Lens Array Axial Offset Shielding for Resolution Deterioration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lens arrays in image forming and reading apparatuses suffer from resolution deterioration due to axial offsets in micro lenses, leading to issues like streaks and uneven density in images, as the precision of each lens varies along the longitudinal direction, affecting the optical image formation.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves a lens array design where the axial off-center distance between the central axes of micro lenses is adjusted such that it is less than half of the arrangement interval between light emitting or receiving elements, utilizing a shielding unit to prevent light from one lens in a pair, ensuring optimal alignment and preventing resolution deterioration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the lens array is elongated in the arrangement direction of micro lenses to extend the printing area, then the printing area is extended, but the manufacturing precision of micro lenses deteriorates due to inability to manufacture high-precision micro lenses across the entire array
Solution Approach 1:
The lens array is divided into multiple lens pairs, where each lens pair consists of a first micro lens and a second micro lens. By segmenting the array into discrete pairs and applying the shielding unit design to each pair, the system maintains manufacturing feasibility while extending the overall printing area.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies local quality optimization by introducing a shielding unit specifically at the image-forming location of each lens pair. This localized modification compensates for manufacturing imperfections in specific regions of the elongated array, ensuring that each lens pair maintains adequate imaging quality without requiring the entire array to be manufactured with uniform high precision.
2Ease of manufacture
If low-precision micro lenses are used in the lens array, then the manufacturing cost and complexity are reduced, but the resolution of the optical image deteriorates due to misalignment of central axes
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the lens system by introducing an intentional axial offset between the first and second micro lenses in each pair, controlled by the shielding unit position. This parameter modification compensates for manufacturing tolerances and maintains adequate resolution even with low-precision lenses, as the offset is designed to satisfy specific geometric relationships rather than requiring perfect alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The shielding unit acts as an intermediary element that mediates between the first and second micro lenses. By positioning the shielding unit at a specific location relative to the lenses, it compensates for axial misalignments and maintains proper optical path geometry, allowing the system to achieve acceptable resolution without requiring high-precision lens manufacturing.
3Measurement precision
If high-precision micro lenses are used with aligned central axes, then the resolution of the optical image is maintained, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention deliberately introduces asymmetry into the lens pair structure by positioning the shielding unit at an offset location relative to the optical axes of the first and second micro lenses. This asymmetric design simplifies manufacturing by accommodating typical manufacturing tolerances rather than requiring symmetric, perfectly aligned configurations, while still maintaining adequate imaging resolution.
4Manufacturing precision
If the axial off-center distance between micro lenses is increased, then the tolerance for manufacturing errors is increased, but the resolution of the optical image deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention optimizes the axial off-center distance parameter by designing the shielding unit position to satisfy a specific geometric relationship involving the focal lengths and distances of the first and second micro lenses. This optimized parameter setting achieves the best compromise between manufacturing tolerance and imaging resolution, allowing adequate tolerance while maintaining acceptable image quality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach effectively prevents resolution deterioration, allowing for faithful image reproduction and high-quality image formation in both image forming and reading apparatuses, maintaining image integrity without the need for high-precision lenses across the entire array.
Implementation Method 1
a first lens and a second lens, the lens array having a shielding unit for shielding a light from any one of the pair of lenses
Data Source
AI summary
An exposure device is provided that has a light emitting unit having a plurality of light emitting elements and a lens array having a pair of lenses having a first lens and a second lens, the lens array having a shielding unit for shielding a light from any one of the pair of lenses, wherein a formula EC<EP/2 is satisfied, where EP denotes an interval between two adjacent light emitting elements of the plurality of light emitting elements and where EC denotes an off-set between a central axis of the first lens and a central axis of the second lens.