Optical scanning device and image forming apparatus using the same

Abstract

There is provided a diffraction grid which is easily produced without reducing a grid size. There is provided an optical scanning device having effects such as a chromatic aberration correction and a temperature compensation even when a short wavelength light source having a wavelength of 500 nm or less is used, and an image forming apparatus using the optical scanning device. In the optical scanning device having the diffraction grid, for which the short wavelength light source having a wavelength of 500 nm or less is used, a design order of the diffraction grid is set to a diffraction order equal to or larger than a second order to obtain a grid shape which is easily formed.

1 . An optical scanning device, comprising: 
 light source means for emitting at least one light flux having a single wavelength of 500 nm or less;    deflecting means for deflecting the at least one light flux emitted from the light source means;    a first optical system for guiding the light flux emitted from the light source means to the deflecting means; and    a second optical system for imaging the light flux deflected by the deflecting means on a surface to be scanned,    wherein one of the first optical system and the second optical system includes a diffraction grating, and    wherein a design order of the diffraction grating is the second order to the fifth order.    
   
   
       2 - 16 . (canceled)  
   
   
       17 . An image forming apparatus, comprising: 
 the optical scanning device according to  claim 1;     a photosensitive member that is located on the surface to be scanned;    a developing device for developing, as a toner image, an electrostatic latent image that is formed on the photosensitive member scanned with the light flux by the optical scanning device;    a transfer device for transferring the developed toner image to a transfer material; and    a fixing device for fixing the transferred toner image to the transfer material.    
   
   
       18 . An image forming apparatus, comprising: 
 the optical scanning device according to  claim 1;  and    a printer controller that converts code data inputted from an external device into an image signal and outputs the image signal to the optical scanning device.    
   
   
       19 . A color image forming apparatus, comprising: 
 a plurality of optical scanning devices, each of which is an optical scanning device according to  claim 1;  and    a plurality of image bearing members for forming images having colors different from one another, each of which is located on a surface to be scanned in a respective one of the plurality of optical scanning devices.    
   
   
       20 . A color image forming apparatus according to  claim 19 , further comprising a printer controller that converts a color signal inputted from an external device into image data in different colors and outputs the image data to the plurality of optical scanning devices.