Light deflection device

• US 4,717,241 A
• Filed: 06/11/1985
• Issued: 01/05/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/1984
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Aagano, Toshitaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Henry, Jon W.
• Application Number:
  US06/743,376
• Time in Patent Office: 938 Days
• Field of Search: 350/487, 350/486, 350/484, 350/174, 350/287, 350/633, 350/634, 350/6.6, 350/360
• US Class Current: 359/223.1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0816 by means of one or more reflecting elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/1825 made by screws, e.g. for laser mirrors

Abstract

A light deflection device is comprised of a cantilever member, a light deflecting element provided near the fixed end of the cantilever member, and a means of imparting deflection to the free end of the cantilever member, so that the angle of inclination of the light deflecting element, and hence the angle of deflection of the light, can be set and controlled with very high precision by the controlled deflection of the cantilever member by said means.

Claims

1. A light deflection device for precisely deflecting a laser beam so that the laser beam can be precisely aligned coincident with at least one other laser beam, comprising a cantilever having a fixed end and a free end, a light deflecting element disposed in the vicinity of the fixed end of the cantilever and movable with high precision in response to movement of an intermediate portion of the cantilever between the fixed and free ends, and a deflection means for imparting a desired amount of deflection to the free end of the cantilever to cause a lesser deflection of the intermediate portion of the cantilever between the fixed end and free end, said deflection means comprising a screw and a motor, and said deflection means being capable of causing an angle of deflection of the light deflecting element to be precisely adjusted by the deflection imparted to the free end of the cantilever by the deflection means.

2. A light deflection device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the light deflection element is mounted on the cantilever adjacent the fixed end.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said combining means is a polarization beam splitter.

3. A light deflection device for precisely deflecting a laser beam so that the laser beam can be precisely alinged coincident with at least one other laser beam, comprising a cantilever having a fixed end and a free end, a light deflecting device disposed in the vicinity of the fixed end of the cantilever and movable with high precision in response to movement of an intermediate portion of the cantilever between the fixed and free ends, and a deflection means for imparting a desired amount of deflection to the free end of the cantilever to cause a lesser deflection of the intermediate portion of the cantilever between the fixed end and free end, said deflection means being capable of causing an angle of deflection of the light deflecting element to be precisely adjusted by the deflection imparted to the free end of the cantilever by the deflection means and said light deflecting device being a prism which deflects light through a hole in the cantilever.

4. An apparatus for making a composite of laser beams comprising a plurality of light sources for generating a plurality of laser beams, a first plurality of light deflection devices for deflecting the respective laser beams in a first plane, a second plurality of light deflection devices for deflecting the respective laser beams deflected by the first plurality of deflection device in a second plane, and a means for combining thus deflected laser beams to obtain a composite of said a plurality of laser beams, at least one of said light deflection devices comprising a cantilever, a light deflecting element disposed in the vicinity of the fixed end of the cantilever, and a deflection means for imparting a desired amount of deflection to the free end of the cantilever, wherein the light deflecting element is inclined by deflection imparted to the free end of the cantilever by the deflection means.