An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of photosensitive members; a scanner unit including light sources, a rotatable polygonal mirror, and reflecting members; and a fixing portion. Parts of the laser beams emitted from the light sources are reflected by the rotatable polygonal mirror toward the fixing device side, and rest parts of the laser beams are reflected by the rotatable polygonal mirror toward a side opposite from the fixing device side. Of the parts of the laser beams reflected by the rotatable polygonal mirror toward the fixing device side, the laser beam reflected toward the reflecting member provided at a position remotest from the rotatable polygonal mirror travels downward relative to a horizontal direction. A rotational axis of the rotatable polygonal mirror is inclined relative to a vertical direction.

A light deflector and an image forming apparatus including the light deflector are provided. The light deflector includes a polygon mirror made of plastic and a motor including a rotor. The rotor supports the polygon mirror and includes a base and a first protrusion protruding from the base toward the polygon mirror in an axial direction. The polygon mirror includes a main body having a plurality of reflecting surfaces, and a second protrusion protruding from the main body toward the base. The second protrusion has an end face and an inner face. The end face is in contact with the base in the axial direction, and the inner face is in contact with the first protrusion in a radial direction.

An optical member that refracts a light beam to diverge or focus the light beam, includes: at least three pairs of opposing surfaces. Each of the three pairs of opposing surfaces include a lens. Curvatures of the lenses at one side surfaces of the respective three pairs of surfaces are all the same, or curvatures of the lenses at one side surfaces of respective pairs of at least two pairs of the three pairs of surfaces are different from each other, and respective shortest distances between optical axes of the lenses at the one side surfaces of respective pairs of the at least two pairs of surfaces, and reference sides which are each any one of respective sides surrounding surfaces including the lenses are different from each other.

According to at least one embodiment, a lens mirror array includes a plurality of optical elements. An optical element of the plurality of optical elements includes an incident surface on which light is incident, an emitting surface configured to emit the light incident through the incident surface, at least one reflecting surface reflecting the light incident through the incident surface toward the emitting surface, and a light shielding portion configured to block the light. The incident surface includes an effective surface configured to pass effective light emitted from the emitting surface and a directional surface configured to direct unnecessary light to the light shielding portion.

A laser scanning unit includes a light source portion, a scanning portion, a first correction portion, and a second correction portion. The light source portion outputs a plurality of light beams. The scanning portion scans the plurality of light beams to form a plurality of electrostatic latent images, respectively corresponding to a plurality of colors including at least one reference color and at least one non-reference color, in an image forming portion. The first correction portion applies an external mechanical force to an optical element located in a path of a reference beam, corresponding to the reference color, among the plurality of light beams to correct distortion of a scan line of the reference beam. The second correction portion controls the light source portion to correct distortion of a scan line of a non-reference beam, corresponding to the non-reference color, among the plurality of light beams.

An imaging apparatus includes an optical element that extracts a plurality of pieces of band light from incident light incident on an optical system, a photoelectric conversion device capable of imaging the plurality of pieces of band light extracted from the incident light by the optical element, and a processor that outputs image data obtained by imaging band light, among the plurality of pieces of band light, selected according to an imaging condition determined based on a field of view by the photoelectric conversion device.

Provided are an light scanning device capable of adjusting the position of optics and an image forming apparatus including the light scanning device. The light scanning device includes first and second light sources configured to emit first and second light beams, respectively; optics including first and second lenses for transmitting the first and second light beams therethrough and a lens holder configured to support the second lens; and a housing configured to support the first and second light sources and the optics, wherein the first and second light sources and the first lens are supported to be fixed to the housing, and the second lens is supported to be able to move with respect to the first lens.

An optical scanning device (12) includes cleaning holders (511, 512), light transmitting members (52), a linear member (54), a winding motor (55), and stoppers (56a, 56b). The two cleaning holders (511, 512) are coupled to the linear member (54). The linear member 54 is driven to circulate by the winding motor (55), whereby the two cleaning holders (511, 512) move and each cleaning member slides on a corresponding one of the light transmitting members (52). When the cleaning holders (511, 512) come into contact with the respective stoppers (56a, 56b), the stoppers (56a, 56b) restrict movement of the respective cleaning holders (511, 512) in one of directions of extension of the light transmitting members (52). A contact determining section (913) determines, based on a current value of the winding motor (55), that the cleaning holder (511, 512) has come into contact with the stopper (56a, 56h).

An optical scanning device includes a deflector for deflecting a light beam to optically scan a scanned region on a scanned surface in a main scanning direction, and an imaging optical system for guiding the light beam deflected by the deflector, to the scanned surface. The imaging optical system includes an imaging optical element in which, in the main scanning direction, a distance to an optical axis from one effective end portion through which a light beam that enters one end portion of the scanned region passes is longer than a distance to the optical axis from another effective end portion through which a light beam that enters another end portion of the scanned region passes. In the imaging optical element, a thickness in an optical axis direction of the one effective end portion is thinner than a thickness in the optical axis direction of the other effective end portion.

An image forming apparatus includes: a detection unit configured to detect light that a light source emits and that is reflected by a polygon mirror in a predetermined direction, and to output a synchronization signal; a speed control unit configured to perform acceleration/deceleration control of the polygon mirror based on the synchronization signal at a target speed; and a light intensity control unit configured to decide an emission intensity of the light source and notify the digital value to the light driving unit. The speed control unit changes control of the polygon mirror to a neutral control in which neither acceleration nor deceleration control is performed in a case the light intensity control unit changes the light intensity of the light source when the speed control unit is performing the acceleration/deceleration control.