JP2002299735A - Mechanism for adjusting beam position and optical scanner equipped therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mechanism for adjusting beam position, by which the beam position is adjusted by positioning a holding member which holds a light source, and an optical scanner equipped with the mechanism. SOLUTION: This beam position adjusting mechanism 1 is provided with a holding member 2 for holding a light source 5, an immovable support member 3 for supporting the holding member 2, and a positioning means 4 that adjusts the position of a beam emitted from the light source 5, by positioning the holding member 2 to the support member 3, and the optical scanner is provided with the beam position adjusting mechanism 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beam position adjusting mechanism for adjusting the position of a beam emitted from a light source and an optical scanning device having the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a beam position adjusting mechanism for adjusting a beam position emitted by a light source such as a semiconductor laser, as shown in FIG. 5, a light source 51 and a collimating lens 52 are respectively held by a light source holding member 53 and a collimating lens holding member. Light source holding member 53 held by member 54 and fixed to housing 55
On the other hand, there has been a mechanism for adjusting the positional relationship between the light source 51 and the collimating lens 52 by screwing the collimating lens holding member 54 with the screw 57 via the positioning member 56. 5, reference numerals 58 and 59
Denotes another lens and a holding member for the lens.

As a conventional beam position adjusting mechanism, as shown in FIG. 6, the positions of a light source 61 and a collimating lens 62 are adjusted to hold the collimating lens 62 with an adhesive 67 to hold the light source 61. The light source 61 and the collimating lens 62
There is a mechanism that adjusts the positional relationship with. FIG.
Reference numeral 64 denotes a housing to which the light source holding member 63 is fixed, and reference numerals 65 and 66 denote other lenses and a holding member for the lens, respectively.

[0004]

However, in the mechanism shown in FIG. 5, since the final adjustment is performed after the screws 57 are temporarily fixed, it is necessary to forcibly move each member during the final adjustment. There is a problem that the position of the beam should be shifted with respect to the original beam position due to the action of the residual stress. In the mechanism shown in FIG. 6, the position of the adhesive 67 applied to the light source holding member 63 is adjusted to adjust the lens position. Since the relief is formed, the applied amount of the adhesive 67 is biased, so that there is a problem that a positional deviation occurs with respect to a beam position which should be originally.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a beam position adjusting mechanism for adjusting a beam position by positioning a holding member holding a light source, and an optical scanning device having the same.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a holding member for holding a light source, an immovable supporting member for supporting the holding member, and a supporting member for supporting the holding member. There is provided a beam position adjusting mechanism having positioning means for adjusting the position of a beam emitted from the light source by positioning the light source with respect to a member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the beam position adjusting mechanism according to the first aspect, the positioning means is engaged with the holding member and the support member, and moves the holding member with respect to the support member. It has a swing member for swinging.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the beam position adjusting mechanism according to the second aspect, the swing member includes a base portion engaged with the support member, a swing portion engaged with the holding member, It is characterized by having a connecting member for connecting the swing portion to the base portion so as to be swingable.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the beam position adjusting mechanism according to the first aspect, the swing member has a columnar member serving as a center of swing of the holding member.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the beam position adjusting mechanism according to the first aspect, the swing member has a spherical member which forms a center of swing of the holding member.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the beam position adjusting mechanism according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the positioning means engages with the holding member and the supporting member, and And a displacement member for displacing the support member with respect to the support member.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the beam position adjusting mechanism according to the sixth aspect, the displacement member is a screw.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the beam position adjusting mechanism according to any one of the second to seventh aspects, the positioning means engages with the holding member and the supporting member, and And a biasing member for biasing the supporting member against the supporting member.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the beam position adjusting mechanism according to the eighth aspect, the urging member urges the holding member in a direction to separate the holding member from the support member.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the beam position adjusting mechanism according to the eighth aspect, the biasing member biases the holding member in a direction to approach the support member.

The invention according to claim 11 is the invention according to claims 1 to 10
In the beam position adjusting mechanism according to any one of the above,
The holding member holds a plurality of the light sources.

The invention of claim 12 is the invention of claims 1 to 11
In the beam position adjusting mechanism according to any one of the above,
The positioning means positions the holding member symmetrically with respect to the light source.

The invention of claim 13 is the invention of claims 1 to 12
The optical scanning device having the beam position adjusting mechanism according to any one of the above.

[0019]

FIG. 1 shows a beam position adjusting mechanism according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The beam position adjusting mechanism 1 includes a holding member 2 holding a semiconductor laser 5 as a light source, an immovable supporting member 3 supporting the holding member, and a positioning unit 4 positioning the holding member 2 with respect to the supporting member. are doing. The holding member 2 includes a plurality of semiconductor lasers 5, two in this example, and a collimating lens 19 as a coupling lens that converts light emitted from each semiconductor laser 5 into a parallel light beam. There is one for each. Each semiconductor laser 5, each collimating lens 19, and the holding member 2 constitute a multi-beam light source unit 6.

The positioning means 4 includes a base 7 fixed to the support member 3, a swinging part 8 fixedly supporting the holding member 2, and a connecting member which swingably connects the swinging part 8 to the base 7. And a shaft 9 as The base 7, the swing unit 8, and the shaft 9 constitute a swing member 10 that swings the holding member 2 with respect to the support member 3. By swinging the swing portion 8 about the axis 9 as indicated by θ in the drawing, the holding member 2 is positioned with respect to the support member 3, and the beam position emitted by the semiconductor laser 5 is adjusted.

The positioning means 4 includes, in addition to the swing member 10,
It has a screw 15 as a displacement member that engages with the displaced part 14 provided on the holding member 2 and the support member 3 and displaces the holding member 2 with respect to the support member 3. A pressing spring 16 as an urging member wound around a screw 15 is engaged with the lower surface of the support member 3 and the upper surface of the support member 3 to urge the holding member 2 away from the support member 3.
And

Therefore, by turning the screw 15 to displace the displaced portion 14 and to swing the swinging portion 8 about the axis 9,
The holding member 2 is positioned with respect to the support member 3, and the beam position emitted by the semiconductor laser 5, that is, the beam position emitted from the multi-beam light source unit 6 is adjusted. Since the screw 15 and the pressing spring 16 fix the displaced part 14 and the supporting member 3 without mounting play, the swinging part 8 does not swing in a state where it is left unattended. Therefore, the positioning accuracy of the beam position and the stability over time are excellent.

The beam position adjusting mechanism 1 guides light emitted from the semiconductor laser 5 to an image carrier such as a photoreceptor through an optical system including optical scanning means such as a polygon mirror. The multi-beam light source unit 6 is positioned to adjust the position of a beam irradiated on the image carrier. Note that the support member 3 is immovable at a point serving as a reference for positioning the holding member, and is also immovable in the optical scanning device by being fixed to a housing or the like of the optical scanning device.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals 20 and 21 denote a compressor lens for narrowing a beam emitted from the multi-beam light source unit 6 and a holding member for the lens. The holding member 21 is integrated with the holding member 3 by a member 22.

In the following, various other embodiments of the beam position adjusting mechanism 1 having different configurations of the positioning means 4 will be described. In this embodiment, portions different from the other embodiments will be described as appropriate, and other portions will be described. Is marked with a sign,
Description is omitted. In addition, the beam position adjusting mechanism 1 of any of the embodiments can be mounted on the above-described known optical scanning device.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the beam position adjusting mechanism to which the present invention is applied. The beam position adjusting mechanism 1 in the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the configuration of the swing member. That is, the swing member 1 in the present example
Reference numeral 1 denotes a shaft 12 as a columnar member fixed to the support member 3 and serving as a center of swing of the holding member 2, and fixedly supports the holding member 2 and is rotatably supported by the shaft 12. And a swing portion 13. The axis 12 is each semiconductor laser 5
It is arranged at the center position equidistant from. By swinging the swing part 13 symmetrically about the axis 12, the holding member 2
Is positioned with respect to the support member 3, and the beam position emitted by the semiconductor laser 5 is adjusted. Since each of the semiconductor lasers 5 is oscillated about the axis 12 symmetrically, the optical characteristics of each of the semiconductor lasers 5 can be adjusted symmetrically.

Also, in this embodiment, as compared with the first embodiment, the structure of the swing member is different from that of the first embodiment, so that the swing member 13 and the support member 3 are engaged with each other. And a screw 15 as a displacement member for displacing the holding member 2 with respect to the support member 3, and engages with the lower surface of the swinging portion 13 and the upper surface of the support member 3, thereby allowing the holding member 2 to be supported by the support member 3. This is also different in a configuration having a pressing spring 16 as an urging member wound around a screw 15 for urging in a direction to separate from 3. The screw 15 and the pressing spring 16 are disposed symmetrically with respect to the shaft 12. The swing portion 13 is provided on the swing member 11, and is provided in the holding member 2 by being integrated with the holding member 2.

Therefore, the holding member 2 is positioned with respect to the supporting member 3 by rotating the screw 15 to displace the swinging portion 13 and swinging the swinging portion 13 axisymmetrically about the axis 12, thereby positioning the holding member 2 with respect to the support member 3. The position of the beam emitted by the laser 5 is adjusted.
The swing unit 13 includes a screw 15 and a pressing spring 16 that
The support member 3 and the support member 3 are fixed without any backlash, so that they do not swing when left unattended. Therefore, the positioning accuracy of the beam position and the stability over time are excellent.
Since each of the semiconductor lasers 5 is oscillated about the axis 12 symmetrically, the optical characteristics of each of the semiconductor lasers 5 can be adjusted symmetrically.

FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment of the beam position adjusting mechanism to which the present invention is applied. The beam position adjusting mechanism 1 in the present embodiment is different from the second embodiment in the configuration of the positioning means. That is, the positioning means 4 in the present example includes the displaced portion 17 provided on the holding member 2,
A screw 1 as a displacement member that engages with the displaced portion 17 and the support member 3 and displaces the holding member 2 with respect to the support member 3
5 and 15, and engages with the lower surface of the displaced portion 17 and the upper surface of the support member 3 to move the holding member 2 to the support member 3.
And a pressing spring 16 as an urging member wound around a shaft 23 disposed between the screws 15 and 15 for urging in a direction of separating from the screw 15. The shaft 23 is disposed at a center position equidistant from each semiconductor 5, one end is fixed to the displaced portion 17, and the other end is loosely fitted in a hole 24 formed in the support member 3. The hole 24 has an inner diameter larger than that of the shaft 23 and allows the shaft 23 to swing.

The holding member 2 is positioned with respect to the support member 3 by turning the screw 15 to displace the portion 17 to be displaced, and the beam position of the semiconductor laser 5 is adjusted. Since the screw 15 and the pressing spring 16 fix the displaced portion 17 and the support member 3 without mounting play, the displaced portion 17 does not swing when left unattended. Therefore, the positioning accuracy of the beam position and the stability over time are excellent.

FIG. 4 shows a fourth embodiment of the beam position adjusting mechanism to which the present invention is applied. The beam position adjusting mechanism 1 in the present embodiment is different from the third embodiment in the configuration of the positioning means. That is, the positioning means 4 in the present embodiment does not include the shaft 23 and the hole 24 in the third embodiment, and the displaced portion 1 provided in the holding member 2
7, screws 15, 15 as displacing members for displacing the holding member 2 with respect to the supporting member 3 by engaging with the displaced portion 17 and the support member 3, and the lower surface of the displaced portion 17. Screws 15, 1, which engage with the upper surface of the support member 3 and bias the holding member 2 in a direction to separate the holding member 2 from the support member 3.
5 and a pressing spring 16 as a biasing member.

The position of the beam emitted by the semiconductor laser 5 is adjusted by rotating the screw 15 to displace the displaced portion 17.
As in the case of the third embodiment, it does not swing in the state of being left by the action of the above, and is excellent in the positioning accuracy of the beam position and the stability over time.

Although the embodiments to which the present invention is applied have been described above, only one light source may be provided on the holding member. In this case, the light source, the holding member, and the like are single beam light source units. . When a plurality of light sources are provided on the holding member, the number of light sources is not limited to two as in the present embodiment, but may be three or more. In this case, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a spherical member is used instead of the shaft 12, thereby making the center of the swing of the holding member 2, thereby enabling the holding member 2 to be positioned in a point-symmetric manner. Is desirable. In this case, three or more screws 15 are provided.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, if the number of light sources is three or more, the holding member can be positioned symmetrically by arranging three or more screws 15. By swinging each semiconductor laser 5 symmetrically with respect to a point, the optical characteristics of each semiconductor laser 5 can be adjusted symmetrically.
In the case of a single-beam light source unit, it is desirable to adopt a configuration that can be positioned axially symmetric or point symmetric about the optical axis of the light source. The urging member is not only a member for urging the holding member away from the support member but also a direction for bringing the holding member close to the support member by appropriately changing the shape of the screw. It can be changed to a biasing member such as a tension spring.

[0035]

According to the present invention, a holding member for holding a light source is provided.
Since the beam position adjusting mechanism has an immovable support member for supporting the holding member and positioning means for adjusting the position of the beam emitted from the light source by positioning the holding member with respect to the support member, the light source itself is provided. It is possible to provide a beam position adjusting mechanism that can adjust the beam position by positioning the holding member that holds the light source instead of positioning the beam.

If the positioning means has a rocking member which engages with the holding member and the supporting member and rocks the holding member with respect to the supporting member, the holding member is rocked with respect to the supporting member. This can provide a beam position adjusting mechanism that can adjust the beam position.

A rocking member having a base engaged with the support member;
By having a swinging portion engaged with the holding member and a connecting member for swingably connecting the swinging portion to the base, the holding member can be relatively easily connected to the supporting member by a relatively simple configuration. A beam position adjusting mechanism that can adjust the beam position by swinging can be provided.

If the swinging member has a columnar member that forms the center of swinging of the holding member, the beam position can be adjusted by swinging the holding member with respect to the supporting member with a relatively simple configuration. An adjustable beam position adjusting mechanism can be provided.

If the swinging member has a spherical member that forms the center of swinging of the holding member, the holding member can swing with a high degree of freedom with respect to the supporting member by a relatively simple structure. A beam position adjusting mechanism capable of adjusting the beam position can be provided.

If the positioning means has a displacement member that engages with the holding member and the support member and displaces the holding member with respect to the support member, the beam is displaced with respect to the support member. A beam position adjusting mechanism capable of adjusting the position can be provided.

If the displacement member is a screw, it is possible to provide a beam position adjusting mechanism which can accurately adjust the beam position with a simple configuration and maintain the beam position well over time. .

If the positioning means has an urging member that engages with the holding member and the supporting member and urges the holding member against the supporting member, the positioning is performed using the urging force of the urging member. Can be provided with a beam position adjusting mechanism capable of performing the adjustment with high accuracy.

If the urging member urges the holding member in a direction for separating the holding member from the support member, the beam position adjusting mechanism can accurately position the beam by urging in such a direction. Can be provided.

If the biasing member biases the holding member toward the support member, the beam position adjusting mechanism can accurately position the beam by biasing the holding member in such a direction. Can be provided.

Provided that the holding member holds a plurality of light sources, a beam position adjusting mechanism capable of adjusting the beam position by positioning the entire multi-beam light source unit having the plurality of light sources and the holding member is provided. be able to.

If the positioning means positions the holding member symmetrically with respect to the light source, a beam position adjusting mechanism capable of symmetrically adjusting the optical characteristics of the light source can be provided.

The present invention relates to any one of claims 1 to 9
Since the optical scanning device having the beam position adjusting mechanism described in (1) is provided, an optical scanning device having a beam position adjusting mechanism having the above-described effects and capable of stabilizing the accuracy of optical scanning with time is provided. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a beam position adjusting mechanism according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a beam position adjusting mechanism according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a beam position adjusting mechanism according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a beam position adjusting mechanism according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a conventional beam position adjusting mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a front view of another conventional beam position adjusting mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 beam position adjusting mechanism 2 holding member 3 support member 4 positioning means 5 light source 6 multi-beam light source unit 7 base 8 oscillating unit 9 connecting member 10, 11 oscillating member 12 cylindrical member 15 displacement member, screw 16 urging member 17 Displaced part

Continued on front page F-term (reference) 2H045 BA22 CB00 DA02 DA41 5C072 BA04 CA06 CA09 DA02 DA21 DA23 HA02 HA06 HA08 5F072 JJ12 KK24 MM20

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A holding member for holding a light source, an immovable supporting member for supporting the holding member, and positioning means for adjusting a position of a beam emitted from the light source by positioning the holding member with respect to the supporting member. And a beam position adjusting mechanism comprising: 2. The beam position adjusting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said positioning means is engaged with said holding member and said support member, and swings said holding member with respect to said support member. A beam position adjusting mechanism comprising: 3. The beam position adjusting mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the swing member includes a base engaged with the support member,
A beam position adjusting mechanism, comprising: a swing unit engaged with the holding member; and a connecting member that swingably connects the swing unit to the base. 4. The beam position adjusting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said swinging member has a columnar member which forms the center of swinging of said holding member. 5. A beam position adjusting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said swinging member has a spherical member which forms the center of swinging of said holding member. 6. The beam position adjusting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said positioning means is engaged with said holding member and said support member, and said holding member is attached to said support member. A beam position adjusting mechanism having a displacement member for displacing the beam. 7. The beam position adjusting mechanism according to claim 6, wherein said displacement member is a screw. 8. The beam position adjusting mechanism according to claim 2, wherein said positioning means is engaged with said holding member and said support member, and said holding member is attached to said support member. A beam position adjusting mechanism having an urging member for urging the beam position. 9. A beam position adjusting mechanism according to claim 8, wherein said urging member urges said holding member in a direction to separate said holding member from said supporting member. 10. The beam position adjusting mechanism according to claim 8, wherein said urging member urges said holding member in a direction to approach said supporting member. 11. The beam position adjusting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said holding member holds a plurality of said light sources. 12. A beam position adjusting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said positioning means positions said holding member symmetrically with respect to a light source. Position adjustment mechanism. 13. An optical scanning device having the beam position adjusting mechanism according to claim 1.