Optical data storage and retrieval apparatus
First Claim
1. Optical data storage apparatus for high density storage and high rate retrieval of digital information comprising in combination:
- a data sheet for high density storage of optically readable digital information;
a light transmitting lens sheet overlying said data sheet and affixed thereto;
a plurality of aligned and closely spaced cylindrical data lenses formed in the surface of said lens sheet whereby parallel light passing through said lens sheet is focused onto said data sheet;
wherein the curvature of said lenses and the geometric shape of said data sheet provide a correction for optical aberration.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An optical data storage system includes automatic compensation for shifting movements of the reading/writing beam and other imperfections which otherwise would affect the focusing or location of focus of a laser light beam onto a data storage record. Servo motors and associated apparatus common in the prior art are avoided. The recording or reading laser beam is directed as parallel light toward the data recording medium, but is first focused generally to a line by a first cylindrical lens supported by the laser source apparatus and transverse with respect to the orientation of data tracks of the data storage record. This produces a beam which is parallel in one direction as it approaches the data storage record. The beam is then focused substantially to a point by a second cylindrical lens perpendicular to the first lens and attached to and moveable with the data storage record as an integral part of a disk or card or other data storage structure. A series of such second cylindrical lenses are positioned side-by-side, with parallel longitudinal axes, on the data storage record. In this way, transverse relative movement of the laser beam with respect to the data tracks and the data record lenses and changes in the separation distance between the laser source and the data storage record, will not result in substantial defocusing or of a shift in the location of the beam focus point on the data record.
34 Citations
37 Claims
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1. Optical data storage apparatus for high density storage and high rate retrieval of digital information comprising in combination:
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a data sheet for high density storage of optically readable digital information; a light transmitting lens sheet overlying said data sheet and affixed thereto; a plurality of aligned and closely spaced cylindrical data lenses formed in the surface of said lens sheet whereby parallel light passing through said lens sheet is focused onto said data sheet; wherein the curvature of said lenses and the geometric shape of said data sheet provide a correction for optical aberration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. Optical data storage apparatus for high density storage and high rate retrieval of digital information comprising in combination
a data sheet for high density storage of optically readable digital information; -
a light transmitting lens sheet overlying said data sheet and affixed thereto; a plurality of aligned and closely spaced cylindrical data lenses formed in the surface of said lens sheet whereby parallel light pasing through said lens sheet is focused onto said data sheet; light source means providing a beam of parallel light, the optical path of which includes a lens of said lens sheet; source lens means disposed in the optical path of said light source between said light source means and the lens of said lens sheet and operative to focuse the beam toward a line which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the lens in the optical path of said light source means. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. In a high-density optical data storage and retrieval system, the improvement comprising,
a data storage card having a data sheet for high-density storage of optically readable digital information; -
a light transmitting lens sheet overlying said data sheet and affixed thereto; a plurality of aligned and closely spaced cylindrical data lenses formed in the surface of said lens sheet whereby parallel light passing through said lens sheet is focused onto said data sheet and wherein siad data lenses form arcs of a circle; a rotatable disk having a center of rotation and adapted to receive and hold data cards and locate said cards such that the center of rotation of said disk is coincident with the center of curvature of said lenses. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37)
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34. An optical data storage system for high-density data storage the improvement comprising,
a data storage card having a data sheet for high-density storage of optically readable digital information; -
a light transmitting lens sheet overlying said data sheet and affixed thereto; a plurality of parallel cylindrical lenses formed in the surface of said lens sheet whereby parallel light passign through said lens sheet is focused onto said data sheet; a card holding carrier adapted to receive data storage cards and which is moveable in a direction parallel to the length of the cylindrical lenses.
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Specification