Panasonic Corporation

Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Masahiko Nishimoto

Naoki Nakanishi

Takuya Okuda

Hiroaki Yamamoto

Naoto Shimada

Masayuki Ono

Kazuhiko Yamanaka

Shinichi Hamaguchi

Tatsuya Nakamori

Yasuyuki Kochi

Seiji Nakamura

Shinichi Ijima

Haruka Takano

Tohru Nishikawa

Mayu Nishikawa

Masayuki Hata

Toru Yamada

A drive controller in a distance-measuring imaging device generates an exposure control signal having first to third exposure control pulses based on output timings of corresponding ones of emission control pulses. The difference between output starting time of the third exposure control pulse and output starting time of one of the emission control pulses is greater than the difference between output starting time of the second exposure control pulse and output starting time of one of the emission control pulses. The difference between output starting time of the second exposure control pulse and output starting time of one of the emission control pulses is greater than the difference between output starting of the first exposure control pulse and output starting time of one of the emission control pulses. The imager outputs first to third exposure signals indicating amounts of charge generated through exposure by the first to third control pulses.

Distance-measuring imaging device

A semiconductor laser module includes a semiconductor laser chip, a first collimator element, and a package. The package includes: a body having a bottom and a top with an opening; a cap member; and a window member. The semiconductor laser chip has a light-emitting point for emitting laser light. The semiconductor laser chip is located on the bottom so as to emit the laser light in a direction parallel to the principal surface of the bottom. The laser light has a greater divergence angle along the first axis than a divergence angle along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis. The first collimator element includes a concave mirror surface. The mirror surface reflects the laser light toward the opening, and reduces the divergence angle of the laser light along the first axis.

Semiconductor laser module

A light source unit includes: a first light emission point from which a first beam is emitted; a second light emission point from which a second beam is emitted and which is disposed apart from the first light emission point in a second direction perpendicular to a first direction; a deflection element that deflects the first and/or second beam; and a first condensing optical element that focuses, on a light collection surface, the first and second beams. The first beam at the first light emission point overlaps the second beam at the second light emission point in a third direction, and on the light collection surface, the first and second beams overlap each other in the second direction and are separate from each other in the third direction.

Light source unit, illumination device, processing equipment, and deflection element

An optical pickup device includes a diffraction gratingfor separating a light beam emitted from a semiconductor laser element into at least three light beams. The diffraction gratingis divided into three regions by a straight line extending in a direction parallel to a tangent line of a track of an optical information recording medium. A second regionB is divided into a first sub-blockand a second sub-blockby a straight line extending in a direction parallel to a radius direction of the optical information recording medium. The first sub-blockhas a phase difference of approximately 180 degrees from the second sub-block. The first regionA has a phase difference of approximately 90 degrees from the first sub-blockand has a phase difference of approximately 180 degrees from the third regionC.

Optical pickup device

An optical pickup device includes a diffraction gratingfor separating an emitted light beam into at least three light beams. The diffraction gratingis divided into three regions by dividing lines Dand Dextending in a first direction parallel to a tangent line of a track of an optical information recording medium. A second regionB is divided into four sub-blocks by a dividing line Dextending in the first direction and a dividing line Dextending in a second direction that crosses the first direction. The sub-blocks located diagonally opposite to each other have a same phase, and the sub-blocks located adjacent to each other have a phase difference of approximately 180 degrees. The first regionA has a phase difference of approximately 90 degrees from each sub-block of the second regionB, and the first regionA has a phase difference of approximately 180 degrees from the third regionC.

A pickup device includes a diffraction gratingfor separating a light beam emitted from the light source into at least three light beams. The diffraction gratingis divided into four regions by straight lines extending in a direction parallel to a tangential direction of tracks of an optical information recording medium. A periodic structure of a second regionB has a phase difference of approximately 180 degrees from a periodic structure of a third regionC, and a periodic structure of a first regionA has a phase difference of approximately 180 degrees from a periodic structure of a fourth regionD.

An optical pickup device in which a hologram element has a plurality of different diffraction directions. In the tracking standard state, the hologram element is divided into six areas by a straight line connecting two strength center points of two light beams, and by two straight lines that are perpendicular to the straight line. By adding the amount of light received by an area demarcated by two straight lines that pass the two strength center points, to the amount of light received by one of two outer areas sandwiching the area depending on the type of the light beam, it is possible to obtain a well-balanced tracking error signal for each of the two light beams.

Optical pickup for recording and reproducing information with a plurality of types of optical information recording mediums

An optical pickup has a semiconductor laser, a diffractive optical element that has first diffraction regions and second diffraction regions and diffracts a beam emitted by the semiconductor laser, an objective lens that focuses the diffracted beam on an optical disc, and a detection unit that detects a tracking error signal using the diffracted beam reflected by the optical disc. When a zero order diffraction beam is focused on the optical disc, a first order diffraction beam is diffracted by the first diffraction regions to be focused at a position between the objective lens and the optical disc, and diffracted by the second diffraction regions to be focused at a position beyond the optical disc. The first order diffraction beam has a beam width that, on the optical disc in a radial direction thereof, is two times or greater a track pitch of the optical disc.

Optical pickup

An optical pickup device includes a diffraction grating for separating a light beam from a semiconductor laser into at least three light beams. The diffraction grating is partitioned into five areas each having a given periodic structure: a first area; a second area adjacent to the first area in a first direction; a third area adjacent to the first and second areas in a second direction; a fourth area sandwiching the third area with the first area; and a fifth area adjacent to the fourth area in the first direction and sandwiching the third area with the second area. The phase of the periodic structure of each of the first and fifth areas is ahead of that of the third area by substantially 90&#xb0;. The phase of the periodic structure of each of the second and fourth areas is behind that of the third area by substantially 90&#xb0;.

An optical pickup comprises: first and second semiconductor lasers (); a hologram element () for diffracting light reflected by an optical information recording medium (or); and a plurality of photodetectors (-). The hologram element () has two or more different diffraction regions. The plurality of photodetectors (-) are provided away from the first and second semiconductor lasers () at both sides thereof along an extended line of a line between light emission positions of the first and second semiconductor lasers (). The diffracted light generated from the light beam of the first wavelength () by the hologram element () and the diffracted light generated from the light beam of the second wavelength () by the hologram element () are collected at substantially the same position at one side, and part () of the plurality of photodetectors (-) are provided at the position. Signals obtained from the photodetectors (-) at the both sides are used to obtain a focus error signal and a tracking error signal.

Optical pickup having a plurality of photodetectors divided into four regions used to obtain both focus and tracking error signals

The optical pickup of this invention includes a diffraction grating for dividing a light beam emitted from a semiconductor laser into a main beam, a precedent sub beam and a subsequent sub beam; a hologram element for dividing reflected light beams of the main beam, the precedent sub beam and the subsequent sub beam from an optical recording medium respectively into first through eighth main beams, first through eighth precedent sub beams and first through eighth subsequent sub beams; a main beam detector for receiving the first through eighth main beams; a precedent sub beam detector for receiving the first through eighth precedent sub beams; and a subsequent sub beam detector for receiving the first through eighth subsequent sub beams.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Masahiko Nishimoto