Patent ID: 7729213

Claim:
An optical disk apparatus comprising: a movable part having an objective lens for focusing a laser beam onto an optical disk; a lens-holding member for holding the objective lens; a protecting member, located on the movable part, for preventing contact of the objective lens with the optical disk, the protecting member being spaced apart from the optical disk; an elastic supporting member for supporting the movable part, the elastic supporting member holding the movable part to be movable in vertical and radial directions relative to the optical disk; an actuator for driving the movable part toward or away from the optical disk; an error signal generating circuit for detecting abnormal operation when the protecting member and the optical disk come into contact and for generating an error signal; a control circuit for receiving the error signal, wherein, upon receiving the error signal, the control circuit applies a control current to the actuator, and wherein the actuator drives the movable part away from the optical disk in response to the control current, so as to maintain space between the protecting member and the optical disk, even when the elastic supporting member is bent by gravity, such that the movable part is moved toward the optical disk.