U.S. patent application number 10/998893 was filed with the patent office on 2005-04-14 for recording method and reproduction method suitable for recording/reproduction of av data, and recording drive and reproduction drive, information recording system and information reproduction system, and information recording medium for such methods.
This patent application is currently assigned to Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Fukushima, Yoshihisa, Gotoh, Yoshiho, Ito, Motoshi, Sasaki, Shinji, Ueda, Hiroshi.
Application Number | 20050080984 10/998893 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 11992130 |
Filed Date | 2005-04-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050080984 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ueda, Hiroshi ; et
al. |
April 14, 2005 |
Recording method and reproduction method suitable for
recording/reproduction of AV data, and recording drive and
reproduction drive, information recording system and information
reproduction system, and information recording medium for such
methods
Abstract
In an information recording medium for recording and reproducing
data thereon on a sector-by-sector basis, the recorded data being
managed as at least one file by using a file structure, the file
structure includes unused space management information for
identifying a used region and an unused region. At least one
defective region is registered as an unused region in the unused
space management information, the at least one defective region
being a region on the information recording medium which is
incapable of proper reproduction of the recorded data.
Inventors: |
Ueda, Hiroshi; (Osaka,
JP) ; Gotoh, Yoshiho; (Osaka, JP) ; Fukushima,
Yoshihisa; (Osaka, JP) ; Ito, Motoshi; (Osaka,
JP) ; Sasaki, Shinji; (Osaka, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MARK D. SARALINO (GENERAL)
RENNER, OTTO, BOISELLE & SKLAR, LLP
1621 EUCLID AVENUE, NINETEENTH FLOOR
CLEVELAND
OH
44115-2191
US
|
Assignee: |
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.,
Ltd.
|
Family ID: |
11992130 |
Appl. No.: |
10/998893 |
Filed: |
November 29, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10998893 |
Nov 29, 2004 |
|
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09491143 |
Jan 26, 2000 |
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6842580 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
711/100 ;
386/E5.004; 386/E5.064; 386/E9.013; G9B/20.059 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B 20/1883 20130101;
H04N 5/781 20130101; H04N 9/8042 20130101; H04N 5/913 20130101;
G11B 20/18 20130101; H04N 2005/91328 20130101; H04N 5/85 20130101;
G11B 27/034 20130101; G11B 2220/20 20130101; G11B 2020/1288
20130101; G11B 20/1217 20130101; G11B 27/329 20130101; G11B
2020/1222 20130101; G11B 2020/10888 20130101; G11B 27/105
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
711/100 |
International
Class: |
G06F 012/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 27, 1999 |
JP |
11-19179 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An information recording medium for recording and reproducing
data thereon on a sector-by-sector basis, the recorded data being
managed as at least one file by using a file structure, wherein the
file structure comprises unused space management information for
identifying a used region and an unused region, and wherein at
least one defective region is registered as an unused region in the
unused space management information, the at least one defective
region being a region on the information recording medium which is
incapable of proper reproduction of the recorded data.
2. An information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein
the at least one defective region is a region in which a physical
address representing location information on the information
recording medium cannot be properly read.
3. An information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein
the at least one defective region is a region which is determined,
in a verification operation performed subsequent to recording of
the data, as not having the data properly recorded.
4. An information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein
the information recording medium comprises ECC blocks as units for
performing an error correction process, each ECC block comprising a
plurality of sectors, and wherein the at least one defective region
is managed on an ECC block-by-ECC block basis.
5. An information recording medium for recording and reproducing
data thereon on a sector-by-sector basis, comprising ECC blocks as
units for performing an error correction process, each ECC block
comprising a plurality of sectors, wherein at least one sector
having data recorded therein is managed as an extent, and at least
one extent is managed as a file, at least one file being managed by
using a file structure, and wherein, in a case where data which is
not large enough to fill one ECC block exists in the at least one
file, an unused region of the one ECC block is managed as a padding
extent, thereby indicating that the unused region of the one ECC
block is an allocated but unused portion of the at least one
file.
6. An information recording medium according to claim 5, wherein an
extent type is registered in file management information in a
one-to-one relationship with the at least one extent, the extent
type being identification information for identifying the padding
extent.
7. An information recording medium for recording and reproducing
data thereon on a sector-by-sector basis, the recorded data being
managed as at least one file by using a file structure, wherein,
for each of the at least one file, the file structure comprises an
AV flag, the AV flag being identification information for
identifying an AV file containing at least one of video information
and audio information.
8. An information recording method for recording data on an
information recording medium for recording and reproducing data on
a sector-by-sector basis, the recorded data being managed as at
least one file by using a file structure, the method comprising: a
recording region allocation step for allocating a recording region
for recording the data; a skip recording step for recording the
data in the recording region allocated during the recording region
allocation step while skipping a defective region in the recording
region allocated during the recording region allocation step; and a
file management information generation step for registering a
portion of the recording region in which the data was recorded
without skipping, as an extent in file management information,
registering the portion as an used region in unused space
management information, and registering the skipped defective
region as an unused region in the unused space management
information.
9. An information recording method according to claim 8,
comprising: a file data attribute determination step for
determining data attribute of the at least one file to be recorded;
and a replacement recording step for recording the data while
replacing the defective region within the recording region
allocated during the recording region allocation step with a
non-defective region, wherein recording of the data occurs in the
skip recording step if the file data attribute determination step
determines the data attribute of the at least one file to be
recorded as indicating an AV file containing at least one of video
information and audio information as opposed to a non-AV file, or
occurs in the replacement recording step if the file data attribute
determination step determines the data attribute of the at least
one file to be recorded as indicating a non-AV file.
10. An information recording method according to claim 8, wherein
the skip recording step comprises a data verification step for
checking whether or not the recorded data is properly recorded, and
wherein the defective region comprises a region having been
determined as containing an error during the data verification
step.
11. An information recording method according to claim 8, wherein
the information recording medium comprises ECC blocks as units for
performing an error correction process, each ECC block comprising a
plurality of sectors, wherein the skip recording step skips the
defective region on an ECC block-by-ECC block basis, and wherein
the file management information generation step registers the
defective region in the unused space management information on an
ECC block-by-ECC block basis.
12. An information recording method according to claim 8, wherein
the recording region allocation step comprises an allowable skip
number calculation step for calculating an allowable skip number,
the allowable skip number representing a maximum number of skips
that can be made while allowing the data to be entirely recorded
within the recording region allocated during the recording region
allocation step, wherein the skip recording step comprises a skip
recording instructing step for requesting recording to be begun,
while designating the calculated allowable skip number and location
information of the recording region allocated during the recording
region allocation step, wherein the file management information
generation step comprises a recording location information transfer
step for transferring recording location information representing a
location of a portion of the recording region in which the data was
recorded without skipping during the skip recording step, and
wherein the file management information generation step generates
file management information based on the recording location
information which was transferred during the recording location
information transfer step.
13. An information recording method according to claim 8, wherein
the skip recording step comprises: a recording region designation
step for designating the recording region allocated during the
recording region allocation step, and a split recording step for
recording the data in the recording region in a split manner,
wherein the file management information generation step comprises a
recording location information transfer step for transferring
recording location information representing a location of a portion
of the recording region in which the data was recorded without
skipping during the skip recording step, and wherein the file
management information generation step generates file management
information based on the recording location information which was
transferred during the recording location information transfer
step.
14. An information recording method according to claim 8, wherein
the skip recording step comprises: a recording region designation
step for designating the recording region allocated during the
recording region allocation step, and a split recording step for
recording the data in the recording region in a split manner, and a
recording status confirmation step for obtaining location
information and a recording status as associated with progress of
the recording.
15. An information recording method for recording the data on an
information recording medium for recording and reproducing data
thereon on a sector-by-sector basis, comprising ECC blocks as units
for performing an error correction process, each ECC block
comprising a plurality of sectors, wherein at least one sector
having data recorded therein is managed as an extent, and at least
one extent is managed as a file, at least one file being managed by
using a file structure, the method comprising: a recording region
allocation step for allocating a recording region for recording the
data; a skip recording step for recording the data in the recording
region allocated during the recording region allocation step while
skipping a defective region in the recording region allocated
during the recording region allocation step; and a file management
information generation step for registering a portion of the
recording region in which the data was recorded without skipping,
as an extent in file management information, registering the
portion as an used region in unused space management information,
and registering the skipped defective region as an unused region in
the unused space management information, wherein, in a case where
an end of an extent falls in the middle of one of the ECC blocks, a
remaining portion of the one ECC block is registered as a padding
extent in the file management information, thereby indicating that
the remaining portion of the one ECC block is an allocated but
unused portion of the at least one file.
16. An information recording method for recording the data on an
information recording medium for recording and reproducing data
thereon on a sector-by-sector basis, wherein at least one sector
having data recorded therein is managed as an extent, and at least
one extent is managed as a file, at least one file being managed by
using a file structure, the method comprising: a recording region
allocation step for allocating a recording region for recording the
data; a skip recording step for recording the data in the recording
region allocated during the recording region allocation step while
skipping a defective region in the recording region allocated
during the recording region allocation step; and a file management
information generation step for registering a portion of the
recording region in which the data was recorded without skipping,
as an extent in file management information, registering the
portion as an used region in unused space management information,
and registering the skipped defective region as an unused region in
the unused space management information, wherein, the file
management information generation step comprises an AV file
attribute registration step for, if the recorded file is an AV file
containing at least one of video information and audio information,
registering file attribute information for identifying the AV file
in the file management information.
17. A disk recording drive for recording data on a disk for
recording and reproducing data on a sector-by-sector basis, the
disk recording drive comprising: an instruction processing section
for processing processing requests; and a disk recording control
section for controlling a recording process for the disk in
accordance with a request from the instruction processing section,
wherein the instruction processing section comprises: a skip
recording instruction processing section for receiving a skip
recording instruction and requesting the disk recording control
section to perform recording, the skip recording instruction
comprising a recording start location, a recording length, and an
allowable skip number; and a recording location requesting
instruction processing section for receiving recording location
information of the recorded data from the disk recording control
section and reporting the recording location information, and
wherein the disk recording control section comprises: a recording
control information memory for storing recording control
information upon receiving the skip recording instruction, the
recording control information including the recording start
location, the recording length, and the allowable skip number; a
defective region detection section for detecting a defective region
on the disk during a recording operation; a skip recording control
section for beginning a recording operation in accordance with the
recording control information stored in the recording control
information memory, wherein, in a case where a defective region is
detected by the defective region detection section during the
recording operation, the skip recording control section i) stops
recording in the defective region and records a remainder of the
data in a subsequent region, the remainder of the data including
the data which would otherwise have been recorded in the defective
region, if the number of defective regions is equal to or smaller
than the allowable skip number, or ii) terminates the recording
operation and reports an error to the skip recording instruction
processing section, if the number of defective regions is larger
than the allowable skip number; and a defective region recording
location storing memory for storing location information of the
defective region skipped by the skip recording control section.
18. A disk recording drive according to claim 17, wherein the disk
recording control section further comprises a data verification
section for reading and checking the data from a recorded region,
and wherein the defective region comprises a region which is
determined by the data verification section as containing an
error.
19. A disk recording drive according to claim 17, wherein the skip
recording control section determines the defective region on an ECC
block-by-ECC block basis, in a case where the disk comprises ECC
blocks as units for performing an error correction process, each
ECC block comprising a plurality of sectors.
20. A disk recording drive for recording data on a disk for
recording and reproducing data on a sector-by-sector basis, the
disk recording drive comprising: an instruction processing section
for processing processing requests; and a disk recording control
section for controlling a recording process for the disk in
accordance with a request from the instruction processing section,
wherein the instruction processing section comprises: a recording
region designation instruction processing section for processing a
recording region designation instruction which designates location
information of a recordable region; a split recording instruction
processing section for processing a split recording instruction
which instructs transferring data to be recorded in a recording
region designated by the recording region designation instruction,
the data being transferred in a split manner; and a recording
location requesting instruction processing section for reporting
recording location information of the recorded data, and wherein
the disk recording control section comprises: a recording control
information memory for storing location information of the
recording region designated by the recording region designation
instruction, as recording control information; a defective region
detection section for detecting a defective region on the disk
during a recording operation; a skip recording control section for
beginning a recording operation in accordance with the recording
control information stored in the recording control information
memory, wherein, in a case where a defective region is detected by
the defective region detection section during the recording
operation, the skip recording control section i) stops recording in
the defective region and records a remainder of the data in a
subsequent region, the remainder of the data including the data
which would otherwise have been recorded in the defective region,
if the recording location information indicates a location within
the recording region as stored in the recording control information
memory, or ii) terminates the recording operation and reports an
error to the split recording instruction processing section, if the
recording location information indicates a location past the
recording region as stored in the recording control information
memory; and a defective region recording location storing memory
for storing location information of the defective region skipped by
the skip recording control section.
21. A disk recording drive according to claim 20, wherein the disk
recording control section further comprises a data verification
section for reading and checking the data from a recorded region,
and wherein the defective region comprises a region which is
determined by the data verification section as containing an
error.
22. A disk recording drive according to claim 20, wherein the skip
recording control section determines an ECC block including the
defective region as a defective region, in a case where the disk
comprises ECC blocks as units for performing an error correction
process, each ECC block comprising a plurality of sectors.
23. A disk recording drive according to claim 20, wherein the
instruction processing section further comprises a recording status
reporting instruction processing section for receiving a recording
status reporting instruction and reporting a current recording
location and a current recording status.
24. A data recording method for recording data on a disk for
recording and reproducing data on a sector-by-sector basis, the
data recording method comprising: an instruction processing step
for processing processing requests; and a disk recording control
step for controlling a recording process for the disk, wherein the
instruction processing step comprises: a recording region
designation instruction processing step for processing a recording
region designation instruction which designates location
information of a recordable region; a split recording instruction
processing step for processing a split recording instruction which
instructs transferring data to be recorded in a recording region
designated by the recording region designation instruction, the
data being transferred in a split manner; and a recording location
requesting instruction processing step for reporting recording
location information of the recorded data, and wherein the disk
recording control step comprises: a recording control information
storing step for storing location information of the recording
region designated during the recording region designation step as
recording control information; a defective region detection step
for detecting a defective region on the disk during a recording
operation; a skip recording control step for beginning a recording
operation in accordance with the recording control information
stored during the recording control information storing step,
wherein, in a case where a defective region is detected by the
defective region detection step during the recording operation, the
skip recording control step i) stops recording in the defective
region and records a remainder of the data in a subsequent region,
the remainder of the data including the data which would otherwise
have been recorded in the defective region, if the recording
location information indicates a location within the recording
region as stored during the recording control information storing
step, or ii) terminates the recording operation and reports an
error to the split recording instruction processing step, if the
recording location information indicates a location past the
recording region as stored during the recording control information
storing step; and a defective region recording location storing
step for storing location information of the defective region
skipped by the skip recording control step.
25. A data recording method according to claim 24, wherein the disk
recording control step further comprises a data verification step
for reading and checking the data from a recorded region, and
wherein the defective region comprises a region which is determined
by the data verification step as containing an error.
26. A data recording method according to claim 24, wherein the skip
recording control step determines an ECC block including the
defective region as a defective region, in a case where the disk
comprises ECC blocks as units for performing an error correction
process, each ECC block comprising a plurality of sectors.
27. A data recording method according to claim 24, wherein the
instruction processing step further comprises a recording status
reporting instruction processing step for receiving a recording
status reporting instruction and reporting a current recording
location and a current recording status.
28. An information recording system comprising an upper control
apparatus and the disk recording drive according to claim 17,
wherein the upper control apparatus comprises: an instruction
issuing section for issuing an instruction to the disk recording
drive, a recording region allocation section for allocating a
recording region for recording the data; and a file management
information generation section for generating file management
information for managing the at least one file recorded on the
disk, wherein the instruction issuing section comprises: a skip
recording instruction issuing section for issuing a skip recording
instruction for recording the data in the recording region
allocated by the recording region allocation section while skipping
a defective region in the recording region allocated by the
recording region allocation section; and a recording location
requesting instruction issuing section for issuing a recording
location requesting instruction for requesting transfer of
recording location information of a recorded region, and wherein
the file management information generation section generates file
management information based on the recording location information
received by the recording location requesting instruction issuing
section from the disk recording drive.
29. An information recording system according to claim 28, wherein,
if the recorded file is an AV file containing at least one of video
information and audio information, the file management information
generation section registers information for identifying the AV
file in file attribute information.
30. An information recording system according to claim 28, wherein
the file management information generation section registers a
defective region detected during the recording operation as an
unused region in unused space management information, the unused
space management information being comprised in the file management
information.
31. An information recording system comprising an upper control
apparatus and the disk recording drive according to claim 20,
wherein the upper control apparatus comprises: an instruction
issuing section for issuing an instruction to the disk recording
drive, a recording region allocation section for allocating a
recording region for recording the data; and a file management
information generation section for generating file management
information for managing the at least one file recorded on the
disk, wherein the instruction issuing section comprises: a
recording region designation instruction issuing section for
issuing a recording region designation instruction which, prior to
a recording operation to the disk, designates a recording region on
the disk as allocated by the recording region allocation section; a
split recording instruction issuing section for issuing a split
recording instruction for transferring data to be recorded in the
recording region designated by the recording region designation
instruction issuing section, the data being transferred in a split
manner, and for requesting the disk recording drive to record the
transferred data; and a recording location requesting instruction
issuing section for issuing a recording location requesting
instruction for requesting reporting of recording location
information of the region recorded by the disk recording drive,
wherein the file management information generation section
generates file management information based on the recording
location information received by the recording location requesting
instruction issuing section from the disk recording drive.
32. An information recording system according to claim 31, wherein,
if the recorded file is an AV file containing at least one of video
information and audio information, the file management information
generation section registers information for identifying the AV
file in file attribute information.
33. An information recording system according to claim 31, wherein
the file management information generation section registers a
defective region detected during the recording operation as an
unused region in unused space management information, the unused
space management information being comprised in the file management
information.
34. An information reproduction method for reproducing data from an
information recording medium for recording and reproducing data on
a sector-by-sector basis, the recorded data being managed as at
least one file by using a file structure, the method comprising: a
reproduction region setting step for, prior to reproduction of the
at least one file, setting location information of at least one
reproduction region to reproduce the data from: a continuous
reproduction step for performing a reproduction operation for the
reproduction region as set during the reproduction region setting
step, and continuing with a reproduction operation for a subsequent
region even if an error is detected during reproduction; and a
reproduction data transfer step for transferring reproduction data
from the reproduction region as set during the reproduction region
setting step.
35. A disk reproduction drive for reproducing data from an
information recording medium for recording and reproducing data on
a sector-by-sector basis, the recorded data being managed as at
least one file by using a file structure, the disk reproduction
drive comprising: an instruction processing section for receiving
and processing processing requests, and a reproduction control
section for continuously reading the data from the disk and
transferring the read data, wherein the instruction processing
section comprises: a reproduction region setting instruction
processing section for, prior to a reproduction operation,
processing a reproduction region setting instruction which sets
location information of at least one reproduction region; and a
read data transfer instruction processing section for processing a
read data transfer instruction which requests transfer of read
data, and wherein the reproduction control section comprises: a
read region information storing memory for storing location
information of the at least one read region received by the
reproduction region setting instruction processing section; a read
data storing memory for temporarily storing read data; and a
continuous read-ahead processing section for performing a
read-ahead process and, even if an error occurs during the read
operation, continuing with a read operation for a subsequent region
without stopping the read-ahead operation, the read-ahead process
comprising previously reading the data from the disk and storing
the read data in the read data storing memory, wherein, upon
receiving the read data transfer instruction, the read data
transfer instruction processing section transfers the read data
stored in the read data storing memory.
36. An information reproduction system for reproducing data from an
information recording medium for recording and reproducing data on
a sector-by-sector basis, the recorded data being managed as at
least one file by using a file structure, the information
reproduction system comprising an upper control apparatus and the
disk reproduction drive according to claim 35, wherein the upper
control apparatus comprises: a file management information
interpretation section for interpreting the file management
information to obtain location information and attribute
information of the at least one file; and an instruction issuing
section for issuing an instruction for requesting processes to the
disk recording drive, wherein the instruction issuing section
comprises: a reproduction region setting instruction issuing
section for issuing a reproduction region setting instruction based
on the recording location information of the at least one file as
determined by the file management information interpretation
section, and a read data transfer instruction issuing section for
issuing a read data transfer instruction for requesting transfer of
read data from the region as designated by the reproduction region
setting instruction issuing section, and for receiving the read
data.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a method for
recording/reproducing information on an information recording
medium. In particular, the present invention relates to a technique
for achieving real-time recording/reproduction of video and/or
audio data on an information recording medium including a defective
region.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Optical disks are representative of information recording
media having a sector structure. The trend for higher density and
larger capacity in recent years has underlined the importance of
the reliability of such disks. If a disk includes a sector in which
information cannot be properly recorded or reproduced, such a
sector is typically registered as a "defective sector" by an
optical disk apparatus so that the defective sector will not be
used thereafter, and another sector is substituted for that
defective sector. This ensures reliability of the disk. Such a
defect management function performed by optical disk apparatuses is
described in the International Standards Organization ISO/IEC10090
(hereinafter referred to as the "ISO standards") for 90 mm optical
disks.
[0005] FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a general
disk medium.
[0006] The disk medium 1 includes a number of concentric or spiral
tracks 2 formed thereon, each track 2 including a number of
subdivisions which are referred to as sectors 3. The disk includes
two types of regions: disk information areas 4 and a data recording
area 5. The disk information areas 4, which store parameters and
the like that are necessary for making access to the disk, are
positioned at the innermost periphery and the outermost periphery
of the disk medium 1.
[0007] The disk information areas 4 may also be referred to as
lead-in and lead-out areas, respectively. The
recording/reproduction of data is performed for the data recording
area 5. Every sector in the data recording area 5 receives an
absolute address which is referred to as a physical sector number
(hereinafter "PSN").
[0008] FIG. 26 illustrates the data structure (denoted as 2600) of
a conventional disk medium. The data structure 2600 illustrates a
case where, as shown in FIG. 27, the disk medium includes a
directory DIR1 under a directory ROOT, and the directory DIR1
includes two files FILE1 and FILE2.
[0009] The data structure 2600 includes unused space management
information 2601, a data structure 2602 representing the logical
space on the disk medium 1, a data structure 2603 representing the
physical space on the disk medium 1, and defect management
information 2604. The physical space data structure 2603 includes a
control data area 2605, defect management information 2606, and an
unused spare area 2607, which are to be interpreted only by a
reproduction apparatus (e.g., an optical disk drive) for physically
reproducing data on the disk medium 1 and which are inaccessible to
a control apparatus (e.g., a personal computer). Note that these
areas are not included in the logical space data structure
2602.
[0010] As shown in FIG. 26, the logical space is divided into a
volume structure 2608 for storing logical volume structure
information and a region (partition space) 2609 for storing the
file structure and file data in the logical volume space. The
respective divisions of the logical space are managed based on
their consecutive addresses which are referred to as logical sector
number (hereinafter "LSN").
[0011] Hereinafter, the respective contents which are stored in the
partition space 2609 will be described.
[0012] The unused space management information 2601 is a bit map
which represents whether each sector within the partition space
2609 is used or not. Each bit on the bit map corresponds to a
sector. The bit value "1" indicates "used", whereas the bit value
"0" indicates "unused". In the example shown in FIG. 26, the unused
space management information 2610 and the ROOT directory file
structure 2611 always have the "0" bit value on the bit map,
whereas all the other regions, except for an unused region 2612,
have the "1" bit value on the bit map.
[0013] The ROOT directory file structure 2611 includes a ROOT
directory file (not shown in the figure) for storing information
concerning the files and/or directories which are under the ROOT
directory, and a ROOT ICB (not shown in the figure) for specifying
a position at which the ROOT directory file is recorded.
[0014] A DIR1 file entry 2613 includes the location information of
a DIR1 directory file 2614. The DIR1 directory file 2614 stores
information concerning the directories and files which are in the
directory DIR1.
[0015] The DIR1 directory file 2614 includes information concerning
the files FILE1 and FILE2 stored in the directory DIR1, and the
location information of a FILE1 file entry 2615 and a FILE2 file
entry 2616.
[0016] The FILE1 file entry 2615 and the FILE2 file entry 2616
include the location information of the file data of the files
FILE1 and FILE2, respectively, and the like.
[0017] The FILE1 extent 2617 contains the file data of the file
FILE1. The FILE2 extent 2618 contains the file data of the file
FILE2.
[0018] Next, the physical space data structure 2603 will be
described.
[0019] The physical space on the disk is generally divided into a
disk information area 2619 and a data recording area 2620. The disk
information area 2619 stores control information which is referred
to only by a reproduction apparatus (e.g., an optical disk drive)
for physically reproducing data on the disk medium 1 and is
inaccessible to a control apparatus (e.g., a personal
computer).
[0020] The disk information area 2619 is generally divided into a
control data area 2605 and defect management information 2606. The
control data area 2605 stores control information such as disk
identification information and copyright protection information.
The defect management information 2606 stores information
concerning any defects on the disk. The defect management
information 2606 will be described later in detail.
[0021] The data recording area 2620 includes a user area 2621 for
recording file structures and file data, and a spare area 2622 for
complementing any defective regions which may be present in the
user area. A defective region 2623 included within the user area
2621 can be substituted for by a spare region 2624 in the spare
area 2622. Similarly, a defective region 2625 included within the
user area 2621 can be substituted for by a spare region 2626 in the
spare area 2622.
[0022] Next, the relationship between the logical space 2602 and
the physical space 2603 will be described. If no defective regions
are present in the physical space 2603 on the disk, the user area
2621 corresponds to the logical space 2602 for each group. In the
example illustrated in FIG. 26, it will be seen that the volume
structure 2608, the unused space management information 2610, the
ROOT directory file structure 2611, the DIR1 file entry 2613, the
DIR1 directory file 2614, the FILE1 file entry 2615, and the FILE2
file entry 2616 in the logical space 2602 correspond to their
respective counterparts in the physical space 2603. However, if the
physical space 2603 includes any defective regions (e.g., 2623 and
2625), such defective regions (2623 and 2625) can be substituted
for by spare regions (e.g., 2624 and 2626) within the spare area
2622. For example, the FILE1 extent region 2617 in the physical
space 2603 includes the defective region 2623 in the example
illustrated in FIG. 26. Since the defective region 2623 cannot be
used, the defective region 2623 is substituted for by the spare
region 2624, thereby providing an error-free logical space 2602. As
a result, the FILE1 extent 2617 is allocated as one continuous
space within the logical space 2602. The same applies to the
defective region 2625 in the FILE2 extent 2618 within the physical
space 2603.
[0023] The defective regions (e.g., 2623 and 2625) and the spare
regions (e.g., 2624 and 2626) are managed by the defect management
information 2606 within the disk information area 2619. A disk
definition structure 2627 of the defect management information 2604
stores information such as a defect management method for the disk
and disk attributes. A primary defect list (hereinafter "PDL") 2628
usually stores the location information of defective regions which
are detected during an initialization process performed by a disk
manufacturer. Any defective regions which are detected during the
use by a user are handled by a secondary defect list (hereinafter
"SDL") 2632. The SDL 2632 includes a secondary defect list header
2629 for storing the number of updates made to the defect
management information 2606, a secondary defect list registration
number 2630 for indicating the number of pairs of defective regions
and corresponding spare regions that are registered in the list
("2" is set in the example illustrated in FIG. 26), and a list 2631
of the PSNs of the defective regions and the PSNs of their
corresponding spare regions as arranged in the ascending order of
the PSNs of the defective regions. Thus, a recording/reproduction
apparatus for the disk reads the defect management information 2604
during a start-up process which is performed upon insertion of the
disk, and may access the spare regions, instead of any defective
regions, in a subsequent disk access.
[0024] Next, a conventional method for performing a recording
process for the disk will be described with reference to a
flowchart shown in FIG. 28. The recording process can be generally
divided into two portions: a file data recording process from Steps
2301 to 2309 and a file structure recording process from Steps 2310
to 2317.
[0025] (1) File Data Recording Process
[0026] A disk recording apparatus (not shown in the figure) first
performs a region allocation Step 2301 for selecting or allocating
a location, from within the unused region on the disk, for
recording a file. Specifically, a region for recording a file is
selected from among the unused regions (which are indicated by the
"0" bit value on the aforementioned bit map) in the unused space
management information 2601 (FIG. 26). Thus, Step 2301 determines
the location of a file to be recorded on the disk. It is assumed
that the unused space management information 2601 has previously
been read from the disk medium.
[0027] Next, at Step 2302, the disk recording apparatus begins
recording file data at the recording location which was determined
at Step 2301. When performing an actual writing to the disk, an
error determination step 2303 checks whether or not a physical
address (i.e., location identification information recorded in the
form of convexities and concavities on the disk) has been read
properly. This check is performed because a sector address must be
read before writing data in any given sector. If the sector address
which has been read includes an error, the recording cannot occur
properly because of inability to identify the right location. If
the error determination step 2303 determines that an address read
error has occurred, the region associated with the error is defined
as a defective region, and an replacement step 2308 is
performed.
[0028] Next, a verification step 2304 is performed for verifying
whether or not a write operation was successfully performed.
Specifically, the confirmation of a successful write operation at
the verification step 2304 involves reading data from the region
for which the write operation was performed, comparing the read
data against the data which was intended to be written,
calculations associated with error correction codes, and the
like.
[0029] After the verification step 2304, it is determined at Step
2305 whether or not the data includes an error. If the data
includes an error, the region associated with the error is defined
as a defective region, and an replacement step 2309 is
performed.
[0030] If the error determination step 2305 determines no error, it
is determined at Step 2306 whether or not all of the data to be
recorded has been recorded. If less than all of the data to be
recorded has been recorded, a next recording address is set at Step
2307, followed by a data write operation 2302 and a verification
step 2304.
[0031] The above steps are repeated until all the data to be
recorded have been recorded without errors. Thereafter, a file
structure recording process is performed.
[0032] Note that the replacement steps 2308 and 2309 each involve a
process for replacing a defective region with a spare area (e.g.,
2622) shown in FIG. 26.
[0033] FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing the replacement operation to
be performed at the replacement step 2308 or 2309 during recording.
At Step 2401, a spare region 2624 or 2626 for substituting for a
defective region 2623 or 2625 is allocated from within the spare
area 2622 shown in FIG. 26. As a result, at Step 2402, the data
which would otherwise have been recorded in the defective region
2623 or 2625 is written in the spare region 2624 or 2626.
Thereafter, an error determination step 2403 is performed so as to
check whether or not a physical address has been read properly, in
a manner similar to Step 2303 described with reference to FIG. 28.
If it is determined that the address which has been read includes
an error, Steps 2401 and 2402 are performed so as to the perform
recording in another spare region. If the write operation is
normally ended, a verification step 2404 is performed for verifying
whether or not a write operation was successfully performed.
Specifically, the confirmation of a successful write operation at
the verification step 2404 involves reading data from the region
for which the write operation was performed, comparing the read
data against the data which was intended to be written,
calculations associated with error correction codes, and the like.
After the verification step 2404, it is determined at Step 2405
whether or not the data includes an error. If the data includes an
error, Step 2401 is again performed to allocate yet another spare
region. If the error determination step 2405 determines no error,
an SDL registration step 2406 is performed which registers the PSN
of the defective region and the PSN of the corresponding spare
region on the SDL, and increments the SDL entry number by 1.
[0034] (2) File Structure Recording Process
[0035] After the file data recording process as described in (1)
above is completed, a file structure recording process is performed
so as to accommodate any changes in the file data recording
locations and any updates made to the size information. The actual
file structure recording process is similar to the aforementioned
process from Steps 2301 to 2309 except for handling different data
contents and recording areas. Specifically, a write operation for
the file structure (Step 2310), an address read error determination
(Step 2311), a verification (Step 2312), and a verification error
determination (Step 2313) are repeated, each time setting a next
address (Step 2315), until the process is terminated as a data end
is determined (Step 2314).
[0036] The replacement processes (Steps 2316 and 2317) which are
performed in the case where an error is determined in the error
determination Steps (2311 and 2313, respectively) are similar to
the replacement step 2308 or 2309 for the aforementioned file data
recording process, which have been described with reference to FIG.
29.
[0037] (3) Data Reproduction
[0038] Next, the operation of reading data which has been recorded
in accordance with the recording method illustrated in FIGS. 28 and
29 will be described with reference to FIG. 30. Specifically, FIG.
30 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of reproducing one
extent (as part of the file data of the files recorded on a disk).
Hereinafter, the respective steps of this process will be
described.
[0039] Prior to reproduction, a disk reproduction apparatus (not
shown in the figure) reads the file structure information at Step
2501. Next, at Step 2502, the file structure which was read at Step
2501 is interpreted so as to obtain therefrom an LSN at which the
file data of a file to be reproduced is recorded, as well as the
size of that file. Thereafter, at Step 2503, the LSN is converted
into a PSN, which is set as a read location. At Step 2504, it is
determined whether or not the read location expressed by its PSN
has been registered as a defective region PSN on the SDL in the
defect management information 2604. If the read location is
registered on the SDL as a defective region PSN, the reproduction
apparatus calculates the PSN of a spare region which corresponds to
the defective region from the SDL, and performs a reproduction
process for the spare region at Step 2506. If the read location is
not registered as a defective region PSN on the SDL, at Step 2505,
the reproduction apparatus performs a reproduction process for the
PSN as obtained through the conversion at Step 2503. After the
reproduction step 2505 or 2506, the reproduction apparatus
determines whether or not all data of the extent which is currently
subjected to reproduction has been in fact reproduced at Step 2507.
If the reproduction of all of the data is not complete, at Step
2508, a PSN to be reproduced next is set to an address which is
obtained by adding the size of data which has been reproduced to
the PSN obtained through the aforementioned conversion at Step
2503, and the reproduction process from Step 2504 is repeated. If
it is determined at step 2507 that the reproduction of all data of
the extent in question is Complete, the process is terminated.
[0040] However, according to the above-described conventional
technique, if the defective region 2623 exists in the FILE1 extent
in the data arrangement as shown in FIG. 26, the corresponding
spare region 2624 which is allocated within the spare area 2622
will require a seek operation to occur over a considerable
distance. For example, in order to continuously reproduce all of
the FILE1 extent, portions of the FILE1 extent that are in the user
area 2621 are first reproduced. Then, upon encountering the
defective region 2623, a seek for the spare area 2622 and a
concomitant rotation wait period must occur before the access to
the spare region 2624 becomes possible. Similarly, after an access
is made to the spare region 2624, a seek from the spare region 2624
back to a region lying subsequent to the defective region 2623 and
a concomitant rotation wait period must occur before the access to
the remainder of the FILE1 extent becomes possible. The same also
applies to any defective region 2625 in the FILE2 extent.
[0041] Thus, a significant delay occurs during a recording or
reproduction process if any defective regions (e.g., 2623 or 2625)
exist in the user area 2621. It is presumable that such delay may
not be critically problematic in the case of disks which are
utilized as large-capacity storage media for traditional computer
applications. However, such delay may well be critically
problematic in real-time recording and/or smooth reproduction of
data containing digital video and audio data (hereinafter referred
to as "AV data"). For example, problems such as partial loss of AV
data, noise generation, inability to perform smooth reproduction,
may occur.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0042] In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an
information recording medium for recording and reproducing data
thereon on a sector-by-sector basis, the recorded data being
managed as at least one file by using a file structure, wherein the
file structure includes unused space management information for
identifying a used region and an unused region, and wherein at
least one defective region is registered as an unused region in the
unused space management information, the at least one defective
region being a region on the information recording medium which is
incapable of proper reproduction of the recorded data.
[0043] In one embodiment of the invention, the at least one
defective region is a region in which a physical address
representing location information on the information recording
medium cannot be properly read.
[0044] In another embodiment of the invention, the at least one
defective region is a region which is determined, in a verification
operation performed subsequent to recording of the data, as not
having the data properly recorded.
[0045] In still another embodiment of the invention, the
information recording medium includes ECC blocks as units for
performing an error correction process, each ECC block including a
plurality of sectors, and the at least one defective region is
managed on an ECC block-by-ECC block basis.
[0046] Alternatively, there is provided an information recording
medium for recording and reproducing data thereon on a
sector-by-sector basis, including ECC blocks as units for
performing an error correction process, each ECC block including a
plurality of sectors, wherein at least one sector having data
recorded therein is managed as an extent, and at least one extent
is managed as a file, at least one file being managed by using a
file structure, and wherein, in a case where data which is not
large enough to fill one ECC block exists in the at least one file,
an unused region of the one ECC block is managed as a padding
extent, thereby indicating that the unused region of the one ECC
block is an allocated but unused portion of the at least one
file.
[0047] In one embodiment of the invention, an extent type is
registered in file management information in a one-to-one
relationship with the at least one extent, the extent type being
identification information for identifying the padding extent.
[0048] Alternatively, there is provided an information recording
medium for recording and reproducing data thereon on a
sector-by-sector basis, the recorded data being managed as at least
one file by using a file structure, wherein, for each of the at
least one file, the file structure includes an AV flag, the AV flag
being identification information for identifying an AV file
containing at least one of video information and audio
information.
[0049] In another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided an information recording method for recording data on an
information recording medium for recording and reproducing data on
a sector-by-sector basis, the recorded data being managed as at
least one file by using a file structure, the method including: a
recording region allocation step for allocating a recording region
for recording the data; a skip recording step for recording the
data in the recording region allocated during the recording region
allocation step while skipping a defective region in the recording
region allocated during the recording region allocation step; and a
file management information generation step for registering a
portion of the recording region in which the data was recorded
without skipping, as an extent in file management information,
registering the portion as an used region in unused space
management information, and registering the skipped defective
region as an unused region in the unused space management
information.
[0050] In one embodiment of the invention, the information
recording method includes: a file data attribute determination step
for determining data attribute of the at least one file to be
recorded; and a replacement recording step for recording the data
while replacing the defective region within the recording region
allocated during the recording region allocation step with a
non-defective region, wherein recording of the data occurs in the
skip recording step if the file data attribute determination step
determines the data attribute of the at least one file to be
recorded as indicating an AV file containing at least one of video
information and audio information as opposed to a non-AV file, or
occurs in the replacement recording step if the file data attribute
determination step determines the data attribute of the at least
one file to be recorded as indicating a non-AV file.
[0051] In another embodiment of the invention, the skip recording
step includes a data verification step for checking whether or not
the recorded data is properly recorded, and the defective region
includes a region having been determined as containing an error
during the data verification step.
[0052] In still another embodiment of the invention, the
information recording medium includes ECC blocks as units for
performing an error correction process, each ECC block including a
plurality of sectors, wherein the skip recording step skips the
defective region on an ECC block-by-ECC block basis, and wherein
the file management information generation step registers the
defective region in the unused space management information on an
ECC block-by-ECC block basis.
[0053] In still another embodiment of the invention, the recording
region allocation step includes an allowable skip number
calculation step for calculating an allowable skip number, the
allowable skip number representing a maximum number of skips that
can be made while allowing the data to be entirely recorded within
the recording region allocated during the recording region
allocation step, wherein the skip recording step includes a skip
recording instructing step for requesting recording to be begun,
while designating the calculated allowable skip number and location
information of the recording region allocated during the recording
region allocation step, wherein the file management information
generation step includes a recording location information transfer
step for transferring recording location information representing a
location of a portion of the recording region in which the data was
recorded without skipping during the skip recording step, and
wherein the file management information generation step generates
file management information based on the recording location
information which was transferred during the recording location
information transfer step.
[0054] In still another embodiment of the invention, the skip
recording step includes: a recording region designation step for
designating the recording region allocated during the recording
region allocation step, and a split recording step for recording
the data in the recording region in a split manner, wherein the
file management information generation step includes a recording
location information transfer step for transferring recording
location information representing a location of a portion of the
recording region in which the data was recorded without skipping
during the skip recording step, and wherein the file management
information generation step generates file management information
based on the recording location information which was transferred
during the recording location information transfer step.
[0055] In still another embodiment of the invention, the skip
recording step includes: a recording region designation step for
designating the recording region allocated during the recording
region allocation step, and a split recording step for recording
the data in the recording region in a split manner, and a recording
status confirmation step for obtaining location information and a
recording status as associated with progress of the recording.
[0056] Alternatively, there is provided an information recording
method for recording the data on an information recording medium
for recording and reproducing data thereon on a sector-by-sector
basis, including ECC blocks as units for performing an error
correction process, each ECC block including a plurality of
sectors, wherein at least one sector having data recorded therein
is managed as an extent, and at least one extent is managed as a
file, at least one file being managed by using a file structure,
the method including: a recording region allocation step for
allocating a recording region for recording the data; a skip
recording step for recording the data in the recording region
allocated during the recording region allocation step while
skipping a defective region in the recording region allocated
during the recording region allocation step; and a file management
information generation step for registering a portion of the
recording region in which the data was recorded without skipping,
as an extent in file management information, registering the
portion as an used region in unused space management information,
and registering the skipped defective region as an unused region in
the unused space management information, wherein, in a case where
an end of an extent falls in the middle of one of the ECC blocks, a
remaining portion of the one ECC block is registered as a padding
extent in the file management information, thereby indicating that
the remaining portion of the one ECC block is an allocated but
unused portion of the at least one file.
[0057] Alternatively, there is provided information recording
method for recording the data on an information recording medium
for recording and reproducing data thereon on a sector-by-sector
basis, wherein at least one sector having data recorded therein is
managed as an extent, and at least one extent is managed as a file,
at least one file being managed by using a file structure, the
method including: a recording region allocation step for allocating
a recording region for recording the data; a skip recording step
for recording the data in the recording region allocated during the
recording region allocation step while skipping a defective region
in the recording region allocated during the recording region
allocation step; and
[0058] a file management information generation step for
registering a portion of the recording region in which the data was
recorded without skipping, as an extent in file management
information, registering the portion as an used region in unused
space management information, and registering the skipped defective
region as an unused region in the unused space management
information, wherein, the file management information generation
step includes an AV file attribute registration step for, if the
recorded file is an AV file containing at least one of video
information and audio information, registering file attribute
information for identifying the AV file in the file management
information.
[0059] In another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a disk recording drive for recording data on a disk for
recording and reproducing data on a sector-by-sector basis, the
disk recording drive including: an instruction processing section
for processing processing requests; and a disk recording control
section for controlling a recording process for the disk in
accordance with a request from the instruction processing section,
wherein the instruction processing section includes: a skip
recording instruction processing section for receiving a skip
recording instruction and requesting the disk recording control
section to perform recording, the skip recording instruction
including a recording start location, a recording length, and an
allowable skip number; and a recording location requesting
instruction processing section for receiving recording location
information of the recorded data from the disk recording control
section and reporting the recording location information, and
wherein the disk recording control section includes: a recording
control information memory for storing recording control
information upon receiving the skip recording instruction, the
recording control information including the recording start
location, the recording length, and the allowable skip number; a
defective region detection section for detecting a defective region
on the disk during a recording operation; a skip recording control
section for beginning a recording operation in accordance with the
recording control information stored in the recording control
information memory, wherein, in a case where a defective region is
detected by the defective region detection section during the
recording operation, the skip recording control section i) stops
recording in the defective region and records a remainder of the
data in a subsequent region, the remainder of the data including
the data which would otherwise have been recorded in the defective
region, if the number of defective regions is equal to or smaller
than the allowable skip number, or ii) terminates the recording
operation and reports an error to the skip recording instruction
processing section, if the number of defective regions is larger
than the allowable skip number; and a defective region recording
location storing memory for storing location information of the
defective region skipped by the skip recording control section.
[0060] In one embodiment of the invention, the disk recording
control section further includes a data verification section for
reading and checking the data from a recorded region, and the
defective region includes a region which is determined by the data
verification section as containing an error.
[0061] In still another embodiment of the invention, the skip
recording control section determines the defective region on an ECC
block-by-ECC block basis, in a case where the disk includes ECC
blocks as units for performing an error correction process, each
ECC block including a plurality of sectors.
[0062] Alternatively, there is provided a disk recording drive for
recording data on a disk for recording and reproducing data on a
sector-by-sector basis, the disk recording drive including: an
instruction processing section for processing processing requests;
and a disk recording control section for controlling a recording
process for the disk in accordance with a request from the
instruction processing section, wherein the instruction processing
section includes: a recording region designation instruction
processing section for processing a recording region designation
instruction which designates location information of a recordable
region; a split recording instruction processing section for
processing a split recording instruction which instructs
transferring data to be recorded in a recording region designated
by the recording region designation instruction, the data being
transferred in a split manner; and a recording location requesting
instruction processing section for reporting recording location
information of the recorded data, and wherein the disk recording
control section includes: a recording control information memory
for storing location information of the recording region designated
by the recording region designation instruction, as recording
control information; a defective region detection section for
detecting a defective region on the disk during a recording
operation; a skip recording control section for beginning a
recording operation in accordance with the recording control
information stored in the recording control information memory,
wherein, in a case where a defective region is detected by the
defective region detection section during the recording operation,
the skip recording control section i) stops recording in the
defective region and records a remainder of the data in a
subsequent region, the remainder of the data including the data
which would otherwise have been recorded in the defective region,
if the recording location information indicates a location within
the recording region as stored in the recording control information
memory, or ii) terminates the recording operation and reports an
error to the split recording instruction processing section, if the
recording location information indicates a location past the
recording region as stored in the recording control information
memory; and a defective region recording location storing memory
for storing location information of the defective region skipped by
the skip recording control section.
[0063] In one embodiment of the invention, the disk recording
control section further includes a data verification section for
reading and checking the data from a recorded region, and the
defective region includes a region which is determined by the data
verification section as containing an error.
[0064] In another embodiment of the invention, the skip recording
control section determines an ECC block including the defective
region as a defective region, in a case where the disk includes ECC
blocks as units for performing an error correction process, each
ECC block including a plurality of sectors.
[0065] In still another embodiment of the invention, the
instruction processing section further includes a recording status
reporting instruction processing section for receiving a recording
status reporting instruction and reporting a current recording
location and a current recording status.
[0066] In another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a data recording method for recording data on a disk for
recording and reproducing data on a sector-by-sector basis, the
disk recording method including: an instruction processing step for
processing processing requests; and a disk recording control step
for controlling a recording process for the disk, wherein the
instruction processing step includes: a recording region
designation instruction processing step for processing a recording
region designation instruction which designates location
information of a recordable region: a split recording instruction
processing step for processing a split recording instruction which
instructs transferring data to be recorded in a recording region
designated by the recording region designation instruction, the
data being transferred in a split manner; and a recording location
requesting instruction processing step for reporting recording
location information of the recorded data, and wherein the disk
recording control step includes: a recording control information
storing step for storing location information of the recording
region designated during the recording region designation step as
recording control information; a defective region detection step
for detecting a defective region on the disk during a recording
operation; a skip recording control step for beginning a recording
operation in accordance with the recording control information
stored during the recording control information storing step,
wherein, in a case where a defective region is detected by the
defective region detection step during the recording operation, the
skip recording control step i) stops recording in the defective
region and records a remainder of the data in a subsequent region,
the remainder of the data including the data which would otherwise
have been recorded in the defective region, if the recording
location information indicates a location within the recording
region as stored during the recording control information storing
step, or ii) terminates the recording operation and reports an
error to the split recording instruction processing step, if the
recording location information indicates a location past the
recording region as stored during the recording control information
storing step; and a defective region recording location storing
step for storing location information of the defective region
skipped by the skip recording control step.
[0067] In one embodiment of the invention, the disk recording
control step further includes a data verification step for reading
and checking the data from a recorded region, and the defective
region includes a region which is determined by the data
verification step as containing an error.
[0068] In another embodiment of the invention, the skip recording
control step determines an ECC block including the defective region
as a defective region, in a case where the disk includes ECC blocks
as units for performing an error correction process, each ECC block
including a plurality of sectors.
[0069] In still another embodiment of the invention, herein the
instruction processing step further includes a recording status
reporting instruction processing step for receiving a recording
status reporting instruction and reporting a current recording
location and a current recording status.
[0070] In another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided an information recording system including an upper control
apparatus and the aforementioned disk recording drive, wherein the
upper control apparatus includes: an instruction issuing section
for issuing an instruction to the disk recording drive, a recording
region allocation section for allocating a recording region for
recording the data; and a file management information generation
section for generating file management information for managing the
at least one file recorded on the disk, wherein the instruction
issuing section includes: a skip recording instruction issuing
section for issuing a skip recording instruction for recording the
data in the recording region allocated by the recording region
allocation section while skipping a defective region in the
recording region allocated by the recording region allocation
section; and a recording location requesting instruction issuing
section for issuing a recording location requesting instruction for
requesting transfer of recording location information of a recorded
region, and wherein the file management information generation
section generates file management information based on the
recording location information received by the recording location
requesting instruction issuing section from the disk recording
drive.
[0071] In one embodiment of the invention, if the recorded file is
an AV file containing at least one of video information and audio
information, the file management information generation section
registers information for identifying the AV file in file attribute
information.
[0072] In another embodiment of the invention, the file management
information generation section registers a defective region
detected during the recording operation as an unused region in
unused space management information, the unused space management
information being comprised in the file management information.
[0073] Alternatively, there is provided an information recording
system including an upper control apparatus and the aforementioned
disk recording drive, wherein the upper control apparatus includes:
an instruction issuing section for issuing an instruction to the
disk recording drive, a recording region allocation section for
allocating a recording region for recording the data; and a file
management information generation section for generating file
management information for managing the at least one file recorded
on the disk, wherein the instruction issuing section includes: a
recording region designation instruction issuing section for
issuing a recording region designation instruction which, prior to
a recording operation to the disk, designates a recording region on
the disk as allocated by the recording region allocation section; a
split recording instruction issuing section for issuing a split
recording instruction for transferring data to be recorded in the
recording region designated by the recording region designation
instruction issuing section, the data being transferred in a split
manner, and for requesting the disk recording drive to record the
transferred data; and a recording location requesting instruction
issuing section for issuing a recording location requesting
instruction for requesting reporting of recording location
information of the region recorded by the disk recording drive,
wherein the file management information generation section
generates file management information based on the recording
location information received by the recording location requesting
instruction issuing section from the disk recording drive.
[0074] In one embodiment of the invention, if the recorded file is
an AV file containing at least one of video information and audio
information, the file management information generation section
registers information for identifying the AV file in file attribute
information.
[0075] In another embodiment of the invention, the file management
information generation section registers a defective region
detected during the recording operation as an unused region in
unused space management information, the unused space management
information being comprised in the file management information.
[0076] In another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided an information reproduction method for reproducing data
from an information recording medium for recording and reproducing
data on a sector-by-sector basis, the recorded data being managed
as at least one file by using a file structure, the method
including: a reproduction region setting step for, prior to
reproduction of the at least one file, setting location information
of at least one reproduction region to reproduce the data from; a
continuous reproduction step for performing a reproduction
operation for the reproduction region as set during the
reproduction region setting step, and continuing with a
reproduction operation for a subsequent region even if an error is
detected during reproduction; and a reproduction data transfer step
for transferring reproduction data from the reproduction region as
set during the reproduction region setting step.
[0077] In another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a disk reproduction drive for reproducing data from an
information recording medium for recording and reproducing data on
a sector-by-sector basis, the recorded data being managed as at
least one file by using a file structure, the disk reproduction
drive including: an instruction processing section for receiving
and processing processing requests, and a reproduction control
section for continuously reading the data from the disk and
transferring the read data, wherein the instruction processing
section includes: a reproduction region setting instruction
processing section for, prior to a reproduction operation,
processing a reproduction region setting instruction which sets
location information of at least one reproduction region; and a
read data transfer instruction processing section for processing a
read data transfer instruction which requests transfer of read
data, and wherein the reproduction control section includes: a read
region information storing memory for storing location information
of the at least one read region received by the reproduction region
setting instruction processing section; a read data storing memory
for temporarily storing read data; and a continuous read-ahead
processing section for performing a read-ahead process and, even if
an error occurs during the read operation, continuing with a read
operation for a subsequent region without stopping the read-ahead
operation, the read-ahead process including previously reading the
data from the disk and storing the read data in the read data
storing memory, wherein, upon receiving the read data transfer
instruction, the read data transfer instruction processing section
transfers the read data stored in the read data storing memory.
[0078] In another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided an information reproduction system for reproducing data
from an information recording medium for recording and reproducing
data on a sector-by-sector basis, the recorded data being managed
as at least one file by using a file structure, the information
reproduction system including an upper control apparatus and the
aforementioned disk reproduction drive, wherein the upper control
apparatus includes: a file management information interpretation
section for interpreting the file management information to obtain
location information and attribute information of the at least one
file; and an instruction issuing section for issuing an instruction
for requesting processes to the disk recording drive, wherein the
instruction issuing section includes: a reproduction region setting
instruction issuing section for issuing a reproduction region
setting instruction based on the recording location information of
the at least one file as determined by the file management
information interpretation section, and a read data transfer
instruction issuing section for issuing a read data transfer
instruction for requesting transfer of read data from the region as
designated by the reproduction region setting instruction issuing
section, and for receiving the read data.
[0079] Thus, the invention described herein makes possible the
advantages of (1) providing a data structure for a disk medium
which permits real-time recording/reproduction of AV data by
forestalling seek operations to a physically distant spare area so
as to minimize any delay caused by a defective region; and (2)
providing a data recording/reproduction method for use with such a
data structure.
[0080] These and other advantages of the present invention will
become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and
understanding the following detailed description with reference to
the accompanying figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0081] FIG. 1 is a data structure diagram illustrating an
information recording disk according to Example 1 of the present
invention.
[0082] FIG. 2 is a data structure diagram illustrating a file entry
for a file containing AV data according to Example 1 of the present
invention.
[0083] FIG. 3 is a data structure diagram illustrating a file entry
for a file not containing AV data according to Example 1 of the
present invention.
[0084] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an information
recording/reproduction system according to Example 1 of the present
invention.
[0085] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an AV data recording
method using an information recording/reproduction system according
to Example 1 of the present invention.
[0086] FIG. 6 is a data structure diagram illustrating a command
control block of a "SKIP WRITE" command according to Example 1 of
the present invention.
[0087] FIG. 7 is a data structure diagram illustrating a command
control block of a "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS" command according to
Example 1 of the present invention.
[0088] FIG. 8 is a data structure diagram illustrating a skipped
address data format according to Example 1 of the present
invention.
[0089] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a skip recording process
according to Example 1 of the present invention.
[0090] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a method for
reproducing a file containing AV data according to Example 1 of the
present invention.
[0091] FIG. 11 is a data structure diagram illustrating a command
control block of a "SET READ AV AREA" command according to Example
1 of the present invention.
[0092] FIG. 12 is a data structure diagram illustrating a "SET READ
AV AREA" data format according to Example 1 of the present
invention.
[0093] FIG. 13 is a data structure diagram illustrating a "READ AV"
command according to Example 1 of the present invention.
[0094] FIG. 14 is a data structure diagram illustrating returned
data associated with an AV data read error.
[0095] FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating an information
recording/reproduction system according to Example 2 of the present
invention.
[0096] FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an AV data recording
method using an information recording/reproduction system according
to Example 2 of the present invention.
[0097] FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a recording method by a
disk recording/reproduction drive according to Example 2 of the
present invention.
[0098] FIG. 18 is a data structure diagram illustrating a command
control block of a "SET RECORD AREA" command according to Example 2
of the present invention.
[0099] FIG. 19 is a data structure diagram illustrating a command
control block of a "WRITE AV" command according to Example 2 of the
present invention.
[0100] FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating an information
recording/reproduction system according to Example 3 of the present
invention.
[0101] FIGS. 21A and 21B are data structure diagrams illustrating
data layouts on a rewritable disk according to Example 3 of the
present invention.
[0102] FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an AV data recording
method according to Example 3 of the present invention.
[0103] FIG. 23 is a data structure diagram illustrating a command
control block of a "SEND RECORDING STATUS" command according to
Example 3 of the present invention.
[0104] FIG. 24A is a data structure diagram illustrating a
"RECORDING STATUS" data format according to Example 3 of the
present invention.
[0105] FIG. 24B is a table illustrating the code definitions of a
"RECORDING STATUS" data format according to Example 3 of the
present invention.
[0106] FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure a
general disk medium.
[0107] FIG. 26 is a data structure diagram illustrating a
conventional information recording disk.
[0108] FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram illustrating a general file
structure.
[0109] FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating a conventional
information recording method.
[0110] FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating an replacement process
according to a conventional information recording method.
[0111] FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating a conventional
information reproduction method.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
EXAMPLE 1
[0112] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described by way
of example, with reference to the accompanying figures.
[0113] FIG. 1 shows a data structure 100 of a disk medium according
to Example 1 of the present invention. In the data structure 100
shown in FIG. 1, a ROOT directory includes a DIR1 directory, where
the DIR1 directory includes two files, namely, an "AV_FILE" file
108 for storing AV data and a "PC_FILE" file 110 for storing
computer data. The description of the elements which have already
been described with reference to FIG. 26 in connection with the
conventional technique is omitted. Only the elements which form the
features of the invention will be described.
[0114] In a logical space 102 shown in FIG. 1, the "AV_FILE" file
108 includes three extents, namely, an AV_FILE extent 105, an
AV_FILE extent 106, and an AV_FILE padding extent 107. The PC_FILE
110 includes a PC_FILE extent 109. The example shown in FIG. 1
illustrates a case where a defective region 112 exists between the
AV_FILE extent 105 and the AV_FILE extent 106. The defective region
112 is a defective region which was detected at the time of
recording the AV_FILE (105 or 106). According to the present
invention, in embodiments where a plurality of sectors compose one
error correction unit (referred to as an "ECC block"), the
defective regions are determined on an ECC block-by-ECC block
basis, rather than on a sector-by-sector basis.
[0115] In the case of the conventional information recording disk
which has been described with reference to FIG. 26, every defective
region which is detected at the time of recording is replaced with
a spare region within the spare area. However, in accordance with
the information recording disk of the present invention, any
defective region which is detected at the time of recording AV data
is skipped so as to prevent delays which would otherwise be caused
by seek operations to a physically distant spare area.
[0116] In the logical space 102 illustrated in FIG. 1, the end
portion of the AV_FILE 108 is shown as including an extent having a
special attribute, called an AV_FILE padding extent. Although no
file data is recorded in the AV_FILE padding extent, the AV_FILE
padding extent is managed as part of a file. The padding extent is
employed for the following reason. In applications where a
plurality of sectors compose one error correction unit (or an "ECC
block"), e.g., DVD-RAMs (Digital Versatile Disc Random Access
Memories), it is desirable to prevent files containing AV data and
files containing PC data from being mixed in the same ECC block.
Therefore, the padding extent is employed so as to complete an ECC
block which includes but is not filled completely by an AV file, so
that any PC files will belong in separate ECC blocks. As a result,
even in the case where AV files are recorded in real time without
performing any time-consuming data verification checks (which would
result in some degradation in reliability with respect to the AV
files), it is still possible to record PC files which require much
higher data reliability than AV files.
[0117] Unused space management information 101, which is recorded
as file management information is a bit map including bits which
correspond to each and every sector in a partition space 111 in a
one-to-one manner. As shown in FIG. 1, regions in which file
entries and extents are recorded are labeled as "1", meaning
"used". On the other hand, unused regions and regions representing
the unused space management information itself are labeled as "0",
meaning "unused". Note that the defective region 112 in the logical
space 102 is labeled as "0", i.e., "unused". As a result, the
defective region 112, which cannot be used for recording AV data
(because AV data require high real-time recording capabilities),
can be used for the recording of PC data, because the replacement
process as described in connection with the conventional technique
may be performed with respect to PC data.
[0118] In the case of an information recording disk where a
plurality of sectors compose one ECC block, defective regions are
registered on an ECC block-by-ECC block basis. In the case of a
DVD-RAM, one ECC block is composed of 16 sectors; therefore, one
defective region includes at least 16 sectors which are set to the
"unused" status.
[0119] The physical space 103 is illustrated as including two
defective regions 113 and 114. The defective region 113 is a defect
which is detected at the time of recording an AV file
(corresponding to the defective region 112 in the logical space
102), and is managed by the file management information in the
logical space 102. On the other hand, the defective region 114 is
replaced with a spare region 116 within the spare area 115, in a
manner similar to the methods used in conjunction with the
aforementioned conventional information recording disk. The spare
region 116 corresponds to the defective region 114, which is a
defect that is detected at the time of recording a PC file. Note
that by performing the conventional defect management process for
the defective regions (e.g., 114) which are detected at the time of
recording a PC file, it becomes possible to attain compatibility
with the conventional environment.
[0120] Note that, in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the only
region that is subjected to an replacement process is the defective
region 114. Accordingly, in defect management information 104, an
SDL registration number 117 is set to "1", and the first PSN of the
defective region 114 and the first PSN of the spare region 116 are
registered.
[0121] FIG. 2 shows the data structure of an AV_FILE file entry
118. The AV_FILE file entry 118 contains attribute information and
recording location information concerning an AV file. A descriptor
tag 201, in which a unique value is recorded, is identification
information for identifying the beginning of the file entry. The
file attribute information is recorded in an ICB tag 202. The
location information of an extent composing the AV_FILE is recorded
in an allocation descriptor 203.
[0122] The ICB tag 202 contains an already-recorded direct entry
number 204 for indicating the entry number of already-recorded
extents, and a flag area 205 for indicating the file attribute
information. Also recorded in the flag area 205 are an allocation
descriptor type 206 for identifying the type of the allocation
descriptor, and an AV flag 207 for identifying an AV file from a PC
file. Since the AV_FILE 108 is a file containing AV data, the AV
flag 207 is set to "1". Based on the AV flag 207, it is possible to
identify whether a file is an AV file or a PC file.
[0123] For each extent, the allocation descriptor 203 includes an
extent type for indicating the attribute information of the extent,
an extent length for indicating the size information concerning the
extent, and an extent location for indicating the location
information as to where the extent is recorded. The extent type 209
in the allocation descriptor 208 for the AV_FILE extent 105 is set
to "0", meaning a normal extent. As used herein, a "normal extent"
is defined as an extent in which file data is recorded. On the
other hand, the extent type 211 in the allocation descriptor 210
for the AV_FILE padding extent 107 is set to "1", meaning a padding
extent. In other words, the AV_FILE padding extent is managed as
part of a file although no file data is recorded in the AV_FILE
padding extent, as described above.
[0124] FIG. 3 shows the data structure of a PC_FILE file entry 119,
which is similar to the data structure of the AV_FILE file entry
118 (illustrated in FIG. 2) except that the AV flag 301 is "0",
meaning that the PC_FILE is a file which contains no AV data. The
PC_FILE 110 does not include a padding extent because the PC_FILE
110 never utilizes a padding extent to fill up an ECC block.
Accordingly, an extent type 303 in an allocation descriptor 302 for
the PC_FILE extent 110 is set to "0", meaning a normal extent.
[0125] Thus, the information recording disk according to Example 1
of the present invention has been described above.
[0126] As described above, in accordance with the information
recording disk according to the present example of the invention,
the conventional replacement process is not performed for any
defective region (e.g., 113) that is detected at the time of
recording AV data. As a result, it is possible to perform data
recording/reproduction without incurring any delay associated with
such replacement processes. Instead, the present invention makes
possible a high-speed defect management which involves simply
skipping the defective region 112, whereas the conventional defect
management method would require the aforementioned replacement
process for providing an error-free logical space 2602. In
addition, by registering a defective region which is detected at
the time of recording AV data as an unused region, such a defective
region can be used for the recording of PC data in embodiments
where the aforementioned replacement process is performed with
respect to the PC data (note that AV data require high real-time
recording capabilities).
[0127] In embodiments where the information recording disk includes
ECC blocks, each consisting of a plurality of sectors, the
information recording disk according to the present example of the
invention attains excellent reliability as an information recording
disk by registering defective regions on an ECC block-by-ECC block
basis.
[0128] In embodiments where the information recording disk includes
ECC blocks, each consisting of a plurality of sectors, the
information recording disk according to the present example of the
invention provides for excellent reliability of PC data even if
both AV data and PC data are present on the same disk, by
registering a padding extent for ensuring that an ECC block in
which AV data is recorded does not include any PC data, and by
providing identification information for every extent.
[0129] The information recording disk according to the present
example of the invention contains identification information for
identifying an AV file from a non-AV file as file attributes. As a
result, it is possible to selectively employ different reproduction
methods in accordance with the specific file attributes. For
example, in the case of reproducing an AV file, it is possible to
place a higher priority on real-time capabilities than on data
reliability.
[0130] Next, with reference to the figures, an information
recording/reproduction system according to Example 1 of the present
invention for recording or reproducing data on the disk medium
shown in FIG. 1 will be described, with respect to its structure
and operations.
[0131] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
information recording/reproduction system 400. As shown in FIG. 4,
the information recording/reproduction system 400 includes an upper
Control apparatus 410 for controlling the entire system, a disk
recording/reproduction drive 420 for controlling the
recording/reproduction of an information recording disk or medium,
e.g., rewritable disk, (not shown in FIG. 4) in accordance with
instructions from the upper control apparatus 410, a magnetic disk
apparatus 450, an AV data output section 460 for converting digital
AV data into analog video/audio signals and outputting the
resultant analog video/audio signals, an AV data input section 470
for converting the input analog AV signal into digital AV data, and
an IO/bus 480 for transmitting/receiving data and/or control
information.
[0132] The upper control apparatus 410 is composed essentially of a
microprocessor including a control program and memories for
calculation purposes. The upper control apparatus 410 includes: a
recording region allocation section 411 for allocating a recording
region at the time of recording; a file management information
generation section 412 for generating file management information
of the recorded files; a file management information interpretation
section 413 for calculating the recording location of a file and
determining attribute information from the file management
information; a data buffer memory 414 for temporarily storing data;
and an instruction issuing section 415 for issuing instructions to
the disk recording/reproduction drive 420. The instruction issuing
section 415 includes a skip recording instruction issuing section
416 for issuing a skip recording instruction which requests a
recording while skipping a defective region; a recording location
requesting instruction issuing section 417 for issuing a recording
location requesting instruction which requests returning of
location information for determining a region in which data has
been recorded after recording; a reproduction region setting
instruction issuing section 418 for issuing a reproduction region
setting instruction which designates a region to be reproduced
(hereinafter referred to as a "reproduction region") prior to
reproduction; and a read data transfer instruction issuing section
419 for issuing a read data transfer instruction which requests the
transfer of data which has been read.
[0133] The disk recording/reproduction drive 420 is composed
essentially of a microprocessor including a control program and
memories for calculation purposes, a mechanism which is controlled
by the microprocessor, and signal processing circuitry.
Functionally, the disk recording/reproduction drive 420 includes:
an instruction processing section 421 for processing instructions
from the upper control apparatus 410; a recording control section
430 for controlling the recording onto a rewritable disk; and a
reproduction control section 440 for controlling the reproduction
from the rewritable disk. The instruction processing section 421
includes: a skip recording instruction processing section 422 for
processing a skip recording instruction; a recording location
requesting instruction processing section 423 for processing a
recording location requesting instruction; a reproduction region
setting instruction processing section 424 for processing a
reproduction region setting instruction; and a read data transfer
instruction processing section 425 for processing a read data
transfer instruction. The recording control section 430 includes: a
defective region detection section 431 for detecting a defective
region at the time of recording; a skip recording control section
432 for <performing a recording while skipping a defective
region which is detected at the time of recording; a recording
location storing memory 433 for storing information concerning a
location at which data is recorded; a data verification section 434
for reading recorded data after recording so as to check whether or
not the data is properly recorded; a recording control information
memory 435 for storing control information which is necessary for
recording, e.g., a recording beginning location and a recording
length; and a recording data storing memory 436 for temporarily
storing data which is received from the upper control apparatus
410. The reproduction control section 440 includes: a read region
information storing memory 441 for storing location information of
a reproduction region which is designated by the upper control
apparatus 410 prior to reproduction; a read data storing memory 442
for temporarily storing data which is read from a rewritable disk;
and a continuous read-ahead processing section 443 for performing a
read-ahead process (defined later) in accordance with predetermined
read region information and continuing the read-ahead process
without stopping responsive to the occurrence of an error during a
read process.
[0134] Next, a recording method for recording a file containing AV
data by using the information recording/reproduction system 400
illustrated in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to an
overall control process shown in FIG. 5. The description of the
overall control procedure will occasionally divert to descriptions
of the respective data structures of instructions and communication
data transferred between the upper control apparatus 410 and the
disk recording/reproduction drive 420 with reference to FIGS. 6, 7,
and 8. Also, the recording procedure by the disk
recording/reproduction drive 420 will be specifically described
with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 9. In the overall
control process shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the file
management information for the file recorded on a rewritable disk
was previously read at the time of insertion of the disk and
interpreted by the file management information interpretation
section 413, and that the file management information is retained
in the upper control apparatus 410. The overall control process
shown in FIG. 5 includes a group of processes 521 to be performed
by the upper control apparatus 410, a group of processes 523 to be
performed by the disk recording/reproduction drive 420, and flows
522 of instructions, data, process results in an IF protocol
between the upper control apparatus 410 and the disk
recording/reproduction drive 420.
[0135] (Step 501) The upper control apparatus 410 controls the AV
data input section 470 to begin receiving AV data. The AV data
which is input via the AV data input section 470 is converted into
digital data by the AV data input section 470, and thereafter
transferred via the I/O bus 480 so as to be stored in the data
buffer memory 414.
[0136] (Step 502) Prior to recording the AV data, the recording
region allocation section 411 in the upper control apparatus 410
obtains vacant region information concerning the rewritable disk
from the file management information interpretation section 413,
and allocates a recording region. The recording region allocation
section 411 allocates a recording region by considering the size of
the allocated regions and the physical distance between regions so
that the AV data can be smoothly reproduced later.
[0137] (Step 503) The skip recording instruction issuing section
416 obtains location information of the region which has been
allocated by the recording region allocation section 411, and
issues a "SKIP WRITE" command (as a skip recording instruction) to
the disk recording/reproduction drive 420. At this time, the skip
recording instruction issuing section 416 designates, as parameters
of the "SKIP WRITE" command, the location information of the region
which has been allocated by the recording region allocation section
411, the size information of the data to be recorded, and the
allowable number of skips which may be made at the time of
detecting defective regions (i.e., the maximum number of skips that
can be made while allowing the data to be entirely recorded within
the allocated recording region). Subsequent to the "SKIP WRITE"
command, a size of data which has been designated by the "SKIP
WRITE" command is transferred from the data buffer memory 414 to
the disk recording/reproduction drive 420. FIG. 6 shows a command
control block, which is the data structure which is transferred as
the "SKIP WRITE" command. The "SKIP WRITE" command has a command
control block length of 12 bytes. A unique instruction code which
identifies a "SKIP WRITE" command is represented by byte 0. The LSN
(location information) of a sector at which to begin recording is
represented by the four bytes from byte 2 to byte 5. The number of
ECC blocks which may be skipped in the case where a defective
region is detected during a recording operation (i.e., allowable
number of skips) is represented by byte 6. The number of sectors in
the data to be transferred (i.e., size information) is represented
by the two bytes from byte 7 to byte 8.
[0138] (Step 504) Having received the "SKIP WRITE" command from the
upper control apparatus 410, the skip recording instruction
processing section 422 in the disk recording/reproduction drive 420
requests the skip recording control section 432 to perform a
recording process for the transferred data, starting from a start
LSN designated on the rewritable disk. Hereinafter, this operation
of the disk recording/reproduction drive 420 will be described with
reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 9.
[0139] (Step 901) The skip recording instruction processing section
422 receives the "SKIP WRITE" command and the recording data from
the upper control apparatus 410. Along with the "SKIP WRITE"
command, the skip recording instruction processing section 422
receives the following parameters which are necessary for executing
the command: a parameter "ADR" indicating a start LSN, a parameter
"LEN" indicating the number of sectors in the data to be recorded,
and a parameter "MAX_SKP" indicating the maximum allowable number
of skips which can be made at the time of detecting defective
regions. The skip recording instruction processing section 422
stores these parameters in the recording control information memory
435. The parameter "MAX_SKP" indicating the maximum allowable
number of skips is a variable which is calculated by the recording
region allocation section 411 in the upper control apparatus 410.
Specifically, the parameter "MAX_SKP" is calculated to be a value
such that any down-shift of the recording location on the
rewritable disk due to skipping a defective region will not result
in the destruction of a subsequent region which is already in
use.
[0140] (Step 902) Having received the "SKIP WRITE" command, the
disk recording/reproduction drive 420 initializes a region within
the recording control information memory 435 for storing the number
of ECC blocks that were skipped during recording, and a region for
storing the size of data which has already been recorded, both to
zero.
[0141] (Step 903) Thereafter, the skip recording instruction
processing section 422 receives the data to be recorded on the
rewritable disk and stores the data in the recording data storing
memory 436.
[0142] (Step 904) After a predetermined amount of data has been
stored in the recording data storing memory 436, the skip recording
control section 432 begins a recording operation to the rewritable
disk.
[0143] (Step 905) During the recording operation, the defective
region detection section 431 determines whether or not the region
which is under recording is a defective region. The defective
region detection section 431 determines a defective region if
either one of the following criteria is satisfied: (i) if the
physical address which is assigned to each sector as location
information on the rewritable disk has not been properly read (in
which case the entire ECC block containing such a sector will be
determined as a defective region); or (ii) if the monitored
amplitude of the amount of light which is reflected from the
rewritable disk during recording appears disturbed in a given
region over a predetermined level (in which case the entire ECC
block containing such a sector will be determined as a defective
region). In either case of determining a defective region, the
process branches out to Step 910.
[0144] (Steps 906, 907) If the recording operation has been
completed properly, the data verification section 434 determines
whether or not the data has been properly recorded by reading out
the data in the region for which the recording operation has been
performed. If the data verification section 434 determines an error
as a result of the verification, the process branches out to Step
910.
[0145] (Step 908) If the data verification section 434 determines
no error, the number of sectors which have been recorded is added
to the number of already-recorded blocks.
[0146] (Step 909) Thereafter, the skip recording control section
432 determines whether or not the number of already-recorded blocks
is equal to the variable "LEN" which is stored in the recording
control information memory 435. If the number of already-recorded
blocks is equal to the variable "LEN", it is determined that all of
the designated data has been recorded, and the process is
terminated. On the other hand, if the number of already-recorded
blocks is smaller than the variable "LEN", the process goes back to
Step 904 so as to perform recording of the remainder of the
data.
[0147] (Step 910) If an error is determined at Step 905 or 907, the
number of skips having been made during recording is compared
against the variable "MAX_SKP" which is stored in the recording
control information memory 435. If the number of skips which has
been made during recording is equal to the variable "MAX_SKP", it
is determined that the maximum allowable number of skips (which is
designated by the "SKIP WRITE" command) has been exceeded, and the
process is abnormally-ended.
[0148] (Step 911) If the number of skips which has been made during
recording is smaller than the variable "MAX_SKP", the number of
skips is incremented by one in order to skip the detected defective
region. (Step 912) Furthermore, the first LSN of the skipped
defective region is stored in the recording location storing memory
433. (Step 913) Then, the skip recording control section 432 sets
the location information for the next recording operation to a
subsequent region. Although omitted from illustration in the
flowchart of FIG. 9, the location information in the recording data
storing memory 436 is also updated so that, after skipping the
defective region, the data which was going to be recorded in the
defective region can be recorded in a subsequent region (i.e., the
region subsequent to the defective region). Thereafter, the process
goes back to Step 904 to perform recording for the subsequent
region.
[0149] Thus, the skip recording control section 432 skips any
defective regions which are detected at the time of recording, and
stores the location information of such defective regions, and
continues the process until all of the data are properly
recorded.
[0150] (Step 505) Referring back to FIG. 5, having performed the
skip recording process, the disk recording/reproduction drive 420
returns a "completed" status to the upper control apparatus
410.
[0151] (Step 506) The recording location requesting instruction
issuing section 417 in the upper control apparatus 410 issues a
"READ SKIPPED ADDRESS" command to the disk recording/reproduction
drive 420 for inquiring the location information of the defective
regions that were skipped during the skip recording process at Step
504. FIG. 7 shows a command control block of the "READ SKIPPED
ADDRESS" command. Hereinafter, the data structure of the command
control block of the "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS" command will be
described with reference to FIG. 7.
[0152] The command control block of the "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS"
command is 12 bytes long. A unique instruction code which
identifies a "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS" command is designated in byte
0. An allocation length is designated in the two bytes from byte 7
to byte 8. As used herein, the allocation length indicates the
memory size which is provided by the upper control apparatus 410
for storing the returned skipped address data. If the returned data
is larger than the designated allocation length, the disk
recording/reproduction drive 420 performs a rounding process, so
that no data which is larger in size than the allocation length
will be returned.
[0153] (Step 507) Referring back to FIG. 5, having received the
"READ SKIPPED ADDRESS" command, the recording location requesting
instruction processing section 423 in the disk
recording/reproduction drive 420 returns the location information
of the defective regions which were stored in the recording
location storing memory 433 during the skip recording process at
Step 504 as skipped address data.
[0154] FIG. 8 shows the format of the skipped address data, and the
meaning of the respective fields of the skipped address data will
be described with reference to FIG. 8. The skipped address data
includes a skipped address number 801 and a list 802 of skipped
addresses. The two bytes from byte 0 to byte 1 represent the
skipped address number 801, in which the number of skipped
addresses to be returned is set. Byte 2 and the subsequent bytes
represent a list 802 of first LSNs of the skipped ECC blocks. If
the skipped address number 801 is 0, the list 802 of skipped
addresses is not returned. The skipped address is returned on an
ECC block-by-ECC block basis. Therefore, in the case of a
rewritable disk in which a plurality of sectors compose one ECC
block, if the number of skipped addresses is 1, it is indicated
that there are as many defective sectors as the number of sectors
composing one ECC block.
[0155] (Step 508) Referring back to FIGS. 1, 2, and 5, having
received the skipped address data, the file management information
generation section 412 in the upper control apparatus 410 generates
file management information. The file management information
generation section 412 determines that the transferred size of data
has been recorded in regions other than the regions which were
skipped in accordance with the skipped address data, and generates
a file entry 118 (FIGS. 1 and 2) of AV files. At this time, the
file management information generation section 412 sets the bits in
the unused space management information 101 that correspond to the
extents 105 and "106 which are designated by the allocation
descriptor 203 (FIG. 2) in the file entry 118 to "1", i.e., "used".
Furthermore, the skipped regions are determined based on the
skipped address data which was returned at Step 507. As a result,
all sectors in the skipped regions are determined as defective
regions, and their corresponding bits in the unused space
management information 101 are set to "0", i.e., "unused". If the
end of a file extent (e.g., 106) falls in the middle of an ECC
block, the file management information generation section 412
registers the remainder of that ECC block as a padding extent
(e.g., 107). At this time, the extent type 211 (FIG. 2) of the
padding extent (e.g., 107) is set to "1" to identify a padding
extent. Thereafter, the file management information generation
section 412 stores the generated file management information in the
data buffer memory 414 before the file management information is
recorded on the rewritable disk.
[0156] (Step 509) The upper control apparatus 410 issues a "WRITE"
command, which requests the disk recording/reproduction drive 420
to record the generated file management information stored in the
data buffer memory 414 by a conventional recording method. An LSN
at which to start recording, and the number of sectors to be
recorded, are designated as parameters in the "WRITE" command.
[0157] (Step 510) Having received the "WRITE" command, the disk
recording/reproduction drive 420 performs a recording process
similar to the conventional method for recording a file structure
described with reference to FIG. 28. Any defective regions which
are detected during the recording operation in accordance with the
"WRITE" command are subjected to a replacement process according to
the conventional replacement method.
[0158] (Step 511) When the recording of all of the data which were
designated by the "WRITE" command is completed in accordance with
the conventional recording method, the disk recording/reproduction
drive 420 returns a "completed" status to the upper control
apparatus 410. Thus, a rewritable disk having the data structure
shown in FIG. 1 can be accomplished.
[0159] Thus, the information recording method according to Example
1 of the present invention has been described above.
[0160] Next, the reproduction method for AV files according to
Example 1 of the present invention will be described, with
reference to the overall control process shown in FIG. 10.
[0161] The description of the overall control procedure will
occasionally divert to descriptions of the data structures of
commands and data transferred between the upper control apparatus
410 and the disk recording/reproduction drive 420 with reference to
FIGS. 11, 12, and 13. The overall control process shown in FIG. 10
includes a group of processes 1021 to be performed by the upper
control apparatus 410, a group of processes 1023 to be performed by
the disk recording/reproduction drive 420, and flows 1022 of
commands and data transferred between the upper control apparatus
410 and the disk recording/reproduction drive 420.
[0162] (Step 1001) The file management information interpretation
section 413 in the upper control apparatus 410 interprets a file
structure on a rewritable disk so as to determine whether or not
the file to be reproduced is an AV file. If it is determined that
the file to be reproduced is an AV file, the file management
information interpretation section 413 calculates the recording
location of the file data of the AV file to be reproduced and the
size-to-be-read, and inform these parameters to the reproduction
region setting instruction issuing section 418.
[0163] (Step 1002) The read data transfer instruction issuing
section 419 in the upper control apparatus 410 initializes a
counter for counting the already-read size to zero.
[0164] (Step 1003) The reproduction region setting instruction
issuing section 418 in the upper control apparatus 410 issues a
"SET READ AV AREA" command, which sets the recording location of
the file data and the size-to-be-read (which have been calculated
by the file management information interpretation section 413) in
the disk recording/reproduction drive 420. Specifically, the "SET
READ AV AREAS command is an instruction which, prior to the
reproduction of an AV file, sets one or more continuous regions in
which file data are recorded. FIG. 11 shows the data structure of a
command control block of the "SET READ AV AREA" command. The "SET
READ AV AREA" command control block consists of 12 bytes of data. A
unique instruction code which identifies a "SET READ AV AREA"
command is set in byte 0. In the two bytes from byte 7 to byte 8, a
region data length (in bytes) to be transferred is designated.
After transferring this command control block, the reproduction
region setting instruction issuing section 418 transfers region
data of the size designated by the transfer data length to the disk
recording/reproduction drive 420. FIG. 12 shows a SET READ AV AREA
data format, i.e., the region data to be transferred. The region
data is composed of a list 1203 which includes the AV area number
1201 (which represents the number of continuous regions to be set)
and pairs 1202 of start addresses (LSN) and end addresses (LSN).
When the AV area number is "0", the start LSN and the end LSN of
any regions are not transferred. Byte 2 and the subsequent bytes
are set in the order of the start LSNs and the end LSNs of the
respective AV areas to be set for reproduction.
[0165] (Step 1004) Having received the "SET READ AV AREA" command,
the reproduction region setting instruction processing section 424
in the disk recording/reproduction drive 420 stores the
reproduction region data, which is received from the upper control
apparatus 410, in the read region information storing memory
441.
[0166] (Step 1005) Once informed that the reproduction region data
has been received from the reproduction region setting instruction
processing section 424, the continuous read-ahead processing
section 443 in the disk recording/reproduction drive 420 begins a
read-ahead process while referring to the location information of
the reproduction region which is stored in the read region
information storing memory 441. As used herein, a "read-ahead
process" is defined as a process of previously reading data from
the rewritable disk in anticipation of a subsequent data transfer
request, and storing the data in the read data storing memory 442.
Usually, a data read operation is performed in such a manner that a
region in which a read error occurred is first subjected to retry
processes for recovering from the error; and if the error cannot be
solved by such an error recovery process, the read process is
terminated, thereby marking an abnormal end. However, in a
read-ahead process associated with the "SET READ AV AREA" command,
the continuous read-ahead processing section 443 does not perform
retry processes even if an error occurs; instead, the continuous
read-ahead processing section 443 continues with the read-ahead
process for a subsequent region. This is in order to prevent a
substantial decrease in the data reading speed caused by retry
processes, which might result in critical problems such as
disturbances in the reproduced images during AV data
reproduction.
[0167] The disk recording/reproduction drive 420 does not report an
"error" status to the upper control apparatus 410. Therefore, in
order to prevent malfunctioning due to the AV data output section
460 receiving error-ridden data, the continuous read-ahead
processing section 443 reports an error by setting an error flag
contained at a predetermined position in the returned data to "1".
The data structure which is transferred to the upper control
apparatus 410 will be described in the description of Step
1010.
[0168] (Step 1006) After completing storing the received data and
informing to the continuous read-ahead processing section 443, the
reproduction region setting instruction processing section 424 in
the disk recording/reproduction drive 420 returns a completed
status to the upper control apparatus 410 to indicate that the "SET
READ AV AREA" command has properly ended.
[0169] (Step 1007) The upper control apparatus 410 performs an
activation process for the AV data output section 460. Once
activated, the AV data output section 460 enters a reproduction
data input wait state. Upon detecting transfer of reproduction data
in this state, the AV data output section 460 converts the
transferred data into analog video/audio signals, and outputs the
analog video/audio signals.
[0170] (Step 1008) The read data transfer instruction issuing
section 419 in the upper control apparatus 410 issues a "READ AV"
command, which requests transfer of the data which has been read
from the rewritable disk, to the disk recording/reproduction drive
420. FIG. 13 shows the data structure of a command control block of
the "READ AV" command. The command control block of the "READ AV"
command consists of 12 bytes of data. A unique instruction code
which identifies a "READ AV" command is set in byte 0. In the four
bytes from byte 2 to byte 5, the first LSN of a region for which
transfer of read data is required is designated. The two bytes from
byte 7 to byte 8 indicate the transfer length, in which the data
length (in bytes) for which transfer is required is designated.
[0171] (Step 1009) Having received the "READ AV" command, the read
data transfer instruction processing section 425 in the disk
recording/reproduction drive 420 confirms whether or not the AV
data in the region which is designated by the parameters of the
"READ AV" command is already stored in the read data storing memory
442. If it is determined that the AV data which is read from the
designated region is already stored in the read data storing memory
442, the read data transfer instruction processing section 425
immediately transfers the AV data to the upper control apparatus
410. On the other hand, if it is determined that the AV data which
is read from the designated region is not stored yet, the read data
transfer instruction processing section 425 performs data transfer
only after the AV data is stored by the continuous read-ahead
processing section 443.
[0172] (Step 1010) After the AV data which has been transferred by
the read data transfer instruction processing section 425 in the
disk recording/reproduction drive 420 is received by the read data
transfer instruction issuing section 419, the AV data is stored in
the data buffer memory 414. However, the returned AV data may
contain an error, as mentioned with respect to Step 1005. FIG. 14
shows a data structure 1400 of the read data which is transferred
from the disk recording/reproduction drive 420 to the upper control
apparatus 410. The read data has 2048 bytes per sector. A number of
sectors of data, as designated by the transfer length parameter of
the "READ AV" command, is transferred. In the case of AV data, the
2048 bytes of data composing each sector corresponds to a unit
referred to as a "pack" 1401. The pack 1401 is further subdivided
into a pack header 1402 (consisting of 14 bytes) and pack data 1403
(consisting of 2034 bytes). The pack header 1402 includes a pack
start code 1404 in which a unique code for identifying the
beginning of a pack is stored, and an error flag 1405 which
indicates whether or not the pack data includes an error. As shown
in FIG. 14, if the read data to be returned is the properly-read
data 1401, the error flag 1405 is set to "0", meaning normal data.
On the other hand, the error flag 1405A for data 1401A in which a
read error has occurred is set to "1", meaning that the data may
include an error. Based on these error flags, the AV data output
section 460 is capable of recovery processing by complementing the
data from the preceding and/or subsequent data, without reproducing
any error-ridden data.
[0173] (Step 1011) The upper control apparatus 410 transfers the
read data which is stored in the data buffer memory 414 to the AV
data output section 460. Since the AV data output section 460 has
been activated since Step 1007, any input reproduction data will be
readily converted into analog video/audio signals for output.
[0174] (Step 1012) The read data transfer instruction issuing
section 419 in the upper control apparatus 410 adds the size of the
AV data which has been received from the disk
recording/reproduction drive 420 to the already-read size.
[0175] (Step 1013) The read data transfer instruction issuing
section 419 in the upper control apparatus 410 compares the
already-read size against the file size which is under
reproduction. If the already-read size coincides with the file size
which is under reproduction, it is determined that the entire AV
file has been read, and the process is terminated. If the
already-read size does not coincide with the file size which is
under reproduction, the process goes back to Step 1008 in order to
reproduce the remainder of the AV data, and continues the
reproduction operation.
[0176] Thus, the reproduction method according to Example 1 of the
present invention has been described above.
[0177] As described above, in accordance with the information
recording method according to the present invention, any defective
regions which are detected at the time of recording are skipped
during recording. As a result, the delay in the
recording/reproduction process associated with the conventional
replacement process is substantially eliminated, thereby enabling
real-time recording/reproduction of AV data.
[0178] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, defective
regions are managed as unused regions by the file management
information. This makes it possible to record PC data by using a
conventional replacement method for the LSNs which are determined
as defective regions.
[0179] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, by performing a
data verification process, it becomes possible to attain high
reliability in applications where real-time capabilities are
required not during recording but during reproduction, e.g.,
recording AV data which is already stored in a magnetic disk
apparatus 450.
[0180] Since an allowable number of skips is set during a skip
recording process, even if a large number of defective regions are
skipped, it is still possible to prevent the destruction of the
subsequent regions in which other file data may be recorded.
[0181] If the end of an AV file extent happens to fall in the
middle of an ECC block, the remainder of that ECC block is
registered as a padding extent, thereby preventing other files from
being recorded in the same ECC block. Accordingly, in embodiments
where AV data are recorded without any data verification in order
to facilitate real-time recording, it is still possible to prevent
files containing AV data and files containing PC data from being
mixed in the same ECC block. As a result, the reliability of PC
data is ensured.
[0182] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, identification
information for identifying AV data from other types of data is
registered in the file management information, so that it is
possible, at the time of reproduction, to know whether or not the
data requires real-time processing capabilities. As a result, it is
possible to perform the high-speed reproduction method illustrated
in the present example for the AV data, which may advantageously
differ from the reproduction method used for PC data
reproduction.
[0183] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, one or more
reproduction regions are set prior to reproduction in order to
realize a read-ahead process for previously reading a plurality of
regions, thereby making for even faster reproduction. As a result,
AV data reproduction can be performed so that video/audio
information is smoothly reproduced without disruptions.
[0184] Although the recording data is illustrated as being checked
by the data verification section 434 in the information recording
method according to the present example of the invention, it will
be appreciated that such data verification may be omitted during
recording in applications where higher real-time capabilities are
required, e.g., where AV data is input at a very high transfer
rate.
[0185] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, the defective
regions which are detected during skip recording are registered as
skipped and unused regions in the file management information.
Alternatively, the disk recording/reproduction drive 420 may
register such defective regions on the SDL without allocating any
spare regions therefor, and subsequently perform the allocation of
an replacement location and the replacement process at the time of
the next PC data recording.
[0186] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, the defective
regions which are detected at the time of recording are skipped.
However, it will be appreciated that all of the defective regions
which have already been detected and registered on the SDL may also
be skipped.
[0187] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, a region is
designated based on its start LSN and end LSN by the reproduction
region setting instruction. However, the designation may
alternatively be based on a start LSN and a region length, for
example, so long as a region can be identified.
[0188] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, the continuous
read-ahead processing section 443 may perform seek operations and
the like as appropriate for ensuring real-time capabilities during
AV data reproduction.
[0189] In accordance with the information reproduction method
according to the present example of the invention, the reproduction
region setting instruction issuing section 418 sets all the
reproduction regions within a file, prior to a reproduction
process. However, in embodiments where the read region information
storing memory 441 of the system has only a small capacity, for
example, it is also applicable to perform reproduction in a number
of subdivided stages, e.g., designating regions up to the middle of
a file and performing a reproduction process directed to those
regions, and thereafter designating subsequent regions and
performing a reproduction process directed to those regions.
[0190] In accordance with the information recording/reproduction
system 400 according to the present example, the transfer of
information between the upper control apparatus 410 and the disk
recording/reproduction drive 420 is achieved based on the recording
location requesting instruction, the reproduction region setting
instruction, and the like. However, in embodiments where the upper
control apparatus 410 and the disk recording/reproduction drive 420
of the system share a common memory region, etc., which is
accessible to both the upper control apparatus 410 and the disk
recording/reproduction drive 420, similar processes can be realized
by performing writing/reading for such a memory region, thereby
obviating the aforementioned instructions.
EXAMPLE 2
[0191] Next, with reference to the figures, an information
recording/reproduction system 1500 according to Example 2 of the
present invention for recording or reproducing data on the disk
medium shown in FIG. 1 will be described, with respect to its
structure and operations.
[0192] FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
information recording/reproduction system 1500 according to Example
2 of the present invention. Hereinafter, the respective elements of
the information recording/reproduction system 1500 will be
described. The descriptions of those elements which have their
counterparts in the information recording/reproduction system 400
shown in FIG. 4 will be omitted.
[0193] As shown in FIG. 15, the information recording/reproduction
system 1500 includes an upper control apparatus 1510, a disk
recording/reproduction drive 1520, a magnetic disk apparatus 450,
an AV data output section 460, an AV data input section 470, and an
IO/bus 480.
[0194] The upper control apparatus 1510 is composed essentially of
a microprocessor including a control program and memories for
calculation purposes. The upper control apparatus 1510 includes a
recording region allocation section 411, a file management
information generation section 412, a file management information
interpretation section 413, a data buffer memory 414, and an
instruction issuing section 1511 for issuing instructions to the
disk recording/reproduction drive 1520. The instruction issuing
section 1511 includes: a recording region designation instruction
issuing section 1512 for issuing a recording region designation
instruction which designates a recording region prior to a
recording operation; a split recording instruction issuing section
1513 for issuing a split recording instruction for making a
recording request for a recording region and performing a data
transfer in a split manner; a recording location requesting
instruction issuing section 417 for issuing a recording location
requesting instruction which requests returning of the location
information a location in which a file has been recorded after
recording; a reproduction region setting instruction issuing
section 418 for issuing a reproduction region setting instruction
which designates a region to be reproduced prior to a reproduction
operation; and a read data transfer instruction issuing section 419
for issuing a read data transfer instruction which requests the
transfer of data which has been read.
[0195] The disk recording/reproduction drive 1520 includes: an
instruction processing section 1521 for receiving and processing
instructions from the upper control apparatus 1510; a recording
control section 430 for controlling the recording onto a rewritable
disk (not shown); and a reproduction control section 440 for
controlling the reproduction from the rewritable disk. The
instruction processing section 1521 includes: a recording region
designation instruction processing section 1522 for receiving and
processing a recording region designation instruction: a split
recording instruction processing section 1523 for receiving and
processing a split recording instruction; a recording location
requesting instruction processing section 423; a reproduction
region setting instruction processing section 424; and a read data
transfer instruction processing section 425. The structure of the
recording control section 430 and the reproduction control section
440 is the same as the structure of their counterparts in the
information recording/reproduction system 400 according to Example
1 of the present invention, and the descriptions thereof are
omitted.
[0196] Next, a recording method for recording a file containing AV
data by using the information recording/reproduction system 1500
illustrated in FIG. 15 will be described with reference to an
overall control process shown in FIG. 16. The description of the
overall control procedure will occasionally divert to the block
diagram of FIG. 15 showing the information recording/reproduction
system 1500, a flowchart of FIG. 17 showing a reproduction process,
and data structure diagrams of FIGS. 18 and 19 showing I/F
commands. In the overall control process shown in FIG. 16, it is
assumed that the file management information for the file recorded
on a rewritable disk was previously read at the time of insertion
of the disk and interpreted by the file management information
interpretation section 413, and that the file management
information is retained in the upper control apparatus 1510. The
overall control process shown in FIG. 16 includes a group of
processes 1621 to be performed by the upper control apparatus 1510,
a group of processes 1623 to be performed by the disk
recording/reproduction drive 1520, and flows 1622 of instructions,
data, process results in an instruction protocol between the upper
control apparatus 1510 and the disk recording/reproduction drive
1520.
[0197] (Step 1601) Upon detecting an input signal, the AV data
input section 470 begins receiving AV data. The AV data input
section 470 converts the received analog video/audio signals into
digital AV data, and transfers the digital AV data to the data
buffer memory 414 in the upper control apparatus 1510.
[0198] (Step 1602) Prior to recording the AV data, the recording
region allocation section 411 in the upper control apparatus 1510
obtains vacant region information concerning the rewritable disk
from the file management information interpretation section 413,
and allocates a recording region for recording an AV file. The
recording region allocation section 411 allocates a recording
region for the AV file by considering the size of the allocated
regions and the physical distance between regions so as to attain a
sufficient reading rate during reproduction. Since defective
regions may exist within the recording region, and such defective
regions will be skipped, the recording region allocation section
411 allocates a recording region which is larger than the actual
recording size.
[0199] (Step 1603) The recording region designation instruction
issuing section 1512 in the upper control apparatus 1510 issues to
the disk recording/reproduction drive 1520 a "SET RECORD AREA"
command, which designates a recording region, thereby designating
the location information of the recording region which was
allocated at Step 1602. FIG. 18 shows command control block data
structure 1800 of the "SET RECORD AREA" command. The command
control block of the "SET RECORD AREA" command consists of 12
bytes. A unique instruction code 1801 which identifies a "SET
RECORD AREA" command is designated in byte 0. The LSN 1802 of the
start sector of the recording region is represented by the four
bytes from byte 2 to byte 5. The LSN 1803 of the end sector of the
recording region is represented by the four bytes from byte 6 to
byte 9. Thus, the "SET RECORD AREA" command designates the region
between the start LSN and the end LSN of the recording region as a
recording region.
[0200] (Step 1604) The recording region designation instruction
processing section 1522 in the disk recording/reproduction drive
1520 receives the "SET RECORD AREA" command which was issued from
the upper control apparatus 1510 at Step 1603, and stores the
location information of the recording region in the recording
control information memory 435.
[0201] (Step 1605) The recording region designation instruction
processing section 1522 in the disk recording/reproduction drive
1520 returns a completed" status to the upper control apparatus
1510 to indicate that the instruction has been processed.
[0202] (Step 1606) The split recording instruction issuing section
1513 in the upper control apparatus 1510 issues a "WRITE AV"
command, which is an instruction for transferring the data to be
recorded in the recording region as allocated at Step 1602 in a
split form, and requesting recording of the data on the rewritable
disk. After transferring the command control block of this command,
the split recording instruction issuing section 1513 transfers the
designated size of data. FIG. 19 shows the data structure 1900 of
the command control block of the "WRITE AV" command, which is a
split recording instruction. The command control block of the
"WRITE AV" command consists of 12 bytes. A unique code 1901 which
identifies a "WRITE AV" command is designated in byte 0. The
transfer length 1902 is designated (in sectors) in the two bytes
from byte 7 to byte 8. Since the "WRITE AV" command is a command
which requests recording data in the region which has already been
designated by the "SET RECORD AREA" command, the "WRITE AV" command
includes no parameters for designating any region in which to
perform recording.
[0203] (Step 1607) Referring back to FIG. 16, the split recording
instruction processing section 1523 in the disk
recording/reproduction drive 1520 receives recording data of the
size as designated by the split recording command "WRITE AV", and
stores the data in the recording data storing memory 436.
Thereafter, the split recording instruction processing section 1523
informs the skip recording control section 432 in the recording
control section 430 of the receipt of the recording request, and
requests a skip recording operation to be begun. The process which
is performed by the disk recording/reproduction drive 1520 will be
described with reference to FIG. 17 in more detail.
[0204] (Step 1608) After instructing the skip recording control
section 432 to begin recording, the split recording instruction
processing section 1523 returns a "completed" status to the split
recording instruction issuing section 1513 to indicate that the
process has been completed.
[0205] (Step 1609) After completion of the "WRITE AV" command, the
split recording instruction issuing section 1513 in the upper
control apparatus 1510 determines whether or not all of the data to
be recorded in the recording region as designated at Step 1602 has
been transferred. If less than all of the data to be recorded has
been transferred, the process goes back to Step 1606 to issue the
split recording instruction "WRITE AV" command again. On the other
hand, if it is determined that all of the data to be recorded has
been transferred, the split recording process is terminated, and
the process branches out to Step 1610.
[0206] (Step 1610) The upper control apparatus 1510 determines
whether or not all of the AV data that was input from the AV data
input section 470 has been recorded. If less than all of the data
to be recorded has been recorded, the process goes back to Step
1602 to again allocate a new recording region. On the other hand,
if it is determined that all of the data in the file has been
recorded, the process branches out to Step 506 to enter a file
management information generation process.
[0207] Steps 506 to 511 are similar to those which have been
illustrated in FIG. 5 with reference to Example 1. Therefore, the
descriptions thereof are omitted.
[0208] Next, the skip recording process and the split recording
process by the disk recording/reproduction drive 1520 will be
described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 17. It is assumed
that the "SET RECORD AREA" command (which designates a recording
region) has already been received by the disk
recording/reproduction drive 1520 and stored in the recording
control information memory 435.
[0209] (Step 1701) The skip recording control section 432 refers to
the location information of the recording region which is stored in
the recording control information memory 435, and sets a recording
location at the beginning of the recording region.
[0210] (Step 1702) The instruction processing section 1521 in the
disk recording/reproduction drive 1520 waits for a command to be
issued from the upper control apparatus 1510.
[0211] (Step 1703) Having received the "WRITE AV" command, which is
an instruction for transferring the recording data in a split form,
the split recording instruction processing section 1523 apparatus
1510 stores the received recording data in the recording data
storing memory 436, and requests the skip recording control section
432 to record the data.
[0212] (Step 1704) Having received the data recording request, the
skip recording control section 432 begins to record the data which
is stored in the recording data storing memory 436, starting from
the recording location on a rewritable disk.
[0213] (Step 1705) The defective region detection section 431
determines a defective region if the address which is assigned to
each sector as location information on the rewritable disk has not
been properly read, or if the monitored amplitude of the amount of
light which is reflected from the rewritable disk during recording
appears disturbed. If the defective region detection section 431
determines a defective region, the process branches out to Step
1706.
[0214] (Step 1706) If it is informed by the defective region
detection section 431 that a defective region has been detected,
the skip recording control section 432 stores the first LSN of the
defective region in the recording location storing memory 433 so
that a recorded region can be distinguished from a skipped region
after the recording.
[0215] (Step 1707) If no defective region was detected by the
defective region detection section 431 during recording, the data
verification section 434 performs a verification by reading the
recorded data, and the data which has been read is subjected to an
error correction process. If error correction is impossible or if
the number of corrections exceeds a predetermined value, the region
is determined as a defective region and the process branches out to
Step 1706.
[0216] (Step 1708) The region in which an error was detected by the
data verification section 434 is treated as a defective region at
Step 1706. If no error is detected, it is determined that the data
has been properly recorded.
[0217] (Step 1709) If the recording has properly ended, the
defective region detection section 431 determines whether or not
any data is left in the recording data storing memory 436 that has
not been recorded yet. If it is determined that all data has been
recorded, the defective region detection section 431 branches out
to Step 1702 to enter a command wait state for waiting a command
from the upper control apparatus 1510. On the other hand, if any
data is left unrecorded, the process branches out to Step 1710.
[0218] (Step 1710) In order to allow the unrecorded data to be
recorded, the defective region detection section 431 sets the
recording location to a location which lies next to the location in
which recording has been completed.
[0219] (Step 1711) The defective region detection section 431
compares the recording location which was set at Step 1710 against
the last LSN of the recording region which is stored in the
recording control information memory 435. If it is determined as a
result of the comparison that the recording location has gone past
the last LSN, the process is abnormally-ended, indicating that the
recording was not successfully performed within the designated
region. On the other hand, if it is determined that the recording
location has not gone past the last LSN, the process goes back to
Step 1704 to record the remaining data, starting from the recording
location.
[0220] (Step 1712) The instruction processing section 1521
determines whether or not the instruction which was received during
the command wait state at Step 1703 is a "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS"
command, which is a recording location requesting instruction. If
the received command is not a "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS" command, the
instruction processing section 1521 determines that an
inappropriate command was issued during the split recording
process, and returns an error to the upper control apparatus 1510
and terminates the process. On the other hand, if it is determined
that the recording location requesting instruction processing
section 423 received a "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS" command, the process
branches out to Step 1713.
[0221] (Step 1713) Having detected that the "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS"
command has been received, the recording location requesting
instruction processing section 423 returns to the upper control
apparatus 1510 the location information of the skipped region which
was stored in the recording location storing memory 433 during the
skip recording process. Since the returned location information of
the skipped region has the same data structure as that shown in
FIG. 7 (described in Example 1), the description thereof is
omitted. Having received this command, the disk
recording/reproduction drive 1520 determines that the split
recording process has been completed, and terminates the recording
process.
[0222] Thus, the information recording method according to Example
2 of the present invention has been described above.
[0223] The information reproduction method which is performed by
the information recording/reproduction system 1500 according to the
present example is similar to that described in Example 1, and the
description thereof is omitted.
[0224] As described above, in accordance with the information
recording method according to the present invention, the following
advantages are provided in addition to the advantage of the
information recording method according to Example 1.
[0225] A recording region is previously set, and thereafter
recording is performed in a split manner. As a result, it is
possible to record AV data even in embodiments where the data
buffer memory 414 in the information recording/reproduction system
has a small capacity relative to a large recording region. By
repetitively executing split recording instructions, it becomes
unnecessary to occupy the I/O bus 480 between the upper control
apparatus 1510 and the disk recording/reproduction drive 1520 for a
long period of time. This advantage allows for applications which
require access to the magnetic disk apparatus 450.
[0226] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, a region is
designated based on its start LSN and end LSN by the reproduction
region setting instruction. However, the designation may
alternatively be based on a start LSN and a region length, for
example, so long as a region can be identified.
[0227] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, the split
recording instruction processing section 1523 is illustrated as
returning a completed status to the upper control apparatus 1510
after the recording in a region on the rewritable disk which is
requested of a split recording has been completed. Alternatively,
the split recording instruction processing section 1523 may return
a "completed" status when the recording data is stored in the
recording data storing memory 436, and the actual recording onto
the rewritable disk may take place later.
[0228] Although the recording data is illustrated as being checked
by the data verification section 434 in the information recording
method according to the present example of the invention, it will
be appreciated that such data verification may be omitted during
recording in applications where higher real-time capabilities are
required, e.g., where AV data is input at a very high transfer
rate.
[0229] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, the defective
regions which are detected during skip recording are registered as
skipped and unused regions in the file management information.
Alternatively, the disk recording/reproduction drive 1520 may
register such defective regions on the SDL without allocating any
spare regions therefor, and subsequently perform the allocation of
an replacement location and the replacement process at the time of
the next PC data recording.
[0230] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, the defective
regions which are detected at the time of recording are skipped.
However, it will be appreciated that all of the defective regions
which have already been detected and registered on the SDL may also
be skipped.
[0231] In accordance with the information recording/reproduction
system 1500 according to the present example, the transfer of
information between the upper control apparatus 1510 and the disk
recording/reproduction drive 1520 is achieved based on the
recording location requesting instruction, the reproduction region
setting instruction, and the like. However, in embodiments where
the upper control apparatus 1510 and the disk
recording/reproduction drive 1520 of the system share a common
memory region, etc., which is accessible to both the upper control
apparatus 1510 and the disk recording/reproduction drive 1520,
similar processes can be realized by performing writing/reading for
such a memory region, thereby obviating the aforementioned
instructions.
EXAMPLE 3
[0232] Next, with reference to the figures, an information
recording/reproduction system 3000 according to Example 3 of the
present invention for recording or reproducing data on the disk
medium shown in FIG. 1 will be described, with respect to its
structure and operations.
[0233] FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
information recording/reproduction system 3000 according to Example
3 of the present invention. Hereinafter, the respective elements of
the information recording/reproduction system 3000 will be
described. The descriptions of those elements which have their
counterparts in the information recording/reproduction system 400
shown in FIG. 4 will be omitted.
[0234] As shown in FIG. 20, the information recording/reproduction
system 3000 includes an upper control apparatus 3010, a disk
recording/reproduction drive 3030, a magnetic disk apparatus 450,
an AV data output section 460, an AV data input section 470, and an
IO/bus 480.
[0235] The upper control apparatus 3010 is composed essentially of
a microprocessor including a control program and memories for
calculation purposes. The upper control apparatus 3010 includes a
recording region allocation section 3011, a file management
information generation section 3012, a file management information
interpretation section 413, a data buffer memory 414, a temporary
file management information storing memory 3015 which is composed
essentially of a non-volatile memory; and an instruction issuing
section 3020 for issuing instructions to the disk
recording/reproduction drive 3030.
[0236] The instruction issuing section 3020 includes: a recording
region designation instruction issuing section 1512 for issuing a
recording region designation instruction which designates a
recording region prior to a recording operation; a split recording
instruction issuing section 1513 for issuing a split recording
instruction for making a recording request for a recording region
and performing a data transfer in a split manner; a recording
location requesting instruction issuing section 417 for issuing a
recording location requesting instruction which requests returning
of the location information of a location in which a file has been
recorded after recording; a reproduction region setting instruction
issuing section 418 for issuing a reproduction region setting
instruction which designates a region to be reproduced prior to a
reproduction operation; a read data transfer instruction issuing
section 419 for issuing a read data transfer instruction which
requests the transfer of data which has been read; and a recording
status reporting instruction issuing section 3021 for issuing a
recording status reporting instruction which requests reporting of
a recording status during recording.
[0237] The disk recording/reproduction drive 3030 includes: an
instruction processing section 3040 for receiving and processing
instructions from the upper control apparatus 3010; a recording
control section 430 for controlling the recording onto a rewritable
disk (not shown); and a reproduction control section 440 for
controlling the reproduction from the rewritable disk.
[0238] The instruction processing section 3040 includes: a
recording region designation instruction processing section 1522
for receiving and processing a recording region designation
instruction; a split recording instruction processing section 1523
for receiving and processing a split recording instruction; a
recording location requesting instruction processing section 423; a
reproduction region setting instruction processing section 424; a
read data transfer instruction processing section 425; and a
recording status reporting instruction processing section 3041 for
receiving a recording status reporting instruction and performing a
recording status reporting process. The structure of the recording
control section 430 and the reproduction control section 440 is the
same as the structure of their counterparts in the information
recording/reproduction system 400 according to Example 1 of the
present invention, and the descriptions thereof are omitted.
[0239] Next, a recording method according to Example 3 of the
present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 21A and
21B. Later, the details of the recording method will also be
described with reference to FIG. 22.
[0240] FIGS. 21A and 21B show data layouts of the logical space of
a rewritable disk according to the present example. FIG. 21A
illustrates a data layout of the logical space before any AV files
are recorded, where one PC file is present under a directory DIR1.
The volume structure, ROOT directory file structure, DIR1 file
entry, DIR1 directory file, and PC_FILE file entry respectively are
identical with their counterparts described with reference to FIGS.
1, 2, 3. Therefore, the descriptions thereof are omitted. FIG. 21B
illustrates a data layout of the logical space where an AV file has
been recorded in unused regions which were available in the logical
space before recording.
[0241] Prior to recording, the upper control apparatus 3010
reserves at least one of unused regions in the logical space for
use as a recording region for AV files. A portion of an unused
region 2101 shown in FIG. 21A is reserved as an AV reserved region
2102 (while the portion of the unused region that is not used as
the AV reserved region 2102 is reserved as a region for recording a
file entry, i.e., file management information for AV files); an
unused region 2103 is reserved as an AV reserved region 2104; and
an unused region 2105 is reserved as an AV reserved region 2106.
Prior to performing a recording operation, the upper control
apparatus 3010 designates the three AV reserved regions 2102, 2104,
and 2106 as recording regions to the disk recording/reproduction
drive 3030. Thereafter, the upper control apparatus 3010 issues a
split recording instruction, and transfers recording data to the
disk recording/reproduction drive 3030. The upper control apparatus
3010 repetitively issues split recording instructions until all of
the recording data has been transferred.
[0242] The disk recording/reproduction drive 3030 receives the
recording data which has been transferred in accordance with the
split recording instructions, and begins to record the data in the
regions which have previously been designated as recording regions.
At this time, the recording regions are sequentially used,
following the order of designation by the upper control apparatus
3010. In the example illustrated in FIG. 21, the recording starts
from the beginning of the AV reserved region 2102, which was the
first-designated AV reserved region.
[0243] If the disk recording/reproduction drive 3030 uses up a
whole recording region during the recording of the recording data
which was transferred from the upper control apparatus 3010 in
accordance with a split recording instruction, the disk
recording/reproduction drive 3030 will automatically continue to
perform a recording operation for the next designated recording
region. In the example illustrated in FIG. 21, after completing
recording to the AV reserved region 2102, the disk
recording/reproduction drive 3030 begins recording to the AV
reserved region 2104, automatically avoiding a PC_FILE extent 2107.
The disk recording/reproduction drive 3030 skips a defective region
3100 which was detected during recording, and records the recording
data which would otherwise have been recorded in the defective
region 3100 in a subsequent region.
[0244] If any recording data is left after having completed
recording to the entire AV reserved region 2104, the disk
recording/reproduction drive 3030 skips a PC_FILE extent 2109, and
performs recording for the AV reserved region 2106. Just like the
defective region 3100 was skipped, a defective region 3101 in the
AV reserved region 2106 is also skipped, so that the recording data
is recorded in a subsequent region. After the recording of all
recording data is completed in the aforementioned manner, the upper
control apparatus 3010 registers each continuous region, among all
the regions in which AV data has been recorded, as an "extent". The
upper control apparatus 3010 generates file entry information such
that the respective AV data recording regions, as separated by the
PC_FILE extents and the defective regions, are designated as
AV_FILE extents 2112, 2113, 2108, 2114, and 2110. The upper control
apparatus 3010 generates an AV_FILE file entry, which is recorded
in the AV reserved region 2102 (which was reserved within the
unused region 2101).
[0245] Next, referring to FIG. 22, the aforementioned recording
procedure described with reference to FIG. 21 will be described in
more detail.
[0246] (Step 3201) Upon detecting an input signal, the AV data
input section 470 begins receiving AV data. The AV data input
section 470 converts the received analog video/audio signals into
digital AV data, and transfers the digital AV data to the data
buffer memory 414 in the upper control apparatus 3010.
[0247] (Step 3202) Prior to recording the AV data, the recording
region allocation section 3011 in the upper control apparatus 3010
obtains vacant region information concerning the rewritable disk
from the file management information interpretation section 413,
and allocates a recording region for recording an AV file. The
recording region allocation section 3011 allocates a recording
region for the AV file by considering the size of the allocated
regions and the physical distance between regions so as to attain a
sufficient reading rate during reproduction. The recording region
allocation section 3011 allocates a plurality of continuous regions
as recording regions. In the example illustrated in FIG. 21, AV
reserved regions 2102, 2104, and 2106 are allocated as recording
regions.
[0248] (Steps 3203 to 3205) The recording region designation
instruction issuing section 1512 in the upper control apparatus
3010 issues to the disk recording/reproduction drive 3030 a "SET
RECORD AREA" command, which designates a recording region, so as to
designate the location information of the recording regions which
were allocated at Step 3202 following the order in which they were
allocated. (The "SET RECORD AREA" command has already been
described with reference to FIG. 18.) The recording region
designation instruction processing section 1522 in the disk
recording/reproduction drive 3030 receives the "SET RECORD AREA"
command which was issued from the upper control apparatus 3010, and
stores the location information of the recording region in the
recording control information memory 435. The start LSN and the end
LSN of the respective regions, following the order of the received
recording regions, are stored in the location information of each
recording region. In a subsequent recording operation, the
recording regions will be used in the order of this storage.
[0249] (Step 3206) The split recording instruction issuing section
1513 in the upper control apparatus 3010 issues a "WRITE AV"
command. The "WRITE AV" command is an instruction which transfers
the data to be recorded in the recording regions as allocated at
Step 3202 in a split form and requests recording of the data on the
rewritable disk. (This command has already been described with
reference to FIG. 19.) Having received the "WRITE AV" command, the
split recording instruction processing section 1523 in the disk
recording/reproduction drive 3030 stores recording data of the size
as designated by its control block in the recording data storing
memory 436. Thereafter, the split recording instruction processing
section 1523 returns a completed" status to the upper control
apparatus 3010. The received data is recorded after the returning
of the "completed" status. Such an operation is usually referred to
as a "write-back cache" operation.
[0250] (Step 3207) The recording location requesting instruction
processing section 423 in the upper control apparatus 3010 issues a
"READ SKIPPED ADDRESS" command in order to obtain the recording
locations within the portion which has actually been recorded on
the rewritable disk. (This command has already been described with
reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.) The recording location requesting
instruction processing section 423 in the disk
recording/reproduction drive 3030 refers to the skipped address
information which is stored in the recording location storing
memory 433, and returns any unreported skipped address information
to the upper control apparatus 3010. Since any skipped address
information that has already been returned is set to a "reported"
status on the recording location storing memory 433, such skipped
address information will no longer be returned responsive to any
subsequent instances of the "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS" command.
[0251] (Step 3208) The recording status reporting instruction
issuing section 3021 in the upper control apparatus 3010 issues a
"SEND RECORDING STATUS" command to request reporting of the a
current recording status.
[0252] A data structure 2300 of the command control block of the
"SEND RECORDING STATUS" command is shown in FIG. 23. A unique code
1901 which identifies a "SEND RECORDING STATUS" command is
designated in byte 0, i.e., a "SEND RECORDING STATUS" instruction
code region 2301. Bytes 1 to 7 are reserved for possible future
extensions of instruction definition or the like. In an "allocated
length" field 2302, a memory size which was allocated by the upper
control apparatus 3010 for the "RECORDING STATUS" data which is to
be returned responsive to the "SEND RECORDING STATUS" command. If
the allocated length 2302 is smaller than "16", the disk
recording/reproduction drive 3030 returns an amount of data
equivalent to the allocated length 2302. Bytes 10 to 11 are
reserved.
[0253] Having received the "SEND RECORDING STATUS" command, the
recording status reporting instruction processing section 3041 in
the disk recording/reproduction drive 3030 receives a current
recording status from the skip recording control section 432 in the
recording control section 430, generates "RECORDING STATUS" data,
and returns the generated "RECORDING STATUS" data to the upper
control apparatus 3010.
[0254] A data structure 2400 of the "RECORDING STATUS" data is
shown in FIG. 24A. In bytes 0 to 1, a data length 2401 of the
"RECORDING STATUS" data is stored. Since the data length 2401 does
not include the length of the "RECORDING STATUS" data length field
itself, "14 (bytes)" is set in the data length 2401. A "RECORDING
STATUS" data code field 2402 stores a current recording status as a
one-byte code as shown in FIG. 24B. As shown in FIG. 24B, "00h" in
the field 2402 indicates that all the recording regions have been
used (or no recording regions are set); "01h" in the field 2402
indicates that a recording region has been set but no data to
record exists; "02h" in the field 2402 indicates that a recording
operation is being executed.
[0255] A "LSN under recording" field 2403, spanning from byte 4 to
byte 7 of the "RECORDING STATUS" data format shown in FIG. 24A,
stores a LSN which is currently under recording. This field enables
the upper control apparatus 3010 to confirm the progress of
recording. An "Unreported skipped address number" field 2404 from
byte 8 to byte 9 stores the number of skipped addresses which have
not been reported to the upper control apparatus 3010, among the
blocks which were skipped due to defective regions. An "Effective
recording region number" field 2405 from byte 10 to byte 11 stores
the number of effective regions, among the regions which were
designated by the upper control apparatus 3010 in accordance with
the "SET RECORD AREA" command. For example, in the case where three
recording regions are designated, if data recording has been
performed for the first recording region and part of the way into
the second recording region, then "2" (indicating the second and
third recording regions) is set in the field 2405. In a "Received
but unrecorded data length" field 2406 from byte 12 to byte 13, the
size of data which has been transferred from the upper control
apparatus 3010 in accordance with the "WRITE AV" command, but which
has not been recorded, is set in multiples of 2048 bytes.
[0256] (Step 3209) The file management information generation
section 3012 in the upper control apparatus 3010 generates file
management information based on the recording information which was
obtained at Steps 3207 and 3208 up to that point in time, and
stores the generated file management information in the temporary
file management information storing memory 3015.
[0257] (Step 3210) The split recording instruction issuing section
1513 in the upper control apparatus 3010 determines whether or not
all of the AV data that is stored in the data buffer memory 414 has
been recorded. If it is determined that any data is left
untransferred, the process goes back to Step 3206 to again issue
the "WRITE AV" command. On the other hand, if it is determined that
all of the data to be recorded has been transferred, the process
branches out to Step 3211.
[0258] (Step 3211) The file management information generation
section 3012 in the upper control apparatus 3010 refers to the
"RECORDING STATUS" data which was obtained at Step 3208, in order
to determine whether the recording status is a "No recording data"
status or not. If a "No recording data" status is determined, the
process branches to Step 3212 to update and finalize the file
management information for AV files. On the other hand, if a status
other than the "No recording" status is determined, the process
goes back to Step 3207 to wait for a "No recording data"
status.
[0259] (Step 3212) The file management information generation
section 3012 in the upper control apparatus 3010 generates file
entry information for the AV files which have been recorded, and
generates management information (e.g., unused space management
information), and requests the disk recording/reproduction drive
3030 to perform a recording process in accordance with a usual
"WRITE" command.
[0260] Thus, the recording procedure for AV data has been described
above.
[0261] The information reproduction method which is performed by
the information recording/reproduction system 3000 according to the
present example is similar to that described in Example 1, and the
description thereof is omitted.
[0262] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, Step 3209
confirms a current recording status and stores file management
information in the temporary file management information storing
memory 3015. As a result, in the event of a power failure during
the recording of AV data, it is possible to restore the file
management information that had been generated up to the portion
which was actually recorded on the rewritable disk.
[0263] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, a region is
designated based on its start LSN and end LSN by the reproduction
region setting instruction. However, the designation may
alternatively be based on a start LSN and a region length, for
example, so long as a region can be identified.
[0264] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, the defective
regions which are detected at the time of recording are skipped.
However, it will be appreciated that all of the defective regions
which have already been detected and registered on the SDL may also
be skipped.
[0265] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, the "READ
SKIPPED ADDRESS" command and the "SEND RECORDING STATUS" command
are illustrated as being separately defined. Alternatively, these
commands may be arranged so that the data to be returned responsive
to these commands may be returned in a combined form, responsive to
one command.
[0266] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, Steps 3207 to
3209 are performed each time the "WRITE AV" command is issued. It
will be appreciated, however, that these processes only need to
occur within a predetermined period.
[0267] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present example of the invention, the file
management information is updated at Step 3209. Alternatively,
similar effects can be attained by updating files for management
information associated with so-called "trick play" modes, for
example.
[0268] In accordance with the information recording disk according
to the present invention, it is possible to perform
recording/reproduction by skipping a defective region in a logical
space which is managed based on file management information. As a
result, the present invention makes possible a high-speed defect
management which involves simply skipping defective regions,
whereas a conventional defect management method would require
replacement processes for providing an error-free logical space and
therefore incur some delay.
[0269] In embodiments where the information recording disk includes
ECC blocks, each consisting of a plurality of sectors, the
information recording disk according to the present invention
attains excellent reliability as an information recording disk by
registering defective regions on an ECC block-by-ECC block
basis.
[0270] In embodiments where the information recording disk includes
ECC blocks, each consisting of a plurality of sectors, the
information recording disk according to the present invention
provides for excellent reliability of PC data even if both AV data
(which may be recorded without performing a data verification
process because of their high real-time recording capability
requirements) and PC data (which require high reliability) are
present on the same disk. This can be realized by registering a
padding extent for ensuring that an ECC block in which AV data is
recorded does not include any PC data, and by providing
identification information for every extent, which ensures that no
ECC block will contain both AV data and PC data within the same
block.
[0271] The information recording disk according to the present
invention contains identification information for identifying an AV
file from a non-AV file. As a result, it is possible to selectively
employ different reproduction methods in accordance with the
specific file attributes. For example, in the case of reproducing
an AV file, it is possible to employ the relatively fast
reproduction method according to the present invention.
[0272] As described above, in accordance with the information
recording method according to the present invention, any defective
regions which are detected at the time of recording are skipped
during recording. As a result, the delay in the
recording/reproduction process associated with the conventional
replacement process is substantially eliminated, thereby enabling
real-time recording/reproduction of AV data.
[0273] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present invention, defective regions are managed
as unused regions by the file management information. This makes it
possible to record PC data by using a conventional replacement
method for the LSNs which are determined as defective regions.
[0274] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present invention, by performing a data
verification process, it becomes possible to attain high
reliability in applications where real-time capabilities are
required not during recording but during reproduction, e.g.,
recording AV data which is already stored in a magnetic disk
apparatus. Since an allowable number of skips is set during a skip
recording process, even if a large number of defective regions are
skipped, it is still possible to prevent the destruction of the
subsequent regions in which other file data may be recorded.
[0275] If the end of an AV file extent happens to fall in the
middle of an ECC block, the remainder of that ECC block is
registered as a padding extent, thereby preventing other files from
being recorded in the same ECC block. Accordingly, in embodiments
where AV data are recorded without any data verification in order
to facilitate real-time recording, it is still possible to prevent
files containing AV data and files containing PC data from being
mixed in the same ECC block. As a result, the reliability of PC
data is ensured.
[0276] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present invention, identification information for
identifying AV data from other types of data is registered in the
file management information, so that it is possible, at the time of
reproduction, to know whether or not the data requires real-time
processing capabilities.
[0277] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present invention, a recording region is
previously set, and thereafter recording is performed in a split
manner. As a result, it is possible to record AV data even in
embodiments where the information recording/reproduction system
incorporates a data buffer memory which has a small capacity
relative to a large recording region. By repetitively executing
split recording instructions, it becomes unnecessary to occupy a
bus between an upper control apparatus and a disk
recording/reproduction drive for a long period of time. This
advantage allows for applications which require access to the
magnetic disk apparatus.
[0278] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present invention, by regularly updating and
storing file management information in a non-volatile memory, it
becomes possible to provide means for data restoration in the event
of an unexpected power failure or the like, without unfavorably
disrupting the AV data recording.
[0279] In accordance with the information recording method
according to the present invention, one or more reproduction
regions may be set prior to reproduction in order to realize a
read-ahead process for previously reading a plurality of regions,
thereby making for even faster reproduction. As a result, AV data
reproduction can be performed so that video/audio information is
smoothly reproduced without disruptions.
[0280] Various other modifications will be apparent to and can be
readily made by those skilled in the art without departing from the
scope and spirit of this invention. Accordingly, it is not intended
that the scope of the claims appended hereto be limited to the
description as set forth herein, but rather that the claims be
broadly construed.
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