US5371730A — Optical memory and information processing apparat…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 94 words

An optical memory comprising: a case having an upper wall and a lower wall, said upper wall having at least a portion which is transparent to light; an optical recording medium rotatably disposed within said case so as to receive light which is transmitted through said transparent portion for recording or reproducing information on or from said medium; and an antireflection film formed on at least one of a lower surface of said upper wall of said case and a surface of said optical recording medium which faces said upper wall of said case.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 94 words

An optical memory comprising: a case having an upper wall and a lower wall, said upper wall having at least a portion which is transparent to light; an optical recording medium rotatably disposed within said case so as to receive light which is transmitted through said transparent portion for recording or reproducing information on or from said medium; and an antireflection film formed on at least one of a lower surface of said upper wall of said case and a surface of said optical recording medium which faces said upper wall of said case.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 24 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 1, wherein said antireflection film is formed on a surface of said transparent portion of said case.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 55 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 2, wherein said antireflection film has a refractive index n=√n 0 n 1 , where n 0 is the refractive index of an air space disposed between said case and said optical recording medium, and n 1 is the refractive index of the transparent portion of said case.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 37 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 1, wherein said antireflection film is made of a material, through which light is more easily passable, as compared with the material of said case and said optical recording medium.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 27 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 1, wherein said antireflection film has a light transmittance higher than that of said case and said optical recording medium.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 20 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light transmittance of said antireflection film is higher than 80%.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 23 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light transmittance of the transparent portion of said case is higher than 80%.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 40 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transparent portion of said case is made of a material, through which light is more easily passable, as compared with the material of said case and said optical recording medium.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 21 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 1, wherein said optical recording medium includes a recording layer formed on a substrate.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 22 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 1, wherein said antireflection film is formed on said surface of said optical recording medium.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 59 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 10, wherein said antireflection film has a refractive index n=√n 0 n 2 , wherein n 0 is the refractive index of an air space disposed between said case and said optical reading medium, and n 2 is the refractive index of the optical recording medium in contact with said antireflection film.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 39 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a first antireflection film formed on a surface of said transparent portion of said case and a second antireflection film formed on said surface of said optical reading medium.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 91 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 12, wherein said first antireflection film has a refractive index n 3 =√n 0 n 1 , and said second antireflection film has a refractive index n 4 =√n 0 n 2 , wherein n 0 is the refractive index of an air space disposed between said case and said optical reading medium, n 1 is the refractive index of the transparent portion of said case, and n 2 is the refractive index of the optical reading medium in contact with said antireflection film.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 57 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 1, wherein said antireflection film satisfies the condition that n×h=(2m+1)λ4, where λ is the wavelength of light used in recording or reproducing information on said optical recording medium, n is the refractive index of the antireflection film, h is the thickness of said antireflection film and m is an integer.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 16 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 1, wherein said antireflection film is a multilayer film.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 159 words

An optical memory comprising: a case having an upper wall and a lower wall, said upper wall having at least a portion which is transparent to light; an optical recording medium rotatably disposed within said case so that an air layer is formed between said case and said optical recording medium, and said optical recording medium being rotatably disposed within said case so as to receive light which is transmitted through said transparent portion for recording or reproducing information on or from said medium; and antireflection means, disposed on a surface of said optical recording medium so that a first boundary plane is formed between the optical recording medium and the air layer or a surface of the transparent portion of the case so that a second boundary plane is formed between the transparent portion of the case and the air layer, for establishing a reflectivity at said first or said second boundary plane which is lower than 4%.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 159 words

An optical memory comprising: a case having an upper wall and a lower wall, said upper wall having at least a portion which is transparent to light; an optical recording medium rotatably disposed within said case so that an air layer is formed between said case and said optical recording medium, and said optical recording medium being rotatably disposed within said case so as to receive light which is transmitted through said transparent portion for recording or reproducing information on or from said medium; and antireflection means, disposed on a surface of said optical recording medium so that a first boundary plane is formed between the optical recording medium and the air layer or a surface of the transparent portion of the case so that a second boundary plane is formed between the transparent portion of the case and the air layer, for establishing a reflectivity at said first or said second boundary plane which is lower than 4%.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 109 words

An information processing apparatus, comprising: a memory which includes an optical recording medium rotatably disposed within a case having an upper wall, a lower wall and a transparent portion disposed in said upper wall and an antireflection film formed on at least one of a surface of said transparent portion of said upper wall of said case and an upper surface of said optical recording medium; and an optical head for recording information on said optical recording medium, for reproducing information from the optical recording medium or for erasing the recorded information on the optical recording medium by transmitting light through said antireflection film onto said optical recording medium.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 109 words

An information processing apparatus, comprising: a memory which includes an optical recording medium rotatably disposed within a case having an upper wall, a lower wall and a transparent portion disposed in said upper wall and an antireflection film formed on at least one of a surface of said transparent portion of said upper wall of said case and an upper surface of said optical recording medium; and an optical head for recording information on said optical recording medium, for reproducing information from the optical recording medium or for erasing the recorded information on the optical recording medium by transmitting light through said antireflection film onto said optical recording medium.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 113 words

An information recording and reproducing method for performing at least one of information recording, reproducing and erasing operations, with respect to an optical recording medium rotatably disposed within a case, said case having an upper wall, a lower wall and a transparent portion disposed in said upper wall, by irradiating light thereon through the transparent portion onto the recording medium, comprising the steps of: irradiating the light which is transmitted through the transparent portion onto said optical recording medium through an antireflection film formed on at least one of a surface of said transparent portion of said case and a surface of said optical recording medium facing said upper wall of said case.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 113 words

An information recording and reproducing method for performing at least one of information recording, reproducing and erasing operations, with respect to an optical recording medium rotatably disposed within a case, said case having an upper wall, a lower wall and a transparent portion disposed in said upper wall, by irradiating light thereon through the transparent portion onto the recording medium, comprising the steps of: irradiating the light which is transmitted through the transparent portion onto said optical recording medium through an antireflection film formed on at least one of a surface of said transparent portion of said case and a surface of said optical recording medium facing said upper wall of said case.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 105 words

An optical memory comprising: a case having an upper wall and a lower wall, said upper wall having at least a transparent portion therein; an optical recording medium rotatably mounted within the case so as to receive light for recording or reproducing information through said transparent portion; and a film for suppressing interference of light occurring in an air layer formed between the upper wall of said case and an upper surface of the optical recording medium, said film being formed on at least one of a lower surface of the upper wall of the case and the upper surface of the optical recording medium.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 105 words

An optical memory comprising: a case having an upper wall and a lower wall, said upper wall having at least a transparent portion therein; an optical recording medium rotatably mounted within the case so as to receive light for recording or reproducing information through said transparent portion; and a film for suppressing interference of light occurring in an air layer formed between the upper wall of said case and an upper surface of the optical recording medium, said film being formed on at least one of a lower surface of the upper wall of the case and the upper surface of the optical recording medium.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 52 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 19, wherein said film is provided on at least one of a surface of said transparent portion of said upper wall of said case in contact with said air layer and the upper surface of the optical recording medium in contact with said air layer.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 32 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 19, wherein said film is made of a material having a refractive index different from that of said case and of said optical recording medium.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 32 words

An optical memory as claimed in claim 19, wherein said film is made of a material having a light transmittance greater than that of said case and of said optical recording medium.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 161 words

An information processing apparatus, comprising: an optical memory in which an optical recording medium for optically recording, reproducing or erasing information is movably stored within a case having an upper wall, a lower wall and a transparent portion disposed in said upper wall; an optical head for recording the information on the optical recording medium, for reproducing the information from the optical recording medium or for erasing the information recorded on the optical recording medium by transmitting light through said transparent portion of said case onto said optical recording medium; means, disposed on at least one of a surface of said upper wall of said case and an upper surface of said optical recording medium, for setting a variation in a reflecting amount of light reflected from the optical recording medium to lower than 5 percent; means for rotatably driving the optical recording medium; and a drive circuit for controllably driving an operation of the optical head and the drive means.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 161 words

An information processing apparatus, comprising: an optical memory in which an optical recording medium for optically recording, reproducing or erasing information is movably stored within a case having an upper wall, a lower wall and a transparent portion disposed in said upper wall; an optical head for recording the information on the optical recording medium, for reproducing the information from the optical recording medium or for erasing the information recorded on the optical recording medium by transmitting light through said transparent portion of said case onto said optical recording medium; means, disposed on at least one of a surface of said upper wall of said case and an upper surface of said optical recording medium, for setting a variation in a reflecting amount of light reflected from the optical recording medium to lower than 5 percent; means for rotatably driving the optical recording medium; and a drive circuit for controllably driving an operation of the optical head and the drive means.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1997-12-05	1998-06-06	1998-12-06	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2001-12-05	2002-06-06	2002-12-06	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2005-12-05	2006-06-06	2006-12-06	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Optical memory and information processing apparatus

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