Disc player with objective lens arranged in a zigzag pattern

• US 6,262,964 B1
• Filed: 06/08/1999
• Issued: 07/17/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Electronics (USA) Incorporated (Pioneer Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Electronics (USA) Incorporated (Pioneer Corporation)
• Inventors: Hirano, Hiroyuki, Naohara, Shinichi, Naito, Ryuichi, Tsukada, Yoshifumi, Yokota, Hiroshi, Ishii, Katsumi, Matsumoto, Kanya
• Primary Examiner(s): OMETZ, DAVID LOUIS
• Application Number:
  US09/328,133
• Time in Patent Office: 770 Days
• Field of Search: 369/215, 369/219, 369/244, 369/249, 360/121
• US Class Current: 720/670
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 21/00 Head arrangements not specific to the method of recording or reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 21/12 Raising and lowering; Back-spacing or forward-spacing along track; Returning to starting position otherwise than during transducing operation
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 25/043 using rotating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/0037 with discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/085 with provision for moving the light beam into, or out of, its operative position or across tracks, otherwise than during the transducing operation, e.g. for adjustment or preliminary positioning or track change or selection
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/08582 Sled-type positioners
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/095 specially adapted for discs, e.g. for compensation of eccentricity or wobble
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/1374 Objective lenses optical objectives per se G02B9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/14 specially adapted to record on, or to reproduce from, more than one track simultaneously

Abstract

A disc player has a first array of pickup devices arranged in a line for reading information from a disc and a second array of pickup devices arranged in a parallel line. The pickup devices are each independently movable along their respective lines with the devices of the first line offset from the devices of the second line so as to form a zigzag pattern.

Claims

1. A disc player comprising:

a first array of pickup devices arranged to form a first line and for reading information from a disc, each of the pickup devices of the first array being movable in the direction of the first line independently of each other and

a second array of pickup devices arranged to form a second line and for reading information from the disc, each of the pickup devices of the second array being movable in the direction of the second line independently of each other, the second array being arranged in parallel with the first array.

2. A disc player according to claim 1, wherein each of the pickup devices comprises a lens, the first array and the second array being arranged such that centers of the lenses of the first array are positioned between centers of the lenses of the second array.

3. A disc player according to claim 1, wherein the pickup devices of the first array and the second array are arranged in a zigzag fashion.

4. A disc player according to claim 1, wherein a movable range of each of the pickup devices in the first array overlaps with a movable range of each of the pickup devices in the second array.

5. A disc player comprising:

a common supporting device having an elongated body;

a first array of pickup devices arranged on the supporting device in line in the direction of the elongated body and for reading information from a disc, each of the first array of pickup devices being movable in the direction of the elongated body independently of each other; and

a second array of pickup devices arranged on the supporting device in line in the direction of the elongated body and for reading information from the disc, each of said second array of pickup devices being movable in the direction of the elongated body independently of each other, the first array being arranged in parallel with the second array.

6. A disc player according to claim 5, wherein each of the pickup devices comprises a lens, the first array and the second array being arranged such that centers of the lenses of the first array are positioned between centers of the lenses of the second array in the direction of the elongated body.

7. A disc player according to claim 5, wherein the pickup devices of the first array and the second array are arranged in a zigzag fashion in the direction of the elongated body.

8. A disc player according to claim 5, wherein a movable range of each of the pickup devices in the first array overlaps with a movable range of each of the pickup devices in the second array.

9. A disc player comprising:

a supporting device;

an array of pickup devices arranged on the supporting device to form a single line which corresponds to a single radius of a disc from its center to its circumferential edge and for reading information from the disc, each of the pickup devices being movable in the direction of the single line independently of each other, a movable range of each pickup device overlapping with the movable range of the neighboring pickup devices; and

a controller for successively switching to a selected one of the pickup devices to continuously reproduce single information.