JPH05325423A - Optical information recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable coping with plural physical formats with a device by constituting the device so as to cope with plural physical formats and switching the operation of the device in accordance with a selected format. CONSTITUTION:A CPU 5 is connected to a format selecting switch 2, outputs a format selecting signal 6 indicating whether or not either of a format A or a format B is selected in accordance with selection setting by the switch 2, and allows a control unit 7A for the format A or a control unit 7B for the format B to be operated. Also the selected control unit 7A or 7B controls a driving unit 3 so as to perform various operations such as writing information in an optical card 4 or reading information from the optical card 4 in accordance with a command from an external control means in the control of the CPU 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus having a format selecting means for recording and / or reproducing information using an optical recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an optical recording medium such as an optical card or an optical disk has an extremely high recording density as compared with a magnetic recording medium, and therefore, its application has been started for recording a large amount of information. Among them, the optical card has a storage capacity several thousand times to 10,000 times that of the magnetic card and cannot be rewritten like the WORM type optical disk, but the storage capacity is 1 to 2M.
From large bytes, it can be applied to applications such as personal health management cards that store past history data, prepaid cards, customer management, etc., and some have started experiments.

Further, the use of WORM type optical discs is beginning to be expanded for document files and the like, and magneto-optical discs are being put on the market for incorporation into personal computers. Optical cards, like optical disks and magneto-optical disks,
Standardization of the physical format of the data recorded on the optical card is indispensable for widespread use in the world, and standardization work is currently in progress centering on ISO.

However, at present, three format proposals have been proposed, and the standardization is not completed immediately. Therefore, it is estimated that the proposed three standardized optical cards and optical card recording / reproducing devices will be on the market for a while, and will gradually converge to standardized cards and devices after the standardized format is decided. There is.

[0005]

In the above situation, since the optical card recording / reproducing apparatus can handle only one type of optical card of one physical format, the optical card recording / reproducing apparatus is initially used in a certain format. Therefore, in order to switch to a standardized format when standardization is decided, the optical card recording / reproducing device must be replaced, which is extremely troublesome work and wasteful expenses for the user who uses the optical card. Become.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to provide an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus capable of coping with a plurality of types of physical formats.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An optical information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention comprises a format selecting means for selecting a physical format of a recording medium to be used, and recording and / or recording on a recording medium based on an output of the format selecting means. Alternatively, the recording / reproducing operation control means for controlling the reproducing operation is provided.

[0008]

The recording / reproducing operation control means is composed of a control unit and a drive unit, and the control unit can select the control operation according to the physical format of an optical recording medium such as an optical card to be used. In accordance with the output of the format selection means, the control operation suitable for the physical format is performed.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an optical card recording / reproducing apparatus 1 of a first embodiment of an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention. The optical card recording / reproducing apparatus 1 is compatible with two formats, format A and format B, and the format to be used is selected by the format selection switch 2 attached to the optical card recording / reproducing apparatus 1.

An optical card 4 for recording or reproducing information is detachably attached to the drive unit 3. The drive unit 3 is connected to a CPU 5 that controls the optical card recording / reproducing apparatus 1. This CPU
5 is connected to a format selection switch 2 including a DIP switch and the like.
The format selection signal 6 indicating whether the format A or B is selected is output according to the selection setting according to the step A, and the format A control unit 7A or the format B control unit 7B is operated.

Format A control unit 7A and format B control unit 7B
Is connected to an external control means such as a personal computer through a selector 8. The selector 8 selects the format A control unit 7A or the format B control unit 7B according to the format selection signal 6 from the CPU 5. Connect to external control means.

The selected format A control unit 7A or format B control unit 7B is controlled by the CPU 5 in accordance with a command from an external control means to write information to the optical card 4 or to output an optical signal. The drive unit 3 is controlled so as to execute various operations such as reading information from the card 4.

In addition to the microcomputer, the CPU 5 is a DSP (Digital Signal Proceed).
(sser) or a combination of logic circuits.

The first embodiment thus constructed is characterized in that information can be recorded and reproduced on the optical card 4 in different formats A and B depending on the selection setting by the format selection switch 2. ..

The operation of the optical card recording / reproducing apparatus 1 of this embodiment will be described. After the power is turned on, the CPU 5 performs the initial setting in the optical card recording / reproducing apparatus 1, and at that time, the state of the format selection switch 2 is fetched. The CPU 5 uses the format A when the format selection switch 2 is ON, for example.
Control units 7A and 7B, selectors 8 and drive unit 3 so that the control unit 7A for the format is activated, and the control unit 7B for the format B is activated when it is OFF. Format selection signal 6
Is output.

The drive unit 3 has a format A.
Depending on B or B, the effective length in the track direction on the optical card 4 may differ or the reflectance of the medium may differ, so that the characteristics in the drive unit 3 are set so as to be optimum for the selected format A or B. Change the value etc.

After the above initial operation is completed, it becomes possible to access only the optical card 4 of the format A or B selected by the format selection switch 2. For an optical card other than the selected format A or B, for example, the prerecorded ID part cannot be read, so it is determined that the optical card 4 is not the selected format A or B, and the optical card is ejected. Perform processing such as

According to the first embodiment, the format A or B selected by the format selection switch 2 is selected.
Since recording and reproduction can be performed on the optical card 4 of No. 1, it is not necessary to provide a plurality of recording / reproduction devices dedicated to the respective formats A or B, and one recording / reproduction device can deal with this.

Although the format A control unit 7A and the format B control unit 7B are independent in this embodiment, a part of them may be shared.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the configuration of the second embodiment is the same as the block diagram shown in FIG. 1 except that the format selection switch 2 is omitted, the illustration is omitted and the same reference numerals are used for the description.

The selection of the format of the second embodiment is determined by a command from a personal computer (not shown) which is an external control means connected to the optical card recording / reproducing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. That is, the command is set so that the usable formats A and B are switched by the command issued from the personal computer after the power of the optical card recording / reproducing apparatus 1 is turned on.

For example, from a personal computer to CP
When the command code output to U5 is 98, the CPU 5 outputs the format selection signal 6 so that the optical card of format A can be used and when the command code is 99, the optical card of format B can be used. Also, although the command code is the same, it may be possible to select the usable formats A and B by the parameter following the command code.

As the interface with the personal computer, SCSI, RS232C or the like can be considered, but the interface is not limited thereto. When the command for setting the format is not issued, for example, the format A can be used as a default. Also, format A or B
May be selected only when the power is turned on,
A command for selecting the format A or B may be accepted at any time. In this way, the usable format A or B can be controlled by an instruction from the personal computer. The effect of this embodiment is almost the same as that of the first embodiment.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Third
The configuration of the embodiment is the same as the block diagram shown in FIG. 1 except that the format selection switch 2 is omitted, and the description thereof will be omitted. The operation of the optical card recording / reproducing apparatus of the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in the initial state such as when the power is turned on, the setting inside the apparatus is set to the format A by using the default value.
(Step S1). When an optical card is inserted in this state, in order to recognize which track on the optical card the optical head inside the device is on, the information in the ID section prerecorded on the optical card is read. Attempt to go (step S2).

At this time, if the inserted optical card is the optical card of format A, the ID part can be read out, so that the flow branches to "YES" in step S2, and the inserted optical card is personalized. The command instructed by the computer is executed to perform the recording / reproducing operation (step S6).

ID of the optical card inserted in step S2
If the copy cannot be read, the internal setting of the apparatus is reset for the format B (step S3), and the information of the ID part of the optical card is read again (step S4).
At this time, if the inserted optical card is a format B optical card, the ID part can be read out, so that the flow branches to'YES 'in step S4, and the personal computer instructs the inserted optical card to do so. Then, the recording / reproducing operation is performed (step S7).

If the information in the ID section of the optical card inserted in step S4 cannot be read, it is determined that the optical card is neither format A nor format B, and the card is ejected from the device (step S5). After this, when another optical card is inserted, first the ID of the optical card is in the format A or B set at that time.
When the data cannot be read, another format B or A is read.

Since it is possible that the ID section cannot be read due to dirt, dust, scratches, etc. on the optical card, a retry operation may be added after the above operation is executed. The effect of this embodiment is almost the same as that of the first embodiment.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Fourth
In the embodiment, information indicating which format the optical card is in is recorded in a predetermined area on the optical card, and when the optical card is inserted into the optical card recording / reproducing apparatus, the portion is read. The format of the optical card is recognized, and the internal setting of the device is set according to the format.

FIG. 3 shows an optical card 1 used in the fourth embodiment.
1 shows the layout of the information recorded. In FIG. 3, a large number of tracks 12, 12, ... Are formed on the optical card 11, and ID sections 13A, 13B in which addresses are prerecorded are formed at both ends of these tracks 12, 12 ,. A data section 14 capable of recording information is provided between the ID sections 13A and 13B.

Further, in the optical card 11 according to the fourth embodiment, the format recognition area 15 is further provided in the track 12 having a specific track number. In the format recognition area 15, when the optical card 11 is an optical card for format A, pits are pre-recorded at a pitch of 6 μm, and when it is an optical card for format B, at a pitch of 12 μm, for example. It is assumed that the pit has been pre-recorded.

The track number of the format recognition area 15 is recorded in a ROM (not shown) or the like, and the track number is read from the ROM at the time of initializing or inserting an optical card so that the optical head can access the track number. Controlled. Further, this embodiment has a pit interval measuring means for measuring the pit interval or a pit interval measuring function.

When the optical card 11 is inserted into the optical card recording / reproducing apparatus, first, the format recognition area 15 is read out. The area 15 can be accessed by designating the track number of the area 15.

When the reading operation of the area 15 is performed, the pit interval of the reproduction signal output from the optical head in the optical card recording / reproducing apparatus is measured. In the case of an optical card for format A, when the optical card is reciprocally driven at 600 mm / sec, the cycle of the signal output from the optical head is 6
μm ÷ 600 mm / sec = 1 msec, which is 2 msec in the case of the format B optical card. By measuring this interval, the format of the inserted optical card is recognized, the setting inside the device is matched with the recognized format, and the recording / reproducing operation is performed in response to the command from the personal computer thereafter.

The format setting operation in this embodiment is as shown in the flowchart of FIG. Step S1
In step S2, it is determined whether or not an optical card is inserted. When it is determined that the optical card is inserted, the track number N of the format recognition area 15 is read from the ROM as shown in step S2. Then, the optical head accesses the track number N as shown in step S3, reads the record information of the track number N as shown in step S4, and measures the pit interval L as shown in step S5.

As shown in step S6, the measured pit interval L is a value between the pit interval (for example, 1 msec) in the format A optical card and the pit interval (for example, 2 msec) in the format B optical card. It is determined whether or not it is 5 msec or less. If it is determined that it is less than or equal to 5 msec, the characteristic for reproducing or recording the format A optical card is set (switching) as shown in step S7-1. If it is determined that the format B optical card is set to a characteristic for reproducing or recording, as shown in step S7-2.
After that, the recording / reproducing operation is performed in response to the command from the personal computer.

Although the pits are recorded in the format recognition area 15 at a constant interval, a common modulation method (for example, MFM) is commonly used in optical cards of any format.
Information for recognition by (modulation) may be recorded, or another pattern such as a barcode may be recorded. The effect of this embodiment is almost the same as that of the first embodiment.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the fifth embodiment, the format of the inserted optical card is automatically recognized from the read signal from the optical card and the internal setting of the apparatus is performed.

The optical card has a prerecorded ID part, and the minimum pit interval of the ID part of the format A optical card is 6 μm and the minimum pit interval of the ID part of the format B optical card is 5 μm. To do. When the optical card is inserted into the optical card recording / reproducing apparatus, the reading operation of the ID section is performed in order to recognize the position of the optical head on the optical card.

On the optical card, as shown in FIG.
Since there is the D section, the data prerecorded in the ID section that is first detected when the optical card is reciprocally driven is read, and the minimum pit interval of the data therein is measured. Assuming that the reciprocating speed of the optical card is 600 mm / sec, the minimum pulse interval of the reproduction signal is 6 μm ÷ 600 mm / sec = 1 ms in the format A optical card.
ec, optical card for format B is 5 μm ÷ 60
0 mm / sec = 833 μsec.

Therefore, the reproduction signal from the optical card is, for example, 1 when the minimum pulse interval is 1 msec or 833 μsec.
80 to 100μ, which is a sampling clock of about 0 times
Format recognition is performed by measuring the minimum pulse interval by sampling with a clock with a period shorter than sec (where the minimum pulse interval is 1 ms.
80 to 100μ for ec or 833μsec
Although it has been described that sampling is performed with a clock having a cycle shorter than sec, a clock with a cycle longer than this may be used).

When the recognition of the format based on the above-mentioned minimum pulse interval is completed, the setting inside the apparatus is matched with the recognized format, another ID section on the optical card is read to recognize the position of the optical head, and thereafter. Prepare for commands from your personal computer. The effect of this embodiment is almost the same as that of the first embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the format is recognized by recognizing the minimum pit interval, but the maximum pit interval may be recognized depending on the modulation rule. Further, a specific pattern for detecting a byte cycle pattern may be detected in the data in the ID part.

In the above five embodiments, the usable formats are two, A and B, but the same applies to three or more formats. In addition, when the user uses the apparatus of the above embodiment, it may be necessary to know which physical format is selected.
Therefore, a display device such as an LED may be provided in the device to display the selected physical format, or a physical format inquiry command from a personal computer may be returned as a response. If the device interface is SCSI,
The INQUIRY command is preferred.

Various modifications can be made by combining the above embodiments. For example, when the first embodiment and the fifth embodiment are combined, when the switch setting is 0, the format is automatically recognized, when the switch setting is 1, it is dedicated to the optical card for format A, and the switch setting is 2. At the time, it can be set to be a format B optical card only.

Further, the present invention is not limited to an optical card recording / reproducing apparatus for recording or reproducing on an optical card as a card-shaped recording medium, and an optical recording such as a disc-shaped recording medium such as a CD. It can be applied to an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus that optically performs recording and / or reproducing on a medium.

[0048]

According to the present invention, the optical information recording / reproducing apparatus is configured so as to be compatible with a plurality of physical formats, and means for selecting the format of the recording medium to be used is provided, and recording is performed according to the selection result. Since the operation of the reproducing apparatus is switched, it is possible to realize an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus compatible with a plurality of physical formats with one apparatus without preparing a plurality of apparatuses.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an optical card recording / reproducing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an optical card used in a fourth embodiment of the present invention. of

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Optical card recording / reproducing device 2 ... Format selection switch 3 ... Drive unit 4 ... Optical card 5 ... CPU 6 ... Format selection signal 7A ... Format A control unit 7B ... Format B control unit 8 ... Selector 11 ... Optical card 15 ... Format recognition area

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. In an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus for optically recording and / or reproducing information, a format selecting unit for selecting a physical format of a recording medium to be used, and recording based on an output of the format selecting unit. An optical information recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: a recording / reproducing operation control means for controlling recording and / or reproducing operation on a medium. 2. The optical information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the format selecting means is a switch. 3. The optical information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the format selection means is information from an external control means such as a personal computer. 4. The optical information recording / reproducing according to claim 1, wherein the format selecting means is controlled based on information recorded on a recording medium inserted in the optical information recording / reproducing apparatus. apparatus.