JP2001043639A - Information recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information recorder capable of using recording areas efficiently. SOLUTION: When it is judged that a normal writing can not be perform in an address N and it is impossible to perform the normal writing even when retry operations of prescribed times are performed, the new writing is performed from the address N+7 where 7 is added to the address N. After the writing is completed, an area of the address N and the areas from addresses N+1 to N+6 being the areas equivalent to the number of first recording units registable to a UTOC(user table of contents), that is, the areas equivalent to 7 clusters are registered in the UTOC as the free recording areas. Thereafter, when the recording areas become writable, the writing is performed from the address N. Even when the writing in the address N does not become possible, the writing is performed in the areas from addresses N+1 to N+6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of an apparatus for recording information on an optical disk such as a mini disk (hereinafter referred to as MD).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a compact disc (hereinafter, referred to as a compact disc) has been used as an optical disc for recording acoustic information and various data.
CD). However, in recent years, the MD has become widespread as an optical disk having a smaller diameter than a CD, having a reproduction time equivalent to that of a CD, and capable of writing information.

When information is recorded on an MD by an MD recording device, the information to be recorded is 44.1k.
A / Hz with a sampling frequency of 16 Hz and 16-bit quantization.
D-conversion is performed, and the data is temporarily stored in a memory called a shock-proof memory at a transfer rate of about 300 kbps. Then, the data read from the memory at a transfer rate of 1.4 Mbps is stored in ATRAC (Adaptive Transform Acousti).
c Coding) The data is compressed to 1/5 by a decoder and recorded on a disk that rotates at least four times the amount of data to be recorded.

As described above, reading data from the shock-proof memory is performed at a higher transfer rate than writing data to the shock-proof memory. Therefore, after recording for a predetermined period, the next data is read. The process waits until the data is stored in the proof memory, and the next recording is performed when a predetermined amount of data is stored.

When there is no vibration in a normal state, recording is performed in a one-stroke state in cluster units. During recording, the disk address and the like are constantly monitored. If the optical pickup or the magnetic head deviates from the recording track, recording is immediately stopped, and re-recording (retry) is again performed from the head of the cluster. Do. Therefore, the shock proof memory is controlled so that data of at least one cluster remains.

[0006]

However, in the conventional MD recording apparatus, if normal recording cannot be performed even if retry is performed a plurality of times, the cluster is treated as a non-recordable area, and the cluster is treated as a non-recordable area. The recording operation was performed from the next cluster.

Therefore, even if normal recording can be performed due to a change in the environment or the like in a recording area that has been set as a non-recordable area, recording is performed on the recording area. There is no. As a result, there is a problem that the area treated as such a non-recordable area increases, and the recording capacity decreases despite the existence of a recordable area.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an information recording device capable of efficiently using a recording area.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information recording apparatus, comprising: a recording means for recording information on an information recording medium; Recording operation determining means for determining whether or not the operation has been performed;
If it is determined by the recording operation determining means that the recording has not been performed normally, a continuous recording skip area of a predetermined unit is secured following the position of the recording error area where the determination is performed, and the continuous recording is performed. Recording control means for performing recording from a recordable area following the recording skip area.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when information is recorded on the information recording medium by the recording means, whether the recording has been normally performed on the information recording medium by the recording operation determining means is determined. Is determined. If the result of determination is that normal recording has been performed, the recorded data is valid. On the other hand, if it is determined that the recording was not performed normally, the recording control unit secures a continuous recording skipping area of a predetermined unit following the position of the recording error area where the determination is performed, and The recording is performed from the recordable area following the recording skip area.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the information recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the recording operation judging means can perform normal recording even after a predetermined number of re-recording operations. When the recording is not performed, it is determined that the recording is not performed normally.

According to the information recording apparatus of the present invention, when the recording on the information recording medium is not performed normally,
The re-recording operation is performed a predetermined number of times, and the recording operation determination unit determines that the recording was not performed normally when the recording was not performed normally even by the predetermined number of re-recording operations.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the information recording apparatus according to the first or second aspect further comprises a registration unit for registering the position information of the recordable area in the table of contents information. The registering means registers the position information in the table of contents information as a continuous recordable area of the recording error area and the recording skipping area determined by the recording operation determining means that recording was not performed normally. It is characterized in that it is means for performing.

According to the information recording apparatus of the present invention, when the recording operation judging means judges that the recording has not been performed normally, the registration means stores the recording error area relating to the judgment. The position information is registered in the table of contents information with the recording skip area as a continuous recordable area.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the information recording apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the recording control means may record the recording skip area in the table of contents information. It is characterized by the minimum number of units permitted to be registered as an area or more.

According to the information recording apparatus of the present invention, when the recording operation judging means judges that the recording has not been normally performed, the recording control means judges whether the recording error has been judged. Following the position of the area, a continuous recording skip area of the minimum number of units or more that is permitted to be registered as the recordable area in the table of contents information is secured.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the recording control means performs a recording operation. The presence of a recordable area that has been determined in advance by the recording operation determination means to have not been normally recorded, and if the recordable area exists, recording is performed from the recordable area. And

According to the information recording apparatus of the present invention, when the recording operation is to be performed, the recording control means determines that the recording operation has been previously determined not to have been normally performed by the recording operation determining means. Check for the existence of the area. When the recordable area exists, recording is performed from the recordable area.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above problem, in the information recording apparatus according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, the recording control unit is configured to be registered in the table of contents information. A means for performing recording from the recordable area by referring to the position information.

According to the information recording apparatus of the present invention, the recording control means refers to the position information registered in the table of contents information, accesses a recordable area based on the referred position information, The recording from the recordable area is performed.

[0021]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to an MD recording / reproducing apparatus capable of not only recording information but also reproducing information.

First, the configuration of the MD recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[1] Schematic Configuration of MD Recording / Reproducing Apparatus In FIG. 1, an MD 20 as an information recording medium has an optical disk main body 21 and a cartridge 22 for protecting the optical disk main body 21. In the present embodiment, a recordable MD for recording and reproducing using a magneto-optical disk (MO) is used.

As shown in FIG. 2A, an optical disk body 21 of a recordable MD for recording / reproducing is provided with a dielectric film 35, an MO film 36, a dielectric film 37, and a reflection film on a substrate 34 made of polycarbonate. And a guide groove 40 called a pre-groove.
Are formed. The guide groove 40 is wobbled at a frequency modulated by FM, and an address which is an absolute address is recorded. In the MD, a part in which some information is recorded is called an information area. As shown in FIG.
A lead-in area 23 in which disc information and the like are recorded;
An information area 26 is composed of a recordable area 24 in which music information and table of contents information can be recorded, and a lead-out area 25. The recordable area 24 further includes a UTOC (User Tab) including table of contents information.
le Of Contents) is recorded in the UTOC area 27,
And a program area 28 in which music information and the like are recorded. Since the above-described guide groove 40 is formed over the entire recordable area 24, the address can be read even with a blank recordable MD in which nothing is recorded, and if the address is further read, any pickup can be performed. You can tell if you are in a position.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the MD recording / reproducing apparatus 100 to which the MD 20 can be attached and detached includes a spindle motor 1, an actuator (not shown), an optical pickup 2, and an RF amplifier 7. It is provided. The spindle motor 1 is a motor for rotating and driving the optical disc main body 21 of the MD 20.
Is controlled to rotate at a constant linear velocity. The optical pickup 2 irradiates a laser beam to the optical disc main body 21 rotated by the spindle motor 1, and divides the reflected light into an RF (Radio Frequency) signal, an ADIP signal, and various servo signals, and outputs the resulting signal.

In the recordable MD, "1",
A digital signal of "0" is recorded with the magnetization polarity NS. When such a recording surface is irradiated with a laser beam from the optical pickup 2, a magnetic Kerr effect occurs in the magnetic film of the optical disk main body 21, and the polarization plane of the return light moves in the forward or reverse direction according to NS. Rotate slightly. On the other hand, two light receiving elements are provided in the optical pickup 2, and when the return light passes through the polarizing beam splitter, the distribution amount to the two light receiving elements changes depending on N and S. Therefore, by determining the difference between the outputs of the two light receiving elements in the RF amplifier 7, "1" or "0" can be read.

The RF amplifier 7 calculates a pickup output necessary for detecting a wobbling component and calculates an ADI
Generate a P signal.

The MD recording / reproducing apparatus 100 further includes an address decoder 6, an EFM encoder / decoder 9,
A magnetic head 3 and a head drive circuit 5 are provided.

The address decoder 6 is a recordable MD.
Is a circuit for reading the address from the ADIP signal when the reproduction of the data is performed. The address decoder 6 can read the address on the optical disk main body 21 even in the information unrecorded area of the recordable MD, and can know the position of the optical pickup 2.

The EFM encoder / decoder 9 has an EFM
(EFM: Eight to Fourteen Modulation) Encoder and E
This circuit has both functions of the FM decoder. When recording information, it functions as an EFM encoder,
This is a circuit that modulates a signal to be recorded with an EFM signal. However, in recordable MD, CD-
The EFM-modulated signal is supplied to the head drive circuit 5 in order to perform recording by a magnetic field modulation method instead of recording by an optical modulation method such as R. On the other hand, when information is reproduced, the circuit functions as an EFM decoder, extracts an EFM signal from the RF signal amplified by the RF amplifier 7, and demodulates the signal.

The head drive circuit 5 is a circuit for driving the magnetic head 3 based on the EFM-modulated recording signal.
When the magnetic head 3 is driven, the EF is moved to the position of the magnetic film of the recordable MD heated to the Curie temperature or higher by the laser beam emitted from the optical pickup 2.
The magnetization with the polarity based on the M-modulated recording signal is performed. As described above, in the MD recording / reproducing apparatus 100, information is written to the recordable MD by the magnetic field modulation method. In the light modulation method, the head portion of the pit where the laser beam has begun to hit is small, and the latter half portion is large, so that it tends to be a so-called tear-shaped pit, which is likely to cause jitter when reading out a signal. On the other hand, in the magnetic field modulation method, since the semiconductor laser only keeps irradiating with a constant power, N and S are continuously symmetrical and have an advantage of being strong against the inclination of the disk. .

The MD recording / reproducing apparatus 100 has a DR
AM 12, DRAM control circuit 11, A / D
A converter 15, a data compression encoder 13, a data compression decoder 14, and a D / A converter 16 are provided.

The DRAM 12 is storage means for temporarily storing information data of about 1 Mbit at the time of reproducing and recording information. The DRAM 12 is provided to prevent sound skipping due to vibration or the like (shock proof), and is called a shock proof memory.

The DRAM control circuit 11 has a DRA
By outputting a predetermined control signal to M12,
This is a circuit for controlling the input and output of data to and from the DRAM 12. At the time of data reading, data demodulated from the EFM encoder / decoder 9 is input,
Write to the DRAM 12 and, if necessary,
The data is output to the TRAC decoder 14. When data is written, the ATRAC encoder 13
Is taken into the DRAM 12 and output to the EFM encoder / decoder 9 as necessary. The operation of the DRAM control circuit 11 is controlled by the system controller 1
0 and the system controller 10
Controls the operation of the DRAM control circuit 11 in accordance with the timing of reading data from the optical disk main body 21 and the timing of writing data to the optical disk main body 21.

The A / D converter 15 is a circuit for converting an externally input analog information signal into a digital information signal when recording information. MD recording / reproducing device 100
Uses a sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz.

The data compression encoder 13 has an ATRAC
(Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding) is a circuit that compresses data. The ATRAC method reduces the data amount to about 1/5, but does not simply thin out the data amount and uses the minimum audible characteristic and masking effect of the human ear to convert the data amount of the converted digital information signal. This is a method of compressing.

The data compression decoder 14 is a circuit for expanding the data of the signal read from the optical disk main body 21 and subjected to the EFM demodulation at the time of reproducing the information by a procedure reverse to the compression by the ATRAC method, and outputting a digital audio signal. It is.

The D / A converter 16 is a circuit for converting the restored digital audio signal into an analog signal.

The MD recording / reproducing apparatus 100 includes a carriage 4, a spindle motor 1, a servo control circuit 8, and a system controller 10.

The carriage 4 is means for moving the optical pickup 2 and the magnetic head 3 in the radial direction of the optical disk main body 21. The magnetic head 3 is attached to the optical pickup 2 via an arm or the like, and is configured to move together with the magnetic head 3 and the optical pickup 2 across the optical disk main body 21. By performing the above-described movement, the optical pickup 2 and the magnetic head 3 can be arranged at a position facing a desired address area in the optical disk main body 21, and data reading or writing with respect to the area can be reliably performed. It becomes possible.

The spindle motor 1 includes an optical disk main body 2
1 is a motor for rotating 1 at a constant linear velocity, and its drive is controlled by a servo control circuit 8.

The servo control circuit 8 is a circuit for servo-controlling the carriage 4, the spindle motor 1, and an actuator (not shown). The servo control circuit 8 receives the servo signal from the RF amplifier 7 and extracts and sends a control signal for controlling the carriage 4 and an actuator (not shown) so that the laser beam does not deviate from the recording track axis of the optical disc main body 21. Servo control is performed as described above. The servo control circuit 8 extracts and sends a control signal for controlling an actuator (not shown) based on the servo signal, and focuses the laser beam on the optical disc main body 21 at the in-focus position. Perform servo control. The servo control circuit 8 is based on the clock signal included in the EFM signal from the EFM encoder / decoder 9 at the time of reproducing the premastered disk, and at the time of recording / reproducing of the recordable disk,
Based on the timing signal extracted from the P signal, a spindle servo control is performed by sending a control signal for rotating the spindle motor 1 at a constant linear velocity.

The system controller 10 is a means for controlling each part of the MD recording / reproducing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment. In particular, the system controller 10 includes a registration unit that registers an empty recording area in the UTOC, a recording control unit that controls a recording start position, and the like, and a recording operation that determines whether recording has been normally performed. Functions as determination means. An external operation command to the system controller 10 is performed by the key input unit 18. The system controller 10 sends a control signal to each unit of the MD recording / reproducing apparatus 100 based on an operation command output from the key input unit 18 in response to a key input, and performs a high-speed search operation, a random access play operation, and the like. it can.
The performance state of the MD recording / reproducing apparatus 100 is displayed on the display unit 17.

[2] Recording / Reproducing Method of MD Recording / Reproducing Apparatus Next, the data structure of the MD will be described with reference to FIG. In the recordable MD, the CD-ROM standard is adopted, and one sector is composed of 98 frames as shown in FIG. In the MD, there is a sound group below a sector as a minimum unit of compressed data. As shown in FIG. 3C, one sector is composed of 5.5 sound groups (11 sound groups of 2 sectors). Have been. Then, as shown in FIG. 3A, one cluster is composed of a total of 36 sectors of 32 sectors + 3 sector link area + 1 subcode sector. This one cluster is the minimum unit in recording.

In the reproducing operation of the MD recording / reproducing apparatus 100, information recorded on the optical disk main body 21 is read at a transfer rate of 1.4 Mbps as shown in FIG.
Stored in the DRAM 12. However, the information is stored in a data compression encoder (ATRAC encoder) 13 at the time of recording.
1.4 Mbps
If there is information of about 300 kbps corresponding to １ ／ of the information read at the transfer rate of, it can be converted back to a music signal and reproduced. Therefore, reading of information from the DRAM 12 is performed at a transfer rate of 0.3 Mbps. As described above, in the MD recording / reproducing apparatus 100, since there is a difference between the transfer rates of writing and reading information to and from the DRAM 12, it is possible to temporarily store the information read from the optical disc main body 21 in the DRAM 12 and sequentially retrieve and reproduce the information. it can. For example, DRAM
In the case where the capacity of the memory 12 is 1 Mbit, it is possible to store information for about 3 seconds in reproduction time. Therefore, even if the optical pickup 2 deviates from the on-track position due to vibration, if the optical pickup 2 can return to the on-track position while reproducing the stored signal, interruption of sound can be prevented. . Thus, a shock proof mechanism is configured.

However, if there is a difference between the transfer rates for writing and reading information to and from the DRAM 12 as described above, if the information is read continuously from the optical disk main body 21, the DRAM 12 will overflow.
For example, assuming that the capacity of the DRAM 12 is 1 Mbit, the DRAM 12 becomes full in about 0.9 seconds.

Therefore, in the MD recording / reproducing apparatus 100, as shown in FIG. 5, when information is read at a certain time, the DRAM is set to a standby state for a predetermined period thereafter, and the DRAM is read.
12 is controlled. The information reading amount and the standby interval are not standardized, and can be appropriately designed according to the memory capacity and the like. As mentioned above,
The MD recording / reproducing apparatus 100 performs intermittent reading. As shown in FIG. 5, when a track is deviated due to a shock during the standby period, a desired track is immediately searched using an address and read again. In general, reading is performed in sector units.

The same can be said at the time of recording as at the time of reproduction. In other words, for the information to be recorded,
A / D conversion is performed at a sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz and 16-bit quantization, compressed to 1/5 by the ATRAC encoder 13, and temporarily stored in a memory called a shockproof memory at a transfer rate of about 300 kbps. Then, data read from the memory at a transfer rate of 1.4 Mbps is recorded on a disk rotating at least four times the amount of data to be recorded.

Therefore, during recording, after recording for a predetermined period of time, the system waits until the next data is stored in the DRAM 12, and performs the next recording when a predetermined amount of data is stored. Intermittent recording.

When there is no vibration in a normal state, recording is performed in a one-stroke state in cluster units. During recording,
The address of the disk and the like are constantly monitored, and if the optical pickup 2 and the magnetic head 3 deviate from the recording track, the recording is immediately stopped and re-recording (retry) is performed again from the head of the cluster. Therefore, DRAM1
2 is controlled so that data of at least one cluster remains.

If normal recording is not possible even after performing a plurality of retries, a continuous skipping area of six or more clusters is secured following a cluster as a recording error area where the normal recording was not possible. The recording operation is started from the cluster at the destination of the cluster, and a cluster that is six or more clusters ahead including the cluster for which normal recording could not be performed, for example, an area for seven clusters is set as a free recording area.
Register with. Therefore, when a cluster for which normal recording has not been performed can be normally recorded due to a subsequent environmental change or the like, recording from that cluster becomes possible, and the recording area can be used effectively. If the cluster for which normal recording could not be performed cannot be normally recorded even after that, and there is no other free recording area, recording is performed in an area for six clusters excluding the cluster. Thus, the recording is performed without wasting the recordable area. Note that the empty recording area includes, in addition to the unrecorded area, an area that can be overwritten even in an area where data is recorded.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the MD has a lead-in area on the innermost circumference of the disk.
(Table Of Contents) is recorded in advance.

The TOC of the recordable MD includes the laser power required for recording, the recordable area, the UTOC
(User Table Of Contents). The UTOC is recorded in the UTOC area 27 provided in the recordable area, as shown in FIG. 2B, and includes the table of contents information.

FIG. 6 schematically shows the structure of the UTOC 50.
As shown in FIG. 6, the UTOC 50 has a pointer 51
And an address recording unit 52.

The pointer section 51 has an empty recording area pointer P-FRA indicating the position of the address recording section 52 where the start address of the empty recording area is recorded, and the address recording section 52 where the start address of each track is recorded. And a track pointer P-TNOn (n = 1 to 255) indicating a position. The number n in the track pointer P-TNOn indicates the track number.

The address recording section 52 stores a part-descriptor (part-descripto) using 8 bytes as one unit.
r), each part descriptor is provided with a start / end address recording unit 53 and a track mode and link P recording unit 54.

The start / end address recording section 53 has a recording area for a start address and a recording area for an end address. By referring to the address stored in the recording area for the start address, the optical disk 2 can be referred to.
1, a data reading position or a writing position can be specified. For example, if the data is
UTOC50 when recorded as shown in (A)
As shown in FIG. 8, the track pointer P-TNO1 for track 1 stores "1" which is the number of the corresponding part descriptor. Then, “A” is stored in the start / end address recording section 53 of the part descriptor 1 as the address of the optical disk 21. In this case, when reproducing the track 1, referring to the track pointer P-TNO1, the part descriptor number is "1".
Get. Next, start Part Descriptor 1.
The address "A" is obtained by referring to the end address recording unit 53. Therefore, the track 1 can be reproduced by moving the optical pickup 2 to the position of the address “A” on the optical disc 21.

Next, the track mode and link P recording section 54 stores the contents of the track mode and link P. This track mode is used to determine whether or not the track is permitted to be written.
It indicates information necessary for reproduction, such as FF.

The link P is a pointer for indicating the connection of each part when the same track is composed of a plurality of parts. The part is the optical disk 21
The above is a group of data recorded in a continuous recording area separated by one start address and one end address. In the MD recording / reproducing apparatus 100, the shock proof memory 12 is used as described above, and the shock proof memory 1 is set higher than the transfer rate in reading data from the optical disk 21 and writing data to the shock proof memory 12.
Since the transfer rate for reading data from the second track is lower, even if all the parts making up one track are not physically continuous on the optical disc 21, if the reading order of the parts is correct, continuous playback is performed. It can be performed. Therefore, in order to indicate the reading order of this part, a recording section for link P is provided following the recording section for the end address of one part, and a part descriptor in which the start address of the next part is recorded is designated as link P. Represents.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7C, assuming that track 3 is divided into parts at addresses E to F and parts at addresses I to J, the UTOC 50 becomes as shown in FIG. Track 3 using this UTOC50
To play back, first, the track pointer P of the track 3
-Refer to TNO3. Track pointer P-TNO3
Stores “3” as the number of the part descriptor, the start / end address recording unit 5
Referring to the area of Part Descriptor 3 of No. 3,
Here, “E” is stored as a start address, and “F” is stored as an end address. Further, in the recording area of the link P adjacent to the recording area of the end address, "5" is stored as the value of the link P. Therefore, the part of the start / end address recording unit 53
Referring to the area of the descriptor 5, "I" is stored as the start address and "J" is stored as the end address. Therefore, in order to reproduce the track 3, it is sufficient to read data from the addresses "E" to "F" and then read data from the addresses "I" to "J".

As described above, in the MD, the link P
By using, each part can be recorded discontinuously, and the recording area of the optical disk 21 can be used efficiently.

The address recording section 52 as described above
Is also used as a start address, an end address, a track mode, and a recording area of the link P of the empty recording area. For example, in the case of FIG.
Assuming that data is recorded in the recording areas of L to L and the recording areas of addresses M to Z are empty recording areas in which no data is recorded, as shown in FIG. 8, the empty recording area pointer P-FRA of the UTOC 50 Stores the part descriptor number “7” indicating the area where the head address of the empty recording area is recorded. When recording in a free recording area, first, the free recording area pointer PF
See RA. As a result, the part descriptor number “7” is obtained, and when the position of the part descriptor 7 in the start / end address recording unit 53 is referred to, there is “M” as the start address.
Is stored, and “Z” is stored as the end address. Therefore, the system controller 10 starts recording from this address “M”.

Note that the minimum number of recording units permitted to be registered in the UTOC 50 as a free recording area is six clusters. Therefore, even if an empty recording area smaller than six clusters occurs, it cannot be registered as an empty recording area in the UTOC 50.

Further, as a result of the recording, the position of the empty recording area is shifted, so that the start address and the end address of the empty recording area are newly written, and the contents of the empty recording area pointer P-FRA are updated as necessary. rewrite.

Further, the change of the free recording area can be performed as shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), this is also required when a specific track is erased. For example, as shown in FIG.
Consider a case where track 3 is to be erased in a state where data from track 6 to track 6 are continuously recorded. In this case, there is no need to move the data from track 4 to track 6 on the optical disc 21;
It is only necessary to rewrite the contents of the track pointer P-TNO3 corresponding to each track after the track 3 and the contents of the part descriptor 3 and the part descriptor 7 as necessary. That is, FIG.
P-TN which was “3” in FIG. 8 corresponding to (A)
The content of O3 is changed to “4” as shown in FIG. 9 corresponding to FIG. Similarly, P-TNO4 is set to "4"
From “5” to “5”, and P-TNO5 from “5” to “6”. By simply performing such a process, the areas of the addresses “E” to “F” indicated by oblique lines in FIG. 7B are still written with data, but are not recognized as any tracks on the UTOC 50. It becomes an area and the track has been erased.

When the track is erased in this manner, the number of clusters excluding the sector portion connected to the tracks before and after the addresses "E" to "F" is 6 or more, which is the minimum unit, and is the minimum unit. If there is, a new free recording area is added. Therefore, the areas of addresses “E” to “F” are set as free recording areas in UTOC5.
As shown in FIG. 9, the system controller 10 stores "3" as the content of the link P of the free recording area stored at the position "7" of the start / end address recording unit, as shown in FIG. . Further, the content of the part descriptor 3 is changed to be a cluster unit excluding the connecting sector. By performing such processing, the free recording areas are added with the areas of addresses “E ′” to “F ′” to the areas of addresses “M” to “Z”. The number of clusters excluding the sector connected to the tracks before and after the addresses “E” to “F” is 6
If it is less than the above, the free recording area cannot be increased and the UTOC as shown in FIG. 10 is obtained. Even if an empty recording area is generated as described above, the intermittent reading using the shock proof memory 12 is performed as described above, so that the reproduction from the track 2 to the track 3 is executed without causing a time lag. be able to.

[3] Recording Control Processing Next, recording control processing in the MD recording / reproducing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

When recording on the optical disk 21, it is first determined whether the address can be read normally, or whether the focus servo or tracking servo is closed, and whether recording is possible. If it is determined that recording is possible, the operation for executing recording is started. In the operation for executing recording, first, the audio input signal is converted into digital data by the A / D converter 15 and the data compression (ATRAC) is performed.
Compressed to about 1/5 data by the encoder 13
Output to the RAM control circuit 11. The DRAM control circuit 11 transmits the compressed data to the DRAM 12
To be stored. When the amount of data stored in the DRAM 12 exceeds a predetermined amount, for example, one cluster or more, the DRAM control circuit 11 notifies the system controller 10 that recording can be started. A graph showing the transition of the remaining amount of DRAM shown in FIG.
This indicates that the amount of data in the DRAM 12 has reached one cluster or more at time t0.

Next, the system controller 10
With reference to the contents of the free recording area pointer P-FRA of the OC 50, the start address of the free recording area is obtained. in this case,
Assuming that the start address is N-2, the system controller 10 writes the data D (C0) of the cluster 0 stored in the area of the address n0 in the DRAM 12 to the area of the address N-2 of the optical disk 21 (FIG. 12:
Step S1). Thus, in the example described here,
It is assumed that one cluster of data is written to each address.

Next, the system controller 10 determines whether or not this writing has been normally performed (step S2). If dust or scratches are present on the recording area, or if the servo deviates due to vibration or the like, normal writing cannot be performed. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the normal writing has been performed based on whether or not the servo has deviated during the recording operation. Alternatively, the system controller 10 reads the written data again and checks whether the read data matches the data stored in the buffer or the like for writing to determine whether or not normal writing has been performed. Is determined.

If it is determined that the normal writing has been performed (step S2; YES), it is determined whether or not the recording has been completed (step S5). If it has not been completed yet (step S5; NO), The address N on the optical disk 21 is incremented (step S6), the address n of the DRAM 12 is incremented (step S7), and the process waits until the next data is stored in the DRAM 12. That is, as shown in FIG. 13, when data D (C0) for one cluster is written in the period from time t0 to t1, the data accumulated in the DRAM 12 decreases,
Since only less than one cluster remains,
It waits until data equal to or larger than the cluster is accumulated in the DRAM 12.

At time t2, the fact that data for one cluster or more has been stored again in DRAM 12 is indicated by D
When the system controller 10 detects a signal output from the RAM controller circuit 11, the system controller 10 stores the data D (C 1) of the cluster 1 stored in the area of the address N−1 of the optical disc 21 in the area of the address n 1 in the DRAM 12. ) Is written (FIG. 12: step S1).

As in the previous case, it is determined whether or not the normal writing has been performed, and the end of the recording is determined. Then, the address N of the optical disk 21 and the address n of the DRAM 12 are incremented and the process waits.

Next, at time t4, the system controller 10 writes the data D (C2) of the cluster 2 stored in the area of the address n2 in the DRAM 12 to the area of the address N of the optical disk 21 (step S).
1).

However, at this time, if the writing is not performed normally due to dust or scratches in the area of the address N, or the servo is deviated due to vibration (step S
2; NO), the system controller 10 performs a retry operation. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, the operation mode is set to the search mode, and the optical pickup 2 is located at the writing position.
Then, the magnetic head 3 is moved. Hereinafter, the retry operation is repeated, and it is determined whether the number of retry operations has reached a predetermined number (step S3). In this embodiment,
The retry operation is limited to three times.

If it is determined that the number of retry operations has exceeded a predetermined number (step S3; YES),
The system controller 10 adds 7 to the address N of the optical disk 21 (step S4), and the data D of the cluster 2 stored in the area of the address n2 in the DRAM 12
(C2) is written to the area of the optical disk 21 at the address N + 7 (step S1). That is, when normal writing cannot be performed in the area indicated by a certain address, the writing is not performed in the area indicated by the next address by skipping over the area, but is performed as shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), an area at address N where normal writing was not possible and an area (N + 1 to N + 6) for six clusters which is the minimum number of recording units permitted to be registered as an empty area in the UTOC 50. Is written to the area of the address of N + 7, skipping the area of seven clusters (N to N + 6) where.

Thereafter, writing is performed in the same manner as in FIG.
As shown in (B), when the k-th writing is performed and the recording is completed, the head address of the empty recording area in the UTOC 50 is updated to N + 1 and the link P is used.
The skipped area for seven clusters is registered as a new free recording area (step S8).

By performing such a process, when the cause of preventing normal writing in the area of the address N is subsequently eliminated, writing from the area of the address N becomes possible. Can be used efficiently without waste.

Further, the cause of preventing the normal writing in the area of the address N is not eliminated even after that, and the area registered in the UTOC 50 as the free recording area is only the area of the addresses N to N + 7. However, the last empty recording area is an area (N + N + 6) which is the minimum number of recording units permitted to be registered as an empty area in the UTOC 50, excluding the area of the address N.
1 to N + 6), writing can be performed in the area (N + 1 to N + 6) for the six clusters.

On the other hand, in the conventional device, when normal writing cannot be performed in the area of the address N, writing is performed from the area of the next address N + 1. Even if the cause that prevented normal writing was subsequently removed, the area that can be used as an empty recording area is 1
There is only the area of address N for the cluster. Therefore, since the area of the address N alone is less than the minimum number of recording units that can be registered in the UTOC, the area cannot be registered as an empty recording area on the UTOC. As a result, although there are areas on the optical disc 21 that can be used as recording areas if they are all connected continuously, these areas cannot be used, resulting in a reduction in recording time.

As described above, as is apparent from a comparison between the conventional device and the device of the present embodiment, the MD of the present embodiment is clear.
The recording / reproducing apparatus can efficiently use the recording area on the optical disk 21 without wasting it, and can minimize the recording time.

In the above description, the number of jump addresses in the case where normal writing could not be performed was set to 7, but the present invention is not limited to such an example, and the minimum number of recording units in UTOC As long as a free recording area is secured, the number of jumps may be increased.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the MD is used as an example of the information recording medium has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the information recording medium may be a CD or a recordable CD. Also, the present invention can be applied to a device using a memory similar to a shock proof, using -R or a rewritable CD-RW.

As described above, the present invention has been described based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Can easily be inferred.

[0085]

According to the information recording apparatus of the first aspect,
When it is determined by the recording operation determining means that the recording on the information recording medium has not been performed normally, the recording control means follows the position of the recording error area where the determination is made, and then returns to a predetermined unit. Since the continuous recording skip area is secured and recording is performed from the recordable area following the continuous recording skip area, the recording area can be used efficiently.

According to the information recording apparatus of the present invention, the recording operation judging means judges that the recording was not normally performed when the recording was not normally performed even after the predetermined number of re-recording operations. Therefore, an appropriate determination can be made.

According to the information recording apparatus of the present invention, the recording means continuously records the recording error area and the recording skip area determined by the recording operation determining means as having failed to perform normal recording. Since the position information is registered in the table of contents information as a possible area, the recording area can be used efficiently.

According to the information recording apparatus of the present invention, when it is determined by the recording operation determining means that the recording has not been normally performed, the registration means stores the recording error area related to the determination. Since the position information is registered in the table of contents information as a continuous recordable area with the recording skip area, the recording area can be used efficiently.

According to the information recording apparatus of the present invention, the recording control means sets the recording skip area to the minimum number of units permitted to be registered as the recordable area in the table of contents information or more. Therefore, the recording area can be used efficiently.

According to the information recording apparatus of the present invention, when the recording operation is performed, the recording control unit determines in advance that the recording operation has not been normally performed by the recording operation determination unit. Is checked, and if the recordable area exists, the recording is performed from the recordable area, so that the recording area can be used efficiently.

According to the information recording apparatus of the present invention, the recording control means makes the recording from the recordable area by referring to the position information registered in the table of contents information. Can be used efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an MD recording / reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing a structure of an MD and a structure of an information recording area used in the MD recording / reproducing apparatus of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 2A shows a structure of a recordable recordable MD, and FIG. It is a figure showing composition of an information recording area of a recordable MD which is possible.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data structure of an MD used in the MD recording / reproducing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the principle of shock proof in the MD recording / reproducing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an intermittent reading operation in the MD recording / reproducing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of a UTOC of a recordable MD.

7A and 7B are diagrams for explaining a method of managing recording information by UTOC of a recordable MD, wherein FIG. 7A shows a case where each track is recorded continuously, and FIG. 7B shows a case where a certain track is erased. (C) is a diagram showing a case where an empty recording area exists between tracks.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing detailed contents of UTOC corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing detailed contents of UTOC corresponding to FIG. 7B (part 1).

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing detailed contents of UTOC corresponding to FIG. 7B (part 2).

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing detailed contents of a UTOC corresponding to FIG. 7 (C).

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a recording control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

13 is an example of a timing chart showing a recording control operation corresponding to the flowchart of FIG.

14A and 14B are diagrams showing recording address positions and empty recording areas corresponding to the flowchart of FIG. 12, wherein FIG. 14A shows an area from address N-2 to address N + 7, and FIG. 14B shows an area from address N + 8 to N + m. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 spindle motor 2 optical pickup 3 magnetic head 4 carriage 5 magnetic head drive circuit 6 address decoder 7 RF amplifier 8 servo control circuit 9 EFM encoder / decoder 10 small system roller 11 DRAM control circuit 12 DRAM 13 data compression encoder 14 data compression decoder 15 A / D converter 16 D / A converter 17 Display unit 18 Key input unit 20 MD 21 Optical disk 50 UTOC 100 MD recording / reproducing device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI theme coat ゛ (Reference) G11B 11/105 581 G11B 11/105 581K 20/12 20/12 27/00 27/00 D (72) Invention Person Shinichiro Abe 25-1, Nishimachi, Yamada, Kawajie, Saitama Prefecture, Japan Pioneer Corporation Kawagoe Plant (72) Inventor Youshi Tanemura 25-1, Nishimachi, Yamada Character, Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture Pioneer Corporation Kawagoe Plant (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Matsumoto 25-1, Nishimachi, Yamada, Kawaji-shi, Saitama, Japan Pioneer Corporation Kawagoe Factory (72) Inventor Tomoko Miyagawa 25-1, Yamada-ji, Nishimachi, Kawaji-shi, Saitama Prefecture Pioneer Corporation Kawagoe Factory (72) Inventor Kazuhiko Ogami 25-1, Nishimachi, Yamada, Kawagoe-shi, Saitama F-term (reference) in Pioneer Corporation Kawagoe Factory 5D044 AB06 B C06 CC04 DE62 DE96 5D075 AA03 BB05 CC12 CC24 CD02 CF06 5D090 BB10 CC01 CC05 CC16 CC18 DD03 DD05 EE02 FF37 GG30 HH01 5D110 AA19 BB08

Claims (6)

[Claims] A recording means for recording information on the information recording medium; a recording operation determining means for determining whether or not recording has been normally performed on the information recording medium; If it is determined that the recording has not been performed, a continuous recording skip area of a predetermined unit is secured following the position of the recording error area where the determination is performed, and a recordable area following the continuous recording skip area is secured. An information recording apparatus, comprising: recording control means for causing recording to start from. 2. The recording operation judging means according to claim 1, wherein the recording is not normally performed even after a predetermined number of re-recording operations.
2. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it is determined that recording has not been normally performed. 3. A recording means for registering the position information of the recordable area in the table of contents information, wherein the registration means determines that the recording operation has not been properly performed by the recording operation determining means. 3. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for registering the position information in the table of contents information as a continuous recordable area with the recording skip area. 4. The recording control unit according to claim 3, wherein the recording control unit sets the recording skip area to a minimum unit number or more that is permitted to be registered as the recordable area in the table of contents information. Information recording device. 5. The recording control unit, when performing a recording operation, confirms in advance that there is a recordable area that has been determined by the recording operation determination unit that recording has not been normally performed, and 5. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein recording is performed from the recordable area when the information exists. 6. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said recording control means is means for performing recording from said recordable area by referring to said position information registered in said table of contents information. An information recording device according to any one of the preceding claims.