JP2002024092A - Information recording and reproducing device with copyright protecting function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that read of license information becomes impossible as well when a fault occurs in a disk when contents information and the license information are simultaneously stored in a disk device. SOLUTION: The contents information and the license information are stored in separate storage means. The contents information is recorded in a hard disk device 101 and the corresponding license information is stored in a license card 105 using a semiconductor element. Contents are acquired again based on the license information in the license card 105 when the contents information is lost due to the occurrence of the fault in the hard disk device 101 by adopting such structure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information storage / reproduction device having a built-in storage device, which protects a copyright associated with a content and a device which can protect license information even when a failure occurs in a content storage means. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the spread of satellite broadcasting and cable television broadcasting, a disk device is built in a broadcasting receiver such as a television, a set-top box, and a video recorder, and transmitted contents such as movies and music are transmitted to the disk device. There is proposed an information processing apparatus for recording the information in a computer. In such a system, since the data to be handled is digitized, it is possible to copy without deteriorating the quality, so that the copyright protection of the content is an important issue.

On the other hand, in order to facilitate user convenience and content distribution, it is desirable that only encrypted content can be freely distributed by various methods without taking cumbersome procedures.

There are various methods for encrypting contents. For example, there is a method in which a dedicated memory card is prepared, attached to a dedicated terminal installed in a store or the like, and desired content data is downloaded into the memory card using an online system. Alternatively, there is a method in which a dedicated memory card is attached to a personal terminal such as a mobile phone, and downloaded from the content distribution center into the memory card using the Internet or the like. When playing back the content data stored in this manner, the memory card storing the content data is mounted on a dedicated playback device and played back.

[0005] This memory is generally composed of semiconductor elements. Although the capacity of semiconductor memory has been increasing,
In order to store a large amount of data at a lower cost, an optical disk or a magnetic disk (hard disk device) is suitable.

However, at present, a disk drive has mechanical movable parts, so that the failure occurrence rate is lower than that of a semiconductor element at present. When such a failure occurs, it is a problem that even the license information is lost.

As a disk device having a security function, a disk device having a security function and a password management method in the device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 9-79692 can be mentioned. This publication proposes a method in which, even when data in a password information area secured on a disk is destroyed, backup can be performed using another password information area. This method assumes that password information is stored on the disk. According to the present invention, a plurality of password information storage areas are provided for multiplexing so that even if a part of the password information becomes inaccessible, it can be handled.

[0008]

The use of a magnetic disk device as the content storage means is preferable in that a large amount of information can be stored, and recording and reproduction can be performed quickly by making use of the random access property.

In the invention presented in the prior art, the password information is stored together with the contents in the magnetic disk. Therefore, even if the password information is stored in a plurality of locations on the disk, a mechanism such as a head crash is required. , The password information may be affected at the same time.

If a failure occurs only in the mechanical part of the magnetic disk device and access to the content information becomes impossible, there is a possibility that access to the license information becomes impossible at the same time as the failure occurs. is there. If the failure that occurred in the magnetic disk drive is a mechanical failure, the purchased license information will be lost even though the failure to the interface and the electric circuit is extremely rare. Is a disadvantage for users.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method in which, in a configuration in which a license management storage chip is mounted on a hard disk drive, only access to license information is possible even if a mechanically serious failure occurs in the magnetic disk drive. To provide.

[0012]

As means for solving the above-mentioned problems, it is preferable to adopt a system which can separately handle license information and content information. The content is encrypted, and when the content is read, information on a key for reading, that is, whether or not the user has license information is searched. Allow to play. Although the content itself can be freely copied, this method requires corresponding license information when reproducing the content.

Even if the license information is stored in the same housing as the content storage means, it is inexpensive to prevent the license information from being lost by storing the license information in the semiconductor element part having a lower failure rate than the disk part. Thus, even large-capacity storage means can be used.

As a means for realizing the present invention, a magnetic disk device is described in the embodiment. In a composite storage such as a combination of a disk device and a semiconductor element, the cost per capacity is high, but a failure occurs. The object of the present invention can be achieved by storing license information in a storage unit with a low rate and storing content information in a storage unit with a high failure rate but low cost per capacity.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the following description, the terms hard disk device and magnetic disk device are synonymous.

FIG. 1 shows an information processing apparatus in which a monitor 103 is connected to a set-top box 102 containing a hard disk device 101. In this example, information (content data, hereinafter collectively referred to as an external input signal 104) input from the outside, such as information from a cable broadcast, a satellite broadcast, or the Internet, can be recorded on the hard disk device 101. The example in which the set-top box 102 has a slot for storing a license card 105 for storing key information for decrypting content data and performing copyright protection management in addition to the hard disk device 101 is shown.

[0018] Decryption and reproduction of the content data are permitted based on the key information stored in the license card 105. By storing the key information in the license card 105, the copyright information can be detached from the means for storing the data, and the data can be easily re-downloaded even when the hard disk device 101 breaks down or is replaced. I can do things. The set-top box 102
May be connected to another device such as a PC (personal computer) 107 via an external interface 106.

In this embodiment, an example of a device mainly handling video information such as the set-top box 102 has been described. However, a similar basic configuration can be applied to a stereo set handling audio information such as music. Note that this can be realized by Hereinafter, the operation of the present system will be described in detail.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the set-top box 102 with a built-in hard disk device shown in FIG. An external input signal 104 is input to the tuner 201 through a communication line such as a broadcasting satellite, terrestrial broadcasting, cable, or the Internet. Then, the digital signal is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 202 and decoded by the decoder 203, and then the information is decrypted by the descrambler 204. Thereafter, the data is sent to the digital television 208 via the MPEG decoder 206 and the graphics encoder 207 via the selector 205 and can be viewed.

The host CPU 209 has a function of controlling the entire set-top box 102, and
0 stores a control program and the like. When recording is required by the selector 205, an IDE (Integrated D
evice (Drive) Electronics) Sends information to be recorded in the hard disk device 101 connected to the I / F 212. Conversely, when reproducing information recorded on the hard disk device 101, the reverse
1 through the IDE I / F 212 and the host RAM 211 by the selector 205 for display on the digital television 208 or the copy protection unit 216, 1394 I / F2
13, information is sent to the built-in IEEE 1394 hard disk device 214 or the hard disk recorder 215 connected to the outside of the set-top box 102.

The management is performed using the license card 105 to manage the viewing of such information, that is, the content information. In FIG. 2, a card socket 216 for inserting the license card 105 is provided in the set-top box 102, and the license card inserted in the socket 216 is controlled by the license card controller 21.
7 shows an example.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the set-top box 102 and the hard disk device 101 shown in FIGS. Although the configuration is basically the same as that shown in FIG. 2, the internal configuration of the hard disk device 101 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

The set top box 102 is a host unit 3
01 and a hard disk device 101,
The host unit 301 includes the tuner 201 and the A / D converter 20
2. Decoder 203, descrambler 204, host RA
M211, a monitor output unit 302, an HDD interface control unit 303, an external interface control unit 304, a user interface control unit 305, and a host CPU 209.

An external input signal 104 such as a cable broadcast or a satellite broadcast is detected by a tuner 201 and is output from an A / D converter 20.
After being converted into digital information in step 2, the information is sent to the host RAM 211 via the decoder 203 and the descrambler 204. Thereafter, the information is viewed on the monitor 104 via the monitor output unit 302, the information is recorded on the hard disk device 101, the data is transferred to the hard disk device 101 via the HDD interface control unit 303, and the information is transferred to an external device. The data is transferred to an external device via the face control unit 304. The user is the set-top box 102
, Via the user interface control unit 305, instructs processing such as recording, reproduction, and transfer of information. Upon receiving the instruction, the host CPU 209 controls a series of blocks.

The HDD interface control unit 303 mainly includes a data transfer unit 306. The data transfer unit 306 includes the host RAM 211 and the hard disk device 10
1 data transfer.

On the other hand, the hard disk device 101 includes a disk CPU 307, a host interface control unit 308, a disk controller 309, a disk RAM 310, a signal processing unit 311, a servo controller 312, and an HDA.
(Hard disk assembly) unit 313. The disk CPU 307 is connected to the hard disk device 10
1. Control the overall data processing. The disk controller 309 includes the host interface control unit 308 and the disk RAM 310, and the signal processing unit 311 and the disk RA.
Controls data transfer between M310.

The signal processing unit 311 performs data encoding and decoding processing and A / D conversion. HDA section 31
3 is a recording medium for storing content data, a spindle motor for fixing the recording medium, a read / write head,
It is composed of an actuator supporting the head, a voice coil motor for moving the actuator, and the like. Here, HDA is an abbreviation for hard disk assembly. The servo controller 312 controls a spindle motor and a voice coil motor. Host interface control unit 3
08 is a content record management table 314, host ID
It is composed of a register 315 and the like, and is connected to the host unit 301 via the internal interface 316.

Examples of specific internal interfaces include ATA, IEEE1394, SSA, and Fiber C.
However, any interface standard can be applied as long as communication can be performed between the host unit 301 and the hard disk device 101. Content record management table 3
Reference numeral 14 stores information for performing detailed control on the recorded content. The host ID register 315 stores the host ID notified from the host unit 301. Although not shown, a plurality of hard disk devices 101 may be connected on the internal interface 316.

Hard disk drive 1 according to the present invention
Even if a failure occurs in the mechanism unit 01, as shown in FIG. 2, the content is stored in the hard disk device 101, the license information is stored in the license card 105, and when the desired content is reproduced, It can be realized by confirming whether or not the license information to be provided exists in the license card 105. In such a configuration, for example, the hard disk drive 101
Even if a failure occurs, the license information is present on the license card 105 composed of a semiconductor element. Therefore, after replacing the failed hard disk drive 101 with a normal hard disk drive, the same content information is again transmitted. If it is stored in a hard disk device, it can be operated as before.

If the license information is present on the license card by using a communication function to permit the download from the content server again free of charge, the loss of the user can be reduced. In order to permit the download again, the contents stored in the license card 105 can be read independently without depending on the operation state of the hard disk device 101. Further, it is desirable that the contents to be stored in the license card 105 can be written independently of the operation state of the hard disk device 101 so that only the license can be obtained in advance of the data.

FIGS. 4 to 6 show the hard disk drive 101.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the embodiment. A configuration example is shown in which functions having license information are sequentially taken into portions other than on the disk in the hard disk device.

FIG. 4 shows a hard disk device 101 basically having a configuration suitable for the hard disk device 101 built in the set-top box 102 having the configuration shown in FIG. That is, the license management part is not provided in the hard disk device 101. FIG. 4 corresponds to a diagram in which the disk controller 309 and the host interface control unit 208 of the hard disk device 101 in FIG. 3 are represented in detail.

The hard disk drive 101 has an IDE I /
It is connected to the internal interface 316 of the set-top box 102 via F212. In FIG. 4, the disk CPU 30
7, the host interface control unit 308, the servo controller 312, and the signal processing unit 311 are all described as being housed in the disk controller 309. By such integration, it is possible to provide a device configuration with a small number of constituent elements when demands for cost reduction, miniaturization, and low power consumption are made.

The CPU 307 controls the operation of the entire controller. The CPU 307 controls the IDE I / F control unit 406, and controls the buffer memory control unit 402, the disk format control unit 403, the signal processing unit 311 and the servo controller 312. Perform

Here, the AV CMD control unit 401 provided along with the IDE I / F unit 406 is a unit for performing stream control not particularly required for general code data. Stream control is control that enables video and audio to be recorded and reproduced without interruption. For example, in order to measure the external force applied to the head at regular intervals in order to retry reading the recording location again when the reading is not completed normally in the hard disk device 101 or to improve the accuracy of the head position In the calibration seek operation, information to be recorded in the relevant location due to the presence of a defect on the disc is recorded in another location. At this time, the replacement process and the like are performed within a predetermined time. This is an obstacle to recording and reading information.

Therefore, when recording and reproducing video and audio information, the number of retries is limited even if the data error rate increases, and error reporting is performed after a series of transfer processing is completed. Control is required. AV
ANS (CMD)
Several standards have been proposed as I standards.

The AV CMD control unit 401 shown in FIG. 4 is actually implemented as firmware. The performance of the hard disk drive 101 is sufficiently high with respect to the transfer rate of information to be handled, and the host RA
If the capacity of M211 is large, AV CMD control is not always necessary. Therefore, in actual operation, necessity is determined depending on the cost of the entire apparatus.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment in which the license card 105 is mounted in the housing of the hard disk device 101. The advantage of adopting this configuration is that when the hard disk itself is operated as a removable type instead of being fixed internally, it is not necessary to carry the license card and the hard disk device storing the content separately.
FIG. 5 shows a method in which the license card unit is directly mounted on the hard disk housing without being changed. While there is an advantage that the processing inside the license card can be integrated with the hard disk device without disclosing the process, the cost of the entire hard disk device increases.

The characteristic of the configuration of FIG. 5 is that the IDE of the disk controller 309 in the hard disk device 101
That is, a secure control unit 501 is provided in the I / F control unit 406. The secure control unit 501 is a unit that controls whether content in the hard disk device can be reproduced in response to an instruction from the license card. When an instruction to reproduce a certain content is issued from the upper level through the I / F 212, the secure control unit 501
A search is made as to whether or not the license information corresponding to the content exists in the license card 216 attached to the. If the corresponding license exists, the subsequent reproduction processing is continued, and if not, the command is invalidated and the subsequent reproduction processing is interrupted.

The Secure control unit 501 does not need to be particularly configured by hardware, but can be implemented by being implemented as firmware. In the configuration of FIG. 5, even if a failure occurs in the HDA 313, the failure occurrence rate is low because the chip of the disk controller 309 is formed of a semiconductor element, so that the recording / reproduction of the license information is performed, for example, by the HDA.
It can be implemented even when the unit does not operate. In this case, the transmission and reception of the license information itself is performed only inside the disk controller 309, and only the command and the information of the already licensed license are transmitted to the IDE I / F 212. Therefore, there is no problem in terms of security. This can be realized by adding a license control command in addition to the conventional IDE I / F command.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment in which the hard disk device 101 has a copyright protection function. In this embodiment, all the components in which the license card 105 is mounted as it is in FIG. 5 are realized in the disk controller 309.
In the memory 404, a storage portion for the license information 601 is provided in addition to the control software 405. It is preferable to use an element which can have a region in the memory 404 that cannot be easily accessed from the outside. By storing the license information 601 in the memory 404, it is possible to omit an interface dedicated to a license management storage chip which is individually required. In addition, a cryptographic operation unit 602 is provided. However, the cryptographic operation unit 602 can be realized only by software if the processing capability of the CPU 307 is sufficiently high.

In the case of this configuration, similarly to the case of FIG.
Even when a failure occurs in the A section 313, the license information is stored in the controller chip, and the license information can be extracted. A new normal hard disk drive can be prepared, license information can be moved here, and the content can be downloaded again to restore the original state. If a failure occurs in a circuit board on which the controller chip is mounted, the license can be restored by taking out the controller chip and mounting it on another device.

The method shown in FIG. 6 has a feature that it can be realized at low cost because hardware to be added to the existing hard disk device is small. In addition, the appearance is the same as that of the conventional hard disk, and it can be connected to a system that does not require copyright protection.

The hard disk device having the configuration shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is particularly effective when it is configured to be removable.
As described above, it is possible to provide a storage device that does not need to carry both the license card and the hard disk and that can protect the license information even if a failure occurs in the disk portion.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the conventional
The IDE command is left as it is, and the license management command is added to this. As a result, it is possible to connect to a conventional connection device without any problem and, when connected to a system that supports a license management command, to function as a hard disk device with a copyright protection function.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the information processing apparatus incorporating the hard disk device and the content, the semiconductor device which stores the license information in the hard disk device even when a failure occurs in the mechanical system of the hard disk device. The license information can be extracted from the copy unit. As a result, even if the content information is lost, it is possible to prevent the user from being charged again by transferring the license and resending the content to a normally operating device of the same type. By integrating the license information storage means and the content storage means, information can be easily carried.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration example of an information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a detailed configuration example of an information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration example of a hard disk device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration example of a hard disk device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration example of a hard disk device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

101: Hard disk drive, 102: Set-top box, 103: Monitor, 104: External input signal, 10
5 ... License card, 106 ... External interface,
107: personal computer, 201: tuner,
202: A / D converter, 203: decoder, 204: descrambler, 205: selector, 206: MPEG decoder, 207: graphics encoder, 208: digital television, 209: host CPU, 210: RO
M, 211: Host RAM, 212: IDE I / F,
213 1394 I / F, 214 IEEE 1394 hard disk device, 215 hard disk recorder, 216 card socket, 217 license card controller, 218 copy prevention, 301 host unit, 302 monitor output unit, 303 interface control Unit, 304 ... external interface control unit, 30
5: User interface control unit, 306: Data transfer unit, 307: Disk CPU, 308: Host interface control unit, 309: Disk controller, 310
··· Disk RAM, 311 · Signal processing unit, 312 · Servo controller, 313 · HDA unit, 314 · Content recording management table, 315 · Host ID register, 3
16 internal interface, 401 AV CMD controller, 402 buffer memory controller, 403 disk format controller, 404 memory, 405 control software, 406 IDE I / F controller, 501 secure
Control unit, 601, license information, 602, cryptographic operation unit.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Hideo Nagai 2880 Kozu, Kozuhara, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside the Hitachi, Ltd.Storage Systems Division (72) Inventor Shinichiro Kuno 2880 Kozu, Kozu, Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture Storage Corporation Hitachi, Ltd. F term in the system division (reference) 5B017 AA03 BA05 BA07 BB03 CA07 5B065 BA01 BA05 CC01 EA11 EA24 PA04 PA14 5J104 NA02 NA41 PA14

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A content storage device comprising: a disk device for storing encrypted content data; and a license management storage device comprising a semiconductor device for storing key information for decrypting the content data. An information recording / reproducing apparatus in which decryption and reproduction of the information are permitted based on the key information. 2. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said license management storage means exists in the same housing as said content storage means or as a part of said content storage means. 3. The contents stored in the license management storage means can be read independently without depending on the operation state of the contents storage means, and the contents to be stored in the license management storage means are contents storage means. 3. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information can be written independently without depending on the operation state. 4. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein information is recorded or reproduced to / from the license management storage means via an interface of the content storage means. 5. The license management storage means is detachable from the content storage means, and reads out the contents stored in the license management storage means even when the license management storage means is detached from the content storage means. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein 6. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a hard disk device for recording and reproducing magnetically is used as said content storage means.