Patent ID: 6288818
Filing Date: 2001-09-11
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
An optical scanning apparatus which scans an image surface of a photoconductive medium along a main scanning line by focusing and deflecting a light beam onto the image surface, so as to produce an electrostatic image on the image surface, comprising:a plurality of light sources which emit first and second beams;first and second coupling lens units which respectively couple the first and second beams emitted by the plurality of light sources;a rotary deflector, having pairs of mutually-opposite reflection surfaces, which deflects the first beam, coupled by the first coupling lens unit, in a first direction by one of the reflection surfaces, and deflects the second beam, coupled by the second coupling lens unit, in a second direction opposite to the first direction, by another of the reflection surfaces; andfirst and second imaging units which scan the image surface along a first half of the main scanning line by focusing and deflecting the first beam, deflected by the rotary deflector, into a first spot on the image surface, and scan the image surface along a second half of the main scanning line by focusing and deflecting the second beam, deflected by the rotary deflector, into a second spot on the image surface, such that the first and second halves form a substantially straight scanning line on the image surface when the rotary deflector is rotated.