Patent ID: 7102805
Filing Date: 2006-09-05
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
1. An optical scanning apparatus, comprising: a scanning optical system, including a deflecting element which reflects a light beam to deflect the light beam and an imaging element which images the light beam on a surface-to-be-scanned, which scans the light beam on the surface-to-be-scanned in a main scanning direction; and a transmission optical system which guides the light beam deflected by the deflecting element toward the deflecting element, wherein the transmission optical system comprises a concave surface mirror and a transmission lens, the concave surface mirror being disposed such that a reflection surface of the concave surface mirror is directed toward the deflecting element, the transmission lens being disposed between the concave surface mirror and the deflecting element, and wherein the light beam deflected by the deflecting element is guided to the concave surface mirror via the transmission lens while the light beam returned by the concave surface mirror is guided to the deflecting element via the transmission lens, thereby ensuring that the deflection angle of the light beam emitted toward the surface-to-be-scanned after deflected by the deflecting element once again becomes larger than the deflection angle of the light beam impinging upon the transmission optical system.