Apparatus related to marking a metal surface are provided. The solution comprises receiving (600) control data comprising information on the marking of a pattern on the metal surface; controlling (604, 606) a temperature control unit and a gas unit to produce a temperature and atmosphere in space under a cover on the basis of the control data; controlling (602) the focus and bandwidth of a laser marking unit on the basis of the control data to produce the pattern defined in the control data on the metal surface; and controlling (608) a coating unit on the basis of the control data to produce a coating on the metal surface.

Apparatus related to marking a metal surface are provided. The solution comprises receiving (600) control data comprising information on the marking of a pattern on the metal surface; controlling (604, 606) a temperature control unit and a gas unit to produce a temperature and atmosphere in space under a cover on the basis of the control data; controlling (602) the focus and bandwidth of a laser marking unit on the basis of the control data to produce the pattern defined in the control data on the metal surface; and controlling (608) a coating unit on the basis of the control data to produce a coating on the metal surface.

An optical scanning device is provided with a housing, a plurality of laser light sources, and a substrate. The laser light sources are attached to a side wall of the housing in a state wherein three terminals are protruding outward. The substrate is disposed to face an outer surface of the side wall of the housing. The laser light sources include: a first laser light source having a predetermined angle with respect to the substrate; and a second laser light source having a symmetrical angle to the angle of the first laser light source with respect to the substrate. In the first laser light source, only one of the three terminals is bent in the direction to be separated from other two terminals, and the second laser light source is disposed by inverting 180° a laser light source having a configuration same as that of the first laser light source.

Recording method including: emitting laser-light from optical-fiber-array to record image of writing-units with moving recording target and the optical-fiber-array relatively using recording device including laser-light-emitting-elements and emitting unit including the optical-fiber-array, where optical fibers to guide laser-light emitted from the laser-light-emitting-elements are aligned, wherein diagonal line A′C is longer than B in the image formed by overlapping or adjoining at least part of the writing-units in main-scanning direction, where B is length of ½ line width of the writing-unit in main-scanning direction, A is center of edge of the writing-unit in sub-scanning direction, A′ is position proceeded from A towards inner-side of the writing-unit by B, line LL′ is drawn to include A and be orthogonal to the writing-unit, diagonal-line is drawn with A as starting point and to have angle of 45° with line LL′, and C is intersection between the diagonal-line and the writing-unit.

Recording method including: emitting laser-light from optical-fiber-array to record image of writing-units with moving recording target and the optical-fiber-array relatively using recording device including laser-light-emitting-elements and emitting unit including the optical-fiber-array, where optical fibers to guide laser-light emitted from the laser-light-emitting-elements are aligned, wherein diagonal line A′C is longer than B in the image formed by overlapping or adjoining at least part of the writing-units in main-scanning direction, where B is length of ½ line width of the writing-unit in main-scanning direction, A is center of edge of the writing-unit in sub-scanning direction, A′ is position proceeded from A towards inner-side of the writing-unit by B, line LL′ is drawn to include A and be orthogonal to the writing-unit, diagonal-line is drawn with A as starting point and to have angle of 45° with line LL′, and C is intersection between the diagonal-line and the writing-unit.

Provided is an image erasing method including heating a thermoreversible recording medium with laser beams to erase an image which has been recorded on the thermoreversible recording medium, the thermoreversible recording medium reversibly changing between a colored state and a decolored state depending on a heating temperature and a cooling time; and measuring at least one of a surface temperature of the thermoreversible recording medium and an erasing environmental temperature before a beginning of erasing the image to obtain a measured temperature value and controlling a heating time with the laser beams to be emitted for erasing the image depending on the measured temperature value.

Provided is an image erasing method including heating a thermoreversible recording medium with laser beams to erase an image which has been recorded on the thermoreversible recording medium, the thermoreversible recording medium reversibly changing between a colored state and a decolored state depending on a heating temperature and a cooling time; and measuring at least one of a surface temperature of the thermoreversible recording medium and an erasing environmental temperature before a beginning of erasing the image to obtain a measured temperature value and controlling a heating time with the laser beams to be emitted for erasing the image depending on the measured temperature value.

According to an embodiment, a laser processing apparatus, that perform laser processing on an object with laser light, includes a plurality of optical heads. The optical heads each includes a laser head unit that emits a plurality of laser light beams in an arranged manner in a predetermined direction, and an optical system that focuses the emitted plurality of laser light beams on the object conveyed relatively with respect to the laser head unit in a conveying direction intersecting the predetermined direction. The optical heads each includes a first optical head group and a second optical head group in which the optical heads are adjacent to each other in the predetermined direction. The first optical head group and the second optical head group are adjacent to each other in the conveying direction and arranged while being shifted from each other by a predetermined length in the predetermined direction.

According to an embodiment, a laser processing apparatus, that perform laser processing on an object with laser light, includes a plurality of optical heads. The optical heads each includes a laser head unit that emits a plurality of laser light beams in an arranged manner in a predetermined direction, and an optical system that focuses the emitted plurality of laser light beams on the object conveyed relatively with respect to the laser head unit in a conveying direction intersecting the predetermined direction. The optical heads each includes a first optical head group and a second optical head group in which the optical heads are adjacent to each other in the predetermined direction. The first optical head group and the second optical head group are adjacent to each other in the conveying direction and arranged while being shifted from each other by a predetermined length in the predetermined direction.

An image forming apparatus capable of correcting relative position in exposure position between laser beams that scan a photosensitive drum in a scanning direction of the laser beams. A semiconductor laser includes first and second light emitting elements for emitting first and second laser beams. These elements are arranged such that the laser beams expose positions on the photosensitive drum different in the sub scanning direction. A polygon mirror deflects the laser beams to scan the photosensitive drum. Relative position in the scanning direction between images to be formed on the photosensitive drum by exposure by the first and second laser beams is corrected based on correction data. An image data generation section generates drive signals associated with the respective light emitting elements. A semiconductor laser drive circuit causes the semiconductor laser to emit the first and second laser beams, based on the drive signals.