Sony Corporation

Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Shuichi Matsumoto

Kimihiro Saito

Noriaki Nishi

Hitoshi Tamada

Masato Hattori

Akira Shinada

Takashi Yamaguchi

Akio Nishijima

Kiyoshi Toyota

Takashi Asakawa

Tetsuya Shiroishi

An optical communications apparatus and method of using same in which optical coupling between an optical medium and a light emitter and a light receptor is achieved without any optical system therebetween. A minor axis of light transmission pattern on an end face of the optical fiber corresponds to the radial direction of the end face while a center C of the light emitter is displaced off from a center axis O, thereby providing improved optical coupling efficiencies.

Optical communications apparatus and method

An optical pickup includes a polarization component separation element which is formed as a unit or single piece of birefringence material. The separation element is not laminated obviating the need to carefully match the optical axes of the laminated pieces. Multiple reflections within the birefringent crystal which comprises the separation element improves the separation and resolution of the polarized components which are extracted from a laser beam reflected back off the media surface.

Optical pickup and opto-magnetic signal reproducing apparatus

A polarization optical element causes minimum loss and provides light in the visible and near-infrared regions with practically satisfactory polarization contrast even when the grid period is comparatively long. Metal grids 1 are formed on a substrate 2 with a refractive index n.sub.1 to satisfy conditions 0.2&lt;h/d&lt;0.9, 0.5&lt;b/d&lt;0.9, and 70.degree.&lt;s&lt;110.degree., where 'h' is the thickness of a cross section of the grids; 'b' is the width of the cross section, measured along a line passing 0.5 h away from, and in parallel with, the base of the cross section; 'd' is the grid period; and 's' is the angle between the base and a leg of the cross section.

Polarization optical element

An optical pickup and an optical recording medium reproducing apparatus smaller and more reliable than conventional optical pickups and optical recording medium reproducing apparatuses. These are provided with a one-dimensional metal grid which is formed so that the ratio h/d that the pitch 'd' and the thickness of metal conductors 'h' constituting the wire grid is about 0.1 or more, and also a group of light receiving units which receive light beams split by the one-dimensional metal grid.

Optical pickup and optical recording medium reproducing apparatus having

A combined-operation type switching apparatus which is downsized and exhibits excellent operability. An operation unit is rotatably and slidably held by a housing. An operation ring is also rotatably held by the housing. The operation ring is rotated together with the operation unit only when the operation unit is pressed. A drive unit is movably supported by a shaft of the operation unit via a spring. A push switch (swell) actuated by pressing the drive unit and rotation detecting switches (projections) actuated by rotating a drive rod of the operation ring are placed inside the housing. A first pair of rotation detecting switches is actuated by rotation of the operation unit when the operation unit is not pressed. The push switch and a second pair of rotation detection switches are actuated by pressing the operation unit such that the operation unit slides along its axis toward the push switch, and then rotating the operation unit. The second pair of rotation detecting switches is actuated (without actuating the push switch) by rotation of the operation ring without pressing the operation unit. In this manner, a plurality of switch operations are performed with a minimal number of members.

Combined-operation type switching apparatus including rotational and

An apparatus for recording and/or reproducing a disc-shaped recording medium records and/or reproduces information signals on or from the recording medium having an information recording region for recording information signals and a table-of-contents region for recording at least the number data and the title data of the information signals recorded in the information recording region. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus includes a recording and/or reproducing unit and a display unit. Within the recording and/or reproducing unit, a plurality of disc-shaped recording media are disposed and arranged co-planarly in a side-by-side relation to one another. The recording and/or reproducing unit records the information signals on a selected one of the disc-shaped recording media and/or reproduces the information signals from the selected disc-shaped recording medium. The display unit, which has its control operation controlled by an output signal from an output signal of the recording and/or reproducing unit, has a first display region for displaying data recorded in the table-of-contents region and a second display region having a display configuration corresponding to the arrangements of the disc-shaped recording media. The second display region is simultaneously employed as a display area for indicating the audio sound hearing position controlled by a sound field controller.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Shuichi Matsumoto