JPH0734064B2 - Method of manufacturing rotating polygon mirror - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Outline] A method for manufacturing a rotary polygon mirror used for laser beam scanning of a laser printer or the like, in which a rotary polygon mirror is manufactured with high efficiency and high quality. In manufacturing a rotary polygon mirror that cuts all the polygonal surfaces of the formed base body to a mirror surface, the mounting reference surfaces on both sides of the base body formed in a polyhedral shape are formed into semi-mirror surfaces, After arranging the mounting reference planes of the same side by side coaxially with each other, cut each polygonal surface at the same time to finish it into a mirror surface, and then dip a plurality of substrates in close contact with each other into the liquid. Then, ultrasonic energy is applied toward the contact surface of each substrate to separate the substrates in a close contact state.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a rotary polygon mirror used for laser beam scanning of a laser printer or the like.

Rotating polygon mirrors, which are also called polygon mirrors, are widely used for laser scanners such as laser printers and reflectors of optical systems such as facsimiles. In OA equipment such as laser printers and facsimiles, it has become more and more popular in recent years, and high-definition and high-quality image output is required. Accordingly, mass production of rotary polygon mirrors with high light reflection accuracy under high-speed rotation Is desired.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, rotary polygon mirrors are made by rough machining a material such as aluminum or aluminum alloy into a polyhedron shape of a single body (hereinafter referred to as a base body), and then all the polygonal surfaces of this base body and the mounting reference surfaces of the base body side are subjected to ultra-precision cutting. It was usually manufactured by a method of forming a mirror surface. However, this method requires a large number of man-hours and time to manufacture one piece and is not suitable for mass production. Therefore, the following manufacturing method is currently practiced.

That is, in this manufacturing method for mass production, first, only the attachment reference surface of the base body is mirror-finished. Next, a plurality of the bases are brought into contact with each other with reference to their mounting reference planes (the mounting reference planes are mirror surfaces so that they are in close contact with each other), and the polygonal surfaces are aligned with each other, and the super precision cutting machine is cut. After arranging them side by side on the axis of the delivery board, a plurality of cutting tools made of diamond are used to simultaneously cut a predetermined polygonal surface of each base to give a mirror finish. Then, after mirror-finishing all the polygonal surfaces of each substrate, the closely adhered substrates are separated by inserting a bar material such as a spatula into the gaps to pry them apart to obtain a plurality of rotating polygon mirrors. .

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, in the conventional lap mirror finishing for mass production, when separating a plurality of substrates in a close contact state, a spatula leaves a pry mark (scratch) on the reference mounting surface of the substrate, or There were problems such as a part of the edge of the mirror surface part being damaged and the surface of the mirror surface part being damaged. Such a wound polygonal mirror has a problem in that even if it is incorporated in an apparatus, a surface tilt may occur or the light reflectivity may be deteriorated, resulting in a defect in optical scanning or light reflection accuracy.

Moreover, since the separation work requires carefulness, a considerable amount of time was spent.

In view of the conventional situation as described above, the present invention is a rotary multi-faced device that can easily separate a plurality of bases after mirror-finishing from one another without damaging the mounting reference surface and the mirror surface portion in a short time. It is an object to provide a method for manufacturing a mirror.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, as shown in the principle diagram of FIG. 1, first, in step 1, the mounting reference surfaces on both sides of the base body formed in a polygonal shape are formed into semi-mirror surfaces. In the next step 2, a plurality of base bodies each having a semi-mirror surface as a mounting reference surface are arranged coaxially with the mounting reference surfaces being in contact with each other, and each polygonal surface is cut at the same time to be a mirror surface. Finish. In the next step 3, after all the polygonal surfaces are mirror-finished, a plurality of substrates in contact with each other are immersed in a liquid, and ultrasonic energy is applied toward the contact surfaces in the liquid to form a plurality of substrates. Separate the substrate.

[Action]

As in the present invention, when the attachment reference surface of the polyhedral base is formed as a semi-mirror surface, the surface becomes a fine and flat surface, so when the bases are brought into contact with each other, a minute gap is formed at the boundary surface. Occurs. In short, the degree of adhesion is lower than that of the conventional mounting reference surface of the mirror surface. When a plurality of bases stacked in such a contact state are mirror-finished and then immersed in a liquid and ultrasonic energy is applied from below, the wave power causes microvibration of the entire base, resulting in a microscopic vibration of each base. The boundary surface having a gap, that is, the contact surface is simultaneously separated by the vibration. This separation is done in a few minutes, and the mirror surface portion of the substrate and the mounting reference surface are not scratched at all. Therefore, a high quality rotary polygon mirror can be efficiently manufactured.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows, for example, a six-sided aluminum material (outer diameter
The substrate 1 processed into 69φ, inner diameter 22φ, thickness 6mm is shown.
This base 1 is provided with six polygonal surfaces (length 26 mm, width 5 mm) serving as mirror surfaces on the outer peripheral surface, and cylindrical mounting reference surfaces (outer diameter 52φ, height 0.5 mm) 2 on both sides in the thickness direction. Has been.

In this embodiment, first, the mounting reference surface 2 of the base body 1 is cut into a semi-mirror surface (for example, flatness of about 0.3 μm) by cutting with a cutting tool.
m).

Next, the base body 1 whose attachment reference surface 2 is a semi-mirror surface is, for example, 6
As shown in FIG. 3, each central hole 3 is inserted through a hollow core material (not shown), and each mounting reference surface 2 is brought into contact with each other and each polygonal surface 4 is aligned. Install in parallel. Then, similarly to the conventional case, the juxtaposed base body group 1 is set on the shaft of an indexing machine of an ultra-precision cutting machine (not shown), and a plurality of cutting tools are attached to one polygonal surface 4 in the same row of each base body 1. Then, the polygonal surface 4 is cut at the same time to be mirror-finished (for example, flatness about 0.06 μm).

Next, after removing all the polygonal surfaces 4 from the cutting machine in a state where the six mirror-finished base bodies 1 are in close contact with each other, a core material (not shown) is pulled out from the center hole 3 of the base body group 1, and instead. Insert the sling 5 made of wire material, and the Freon liquid 6 shown in FIG.
Soak in the ultrasonic bath 7 containing. The ultrasonic transducer (for example, frequency 50 Hz) 8 installed at the bottom of the ultrasonic tank 7 is 2 to
After operating for 3 minutes, the wave energy is applied to the substrate group 1. As a result, the base group 1 is separated from the respective contact surfaces, that is, the mounting reference surfaces 2, as a result of the slight vibration as described in the above [Operation] section.

After that, if the separated base bodies 1 are removed one by one, six rotary polygon mirrors are completed at the same time.

Although aluminum is used as the metal material in the above embodiments, it is needless to say that an aluminum alloy can be used without being limited to this.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to manufacture the rotary polygon mirror with high efficiency and high quality.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the principle of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a polyhedral substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a laminated substrate in one step of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a group, and FIG. 4 is a view showing a separation step of the base group in the same example. In the figure, 1 is a multi-sided base, 2 is a mounting reference surface, 3 is a central hole, and 4
Is a polygonal surface, 5 is a suspender, 6 is a Freon liquid, 7 is an ultrasonic tank, and 8 is an ultrasonic transducer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a rotary polygon mirror, wherein all polygonal surfaces of a base body formed in a polygonal shape are cut into mirror surfaces, and mounting reference surfaces (2) on both sides of the base body (1) formed in a polygonal shape are formed. A plurality of bases (1) each having a semi-mirror surface and having a mounting reference surface (2) formed in a semi-mirror surface are coaxially arranged side by side with the mounting reference surfaces being in contact with each other. The polygonal surface (4) is cut at the same time to finish it into a mirror surface, and after all the polygonal surfaces (4) are mirror-finished, a plurality of substrates (1) in intimate contact are immersed in the liquid (5), and the liquid A method of manufacturing a rotating polygon mirror, characterized in that ultrasonic energy (8) is applied toward the contact surface of each substrate (1) to separate each substrate (1) in the close contact state.