Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Stanley Electric Co., Ltd

Tetsurou Saitoh

Eiji Mochizuki

Yukito Sato

Yoshiaki Yasuda

Mitsumi Fujii

Masanao Tani

Kohki Sasaki

Masahiro Akamatsu

Mochizuki Eiji

An optical deflector includes a plurality of piezoelectric unimorph oscillating bodies (to) that cause a reflecting plate () to oscillate rotationally, centering upon a pair of flexible support units (and). The optical deflector forms a single structure of the oscillating plates (to), the reflecting plate (), the flexible support units (and), and a support body (), by connecting one set of the terminals of the oscillating plates (to) of the suite of piezoelectric unimorph oscillating bodies (to) to the flexible support units (and), and connecting the other set of terminals to the support body (). Furthermore, the plurality of piezoelectric unimorph oscillating bodies (to) each respectively comprise a plurality of parallel oscillating bodies (to--to--to-), and (-to-), and a suite of parallel actuators (-to--to-, and-to-).

Optical deflector and optical device

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

A vibration unit including a frame, a vibration element including a substrate configured to vibrate, and a beam configured to connect the vibration element to the frame. The vibration unit is produced by applying an etching process to at least two surfaces of a substrate. A meeting position of the two surfaces of the substrate is located where a first etching process, which takes place on a first surface of the substrate and a second etching process, which takes place on a second surface of the substrate meet, and is located at a position other than a center position in a width direction of the beam.

Vibration elements

A scanner element includes a frame part formed by a substrate, a movable plate formed inside the frame part and a torsion bar swingably supporting the movable plate on the frame part. One of the movable plate and the torsion bar has an adjusting part formed by a process of forming the movable plate and the torsion bar so that a ratio of an actual value of a moment of inertia I+&#x394;I of the movable plate to an actual value of a spring constant K+&#x394;K of the torsion bar is substantially equal to a ratio of a design value of the moment of inertia I of the movable plate to a design value of the spring constant K of the torsion bar.

Scanner element having a constant resonance frequency, and optical scanning apparatus and image forming apparatus using such a scanner element

A light emitting element has plural semiconductor layers including a light emitting layer and formed on one principal surface of a semiconductor substrate, and is constructed such that at least one portion of end faces of the plural semiconductor layers including the light emitting layer is set to a light emitting end face. Plural light emitting end faces are formed in the light emitting element. Angles formed between mutual adjacent end faces of the respective light emitting end faces are set such that lights emitted from at least two light emitting end faces among the plural light emitting end faces are mutually synthesized. Accordingly, lights from the plural light emitting end faces can be synthesized and emitted. As a result, an amount of light emitted in a forward direction of the light emitting element and an output of this light can be increased. Accordingly, coupling efficiency of the light emitting element and an optical fiber can be improved and a reduction in light emitting efficiency can be effectively prevented.

Growing community of inventors

Sendai, Japan

Tetsurou Saitoh