Abstract: A defect entry, including position information of a defective block of a reference information layer and state information indicating the defective state of blocks of the other information layers located adjacent to a perpendicular direction at a position of the defective block of the reference information layer, is recorded on a holographic information storage medium. A method of inspecting for a defect includes determining whether blocks in a reference information layer are defective, and determining whether blocks of the other information layers located adjacent to a perpendicular direction at a position of a defective block of the reference information layer are defective, based on a result of the defect determination of the reference information layer.

Abstract: A control unit is caused to drive a collimator lens from a position of an origin, by a clock number A of drive pulses of a pulse rate T1, thereby to move the collimator lens, and is caused to return the lens to the position of the origin at a pulse rate T2 higher than the pulse rate T1, and counts a clock number B of drive pulses required for returning the lens, and repeats the counting while raising the rate T2 stage by stage, until the clock numbers A and B do not become equal. When the clock numbers A and B are not equal, the control unit judges the occurrence of the step-out, and determines the rate T2 being one stage lower than the rate T2 at which the occurrence of the step-out has been judged, as the pulse rate of the operation of correction of spherical aberration.

Abstract: Light emitted from a radiation light source 1 passes through a diffraction grating 3a and is separated into transmitted light a and +1st/?1st order diffracted lights b, c. These lights are collected through an objective lens 7 on tracks of an optical disc 8 in a partially overlapped state. Light reflected by the tracks passes through the objective lens 7 and is incident upon light diverging means 13a. Subsequently, light corresponding to the transmitted light “a” diverges into two light beams that are respectively incident upon light detection regions A1, A2, light corresponding to the diffracted lights “b” and “c” respectively diverges into two light beams that are respectively incident upon light detection regions B1, B2, and C1, C2. A tracking error signal associated with the tracks of the optical disc 8 is generated by combining signals detected in the light detection regions A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2.

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: AV stream files and original management files are initially recorded in a first data recordable area of an optical disc. After the recordation of the original management files in the first data recordable area, at least one backup management file is recorded in a second recordable area of the disc. When associated original file system information is recorded in the first data recordable area after the recordation of the backup management file, backup file system information is recorded in a third data recordable area. All of the first, second, and third data recordable areas are closed after the recordation of the backup file system information.

Abstract: An optical head device according to the present invention includes: a light source for outputting laser light; an optical system for allowing the laser light to be radiated onto an optical disk medium; and an aberration correction section for correcting an aberration of the laser light. The aberration correction section includes: a plurality of mirror sections for reflecting the laser light; a plurality of mirror driving sections for displacing the plurality of mirror sections; and a detection section for detecting a physical condition within the optical head device.

Abstract: A device determines a critical rotation speed of an optical data carrier at which a critical deflection of said optical data carrier may occur. The device includes a drive unit, a measurement unit and a determination unit. The drive unit rotates the optical data carrier according to a sweep covering a predetermined range of rotation speeds. The measurement unit generates a measurement signal indicative of a distance between a surface of the optical data carrier and a reference position corresponding to the sweep. The determination unit determines the critical rotation speed of the optical data carrier by processing the measurement signal on the basis of at least one characteristic of the measurement signal.

Abstract: A recording and reproducing apparatus includes an access display unit of a hard disk and a failure diagnosis unit to carry out a failure diagnosis by using error information of data reproduced from the hard disk, in which either a video recorded in the hard disk is displayed on the access display unit or an access on the reproduction is displayed thereon, and a warning content obtained from a diagnostic result of the hard disk is displayed after the access is completed.

Abstract: A disk inspection apparatus for discriminating disks. The disk inspection apparatus has an ECC control section and a comparison section. The ECC control section measures the number of error corrections PIE and the number of error correction failures PIF in a predetermined section of the disk. The comparison section discriminates the disk as a disk with a deterioration in jitter characteristic when the minimum or the average of the PIE exceeds a first threshold value; discriminates the disk as a normal disk when the maximum of the PIF is equal to or smaller than a second threshold and the minimum or the average of the PIE is equal to or smaller than the first threshold value; and discriminates the disk as a scratched disk when the minimum or the average of the PIE is equal to or smaller than the first threshold value and the maximum of the PIF exceeds the second threshold value.

Abstract: An optical disc verification method according to the present invention includes the steps of: writing data on first, second and third radial locations on an optical disc at a writing speed V1 and reading the data written there, thereby measuring read signal quality index values A, B and C, where the second radial location is inside of the first radial location and the third radial location is inside of the second radial location; writing data on the first and second radial locations at a writing speed V2, which is higher than V1, and reading the data written there, thereby measuring read signal quality index values D and E; and correcting the signal quality index value C with the difference between the signal quality index values B and E, thereby calculating a signal quality index value F that would be obtained if data is written on, and then read from, the third radial location at the speed V2.

Abstract: Provided is an optical disk device installed in a personal computer, including: an information creation unit that creates identification information for identifying the type of the personal computer based on a command transmitted from the personal computer; and a parameter selection unit that conducts switching, for parameter selection, concerning a parameter indicating an amount of unbalance of an optical disk, which has previously been determined depending on the type of the personal computer, in accordance with the identification information created by the information creation unit.

Abstract: An information recording apparatus is provided with a recording controller for recording data on an information recording medium, a verification controller for verifying whether or not the recorded data can be correctly reproduced, a continuous recording controller for providing a gap region of a specified interval between a verification region and a recording region and successively performing a verify processing and a record processing with rotation waiting in between, an error region discriminator for discriminating an error region in the event of an error in the process of performing the verify processing and the record processing, and an error processor for performing an error processing according to the error region. The error processor performs an error processing different from the one performed when an error occurred in either one of the verification region and the recording region if an error is discriminated to have occurred in the gap region.

Abstract: An optical disc apparatus for use of an optical disc including a plurality of recording layers sets an amount of correction of spherical aberration for each of the recording layers of the disc during a focus sweep. A photodetector portion produces a signal in response to returned light for each of the recording layers.

Abstract: A media defect compensation system and method may decouple effects of asymmetry from baseline error compensation computations. In some embodiments, a switching mechanism passes a baseline error signal into a baseline loop when a determination is made that a baseline error signal is not affected by asymmetry, and otherwise freezes the baseline loop when asymmetry may influence baseline error calculations.

Abstract: A method of generating a memory disc in an optical disc drive is provided. A request for a change of an optical disc inserted in the optical disc drive into a memory disc is confirmed by detecting if a button included in the optical disc drive is operated. When the request is confirmed, the format of the optical disc may be changed. When an eject button is pushed in a predetermined pattern, for example, when the eject button is pushed for longer than a first reference time or pushed more than twice within a second reference time, the optical disc is initialized into a blank disc, file system data corresponding to the memory disc is recorded in a specific region of the blank disc according to ISO image generating program stored in a non-volatile memory included in the optical disc drive, and the blank disc is formatted.

Abstract: An optical head device includes a light source configured to emit a light beam, a light collecting optical system configured to converge the light beam onto an information recording medium, a hologram element configured to diffract the light beam reflected from the information recording medium, and a photodetector having a plurality of detection regions configured to receive the light beam diffracted by the hologram element. The hologram element has a plurality of diffraction regions separated from each other by a straight line extending in a track direction of the information recording medium. At least one of the plurality of diffraction regions has a pattern which introduces coma aberration in the track direction to the diffracted light.

Abstract: An information processing device processes specific information recorded on a recording medium, and has a characteristic identification unit and a processing unit. The characteristic identification unit identifies the reflection characteristic of the recording medium. The processing unit processes the specific information recorded on the recording medium according to the identified reflection characteristic. The reflection characteristic is either a first characteristic such that the reflectance of light reflected by a recorded region of the recording medium (referred to as first reflectance) is greater than the reflectance of light reflected by an unrecorded region of the recording medium (referred to as second reflectance), or a second characteristic such that the first reflectance is less than the second reflectance.

Abstract: A method for determining runout disc is disclosed. The method comprises: focusing on a focal point on a disc; driving the disc to spin the disc; generating a crossover signal according to a track of the disc crossing the focal point; and determining that the disc is a runout disc when the frequency of the crossover signal exceeds a pre-determine value.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for recording contents. The method includes recording contents on a disc; verifying whether an error occurs in the recording; and reducing the number of available recordings of the contents, which is included in recording authority information, by 1, if an error does not occur in the recording. According to the method, if an error occurs in recording, the number of available recordings may be prevented from being unreasonably reduced.

Abstract: A disk inspection apparatus for discriminating disks. The disk inspection apparatus has an ECC control section and a comparison section. The ECC control section measures the number of error corrections PIE and the number of error correction failures PIF in a predetermined section of the disk. The comparison section discriminates the disk as a disk with a deterioration in jitter characteristic when the minimum or the average of the PIE exceeds a first threshold value; discriminates the disk as a normal disk when the maximum of the PIF is equal to or smaller than a second threshold and the minimum or the average of the PIE is equal to or smaller than the first threshold value; and discriminates the disk as a scratched disk when the minimum or the average of the PIE is equal to or smaller than the first threshold value and the maximum of the PIF exceeds the second threshold value.

Abstract: A recording device (1T or the like) is provided with (i) recording elements (50, 40) for recording data by irradiating a recording medium with laser beams; (ii) driving members (33T, 33F, 55T, 55F, 54) for performing tracking process or focusing process; (iii) a servo elements (31T, 31F) for automatically controlling the driving members based on an error signal; (iv) specifying elements (21, 22) for specifying an area where a recording medium characteristic (core eccentricity or the like) is not good, based on a high frequency component included in the error signal; and (v) a control unit (10) for (v-i) controlling the servo unit to change the gain in the automatic control, and for (v-ii) controlling the recording elements to change the recording power of the laser beams, in the specified area.

Abstract: Provided is an optical disk apparatus which has high read retry ability and high compatibility by performing a proper verify for other apparatuses. The optical disk apparatus includes a playback system capable of arbitrarily changing playback performance, and means which detects and determines a factor causing a read error. Moreover, a read retry is performed by use of playback parameters corresponding to the factor causing the read error. Furthermore, a verify is performed with the playback performance of the playback system lowered.

Abstract: A recording apparatus recording data on an optical disk includes a management information checking unit that determines whether or not management information on the optical disk for managing the data recorded on the optical disk exists by checking for management information on the optical disk when the optical disk is inserted in the recording apparatus; an area usage checking unit that determines whether or not a usage history of an optical disk area for optimizing recording power exists by checking a use condition of the optical disk area for optimizing recording power; and an abnormality detection unit that determines whether or not an optical disk abnormality exists in accordance with the presence or absence of management information on the optical disk and the presence or absence of a usage history of the optical disk area for optimizing recording power.

Abstract: A system controller of an optical disk recording and reproducing device makes a display portion display a precaution message for recommending a user to back up data recorded on the optical disk when it is determined that one or more values including a jitter value, a variation quantity of the jitter value, a block error rate and a block error rate at a particular position have exceeded precaution reference values. In addition, it makes a display portion display an urgent message for instructing a user to back up data recorded on the optical disk quickly when it is determined that one or more of the values have exceeded limit reference values.

Abstract: Even when recording data which is continuously inputted at a high speed, it is possible to correct a recording error and reproduce preferable AV data without a noise upon reproduction. A recording error detection circuit (14) detects an error generation upon recording according to the fluctuation of amplitude of a tracking error signal or a focus error signal. A recording signal processing circuit (6) again records (performs skip recording) the same data in a region subsequently adjacent to a region where a recording error has occurred. When performing the skip recording, address information contained in the recording data is rewritten into address information on a new recording region. Moreover, an identifier (skip mark) indicating that a recording error has occurred is added to the pattern of the link region of the recording data.

Abstract: An optical disk apparatus and control method having a rotation driver configured to rotationally drive an optical disk, a laser diode configured to emit a laser light to be irradiated upon a recording surface of the optical disk, for recording or reproducing information onto the optical disk, and a monitor device configured to monitor the laser light emitted from the laser diode. An intensity of the laser light emitted from the laser diode which is detected by the monitor device is memorized by a memory, a detector detects an abnormal condition of the laser diode, by comparing a present laser light intensity with a previous laser light intensity, and a controller controls a rotating velocity of the optical disk in dependence upon detection of the abnormal condition.

Abstract: An optical disc device includes an optical pickup for irradiating optical discs with laser and detecting light reflected by the disc to generate received light signals, optical pickup driving means for driving the pickup radially, traverse signal generation means for generating traverse signals forming a pulse at the pickup's crossing a track by binarizing the received light signal based on binary threshold, movement control means for recognizing moving amount and speed of the pickup based on the traverse signal and controlling the optical pickup driving means based on the recognition result for the pickup's seeking to the target, and abnormality monitoring means for sending abnormality notices to the movement control means when pulse interval of the traverse signal exceeds the threshold, the movement control means, after temporarily stopping seek according to the abnormality notice, recognizes the temporary stop position for the optical pickup's seeking from the position to the target.

Abstract: An information recording/reproducing device is provided with a tray (3) having holders (2, 4) for holding a disc (9) on a disc placing part (11) by permitting the disc to overhang on a part of the disc placing part (11) in a vertically laid status. The information recording/reproducing device is provided with a means for detecting an abnormally mounted status, wherein the disc (9) is placed on the disc placing part (11) through the holding holders (2, 4), by comparing a number of rotations or load torque measured at a prescribed time after a rotating means (8) is started, a measured time required for the number of rotations to reach a fixed number of rotations or a drive current measured when the number of rotations became the prescribed umber of rotations, with a previously stored threshold value. Thus, detection of the abnormally mounted status can be completed for the disc prior to starting recording or reproducing operation.

Abstract: A recovery method for recording to a write-once disc. The recovery method includes: sequentially reading data within a plurality of Data Control Blocks corresponding to respective sessions on the write-once disc; utilizing data included in the Data Control Blocks to establish address information corresponding to each closed session; determining whether the write-once disc is finalized or not according to existence of a lead-out zone; reading a TOC (table of content) block of a TOC area; utilizing the address information stored in a memory of an optical disc drive to recover the TOC block and then storing the TOC block into the memory of the optical disc drive as data of the TOC block prepared for the next recording operation when reading the TOC block fails and the write-once disc is not finalized; and completing the loading operation of the write-once disc to make the write-once disc enter a recordable status.

Abstract: An optical disk drive capable of detecting occurrence of tooth jump in a mechanism for transferring an optical pickup. The optical pickup is transferred in a radial direction of an optical disk by means of a stepping motor. A control section having received a seek operation command from a host machine drives the stepping motor by way of a controller, to thus cause the optical pickup to perform seek up to a target address. The amount of displacement between a current address achieved after seek operation and a target address is computed. When the amount of displacement is equal to or greater than a pitch P of the transfer mechanism; namely, the pitch P of a lead screw, the tooth jump is determined to have arisen. Seek conditions are changed, and seek is reperformed.

Abstract: An optical disc device recording method, which includes determining whether or not a recording process that records information on a label surface of an optical disc has failed, detecting a recording failure position at which the recording process has failed when the determining step determines the recording process has failed, and resuming the recording process from the detected recording failure position.

Abstract: An optimum method for adjusting the physical position or angle of an optical pickup (a1) is automatically selected for each optical disc signal processing device so that a control target value after adjusted is included in a previous margin measurement result which is stored in a nonvolatile memory, thereby providing an optical disc signal processing device, an optical disc signal processing method, an optical disc reproduction and recording device, and an optical disc reproduction and recording method, which can reduce the start-up time and the recording start time, and enhance the user's convenience.

Abstract: A system and methods for evaluating the response of an optical digital disk player to anomalies in optical digital disks are provided. The system includes a simulator configured to provide digital simulated output signals simulating the output of an optical digital disk player during playback of an optical digital disk having an anomaly. The system also includes digital-to-analog converter circuitry to convert the digital simulated output signals to analog simulated output signals and provide the analog simulated output signals to processing circuitry. The processing circuitry generates control signals based on the value of the analog simulated output signals, and provides the control signals as outputs.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are aspects of optical tape technology, tape manufacturing, and tape usage.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for checking the quality of a recording on a disk intended to be read with a first wavelength and intended to be recorded with a second wavelength, directly with the second wavelength used by the recording system. According to the invention, the method uses a modified jitter definition when a jitter value of recorded information is measured using light of the first wavelength. A special equalizer takes account of a required asymmetry.

Abstract: An optical pickup to be used for both DVD and CD is provided with an aberration correcting device using liquid crystal on an input side of an objective lens. A spherical aberration of a CD is corrected by using an electrode for DVD spherical aberration correction and electrodes for DVD astigmatism correction.

Abstract: A signal processing device includes a processing circuit and a signal generating circuit. The processing circuit is implemented for determining a position of at least one defective area on an optical storage medium according to a defect signal, and accordingly recording defect position information of the at least one defective area. The signal generating circuit is coupled to the processing circuit, and implemented for generating an output signal according to at least the recorded defect position information of the at least one defective area.

Abstract: Provided are an optical head device and an optical information recording/reproducing device, which can record/reproduce information to/from at least three kinds of optical recording media of different standards. A light beam emitted from a semiconductor laser is converged on a disk by an objective lens, and a reflected light beam from the disk is received by a photodetector. The optical system includes a liquid crystal refracting lens which can change the focal distance continuously within a predetermined range. The liquid crystal refracting lens has an electrode, and corrects, when the voltage applied to the electrode is changed, such a spherical aberration in the emitting light as changes with the kind of the disk. Moreover, a liquid crystal aperture control element has an electrode, and changes the effective numerical aperture of the objective lens in accordance with the kind of the disk, when the voltage applied to the electrode is changed.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus that transmits transmission data to another first information processing apparatus through an access point includes: a detection unit configured to detect the access point; a reproduction unit configured to reproduce the transmission data from a recording medium in which the transmission data is recorded; a transmission unit configured to transmit to the another first information processing apparatus the transmission data reproduced by the reproduction unit when the access point is detected by the detection unit; and a power control unit configured to control supply of power to the reproduction unit. The power control unit controls the supply of power such that power is supplied to the reproduction unit when the access point is detected by the detection unit and power is not supplied to the reproduction unit in other cases.

Abstract: A block code error correcting system is used in a compact disk reading system to increase the decoding capability of the compact disk reading system. The system includes a data slicer, a data bit to channel bit modulation pulse width determinator, a demodulator, an erase address detector and an error correction code (ECC) decoder. A pulse width of an eight-to-sixteen modulation (EFM+) signal is detected to thereby produce an erase control signal when the pulse width of the EFM+ signal is in a predefined window or is an illegal pulse width. A codeword corresponding to the EFM+ signal is set as an erasure, and accordingly an erase address is produced.

Abstract: A method for track jumping for optical recording media exhibiting eccentricity, and to an apparatus for reading from and/or writing to optical recording media using such method is disclosed. The method for track jumping for optical recording media exhibiting eccentricity, whereby a sled and/or an actuator are moved from a start track to an end track, includes the steps of: determining the eccentricity of the optical recording medium, initiating the track jump at minimum eccentric acceleration, and completing the track jump at minimum eccentric acceleration.

Abstract: An optical disc apparatus according to the present invention includes: an optical head 102 that irradiates a given optical disc 101 with a light beam and generates electrical signals based on light reflected from the optical disc; a dropout detecting section 108 for detecting a dropout that has occurred in the reflected light intensity by comparing the level of one of the electrical signals that represents the reflected light intensity to a slice level; and a management information reading section 115 for determining whether each information storage layer of the given optical disc is an L to H type, in which the recording marks have a higher reflectance than an unrecorded area, or an H to L type, in which the recording marks have a lower reflectance than the unrecorded area. And the slice level is defined based on the result of the decision.

Abstract: An apparatus including a photo detector circuit, a first circuit, a second circuit and a third circuit. The photo detector circuit may be configured to generate an RF signal in response to a laser spot on a surface of an optical disc. The first circuit may be configured to generate a first digital signal in response to an AC-coupled version of the RF signal. The second circuit may be configured to generate a second digital signal in response to a DC-coupled version of the RF signal. The third circuit may be configured to generate one or more detect signals in response to the first digital signal and the second digital signal. Each of the one or more detect signals may indicate a respective condition of the surface of the optical disc.

Abstract: The method of detecting defect signals includes: setting a default pit length range; inputting a data signal including a plurality of pits with different pit lengths; transferring the data signal into NRZ signal and counting the pit length of each pit; accumulating the number of the pits whose pit length are within the default pit length range, and accumulating the number of the pits whose pit lengths are outside the default pit length range but within the corresponding ranges; changing the logic state of a defect flag signal when one of the accumulative value reaches a corresponding threshold. The present invention also provides an apparatus for detecting defect signals.

Abstract: When “buffer under run” (BUR) occurs during recording of a visible image on an optical disk, recording operation is interrupted. As in the case of type A, when BUR1 occurs after data have been transferred through an integral multiple of one revolution, data are recorded continuously from a reference angle position without host device discarding data. As in the case of type B, when BUR2 occurs after data have been transferred in a value which is other than the integral multiple of one revolution, data corresponding to a duration from the position where BUR occurs to the start of the next revolution are discarded, data are continuously recorded from the reference angle position. Thereby, rendering can be spliced in a visually-smooth manner.

Abstract: Light emitted from a radiation light source 1 passes through a diffraction grating 3a and is separated into transmitted light a, +1st order diffracted light b, and ?1st order diffracted light c. The transmitted light a, +1st order diffracted light b, and ?1st order diffracted light c are collected through an objective lens 7 on tracks on the signal plane 8a of an optical disc 8 in a partially overlapped state. Light reflected by the tracks on the signal plane 8a passes through the objective lens 7 and is incident upon light diverging means 13a.

Abstract: A data read system comprising a read channel for processing a signal, and a diagnostic controller in communication with the read channel. The diagnostic controller is configured to measure at least one metric of the read channel during processing of a signal containing unknown data. The measured metric is then compared against a stored nominal metric and a warning is generated in response to a result of the comparison. In particular, the warning is generated only if the difference between the measured metric and the stored nominal metric exceeds a threshold.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to achieve both low noise and fast response in an optical signal detecting circuit capable of providing all of three signals—a focus error signal, a tracking error signal, and an RF signal—with only a single detection system. A single current-to-voltage converter converts a current signal obtained by adding currents flowing through two photodiodes, into a voltage signal. Not only currents flowing into the photodiodes, but also currents flowing out from the photodiodes are taken out as the voltage signals. Moreover, by applying two different reference voltages to the current-to-voltage converters, a reverse bias voltage is applied between the terminals of each photodiode.

Abstract: A method of recording data on an optical disc in an Incremental Recording mode in which data is partially recordable. The method includes the steps of determining whether the optical disc is formatted and recording data on the optical disc upon determining that the optical disc is not formatted; checking a state of the optical disc in a recording management area in which disc information is recorded; and erasing, after the checking step, data ranging from a next writable address to a predetermined block upon determining that the optical disc is a Minimal Blank disc in which data is erased from the recording management area to a lead-in area.

Abstract: The invention provides a reliable write method of data on an optical record carrier without changing the conventional configuration of an information recording apparatus. The invention uses the errors occurred in reading ATIP codes and/or the reflected signal from the surface of the record carrier to decide if the storage unit on the record carrier is eligible to store data. The defective storage units are labeled as unrecordable.