JP2924684B2 - Optical scanning device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates are those which relate to an optical scanning apparatus used by scanning a light beam modulated by an image signal on a recording medium in a laser beam printer or the like for recording images.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a device such as a laser beam printer, a scanning optical device for generating a scanning light in order to increase the productivity of the device and facilitate repair and maintenance. A sub-scanning conveyance system that conveys a photoconductor carrying image information in the sub-scanning direction is formed as a unit, and is configured by combining both.

FIG. 6 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-128411. The optical scanning device 110 disclosed in this publication is designed to improve the quality of recorded information.
A light source 112 for generating a light beam, a deflecting member 114 for deflecting the light beam from the light source 112 in the main scanning direction, and various optical elements such as a lens 116, and these optical elements are housed and supported at a predetermined position. Optical box 118 serving as an optical surface plate to perform, and optical box 118 closing an opening of optical box 118.
Dust cover 120 for preventing dust and dirt from entering the inside
And

That is, such an optical scanning device 110 is
The optical box 118 opened as described above is provided with the plate-shaped lid 12.
It is configured by fixing and closing 0. However,
Since the optical box 118 has a structure having a large opening as shown in the figure, it has a drawback of low rigidity and low strength. There is a risk that the positional relationship of the optical elements will be deviated, or the optical element will be damaged or broken.

On the other hand, there are known optical scanning devices disclosed in JP-A-3-259107 and JP-A-59-140578.

FIG. 7 shows an example according to JP-A-3-259107. As shown in FIG. 7, this optical scanning device 130 has optical boxes 138 having substantially the same shape as each other.
And the lid 140 are combined to form a structure that can be mutually connected, and the deflecting member 1 is provided between the optical box 138 and the lid 140.
By holding the optical element such as the lens 34 and the lens 136, the optical element is positioned and held, thereby increasing the rigidity of the optical box 138 and the lid 140.

FIG. 8 and FIG.
8 shows an example according to No. 8. Optical scanning device 1 of this example
Reference numeral 50 designates a state in which the lid 160 is combined with the optical box 158, and then the optical elements such as the deflecting member 154 and the lens 156 are assembled to adjust the positions of these optical elements. And optical box 158 at the time of adjustment
The purpose is to increase the rigidity of the device.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 3-25
In the case of No. 9107, although the disadvantage of the optical scanning device 110 of JP-A-60-128411 can be solved,
8 and the lid 140 both have a complicated shape, and furthermore, it is necessary to combine these members and combine them.
In addition, a high dimensional accuracy is required for the lid 140, which causes an increase in the manufacturing cost of the optical scanning device.

Further, after adjusting the optical positional relationship, the position of the optical element is shifted because the optical element is sandwiched, so that the adjustment state may not be maintained until the end of assembly.

On the other hand, in the case of Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 59-140578, the position of the optical element is adjusted in a state where the optical box 158 and the lid 160 are assembled. The rigidity at the time of attachment is high, but even with such a structure, the effect of improving the rigidity is small at locations other than the vicinity of the fastening portion between the optical box 158 and the lid 160. Also, in the case of the large lid 160 having a plate shape as shown in these figures, a gap is easily formed between the optical box 158 and the lid 160, and the dust resistance is poor.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical scanning device which does not cause positional deviation of these optical elements after assembly of the optical elements and which is excellent in dust prevention at low cost.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical scanning device including a light source for generating a light beam and a deflecting member that bends the light beam from the light source to generate scanning light.
An optical scanning device having an optical box to which a condenser lens for condensing a light beam converted into scanning light by the deflecting member is attached .
Therefore, the optical box has a long length in the scanning direction of the scanning light.
An opening is formed, and the condenser lens is formed inside the opening.
Side, and the opening is closed.
You.

An optical scanning device according to a second aspect of the present invention is a light source for generating a light beam, a lens member for performing necessary processing while transmitting the light beam from the light source, and a scanning light by bending the light beam from the lens member. A deflecting member, a condensing lens for condensing a light beam converted into scanning light by the deflecting member, and an opening in which the light source, the lens member, the deflecting member, and the condensing lens are respectively mounted. An optical box that is sealed by closing the opening by attaching a member.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical scanning device, comprising: a light source for generating a light beam; a lens member for performing necessary processing while transmitting the light beam from the light source; and a scanning light by bending the light beam from the lens member. A deflecting member, a condensing lens for condensing a light beam that has been turned into scanning light by the deflecting member, and the light source, the lens member, the deflecting member, and the condensing lens being attached to the outside while being adjustable from outside. And an optical box that is sealed by closing these openings by attaching these members.

[0015]

The operation of the optical scanning device according to the first aspect will be described below.

The deflecting member bends the light beam from the light source into scanning light, and condenses the light beam converted into scanning light by the deflecting member by a condenser lens. The light source and the deflection member are housed.
Optical box has a long opening along the scanning direction of the scanning light.
Are formed. Inside this opening, there is a condenser lens
Is fitted to close the opening.

Accordingly, since it is not necessary to use a large lid to cover the optical box, it is not necessary to provide a large open portion in the optical box, and the rigidity is not reduced. In addition, since the opening of the optical box is closed with a condenser lens instead of the lid, not only the dust-proofing of the optical scanning device is improved without using a lid, but the rigidity of the optical box is further enhanced by the condenser lens. As a result, even if an external impact is applied, the positional relationship among the optical elements such as the light source, the deflecting member, and the condenser lens may be deviated, and the possibility that the optical elements may be damaged or malfunction may be reduced.

Furthermore, since there is no lid, it is not necessary to combine the optical box with the lid, and the optical box is not required to have high dimensional accuracy, so that the optical scanning device can be manufactured at low cost.

The operation of the optical scanning device according to claim 2 will be described below. The deflecting member bends the light beam emitted from the light source through the lens member into scanning light, and the light beam converted into the scanning light by the deflecting member is collected by the condenser lens. And
The light source, the lens member, the deflecting member, and the condenser lens are respectively attached to the openings of the optical box, and the openings are closed, so that the optical box is sealed.

Accordingly, since it is not necessary to use a large lid to cover the optical box, it is not necessary to provide a large open portion in the optical box, and the rigidity is not reduced. In addition, since the opening of the optical box is closed with a light source, a lens member, a deflecting member, and a condenser lens instead of the lid, not only the dustproofness of the optical scanning device is improved without using the lid, but also these optical By mounting the element, the rigidity of the optical box is further increased, and even if an external impact is applied, the positional relationship of the optical element is not likely to be deviated, and the risk of damage or failure of the optical element is reduced.

Furthermore, since there is no lid, it is not necessary to combine the optical box with the lid, and the optical box is not required to have high dimensional accuracy, and the optical scanning device can be manufactured at low cost.

The operation of the optical scanning device according to claim 3 will be described below. According to this aspect, the same operation as that of the second aspect is achieved, but the light source, the lens member, the deflecting member, and the condenser lens can be attached to the opening from the outside of the optical box while the mounting position can be adjusted from outside the optical box. Since they can be mounted, the positions of these optical elements can be easily adjusted with high precision.

[0023]

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

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the scanning optical device 10 of this embodiment. As shown in this figure, the light source in the scanning optical device 10 is constituted by, for example, a semiconductor laser 12 that generates a light beam, and passes a light beam emitted from the semiconductor laser 12 while being collimated (that is, converted into a parallel light beam). A collimating lens 14 is disposed adjacent to the semiconductor laser 12. Then, on the optical axis of the semiconductor laser 12, a cylindrical lens 16 for converting the collimated light beam into a linear shape, and a rotating polygon mirror 18 serving as a deflecting member which bends the light beam while rotating in the direction of the arrow to produce scanning light. Is arranged. Therefore, the collimating lens 14 and the cylindrical lens 16 constitute a lens member that transmits a light beam from the semiconductor laser 12 and performs necessary processing.

Further, a condensing lens 20 for condensing light is arranged between the rotating polygon mirror 18 and the photosensitive member 22 to which the light deflected by the rotating polygon mirror 18 is transmitted.

Accordingly, by driving the semiconductor laser 12 according to the image information signal, the semiconductor laser 12 emits the laser beam L according to the image information.
Then, the laser beam L collimated by the collimating lens 14 passes through the cylindrical lens 16, is imaged linearly on the rotating polygon mirror 18, and is deflected by the rotating polygon mirror 18 rotating in the arrow direction. The deflected laser beam L is condensed by the condensing lens 20 and forms an image on the photoreceptor 22 which is the surface to be scanned by the laser beam L.

At this time, the condensing lens 20 corrects the scanning speed on the photoreceptor 22 so that the scanning speed becomes constant, and scans the scanning position on the photoreceptor 22 caused by a variation in the inclination of the reflection surface of the rotary polygon mirror 18. Is also corrected (also referred to as surface tilt correction). As a result, a latent image corresponding to the image information is formed on the photoconductor 22.

Around the photosensitive member 22, a known charge,
A well-known image forming process device such as a developing unit, a transferring unit and a cleaning unit is provided.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an optical scanning device 10 according to the present embodiment. FIGS. 2 to 4 are sectional views of the optical scanning device 10, respectively.

As shown in these figures, an opening 28 having a rectangular cross section that is long along the main scanning direction S is formed at one end of an optical box 26 formed of synthetic resin or the like by integral molding. The condenser lens 20 is fitted into the opening 28 and adhered by an adhesive or an elastic body (not shown), and the condenser lens 20 is closed with the opening 28 closed. Fixed to

The semiconductor laser 12 is fixed to a substrate 42 having a circuit for driving the semiconductor laser 12, and the substrate 42 has a pair of through holes 42A into which screws 44 are inserted. I have. Therefore, the substrate 42 is screwed to the side surface of the optical box 26 with the screw 44 inserted into the through-hole 42A while the semiconductor laser 12 is opposed to the opening 30 formed on the side surface of the optical box 26. The semiconductor laser 12 is mounted while being housed in the box 26.

Further, the collimating lens 14 is
The support member 46 is formed with a pair of through-holes 46A through which screws 48 are inserted. For this reason, the opening 3 formed on the upper surface of the optical box 26 adjacent to the opening 30 by the screw 48 inserted into the through-hole 46A.
2, the supporting member 46 is screwed onto the upper surface of the optical box 26 while the collimating lens 14 is inserted into the optical box 26,
The collimating lens 14 is stored in the optical box 26.
Is attached.

The cylindrical lens 16 is supported by a supporting member 50, and the supporting member 50 includes a screw 5
A pair of through-holes 50 </ b> A into which the holes 2 are inserted are formed. For this reason, with the screw 52 inserted through the through-hole 50A,
The cylindrical lens 1 is inserted into the optical box 26 through an opening 34 formed on the upper surface of the optical box 26 adjacent to the opening 32.
While inserting 6, the support member 50 is screwed to the upper surface of the optical box 26, and the cylindrical lens 16 is attached in a state of being housed in the optical box 26.

The rotary polygon mirror 18 is fixed to a rotating shaft of a motor 54, and is rotated by the motor 54. At four corners of the motor 54, through holes 54A through which screws 58 are inserted are formed. For this reason, the screw 58 inserted into the through hole 54A allows the optical box 2
6 while the rotating polygon mirror 18 is inserted into the optical box 26 through the circular opening 36 formed in the optical box 26.
The rotating polygon mirror 18 is attached to the optical box 26 while being screwed to the upper surface of the optical box 26.

The condenser lens 20 and the semiconductor laser 1
2. Collimating lens 14, cylindrical lens 16
In a state where the rotary polygon mirror 18 is attached and fixed to the optical scanning device 10, the openings 28, 3
0, 32, 34 and 36 are closed, and the optical box 26 is sealed. Then, as described above, these members act to form a latent image corresponding to the image information on the photoconductor 22.

Next, the assembly of the optical scanning device 10 according to this embodiment will be described. First, the condenser lens 20 is fixed to the opening 28 of the optical box 26 from the outside of the optical box 26 by bonding or the like, and the opening 28 is closed. The motor 54 is attached to the optical box 26 in a form inserted into the optical box 26.

Further, the collimating lens 14 and the cylindrical lens 16 are temporarily fixed to the optical box 26 by screws from the outside, and thereafter, the substrate 42 is attached from the outside of the optical box 26, and the substrate 42 is moved in the X direction (see FIG. 2). 4) and in the Y direction (shown in FIG. 4) to adjust the coaxiality between the semiconductor laser 12 and the collimating lens 14. After the adjustment, the semiconductor laser 12 is fixed to the optical box 26 via the substrate 42 with the screws 44. At this time, since the through hole 42A has a margin for the outer diameter of the screw 44, the substrate 42 can easily move in the X direction and the Y direction.

Next, the screw 48 is loosened and the collimator lens 14 is moved in the direction F (the optical axis direction of the semiconductor laser 12) (FIG. 4).
The focus is adjusted in the scanning direction of the light beam. After the adjustment, the collimator lens 14 is fixed to the optical box 26 with the screw 48. At this time, since the through-hole 46A into which the screw 48 is inserted is formed in an elongated shape, the collimator lens 14 can be easily moved.

Finally, the screw 52 is loosened and the cylindrical lens 16 is moved in the direction F of the semiconductor laser 12 to perform focus adjustment in the non-scanning direction. After the adjustment, the cylindrical lens 16 is fixed to the optical box 26 with the screw 52. At this time, since the through-hole 50A into which the screw 52 is inserted is formed in a long hole shape, the cylindrical lens 16 can be easily moved.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below. Since it is not necessary to use a large lid to cover the optical box 26, it is not necessary to provide a large open portion in the optical box 26, and the rigidity is not reduced. Also, a semiconductor laser 12 instead of the lid,
Since the openings 28, 30, 32, 34, and 36 of the optical box 26 are closed by optical elements such as the collimator lens 14, the cylindrical lens 16, the rotary polygon mirror 18, and the condenser lens 20, the optical scanning device 10 In addition to increasing the dust resistance, the optical box 26
The rigidity of the optical element is further increased, and even if an external impact is applied, the positional relationship between the optical elements is deviated, and the risk of causing damage or failure to the optical element is reduced.

In particular, unlike the optical scanning device 110 disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-128411, which has a large opening above, a rectangular opening 28 elongated in the main scanning direction S is provided. By adopting the optical box 26 formed with, compared with the conventional optical box, a half cross-sectional area is required to obtain the same strength, and the material cost is reduced. In addition, when the cross-sectional area is the same, the strength is 1.5 times as high as that of a conventional optical box having a large opening upward, so that an extremely rigid optical box 26 having the same weight can be formed.

In other words, even if a low-rigidity and low-cost material is used, it is possible to obtain an optical box that is sufficiently practical.

In this embodiment, since the upper and lower surfaces are substantially symmetrical in cross section in FIG. 4, when the optical box 26 is formed of resin, it is possible to stably maintain high accuracy.

Furthermore, since there is no lid, it is not necessary to combine the optical box 26 with the lid, and the adjustment at the time of attaching the lid does not occur, so that the optical box 26 is required to have high dimensional accuracy. Thus, the optical scanning device 10 with high image quality can be manufactured at low cost. Further, in this embodiment, since errors due to assembly can be absorbed by adjustment, it is not necessary to make the accuracy of the optical element and the like strict as in the conventional case.

On the other hand, the semiconductor laser 12, the collimating lens 14, the cylindrical lens 16, the rotary polygon mirror 18, and the condenser lens 20 allow the mounting position to be adjusted from outside the optical box 26 while the opening 28 3
Since the optical elements are attached to 0, 32, 34, and 36, the positions of these optical elements can be easily adjusted with high precision.

In the present embodiment, the collimating lens 14 and the cylindrical lens 16 are used as lens members, but it goes without saying that, for example, a reflection mirror (not shown) is also included in the lens member.

[0047]

Optical scanning apparatus of the present invention as has been described above, according to the present invention is a low cost, with no cause deviation in the positional relation of these optical elements after the assembly of the optical element, an excellent effect of being excellent in dustproof Have.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an optical scanning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an optical scanning device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an optical scanning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a conventional first optical scanning device.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a second conventional optical scanning device.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a third conventional optical scanning device.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a third conventional optical scanning device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Optical scanning device 12 Semiconductor laser (light source) 14 Collimating lens (lens member) 16 Cylindrical lens (lens member) 18 Rotating polygon mirror (deflection member) 20 Condensing lens 26 Optical box 28 Opening 30 Opening 32 Opening 34 Opening Part 36 Opening

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A light source for generating a light beam and a deflecting member that bends the light beam from the light source to be scanning light are housed, and a condenser lens that condenses the light beam converted into scanning light by the deflecting member is provided. Optical scanning device having attached optical box
The optical box has an opening that is long along the scanning direction of the scanning light.
Is formed, and the condenser lens is fitted inside the opening, and the opening is formed.
An optical scanning device having a closed mouth. 2. A light source for generating a light beam; a lens member for performing necessary processing while passing the light beam from the light source; a deflecting member for bending the light beam from the lens member to generate scanning light; A condensing lens for condensing a light beam that has been turned into scanning light by the member, and an opening in which the light source, the lens member, the deflecting member, and the condensing lens are respectively mounted,
An optical box which is sealed by closing the opening by attaching these members. A light source for generating a light beam; a lens member for performing necessary processing while passing the light beam from the light source; a deflecting member for bending the light beam from the lens member to generate scanning light; A condensing lens for condensing a light beam which has been converted into scanning light by a member, and an opening in which the light source, the lens member, the deflecting member, and the condensing lens are respectively mounted from the outside while the mounting position can be adjusted from the outside. An optical box having an opening closed by closing the opening by mounting these members.