Optical scanning device and method of manufacturing the same

• US 7,403,317 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2005
• Issued: 07/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Mochizuki, Eiji
• Primary Examiner(s): Cherry; Euncha P
• Application Number:
  US11/074,785
• Publication Number:
  US 20050213230A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,231 Days
• Field of Search: 359223-226, 359/871, 359196-198, 359/872
• US Class Current: 359/224.1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0841 the reflecting element being moved or deformed by electrostatic means

Abstract

An optical scanning device is disclosed that is manufactured through a simple mounting process and is provided with a hermetically sealed oscillation space for an oscillation mirror. The optical scanning device includes plural drive electrodes for driving the oscillation mirror and plural external electrodes of the drive electrodes that are formed at the same height.

Claims

1. An optical scanning device, comprising:

a plurality of drive electrodes formed on a substrate of an oscillation mirror for driving the oscillation mirror, the drive electrodes being arranged in perpendicular and parallel directions with respect to a torsion rotational axis; and

a plurality of external electrodes of the drive electrodes that are formed on the substrate at a same height and a same side,

wherein the external electrodes are integrally formed on a side of the substrate of the oscillation mirror against which side a base substrate including a lead terminal is positioned.

4. The optical scanning device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

conduction holes formed around the external electrodes, the conduction holes being used to realize conduction between the external electrodes and the drive electrodes in a case where the external electrodes are formed at an opposite side of the drive electrodes.

5. The optical scanning device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the external electrodes are substantially equivalent in size and are arranged to be substantially symmetrical with respect to a center of the substrate of the oscillation mirror.

6. The optical scanning device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the oscillation mirror is formed on the substrate of the oscillation mirror, the substrate of the oscillation mirror including a conductor that functions as the drive electrodes of the oscillation mirror.

7. The optical scanning device as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:

an oscillation space of the oscillation mirror; and

slit trenches formed at the substrate of the oscillation mirror and connected to the oscillation space;

wherein the external electrodes of the drive electrodes are formed on the substrate of the oscillation mirror and spatially isolated by the slit trenches.

8. The optical scanning device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

an oscillation space of the oscillation mirror that is hermetically sealed.

9. The optical scanning device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a counter mirror that is positioned against the oscillation mirror and spaced apart from the oscillation mirror by an oscillation space of the oscillation mirror;

wherein an optical beam is reflected between the oscillation mirror and the counter mirror.

10. The optical scanning device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the counter mirror is integrally formed on a substrate that is used to hermetically seal the oscillation space.

11. The optical scanning device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the substrate of the counter mirror is directly connected to the substrate of the oscillation mirror.

12. The optical scanning device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the substrate of the oscillation mirror includes one or more positioning indicators for adjusting a positioning between the oscillation mirror and the counter mirror.

2. An optical scanning apparatus comprising:

an optical scanning device including

a plurality of drive electrodes formed on a substrate of an oscillation mirror for driving the oscillation mirror, the drive electrodes being arranged in perpendicular and parallel directions with respect to a torsion rotational axis; and

a plurality of external electrodes of the drive electrodes that are formed on the substrate at a same height and a same side,

wherein the external electrodes are integrally formed on a side of the substrate of the oscillation mirror against which side a base substrate including a lead terminal is positioned; and

a drive voltage generating device that generates a voltage of a predetermined frequency and applies the generated voltage to the optical scanning device to drive the oscillation mirror, the predetermined frequency corresponding to a frequency band in the vicinity of a resonance frequency of the oscillation mirror and outside a peak range of the resonance frequency.

3. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an optical scanning device including

a plurality of drive electrodes formed on a substrate of an oscillation mirror for driving the oscillation mirror, the drive electrodes being arranged in perpendicular and parallel directions with respect to a torsion rotational axis; and

a plurality of external electrodes of the drive electrodes that are formed on the substrate at a same height and a same side,

wherein the external electrodes are integrally formed on a side of the substrate of the oscillation mirror against which side a base substrate including a lead terminal is positioned;

a photoconductor on which an electrostatic image is formed by the optical scanning device;

a developing unit that develops a toner image based on the electrostatic image; and

a transfer unit that transfers the toner image onto a recording medium.

13. A method of manufacturing an optical scanning device that includes an oscillation mirror formed on a substrate of the oscillation mirror as an optical beam deflector, the method comprising a step of:

forming a plurality of external electrodes of a plurality of drive electrodes of the oscillation mirror on the substrate at a same height and on a same side,

wherein the external electrodes are integrally formed on a side of the substrate of the oscillation mirror against which side a base substrate including a lead terminal is positioned.

14. The method of manufacturing an optical scanning device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the external electrodes of the drive electrodes are formed on a side of the substrate of the oscillation mirror against which side a base substrate including a lead terminal is positioned.

15. The method of manufacturing an optical scanning device as claimed in claim 14, further comprising the steps of:

forming conduction holes around the external electrodes of the drive electrodes; and

realizing conduction between the drive electrodes and the external electrodes through the conduction holes.

16. The method of manufacturing an optical scanning device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the oscillation mirror is formed on the substrate of the oscillation mirror, the substrate of the oscillation mirror including a conductor.

17. The method of manufacturing an optical scanning device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the external electrodes of the drive electrodes are arranged to be substantially symmetrical with respect to a center of the substrate of the oscillation mirror.

18. The method of manufacturing an optical scanning device as claimed in claim 17, further comprising the steps of:

forming slit trenches at the substrate of the oscillation mirror, the slit trenches being connected to an oscillation space of the oscillation mirror; and

spatially isolating the external electrodes of the drive electrodes by the slit trenches.

19. The method of manufacturing an optical scanning device as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a step of:

hermetically sealing an oscillation space of the oscillation mirror.

20. The method of manufacturing an optical scanning device as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a step of:

positioning a counter mirror against the oscillation mirror, the counter mirror being spaced apart from the oscillation mirror via an oscillation space of the oscillation mirror.

21. The method of manufacturing an optical scanning device as claimed in claim 20, wherein the counter mirror is integrally formed on a substrate that is used to hermetically seal the oscillation space of the oscillation mirror.

22. The method of manufacturing an optical scanning device as claimed in claim 21, further comprising a step of:

directly connecting the substrate of the counter mirror to the substrate of the oscillation mirror.

23. The method of manufacturing an optical scanning device as claimed in claim 22, further comprising a step of:

forming one or more indication marks on the substrate of the oscillation mirror through etching, the marks indicating a relative positioning between the oscillation mirror and the counter mirror.