Image forming apparatus

• US 8,693,076 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2011
• Issued: 04/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Mizoguchi, Yasushi
• Primary Examiner(s): FONT, FRANK G
• Application Number:
  US13/024,382
• Publication Number:
  US 20110205609A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,153 Days
• Field of Search: 359/201.2, 359/202.1, 359/204.2, 359/205.1, 359/224.1
• US Class Current: 359/224.1
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/473 using multiple light beams, wavelengths or colours
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/085 the reflecting means being moved or deformed by electromagnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/101 with both horizontal and vertical deflecting means, e.g. raster or XY scanners colour television using laser beams scanning a display screen H04N9/3129

Abstract

An image forming apparatus has a light output unit, a light scanner that has a light reflection part reflecting the light from the light output unit, rotates the light reflection part around two axes, and scans with the light reflected by the light reflection part, and a scanner rotating unit the rotates the light scanner around a predetermined axis line while keeping a relative positional relation between an intersection of the two rotation axes and the light output unit constant, and the light scanner has a movable unit including the light reflection part, four connection parts provided at intervals of 90 degrees in an outer circumference of the movable unit, each of the connection parts has a shaft part that connects the movable unit and the drive unit and independently and bendingly deforms each of the shaft parts, and thereby, the movable unit rotates around the two axes.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

a light output unit that outputs light;

a light scanner that has a light reflection part for reflecting the light output from the light output unit, the light reflection part being rotatable around a first axis and a second axis that are orthogonal to each other, and the light scanner being operable to scan the light reflected by the light reflection part respectively around the first axis and the second axis;

a scanner rotating unit that rotates the light scanner around a predetermined axis line while keeping a relative positional relation between an intersection of the first axis and the second axis and the light output unit constant; and

a support part that supports the light output unit and the light scanner while maintaining a relative positional relation to each other, the scanner rotating unit being operable to rotate the light output unit and the light scanner integrally with the support part;

wherein the light scanner has;

a movable unit that is displaceable and includes the light reflection part,

four connection parts connected to the movable unit, and

a scanner support part that supports the four connection parts,

the four connection parts are provided at intervals of 90 degrees in an outer circumference of the movable unit along a circumferential direction in a plan view of the movable unit, and

wherein each of the connection parts has;

a rotatable drive unit, and

a shaft part that connects the movable unit and the drive unit and bendingly deforms in a thickness direction of the movable unit by rotation of the drive unit, and

the respective shaft parts are independently bendingly deformed, and thereby, the movable unit rotates around the respective axes of the first axis and the second axis.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light scanner scans with the light by vector scan of sequentially forming line segments connecting different two points on a display surface to which the light reflected by the light reflection part is applied.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scanner rotating unit includes a motor.

4. An image forming apparatus comprising:

a light output unit that outputs light;

a light scanner that has a light reflection part for reflecting the light output from the light output unit, the light reflection part being rotatable around a first axis and a second axis that are orthogonal to each other, and the light scanner being operable to scan the light reflected by the light reflection part respectively around the first axis and the second axis; and

a scanner rotating unit that rotates the light scanner around a predetermined axis line while keeping a relative positional relation between an intersection of the first axis and the second axis and the light output unit constant,

wherein the light scanner has;

a movable unit that is displaceable and includes the light reflection part,

four connection parts connected to the movable unit,

a scanner support part that supports the four connection parts, and

the four connection parts are provided at intervals of 90 degrees in an outer circumference of the movable unit along a circumferential direction in a plan view of the movable unit,

wherein each of the connection parts has;

a rotatable drive unit, and

a shaft part that connects the movable unit and the drive unit and bendingly deforms in a thickness direction of the movable unit by rotation of the drive unit and

the respective shaft parts are independently bendingly deformed, and thereby, the movable unit rotates around the respective axes of the first axis and the second axis,

wherein, given that the two axes orthogonal in the plan view of the movable unit are the X-axis and the Y-axis, the four connection parts have a first connection part and a second connection part opposed in an X-axis direction via the movable unit and a third connection part and a fourth connection part opposed in a Y-axis direction via the movable unit,

wherein each of the first connection part and the second connection part has the drive unit provided separately from the movable unit in the X-axis direction, a first shaft part as the shaft part connecting the movable unit and the drive unit and extending in the X-axis direction, and a second shaft part connecting the drive unit and the scanner support part and extending in the Y-axis direction, and

wherein each of the third connection part and the fourth connection part has the drive unit provided separately from the movable unit in the Y-axis direction, a first shaft part as the shaft part connecting the movable unit and the drive unit and extending in the Y-axis direction, and a second shaft part connecting the drive unit and the scanner support part and extending in the X-axis direction.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, given that an axis orthogonal to the X-axis and the Y-axis is the Z-axis, each of the first shaft parts of the four connection parts may perform a first deformation of bending into a V-shape convex toward one side in the Z-axis direction, and a second deformation of bending into a V-shape convex toward the other side in the Z-axis direction.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a state in which the first shaft part of the first connection part is allowed to perform the first deformation and the first shaft part of the second connection part is allowed to perform the second deformation and a state in which the first shaft part of the first connection part is allowed to perform the second deformation and the first shaft part of the second connection part is allowed to perform the first deformation are alternately repeated, and thereby, the movable unit is rotated around the Y-axis, and

a state in which the first shaft part of the third connection part is allowed to perform the first deformation and the first shaft part of the fourth connection part is allowed to perform the second deformation and a state in which the first shaft part of the third connection part is allowed to perform the second deformation and the first shaft part of the fourth connection part is allowed to perform the first deformation are alternately repeated, and thereby, the movable unit is rotated around the X-axis.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein each of the first shaft parts of the four connection parts has a stress relaxing portion provided between the movable unit and the drive unit, a movable unit side shaft portion connecting the stress relaxing portion and the movable unit, and a drive unit side shaft portion connecting the stress relaxing portion and the drive unit, and bends in the stress relaxing portion.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein each of the movable unit side shaft portions of the four connection parts torsionally deforms around a center axis of the movable unit side shaft portion.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein each of the drive unit side shaft portions of the four connection parts does not deform.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein each of the stress relaxing portions of the four connection parts has a deforming portion that extends in a direction orthogonal to an extending direction of the movable unit side shaft portion and the drive unit side shaft portion in the plan view of the movable unit and torsionally deforms around a center axis.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein each of the stress relaxing portions of the four connection parts has a pair of the deforming portions, and

one deforming portion of the pair of deforming portions is connected to the movable unit side shaft portion and the other deforming portion is connected to the drive unit side shaft portion.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein each of the stress relaxing portions of the four connection parts has a non-deforming portion provided between the pair of the deforming portions, extending in a direction in parallel to an extending direction of the deforming portions, and does not torsionally deform around the center axis.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein each of the stress relaxing portions of the four connection parts has a section alternately extending and meandering in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein each of the stress relaxing portions of the four connection parts has plural extending portions extending in the X-axis direction and plural extending portions extending in the Y-axis direction, and each of the plural extending portions is torsionally deformable and curvedly deformable around a center axis.

15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 12, wherein each of the four connection parts is formed by an SOI substrate in which a first Si layer, an SiO₂ layer, and a second Si layer are stacked in this order.

16. An image forming apparatus comprising:

a light output unit that outputs light;

a light scanner that has a light reflection part for reflecting the light output from the light output unit, the light reflection part being rotatable around a first axis and a second axis that are orthogonal to each other, and the light scanner being operable to scan the light reflected by the light reflection part respectively around the first axis and the second axis; and

a scanner rotating unit that rotates the light scanner around a predetermined axis line while keeping a relative positional relation between an intersection of the first axis and the second axis and the light output unit constant,

wherein the light scanner has;

a movable unit that is displaceable and includes the light reflection part,

four connection parts connected to the movable unit,

a scanner support part that supports the four connection parts, and

the four connection parts are provided at intervals of 90 degrees in an outer circumference of the movable unit along a circumferential direction in a plan view of the movable unit,

wherein each of the connection parts has;

a rotatable drive unit, and

a shaft part that connects the movable unit and the drive unit and bendingly deforms in a thickness direction of the movable unit by rotation of the drive unit,

a displacement providing unit that rotates the drive unit, and

the respective shaft parts are independently bendingly deformed, and thereby, the movable unit rotates around the respective axes of the first axis and the second axis, and

wherein four of the displacement providing parts are provided in correspondence with the four connection parts.

17. The image forming apparatus according to claim 16, wherein each of the four displacement providing units has a permanent magnet provided in the corresponding drive unit, and a coil that generates a magnetic field acting on the permanent magnet.

18. The image forming apparatus according to claim 17, wherein, in the four displacement providing units, the permanent magnets are provided so that both poles may be opposed in the thickness direction of the movable unit, and the coils are provided to generate magnetic fields in a direction orthogonal to the thickness direction of the movable unit.

19. The image forming apparatus according to claim 17, wherein each of the permanent magnets of the four displacement providing units is provided through the drive unit.