Optical Recording Apparatus With Drawing Capability of Visible Image on Disk Face

Abstract

A system and method of drawing a visible image on an optical disk are provided. The optical disk is rotated while a optical pickup irradiates a laser beam onto the optical disk to draw the visible image on the optical disk. The rotating state of the optical disk is detected. The optical pickup is fed in a radial direction of the optical disk. An irradiating position of the laser beam is controlled relative to the optical disk by fixing the laser beam in the radial direction of the optical disk during one rotation of the optical disk, and shifting the irradiating position of the laser beam by a first distance in the radial direction each time one rotation of the optical disk is detected. The optical pickup is fed in the radial direction by a second distance the optical disk has rotated a predetermined number of rotations.

1 . An optical disk recording apparatus for irradiating a laser beam onto an optical disk, having an optically recordable side and a thermally sensitive side opposite to the optically recordable side, to effect either recording of information on the optically recordable side or drawing of a visible image on the thermally sensitive side, the apparatus comprising: 
 an optical pickup that irradiates the laser beam to form a beam spot on the optical disk;    a beam spot position control section that feeds the optical pickup to control a position of the beam spot relative to the optical disk;    a focus control section that controls a size of the beam spot of the laser beam irradiated to the optical disk from the optical pickup;    an information recording section that controls the optical pickup and the beam spot position control section to effect recording of information on the optically recordable side of the optical disk; and    a drawing control section that controls the optical pickup and the beam spot position control section to effect drawing of a visible image on the thermally sensitive side of the optical disk, wherein    the focus control section operates during the recording of the information to control the size of the beam spot based on the laser beam reflected back from the optically recordable side of the optical disk, and operates during the drawing of the visible image to control the size of the beam spot based on the laser beam reflected back from the thermally sensitive side of the optical disk such that the focus control section sets the size of the beam spot of the laser beam irradiated to the thermally sensitive side during the drawing of the visible image greater than the size of the beam spot of the laser beam irradiated to the optically recordable side during the recording of the information.    
   
   
       2 . The optical disk recording apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the focus control section controls the size of the beam spot of the laser beam in accordance with disk identification information of the optical disk, which identifies a type of the optical disk set in the apparatus, the disk identification information being recorded on the thermally sensitive side of the optical disk.  
   
   
       3 . The optical disk recording apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the focus control section controls the size of the beam spot of the laser beam in accordance with disk identification information of the optical disk, which identifies a type of the optical disk set in the apparatus, the disk identification information being recorded on the optically recordable side of the optical disk.  
   
   
       4 . The optical disk recording apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a determining section that determines the optical disk is set with the optically recordable side facing the optical pickup when Absolute-Time-In-Pregroove information recorded in a pregroove of the optical disk is detected from the laser beam reflected back from the optical disk, and determines that the optical disk is set with the thermally sensitive side facing the optical pickup when the Absolute-Time-In-Pregroove information is not detected from the optical disk.  
   
   
       5 . The optical disk recording apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the focus control section servo-controls focusing of the laser beam relative to the optical disk based on the laser beam reflected back from the optical disk, and determines whether the optical disk is set with the optically recordable side the optical pickup or the optical disk is set with the thermally sensitive side facing the optical pickup based on results of servo-controlling performed by the focus control section.  
   
   
       6 . The optical disk recording apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a gap adjusting section that adjusts a gap between an objective lens of the optical pickup and the thermally sensitive side of the optical disk when the optical disk is set with the thermally sensitive side facing the optical pickup, such that the gap is set identical to another gap between the objective lens of the optical pickup and the optically recordable side of the optical disk from when the optical disk is set with the optically recordable side facing the optical pickup.  
   
   
       7 . An optical disk recording apparatus for recording information by irradiating a laser beam onto an optical disk, comprising: 
 an optical pickup that irradiates the laser beam on the optical disk having an optically recordable side and a thermally sensitive side opposite to the optically recordable side;    an irradiating position control section that feeds the optical pickup to control an irradiating position of the laser beam relative to the optical disk;    a drawing control section that controls the optical pickup and the irradiating position control section to effect drawing of a visible image on the thermally sensitive side of the optical disk according to information representing the visible image when the optical disk is set with the thermally sensitive side facing the optical pickup; and    a gap adjusting section that adjusts a gap between the optical pickup and the optical disk depending on whether the optical disk is set with the optically recordable side or the thermally sensitive side facing the optical pickup.    
   
   
       8 . The optical disk recording apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein when the thermally sensitive side faces the optical pickup the gap adjusting section displaces the optical disk relative to the optical pickup from a position where the optical disk is set with the optically recordable side facing the optical pickup.  
   
   
       9 . The optical disk recording apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein when the thermally sensitive side faces the optical pickup the gap adjusting section displaces the optical pickup relative to the optical disk from a position where the optical pickup is set facing the optically recordable side of the optical disk.  
   
   
       10 . An optical disk system for drawing a visible image based on image information by irradiating a laser beam onto one of various types of optical disks comprising: 
 an optical disk having an optically recordable side and a thermally sensitive side opposite to the optically recordable side;    a rotating section that rotates the optical disk;    an optical pickup that irradiates the laser beam on the optical disk;    an irradiating position control section that feeds the optical pickup to control an irradiating position of the laser beam relative to the optical disk;    a disk identification section that acquires disk identification information from the optical disk to identify a type of the optical disk; and    a drawing control section that controls the optical pickup and the irradiating position control section based on the disk identification information acquired by the disk identification section so as to effect drawing of a visible image on the thermally sensitive side of the optical disk according to the image information.    
   
   
       11 . The optical disk system according to  claim 10 , wherein the disk identification information is prerecorded on the thermally sensitive side of the optical disk.  
   
   
       12 . The optical disk system according to  claim 11 , wherein the disk identification information is prerecorded along an outermost circumferential portion of the thermally sensitive side of the optical disk.  
   
   
       13 . The optical disk system according to  claim 10 , wherein the disk identification information is prerecorded on the optically recordable side of the optical disk.  
   
   
       14 . The optical disk system according to  claim 13 , wherein the disk identification information is prerecorded on a lead-in area of the optically recordable side of the optical disk.  
   
   
       15 . The optical disk system according to  claim 10 , further comprising a user notification section that notifies a user that the optical disk is unable to effect drawing of a visual image when the disk detection section fails to acquire disk identification information from the optical disk.  
   
   
       16 . The optical disk system according to  claim 10 , further comprising a control section that stores various target values for a power of the laser beam to be irradiated to the thermally sensitive side in correspondence to the various types of the optical disks indicated by the disk identification information.  
   
   
       17 . An optical disk recording apparatus comprising: 
 an optical pickup that irradiates a laser beam on an optical disk having an optically recordable side and a thermally sensitive side opposite to the optically recordable side;    an encoding section that encodes information provided from outside of the apparatus;    a laser beam control section that controls the laser beam irradiated from the optical pickup according to information fed from the encoding section;    a blocking section that blocks the encoding section from encoding of information representing a visible image when the visible image is drawn on the thermally sensitive side of the optical disk; and    a drawing control section that controls the laser beam control section to effect drawing of the visible image on the thermally sensitive side of the optical disk according to the information which is fed from the encoding section but which is not encoded by the encoding section.    
   
   
       18 . The optical disk recording apparatus according to  claim 17 , wherein the encoding section encodes information by Eight to Fourteen modulation.  
   
   
       19 . The optical disk recording apparatus according to  claim 17 , wherein the encoding section encodes information by Cross Interleave Reed-Solomon Code.  
   
   
       20 . The optical disk recording apparatus according to  claim 17 , wherein the drawing control section effects drawing of the visible image on the thermally sensitive side of the optical disk when the optical disk is set with the thermally sensitive side exposed to the optical pickup.  
   
   
       21 . An optical disk recording apparatus comprising: 
 an optical pickup that irradiates a laser beam on an optical disk having an optically recordable side and a thermally sensitive side opposite to the optically recordable side;    an encoding section that encodes information received from outside of the apparatus;    a laser beam control section that controls the laser beam irradiated from the optical pickup according to the information encoded by the encoding section;    a switching section that turns on the encoding section to encode information received from outside when the information is recorded on the optically recordable side of the optical disk, and turns off the encoding section to block the encoding of information representing a visible image when the visible image is drawn on the thermally sensitive side of the optical disk; and    a drawing control section that controls the laser beam control section to effect drawing of the visible image on the thermally sensitive side of the optical disk according to the information which is fed from the encoding section but which is not encoded by the encoding section when the optical disk is set to expose the thermally sensitive side to the optical pickup.