Patent ID: 6771299
Filing Date: 2004-08-03
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
A multibeam exposure head comprising:a multibeam light source which exposes a recording material by main scanning, said multibeam light source having a first multiple beam forming light source in which a plurality of beam emitting ports are arranged parallel to each other while being spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, and a second multiple beam forming light source in which a plurality of beam emitting ports are arranged parallel to each other being spaced apart from each other by said predetermined distance, wherein said plurality of beam emitting ports in said second multiple beam forming light source are placed parallel to the parallel arrangement direction of the beam emitting ports in said first multiple beam forming light source while being spaced apart by a predetermined distance from the same, and the position of the beam emitting port at one end of said second multiple beam forming light source being shifted in the parallel direction relative to the position of the beam emitting port at the corresponding end of said first multiple beam forming light source; and a tilt angle changing unit which makes, by rotating said multibeam light source, a change in exposure condition from a first exposure condition in which each of first multiple beams emitted from said first multiple beam forming light source and each of second multiple beams emitted from said second multiple beam forming light source are alternatively arranged at a first equal interval in a subscanning direction perpendicular to the direction of main scanning on a recording material, to a second exposure condition in which each of the first multiple beams and each of the second multiple beams are alternatively arranged at a second equal interval in the subscanning direction.