Tracking error signal generator with DC offset cancellation

Abstract

A tracking error signal generator for producing a tracking error signal by first detecting a light beam, which is irradiated from an optical pickup to an optical disc, by an optical detector so divided as to have two optical detecting portions in a direction of a recording track on the optical disc, and then controlling the light beam to follow the recording track on the optical disc in accordance with the detection outputs from the divided optical detector. The tracking error signal generator comprises first and second peak detecting means for detecting the respective peak values of detection output signals from the first and second optical detecting portions of the optical detector divided along the recording track on the optical disc, and arithmetic means for forming a difference signal between signals obtained by applying a coefficient smaller than 1 to multiply respectively the output signal of the first peak detecting means and the detection output of the first optical detecting portion, and signals obtained by applying a coefficient smaller than 1 to multiply respectively the output signal of the second peak detecting means and the detecting output of the second optical detecting portion.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.