Patent attributes
An optical scanning apparatus includes a light source having a light-emitting point; a light-beam converting unit configured to convert a state of a light beam emitted from the light-emitting point of the light source into another state; a deflecting unit configured to deflect and scan the light beam emitted from the light-beam converting unit, the deflecting unit including a resonant deflecting element having a single deflecting surface that reciprocates around an axis; and an imaging optical unit configured to cause the light beam deflected and scanned by the deflecting surface of the deflecting unit to form an image on a surface to be scanned. The distance between the light-emitting point of the light source and the light-beam converting unit is adjusted based on information obtained by a detector that detects the light beam emitted from the light source and deflected by the deflecting surface of the deflecting unit.
