Optical scanning device and image forming apparatus including the same

An optical scanning device comprising:

• a bottomed box-shaped casing in which a ceiling side is opened;
• a rotating polygon mirror housed in the bottomed box-shaped casing to deflect and scan light beams emitted from a light source;
• a driving motor fixed to a bottom wall of the bottomed box-shaped casing to drive the rotating polygon mirror;
• and
• a lid member that closes the ceiling side of the bottomed box-shaped casing and is fixed to the bottomed box-shaped casing via a fixing mechanism, wherein
• the fixing mechanism is provided adjacent to a minimum separation part of a sidewall of the bottomed box-shaped casing at which a distance from the rotating polygon mirror is a minimum,
• the sidewall of the bottomed box-shaped casing has a curved wall part in which the distance from the rotating polygon mirror gradually increases from the minimum separation part toward a downstream side in a rotation direction of the rotating polygon mirror, and an inclined wall part, which is connected to a downstream side end part of the curved wall part and extends in a tangential direction of the curved wall part when viewed from an opened side of the bottomed box-shaped casing, and
• the inclined wall part is formed with a communicating part having a predetermined function and making an inside and an outside of the bottomed box-shaped casing communicate with each other.