Abstract: A touch interface that includes a plurality of push-buttons, each of which has a first stage portion and a second stage portion. A display screen displays a plurality of display items each of which is associated with a corresponding one of the push-buttons. Activation of the first stage portion of one of the push-buttons causes the corresponding display item on the screen to highlight thereby indicating to the user that the push-button associated with that display item is being pressed, without launching a function associated with the display item. This allows the user to determine whether or not he is pressing the correct push-button prior to activating a function without taking his eyes off of the display screen. If the user is satisfied that he is contacting the correct push-button, the user can then activate the second stage portion and thereby launch the function.

Abstract: A sensing circuit for a capacitive touch panel is disclosed. By adding a path for a noise to pass through, the noise is differentially processed through two paths which have the same electrical conditions with each other. The noise is then decreased significantly, and a sensing signal can be detected correctly.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for providing a storage medium with variable track widths. In accordance with various embodiments, a data storage medium is rotated by a motor. A write transducer is used to write concentric data tracks to the storage medium during said rotation. The tracks are provided with variable track widths established by selectively changing a rotational velocity of the medium. The variable track widths can be gradual and/or abrupt, depending on the requirements of a given application. Gradual variations in track width can be used by a linear actuator with a linear translation path to emulate tracks written along a pivot translation path of a rotary actuator. Abrupt variations in track width can be used to provide different zones of tracks having different specified track widths. The tracks may be written using an electron beam recorder (EBR) with a constant write beam power level.

Abstract: A shift register is disclosed. In one aspect, the shift register has a plurality of stages dependently coupled to an input line of a start pulse and is driven by first, second and third clock signals respectively input to first, second and third input lines. The shift register includes first and second voltage stabilizer circuits to prevent leakage currents.

Abstract: An optical disc apparatus for performing both the operation of writing data on an optical disc and the operation of reading data that is stored on the optical disc includes a motor for rotating the optical disc, an optical pickup, which irradiates the optical disc with a light beam and detects the light that has been reflected from the optical disc, an evaluation section for obtaining an indicative parameter of the distortion of a signal waveform representing the light reflected from a data stored part on the optical disc while the optical disc is being rotated by the motor, and a control section for changing the number of revolutions of the optical disc Per unit time if a variation in the indicative parameter of the distortion per rotation of the optical disc exceeds a threshold value while the optical disc is being rotated by the motor.

Abstract: A multi-touch sensing method and apparatus are described. The multi-touch sensing method includes: storing, in a memory, coordinate values of a first dead zone and coordinate values of a second dead zone existing between first and second pair of image sensors, respectively; calculating coordinate values of touch points from images obtained by the first and second pairs of image sensors; comparing the coordinate values of the touch point and the coordinate values of the dead zones to identify the location of the dead zone to which the touch point belongs; selecting the coordinate values calculated in the third step if the coordinate values of the touch point belong to the first dead zone; and selecting the coordinate values calculated in the second step if the coordinate values of the touch point belong to the second dead zone.

Abstract: The invention provides an information recording medium including highly reliable power calibration areas, as well as an information recording and reproducing device utilizing it. The medium is an information recording medium having a recording layer including a data recordable area 50 for recording user information signals, a lead-in area provided on the inner periphery of the data recordable area 50, an inner power calibration area provided further on the inside of the lead-in area for recording test recording patterns, and a recording management area for recording management information related to the inner power calibration area. An outer power calibration area 70 is provided on the outer periphery of the final point of recording of the user information signal on the recording layer.

Abstract: For a recording and playback optical head used for a dual layer disc, it is difficult to reduce the size and the cost due to the need to correct spherical aberration caused by a difference in thickness of a light-transmitting layer. A reflection mirror having a reflection surface on which light is reflected and provided with a member having ferromagnetism at the center, and a switching device that switches between a deformed state and a non-deformed state of the reflection mirror using a magnetic force are provided. The switching device includes a hard magnetic member, and a magnetizing member that magnetizes and demagnetizes the hard magnetic member. When light is concentrated on a first recording layer farther from the light-incident surface, the reflection mirror is used as a plane mirror, and when light is concentrated on a second recording layer closer to the light-incident surface, the reflection mirror is deformed in the shape of a concave surface by means of the switching device.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display includes a first gate line, a second gate line, a data line, a first pixel unit, a second pixel unit, a gate driver, and a source driver. The first and second gate lines respectively transmit a first and a second gate driving signals provided by the gate driver, while the data line transmits a first and a second data. The first pixel unit displays images according to the first gate driving signal and the first data, while the second pixel unit displays images according to the second gate driving signal and the second data. The source driver includes a logic circuit and a multiplexer circuit. The logic circuit generates an odd/even select signal according to a scan sequence signal and an enable signal. The multiplexer circuit outputs one of the first and second data according to the odd/even select signal.

Abstract: A recording apparatus performs recording on an optical disc recording medium which has a plurality of recording layers and is capable of having data rewritten thereon. The recording apparatus includes recording means for performing data recording on each recording layer of the recording medium and recording controlling means for controlling the recording means so that, among the plurality of recording layers, recording of dummy data is performed preferentially starting from a recording layer intended for the final user data recording operation.

Abstract: An optical disc apparatus, for executing recording or reproducing on an optical disc having at least two recording/reproducing layers, includes an optical pickup, having a sphere aberration compensating portion, an objective lens, a driver portion, and an obtaining portion. The sphere aberration compensating portion sets up a compensation volume corresponding to an intermediate position laying between a deepest layer and a most front layer from the optical pickup, and the driver portion drives the objective lens in a direction approaching to the optical disc in accordance with the set compensation volume. When the sphere aberration compensating portion sets up the compensation volume corresponding to the deepest layer, and when the objective lens is driven in a direction approaching the optical disc, the driver portion drives the objective lens in a direction of separating from the optical disc.

Abstract: The invention provides an optical disc apparatus which prevents that a laser beam whose power is set at a read power level causes erroneous data recording or deletion. The optical disc apparatus includes an emission controller which controls an amount of an electrical current that a current supply portion supplies to a laser diode in order to control a level of emission power at which the laser diode emits the laser beam. The emission controller has a function to set levels of the emission power at the following transition processings: a transition processing after a read processing and before a write processing, a transition processing after a write processing and before a read processing, a transition processing between two read processings for respective areas, and a transition processing between two write processings for respective areas.

Abstract: According to the present invention, multiple space bitmaps (SBMs #0 and #1 30) are provided for the user data area of each recording layer. A disc management structure update unit including one of those space bitmaps and a disc definition structure (TDDS 32) and having a size of one block is written on a management information area (TDMA 17). As a result, data including the disc definition structure (TDDS 32) can always be arranged in the first block at the top of the management information area (TDMA 17).

Abstract: A system including a demodulator module, a timing module, and a writing module. The demodulator module demodulates a wobble signal having a first period using timing signals having a second period and generates a phase error signal based on the wobble signal. The wobble signal is generated based on wobble information stored on an optical medium. The first period is a first multiple of a channel bit period of the optical medium. The second period is a second multiple of the channel bit period. The timing module generates a clock signal based on the phase error signal. The writing module writes, based on the clock signal, a predetermined number of bits on the optical medium during the first period. The predetermined number of bits written during the first period is based on the second multiple in response to the second multiple being greater than the first multiple.

Abstract: An optical disc includes tracking polarity information. The optical disc includes a clamping area, a lead-in area, a data area, and burst cutting area (BCA). The BCA is present between the clamping area and the lead-in area and in which information regarding the optical disc is recorded, and the information is read before performing tracking in the data area.

Abstract: An optical head device compatible to different types of optical discs and capable of guaranteeing a sufficiently wide dynamic range for a low density optical disc, and the like are provided. The optical head device includes a plurality of light sources switchably usable; an objective lens for converging light emitted from one of the plurality of light sources to an information recording layer of an optical disc; and a light detector for receiving the light reflected by the information recording layer and outputting an electric signal based on the amount of the received light. The plurality of light sources include a first light source for emitting light having a first wavelength and a second light source for emitting light having a second wavelength shorter than the first wavelength.

Abstract: An evaluation apparatus includes: a signal reading block; a first waveform equalization block; a boundary detection block; a selective output block; and an evaluation value generation block.

Abstract: An optical pickup device capable of eliminating interlayer crosstalk which is responsible for fluctuation in control signals and error rate in data signals, thereby ensuring stable action for a multilayered recording disc with a narrow interlayer spacing. The reflected beam coming from the multilayered disc is divided along the central line into two parallel portions by the dividing optical system and then condensed. The reflected beam coming from the active layer, which has been condensed, is reflected by the reflecting plane whose reflecting region is limited and the thus reflected beam is detected by the optical detector. The reflected beam coming from other layers is not reflected by the reflecting plane, so that interlayer crosstalk is reduced.

Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure provide a method for detecting land pre-pits. The method can adaptively adjust a threshold for detecting the land pre-pits in order to improve the correctness of detecting. The method for detecting land pre-pits can include extracting a land pre-pit data stream from a reading signal based on a land pre-pit threshold, the reading signal corresponding to land pre-pits of an optical medium, comparing the land pre-pit data stream with format information of the optical medium to obtain an error signal, and adjusting the land pre-pit threshold based on the error signal.

Abstract: A plate body 2, multiple hologram layers 3 are provided in the thickness direction of the plate body 2, and at least one of the multiple hologram layers 3 is formed of spirally continuous hologram bands 4. Erasure areas 4A and 4B and non-erasure areas 4C and 4D of the hologram band 4 are provided in the length direction of the hologram band 4. Non-erasure areas 4E and 4F of the hologram band 4 are formed on both sides in the direction orthogonal to the length direction of the hologram band 4 in the erasure areas 4A and 4B.