Patent ID: 7325736

Claim:
An optical scanner for scanning incident light two-dimensionally by oscillatory rotation of a reflective surface on which light is incident, the optical scanner comprising: a first scanning device having a first mirror portion in which a first reflective surface is formed, the first scanning device scanning in a first direction, light which impinges obliquely on the first reflective surface, by oscillatory rotation of the first mirror portion about a first oscillation axis; and a second scanning device having a second mirror portion in which a second reflective surface is formed so as to be generally in parallel to the first reflective surface in a non-active state of the optical scanner, the second scanning device scanning in a second direction intersecting with respect to the first direction, the light exiting the first reflective surface and then entering obliquely the second reflective surface, by oscillatory rotation of the second mirror portion about a second oscillation axis intersecting with respect to the first oscillation axis, wherein the first oscillation axis is oriented substantially parallel to a direction in which the light enters the first reflective surface, when the optical scanner is viewed in a direction perpendicular to the first and second reflective surface, and wherein the second reflective surface has a dimension in a direction of the second oscillation axis, which is equal to or larger than a dimension expressed by 2·d·tan(α/2), wherein: α denotes an oscillation angle of the light scanned with the first reflective surface, and d denotes a distance by which centers of the first and second reflective surfaces are spaced apart from each other, when the optical scanner is viewed in a direction perpendicular to the first and second reflective surfaces.