Patent ID: 7777958

Claim:
An erecting equal-magnification lens array plate including a stack of a plurality lens array plates built such that pairs of corresponding lenses form a coaxial lens system, where each lens array plate is formed with a plurality of lenses on one or both surfaces of the plate, the plate receiving light from a substantially straight light source facing one side of the plate, and the plate forming an erect equal-magnification image of the substantially straight light source on an image plane facing the other side of the plate, wherein the main lens arrangement direction differs from the longitudinal direction of the erecting equal-magnification lens array plate, the erecting equal-magnification lens array plate comprising: a first light shielding member operative to shield light not contributing to imaging and formed in the neighborhood of a position in the intermediate plane in the erecting equal-magnification lens array plate where an inverted image of the substantially straight light source is formed, and a second light shielding member operative to reduce the amount of light incident on at least some of the lenses at the periphery in the sub-scanning direction and provided on a lens surface of the erecting equal-magnification lens array plate facing a light source or a lens surface facing an image plane.