Abstract: A chassis structure includes a chassis member including a receiving portion and a case member including a contact surface portion mounted on the receiving portion. The contact surface portion is not fixed to the receiving portion but is movably supported by the receiving portion. A positioning portion protruding in a direction intersecting a direction extending along the surface of the contact surface portion is provided in the receiving portion, and the case member is mounted on the chassis member while an edge of the contact surface portion is in contact with the positioning portion.

Abstract: A chassis structure includes a chassis member including a receiving portion and a case member including a contact surface portion mounted on the receiving portion. The contact surface portion is not fixed to the receiving portion but is movably supported by the receiving portion. A positioning portion protruding in a direction intersecting a direction extending along the surface of the contact surface portion is provided in the receiving portion, and the case member is mounted on the chassis member while an edge of the contact surface portion is in contact with the positioning portion.

Abstract: AV content is input and output in an AV system. In the AV system, a plurality of AV devices process a signal of the content to reproduce the content. A source device broadcasts the content to each of the AV devices. In each of the AV devices, a reproduction unit receives the content broadcast by the source device and performs reproduction processing on the received content. A communication unit communicates reproduction processing time information with another AV device, the reproduction processing time information indicating a time required for the reproduction processing of the content. A delay unit delays a time to reproduce the content, such that the delay unit delays reproduction of the content in accordance with an AV device having a latest reproduction timing based on the reproduction processing time information.

Abstract: A high-durability storage case is provided in which a disc can be smoothly inserted into and taken out from the storage case, and in which attachment and detachment operations of the disc can be stably performed. According to the storage case (2), a case body (3), a case cover (4), and a supporting plate (5) supporting a disc (1) are pivotally supported in a mutually openable/closeable manner by a four-link mechanism (16) defined by first, second, third, and fourth hinges (11), (12), (14), (15) and an arm segment (13). When the case cover (4) is opened or closed with respect to the case body (3), the supporting plate (5) is drawn into or drawn away from the case body (3) together with the case cover (4).

Abstract: A disk drive unit advantageously prevents dust from adhering to a pickup. The disk drive unit has a housing and a tray. The tray reciprocates between a retracted position and a projected position. A first pickup and a second pickup have a spindle motor located therebetween. The tray has a first cutout and a second cutout. A cover is provided to cover the top of the second pickup in its retreated position. The cover has a cover piece, which is disposed in a front portion of the cover that is positioned on the upstream side relative to the rotational direction of a disk-shaped recording medium such that it is movable in a direction parallel to the direction in which the second pickup moves, and urged in the projecting direction.

Abstract: An optical disk is compatible with one type of a recording apparatus which is designed to irradiate an optical beam onto the optical disk to form pits along the pregroove for actual recording of information. The optical disk is incompatible with another type of a recording apparatus which is designed to successively record the times of the test recording into a count area of the conventional optical disk. The optical disk has a test area corresponding to the test area of the conventional optical disk and a prepit area corresponding to the count area of the conventional optical disk, the prepit area being provisionally formed with prepits at least in a section corresponding to the predetermined section of the count area of the conventional optical disk so as to inhibit the other type of recording apparatus from conducting the test recording.

Abstract: There are provided: detection sections 71, 72 for detecting an edge of discs 52, 53 so as to be laterally symmetrical about a center, at a lower edge portion inside a long sideways opening 12 of a front panel 11; and a detection section 73 for detecting a reflective foil 60 having lack portions 61, 62 put on a lower surface of a tray 13. If the disc is not in a regular mounting position in the tray 13, the disc may be prevented from falling to the inside of the drive by detecting the discs 52, 53 mounted in a misaligned state and discontinuing an operation of pulling the tray 13 in, with the combination of detection outputs from those three detection sections.

Abstract: A high-durability storage case is provided in which a disc can be smoothly inserted into and taken out from the storage case, and in which attachment and detachment operations of the disc can be stably performed. According to the storage case (2), a case body (3), a case cover (4), and a supporting plate (5) supporting a disc (1) are pivotally supported in a mutually openable/closeable manner by a four-link mechanism (16) defined by first, second, third, and fourth hinges (11), (12), (14), (15) and an arm segment (13). When the case cover (4) is opened or closed with respect to the case body (3), the supporting plate (5) is drawn into or drawn away from the case body (3) together with the case cover (4).

Abstract: A method is designed to logically erase contents of a CD-RW disc in response to an erase command. The CD-RW disc is optically rewriteable, and has a program area and a PMA area. The program area is recorded with the contents in the form of tracks. The PMA area is recorded with at least two kinds of frames, one kind of frames containing identification information for identifying the CD-RW disc and the other kind of frames containing track information for indicating the tracks of the contents recorded in the program area. The method is carried out by the steps of accessing to the PMA area in response to the erase command, deleting all of frames which contain the track information from the PMA area, thereby logically erasing all of the contents from the program area, and reserving frames which contain the identification information in the PMA area, so that the CD-RW disc can be identified at rewriting thereof even after all of the contents are logically erased from the program area of the CD-RW disc.

Abstract: There are provided: detection sections 71, 72 for detecting an edge of discs 52, 53 so as to be laterally symmetrical about a center, at a lower edge portion inside a long sideways opening 12 of a front panel 11; and a detection section 73 for detecting a reflective foil 60 having lack portions 61, 62 put on a lower surface of a tray 13. If the disc is not in a regular mounting position in the tray 13, the disc may be prevented from falling to the inside of the drive by detecting the discs 52, 53 mounted in a misaligned state and discontinuing an operation of pulling the tray 13 in, with the combination of detection outputs from those three detection sections.

Abstract: A disk drive device is constructed for driving an optical disk while communicating with a host apparatus. The device is assembled by a rotation drive section that rotatively driving one optical disk, a plurality of reproduction/record units that can write or read information on the optical disk in parallel with one another, a control section that controls the rotation drive section and controls the plurality of the reproduction/record units concurrently and independently with one another, and an input/output port that connects the plurality of the reproduction/record units to the host apparatus.

Abstract: A disk drive unit advantageously prevents dust from adhering to a pickup. The disk drive unit has a housing and a tray. The tray reciprocates between a retracted position and a projected position. A first pickup and a second pickup have a spindle motor located therebetween. The tray has a first cutout and a second cutout. A cover is provided to cover the top of the second pickup in its retreated position. The cover has a cover piece, which is disposed in a front portion of the cover that is positioned on the upstream side relative to the rotational direction of a disk-shaped recording medium such that it is movable in a direction parallel to the direction in which the second pickup moves, and urged in the projecting direction.

Abstract: An optical pickup apparatus for recording and/or reading a signal to and from a signal recording layer of an optical disk by applying a light beam to the signal recording layer is provided to prevent a collision between the optical disk and an objective lens, and prevent and reduce damage of the signal recording layer of the optical disk. The optical pickup apparatus is provided with the objective lens for applying a light beam to the signal recording layer, a lens holder supporting the objective lens, and a coating layer formed on the disk side end face of the lens holder. The coating layer is formed of a material softer than the optical disk and having favorable slidability, and projected over the objective lens toward the optical disk.

Abstract: An optical disk recording apparatus includes an input device that receives an input digital audio signal sampled by a predetermined sampling rate, an external reference clock pulse generator that reproduces a first reference clock pulse on the basis of the input digital audio signal, an internal reference clock pulse generator that generates a second reference clock pulse, a buffer memory that stores the input digital audio signal therein in synchronism with the first reference clock pulses, and that reads out a stored input digital audio signal therefrom in shynchronism with the second reference clock pulses, an operator operable by a user to give an instruction as to whether an inter-music-piece blank signal is to be recorded or not, the inter-music piece blank signal being capable of recording onto an optical disk before recording of the input digital audio signal read from the buffer memory, and a controller that, on the basis of the instruction from the operator, when the inter-music piece blank signal i

Abstract: Upon loading of an optical disk into a CD-R/RW drive, access is first made to a given location within an innermost lead-in area of the optical disk, to retrieve a starting time of the innermost lead-in area from ATIP information. Then, access is made to a starting point of a PMA area of the disk, on the basis of the starting time of the innermost lead-in area, to retrieve PMA information. After that, on the basis of a time interval between adjoining tracks represented by the PMA information, the tracks are divided into a plurality of sessions. Next, access is made to a lead-in area of the last session to determine presence/absence and validity of lead-in information in the last session. Then, only when the lead-in information of the last session is judged to be valid, the lead-in information of the last session is retrieved as valid lead-in information.

Abstract: An optical disk has a circular shape formed with a pregroove along a circumferential direction of the circular shape. The optical disk is compatible with one type of a recording apparatus which is designed to irradiate an optical beam onto the optical disk to form pits along the pregroove for actual recording of information. The optical disk is incompatible with another type of a recording apparatus which is designed to conduct test recording before actual recording on a test area of a conventional optical disk repeatedly up to a predetermined number of times and which is designed to successively record the times of the test recording into a count area of the conventional optical disk such that the final time may be recorded in a predetermined section of the count area.

Abstract: An optical disk has a recording surface which is divided in the radial direction of the optical disk into a plurality of volumes. Each volume consists of a lead-in area, a program area and a lead-out area. Each of the volumes has a recording capacity which is not constant and has absolute position information recorded therein. The absolute position information consists of time information starting from a common initial value. The lead-in area, program area and lead-out area of the respective volumes is adapted to have information of the Compact Disc format recorded therein and adapted to have volume number information corresponding to the volume number thereof recorded in a predetermined position of the area.

Abstract: An optical disk has a recording surface which is divided in the radial direction of the optical disk into a plurality of volumes. Each volume consists of a lead-in area, a program area and a lead-out area. Each of the volumes has a recording capacity which is not constant and has absolute position information recorded therein. The absolute position information consists of time information starting from a common initial value. The lead-in area, program area and lead-out area of the respective volumes is adapted to have information of the Compact Disc format recorded therein and adapted to have volume number information corresponding to the volume number thereof recorded in a predetermined position of the area.

Abstract: An optical pickup apparatus for recording and/or reading a signal to and from a signal recording layer of an optical disk by applying a light beam to the signal recording layer is provided to prevent a collision between the optical disk and an objective lens, and prevent and reduce damage of the signal recording layer of the optical disk. The optical pickup apparatus is provided with the objective lens for applying a light beam to the signal recording layer, a lens holder supporting the objective lens, and a coating layer formed on the disk side end face of the lens holder. The coating layer is formed of a material softer than the optical disk and having favorable slidability, and projected over the objective lens toward the optical disk.

Abstract: Detection is made of an outermost track on a CD-R medium for which track-descriptive information is not yet recorded in a PMA area and track-specific recording data are already recorded in a program area by a track-at-once scheme. It is then determined whether recording on the outermost track is terminated at the end of a first-type area where a Q subcode INDEX is at a value of 0 or is made up to a second-type area where the Q subcode INDEX is at a value of 1 or greater. If the recording on the outermost track is terminated at the end of the first-type area represented by the Q subcode INDEX value 0, the track-specific recording data are additionally written onto the outermost track starting at the beginning of the second-type following the first-type area and the track-descriptive information for the outermost track is recorded into the PMA area.