Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Yoshihiro Ikawa

Teruyuki Takizawa

Hiroshi Yamamoto

Kenji Akimaru

Osamu Mizuno

Kanji Wakabayashi

Masahiro Inata

Hiroshi Shirouzu

Mamoru Morita

Koji Ieki

Hidenori Wada

Yoshihiro Mushika

Yoshihiro Kanda

Daisuke Ogata

Yoshihiro Ueno

Ichiro Kawamura

Katsuhiko Yasuda

Hironobu Chiba

Yoshito Sazi

Naoya Hotta

Koji Miyata

A carrier includes a body, a sensor, and an output unit. The body has the ability to travel autonomously and includes a holding mechanism for holding a burden. The sensor is provided for the body and detects a situation surrounding the body. The output unit outputs detected information, collected by the sensor, about the situation to a management device that manages operation of another carrier.

Carrier, carrier with reception capability, carrier system, host system, method for controlling the carrier, and non-transitory storage medium

Disclosed herein is a mover including an object detecting unit and either a masking processing unit or a transmission restricting unit as an additional processing unit. The object detecting unit detects an object based on a reception signal output from a receiver unit by having a transmitter unit transmit a scanning wave and by having the receiver unit receive a reflected wave, which is a component, reflected from the object, of the scanning wave. The masking processing unit performs masking processing of masking, in accordance with a timing at which, and/or a direction of incidence in which, a disturbance wave, not depending on the scanning wave, is incident on the receiver unit, a portion of the reception signal output from the receiver unit. The transmission restricting unit restricts a transmission range in which the transmitter unit transmits the scanning wave.

Mover, mover control system, method of detecting object by mover, moving system, and method of controlling mover

An optical inspection device includes: an LED; a chart; a collimator; and a mirror. The LED irradiates the chart with light to deliver light rays to the collimator as on-axis light rays. This allows a pattern on the chart to be projected onto a center of an image sensor through the collimator and an optical system under inspection. The mirror reflects light rays delivered to the mirror through the collimator among the on-axis light rays. This allows the pattern on the chart to be projected onto a periphery of the image sensor through the optical system under inspection.

Optical inspection device having a mirror for reflecting light rays, a method of producing a lens using the optical inspection device, and an optical inspection method using the optical inspection device

In an objective lens actuator of an optical disk drive and the like, variations in the fixed end positions of wires serving as suspensions are reduced and tilt characteristics are improved. Terminal platesfixed to a lens holder are tilted relative to wiresfor supporting the lens holder with elasticity, and are soldered at the edges of the terminal plates, so that variations in the fixed end positions of the wiresare reduced.

Objective lens actuator

In an objective lens actuator of an optical disk drive and the like, variations in the fixed end positions of wires serving as suspensions are reduced and tilt characteristics are improved. When wiresare fixed by soldering, a deformation caused by soldering on the wiresis minimized by providing heat absorbing membersandwhich hold the wiresnear soldering positions to absorb soldering heat.

Objective lens actuator and method of manufacturing the objective lens actuator

In order to obtain a preferred recording/reproducing characteristic in an apparatus for optical disks having higher density, an objective lens drive is provided for driving an objective lens () in the optical axis direction, a direction perpendicular to the optical axis, and a tilting direction along the radius of an optical disk, by which operating sensitivity is improved and a stable operating characteristic is realized. Sections of two () of six fixing portions (to) for supporting six support members (to) which support a movable part (), are set lower in stiffness than another sections of the other four fixing portions (), thereby improving the operating sensitivity of the movable part () and stabilizing the operation of the movable part ().

Objective lens drive having a variable stiffness fixing member

Tracking coils are attached to outer surfaces of two focusing coils. Inside the focusing coils, a first magnet and a second magnet are arranged respectively. A third magnet is arranged so as to face the first magnet and the second magnet via the tracking coils. An open end of a first yoke for holding the first magnet and an open end of a second yoke for holding the second magnet are connected by a bridging yoke. Since a magnetic flux is formed in the bridging yoke, pitching vibrations can be suppressed and a driving sensitivity improves owing to an increase in an effective magnetic flux.

Objective lens driving device and optical disk apparatus

A circuit element driver includes a control section and a driving section. The control section receives a number n of instruction values of a first group (where n&#x2267;2) and produces and outputs a number p of instruction values of a second group (where (n+1)&#x2266;p&#x3c;2n) in accordance with the n instruction values of the first group. The instruction values of the first group are issued to generate voltages to be applied to n two-terminal circuit elements. The driving section generates and outputs p drive voltages in accordance with the p instruction values of the second group. At least one of the p drive voltages changes with at least one of the instruction values of the first group and is applied in common to two or more of the circuit elements at one terminal thereof.

Apparatus and method for driving circuit elements based on groups of instruction values

A disk drive including a motor that rotates a disk, an auto-balancer connected to a rotating portion of the motor, a base secured to the motor and connected to an external member via a first elastic member, and a dynamic vibration absorber connected to the base via a second elastic member. When the disk makes a whirling motion while being rotated by the motor, a phase angle of 120 degrees to 180 degrees is formed between a direction that is pointed from a whirling center axis toward a center of mass of the disk and a direction that is pointed from the whirling center axis toward the center of mass of the auto-balancer.

Disk device

An objective lens driver includes a movable body, a base, a supporting portion, a first multipolar magnet and a second multipolar magnet. The movable body includes an objective lens, a lens holder, and a coil substrate. The coil substrate includes a focusing coil and a tracking coil. The supporting portion allows the movable body to move in a focusing direction and a tracking direction with respect to the base. The focusing direction is parallel to the optical axis of the objective lens, while the tracking direction is perpendicular to the focusing direction. The first and second multipolar magnets sandwich the coil substrate between them. The focusing and tracking coils are arranged as two flat coils on two mutually parallel separate planes so as to overlap with each other at least partially in a direction that is perpendicular to the focusing and tracking directions.

Objective lens driver

Tilt which is inclination of a normal of optical disk relative to optical axis of optical head is corrected with a liquid crystal element. In a driver for the liquid crystal element, a periodic waveform generator generates periodic waveform and an inverting element inverts the periodic waveform. The periodic waveform and the inverted waveform are connected to two ends of a potential divider which provides partial voltages. The periodic waveform is connected to a common electrode of the liquid crystal element, and the partial voltages of the potential divider are connected to electrodes opposing the common electrode. A structure of a driver circuit for each direction is simple. Tilt in a plurality of directions can be performed independently of each other. Spherical aberration is also corrected. When the liquid crystal element is mounted to a fixed component, deterioration due to jitters is reduced.

Liquid crystal driver and optical head for tilt correction

To improve the accuracy in holding a disc and to reduce unwanted vibration occurring when the disc is rotated at a high speed (the whirling of a turn table and a rotor), a spindle motor for rotating a disc comprises a turn table (,) that holds a disc (,) to rotate it, a rotor (,) that applies rotational driving force to the turn table, and a rotating shaft (,) provided on the rotation axis of the rotor, wherein the rotating shaft is fixed on the rotation axis of the turn table using a first support member, and the turn table and the rotor are supported by a second support member consisting of a filler filled in a predetermined gap (,).

Spindle motor and its manufacturing method

The swing centers of guide shafts in inclination adjustment of an optical head are set to be on a plane which is perpendicular to a predetermined radial direction of an optical disk and has thereon the rotation axis of a disk motor. When the inclination adjustment of the optical head is conducted, relative gap variation between the optical head and the optical disk does not occur, and the inclination adjustment is realized within a movable range of an objective lens. The inclination angle of the optical head in a radial direction of the optical disk is adjusted by simultaneously moving upward or downward ends of two guide shafts, and the inclination angle of the optical head in a tangential direction of the optical disk can be adjusted by moving upward and downward one end of at least one of the guide shafts.

Optical head adjusting apparatus

According to the present invention, a stepping motor driving apparatus having a rotor and a stator in n (an integer equal to or larger than 2) phases for moving a moving body is provided. The stepping motor driving apparatus includes a driver for selectively supplying to the stator a first current pattern for rotating the rotor at a first pitch and a second current pattern for rotating the rotor at a second pitch different from the first pitch based on a drive switching signal. The driver switches the first current pattern and the second current pattern at a point where a torque generated by the first current pattern is equal to a torque generated by the second current pattern and supplies the first current pattern or the second current pattern to the stator.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Yoshihiro Ikawa