Patent ID: 8238220

Claim:
A pickup device comprising an irradiation optical system including an objective lens to focus a ray bundle on a track of a recording surface of an optical recording medium to form alight spot, and a detection optical system including a photo detector to receive return light reflected from said light spot via said objective lens and perform photoelectric conversion and controls said objective lens in position according to electrical signals produced through operations on outputs of said photo detector, wherein said photo detector has at least one pair of photoreceptor sections positioned axis-symmetrical with respect to a detection-side division line extending parallel to said track and traversing an optical axis of said return light; wherein said pickup device comprises a dividing element placed in an optical path between said photo detector and said objective lens; wherein said dividing element includes at least one pair of symmetric inner divided areas positioned axis-symmetrical with respect to a deflection-side division line extending parallel to said track and traversing said optical axis of said return light, and at least one pair of symmetric outer divided areas positioned sandwiching said symmetric inner divided areas and axis-symmetrical with respect to said deflection-side division line; wherein said symmetric outer divided areas include overlap regions shared by ±first-order light beams diffracted by said track and a zeroth-order light beam of said return light and direct light beams from said overlap regions to said photoreceptor sections of said photo detector so as to be axis-symmetrical with respect to said detection-side division line; wherein said symmetric inner divided areas direct parts of a light beam from the other region than said overlap regions to said photoreceptor sections of said photo detector so as to be axis-symmetrical with respect to said detection-side division line, said other region being divided axis-symmetrically along said deflection-side division line; and wherein said symmetric inner divided areas are formed such that the parts of the light beam from the other region than said overlap regions intersect each other and are exchanged in position across said detection-side division line and directed to said photoreceptor sections of said photo detector, alternatively said symmetric outer divided areas are formed such that the light beams from said overlap regions intersect each other and are exchanged in position across said detection-side division line and directed to said photoreceptor sections of said photo detector, the pickup device further comprising a ½ wavelength plate positioned in an optical path of said return light to overlie only a group of areas on the same side of said symmetric inner divided areas and symmetric outer divided areas positioned axis-symmetrical with respect to said deflection-side division line on said dividing element.