JPH01292674A - Digital data recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To classify and record a data block given from a computer by forming plural data volume regions on a tape and forming a data block area in a reservation region of the data volume. CONSTITUTION:The data volume regions and amble regions having a specified number of tracks consisting of the data block area and the reservation area are produced by a data volume recording control part 13 on the tape 3. And, a random write function for rewriting a data block area in an optional data volume region is executed by a data block recording and reproducing control part 12, and in addition, an AND-function for adding a new data block area to an optional data volume region is executed. Moreover, a random read function is executed by the control part 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for recording and reproducing digital data using tape.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, digital recording and reproducing technology has been applied to a wide range of fields, and particularly in the field of digital audio, remarkable progress has been made, and a rotating head type % type % (DAT) has been put into practical use.

On the other hand, there have been many attempts to apply digital data recording and reproducing technology using a rotating head type tape such as DAT as a recording medium to auxiliary storage devices for computers. Instead of digitized audio data, these devices sequentially record digital data given from a computer in data blocks in a preset fixed amount of data format, and when playing back, they record the digital data sequentially in data blocks as in the case of audio applications. The digital data is read and output as a data block while tracking based on the track synchronization signal recorded above, making it possible to record, reproduce, and save extremely large amounts of data.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the conventional configuration as described above, data blocks are recorded on the tape in the order given by the computer, so if two or more types of data blocks are given out of order, , it is not possible to classify them according to the above-mentioned series and record them on a tape, which has the problem of increasing processing time during playback. However, in the conventional configuration as described above, in order to solve the above problems, a data block area located at an arbitrary position on the tape is rewritten. Alternatively, a function such as forming a data block area at an arbitrary position is required, but for this purpose, it is necessary to form a track over the entire long tape as an initial formatting operation, and to determine a track synchronization signal. Forma 5 also had the problem of requiring a long time for paget operation.

In view of the above problems, the present invention does not require the lengthy initial formatting operation, and sorts and records the data blocks given in random order from a computer on a tape.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital data recording and reproducing device that realizes rapid reproducing operations.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the digital data recording and reproducing apparatus of the present invention includes communication means for transmitting and receiving digital data and control information from an external device, and a track synchronization signal that is a tracking reference signal. A data block recording means for forming multiple data blocks by recording signals that do not contain the data, a data volume area consisting of a data block area and a reserved area continuous to the data block area, and an amble area preceding the data volume area. At the same time, a data volume recording means for recording the track synchronization signal described above and recording identification information unique to the data volume area in the identification information recording area, and according to a preset control procedure according to the control information, The apparatus further comprises a control means for controlling the data block recording means and the data volume recording means.

Operation The present invention forms a plurality of data volume areas on a tape with the above-described configuration, and stores a data block given from a computer together with control information into a reserved area of the data volume specified by the control information. By forming a block area or rewriting an already formed data block area, it is possible to classify and record data blocks given in random order from the computer together with the control information into appropriate data volume areas. Furthermore, the formatting of the volume area on the tape is achieved by creating an appropriate amount of reserved area specified by the control information when forming the data volume area. There is no lengthy initial formatting operation that spans the entire tape.

That is, by dividing a long tape into a plurality of areas and classifying and recording data blocks, data management can be easily realized and data can be quickly reproduced.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the digital data recording/reproducing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a digital data recording/reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 1,
1 is a cassette half, 2 is a reel, 3 is a tape, 4 is a cylinder, 5a and 5b are heads, 6 is a capstan that runs the tape 3, and 7 is a mechanism that controls the operations of the reel 2, cylinder 4, and capstan 6. A control unit 8 encodes digital data in the recording operation and controls the heads sa and es.
A recording signal is supplied to heads sa and sb during playback operation.
9 is a signal processing unit that separates a track synchronization signal from a reproduction signal obtained from a reproduction signal, transmits the track synchronization signal to a mechanism control unit 7, decodes the reproduction signal, and outputs digital data, and 9 is a data management unit in a recording operation. This is an auxiliary data processing section that supplies a data volume identification code consisting of information to the signal processing section 8 as auxiliary data, and extracts and outputs the data volume identification code during reproduction operation.

Reference numeral 10 is a communication unit that transmits and receives digital data and control information to and from an external device, and 11 is a data buffer that temporarily stores the digital data that is exchanged by the communication unit 10. Reference numeral 12 denotes a data block recording and reproducing control section which controls data transfer of the data buffer 11 during recording and controls data transmission of the data buffer 11 during playback and inputs the data volume identification code from the auxiliary data processing section 9; is a data volume recording control unit that controls data transfer of the data buffer 11 and outputs the data volume identification code to the auxiliary data processing unit 9. Reference numeral 14 inputs the above-mentioned 9 control information from the communication unit 1o, sends an operation command to the mechanism control unit 7 according to a preset control procedure, sends data block recording and playback control information to the data block recording and playback control unit 12, and controls the data volume recording. This is a system control unit that supplies data volume recording control information to the units 13, respectively.

The operations of the digital data recording and reproducing apparatus configured as described above include a data recording and reproducing operation, which is a basic operation, and a data management operation, which is a practical operation, which will be explained in detail below.

First, the data recording and reproducing operation, which is a basic operation, will be explained. The data recording and reproducing operation described above includes a track forming operation, a track reproducing operation, and a main data rewriting operation.

In the track forming operation, the data volume recording control section 13 executes basic control. In Figure 1,
The data volume recording control unit 13 is the system control unit 14
An operation command is given to the mechanism control unit 7 via the external device, and the data is temporarily stored in the data buffer 711 via the communication unit 10 and transferred to the signal processing unit 8 as main data, and further transferred to the auxiliary data processing unit. 9 gives auxiliary data. The mechanism control section 7 applies tension to the reel 2 in accordance with the above control command, rotates the capstan 6 at a constant speed to drive the tape 3 at a constant speed, and further rotates the cylinder 4 at a constant speed. The signal processing section 8 processes the above-mentioned auxiliary data given from the auxiliary data processing section 9 and the above-mentioned main data given from the data buffer 11, adds a track synchronization signal, converts it into a track formation signal, and sends it to the heads 5a, 5b. By sequentially outputting, diagonal tracks are continuously formed on the tape 3.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the tracks on the tape 3 formed by the track forming operation described above. One track indicated by arrow A in FIG. 2 is composed of an auxiliary data recording area indicated by arrow B, a track synchronization signal recording area indicated by arrow C, and a main data recording area indicated by the arrow. Ru. Further, on the tape 3, as shown by E, a plurality of tracks having the same structure as the rack shown by arrow A are successively formed.

In the track playback operation, the data block recording and playback control section 12 executes basic control.

In FIG. 1, a data block recording/reproduction control section 12 gives an operation command to a mechanism control section 7 via a system control section 14. The signal processing section 8 extracts a track synchronization signal from the playback signals output from the heads sa and 6b, and outputs it to the mechanism control section 7. The mechanism control unit 7 applies tension to the reel 2 and synchronizes the rotational speed of the capstan 6 and the rotational phase of the cylinder 4 based on the track synchronization signal, thereby moving the heads 5a and sb onto the tape 3.
Make the tracks configured above trace accurately. - The power signal processing section 8 processes the reproduction signal and outputs the upper auxiliary data to the auxiliary data processing section 9 and the main data to the data buffer 11, respectively. The data block recording/reproduction control section 12 can read the data recorded on the tape 3 by sequentially transferring the main data temporarily stored in the data buffer 11 to the communication section 10 as data. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, in the tracks formed by the track forming operation, the track synchronization signal recording area of each track is determined with predetermined dimensional accuracy on the tape 3.
Track playback operation based on the above-mentioned accurate tracking,
Data can be read.

The main data rewriting operation is an operation of changing only the main data portion of the track formed on the tape 3. In this case, the data block recording/playback control section 1
2 performs basic control. In FIG. 1, the data block recording/reproducing control unit 12 gives a control command to the mechanism control unit 7 via the system control unit 14, and the data block is temporarily stored in the data buffer 11 via the communication unit 1o from an external device. The obtained data is transferred to the signal processing section 8. The mechanism control section 7 moves the heads 5a and 5b accurately to the tracks formed on the tape 3 on the basis of the track synchronization signal given from the signal processing section 8 in the case of the above-mentioned track playback operation. is the same as The signal processing unit 8 converts the above data provided from the data buffer 11 into main data, ! : to generate a recording signal for the main data recording area shown in the second diagram, and to output it only when the heads 5a and 5b pass through the main data recording area in synchronization with the rotational phase of the cylinder 4. This rewrites the main data recording area. That is, in the main data rewriting operation, only the main data recording area is changed without making any change to the track synchronization signal recording area of the track already formed in the track forming operation.

Next, the above data management operation, which is a practical operation of this embodiment, will be explained in detail. The data management operation includes a data volume creation operation, a data block rewriting operation, and a data block reading operation. The system control unit 14 interprets the control information given from the external device via the communication unit 1o, determines the type of data management 14 operation requested from the external device, and determines whether it is the data volume creation operation. For example, the data volume recording control information is generated and transferred to the data volume recording control unit 13, or for the data block rewriting operation or the data block reading operation, data block recording and reproduction control information is generated and the data block recording and reproduction control unit 12 Transfer to.

In the data volume creation operation, the data volume recording control unit 13 records the data volume with the number of tracks indicated in the data volume recording control information using the data volume identification code indicated in the data volume recording information as auxiliary data. , are created on the tape 3 by the track forming operation described above. In FIG. 3, the two data volumes created on tape 3 are shown at F and G. In FIG. 3, arrow H indicates an amble area consisting of a plurality of tracks in which dummy data is recorded in the main data recording area, and at the boundary of the data volume indicated by the arrow, tape 3 in the track synchronization signal recording area Although the above positional relationship is irregular and is 15 l\-7, the boundary between the amble area and the data volume area shown by the arrow ■ has been determined as the positional relationship of the track synchronization signal recording area is normal. Even if tracking is out of synchronization at the boundary of arrow I during playback operation, tracking synchronization is achieved again while traveling in the amble area, and the data recorded in the data volume area can be read out accurately. . In the arrows, L indicates two data block areas included in the data volume area G, respectively. FIG. 4 shows the structure of L in the data block area. The above data block area is the first
In the figure, a data buffer 1 is sent from an external device via a communication unit 1o.
The data temporarily stored in 1 is recorded in the main data recording area of a plurality of tracks in units of a preset data amount, and in the example shown in FIG. 4, 4 tracks are recorded in units of data. The above data block is configured as follows. In FIGS. 3 and 4, arrow M indicates a reserved area. The above-mentioned reserved area refers to the data constituting the above-mentioned data block given from an external device for the number of tracks of the data volume indicated by the above-mentioned data volume recording control information, that is, when the data to be recorded is insufficient, the data volume recording This is an area where the control unit 13 transfers dummy data from the data buffer 11 to the signal processing unit 8 and is made up of tracks in which the dummy data is recorded in the main data area, and the track synchronization signal recording area is in a normal state. It has been confirmed that

As described above, in the data volume creation operation, the data volume recording control unit 13 creates on the tape 3 the data volume area and the amble area of the designated number of tracks, each consisting of the data block area and the reserved area. be.

Next, the above data block rewriting operation will be explained. In the data block rewriting operation, the data block recording and reproducing control section 12 determines whether a data block area to be rewritten exists based on the data volume identification information indicated in the data block recording and reproducing control information given from the system control section 14. The corresponding data volume is interpreted, and the data block rewriting operation described above is realized by changing the contents of the data block area specified by the data block recording/playback control information already formed on the tape 3. It is determined whether this is achieved by creating a new data block area or by creating a new data block area. If the content of the specified data block area is changed, the data block recording/playback control unit 12 changes the main data recording area of the specified data block of the applicable data volume to the new data block area. If the main data recording area is to be created, the main data recording area from the first track of the reserved area of the corresponding data volume area is rewritten by the main data rewriting operation described above.

FIG. 5 shows the state of the data block area on the tape 3 that has been changed from the state shown in FIG. 3 by the data block rewriting operation. In FIG. 5, an arrow N indicates a new data block area converted from the head area of the reserved area by the main data rewriting operation, and this data block contains data that has already been formed. It has the characteristic of being continuous in the block area. The arrow on the - side indicates a data block area that has already been formed, but whose data content has been changed by the main data rewriting operation.

As described above, in the data block rewriting operation, a random write function that rewrites an arbitrary data block area in an arbitrary data volume area can be realized, and an abend function that adds a new data block area to an arbitrary data volume area can be realized. realizable.

Next, the above data block read operation will be explained. In the data block read operation, the data block recording/reproducing control unit 12 identifies the data block area to be reproduced indicated in the data block recording/reproducing control information and the identification code of the data volume area containing the data block area. The communication section 10 to an external device to complete the data block read operation. That is, in the data block read operation, it is possible to realize the random read function in data block units.

As described above, in this embodiment, one or more data volume areas can be formed on the tape 3 by providing the data block recording/playback control section 12, the data volume recording control section 13, and the system control section 14. , data to be recorded can be additionally recorded in data block units in any of the above data volume areas. In other words, regardless of the order in which data is transferred from an external device, the data to be recorded can be classified and organized into the data blocks using the data volume as a classification item and recorded on the tape. Since the classified data is continuously recorded on the tape 3, high-speed continuous reproduction is realized. Further, by forming the reserved area at the time of data volume formation, the tape can be formatted for each data volume area, so there is no need to perform a lengthy initial formatting operation over the entire tape. Furthermore, it is possible to realize random access functions such as random read and random write for each data block.

Note that the system control unit 14. Data block recording/playback control unit 12. Data volume recording control section 13, auxiliary data processing section 9. Although the mechanism control section 7 is configured as an independent control section or processing section, some of them may be integrated and constituted by a microcomputer and realized as software thereof.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention provides communication means for transmitting and receiving digital data and control information from an external device, and a data block area in which a data block obtained from the communication means is recorded and includes a track synchronization signal. a data block recording means formed by recording a signal that does not exist, a data volume area consisting of the data block area and a reserved area continuous to the data block area, and an amble area preceding the data volume area; , record the track sync signal above,
data volume recording means for recording identification information unique to the data volume area in the identification information recording area; and control for controlling the data block recording means and the data volume recording means according to a preset control procedure according to the control information. By providing means, one or more of the data volume areas can be formed on the tape, and the digital data to be recorded can be additionally recorded in data block units in any of the data volume areas. That is, regardless of the order in which data is transferred from the external device, the digital data to be recorded can be classified and organized into data blocks using the data volume as a classification item and recorded on the Q22B. Practical data management can be easily realized, and at the time of playback, data that has already been classified and recorded on the tape as continuous data blocks is played back, so high-speed continuous playback can be realized.

Further, by forming the reserved area when forming the data volume, the tape formatting operation is realized for each data volume area, so there is no need to perform a lengthy initial formatting operation over the entire tape.

Furthermore, it is possible to realize random access functions such as random read and random write in units of data blocks, and since it can be easily realized with a simple configuration, it has great industrial effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of tracks formed on a tape, FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a data volume area configured on a tape, and FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a data volume area configured on a tape. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the data block 23 half-lock area configured on the tape. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of the data block area changed on the tape. 1...Cassette half, 2...Reel, 3...Tape, 4...Cylinder, 5
a, 5b... Head, 6... Capstan, 7... Mechanism control section, 8...
- Signal processing section, 9... Auxiliary data processing section, 1゜... Communication section, 11... Data buffer, 12. Old... Data block recording and playback control section, 13.
...Data volume recording control section, 14... Group...
System control unit. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person 8.
8 8・months N momme・4. .

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A digital data recording and reproducing device that forms diagonal tracks on a tape by rotating one or more heads, comprising a communication means for transmitting and receiving digital data and control information from an external device; data block recording means forming a data block area, which is a set of consecutive tracks on a tape, on which data blocks, which are a series of data including data obtained from the means, are recorded; and one or more consecutive said data blocks. and a reserved area which is a set of one or more continuous tracks for recording preset data and is an area continuous with the continuous data block area. . A digital data recording/reproducing apparatus comprising: a control means for controlling the data block recording means and the data volume recording means according to a preset control procedure in accordance with the control information. (2) The data volume recording means comprises a control procedure for forming an amble area, which is a set of one or more continuous tracks on the tape, and a data volume area. Data recording and reproducing device. (3) The data volume recording means includes a control procedure for recording identification information specific to the data volume area in a preset identification information recording area that is part of the data volume area. The digital data recording and reproducing device described above. (4) Digital data recording according to claim 1, characterized in that the data volume recording means includes a control procedure for recording a track synchronization signal, which is a tracking reference signal for data reproduction operation, on the tracks constituting the data volume area. playback device. (5) The data block recording device includes a control procedure for creating a data block area by recording a signal that does not include a track synchronization signal on an already formed track. Recording and playback device.