Abstract: An activated carbon producing system includes a carbonizer for carbonizing cellulose triacetate as cellulose acylate to create carbonized material. A pulverizer pulverizes the carbonized material to obtain granules. An activation device activates the granules to create activated carbon. The activated carbon producing system includes a dispenser for supplying the cellulose triacetate at a plural number of times. A heating furnace is operated at each time after the dispenser operates, for thermally decomposing the cellulose triacetate from the dispenser, to obtain the carbonized material by carbonization. The pulverizer pulverizes the carbonized material in a size equal to or more than 2 mm and equal to or less than 20 mm. Temperature of the heating furnace is equal to or higher than 300 deg. C. and equal to or lower than 600 deg. C.

Abstract: An activated carbon producing system includes a heating furnace for thermally decomposing multi-layer film including a polyvinyl alcohol layer and cellulose triacetate (TAC) layers formed on surfaces of the polyvinyl alcohol layer, to produce carbonized material by carbonization. An activation device activates the carbonized material with heat, to produce activated carbon by forming fine pores therein. A burner assembly combusts acetic acid contained in pyrolysis gas created by thermal decomposition in the heating furnace, to produce gaseous carbon dioxide. A first heat exchanger exchanges heat between the pyrolysis gas from the burner assembly and heat exchange medium, to provide the heating furnace with the heat of the heat exchange medium. A washer absorbs gaseous carbon dioxide contained in the pyrolysis gas from the first heat exchanger by use of alkaline absorption solution. If the multi-layer film contains additive, the washer washes away the combusted additive.

Abstract: An information reproduction device capable of a more appropriate frequency monitoring of a read clock, as compared to conventional devices, is realized.

Abstract: An activated carbon producing system includes a heating furnace for thermally decomposing multi-layer film including a polyvinyl alcohol layer and cellulose triacetate (TAC) layers formed on surfaces of the polyvinyl alcohol layer, to produce carbonized material by carbonization. An activation device activates the carbonized material with heat, to produce activated carbon by forming fine pores therein. A burner assembly combusts acetic acid contained in pyrolysis gas created by thermal decomposition in the heating furnace, to produce gaseous carbon dioxide. A first heat exchanger exchanges heat between the pyrolysis gas from the burner assembly and heat exchange medium, to provide the heating furnace with the heat of the heat exchange medium. A washer absorbs gaseous carbon dioxide contained in the pyrolysis gas from the first heat exchanger by use of alkaline absorption solution. If the multi-layer film contains additive, the washer washes away the combusted additive.

Abstract: An activated carbon producing system includes a carbonizer for carbonizing cellulose triacetate as cellulose acylate to create carbonized material. A pulverizer pulverizes the carbonized material to obtain granules. An activation device activates the granules to create activated carbon. The activated carbon producing system includes a dispenser for supplying the cellulose triacetate at a plural number of times. A heating furnace is operated at each time after the dispenser operates, for thermally decomposing the cellulose triacetate from the dispenser, to obtain the carbonized material by carbonization. The pulverizer pulverizes the carbonized material in a size equal to or more than 2 mm and equal to or less than 20 mm. Temperature of the heating furnace is equal to or higher than 300 deg. C. and equal to or lower than 600 deg. C.

Abstract: The present invention makes it possible to set an operating condition enabling the best recording characteristic to be obtained for any kind of recording media, even in the case where the recording medium is combined with any kind of drive devices. According to the present invention, even in the case where a unknown and new kind of recording medium is loaded into the drive device, a piece of first operating condition information for an optical system suitable for a combination of the drive device and the new kind of recording media is read from a specific read only area provided for the recording medium, and an operating condition enabling the best operating characteristic to be obtained is set by using the first operating condition information, as a result of which even in the case where any kind of recording medium and any kind of drive device are combined, the operating condition for enabling the best recording characteristic to be obtained for the recording medium, can be set in the drive device.

Abstract: To enable a physically rewritable disc to be appropriately used as a write-once type. When the rewritable disc is used in rewritable application, the position where writing of a predetermined data unit (for example, an ECC block) in data is started is set to a first position with respect to a reference position to record or play back the data. In contrast, when the rewritable disc is used in write-once application, the position where writing of the predetermined data unit in the data is started is set to a second position different from first position to record or play back the data.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an optical disk device and can be applied to, for example, a reproduction system of a phase-change-type optical disk device handling high density recording in order to improve the detection accuracy of specific patterns, such as a synchronizing pattern, without increasing the redundancy of the format. A specific pattern is detected by using NRZI data D1R that is obtained by signal processing of a reproduction signal DRF, and has been NRAI-modulated from pulse-position-modulated data D2R.

Abstract: To enable a physically rewritable disc to be appropriately used as a write-once type. When the rewritable disc is used in rewritable application, the position where writing of a predetermined data unit (for example, an ECC block) in data is started is set to a first position with respect to a reference position to record or play back the data. In contrast, when the rewritable disc is used in write-once application, the position where writing of the predetermined data unit in the data is started is set to a second position different from first position to record or play back the data.

Abstract: An information reproduction device capable of a more appropriate frequency monitoring of a read clock, as compared to conventional devices, is realized.

Abstract: A recording medium as a physically rewritable disk is appropriately used as a write-once type. In order to use the rewritable media in write-once applications, the recording medium in the data structure thereof includes, in a second data unit (an ECC block of 64 Kbytes), flag information WF1-WF4 indicating whether a first data unit (2 Kbytes) is stored. More specifically, whether a plurality of first data units (a sector handled by a host) has been recorded in the second data unit (a recording unit sector on the recording medium) is directly indicated. When an access request is issued in emulation in a disk drive device, the flag information is referenced, and the disk drive device determines whether one of writing or reading of the first data unit as a target responsive to a command is enabled.

Abstract: An optical disc is disclosed, having tracks formed in a spiral shape or a concentric circle shape, each of the tracks being radially divided into a plurality of zones, data being recorded and/or reproduced at different angular velocities in the individual zones in such a manner that the angular velocity in the same zone is the same, wherein a buffer area is formed at a zone boundary, and wherein at least one pit portion is formed in the buffer area so that the pit portion is almost radially adjacent to a pit portion of a zone on the inner periphery side and a pit portion of a zone on the outer periphery side.

Abstract: In an optical disk, address information, including an address information start mark, is recorded in a header region primarily based on variable-length codes such that, between each pair of nearest bits having a first logic value, at least two and at most seven bits having a second logic value are disposed. The address information start mark is detected based on a first criterion that a combination of pulse widths each defined in association with a nearest pair of bits having the first logic value is present in a pulse sequence, and also based on a second criterion that, when the logic level of the pulse sequence alternates between a first logic level and a second logic level in association with occurrence of bits having the first logic value intermittently disposed among bits having the second logic value, the logic levels of pulses in the pulse sequence coincide with their respective counterparts in the combination of pulse widths.

Abstract: An optical disk apparatus for a phase-change optical disk detects the boundary between a first region and a second region prior to detecting a synchronization mark. The synchronization mark is detected in accordance with the position of the detected boundary between the first region and the second region. User data is read from a data region in accordance with the detected synchronization mark.

Abstract: In a disk-shaped recording medium such as an optical disk and the like, a reference clock with a frequency corresponding to a reproduction frequency of data reproduced from a data recording region is divided in accordance with a ratio between a record density of a header region where pre-formatted data including a sector mark for indicating a leading position of a sector is recorded, and a recording density of a data recording region subsequent to the header region, so as to produce a sampling clock. By use of thus-produced sampling clock, the sector mark is detected. Even if the header region has a recording density different from the recording density of the data region, to use a sector mark detector having the same structure as of a sector mark detector which is employed in the case where the header region has the same recording density as that of the data region.

Abstract: In an optical recording medium of a recording format to record data on both lands and grooves in such a manner that a recording area is divided into a plurality of zones, and headers arranged continuously in radial directions in the same zone are not arranged in the same radial directions over a zone boundary, and the headers are so arranged as to be shared by the lands and the grooves, the headers arranged within three or more physical tracks from said zone boundary are cleared and grooved. Thereby, noise is prevented from occurring in a tracking error signal about the time from the occurrence of noise, which occurs in the tracking error signal and causes landing, until a tracking servo is performed, thus making it possible to enhance the stability of landing traversing a zone boundary.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an optical disk device and can be applied to, for example, a reproduction system of a phase-change-type optical disk device handling high density recording in order to improve the detection accuracy of specific patterns, such as a synchronizing pattern, without increasing the redundancy of the format. A specific pattern is detected by using NRZI data D1R that is obtained by signal processing of a reproduction signal DRF, and has been NRAI-modulated from pulse-position-modulated data D2R.

Abstract: A result of a blank/written identification performed concurrently with decoding is verified when an error occurs during decoding of read information, and retry is performed according to this identification result in order to achieve fast retry operation. Specifically, a blank check is performed concurrently with decoding of readout data so that when a decoding error occurs, the blank check status can be immediately identified. In this way, suitable retry operations can be undertaken.

Abstract: In an optical recording medium of a recording format to record data on both lands and grooves in such a manner that a recording area is divided into a plurality of zones, and headers arranged continuously in radial directions in the same zone are not arranged in the same radial directions over a zone boundary, and the headers are so arranged as to be shared by the lands and the grooves, the headers arranged within three or more physical tracks from said zone boundary are cleared and grooved. Thereby, noise is prevented from occurring in a tracking error signal about the time from the occurrence of noise, which occurs in the tracking error signal and causes landing, until a tracking servo is performed, thus making it possible to enhance the stability of landing traversing a zone boundary.

Abstract: In an optical disk, address information, including an address information start mark, is recorded in a header region primarily based on variable-length codes such that, between each pair of nearest bits having a first logic value, at least two and at most seven bits having a second logic value are disposed. The address information start mark is detected based on a first criterion that a combination of pulse widths each defined in association with a nearest pair of bits having the first logic value is present in a pulse sequence, and also based on a second criterion that, when the logic level of the pulse sequence alternates between a first logic level and a second logic level in association with occurrence of bits having the first logic value intermittently disposed among bits having the second logic value, the logic levels of pulses in the pulse sequence coincide with their respective counterparts in the combination of pulse widths.