JPH11249046A - Production of light beam generator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and exactly set an optical lens and a light source at prescribed positions by interposing an adhesive agent between a lensbarrel and a main barrel, press-fitting one of the lens-barrel and the main barrel into the other and setting an optical lens held on the lens-barrel and a light source held on the main barrel at prescribed positions. SOLUTION: A semiconductor laser (light source) 12 is fixed through a supporting member 11 to a main barrel 10 by a screw. On the other hand, a collimator lens (optical lens) 21 is fitted into a lens-barrel 20 and fixed by the adhesive agent or the like. A slit member 30 is inserted, fitted into the lens-barrel 20 holding this collimator lens 21 so that the direction of a slit 31 can become a prescribed direction, and fixed by the adhesive agent or the like and the lens-barrel 20 and the slit member 30 are integrated. Next, a rib part 33 is press-fitted so as to be fitted to a recessed part 14 formed between protruding parts 13. Then, the collimator lens 21 and the semiconductor laser 12 are set at prescribed positions.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a light beam generator for converting the degree of divergence of a light beam emitted from a light source held by a main barrel by an optical lens held by a lens barrel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art By an optical lens held in a lens barrel,
A light beam generator that converts the divergence of a light beam emitted from a light source held by a main body is used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and the like. In this image forming apparatus, a light beam emitted from a light beam generator (a light beam emitted from a light source and having a divergence converted by an optical lens) is imaged on a photosensitive drum via a polarizer. ,
An electrostatic latent image is formed.

In such a light beam generator, the light beam emitted from the light beam generator needs to have a predetermined divergence. If this is not done, for example, in the above-described image forming apparatus, Therefore, no image is formed on the photosensitive drum, and good image formation cannot be performed.

Conventionally, in a light beam generating device, in order to make a light beam emitted from the light beam generating device have a predetermined divergence, a lens barrel holding an optical lens and having a male thread cut is held by a light source. The optical beam generator is manufactured by adjusting and setting the optical lens and the light source so as to be at predetermined positions while screwing the main body into which the female screw is cut.

[0005]

However, in order to set the lens barrel while screwing it into the main barrel as described above, it is necessary to screw a male screw and a female screw. Is very difficult. On the other hand, when the lens barrel is pressed into the main barrel and the optical lens and the light source are set at predetermined positions, the above problem does not occur. However, in this case, since the lens barrel is pressed into the main barrel,
When one of them is moved, a stick-slip (self-excited vibration generated on the sliding contact surface) is generated, and it is difficult to set the optical lens and the light source to be exactly at predetermined positions.

Therefore, in the present invention, one of the lens barrel and the main barrel is pressed into the other, and the optical lens held by the lens barrel and the light source held by the main barrel are set at predetermined positions. It is an object of the present invention to easily and accurately set a predetermined position.

[0007]

The above object can be attained by the following constitution.

(1) A method of manufacturing a light beam generating device for converting the divergence of a light beam emitted from a light source held by a main barrel by an optical lens held by a lens barrel,
An adhesive is interposed between the lens barrel and the main barrel, one of the lens barrel and the main barrel is pressed into the other, and the optical lens held by the lens barrel and the main lens A method for manufacturing a light beam generator, wherein the light source held by a body is set at a predetermined position.

(2) When the optical lens and the light source are set at predetermined positions, the optical lens and the light source are moved while giving vibration to one of the lens barrel and the main barrel. A) a method for manufacturing a light beam generator.

(3) A method of manufacturing a light beam generator for converting the divergence of a light beam emitted from a light source held by a main barrel by an optical lens held by a lens barrel,
When press-fitting one of the barrel and the main barrel into the other, and setting the optical lens held by the barrel and the light source held by the main barrel at a predetermined position, A method of manufacturing a light beam generating device, wherein the light beam generator is moved while giving vibration to one of the lens barrel and the main barrel.

(4) The method according to (2) or (3), wherein the amplitude of the vibration is 10 μm or more, and the frequency of the vibration is 10 kHz or more and 60 kHz or less.

(5) One of the lens barrel and the main barrel is press-fitted into the other, and one of the lens barrel and the main barrel can be moved with a load of 2 kg or less. The method for manufacturing a light beam generator according to any one of (1) to (4).

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, an image forming apparatus equipped with a light beam generator to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG. 1 which is a perspective view of a writing unit of the image forming apparatus. Although the present embodiment relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, an electrophotographic image forming process is well known and will be described briefly.

First, the photosensitive drum 1, which is an image forming body,
An electrostatic latent image and a toner image are formed thereon, and a photoconductor (for example, OPC) is applied on a drum. The photosensitive drum 1 is electrically grounded,
It is driven and rotated by driving means (not shown). The photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged by a charger (not shown).

Then, the writing means 2 performs image exposure based on the image signal. The writing means 2 is a light beam generating means 3 having a light source (semiconductor laser) for emitting a light beam based on an image signal, a first cylindrical lens 4, and a deflector for deflecting the light beam in the main scanning direction. It has a polygon mirror 5, an fθ lens 6, a second cylindrical lens 7, and a first reflection mirror 8. The light beam generating means 3 will be described later in detail.

The light beam emitted from the light beam generating means 3 is deflected and scanned in the main scanning direction by the polygon mirror 5 rotating in the direction of the arrow through the first cylindrical lens 4, and is scanned by the fθ lens 6, After passing through the second cylindrical lens 7, the optical path is bent by the first reflection mirror 8 to form an image on the photosensitive drum 1, and exposure in the main scanning direction is performed (along with rotation (sub-scanning) of the photosensitive drum 1). Then, an image (electrostatic latent image) is formed on the photosensitive drum 1. In addition,
The light beam reflected by the second reflection mirror 9 is detected by the synchronization detector S, and the synchronization timing of the image signal in the main scanning direction is set.

The photosensitive drum 1 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed is
Developing means (not shown) incorporating a developer including a toner and a carrier, respectively, develops the image with the toner, and the electrostatic latent image is visualized. Then, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred onto a transfer material that is separately conveyed by a transfer unit (not shown). The transfer material onto which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the surface of the photoreceptor drum 1, and the toner image is fixed on the transfer material by a heating / pressing action by a fixing unit (not shown). Is discharged.

Next, regarding the light beam generating means (device) 3 mounted on such an image forming apparatus, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the light beam generating means 3 and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the light beam generating apparatus. 3, the configuration will be described. Note that the perspective view shown in FIG. 3B is a view of the slit member 30 as viewed from the side opposite to FIG. 3A.

The light beam generating means 3 of the present embodiment includes a semiconductor laser 12, which is a light source for emitting a light beam, and a divergence of the light beam emitted from the semiconductor laser 12, which is determined by a predetermined divergence (specifically, An optical lens that converts the light into a parallel light, but may be a divergent light or a convergent light (in the present embodiment, since the light is a parallel light, the collimator lens 21).
And

A cylindrical main body 10 made of resin is a member for holding a semiconductor laser 12 as a light source and a lens barrel 20 described later. The semiconductor laser 12 is fixed to the main body 10 via a metallic supporting member 11 by, for example, fixing means (not shown) such as a screw. The outer surface of the lens barrel 20 is fitted to the inner surface of the main barrel 10. That is, the inner diameter of the main barrel 10 is smaller than the outer diameter of the lens barrel 20, and the main barrel 10 holds the lens barrel 20 by pressing the lens barrel 20 into the main body 10.
The main body 10 is provided with a hole 15.
5 is filled with an adhesive, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin, thereby fixing the lens barrel 20 pressed into the main barrel 10 to the main barrel 10.

Further, two protruding portions 13 are provided on the tip side (right side in FIG. 2) of the main body 10, and a rib portion 33 of a slit member 30 described later is provided between the two protrusions 13. Is formed with a slit-shaped recessed portion 14 into which the hole is fitted. The main body 10 is integrally formed with a mounting plate 17 provided with a mounting hole 16. The mounting plate 17 is fixed to a housing (no symbol) of the writing means 2 by passing a screw through the mounting hole 16. The light beam generating means 3 can be fixed to the writing means 2.

The cylindrical lens barrel 20 made of resin is a member for holding a collimator lens 21 for making the divergence of the light beam emitted from the semiconductor laser 12 parallel, and a slit member 30 to be described later. Collimator lens 21
Are fitted inside the lens barrel 20 on the semiconductor laser 12 side,
It is fixed and held by an adhesive or the like. Also,
As described above, the position of the lens barrel 20 is fixed by the adhesive that is press-fitted into the main barrel 10 and filled through the hole 15. This position is set at a predetermined position so that the light beam emitted from the semiconductor laser 12 and passed through the collimator lens 21 has a predetermined divergence and, in the embodiment, becomes parallel light. (That is, the light emitting point of the semiconductor laser 12 is arranged at the focal position of the collimator lens 21).

The slit member 30 is fitted inside the distal end side of the lens barrel 20 (the side opposite to the side where the collimator lens 21 is provided), fixed with an adhesive or the like, and integrated with the lens barrel 20. It is a member molded from the resin that is configured.
The slit member 30 has a rectangular slit 31 as a shaping member for shaping a light beam that has passed through the collimator lens 21. Also, the slit member 30
After the collimator lens 21 is integrated with the lens barrel 20, the collimator lens 21 (the lens barrel 20) is adjusted by an automatic adjustment device 40 described later in order to set and adjust the collimator lens 21 and the semiconductor laser 12 to predetermined positions. And slit member 3
A flange portion 32 is provided for movement. The slit member 30 is associated with the direction of the slit 31 (the direction of the slit 31 is shown).
A rib portion 33 is provided. In the present embodiment, the rib portion 33 is provided in the short side direction of the slit 31 (in other words,
(A direction perpendicular to the long side direction of the slit 31). The ribs 33 are connected to the main body 10 described above.
Concave portion 14 formed between two projecting portions 13 provided in
Is fitted.

Such a light beam generating means 3 is configured as shown in FIG. The divergence of the light beam emitted from the semiconductor laser 12 is converted into a parallel light beam by the collimator lens 21,
The light beam is shaped by the light beam, emitted from the light beam generating means 3, and passes through the first cylindrical lens 4, the polygon mirror 5, the fθ lens 6, the second cylindrical lens 7, and the first reflection mirror 8 as described above. Then, an image (electrostatic latent image) is formed on the photosensitive drum 1.

Next, the assembly of the light beam generating means 3 will be described. First, the semiconductor laser 1 is attached to the main body 10.
2 is fixed with screws via the support member 11. On the other hand, the collimator lens 21 is fitted into the lens barrel 20 and fixed with an adhesive or the like. With respect to the lens barrel 20 holding the collimator lens 21, the slit member 30 is
The lens barrel 20 and the slit member 30 are integrated with each other so as to be inserted and fitted so that the direction of 1 becomes a predetermined direction and fixed with an adhesive or the like. Next, the rib 33 of the slit member 30
Is a concave portion 1 formed between two projecting portions 13 of the main body 10.
4, the lens barrel 20 and the slit member 30 are press-fitted into the main barrel 10 integrally. And FIG.
The automatic adjustment device 40 shown in FIG.
1 and the semiconductor laser 12 are set at predetermined positions.

The automatic adjusting device 40 includes a pushing member 4
1, a release member 42, and an automatic stage 43. In order to bring the collimator lens 21 closer to the semiconductor laser 12, the pushing member 41 pushes the lens barrel 20 (specifically, the flange 32 of the slit member 30 integrated with the lens barrel 20, in FIG. 4A). It is a member that pushes (to the left). The release member 42 is used to move the collimator lens 21 away from the semiconductor laser
(Specifically, the slit member 3 integrated with the lens barrel 20)
0 flange portion 32 in the rightward direction in FIG. 4 (a)).
Is a member for pressing. The push member 41 and the release member 42 have a U-shape as shown in FIG. 4B viewed from the optical axis direction, and do not block the light beam emitted from the light beam generating means 3. It is configured as follows.
The pushing member 41 and the release member 42 are
It is provided integrally with a gap longer than the thickness (length in the optical axis direction) of the flange portion 32. That is, the position of the collimator lens 21 is set by sandwiching the flange portion 32 in this gap. The automatic stage 43 moves the pushing member 41 and the release member 42 in the optical axis direction.

The light beam emitted from the semiconductor laser 12 moves on the automatic stage 43 so that the best beam spot is formed on the photosensitive drum 1, and the collimator lens 21 and the semiconductor laser 12 are moved to a predetermined position. Set to. That is, with the movement of the automatic stage 43, the pushing member 41 and the release member 42 push the lens barrel 20 (specifically, the flange portion 32 of the slit member 30 integrated with the lens barrel 20) in the optical axis direction ( Move), and set the collimator lens 21 and the semiconductor laser 12 at predetermined positions.

Collimator lens 21 and semiconductor laser 1
When 2 is set at a predetermined position, the ultraviolet curable resin is poured through the hole 15 and then cured, and the assembly (manufacturing) of the light beam generator 3 is completed.

By the way, as described above, the lens barrel 20 is connected to the main barrel 1.
When the collimator lens 21 and the semiconductor laser 12 are set so as to be at predetermined positions by press-fitting the lens barrel 20 to the main barrel 10, the lens barrel 20 is moved. In this case, a stick-slip (self-excited vibration generated on the sliding contact surface) occurs and the collimator lens 2
It is difficult to set 1 and the semiconductor laser 12 to be exactly at predetermined positions.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the lens barrel 20 is pressed into the main barrel 10, the main barrel 10 and the lens barrel 20 are pressed.
And an adhesive between them. That is,
Prior to press-fitting, an adhesive is applied to a surface where the main barrel 10 and the lens barrel 20 are in contact, specifically, an inner peripheral surface of the main barrel 10 and / or an outer peripheral surface of the lens barrel 20. Therefore, when the lens barrel 20 is moved when the collimator lens 21 and the semiconductor laser 12 are set at predetermined positions by the automatic adjustment device 40, the pre-applied adhesive plays a grease-like role. , Can be smoothly moved, and can be easily and accurately set at a predetermined position.

As described above, the main barrel 10 and the lens barrel 20
Instead of interposing an adhesive between
In addition, when the collimator lens 21 held on the lens barrel 20 and the semiconductor laser 12 held on the main barrel 10 are set at predetermined positions, the lens barrel 20 is moved while applying vibration to the lens barrel 20. You may move it. That is, the push member 41 and the release member 42 are moved while the push member 41 and the release member 42 of the automatic adjustment device 40 are vibrated. Thereby, when the lens barrel 20 is moved,
Vibration can be given to the lens barrel 20. Therefore, stick-slip generated when the lens barrel 20 is moved can be minimized, smooth movement can be performed, and it can be easily and accurately set at a predetermined position.

The amplitude of the vibration (vibration between the pushing member 41 and the release member 42) applied to the lens barrel 20 is 10 μm.
m or more (more preferably 100 μm or more) and a vibration frequency of 10 kHz or more and 60 kHz or less are preferable because they can increase the efficiency for position adjustment and can easily perform accurate position setting.

When the above-mentioned adhesive is interposed and / or vibration is applied, the lens barrel 20 press-fitted into the main barrel 10 is used in order to perform smooth movement.
Is 2 kg or less (more preferably, 100 g or more and 1 kg
It is preferable to be configured so as to be movable (possible) with the following loads, that is, to set the fit between the lens barrel 20 and the main barrel 10 and the frictional resistance of each.

When the barrel 20 is pressed into the main barrel 10 or when the barrel 20 is moved, the barrel 20 may be cooled or / and the main barrel 10 may be heated. . In this case, the fit between the lens barrel 20 and the main barrel 10 is loosened by utilizing the contraction and expansion due to heat, so that the movement is smoother, and the collimator lens 21 and the semiconductor laser 12 are moved.
After having been set at a predetermined position, the position can be reliably maintained.

In the present embodiment described above, the lens barrel 20 is pressed into the main barrel 10, but the main barrel 10 may be pressed into the lens barrel 20.

[0036]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
When one of the lens barrel and the main barrel is pressed into the other, and the optical lens held by the barrel and the light source held by the main barrel are set at predetermined positions, it is easy and accurate. Can be set at a predetermined position.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a writing unit of an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a light beam generating means.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the light beam generator.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an automatic adjusting device for setting an optical lens and a light source at predetermined positions.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 photoconductor drum 2 writing means 3 light beam generating means (light beam generating device) 5 polygon mirror 10 main body 12 semiconductor laser (light source) 13 projecting part 14 concave part 20 lens barrel 21 collimator lens (optical lens) 30 slit member 31 slit 32 Flange 33 Rib

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An optical lens held by a lens barrel,
In a method of manufacturing a light beam generating device that converts a divergence of a light beam emitted from a light source held by a main barrel, an adhesive is interposed between the barrel and the main barrel, and the lens barrel and the A light beam, wherein one of the main body and the other is press-fitted to the other, and the optical lens held by the lens barrel and the light source held by the main body are set at predetermined positions. Method for manufacturing a generator. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the optical lens and the light source are set at predetermined positions, the optical lens and the light source are moved while giving vibration to one of the lens barrel and the main barrel. 3. The method for manufacturing a light beam generator according to claim 1. 3. An optical lens held by a lens barrel,
In a method for manufacturing a light beam generating device for converting a divergence of a light beam emitted from a light source held by a main body, one of the lens barrel and the main body is press-fitted to the other, and the lens barrel is inserted into the lens barrel. When setting the held optical lens and the light source held by the main barrel at predetermined positions, the optical lens is moved while giving vibration to one of the lens barrel and the main barrel. A method of manufacturing a light beam generator. 4. An amplitude of the vibration is 10 μm or more,
4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the frequency of the vibration is not less than 10 kHz and not more than 60 kHz. 5. 5. One of the lens barrel and the main barrel is press-fitted into the other, and one of the lens barrel and the main barrel is pressed into two.
The method for manufacturing a light beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the light beam generator can be moved with a load of not more than kg.