Patent · US Expired

Optical disc recording/reproducing apparatus recording/reproducing information to/from optical discs according to different standards

US6049518A · kind A · utility

12Cited by
4References
5Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 21, 1996
Grant dateApr 11, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 21, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11B2007/0006
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An optical disc reproducing apparatus includes a semiconductor laser, an objective lens converging a laser beam from the semiconductor laser on a recording surface of an optical disc, a polarization plane rotating unit selectively rotating the plane of polarization of the laser beam according to the thickness of a substrate of the optical disc, and a polarizing filter selectively shading a peripheral portion of the laser beam having the rotated plane of polarization. In one embodiment, a numerical aperture changing unit includes a non-patterned twisted nematic liquid crystal, and the polarizing filter includes a polarizing film having a polarization characteristics at its peripheral portion.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.