Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha

Minolta Company, Ltd.

Minolta Camera Co., Ltd.

Nobuo Kanai

Kenji Takeshita

Jun Kohsaka

Hitoshi Kageyama

Hiroshi Hiraguchi

Keiji Ogoh

Yasushi Nagasaka

Kazuyuki Yoshida

Toshikazu Suzuki

Masamitsu Ishiyama

Sanae Suzuki

Yoshihiro Inagaki

Akiyoshi Hamada

Toshio Naiki

Hiromu Nakamura

Toshihiko Ueda

Hidenari Tachibe

Satoshi Iwasaki

Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Haruhiro Hyodo

Muneo Kuroda

Hiroki Kinoshita

Hiroaki Nakauchi

Satoru Yoneda

The image forming apparatus provides a plurality of recording units to form images based on their respective image data, overlaying the images formed by the plurality of recording units on a single transfer member traveling in a predetermined direction, control means to sequentially cause registration patterns of predetermined shape to be formed by the plurality of recording units, and detecting means to detect each registration pattern on the transfer member in at least two locations in both the diretion of travel of the transfer member and a direction perpendicular thereto, and output non-integrated detection values.

Image forming apparatus

In a multibeam scanning optical apparatus of a type where two parallel lines are simultaneously scanned by two laser beams irradiated from two semiconductor lasers, stable images are formed on the scanned surface by the two laser beams and the cost is reduced. The two laser beams irradiated from the two semiconductor lasers are directed substantially in the same direction through a beam splitter and then shaped by a condenser lens into two luminous fluxes whose optical axes are substantially parallel to each other. In another arrangement, the semiconductor lasers are directly secured to a surface of the beam splitter by use of an ultraviolet setting resin.

Multibeam scanning optical apparatus and laser light source apparatus

A laser beam scanning optical apparatus has a focusing lens having different optical powers in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction, moving means for moving the focusing lens on an optical direction, detecting means for detecting a state of convergence of the laser beam on a scanned surface, and control means for adjusting the convergence position of the laser beam by moving the focusing lens via driving said moving means based on the detection result of the detection means. In the aforementioned construction, the state of the convergence of the laser beam on a scanned surface is adjusted in the main scanning direction and the sub-scan direction by moving the focusing lens in an optical axis. The focusing lens is moved to a position of optimum convergence based on the construction of the optical system by detecting the state of convergence in the main scan direction and the sub-scan direction via a detecting means.

Laser beam scanning optical apparatus

In a scanning optical system in which image-surface curvature in the traverse direction is corrected properly without degrading imaging performance in the scanning direction and in which the transverse magnification is approximately uniform irrespective of the deflection angle, the influence of form errors in the imaging lens upon the image is substantially suppressed so as not to degrade the quality of the image. The scanning optical system is provided with a aspherical lens having a refractive power only in the traverse direction and having a TSL shape whose curvature radius increases as the distance in the scanning direction from the center of the lens (the position in which the curvature radius in the traverse direction is smallest) increases. The aspherical lens is disposed in such a way that the line of symmetry that passes through its center is parallel to and at a distance from the optical axis of a first lens unit on the upstream side of a scanning path in the scanning direction. The traverse magnification of the scanning optical system is set at a value in a predetermined range.

Scanning optical system

In a scanning optical system in which a plurality of light beams emitted from a plurality of light sources are, after being formed into beams converging in a predetermined manner, deflected by a single deflector and are then shone, through scanning lens systems provided one for each light beam, onto a scanned surface so that the scanned surface is scanned by the light beams for image formation, at least one of the scanning lens systems satisfies the condition 0&lt;-{(L-HH')+k}/k.ltoreq.0.2, where L represents the distance from the point of deflection of the light beam to the scanned surface, HH' represents the distance from the front-side principal point to the rear-side principal point of the scanning lens system, and k (k&lt;0) represents the constant of proportionality defined by the formula y'=k.theta., where y' represents the image height on the scanned surface in the main scanning direction, and .theta. represents the angle of deflection, that is, the angle that the light beam, after being deflected by the deflector, forms with respect to the optical axis of the scanning lens system.

Scanning optical system and a scanning optical apparatus

A laser beam optical scanning device which focuses and scans a laser beam emitted from laser diode 1 in the arrow b direction on a photosensitive drum 40 via focusing lens 3, polygonal mirror 6, and f.theta. lens 7. The scanning laser beam enters a convergence state detector 10, which detects the amount of dislocation of the convergence position. The amount of positional change is calculated to correct the convergence position based on the detected amount of dislocation, and the focusing lens 3 is moved on the optical axis of the lens via motor 21 to correct the beam convergence position. When processing is executed to correct the convergence position in the intermediate zone of the image formign range and the calculated amount of positional change exceeds a limit value, a detection error is assumed, and the focusing lens 3 is moved an amount less than the limit value.

Laser beam optical scanning device and image forming apparatus with

A laser beam scanning optical apparatus which images and scans a laser beam emitted from a laser diode on a photo-sensitive drum through a focusing lens, a polygon mirror and an f.theta. lens. An SOS photosensor detects the scanned laser beam and generates a detection signal. The laser diode is controlled to perform pulse emission a specified time after the generation of the detection signal. The pulse beam is incident to a beam detector which adopts a knife edge method, and the amount of a focal shift is detected. The focusing lens is moved along the optical axis in accordance with the detected amount of a focal shift to correct the position of the image point.

A laser beam scanning optical apparatus which has Moire fringes generating elements which is located near a position optically equivalent to a scanning surface and modulates a laser beam emitted from a laser source to generate Moire fringes. The Moire fringes generating elements comprises, for example, a first filter which has spatial grating and a second filter which has spatial grating which slants slightly with respect to the spatial grating of the first filter, the first filter and the second filter being arranged upstream and downstream respectively in an optical path. The laser beam scanning optical apparatus further has a light receiving element for receiving the Moire fringes generated by the Moire fringes generating elements. Focusing means for correcting a position of an image point of the laser beam is driven in accordance with an output of the light receiving element. For example, the light receiving element is a photoelectric element with a plurality of light receiving surfaces, each of which generates an electric signal in accordance with the laser beam incident thereto, and from a phase difference between the electric signals, the position of the image point is detected.

Laser beam scanning optical apparatus having means for generating moire

A laser beam scanning optical apparatus which has a laser source unit, a collimator lens, a cylindrical lens, a polygon mirror and a scanning lens with an f.theta. function. The collimator lens is a bifocal lens, and because of the bifocal collimator lens, a part of the laser beam is focused on a point before the surface of a photosensitive member, and another part of the laser beam is focused on a point after the surface of the photosensitive member. Also, the cylindrical lens can be a bifocal lens. In this case, even when the magnification ratio in the sub scanning direction is designed small, the focal length of the cylindrical lens does not have to be lengthened.

A copying machine for forming an image by scanning a laser beam which is emitted from an optical system on a photosensitive member. Photosensors are provided at optically equivalent positions to a beginning portion and an end portion of a scanning line on a photosensitive member. A scanning time of a laser beam in the main scanning direction is measured by these photosensors. The measured time and a standard time for a copy magnification set by an operator are compared, and a correction value is calculated, and at the same time, magnification in the main scanning direction is corrected using the correcting value. Also, focusing (adjusting of the beam diameter) is carried out using the photosensors. Each of the photosensors contains a photoelectric transfer element, and a beam which comes through a slit is incident to the element. Each photosensor is provided with two slits. One is perpendicular to the main scanning direction, and the other is inclined to the main scanning direction. The beam diameter in the main scanning direction is adjusted based on detection of the beam which comes through the slit which is perpendicular to the main scanning direction. The beam diameter in the sub scanning direction is adjusted based on detection of the beam which comes through the slit inclined to the main scanning direction.

Digital method image forming apparatus and image forming method thereof

A plurality of holding members individually hold some of a plurality of lenses in a scanning optical system. A base member holds and connects a plurality of the holding members at predetermined positional relations with rigidity higher than that of the holding member, and is attached to a structural member of an image forming apparatus.

Image forming apparatus with optical element support structure

Image forming apparatus and method for maintaining set magnification not

An illuminating optical system for use in a microfilm reader/printer or the like for illuminating a film comprises an axially symmetric lens system and an anamorphic lens system. The anamorphic lens system includes a condenser lens opposed to a light source. A microfilm reader/printer having such an illuminating optical system causes the axially symmetric lens system to illuminate the microfilm during a reading operation, and the anamorphic lens system to illuminate the film during a printing operation.

Anamorphic illuminating optical system

A laser beam scanning apparatus having a laser beam generating section generating first and second laser beams, a rotatable polygonal mirror for deflecting the first and second laser beams to form scanning lines each extending in a main scanning direction on a beam receiving surface and an optical system for imaging the first and second laser beams deflected by the polygonal mirror on the beam receiving surface. Each of the first and second laser beams impinges on the reflective face of the polygonal mirror at an angle with respect to an optical axis in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction. The following condition is satisfied:

Laser beam scanning apparatus

A reading apparatus of the invention has a high resolution reading part, a low resolution reading part, holding means for holding both the reading parts so as to be movable along a document, and means for selecting both the reading parts. The reading apparatus performs by one set of the apparatus total four modes of low resolution reading with respect to a light-impermeable document, high resolution reading with respect to the light-impermeable document, low resolution reading with respect to a large-sized light-permeable document, and high resolution reading with respect to a small-sized light-permeable document, such as a photographic film.

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Toyohashi, Japan

Nobuo Kanai