Light deflecting device

• US 7,286,273 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2002
• Issued: 10/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Ikegame, Tetsuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan; James
• Application Number:
  US10/471,041
• Publication Number:
  US 20040085604A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,800 Days
• Field of Search: 359/198, 359/199, 359223-226
• US Class Current: 359/201.1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0816 by means of one or more reflecting elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3512 the optical element being reflective, e.g. mirror
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3582 Housing means or package or arranging details of the switching elements, e.g. for thermal isolation
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/359 of the position of the moving element itself during switching, i.e. without monitoring the switched beams
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/182 for mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/1821 for rotating or oscillating mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/1828 using magnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/00 Recording or reproducing by optical means, e.g. recording using a thermal beam of optical radiation by modifying optical properties or the physical structure, reproducing using an optical beam at lower power by sensing optical properties; Record carriers therefor G11B11/00, G11B13/00 take precedence

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an optical deflecting device capable of suppressing undesirable vibrations of an optical deflecting element such as a mirror and allowing a plurality of optical deflecting elements to be easily arranged. The optical deflecting device is characterized in that the device has: a moving body 21 having at least two optical deflecting elements 1,31 held to face each other; supporting means having a first supporting member 32 pivot-connected to the moving body 21 between the two optical deflecting elements 1,31, so as to support the moving body 21 to a stationary body 22 such that the moving body 21 is tiltable around at least a first axis; and first driving means 26, 27, 41, 43 for driving the moving body 21 around the first axis.

Claims

1. An optical deflecting device comprising:

two optical deflecting elements, each comprising a deflecting surface for deflecting a direction of light;

a first supporting member for rotatably holding a moving body, including at least the optical deflecting elements, with respect to a stationary body;

a driving mechanism for rotating the optical deflecting elements around a predetermined axis of rotation; and

a pivot which couples the moving body to the stationary body and which is disposed on a center of gravity of the moving body at a position located between the two optical deflecting elements.

2. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the pivot is disposed substantially perpendicularly to the deflecting surface.

3. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the pivot is disposed near a driving center of the driving part.

4. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the pivot is disposed at a substantially central portion of the moving body between rear surface sides of the deflecting elements, and wherein the respective rear surface sides are opposite to the respective deflecting surfaces of the deflecting elements.

5. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the pivot is disposed near the axis of rotation.

6. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the pivot has a damping function.

7. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the pivot is made of one of gel, rubber, grease and oil.

8. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the pivot is line symmetric about a line that is substantially perpendicular to the optical deflecting elements and that extends through a center of the pivot.

9. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the first supporting member comprises an opening, and the pivot fills the opening of the first supporting member.

10. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the first supporting member comprises a convex part disposed to abut against the moving body, and the pivot covers a portion of the convex part that abuts against the moving body.

11. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the pivot is formed by injecting a predetermined material into a gap between the moving body and the first supporting member.

12. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the pivot is firmly bonded to the moving body and the first supporting member.

13. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the first supporting member comprises a convex part and the moving body comprises a concave part, and

wherein the pivot fills a space between the convex part of the first supporting member and the concave part of the moving body.

14. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the first supporting member comprises an opening and the moving body comprises a convex part extending into the opening of the first supporting member, and

wherein the pivot fills the opening of the first supporting member around the convex part.

15. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the pivot is disposed integrally with the moving body substantially in a middle portion of the moving body so as to abut against the first supporting member.

16. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the optical deflecting elements utilize one of reflection and refraction.

17. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, further comprising:

a second supporting member rotatably supporting the optical deflecting elements around the axis of rotation.

18. The optical deflecting device of claim 1,

wherein the second supporting member extends in a direction substantially parallel to the deflecting surfaces.

19. The optical deflecting device of claim 16, wherein the second supporting member has a function for feeding power to the moving body.

20. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the optical deflecting elements are rotatable around another axis of rotation substantially orthogonal to said predetermined axis of rotation.

21. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the driving part includes a coil disposed at the moving body and a magnet disposed around the coil.

22. The optical deflecting device of claim 21, wherein the coil includes a first coil and a second coil formed to sandwich the second supporting member therebetween.

23. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, further comprising:

a second supporting member rotatably supporting the optical deflecting elements around the axis of rotation;

wherein the optical deflecting elements comprise a first optical deflecting element and a mirror disposed at a rear surface side of the first optical deflecting element and substantially parallel to the deflecting surface of the first optical deflecting element.

24. The optical deflecting device of claim 23, wherein the first supporting member is bent into a stepwise shape so as to form a concave part, and the mirror is disposed within the concave part.

25. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the two optical deflecting elements face each other.

26. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the respective deflecting surfaces of the two optical deflecting elements face away from each other.

27. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein at least a part of the first supporting member is arranged between the optical deflecting elements.

28. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, wherein the first supporting member is bent into a stepwise shape so as to form a concave part, and one of the optical deflecting elements is disposed within the concave part.

29. The optical deflecting device of claim 1, further comprising a sensor for detecting a degree of tilting of one of the optical deflecting elements.