Abstract: A disk drive device that can prevent warping deformation in upward and downward directions of a disk tray and can prevent vibration in a warping deformation mode without producing a rattle vibration is provided. A disk drive device has a casing and a disk tray on which the spindle motor and the pickup are mounted; and a pair of parallel first and second guide mechanisms that slidably supports the disk tray so as to eject the disk tray from the casing to the outside. In the disk drive device, in a center part in a width direction along the disk mount surface of an introduction side distal end part of the disk tray, an introduction side abutment part having a groove section or a protruding portion is formed, and an inner part abutment part formed on an elastic member is installed on an inner side inner wall part.

Abstract: An information recording/reproducing device capable of recording or reproducing information to or from a plurality of information recording media, includes a plurality of information recording/reproduction drives which can record or reproduce the information recording media and during recording or reproduction, can measure information recording medium quality evaluation item values representing values indicative of qualities of the information recording media; and an information recording medium monitor which can calculate tendency to quality degradation of the information recording medium from information recording medium quality evaluation item values preserved by an information recording medium monitoring database which can preserve the measured information recording medium quality evaluation item values. The information recording medium monitor is capable of calculating from a tendency to quality degradation of an arbitrary information recording medium the quality of another information recording medium.

Abstract: A data library apparatus capable of changing the mounting positions of disks on the basis of information recorded in the disks and the access histories of the disks. Disks expected to be accessed next are mounted in advance on data recording/reproducing devices, on slots nearer to the data recording/reproducing devices, or on a disk carrying device, etc. In addition, disks relevant to currently active disks are mounted on positions so that the optical disk carrying device can bring out the relevant disks at a time without being moved, and hereby the time necessary for disk access in the data library apparatus can be reduced.

Abstract: A servo control signal generation device for discriminating a kind of an optical disk, changing over between top and bottom envelope signals of an RF signal, and generating a defect signal and a mirror signal includes an RF generator for generating the RF signal from reflected light of an optical disk, a disk discriminator for discriminating a kind of the optical disk from the RF signal, and a top envelope generator and a bottom envelope generator respectively for generating the top and bottom envelope signals of the RF signal. If the disk has reflectance after recording which is lower than that before recording, the defect and mirror signals are generated respectively from the top and bottom envelope signals. If the disk has reflectance after recording which is higher than that before recording, the defect and mirror signals are generated respectively from the bottom and top envelope signals.

Abstract: A housing included in an optical disc device 1 includes a top case 2 and a bottom case 3. The top case 2 includes a ceiling plate 2a and side plates 2b. The bottom case 3 includes a bottom plate 3a and side plates 3b. The top case 2 and the bottom case 3 are assembled and fixed to each other so that the side plates 2b of the top case are located on the outer sides of the side plates 3b of the bottom case. The top case is formed with a groove 2d and flat portions 2e on an inner-side end portion of the ceiling plate 2a of the top case, the groove 2d and flat portions 2e extending along bent portions 2c of the side plates 2b of the top case. The flat portions shield the groove 2d.

Abstract: An optical disc apparatus records information onto plural disc shaped mediums of different standards or reproduces information from the plural disc shaped mediums. The optical disc apparatus includes an optical pickup equipped with a spherical aberration correcting unit using a movable lens, and a disc insertion unit for inserting and ejecting the disc shaped mediums. The spherical aberration correcting unit starts the movement of the movable lens to an initial position while the disc insertion unit inserts or ejects the disc shaped medium. As such, the present invention discloses the optical disc apparatus with a reduced disc recognition time for improving user convenience and a driving method thereof.

Abstract: There is provided a method of calculating the degradation over time of the quality of data recorded on an optical disk in a short time. In the method, when user data is recorded on a data area, a test signal including a component in which the signal level is smaller than a reference value, is recorded on a test area. Then, the test signal is reproduced from the test area when a predetermined time has passed, to calculate the quality degradation of the user data from the evaluation result. Alternatively, every time when the user data is recorded/reproduced on/from the data area, the test signal is recorded/reproduced repeatedly on/from the test area. Then, the test signal is reproduced from the test area at a predetermined timing, to calculate the quality degradation of the user data from the evaluation result.

Abstract: In an optical disc device, a way of canceling a lens shift due to an electric offset of an output of a tracking actuator driving circuit is desired. A tracking servo control circuit contains a first operation mode for setting an output current of the tracking actuator driving circuit to generally zero and a second operation mode for supplying a predetermined potential to the input. An average potential of a push-pull signal detected in the first operation mode is acquired. An object lens is moved by a predetermined amount in both radial directions by changing a potential supplied in the second mode to acquire correlative relationship between average potential of a push-pull signal relative to a lens movement amount and the supplied potential. An offset amount is acquired from the potential and the correlative relationship to cancel the offset.

Abstract: In an optical disk library device using a plurality of optical disk devices, before optical disk devices execute recording or reproduction of information to or from optical disks, self-monitoring information is acquired from an optical disk monitor, use preferential orders of the optical disk devices are evaluated on the basis of use frequency information or deterioration information included in the self-monitoring information and an optical disk device to be used for recording or reproduction of information is selected on the basis of the use preferential orders.

Abstract: Medium recording and reproduction apparatus and method can prevent prohibition of disc recording due to the fact that laser power calibration area becomes unusable by studying a management information update method during data recording. When usable capacity of the laser power calibration area is monitored and the capacity is reduced, management information area to be currently updated is changed to another layer.

Abstract: A system for optical disc storage, writing and reading including a housing holding at least two optical disc racks and a plurality of read/write drives that may be positioned in line with the storage rack. A track spans the racks, (e.g., a parallel track is positioned between two racks). A shuttle mounted on the track allows transfer of discs from the racks to drives. The shuttle may allow for disc pass through, disc rotation, or have other structures for disc transport.

Abstract: An optical disk discriminating method and an optical disk device which can detect reflected rays for making discrimination among kinds of optical disks with high accuracies. By switching a plurality of lasers and moving a spherical aberration corrector while moving an objective lens to cause it to approach or keep away from an optical disk, rays reflected light from the optical disk can be detected with high accuracies. Discrimination among the kinds of a plurality of optical disks can be made on the basis of signals generated from the detected reflected rays. This ensures that the kind of an optical disk can be determined through one operation of sweeping.

Abstract: An optical disc device prevents a rail guide from falling off from a bottom case when a housing receives an impact force. The bottom case 2 includes a bottom plate 2a, a side plate 2b and a second bottom plate 2c. The rail guide 3 has a bottom surface 3a, a side surface 3b and an upper surface 3c. The side surface 3b of the rail guide is engaged with the side plate 2b of the bottom case. The rail guide has a convex portion 3d that is located on the side surface 3b of the rail guide, the convex portion extending from the upper surface of the rail guide and being in contact with the second bottom plate 2c of the bottom case. The convex portion 3d prevents the rail guide 3 from falling off from the bottom case 2 when the bottom case 2 is deformed.

Abstract: According to the present invention, even if tracking fails during reproduction of information from an optical disk and a movement is made to an adjoining track, the reliability of data to be transferred is improved and a countermeasure can be taken immediately. An unrecorded area decision unit decides based on the amplitude of a reproduction signal whether a block concerned is a recorded area or an unrecorded area. A track-off detection unit monitors a tracking servo signal, detects occurrence of a tracking failure, and registers a block, which is recognized as an area where the tracking failure has occurred. If the block is an unrecorded area and recognized as an area where a tracking failure has occurred, reproduction is ceased but data signifying that the block is an unrecorded area is not transferred to an upper-level system and retry is performed to achieve reproduction.

Abstract: From an optical disc drive, internal static electricity has to be discharged to the outside to prevent breakage of electric components such as laser diodes. A grounding spring has been used to discharge static electricity from a unit mechanism to the enclosure of the optical disc drive but it is necessary to improve the reliability of the drive in consideration of the dimensional accuracy and workability of the spring. Thus the free end of a grounding spring having a cantilever structure is shaped like an arc and an end of the grounding spring has a curved structure. This configuration improves the dimensional accuracy and workability of the spring, so that the performance of the optical disc drive can be more reliable.

Abstract: To solve the problem of deterioration in recording quality due to a change of a write waveform caused by changes of temperature and recording powers, aged deterioration and the like. A driver having a function of controlling rise/fall times and an overshoot amount of an optical waveform is used to optimize an optical waveform that changes in recording under the influence of a component of a laser and the like. Specifically, the rise/fall times and the overshoot amount of the optical waveform are optimized by obtaining a waveform control register value from test recording or a table.

Abstract: A disc drive for suppressing warpage deformation of a disc tray generated as initial deformation during molding is provided. A supporting structure of a disc tray 4 provided to be inserted into and ejected from a drive housing 1? through a tray insertion/ejection opening 15 is provided with guide mechanisms 12a and 12b which slidably support a tray body 4a in the depth direction as viewed from the tray insertion/ejection opening 15 in an interior space of the drive housing 1?, and a protrusion 21 which is slidably contacted to an upper end of the guide mechanism 12a on a lower surface of a wing part 4b protruding from the tray body 4a on the side where a disc protrudes in the width direction.

Abstract: A control unit makes the slot control mechanism execute an failure recovery operation to repeat the insertion operation and the ejection operation alternately for a predetermined amount at a first point of time when the below fact is found, if it is found that there is an error in insertion operation or ejection operation of a slot control mechanism. Afterwards, the control unit makes the slot control mechanism execute an restoration operation for a predetermined amount after a second point of time when the below fact is found, if it is found that the slot control mechanism has returned to normal, thereby making the slot control mechanism return to the state at the first point of time. Then, the control unit makes the slot control mechanism execute the insertion operation or the ejection operation again. With this arrangement, it is possible to ensure reliable insertion operation or ejection operation.

Abstract: The present invention provides a multilayer optical disc and an optical disc drive which can identify recording layers without performing tracking servo control or changing the structure of the disc. In a multilayer optical disc 100, the recording layer includes a layer identification region 101 having a recording pattern for layer identification, the layer identification region 101 including a layer specific region 102 having a specific pattern and a common region 103 having a common pattern different from the specific pattern, the layer specific region 102 being provided at a different radial position in each of the recording layers. The optical disc drive detects the layer specific region 102 having the specific pattern from the layer identification region 101 of the multilayer optical disc 100, and identifies the current layer based on the radial position of the layer specific region.

Abstract: This invention provides an optical disc drive with more accurate and stable power control for a laser light source. An optical disc drive in an embodiment of this invention includes a monitor photodetector for receiving laser light emitted by a laser light source to monitor the laser light power. The monitor diode is a photodetector for generating an electric signal corresponding to the laser light power. A laser light controller controls drive current to the laser light source based on a result of measurement by the monitor diode. The optical disc drive measures output variations of the monitor diode and controls the gain of the monitor diode based on the result of the measurement. This gain control improves accuracy and stability in laser light control so that stability in recording/reading can be attained.