Abstract: A laser power control apparatus is for use in an optical disk apparatus for recording information on an optical disk having at least a first layer and a second layer. The laser power control apparatus includes a power control section for controlling a laser element such that a power of a laser beam approaches a control target level; a change detection section for detecting that a recording condition for the optical disk has been changed; and a power adjustment section for adjusting the power of the laser beam for a recording film of the first layer, in accordance with an output from the change detection section. The power adjustment section determines the power of the laser beam for a recording film of the second layer, based on the power of the laser beam which has been adjusted for the recording film of the first layer.

Abstract: A light irradiation device and an inkjet printer equipped with the light irradiation device, the light irradiation device having a short-arc type discharge lamp with a pair of electrodes which face each other within a discharge vessel, a reflector surrounding the discharge lamp so as to reflect light from the discharge lamp, and a cylindrical lens that focuses light reflected by the reflector in a uniaxial direction in a manner forming a light irradiation zone having an elongated linear shape. Plural lamps with respective reflectors and lenses can be arranged in a row to increase the size of the linear irradiation zone formed.

Abstract: A light irradiation device that is capable of good irradiance uniformity in the lengthwise direction and that is applicable to an inkjet printer. A light-emitting portion of a short-arc type discharge lamp is positioned at the first focal point of a reflector that has a reflecting surface in the shape of an ellipsoid of revolution, and the light from the discharge lamp is reflected by the reflector and is focused at the second focal point; after which the light is incident on multiple, columnar rod lenses 14. Of the light that is incident on the rod lenses, the light along the axial direction is focused at the second focal point of an elliptical reflector without being affected by the rod lenses, and the light along the direction perpendicular to the axial direction is focused by the rod lenses and then spreads and irradiates the light irradiation surface.

Abstract: The optical disc drive reads and/or writes data from/on an optical disc having an information storage layer. In an optical disc drive 100, light from a light source 3 is focused by a focusing section 1, and each of the peripheral and non-peripheral part of light reflected by the information storage layer is received by a photodetector 4. Then, for each part of light, the drive 100 generates a focus signal and a light quantity signal, and normalizes the focus signal based on the light quantity signal. As a result, it is possible to generate a spherical aberration signal according to a quantity of spherical aberration produced at the focusing position of the light. Hence, the signal is not affected by defocusing and thus it is possible to precisely detect a spherical aberration caused by an uneven thickness of the disc and to detect a spherical aberration with high accuracy.

Abstract: The purpose is to provide an optical disc apparatus which can accurately calculate a gain for focus control. An optical apparatus (100) includes: an FE generator (20) for generating an FE signal; an AS generator for generating an AS signal (21); a normalization operator (22); an Fc filter (23); a selector (24); a spherical aberration setting device (34); an FE amplitude measuring device (30); an Fc pull-in instructor (52); an after-pull-in AS measuring device (40); and a gain operator (32). The optical apparatus obtains an amplitude of the FE signal before the focus is pulled in, and obtains a level of the AS signal after the focus is pulled in to adjust a focus gain.

Abstract: An information medium apparatus for performing at least one of a recording operation and a reproduction operation for the information medium, includes: a determination section for determining whether or not a cartridge for accommodating the information medium has been previously opened; and a control section for performing a start processing procedure corresponding to the information medium. When it is determined that the cartridge has not been previously opened, the control section performs a first start processing procedure for starting the information medium by using a blue laser. When it is determined that the cartridge has been previously opened, the control section determines whether or not the information medium is an information medium for which a start processing procedure is to be performed by using a laser other than the blue laser.

Abstract: An optical disc drive includes a light source, a lens, a focusing section, a spherical aberration corrector, a focus signal generator, a gain calculator and a processor. The focusing section forms a beam spot in a focusing state on the information storage layer of an optical disc by controlling the position of the lens. The spherical aberration corrector changes a spherical aberration with the beam spot in a focusing state according to a drive value of a driving signal supplied to the spherical aberration corrector. The focus signal generator generates a focus signal representing the focusing state of the beam spot. The gain calculator calculates a loop gain of a focus control system in response to the focus signal. The processor determines the drive value for the spherical aberration corrector by the loop gain.

Abstract: An optical disc drive according to the present invention reads and/or writes data from/on an optical disc having at least one information layer with a light beam and includes: a spherical aberration detecting section for generating a spherical aberration signal representing a spherical aberration produced at a focal point of the light beam on the information layer of the disc; a spherical aberration changing section for changing the spherical aberration; a spherical aberration regulating section for generating an aberration correction signal to correct the spherical aberration by driving the changing section; and means for detecting a value of the aberration correction signal that minimizes the spherical aberration when the focal point of the light beam is located on the information layer of the disc and for detecting the depth of the information layer, which corresponds to a distance from the information layer on which the focal point of the light beam is located to the surface of the disc, based on the valu

Abstract: An ultraviolet ray emitting element package comprises a condenser lens, and an ultraviolet ray emitting element which is arranged approximately at a center and in a bottom side of the condenser lens and which is apart from a bottom of the condenser lens, wherein a refractive index difference reduction substance having an ultraviolet ray durability is filled in a gap formed by the ultraviolet ray emitting element and the bottom of the condenser lens.

Abstract: An optical disk apparatus having a high reliability by evading collision between a condensing lens and an optical disk regardless whether the focus control is in the operative state or in the inoperative state, thereby preventing damage to the condensing lens and the optical disk. When the focus control is in the inoperative state, by using a reflection light amount from the optical disk (1), it is ascertained that the focus of the light beam is in the vicinity of the information surface and the condensing lens (15) is driven to be apart from the optical disk (1).

Abstract: An optical disk apparatus according to the present invention is capable of reading data from an optical disk 102 which has a plurality of information recording layers, including a first information recording layer whose distance from a disk surface is relatively small and a second information recording layer whose distance from the disk surface is relatively large. This optical disk apparatus includes: a focus control section 117 for causing a converging point of the light beam to be positioned on an arbitrary information recording layer of the optical disk 102; a tracking control section 118 for causing the converging point of the light beam to be positioned on a predetermined track of the information recording layer; and a gain switching section 108 capable of changing gain characteristics of at least one of the focus control section 117 and the tracking control section 118.

Abstract: An optical disc device of the present invention includes spherical aberration changing means for changing spherical aberration occurring on a converging position of a light beam converged by a lens, an actuator for moving the spherical aberration changing means in a relatively precise manner, and an actuator for moving the spherical aberration changing means in a relatively rough manner. The optical disc device drives a second actuator and a third actuator based on a signal of spherical aberration detecting means and performs control so that spherical aberration is almost 0. The third actuator moves the spherical aberration changing means based on a direct current component included in a signal of the spherical aberration detecting means, and the second actuator moves the spherical aberration changing means based on an alternating current component included in the signal of the spherical aberration detecting means.

Abstract: A method for recognizing at least two types of optical discs, which are associated with multiple different numerical apertures, includes the step of setting the numerical aperture of a focusing mechanism equal to a first one of the multiple different numerical apertures. The focusing mechanism is used to focus a light beam on a data storage layer of a given optical disc. The first numerical aperture is smaller than any of the other numerical apertures. The method further includes the step of recognizing the type of the given optical disc by the first numerical aperture that has been selected in the step of setting the numerical aperture.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes: a converging section for converging light; a shifting section for shifting the focus of the light by moving the converging section perpendicularly to an information storage layer of a storage medium responsive to a drive signal; a position control section for generating a position control signal to move the converging section at variable velocities; a focus control section for generating a focus control signal based on a light amount signal representing reflected light such that the focus is located in a focus controllable range; a switching section for selectively outputting the position control or focus control signal; and a driving section for outputting a drive signal responsive to the output signal.

Abstract: To improve a precision of tracking control. A tracking control apparatus includes a filter section (106) including a plurality of low-pass filters (LPFs). Each of the plurality of low-pass filters (LPFs) removes components having frequencies equal to or higher than a predetermined cutoff frequency from a corresponding received light quantity signal among a plurality of received light quantity signals output from light detection means (6). The tracking control apparatus includes: a tracking error detection section (104) for generating a tracking error signal indicating an amount of deviation of an optical beam spot from a track to be scanned on a recording surface of an optical disc by performing predetermined calculations with respect to a plurality of signals output from the filter section (106); and a tracking control section (102) for driving moving means (101) such that the optical beam spot follows the track on the recording surface of the optical disc in accordance with the tracking error signal.

Abstract: An optical disc device of the present invention includes spherical aberration changing means for changing spherical aberration occurring on a converging position of a light beam converged by a lens, an actuator for moving the spherical aberration changing means in a relatively precise manner, and an actuator for moving the spherical aberration changing means in a relatively rough manner. The optical disc device drives a second actuator and a third actuator based on a signal of spherical aberration detecting means and performs control so that spherical aberration is almost 0. The third actuator moves the spherical aberration changing means based on a direct current component included in a signal of the spherical aberration detecting means, and the second actuator moves the spherical aberration changing means based on an alternating current component included in the signal of the spherical aberration detecting means.

Abstract: A tracking control apparatus comprises an signal processing section, a lens characteristic measuring section and an optimum lens position searching section. The lens characteristic measuring section acquires a first address and second address of an optical disk. The lens characteristic measuring section successively generates offset set values so that the position of a converging lens is moved by an actuator at predetermined spatial intervals and counts the number of times both the first address and the second address are acquired. The optimum lens position searching section searches for a maximum value of the acquisition count and moves the converging lens using the actuator based on the offset set value when the acquisition count reaches a maximum value.

Abstract: An optical disk apparatus having a high reliability by evading collision between a condensing lens and an optical disk regardless whether the focus control is in the operative state or in the inoperative state, thereby preventing damage to the condensing lens and the optical disk. When the focus control is in the inoperative state, by using a reflection light amount from the optical disk (1), it is ascertained that the focus of the light beam is in the vicinity of the information surface and the condensing lens (15) is driven to be apart from the optical disk (1).

Abstract: An optical disc drive includes a light source, a lens, a focusing section, a spherical aberration corrector, a focus signal generator, a gain calculator and a processor. The focusing section forms a beam spot in a focusing state on the information storage layer of an optical disc by controlling the position of the lens. The spherical aberration corrector changes a spherical aberration with the beam spot in a focusing state according to a drive value of a driving signal supplied to the spherical aberration corrector. The focus signal generator generates a focus signal representing the focusing state of the beam spot. The gain calculator calculates a loop gain of a focus control system in response to the focus signal. The processor determines the drive value for the spherical aberration corrector by the loop gain.

Abstract: A tracking error signal generation device includes a splitting and convergence section for splitting an optical beam into a main beam and a sub beam; a two-portion main beam detection section for detecting the main beam; a main beam push-pull signal generation section for generating a main beam push-pull signal; a two-portion sub beam detection section for detecting the sub beam; a sub beam push-pull signal generation section for generating a sub beam push-pull signal; a displacement amount detection section for detecting a displacement amount of the main beam push-pull signal from a reference value based on the main beam push-pull signal and the sub beam push-pull signal; and a tracking error signal generation section for generating a tracking error signal by correcting either the main beam push-pull signal or the sub beam push-pull signal based on the displacement amount.