U.S. patent application number 10/387396 was filed with the patent office on 2003-07-17 for character information copying system, recording apparatus and recording method.
This patent application is currently assigned to Sony Corporation. Invention is credited to Hirai, Takahiro, Isozaki, Shinji, Koyata, Tomohiro, Mizuno, Hiroshi.
Application Number | 20030135550 10/387396 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 14501943 |
Filed Date | 2003-07-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030135550 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Koyata, Tomohiro ; et
al. |
July 17, 2003 |
Character information copying system, recording apparatus and
recording method
Abstract
The invention provides a character information copying system, a
recording apparatus, and a recording method in which characters can
be easily copied onto a recording medium by copying and pasting
character information such as titles of music pieces, singer names,
and the like opened on a computer communication network and by
transmitting it to the recording apparatus via an interface.
Inventors: |
Koyata, Tomohiro; (Tokyo,
JP) ; Hirai, Takahiro; (Kanagawa, JP) ;
Isozaki, Shinji; (Nagano, JP) ; Mizuno, Hiroshi;
(Nagano, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OBLON, SPIVAK, MCCLELLAND, MAIER & NEUSTADT, P.C.
1940 DUKE STREET
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
Sony Corporation
Shinagawa-ku
JP
|
Family ID: |
14501943 |
Appl. No.: |
10/387396 |
Filed: |
March 14, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10387396 |
Mar 14, 2003 |
|
|
|
09290956 |
Apr 13, 1999 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
709/203 ;
369/30.07; 715/740; G9B/27.012; G9B/27.05 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B 27/329 20130101;
G11B 27/034 20130101; G11B 27/34 20130101; G11B 2220/2529
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/203 ;
345/740; 369/30.07 |
International
Class: |
G06F 015/16; G09G
005/00; G11B 021/08; G11B 007/085 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 20, 1998 |
JP |
P10-109115 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A system for recording text data of title information received
from a remote server, comprising: a terminal apparatus for
receiving the text data from the remote server; a recording
apparatus for recording the received text data; and a semiconductor
memory for storing the text data corresponding to title information
of a program to be played from a memory different from said
semiconductor memory.
2. The system as in claim 1, wherein said recording apparatus
comprises an optical disc which stores music, said optical disc
being said memory different from said semiconductor memory.
3. The system as in claim 1, wherein said recording apparatus
comprises a CD changer.
4. A system having a terminal apparatus for receiving text data
corresponding to title information from a remote server, a
recording apparatus receiving and recording the text data from the
terminal apparatus, the system comprising: a semiconductor memory
built in said recording apparatus for storing the text data of
title information of a program to be played from a memory different
from said semiconductor memory; said terminal apparatus comprises:
receiving means for receiving said text data from a remote server
storing text data of a predetermined program; display means for
displaying the text data received by said receiving means; selected
means for selecting arbitrary text data from the displayed text
data; and transfer means for transferring the selected arbitrary
text data to the recording apparatus; and wherein said recording
apparatus comprises: receiving means for receiving the arbitrary
text data transmitted from said transfer means of said terminal
apparatus; and recording means for recording the arbitrary text
data received by said receiving means onto said semiconductor
memory so as to correspond to a predetermined program recorded in a
memory different from said semiconductor memory.
5. The system as in claim 1, wherein said recording apparatus
comprises an optical disc which stores music, said optical disc
being said memory different from said semiconductor memory.
6. The system as in claim 1, wherein said recording apparatus
comprises a CD changer.
7. A method for recording text data of title information received
from a remote server, the method comprising: receiving the text
data from the remote server; and storing the text data
corresponding to title information of a program in a semiconductor
memory, the program to be played from a memory different from said
semiconductor memory.
8. A system for recording text data of title information received
from a remote server, the system comprising: means for receiving
the text data from the remote server; and means for storing the
text data corresponding to title information of a program in a
semiconductor memory, the program to be played from a memory
different from said semiconductor memory.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a character information copying
system, a recording apparatus, and a recording method in which
information opened on a computer communication network is copied
and the copied information can be easily recorded as character
information of each program on a recording medium.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Hitherto, a magnetooptic disc apparatus for recording and
reproducing a program such as music or the like onto a magnetooptic
disc such as an MD (Mini Disc; registered trade name) has been
known. In the MD, for example, a program comprising digital music
data or the like which was compression encoded by an ATRAC
(Adaptive TRansform Acoustic Coding) system is recorded and
management information of the recorded program is recorded on the
inner rim side. An area in which the management information is
recorded is called U-TOC (User-Table Of Contents) area.
[0005] The program is managed on a track unit basis. For example,
when the program is music data, one music piece can be recorded as
one track. By designating a desired track upon reproduction, the
music piece recorded on this track, namely, music data is
reproduced.
[0006] The U-TOC area is constructed by, for example, 32 sectors.
In a sector 1 and a sector 4 among them, character information such
as title names or the like corresponding to the recorded program is
managed. The sectors 1 and 4 correspond to different character
forms. For example, in the sector 1, alphabets expressed by ASCII
(American Standard Code for Information Interchange) codes are
managed. In sector 4, character information comprising Kanji
(Chinese characters), Hiragana, or the like expressed by character
codes based on ISO (International Organization for
Standardization)--8859-1 or shift JIS (Japanese Industrial
Standard) is managed. An area to manage a correspondence between
track information of the program and character information is
provided for each sector and a pointer of the character information
corresponding to the track is written in this area.
[0007] The character information is inputted by operating a key
provided for the magnetooptic disc apparatus, a key provided on a
remote controller, or the like.
[0008] A case of inputting character information to the MD will now
be considered. For instance, title information of a music piece is
inputted and recorded for the music data recorded on each track. In
the above case, hitherto, it is necessary to select a track to be
inputted each time information is inputted. Hitherto, each time
alphabets, Kanji, or Hiragana is inputted, it is necessary to
designate a memory area to be inputted.
[0009] Hitherto, character information such as album title, music
piece title, singer name, and the like has to be inputted by the
operation of the key provided for the magnetooptic disc apparatus
or the key provided on the remote controller. The inputting
operation is complicated and is a troublesome operation for the
user.
[0010] For example, in a computer communication network such as
Internet, much information regarding each commercially available CD
(Compact Disc) has been opened. For example, when a new CD is
released or the like, there is a case where a sales agency opens
the recorded contents of the CD as an HTML (Hyper-Text Markup
Language) file onto a homepage of Internet for the purpose of sales
promotion. There is also a case where an individual such as a lover
of music or the like opens the information such as recorded
contents of a CD or the like on his homepage. Further, by using
what is called a search engine, for instance, information such as
recorded contents of the CD or the like on the homepage can be
searched by a keyword such as a singer name or music piece
title.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a
digital signal recording system, a character code input apparatus,
and a character code input method in which character information of
each track can be easily inputted.
[0012] Another object of the invention is to provide a digital
signal recording system, a character code input apparatus, and a
character code input method in which character information by
different character forms can be easily recorded into each
corresponding area.
[0013] Still another object of the invention is to provide a
digital signal recording system, a digital signal recording
apparatus, and a digital signal recording method in which by
fetching information from a homepage on Internet, information such
as recorded contents of a CD or the like can be easily
recorded.
[0014] In consideration of the above problems, according to the
invention, there is provided a character information copying system
for transferring character information from a terminal apparatus to
a recording apparatus and recording the received character
information onto a recording medium loaded in the recording
apparatus,
[0015] wherein the terminal apparatus comprises:
[0016] receiving means for receiving the character information from
a server in which the character information regarding a
predetermined program has been accumulated;
[0017] display means for displaying the character information
received by the receiving means;
[0018] selecting means for selecting arbitrary character
information from the character information displayed on the display
means; and
[0019] transfer means for transferring the arbitrary character
information selected by the selecting means,
[0020] and wherein the recording apparatus comprises:
[0021] receiving means for receiving the arbitrary character
information which is transmitted from the transfer means of the
terminal apparatus; and
[0022] recording means for recording the arbitrary character
information received by the receiving means onto the recording
medium so as to correspond to a predetermined program recorded on
the recording medium.
[0023] There is also provided a recording apparatus comprising:
[0024] receiving means for receiving a series of character
information constructed by character information of a plurality of
programs selected on a terminal apparatus side;
[0025] detecting means for detecting an identifier showing a
boundary of the plurality of programs from the series of character
information received by the receiving means;
[0026] dividing means for dividing the series of character
information into character information corresponding to each
program on the basis of the identifier detected by the detecting
means; and
[0027] recording means for recording the character information of
each program divided by the dividing means so as to correspond to a
predetermined program recorded on the recording medium.
[0028] There is further provided a recording method comprising the
steps of:
[0029] receiving a series of character information constructed by
character information of a plurality of programs selected on a
terminal apparatus side;
[0030] detecting an identifier showing a boundary of the plurality
of programs from the series of character information received by
the receiving step;
[0031] dividing the series of character information into character
information corresponding to each program on the basis of the
identifier detected by the detecting step;
[0032] making the character information of each program divided in
the dividing step correspond to a predetermined program recorded on
a recording medium; and
[0033] recording the character information of each program which
was made correspond to the predetermined program onto the recording
medium.
[0034] The above and other objects and features of the present
invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description and the appended claims with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0035] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a
connection form of each apparatus in a preferred embodiment of the
invention;
[0036] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a
construction of an MD recorder;
[0037] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram conceptually showing a memory
area of a mini disc;
[0038] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a
construction of a U-TOC sector 0 of the mini disc;
[0039] FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram showing an example of a
reproducing process using U-TOC in the case where a slot 03h is
accessed;
[0040] FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram showing an example of a
reproducing process using U-TOC in the case where a slot 18h is
accessed;
[0041] FIG. 5C is a schematic diagram showing an example of a
reproducing process using U-TOC in the case where a slot 1Fh is
accessed;
[0042] FIG. 5D is a schematic diagram showing an example of a
reproducing process using U-TOC in the case where a slot 2Bh is
accessed;
[0043] FIG. 5E is a schematic diagram showing an example of a
reproducing process using U-TOC in the case where a slot E3h is
accessed;
[0044] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a
construction of a U-TOC sector 1 of the MD;
[0045] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a
construction of a U-TOC sector 4 of the MD;
[0046] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of a
construction of a personal computer;
[0047] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a window
display to input character information of each track of the MD;
[0048] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a list
of music piece titles;
[0049] FIG. 11A is a diagram showing a state where a name input
column of a window in which character information is inputted was
designated by using a copy & paste;
[0050] FIG. 11B is a diagram showing a state where the character
information was inputted to the name input column of the window by
using the copy & paste;
[0051] FIG. 11C is a diagram showing a state where list of music
piece titles to be inputted to the name input column of the window
was selected by using the copy & paste;
[0052] FIG. 12A is a diagram showing a state where a position to
input a head in case of performing a batch paste of a plurality of
character information described in the music piece title list was
designated;
[0053] FIG. 12B is a diagram showing a state where the batch paste
of the plurality of character information described in the music
piece title list was performed;
[0054] FIG. 12C is a diagram showing a state where the music piece
title list to batch paste the plurality of described character
information was selected;
[0055] FIG. 13A is a schematic diagram showing an example of a
display of a homepage in which CD titles are displayed;
[0056] FIG. 13B is a schematic diagram showing a state where the
music piece title list to be subjected to the copy & paste was
selected in an example of a display of a homepage in which the CD
titles are displayed;
[0057] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a
description of an HTML file in the display of the music piece title
list;
[0058] FIG. 15A is a diagram showing a state where a paste start
position in case of batch pasting the music piece title list from
the homepage was designated;
[0059] FIG. 15B is a diagram showing a state where the music piece
title list was batch pasted from the homepage;
[0060] FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram conceptually showing a data
structure of a mini disc;
[0061] FIG. 17 is a flowchart for use in explanation of the
operation of a personal computer in a preferred embodiment of the
invention; and
[0062] FIG. 18 is a flowchart for use in explanation of the
operation of an MD recorder in the preferred embodiment of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0063] A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be
described hereinbelow with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows
an example of a connection form of each apparatus in the preferred
embodiment of the invention. A predetermined interface to input and
output digital data is provided for an MD (Mini Disc.RTM.) recorder
30 that is used as an audio recording and reproducing apparatus.
The MD recorder 30 and a converter 55 are connected through a
communication path 50 by using such an interface. The converter 55
and a personal computer 40 are connected via a communication path
50'.
[0064] As a data communication standard in the personal computer
40, for instance, RS (Recommended Standard)--232C, SCSI (Small
Computer System Interface), or the like can be used. The converter
55 is provided to absorb a difference of formats of control signals
between the data communication standard on the personal computer 40
side and a data communication standard on the MD recorder 30 side.
In the personal computer 40. by using an IEEE (Institute of
Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 1394 as a data communication
standard, corresponding interface is provided for the MD recorder
30, so that a direct connection between the personal computer 40
and MD recorder 30 can be easily realized.
[0065] FIG. 2 shows an example of a construction of the MD recorder
30. A disc 1 (mini disc in this example) is enclosed in a cartridge
having a shutter mechanism. By opening or closing the shutter
mechanism upon recording and reproduction, light emitted from an
optical pickup can be irradiated to the disc 1 and a magnetic field
from a magnetic head can be applied to the disc 1. Upon recording
and reproduction, the disc 1 is loaded into the MD recorder 30 and
is rotated by a spindle motor 2 at a CLV (Constant Linear
Velocity). An optical head 3 and a magnetic head 6 are provided at
positions which face so as to sandwich the disc 1. The whole
optical head 3 is largely moved in the radial direction of the disc
1 by a thread motor 5.
[0066] The optical head 3 is constructed by an objective lens 3a, a
biaxial mechanism 4, a semiconductor laser (not shown), and a
photosensing unit (not shown). An intensity of a laser beam emitted
from the semiconductor laser is switched in the recording mode and
the reproducing mode. The photosensing unit usually comprises a
plurality of areas, receives the reflection light in which the
laser beam emitted from the semiconductor laser was reflected by
the disc 1, and generates a detection signal every area. A plane of
polarization of the reflection light changes in accordance with the
recording information by a magnetic Kerr effect. The photosensing
unit detects a magnetic field vector on the basis of a change in
plane of polarization and generates a detection signal on the basis
of the detected magnetic field vector. The biaxial mechanism 4 is
constructed by: a focusing coil to drive the objective lens 3a in
the direction where the lens is come into contact with or away from
the recording surface of the disc 1: and a tracking coil to drive
the objective lens 3a in the radial direction of the disc 1.
[0067] A construction and the operation regarding processes based
on a reproduction signal of a data reproducing system, a servo
system, or the like will now be described. The above detection
signal formed by the photosensing unit in the optical head 3 is
supplied to an RF (Radio Frequency) amplifier 7. In the RF
amplifier 7, a focusing error signal FE, a tracking error signal
TE, an RF signal, and a spindle error signal are formed on the
basis of the detection signal. Among them, the signals FE and TE
are supplied to a servo circuit 9. The RF signal is supplied to an
EFM (Eight to Fourteen Modulation) and CIRC (Cross Interleave
Reed-Solomon Coding) encoder and decoder 8 and an address decoder
10. Further, the spindle error signal is supplied to a system
controller 11.
[0068] The servo circuit 9 performs a phase compensation and a gain
control to a signal that is supplied from the RF amplifier 7. An
output of the servo circuit 9 is supplied to a focusing coil and a
tracking coil in the biaxial mechanism 4 via driving amplifiers
(not shown).
[0069] Further, the tracking error signal TE is supplied to an LPF
(Low Pass Filter) (not shown) in the servo circuit 9. On the basis
of an output of the LPF, a thread error signal is formed. The
thread error signal is supplied to the thread motor 5 through a
thread driving amplifier (not shown). The thread motor 5 is
operated in response to the thread error signal.
[0070] The RF signal is supplied from the RF amplifier 7 to the EFM
& CIRC encoder and decoder 8. In the EFM & CIRC encoder and
decoder 8, the RF signal is binarized and is subjected to an EFM
demodulation in correspondence to the EFM (Eight to Fourteen
Modulation) performed to the recording data. Further, an error
correcting process based on the CIRC as a coding performed to the
recording information is performed to this signal.
[0071] In the EFM & CIRC encoder and decoder 8, a spindle error
signal to control the rotation of the disc 1 is formed on the basis
of the binary signal based on the RF signal or address data that is
extracted by the address decoder 10. The formed spindle error
signal is supplied to the system controller 11 and the spindle
motor 2 is controlled on the basis of this signal. Further, in the
EFM & CIRC encoder and decoder 8, the pull-in operation of the
built-in PLL (Phase Locked Loop) is controlled on the basis of the
binarized EFM signal.
[0072] An output of the EFM & CIRC encoder and decoder 8 is
written into a memory 13 via a memory controller 12. The writing
operation of the data into the memory 13 and the reading operation
of the data from the memory 13 are controlled by the memory
controller 12. The memory controller 12 is controlled by the system
controller 11.
[0073] The signal read out from the memory 13 is supplied to an
audio compression encoder and audio decompression decoder 14 and
the compression performed to the signal by, for example, the ATRAC
(Acoustic TRansferred Adopted Coding) system is decoded. The
decompressed signal is converted into an analog audio signal by a
D/A converter 15 and is supplied to audio signal output unit (not
shown) through an audio output terminal 16.
[0074] As will be explained hereinlater, a groove wobbled at a
predetermined frequency of, for example, 22.05 Hz has previously
been formed on the disc 1. Address data is recorded by an FM
(Frequency Modulation) modulation. The address data is extracted by
the address decoder 10 on the basis of the RF signal which is
supplied from the RF amplifier 7. In the address decoder 10, the
supplied RF signal is frequency demodulated via a built-in BPF
(Band Pass Filter) and the address data is extracted. The extracted
address data is supplied to the EFM & CIRC encoder and decoder
8.
[0075] Processes which are executed by the memory controller 12
will now be described in more detail. An output signal of the EFM
& CIRC encoder and decoder 8 is written into the memory 13 at a
transfer rate of, for example, 1.4 Mbits/sec. When the signal of a
predetermined amount or more is accumulated in the memory 13, the
data is read out at a transfer rate of 0.3 Mbits/sec that is
sufficiently slower than the transfer rate upon writing. As
mentioned above, since after the reproduced signal was once stored
into the memory 13, it is outputted as audio data, a sound skip
caused by a track jump or the like due to a disturbance is
prevented.
[0076] That is, for instance, when a track jump occurs due to a
disturbance such as a vibration or the like, the optical head 3 is
rearranged to an address where the track jump occurred. Even for a
period of time that is required for this process, the audio signal
is outputted on the basis of the signal which has already been
written in the memory 13 by the process of the memory controller 12
mentioned above. Therefore, even if the reproduction from the disc
1 is interrupted due to the track jump, so long as the interruption
period is equal to or shorter than a predetermined time, the audio
output is not interrupted. For example, in case of using an RAM of
4 Mbytes as a memory 13, in a state where the data in the memory 13
is full, data corresponding to the audio data output of about 10
seconds is stored.
[0077] A construction and the operation regarding the recording
will now be described. An analog audio signal is supplied to an A/D
(Analog to Digital) converter 18 via an analog audio input terminal
17. The analog audio signal is converted into a digital signal by
the A/D converter 18 and supplied to the audio compression encoder
and audio decompression decoder 14. Digital audio signal can be
also directly supplied from a terminal 21 to the audio compression
encoder and audio decompression decoder 14.
[0078] The digital signal supplied to the audio compression encoder
and audio decompression decoder 14 is subjected to a compressing
process by, for example, the ATRAC system, is transferred at a
transfer rate of 0.3 Mbits/sec or the like, and is once stored into
the memory 13 via the memory controller 12. The memory controller
12 permits the reading operation from the memory 13 when it is
detected that a predetermined amount of digital signal has been
stored in the memory 13.
[0079] The digital signal read out from the memory 13 is supplied
to the EFM & CIRC encoder and decoder 8, is subjected to the
EFM and the CIRC coding for error correction, and is supplied to a
magnetic head driving circuit 35. In the magnetic head driving
circuit 35, the driving of the N pole or S pole of the magnetic
head 6 is performed on the basis of the supplied signal. Further,
an emitting power of the semiconductor laser in the optical head 3
is controlled so as to be higher than that upon reproduction.
Further, the surface of the disc 1 is heated to a Curie
temperature, it is set into a state where a magnetic inversion can
occur, and data is recorded.
[0080] The system controller 11 is constructed by, for example, a
CPU (Central Processing Unit) and performs various controls
regarding the operations such as recording, reproduction, and the
like. For example, in the system controller 11, a control of signal
processes which are performed by the memory controller 12 by using
the memory 13, a spindle control based on the spindle error signal
which is supplied from the EFM & CIRC encoder and decoder 8,
and an encoder & decoder control for the EFM & CIRC encoder
and decoder 8 are performed.
[0081] A transmitting/receiving unit 22 to transmit and receive,
for example, an infrared signal is connected to the system
controller 11. The control signal supplied from the system
controller 11 to the transmitting/receiving unit 22 is modulated to
an infrared signal and is transmitted. The transmitted infrared
signal is received to a remote control commander 36 having
transmitting and receiving functions of, for example, the infrared
signal in a manner similar to the above. The remote control
commander 36 has, for example, a predetermined display function and
allows a display to be performed on the basis of the received
signal. The infrared signal based on the operation of the user is
transmitted from the remote control commander 36 and is received to
the transmitting/receiving unit 22. The signal received in the
transmitting/receiving unit 22 is converted into a predetermined
control signal and supplies it to the system controller 11. The
system controller 11 supplies a control signal to each section in
the MD recorder 30 on the basis of the supplied signal.
[0082] A medium format of the disc 1 as a mini disc will now be
described. FIG. 3 schematically shows a recording area of the disc
1. An information film is attached onto a polycarbonate substrate
and a clamping plate 41 made of a magnetic material is attached to
the center. The information film comprises a recording film and a
read only film. The recording film in the information film has a
structure in which a dielectric layer, an MO layer, a dielectric
layer, a reflecting film, and a protecting film are laminated in
accordance with this order from the polycarbonate substrate side.
The read only film in the information film comprises a reflecting
film and a protecting film. An area of the information film
excluding the clamping plate 41 of the disc 1 is set to an
information area 42.
[0083] The innermost rim side of the information area 42 is set to
a lead-in area 43. A read only film is attached to the lead-in area
43 and information has previously been recorded in a form of pit. A
recordable area 44 to which the recording film has been attached is
provided on the outside of the lead-in area 43. Further, a lead-out
area 45 is provided on the outermost rim side of the disc 1. A
program area 47 to record a program is arranged on the outside of
the recordable area 44. On the inner rim side of the recordable
area 44, a U-TOC area 46 to record the U-TOC (User-Table Of
Contents) is arranged and information regarding each program
recorded in the program area 47 is recorded in the U-TOC area
46.
[0084] A calibration area 48 is provided between the lead-in area
43 and U-TOC area 46, namely, on the innermost rim of the
recordable area 44. A gap area 49 is provided between the U-TOC
area 46 and program area 47. User data is not recorded in the
calibration area 48 and gap area 49. The calibration area 48 is
provided for adjustment or the like of the laser power upon
recording.
[0085] P-TOC (Pre-mastered-Table Of Contents) has preliminarily
recorded as prepits in the lead-in area 43. A start address and an
end address of each music piece of the disc, a track name as a name
of the music piece, a disc name as a name of the disc, and the like
have been recorded in the P-TOC.
[0086] To perform the recording or reproducing operation to the
disc 1, it is necessary to previously read out the P-TOC and U-TOC
as management information recorded on the disc 1. The system
controller 11 discriminates an address of the area to be recorded
on the disc 1 and an address of the area to be reproduced in
accordance with the management information. The management
information is read out and is stored into a memory (not shown)
when the disc 1 is loaded. The management information is referred
in the subsequent recording or reproducing operation.
[0087] The U-TOC is edited and rewritten in accordance with the
recording and erasure of data. The system controller 11 performs
the editing process to the U-TOC in the memory each time the
recording or erasing operation is executed. The U-TOC renewed as a
result of the editing process is written into the U-TOC area 46 of
the disc 1 at a predetermined timing, for example, in response to
an ejection command of the disc 1 or a command to turn off the
power source. The invention is not limited to the above method but
the contents in the U-TOC area 46 of the disc 1 can be also
directly rerecorded each time the rewriting is performed.
[0088] A data structure in the program area 47 shown in FIG. 16
will now be described. The recording and reproduction of data are
executed on a cluster unit basis. One cluster is constructed by,
for instance, 36 sectors. One sector consists of, for example, 2352
bytes. Among 36 sectors constructing one cluster, three sectors are
linking sectors and one sector is a subdata sector. Further, main
data is recorded in the other 32 sectors.
[0089] An interleave length of the CIRC in an example of the data
format of the mini disc is set to a value longer than a 1-sector
length (for example, 13.3 msec) in the format generally used in,
for instance, the CD or the like. The above linking sector is,
therefore, provided to have a compatibility of the reproducing
system, namely, a function such that both of the CD and the MD can
be reproduced by the same reproducing system. Therefore, useful
information is not recorded in the linking sector. The subdata
sector is an extended area and no information is recorded at the
present stage.
[0090] One sound frame is defined for the above sectors on the
basis of two sectors. One sound frame is divided into, for example,
11 sound groups. One sound group consists of, for example, 424
bytes and is constructed by data of right and left channels. A
difference between 1/2 of the sound frame of 2332 bytes and one
sector of 2352 bytes corresponds to a sync signal, a header signal,
or the like for sector identification.
[0091] As mentioned above, the U-TOC is index information to manage
each program recorded in the program area 47. The U-TOC is recorded
in the U-TOC area 46. The U-TOC is recorded in the U-TOC area 46
consisting of, for example, 32 sectors. The sector 0, sector 1, and
sector 4 will now be described hereinbelow.
[0092] First, in the sector 0, a start address, an end address,
copy protect information, emphasis information, and the like of
each program recorded in the program area 47 are managed. FIG. 4
shows one constructional example of the sector 0. Each of the
sector 0 and the sectors 1, 2, and 4, which will be explained
hereinlater, has a size of 2352 bytes and has a construction in
which 588 slot units each consisting of 4 bytes are arranged.
Numbers 0 to 587 are allocated to the slot units each consisting of
four bytes in order to distinguish them. Subsequent to a header
portion, two bytes called a cluster H and a cluster L to show a
predetermined address position, a maker code and a model code
showing a manufacturer source and a type of the disc, First TNO
(Track Number) and Last TNO to show the first and last program
numbers, a sector use situation (used sectors), a disc serial
number, a disc ID (Identification), and the like are sequentially
recorded.
[0093] A correspondence table instruction data portion constructed
by P-DFA (Pointer for Defective Area) showing the head position of
a slot to store information regarding a position of a defect
occurring on the disc 1, P-EMPTY (Pointer for Empty slot) showing a
use situation of the slot, P-FRA (Pointer for FRee Area) showing
the head position of the slot to manage a recordable area, and
P-TNO1, P-TNO2, . . . , P-TNO255 each showing the head position of
the slot corresponding to each program number is recorded.
[0094] The foregoing 255 slots to store the information regarding
the positions of the defects occurring on the disc are provided in
the numbers 78 to 587 to distinguish the slot units. Each slot
consists of four bytes. A start address, an end address, a track
mode, and link information are managed in one slot.
[0095] The MD reproducing and recording apparatus to which the
invention can be applied is not always necessary to sequentially
record the data onto an MD as a recording medium and can also
correctly reproduce the data which has discretely been recorded on
the recording medium. Processes for this purpose will now be
described hereinbelow. First, as mentioned above, since the data is
once stored in the memory RAM 13 shown in FIG. 2 and the writing
rate to the memory RAM 13 is set to be higher than the reading rate
from the memory RAM 13, the following data processes can be
performed in the reproducing system.
[0096] The reproduction data formed by the EFM & CIRC encoder
and decoder 8 is stored into the memory RAM 13 on the basis of the
reproduction signal which is obtained by allowing the optical
pickup to sequentially access to the data which has discretely been
recorded on the disc is stored into the memory RAM 13. When the
data is read out from the memory RAM 13, the data is rearranged to
a sequential form and is outputted to the audio compression encoder
and audio decompression decoder 14 at the post stage.
[0097] In addition to the above data processes, processes which are
executed with reference to the foregoing P-FRA in the sector 0 of
the U-TOC in order to correctly combine the data which was
discretely recorded will now be described. FIGS. 5A to 5E are
diagrams showing an example of a case where 03h has been recorded
in P-FRA. h denotes a hexadecimal notation. In this case, first,
the slot 03h is accessed as shown in FIG. 5A. The start address
data and end address data recorded in the slot 03h indicate a start
address and an end address of one part recorded on the disc.
[0098] The link information recorded in the slot 03h shows an
address of a slot to be subsequent. In FIG. 5A, an address to be
subsequent is 18h. Therefore, a slot 18h is accessed as shown in
FIG. 5B. Since the link information recorded in slot 18h shows that
the address of the slot to be subsequent is 1Fh, as shown in FIG.
5C, a slot 1Fh is further accessed. As shown in FIG. 5D, a slot 2Bh
is accessed in accordance with link information of the slot 1Fh. In
accordance with link information of a slot 2Bh as shown in FIG. 5E,
a slot E3h is accessed. As mentioned above, the link information is
sequentially traced until null (namely, 00h) appears as link
information.
[0099] By tracing the link information as mentioned above, the
addresses of the data discretely recorded on the disc 1 are
sequentially recognized. By sequentially accessing to those
addresses on the disc 1, the data discretely recorded can be
combined upon reading from the memory RAM 13.
[0100] The above description has been made with respect to the
process for combining the data discretely recorded with reference
to P-FRA. However, the data which has discretely been recorded can
be also similarly combined even by referring to P-DFA, P-EMPTY,
P-TNO1, P-TNO2, . . . , and P-TNO255.
[0101] FIG. 6 shows an example of a construction of the U-TOC
sector 1. In the sector 1 of the U-TOC area 46, a title of each
program recorded in the program area 47 and a title of the whole
disc 1 are managed. The title of the whole disc 1 denotes
information such as album title, name of player, and the like in
the case where the programs which are recorded are audio data. The
title of each program denotes, for example, a title of a music
piece.
[0102] The character information of each program is recorded in the
slot of a character table portion instructed by correspondence
table instruction data P-TNA.sub.x. However, X is set to a value
within a range of 1 to 255. When the number of characters is large,
a plurality of slots are connected by using the link information
and the recording is performed. In the U-TOC sector 1, since the
character codes which can be used have been predetermined, the
title inputted by alphabets is mainly managed. For example, in the
sector 1, the character information is managed by the ASCII
code.
[0103] When a half size Katakana input is instructed by the user, a
special code "{circumflex over ( )}" is automatically generated and
the alphabet character is surrounded and managed in the sector 1.
In this case, the alphabet surrounded by the special code
"{circumflex over ( )}" is converted into Katakana on the basis of
a predetermined conversion table and is displayed. By the
conversion table, for example, a character of "{circumflex over (
)}a{circumflex over ( )}" is converted into "" of Katakana.
[0104] FIG. 7 shows an example of the sector 4. By the character
code decided to be used in the sector 4, the title of each program
recorded in the program area 47 can be expressed by Kanji,
Hiragana, or Katakana. In the sector 4, for example, the character
information is managed by the character code or shift JIS code by
ISO-8859-01.
[0105] In the above example, as for the character form, it is
assumed that alphabet and Kanji and Hiragana of Japanese are
distinguished. However, it is also considered to divide the sectors
and to manage between the alphabetic characters and the characters
of various languages, mainly, in Europe such as French, Italian,
Spanish, and the like having peculiar accent symbols or the like
although alphabetic characters are used.
[0106] It is also considered to discriminate alphabet and the
characters of China having characters similar to Japanese or the
characters of various languages in the world like Hangul or the
like having characters different from Japanese. Further, the
discrimination in the case where both characters are not the
alphabetic characters can be also performed by a method whereby a
special code is added to ones of the two kinds of characters and
those characters are managed in the sector 1 and the other
characters are managed in the sector 4 or the like.
[0107] FIG. 8 shows an example of a construction of the personal
computer 40. A CPU 62 is connected to a bus 60 via a memory and bus
controller 61. Similarly, an ROM 63 and an RAM 64 are connected to
the bus 60 via the memory and bus controller 61. Fundamental
software to make the personal computer 40 operative has
preliminarily stored in the ROM 63. The RAM 64 is used as a work
area and a temporary data storing location of the CPU 62.
[0108] An input and output controller 65 is connected to the bus
60. Input devices which are used as user interfaces such as a
keyboard 68 and a mouse 69 to input data from the outside, for
example, to input data on the basis of the operation of the user
are connected to the I/O controller 65. Those input devices are
shown as examples. For instance, devices such as tablet, touch
panel, joystick, and the like to input by other methods can be also
connected. Although not shown, a floppy disk drive or the like is
also connected to the I/O controller 65.
[0109] An interface 66 to communicate data to/from external
equipment is also connected to the I/O controller 65. As an
interface 66, for example, the RS-232C or SCSI (Small Computer
System Interface) can be used as a data communication standard.
Data can be bidirectionally transmitted. The data communication
standard by the standard of IEEE1394 can be also used as an
interface 66. The interface 66 and MD recorder 30 are connected via
the converter 55.
[0110] If the data communication standard according to IEEE1394 is
used and the MD recorder 30 corresponds to this standard, the
converter 55 can be omitted and the interface 66 and MD recorder 30
can be directly connected. In addition to it, by using the IEEE1394
standard, music data can be also transmitted between the MD
recorder 30 and personal computer 40. Besides IEEE1394, USB
(Universal Serial Bus) can be also used as a data communication
standard between the MD recorder 30 and personal computer 40.
[0111] A modem 74 besides the above devices is also connected to
the I/O controller 65. By using the modem 74 in the personal
computer 40, a communication with the outside can be performed
through a telephone line or the like on the basis of a
predetermined protocol. For example, it is possible to connect to
the internet via the telephone line by the modem 74.
[0112] Further, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory) drive 70
and a hard disc drive 71 are connected to the bus 60. Programs and
data are stored into the hard disc drive 71 and this drive is also
used as a work area of the CPU 62. A display 73 is connected to the
bus 60 via a graphic adapter 72. Drawing data formed by the CPU 62
is supplied to the graphic adapter 72 via the bus 60, is used as
data which can be displayed by the display 73, and is displayed by
the display 73.
[0113] For example, a floppy disk in which desired software has
been recorded is installed in the floppy disk drive or a CD-ROM in
which desired software has been recorded is installed in the CD-ROM
drive, so that the desired software is read out and operations,
which will be explained hereinlater, are executed.
[0114] For example, the following construction is included in the
desired software.
[0115] (i) GUI (Graphic User Interface) to display information from
a computer communication network onto the screen
[0116] (ii) operation application to select desired character
information by performing a copy & paste from the displayed
character information
[0117] (iii) Application to convert the desired character
information to a data communication system based on, for example,
the IEEE1394 standard in order to transmit it to equipment such as
an MD recorder 30 or the like
[0118] The above desired software can be also preliminarily stored
in a program storing device such as a memory built in the personal
computer or a hard disc drive or the like.
[0119] By performing a predetermined operation by the input device
such as keyboard 68, mouse 69, or the like mentioned above on the
basis of the display of the display 73, an instruction can be made
to the software. This operation is performed by designating a
predetermined area on the screen by, for example, a pointer which
is moved in correspondence to the motion of the mouse 69. The above
series of operations is referred to as "operation" hereinbelow.
[0120] In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the character
information inputted by using the user interface such as a keyboard
68 or the like in the personal computer 40 is transmitted to the MD
recorder 30 through the interface 66 and can be recorded to, for
instance, the U-TOC of the disc 1. In this instance, as data that
is supplied from the personal computer 40 to the MD recorder 30, a
control signal as a recording command (namely, write command), a
writing position (namely, write address), character data as
contents to be written, and-write character control information are
necessary.
[0121] The write character control information is fundamentally
information to identify an end position of the character data that
is transmitted by an arbitrary length. For example, a method of
including information indicative of a length of character data
which is transmitted to write or a method of including flag
information showing the end of character data by adding "0" or the
like to the end of the character data is considered. A special code
can be also decided as write character control information.
[0122] As mentioned above, two areas of the sector 1 and sector 4
exist in the U-TOC with respect to the character input. Therefore,
in the above transmission data, as for the writing position,
namely, write address data, the correspondence information of the
sectors 1 and 4 is included.
[0123] If information to identify the equipment on the transmission
destination side or transmission source side, information to
identify the kind of transmission format, information to identify
the kind of character in the character information, and the like
are added to the data to be transmitted, more detailed information
can be transmitted and it is more preferable.
[0124] Although the example of writing the character information
has been described above, a control signal other than the write
command can be also transmitted to the MD recorder 30. For
instance, by transmitting a control signal to control the operation
of the MD recorder 30 from the personal computer 40 to the MD
recorder 30, the MD recorder 30 can be operated by the personal
computer 40.
[0125] In the above construction, for example, an MD (Mini Disc) on
which a plurality of music data has previously recorded is set into
the MD recorder 30 and the U-TOC information is read out. A
predetermined data communication is performed between the MD
recorder 30 and personal computer 40 via the communication paths 50
and 50' and converter 55 and the read-out U-TOC information is
transferred to the personal computer 40.
[0126] That is, the character information read out from the U-TOC
or the like of the disc 1, namely, the music piece name information
and disc information recorded on the disc 1 or information such as
a recording time and the like is transferred to the personal
computer 40 via the interface 66. The transferred information is
processed in the CPU 62 in accordance with predetermined software
and is displayed by the display 73 through the graphic adapter
72.
[0127] The writing position, namely, write address of the character
information has to be determined at the stage where the data is
outputted from the personal computer 40. Therefore, at the stage of
inputting the character information on the personal computer 40, it
is necessary to designate the writing position, namely, write
address of the input character. In the embodiment of the invention,
it can be designated by a window 80 shown as an example in FIG. 9
by using the GUI (Graphic User Interface) in the personal computer
40.
[0128] FIG. 9 shows an example of a display of the window 80.
[0129] A track number is displayed in a track number column 81. A
length, namely, playing time of music data recorded in each track
is displayed in a time display column 82. A name input column 83 is
a column to display and edit character information such as a title
and the like of the track corresponding to the track number. In the
example of FIG. 9, since the character information corresponding to
each track is not recorded to the disc 1, nothing is displayed in
the name input column 83. By designating a column corresponding to
a desired track of the name input column 83 and inputting a
character train, a name can be labeled to the track. The character
information which is inputted to the name input column 83 is not
limited to the name.
[0130] In the personal computer 40, a list of the track information
of the disc 1 is displayed on the basis of the transferred U-TOC
information. It is assumed that the title information of each track
is not inputted yet. Therefore, a plurality of blank columns
corresponding to a plurality of tracks are displayed in the name
input column 83.
[0131] When the number of tracks formed on the disc 1 is large and
all of them cannot be displayed in a predetermined area, by
operating a scroll bar 84, a hidden portion can be displayed.
[0132] A disc name allocated to the disc 1 and recorded in the
U-TOC is displayed in a disc name column 85. A remaining time at
which music data can be further recorded in the disc 1 is displayed
in a remaining time display column 86.
[0133] Various buttons 87 to operate the MD recorder 30 from the
personal computer 40 are arranged on the left side of the window
80. By operating a desired one of the buttons 87, a control signal
corresponding to the operated button 87 is transferred from the
personal computer 40 to the MD recorder 30 and the MD recorder 30
is controlled. For example, by operating the button which is
arranged at the upper position and on which "POWER" is written, a
power source of the MD recorder 30 can be ON/OFF controlled.
[0134] Similarly, various icons 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d, and 88e to edit
on a track, namely, music piece unit basis are arranged on the left
side of the window 80. The icon 88a is used to instruct the
movement of a music piece. The order of music pieces can be changed
by the icon 88a. The icon 88b is used to instruct the division of a
music piece. The icon 88c is used to instruct a coupling of two
music pieces. The icon 88d is used to instruct the erasure of a
part of a music piece. The icon 88e is used to instruct the
deletion, namely, erasure of a music piece. By using those icons
for edition, an editing operation can be performed to a plurality
of music pieces shown in the window of FIG. 9.
[0135] In the window 80, by inputting characters into the name
input column 83 and performing a predetermined operation, the
inputted information can be transferred from the personal computer
40 to the MD recorder 30.
[0136] In the invention, as an inputting method of character
information, besides the method of using the edition picture plane
by the window 80, the character information can be easily inputted
by using the character information formed by another application
software.
[0137] An example of using the character information formed by
another application software will now be described hereinbelow. In
the personal computer 40, a list of music piece titles of the disc
1 set in the MD recorder 30 is formed by using character train
edition application software such as a text editor or word
processor. FIG. 10 shows an example of a formed music piece title
list 90. Music piece titles are inputted as title information
corresponding to each track. The music piece titles using Hiragana
and Kanji are inputted to the upper position every track. The music
piece titles using alphabet are inputted to the lower position. For
example, a carriage return [CR] as a control symbol for a new line
is inputted to the end of each music piece title data. The control
symbol [CR] is not actually displayed or is displayed by, for
example, a symbol like an arrow.
[0138] Generally, on the personal computer, data displayed on
certain software can be selected and stored and can be displayed or
stored onto another software. For example, a character train
displayed on certain character train edition application software
can be selected and temporarily stored in a predetermined area in
the memory and can be displayed or stored onto another application
software.
[0139] The above process is usually called a "copy & paste" and
a similar process in which no data remains on the selecting source
side is called a "cut & paste". Since the "copy & paste"
and "cut & paste" can present a similar effect in software on
the paste destination side, explanation will be made hereinbelow
with respect to the "copy & paste" as a representative. By
performing the above operation, even if a character input is not
performed from the keyboard 68, a large amount of character
information can be performed in a lump by using character
information or the like which has previously been formed.
[0140] In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the character
information can be inputted to the name input column 83 in the
window 80 by using the copy & paste. First, an example in which
the character information described in the music piece title list
90 is selected and inputted one line by one will be described. For
instance, as shown in an example in FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 11C, one
line is selected from the music piece title list 90 shown on the
right side of FIG. 11A and is copied. In the name input column 83
in the window 80, a position to input the copied character
information is designated. By performing the paste operation after
that, the character information copied to the designated position
is pasted. As shown in FIG. 11B, thus, the character information
pasted to the relevant position is inputted and displayed.
[0141] According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, a
plurality of lines described in the music piece title list 90 can
be copied & pasted in a lump. In the music piece title list 90,
to designate a boundary of every data, a predetermined control
symbol is inserted. On the window 80, by identifying the control
symbol as a boundary of the recording positions in the name input
column 83, each data can be pasted to a predetermined position in
the name input column 83.
[0142] FIGS. 12A, 12B, and 12C show an example in which a plurality
of character information described in the music piece title list is
pasted in a lump. As shown on the right side of FIG. 12A, a
plurality of lines are selected and copied in a lump in the music
piece title list 90. In the name input column 83 of the window 80,
positions where the heads of the copied character information of a
plurality of lines are inputted are designated. By performing the
paste operation, the copied character information is pasted from
the designated positions.
[0143] In this instance, a boundary of the tracks in the character
information is discriminated by the above control symbol. As shown
in FIG. 12B, each column of the name input column 83 is made
correspond every control symbol and the character information
pasted to the relevant position is displayed every line. According
to this method, as compared with the example in which the copy
& paste process is executed every line described in the music
piece title list 90, the character information can be inputted more
easily.
[0144] According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, when
the character information is pasted to the name input column 83, a
format of the character information to be pasted is discriminated
and the process to make the character information correspond to the
sectors 1 and 4 in the foregoing U-TOC can be automatically
performed. For example, by discriminating a boundary of a full size
of a 2-byte character or a half size of a 1-byte character of the
character information to be pasted, the process to make them
correspond to the sectors 1 and 4 can be performed.
[0145] From the character information inputted as mentioned above,
the position information to be recorded can be automatically
obtained by the identification information by the character code.
The character information is displayed on the display 73 in a form
corresponding to the position information. The character
information is transferred to the MD player 30 together with the
position information.
[0146] In the above example, although the carriage return [CR] has
been used as a control symbol to identify the boundary of the
character information, the control symbol is not limited to the
carriage return [CR]. For example, a half size slash [/] or a full
size slash [/] can be used as a control symbol. The control symbol
is not limited to a single character but a combination of specific
characters can be also used as a control symbol. For instance, a
combination of a numeral and a period such as "1." can be used.
Further, a tab symbol can be also used as a control symbol. If a
plurality of control symbols are prepared and the user can properly
select and use a proper one of them, it is more preferable.
Moreover, a control symbol defined by the user can be also
used.
[0147] Another example of using the character information formed by
another application software will now be described. In recent
years, for example, a communication network called an Internet has
been developed and various contents are developed on this network.
The user connects to, for example, Internet by using the modem 74,
so that the contents developed on the Internet can be used on the
personal computer 40.
[0148] As a representative one of the contents which are provided
on the Internet, there is a web page. The web page is constructed
by an HTML file described by HTML (Hyper-Test Markup Language). The
HTML file is put in a WWW server as a server on WWW (World Wide
Web) and is opened toward the Internet. For example, predetermined
contents are constructed by one or a plurality of web pages and a
web page representing the whole construction, namely, a page
serving as a front cover is called a homepage. Usually, the web
page is generally called a homepage.
[0149] To view the HTML file like a homepage, an application called
a WWW browser is usually used. The WWW browser reads the designated
file in accordance with, for example, a description of inputted URL
(Uniform Resource Locators). If an address on the Internet is
described as a URL, a file is searched and read out on the
Internet. Similarly, a local memory medium, for example, a hard
disc of the personal computer in which the WWW browser is operating
can be also designated as a URL.
[0150] In the HTML, a display control in the WWW browser is
performed by a control symbol called a "tag" such that a character
train by alphabet is surrounded by a predetermined bracket symbol
("< >"). For instance, a process for a new line is expressed
by <BR> in the HTML.
[0151] Among homepages, for instance, data such as music piece
titles or the like is displayed with respect to a predetermined CD
title. As such an example, there is an example in which a sales
agency of the CD forms and displays an HTML file for sales
promotion, an example in which an HTML file is formed and displayed
by each person, or the like. The invention can be also applied to
data on the homepage.
[0152] For example, a case where the user dubs music data recorded
on a commercially available CD onto the disc 1 by using the MD
recorder 30 will now be considered. When a dubbing is performed,
tracks are formed onto the disc 1 in correspondence to the recorded
music pieces of the CD and the music data is recorded. A U-TOC is
recorded in correspondence to the formed tracks.
[0153] In the personal computer 40, the user connects to the
Internet by using, for example, the modem 74. A homepage on which
desired data is displayed is searched. FIGS. 13A and 13B show an
example of a display of a home page in which CD titles are
displayed. The homepage is searched and desired data is displayed
to a WWW browser 100 as shown in FIG. 13A. In this example, a CD
title 101 and a list 102 of titles of the music pieces recorded in
the CD are displayed for the WWW browser 100. Each of the music
piece titles corresponds to the track on the CD. In this example,
they are displayed by alphabet, namely, ASCII code.
[0154] FIG. 14 shows an example of a description of the HTML file
to display a music piece title list for the WWW browser 100. Only a
portion which is directly concerned with the display is shown. The
tag <BR> is described at the end of each line and a new line
at that position is instructed. The tag <BR> can be also used
as a control symbol to identify the boundary of the tracks. In the
character information copied from the WWW browser 100, the tag
<BR> is converted to a predetermined control symbol to
perform a process for a new line such as a carriage return [CR] or
the like.
[0155] The control symbol which can be used to identify a boundary
of the tracks in the HTML is not limited to the foregoing symbol
<BR>. <P> indicative of a process for a new paragraph
can be also used as a control symbol. Besides <BR> and
<P>, another control symbol to instruct the itemization can
be also used. In the character information surrounded by
<PRE> to instruct to display a modified text as it is and
</PRE>, a boundary can be also identified by a new line
symbol that is inserted to the end of each line.
[0156] As shown in FIG. 13B, character information which the user
wants to input as a music piece title of each of the dubbed music
pieces on the disc 1 is selected in a lump. A range 103 shows the
character information selected in a lump. Upon selection, for
example, an upper left portion of the range 103 is designated by a
cursor that is displayed in accordance with a motion of the mouse
69 and the cursor is moved toward the lower edge of the range to be
selected as it is. The movement of the cursor in a selecting state
is called a "drag".
[0157] A range is first selected in the WWW browser 100, a
predetermined operation, for example, "copy" is selected from a
menu, and the character information in the selected range is
copied. As shown in FIG. 15A, a paste start position 105 is
designated in the window 80 and the copied character information is
pasted. As shown in FIG. 15B, thus, the character information
selected in a lump in the WWW browser 100 is made correspond to
each track from the paste start position 105 and displayed.
[0158] In the case where the character information is constructed
by only alphabet as shown in this example, it is also possible to
preset the display of the name input column 83 so as to correspond
to only alphabet.
[0159] Although the MD has been used as a recordable medium in the
above embodiment, the invention is not limited to the MD. As a
recording medium, for example, another optical disc such as a DVD
(Digital Versatile Disc), a magnetic tape, an optical tape, a
semiconductor memory, or the like can be used. The digital
information recorded on the recording medium is not limited to
audio data but video data can be also recorded. Further, although
the personal computer 40 has been used as a control apparatus in
the above example, it can be also constructed as a dedicated
control apparatus.
[0160] In the above embodiment, as for the copy & paste, after
the range was selected and the copy was instructed, the paste start
position is designated and, subsequently, the execution of the
paste has been instructed. However, the invention is not limited to
such a method. For example, character information can be also
inputted by using "drag & drop" that is generally used at
present in the GUI on the personal computer.
[0161] That is, for example, in a state where a character train to
be inputted is designated by using the mouse 69, the mouse 69 is
moved, thereby moving the cursor display to the outside of the
window of the software in which the music piece title list 90 has
been displayed. This operation is called a "drag". The cursor is
moved as it is to the paste start position of the window 80 and the
state where the character train has been designated is released.
This operation is called a "drop". By such a series of operations,
the copy & paste can be performed by a simple operation.
[0162] FIG. 17 shows a flowchart for explaining processes in the
personal computer 40 as a preferred embodiment of the invention.
The personal computer 40 is connected to a server of the Internet
via, for example, the modem 74, searches a web page by using
browser software in step 1, and receives desired character data. In
step 2, the personal computer 40 displays the received desired
character data onto the display as shown in FIG. 13A. The desired
character data is, for example, music piece titles of each program
of a commercially available CD album. As shown in FIG. 13B, the
desired character data displayed on the display is selected as a
series of character data by using the copy & paste in step 3.
The user selects the music piece titles of each program of an album
dubbed from the CD to the disc 1. When the character data is
selected, the series of character data selected is temporarily
stored in a memory (not shown) of the personal computer 40 in step
4. In step 5, the series of character data temporarily stored is
converted on the basis of a predetermined data communication
standard and is transferred to the connected MD recorder 30.
[0163] FIG. 18 shows a flowchart for explaining the processes in
the MD recorder 30 as a preferred embodiment of the invention. The
MD recorder 30 is connected to the personal computer 40 directly or
via the interface 66. In step 11, the series of character data
selected by the personal computer 40 is received and converted into
desired data. In step 12, the carriage return <CR> as an
identification symbol showing a division point of the program is
detected from the series of received character data. For example,
the character train up to a position before the first carriage
return in the character data denotes character data showing the
title of the first music piece and the character train between the
first carriage return to the next carriage return denotes character
data showing the title of the second music piece. In step 13, the
series of character data is divided on the basis of the carriage
return detected in step 12. In step 14, each of the divided
character data is made correspond so as to indicate the character
data of every program recorded on the disc 1. For example, the
character data selected from the web page is linked to the
information recorded on the disc 1 in a manner such as a title of
the first music piece, title of the second music piece, . . . . In
step 15, the character data which was made correspond as mentioned
above is temporarily stored into the memory (not shown) in the MD
recorder 30.
[0164] When the character data is fully stored into the memory in
the MD recorder 30, the processing routine is returned to step 12
and the processes in steps 13 to 15 are repeated until the carriage
return <CR> is not detected from the series of character data
received from the personal computer 40. In step 12, when the
carriage return <CR> is not detected in the characters
received from the personal computer 40, in step 16, the character
data is recorded into a predetermined sector of the U-TOC on the
disc 1 on the basis of the character data of every program stored
in the memory in step 15.
[0165] The present invention is not limited to the foregoing
embodiments but many modifications and variations are possible
within the spirit and scope of the appended claims of the
invention.
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