Patent ID: 7031234

Claim:
An objective lens driving apparatus comprising: a lens holder as a movable part, which holds an objective lens; a stationary part that supports said lens holder in such a manner that said lens holder is movable in a direction of an optical axis of said objective lens and rotatable about a rotation axis parallel to said optical axis; a magnet mounted to said stationary part, said magnet being polarized in a direction toward or away from said rotation axis; a focusing coil mounted to said lens holder, said focusing coil having a side substantially perpendicular to said optical axis and to said direction of polarization of said magnet; a tracking coil mounted to said lens holder, said tracking coil having a side substantially parallel to said optical axis, a magnetic path forming member that forms a magnetic path in which a magnetic field caused by said magnet passes through said side of said focusing coil and said side of said tracking coil; a current supplying member that supplies current to said focusing coil and said tracking coil; and an urging member causing a magnetic force in combination with said magnet, for urging said lens holder toward a reference position in a direction of said optical axis and in a direction of the rotation of said lens holder, wherein said urging member is made of a magnetic material and has a shape surrounding said rotation axis, and the dimension of said urging member in the direction of said optical axis is smaller than that of said magnet.