A light-emitting component includes a light-emitting element, a thyristor, and a light-absorbing layer. The thyristor includes a semiconductor layer having a bandgap energy smaller than or equal to a bandgap energy equivalent to a wavelength of light emitted by the light-emitting element. The thyristor causes the light-emitting element to emit light or causes an amount of light emitted by the light-emitting element to increase, upon entering an on-state. The light-absorbing layer is disposed between the light-emitting element and the thyristor such that the light-emitting element and the thyristor are stacked. The light-absorbing layer absorbs the light emitted by the light-emitting element.

An image-forming apparatus employing an electrophotographic method that scans a surface of an image carrier with multi-beams emitted from a plurality of light emitting elements based on image data includes a density smoothing processor that performs a density smoothing process to smooth a density level difference of an image subjected to electronic bow correction, a density correction processor that performs density correction on the image subjected to the bow correction by light amount correction of a surface-crossing exposure segment, and a light emitting element driver controller that controls light emission of a plurality of light emitting elements of a light beam emitter based on the image data subjected to the density smoothing process and a control signal subjected to the density correction.

An optical scanning apparatus includes a deflector configured to deflect a light beam from a light source to cause the light beam to scan a surface to be scanned in a main scanning direction, an incident optical system that includes a single incident optical element and is configured to guide the light beam from the light source to the deflector, and an image-forming optical system configured to condense the light beam having been deflected by the deflector as condensing points on the surface to be scanned. At least one of the incident optical system and the image-forming optical system includes a diffractive surface that corrects displacement amounts of the condensing points in a main scanning section and a sub scanning section when a wavelength of the light beam from the light source varies.

There is a demand for an inexpensive optical scanning apparatus. An optical scanning apparatus includes a light source configured to emit a laser light flux, a deflection unit configured to deflect the laser light flux emitted from the light source, and a light reception member configured in such a manner that the laser light flux reflected by the deflection unit is incident thereon. The light source emits the laser light flux tilted by a predetermined angle with respect to a horizontal direction toward the deflection unit. The light reception member is disposed above or below the light source, and the laser light flux reflected by the deflection unit and tilted by the predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal direction is incident on the light reception member.

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body having an opening portion, an opening/closing member, a first unit configured to be attachable to and detachable from the apparatus body via the opening portion, a second unit configured to be attachable to and detachable from the apparatus body via the opening portion, an exposure unit provided in the apparatus body, a shutter member provided in the apparatus body and configured to move to a blocking position and a non-blocking position, and an interlocking mechanism provided in the apparatus body and configured to operate in an interlocking manner with the first unit, the second unit, and the opening/closing member. The interlocking mechanism is configured to position the shutter member at the non-blocking position in a state where the first unit and the second unit are attached to the apparatus body and the opening/closing member is positioned at the closed position.

Provided is an apparatus including: a deflecting unit configured to deflect a light flux from a light source to scan a scanned surface in a main scanning direction while rotating at a constant angular velocity; and an optical system configured to guide the deflected light flux onto the scanned surface, wherein, in a main scanning cross section including an optical axis of the optical system, a width of the light flux on a deflecting surface of the deflecting unit is larger than a width of the deflecting surface, wherein a scanning speed of the light flux on the scanned surface is highest at an on-axis image height, and wherein an absolute value of a scanning acceleration of the light flux on the scanned surface increases monotonically from the on-axis image height toward an outermost off-axis image height.

In a laser scanning device, a first light shielding portion and a second light shielding portion respectively shield a first light shielding region and a second light shielding region from a light beam. The first light shielding region is a part of a first region which is on one side of a target intermediate region and the second light shielding region is a part of a second region which is on the other side of the target intermediate region. The target intermediate region is a belt-like intermediate region of a light receiving surface of a light sensor. Widths of the first and second light shielding regions in the main scanning direction gradually expand from first and second base end portions to first and second side edges which are opposite ends of the light receiving surface in the sub scanning direction.

An image forming apparatus includes switches configured to switch a state of an operation performed by an assist circuit for a current supplied to a light-emitting element, in such a manner that the assist circuit corrects a value of a current supplied from a constant current source to the light-emitting element when a switching current is supplied in at least a period during which laser light scans a photoconductive drum and the assist circuit does not correct a value of a current supplied from the constant current source to the light-emitting element to make laser light incident on a photodiode to control a value of a bias current.

An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable image bearing member and a rotatable developer bearing member. The image bearing member, configured to carry a toner image, includes first recess portions provided at intervals substantially equal to a first pitch Pdr (mm) in a rotation direction of the image bearing member. The developer bearing member, configured to carry developer comprising toner and carrier and to form the toner image on the image bearing member, includes second recess portions provided at intervals substantially equal to a second pitch Ps (mm) in a rotation direction of the developer bearing member. The following relationship is satisfied

Vs/Vdr<Ws/Pdr where Vdr represents a movement speed (mm/sec) of the first recess portions, Vs represents a movement speed (mm/sec) of the second recess portions, and Ws represents a length (mm) of each of the second recess portions in the rotation direction of the developer bearing member.

An optical scanning device includes a housing, a transparent cover, a cleaning member, a holding member, and a movement mechanism. The cleaning member slidably contacts with the surface of the transparent cover to clean the surface. The holding member holds the cleaning member. The movement mechanism allows the holding member to reciprocally move along the transparent cover in the aforementioned predetermined direction. The aforementioned holding member has an inside/outside double structure including an inner boss member and an outer boss member. The inner boss member receives power from the movement mechanism. The outer boss member internally receives the inner boss member. The outer boss member is longer than the inner boss member. The outer boss member reaches a moving end and stops earlier than the inner boss member, and the aforementioned inner boss member moves in the outer boss member reaches the moving end and stops.