OPTICAL WRITING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING

• US 20190310566A1
• Filed: 03/11/2019
• Published: 10/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2018
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Inventors: MATSUO, Takahiro, NAGAOKA, Atsushi, TAKAHASHI, Masahiko
• Application Number:
  US16/298,882
• Publication Number:
  US 20190310566A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/30 Collimators
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0056 arranged along two different directions in a plane, e.g. honeycomb arrangement of lenses G02B3/0043 takes precedence; miniaturised objectives for electronic devices employing wafer level optics G02B13/0085
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0062 Stacked lens arrays, i.e. refractive surfaces arranged in at least two planes, without structurally separate optical elements in-between
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/04054 by LED arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0435 by introducing an optical element in the optical path, e.g. a filter
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/80 Details relating to power supplies, circuits boards, electrical connections
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/0409 Light-emitting diodes, i.e. LED-array
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/0412 Electroluminescent elements, i.e. EL-array

Abstract

An optical writing device includes: a light source substrate in which a plurality of light sources and a driving circuit for driving the plurality of light sources are mounted on the same substrate surface; and an optical element that images outgoing light of the light sources on a photoreceptor, wherein the plurality of light sources are two-dimensionally disposed in plan view from an optical axis direction of the optical element, and the light sources having distances different from each other in the optical axis direction to the photoreceptor are included.

Claims

1. An optical writing device comprising:

a light source substrate in which a plurality of light sources and a driving circuit for driving the plurality of light sources are mounted on the same substrate surface; and

an optical element that images outgoing light of the light sources on a photoreceptor,

wherein the plurality of light sources are two-dimensionally disposed in plan view from an optical axis direction of the optical element, and

the light sources having distances different from each other in the optical axis direction to the photoreceptor are included.

2. The optical writing device according to claim 1,

wherein the plurality of light sources form a plurality of light source arrays in which light source arrays in which light sources are disposed along a first direction are disposed side by side in a second direction different from the first direction, and

the light sources having distances different from each other in the optical axis direction to the photoreceptor are included in light source arrays different from each other.

3. The optical writing device according to claim 2,

wherein the light sources belonging to light source arrays different from each other have distances different from each other in the optical axis direction to the photoreceptor.

4. The optical writing device according to claim 1,

wherein the light source substrate includes a plurality of unit substrates in which a plurality of light sources and a driving circuit for driving the plurality of light sources are mounted on the same substrate surface, and

the light sources having distances different from each other in the optical axis direction to the photoreceptor are mounted on unit substrates different from each other.

5. The optical writing device according to claim 4,

wherein a light source mounted on one unit substrate and a region, in which a light source on another unit substrate far from the optical element as compared with the one unit substrate is not mounted, overlap each other in plan view from the optical axis direction.

6. The optical writing device according to claim 4,

wherein, in plan view from the optical axis direction, the unit substrates overlap each other in a region where a light source is not mounted.

7. The optical writing device according to claim 4,

wherein a plurality of regions, on which light sources are mounted, are provided in a direction different from a first direction, and

in the plurality of regions, distances in the optical axis direction from a light source mounted in the regions to the photoreceptor are different from each other.

8. The optical writing device according to claim 4,

wherein the plurality of unit substrates include a two-dimensional array substrate in which the light sources are two-dimensionally disposed, and

a light source mounted on a unit substrate close to the optical element as compared with the two-dimensional array substrate is interposed between the light sources mounted on the two-dimensional array substrate, in plan view from the optical axis direction.

9. The optical writing device according to claim 4, further comprising:

a holder that holds the plurality of unit substrates in order not to be in contact with each other.

10. The optical writing device according to claim 1,

wherein light sources having different distances from each other in the optical axis direction to the photoreceptor are mounted on substrate surfaces different from each other of one substrate.

11. The optical writing device according to claim 1,

wherein the light source substrate is disposed such that a substrate surface obliquely intersects the optical axis direction.

12. The optical writing device according to claim 1,

wherein the light sources are a light emitting point group including a plurality of light emitting points.

13. The optical writing device according to claim 1,

wherein the light sources are an OLED.

14. An image forming apparatus comprising

the optical writing device according to claim 1.