Patents by Inventor Motoi Kimura

Motoi Kimura has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20130258210
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a laser driving circuit, including: a plurality of laser driving video current generation circuits configured to generate a plurality of kinds of laser driving current for driving a plurality of laser light sources configured to emit laser light having wavelengths different from each other based on an inputted video signal; a high frequency superposition section configured to superpose a high frequency signal having a frequency higher than a frequency band of the video signal on the laser driving current generated by the laser driving video current generation circuits; and a waveform correction section configured to correct a waveform of the high frequency signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2013
    Publication date: October 3, 2013
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tsutomu Kurihara, Motoi Kimura
  • Patent number: 8369368
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a laser driving device including: a sample-hold section; a first pulse generating section; a second pulse generating section; a light emission waveform generating section; a storing section; and a sampling pulse generating section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tsutomu Kurihara, Motoi Kimura, Koichi Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 8335144
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a laser driving apparatus, including: a driving unit adapted to current drive a laser device with a current value in accordance with a level of a signal supplied thereto; and an emission light waveform correction unit adapted to receive supply of a pulsed reference signal and generate, based on a correction timing pulse interlocked with a rising edge and/or a falling edge of a pulse, a correction signal having a level different from that of the reference signal and then supply the correction signal to the driving unit so that the shape of the emission light waveform of the laser device becomes close to that of a rectangular wave.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Chiba, Motoi Kimura
  • Patent number: 8279720
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a hard disk apparatus, including: a magnetic recording medium; a recording head adapted to record information on the magnetic recording medium; a semiconductor laser adapted to be controlled for light emission in a cycle of a recording clock to irradiate a light spot upon the magnetic recording medium to carry out thermal assistance in magnetic recording by the recording head; a laser driving circuit adapted to drive the semiconductor laser at a timing and with optical power in accordance with a light emission timing signal and a laser power controlling signal; and a controller adapted to set laser power in accordance with at least one of characteristics of the magnetic recording medium, semiconductor laser and recording head and output the laser power controlling signal to the laser driving circuit so that the laser power is adaptively varied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Motoi Kimura
  • Patent number: 8228773
    Abstract: A laser driving device includes a storage unit that stores signal patterns for recording-waveform control representing level information of each divided driving signal to drive a laser device on a space and a mark based on the divided driving signals. Also, it includes a pulse generator that generates the reference pulse and the switching pulse based on a first transmission signal and a second transmission signal. The first transmission signal contains timing information for acquiring a reference pulse that represents a timing of repetitively switching between the space and the mark. The second transmission signal contains timing information for acquiring a switch pulse that represents a timing of switching the signals. Among level information for each of the signals in the storage, reference level information is read together with the reference pulse. Other level information after the reference level information is sequentially read for each switching pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tsutomu Kurihara, Motoi Kimura, Koichi Yokoyama, Toshiaki Yoshihara
  • Patent number: 8199625
    Abstract: A laser driving system and method using a write strategy technique where a write strategy signal is generated based on a set of pulses that include timing information and power level information. The set of pulses originate from a set of transmission signals that embody spaces and marks for both starting and changing the set of pulses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tsutomu Kurihara, Motoi Kimura, Koichi Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 8107342
    Abstract: A laser driving device includes: a first pulse generating section; a second pulse generating section; a light emission waveform generating section; a light emission level pattern storing section; and a second storing section. The second storing section stores sampling pulse patterns. Therefore setting information of the sampling pulse can be selected without a control line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tsutomu Kurihara, Motoi Kimura, Koichi Yokoyama
  • Publication number: 20110075525
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a hard disk apparatus, including: a magnetic recording medium; a recording head adapted to record information on the magnetic recording medium; a semiconductor laser adapted to be controlled for light emission in a cycle of a recording clock to irradiate a light spot upon the magnetic recording medium to carry out thermal assistance in magnetic recording by the recording head; a laser driving circuit adapted to drive the semiconductor laser at a timing and with optical power in accordance with a light emission timing signal and a laser power controlling signal; and a controller adapted to set laser power in accordance with at least one of characteristics of the magnetic recording medium, semiconductor laser and recording head and output the laser power controlling signal to the laser driving circuit so that the laser power is adaptively varied.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 16, 2010
    Publication date: March 31, 2011
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Motoi Kimura
  • Patent number: 7852734
    Abstract: The light intensity of a light beam emitted from a light source is appropriately controlled when the light beam is transmitted through a variable optical coupling efficiency device in an optical head. During a read mode, the light beam from the light source is incident on an optical disk at an intensity relatively weaker than that of the light source. By switching the optical coupling efficiency of the variable optical coupling efficiency device between a write mode and a read mode, the light intensity directed to an optical recording medium is substantially varied from the write mode to the read mode. This arrangement eliminates the need for substantially increasing the optical output power ratio of the light source of write power to read power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2010
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Noriaki Nishi, Hiroaki Mizuma, Motoi Kimura, Kenji Yamamoto, Masatoshi Nishino
  • Publication number: 20100272138
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a laser driving apparatus, including: a driving unit adapted to current drive a laser device with a current value in accordance with a level of a signal supplied thereto; and an emission light waveform correction unit adapted to receive supply of a pulsed reference signal and generate, based on a correction timing pulse interlocked with a rising edge and/or a falling edge of a pulse, a correction signal having a level different from that of the reference signal and then supply the correction signal to the driving unit so that the shape of the emission light waveform of the laser device becomes close to that of a rectangular wave.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2010
    Publication date: October 28, 2010
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Chiba, Motoi Kimura
  • Publication number: 20100260029
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a laser driving device including: a sample-hold section; a first pulse generating section; a second pulse generating section; a light emission waveform generating section; a storing section; and a sampling pulse generating section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 4, 2010
    Publication date: October 14, 2010
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tsutomu Kurihara, Motoi Kimura, Koichi Yokoyama
  • Publication number: 20100260028
    Abstract: A laser driving device includes: a first pulse generating section; a second pulse generating section; a light emission waveform generating section; and a light emission level pattern storing section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 4, 2010
    Publication date: October 14, 2010
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tsutomu Kurihara, Motoi Kimura, Koichi Yokoyama
  • Publication number: 20100202273
    Abstract: A laser driving device includes: a first pulse generating section; a second pulse generating section; a light emission waveform generating section; a light emission level pattern storing section; and a second storing section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 3, 2010
    Publication date: August 12, 2010
    Inventors: Tsutomu KURIHARA, Motoi Kimura, Koichi Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 7680166
    Abstract: A laser drive includes a variable output voltage source that can control an output voltage, a laser source connected to the variable output voltage source, a laser drive circuit that drives the laser source, and a monitoring controller that monitors an operating voltage of the laser drive circuit and controls the output of the variable output voltage source such that the monitored operating voltage becomes equal to a desired value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2010
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Motoi Kimura, Yasuyuki Takeshita, Hidetaka Kodama
  • Publication number: 20100054102
    Abstract: A laser driving device includes a storage unit that stores signal patterns for recording-waveform control representing level information of each divided driving signal to drive a laser device on a space and a mark based on the divided driving signals. Also, it includes a pulse generator that generates the reference pulse and the switching pulse based on a first transmission signal and a second transmission signal. The first transmission signal contains timing information for acquiring a reference pulse that represents a timing of repetitively switching between the space and the mark. The second transmission signal contains timing information for acquiring a switch pulse that represents a timing of switching the signals. Among level information for each of the signals in the storage, reference level information is read together with the reference pulse. Other level information after the reference level information is sequentially read for each switching pulse.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 11, 2009
    Publication date: March 4, 2010
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tsutomu Kurihara, Motoi Kimura, Koichi Yokoyama, Toshiaki Yoshihara
  • Patent number: 7414952
    Abstract: A laser driving apparatus for a light source of an optical head apparatus includes a laser, a laser driving circuit, and a radio frequency current generation circuit for generating a radio frequency current to be superimposed on the drive current. The laser driving apparatus further includes a current monitor circuit, an optical detector for detecting an optical output of the laser; a selection circuit for selecting either of non-superimposing or superimposing the radio frequency current on the drive current, an APC circuit for controlling the optical output of the laser at a constant level, and a control circuit. The control circuit controls the amplitude of the radio frequency current on the basis of current values of the drive current on non-superimposing and superimposing or detection values of the optical output of the laser on non-superimposing and superimposing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Jumpei Kura, Motoi Kimura
  • Patent number: 7342862
    Abstract: An optical disc system includes a disc recording unit for recording an information signal on an optical disc by switching irradiation power of laser light to be applied to the optical disc in accordance with the information signal. The disc recording unit includes a semiconductor laser; a laser-power controlling circuit for outputting a laser-driving-current instruction signal; a recording-pulse generating circuit for outputting a laser-modulation timing pulse; a laser driving circuit for generating a laser driving current in accordance with the laser-driving-current instruction signal and the laser-modulation timing pulse; and a correction-data storage for storing as correction data the shift between the laser-modulation timing pulse and the pulse position of the laser driving current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2008
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Motoi Kimura
  • Publication number: 20070280083
    Abstract: The light intensity of a light beam emitted from a light source is appropriately controlled when the light beam is transmitted through a variable optical coupling efficiency device in an optical head. During a read mode, the light beam from the light source is incident on an optical disk at an intensity relatively weaker than that of the light source. By switching the optical coupling efficiency of the variable optical coupling efficiency device between a write mode and a read mode, the light intensity directed to an optical recording medium is substantially varied from the write mode to the read mode. This arrangement eliminates the need for substantially increasing the optical output power ratio of the light source of write power to read power.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 21, 2007
    Publication date: December 6, 2007
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Noriaki NISHI, Hiroaki Mizuma, Motoi Kimura, Kenji Yamamoto, Masatoshi Nishino
  • Patent number: 7230903
    Abstract: The light intensity of a light beam emitted from a light source is appropriately controlled when the light beam is transmitted through a variable optical coupling efficiency device in an optical head. During a read mode, the light beam from the light source is incident on an optical disk at an intensity relatively weaker than that of the light source. By switching the optical coupling efficiency of the variable optical coupling efficiency device between a write mode and a read mode, the light intensity directed to an optical recording medium is substantially varied from the write mode to the read mode. This arrangement eliminates the need for substantially increasing the optical output power ratio of the light source of write power to read power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2007
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Noriaki Nishi, Hiroaki Mizuma, Motoi Kimura, Kenji Yamamoto, Masatoshi Nishino
  • Publication number: 20060164955
    Abstract: The light intensity of a light beam emitted from a light source is appropriately controlled when the light beam is transmitted through a variable optical coupling efficiency device in an optical head. During a read mode, the light beam from the light source is incident on an optical disk at an intensity relatively weaker than that of the light source. By switching the optical coupling efficiency of the variable optical coupling efficiency device between a write mode and a read mode, the light intensity directed to an optical recording medium is substantially varied from the write mode to the read mode. This arrangement eliminates the need for substantially increasing the optical output power ratio of the light source of write power to read power.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2006
    Publication date: July 27, 2006
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Noriaki Nishi, Hiroaki Mizuma, Motoi Kimura, Kenji Yamamoto, Masatoshi Nishino