The present invention relates to a scanner lens used in scanning optical systems of printers, scanners and the like and to a method for producing it.
It is a well known fact that in scanning optical systems of printers, scanners and the like the scanner lens absorbs moisture and the focal point in the vertical scanning direction moves in such a way that the focal length increases (for example, Patent Document 1). Such a movement of the focal point due to moisture absorption is generated by a change in refractive index inside the scanner lens caused by moisture absorption. Accordingly, a method in which an appropriate allowance is added to width in the vertical scanning direction of the scanner lens has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).
However, conventionally, an allowance of width in the vertical scanning direction of the scanner lens has been determined by shape of the scanner lens alone, and characteristics of the scanning optical system have not been taken into account. In other words, a scanner lens and a method for producing it in which an allowance of width in the vertical scanning direction of the scanner lens is determined in consideration of characteristics of the scanning optical system to be used, have not been developed.
Accordingly, there is a need for a scanner lens and a method for producing it in which an allowance of width in the vertical scanning direction of the scanner lens is determined in consideration of characteristics of the scanning optical system to be used.
A method for producing a scanner lens according to the present invention is that for producing a scanner lens of plastic used in an optical scanning system. The method includes the steps of: obtaining lateral magnification of the optical scanning system; obtaining the maximum value of thickness in the optical axis direction of the scanner lens; obtaining allowance b on one side and beam diameter a in the vertical scanning direction in the scanner lens; and obtaining width h in the vertical scanning direction of the scanner lens by the following expression
h=a+2b.
The allowance b is a product of the maximum value of thickness in the optical axis direction of the scanner lens and a coefficient, and the coefficient is determined according to the lateral magnification of the optical scanning system in such a way that the maximum value of movement of the focal point of the scanner lens due to moisture absorption is made smaller than or equal to a predetermined value independently of the lateral magnification of the optical scanning system.
A scanner lens according to the present invention is a scanner lens of plastic used in an optical scanning system. Width h in the vertical scanning direction of the scanner lens is determined by the following expression
h=a+2b
where a represents beam diameter in the vertical scanning direction in the scanner lens and b represents allowance on one side. The allowance b is a product of the maximum value of thickness in the optical axis direction of the scanner lens and a coefficient, and the coefficient is determined according to the lateral magnification of the optical scanning system in such a way that the maximum value of movement of the focal point of the scanner lens due to moisture absorption is made smaller than or equal to a predetermined value independently of the lateral magnification of the optical scanning system.
According to the findings of the inventors, with increasing lateral magnification of the optical scanning system, an amount of movement of the focal point of the scanner lens due to moisture absorption increases. Accordingly, if allowance of width in the vertical scanning direction of the scanner lens is determined in such a way that the allowance increases with increasing lateral magnification of the optical scanning system, the amount of movement of the focal point of the scanner lens, which increases with increasing lateral magnification can be reduced.
In the method for producing a scanner lens according to the present invention, the allowance is determined in such a way that the amount of movement of the focal point of the scanner lens due to moisture absorption is not affected by lateral magnification of the optical scanning system.
According to the present invention, an allowance of width in the vertical scanning direction of the scanner lens can be efficiently determined in consideration of lateral magnification of the optical scanning system.
In the method for producing a scanner lens according to the present invention, the allowance is determined in such a way that the value of the allowance is proportional to a coefficient which increases with increasing lateral magnification of the optical scanning system and the maximum value of thickness in the optical axis direction of the scanner lens.
According to the present invention, an allowance of width in the vertical scanning direction of the scanner lens can be efficiently determined in consideration of lateral magnification of the optical scanning system and the maximum value of thickness in the optical axis direction of the scanner lens.
h=a+2b
In many cases, the second scanner lens 111b is made of low-cost poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA). PMMA tends to absorb a large amount of moisture and therefore tends to cause a movement of the focal point due to moisture absorption.
Rate of moisture absorption=(Weight of the lens which has absorbed moisture−Initial weight of the lens)·100/(Initial weight of the lens)(%)
As shown in
The amount of movement of the focal position varies depending on lateral magnification m. Lateral magnification will be described later.
With the passage of time, the focal position moves in such a direction that the focal length increases, and after a certain time period the focal length is maximized. The amount of movement of the focal position, which corresponds to the maximum focal length is called the maximum amount of movement of the focal position. Then, the focal length gradually decreases, and the focal position returns to the position which substantially corresponds to the initial focal length. The change in the focal position described above is caused by the temporal change in distribution of refractive index along the optical axis, which is shown in
As to the shape of the cross section shown in
Table 1 shows values of lateral magnification m, thickness in the optical axis direction t, beam diameter a, width in the vertical scanning direction h, allowance b and ratio of allowance b to thickness in the optical axis direction t, for 16 cases. The thickness in the optical axis direction t represents the maximum value of thickness among values of thickness in cross sections which are perpendicular to the main scanning direction and correspond to various positions along the main scanning direction.
Lateral magnification will be described below.
r=sin θo/sin θi
That is, lateral magnification is a ratio of numerical aperture (NA) on the object point side to numerical aperture (NA) on the image point side.
In step S010 of
In step S020 of
In step S1010 of
In step S1020 of
In step S1030 of
In step S1040 of
In step S1050 of
In step S1060 of
h=a+2b (1)
As shown in
In step S030 of
In step S2010 of
In step S2020 of
h=a+2b (1)
h represents width in the vertical scanning direction of the scanner lens, a represents beam diameter in the vertical scanning direction and b represents an allowance of width on one side in the vertical scanning direction.
More specifically, a function α(m) of lateral magnification m is determined by the following expression, for example.
α(m)=30·m1/100−29 (2)
In general, the coefficient α(m) can be determined in the form of expression including lateral magnification m. The expression is not limited to Expression (2) and can be any expression that determines allowance b in such a way that the maximum amount of movement of the focal position may be kept constant independently of the lateral magnification m. Alternatively, the coefficient α(m) can be determined in the form of tables which contains values of the coefficient for respective values of lateral magnification m.
Accordingly, if the allowance b in Expression (1) is determined as described below, the maximum amount of movement of the focal position can be kept substantially constant independently of lateral magnification m as shown in
b=α(m)·b0 (3)
b
0=0.7·t (4)
Thus, allowance b can be expressed as a product of the maximum value t of thickness in the optical axis direction and a coefficient (0.7 α(m)). The coefficient is determined according to lateral magnification m.
More generally, if α(m) is determined in such a way that it appropriately increases with lateral magnification m, increase in the maximum amount of movement of the focal position can be moderated.
Examples of the optical scanning system will be described below.
The surface on the polygon mirror side of the first scanner lens 111a, the surface on the scanned surface side of the first scanner lens 111a, the surface on the polygon mirror side of the second scanner lens 111b, and the surface on the scanned surface side of the second scanner lens 111b are defined as a first surface, a second surface, a third surface and a fourth surface, respectively.
Definitions of symbols used in Example 1 and the succeeding examples are as below.
t1: center thickness of the first scanner lens 111a [millimeters]
t2: center thickness of the second scanner lens 111b [millimeters]
n1: refractive index of the first scanner lens 111a
n2: refractive index of the second scanner lens 111b
d1: distance from the point of reflection on the polygon to the first surface [millimeters]
d2: distance from the point of reflection on the polygon to the third surface [millimeters]
L: whole length (distance from the point of reflection on the polygon to the scanned surface) [millimeters]
F: focal length of the whole optical system [millimeters]
Values for symbols are as below.
t1: 12.5 mm
t2: 4.5 mm
n1: 1.504
n2: 1.486
d1: 29.2 mm
d2: 158.9 mm
f: 200 mm
The first to fourth surfaces are defined by the following expression in Example 1 as well as in the succeeding examples.
y: coordinate in the main scanning direction
x: coordinate in the vertical scanning direction
z: sag
k: conic constant
Ry: radius of curvature in the cross section in the main scanning direction
rx(y) radius of curvature at coordinate y in the main scanning direction in the cross section in the vertical scanning direction
rx(0) radius of curvature on the optical axis in the cross section in the vertical scanning direction
Ai: aspheric coefficients in the cross section in the main scanning direction (i=1, 2, 3, 4 . . . )
Bi: coefficients for determining radius of curvature in the cross section in the vertical scanning direction (i=1, 2, 3, 4 . . . )
Table 2 shows values of constants and coefficients of the first to fourth surfaces.
Y=f·θ
The amount of departure of imaged height is an amount of departure of the actual imaged height from the theoretical imaged height.
The maximum value of thickness t in the optical axis direction of the second scanner lens 111b is 7.09 millimeters. Since lateral magnification m is 0.5, α(m) is 0.79 according to
The surface on the polygon mirror side of the first scanner lens 211a, the surface on the scanned surface side of the first scanner lens 211a, the surface on the polygon mirror side of the second scanner lens 211b, and the surface on the scanned surface side of the second scanner lens 211b are defined as a first surface, a second surface, a third surface and a fourth surface, respectively.
Values for symbols are as below.
t1: 12 mm
t2: 4.8 mm
n1: 1.504
n2: 1.486
d1: 29 mm
d2: 119 mm
f: 200 mm
Table 3 shows values of constants and coefficients of the first to fourth surfaces.
Y=f·θ
The amount of departure of imaged height is an amount of departure of the actual imaged height from the theoretical imaged height.
The maximum value of thickness t in the optical axis direction of the second scanner lens 211b is 6.34 millimeters. Since lateral magnification m is 1.0, α(m) is 1 according to
The surface on the polygon mirror side of the first scanner lens 311a, the surface on the scanned surface side of the first scanner lens 311a, the surface on the polygon mirror side of the second scanner lens 311b, and the surface on the scanned surface side of the second scanner lens 311b are defined as a first surface, a second surface, a third surface and a fourth surface, respectively.
Values for symbols are as below.
t1: 12 mm
t2: 5 mm
n1: 1.504
n2: 1.486
d1: 27.288 mm
d2: 95.64 mm
f: 200 mm
Table 4 shows values of constants and coefficients of the first to fourth surfaces.
Y=f·θ
The amount of departure of imaged height is an amount of departure of the actual imaged height from the theoretical imaged height.
The maximum value of thickness t in the optical axis direction of the second scanner lens 311b is 6.28 millimeters. Since lateral magnification m is 1.5, α(m) is 1.12 according to
The surface on the polygon mirror side of the first scanner lens 411a, the surface on the scanned surface side of the first scanner lens 411a, the surface on the polygon mirror side of the second scanner lens 411b, and the surface on the scanned surface side of the second scanner lens 411b are defined as a first surface, a second surface, a third surface and a fourth surface, respectively.
Values for symbols are as below.
t1: 10 mm
t2: 4 mm
n1: 1.504
n2: 1.486
d1: 31.085 mm
d2: 78.767 mm
f: 200 mm
Table 5 shows values of constants and coefficients of the first to fourth surfaces.
Y=f·θ
The amount of departure of imaged height is an amount of departure of the actual imaged height from the theoretical imaged height.
The maximum value of thickness t in the optical axis direction of the second scanner lens 411b is 5.71 millimeters. Since lateral magnification m is 12.0, α(m) is 1.75 according to Expression (2). Beam diameter a in the vertical scanning direction is 3.6 millimeters. When (b0/t) is set to 0.7, width h in the vertical scanning direction of the second scanner lens 411b is obtained as below according to Expressions (1) and (3).
The surface on the polygon mirror side of the first scanner lens 511a, the surface on the scanned surface side of the first scanner lens 511a, the surface on the polygon mirror side of the second scanner lens 511b, and the surface on the scanned surface side of the second scanner lens 511b are defined as a first surface, a second surface, a third surface and a fourth surface, respectively.
Values for symbols are as below.
t1: 12 mm
t2: 3.2 mm
n1: 1.504
n2: 1.486
d1: 30.35 mm
d2: 159.5 mm
f: 200 mm
Table 6 shows values of constants and coefficients of the first to fourth surfaces.
Y=f·θ
The amount of departure of imaged height is an amount of departure of the actual imaged height from the theoretical imaged height.
The maximum value of thickness t in the optical axis direction of the second scanner lens 511b is 5.76 millimeters. Since lateral magnification m is 0.5, α(m) is 0.79 according to Expression (2) and
The surface on the polygon mirror side of the first scanner lens 611a, the surface on the scanned surface side of the first scanner lens 611a, the surface on the polygon mirror side of the second scanner lens 611b, and the surface on the scanned surface side of the second scanner lens 611b are defined as a first surface, a second surface, a third surface and a fourth surface, respectively.
Values for symbols are as below.
t1: 12 mm
t2: 3.4 mm
n1: 1.504
n2: 1.486
d1: 29.6 mm
d2: 140.9 mm
f: 200 mm
Table 7 shows values of constants and coefficients of the first to fourth surfaces.
Y=f·θ
The amount of departure of imaged height is an amount of departure of the actual imaged height from the theoretical imaged height.
The maximum value of thickness t in the optical axis direction of the second scanner lens 611b is 5.22 millimeters. Since lateral magnification m is 0.7, α(m) is 0.89 according to Expression (2) and
The surface on the polygon mirror side of the first scanner lens 711a, the surface on the scanned surface side of the first scanner lens 711a, the surface on the polygon mirror side of the second scanner lens 711b, and the surface on the scanned surface side of the second scanner lens 711b are defined as a first surface, a second surface, a third surface and a fourth surface, respectively.
Values for symbols are as below.
t1: 12 mm
t2: 4 mm
n1: 1.504
n2: 1.486
d1: 27.7 mm
d2: 126.4 mm
f: 200 mm
Table 8 shows values of constants and coefficients of the first to fourth surfaces.
Y=f·θ
The amount of departure of imaged height is an amount of departure of the actual imaged height from the theoretical imaged height.
The maximum value of thickness t in the optical axis direction of the second scanner lens 711b is 5.08 millimeters. Since lateral magnification m is 0.9, α(m) is 0.97 according to Expression (2) and
The surface on the polygon mirror side of the first scanner lens 811a, the surface on the scanned surface side of the first scanner lens 811a, the surface on the polygon mirror side of the second scanner lens 811b, and the surface on the scanned surface side of the second scanner lens 811b are defined as a first surface, a second surface, a third surface and a fourth surface, respectively.
Values for symbols are as below.
t1: 9 mm
t2: 4.8 mm
n1: 1.504
n2: 1.486
d1: 40.6 mm
d2: 198 mm
f: 248 mm
Table 9 shows values of constants and coefficients of the first to fourth surfaces.
Y=f·θ
The amount of departure of imaged height is an amount of departure of the actual imaged height from the theoretical imaged height.
The maximum value of thickness t in the optical axis direction of the second scanner lens 811b is 5.53 millimeters. Since lateral magnification m is 0.5, α(m) is 0.79 according to Expression (2) and
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2012-076704 | Mar 2012 | JP | national |