Patent ID: 8520480

Claim:
An optical disc apparatus for reading information recorded on an optical disc medium, comprising: an optical pickup including an objective lens, for outputting an output signal according to reflected light from the optical disc medium; a drive unit for relatively moving the objective lens included in the optical pickup with respect to a medium surface of the optical disc medium in a direction of changing a distance to the medium surface; focus detection means for detecting a state where the output signal from the optical pickup satisfies a predetermined detection condition as a focus state where a focus of the objective lens is on a signal surface of the optical disc medium while the objective lens is being relatively moved by the drive unit with respect to the medium surface, for reading the information recorded on the optical disc medium; signal level measurement means for measuring a level of a first reflected signal corresponding to reflected light from the medium surface prior to the reading of the information recorded on the optical disc medium; and prediction means for predicting a level of a second reflected signal corresponding to reflected light from the medium surface that is obtained while the focus detection means is detecting the focus state after the prediction means performs the predicting, based on the measured level of the first reflected signal and a predetermined target value set for the signal surface, to predict whether or not the second reflected signal will satisfy the predetermined detection condition, for the detecting of the focus state, wherein the focus detection means uses a result of the predicting to detect the focus state, and as a result of the predicting, when it is predicted that the second reflected signal will satisfy the predetermined detection condition, the focus detection means detects, as the focus state, a state where the predetermined detection condition is satisfied for a second time while the objective lens is being relatively moved from an initial position with respect to the medium surface, and as the result of the predicting, when it is predicted that the second reflected signal will not satisfy the predetermined detection condition, the focus detection means detects, as the focus state, a state where the predetermined detection condition is satisfied for a first time while the objective lens is being relatively moved from the initial position with respect to the medium surface.