Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Mitsumi Fujii

Yukito Satoh

Yoshinori Hayashi

Tomohiro Nakajima

Eiji Mochizuki

Shunichi Sato

Daisuke Ichii

Akihiro Itoh

Tomomi Katoh

Kiyoshi Yamaguchi

Hiroyoshi Shouji

Tsuneo Maki

Kei Hara

Kenichiro Hashimoto

Goichi Akanuma

Shuzo Matsumoto

Tomofumi Kitazawa

Tetsuro Hirota

Yoshihisa Ohta

Tomoaki Nakano

Shinichi Kakuda

Kohki Sasaki

Tetsurou Saitoh

Hideyuki Makita

Fumiko Sakoh

Taeko Murai

Takeo Murai

An actuator is configured of a frame element, a pair of beam elements, a movable element rotatably supported by the frame element via the beam elements, a driver configured to rotate the movable element relative to the frame element around the beam elements as a rotary shaft; and damper elements provided on the rotary axis of the beam elements.

Actuator, protective cover for actuator, actuator manufacturing method, and optical deflector incorporating actuator, and two dimensional optical scanner and image projector incorporating optical scanner

A surface-emission laser array comprises a plurality of surface-emission laser diode elements arranged in the form of a two-dimensional array, wherein a plurality of straight lines drawn perpendicularly to a straight line extending in a first direction from respective centers of the plurality of surface emission laser diode elements aligned in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, are formed with generally equal interval in the first direction, the plurality of surface-emission laser diode elements are aligned in the first direction with an interval set to a reference value, and wherein the number of the surface-emission laser diode elements aligned in the first direction is smaller than the number of the surface-emission laser diode elements aligned in the second direction.

Surface-emission laser array, optical scanning apparatus and image forming apparatus

A surface-emission laser array comprises a plurality of surface-emission laser diode elements arranged in the form of a two-dimensional array including a plurality of columns of the surface-emission laser diode elements, each column including therein at least two surface-emission laser diode elements in a first direction. The surface-emission laser diode elements in a column are disposed with an equal interval in the first direction. The plural columns arc disposed in a second direction which is perpendicular to the first direction. An interval between two adjacent columns is larger in a central part than in a peripheral part of the two-dimensional array of the surface-emission laser diode elements in the second direction.

An optical scanner, including a frame member; a pair of connection members near a coupling end with the frame member; a pair of elastic members connected with the frame member by the connection members; a mirror substrate supported by the pair of elastic members, the mirror substrate having a bending rigidity outward from the rotational axis for each area in accordance with a bending moment caused by oscillation, the mirror substrate having a slit at both connection ends with the pair of elastic members; and a piezoelectric element provided on each of the connection members, the piezoelectric element generating a torque for driving the mirror substrate oscillatable back and forth around the pair of elastic members as a torsion rotational axis.

Optical scanner and image forming apparatus

An optical deflector, including a fixed base; a mirror having a light reflection surface; a pair of elastic support members oscillatably supporting the mirror; and a pair of drive beams formed of a beam-shaped member on which a piezoelectric is fixed, wherein the elastic support members and the drive beams in longitudinal directions are almost orthogonally located and connected with each other, other ends of the drive beams are fixed on the fixed base, the mirror and the pair of elastic support members are cantilevered by the pair of drive beams relative to the fixed base, and bending oscillation of the drive beams causes torsional deformation of the elastic members to rotationally oscillate the mirror.

Optical deflector, optical scanner, image forming apparatus, and image projector

A surface-emission laser array comprises a plurality of surface-emission laser diode elements arranged in the form of a two-dimensional array, wherein a plurality of straight lines drawn perpendicularly to a straight line extending in a first direction from respective centers of the plurality of surface emission laser diode elements aligned in a second direction crossing the first direction, are formed with generally equal interval in the first direction.

Surface-emission laser array, optical scanning apparatus apparatus and image forming apparatus

An optical deflector of the present invention includes a movable mirror and torsion bars supporting the mirror and formed integrally with the mirror. The mirror reciprocatingly vibrates to reflect a light beam to thereby deflect it. The mirror is curved in the form of an arch in a section including at least the torsion bars. The mirror deforms little during vibration even if it is thin. Small power can cause such a thin mirror to vibrate with a large amplitude.

Optical scanning device and image forming apparatus using the same

A deflector mirror is disclosed that includes a mirror substrate configured to vibrate in a reciprocating manner on beams as a torsional rotary shaft so as to deflect a light beam emitted from a light source. The mirror substrate includes multiple regions in each of portions thereof extending from the torsional rotary shaft to respective ends of the mirror substrate, the regions being different in flexural rigidity.

Deflector mirror with regions of different flexural rigidity

A vibration mirror is reciprocatively vibrated by an electrostatic force to reflect an incident light beam. The vibration mirror comprises a reflection means for reflecting the incident light beam; a reflection means holding substrate for holding the reflection means; a torsional rotation shaft comprising rod members rotatably supporting two ends of the reflection means holding substrate; movable electrodes formed on side faces of the reflection means holding substrate supported; a first substrate for supporting the reflection means supporting substrate via the torsional rotation shaft; first fixed electrodes formed on the first substrate so as to face the movable electrodes; a first electrically insulating and separating means formed on the first substrate to electrically insulate and separate the movable electrodes from the first fixed electrodes; and a second substrate overlaid on the first substrate with an insulating layer therebetween so as to be electrically insulated from and overlapped to adhere onto the first substrate.

Vibration mirror, optical scanning device, and image forming using the same, method for making the same, and method for scanning image

A liquid drop jet head includes a nozzle jetting a liquid drop, a liquid room connected to the nozzle, a common liquid room connected to the liquid room, a supply opening part supplying the liquid to the common liquid room, and a pressure generating part generating a pressure which pressurizes the liquid provided in the liquid room, wherein the common liquid room has a configuration in which a width of the common liquid room on a plane level is narrower as a point of the width is more remote from the supply opening part.

Liquid drop jet head, ink cartridge and ink jet recording apparatus

In this optical scanning device, a plurality of scanning optical systems are arranged in a main scanning direction. Each of the scanning optical systems includes a deflecting unit performing an optical scanning by oscillation. Scanning frequencies of the deflecting units are substantially equal to one another. Each of the deflecting units is provided with means for varying the scanning frequency. The scanning frequency of each of the deflecting units is set midway between a maximum value and a minimum value of a resonance frequency intrinsic to the deflecting unit.

Optical scanning device for reducing a dot position displacement at a joint of scanning lines

An optical scanning apparatus includes a vibration mirror having a mirror surface that reflects an optical beam. A pair of torsion beams swingably support the mirror. The mirror is vibrated in a sealed space whose pressure is adjusted such that a characteristic of the mirror falls within a predetermined range.

Growing community of inventors

Iwate, Japan

Mitsumi Fujii