JPH07177300A - Imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] An image device capable of forming an image with high image quality on a photoreceptor and generating an accurate electric signal corresponding to external image information in a solid-state image sensor array. To provide. [Structure] A lens array 3 is attached, and a substrate contact reference surface 4
a housing 4 having a, a printed circuit board 1 having an image element array 2 mounted on the upper surface thereof, and a metal member 8 integrally attached to the lower surface of the printed circuit board 1 and locked to the housing 4. The lens array 3 and the image element array 2 are provided on the board contact reference surface 4 a provided on the housing 4 by the printed board 1 by the metal member 8 locked to the housing 4.
And are abutted so as to face each other with a constant gap therebetween.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus used in an image forming apparatus such as an optical printer head or an image reading apparatus such as an image sensor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional image forming apparatus, for example, an image forming apparatus used in an image forming apparatus such as an optical printer head is generally provided with a large number of glass epoxy substrates on which a copper foil is attached in a predetermined pattern. A light-emitting element mounting substrate on which a plurality of light-emitting diode element arrays composed of light-emitting diode elements are linearly arranged and mounted, and a long lens array in which a large number of rod-shaped self-focusing lenses are linearly arranged in two rows in a frame casing. And a housing made of polycarbonate resin, etc., and a light emitting element mounting substrate and a lens array are provided in the housing with a certain distance between them, and light is emitted on the optical axis of each self-focusing lens of the lens array. An adhesive made of epoxy resin or the like is used to position each light emitting diode element of the diode element array. It is fabricated by adhesively secured or screwed Te.

In such an image device, each light emitting diode element of the light emitting diode element array is caused to selectively emit light in response to an external electric signal, and the light emitted by each light emitting diode element is externally transmitted through a lens array. By forming an image on the surface of the photoconductor and forming a latent image on the photoconductor, it functions as an image forming apparatus.

Further, the light-emitting diode element array arranged and mounted on the printed circuit board is generally constructed by linearly arranging 64 light-emitting diode elements therein, and when used in a B4 size image forming apparatus. The 32 light emitting diode element arrays are mounted on the printed circuit board.

[0005]

However, in this conventional image device, when the light emitting element mounting substrate in which the light emitting diode element array is mounted in the housing is adhered and fixed through an adhesive material such as epoxy resin, an adhesive agent is used. Since the heat curing of 1 has to be applied with heat of 150 ° C. for about 1 hour, it takes a long time to bond and fix, and there is a drawback that mass productivity is poor.

At the same time, since it takes a long time to fix the light emitting element mounting substrate, the position of the light emitting element mounting substrate tends to be displaced during the adhesive fixing, and when the position of the light emitting element mounting substrate is displaced, the lens array is Since each light emitting diode element of the light emitting diode element array is not located on the optical axis of each self-focusing lens, it is impossible to properly form the light emitted by each light emitting diode element on the external photoconductor surface through the lens array. It also had the drawback that

Further, when the light emitting element mounting substrate is fixed to the housing by screwing, both the housing and the light emitting element mounting substrate must be preliminarily provided with screw holes, and the screw holes must be aligned and screwed. Therefore, the workability of fixing the light emitting element mounting substrate is extremely poor, and the image device as a product is extremely expensive.

Further, since the printed board on which a plurality of light emitting diode element arrays are linearly arranged and mounted on the upper surface has a low bending rigidity and is easily deformed, wiring in which each electrode of the light emitting diode element array is provided on the printed board is provided. When connecting with a bonding wire via the bonding wire, the printed circuit board is easily deformed by the pressing force of the bonding device and the bonding wire cannot be firmly connected to the wiring, or when the image forming device is assembled, an external force is applied to the printed circuit board. Is applied, the printed circuit board is easily deformed by the external force, resulting in peeling of the light emitting diode element array mounted on the printed circuit board, or the corners of adjacent light emitting diode element arrays contacting each other. Press to cause cracks or chips at the corners of each LED array. Also it had a disadvantage that.

Furthermore, since the printed circuit board has low rigidity and is easily deformed, when an external force is applied to the printed circuit board and the printed circuit board is deformed, the light emitting diode element array and the self-focusing lens arrayed and mounted on the printed circuit board. There is also a drawback that a positional deviation occurs between the two, and a clear and accurate latent image cannot be formed on the photoconductor.

In the above-mentioned conventional example, an image device used in an image forming device such as an optical printer head has been described as an example. However, a solid-state image sensor array (CCD element array)
An image device used for an image reading device such as an image sensor using the same has the same drawback.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been devised in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate, on which a picture element array is mounted in a housing to which a lens array is attached, with an optical axis of each self-focusing lens of the lens array. Each light-emitting diode element of the light-emitting diode element array can be easily fixed in a short time so that it can be positioned so that an image with high image quality can be formed on the photoconductor, An object is to provide an image device capable of generating an accurate electric signal corresponding to image information.

[0012]

According to the present invention, a lens array is attached and a housing having a substrate contact reference surface, a printed circuit board having an image element array mounted on the upper surface, and a lower surface of the printed circuit board are integrally formed. The metal member is attached and locked to the housing, and the lens array and the image element array are placed between the substrate contact reference surface provided on the housing by the printed circuit board by the metal member locked to the housing. It is characterized in that they are abutted so as to face each other at a constant interval.

[0013]

According to the image device of the present invention, the housing is provided with the board contact reference surface, the metal member is integrally attached to the lower surface of the printed board, and the print is made on the board contact reference surface of the housing. Since the printed circuit board on which the image element array is mounted is fixed to the housing to which the lens array is attached by locking the metal member to the housing so that the upper surface of the substrate is in contact with each other, the image element array is attached to each lens array. The self-focusing lens can be easily and accurately positioned on the optical axis in a short time. Therefore, when this image device is used in an image forming apparatus such as an optical printer head, the light emitted from the light emitting diode element is used for the lens array. It is possible to form a clear and accurate latent image on the photoconductor by irradiating the photoconductor satisfactorily through.

Further, according to the image device of the present invention, since the metallic member is integrally attached to the lower surface of the printed circuit board on which the plurality of image element arrays are linearly arranged and mounted on the upper surface, the printed circuit board is provided. Even if a deformation due to the application of an external force is generated, the deformation is effectively suppressed by the rigidity of the metal member, and as a result, the printed circuit board is always flat, and a plurality of image element arrays are provided on the upper surface of the printed circuit board.
It is possible to firmly arrange and mount each corner of the image element array without causing cracks or chips at the corners, and surely and firmly electrically connect each electrode of the image element array to the wiring provided on the printed board.

Further, according to the image device of the present invention, the deformation of the printed circuit board due to the application of the external force is effectively suppressed by the metal member integrally attached to the lower surface of the printed circuit board. As a result, each image element array mounted on the printed circuit board always faces the lens array exactly. Therefore, when this image device is used in an image forming apparatus such as an optical printer head, the light emitting diode elements of each light emitting diode element array are always positioned on the optical axis of each self-focusing lens of the lens array, and each light emitting diode element is It is possible to satisfactorily irradiate the surface of the photoconductor with the emitted light, and it is possible to form a clear and accurate latent image on the photoconductor.

Furthermore, when this image device is used in an image reading device such as an image sensor using a solid-state image sensor array, external image information is accurately transmitted to the solid-state image sensor array via each self-focusing lens of the lens array. An image can be formed, and an accurate electric signal corresponding to external image information can be generated in the solid-state image sensor array.

[0017]

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 show an embodiment in which the image device of the present invention is adopted in an optical printer head as an image forming device, 1 is a printed circuit board, 2 is a light emitting diode element array, 3 is a lens array, and 4 is It is a housing.

The printed circuit board 1 is made of a glass epoxy substrate with a copper foil attached in a predetermined pattern, and a plurality of light emitting diode element arrays 2 are linearly arranged and mounted on the upper surface thereof.

The printed circuit board 1 functions as a supporting member for supporting the light emitting diode element array 2, for example, a sol-like epoxy resin is poured into glass fiber, and then the epoxy resin is thermally cured. Produced by.

The light emitting diode element array 2 mounted on the printed circuit board 1 is composed of a plurality of light emitting diode elements 2a, and the light emitting diode elements 2a individually and selectively emit light in response to an external electric signal. By irradiating the surface of the photoconductor 5 with the emitted light, a latent image for forming an image is formed on the photoconductor 5.

The light emitting diode element 2a is made of GaAsP.
-Based, GaP-based light-emitting diodes are used, for example, GaAs
In the case of P-based light-emitting diodes, as well as heating to a high temperature the GaAs substrate at furnace First AsH ₃ and (arsine) PH
A gas containing an appropriate amount of ₃ (phosphine) and Ga (gallium) is contacted to grow an n-type semiconductor GaAsP (gallium-arsenic-phosphorus) single crystal on the substrate surface, and then a GaAsP single crystal surface is grown.
A window film of Si ₃ N ₄ (silicon nitride) is deposited, and Zn (zinc) gas is exposed to the window part to remove Ga of n-type semiconductor.
It is formed by diffusing Zn into a part of an AsP single crystal to form a p-type semiconductor and having a pn junction.

In the case of a B4 size optical printer head, 2048 (8 per 1 mm) light emitting diode elements 2a are linearly arranged. Specifically, 64 light emitting diodes are set as one unit. 32 LED array 2
By arranging the light emitting diode elements 2a in a straight line, 2048 light emitting diode elements 2a are arranged on the printed circuit board 1.

Further, the light emitting diode element array 2 is provided with a lens array 3 on the upper part of the light emitting diode element array 2 at a constant distance, and the lens array 3 senses light emitted from each light emitting diode element 2a of the light emitting diode element array 2. 5 It acts to irradiate the surface.

The lens array 3 has a structure in which a large number of rod-shaped self-focusing lenses 7 made of glass, synthetic resin or the like are linearly arranged in two rows in a frame-shaped casing 6. The rod-shaped self-focusing lens 7 is sandwiched between the ABS resin or FRP plate in two rows, and silicone resin is dropped between the ABS resin or FRP plate and each self-focusing lens 7 to cure the resin and It is manufactured by bonding the cylindrical casing 6 and the self-focusing lens 7 with a silicone resin.

The printed circuit board 1 on which the light emitting diode element array 2 is mounted and the lens array 3 have a fixed distance between them, and the optical axis of each self-focusing lens 7 of the lens array 3 is a light emitting diode element. It is fixed to a housing 4 made of resin so as to be above each light emitting diode element 2a of the array 2.

The lens array 3 is fixed to the housing 4 by adhesively fixing the lens array 3 to the upper part of the housing 4 with an adhesive made of epoxy resin.

On the other hand, the printed circuit board 1 on which the light emitting diode element array 2 is mounted is fixed to the housing 4 by providing a substrate contact reference surface 4a below the housing 4 and a metal member 8 on the lower surface of the printed circuit board 1. And the metal member 8 is attached so that the upper surface of the printed circuit board 1 contacts the board contact reference surface 4a of the housing 4.
It is carried out by locking on. In this case, the printed circuit board 1 on which the light emitting diode element array 2 is mounted is brought into contact with the substrate contact reference surface 4a provided on the housing 4 so that each light emitting diode element 2a of the light emitting diode element array 2 is connected to each of the lens array 3 respectively. The self-focusing lens 7 can be accurately positioned on the optical axis, so that the light emitted from each light-emitting diode element 2a can be arranged in the lens array.
It is possible to satisfactorily irradiate the photoconductor 5 via 3 and form a clear and accurate latent image on the photoconductor 5.

The printed circuit board 1 on which the light emitting diode element array 2 is mounted has a metal member 8 integrally attached to the lower surface thereof, and the metal member 8 has a higher rigidity than the printed circuit board 1. Printed circuit board 1 housing
When the printed circuit board 1 is fixed on the printed circuit board 1, the printed circuit board 1 is hardly deformed even when an external force is applied, and as a result, the light emitting diode element array 2 is peeled off or emits light due to the deformation of the printed circuit board 1. No cracks or chips are generated at the corners of the diode element array 2, and the plurality of light emitting diode element arrays 2 can always be firmly arranged and mounted on the upper surface of the printed board 1.

Furthermore, since the metal member 8 is integrally attached to the lower surface of the printed circuit board 1 on which the light emitting diode element array 2 is mounted and the deformation of the printed circuit board 1 is effectively suppressed by the metal member 8, Positioning of the light emitting diode element 2a and the lens array 3 becomes more accurate, and the light emitted from the light emitting diode element 2a passes through the lens array 3 to the photoconductor.
It becomes possible to form a clear and accurate latent image on the photoconductor 5 by irradiating the photoconductor 5 well. The metal member 8 is made of, for example, a metal material such as copper or iron whose surface is galvanized, and an ingot (lump) of copper or the like is formed by a conventionally known metal processing method such as a rolling method or a punching method. By adopting it, it is formed into a predetermined shape.

The metal member 8 is attached to the printed circuit board 1 by, for example, adhering a solder-plated copper foil to the lower surface of the printed circuit board 1 and then attaching the metal member 8 to the printed circuit board 1 with solder. It is attached to the lower surface of the printed circuit board 1 by brazing.

Further, for locking the metal member 8 to the housing 4, for example, a locking pin 4b may be provided on the lower surface of the housing 4 and a diameter larger than the locking pin 4b may be used for the metal member 8 as shown in FIG. A locking hole 9 having a region 9a and a region 9b having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the locking pin 4b is provided respectively, and the locking pin 4b is locked.
9 is inserted from the region 9a having a larger diameter and is moved to the region 9b having a smaller diameter, and the locking pin 4b is locked in the locking hole 9. In this case, the printed circuit board 1 on which the light emitting diode element array 2 is mounted can be fixed at a predetermined position of the housing 4 by simply locking the locking hole 9 of the metal member 8 with the locking pin 4b provided on the housing 4. Printed circuit board with diode element array 2
The fixing of 1 to the housing 4 can be performed easily and in a short time, the workability of manufacturing the image device is extremely excellent, and the image device as a product can be inexpensive.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the metal member 8
Was placed only on the bottom surface of the housing 4, but this is shown in Fig. 3 (a).
As shown in (b), the housing 4 may be extended to one side surface or both side surfaces. In particular, a printed circuit board 1 on which the light emitting diode element array 2 is mounted is also mounted with a driving IC for individually and selectively causing each light emitting diode element 2a of the light emitting diode element array 2 to emit light, and an electrophotographic When a charging device or the like is arranged near the side surface of the housing 4 when used in a printer, etc., static electricity or high-voltage discharge noise may act on the driving IC, causing damage to the driving IC. But the housing
If the metal member 8 is extended to the side surface on the side where the charger and the like of 4 are arranged, destruction of the driving IC can be effectively prevented by the electrostatic shielding action of the metal member 8. Therefore, the metal member 8 is, for example, when a charger or the like that generates static electricity or high-voltage noise is disposed on the side surface of the housing 4, the metal member 8 is disposed on the side surface on which the charger or the like is arranged. It is preferable to extend 8.

Thus, according to the image device of the present invention, the plurality of light emitting diode elements 2a linearly arranged on the printed circuit board 1 are caused to individually and selectively emit light in response to an external electric signal, and the emitted light is emitted. Through the lens array 3 to the photoreceptor 5
The image forming apparatus functions by being irradiated with.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.
Although 4b is provided in the housing 4 and the engaging hole 9 is provided in the metal member 8, the opposite may be provided to provide the engaging hole 9 in the housing 4 and the engaging pin 4b in the metal member 8.

In the above embodiment, the case of using the image forming apparatus such as the optical printer head has been described as an example.
The light-emitting diode element array can be replaced with a solid-state image sensor array and can be used in an image reading device such as an image sensor.

[0036]

According to the image device of the present invention, the housing is provided with the board contact reference surface, the metal member is integrally attached to the lower surface of the printed board, and the board contact reference surface of the housing is provided. The printed circuit board on which the image element array is mounted is fixed to the housing to which the lens array is attached by locking the metal member to the housing so that the upper surface of the printed circuit board abuts on the lens array. The self-focusing lens can be easily and accurately positioned on the optical axis in a short time, and when this image device is used in an image forming apparatus such as an optical printer head, the light emitted from the light emitting diode element is prevented. It is possible to satisfactorily irradiate the photoconductor through the lens array and form a clear and accurate latent image on the photoconductor.

Further, according to the image device of the present invention, since the metal member is integrally attached to the lower surface of the printed circuit board on which the plurality of image element arrays are linearly arranged and mounted on the upper surface, the printed circuit board is provided. Even if a deformation due to the application of an external force is generated, the deformation is effectively suppressed by the rigidity of the metal member, and as a result, the printed circuit board is always flat, and a plurality of image element arrays are provided on the upper surface and cracks or chips at the corners. It is also possible to firmly mount the array without causing the above.

Further, according to the image device of the present invention, since the deformation of the printed board due to the application of the external force is effectively suppressed by the metal member integrally attached to the lower surface of the printed board, the deformation of the printed board is prevented. As a result, each image element array mounted on the printed circuit board always faces the lens array exactly. Therefore, when this image device is used in an image forming apparatus such as an optical printer head, the light emitting diode elements of each light emitting diode element array are always positioned on the optical axis of each self-focusing lens of the lens array, and each light emitting diode element is It is possible to satisfactorily irradiate the surface of the photoconductor with the emitted light, and it is possible to form a clear and accurate latent image on the photoconductor.

Furthermore, when this image device is used in an image reading device such as an image sensor using a solid-state image sensor array, external image information is accurately transmitted to the solid-state image sensor array via each self-focusing lens of the lens array. An image can be formed, and an accurate electric signal corresponding to external image information can be generated in the solid-state image sensor array.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment in which an image forming apparatus of the present invention is applied to an optical printer head as an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged plan view for explaining the engagement between the housing and the metal member used in the optical printer head shown in FIG.

3A and 3B are sectional views showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Printed circuit board 2 ... Light emitting diode array 2a ... Light emitting diode 3 ... Lens array 4 ... Housing 4a ... Board contact reference surface 4b ... Locking pin 6 ... Frame casing 7 ... Rod lens 8 ... Metal member

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location H04N 1/19

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A housing to which a lens array is attached and which has a substrate contact reference surface, a printed board on which an image element array is mounted on an upper surface, and a lower surface of the printed board, which are integrally attached to the housing and which are attached to the housing. Consisting of a metal member to be stopped,
The printed circuit board is brought into contact with the board contact reference surface provided in the housing so that the lens array and the image element array are opposed to each other with a constant gap therebetween by the metal member locked to the housing. Imaging device.