Optical deflector, image displaying apparatus, and object apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10459218-B2
Application number	US-201715612259-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 2, 2017
Priority date	Dec 8, 2014
Publication date	Oct 29, 2019
Grant date	Oct 29, 2019

Abstract

An optical deflector is used for optically scanning a target surface. The optical deflector includes: a mirror device configured to include a mirror capable of oscillating; and a casing configured to include a window unit for facing the mirror device, and to accommodate the mirror device. The window unit has a transmissive reflection structure in which part of an incident beam is caused to transmit through the window unit toward the mirror, and at least part of a remainder of the incident beam is reflected by the window unit to a direction separated from an optical deflection range that is deflected by the mirror device, and the transmissive reflection structure includes a diffraction grating provided on one of a front surface and a back surface of the window unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An optical deflector used for optically scanning a target surface, the optical deflector comprising:
a mirror device configured to include a mirror configured to oscillate; and
a casing configured to include a window unit for facing the mirror device, and to accommodate the mirror device,
wherein the window unit has a transmissive reflection structure in which part of an incident beam is caused to transmit through the window unit toward the mirror, and at least part of a remainder of the incident beam is reflected by the window unit to a direction separated from an optical deflection range that is deflected by the mirror device,
wherein the transmissive reflection structure includes a diffraction grating provided on one of a front surface and a back surface of the window unit, and
wherein the diffraction grating is provided in an area of the window unit through which the part of the incident beam passes, and is not provided in another area of the window unit through which the deflected beam that has been deflected by the mirror device passes.

2. The optical deflector according to claim 1 , wherein the transmissive reflection structure further includes a diffraction grating provided on the other one of the front surface and the back surface of the window unit, and
wherein the diffraction gratings respectively provided on the front surface and the back surface have different diffraction angles from each other.

3. The optical deflector according to claim 1 ,
wherein the transmissive reflection structure further includes a diffraction grating provided on the other one of the front surface and the back surface of the window unit,
wherein antireflection films are respectively provided on the front surface and the back surface, and
wherein the diffraction gratings are respectively provided on the antireflection films.

4. The optical deflector according to claim 1 , wherein the diffraction grating has a blazed structure.

5. The optical deflector according to claim 1 , wherein the diffraction grating has a binary structure.

6. The optical deflector according to claim 1 , wherein the window unit is parallel to a surface on which the mirror device is mounted, in the casing.

7. The optical deflector according to claim 1 , wherein an optical path of a reflected beam that has been reflected by the transmissive reflection structure is formed on a side opposite the optical deflection range with respect to an optical path of the incident beam.

8. An image displaying apparatus configured to optically scan a scanned surface, and to display an image, the image displaying apparatus comprising:
an optical source unit configured to emit a beam based on image information; and
the optical deflector of claim 1 , configured to deflect the beam emitted from the optical source unit.

9. The image displaying apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising an optical absorber provided in an optical path of a reflected beam that has been reflected by the transmissive reflection structure.

10. The image displaying apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising an optical deflecting unit provided in an optical path of a reflected beam that has been reflected by the transmissive reflection structure.

11. The image displaying apparatus according to claim 10 , further comprising an optical absorber provided in an optical path of the reflected beam that has been deflected by the optical deflecting unit.

12. The image displaying apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising an optical system configured to guide the beam that has been formed into the image on the scanned surface to a transmissive reflection member.

13. An object apparatus comprising:
the image displaying apparatus of claim 12 ; and
an object in which the image displaying apparatus is installed.

Assignees

• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Suzuki Shuichi
• Hashiguchi Tsuyoshi
• Nakagawa Jun

Classifications

• G02B26/08

  for controlling the direction of light (in light guides G02B6/35) · CPC title

• G02B26/127

  Adaptive control of the scanning light beam, e.g. using the feedback from one or more detectors (G02B27/0031 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02B5/0231

  the surface having microprismatic or micropyramidal shape (macroscopic prism arrays G02B5/045) · CPC title

• G02B27/01

  Head-up displays · CPC title

• G02B26/12

  using multifaceted mirrors · CPC title