Patent ID: 7443556

Claim:
An optical scanning apparatus, comprising: an optical housing having a surface bearing an optical element having power to predominantly correct a position of a scanning line by scanning in a sub-scanning direction; a scanning line curvature adjusting unit that adjusts a curvature of the scanning line by deforming the optical element in the sub-scanning direction, and the scanning line curvature adjustment unit is provided substantially in a center of the optical element; a scanning line inclination adjusting unit that adjusts an inclination of the scanning line by rotating the optical element about an axis that is at right angles to a main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction; and a first actuating unit provided in the scanning line curvature adjusting unit, and a second actuating unit provided in the scanning line inclination adjusting unit, the first actuating unit and the second actuating unit being auto-driven, and the second actuating unit is configured to adjust a scanning line inclination amount; wherein the optical element is directly borne on the surface, the scanning line curvature adjusting unit is provided such that the scanning line curvature adjusting unit can be driven into the optical element towards the surface, and a driving amount Y of the second actuating unit is calculated by Y=(L 1 +L 2 )·X/L 1 , where X is a scanning line curvature in micrometers (μm), L 1 is a distance from the scanning line curvature adjusting unit up to the scanning line inclination adjusting unit, and L 2 is a distance from the scanning line curvature adjusting unit up to an end opposite to the scanning line inclination adjusting unit.