OSCILLATOR DEVICE, OPTICAL DEFLECTOR AND OPTICAL INSTRUMENT USING THE SAME

• US 20090039716A1
• Filed: 08/06/2008
• Published: 02/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ushijima, Takashi, Ogawa, Toshiyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,919,889 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 310/36
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/085 the reflecting means being moved or deformed by electromagnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/105 with one or more pivoting mirrors or galvano-mirrors G02B26/101 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 33/16 with polarised armatures moving in alternate directions by reversal or energisation of a single coil system

Abstract

An oscillator device includes an oscillator, a resilient support member configured to support the oscillator for oscillatory motion about an oscillation central axis, a magnetic member provided on the oscillator, and a magnetic-field generating member disposed opposed to the oscillator, wherein the oscillator has a through-hole extending through the oscillator from its top surface to its bottom surface, and wherein the magnetic member is provided in the through-hole.

Claims

1. An oscillator device, comprising:

an oscillator;

a resilient support member configured to support said oscillator for oscillatory motion about an oscillation central axis;

a magnetic member provided on said oscillator; and

a magnetic-field generating member disposed opposed to said oscillator;

wherein said oscillator has a through-hole extending through said oscillator from its top surface to its bottom surface, and

wherein said magnetic member is provided in said through-hole.

2. An oscillator according to claim 1, wherein said magnetic member has a gravity center which is placed on the oscillation central axis of said oscillator.

3. An oscillator according to claim 1, wherein the through-hole opens outside, at one location on a side surface of said oscillator.

4. An oscillator according to claim 1, wherein the through-hole has a recess formed in its side wall, wherein the recess is symmetric with respect to a plane which contains the oscillation central axis and which is parallel to the surface of said oscillator, and wherein said magnetic member is provided at the recess.

5. An oscillator according to claim 1, wherein the through-hole extends in a direction intersecting with the oscillation central axis.

6. An oscillator according to claim 1, wherein said oscillator comprise a plurality of said oscillators and a plurality of said torsion springs, and wherein said oscillators and said torsion springs are disposed on a straight line extending along the oscillation central axis.

7. An oscillator according to claim 6, wherein at least one of said oscillators does not have said through-hole and said magnetic member.

8. An oscillator according to claim 1, wherein said magnetic member has a cylindrical shape.

9. An oscillator according to claim 1, wherein said magnetic member has a thickness larger than a thickness of said oscillator.

10. An oscillator according to claim 1, wherein said oscillator is made of silicon monocrystal.

11. An oscillator according to claim 10, wherein the side wall of said through-hole is constituted by a (111)-equivalent surface of the crystal surface of the silicon monocrystal.

12. An oscillator according to claim 11, wherein lengths of openings formed at the top surface and the bottom surface of said oscillator, respectively, in a direction parallel to the oscillation central axis, are equal to each other, and wherein, when the length of the two openings is denoted by d and the thickness of said oscillator is denoted by t, an inequality d*tan 54.7°

>

t is satisfied.

13. An oscillator according to claim 1, wherein one of lengths of openings formed at the top surface and the bottom surface of said oscillator, respectively, in a direction parallel to the oscillation central axis is shorter than the other length.

14. An oscillator according to claim 1, wherein said magnetic member is comprised of a permanent magnet, and wherein said magnetic-field generating member is comprised of an electromagnetic coil.

15. An optical deflector, comprising:

an oscillator device as recited in claim 1; and

a light reflecting member provided on one oscillator.

16. An optical instrument, comprising:

a light source;

an optical deflector as recited in claim 15; and

a target member on which light is to be incident;

wherein said optical deflector is configured to deflect light from said light source and to project at least a portion of the light onto said target member.

17. In a method of manufacturing an oscillator device recited in claim 1, the improvement residing in that a side wall of the through-hole is formed based on an anisotropic etching process.