Abstract: [Problem] In a conventional multilayer optical disc, management information needs to be retrieved from the control area of its reference layer to find how many information layers there are in the optical disc. [Means for Solving the Problem] A multilayer optical disc according to the present invention has multiple information layers that are stacked one upon the other. The information layers include at least one layer on which layer number information, indicating its own place in the multiple information layers, and information about the total number of information layers included are both stored.

Abstract: A medical-data management device includes: a medical data determination unit 32 that determines whether medical data to be recorded on an optical disc 14 is EMR data or not; and a medical-data access control unit 33 that causes an optical pickup 27 to access a write-once recording layer 18 of the optical disc 14 to write the data in the case where the medical data to be recorded according to a determination result of the medical data determination unit 32 is EMR data, and causes the optical pickup 27 to access rewritable recording layers 16 and 17 of the optical disc to write the data in the case where the medical data is not EMR data. A feature of the present invention is to prevent recording errors in medical data.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for determining what group a given multilayer optical disc belongs to. The disc is one of a number of multilayer optical discs, which are designed so that information stored is retrievable from any of the discs by irradiating the disc with a light beam having the same wavelength and which have been classified into multiple groups. According to this method, performed first is Step (A) of measuring either a distance from a first one of multiple information layers of the given multilayer optical disc to a second one thereof, which is located adjacent to the first information layer, or a distance from the first information layer to the surface of the optical disc. Next, Step (B) of determining, by the distance measured, what group the given multilayer optical disc belongs to is performed.

Abstract: A layer-to-layer jumping method according to the present invention includes, after a layer-to-layer jump has been started in a multilayer optical disc, the step ST7 of detecting an S-curve signal from an information layer, which is located shallower than the target information layer of the layer-to-layer jump, with a spherical aberration correction made adaptively to that shallower information layer, and the step ST8 of generating a deceleration signal based on the S-curve signal detected to get the layer-to-layer jump done.

Abstract: In a recording medium including stacked recording layers, management data requiring reliability is recorded in the recording layer far from the surface of the recording medium and data bodies are recorded in the recording layer close to the surface of the recording medium. Thus a data file can be read even if defects such as fingerprints and scratches occur on the surface of the recording medium.

Abstract: An optical disk apparatus according to the present invention includes: a controller 111, which receives an instruction that a layer-to-layer jump be performed from a current layer to a target layer; a layer-to-layer jump control section 146, which adjusts a spherical aberration correction value to the target layer and then gets the layer-to-layer jump attempted; a decision section 146 for determining whether the layer-to-layer jump has been carried out successfully; and a layer determining section 146 for determining, if the focus position has been set on a non-target storage layer as a result of the layer-to-layer jump, where the non-target storage layer is located in the optical disk. The layer-to-layer jump control section 146 shifts the focus position of the light beam from that non-target storage layer to the target layer by reference to information indicating which of the multiple storage layers the non-target storage layer is.

Abstract: An optical disc according to the present invention has a first defect management area to which first defect management information corresponding to non-permanent defects is added, and a second defect management area to which second defect management information corresponding to permanent defects is added. The second defect management information added to the second defect management area is non-rewritable.

Abstract: An optical disc apparatus according to the present invention includes: a laser light source for emitting multiple light beams, of which the wavelengths are different from each other and include a first wavelength and a second wavelength that is longer than the first wavelength; an optical system for converging an arbitrarily selected one of the light beams on an optical disc that has a surface and at least one information storage layer; a focus control section for controlling the focus position of the light beam with respect to the optical disc; and a defect detecting section, which senses light reflected from the surface of the optical disc with the focus position of the light beam set on the surface, thereby determining, based on the intensity of the reflected light, whether or not there is a fingerprint on the optical disc.

Abstract: The optical disc apparatus of this invention includes: an optical pickup, which irradiates an optical disc with a light beam and generates a light detection signal based on the beam reflected from the disc; a search section, which controls the pickup before data is written on a storage area of the disc, thereby adjusting the beam spot location and searching a reference one of information layers stacked for a defective area in the storage area of the disc; a defect decision section for detecting an error based on the detection signal and determining a portion of the storage area, where the error has occurred, as the defective area; a defect size measuring section for measuring the size of the defective area in an area of the reference layer and generating a defect information list indicating there is the defective area in the area of the reference layer; and a recording range control section for managing, by reference to the list, the storage area such that no data will be written on a perpendicularly projecte

Abstract: A microscope system is characterized in comprising a transmission illumination optical system having a light source (11) and a condenser lens (13); a first dry objective (15a) having a magnification of from 20 or higher to 40 or lower and capable of viewing by at least one of a differential interference viewing method and a modulation contrast viewing method; and a second dry objective (15b) having a magnification of from 60 or higher to 100 or lower and capable of viewing by a differential interference viewing method; the first objective (15a) and the second objective (15b) being exchangeable.

Abstract: An optical disc apparatus according to the present invention includes a disc type recognizing section for determining whether the optical disc loaded is a first type, of which the number of information storage layers is less than a setting T (where T is an integer that is greater than two), or a second type, of which the number of information storage layers is equal to or greater than the setting T. Depending on whether the optical disc loaded has turned out to be the first type or the second type, the apparatus determines the read/write preprocessing (such as whether a fingerprint detection process needs to be performed or not).

Abstract: An optical disc drive according to the present invention can read and/or write data from/on an optical disc with information layers including first and second information layers (L0 and L1). The drive includes: an objective lens for converging a light beam; a lens actuator for driving the lens; a photodetector section that receives the beam reflected from the disc and converts it into an electrical signal; and a control section for determining the values of a first group of parameters, which are set to read data from the first layer (L0), and those of a second group of parameters, which are set to read data from the second layer (L1), during a disc loading process.

Abstract: An object of this invention is to measure the tilt quantity of, and perform a tilt control on, an optical disc accurately without depending on the rotation control method. An optical disc drive includes: a motor for rotating an optical disc; an optical system for irradiating the optical disc with a light beam; a moving mechanism for moving the optical system along the radius of the optical disc; a focus control section for controlling movement of the optical system perpendicularly to the optical disc based on drive values, thereby focusing the light beam onto a storage layer of the optical disc; and a tilt control section for measuring the tilt quantities of the storage layer at multiple different radial locations on the optical disc based on drive values for the respective radial locations when the focus control section focuses the light beam there.

Abstract: A microscope system includes a transmission illumination optical system having a light source and a condenser lens; a first dry objective having a magnification of from 20 or higher to 40 or lower and capable of viewing by at least one of a differential interference viewing method and a modulation contrast viewing method; and a second dry objective having a magnification of from 60 or higher to 100 or lower and capable of viewing by a differential interference viewing method; the first objective and the second objective being exchangeable.

Abstract: An optical disk apparatus according to the present invention includes: a controller 111, which receives an instruction that a layer-to-layer jump be performed from a current layer to a target layer; a layer-to-layer jump control section 146, which adjusts a spherical aberration correction value to the target layer and then gets the layer-to-layer jump attempted; a decision section 146 for determining whether the layer-to-layer jump has been carried out successfully; and a layer determining section 146 for determining, if the focus position has been set on a non-target storage layer as a result of the layer-to-layer jump, where the non-target storage layer is located in the optical disk. The layer-to-layer jump control section 146 shifts the focus position of the light beam from that non-target storage layer to the target layer by reference to information indicating which of the multiple storage layers the non-target storage layer is.

Abstract: An optical disc drive according to the present invention can write data on both a write-once disc and a rewritable disc. The drive includes: a disc recognizing section 110 for recognizing the type of a given optical disc as a write-once disc or a rewritable disc; and track skipping detection signal generating section, which outputs track skipping detection signal when a first condition on tracking error is satisfied if the given optical disc, on which data is being written, has turned out to be a write-once disc. On the other hand, if the given optical disc has turned out to be a rewritable disc, the track skipping detection signal generating section outputs track skipping detection signal when a second condition on tracking error, which is different from the first condition, is satisfied. A control section stops writing the data in response to the track skipping detection signal while the data is being written.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for determining what group a given multilayer optical disc belongs to. The disc is one of a number of multilayer optical discs, which are designed so that information stored is retrievable from any of the discs by irradiating the disc with a light beam having the same wavelength and which have been classified into multiple groups. According to this method, performed first is Step (A) of measuring either a distance from a first one of multiple information layers of the given multilayer optical disc to a second one thereof, which is located adjacent to the first information layer, or a distance from the first information layer to the surface of the optical disc. Next, Step (B) of determining, by the distance measured, what group the given multilayer optical disc belongs to is performed.

Abstract: An optical disc apparatus according to the present invention includes: an optical pickup including an optical system that converges a light beam on an optical disc and a photodetector that detects light reflected from the optical disc; and a fingerprint detector for detecting, based on the output of the photodetector, multiple fingerprint dots on the surface of the optical disc. The fingerprint detector confirms the presence of a fingerprint on the optical disc on sensing the output of the photodetector change according to the pattern of the fingerprint dots.

Abstract: There is provided an optical disc device including an objective lens, a lens actuator for driving the objective lens, a light-receiving unit, and a system control unit which determines, at startup, the values of parameters to be set for recording or reproducing data in or from the respective information layers, and performs setting and management of recording inhibition or reproduction inhibition for the respective information layers, wherein, even when an error occurs because the values of the parameter groups for the respective layers cannot be determined in an optical disc having laminated plural information layers, recording or reproduction can be performed for at least the layers for which the parameters can be correctly determined, without stopping the startup. Thereby, the states of the respective information layers are managed for each information layer, and reproduction or recording operation is rapidly started in the respective layers to effectively utilize the multilayer disc.

Abstract: After an optical disk drive according to the present invention has been loaded with an optical disk and before the operation of recognizing the type of the given disk is finished, the drive presumes one of multiple types of candidate optical disks, from/on which data is readable and writable using a light beam with the shortest wavelength among the candidate disks, to be the disk being driven by the motor now and gets the beam for the presumed type of disk radiated from a light source (Step (A)). Next, the drive gets the disk spun at a rotational velocity that realizes a linear velocity equal to or higher than a standardized normal velocity when data is read from the presumed type of disk (Step (B)). Thereafter, the drive starts a focus control in a situation where the spot of the beam being formed on the disk is moving on the disk at the linear velocity equal to or higher than the normal velocity (Step (C)).