An image forming apparatus includes plural photosensitive members, a scanner unit for scanning the photosensitive members, and a fixing unit for fixing toner images. The scanner unit includes a rotatable polygonal mirror for reflecting laser beams emitted in correspondence to respective photosensitive members, reflecting members for reflecting the laser beams, and a box for accommodating the polygonal mirror and the reflecting members. The box includes plural outlets for the laser beams. Of the reflecting members, first and second reflecting members reflect laser beams toward corresponding first and second outlets respectively positioned farthest from and closest to the fixing unit. A distance between the first outlet and its corresponding photosensitive member is longer than a distance between the second outlet and its corresponding photosensitive member, whereas a distance between the first reflecting member and the polygonal mirror is shorter than a distance between the second reflecting member and the polygonal mirror.

A first supporting unit configured to movably support, in a direction intersecting with A length direction of A first reflecting mirror, an end of the first reflecting mirror in the length direction of the first reflecting mirror; a second supporting unit configured to movably support, in a direction intersecting with the length direction of a second reflecting mirror, an end of the second reflecting mirror in the length direction of the second reflecting mirror; a first drive source; a first transmission unit configured to transmit, when the first drive source provides a drive source in a first direction, the movement of the first drive source to a first supporting unit; and a second transmission unit configured to transmit, when the first drive source provides a drive source in a second direction, a movement of a second drive source to the second supporting unit.

The present disclosure provides an optical scanning apparatus and an electronic image-forming apparatus. The optical scanning apparatus includes a light source; a first optical unit; an optical deflector, configured to deflect the light beam emitted from the first optical unit; and a second optical unit, configured to guide the light beam deflected by the optical deflector on a scanned target surface for forming an image. An image height on the scanned target surface satisfies an expression: Y=fc×tan(B×θ), where Y denotes the image height on the scanned target surface, fc denotes an image-forming characteristic coefficient of the second optical unit, B denotes a scanning coefficient of the second optical unit, θ denotes an effective scanning angle of the optical scanning apparatus, and all region or a partial region in effective scanning range of the second optical unit satisfies a condition: 0.7≤B≤0.9.

A lidar system includes one or more light sources configured to generate a first beam of light and a second beam of light, a scanner configured to scan the first and second beams of light across a field of regard of the lidar system, and a receiver configured to detect the first beam of light and the second beam of light scattered by one or more remote targets. The scanner includes a rotatable polygon mirror that includes multiple reflective surfaces angularly offset from one another along a periphery of the polygon mirror, the reflective surfaces configured to reflect the first and second beams of light to produce a series of scan lines as the polygon mirror rotates. The scanner also includes a pivotable scan mirror configured to (i) reflect the first and second beams of light and (ii) pivot to distribute the scan lines across the field of regard.

An image forming apparatus includes an exposure unit that reflects a laser beam emitted from a light source by a polygon mirror having a plurality of reflection surfaces to form a latent image on a photosensitive member, and a control unit that controls the image forming apparatus in a plurality of operation modes including a normal mode and a low speed mode having a slower process speed than the normal mode. The control unit controls the polygon mirror to use all of the plurality of reflection surfaces to reflect the laser beam when in the normal mode. When in the low speed mode, the control unit makes the process speed faster than 0.5 times that of the normal mode, rotates the polygon mirror faster than in the normal mode, and controls the polygon mirror to use only some of the plurality of reflection surfaces to reflect the laser beam.

The present disclosure relates to optical systems, specifically light detection and ranging (LIDAR) systems. An example optical system includes a laser light source operable to emit laser light along a first axis and a mirror element with a plurality of reflective surfaces. The mirror element is configured to rotate about a second axis. The plurality of reflective surfaces is disposed about the second axis. The mirror element and the laser light source are coupled to a base structure, which is configured to rotate about a third axis. While the rotational angle of the mirror element is within an angular range, the emitted laser light interacts with both a first reflective surface and a second reflective surface of the plurality of reflective surfaces and is reflected into the environment by the first and second reflective surfaces.

A system includes a light source, a deflection unit configured to deflect a light beam having a wavelength λ emitted from the light source, and a lens unit including a plurality of lenses that focuses deflected light on a surface to be scanned, at least one lens among the plurality of lenses has a micro concavo-convex structure in an optical surface, and the optical surface having the micro concavo-convex structure has a transmittance distribution for the light beam having the wavelength λ according to a light quantity distribution of the deflected light and entering the lens unit.

The present disclosure describes a system and method for coaxial LiDAR scanning. The system includes a first light source configured to provide first light pulses. The system also includes one or more beam steering apparatuses optically coupled to the first light source. Each beam steering apparatus comprises a rotatable concave reflector and a light beam steering device disposed at least partially within the rotatable concave reflector. The combination of the light beam steering device and the rotatable concave reflector, when moving with respect to each other, steers the one or more first light pulses both vertically and horizontally to illuminate an object within a field-of-view; obtain one or more first returning light pulses, the one or more first returning light pulses being generated based on the steered first light pulses illuminating an object within the field-of-view, and redirects the one or more first returning light pulses.

To provide a laser irradiation apparatus which suppresses adhesion of foreign matters to an optical element, a laser irradiation device includes: emission optical systems, which form a beam in which laser light generated by a laser oscillator converges on a predetermined beam spot, and continuously change an irradiation direction or the like of the beam; and a protective member which is arranged between the emission optical system and the beam spot, and protects the emission optical system from foreign matters scattered from an irradiation object side, and the protective member has an aperture through which the beam passes and moves in connection with a change of the irradiation direction or the like of the beam so that the aperture is positioned on a path of the beam.

An optical element includes a plate portion including a reflecting surface on an upper surface in a direction of a vertically extending central axis, a shaft that extends in a direction of a first axis intersecting with the central axis and is fixed to a lower surface of the plate portion, a magnet below the shaft in the direction of the central axis, and a holder below the plate portion to hold the magnet, the holder including a magnet accommodating portion in which the magnet is accommodated, the magnet accommodating portion including a magnet pressing portion that covers at least a portion of a lower surface of the accommodated magnet.