# US 6,226,246 B1 · Apparatus and method for measuring characteristics of optical pickup and/or optical disc > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 6,226,246 B1 - Document ID: US6226246B1 - Status: Granted - Kind: B1 - Application number: 09/182,179 - Filed: 1998-10-29 - Granted: 2001-05-01 - Earliest claimed: 1997-10-31 - Assignees: Sony Precision Engineering Center (Singapore) PTE Ltd.; Disk Ware Co. Ltd.; Sony Corporation - Inventors: Akihito Nakayama; Kenji Shintani; Shunsuke Kohama; Yukari Hashimoto; Hideo Kato - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US6226246B1 ## CPC - G11B 7/0953: {to compensate for eccentricity of the disc or disc tracks} - G11B 7/0901: {for track following only (G11B7/0925, G11B7/094, G11B7/0941, G11B7/0943, G11B7/0945, G11B7/0946, G11B7/0948 take precedence)} - G11B: INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER (recording measured values in a way that does not require playback through a transducer G01D9/00; recording or playback apparatus using mechanically marked tape, e.g. punched paper tape, or using unit records, e.g. punched or magnetically marked cards G06K; transferring data from one type of record carrier to another G06K1/18; circuits for coupling output of reproducer to radio receiver H04B1/20; gramophone pick-ups or like acoustic electromechanical transducers or circuits therefor H04R) ## Abstract A device for measuring characteristics of an optical pickup and/or an optical disc by which characteristics of tracking signals can be measured accurately in a noise-free manner. The measurement device 1 has a sample-and-hold circuit 8 and an analog-to-digital converter 10 for directly sampling an output of an optical pickup 2 as signals A to F in order to store the resulting digital data in a second memory 11. An arithmetic-logic unit 12d measures tracking error signals based on the digital data stored in the second memory 11. The arithmetic-logic unit 12d eliminates unstable portions of the tracking signals generated responsive to rotational eccentricity of the optical disc to find data. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An apparatus for measuring characteristics of an optical pickup and/or an optical disc comprising: focusing servo control means for controlling a focal point position of a laser light beam illuminated on the optical disc, based on an output of a photoelectric converting unit of the optical pickup, for focusing the laser light beam on a recording surface of the optical disc; rotational driving means for rotating the optical disc in an eccentric state; and characteristics detection means for detecting a signal for generating tracking error signals from an output of the photoelectric converting device of the optical pickup, detecting the vicinity of a transition point of an illuminated position of the laser light beam caused by eccentricity, removing signal portions of the vicinity of the transition point from the signal for generating tracking error signals and for measuring the characteristic values of the optical pickup and/or the optical disc based on the above signal freed of the signal of the vicinity of a transition point. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The apparatus for measuring characteristics of an optical pickup and/or an optical disc as claimed in claim 1 wherein said characteristics detection means detects the periods between peak values of waveforms of the tracking signals from said peak values for detecting signal portions exceeding the pre-set values of the periods as the vicinity of the transition point. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The apparatus for measuring characteristics of an optical pickup and/or an optical disc as claimed in claim 1 further comprising: analog-to-digital converter means for converting an output of the photoelectric converting unit of the optical pickup into digital data, and memory means for storing digital data converted by said analog-to-digital converter; wherein said characteristics detection means measures characteristic values of the optical pickup and/or the optical disc based on the digital data stored by said memory means. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The apparatus for measuring characteristics of an optical pickup and/or an optical disc as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rotational driving means rotates an optical disc in an eccentric state. ### Claim 5 A method for measuring characteristics of an optical pickup and/or an optical disc comprising: rotating the optical disc in an eccentric state; detecting a signal for generating tracking error signals from an output of a photoelectric converting unit of the optical pickup; removing signal portions of the vicinity of a transition point in the movement direction of an illuminated point by the laser light beam caused by eccentricity; and measuring the characteristic values of the optical pickup and/or the optical disc based on said signal freed of signal portions in the vicinity of the transition point. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method for measuring characteristics of an optical pickup or an optical disc as claimed in claim 5 wherein the period between peak values of respective waveforms of the tracking signals is detected from peak values and detecting signal portions the period of which exceeds a pre-set value as the vicinity of the transition point. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The method for measuring characteristics of an optical pickup or an optical disc as claimed in claim 5 further comprising: converting an output of the photoelectric converting unit of the optical pickup into digital data; storing the converted digital data; and measuring characteristic values of the optical pickup and/or the optical disc based on the stored digital data. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) The method for measuring characteristics of an optical pickup or an optical disc as claimed in claim 5 further comprising: rotating the optical disc in an eccentric state.