Patent ID: 7693010

Claim:
An optical beam control device comprising: a light-emission unit that emits an optical beam; a scanning unit that causes the optical beam to scan on an image bearing member; a luminous energy detection unit that detects luminous energy of the optical beam emitted by the light-emission unit; an optical beam detection unit that detects the optical beam to be scanned on a predetermined position on the image bearing member, the optical beam detection unit detecting the optical beam when the optical beam has a luminous energy that is equal to or more than a predetermined amount of luminous energy; and a control unit that controls a light-emission timing at which the light-emission unit emits the optical beam, the control unit controlling the luminous energy of the optical beam emitted by the light-emission unit in response to the detected luminous energy; wherein the control unit increases the luminous energy from an energy that is less than the predetermined amount to an energy that is equal to or more than the predetermined amount in an initial period, the initial period starting from an activation of the light-emission unit till a first detection of the optical beam by the optical beam detection unit, the optical beam at the first detection having an energy that is equal to or more than the predetermined amount; the initial period has an extinction period before the first detection; and the control unit controls the light-emission unit to extinguish the optical beam during the extinction period.