Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Olympus Corporation

Nippon Sheet Glass Company, Limited

Junichi Nakano

Kenzi Murakami

Shohei Kobayashi

Daisuke Matsuo

Hiroshi Miyajima

Hiroshi Ezawa

Yasuhisa Kaneko

Tetsuo Ikegame

Kenichi Ito

Takashi Ogata

You Kondoh

Yoshitaka Kamiya

Nobuhide Matsubayashi

Masahiro Oikawa

Tsutomu Takenaka

Michitsugu Arima

Akihiko Yoshizawa

Mitsuchika Saito

Atsushi Miyake

Toru Wakabayashi

Nobuo Miyairi

Takeru Hokkezu

Nobuyoshi Iwasaki

Ryouji Hyuuga

Noriaki Nagahata

An optical switch of the present invention includes at least one input optical fiber, output optical fibers, at least one movable mirror for directing a light beam from the input optical fiber selectively to one of the output optical fibers, and at least one shutter for appropriately intercepting the light beam traveling toward the movable mirror from the input optical fiber. A direction of the movable mirror is changeable, and the direction of the movable mirror is changed to switch the output optical fiber that combines with the light beam reflected by the movable mirror. The shutter intercepts the light beam traveling toward the movable mirror while the direction of the movable mirror is changed.

Optical switch and method of controlling optical switch

An optical switch includes an input optical fiber, an output optical fiber, a grating which performs spectral separation of an optical signal to a plurality of optical signals having different wavelengths, a plurality of movable mirrors, each reflecting an optical light subjected to spectral separation, and directing the optical light appropriately to the input fiber, and each of the movable mirrors can be inclined, a mirror-angle detector which detects an angle of inclination of each of the movable mirrors, a table which associates a wavelength number which identifies the optical signals of the plurality of wavelengths, and an output-destination number which identifies the input optical fiber or the output optical fiber, with the angle of inclination of each movable mirror, and a control circuit which performs a feed-back control such that an angle of inclination AD which is output from the table and an output from the mirror-angle detector match.

Optical switch

An optical switch includes a plurality of light inputting members, a plurality of light outputting members, an optical coupling member which couples light to the light inputting members and the light outputting members, an optical path changing member which changes an optical path from the light inputting members up to the light outputting members, an optical path shielding member which can take a first position which shields collectively all optical paths from the light inputting members up to the light outputting members and a second position which allows light to pass through the optical path, a first driving circuit which drives the optical path changing member, and a second driving circuit which drives the optical path shielding member.

In an optical monitor for monitoring signal lights from a plurality of optical fibers, emission surfaces of the plurality of optical fibers are arranged along a straight line, and a photodetecting surface of a photodetecting element disposed so as to face the emission surfaces is moved in parallel to the straight line along which the emission surfaces are arranged in such manner that light from each of the emission surfaces is received by the photodetecting element, so that the plurality of signal lights are made incident on the photodetecting element successively. The present optical monitor thereby is capable of monitoring a large number of transmission paths while requiring a small number of components.

Optical device, optical path switching device and optical path switching method

The present invention is directed to a photoconductive switch module. The photoconductive switch module comprises a first substrate having light-emitting elements, and a second substrate having photoconductive switch elements, whose number is equal to that of the light-emitting elements. The light-emitting elements face the photoconductive switch elements, so that the photoconductive switch elements are turned on/off in accordance with lighting/extinction of the light-emitting elements. The photoconductive switch module further comprises a third substrate arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate. The third substrate has through holes, whose number is equal to that of the light-emitting elements. Each through hole is positioned between a light-emitting element and a photoconductive switch element facing each other. Drive light emitted from each light-emitting element travels to the photoconductive switch element via the through hole.

Photoconductive switch module

A light intercepting device includes a movable portion allowed to swing about a support portion as a torsional axis, a shielding portion provided at an end portion of the movable portion in a direction perpendicular to the torsional axis, a driving wiring provided on the movable portion, and a magnetic field generator to apply a magnetic field to at least a part of the driving wiring in a direction perpendicular to the driving wiring. A position of the shielding portion is changed by power supply control for the driving wiring to control transmission and interception of space light.

Light intercepting device and optical switch apparatus

An optical path switching apparatus, which includes an optical element array having a plurality of first optical elements, for optically coupling one of the first optical elements with a second optical element including: a guide extending substantially parallel to an alignment of the first optical elements; a movement mechanism for moving the second optical element, the movement mechanism including a movement portion capable of moving along the guide, the movement portion supporting the second optical element; and position detector for detecting a position of the second optical element.

Optical path switching apparatus

A laser beam emitted from a laser source provided at a silicon substrate passes through a hologram element formed of a translucent flat plate and a grating, thereby being subjected to NA conversion executed by an NA converting lens, passing through a polarizing film of a polarization beam splitter, and converging onto a magneto-optical disk via a collimator lens and an objective. A part of back-reflection from the magneto-optical disk, which is reflected by a polarizing film of the polarization beam splitter, is reflected by a reflection surface of the splitter, then branched into two polarized light beams by a Wollaston prism, and guided to one light receiving element group. On the other hand, another part of the back-reflection, which passes through the polarization beam splitter, is branched into two beams by the hologram element and guided to the other light receiving element groups.

Optical pickup apparatus

An optical pickup device comprises a stationary optical system and a movable optical system. The stationary optical system includes a recording/reproducing laser, a collimator for the recording/reproducing laser, a servo laser, a collimator for the servo laser, an actuator for moving the collimator for the servo laser along its optical axis, and a beam coupling/splitting optical element. The movable optical system includes an objective lens and an actuator for moving the objective lens along its optical axis. The point of convergence of recording/reproducing laser light is suitably moved in the layer direction in a recording layer of an optical disk. It is moved in a manner such that the collimator for substantially collimating servo laser light is first moved along its optical axis and the objective lens is then moved along its optical axis to correct defocusing of the servo laser light that is caused by the movement of the collimator for the servo laser light.

Optical information recording/reproducing apparatus

An optical pickup device, which records/reproduces information on/from at least one optical medium having a plurality of recording surfaces or a plurality of optical media each having at least one recording surface, comprises a light source for emitting a beam of light, a plurality of optical heads for focusing the beam on a plurality of different recording surfaces, an optical path switching device, positioned between the light source and the optical heads, for changing an optical path for guiding the beam alternatively to one of the optical heads, a first relay lens, positioned between the light source and the optical path switching device, for changing the beam into a convergent beam, second relay lenses, positioned individually between the optical path switching device and the optical heads, for changing a divergent beam, obtained after the convergent beam from the first relay lens is temporarily converged, back into a parallel beam, and a lens drive unit for driving the first relay lens along the its optical axis so as to adjust the respective lengths of optical paths between the first relay lens and the second relay lenses.

Optical pickup device

The present invention avoids a loss of information recorded on or information to be recorded onto an optical disk by accepting a state of deterioration of a semiconductor laser in a closed-type optical disk apparatus. The optical disk is rotated in a predetermined direction by a driving of a spindle motor through a motor driver based on an instruction from a control section. Information is recorded onto or reproduced from the optical disk by a semiconductor laser driven through a laser driver based on an instruction from the control section. The state of progress of deterioration of the semiconductor laser is monitored by a monitoring section, and this state is displayed by a light display section according to a deterioration state.

Optical disk apparatus

A tracking control unit for an optical disk drive comprises a TES detection circuit for detecting a tracking error signal (TES) in an output of a photodetector included in a stationary optical system, a frictional state prediction circuit for predicting a frictional state between guide shafts and a carriage on the basis of the TES detected by the TES detection circuit, a phase compensation filter for compensating for a phase difference of the TES detected by the TES detection circuit so as to stabilize a tracking control system on the basis of the result of the prediction performed by the frictional state prediction circuit, and a driver for moving the carriage in a direction in which a tracking error can be corrected for according to an output of the phase compensation filter and for thus controlling tracking.

Tracking control unit for optical disk drive capable of suppressing

An optical pick-up apparatus for writing and/or reading information on and/or from an optical record medium including a light source, an objective lens projecting a light beam emitted by the light source onto the optical record medium, a holding member holding the objective lens movably in a focusing direction to perform a focusing control, a carriage to which the holding member is secured, a supporting mechanism for supporting the carriage movably in a tracking direction to effect a tracking control as well as an access control, and a driving member moving a movable member including the objective lens, holding member and carriage in the tracking direction. The supporting mechanism includes guide rails extending in the tracking direction and slide bearings formed in the carriage and coupled with the slide bearings. A coefficient of static friction of the movable member is set to a value not larger than 0.25.

Optical pick-up apparatus having low coefficient of friction between

A signal reproducing device for use in an optical disk apparatus adapted to irradiate an optical disk with light beams and detect a reproduction signal associated with a mark formed on the optical disk from light beams reflected by the optical disk and reproduce data recorded thereon on the basis of the reproduction signal. This signal reproducing device is provided with a first clock generating unit for generating a first clock corresponding to a leading edge of the mark, a second clock generating unit for generating a second clock corresponding to a trailing edge of the mark, a first sampling unit for sampling the reproduction signal according to the first clock, a second sampling unit for sampling the reproduction signal according to the second clock and a selection unit for selecting one of outputs of the first and second sampling unit. Thereby, reproduction signals can be sampled with optimum timing at all times.

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Hachioji, Japan

Junichi Nakano