KR20060039690A - Mirror support apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a mirror support apparatus disposed in an optical system. The disclosed mirror support device includes a mirror, an adjustment hole provided with a mirror, which is formed to protrude on the lower side to support and support the reflective surface, and an adjustment unit provided on the upper side to adjust the attitude of the mirror by interfering with the mirror's reflective surface It characterized by comprising a mirror holder having a.

According to the present invention, unlike the conventional mirror support apparatus, the adjustment part can be mounted on the reflection surface side where light is incident on the optical system to easily adjust the vertical angle of the mirror. In addition, by inserting an elastic member between the opposite surface of the mirror and the mirror holder and adjusting the reflecting surface of the mirror with the adjusting portion, it is possible to minimize the bending of the mirror affecting the performance of the optical scanning device, the beam diameter / depth. .

Description

Mirror support apparatus

1 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional mirror support device.

2 is a view schematically showing the optical system configuration of the optical scanning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a side sectional view showing a mirror support device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the mirror holder of the mirror support device shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the mirror holder of the mirror support device shown in FIG. 3. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a front view illustrating an elastic member of the mirror support device shown in FIG. 3.

7 is a perspective view illustrating an elastic member of the mirror support apparatus of FIG. 3.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

101 ... light source 102 ... collimator lens

103 ... slit 104 ... cylinder lens

105 Beam deflector 106 Driving source

107 ... fθ lens 108 ... imaging mirror                 

109 ... Photosensitive member 111 ... Synchronous signal detection sensor

112.Focus lens 115.Synchronous signal detector

120 Beam splitter B ..

200 ... mirror 202 ... reflective surface

210.Mirror holder 212 ... Inner wall (vertical wall, reflective surface side)

214 ... inner wall (vertical wall, opposite side of reflective surface)

216 Adjusters 218 Reflectors

220 ... adjustment part 222 ... adjustment point

230 Support 250 Elastic member

252 ... First Elastic Part 254 ... Second Elastic Part

The present invention relates to a mirror support device, and more particularly to a mirror support device capable of adjusting the angle in the vertical direction.

BACKGROUND ART In general, a photonic device such as a laser scanning unit (LSU) is applied to an image forming apparatus that reproduces an image on printing paper such as a digital copying machine, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a facsimile, a barcode reader, and the like. In the optical system in which the optical scanning device is used, a mirror for reflecting light and changing an optical path is disposed. The mirror support device of the present invention functions to support the mirror in the optical system and to adjust the mirror to reflect light at a desired position.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional mirror support device.

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional mirror support apparatus includes a mirror 1, a mounting portion 10, a coupling member 70, and an adjustment screw 30. The mounting portion 10 includes a base 20 on which the mirror 1 is installed upright, and a vertical wall 40 formed in parallel with the mirror 1 to which the mirror 1 is coupled.

The adjusting hole 46 is provided on the vertical wall 40, and the adjusting screw 30 is engaged to move forward and backward by interfering with the mirror 1. At one end of the adjustment screw 30, an adjustment point 32 is formed in contact with the mirror 1 to move the mirror 1 forward and backward. Three protrusions 48 to which the coupling member 70 is coupled are formed in the vertical wall 40. One protrusion 48 is formed on the vertical wall 40 and two on both sides of the vertical wall 40.

The coupling member 70 includes a reflection hole 76 and a coupling hole 78, and fixes the mirror 1 to the mounting portion 10. The reflective hole 76 is formed in the coupling member 70 so that light is transmitted and reflected by the mirror 1. The coupling hole 78 is coupled to the protrusion 48 provided in the mounting portion 10 to couple the mirror 1 to the mounting portion 10.

Hereinafter, the operation of the mirror support apparatus according to the prior art will be described.

After mounting the lower end of the mirror 1 to the base 20 and the vertical wall 40, the coupling hole 78 of the coupling member 70 is coupled to the protrusion 48 of the mounting portion 10. Thus, by moving the adjusting screw 30 in the combined mirror support device is possible to adjust the vertical angle of the mirror (1).                         

As described above, according to the related art, since there is no member fixing the lower part when the mirror 1 is mounted on the mounting portion 10, mounting is difficult, and the position of the adjustment point 32 formed on the adjustment screw 30 and the mirror ( If the center of 1) is not correct, the left and right angle difference may occur during the retreat movement. In addition, according to the related art, since the angle of the up and down direction is adjusted by interfering with the mirror 1 on the opposite side of the reflective surface formed on the mirror 1, user convenience may be degraded and warpage of the mirror 1 may occur.

The present invention has been created to improve the above problems, it is possible to easily mount the mirror to the mirror support device, and to prevent the bending occurs in the mirror when adjusting the vertical angle of the mirror after mounting, in the vertical direction It is an object of the present invention to provide a mirror support device that is easy to adjust the angle.

A pre-support device according to the present invention comprises: a mirror support device having a mirror having a reflecting surface on one side and a mirror holder on which an upper side of the mirror is inserted and mounted, wherein the mirror holder is located at a lower side thereof. A support part protruding to contact and support the reflective surface; An adjusting hole provided at an upper side wall thereof and having an adjusting unit for adjusting an attitude of the mirror by interfering with a reflection surface of the mirror; It is characterized by including.

In the mirror support apparatus according to the present invention, the mirror is inserted between the opposite surface of the reflecting surface and the inner wall of the mirror holder to elastically support the mirror. An elastic member for biasing; It is characterized in that it is further provided.

In the mirror support device according to the present invention, the elastic member includes: a first elastic portion for elastically biasing the upper side of the mirror to the adjustment hole side; A second elastic portion for elastically biasing the lower side of the mirror to the support portion side; Characterized in that provided.

In the mirror support device according to the present invention, the elastic member is formed into one leaf spring, and the second elastic portion is characterized in that it is provided to make a line contact with the mirror.

In the mirror support device according to the present invention, the adjustment portion is a screw mounted to the adjustment hole to interfere with the mirror so as to advance and retreat, the first elastic portion is a weak elastic portion protruding on the upper side of the elastic member and the second The elastic part is characterized in that the rigid elastic portion protruding from the lower side of the elastic member.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a view schematically showing the configuration of an optical system of the optical scanning device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing a mirror support device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is Figure 3 It is a front view which shows the mirror holder of the mirror support apparatus of FIG. 5, and FIG. 5 is a top view which shows the mirror holder of the mirror support apparatus of FIG. 6 is a front view illustrating an elastic member of the mirror support apparatus of FIG. 3, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating an elastic member of the mirror support apparatus of FIG. 3.

The mirror support apparatus of the present invention is used for optical scanning devices of devices such as digital copiers, electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, facsimiles, barcode readers, and the like. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the present invention will be described with an example of a mirror supporting apparatus used for an LSU (Laser Scanning Unit) which is an optical scanning apparatus of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The mirror support device of this embodiment is exemplified by the mirror support device used for the LSU, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Referring to FIG. 2, the optical scanning device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention scans light with respect to the photosensitive member 109 rotating in a predetermined direction, and includes a light source 101, a collimator lens 102, and a slit 103. , Optical elements such as a cylinder lens 104, a beam splitter 120, a beam deflector 105, a driving source 106, an fθ lens 107, an imaging mirror 108, and a synchronization signal detector 115. .

The light source 101 generates and irradiates at least one beam corresponding to the image signal while being controlled on and off by the driving circuit. It is preferable that the light source 101 is comprised with elements, such as a semiconductor laser and LED (light emitting element). The light source 101 emits a single beam or a multi beam. Here, since the configuration of the light source 101 itself is well known in the art, its detailed description is omitted.

The collimator lens 102 is installed to be spaced apart from the light source 101, and focuses the light emitted from the light source 101 to make parallel light or convergent light with respect to the optical axis. The slit 103 is attached to the end surface of the collimator lens 102 to limit the light passing through. The cylinder lens 104 linearly forms the light passing through the slit 103 to the beam deflector 105.

The beam splitter 120 is disposed between the beam deflector 105 and the f θ lens 107 on the same horizontal plane as the beam deflector 105 and the f θ lens 107, so that a part of the light passing through the cylinder lens 104 can be obtained. Transmits, and some reflects. The beam splitter 120 preferably uses a half mirror that transmits 50% of incident light.

The beam deflector 105 scans the light reflected from the beam splitter 120 by moving it at a constant speed in the horizontal direction. The path of the light incident on the beam deflector 105 is in a direction substantially opposite to the light reflection path from the beam deflector 105. When the beam deflector 105 is rotated in the direction of arrow A, light is optically reflected in the direction of arrow B (main scanning direction) to record image information on the surface of the photosensitive member 109. An example of this beam deflector 105 is a polygon mirror apparatus having a structure as shown. This polygon mirror apparatus includes a drive source 106 for rotating the polygon mirror 105a at a predetermined speed, and a polygon mirror 105a rotatably provided with respect to the drive source 106. The polygon mirror 105a includes a plurality of reflecting surfaces 105b formed on its side, and rotates and scans the incident light while being deflected. The beam deflector 105 is not limited to the polygon mirror device having the above-described structure, and a hologram disk type beam deflector, a galvanometer type scan device, etc. for deflecting the incident light may be employed.

The fθ lens 107 is disposed on the optical path between the beam deflector 105 and the imaging mirror 108. The fθ lens 107 is composed of at least one lens, and the light deflected by the beam deflector 105 is corrected at different magnifications in the main scanning direction (B direction) and the sub scanning direction so as to form an image on the photosensitive member 109. do. Here, the sub-scanning direction refers to the direction of rotation of the photosensitive member 109, and the main scanning direction refers to the axial direction (B direction) of the photosensitive member 109, that is, the direction in which light is deflected through the beam deflector 105 as shown. . The f θ lens 107 is preferably injection molded in plastic to improve productivity and reduce cost.

The imaging mirror 108 reflects the light passing through the f? Lens 107 and forms an image on the exposed surface of the photosensitive member 109 as an imaging surface in a point shape. The imaging mirror 108 is disposed to be inclined such that the scanning line directed to the exposed surface is perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction, which is the conveying direction of the photosensitive member 109.

The synchronization signal detection unit 115 receives a part of the light irradiated from the light source 101 and adjusts the horizontal synchronization of the scan light. To this end, the synchronization signal detection unit 115 is deflected by the beam deflector 105, and the synchronization signal detection sensor 111 for receiving a part of the light passing through the f? Lens 107, and the? Signal 107 and the synchronization signal detection. The reflective mirror 200 is disposed between the sensors 111 to change the propagation path of incident light, and a focusing lens 112 to focus the light reflected by the reflective mirror 200.

The mirror support device of the present invention can be applied to the reflective mirror 200 disposed on the optical system shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, a mirror support apparatus on which the reflective mirror 200 is mounted will be described in detail. For convenience of description, the reflective mirror 200 is referred to as a mirror 200.                     

Referring to FIG. 3, the mirror support apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a mirror 200, a mirror holder 210 into which the mirror 200 is inserted, and an adjusting unit for adjusting the posture of the mirror 200. 220.

The mirror 200 reflects incident light, and one side of the mirror 200 is provided with a reflective surface 202 for reflecting light. The mirror 200 is inserted into the mirror holder 210 which will be described later.

The mirror holder 210 is inserted into and mounted with the mirror 200, and has a “U” shape in which an upper side thereof is opened. The mirror holder 210 has a support 230, an adjustment hole 216 on which the adjustment unit 220 is mounted, and a reflection hole 218.

4 and 5, the support 230 contacts and supports the reflective surface 202 formed on one surface of the mirror 200, and protrudes below the inner wall 212 of the mirror holder 210. Thus, the support 230 restrains the movement of the lower portion of the mirror 200.

The support part 230 may have a protrusion shape protruding from the inner wall 212 of the mirror holder 210 so as to support the mirror 200 at two points (see FIGS. 4 and 5). In the present embodiment, the support unit 230 has been described in the case of one installed on the left and right side to restrain the left and right movement of the mirror 200 as an example, the present invention is not limited to this, but may be installed in a jaw shape Modifications are possible.

The adjusting hole 216 is provided with an adjusting unit 220 that interferes with the reflective surface 202 of the mirror 200, and is formed through the upper center portion of the vertical wall 212 of the mirror holder 210. In this embodiment, the case where the adjusting hole 216 is one described as an example, the present invention is not limited to this, two may be formed on the upper side. When two adjusting holes 216 are formed, not only the vertical angle of the mirror 200 but also the left and right angles can be adjusted.

The adjusting unit 220 is inserted into the adjusting hole 216 and is installed to be retractable so as to interfere with the reflective surface 202 of the mirror 200. The adjusting unit 220 is installed on the vertical wall 212, and adjusts the attitude of the mirror 200 by interfering with an upper portion of the mirror 200. That is, by adjusting the adjusting unit 220 to interfere with the reflective surface 202 of the mirror 200, it is possible to adjust the posture in the vertical direction of the mirror 200. It is preferable that the adjustment part 220 is a screw member. In this embodiment, the case where there is one adjustment unit has been described as an example, but the adjustment unit may be a plurality of such modifications as one embodiment of the present invention, it does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

An adjustment point 222 is provided at the end of the adjustment unit 220 to contact the mirror 200 to adjust the posture of the mirror 200. The mirror 200 moves forward and backward with the adjustment point 222 as a contact point when the mirror 220 interferes with the adjustment unit 220.

A worm wheel (not shown) may be further installed on the bottom surface of the mirror holder 210 to adjust the angle in the left and right directions of the mirror 200, that is, the rotation direction. A worm wheel (not shown) is formed on the bottom of the mirror holder 210 to adjust the rotation direction angle of the mirror 200. The worm wheel (not shown) is advantageous in controlling the left and right angles of the mirror 200 having high sensitivity on the optical system in conjunction with a worm gear (not shown) capable of smooth rotation and having a large reduction ratio. Such a modification is an embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.                     

In addition, two adjustment units (not shown) may be installed on the upper side of the vertical wall 212 to adjust the left and right angles of the mirror 200. Two adjusting units (not shown) may finely adjust the rotation angle of the mirror 200 by interfering each of the left and right sides of the mirror 200.

Referring to FIG. 4, the reflection hole 218 is formed to penetrate the front surface of the mirror holder 210, and the light is incident or reflected to the mirror 200. The reflective hole 218 penetrates the reflection surface 202 side of the mirror in the mirror holder 210.

6 and 7, the elastic member 250 is inserted between the opposite surface 204 of the reflective surface 202 and the inner wall of the mirror holder 210 to fix the mirror 200. ) Is elastically biased to the inner wall side of the mirror holder 210 in which the support part 230 and the adjusting part 220 are provided. The mirror 200 is elastically biased toward the inner wall side of the mirror holder 210 such that the reflective surface 202 of the mirror is in contact with the support 230 and the adjuster 220. When the mirror 200 is in direct contact with the inner wall of the mirror holder 210, the warpage may be generated by the stress applied by the adjusting unit 220 and the support 230. Accordingly, the elastic member 250 may be inserted between the opposite surface 204 of the reflective surface 202 and the mirror holder 210 to fix the mirror 200, thereby preventing bending of the mirror 200.

The elastic member 250 includes a first elastic portion 252 and a second elastic portion 254. The first elastic part 252 elastically biases the upper side of the mirror 200 toward the adjustment hole 216, and protrudes from the upper side of the elastic member 250. The first elastic portion 252 is formed at a position corresponding to the adjustment hole 216 to restrain the posture change of the mirror 200. Since the mirror 200 is advanced and retracted by the adjustment unit 220, the first elastic unit 252 is preferably a weak elastic unit to secure the movement of the mirror 200. Therefore, the first elastic portion 252 is preferably designed such that the amount of warpage is large and the elastic range is wide. Alternatively, the first elastic portion 252 may be designed to have a large amount of warpage and a wide elastic range by using the physical characteristics of the elastic member 250.

The second elastic portion 254 elastically biases the lower side of the mirror 200 toward the support 230, and preferably protrudes from the lower side of the elastic member 250. The second elastic part 252 is formed at a position corresponding to the support part 230 to restrain the posture change of the mirror 200. Accordingly, the second elastic portion 254 is preferably a rigid elastic portion so as to effectively restrain the rotational direction of the mirror 200 when the mirror 200 is interfered by the adjustment unit 220. Therefore, the second elastic portion 254 is preferably designed so that the amount of warpage is small and the elastic region is narrow. Alternatively, the second elastic portion 254 may be designed to have a small amount of warpage and a narrow elastic range by using physical properties of the elastic member 250.

In order to prevent the support and bending of the mirror 200, the second elastic portion 254 is preferably designed to be in line contact with the mirror. In the present embodiment, the second elastic portion 254 is formed to protrude on the side of the elastic member 250 as shown in FIG. 7, and the edge portion of the protruding portion is in line contact with the mirror 200 so that the mirror 200 is formed. Elastic support.

The elastic member 250 is preferably molded in one leaf spring in consideration of manufacturing cost, work efficiency and the like. When manufactured with a single leaf spring, the elastic member 250 is designed to have a triangular shape as shown in FIG. 6 so that the first and second elastic parts 252 and 254 have the properties of the weak elastic part and the hard elastic part. It is desirable to be. When the elastic member 250 is designed in a triangular shape, the first elastic portion 252 has a narrow width and thus is a weak elastic portion, and the second elastic portion 254 has a wide width and thus a strong elastic portion. As described above, when the elastic member 250 is designed in a triangle shape, the mirror 200 may be efficiently supported.

Hereinafter, the operation of the optical scanning device will be described.

A beam splitter 120 is disposed between the fθ lens 107 and the polygon mirror 105. According to the image signal, the light source 101 generates and irradiates at least one light corresponding to the image signal while being controlled on / off by the driving circuit. Light passing from the light source 101 through the collimator lens 102, the slit part 103 and the cylinder lens 104 is reflected by the beam splitter 120 and is incident on the center part of the fθ lens 107, and the fθ lens 107 The light passing through) is incident on the reflecting surface of the beam deflector 105. Light reflected from the reflecting surface of the beam deflector 105 passes through the central portion of the f? Lens 107 again, and the optical path is bent at the imaging mirror 108 to form an image on the surface of the photoconductor 109. The synchronization signal detection sensor 111 receives the light passing through the fθ lens 107 to adjust horizontal synchronization, and the reflection mirror 200 coupled to the mirror support device reflects the light toward the synchronization signal detection sensor 111. give.

Hereinafter, the assembling and operation of the mirror supporting apparatus to which the mirror 200 is coupled will be described.

The mirror 200 is inserted into the mirror holder 210 and the elastic member 250 is inserted between the mirror surface 204 and the inner wall 214 of the mirror holder. When the mounting of the elastic member 250 is completed, the mirror 200 is fixed using the adjusting unit 220 in contact with the reflection surface 202 side of the mirror. At this time, since the second elastic portion 254 opposite to the support 230 formed on the lower side of the mirror holder 210 fixes the mirror 200, the mirror 200 is moved forward and backward using the adjustment unit 220. The posture in the vertical direction of the 200 can be adjusted. As described above, the vertical adjustment of the mirror 220 is controlled by advancing and adjusting the adjustment unit 220. As the adjusting unit 220 moves forward and backward, the first and second elastic units 252 and 254 cause elastic deformation, and thus the vertical angle of the mirror 200 is adjusted. At this time, the support part 239 and the second elastic part 254 prevent the posture change in the left and right directions of the mirror 200 with respect to the advancing / removing motion of the adjusting part 220.

According to the configuration as described above, the mirror support device according to the present invention can prevent the bending of the mirror by inserting the elastic member 250 on the opposite side of the reflective surface 202. In addition, the light incident on the mirror 200 may be adjusted at an up and down angle using the adjusting unit 220. The mirror support apparatus of the present invention is used for optical scanning devices of devices such as digital copiers, electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, facsimiles, barcode readers, and the like.

As described above, the mirror support device according to the present invention can obtain the following effects unlike the conventional invention.

First, it is possible to easily adjust the vertical angle of the mirror by mounting the adjustment unit on the side of the reflecting surface on which the light is incident on the optical system.

Second, by using a box-shaped mirror holder, it is possible to improve the work efficiency.

Third, by inserting an elastic member between the mirror surface opposite side of the mirror and the mirror holder, and then adjusting the reflective surface of the mirror with the adjusting portion, the mirror can be bent to minimize the impact on the performance of the optical scanning device, the beam diameter / depth have.

Therefore, the mirror support apparatus according to the present invention can bring about an improvement in quality by accurately and stably adjusting the angle of the mirror on the optical system. In addition, compared with the conventional invention, the structure can be simplified, resulting in improved productivity.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, this is merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art to which the art belongs can make various modifications and other equivalent embodiments therefrom. Will understand. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the claims below.

Claims (5)

In a mirror support device having a mirror having a reflective surface on one side, and a mirror holder in which the mirror is inserted and mounted, the mirror holder having an open side thereof, The mirror holder, A support part protruding from the lower side to support and support the reflective surface; An adjusting hole provided at an upper side wall thereof and having an adjusting unit for adjusting an attitude of the mirror by interfering with a reflection surface of the mirror; Mirror support apparatus characterized by including the. The method of claim 1, An elastic member inserted between an opposite surface of the reflective surface and an inner wall of the mirror holder to elastically support the mirror, and elastically biasing the mirror toward an inner wall side of the mirror holder provided with the support and the adjustment unit; Mirror support device further comprises. The method of claim 2, The elastic member, A first elastic portion elastically biasing the upper side of the mirror to the adjustment hole side; A second elastic portion for elastically biasing the lower side of the mirror to the support portion side; Mirror support device, characterized in that provided. The method of claim 3, The elastic member is molded in one leaf spring, And the second elastic part is in line contact with the mirror. The method according to claim 3 or 4, The adjusting part is a screw mounted to the adjusting hole to interfere with the mirror to advance and retreat, The first elastic portion is a weak elastic portion protruding from the upper side of the elastic member, And the second elastic part is a rigid elastic part protruding from the lower side of the elastic member.

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