Patent ID: 7161882

Claim:
Apparatus for regulating the light power of a scanning beam to one of a plurality of desired light power levels in an apparatus for reading from and/or writing to an optical recording medium, and said apparatus comprises a driving apparatus for sequentially supplying a plurality of driving currents to a light source for providing the desired light power level of the scanning beam, monitoring means for detecting a predetermined light power level of the light source and setting means as well as regulating means for setting plural desired light power levels, wherein provision is made of calibration means for carrying out a calibration of a driving current to a light power level of the light source, and the regulating means are configured in such a way that they carry out the regulation of the driving current for the light power of the scanning beam by a comparison between a driving current supplying the light source for regulating the light source with a calibration factor to a predetermined light power level and a present driving current to provide said predetermined light power level with said driving apparatus for setting the driving current of said driving apparatus for one of said plurality of desired light power levels of the scanning beam.