Patents by Inventor Tsuyoshi Yokokawa

Tsuyoshi Yokokawa 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).

  • Patent number: 7260676
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to reduce the time a host computer requires to recognize a recordable disc such as CD-R/CD-RW. The method includes the steps of determining whether or not an optical disc loaded in the optical disc recording/reproduction apparatus is an optical disc onto which data is likely to be written (S46), and if the preceding step S46 determines the loaded disc as an optical disc onto which data is likely to be written, acquisition of disc information required for recording on the optical disc is performed by the host computer inter-relatedly with a spinup in the same step (S47). Thus, the optical disc recording/reproducing apparatus returns the disc information to the host computer in step (S4E) without performing the step (S4D) for acquiring the disc information after the completion of the spinup (S4A) for the optical disc onto which data is likely to be written. Thus, the time required for recognizing a recordable disc can be reduced when the disc is loaded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Yokokawa
  • Patent number: 7079463
    Abstract: In an optical disk data erasing apparatus, it is judged whether a loaded optical disk is a write-once optical disk or not, and when the optical disk is a write-once optical disk, disk recording information of the optical disk is obtained according to an instruction from a host computer, and overwriting of the optical disk is performed by irradiating the optical disk with a laser beam having a recording power equal to or higher than that at recording, thereby erasing data recorded on the optical disk. Therefore, the optical disk data erasing apparatus can completely erase the data recorded on the optical disk, easily and inexpensively, without having to use a special apparatus, and without generating substances detrimental to environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2006
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Yokokawa
  • Patent number: 7079462
    Abstract: In an optical disk data erasing apparatus, it is judged whether a loaded optical disk is a write-once optical disk or not, and when the optical disk is a write-once optical disk, disk recording information of the optical disk is obtained according to an instruction from a host computer, and overwriting of the optical disk is performed by irradiating the optical disk with a laser beam having a recording power equal to or higher than that at recording, thereby erasing data recorded on the optical disk. Therefore, the optical disk data erasing apparatus can completely erase the data recorded on the optical disk, easily and inexpensively, without having to use a special apparatus, and without generating substances detrimental to environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2006
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Yokokawa
  • Publication number: 20050094522
    Abstract: In an optical disk data erasing apparatus, it is judged whether a loaded optical disk is a write-once optical disk or not, and when the optical disk is a write-once optical disk, disk recording information of the optical disk is obtained according to an instruction from a host computer, and overwriting of the optical disk is performed by irradiating the optical disk with a laser beam having a recording power equal to or higher than that at recording, thereby erasing data recorded on the optical disk. Therefore, the optical disk data erasing apparatus can completely erase the data recorded on the optical disk, easily and inexpensively, without having to use a special apparatus, and without generating substances detrimental to environment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2004
    Publication date: May 5, 2005
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Yokokawa
  • Publication number: 20050094521
    Abstract: In an optical disk data erasing apparatus, it is judged whether a loaded optical disk is a write-once optical disk or not, and when the optical disk is a write-once optical disk, disk recording information of the optical disk is obtained according to an instruction from a host computer, and overwriting of the optical disk is performed by irradiating the optical disk with a laser beam having a recording power equal to or higher than that at recording, thereby erasing data recorded on the optical disk. Therefore, the optical disk data erasing apparatus can completely erase the data recorded on the optical disk, easily and inexpensively, without having to use a special apparatus, and without generating substances deleterious detrimental to environment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2004
    Publication date: May 5, 2005
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Yokokawa
  • Patent number: 6834034
    Abstract: In an optical disk data erasing apparatus, it is judged whether a loaded optical disk is a write-once optical disk or not, and when the optical disk is a write-once optical disk, disk recording information of the optical disk is obtained according to an instruction from a host computer, and overwriting of the optical disk is performed by irradiating the optical disk with a laser beam having a recording power equal to or higher than that at recording, thereby erasing data recorded on the optical disk. Therefore, the optical disk data erasing apparatus can completely erase the data recorded on the optical disk, easily and inexpensively, without having to use a special apparatus, and without generating substances detrimental to environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2004
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Yokokawa
  • Publication number: 20040213107
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to reduce the time a host computer requires to recognize a recordable disc such as CD-R/CD-RW. The method includes the steps of determining whether or not an optical disc loaded in the optical disc recording/reproduction apparatus is an optical disc onto which data is likely to be written (S46), and if the preceding step S46 determines the loaded disc as an optical disc onto which data is likely to be written, acquisition of disc information required for recording on the optical disc is performed by the host computer inter-relatedly with a spinup in the same step (S47). Thus, the optical disc recording/reproducing apparatus returns the disc information to the host computer in step (S4E) without performing the step (S4D) for acquiring the disc information after the completion of the spinup (S4A) for the optical disc onto which data is likely to be written. Thus, the time required for recognizing a recordable disc can be reduced when the disc is loaded.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2004
    Publication date: October 28, 2004
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Yokokawa
  • Publication number: 20020114239
    Abstract: In an optical disk data erasing apparatus, it is judged whether a loaded optical disk is a write-once optical disk or not, and when the optical disk is a write-once optical disk, disk recording information of the optical disk is obtained according to an instruction from a host computer, and overwriting of the optical disk is performed by irradiating the optical disk with a laser beam having a recording power equal to or higher than that at recording, thereby erasing data recorded on the optical disk. Therefore, the optical disk data erasing apparatus can completely erase the data recorded on the optical disk, easily and inexpensively, without having to use a special apparatus, and without generating substances deleterious to environment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 11, 2001
    Publication date: August 22, 2002
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Yokokawa