Abstract: An optical pickup apparatus for use with a semiconductor laser which outputs a light beam, the optical pickup apparatus has; a diffraction grating for diffracting the light beam into diffracted light; a collimator lens for rendering the diffracted light diffracted by the diffraction grating as a parallel beam; an objective lens for focusing the parallel beam towards an optical information recording medium; a hologram element for diffracting return light reflected from the optical information recording medium; a plurality of light receiving elements for receiving the diffracted light diffracted by the hologram element; and an incidence preventing area placed between the hologram element and the light receiving elements for, in the case where the light beam is focused on the recording surface on a side close to the objective lens out of recording surfaces of multilayer of the optical information recording medium, substantially preventing reflected light from the recording surface on a side remote from the ob

Abstract: An optical pickup has a semiconductor laser, a diffractive optical element that has first diffraction regions and second diffraction regions and diffracts a beam emitted by the semiconductor laser, an objective lens that focuses the diffracted beam on an optical disc, and a detection unit that detects a tracking error signal using the diffracted beam reflected by the optical disc. When a zero order diffraction beam is focused on the optical disc, a first order diffraction beam is diffracted by the first diffraction regions to be focused at a position between the objective lens and the optical disc, and diffracted by the second diffraction regions to be focused at a position beyond the optical disc. The first order diffraction beam has a beam width that, on the optical disc in a radial direction thereof, is two times or greater a track pitch of the optical disc.

Abstract: An optical pickup device includes a diffraction grating for separating a light beam from a semiconductor laser into at least three light beams. The diffraction grating is partitioned into five areas each having a given periodic structure: a first area; a second area adjacent to the first area in a first direction; a third area adjacent to the first and second areas in a second direction; a fourth area sandwiching the third area with the first area; and a fifth area adjacent to the fourth area in the first direction and sandwiching the third area with the second area. The phase of the periodic structure of each of the first and fifth areas is ahead of that of the third area by substantially 90°. The phase of the periodic structure of each of the second and fourth areas is behind that of the third area by substantially 90°.

Abstract: An electronic module includes a board unit having a handle and a module housing. The handle includes a grip portion and a pair of leg portions. The leg portions have engagement convex portions extending from portions serving as rotary pivots, of the leg portions. The module housing includes an engagement concave portion provided to correspond to the engagement convex portions. When the board unit is inserted into the module housing, by rotating the handle around the rotary pivots in a direction along which the grip portion approaches the panel portion, the engagement convex portions are brought into contact with a part of the engagement concave portion to produce a force in a direction, along which the board unit is pressed into the module housing.

Abstract: An attachment unit for an information storage device includes a casing that houses the information storage device and a fixed base on which the casing is detachably mounted. The casing includes a casing body, a pair of rotation supporting shaft portions, a pair of first engagement portions, and a latch portion. The fixed base includes a substantially L-shaped groove, a pair of second engagement portions, and a latch fitting portion. In a state where the casing is mounted on the fixed base, (i) the first engagement portions are in partial contact with the second engagement portions in the first direction, (ii) the casing body is sandwiched in a second direction intersecting the first direction, and (iii) the rotation supporting shaft portions and the latch portion are in partial contact with the grooves and the latch fitting portion, respectively, in a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction.

Abstract: An optical pickup device in which a hologram element has a plurality of different diffraction directions. In the tracking standard state, the hologram element is divided into six areas by a straight line connecting two strength center points of two light beams, and by two straight lines that are perpendicular to the straight line. By adding the amount of light received by an area demarcated by two straight lines that pass the two strength center points, to the amount of light received by one of two outer areas sandwiching the area depending on the type of the light beam, it is possible to obtain a well-balanced tracking error signal for each of the two light beams.

Abstract: An optical pickup apparatus including three semiconductor laser devices which emit laser beams of different wavelengths, a beam splitter, a collimator lens, a hologram device, two light receiving devices, a diffraction grating-hologram device, an integrated substrate, a light detection/source unit and diffraction gratings, whereby the three semiconductor laser devices share the beam splitter and the collimator lens.

Abstract: An optical pickup includes a hologram element divided into four regions in a direction parallel to a tracking direction of an optical information recording medium and a direction perpendicular thereto. The hologram element allows two pairs of diffracted lights from two paired regions adjacent in parallel with the tracking direction to be made incident into light receiving elements so as to align in the direction perpendicular to the tracking direction.

Abstract: An optical pickup wherein a main beam and at least two sub-beams are collected on a disc and a tracking error signal is detected from push pull signals generated from each beam. A phase of the push pull signal generated from the first sub-beam is shifted from a phase of the push pull signal generated from the second sub-beam by substantially 180°. A phase difference is given to a part of the first sub-beam (10) and a part of the second sub-beam (11) by a diffraction optical element (2) which generates the first sub-beam (10) and the second sub-beam (11).

Abstract: An optical pickup device includes a first semiconductor laser device, a second semiconductor laser device, a third semiconductor laser device, a first diffraction grating, a beam splitter, a quarter-wave plate, a collimator lens, a first polarization hologram device, a second polarization hologram device and a third polarization hologram device. The second semiconductor laser device and the third semiconductor laser device are provided in a light source/detection unit together with a second diffraction grating and photo-receiver groups, so as to make the optical pickup device compact.

Abstract: An optical pickup comprises: first and second semiconductor lasers (11, 14); a hologram element (17) for diffracting light reflected by an optical information recording medium (9 or 12); and a plurality of photodetectors (18-23). The hologram element (17) has two or more different diffraction regions. The plurality of photodetectors (18-23) are provided away from the first and second semiconductor lasers (11, 14) at both sides thereof along an extended line of a line between light emission positions of the first and second semiconductor lasers (11, 14). The diffracted light generated from the light beam of the first wavelength (10) by the hologram element (17) and the diffracted light generated from the light beam of the second wavelength (13) by the hologram element (17) are collected at substantially the same position at one side, and part (18, 19) of the plurality of photodetectors (18-23) are provided at the position.

Abstract: An optical pickup device includes a diffraction grating for separating a light beam from a semiconductor laser into at least three light beams. The diffraction grating is partitioned into five areas each having a given periodic structure: a first area; a second area adjacent to the first area in a first direction; a third area adjacent to the first and second areas in a second direction; a fourth area sandwiching the third area with the first area; and a fifth area adjacent to the fourth area in the first direction and sandwiching the third area with the second area. The phase of the periodic structure of each of the first and fifth areas is ahead of that of the third area by substantially 90°. The phase of the periodic structure of each of the second and fourth areas is behind that of the third area by substantially 90°.

Abstract: An optical pickup has a semiconductor laser, a diffractive optical element that has first diffraction regions and second diffraction regions and diffracts a beam emitted by the semiconductor laser, an objective lens that focuses the diffracted beam on an optical disc, and a detection unit that detects a tracking error signal using the diffracted beam reflected by the optical disc. When a zero order diffraction beam is focused on the optical disc, a first order diffraction beam is diffracted by the first diffraction regions to be focused at a position between the objective lens and the optical disc, and diffracted by the second diffraction regions to be focused at a position beyond the optical disc. The first order diffraction beam has a beam width that, on the optical disc in a radial direction thereof, is two times or greater a track pitch of the optical disc.

Abstract: An optical semiconductor device both capable of recording and reproducing information with respect to plural optical disks having different track pitches and capable of shortening an assembly time and achieving a cost reduction without the need to make a highly-precise assembly adjustment is provided. An optical semiconductor device is constituted by a semiconductor laser element, an emitted light beam branching element for branching a light beam emitted from the semiconductor laser element into a main beam and a plurality of sub beams, an objective lens for focusing the main beam and the sub beams onto an optical disk, and a light-receiving element for signal detection for detecting each of the main beam and the sub beams reflected by the optical disk.

Abstract: The optical pickup of this invention includes a diffraction grating for dividing a light beam emitted from a semiconductor laser into a main beam, a precedent sub beam and a subsequent sub beam; a hologram element for dividing reflected light beams of the main beam, the precedent sub beam and the subsequent sub beam from an optical recording medium respectively into first through eighth main beams, first through eighth precedent sub beams and first through eighth subsequent sub beams; a main beam detector for receiving the first through eighth main beams; a precedent sub beam detector for receiving the first through eighth precedent sub beams; and a subsequent sub beam detector for receiving the first through eighth subsequent sub beams.

Abstract: An optical pickup includes: two laser diodes respectively operable to emit optical beams having different wave lengths; a diffraction grating operable to diffract each optical beam to a zero order diffracted beam and plus and minus first order diffracted beams; a holographic optical element operable to diffract the beams reflected from a recording medium; and photoelectric devices operable to receive the beams diffracted by the holographic optical element, wherein a photoelectric device for generating a tracking error signal and a photoelectric device for generating a focus error signal are disposed on opposite sides with respect to the laser diodes so as to face each other.

Abstract: An optical pickup comprises: first and second semiconductor lasers (11, 14); a hologram element (17) for diffracting light reflected by an optical information recording medium (9 or 12); and a plurality of photodetectors (18-23). The hologram element (17) has two or more different diffraction regions. The plurality of photodetectors (18-23) are provided away from the first and second semiconductor lasers (11, 14) at both sides thereof along an extended line of a line between light emission positions of the first and second semiconductor lasers (11, 14). The diffracted light generated from the light beam of the first wavelength (10) by the hologram element (17) and the diffracted light generated from the light beam of the second wavelength (13) by the hologram element (17) are collected at substantially the same position at one side, and part (18, 19) of the plurality of photodetectors (18-23) are provided at the position.

Abstract: There is provided an optical pickup compliant with a three-beam method, a phase difference method, a push-pull method and a three-beam push-pull method, comprising: an emission light source (105) for emitting two or more light components of different wavelengths; a diffraction element (107); a light collector (103); a hologram element (108); a plurality of photodetectors (206); and operation means for performing an operation on outputs of the plurality of photodetectors (206). The plurality of photodetectors (206) are at least eight photodetectors (P1 to P8) which are necessary for the execution of the three-beam method, the phase difference method, and the push-pull method. The operation means includes a switch (212) for switching between a terminal for obtaining a sub signal of the three-beam push-pull method and a terminal for obtaining a tracking signal of the three-beam method.

Abstract: It is an object of the invention to provide a diffraction element having a simple configuration for detecting light beams of different wavelengths that are irradiated in order to store or reproduce information with respect to different types of optical disks, and an optical pickup head device. The diffraction element includes a first diffraction grating for diffracting a first light beam having a first wavelength &lgr;1 so as to emit a first first-order diffracted light beam, and a second diffraction grating for diffracting a second light beam having a second wavelength &lgr;2, which is different from the first wavelength &lgr;1, so as to emit a second first-order diffracted light beam. The first diffraction grating and the second diffraction grating are arranged so that the first first-order diffracted light beam diffracted by the first diffraction grating and the second first-order diffracted light beam diffracted by the second diffraction grating are focused onto a same photodetector.

Abstract: The optical pickup of this invention includes a diffraction grating for dividing a light beam emitted from a semiconductor laser into a main beam, a precedent sub beam and a subsequent sub beam; a hologram element for dividing reflected light beams of the main beam, the precedent sub beam and the subsequent sub beam from an optical recording medium respectively into first through eighth main beams, first through eighth precedent sub beams and first through eighth subsequent sub beams; a main beam detector for receiving the first through eighth main beams; a precedent sub beam detector for receiving the first through eighth precedent sub beams; and a subsequent sub beam detector for receiving the first through eighth subsequent sub beams.