Abstract: A controlling unit 130 of an optical disc recording apparatus judges a failure of a focus servo in accordance with an output signal of a servo circuit 107. When a failure of the focus servo is detected, a laser light irradiating position at the time of the failure is obtained as a standard position and a laser power controlling unit 140 is controlled to pause a control of the laser power based on data to be recorded. Thereafter, the laser power controlling unit 140 and a position of an optical pickup 103 are controlled to restart the control of the laser power based on the data to be recorded from the standard position as a starting position.

Abstract: To provide an optical information recording medium on which visual information can be recorded on a label face by using a laser apparatus for recording and reading electronic information by irradiation with a low output laser without exerting e.g. thermal influence over electronic information recorded on the medium. The present invention provides an optical information recording medium 100 having such a structure that on a substrate 101, an electronic information recording layer 102, a reflective layer 103 formed in contact with the opposite side of the electronic information recording layer 102 from a side where a laser beam 107 enters, a protective layer 104, a visual information recording layer 105 and an overcoat layer 106 constituting an outermost layer are laminated in this order, wherein the surface roughness of the outermost layer on the label face side is at most ½ of the wavelength (?) of a laser beam 108.

Abstract: A controlling unit 130 of an optical disc recording apparatus judges a failure of a focus servo in accordance with an output signal of a servo circuit 107 When the failure of the focus servo is detected, a laser light irradiating position at the time of the failure is obtained as a standard position and a laser power controlling unit 140 is controlled to pause a control of the laser power based on data to be recorded. Thereafter, the laser power controlling unit 140 and a position of an optical pickup 103 are controlled to restart the control of the laser power based on the data to be recorded from the standard position as a starting position.

Abstract: A PWM circuit converts output data of a calculator to a pulse width modulation signal, and outputs it to a load (speaker) through a buffer amplifier and a low-pass filter. A digital low-pass filter has the same filter characteristic as a low-pass filter. An error calculator calculates the error ?(z) between the input data and the output of the filter, and outputs it to the calculator. The output of the filter becomes a digital signal having substantially the same digitalized waveform as an analog signal applied to the load, and also no distortion contains in the digital signal. Accordingly, the output data ?(z) of the error calculator becomes data corresponding to the distortion of the output signal. In the calculator, the data ?(z) is subtracted from the input data, and the subtraction result is applied to the PWM circuit to reduce the distortion.

Abstract: In an apparatus for recording a broadcast program on an optical disk, a broadcast reception section receives a broadcast signal containing various programs broadcasted from a broadcast station. A recording setup section specifies a program to be recorded on an optical disk among the various programs contained in the received broadcast signal. An information acquisition section acquires attribute information associative of content of the specified program from an electronic program guide of various programs.

Abstract: OPC data record in an optical disk is performed at a plurality of record velocities to obtain a maximum record velocity Vlmax. A rotation number of the optical disk is calculated and set, the rotation number being determined in such a manner that the maximum record velocity Vlmax becomes equal to a linear velocity of the optical disk at a detected record position of the optical disk along the radial direction. The optical disk is rotated under a rotation control that a detected actual revolution number of the optical disk becomes equal to the calculated and set rotation number. It is monitored to check whether the record operation of the optical disk at the maximum record velocity Vlmax is normal. If it is detected that the record operation may become abnormal, the maximum record velocity is lowered by ?v1.

Abstract: For an optical disk for which a record strategy is not prepared in a memory and an optical disk which cannot obtain a good signal quality by using the record strategy prepared in the memory, test recording is performed by using all record strategies prepared in the memory or properly adopted record strategies by changing the record power. A record strategy providing a relatively high signal quality is selected to record data in the optical disk. The record strategies for such optical disks can be easily set.

Abstract: A method is designed for writing new information subsequently to an end of previous information written in a track of a record medium having a pre-recorded signal along the track. The method is carried out by the steps of reading a part of the previous information including the end thereof to generate a read signal divided into a sequence of frames, start generating of a write signal in synchronization with a phase of the last frame of the read signal at the end of the previous information to thereby write the new information continuously from the end of the previous information, and then shifting a period of a frame of the write signal relative to a period of a synchronization signal contained in the pre-recorded signal, thereby gradually adjusting a phase of the frame of the write signal to a phase of the synchronization signal of the pre-recorded signal.

Abstract: A visible image is formed on an optical disk by using an optical disk recording apparatus that forms a pit with a length defined by recording data (EFM-modulated data) by applying a laser beam onto the optical disk. At least a part of the recording data are replaced with the visible image forming data to generate the recording data containing visible image forming data. When the recording data containing the visible image forming data are recorded on the optical disk, the visible image forming data are extracted from the recording data to act as a gate signal. The visible image is formed by forming a pit defined by the recording data in an area of the gate signal.

Abstract: An optical disk apparatus for forming an image on an optical disk according to dot data which defines density of dots of the image, the optical disk apparatus includes: a framing unit which makes a frame data by grouping a plurality of unit data, wherein when the dot data, the dot data are treated as the unit data; a pit forming unit which sequentially forms pits defined by a bit train signal of the frame data; a discrimination unit which determines whether the section in the frame data corresponding to the dot data is a predetermined value; and a gate unit which, in case the discrimination result by the discrimination unit is affirmative, supplies the bit train signal to the pit forming unit and, in case the discrimination result by the discrimination unit is negative, interrupts supply of the bit train signal to the pit forming unit.

Abstract: The optical disk recording apparatus includes: a strategy circuit for converting recording data into a pulse train signal for defining an irradiation timing of laser light by using one of first and second conversion rules for forming different marks; a control unit for changing the conversion rule used for the strategy circuit after a timing of forming a contour of an image has passed at the time of forming the image on an optical disk, and when a timing of addition of a synchronization pattern to EFM data has arrived; and a current selecting unit for selecting a current in accordance with the pulse train signal based on the strategy circuit and for supplying it to a semiconductor laser.

Abstract: An S-curve discriminating portion discriminates that a recording face of an optical disk is opposed to a pickup when a normal S-curve appears in a waveform of a focus error signal Fe that appears when an objective lens fluctuates vertically, while discriminates that a label face is opposed when the waveform of the focus error signal is distorted and two S-curves with large and small magnitudes appear. A signal indicating this discriminated result is supplied to a control portion for controlling respective portions of an optical disk drive.

Abstract: An optical information-recording medium includes: a substrate; an electronic information-recording layer on the substrate in which digital information is recorded by the light applied from the side of the substrate; a reflection layer on the electronic information-recording layer; a visible information-recording layer on the reflection layer so that a region of the visible information-recording layer lays outside a circumference having a radius not less than half a radius of the substrate; and an over-coating on the visible information-recording layer. Visible information is recorded in the visible information-recording layer with light applied through the over-coating.

Abstract: Laser information is prepared which indicates the irradiation interval and intensity level to be irradiated on an optical disc in advance. Then, when image drawing is indicated together with the indication of the forming spacing for pits, a laser is controlled so as to achieve the irradiation interval and intensity level indicated by the laser information that corresponds to the indicated formation spacing to fabricate pits in the optical disc.

Abstract: Optical disk writing apparatus includes a flexible substrate connecting a main sheep and a pickup section. Because the flexible substrate has poor frequency characteristics, a frequency band for signals transmitted through the flexible substrate is lowered. Namely, a write strategy circuit and the like which output signals containing a lot of high-frequency components are provided in the pickup section. Further, to suppress an amount of heat emission from the pickup section, the main sheet section includes a constant-current supply/current consumption circuit that consumes a current not consumed by a laser diode.

Abstract: A visible image forming method is performed for forming a visible image on an optical disk by an optical disk recording apparatus, which is designed for applying a laser beam onto an optical disk according to first recording data of a predetermined format to form pits having lengths specified by the first recording data. First, a generating step is performed for generating second recording data by embedding image formation data of a visible image in a part of a predetermined format which is the same as predetermined for the first recording data. Second, an extracting step is performed for extracting the image formation data of the visible image from the second recording data of the predetermined format. Then, a forming step is performed for forming pits in the optical disk according to the extracted image formation data so as to form the visible image on the optical disk.

Abstract: An optical pickup is disposed which irradiates a laser beam onto an optical disc where a guide groove having characteristics of thermal interference (heat discoloration) is spirally formed. The optical pickup irradiates the laser beam along the guide groove to conduct one of data recording in which pits indicating a data length are formed, and visible-image formation in which a part of the optical disc is discolored. The laser beam irradiation position is controlled so that the data recording is conducted with starting from the inner peripheral side of the optical disc, and the visible-image formation is conducted with starting from the outer peripheral side of the optical disc.

Abstract: In a case where an image of a density that is uniform over a substantially whole area of an optical disc (200) is to be formed, a servo circuit (138) controls the rotation speed of a spindle motor (130) to be constant, and an ALPC circuit (162) controls the current level of a drive signal Li so that the laser power is constant. In this case, a main control section (170) sets the movement distance of an optical pickup (100) to be larger in the inner peripheral side where the line width of the image is larger, and that of the optical pickup (100) to be smaller in the outer peripheral side where the line width is smaller. The main control section (170) sends to a the motor driver (142) instructions for moving the optical pickup (100) by a movement distance which is determined on the basis of the setting.

Abstract: An optical disc recording apparatus can draw an image by radially vibrating a laser beam under stable focus control. A pickup radiates the laser beam onto the optical disc rotated by a spindle motor. A focus servo controller maintains a constant spot diameter of the laser beam on the optical disc by detecting a return light of the laser beam reflected back from the optical disc. An irradiation position controller operates when the pickup opposes a label face of the optical disc for controlling an irradiation trajectory of the laser beam to vibrate in a radial direction of the optical disc while the laser beam runs along circumferential zones defined on a coloring layer of the label face. A modulating section modulates an intensity of the laser beam for forming dots along the circumferential zones so as to draw the image.

Abstract: An optical disk apparatus is constructed for writing or reading information by irradiating a laser beam onto an optical disk while rotating the optical disk under a focus control of the laser beam relative to the rotated optical disk. In the optical disk apparatus, an irradiating section is operated to irradiate a laser beam onto the optical disk. A determining section determines a process pattern of the focus control by operating the irradiating section to irradiate the laser beam onto a predetermined area of the optical disk and by monitoring the laser beam reflected back from the predetermined area. A focusing section performs the focus control to regulate a spot diameter of the laser beam based on the determined process pattern during either of the writing or reading of information.