Patent ID: 7782354

Claim:
An optical writing device, which employs an electrophotographic method to form an image, the optical writing device comprising: a semiconductor laser; a collimating lens; a first aperture forming member including a first aperture; a cylindrical lens; an optical deflector; a housing that houses the semiconductor laser, the collimating lens, the first aperture forming member, the cylindrical lens, and the optical deflector, and the collimating lens and the cylindrical lens are fixed to the housing with an adhesive; and a second aperture forming member including a second aperture arranged in a light path between the semiconductor laser and the collimating lens, wherein the second aperture forming member is molded integrally with the housing, and the optical deflector includes scanning surfaces that are arranged in two steps separated vertically and sandwiching a floor of the housing, and the second aperture forming member includes two second apertures, one second aperture corresponding to each scanning surface, and the two second apertures are staggered in relation to each other in a light path of the optical writing device.