JPH0793097A - Information handling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate trouble in the use of an information recording medium and to normally initialize the medium at the same time even in the case where the medium has not been normally initialized. CONSTITUTION:An electronic still camera as the information handling device records image data on the memory card 10 through an optical system 1, an image pickup system 2, etc. When this camera initializes the memory card 10, data which do not match a boot-sector are written first if the boot-sector suits, and, the FAT and directory entry are initialized and then the original matching data are written in the boot-sector.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information handling apparatus, and more particularly to an information handling apparatus capable of recording or reproducing information on an information recording medium having a main information area and a management information area. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An IC memory card which is an information recording medium applied to an image information recording / reproducing apparatus which is an information handling apparatus to which DOS (DISK OPERATION SYSTEM) is applied,
The memory area has a structure as shown in FIG.

The memory card is composed of an attribute memory and a common memory, and the common memory is composed of an attribute information area, a memory management area 100, and a data area 104 which is a main information area. Fixed data that is not changed for each device is written in the attribute information area. The memory management area 100 is composed of a boot sector 101 that is a first management information area, a FAT area 102 that is a second management information area, and a directory entry area 103 that is also a second management information area. ing. Data such as an image is recorded in the data area 104.

In the boot sector 101, the logical sector length of the memory card, the number of tracks, the number of sectors per track, etc. are recorded. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the contents of the format of the boot sector 101. Also,
In the FAT information area 102, the memory area information of the data area 104 is recorded in a chain format, and in the directory entry area 103, how the data is recorded in the data area 104 or the attribute of the data file. Information etc. is written.

As an initialization process for setting an unused memory card or a used memory card in which data has been written into a state in which data can be recorded, one is to initialize all data in the memory card. Erase, memory check, initialization format processing in which boot sectors and the like are written, and the other one is directory entry and F
There is an all-frame erasing process that erases only the AT. And
The initialization format process requires a long processing time, for example, about one minute since the data in all memory areas are initialized, but the all-frame erasing process requires only rewriting the management information. For a short time, for example, about 1
Initialization is completed in 5 seconds.

A method shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 is conceivable as a method capable of shortening the processing time in the above initialization processing in the information recording / reproducing apparatus or the like. In this process, first, the boot sector is read (step S10).
1) It is checked whether the boot sector information is suitable for the device (step S102). If the boot sector information is incompatible, the initialization format process is executed (step S105). If the boot sector information matches, the directory entry is erased and the FAT is initialized (steps S103 and S104), and the initialization is completed. In this way, in the initialization of the boot sector information of the memory card that is suitable for the device, it is possible to eliminate a long waiting time due to the format.

[0007]

However, in the initialization process of FIG. 10, if the memory card is pulled out or the power of the device is turned off during the erase operation, the boot sector will be in a normal state. Although it has been written and the directory entry has been erased, it is possible that the memory card will be taken out before the FAT has been erased.

Normally, in the memory card, the free capacity is discriminated by the size of the range in which each FAT data is "0". Therefore, if the FAT has not been erased as described above, it is determined that the capacity is small.

The file currently being searched for is FA
By tracking the T data chain, it is possible to distinguish between a normal FAT and an abnormal FAT, so it is possible to correct it. For example, a check process up to that point with an image recording / reproducing device such as a camera. Is not appropriate for each insertion of the memory card. Such a check process is
Even in a personal computer or the like, the process is executed only by a single check command and is not performed during normal operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the information recording medium can be initialized quickly, and the information recording medium cannot be normally initialized. Even in such a case, it is an object of the present invention to provide an information handling device that can perform normal initialization thereafter without causing any inconvenience in handling the recording medium.

[0011]

The information handling apparatus according to the present invention is used as a main information area for recording main information, which is an object of the original recording, and a recording medium for the main information. An information recording medium having a first management information area for storing management information defining various parameters and a second management information area for recording management information about the main information area in which the main information is recorded. In the information handling device capable of recording or reproducing information, when the information recording medium is to be initialized to the unrecorded state of the main information or a state equivalent to the unrecorded state, the first management information area Discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the management information of the above is the management information suitable for the information handling device, and once the judging means judges the conformity, the first management information area After the management information that does not match the information handling device is recorded and the management information in the second management information area is initialized, and after the initialization processing means performs the processing, It is characterized by further comprising: management information restoring means for recording the management information suitable for the first management information area and for restoring the first management information area to the original state.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 are a block diagram and an external view of an electronic still camera of an information handling apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic still camera of this embodiment is an IC
A memory card is applied as an information recording medium, and its configuration will be described along the flow of signals with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

In the recording mode, the optical image of the subject incident through the optical system 1 is CC imaged on the image plane.
It is converted into an analog electric signal by the imaging system 2 composed of D and the like. The image pickup signal output from the image pickup system 2 is converted into a digital signal by an analog / digital conversion circuit (hereinafter abbreviated as A / D conversion circuit) 4 after a DC level is kept constant by a clamp circuit 3. Are written in the frame memory 6 and temporarily stored.

When the writing to the frame memory 6 is completed, the data is read from the frame memory 6 under the control of the memory controller 5 and the discrete cosine transform circuit (hereinafter referred to as DCT / IDCT) 7 is read. Data conversion necessary for data compression is performed and output to the coder / decoder 8. In the coder / decoder 8 of the coder / decoder 8, an auxiliary memory 9 in which various data and tables necessary for performing compression processing are written.
With reference to, the video data is compressed. Then, the compressed data is written through the data bus 20 to the IC memory card 10 which is an information recording medium detachably attached to the electronic still camera.

In the recording mode, the image pickup system 2
The output signal gain when adjusting the white balance of
Controlled via the system controller 19,
The diaphragm of the optical system 1 is also controlled via the system controller 19. The system controller 19 includes a management information discriminating means, a management information initializing means, a management information restoring means, etc., which will be described later.

Next, the description of the electronic still camera will be continued along the signal flow when the video data recorded as described above is reproduced. The IC memory card 10
The data read from is input to the coder / decoder 8 through the data bus 20 and is subjected to decompression processing to restore the compressed data in the decoder section of the coder / decoder 8. This decompressed data is DC
Inverse DCT processing is performed in the T circuit 7 and the frame memory 6
Written in. When the expansion processing of all the data is completed, the data is read from the frame memory 6 under the control of the memory controller 5, and the output is converted by the digital process 11 into an NTSC-compliant video signal. And D / A
The signal is converted into an analog signal by the (digital / analog) conversion circuit 12 and is, for example, 75Ω by the buffer 13.
After the impedance matching is achieved, the image is reproduced in the electronic viewfinder (hereinafter abbreviated as EVF) 14 so that the photographer can observe it. At the same time, the video signal is output to the external image output terminal 15.

The electronic still camera includes a character generator 16 for generating character information such as date and time for on-screen display on the screen, an LCD display section 17 for displaying various operation modes and the like, and various It has the operation part 18 which operates. Then, the above-mentioned components are controlled by the system controller 19. In addition, although various manual operations are possible in this camera, the same operation is reproduced by storing the set value at that time in the setting memory 21 and recalling the set value in the subsequent operation. be able to.

When recording on a recording medium such as the IC memory card 10 described above, for example, it is converted into a format recognizable on a personal computer, specifically a DOS format which will be described later, and recorded.

Next, the arrangement of the operation section 18 and the like will be described in detail. 2 and 3 show the appearance of the electronic still camera of this embodiment, the arrangement of the operation unit 18 and the like. 2 is a plan view of the camera and FIG.
[Fig. 3] is a view as seen from an arrow A in Fig. 2, and is a view seen from an eyepiece of the camera.

As shown in the figure, the above-mentioned LCD display unit 17 is arranged at the center of the upper surface of the camera body.
Each operation or the like described later is displayed.
On one side of the LCD display unit 17, zoom switches (hereinafter, referred to as ZOOM switches) T31 and W32 for selecting a tele mode and a wide mode are provided.

The ZOOM switches T31 and W3 are also provided.
2, an up switch (hereinafter, referred to as UP switch) 33 and a down switch (hereinafter, DOWN)
A switch) 34 is provided. These switches 33 and 34 are used for mode adjustment, for example, fine adjustment of white balance, change of shutter speed, change of exposure correction value, focusing of power focus, etc., when the camera is in the recording mode.
In the playback mode, it is also used for frame advance and frame return.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, the LCD display section 17 is shown.
The function of the operation switch group that constitutes the operation portion 18 disposed below is described. In the figure, a white balance switch (hereinafter referred to as a WB switch) 35
Is used to change the white balance mode in the recording mode. The view erase switch (hereinafter, V
The image erasing switch or the ERASE switch 36) is used as a frame erasing switch in the recording mode, in which the image recorded immediately before is reproduced only while being pressed, and in the reproducing mode.

The +/- switch 37 is used to change the exposure mode in the recording mode. The focus switch (hereinafter, referred to as FOCUS switch) 38 is
Used for changing the focus mode of auto focus or power focus in the recording mode.

A strobe switch (hereinafter referred to as ST switch) 39 is used to change the strobe mode in the recording mode. Picture switch (hereinafter PIC
(TURE switch) 40 is a color tone,
It is used to change the color depth. In the reproduction mode, it is used to set the image data of the memory card. The drive switch (hereinafter referred to as DRIVE switch) 41 is
In the recording mode, it is used to change the recording speed mode, and in the reproduction mode, it is used to change the reproduction speed.

A mode switch (hereinafter referred to as a MODE switch) 42 is used for changing the compression mode and the non-compression mode in the recording mode. In the reproduction mode, it is used for instructing the on-screen mode for superimposing the character display signal on the video signal output from the external terminal. Time switch (hereinafter referred to as TIME switch) 4
3 is used for setting the time and turning the buzzer on and off. A power switch (hereinafter, referred to as POWER switch) 44 is used for powering on / off the camera of this embodiment. The trigger switch 45 is used to instruct a shooting operation.

A CAMERA / PLAY switch used for switching between a recording mode and a reproduction mode or for switching between a transmission mode and a reception mode at the time of image transmission is provided on the edge of the camera body, which is further below the operation switches. 46, and an AUTO / MANUA for switching between the full-auto shooting mode and the manual shooting mode in the recording mode, or setting the camera in the transmission mode.
An L changeover switch 47 is provided. The EVF 14 of the camera is attached to the front side surface of the camera body.
Is provided for the eyepiece 49.

Initialization processing of the memory card 10 in the camera of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the subroutine flowchart of FIG. E
Press the RASE switch 36 and the UP switch 33,
When the camera is set to the initialization mode and the trigger switch 45 is pressed there, the initialization processing of the memory card 10 is started.

First, the boot sector of the first management information area is read (step S1), and the management information discriminating means
It is checked whether the boot sector information is suitable for the device (step S2). If the boot sector information is incorrect, the management area below the boot sector, that is, the first management area of the boot sector and the FA
T and the second management area of the directory entry and the formatting process for initializing all the data in the data area which is the main information storage area (step S).
7).

If the boot sector information is suitable for the device, the management information initializing means temporarily changes the boot sector to make the boot sector information improper (step S3), and the directory The entry is erased and the FAT is initialized (step S).
4, S5). After that, the management information restoring means restores the boot sector to the original boot sector to make it a suitable boot sector (step S6), and finishes the initialization.

As described above, in the case of the conventional memory card initialization process shown in FIG. 10, if the card is pulled out in the middle of erasing, the boot sector is normal, but the directory entry and FAT. Inconsistency occurs between the spaces. When such a card is inserted into the camera, it is used in a state where the recordable data area is extremely narrowed, or the recording becomes impossible.

However, in the camera of this embodiment, by performing the above initialization processing, the memory card 10 pulled out during the processing is not the data whose boot sector is suitable for the corresponding apparatus. , It cannot be used even if it is inserted into the camera, so there will be no problems in recording. Further, when the card is initialized again, the boot sector is not a proper one, so the initialization is always performed in the format of step S7 in FIG.

In the camera of this embodiment, it is also possible to forcibly execute the format of step S7 in addition to the initialization by the automatic discrimination. In this process, the forced initialization mode is set by pressing the ERASE switch 36 and the DOWN switch 34, and when the trigger switch 45 is pressed, the management area and the data area of the memory card 10 are forcibly changed. Both format processes are started.

In the initialization process of the memory card 10, if it is found necessary to save the data recorded during the initialization process, conventionally, even if the initialization operation is interrupted. The above data could not be reproduced. Even in such a case, it is possible to propose a modified example in which reproduction is possible if the directory entry and FAT corresponding to the corresponding data are not erased yet.

In the initialization processing in this modified example, as shown in FIG.
In the boot sector shown in (1), a check flag is written in an area that is not directly related to data processing, for example, a manufacturer name and a version number area. In that case, other boot sectors are not changed. Then, if the initialization is interrupted for the above reasons, pull out the memory card and insert it into the personal computer.
Data can be reproduced. That is, the flag can be checked on the personal computer to set the reproduction mode of the data being erased, and the range of the data not yet erased can be restored.

Next, the data erasing process in the camera of this embodiment will be described. As the data files recorded in the data area in the conventional image recording / reproducing apparatus such as a camera, three types of files shown in the formats of FIGS. 11, 12, and 13 are created. The data file of the format shown in FIG. 11 shows an image data file of one frame, and is composed of header information such as recording date / time, field / frame and the like and image data which is compressed image data. FIG. 12 shows the format of an audio data file for one frame, which is a file generated in a camera capable of audio recording, and is composed of header information and audio data which is compressed audio data. Further, FIG. 13 shows a format of a relation data file showing a relation of a combination of an image file and an audio file corresponding to one directory entry, in which header information in which standard information is recorded and related information between files are recorded. Relation information.

In the data erasing process according to the present embodiment, it is possible to erase one frame of the image file and one frame of the audio file. Further, the image file and the image file can be erased based on the data of the relation file. It is possible to delete the audio files corresponding to the image files all at once. Of course, it is also possible to erase all frames of image files and all frames of audio files.

In the camera of this embodiment, as a key operation for erasing one frame at the time of reproduction, the changeover switch 46 is switched to the "PLAY" side, and the VIE
While pressing the ERASE switch 36 that also serves as the W switch, the release switch 45 is operated to execute the erasing.

On the other hand, there is a so-called REC review reproduction function of reproducing the recorded image data immediately before recording, and this reproduction function has the changeover switch 46 left at the CAMERA side and also serves as a VIEW switch.
While the E switch 36 is being pressed, the REC review reproduction function works. Therefore, when erasing the image data of the rec review reproduction, the release switch 4 is used as it is.
5 should be pressed.

As described above, in the camera of this embodiment, since the VIEW switch and the ERASE switch are used in common as described above, the single frame erasing operation at the time of the normal reproduction and the REC review reproduction data The erasing operation can be executed by the same operation, and the user does not feel uncomfortable.

In the camera of this embodiment, as described above, files such as voice data, relation data, personal computer data, etc. are recorded as data to be recorded in the data area. During normal reproduction, data of files other than those image data files and the unrecorded data portion are reproduced as a black mute screen. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to inform that the data other than the image data file is being reproduced, the on-screen display and the frame No. corresponding to the LCD display unit 17 are displayed. Blinks.

Also, voice data, relation data,
It is also possible to change the blinking speed depending on the difference in the data of the unrecorded portion and the like. Alternatively, the color of the mute screen can be set to a different naked self-timer depending on the difference in the above data. For example, the user can recognize at a glance that the unrecorded part is black mute, the audio file is blue mute, and the personal computer file is red mute.

Further, at the time of reproduction, it is also possible to skip the non-image files such as unrecorded files and audio files and reproduce. According to such reproduction, the user does not need to see the meaningless mute screen of unrecorded frames, etc., and can search efficiently.

That is, as the reproduction processing at a predetermined interval, there are continuous reproduction for searching image data at high speed and interval reproduction for transmitting reproduced images at fixed time intervals. It is a function used at the time of demonstration, and it is not necessary to reproduce anything other than image data. Therefore, when these functions are working, it is possible to improve the usability by skipping the audio file, the unrecorded file and the like and reproducing only the image file.

Next, various recording processes in the camera of this embodiment will be described. As described above, the header information is added to the image data file of one frame in order to record the data format of the image data. In the camera of this embodiment, shooting information of the camera, for example, shutter speed, exposure information, WB (white balance) information, color adjustment information, focus step number information, flash exposure information, etc. are recorded in this header. Therefore, even when shooting is performed in full auto, it is possible to know the various shooting information by referring to the header information after shooting.

Further, it is possible to set photographing conditions on the basis of the photographing information recorded in the header to perform photographing. The photographing process will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In the flow chart of FIG.
In step S11, the changeover switch 46 is set to "P.
Switch to the "LAY" side and set to the playback mode. Then, the UP / DOWN switches 33 and 34 are operated to display the playback frame of the image for which the shooting conditions are to be referred to,
With the PICTURE switch 40, the frame No. Is specified. In step S12, the subroutine "set shooting mode" is called and executed.

In the subroutine "set of shooting mode", shooting information such as shutter speed and exposure information is read from the header information of the image file of the corresponding frame as shown in FIG. 6, and shooting is performed based on the shooting information. Conditions are set (steps S21 and S22).

Then, in step S13 of FIG.
The selector switch 46 is switched to the "CAMERA" side, and the camera is set to the shooting mode. In step S14, shooting under the shooting conditions already set is executed.

In this way, the shooting conditions on the past shooting screen can be reproduced without complicated setting operations, and if there is a memory card already taken by another shooter, the shooting conditions on that shooting screen can be changed. It is also possible to apply as it is.

Next, interval shooting by the camera of this embodiment will be described. Interval shooting by a conventional electronic still camera system is a known shooting method, but in this interval shooting, the power supply is kept on during the shooting period. In a system in which the power source is a battery, it is difficult to perform long time interval shooting because of the large amount of power consumption.

Since it is not always necessary to keep the ON state throughout the interval shooting eaves, the camera of the present embodiment is kept in a standby state close to power-off during the waiting time of shooting to suppress power consumption. I chose Then, the power is turned on several tens of seconds before every shooting to prepare for shooting. Strobe charge and auto W during this shooting preparation time
Processing such as B will be performed. In addition, zooming is prohibited during interval shooting to prevent shifting of the focusing due to changes in the shooting angle of view.

In many cases, the interval time was conventionally fixed, but in the present embodiment, a certain interval time is held as a preset value,
The value can be finely changed and rewritten by the UP / DOWN switches 33, 34 and the like. The set value is stored in the setting memory 21 via the system controller 19. When performing the same interval shooting, the interval time can be easily set by reading the value stored in the setting memory 21 without any troublesome operation. The set value data is retained even in the power off state.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of the interval photographing subroutine. In the main shooting process,
In step S31, confirm the shooting start instruction,
At 32, the first frame is photographed. Immediately after that, the camera shifts to the standby state. At the same time, zoom drive is prohibited. In step S34, a predetermined time, which is shorter than the interval setting time by several tens of seconds, is waited for, and after that time, the power is turned on in step S35.
Then, in step S36, strobe charge and auto W are performed.
After performing the B process, the process proceeds to step S37, waits until the interval time elapses, and starts shooting at step S38. In step S39, the shooting of a predetermined number of frames is completed or the elapsed shooting time is checked, and the process returns to step S33 until the shooting is completed.

The processing of the interval photographing can be similarly applied to the interval reproduction. That is, the selector switch 46 is switched to the reproduction mode. DRI
The VE switch 41 designates interval reproduction.
In addition, the zoom switches 31 and 32 are operated to set the interval time in seconds. The set time is stored in the setting memory 21, and the set value is held even in the power off state. Then, it will be referred to when the interval reproduction is executed again.

In the above interval reproduction, the interval time itself, which is usually several seconds, is variable, but in order to temporarily execute high-speed search frame advance,
If the interval time can be shortened with one touch without changing the set interval time, the camera can be made more convenient. The above one-touch operation can be performed by, for example, UP / DOWN.
By performing the operation of the switches 33 and 34, by pressing the switches 33 and 34, the speed of frame advance can be temporarily processed at high speed.

Next, WB (white balance) adjustment in the camera of this embodiment will be described. Generally, it is necessary to adjust WB in a video camera, but in a conventional camera, it is possible to adjust auto WB, one-touch WB, and preset WB.

The automatic WB adjustment is an adjustment for automatically setting the position of the WB correction center on the color vector plane shown in FIG. 14 so that an appropriate WB can be obtained based on the input image signal. The drawback of this adjustment is that when the color in the entire screen is offset to a certain color, the color is corrected so that it becomes white, so that it is not always possible to record with a good color tone.

In the one-touch WB adjustment, the image signal of a white object is taken in and the signal is adjusted to be recognized as white. In this adjustment, it is necessary to carry a pure white object, which is inconvenient.

In the preset WB adjustment, a plurality of typical color temperature values are stored in the system as the WB correction center value data, and the color temperature values are adjusted according to the condition of the subject such as fine and cloudy. Select. For example, on the I-axis indicating the blackbody locus on the color vector plane of FIG. 14, WB correction is performed on either point P0 when it is sunny, point P1 when it is cloudy, or point P2 when it is sunset. Set to the center and adjust WB. However, with this adjustment, the delicate WB adjustment desired by the user cannot always be performed.

In order to solve the above problems, conventionally, R (red) -Y (luminance) of the color vector plane of FIG. 14 is conventionally used.
A method of manually performing fine adjustment of WB by setting variables of two axes of the axis and B (blue) -Y axis to determine the WB correction center has been adopted. However, this method is difficult to adjust because it is necessary to set two values.

Therefore, in the camera of the present embodiment, as the WB fine adjustment processing, the WB correction point can be set on one axis to enable easier manual fine adjustment processing of WB. .

That is, this manual WB fine adjustment method is carried out along the I axis which is one inclined axis of the color vector plane of FIG. The value is set as the WB correction center. It should be noted that the I axis is a line showing a black body locus along the change in color temperature of the black body, and if the WB correction center is moved along the I axis,
You can adjust WB appropriately.

In the present embodiment, when performing WB fine adjustment, the inclination data of the I-axis is stored in the memory, and first, as a correction adjustment point, a point P when the weather is fine in FIG.
Either 0, or point P1 when cloudy or point P2 when sunset is selected. Further, at each point, the UP / DOWN switches 33, 34 are operated to move the WB correction center along the inclination of the I-axis,
Fine-tune B. As described above, the WB fine adjustment in the camera of the present embodiment can be performed by a simple operation, and by performing this adjustment, it is possible to perform shooting with a delicate color tone desired by the user.

[0063]

As described above, in the information handling apparatus of the present invention, when the information recording medium is initialized to the unrecorded state of the main information or a state equivalent to the unrecorded state, the management information of the first management information area is set. If the management information in the first management information area is suitable for the corresponding information handling device, the management information that does not match the first management information area is once recorded, and the second management information is recorded. Since the information area is initialized and then the original management information suitable for the first management information area is written, if the normal initialization process of the information recording medium is not executed, the information recording medium is used. At the same time, it becomes possible to prevent the inconvenience from occurring, and at the same time, it is possible to perform a normal initialization process of the recording medium.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an electronic still camera showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the appearance of the camera shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view on arrow A of FIG.

4 is a flowchart of a "memory card initialization" process in the camera of FIG.

5 is a flowchart of "imaging processing based on stored data" in the camera shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a subroutine “set of shooting data” called in “shooting process based on stored data” of FIG. 5;

7 is a flowchart of an "interval shooting" process in the camera of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a memory area of a memory card applied to a conventional information handling device.

9 is a diagram showing a format of a boot sector of the memory card of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a "memory card initialization" process in a conventional information handling device.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of image data in a data area of a memory card applied to a conventional information handling device.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a structure of audio data in a data area of a memory card applied to a conventional information handling device.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a structure of relation data in a data area of a memory card applied to a conventional information handling device.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing I-axis characteristics on a color vector plane applied to the WB adjustment processing of the conventional video camera.

[Explanation of symbols]

19 System controller (management information discriminating means, management information initializing means, management information restoring means) 101 ... Boot sector (first management information area) 102 ... FAT area (second) Management information area) 103 ... Directory area (second management information area) 104 ... Data area (main information area) Step S2 ... Management information discrimination means Steps S3, 4, 5 ... Management information Initialization means Step S6 ......... Management information restoration means

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location H04N 5/907 B 7734-5C

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A main information area for recording main information, which is an object of the original recording, and a first management information area for storing management information defining various parameters used as a recording medium for the main information. And an information handling device capable of recording or reproducing information on an information recording medium having a second management information area for recording management information relating to the main information area in which the main information is recorded. When trying to initialize the information recording medium to the unrecorded state of the main information or a state equivalent to the unrecorded state, whether the management information of the first management information area is the management information suitable for the information handling device. And a discriminating unit for discriminating whether or not the discriminating unit discriminates whether or not the discriminating unit conforms to the above, and when the discriminating unit discriminates the above-mentioned conformity, the management information which does not conform to the information handling apparatus is once recorded in the first management information area, and After the initialization processing means for processing initialize management information of the second management information area, the processing by the initialization processing means has been performed, the first
An information handling device, comprising: management information restoring means for recording the management information suitable for the management information area and restoring the first management information area to the original state.