Patent · US Expired

Optical scanner

US5883732A · kind A · utility

30Cited by
16References
13Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 10, 1996
Grant dateMar 16, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 10, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG02B13/0005
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

To provide an optical scanner for typical use with laser beam printers that is capable of effective correction of aberrational characteristics and which also produces a constant beam spot size, a semiconductor laser array 1 having a plurality of light-emitting portions issues a plurality of beams, which are reflected and deflected by reflecting surfaces of rotating polygonal mirror 5 and pass through imaging lens 6 to form a plurality of beam spots on the surface to be scanned 7. Both the entrance and exit surfaces of imaging lens 6 are such that the curvatures in the sub- and main scanning directions are independent of each other, with the curvature in the sub-scanning direction varying continuously in the main scanning direction over the effective area of imaging lens 6.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.