Patent ID: 7876649

Claim:
An optical disc recording and reproducing apparatus equipped with an optical pickup for projecting a laser beam from a laser light source to an optical disc and converting reflection light from the optical disc into a plurality of electric signals via a split optical sensor, through which the apparatus records information on the optical disc and reads information stored in the optical disc so as to reproduce the information, the apparatus comprising: a balance value storing portion for storing in advance a focus balance value indicating a balance an S-shaped curve obtained in a focus search operation; a first signal generating portion for generating a focus error signal indicating quantity of focal position shift of projection light from the laser light source with respect to a position of a recording surface of the optical disc via a computing equation defined by the focus balance value stored in the balance value storing portion based on the plurality of electric signals; a position control portion for control a position of the optical pickup in the direction closing to or separating from the optical disc based on the focus error signal; a second signal generating portion for generating a tracking error signal indicating quantity of focal position shift of the projection light from the laser light source with respect to the track position on the optical disc based on the plurality of electric signals after the position control portion has controlled the position of the optical pickup; a balance value setting portion for determining an appropriate value of the focus balance value when information is reproduced from the optical disc so as to record the determined appropriate value of the focus balance value in the balance value storing portion and to set the same in the first signal generating portion; and a correction executing portion for reading the appropriate value of the focus balance value stored in the balance value storing portion when information is recorded on the optical disc so as to correct the read value and to set the corrected value in the first signal generating portion.