparatus that scans a laser beam to form an image, and is useful in that speckle noise can be effectively reduced at low cost. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image processing apparatus 20 Laser light source 22a, 23a, 24a Laser diode 22b, 23b, 24b Collimator lens 22c Mirror 23c, 24c Dichroic prism 30 Scanner (scanning means)
41 First lens 42 Random phase plate (dividing means, diffracting means)
42a Incident surface 42b Output surface 42c Convex part 42x Optical axis 43 Positive lens (refractive means)
44 Second lens 45 Screen (Diffusion means)
45c Optical axis 51 Projection mirror (projection optical system)
61 Windshield 142 Micro lens array (dividing means)

Claims (11)

A laser light source;
Scanning means for scanning laser light emitted from the laser light source;
A dividing unit that divides the scanning light emitted from the scanning unit into a plurality of divided lights having different emission angles;
Refracting means for refracting the plurality of split lights and condensing them at one point at a conjugate point on the image side;
A screen disposed at the conjugate point, on which an image is formed by light emitted from the refracting means;
An image processing apparatus comprising: The dividing means is a diffracting means for diffracting the scanning light, and the plurality of divided lights are a plurality of diffracted lights having different emission angles and phases obtained by making the scanning light incident on the diffracting means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus is provided. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the diffraction unit is a diffraction grating, a random phase plate, a diffusion plate, a lenticular lens, or a microlens array. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the refracting unit is a lens having a positive refractive power. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dividing unit is disposed at a conjugate point on the object side of the refraction unit. A first lens is disposed between the scanning means and the dividing means;
6. The first lens according to claim 1, wherein the first lens emits the scanning light emitted from the scanning unit to the dividing unit side as light parallel to an optical axis of the dividing unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. A second lens is disposed between the refraction means and the screen;
7. The second lens according to claim 1, wherein the second lens emits light emitted from the refracting means to the screen side as light parallel to the optical axis of the screen. Image processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the laser light source emits amplitude-modulated light. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the screen is a diffusing unit that diffuses incident light from the refracting unit. The image processing apparatus is installed in a vehicle,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a projection optical system that generates a projection image on a windshield based on an image formed on the screen.   The dividing unit is a microlens array that divides and collects the scanning light, and the plurality of divided lights have different emission angles and emission positions obtained by making the scanning light incident on the microlens array. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus includes a plurality of divided lights.