Patent ID: 6859121

Claim:
An optical deflector comprising: a support body; a movable plate having a reflecting surface to reflect a light beam; a pair of first elastic portions, which are elastically deformable, connecting the movable plate and the support body to allow the movable plate to rotate about a first rotational axis; a pair of second elastic portions, which are elastically deformable, connecting the movable plate and the support body to allow the movable plate to rotate about a second rotational axis orthogonal to the first rotational axis; a first drive wiring, which allows a current to flow through it, extending through the support body, the first elastic portions and the movable plate, the first drive wiring including parts that are positioned in the movable plate and extend only in parallel with the first rotational axis; a second drive wiring, which allows a current to flow through it, extending through the support body, the second elastic portions and the movable plate, the second drive wiring including parts that are positioned in the movable plate and extend only in parallel with the second rotational axis orthogonal to the first drive wiring parts on the movable plate; and a magnetic field generator that generates a magnetic field in a space surrounding the movable plate, the magnetic field interacting with the currents flowing through the first drive wiring and the second drive wiring on the movable plate to cause the movable plate to rotate, so that a direction of the light beam reflected by the reflecting surface of the movable plate is changed.