Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Hiroe Ando

Shiro Narikawa

Tomohiro Oikawa

Hirokazu Tanaka

Iwakazu Honda

An image forming apparatus is arranged so as to include an optical head unit constituted of exposing device and information reading device, one cylindrical white light source which is commonly used as a light source for the above both devices, liquid crystal shutter arrays for individually opening and closing optical paths of the light source in direction of a photoreceptor, and to control open/close operation of an exposure shutter array according to an image signal and to control the shutter arrays such that when the exposing device operates, the information reading shutter array closes and that when the information reading device operates, the exposure shutter array closes. As a result, in an arrangement which is carried out a simultaneous charge-expose-development process and has exposing function and information reading function, it is possible to sufficiently miniaturize an apparatus. Moreover, since the liquid crystal shutter array is used, open/close operation of the optical paths from the cylindrical white light source to the photoreceptor can be easily and securely control.

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Chiba, Japan

Hiroe Ando