Nippon Sheet Glass Company, Limited

Shiro Sato

Katsuhide Shimmo

Hiroyuki Nemoto

Hideshi Nagata

Kazuto Kase

Haruhiko Mamada

Jun Yamaguchi

Keiji Tsunetomo

Satoru Kusaka

Yuji Hiranuma

An optical component includes: a first layer made of a first material having a first refractive index, the first layer including a first principal surface and a second principal surface opposite to the first principal surface; and a second layer made of a second material having a second refractive index different from the first refractive index, the second layer including a third principal surface and a fourth principal surface opposite to the third principal surface, and the first layer and the second layer are stacked such that the second principal surface and the third principal surface are in contact. A lens is formed on the first principal surface of the first layer, and a vortex profile is formed on the third principal surface of the second layer.

Optical component and method of manufacturing optical component

An optical component includes: a substrate; a lens formed on a first principal surface of the substrate; and a vortex profile formed on a surface of the lens.

An erecting equal-magnification lens array plate includes: a first lens array plate provided with a plurality of first lenses systematically arranged on a first surface and a plurality of second lenses systematically arranged on a second surface opposite to the first surface; and a second lens array plate provided with a plurality of third lenses systematically arranged on a third surface and a plurality of fourth lenses systematically arranged on a fourth surface opposite to the third surface. The first lens array plate and the second lens array plate form a stack such that the second surface and the third surface face each other to ensure that a combination of the lenses aligned with each other form a coaxial lens system. A plurality of V grooves are formed in an area between adjacent second lenses on the second surface in the erecting equal-magnification lens array plate.

Erecting equal-magnification lens array plate, optical scanning unit, image reading device, and image writing device

An erecting equal-magnification lens array plate includes a first lens array plate and a second lens array plate provided opposite to each other, each of the first and second lens array plates being formed with a plurality of lenses on both sides thereof. The first lens array plate is provided with a first lens-to-lens distance determining part. The second lens array plate is provided with a second lens-to-lens distance determining part. The distance between opposite lenses is determined by the contact between the first lens-to-lens distance determining part and the second lens-to-lens distance determining part.

An erecting equal-magnification lens array plate includes: a first lens array plate provided with a plurality of first lenses arranged on a first surface and a plurality of second lenses arranged on a second surface; and a second lens array plate provided with a plurality of third lenses arranged on a third surface and a plurality of fourth lenses arranged on a fourth surface. The first and second lens array plates are stacked. An intermediate light-shielding member provided with a plurality of intermediate through holes is between the first lens array plate and the second lens array plate. The intermediate through hole is formed such that the hole diameter is progressively smaller in a tapered fashion away from the second surface toward the third surface. A plurality of V grooves are formed in an area between adjacent second lenses on the second surface.

An image reading device includes: a line illuminator for irradiating a document G; an erecting equal-magnification lens array operative to condense light reflected by the document G and including a stack of a first lens array plate and a second lens array plate each provided with an arrangement of a plurality of lenses on both sides thereof; a line image sensor operative to receive the light condensed by the erecting equal-magnification lens array; a housing for securing the line illuminator, the erecting equal-magnification lens array, and the line image sensor in their places; and a first light shielding member, a second light shielding member, and a third light shielding member operative to prevent light not contributing to imaging from entering the lenses. The first light shielding member, the second light shielding member, and the third light shielding member are formed as one piece with the main part of the housing.

Image reading device

A lens array unit mounting structure mounts a lens array unit in a recess provided in a housing of an image reading device. The structure includes a right projection and a left projection provided on the lens array unit and includes a right groove and a left groove provided in the recess of the housing. The lens array unit is secured in the recess of the housing by engaging the right projection with the right groove and engaging the left projection with the left groove.

Lens array unit mounting structure

A lens array unit includes a first lens array plate, a second lens array plate, and a holder. The holder includes a first surface part provided with a plurality of first through holes respectively corresponding to a plurality of first outer lenses, a second surface part provided with a plurality of second through holes respectively corresponding to a plurality of second outer lenses, and a support part operative to support the first surface part and the second surface part so as to be located at a predetermined distance from each other. The first surface part, the second surface part, and the support part are integrally formed by a light shielding material, and the first lens array plate and the second lens array plate are held by the holder by being inserted into the gap between the first surface part and the third surface part and the gap between the second surface part and the third surface part, respectively.

Lens array unit and image reading device

Spherical convex micro-lenses are arranged between rectangular grooves adjacent to each other of a lens plate. The arrangement of convex micro-lenses is made to be in parallel with the short-side direction of the lens plate, namely, the direction of the rectangular grooves. Since stray light appears mainly on the convex micro-lenses arranged in the long-side direction of the lens plate, the stray light to appear in the long-side direction of the lens plate is removed by forming grooves at regular intervals in the long-side direction of the lens plate and forming a light absorbing film in each of the rectangular grooves. Or the stray light to appear in the long-side direction of the lens plate is removed by making the direction of arrangement of convex micro-lenses different from the long-side direction of the lens plate.

Growing community of inventors

Minato-ku, Japan

Shiro Sato