JP2002092920A - Lens cleaner for optical disk device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lens cleaner for optical disk device with which a desired cleaning action can be obtained while avoiding damage on a pickup lens. SOLUTION: Program data for cleaning include program data for releasing the rotary driving of a disk 2 during cleaning a pickup lens 15 to rotate the disk 2 through inertia. Thereby, damage on the lens 15 during high-speed rotation of the disk 2 is prevented, and cleaning efficiency is improved as the rotational speed of the disk 2 becomes low.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention provides cleaning program data and cleaning means on the same reading surface of a disk, and moves a pickup lens to a position where the cleaning means is disposed based on the program data. The present invention relates to a lens cleaner for an optical disk device that performs a cleaning action.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.
There is a lens cleaner described in JP-A-320093. It has a program area for recording the program data for cleaning the pickup lens on the same reading surface of the disk, and a cleaning area where cleaning means is locally disposed, and the pickup lens is moved based on the program data. The pickup lens is moved to a position where the cleaning means is provided, and the pickup lens is cleaned at this position for a predetermined time.

In the prior art, the cleaning operation of the pickup lens is performed by the standard linear velocity (1.
The cleaning is performed while rotating the disk at a constant rotation speed corresponding to 3 m / s), and the cleaning time is set based on the signal reading time at the standard linear velocity.

[0004] Further, in the above prior art, a brush is employed as a cleaning means. A technique using a brush as a cleaning medium for a pickup lens is described in, for example, JP-A-11-353840.
Generally, a plurality of brush bristles made of synthetic fibers or the like are implanted on a reading surface of a disk.

[0005]

A problem with the cleaning action of the pickup lens is damage to the pickup lens due to contact with cleaning means such as a brush. That is, the surface of the pickup lens may be damaged due to the collision with the brush hair, or the mounting angle of the pickup lens may be changed, which may cause the player to be unusable.

In the lens cleaner disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-320093, the disk must be rotated at a rotational speed corresponding to the standard linear velocity of the CD player because the time for cleaning the pickup lens by the brush is determined. For example, when the present invention is applied to a DVD player rotating at a rotation speed (linear velocity of 3.49 m / s) slightly less than three times that of a CD player, there is an extremely high risk of damaging the pickup lens.

Further, a brush as a cleaning medium is
As described in JP-A-11-353840, the tips are trimmed so that the brush bristles have a uniform length. Therefore, the tips of the brush bristles have a sharp shape. Therefore, when the cleaning action of the pickup lens of the DVD player is performed using the brush having such a configuration as a cleaning medium, damage to the pickup lens cannot be avoided.

On the other hand, the bristles constituting the brush are made of a more flexible material, or the shaft diameter is reduced, for example.
It is conceivable to avoid damage to the pickup lens due to reduction of the contact pressure with the brush.

However, in such a configuration, even if the brush does not come into contact with the pickup lens or can come into contact with the pickup lens, the brush tip may be bent backward by the wind pressure received by the high-speed rotation of the disk. Since the bristles have a low elastic response frequency due to the above configuration, the brush bristles cannot return to the original position until the bristles pass immediately above the lens, and the desired cleaning action cannot be obtained.

An object of the present invention is to provide a lens cleaner for an optical disk device that can obtain a desired cleaning action while avoiding damage to a pickup lens.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a lens cleaner for an optical disk device according to the present invention comprises: a program area for recording program data for cleaning a pickup lens on the same reading surface of a disk; A cleaning area in which cleaning means is locally disposed, and as the program data,
Program data for moving the pickup lens to the position where the cleaning means is disposed, program data for stopping the pickup lens at this position for a predetermined time, and program data for releasing the rotation of the disk for at least the predetermined time. It is characterized by including.

According to this structure, when the pickup lens reads the program data, it moves to the position where the cleaning means is provided and then stops at that position for a predetermined time, while the disk is released from rotation at least for the predetermined time. Rotate by inertia. Thus, by rotating the disk by inertia while cleaning the pickup lens, the rotational speed of the disk gradually decreases due to air resistance, mechanical friction of the spindle, and further, the contact action between the pickup lens and the cleaning means, and the cleaning action is reduced. Since the impact force of the cleaning means on the pickup lens decreases as it proceeds, damage to the pickup lens is avoided while obtaining the desired cleaning action.

If a brush is used as the cleaning means, each brush bristle bends rearward in the disk rotation direction due to the wind pressure caused by the high-speed rotation of the disk at the beginning of cleaning, and the cleaning operation is performed while the contact pressure on the pickup lens is relatively low. As the number of rotations of the disk decreases with the progress of cleaning, the brush hairs are gradually erected on the disk surface to clean the pickup lens. Therefore, while avoiding damage to the pickup lens in the high-speed rotation state of the disk immediately after the start of cleaning, the effect of cleaning the pickup lens is enhanced with the rotation of the disk at a low speed.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a DVD player will be described as an example of an optical disk device.
The present invention is not limited to a DVD player, but can be applied to other optical disk devices such as CDs or magneto-optical disk devices.

FIG. 1 shows a reading surface side of a lens cleaner for an optical disk device (hereinafter simply referred to as a lens cleaner) according to an embodiment of the present invention. The lens cleaner 1 includes a disk 2 formed to have the same physical specifications as a DVD-ROM, and a program area 4 provided on a reading surface 3 of the disk 2 and recording cleaning program data to be described later. A cleaning area 5 provided on the reading surface 3 and having first and second cleaning means 6a and 6b.

First and second cleaning means 6a, 6b
Is constituted by a brush in which a plurality of bristles 7a and 7b are bundled and implanted on the reading surface 3, and in the present embodiment, the first radius is 32.5 mm from the center of the disk 2. A cleaning means 6a provided at a distance of 34.5 mm from the center of the disk 2 to the first cleaning means 6a;
The second cleaning means 6b is provided at a position symmetrical to a.

The brush bristles 7a and 7b have the same structure, and are obtained by cutting a shaft 8 made of synthetic fiber such as polyester and the like with a hot wire as shown in FIG. 3A. It comprises a substantially spherical tip 9. From the viewpoint of protection of the pickup lens, in the present embodiment, the diameter of the shaft 8 is about 0.01 mm, and the maximum outer diameter of the tip 9 is about 0.016 m.
m, the length of the brush bristles 7a, 7b is 1.6 mm or more and 2.2
mm or less, and the total number of brush bristles 7a and 7b is 4
As zero, they are bundled and planted in a hole having a diameter of about 0.4 mm provided on the reading surface 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the DVD player includes a spindle motor 10 having a rotating shaft 10a which is fitted into a center hole 2a of the disk 2 and drives the disk 2 to rotate.
, An optical pickup 14, a feed motor 11 having a drive shaft 11 a capable of reciprocating the optical pickup 14 in the radial direction (track direction) of the disk 2, and a servo for controlling the drive of the spindle motor 10 and the feed motor 11. It has a controller 12 and a signal processing system 13 for processing signals read by the optical pickup 14.

As is well known, the signal processing system 13 of the DVD player is provided with a buffer memory for temporarily storing the signal read by the optical pickup 14, and after correcting the error of the signal, converts the signal to video, audio, sub-signal. Each data stream of a picture is separated and supplied to a predetermined decoder circuit.

Next, in the program area 4 of the lens cleaner 1, a program for moving the pickup lens 15 to the position where the first and second cleaning means 6a and 6b are disposed (hereinafter referred to as tracks A and B, respectively). The cleaning program data includes data, program data for stopping the pickup lens 15 for a predetermined time (t1, t2) on each of the tracks A and B, and program data for canceling the rotation drive of the disk 2 for at least the predetermined time. Has been recorded.

In general, a signal handled by a DVD is not read out at a constant rate at a variable rate, but is temporarily stored in a buffer memory and passed to a next processing circuit little by little. Intermittent signal processing of accumulating is performed, but after the signal is completely stored in the buffer memory, the rotation drive of the disk is released until the signal becomes empty. The disk rotation release data is originally recorded on a DVD disk as a format.

Therefore, in the lens cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment, the program data for canceling the rotation drive of the disc 2 is recorded in the cleaning program data in the same format as the disc rotation drive cancellation data. ing.

Hereinafter, the details of the cleaning program data will be described together with the operation of the lens cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment.

FIGS. 5 to 7 are flow charts showing the operation of the present embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to this flow and can be modified as described later.

When the lens cleaner 1 is set in the DVD player and activated, the TOC (Tab
le Of Contents) information is read, a cleaning program is executed by a user operation from the information, and a cleaning process is started (steps S1 to S3).

When the cleaning program is executed in step S3, the program data is transmitted to the signal processing system 1
3 is stored in the buffer memory (step S4).
Among the stored program data, there are program data for moving the optical pickup 14 to the track A provided with the first cleaning means 6a, program data for canceling the rotation drive of the spindle motor 10, and t1 for the optical pickup 14. Contains program data to stop for a second.

Then, first, program data for moving the optical pickup 14 (pickup lens 15) to the track A is read from the buffer memory (step S5). As a result, the optical pickup 14 starts moving toward the track A (step S6). At the same time, the program data for releasing the rotation drive of the spindle motor 10 for t1 seconds is read (step S).
7). Thereby, the disk 2 shifts to the inertial rotation (steps S7, S8). At the same time, program data for stopping the optical pickup 14 at the track A for t1 seconds is read out from the buffer memory and executed (step S9). In the present embodiment, the rotation of the disk 2 is released when the optical pickup 14 reaches the track A by confirming the address information recorded on the track A.

After the above processing, the pickup lens 1
Reference numeral 5 denotes a cleaning operation performed by the first cleaning means 6a on the track A. During cleaning, air resistance, mechanical friction of the spindle motor 10, the brush bristles 7a and the pickup lens from the time when the rotation of the disk 2 is released to the time t1 (between t0 and t1) as shown in FIG. The rotation speed of the disk 2 gradually decreases due to the contact operation with the disk 15. FIG. 4 also shows
The change of the cleaning mode of the first cleaning means 6a due to the decrease in the rotation speed of the disk 2 is shown.

The brush bristles 7a are deflected rearward in the rotation direction of the disk 2 by the wind pressure caused by the high-speed rotation of the disk 2 at the beginning of cleaning, as shown in FIG. The cleaning action of the lens surface is mainly performed by the flow of wind. Due to the decrease in the rotation speed of the disk 2 with the progress of the cleaning, the brush bristles 7 a gradually erect on the reading surface 3 of the disk 2 to clean the pickup lens 15. Therefore, while avoiding damage to the pickup lens 15 in the high-speed rotation state of the disk 2 immediately after the start of cleaning, the effect of wiping dust adhered to the surface of the pickup lens 15 as the rotation speed of the disk 2 is reduced increases the cleaning efficiency. Improve.

In particular, in the present embodiment, since the tip 9 of the brush bristles 7a has a substantially spherical shape, as compared with the conventional brush bristles 70 whose tips are trimmed as shown in FIG. Thus, damage to the pickup lens 15 is reduced, and damage to the lens 15 is prevented.

It has been confirmed that a sufficient cleaning effect can be obtained by setting the time t1 to 5 seconds or more and 10 seconds or less.

When the time t1 has elapsed, the rotation of the spindle motor 10 is resumed, and the optical pickup 14 is returned to the initial position, that is, the program area 4 (step S1).
10, S11). Then, the above steps S4 to S9
Then, the cleaning operation of the pickup lens 15 is performed on the track B through the same flow as in the first embodiment.

That is, after the cleaning program data is stored in the buffer memory, the program data for moving the optical pickup 14 (pickup lens 15) to the track B is read, and the optical pickup 14 is moved (steps S12 to S14). Then, the program data for releasing the rotation drive of the spindle motor 10 for t2 seconds is read out, and the disk 2 is coasted and the optical pickup 14 is stopped on the track A for t2 seconds (steps S15 to S17).

After the above processing, the pickup lens 1
5 is cleaned by the second cleaning means 6b at the track B position. The cleaning action by the brush bristles 7b at this time is the same as that by the brush bristles 7a of the first cleaning means 6a described above. The time t2 is set to be equal to the time t1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning position of the pickup lens 15 is determined by the first cleaning means 6a in a region radially outward from the center of the lens 15.
In the second cleaning means 6b, the area from the center of the lens 15 to the area radially inward is different from each other, so that the lens 1 is efficiently moved.
5 is performed. In the experiment, 44.4
%, It was confirmed that the reproduction output recovered to 99.8% with the new lens as 100%.

When the time t2 has elapsed and the cleaning operation has been completed, the rotation of the disk 2 by the spindle motor 10 is restored and the optical pickup 1 is returned.
4 returns to the initial position (steps S18, S19). Then, after performing a predetermined display process on the display, the cleaner 1 is removed from the DVD player, and a series of flows is completed (steps S20 and S21).

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is, of course, not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made based on the technical concept of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, after the optical pickup 14 is moved to the tracks A and B on which the cleaning means 6a and 6b are disposed, the rotation of the disk 2 is released. In terms of protection of
After the rotation of the disk 2 is released, the optical pickup 1
4 may be moved (in this case, the rotation drive release time of the disk 2 is longer than the cleaning time of the pickup lens 15). In this case as well, the arrival of the optical pickup 14 at the tracks A and B can be confirmed based on the address data recorded on these tracks. In addition, the track position of the optical pickup 14 can be confirmed based on the feed amount of the feed motor 11. Can also be detected.

In the above embodiment, the program data for the cleaning operation by the first and second cleaning means 6a and 6b is stored in the buffer memory before the start of each cleaning operation and is executed. However, the program data for the cleaning operation by both cleaning means 6a and 6b is read at a time,
The cleaning operation by these cleaning means 6a and 6b may be performed continuously.

In the above embodiment, the disk 2 is rotated by inertia during the cleaning operation of the pickup lens 15 to reduce the number of rotations. Instead, a reverse rotation load is applied to the spindle motor 10. Alternatively, the rotation speed of the disk 2 may be reduced while applying a constant or indeterminate braking force to the rotation of the disk 2. In this case, the desired cleaning effect can be obtained by shortening the cleaning times t1 and t2.

Further, if the cleaning program data according to the present invention includes program data for performing a predetermined focusing servo control on the pickup lens 15 during cleaning of the pickup lens 15, the program data for the brush bristles 7 a and 7 b can be obtained. The contact pressure can be changed, and the lens 15 can be further protected. In addition, if program data for performing predetermined tracking servo control (or tilt servo control) during cleaning is included, it is possible to change the lens position at which the brush bristles 7a and 7b hit, thereby performing a more efficient cleaning action. It becomes possible.

Further, in the above embodiment, the first and second brush-like cleaning means 6a and 6b are provided as the cleaning means as described above. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
The arrangement position can be increased from the above two places to three or more places. The form (shaft diameter, length, number, etc.) of the brush bristles 7a, 7b can be changed as appropriate in accordance with the specifications of various optical disk devices. Further, the cleaning means is not limited to a dry type, and the present invention is also applicable to a wet type impregnated with a cleaning liquid.

Finally, the present invention is also applicable to a CD player as an optical disk device. In this case, by adapting the cleaning program data according to the present invention to the CD program format, for example, as shown in FIGS.
In the flow shown in FIG. 7, a flow in which the above-described cleaning action is performed without the intervention of the buffer memory is obtained.

[0044]

As described above, according to the lens cleaner for an optical disk device of the present invention, the damage to the pickup lens due to the contact with the cleaning means can be avoided.
A desired cleaning action can be obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the above effects can be obtained by applying the present invention to a DVD player having a higher disk rotation speed than a CD player.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to effectively prevent the pickup lens from being damaged by the contact with the brush bristles.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a reading surface side of a lens cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a main part showing a state where a lens cleaner according to the present invention is set in an optical disk device.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a form of a tip of a brush bristles as a cleaning means, wherein A shows an embodiment of the present invention, and B
Shows a conventional example.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing a change over time in the number of rotations of the disk and a cleaning mode by a cleaning unit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a continuation of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a continuation of FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Lens cleaner, 2 ... Disk, 3 ... Reading surface, 4 ...
Program area, 5 cleaning area, 6a first cleaning means, 6b second cleaning means, 7a, 7b brush bristles, 10 spindle motor,
13 signal processing system, 14 optical pickup, 15 pickup lens.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A lens cleaner for an optical disk device, comprising: a program area in which program data for cleaning a pickup lens is recorded on the same reading surface of a disk; and a cleaning area in which cleaning means is locally disposed. Program data for moving the pickup lens to a position where the cleaning means is disposed; program data for stopping the pickup lens at the disposed position for a predetermined time; rotating the disk for at least the predetermined time; A lens cleaner for an optical disc device, comprising: program data for canceling the condition. 2. The lens cleaner for an optical disk device according to claim 1, wherein the program data is executed via a buffer memory provided in a signal processing system of the optical disk device. 3. The cleaning means according to claim 1, wherein said cleaning means comprises a bundle of a plurality of bristles implanted on said disk, and the tips of said bristles have a substantially spherical shape.
4. A lens cleaner for an optical disc device according to claim 1.