Patent ID: 8179770

Claim:
An optical pickup apparatus comprising: a collimating lens configured to convert laser light emitted from a laser diode, from diffused light into parallel light; an objective lens; and a prism configured to guide the laser light emitted from the collimating lens to the objective lens, the prism including: a first face that the laser light emitted from the collimating lens enters; a second face that reflects the laser light entering the first face; and a third face that reflects the laser light reflected from the second face in a direction of the second face, and emits the laser light reflected again from the second face in a direction of the objective lens, wherein: the second face comprises a planar surface in parallel with a signal face of an optical disc, the signal face of the optical disc being positioned to face the objective lens to allow a signal to be recorded or reproduced, the first face is adjacent to, shares an edge with, and is disposed at a positive interior first angle with respect to the second face, and the third face is adjacent to, shares an edge with, and is disposed at a positive interior second angle with respect to the second face.