JP6816473B2 - Optical writing device and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an optical writing device and an image forming device, and more particularly to a technique for preventing deterioration of the imaging state of OLED-PH due to temperature change or vibration.

In recent years, in the technical field of an optical writing device used in an image forming apparatus, an organic LED (OLED: Organic Light-Emitting Diode) is used as a light source, and the emitted light of the organic LED is imaged on the outer peripheral surface of a photoconductor drum. OLED-PH (OLED Print Head), which uses a rod lens array as an optical element, is attracting attention as a low-cost and space-saving configuration.
As illustrated in FIG. 13A, the rod lens array 1301 is generally adhesively fixed in a state of being inserted into the through hole 1304 of the holder 1303 fixed to the high-rigidity sheet metal member 1302. Since the holder 1303 is made by resin molding, warpage and shrinkage during molding and dimensional error of the mold may occur. In consideration of such a dimensional error, a method is adopted in which a through hole 1304 larger than the rod lens array 1301 is provided, and the rod lens array 1301 is bonded and fixed to the holder 1303 in a state of being inserted into the through hole 1304.

However, since the adhesive 1305 that adheres the rod lens array 1301 and the holder 1303 has low rigidity, the rod lens array 1301 tilts with respect to the sheet metal member 1302 when vibration is applied to the OLED-PH1300. Since the light emitting substrate 1306 on which the OLED is mounted is adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 1302, the rod lens array 1301 is also inclined with respect to the light emitting substrate. As a result, as shown in FIG. 13B, the imaging state of the emitted light L2 of the OLED deteriorates.

To solve such a problem, for example, as shown in FIG. 14C, the holder 1401 is adhesively fixed along the side surface of the rod lens array 1410 (see Patent Document 1), and the holder 1401 is in the short direction. It is considered effective to provide a protrusion such as a rib 1403 on the lens to bring it into contact with the sheet metal member 1420. In this way, it is possible to prevent the rod lens array 1410 from tilting with respect to the holder 1401 and the holder 1401 from tilting with respect to the sheet metal member 1420 due to the application of vibration.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-94472 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-154116

However, when the holder 1401 and the sheet metal member 1420 are heated by the heat generated by the IC (Integrated Circuit, not shown) mounted on the OLED-PH1400, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, A thermal expansion difference occurs between the holder 1401 and the sheet metal member 1420. Then, since the holder 1401 and the sheet metal member 1420 are adhesively fixed, both the holder 1401 and the sheet metal member 1420 are deformed as shown by the broken line, and eventually the rod lens array 1410 is distorted. If the rod lens array 1410 is distorted, the imaging state of the emitted light L3 of the OLED deteriorates, which may lead to deterioration of the quality of the printed image.

Since the resin material used for the holder and the rod lens array can expand and contract even when the humidity changes, the OLED-PH may be distorted due to the change in humidity and the imaging state may deteriorate.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical writing device and an image forming device that prevent both deterioration of image quality due to vibration and distortion.

In order to achieve the above object, the optical writing device according to the present invention includes a light emitting substrate in which a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged in a line, a sheet metal member on which the light emitting substrate is mounted on one main surface, and the sheet metal member. A holder placed on the main surface in a state of surrounding the light emitting substrate, and a state of running parallel to the light emitting substrate above the light emitting substrate in order to collect the emitted light of each of the light emitting elements on the irradiated body. A long-shaped optical member supported by the arm portion of the holder is provided, and the arm portion projects inward from the inner side surface of the holder body in a short direction orthogonal to the long direction, and each arm. The tip end side of the portion abuts on the outer surface of the optical member to support the optical member, and the holder has the outer surface of the holder body in the short direction at positions closer to the central portion and both ends in the long direction. It has legs that protrude outward from the base, and each leg is fixed to the main surface of the sheet metal member, and the legs near both ends are fixed to the sheet metal member only at the tip portion, and the central portion. It is characterized in that it is formed with lower rigidity than the legs.

In this way, it is possible to prevent both deterioration of image quality due to vibration and distortion.
In this case, of the legs, the central leg may be fixed to the sheet metal member with a higher strength than the legs closer to both ends.
Further, each arm portion may be provided at the same position in the elongated direction of the holder in a one-to-one relationship with each leg portion.

Further, the holder is further fixed to the main surface, which is different from each leg portion, between the leg portion of the central portion and the leg portion near both ends in the elongated direction. It has a leg that is not fixed, and has an arm at the same position in the elongated direction of the holder corresponding to the intermediate leg, and the arm at the center in the elongated direction and the arm. Each arm near both ends is either whether or not it is fixed to the optical member, and the intermediate arm and leg in the elongated direction are such that the arm is fixed to the optical member. Or the legs may be fixed to the sheet metal member, or at least one of them may be used.

Further, among the legs fixed to the sheet metal member, the distance between the legs adjacent to each other in the long direction and the arms fixed to the optical member adjacent to each other in the long direction. The distance between the matching arms may be different.
Further, among the legs fixed to the sheet metal member, the distance between the legs adjacent to each other in the long direction in the long direction is the distance between the legs fixed to the optical member. It may be wider than the distance between the arms adjacent to each other in the long direction in the long direction.

Further, with respect to the arm portion and the leg portion at positions corresponding to one-to-one in the long direction, the arm portion is fixed to the optical member or the leg portion is fixed to the sheet metal member. Or may be.
Further, it is desirable that the intermediate leg portion has a larger width in the elongated direction than the leg portion near both ends and a smaller width in the elongated direction than the leg portion in the central portion. Further, it is desirable that the legs near both ends have a smaller width in the elongated direction than the legs at the center.

Further, the leg portion of the central portion may be fixed to the sheet metal member at least at the base portion.
Further, it is desirable that the main body, the arm portion and the leg portion of the holder are integrally formed by resin molding. Further, the light emitting element may be an OLED. Further, the optical member may be a rod lens array.

Further, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by including the optical writing apparatus according to the present invention.

It is a figure which shows the main structure of the image forming apparatus 1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the main structure of an optical writing apparatus 100. It is a top view which shows the holder 200 and the rod lens array 220 before adhesive fixation. It is a top view which shows the optical writing apparatus 100. (A) shows the CC cross section of the optical writing device 100, and (b) shows the BB cross section of the optical writing device 100. (A) and (b) are a plan view and a side view showing a state before and after thermal expansion of the optical writing device 100, and (c) is an enlarged view showing the inside of the broken line 600 of (a). It is a top view which shows the optical writing apparatus 100 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a side view which shows the optical writing apparatus 100 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the optical writing apparatus 100 which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a side view which shows the optical writing apparatus 100 which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a side view which shows the optical writing apparatus 100 which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the main structure of the optical writing apparatus 100 which concerns on a modification. (A) is a plan view of OLED-PH according to the prior art, and (b) is a cross-sectional view of OLED-PH including XX rays in (a), and vibration is not applied to OLED-PH. It shows the state and the participating state. (A) and (b) are a plan view and a side view showing OLED-PH before and after thermal expansion, and (c) is a cross-sectional view including a YY line in (a).

Hereinafter, embodiments of the optical writing device and the image forming device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[1] First Embodiment The first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
(1-1) Configuration of Image Forming Device First, the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 is a so-called tandem type color printer apparatus. The image forming unit 101Y-101K included in the image forming apparatus 1 forms toner images of each color of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black).
For example, the image forming unit 101Y uniformly charges the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum 110Y by using the charging device 111Y. The optical writing device 100Y exposes the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum 110Y to form an electrostatic latent image. The developing device 112Y supplies Y-color toner and develops (visualizes) the electrostatic latent image to form a Y-color toner image. The primary transfer roller 113Y electrostatically transfers (primary transfer) the toner image carried on the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum 110Y onto the intermediate transfer belt 102.

The image-creating unit 101M-101K also forms a toner image of each color of MCK in the same manner, and is sequentially primary-transferred on the intermediate transfer belt 102 so that the toner images of each color of YMCK overlap each other. In this way, a color toner image is formed. When forming a monochrome toner image, only the image forming portion of the color specified by the user forms the monochrome toner image of the specified color.
As the intermediate transfer belt 102 conveys the toner image to the secondary transfer roller pair 103, the recording sheet S supplied from the paper feed cassette 104 is also conveyed to the secondary transfer roller pair 103.

The secondary transfer roller pair 103 electrostatically transfers (secondary transfer) the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 102 onto the recording sheet S. The recording sheet S to which the toner image is transferred is heat-fixed by the fixing device 105 and then discharged onto the paper ejection tray 106.
(1-2) 100 Configurations of Optical Writing Device Next, the configuration of the optical writing device 100 will be described.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the optical writing device 100 cut in a cross section perpendicular to the rotation axis of the photoconductor drum 110.
As shown in FIG. 2, the optical writing device 100 has an elongated shape along the rotation axis direction (main scanning direction) of the photoconductor drum 110, and has a holder 200 and a rod lens array 210 on the upper surface of the sheet metal member 210. It is configured to arrange. The holder 200 is adhered to the sheet metal member 210. The holder 200 holds the rod lens array 220.

The sheet metal member 210 has a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) substrate 230 bonded to the holder 200 in addition to the holder 200. The TFT substrate 230 is a light emitting substrate on which a large number of OLEDs (Organic Light-Emitting Diodes) 231 are mounted in a line shape. The emitted light L of the OLED 231 is focused on the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum 110 by the rod lens array 220.
As the rod lens array 220, for example, an SLA (Selfoc Lens Array. Selfoc is a registered trademark of Nippon Plate Glass Co., Ltd.) in which a large number of refractive index distribution type lenses are arranged to form one continuous image as a whole can be used. it can. Further, a multi-lens array other than the SLA may be used.

The holder 200 is composed of a main body portion 201, a leg portion 202, and an arm portion 203, and is integrally formed by resin molding. The main body 201 is composed of long first and second main bodies and communication parts that connect both ends thereof. The rod lens array 220 is inserted into the through hole surrounding the first and second main body portions and the connecting portion.
The legs 202a and 202b are rib-shaped portions formed so as to project laterally from the outer surface of the main body 201 in a plan view. The legs 202a and 202b are adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210 using the adhesives 401 and 402.

Further, the arm portions 203a and 203b are formed so as to project laterally from the inner side surface of the main body portion 201 in a plan view. The rod lens array 220 is adhesively fixed to the arm portions 203a and 203b in a state of being in contact with the seating surfaces of the arm portions 203a and 203b.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the holder 200 and the rod lens array 220 before adhesive fixing. In a plan view, the holder 200 has a long shape, and a through hole 300 surrounded by the main body 201 is provided in the central portion of the holder 200. The rod lens array 220 is arranged in the through hole 300 of the holder 200 prior to adhesive fixing. When no external force is applied to the holder 200, the through hole 300 is wider than the rod lens array 220 in the short direction of the holder 200 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “short direction”).

Legs 202a and 202b and arms 203a and 203b are provided at the center and both ends of the holder 200 in the elongated direction (hereinafter, simply referred to as the "long direction"). The arms 203a and 203b have a seating surface inside in the short direction.
Further, legs 202a and 202b are provided on the outside of the arms 203a and 203b in the short direction, respectively. That is, the leg portion 202a and the arm portion 203a, and the leg portion 202b and the arm portion 203b are at substantially the same position in the longitudinal direction. In this way, even if vibration is applied to the holder 200, the seat surface holding the rod lens array 220 is less likely to vibrate in the short direction, so that the vibration of the rod lens array 220 is suppressed.

The legs 202a on both ends in the elongated direction have a smaller width in the elongated direction than the legs 202b in the central portion. The seating surface of the arm portions 203a on both ends in the long direction is a cylindrical surface centered on the vertical direction, and the contact state is stabilized even if the contact angle of the arm portion 203a with respect to the rod lens array 220 changes. Therefore, the rod lens array 220 can be securely sandwiched. On the other hand, the seating surface of the arm portion 203b in the central portion is a flat surface along the side surface of the rod lens array 220.

When assembling the optical writing device 100, first, while holding the rod lens array 220 at an appropriate position in the through hole 300, the central portion of the holder 200 in the long direction is pressed from both outer sides in the short direction. The main body 201 is bent inward so that the seating surface of the arm 203a comes into contact with the side surface of the rod lens array 220. Further, when the main body 201 is bent, the seating surface of the arm 203b comes into contact with the side surface of the rod lens array 220.

In this way, the rod lens array 220 is sandwiched by the seating surfaces of the arms 203a and 203b. As shown in FIG. 4, the arm portions 203a and 203b are adhesively fixed to the side surface of the rod lens array 220 while the rod lens array 220 is sandwiched, and the leg portion 202a is further adhered to the sheet metal member 210 at the tip portion. It is fixed, and the leg portion 202b is adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210 at the base portion. The sheet metal member 210 is not fixed to the holder 200 except for these adhesive fixing positions.

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the optical writing device 100 at the alternate long and short dash line CC in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5A, the rod lens array 220 is adhesively fixed to the holder 200 near the seating surface of the arm portion 203b. Further, the leg portion 202b is adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210 at the base portion. As a result, a part of the main body 201 is also adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210.

By adhesively fixing the holder 200 to the sheet metal member 210 in this way, the rigidity of the sheet metal member 210 can be efficiently transmitted to the holder 200, so that the rod lens array 220 can be suppressed from vibrating in the short direction. it can. Further, since the leg portion 202b is widened in the elongated direction, even when the holder 200 and the sheet metal member 210 are thermally expanded due to the heat generated by the IC mounted on the OLED-PH, the sheet metal member 210 and the leg portion 202b are formed. The positional relationship of is not changed. Therefore, the leg portion 202b serves as a starting point for thermal deformation of the optical writing device 100.

By doing so, it is possible to reduce the maximum length of the misalignment with the sheet metal member 210 due to the difference in thermal expansion, as compared with the case where the starting point of thermal deformation is a portion other than the central portion of the holder 200. For example, when one end of the holder 200 in the elongated direction is fixed to the sheet metal member 210 as the starting point of thermal deformation, the holder is held from the starting point of thermal deformation as compared with the case where the central portion of the holder 200 is used as the starting point of thermal deformation. The distance to the other end of 200 is doubled.

For this reason, the positional deviation between the other end of the holder 200 and the sheet metal member 210 due to thermal expansion is also doubled, and the amount of deformation of the leg portion on the other end side of the holder 200 must also be large. The effect of suppressing the deformation of the holder 200 due to the difference is diminished. Therefore, it is preferable that the central portion of the holder 200 is the starting point of thermal deformation as in the present embodiment.
FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the optical writing device 100 on the alternate long and short dash line BB in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5B, the rod lens array 220 is adhesively fixed to the holder 200 near the seating surface of the arm portion 203a. Further, the leg portion 202a is adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210 at the tip portion protruding from the main body portion 201.

By adhesively fixing the holder 200 to the sheet metal member 210 in this way, the rigidity of the sheet metal member 210 can be efficiently transmitted to the holder 200, so that the rod lens array 220 can be suppressed from vibrating in the short direction. it can.
Further, since the leg portion 202a is adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210 only at the tip portion and is narrower in the elongated direction than the leg portion 202, the rigidity is low and the leg portion 202a is easily deformed (hence, flexible). Highly likely). On the other hand, since the leg portion 202b is adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210 at the base portion and is wide in the elongated direction, the leg portion 202b has high rigidity and is not easily deformed. The main body 201 of the holder 200 also has high rigidity and is not easily deformed.

On the other hand, since the holder 200 has a larger coefficient of linear expansion than the sheet metal member 210, the IC mounted on the OLED-PH generates heat or the environmental temperature rises, so that the holder 200 or the sheet metal member 210 When the temperature rises, a difference in thermal expansion occurs between the holder 200 and the sheet metal member 210.
Even if there is a difference in thermal expansion between the main body 201 of the holder 200 and the sheet metal member 210, the main body 201 and the legs 202b are not easily deformed because of their high rigidity. On the other hand, since the leg portion 202a has low rigidity, it is deformed as shown in FIG. 6A. FIG. 6 (c) is an enlarged view within the broken line 600 of FIG. 6 (a).

When a thermal expansion difference occurs between the main body 201 of the holder 200 and the sheet metal member 210, as shown in FIG. 6C, the adhesive fixing position between the leg 202a and the rod lens array 220 is the end in the long direction. The distance to move to the portion side is larger than the moving distance of the adhesive fixing position between the leg portion 202a and the sheet metal member 210, and the relative positional relationship between the adhesive fixing positions changes. Since the leg portion 202a has low rigidity, it is deformed by this change in the positional relationship.

By deforming the leg portion 202a in this way, the stress acting on the main body portion 201 is reduced. Therefore, since the deformation of the main body 201 and the rod lens array 220 is prevented, it is possible to prevent the image quality of the LED 231 from being deteriorated due to a change in the imaging state of the emitted light.
[2] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the holder 200 and the rod lens array 220. As shown in FIG. 7, in the holder 200, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, the leg portion 702 is formed between the leg portions 202a and 202b in the elongated direction. The leg portion 702 is also a rib-shaped portion, and the width of the leg portion 702 in the elongated direction is an intermediate size between the widths of the leg portions 202a and 202b.

The leg portion 202a is adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210 only at the tip portion, and the leg portion 202b is adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210 only at the base portion. On the other hand, the leg portion 702 is not adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210. However, even if vibration is applied to the holder 200, since the leg portion 702 is in contact with the sheet metal member 210, the seat surface of the arm portion 711 is less likely to vibrate. Therefore, the vibration of the rod lens array 220 can be suppressed.

An arm portion 711 is provided at a position corresponding to the leg portion 702 in the elongated direction. The rod lens array 220 is adhesively fixed to the arm 711 in a state of being in contact with the seat surface of the arm 711, while the arms 203a and 203b corresponding to the legs 202a and 202b correspond to the rod lens array 220. It is only in contact and is not adhesively fixed.
As shown in FIG. 8, in the present embodiment, since the leg portion 702 is added to the optical writing device 100 according to the first embodiment, the rigidity between both ends of the holder 200 in the optical axis direction is improved. To do. Therefore, the holder 200 is prevented from being deformed by thermal expansion. Further, since the holder 200 is adhesively fixed to either the sheet metal member 210 or the rod lens array 220 for each position in the long direction, the rigidity of the entire optical writing device 100 can be maintained.

Further, since the holder 200 is adhesively fixed to only one of the sheet metal member 210 and the rod lens array 220 for each position in the long direction and there are few places to be adhesively fixed, workability at the time of assembly can be improved. it can.
[3] Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 9, the optical writing device 100 according to the present embodiment has the same shape as the optical writing device 100 according to the second embodiment, while the rod lens array 220 is added to the arm portion 703. The difference is that they are also adhesively fixed to the arms 203a and 203b.
More specifically, the rod lens array 220 is adhesively fixed to the arms 203a, 203b and 703, respectively. On the other hand, although the legs 202a and 202b are adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210, the legs 702 are not adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210. The tip of the leg 202a is adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210, and the base of the leg 202a is adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210.

When the adhesive fixing position of the holder 200 and the rod lens array 220 coincides with the adhesive fixing position of the holder 200 and the sheet metal member 210 in the long direction, the vibration defined by the adhesive fixing position of the rod lens array 220 The mode and the vibration mode defined by the adhesive fixing position of the sheet metal member 210 match in the long direction. Therefore, when vibration is applied to the optical writing device 100, the sheet metal member 210 and the rod lens array 220 resonate, and the imaging state of the emitted light of the OLED 231 is disturbed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, when the holder 200 is adhesively fixed to the rod lens array 220 at five positions of the arms 203a, 203b and 703, these five are as shown by the alternate long and short dash line 1001. It has a vibration mode in which the adhesive fixing position of the place is a vibration node and the intermediate position between the adjacent adhesive fixing positions in the long direction is the antinode of vibration.
Further, in the main body 201 of the holder 200, the legs 202a and 202b are adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210, while the legs 702 are not adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210. Therefore, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line 1002, 3 It also has a vibration mode in which the adhesive fixing position at the location is the node of vibration and the intermediate position between the adjacent adhesive fixing positions in the long direction is the antinode of vibration.

Since the positions of the nodes in the vibration mode of the alternate long and short dash line 1001 are narrowly spaced, it is difficult to increase the amplitude even if the holder 200 tries to vibrate in the vibration mode of the alternate long and short dash line 1001. Further, since the position of the antinode of the alternate long and short dash line 1002 in the vibration mode of the alternate long and short dash line 1001 hits the node in the vibration mode of the alternate long and short dash line 1001 and the leg portion 702 is in contact with the sheet metal member 210, the holder 200 is in contact with the alternate long and short dash line 1002. It is also difficult to vibrate in the vibration mode of.

As described above, it is difficult for the holder 200 to vibrate in any of the two vibration modes defined by the adhesive fixing position between the holder 200 and the rod lens array 220 and the adhesive fixing position between the holder 200 and the sheet metal member 210. Even if vibration is applied to the optical writing device 100, it is difficult for the optical writing device 100 as a whole to vibrate. Therefore, it is possible to prevent disturbance of the imaging state of the emitted light of the OLED 231 due to vibration, so that excellent image quality can be realized.
[4] Fourth Embodiment Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the optical writing device 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, the optical writing device 100 according to the present embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the optical writing device 100 according to the third embodiment, while the arm portion 203a is attached to the rod lens array 220. The difference is that it is not adhesively fixed. Therefore, only the arms 203b and 703 are adhesively fixed to the rod lens array 220.

Therefore, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line 1101, the holder 200 has a vibration mode in which these three adhesive fixing positions are set as vibration nodes and the intermediate positions between adjacent adhesive fixing positions in the long direction are set as vibration antinodes. Has. Since the spacing between nodes is narrow in this vibration mode, it is difficult to increase the amplitude even if the holder 200 tries to vibrate in the vibration mode of the alternate long and short dash line 1101.
Further, while the legs 202a and 202b are adhesively fixed to the sheet metal member 210, the legs 702 only abut on the sheet metal member 210 and are not adhesively fixed. Therefore, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line 1102, the holder 200 also has a vibration mode in which three adhesive fixing positions are set as vibration nodes and an intermediate position between adjacent adhesive fixing positions in the long direction is set as a vibration antinode. Will have.

However, the position of the antinode of the alternate long and short dash line 1102 in the vibration mode of the alternate long and short dash line 1101 hits a node in the vibration mode of the alternate long and short dash line 1101, and the leg portion 702 is in contact with the sheet metal member 210. It is also difficult to vibrate in vibration mode.
As described above, also in the present embodiment, it is difficult for the holder 200 to vibrate in any of the two vibration modes, so that even if vibration is applied to the optical writing device 100, it becomes difficult for the optical writing device 100 as a whole to vibrate. There is. Therefore, it is possible to prevent disturbance of the imaging state of the emitted light of the OLED 231 due to vibration, so that excellent image quality can be realized.

Further, as compared with the third embodiment, it is not necessary to bond and fix the arm portion 203a to the rod lens array 220, so that the labor of assembling the optical writing device 100 is saved and the assembly workability is improved. be able to.
[5] Modified Examples Although the present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the following modified examples can be implemented. ..
(1) In the above embodiment, the case where the arm portions 203a and 203b project upward from the main body portion 201 has been described as an example, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this, and instead of this, the following You may do like this.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the optical writing device 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, in the optical writing device 100 according to this modification, the main body 201 has an upper and lower two-stage configuration, the lower stage has the same shape as that of the above-described embodiment, and the upper stage has a long direction. The width is narrower than that of the lower row in both the short direction and the short direction. In this way, since the distance between the upper stage of the main body 201 and the rod lens array 220 is narrowed, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from entering the optical path of the emitted light L from the OLED 231 to the rod lens array 220 to block light. can do. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the image from being chipped due to foreign matter, and thus high image quality can be achieved.
(2) In the above embodiment, the case where the holder has 200 arms and 6 or 10 legs has been described as an example, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the arms and legs may be further increased. Further, the number of arms and legs does not have to be the same, the arms and legs do not have to be in the same position in the elongated direction of the holder 200, and the arms and legs in the same position Arms and legs that are not in the same position as the set may be mixed. In either case, the effect of the present invention can be obtained.
(3) In the above embodiment, the case where the image forming apparatus is a tandem type color printer apparatus has been described as an example, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this, and a color printer apparatus other than the tandem type and the like. The present invention may be applied to a monochrome printer device. Further, the same applies even if the present invention is applied to a single-function device such as a copying device equipped with a scanner, a facsimile device equipped with a facsimile communication function, or a multi-function peripheral (MFP) having these functions. The effect can be obtained.

The optical writing device and the image forming device according to the present invention are useful as devices capable of preventing deterioration of the imaging state of the OLED-PH due to temperature changes and vibrations.

1 ... Image forming device 100 ... Optical writing device 200 ... Holder 202 ... Leg 203 ... Arm 210 ... Sheet metal member 220 ... Rod lens array 231 ... OLED

Claims (14)

A light emitting board in which a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged in a line, and
A sheet metal member on which the light emitting substrate is mounted on one main surface,
A holder placed on the main surface of the sheet metal member in a state of surrounding the light emitting substrate, and
In order to collect the emitted light of each light emitting element on the irradiated body, a long optical member supported on the arm portion of the holder in a state of running parallel to the light emitting substrate is provided above the light emitting substrate. ,
A plurality of the arms project inward from the inner surface of the holder body in the short direction orthogonal to the long direction, and the tip end side of each arm abuts on the outer surface of the optical member to support the optical member. And
The holder has legs protruding outward from the outer surface of the holder body in the short direction at positions closer to the center and both ends in the long direction.
Each leg is fixed to the main surface of the sheet metal member and
An optical writing device characterized in that the legs near both ends are fixed to the sheet metal member only at the tips, and the rigidity is lower than that of the legs at the center. The optical writing device according to claim 1, wherein the central leg portion of the leg portion is fixed to the sheet metal member with a higher strength than the leg portion near both ends. The optical writing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each arm portion is provided at the same position in the elongated direction of the holder in a one-to-one relationship with each leg portion. The holder is further fixed or fixed to the main surface, which is different from each of the legs, between the legs at the center and the legs near both ends in the elongated direction. It has a leg that is not, and has an arm at the same position in the elongated direction of the holder corresponding to the intermediate leg.
The central arm portion and the arm portions near both ends in the elongated direction are either fixed to the optical member or not.
The intermediate arm and leg in the elongated direction are characterized in that the arm is fixed to the optical member or the leg is fixed to the sheet metal member at least one of them. The optical writing device according to claim 3. The fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the intermediate leg portion has a larger width in the elongated direction than the leg portion near both ends and has a smaller width in the elongated direction than the leg portion in the central portion. The optical writing device described. Of the legs fixed to the sheet metal member, the distance between the legs adjacent to each other in the elongated direction, and the arms fixed to the optical member adjacent to each other in the elongated direction. The optical writing device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the intervals between the parts are different. Of the legs fixed to the sheet metal member, the distance between the legs adjacent to each other in the long direction in the long direction is the long distance of the arms fixed to the optical member. The optical writing device according to claim 6 , wherein the distance between the arms adjacent to each other in the direction is wider than the distance in the long direction. Whether the arm and the leg, which are in a one-to-one correspondence position in the long direction, have the arm fixed to the optical member or the leg fixed to the sheet metal member. The optical writing device according to any one of claims 4 to 7 , wherein the optical writing device is characterized by the above. The optical writing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the legs near both ends have a smaller width in the elongated direction than the legs at the center. The optical writing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the leg portion of the central portion is fixed to the sheet metal member at least at the base portion. The optical writing device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the holder is integrally formed with the main body, the arm portion, and the leg portion by resin molding. The optical writing device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the light emitting element is an OLED. The optical writing device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the optical member is a rod lens array. An image forming apparatus comprising the optical writing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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