Image forming apparatus, light-intensity correction method, and computer program product

A light-intensity correction method performed in an image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus including

• a light source that emits a light beam;
• an illumination-current generating unit that generates an illumination current, wherein the illumination current causes the light source to emit the light beam;
• a deflecting optical unit that deflects the light beam and collects the deflected light beam on a scanned surface of a photosensitive element, thereby forming a light spot and scanning the scanned surface with the light spot;
• and
• a detecting unit that detects a scanning position of the light spot on the scanned surface;
• the light-intensity correction method comprising:
• calculating a relation between the value of the illumination current and the intensity of light emitted from the light source based on a plurality of intensities of emitted light, each intensity of the plurality of intensities being close to or equal to a prescribed light intensity;
• causing the illumination-current generating unit to generate the illumination current based on the relation;
• and
• correcting the intensity of the light beam by correcting the illumination current based on predetermined correction data defined for each scanning position.

A computer program product comprising a computer-usable medium having computer-readable program codes embodied in the medium for a light-intensity correction method performed in an image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus including

• a light source that emits a light beam;
• an illumination-current generating unit that generates an illumination current, wherein the illumination current causes the light source to emit the light beam;
• a deflecting optical unit that deflects the light beam and collects the deflected light beam on a scanned surface of a photosensitive element, thereby forming a light spot and scanning the scanned surface with the light spot;
• and
• a detecting unit that detects a scanning position of the light spot on the scanned surface;
• the program codes when executed causing a computer to execute:
• calculating a relation between the value of the illumination current and the intensity of light emitted from the light source based on a plurality of intensities of emitted light, each intensity of the plurality of intensities being close to or equal to a prescribed light intensity;
• causing the illumination-current generating unit to generate the illumination current based on the relation;
• and
• correcting the intensity of the light beam by correcting the illumination current based on predetermined correction data defined for each scanning position.