The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 29, 1999
Filed:
Aug. 15, 1997
Baruch Kosoburd, Lodi, IL;
Zen Research NV, Curacao, AN;
Abstract
Apparatus and methods for reading an optical disk are provided that use a compact two-dimensional arrangement of beams, with each beam aligned with a track on an optical disk, to provide a compact assembly having a reduced degree of aberration of the outermost beams while maintaining specified minimum distances between the beams. A preferred embodiment uses a two-dimensional diffractive element to split an illumination beam into a plurality of reading beams aligned with the tracks in a two-dimensional arrangement. In an alternative embodiment, a two-dimensional diffractive element is used to stagger the beams so that some tracks on the disk are skipped, further reducing the area of the beams and increasing the number of tracks that may be read simultaneously.